My Personal Top 25
Just note that the first film on the list is my all-time favorite film, and will always be that. The rest are in alphabetical order, so it's similar to Tarantino's top 20 that he did before
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25 titles
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.A magnum opus of filmmaking, in my opinion. This is a surreal experience that requires patience and abandonment of logical narrative but has so much to offer in return.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.Not unlike Eraserhead, however this perhaps has not only a larger canvas but also a more complex painter (Stanley Kubrick). The questions that are raised in this film may never be answered, but their mystery and impact on us will continue to resonate for all generations.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.American Beauty has much hidden underneath it, but even if you don't look deeper (or closer), you will not only be pleased with what you see, you will be moved, amazed and heartbroken.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.The best film about Vietnam (As Francis Coppola once said "It is Vietnam"). It is a depiction of war in a way no film has even come close to. This kind of war is scary (almost in the sense of a horror film), it is surreal, intense, realistic, dark and above all tragic in a philosophical and literal sense.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.The perfect mix of 80's movie and surrealism. Although I can't say it is the best Lynch film out there, it certainly gave light to David Lynch's world in the rest of the public. It is a parody of the American Dream that instead of boasts laughter, encourages contemplation.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsMark WahlbergJulianne MooreBurt ReynoldsBack when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.A great combination of perfect cinema and great fun. PT Anderson has made way in the world as a master filmmaker with only 4 films. This was the one that started it all, and it is definitely deserving of it. Golden performances, great cinematography, and simply a good time to sit back and watch.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonNed DowdThree friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.I think the first time I watched this, I was laughing every 30 seconds or so. Wes Anderson's pictures are so funny and heartwarming that I come close to tears. Tears of laughter and tears of compassion.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.This is the kinda mystery that every time I watch it, it's like i experience it all over again. A perfect neo-noir thriller. The style is perfect from the beautiful cinematography to the jazzy score, just perfect
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.A dangerously honest film. Spike Lee definitely has a point of view on racism and one he feels strongly about, but the film doesn't exactly endorse his own idea, but instead offers his surroundings and things and people he's been around in a way that is almost omniscient, in hopes that we can make our own judgments and hopefully do the right thing.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.I feel that if everyone had just seen the director's cut of this film, that it would be even more popular and more liked than it is now. The director's cut has information, which is important to the world of Donnie Darko. This is a dark film, but it is also funny. It is about sacrifice, and in this particular case, a sacrifice that the universe is blind to. Through that it presents the idea, which at first seems obvious but really is taken for granted, that there are things happening in the universe that we may never know or understand.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsTom WaitsJohn LurieRoberto BenigniTwo men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.Jim Jarmusch at his finest. The black and white cinematography is beautiful, the setting is beautiful, the music is beautiful, the acting is beautiful, the scenes are beautiful. Everything is beautiful.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.Soon enough the world will hail this film as a classic and look back at the interim that it was maligned and looked down upon as a travesty. Then again that's pretty much the same story for all of Kubrick's films. This is my personal favorite of his work. The lavish and colorful look of the film alone is worth calling it a masterpiece. The mansion scenes are so mysterious and beautiful.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.As perfect as they come. And it's a true story.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.A film about life as a whole (well i guess from the human perspective anyways). The performances are perfect and so is everything else. The scene where Aimee Mann's "Wise Up" plays is so sad and beautiful.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.This film encompasses all the gangster films into one. You have the old bosses that always speak Italian, and you have kind of the rags to riches story with the girl (or at least the beginnings of one), and then the pop-cultured, fast paced rock'n'roll style which Scorsese if not invented himself, reinvented.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.A film about jealousy and disgust unlike any other. The dream world that this film creates is haunting and beautiful, and when you wake up to the horror of it all even though the ending is rather sad and tragic there's still a glimmer of beauty that overwhelms us
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.This film is beyond satire, it is the future. Or I should say was, I mean come on just look at Glenn Beck. But in all seriousness, the performances are theatrical and loud and they truly convey a whole ideology in just simple worded sentences which owes much credit to Paddy Chayefsky's brilliant script
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.Pi gives you paranoia. It's so tense. The high contrast black and white is something to appreciate and revel in, the score goes past you like a 300 MPH wind and the entire pace and style of this film is almost like a music video, however in the context of a thriller. Lots of fun and so originial.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Not hard to love at all, lots of fun not just for it's numerous homages but also because of its originality. Just flat out perfect.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.A very psychological and intense true story, brought to us through the heart of De Niro and the skillful eye of Scorsese. If there's one film that could define the peak of the two's collaboration, it is this film. Everything about this film is stellar and pristine. Beautiful filmmaking.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..Probably more affecting than Pi, because it has more of a human cause on its side, but i honestly like them just the same. Nonetheless this is beautiful film about addiction, and not just drug addiction which gives it a more original edge. Even if you look at these characters and can't feel sorry for them (for whatever reason that may be), this film takes everything to a level that hasn't really been tapped into and from that you recoil in disgust and are left in the same mess as the characters and then are almost forced to weep.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Reservoir Dogs i think is a bit cooler than Pulp Fiction. The way this story is presented and the way the characters play it out is kinda more badass and tough guy than Pulp Fiction, but they are both great.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.I don't know what makes this film so scary, but somehow I was blown away by it and had so much adrenaline running in me when I saw it. The acting is great for everyone and Polanski is definitely a true genius, just based on the strength of this film alone.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.So much fun, and probably indescribable so i'm not even going to try.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.The first 5 minutes will let you know what you're in for, but the rest of the movie is just as perfect and cool. So many quotable scenes and a great soundtrack.