My latest top 100, ranked in order,
with brief write-ups
and the difference from my last official top 100 (2013). "return" means the film is reappearing after a longer absence from my top 100.
1. Spirited Away
Surprise!
Why is it my favorite? Because no matter how many times I watch it, it is always fascinating, I always consider something new, I am always thrilled by the outcome and I am stirred by Chihiro's personal growth.
2. The Double Life of Veronique
The mystery is deep with this one, as is the sensuality of music and the touching of trees.
3. The Mission
Probably the film that most reflects my life. Minus the swordplay. Well, with minimal swordplay. A great adventure of the spirit.
4. Finding Nemo
When I first watched it I felt it was adequate, for a kid's film. But this one, more than any other, had characters and depths that rewarded this parent's forced rewatches than the other films my toddlers inflicted upon me.
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaa is my hero of standing up for the weak, whether her own people or strange animals/insects or the ecosystem. Bold and wise, balancing personal sacrifice and helping those around her, she is the one I wish I could have counselling me through life.
6. A Serious Man +25
The film that best and humorously examines our search for the meaning of life.
7. Princess Mononoke +2
There ain't no good guys, there ain't no bad guys, there's only you and me... and we are both fighting for our way of life.
8. Rear Window -1
A perfectly executed film about being a busybody.
9. To Kill a Mockingbird +5
It is the hardest project to create a solid film adaptation from a perfect book, but they did it. The attempt to be a good man in the midst of a bad system is perfectly displayed. Gregory Peck plays the best father ever shown on film.
10. The Tree of Life +26
There are two moral forces in the universe: nature and grace. It is not possible to find this truth in a more beautiful package.
11. Red Beard +3
It is not enough to work, or even to work well. We must work with the ideal of benefiting others at all times.
12. Schindler’s List
Another perfect film, showing how an amoral capitalist can grow up to become fully human.
13. Lawrence of Arabia -2
A charming, self-important SOB, and how his self-confidence is used to change the world. Every scene is as big as the universe-- watch on the largest screen possible.
14. Mary Poppins +1
While Mary is practically perfect in every way, this film is not, but it is charming and wonderful and every song is delightful and damnably catchy. All this, plus nostalgia, too.
15. Malcolm X +1
Denzel is always wonderful to watch, even in stupid films. This is the performance Denzel Washington was born for.
16. When Harry Met Sally… +1
The best romantic comedy made. Funny, insightful, over-the-top and sometimes silly. It still works.
17. The Empire Strikes Back +1
Pulp can be artful and emotional. Muppets can make us thoughtful. Big budgets can have unhappy endings.
18. Seven Samurai -1
This movie has been copied many times over, and not just because it always makes a lot of money (come to think of it, though….). It is a classic story never done better than the first time.
19. Groundhog Day +1
A perfect balance of humor, philosophy and ethics. If you want to ignore the philosophy and ethics, it's easy to do. Just enjoy.
20. The Godfather +2
The greatest ensemble cast producing the most memorable characters ever. Much more than the innumerable clichés it inspired.
21. You Can’t Take It With You +2
The best of the "collective of eccentrics that win in the end" genre. A great argument for internet economics.
22. The Passion of Joan of Arc +2
Mesmerizing tragedy. Watch closely and you'll see the greatest performance of the silent era. (Not too close or you'll bump noses.)
23. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind +2
The best interpretation of Charlie Kauffman, possibly the greatest scriptwriter of the 21st century so far. The confusion of love and those who take advantage of lovers.
24. Close Encounters of the Third Kind +2
A change is gunna come, but what happens to those who grasp it too soon? Crackpots, dreamers or haters?
25. The New World +3
The toughest balancing act in the world is that between love and wisdom. When this balance is surrounded by such beauty, my breath is taken away.
26. City Lights +3
Chaplin is best at the integration of the sentimental with the comic. Here, he reaches the pinnacle of his abilities.
27. Apocalypse Now +4
The river winds down a path of ever increasing insanity, the result of the chaos of war.
I prefer the Redux version, but many disagree with me.
28. Citizen Kane -7
The peak of Orson Wells' creative ability tied with one of the most compelling character studies.
29. Brazil +4
The twentieth century in a nutshell-- the ridiculousness of bureaucracy, fashion and mind control. A Python-eque turn of Orwell's 1984 resulted being the truest interpretation.
30. The Princess Bride +4
Every moment is filled with hilarity and utter seriousness. Prepare to have me quote this film at you.
31. Pulp Fiction +5
Tarantino, more than a precise wordsmith, knew the feel of a masterful film, even if the dead guy has to show up in the next scene.
32. The Matrix +5
"What if none of the world was real" seems a childish philosophy because the Matrix made the question everyday. Its dark sensibility and anime-inspired action is simply perfect.
33. Dancer in the Dark +5
The musical which explores how patriarchy destroys the innocent. Tears my heart out and stomps on it a few times, before placing it back into my chest, fully destroyed.
I know. You really want to watch this film now.
34. Amadeus +5
It seems to so easily lift me to joys of laughter and then the depths of depression. Well, that's Mozart for you.
35. Gosford Park
An ensemble tossed into the strict society of the upstairs/downstairs world, where everyone has their proper place... except the murderer.
36. The Scent of Green Papaya +17
The joyfully sensual exploration of clothing and cooking. A young woman matures and blossoms.
37. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (new)
Edgar Wright at his best. A sarcastic, all-too-clever video game send-up.
38. Hunger +27
Steve McQueen (the director) is best at exploring the extremes of life. There is no more extreme activism than this hunger strike and its context. A tough, fulfilling watch.
39. Pina (new)
A stunning example of dance as artful communication. As powerful and thoughtful as The Great Gatsby or a Picasso painting.
40. United 93 +1
One of the most intense film viewing experiences of my life. I am there, in the worst moment of the modern world. Not an easy watch, but immensely powerful.
41. Journey to the West 2014 (new)
Part of the Walker series, meditating on modern life by examining a person walking with painful slowness through urban landscapes. If we can open up our minds, we can understand more about our lives.
42. His Girl Friday -2
I never have enough time to fully laugh at this film the way I want. Still, a comic genius of a film.
43. Dog Day Afternoon +2
A man and his friend rob a bank, only to have everything go wrong. Pacino is so compelling and funny, I didn't want my time with him to end. It's a Stockholm syndrome experience.
44. The Prestige (new)
The most successfully twisty movie of all time. It doesn't hurt having David Bowie in there.
45. Ostrov -2
Grumpy, crusty, ridiculous and self-abasing, Anatoly is a wonderful and entertaining saint, who has more to teach himself than others.
46. A Short Film about Love +38
The best of Kieslowski's masterful Dekalog, exploring sexual fantasy, compulsion and shame.
47. It’s a Wonderful Life +53
For many, their memory of this film is that it is overly sentimental.
Others feel that it is overly dark.
I understand it now to be a character study of how doing the right thing can go all wrong and what, exactly, makes it right.
The film is deceptively simple. Every time I watch it, I see a different movie.
48. Tideland -4
A movie hated by many because a child is placed in terribly dangerous circumstances, yet I find it a description of the resilience of the childlike imagination, despite those difficulties. Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to.
49. One Week +1
Keaton's funniest film and possibly the best short of all time.
50. The Dead (new)
A party silently recalls the dead who are not there. Powerful study of a family and their interactions.
51. Bright Star (new)
This movie reintroduced me to Keats and why his poetry is worth remembering and celebrating.
52. Brief Encounter (new)
An intense, emotional relationship, perfectly filmed.
53. The Apostle (new)
An exploration of a complex character, which demonstrates the contradictory nature of emotional religion, both sacred and profane.
54. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai +45
A strange, quiet film, filled with wisdom and friendship.
55. Kagemusha +8
A stunningly beautiful war film.
56. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring +36
A meditation on the seasons of a balanced life, although each season might individually seem without balance.
57. Barton Fink +38
Writer's block in hell with John Goodman's masterful performance as the torturer who tells the truth.
58. Millions -9
A child who has saints speaking to him finds a million pounds. Imaginative fantasy with disturbingly realistic interruptions.
59. The Cabin in the Woods (new)
The most thoughtful of horror films, not just exploring tropes, but examining the reasons behind the tropes. And quite hilarious.
60. In a Lonely Place +14
Bogart at his creepiest, charming best, in a captivating mystery.
61. Crimes and Misdemeanors (return)
Woody Allen, in my opinion, is best when he least tries to be funny. A serious story of injustice in the world.
62. Three Colors: Blue (return)
Going deep into the waters of grief and coming out. Cool and smooth and gorgeous.
63. Vera Drake (new)
I love this character study, for it shows how people change in different circumstances. How the very center of one's confidence could become the center of our overwhelming shame.
64. Once +14
So this man and woman decide to make a band and they have a failed romance. Why is this movie so powerful? Why does it haunt me so? Is it because I can't stop listening to the soundtrack?
65. The Elephant Man +15
Some of the best black and white photography ever put on to film, set to a story of how different people take advantage of a disabled man.
66. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (return)
Visually brilliant, Spielberg directs the script Kubrick poured his life into.
67. Les Miserables (1934) -21
My favorite adaptation of this favorite novel, it is the only one that gives the story the time it needs to explore the themes and characters.
68. Kind Hearts and Coronets +27
The darkest and funniest of black comedies. Alec Guinness is simply brilliant in his best role(s).
69. World of Tomorrow (new)
One of the great shorts, with a young girl giving us fresh humor and innocence in sharp contrast to the bitter future.
70. Short Term 12 (new)
A story of compassion gone wrong? in the midst of a powerful community of hope.
71. The Selfish Giant (2013) (new)
Two films I wept uncontrollably over: The musical Les Miz and this one. This is the one that made my top 100. It is Kes with a powerful central male friendship.
72. Wall-E -5
What romance looks like from the male perspective, while the woman just wants to get things done.
73. Kung Fu Hustle +4
The best depiction of why Looney Tunes is so great in a live-action film. Forget about Space Jam-- this is the real deal.
74. M (return)
Deep melodrama, brilliant acting, smart script. Classic cinema.
75. 8 ½ (return)
A selfish creative genius can't get over himself. Kinda the way I can't get over myself. A highly creative masterpiece.
76. Star Wars (return)
The most popular presentation of the hero's journey. Although I think that this year's Kubo does a better job at telling the story, this is the film that made me love movies. I must show gratitude.
77. Mulan (new)
I wish I could knock this movie down a few for being supportive of war, but it is so entertaining, so funny, the songs so enjoyable-- this is the best Disney musical animation. It'll make a man out of you, so to speak.
78. The Human Condition -36
A man of compassion attempts to make life better for the needy in the midst of a fascist world. It’s pretty long. Better have good snacks.
79. A Scanner Darkly (return)
Philip K. Dick has been bastardized and Hollywoodized. Richard Linklater keeps it real, close to the text, but still very trippy.
80. The Witch (new)
Heresy was not supposed to limit people from truths uncomfortable for the majority. Rather, something is declared heretical because it is too judgmental, too unsafe for the majority of people. The brilliance of this film is the historically accurate portrayal of the fears of the puritans.
81. Together (new)
A commune is a group of high-minded individuals, wanting to live a better life. But what if the different ideals don't really fit together? Funny and touching as well as a little disturbing.
82. A Page of Madness +4
A truly spooky silent Japanese film inside a prison/madhouse. The beginning of edgy Japanese horror, which will later include House and The Iron Man.
83. Children of Men -19
A dark depiction of seeking peace out of dystopia. One of the best examples of where the film is better than the novel.
84. Leon: The Professional (return)
Leon is my favorite assassin. And young teen Natalie Portman insists on learning his trade. What fun. I had no idea Gary Oldman could be so terrifying.
85. The Guard (new)
Hilarious, violent and disrespectful of both rural Ireland and police officers everywhere.
86. The Americanization of Emily (new)
I was going to put Network, but this Sidney Lumet film is funnier and more enjoyable to sit through, while still being scathing. I never would have guessed that Julie Andrews and James Garner were perfect foils for each other.
87. Die Hard (return)
Yeah, it's still great. Shut up, you Back to the Future people. Just shut up.
88. The Dark Knight -29
This is what a Batman film should be: smart, great action and dark, dark, dark.
89. Scenes from a Marriage -20
Marriage isn't easy. Liv and Erland tell us why through their wonderfully personified characters.
90. Broken Arrow (new)
About enemies and a man who tries to make peace between them. Jimmy Stewart is... well, heck, he's Jimmy Stewart!
91. Metropolis (return)
Class war in the film that informed every other film what the future looks like.
92. Night and Fog (new)
A brief but powerful exploration of the Holocaust, making lists and categories seem hunting.
93. Stormy Weather (new)
Possibly the best collection of talent of any musical, ever, allowing them to do what they do best: entertain.
94. How to Train Your Dragon -30
The path of the peacemaker, trying to make his world a better place. Jay Baruchel gives one of the best comedic voice performances of all time.
95. The Exterminating Angel (new)
The supreme act of surrealism on film.
96. Melancholia -25
Some of the best cinematography put on screen, exploring depression and what makes it so paralyzing and supportive.
97. Summer Wars -44
The best animated ensemble film....
Wait....
Is there another animated ensemble film? Well, this one really works.
98. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father (return)
Just as this melancholy documentary becomes sleepy... something happens. Amateur film at it's most compelling.
99. Once Upon a Time in the West -23
Leone takes his time, perfectly building suspense in each scene.
100. Wendy and Lucy -21
This is what homelessness is all about. This fictional experience is all too real, too human for me.