Making this list was very hard, mainly because there are so many good films! Ranking them and only having 15 of them was hard, I had to cut off some of my favourite films like There Will Be Blood, Moon, American Beauty, A serious man and Exit through the gift shop, even Shawshank didn't make it on my list. So here's my list of my personal favourite in order
15. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
The first on my list is definitely the most lowbrow on their. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is basically the funniest movie I've ever seen, and the concept is really simple. Get a bunch of old chinese films, dub the voices and digitally insert actors to make it hilarious! The budget is super small and the movie is one of those "so bad it's good" movies, with great lines, hilarious characters and absolutely ludicrous scenes (like a karate fighting cow) the movie is definitely worth a watch for those wanting a sillier but eternally classic film.
14. Children of Men
Why this film is a tad depressing and will constantly remind you that the characters are in a hopeless situation, the film still manages to capture interesting philosophical themes with fantastic shots. The premise of the film is that all women around the world suddenly stop being able to make babies, the youngest person on earth is 18 years old and humanity is facing extinction. The protagonist is tasked with escorting the first pregnant woman in 18 years to a fabled scientific ship. The movie has some of the most breathtaking long shots in cinema history, as well as themes paralleling those of modern Britain, particularly the immigration crisis and views on immigration there. Definitely worth a watch if you want a more somber film.
13. Requiem for a Dream
If you thought Children of Men was depressing, than straddle in deep for perhaps the most emotional, depressing and shocking film ever made. Requiem of a dream, famous for the song Lux Aetena by Clint Mansells, follows the stories of four characters as their lives spiral out of control due to drug abuse. This film takes a much more emotional level than most "anti-drug" films, the actors are incredible and the movie really makes you FEEL invested in them, you really do feel an emotional connection to them. This emotional connection and how you relate to the characters is exactly why the film is, IMO, more horrific than a lot of the shock horror films like Saw, Serbian film and Cannibal Holocaust. The situations may not be as severe, gory or gross but their terrible situations that you see these characters, characters you've learned to love, go through is enough to make anyone cringe and disturbed. This movie will definitely put you off hard drugs for the rest of your life.
12. Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is an interesting film, a film about philosophy, time travel and all kinds of interesting stuff. The film explores various films about morality, causality, teenager angst and, well, it really is a hard film to describe. The film prides itself on being very philosophical about lots of things, without being overtly smug or condescending. Some of the scenes in the film are truly breathtaking, the characters are all interesting and the concepts, like Frank the Bunny Rabbit, are all exceedingly good. This is one of those films where you don't quite understand what's going on, and you shouldn't need to, because you and your friends can spend nights discussing what the film is really about.
11. Dr. Strangelove Or How I learned to Love the Bomb
This is the second and final comedy on the list and it was done by the late and great Stanley Kubrick. This film takes a serious subject, Nuclear War, and manages to make it funny in a relatively high brow way. The story is that a General decides to go rogue and orders his troops to bomb Russia, the Russia and American President as well as many generals get together to try and figure out what to do. The story parodies the cold war itself, the desperation both Americans and Russians felt to one up each other and "beat the other guys". Truly is a funny, thought provoking and great film!
10. No Country For Old Men
No Country For Old Men can be a bit of a divisive movie. This movie is tells the story of a hunter who stumbles on the aftermath of a failed drug deal, he discovers a brief case full of money and decides to take it. Suddenly he is hunted down by one of the most ruthless hitmen in cinema history and the sheriff of the country trying to figure things out. No Country For Old Men is one of the most tense movies I've ever seen, and the tenseness is authentic, it isn't aided by tense sounding music or creepy dialogue, in fact in most of the movie there's no music or dialogue at all! The movie gives us a proper and fully believable and scary depiction of a true psychopath in Anton Chirgur (the hitman), and gives us some of the most thrilling, and realistic, gun battles you'll ever see in History. The biggest downside is a lackluster ending, but given the realistic nature of the film, maybe that's the point?
9. American History X
This movie follows the story of a Neo Nazi, how he got there and how he tries to get out. The story of the film in and of itself is captivating and given the current political climate, the story is more relevant than ever. The film doesn't really take a heavy stance on things, it isn't preachy, in fact it goes into detail to show things through a neo nazis perspective. What's cool is you can see Neo Nazi's writing articles saying they AGREE and can sympathize with how the character becomes a neo nazi, but at the same time the movie does have an overall message that hate, any hate, is bad and only brings more hate. The movie is complicated, it takes a complicated stance, it tries to understand the mind of a neo nazi rather than to just demonize it, but at the end of the day still gives a proper message of what is right and wrong, and how neo nazis are wrong and don't help anyone, including the neo nazi's themselves. Worth a watch, especially now!
8. Fullmetal Jacket
This movie is, IMO, the best war film, beating even the greats like Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now. The film is both hilarious, and daunting, both realistic and fantastical. I just love this film for it's hilarious first half and serious second half, it really surprised me. The drill instructor (A real drill instructor) stole the show though, showing what real drill instructors used to do to motivate their troops! A good film all in all
7. Goodfellas/Casino
I grouped both these films together because, IMO, they're basically the same film! This is my favourite Gangster film, as while the Godfather is a good film, it's just so SLOW! These films manage to really get you into the gangster life, while also being full of funny scenes, action and quirky tales. Afterall it is made by Martin Scorcese, so what can you expect! Not much more to say about these films, they're just plain good!
6. Sin City
Now we're getting into personal choice rather than overall critical choice. In my opinion, Sin City is one of the most stylish, epic and badass films that has ever been made. Sin City's black and white stylish aesthetic is something that is just awesome, the characters are amazing and I just love the art-like motion of the film. Sin City is actually three stories in one movie, in one story a muscle bound modern day barbarian tries to find the killer of the one prostitute who loved him, a former bank robber tries to deal with the consequences of accidentally killing a police officer on neutral turf and a grizzled old cop attempts to save a young girl from a sadistic pedophile, who is also the son of the most influential politician in the city. It's gritty, it's dark and it's pure awesome.
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
WITNESS ME. Honestly I was not expecting to love this film so much but I JUST LOVE THIS FILM SO MUCH. The Aesthetic, the themes, the characters, the dialogue, the action, it's all amazing and I love it. Honestly in no film have I ever seen everything come together in such a way, the visuals were incredible with interesting saturated colour pallets, the music was rocking, the characters and society were crazy. The dialogue! In no movie have I ever seen dialogue like this, the dialogue almost seemed like part of the scene, like as if it was supplementing the action, not directing it, it echoed off the rocky walls in such a great and seamless way. The Sound, the dialogue, the visuals, it was all art! The whole movie is memorable, and I am not even a regular with mad max!
4. City of God
Now for something that's almost the opposite, this movie is not art, this movie is a wake up call. City of God is a non-English movie, but if you can stand the subtitles it is definitely worth it. The film talks about the City of God, a particular slum in Rio, Brazil and follows primarily two characters, one who became a drug lord and one who became a photographer. It is gritty, shocking and very realistic, in fact most of the actors in the movie weren't professional actors but were real people from the real city of god, and I'm not just talking about extras! This movie is a real story and that's the most shocking, you see people casually shooting kids, kids casually shooting people, drug lords keeping order and just death and destruction everywhere, but people learn to live their lives anyway. Honestly it's a great film, worth a watch!
3. Fight Club
I love this film, and I know it's sorta a cliche thing, a lot of critics feel this movie isn't actually very good and that it's overhyped by "College boys" but, IMO, it's one of my favourites. Fight Club really taps into the rage, primal satisfaction that we all feel every day, it gives us Tyler, a person we ALL want to be, it tries to make us see how we can believe in something and get caught up on it, then it dissects that feeling, parodies it, tells us our notions of masculinity can lead to bad paths. It's so, interesting, as a concept, as a movie, it has people taking completely different lessons from the movie. After watching this movie I always feel like I just wanna do something, I dunno what, but something!
2. Pan's Labyrinth
Art, that's what this movie is. Once again another non-English film that is, IMO, the best film ever made (even though it's number 2, but you'll see why soon!). Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of a young girl, whose mother marries a fascist leader in Italy post-WW2, the girl lives with her mother but starts realizing there is a fairy tale world within the woods. The movie is just great and I really don't know how to describe it, it mixes gritty and brutal realism with fantastical and mystic fantasy in such a believable and seamless way, no movie has captured this before. The fairy tale creates are both a mix of beautiful and disgusting, intriguing and terrifying, the designs are amazing, the story is great and just, honestly watch this film, you'll love it!
1. Starship Troopers
This is a list of my personal favourites, and Starship troopers will always be my personal favourite. The film itself, I will admit, is probably not that great, it isn't particular fantastical and it isn't art. It's about space marines that shoot alien arachnids, but I've watched it all my life, since I was a kid, I've probably watched it over 200 times, and so it will always be my favourite film. The film itself does have a deeper philosophical meaning behind it, it makes a statement of fascism, the military mind of countries like America, it parodies that. And many people see it as a pro war film that glorifies war, when in reality it is a parody of it, it even takes a few watchings to realize that the good guys are literally nazis. The CGI is amazing, the action is amazing, the characters (In my opinion) are amazing and themes are amazing. This film always has a special place in my hearts. Would you like to know more?
