If you’re someone who loves film, when it comes to assembling a list of your favorite movies of all-time, it is perhaps the biggest challenge. To a point where you put together a hashed list of 101 movies that feels more like overkill, than satisfaction. Upon looking over my own list of 101 favorite movies, I realized that I should condense that list to a group of 16-20. There aren’t many changes from before, but I realized I’d rather write about a few of them, than all of them. I mean, who isn’t tired of me talking about Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, or Hot Fuzz? I feel I’ve said all I could possibly say about those movies, so why not adjust the spotlight to focus on a few movies I may not talk about enough, or the newest entries to my favorite movies. Much like my favorite directors, this grouping is completely arbitrary, and probably (really) reflects my mood for the day and could change based on tomorrow. Either way, I know that this group of films are amongst some of my absolute favorites. They thrill me, make me cry, make me wish I could make movies, and rejuvenate my love for film at the right time, every time.
Most Honorable:
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Social Network
The Graduate
Alien
Magnolia
I feel as if I could make an argument that any of these is my favorite movie of all-time. Paul Thomas Anderson’s emotional epic is just as rewarding as Ridley Scott’s deep space nightmare and George Miller’s wildly intense chase through the desert. The point being, that these movies, for how wildly different they are from one another, their specifics appeal to different parts of me. Nothing is better than a good chase sequence, or reaching for a tissue, but it’s difficult to really say why I prefer one over another, or if I even do at all. Is it so ingrained in movie culture that we have to justify why we prefer Before Midnight to Before Sunrise? Dunkirk to 1917? Can’t we just enjoy them (if we do) and assemble an arbitrary list based solely on an emotional state of mind that looks a bit better condensed by meaningless numbers in rank, than scattered across the floor? As I’ve watched less movies this year, and started to make time for more, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t really need a list, I just like seeing it. There’s something about looking at Sam Raimi’s filmography and debating with yourself why you enjoy Evil Dead 2 just a bit more than Evil Dead. It creates this discussion about why we love what we do, and dislike what doesn’t reach those marks on our personal scale. To me, that’s important and why I still value star ratings even if we’ve collectively put too much stock into them, and should be replaced by literally anything else.
Memories of Murder - 2003
Dir. Bong Joon-Ho
Memories of Murder is the newest entry as one of my favorite movies, and I am upset with myself that I didn’t figure this out sooner. Having purchased the Criterion copy during the most recent sale, I couldn’t ask for a better way to experience it. Not to mention I watched it twice in a single day because I was floored by every aspect of it. Crime dramas have always satisfied my taste buds for the obsession with trying to solve the near unsolvable, the dark corners, the creepy faces, and the “Why?” Why did they do it? Why in this manner? What created them? What’s tragic about Memories of Murder is that it’s less about figuring out “who” and “why”, and moreso about “how”. How did the systems put in place fail them? How do we live with ourselves knowing we could have done better? All of that is baked within a snappy, tonally swift and thrilling crime drama that is arguably one of the best movies captured on celluloid.
Blow Out - 1981
Dir. Brian De Palma
De Palma made a feature in my last piece on my favorite directors, and Blow Out is a big reason why. For all the recent examples of directors making movies about making movies, Blow Out may be the best of them. De Palma has mentioned before how the edit is where the movie becomes what it is, and what can be lost without it, and Blow Out embraces that. The way he incorporates sight and sound is wildly impressive and it culminates in one hell of a moment in it’s latest stages. Blow Out is perhaps De Palma at his very best as it leans into its roots of inspiration as well as what the camera can accomplish in piecing together the mystery and how our reality bleeds into the art we seek to create.
Blade Runner - 1984
Dir. Ridley Scott
The fact that Ridley Scott has been brought up on two occasions already speaks to his incredible talent, but Blade Runner might just be his greatest achievement. Having seen this in IMAX just a few years ago, this is easily one of the most remarkable achievements ever filmed. Harrison Ford might not deliver an Oscar worthy performance, but every technical and fundamental element is executed at the highest level. It’s a slippery, engulfing, thrilling neo-noir that changed the game for every science-fiction film to follow. I’m not sure if there are any American films that generates as much discussion as this one does. It’s one of a kind.
Inside Llewyn Davis - 2013
Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
Joel and Ethan Coen embarked on a journey in 2013 to Greenwich village in the 1960s when folk music was at its most influential. Spawning an entirely new sound that creates the aura of home life, personal struggle, grief, and the silver lining in life’s most difficult times. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel channels all of this through a somber green coat of cellophane draped over chilled winds and uniquely defined characters. Oscar Isaac delivers a career best performance in a role perfectly suited for his Swiss army knife capabilities as an actor and performer. Inside Llewyn Davis arguably has the best soundtrack ever, and it’s all a service to the unique sound that folk music created, as well as the stories they tell about life’s most difficult journeys.
Arrival - 2016
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
This marks the second piece in a row where Denis Villeneuve is associated with the top spot on the list. Heading into Arrival sure of what it was about and leaving hypnotized by what it was actually about was not what I expected to happen when the credits rolled. Everyday since I feel as if I’ve thought about the movie, what Denis strives to accomplish, and how he managed to do it effortlessly. Although it’s adapted from Ted Chiang’s “Story of your Life”, Arrival feels like one of the most original movies ever, and each viewing since has left me with more reward than I remember. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is two days away, and I can’t begin to imagine what Denis has cooked up for us. His ability to explore new ground, dressed in new environments and sprinkled with characters worth stepping into is virtually unmatched this day in age.
Having recently gone through some of my highest rated movies, I felt as if I should spend time briefly talking about them. Not only does it release some positive energy that I’ve been looking for, but it reminds me of why I’ve spent so much time thinking about these movies and why I value them. In trying to get back to my roots this month, little exercises like these have given me some of that juice I need to continue writing when it’s become harder to do so.
Keep an eye out for more in the near future!