I’ve been looking closely at movies for a long time. And the practice has made me a vigorous list-maker.

Here’s a quick summary of the color-coding for these lists:

TREASURES:

Films that have profoundly inspired, influenced, and affected me. I want all of them in my personal collection for future reference. Why are they listed in red? They’re like Moses’ burning bush, always blazing, never consumed, and they’ve given me close encounters with something sacred.

FAVORITES:

Films I will probably never tire of revisiting, studying, sharing, and discussing. Why are they listed in purple? Among films, I consider them royalty.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Films worth seeing more than once, studying, sharing, and discussing. Why are they listed in blue? To a rain-soaked Seattle-dweller like myself, blue is a reason to celebrate.

DECENT / NOTEWORTHY:

Films worth seeing once, maybe twice, due to their strong points. Why are they so grey? They may be colorful while they’re playing, but they didn’t make a strong, lasting impression.

2021

      1. C’mon C’mon (tie with #2, #3)
      2. The Green Knight (tie)
      3. Pig (tie)
      4. The French Dispatch
      5. Summer of Soul
      6. The Worst Person in the World
      7. The Lost Daughter
      8. The Power of the Dog
      9. Dune
      10. Drive My Car
      11. Azor
      12. Spencer
      13. Annette
      14. Identifying Features
      15. Mass
      16. Quo Vadis, Aida?
      17. Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
      18. No Sudden Move
      19. Licorice Pizza
      20. The Father
      21. Passing
      22. Bergman Island
      23. Flee
      24. In the Heights (tie with #25)
      25. West Side Story (tie)
      26. Malignant
      27. Riders of Justice
      28. Judas and the Black Messiah
      29. The Card Counter
      30. Werewolves Within
      31. The Tragedy of Macbeth
      32. Last Night in Soho
      33. Little Fish
      34. Val
      35. The Lost Leonardo
      36. The Sparks Brothers
      37. The Velvet Underground
      38. The Humans
      39. The Last Duel
      40. Coda
      41. Shiva Baby
      42. Titane
      43. Together Together
      44. Wrath of Man
      45. Cruella
      46. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
      47. Shadow in the Cloud
      48. No Time to Die
      49. Stillwater
      50. The Mitchells and the Machines
      51. Luca
      52. Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
      53. Belfast
      54. Nine Days
      55. Tick, Tick… Boom!
      56. The Courier
      57. Zola
      58. A Quiet Place II
      59. Encanto
      60. King Richard

2020

    1. Nomadland
    2. Minari
    3. Small Axe: Lovers Rock
    4. Wolfwalkers
    5. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
    6. Shirley
    7. Emma
    8. First Cow
    9. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    10. Small Axe: Mangrove
    11. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
    12. Miss Juneteenth
    13. Da 5 Bloods
    14. Another Round
    15. Extra Ordinary
    16. Young Ahmed
    17. Driveways
    18. Sound of Metal
    19. Dick Johnson is Dead
    20. Vitalina Varela
    21. American Utopia
    22. The Vast of Night
    23. Shithouse
    24. Tenet
    25. The Invisible Man
    26. Rocks
    27. Tesla
    28. The Personal History of David Copperfield
    29. On the Rocks
    30. What Did Jack Do?
    31. Time
    32. Rewind
    33. Small Axe: Education
    34. Bad Education
    35. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
    36. Let Them All Talk
    37. The Quarry
    38. The Assistant
    39. The Willoughbys
    40. The Painter and the Thief
    41. My Octopus Teacher
    42. Soul

2019

      1. Amazing Grace
      2. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
      3. Little Women
      4. Black Mother
      5. Waves
      6. I Heard You Paint Houses
      7. They Shall Not Grow Old
      8. Honeyland
      9. Knives Out
      10. Us
      11. A Hidden Life
      12. Ash is Purest White
      13. The Lighthouse
      14. Penguin Highway
      15. Diane
      16. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
      17. Toy Story 4
      18. Wild Rose
      19. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
      20. Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce
      21. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
      22. Uncut Gems
      23. Parasite
      24. Light from Light
      25. Anima
      26. Her Smell
      27. High Life
      28. Apollo 11
      29. Woman at War
      30. Dark Waters
      31. One Child Nation
      32. Booksmart
      33. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
      34. The Two Popes
      35. Luce
      36. The Dead Don’t Die
      37. Maiden
      38. High Flying Bird
      39. Joker
      40. Strange Negotiations
      41. Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury

2018

      1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
      2. Paddington 2
      3. Eighth Grade
      4. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
      5. The Favourite
      6. 24 Frames
      7. Shoplifters
      8. Isle of Dogs
      9. The Rider
      10. Private Life
      11. Burning
      12. First Reformed
      13. You Were Never Really Here
      14. Leave No Trace
      15. The Death of Stalin
      16. November
      17. The Sisters Brothers
      18. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
      19. Three Identical Strangers
      20. Prospect
      21. Annihilation
      22. Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
      23. If Beale Street Could Talk
      24. Puzzle
      25. Roma
      26. Support the Girls
      27. Black Panther
      28. Mission: Impossible — Fallout
      29. Game Night
      30. BlacKkKlansman
      31. Sorry to Bother You
      32. Lean on Pete
      33. Incredibles 2
      34. Cold War
      35. First Man
      36. Let the Sunshine In
      37. Minding the Gap
      38. The Old Man and the Gun
      39. Nothing Like a Dame
      40. The Hate U Give

2017




      1. The Florida Project
      2. The Breadwinner
      3. The Big Sick
      4. Columbus
      5. A Quiet Passion
      6. The Lost City of Z
      7. mother! 
      8. Get Out
      9. Blade Runner 2049
      10. Star Wars, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
      11. The Unknown Girl
      12. Coco
      13. Faces Places
      14. Lady Bird
      15. Personal Shopper
      16. My Life as a Zucchini
      17. The LEGO Batman Movie
      18. Good Time
      19. World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts
      20. Song to Song
      21. Kedi
      22. T2: Trainspotting
      23. Wonder Woman
      24. The Trip to Spain
      25. Jane
      26. Baby Driver
      27. The Beguiled
      28. A Ghost Story
      29. Maudie
      30. Dunkirk
      31. Spider-Man: Homecoming

2016

      1. Cameraperson
      2. Paterson
      3. The Fits
      4. Silence
      5. Hell or High Water
      6. Fences
      7. Beyonce: Lemonade
      8. The BFG
      9. 13th
      10. Sing Street
      11. The Witch
      12. Love & Friendship
      13. The Innocents
      14. The Mermaid
      15. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
      16. Arrival
      17. Hail, Caesar!
      18. Loving
      19. 10 Cloverfield Lane
      20. Taxi
      21. Almost Holy
      22. The Lobster
      23. The Nice Guys
      24. Knight of Cups
      25. Doctor Strange
      26. Kubo and the Two Strings
      27. Everybody Wants Some!
      28. La La Land
      29. Eye in the Sky
      30. Krisha
      31. Moonlight
      32. Zootopia
      33. Midnight Special
      34. Finding Dory
      35. The Jungle Book
      36. Sully
      37. Green Room
      38. Manchester By the Sea
      39. Pete’s Dragon
      40. Last Days in the Desert

2015

timbuktu 3about elly 2

shadows

      1. Timbuktu
      2. About Elly
      3. What We Do in the Shadows
      4. Something, Anything
      5. Inside Out
      6. Mad Max: Fury Road
      7. Son of Saul
      8. Carol
      9. The Assassin
      10. The Salt of the Earth
      11. Brooklyn
      12. Love and Mercy
      13. 45 Years
      14. Horse Money
      15. Spotlight
      16. Mistress America
      17. Phoenix
      18. Experimenter
      19. Jauja
      20. Tangerine
      21. Girlhood
      22. Stations of the Cross
      23. Clouds of Sils Maria
      24. Bone Tomahawk
      25. Shaun the Sheep Movie
      26. Amour Fou
      27. Room
      28. Ex Machina
      29. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
      30. World of Tomorrow
      31. Trainwreck
      32. Cop Car
      33. ’71
      34. Paddington
      35. Blackhat
      36. Bridge of Spies
      37. Stop the Pounding Heart
      38. Slow West
      39. Macbeth

2014

the-strange-little-cat

selma2

Virunga-on-Netflix

      1. The Strange Little Cat
      2. Selma
      3. Two Days One Night
      4. The Immigrant
      5. Virunga
      6. The LEGO Movie
      7. The Grand Budapest Hotel
      8. Mr. Turner
      9. Boyhood
      10. Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
      11. Calvary
      12. Song of the Sea
      13. Inherent Vice
      14. Journey to the West
      15. A Most Wanted Man
      16. Only Lovers Left Alive
      17. Life Itself
      18. Foxcatcher
      19. Gloria
      20. As It Is In Heaven
      21. Leviathan
      22. Whiplash
      23. A Most Violent Year
      24. Gone Girl
      25. Noah
      26. Into the Woods
      27. Interstellar
      28. Jodorowsky’s Dune
      29. Blue Ruin
      30. Snowpiercer
      31. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1
      32. Edge of Tomorrow
      33. The Babadook
      34. Ida
      35. Muppets Most Wanted
      36. The Overnighters
      37. Finding Vivian Maier
      38. Locke
      39. Chef
      40. The Trip to Italy
      41. Birdman
      42. American Sniper
      43. Guardians of the Galaxy
      44. Under the Skin
      45. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

2013

This is Martin Bonner - Martin

Museum Hours 1

before-midnight2

      1. This Is Martin Bonner
      2. Museum Hours
      3. Before Midnight
      4. Upstream Color
      5. Leviathan
      6. The Past
      7. Like Someone in Love
      8. The Wolf of Wall Street
      9. Short Term 12
      10. Her
      11. The World’s End
      12. The Act of Killing
      13. Frances Ha
      14. To the Wonder
      15. Stories We Tell
      16. 12 Years a Slave
      17. Inside Llewyn Davis
      18. The Kings of Summer
      19. The Wind Rises
      20. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
      21. A Hijacking
      22. Captain Phillips
      23. The Counselor
      24. The Great Beauty
      25. Wrestling for Jesus: The Tale of T-Money*
      26. All is Lost
      27. Wolf Children
      28. Mud
      29. Fill the Void
      30. Beyond the Hills
      31. Lore
      32. Computer Chess
      33. American Hustle
      34. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
      35. The Great Gatsby
      36. Stoker
      37. The Way, Way Back
      38. 20 Feet from Stardom
      39. Much Ado About Nothing
      40. From Up on Poppy Hill 2011
      41. Enemy
      42. Monsters University
      43. Byzantium
      44. The Lone Ranger
      45. The Grandmaster
      46. Prince Avalanche
      47. The Spectacular Now
      48. Prisoners
      49. Philomena
      50. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
      51. Nebraska
      52. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
      53. Warm Bodies

 

2012

Moonrise Kingdom map readingJOAQUIN PHOENIX and PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN star in THE MASTER

Loneliest-Planet

      1. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson) – review
      2. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson) – review #1, review #2, and “On Difficult Films“
      3. The Loneliest Planet* (Julia Loktev) – review
      4. The Kid With a Bike* (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) – review
      5. Neighboring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil)
      6. Lincoln (Steven Spielberg) – review
      7. Holy Motors (Leos Carax) – review
      8. Margaret – The Extended Cut (Kenneth Lonergan)  – review
      9. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia* (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
      10. Amour (Michael Haneke) – review
      11. Brave (Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman) – review
      12. This is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi)*
      13. Barbara (Christian Petzold) – review
      14. Let the Bullets Fly* (Wen Jiang)
      15. The Queen of Versailles (Lauren Greenfield)
      16. Planet of Snail (Yi Seung-jun)
      17. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino) – review
      18. Anna Karenina (Joe Wright)
      19. Haywire* (Steven Soderbergh)
      20. Bernie* (Richard Linklater)
      21. The Cabin in the Woods* (Drew Goddard) – review
      22. The Deep Blue Sea* (Terence Davies)
      23. Marvel’s The Avengers (Joss Whedon) – review
      24. Safety Not Guaranteed (Colin Trevorrow)
      25. Skyfall (Sam Mendes) – review
      26. Jiro Dreams of Sushi* (David Gelb)
      27. The Secret World of Arrietty* (Hiromasa Yonebayashi)
      28. Sinister (Scott Derrickson) – review
      29. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
      30. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow)
      31. Life of Pi (Ang Lee)
      32. Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore)
      33. Argo (Ben Affleck) – review
      34. Elena* (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
      35. Take This Waltz* (Sarah Polley)
      36. Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard)
      37. Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos)
      38. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson) – reviews #1 & #2
      39. Alps* (Yorgos Lanthimos)
      40. Not Fade Away
      41. End of Watch
      42. Miss Bala* (Gerardo Naranjo)
      43. Arbitrage (Nicholas Jarecki)
      44. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)
      45. Blue Like Jazz (Steve Taylor) – review
      46. A Royal Affair (Nikolaj Arcel)
      47. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) – review 
      48. John Carter (Andrew Stanton) – review
      49. Chronicle (Josh Trank)
      50. Lawless (John Hillcoat)
      51. Frankenweenie (Burton)
      52. Looper (Rian Johnson)
      53. Your Sister’s Sister* (Lynn Shelton)

Honorable mention:

      • Damsels in Distress* (Whit Stillman)
      • ParaNorman (Sam Fell & Chris Butler)

2011

Certified Copy - stairs

treeoflife1

Pina

      1. Certified Copy*
      2. The Tree of Life (reviews)
      3. Pina* (review)
      4. A Separation*
      5. Of Gods and Men* (review)
      6. The Mill and the Cross
      7. Margaret
      8. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives* (review)
      9. Nostalgia for the Light*
      10. Mysteries of Lisbon*
      11. Tuesday, After Christmas*
      12. Buck
      13. Martha Marcy May Marlene (review)
      14. War Horse (review)
      15. The Muppets (review)
      16. Meek’s Cutoff* (review)
      17. Dogtooth*
      18. The Arbor*
      19. Attack the Block
      20. Drive (review)
      21. Hugo
      22. Bernie
      23. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
      24. Le Quattro Volte*
      25. Le Havre
      26. L’Apollonide (House of Pleasures)*
      27. Film Socialisme*
      28. The Trip
      29. Take Shelter
      30. Winnie the Pooh
      31. Win Win (review) (interview with Tom McCarthy)
      32. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (review)
      33. Poetry*
      34. Moneyball
      35. Beginners* (review)
      36. Summer Wars*
      37. Road to Nowhere*
      38. Submarine*
      39. Tyrannosaur*
      40. A Dangerous Method
      41. Twixt
      42. Rango
      43. Midnight in Paris
      44. Jane Eyre (review)
      45. Super 8
      46. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
      47. Contagion (review)

Honorable mention:

      • The Descendants
      • Higher Ground*
      • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
      • X-Men: First Class
      • Your Sister’s Sister*
      • First Position (review)
      • Source Code
      • Bridesmaids*
      • The Adventures of Tintin

2010

secret of kells1

toy story 3

      1. The Secret of Kells* (two-part review: Pt. 1, Pt. 2)
      2. Toy Story 3 (review)True Grit* (review)
      3. True Grit
      4. Winter’s Bone (review)
      5. The Social Network (review)
      6. Another Year* (some comments)
      7. The Sun*
      8. Mary & Max*
      9. Four Lions (a brief review)
      10. Waste Land (review)
      11. Lourdes*
      12. Babies (review)
      13. 35 Shots of Rum
      14. Please Give
      15. Somewhere*
      16. The King’s Speech (review)
      17. Carlos*
      18. Never Let Me Go (a brief review)
      19. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
      20. Cave of Forgotten Dreams* (review)
      21. The Oath
      22. Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky (2-part review)
      23. How to Train Your Dragon
      24. Shutter Island
      25. L’Illusioniste*
      26. I Am Love*
      27. The Exploding Girl
      28. Micmacs
      29. Exit Through the Gift Shop*
      • Inception (2-part review: Pt. 1, Pt. 2)
      • Rabbit Hole
      • Ondine
      • The Way Back*
      • The Kids Are All Right
      • Blue Valentine
      • The Ghost Writer
      • Let Me In
      • The Town
      • Animal Kingdom
      • Everything Must Go*
      • 127 Hours (review)
      • Tangled
      • Alice in Wonderland
      • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
      • Iron Man 2
      • Black Swan (review)
      • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader (review)
      • The Fighter (review)
      • Morning Glory
      • The Wolfman (review)
      • Incendies*
      • Greenberg
      • Stone (review)
      • The American
      • Rubber*

2009

helene-and-adrienne

munyurangabo2

Where-The-Wild-Things-Are jpg

      1. Summer Hours* (review)
      2. Munyurangabo* (review)
      3. Where the Wild Things Are (review)
      4. Up (review)
      5. Everlasting Moments*
      6. A Serious Man (review)
      7. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
      8. Coraline (review)
      9. In the City of Sylvia*
      10. Two Lovers*
      11. Lorna’s Silence* (review)
      12. Lake Tahoe*
      13. A Town Called Panic*
      14. The Girlfriend Experience
      15. Bright Star
      16. Gomorrah*
      17. The Beaches of Agnes*
      18. Phoebe in Wonderland*
      19. Moon
      20. Departures*
      21. Me and Orson Welles
      22. Duplicity
      23. Police, Adjective (review)
      24. District 9
      25. The Limits of Control (two-part review: Pt.1 , Pt. 2)
      26. Ponyo*
      27. The Secret In Their Eyes*
      28. The Song of Sparrows*
      29. Liverpool
      30. The Maid
      31. In the Loop
      32. The Road
      33. Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky (two-part review: Pt. 1, Pt. 2)
      34. Inglourious Basterds (two-part review: Pt. 1, Pt.2)
      35. 500 Days of Summer*
      36. Sweetgrass
      37. Invictus
      38. Get Low
      39. The White Ribbon*
      40. Alamar*
      41. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs*
      42. Red Riding: 1970
      43. Red Riding: 1984
      44. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
      45. Star Trek
      46. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      47. Public Enemies
      48. Away We Go
      49. The Hedgehog*
      50. Between the Folds*
      51. Avatar (review)
      52. An Education
      53. Up in the Air
      54. Tetro
      55. Fish Tank
      56. Oceans
      57. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
      58. The Informant!
      59. Sherlock Holmes
      60. Watchmen
      61. Thirst
      62. Drag Me to Hell
      63. Zombieland
      64. The Princess and the Frog
      65. That Evening Sun

2008

seraphine_3

ShotgunStories1

      1. Séraphine* (review)
      2. Shotgun Stories* (review)
      3. WALL•E
      4. Flight of the Red Balloon*
      5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days* (review)
      6. The Class
      7. Heartbeat Detector*
      8. Rachel Getting Married
      9. Man on Wire (review)
      10. Up the Yangtze*
      11. Let the Right One In (review)
      12. The Dark Knight
      13. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
      14. Times and Winds* (review)
      15. A Christmas Tale (review)
      16. Silent Light*
      17. Synecdoche, New York (interview with Charlie Kaufman)
      18. Doubt (some observations)
      19. Sparrow*
      20. Son of Rambow*
      21. Waltz With Bashir
      22. Yella*
      23. The Secret of the Grain* (review)
      24. In Bruges
      • Treeless Mountain*
      • Of Time and the City*
      • Julia*
      • Ballast
      • Goodbye, Solo*
      • Trouble the Water
      • Happy-Go-Lucky
      • Burn After Reading
      • Tropic Thunder
      • Awake My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp*
      • Iron Man
      • Still Walking
      • The Headless Woman
      • Food, Inc.
      • Hunger
      • Days and Clouds*
      • Kung Fu Panda
      • U23D
      • The Brothers Bloom
      • Redbelt
      • Revolutionary Road
      • Get Smart
      • The Hurt Locker
      • Mine (review)
      • Be Kind, Rewind (some observations)
      • Eldorado*
      • The Grocer’s Son*
      • Horton Hears aWho
      • Frozen River
      • Body of Lies
      • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
      • Troubled Water*
      • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
      • The Pineapple Express
      • Baghead
      • Slumdog Millionaire
      • Sunshine Cleaning
      • The Wrestler
      • Frost/Nixon (some observations)
      • Sugar
      • Vicky Cristina Barcelona
      • Call + Response
      • I’ve Loved You So Long
      • We Are Together*

2007

therewillbeblood1

mykidcouldpaintthat

ratatouille

No Country

      1. There Will Be Blood
      2. My Kid Could Paint That (review)
      3. Ratatouille
      4. No Country for Old Men
      5. Into Great Silence*
      6. Hot Fuzz
      7. Lars and the Real Girl
      8. I’m Not There
      9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
      10. The Devil Came on Horseback
      11. Ostrov (The Island)*
      12. Zodiac
      13. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
      14. Persepolis*
      15. Juno
      16. The Visitor*
      17. We Own the Night*

Honorable Mention:

      • Encounters at the End of the World *
      • Honeydripper* (some observations)
      • Eastern Promises
      • Secret Sunshine*
      • My Winnipeg*
      • Planet Terror
      • Heading South*
      • The Savages
      • No End in Sight
      • The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
      • La Vie En Rose
      • Into the Wild
      • The Simpsons Movie
      • Paranoid Park
      • The Band’s Visit*
      • Angel-A*
      • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
      • Gone Baby Gone
      • Bridge to Terabithia
      • Jindabyne*
      • Enchanted
      • Waitress
      • The Darjeeling Limited
      • Charlie Wilson’s War
      • Captain Achab*
      • Michael Clayton
      • The Orphanage
      • 3:10 to Yuma
      • The Bourne Ultimatum
      • Lust, Caution
      • Ben X
      • Margot at the Wedding
      • The Edge of Heaven
      • Chop Shop
      • Cassandra’s Dream
      • Breach
      • The Lookout
      • Ocean’s Thirteen
      • Death Proof
      • Knocked Up
      • Dan in Real Life
      • Atonement
      • In the Valley of Elah
      • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
      • Eagle Vs. Shark

2006

Little Children4

      1. Children of Men
      2. Pan’s Labyrinth
      3. Little Children
      4. L’Enfant
      5. Paprika
      6. Once
      7. Syndromes and a Century
      8. Three Times*
      9. Army of Shadows*
      10. The Lives of Others
      11. Little Miss Sunshine
      12. Paris Je T’aime
      13. United 93
      14. Miami Vice
      15. The Queen
      16. Babel
      17. This is England
      18. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
      19. Still Life*
      20. Casino Royale
      21. The Prestige
      22. The Science of Sleep
      23. The Departed
      24. Stranger Than Fiction
      25. The Host
      26. Cars
      27. Marie Antoinette

Honorable Mention:

      • The Fall
      • Half Nelson
      • The Painted Veil
      • A Prairie Home Companion (review)
      • Letters from Iwo Jima
      • Marie Antoinette
      • Offside
      • Away from Her
      • When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
      • The Namesake
      • Amazing Grace (review)
      • Inland Empire
      • The Illusionist
      • Tell No One*
      • The Wind that Shakes the Barley*
      • Rescue Dawn*
      • The Fountain
      • Old Joy
      • A Scanner Darkly (review)
      • Flags of Our Fathers
      • Private Fears in Public Places
      • Longford
      • Climates
      • Inside Man
      • Perfume: Story of a Murderer
      • Black Snake Moan
      • Manufactured Landscapes
      • Volver
      • Bella
      • Monster House
      • For Your Consideration
      • God Grew Tired of Us
      • The Black Dahlia
      • Mission: Impossible III
      • The Devil Wears Prada
      • Wordplay
      • Notes on a Scandal
      • Penelope (review)
      • Fay Grim
      • The Second Chance
      • Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
      • Akeelah and the Bee

2005

newworld-morningworship-lake

      1. The New World* (2nd review)
      2. Junebug
      3. A History of Violence (review)
      4. Mirrormask (review)
      5. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
      6. Munich
      7. Caché
      8. Brick
      9. The Proposition*
      10. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu*
      11. Batman Begins
      12. Pride and Prejudice
      13. Capote
      14. Broken Flowers
      15. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
      16. Serenity
      17. Star Wars, Episode Three – Revenge of the Sith
      18. Last Days
      19. The White Diamond*
      20. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
      21. Grizzly Man
      22. Match Point

Honorable Mention:

      • Joyeux Noël*
      • Kingdom of Heaven
      • The Ballad of Jack and Rose
      • Sweet Land*
      • Adam’s Apples
      • Good Night and Good Luck
      • Don’t Come Knocking
      • The Exorcism of Emily Rose 
      • The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada*
      • Blue in Green*
      • March of the Penguins
      • Corpse Bride
      • The Squid and the Whale
      • Thank You for Smoking
      • Walk the Line
      • Touch the Sound*
      • 49 Up
      • Everything is Illuminated
      • Bubble
      • Heading South
      • Tsotsi*
      • Brokeback Mountain
      • Syriana
      • Lassie
      • Shopgirl
      • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
      • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
      • Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
      • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
      • The Descent
      • The Puffy Chair
      • Murderball
      • War of the Worlds
      • The Constant Gardener
      • In Her Shoes
      • Duma

2004

The Return

millions-3

eternalsunshine2

gincre07

      1. The Incredibles
      2. The Return*
      3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
      4. Millions
      5. The Motorcycle Diaries
      6. Birth
      7. Before Sunset
      8. Born Into Brothels
      9. Shaun of the Dead
      10. Songs from the Second Floor*
      11. Tony Takitani*
      12. Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow
      13. Spider-man 2
      14. The Taste of Tea* (review)
      15. Mean Creek
      16. The Bourne Supremacy
      17. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
      18. The World
      19. Primer
      20. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
      21. Napoleon Dynamite
      22. Vera Drake
      23. Million Dollar Baby
      24. Hotel Rwanda
      25. Howl’s Moving Castle*
      26. Dear Frankie

Honorable Mention:

      • Nobody Knows
      • Kill Bill, Volume Two
      • Downfall
      • Saved!
      • Land of Plenty
      • Ocean’s Twelve
      • Sideways
      • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
      • House of Flying Daggers
      • Collateral
      • The Passion of the Christ
      • THX 1138: Director’s Cut
      • I Heart Huckabees
      • The Aviator
      • The Manchurian Candidate
      • Since Otar Left*
      • Closer
      • Finding Neverland
      • Strings
      • The Village
      • America’s Heart and Soul (review) (interview)
      • We Don’t Live Here Anymore
      • Maria Full of Grace
      • In Good Company
      • Intimate Strangers
      • Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
      • Shrek 2
      • Super-Size Me
      • Yes
      • Bride and Prejudice
      • Hellboy
      • Kung Fu Hustle
      • As It Is In Heaven
      • Garden State
      • A Very Long Engagement (review)
      • Undertow
      • Melinda and Melinda
      • Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
      • Ray
      • Winter Solstice
      • Hawaii, Oslo*
      • Mean Girls

2003

Finding Nemo1

stationagent

Lost in Translation

      1. Finding Nemo
      2. The Station Agent
      3. Lost in Translation
      4. The Five Obstructions*
      5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
      6. Dogville*
      7. Time of the Wolf*
      8. The Story of the Weeping Camel*
      9. Café Lumiere
      10. Pieces of April
      11. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
      12. Last Life in the Universe
      13. X2: X-Men United
      14. American Splendor (review)
      15. The Triplets of Bellville
      16. The Best of Youth*
      17. Goodbye, Dragon Inn*
      18. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
      19. Whale Rider
      20. The Fog of War
      21. Kill Bill, Vol. 1
      22. Lost in La Mancha

Honorable Mention:

      • Lost in La Mancha
      • I Capture the Castle
      • All the Real Girls
      • A Mighty Wind (review)
      • The Saddest Music in the World
      • Crimson Gold
      • Thirteen
      • Down With Love
      • Matchstick Men
      • Touching the Void
      • Coffee and Cigarettes
      • The Dreamers
      • Cold Mountain
      • The Barbarian Invsions
      • Intolerable Cruelty
      • Open Range
      • Girl with a Pearl Earring
      • Spring Summer Fall Winter…and Spring
      • Shattered Glass
      • Holes
      • Peter Pan
      • The Matrix Revolutions
      • House of Sand and Fog
      • The Human Stain
      • Levity
      • Monster
      • Swimming Pool
      • Love Actually
      • Northfork

2002

      1. The Son*
      2. Punch-drunk Love
      3. Stevie*
      4. In America*
      5. Hero*
      6. Naked*
      7. The Pianist
      8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
      9. Distant*
      10. Italian for Beginners*
      11. The Rookie
      12. 28 Days Later…* (review)
      13. Dirty Pretty Things*
      14. Catch Me If You Can
      15. Adaptation (review)
      16. Spellbound*
      17. Whale Rider
      18. To Be and To Have
      19. Stone Reader*
      20. The Quiet American
      21. The Man on the Train
      22. Infernal Affairs*
      23. The Bourne Identity
      24. City of God*
      25. Russian Ark
      26. Personal Velocity: Three Portraits

Honorable Mention:

      • The Lady and the Duke*
      • Signs
      • Gangs of New York
      • Bus 174
      • Far from Heaven
      • The Man Without a Past
      • Springtime in a Small Town
      • 25th Hour
      • About a Boy
      • Sunshine State
      • In This World
      • The Hours
      • Ice Age
      • The Secret Lives of Dentists
      • Bowling for Columbine
      • OT: Our Town
      • Changing Lanes
      • Derrida
      • Frida
      • Raising Victor Vargas
      • I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
      • Insomnia
      • Lilo and Stitch
      • Morvern Callar
      • Minority Report
      • All or Nothing
      • 8 Women
      • Spider-man
      • Star Wars, Episode Two: Attack of the Clones
      • Max
      • Panic Room
      • Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary
      • Rabbit-Proof Fence
      • Road to Perdition
      • Roger Dodger
      • Ripley’s Game
      • The Good Girl
      • Enemy at the Gates
      • The Truth About Charlie
      • 24 Hour Party People
      • Solaris (dir. Soderbergh)

2001

      1. Code Unknown*
      2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
      3. Gosford Park
      4. Spirited Away*
      5. The Gleaners and I*
      6. The Royal Tenenbaums
      7. Amélie (review)
      8. Werckmeister Harmonies*
      9. Lantana
      10. Moulin Rouge!
      11. Mulholland Drive
      12. Waking Life
      13. The Devil’s Backbone
      14. Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working in Time
      15. In the Mood for Love*
      16. Donnie Darko
      17. Zoolander
      18. Flowers of Shanghai* (DVD release)
      19. Metropolis*
      20. Monsoon Wedding*
      21. Ghost World
      22. Time Out
      23. Memento*
      24. A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) (review)
      25. The Circle*
      26. The Widow of St. Pierre*
      27. The Road Home*
      28. What Time Is It There?
      29. In the Bedroom
      30. Last Orders
      31. Monster’s Inc.
      32. Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)*
      33. The Son’s Room

Honorable Mention:

      • The Others
      • The Man Who Wasn’t There
      • Y Tu Mama Tambien*
      • Iris
      • Ocean’s 11
      • Wit
      • Heist
      • Winged Migration
      • Shrek
      • The Pledge
      • Black Hawk Down
      • Lovely and Amazing
      • Mostly Martha
      • The Believer
      • Training Day
      • Hearts in Atlantis
      • The Shipping News
      • Blow
      • The Deep End
      • Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
      • Jurassic Park III
      • Bridget Jones’s Diary
      • Crazy/beautiful
      • The Cat’s Meow

2000

      1. The Decalog* (USA DVD release)
      2. Yi-Yi
      3. Almost Famous (review)
      4. The Wind Will Carry Us*
      5. The Emperor’s New Groove
      6. Beau Travail*
      7. You Can Count On Me
      8. The Virgin Suicides
      9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
      10. High Fidelity
      11. Wonder Boys
      12. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai*
      13. The Color of Paradise*
      14. Best in Show
      15. Unbreakable
      16. Sexy Beast
      17. Erin Brockovich
      18. George Washington
      19. Pollock
      20. The House of Mirth
      21. The Big Kahuna
      22. X-Men
      23. Not of This World (Fuori Dal Mondo)*
      24. O Brother, Where Art Thou
      25. Amores Perros*
      26. Croupier*
      27. Dancer in the Dark*
      28. Chicken Run
      29. Divided We Fall
      30. The Vertical Ray of the Sun*

Honorable Mention:

      • The Million Dollar Hotel
      • With a Friend Like Harry…
      • The King is Alive
      • State and Main
      • American Movie*
      • Cast Away
      • Thirteen Days
      • The Dish*
      • Tully
      • Billy Eliot
      • Girl on the Bridge*
      • Traffic
      • Bread and Tulips
      • Chocolat
      • Hamlet (Michael Almereyda)
      • Return to Me
      • Under the Sand
      • Shaft
      • Shadow of the Vampire
      • The Way of the Gun
      • Gladiator
      • Requiem for a Dream
      • Nurse Betty
      • Timecode
      • Girlfight
      • Small Time Crooks
      • American Psycho
      • Pitch Black

1999

      1. The Insider
      2. Toy Story 2
      3. The Iron Giant
      4. Magnolia
      5. Close-up* (1990, but U.S. release in 1999)
      6. The Dreamlife of Angels
      7. Rosetta
      8. Three Kings
      9. Being John Malkovich
      10. Eyes Wide Shut
      11. Limbo
      12. Mansfield Park
      13. The Limey
      14. The Straight Story
      15. The Talented Mr. Ripley
      16. Topsy Turvy
      17. eXistenZ
      18. The Sixth Sense
      19. Ride With The Devil
      20. Galaxy Quest
      21. Cradle Will Rock
      22. Man on the Moon
      23. The Matrix
      24. After Life*
      25. Run Lola Run*
      26. Fight Club

Honorable Mention:

      • Snow Falling on Cedars
      • Star Wars, Episode One – The Phantom Menace
      • Titus
      • Twin Falls, Idaho
      • Summer of Sam
      • Sweet and Lowdown
      • The Winslow Boy
      • South Park: South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
      • October Sky
      • Office Space
      • Buena Vista Social Club
      • Dogma
      • Cookie’s Fortune
      • Shower
      • Boys Don’t Cry
      • Sleepy Hollow
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream
      • The Thomas Crown Affair
      • Bringing Out the Dead
      • American Beauty (review)
      • Holy Smoke!
      • Guinevere
      • Notting Hill

1998

      1. Out of Sight
      2. The Thin Red Line
      3. The Last Days of Disco
      4. The Truman Show
      5. The Celebration
      6. Henry Fool
      7. Dark City
      8. Saving Private Ryan
      9. The Big Lebowski
      10. Rushmore
      11. Kiki’s Delivery Service
      12. Autumn Tale
      13. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
      14. Shakespeare In Love
      15. The General
      16. The Prince of Egypt
      17. Antz
      18. Babe: Pig In The City
      19. A Bug’s Life
      20. Men With Guns
      21. Insomnia
      22. Happiness
      23. The Butcher Boy
      24. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
      25. 42 Up
      • Smoke Signals
      • Ever After
      • Central Station
      • Elizabeth
      • Ronin
      • The Book of Life
      • Pi
      • Mulan
      • Enemy of the State
      • Gods And Monsters
      • A Simple Plan
      • Hilary and Jackie

1997

      1. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
      2. The Apostle
      3. The Ice Storm
      4. Princess Mononoke*
      5. Henry Fool
      6. L.A. Confidential
      7. Good Will Hunting
      8. Grosse Pointe Blank
      9. The Fifth Element
      10. The Sweet Hereafter
      11. A Taste of Cherry*
      12. The Children of Heaven
      13. Boogie Nights
      14. The Butcher Boy
      15. Gattaca
      16. Men in Black
      17. Donnie Brasco
      18. Face/Off
      19. Breakdown
      20. Chasing Amy
      21. Life is Beautiful
      22. The Spanish Prisoner
      23. The End of Violence
      24. Mrs. Brown
      25. Jackie Brown

Honorable Mention:

      • The Boxer
      • Titanic
      • Mrs. Dalloway
      • Ulee’s Gold
      • Fairytale: A True Story
      • Amistad (review)
      • Eve’s Bayou As Good as It Gets
      • Wag the Dog
      • Deconstructing Harry
      • Affliction
      • The Game
      • Men with Guns
      • Open Your Eyes
      • Sunday
      • Insomnia
      • Career Girls
      • Cop Land
      • Anastasia

1996

      1. Secrets and Lies
      2. Fargo
      3. La Promesse*
      4. Ponette*
      5. Waiting for Guffman
      6. Flirting with Disaster
      7. Trainspotting
      8. Lone Star
      9. Dead Man
      10. Bottle Rocket
      11. Big Night
      12. Basquiat
      13. Mars Attacks!
      14. Breaking the Waves
      15. The Pillow Book
      16. James and the Giant Peach
      17. Mission: Impossible
      18. Hamlet (dir. Kenneth Branagh)
      19. When We Were Kings*
      20. The Whole Wide World
      21. Sling Blade
      22. Paradise Lost: The Child murders at Robin Hood Hills
      23. Shall We Dance?
      24. Shine
      25. Everyone Says I Love You
      26. The Crucible

Honorable Mention:

      • The Cable Guy
      • Jerry McGuire
      • Stealing Beauty
      • The King of Masks
      • The English Patient
      • Romeo + Juliet
      • The Portrait of a Lady
      • Looking for Richard
      • Emma
      • Fly Away Home
      • Jude

1995

      1. Heat
      2. Before Sunrise
      3. Sense And Sensibility
      4. Smoke
      5. Toy Story
      6. Dead Man Walking
      7. Babe
      8. Safe
      9. The City of Lost Children
      10. Seven
      11. Kicking and Screaming
      12. The Usual Suspects
      13. A Little Princess
      14. Rob Roy
      15. Persuasion
      16. 12 Monkeys
      17. Casino
      18. The Addiction
      19. Get Shorty
      20. Clueless
      21. Ulysses’ Gaze
      22. Clockers
      23. Crimson Tide
      24. The Quick and the Dead

Honorable Mention:

      • Living in Oblivion
      • Leaving Las Vegas
      • Devil In A Blue Dress
      • Apollo 13
      • Blue in the Face
      • Nixon
      • To Die For
      • Nelly and Monsieur Arnuad
      • Richard III
      • The Underneath
      • Angels and Insects
      • Sabrina

1994

      1. Three Colors: Red
      2. Pulp Fiction
      3. Three Colors: White
      4. The Hudsucker Proxy
      5. Chungking Express*
      6. Exotica*
      7. Quiz Show
      8. Hoop Dreams
      9. The Secret of Roan Inish*
      10. Nobody’s Fool
      11. Vanya on 42nd Street
      12. To Live
      13. Bullets Over Broadway
      14. Eat Drink Man Woman
      15. Burnt by the Sun*
      16. The Kingdom
      17. Before the Rain*
      18. Ed Wood
      19. Nadja
      20. Natural Born Killers
      21. Heavenly Creatures
      22. The Professional (Leon: The Professional)
      23. What Happened Was…
      24. The Madness of King George
      25. Interview with the Vampire

Honorable Mention:

      • Barcelona
      • The Shawshank Redemption
      • Speed
      • Shallow Grave
      • Queen Margot
      • Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
      • Il Postino*
      • Immortal Beloved
      • The Mask
      • Crumb*
      • Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear)
      • Clerks
      • Amateur
      • Black Beauty
      • Tom and Viv
      • Swimming with Sharks
      • Death and the Maiden

1993

      1. Three Colors: Blue
      2. My Neighbor Totoro*
      3. The Long Day Closes*
      4. Naked
      5. Schindler’s List
      6. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
      7. The Nightmare Before Christmas
      8. The Piano
      9. In the Name of the Father
      10. Fearless
      11. The Remains of the Day
      12. Grave of the Fireflies*
      13. Ruby in Paradise
      14. The Fugitive
      15. King of the Hill
      16. Short Cuts
      17. Mad Dog and Glory
      18. The Age of Innocence
      19. Jurassic Park
      20. Farewell, My Concubine
      21. The Secret Garden
      22. Groundhog Day
      23. Faraway So Close!
      24. True Romance
      25. The Thing Called Love
      26. Map of the Human Heart
      27. The Snapper
      28. The Joy Luck Club

Honorable Mention:

      • Menace II Society
      • The Scent of Green Papaya
      • Searching for Bobby Fischer
      • The Wedding Banquet
      • Carlito’s Way
      • Much Ado About Nothing
      • The Joy Luck Club
      • Tombstone
      • A Bronx Tale
      • The Sandlot
      • Kalifornia
      • Manhattan Murder Mystery
      • Shadowlands

1992

      1. Unforgiven
      2. A River Runs Through It
      3. The Crying Game
      4. Passion Fish
      5. Into the West
      6. Strictly Ballroom
      7. Glengarry Glen Ross
      8. Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography
      9. The Player
      10. Baraka
      11. Bob Roberts
      12. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
      13. Red Rock West
      14. Brother’s Keeper
      15. Husbands and Wives
      16. Howard’s End
      17. Enchanted April
      18. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
      19. Patriot Games
      20. One False Move
      21. Batman Returns
      22. Gas Food Lodging
      23. Monster in a Box
      24. Deep Cover

Honorable Mention:

      • Malcolm X
      • A Midnight Clear
      • Un Coeur en hiver
      • American Heart
      • Leap of Faith
      • Reservoir Dogs
      • Bad Lieutenant
      • Of Mice and Men
      • Simple Men
      • Chaplin
      • Mac
      • Porco Rosso
      • Damage
      • Like Water for Chocolate
      • Waterland
      • The Muppet Christmas Carol
      • The Lover

1991

      1. The Double Life of Veronique
      2. The Fisher King
      3. Barton Fink
      4. Delicatessen
      5. The Silence of the Lambs
      6. Raise the Red Lantern
      7. Flirting
      8. 35 Up
      9. Close to Eden
      10. Beauty and the Beast
      11. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
      12. Until the End of the World
      13. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
      14. La Belle Noiseuse
      15. My Own Private Idaho
      16. JFK
      17. The Commitments
      18. Grand Canyon
      19. L.A. Story
      20. The Adjuster
      21. Proof
      22. The Doors
      23. The Addams Family
      24. Fried Green Tomatoes
      25. Impromptu

1990

      1. Miller’s Crossing
      2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
      3. Metropolitan
      4. Edward Scissorhands
      5. GoodFellas
      6. Dances with Wolves
      7. Wild at Heart
      8. Cry Baby
      9. The Hairdresser’s Husband
      10. Cyrano de Bergerac
      11. Jacob’s Ladder
      12. The Godfather Part III
      13. The Sheltering Sky
      14. After Dark, My Sweet
      15. Henry and June
      16. Hamlet
      17. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
      18. La Femme Nikita
      19. Joe Versus the Volcano
      20. Trust
      21. Mr. And Mrs Bridge
      22. Vincent and Theo
      23. Dick Tracy
      24. Eating

1989

      1. Do the Right Thing
      2. The Unbelievable Truth
      3. Henry V
      4. The ‘Burbs
      5. Crimes and Misdemeanors
      6. Dead Poets Society
      7. The Abyss
      8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
      9. sex, lies, and videotape
      10. Heathers
      11. The Fabulous Baker Boys
      12. Mystery Train
      13. My Left Foot
      14. Glory
      15. When Harry Met Sally
      16. Say Anything
      17. Sea of Love
      18. Roger and Me

Honorable Mention:

      • Parenthood
      • Drugstore Cowboy
      • Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
      • Back to the Future, Part 2
      • Field of Dreams
      • Batman
      • Lethal Weapon 2

1988

      1. Midnight Run
      2. Die Hard
      3. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
      4. Dangerous Liaisons
      5. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
      6. The Last Temptation of Christ
      7. A Fish Called Wanda
      8. Running on Empty
      9. The Accidental Tourist
      10. The Thin Blue Line
      11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
      12. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
      13. Beetlejuice
      14. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka
      15. Tin Toy
      16. The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
      17. Frantic
      18. Big
      19. Rain Man
      20. Mississippi Burning
      21. The Chocolate War
      22. Shoot to Kill
      23. Married to the Mob
      24. The Vanishing

1987

      1. Wings of Desire
      2. Babette’s Feast
      3. Raising Arizona
      4. Empire of the Sun
      5. The Princess Bride
      6. Roxanne
      7. The Dead
      8. The Last Emperor
      9. Good Morning, Vietnam
      10. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
      11. Swimming to Cambodia
      12. Full Metal Jacket
      13. No Way Out
      14. River’s Edge
      15. The Untouchables
      16. Broadcast News
      17. Au Revoir, Les Enfants
      18. Hope and Glory
      19. House of Games
      20. Radio Days
      21. Pathfinder
      22. Moonstruck
      23. Innerspace
      24. Robocop
      25. The Glass Menagerie
      26. 84 Charing Cross Road

1986

      1. Down by Law
      2. Hannah and Her Sisters
      3. The Sacrifice
      4. The Mission
      5. Aliens
      6. The Mosquito Coast
      7. Manon of the Spring
      8. Jean de Florette
      9. Blue Velvet
      10. Castle in the Sky
      11. True Stories
      12. Stand by Me
      13. Three Amigos!
      14. Labyrinth
      15. 28 Up
      16. Manhunter
      17. Man Facing Southeast
      18. Platoon
      19. The Color of Money
      20. Big Trouble in Little China
      21. Mona Lisa
      22. Little Shop of Horrors
      23. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
      24. Top Gun
      25. Hoosiers

1985

      1. A Room with a View
      2. Brazil
      3. Ran
      4. Witness
      5. Ladyhawke
      6. Blood Simple
      7. After Hours
      8. Back to the Future
      9. Legend
      10. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
      11. The Color Purple
      12. Fletch
      13. The Purple Rose of Cairo
      14. Better Off Dead
      15. My Life as a Dog
      16. The Company of Wolves
      17. The Breakfast Club
      18. Silverado

1984

      1. Amadeus
      2. Paris, Texas
      3. Top Secret!
      4. This is Spinal Tap
      5. Gremlins
      6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
      7. The Terence Davies Trilogy*
      8. Stranger Than Paradise
      9. Stop Making Sense
      10. Birdy
      11. The Terminator
      12. The Brother from Another Planet
      13. A Passage to India
      14. Ghostbusters
      15. The Karate Kid
      16. Starman
      17. Dune
      18. The Gods Must Be Crazy*

1983

      1. Zelig
      2. Tender Mercies
      3. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
      4. Koyaanisqatsi – Life Out of Balance
      5. Fanny and Alexander
      6. The King of Comedy
      7. Never Cry Wolf
      8. A Christmas Story
      9. The Right Stuff
      10. The Big Chill
      11. Local Hero
      12. Scarface
      13. The Hunger
      14. Vacation

1982

      1. Blade Runner
      2. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
      3. The Dark Crystal
      4. The Thing
      5. Tron
      6. Tootsie
      7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
      8. The Secret of NIMH
      9. The Road Warrior
      10. The Last Metro
      11. The Year of Living Dangerously
      12. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

Honorable Mention: The Man from Snowy River, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Poltergeist, The Plague Dogs

1981

      1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
      2. Chariots of Fire
      3.  The Great Muppet Caper
      4.  My Dinner with Andre
      5.  Gallipoli
      6.  Time Bandits
      7. The Last Metro
      8. The Fox and the Hound
      9. Dragonslayer

Honorable Mention: Excalibur, The Postman Always Rings Twice

1980

      1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
      2. The Elephant Man
      3. Raging Bull
      4. Gates of Heaven
      5. The Shining
      6. Airplane!
      7. Popeye
      8. The Blues Brothers

Honorable Mention: Stardust Memories, Altered States, Flash Gordon

1970s

      • Treasures: The Mirror, Apocalypse Now, The Muppet Movie, Alien, Waterhip Down, Stalker, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, Taxi Driver, Star Wars, The Black Stallion, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Days of Heaven, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Black Stallion
      • Favorites: Annie Hall, Killer of Sheep, All the President’s Men, Eraserhead, Network, Marathon Man, Love and Death, Jaws, The Godfather, Solaris, Sleeper, Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Badlands, The Exorcist, Harold and Maude, Claire’s Knee, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Last Picture Show, A Clockwork Orange, Cries and Whispers, The Ruling Class, The Long Goodbye, A Woman Under the Influence, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, F is for Fake, Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro, The Jerk, Being There, Manhattan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV), The Hobbit (1977)
      • Achievements: 21 Up, The Rescuers, The Man Who Would Be King, M*A*S*H, THX 1138, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Sting, Mean Streets, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Robin Hood, Don’t Look Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Three Days of the Condor, Mikey and Nicky, Assault on Precinct 13, The Last Wave, The American Friend, Suspiria, High Anxiety, Soldier of Orange, The Deer Hunter, Superman, Interiors, The Last Waltz, Norma Rae, Wise Blood,  Camera Buff, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Mad Max, Barry Lyndon, Pete’s Dragon
      • Decent / Noteworthy Films: The Lord of the Rings

1920s-1960s

Here are the current (but occasionally updated) lists of my favorite films from the 1960s back through the 1920s. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about these decades. But give me a break… I wasn’t born until 1970, and didn’t start really exploring cinema until I was in college. I’m working forwards and backwards at the same time, following my curiosity.

•

1960s

      • Treasures: La Jetee (1962), Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Andrei Rublev (1969)
      • Favorites: A Man for All Seasons (1966), Simon of the Desert (1969), Playtime (1967), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Wait Until Dark (1967), The Sound of Music (1965), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Lord of the Flies (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TV) (1966), Army of Shadows (1969), The Graduate (1967), 8 1/2 (1962), Winter Light (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
      • Achievements: Night of the Living Dead (1968), My Fair Lady (1967), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Wild Bunch (1969), True Grit (1969), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), Yojimbo (1961)
      • Decent / Noteworthy Films: tbd

1950s

      • Treasures: Ordet (1955), Tokyo Story (1953), Ikiru (1952), The Red Balloon (1956), One Froggy Evening (1955), The Ladykillers (1955)
      • Favorites: The Seven Samurai (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Diary of a Country Priest (1951), Pather Panchali (1955), A Man Escaped (1956), Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), Peter Pan (1953), Paths of Glory (1957), 12 Angry Men (1957), Rashomon (1950), The 400 Blows (1959), Lady and the Tramp (1955), The Searchers (1956), To Catch a Thief (1955), Duck Amuck (1953), Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
      • Achievements: Alice in Wonderland (1951), Some Like It Hot (1959), Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Moon is Blue (1953), White Mane (1953), The Earrings of Madame de… (1953), North by Northwest (1959), Touch of Evil (1958), Hidden Fortress (1958), The Ten Commandments (1956), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Glen or Glenda? (1953)
      • Decent / Noteworthy Films: tbd

1940s

      • Treasures: The Red Shoes (1948), Pinocchio (1940), La Belle et la Bête (1946), Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
      • Favorites: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Day of Wrath (1943), Fantasia (1940), Bambi (1942), Double Indemnity (1944), Citizen Kane (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Brief Encounter (1945), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
      • Achievements: The Big Clock (1948), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), The Third Man (1949), Dumbo (1941)
      • Decent / Noteworthy Films: tbd

1930s

  • Treasures: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  • Favorites: Grand Illusion (1937), Stagecoach (1939), Modern Times (1936)
  • Achievements: M (1931)
  • Decent / Noteworthy Films: tbd

1920s

  • Treasures: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Man With the Movie Camera (1929)
  • Favorites: Metropolis (1927), Peter Pan (1924)
  • Achievements: Battleship Potemkin (1925), The Gold Rush (1925), Sherlock Jr. (1924), Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1923), The Kid (1921), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)