A Forever Incomplete List of Films

Life and love told in three parts. The art is beautiful.
Locked in a jury room, 12 men have to decide whether to send someone to the chair.
Kubrick's first true masterpiece, revolutionising not just the way films are made, but how stories are told.
28 Days Later
Boyle and Garland's twist on the zombie genre may not technically involve zombies, but pedantry aside, it rivals Romero's own zombie films, both cinematically and allegorically.
39 Steps, The (1935)
What are the 39 Steps?
40-Year-Old Virgin, The
Steve Carell is a 40-year-old virgin. Yup. But Steve's still funny.
8½
Guido Anselmi tries to direct his latest film amidst a case of Director's Block.  Brilliant, but still not as good as I wanted it to be.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura is crazy, but that's the way I like it, baby.  The sequel, set in "Africa", is sub-par, but this film is very funny if you're in the right frame of mind.  Also look for Cannibal Corpse in the concert scene - they were Jim Carrey's favourite band at the time.
Airplane!
Satirical genius is all I'm gonna say. Satirical genius.
Amélie
Amélie is a shy waitress that likes to fix the lives of other people, but can't seem to get around to her own life. The film is just as whimsical and unique as its main character.
American Beauty
While American Beauty has a great point to make, it isn't quite as unique as it appears to believe.
American History X
Tony Kaye's film on racism in the US is smart, powerful, and continues to remain relevant over a decade later.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
If you've never seen Anvil before, stop reading this and go look for it. You will not be disappointed.
Any Given Sunday
Oliver Stone makes an American football movie that does a lot of shouting.  When it isn't shouting, it's an enjoyable watch.
Apocalypse Now
Traveling deeper into the jungle is traveling deeper into insanity.  An utterly remarkable piece of cinema that broke the back of a studio.
Asphalt Jungle, The
One of my favourite films.  It may not be the best ever or even Huston's best, but I just love it.  So much so that I can recite every single line.
Badlands
Terrence Malick's filmography is nearly flawless.  Badlands represents his first foray into feature-length direction, and as such is a little raw in parts, but it's still a wonderful film.
Batman Begins
Now this is a Batman film.  It's not perfect but it's a huge step above the rest of its kin.
Battle Royale

For all its violence, what stays with you after watching Battle Royale is the fact that it very clearly has something to say about humans and how society functions - and the inherent hilarity and tragedy of our species.
Big Lebowski, The
To be honest, this film gets more love than it deserves.  It's great, yes, but seriously, people are crazy about it.  Why?  I just don't know.
Really, what can I say about this. It's perfect.
Blade II
Del Toro took the stoic Blade and turned him into a cartoon.  Is that wrong?  Depends on whom you ask, but there's no doubt that he understands - and enjoys - his craft.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Mark Kermode, my favourite film critic (as long as he's not discussing me), hates Borat.  That's one of the few occasions in which I disagree with him, but I laughed my rear end off watching this. 
Capote
Carandiru
Realistic (in a good way and bad way) portrayal of the events leading up to the 1992 Carandiru massacre.  Must watch.  
Catch-22
Catch-22 has an odd quality.  I don't find it to be brilliant or terribly interesting, yet I keep finding myself going back to it...  and enjoying it.
Children of Men
Clive Owen plays the role of Neo-Noir hero surprisingly well, but the true star of the film is the one scene is which we follow an unfolding war scene without making a single cut.  Masterful.
Citizen Kane
Do I really need to say anything here?  If you want to understand film and its history, this is your first ticket.
Clerks
Clockwork Orange, A
Kubrick's social commentary set in a dystopian England is as disturbing as it is violent, with no relief for the viewer's concept of morality.
Crow, The
The first, and best, film of the series.  Visually arresting, dirty, and Brandon Lee's best, and last, performance.
Desperado
deUSYNLIGE
 Just go watch it.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove manages to deliver laughs, but what has made it last is that, for all the jokes, it's the truth behind them that stick. A true satire, in every sense of the word.
Dumb and Dumber
Following Dr. Strangelove is a film that serves as the polar opposite, relying on laughter at any cost over everything else; which isn't to say there isn't any depth—few final scenes in any film twist your insides as effectively.
Fight Club
Fistful of Dollars, A
Sergio Leone's first western is an attempt to reinvent the genre.
Fly (1986)
Four Lions
Frost/Nixon
Well-acted but better-directed, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprise their roles as David Frost and Richard Nixon, respectively, from the play of the same name.
I always enjoy watching Daniel Day Lewis. That's all I'm going to say here.
Godfather Part III, The
Good Bye Lenin!
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The
 Goodfellas
 Grave of the Fireflies
Great Dictator, The
When Charlie Chaplin's visionary masterpiece was released, people said its portrayal of Jewish treatment was hyperbolic, only to realise later that it, in fact, was not.  The tremendous risk Chaplin took in making this film manifested itself in multiple ways, but with hindsight, one can only view it as a success for humanity - though one that could not halt the self-serving extremism that continues to this day.
 Green Mile
Harvey
Jimmy Stewart has a 6'3.5" tall rabbit named Harvey.  Problem is, no one believes that.
 Heat
 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
History of Violence. A
The act of swiftly dispatching two criminals in self-defence reveals a dark truth.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The
Hollywoodland
 Hotel Rwanda
Howl's Moving Castle
 Hustler
Idiocracy
King of the Hill creator Mike Judge comes up with a great concept, but ultimately faulters as much as it succeeds.
if...
Il mio viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy)
Martin Scorsese looks at the history of Italian cinema.
In Cold Blood
Infamous
Infernal Affairs
I can't watch the English-language remake out of sheer respect for for this film.  And, really, Tony Leung and Andy Lau together on one screen?  Who needs Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio?
Infernal Affairs II
Infernal Affairs III

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
I chose to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers when I was ten, and it's given me nightmares ever since.
Ipcress File, The
Italian Job, The
Jackie Brown
Jeepers Creepers
Jerry Maguire
Jude
Kagemusha
Killing, The
 Kung Fu Hustle
L.A. Confidential
Lady from Shanghai, The
L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
Last of the Mohicans, The
Lawrence of Arabia
Little Red Flowers
Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville)
There is little here that is conventionally aesthetically pleasing, but it is so stylistic, that you can't help but marvel. Les Triplettes de Belleville true strength, however, is how it uses visuals, sound, and atmosphere to drive the story, rather than dialogue. Even if you don't speak French, you can watch it in its original language almost without missing a beat.
Logan's Run
Lolita (1962)
Lord of the Rings, The: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings, The: The Return of the King
Lord of the Rings, The: The Two Towers
Lord of War
It's always odd to see Hollywood movies have any sort of message that may polarise its audience, so we have to credit one when it does, and seek out its faults with moderation. 
 M
Mama (2013)
For a horror, I feel that most of Mama's scares are rather cheap, relying on all-too-worn tropes and loud soundscapes. Instead, what draws you in is the humanity of its two, young protagonists, and how they respond to both the affections and anger of a fragile and twisted mother.
Matrix, The
When I first watched The Matrix, I couldn't help viewing it as an allegory for my own lapsing belief in God.  We all see in it what we want, of course, so the decision of which pill to choose was, perhaps only to me, very much whether one is to open a history book and learn of his religion's past, or continue to live in the security of unadulterated ignorance.
  Memento
Metropolis
Millions
Mimic
Monsieur Verdoux
Monster's Ball
 Monty Python's Life of Brian
Utterly brilliant. If you've seen it, I need say no more. If you haven't, I can't justify it enough without creating over-expectations.
Moon
Duncan Jones' first feature is not only unique in its tale and the way it's told but, above all, shot perfectly from start to finish. Enough cannot be said about the cinematography.
The second part of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy isn't just one of the best from its home country, but one of the best of its generation. From the cinematography to the acting to the story-telling, the method is masterful.
Only Yesterday
Pan's Labyrinth
A life-changing film. Words cannot do Pan's Labyrinth justice. 
Just like Troll 2, it's so bad, it's good.
Princess Mononoke
Stunning cinematography layered over a wonderful tale. 
There is no equivalent to the original Producers. Not in theatre, and certainly not in film.
Psycho (1960)
Ran
Ratatouille
Recount
Riding Giants
Rules of the Game, The
Salò
Scarface (1983)
Seconds
Serenity
I adore Firefly, and although I wish I could have seen the events of Serenity take place over several seasons, it's still a wonderful bookend to a brilliant, inventive show, bringing me to tears every time.
A brilliant satire of reality television, the multi-layered storytelling of Series 7: The Contenders shows that it really could have succeeded in a longer format.
Seven Samurai
Shakes the Clown
The greatest alcoholic clown film ever made.
Shine
Shining, The
It's hard to justify another of Stanley Kubrick's masterpieces as a horror, since beyond the climax, the majority of the film (as a buildup to that climax) prefers more to observe a mind's fragmentation than invoke horror or terror in the viewer. Once you've experienced the frozen end, however, reliving it is a laborious task. As the final shot hints, Kubrick forces you to impotently watch as fate comes down on that empty hotel, relentless and unwavering.
Spider
Stalag 17
In spite of William Holden's Best Actor Academy Award, Stalag 17's best asset is its cast as a whole, whose chemistry turns this from a film about betrayal in a stalag to one about life in one.
Touch of Evil
Troll 2
Troll 2's place in cinematic history will always be assured, but thanks to how awful it is, not how good.  That does not mean it is without merit, however, because watching it, with its naive direction and amateurish, but admirable, acting, is always a joy.
Inferior to and less intelligent than the graphical novel, but still better than the other adaptations of Alan Moore's works (although that doesn't say much). Were this an original film, it may have been able to stand on its own, but there is a reason Moore refuses to associate himself with it: had he intended for it to be a film, he would have written it as such.
Vertigo
Year of the Dog
Peggy's (Molly Shannon) love of animals takes her down an increasingly extremist path.  Although this also a comedy, it can be hard to watch at times when Shannon makes you feel just as deeply invested in the outcome of her attempts to help animals as she herself.

Last updated: 2015.04.18

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