Top 10 films of all time thread

Yeah I know it's not the most original thread idea, but Big Boss's thread has put me in a film making discussion mood, and I thought we could go into a little bit more detail as to why we consider these films to be so good instead of just ranking a list. Feel free to just list 5 if you're not particularly bothered to go into extraneous depth with 10.

10. Mad Max Fury Road

A visual delight in sheer action and universe building. George Miller crafted nothing short of a masterpiece when it came to stunt work and practical effects. It uses CGI sparingly and emphasises physical props and tools to give the actions more gravitas. It touches upon themes like gender roles, redemption and survival but doesn't make them the focal point of the movie, nor are they prioritised over the actual storytelling or action. A perfect example of how an action film can have serious depth if done correctly.

9. Zodiac

One of Fincher's most underrated pieces IMO. What makes Zodiac stand out to me is how it avoids the formulaic approach to detective thriller films with shoot-outs, chases and cuffing the bad guy after finding a stupidly blatant clue that a competent serial killer wouldn't actually leave before spouting a cheesy one liner at the camera. Instead it focuses on the methodical and painstakingly detailed approach to police work, which often times, doesn't always come up with results. It delivers authenticity to a tee, and feels like we're actually watching how the Zodiac case was conducted despite the artistic liberties it took.

8. Prisoners

Villeneuve's Prisoners is a potent, and highly disturbing thriller seeded with tension and mystery throughout. Jackman delivers a powerhouse of a performance as a man who has presumably lost his daughter to a child abductor, and Gyllenhaal as a resolute cop determined on solving the case. The two characters strike a perfect duality within the film, an emotionally driven lower middle class family man that performs morally questionable vigilante actions in order to find his daughter, and a systematic, logical government agent who takes a more disciplined approach to solving crime.

Roger A. Deakins as always, produces exquisite cinematography that captures the authentic feel of a rust belt community and the wallowing grief of its missing children.

7. 28 Days Later

Shot in grainy, pulp like definition that gives the movie a bleak and depressing aesthetic to it. The low budget horror revamped the concept of zombies/infected by giving them the ability to run, and the fact that it doesn't even require a bite to render you infected adds a whole new level of terror to the prospect of a post apocalyptic world ravaged by a disease. It balances scenes of horror and anguish with moments of tranquillity and reflection perfectly. As mentioned, the hyperactive visuals and filming techniques are unorthodox, and at first may seem cheap and low budget (which they technically are), but are intended to add to the movie's main theme of the political and social instability of mankind.

6. Birdman

Shot in a single take with digital conjunctions to convey the seamless passage of time, Birdman excels in snappy, smart comedy, satirisation of the entertainment business, and what people are prepared to sacrifice in the name of art. At first it may seem snooty, taking jabs at high budget blockbuster entertainment films, but on second glance, it also depicts the pretentious attitude of art house critics as prejudiced and shallow as well. The film encapsulates what it means to passionately produce art and expressions of oneself from the perspective of a washed up Hollywood actor on the verge of a possible mental breakdown. Innaritu doesn't attempt to bog down the film in serious issues such as mental health and depression though, but translates the thoughts and intricacies of an artist attempting to produce real art to validate his existence, and the hilarious obstacles he has to overcome in order to achieve that.

5. The Prestige

As mentioned in a previous thread, I really think this is Nolan's finest work. Narratively structured in a Tarantino esque, non linear fashion, the story depicts two bitter rival magicians as they attempt to master their craft as a means to best one another. What starts off as heated competition, ends up with their lives and the lives around them in tatters. One of the select few films to actually have me taken aback with its twist, The Prestige is a fantastic display of delightful cinematography, brutal obsession and eerie visuals that compliment the overall tone of the film.

4. Children of Men

Set in a world where 18 years has passed since the birth of a human, Children of Men is probably one of the most unrecognised science fiction masterpieces in modern cinema. Instead of taking the conventional Hollywood approach to sci-fi, where the protagonist is a chiselled chad that solves a complex, worldwide problem such as infertility in the space of a 2 hour run time, Cuaron portrays the main character as that of a cynical, alcoholic bureaucrat, providing us with an unconventional, yet somewhat relatable main figure as a means to guide us through the realistic and palpable world he lives in. Taking a similar filming approach as Birdman, the director uses lengthy, detailed tracking shots to immerse us in the universe as aptly as possible, and yet, somehow never becomes gimmicky.

What makes Children of Men so unique is its ability to construct a detailed, teeming universe without resorting to exposition, and yet also simultaneously focus on fantastic characterisation throughout.

3. The Thing 1982

Undoubtedly my favourite horror of all time, and deservedly so. Initially people mistook Carpenter's The Thing as just another blood splattering horror, but there's actually a whole other layer of depth to the movie some people miss out on. The film provides you with snippets of clues to piece together throughout, but never treats the audience like morons, allowing us to play detective and figure out how the Thing assimilated various characters off screen. The practical effects are timeless, and set a precedent for the future of body horror films such as Hellraiser and The Fly. There are actually YouTubers out there that have attempted to dissect the film's open to interpretation mysteries, that's just how fucking good it is.

2. Trainspotting

This probably comes from a place of bias seeing as how it's set in my home town, but I don't really care. I could write essays after essays on how brilliantly constructed this film is. Set in 1980s Edinburgh, it depicts the lives of four junkies and one psycho and their hilarious yet somewhat grim escapades. It tackles heavy themes such as masculinity, pursuit of happiness, and hedonism, interwoven with clever dialogue, stunning filming techniques and pounding house music. The film got huge flak for its dark material, being accused of advocating drug use. Of course, anyone that's actually watched the film knows it's anything but that. In my mind it's neither pro drug, nor anti drug. It's simply just an insight into what drug use does to people, why people take it, and the lengths they will go to satiate their habit. To me, the film is a drug in and of itself, ironically enough.

1. Goodfellas

NOW GO GET YA FUCKING SHINEBOX

Truly a testament to the directorial abilities of Scorsese, few films have left such a lasting impression on me as much as Goodfellas does. Where the Godfather depicts the intricacies of the higher ups within Italian organised crime, Goodfellas shines light on the boots-on-the-ground grunts that carry out the business orders of the bosses, depicting the shallowness and depravity of the lifestyle.

The film doesn't completely trash the organised crime way of life though. It doesn't necessarily follow a strict narrative either. It simply displays what it's like to live the mobster life, the good times and the bad.

Ultimately, what makes the film so poignant is its capacity to examine the mentality of mobsters and sociopaths. In the end, Henry isn't guilty for killing, threatening and extorting people. The ultimate source of his guilt comes from (spoilers) ratting his compatriots out and disregarding his mafia code for survival. That's what makes the film such a subtly complex masterpiece, and why I consider it to be the best film ever made, from my perspective.

Honourable mentions:

The Hunt

A gripping portrayal of how utterly damaging something as menial as a false accusation from a child can totally ruin a person's life.

Falling Down

Might not be the most subtle of films when it comes to its themes but it's a fucking gotdam entertaining movie nonetheless.

The Last Samurai

Chris Stuckmann did a great review on this underrated gem of a film which pretty much sums up my thoughts.

Inglorious Basterds

Shame none of Tarantino's films made it to the list considering I watched so much of them during my teen years, but eh, none of them particularly blow me away in terms of narrative or film making. Don't get me wrong, they're all pretty much consistently entertaining films, with the exception of maybe Jackie Brown, but Inglorious is the one that really stands out for me and came really fucking close to making the list.

I don't know about top ten, but Heavy Metal is objectively the best film of all time.

I'm not really much into film as an art form so I don't really know much about things like cinematography or technical stuff but  this is just going to be my (in no particular order) list of personal favorites.

-Grave Encounters

As someone who enjoys watching ghost hunting shows and videos, naturally I gave this a go. I loved how they poked fun at the whole thing by having a fake psychic and paying the janitor to make up some scary stories, but the film actually creeped me out. Especially in the second one, while not as good as the first one, it had a scene that really fucked with me. The crew thinks they've escaped back to their hotel, but it turns out they never got out. Scary shit, man.

-Titanic

Don't care, it's a great film. It's got an engaging love story and I actually care about the characters. The last part of the film when they hit the iceberg and the ship goes down is just intense stuff. Special Effects are great.

-Rocky 4

While Rocky 1 and 6 are the best movies in the series, Rocky 4 is just the most enjoyable to me. It's silly fun and the soundtrack is amazing. The bit when he's driving in the car and No Easy Way Out just gets me every time man.

-Pacific Rim

Giant robots, over the top yet comprehensible action, non-cringey characters and cool designs. I love it. The coolest film I've ever seen in 3D in the cinema.

-The Fellowship of the Ring

Must admit, I'm not a massive LOTR fan. It's just not my cup of tea. I do like the films, and the first one is my favorite. Does a good job of establishing the characters and setting and the scene in Moria and the Balrog is fucking incredible.

-The Lost Boys

Pure 80s vampiric awesomeness. You got a resort town with a dark secret: a group of badass, big haired, leather wearing punk vampires. Throw in a great soundtrack and memorable dialogue and you can't go wrong really.

-Gangs of New York

Gotta hand it to Scorsese, this was an ambitious project and he pulled it off. DDL was an awesome villain that I actually cared about and the big action scenes were breathtaking.

-Shutter Island

Huh, Leo pops up again. Brilliant mystery film with a lot of suspense and intrigue and a great twist ending that I had to spend a lot of time thinking about afterwards.

-The Rock

Forget about the MGS movie because it's already right here. Probably Bay's best movie and I know that's not saying much, but I genuinely enjoy this film. The villain is sympathetic, Nicolas Cage manages to reign himself in, and Sean Connery is great as a subtle nod to a (not) aged James Bond.

-The Room

I know it's not a good film. It's a terrible film. But I get so much glee watching this failure of a movie and the entire backstory of how the film got made it's just so enthralling I find it really hard not to love.

Honorable mentions:
Armageddon
Zoolander
Wanted
Forrest Gump
28 Days Later
Austin Powers
Hot Fuzz
Superbad
Pineapple Express

>No Aliens
>No Iron Giant
>No Wrath of Khan
>No Empire Strikes Back
>No Logan
>No Food Fight, The Room or Birddemic

Suicide requested

Armageddon

Huh. I thought EVERYBODY but me hated that movie.

Armageddon

Huh. I thought EVERYBODY but me hated that movie.

It stresses me out but I enjoy it

1.

In no particular order

Aliens

Basically the founding father for the milscifi genre (Maybe second to Starship Troopers) and responsible for many of the tropes used today.

Fury Road

Cool effects and designs.

Winter Soldier

A spy film that just happens to have a hero in it. I love the fight choreography in it too.

Avatar

The ISV Venture Star is the most beautiful scifi ship I've ever seen put to hollywood screen and the designs for the aircraft, weapons, infantry and fucking mechs are the closest I'm going to get to a Titanfall film in the forseeable future. 10/10 art direction. If the second one only doubles down on pandoran life I'm going to be super disappointed.

I guess I'd put honorable mentions for Alien,  Star Wars ROTS, Interstellar, Cap America Civil War, Dark Knight, the Martian and Hot Fuzz. Maybe also The Thing, District 9 and Terminator 2. All of those ones I really like but either have a couple of crucial flaws that don't make my top list or I just haven't seen in a long while so am largely basing my rating off what I remember from years ago.

Of course, I'm also more than willing to forgive weaker stories and artsy cinema stuff for a well constructed space battle or some good old fashioned xeno purging just as the god-emperor and nature intended it.

I currently have Starship Troopers, The Thing, Terminator 1 and 2, 2001 and Event Horizon in my watchlist so maybe I'll get round to them some day.

Couldn't really list a top ten, Alien is #1 for sure

In no particular order:

Up - Can't really fault this film for anything. Memorable characters, great comedy, incredible animation as per usual from Pixar, and solid writing that knows exactly how to extract emotions from you.
The Dark Knight - The best superhero movie because it's not a superhero movie. Every actor excels in their role and Heath Ledger's Joker never gets old.
Django Unchained - I could watch this film a million times over and not get bored of it. Cristoph Waltz is amazing as King Schultz.
Hot Fuzz - Incredibly clever comedy that nails every joke and manages to make the more boring aspects of police work entertaining.
Star Wars: A New Hope - Best pacing, characters, and story out of all the Star Wars films.
WALL-E - Another masterpiece from Pixar. Incredible visuals and atmosphere.
Toy Story 2 - The movie should have been a straight-to-DVD-tier disaster but ended up being the complete opposite.
The Room - Similar reasons to Big Boss.
Airplane! - The jokes in this film are so fucking simple but so fucking clever at the same time. Annoyingly so.
Mad Max: Fury Road - Intense as fuck all the way through. Great fun to watch.

I currently have Starship Troopers, The Thing, Terminator 1 and 2, 2001 and Event Horizon in my watchlist so maybe I'll get round to them some day.

Event Horizon makes me feel uncomfortable

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I currently have Starship Troopers, The Thing, Terminator 1 and 2, 2001 and Event Horizon in my watchlist so maybe I'll get round to them some day.

Event Horizon makes me feel uncomfortable

Where we're going, we don't need eyes to see.

10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban



Say what you will—I do feel like a schmuck for putting this here, because I'm well-aware that the Harry Potter films aren't exactly masterpieces, and that they're kind of childish. But I don't really care—these movies take me back to a much happier time, when life was still fun, exciting, magical, and mysterious. But from a technical and narrative standpoint, Prisoner of Azkaban is probably the best one.

The franchise is well-renowned for its robust characters and strong performances, and Prisoner of Azkaban swings with the best of them—Daniel Radcliffe gives what is probably his most inspired performance in the series, which, of course, is supported by a bevy of other splendid actors, such as Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, and Alan Rickman (RIP).

It also has the coolest utilization of time travel in all of fiction (which is later fucking ruined by the Cursed Child), where everything that occurs takes place in a deterministic, self-fulfilling loop—which lends itself to many, many clever little narrative tricks and details for those who are paying attention.

Alfonso Cuaron's virtuosic direction is on full display here; there are some beautiful, beautiful shots in this movie, plenty of which contain some stunning imagery that I'll never forget.



9. The Dark Knight



This is the last guilty pleasure on my list. Though indisputably overrated, this is, without a doubt, the best superhero movie of all time, and the only one that's ever transcended the dreaded "capeshit" label. It's a genuine, bona fide, thematically-layered film that can actually be taken seriously AS a film—although, perhaps less so, because of all the memes. But at least the memes haven't mangled the film to the point where you can't take it seriously whatsoever.

I've heard some people say that Heath Ledger's Joker carries the whole movie, but I don't think that's fair to say. Sure, it's the greatest portrayal of the Joker of all time. Everybody knows that. But that doesn't mean he's all the movie has to offer. What if I said that Darth Vader carries Empire? People would go insane.

I actually honestly prefer Two-face. I find the tragedy surrounding his character a lot more interesting, and his moral compass resonates with me a lot. Aaron Eckhart also gives the performance of his life, but he's overshadowed so hard by Mr. J in this movie that I think a lot of people don't give him enough credit.

There's nothing more I can say about this movie that hasn't been said too often already, so I'll leave it there.

8. Reservoir Dogs



Hands down, Quentin Tarantino's best movie. He's yet to top it.

Acting, characters, cinematography, dialogue, narrative structure, themes—everything about this movie appeals to me so much, it's almost as though it was made specifically for me. It's so quotable—every single character has their own scumbag view of life, and the dialogue is so sharp and witty that, in the deepest recesses of your mind, you can't help but agree with some of the things they're saying about society (Mr. Pink's rant about tipping comes to mind).

It's a classic, simple movie that never cease to be entertaining. Out of all the movies on this list, I've probably seen this one the most often. It's definitely one of the most "watchable."

7. The Deer Hunter



Most of you probably haven't seen this one, but if you're into war movies, it's definitely a must-see. Not only is this the best Vietnam war movie; it's probably the best war movie period. Apocalypse Now and All Quiet on the Western Front come close, but it blows Full Meme-l Jacket out of the fucking water.

Robert de Niro is fucking awesome, and Christopher Walken gives the best performance in his career.

It's a slowburner; three hours long, and requires a lot of patience, but it pays off big time. It's well-known for having a few extremely tense Russian roulette scenes. That's all I really want to say about it, assuming you haven't already seen it. Go watch it.

6. Trainspotting



Mordo already discussed what makes this movie great, so I don't want to echo them here.

5. The Godfather



No explanation needed.

4. Stand By Me



Based on Stephen King's The Body (a book I'm still yet to read), this is the first R-rated movie I've ever seen, and the first one I've ever called my "personal favorite." It's been surpassed by several films now, but it still holds a special place in my heart—and in the #4 spot.

This movie is my essence. It is the quintessential coming-of-age story—a subgenre that I'm quite fond of, having only recently gone over that hump myself. I identify with our four lead boys in so many different ways; no movie has better captured the essence of what it's like to grow out of your childhood. The acting is so real.

Some may find its misty-eyed sentimentality to be a little trite and hard to bear, but I think that's sort of half the point, because that's pretty much how kids are—especially when they're growing up.

This movie has sort of become a classic over the years, so if you haven't seen it already, shame on you.

3. Goodfellas



Mordo saves me another explanation. It may not be my favorite movie, but it's goddamn close. Scorsese is a god.

2. Requiem for a Dream



What's that?

A movie directed by Darren Aronofsky themed around the dangers of addiction that mercilessly beats you over the head with a "don't do drugs" message until you're too emotionally shaken to fall asleep because of how depressed the movie made you?

SIGN ME THE FUCK UP

Couple that with Aronofsky's breathtakingly clever editing, Clint Mansell's excellent score (if you're capable of taking Lux Aeterna seriously), and excellent performances by the entire cast—special mentions to Ellen Burstyn and Jennifer Connelly—and you have one of my favorite movies of all time.

1. Fight Club



No surprises here.

By no means is this the greatest movie of all time—it's just my personal favorite, and perhaps always will be. It just resonates with me to my core, and it's often the first movie I ever recommend to people if they haven't already seen it.

The convenient thing about this movie is that anyone can like it, yet that doesn't dilute its quality any.

It's so stylish, and anti-corporate themes give me a massive boner. This is the movie that solidified David Fincher as my favorite director. He hasn't made anything that wasn't fantastic (Alien 3 doesn't count).

And that's my (super tentative and slightly rushed) list.


Honorable mentions: The Goonies, Scarface

10.Blazing Saddles.
9.Blazing Saddles.
8.Blazing Saddles
7.Blazing Saddles
6.Blazing Saddles
5.Blazing Saddles
4.Blazing Saddles
3.Blazing Saddles
2.Blazing Saddles
1.The Patriot

I was patiently waiting for your reply  :^)

I very nearly put PoA too

I need to rewatch 28 Days Later, I think. I saw it WAY younger than I should have.

Weeks Later, too—that one really fucked me up.

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28 days later theme song stresses me the fuck out

I can only name a few movies i could consider my favorite, the rest are movies that shaped things that i like, though i guess you could call them favorites in that sense

Falling Down

o shit

not doing explanations

#10

Spoiler

Moonrise Kingdom

#9

Spoiler

Reservoir Dogs

#8

Spoiler

True Romance

#7

Spoiler

Heathers

#6

Spoiler

Clerks

#5

Spoiler

Sideways

#4

Spoiler

Blue Velvet

#3

Spoiler

The Crucible

#2

Spoiler

No Country For Old Men

#1

Spoiler

Chinatown

I just noticed how utterly dismal and gloomy most of my list is lol, wtf.

... These lists are so comprehensive. I'll make a more comprehensive list later, but for now here's a list, in no particular order:

The Empire Strikes Back
The Iron Giant
There Will Be Blood
Hot Fuzz
The Wrath of Khan
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Trainspotting
Up
The Dark Knight
Mask of The Phantasm

Mind you, this isn't necessarily movies in my top ten. When I do make my actual top ten list, a few of those will be in the "honorable mentions" section.


Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

I just went with five for my list because I've not seen that many movies that are considered classics and decided to spare you guys of some of my more reddit-tier picks. These movies I would consider leagues above almost every other movie I've ever seen and even most movies I'd see on other peoples' top x lists. Maybe I'll come back and add some more later.


5. The Departed



This is probably my favorite Scorsese film, although I admittedly haven't seen much of his earlier work. It's been a while since I've seen it last. The cast is great and has some of my favorite actors. These are some of the best roles that DiCaprio and Damon have had.

4. The Presitge



I often find myself wondering whether The Dark Knight or The Prestige is Chris Nolan's best work. I tend to favor TDK because I'm a big fan of comic book movies and Batman is my favorite but The Prestige has to have some of the smartest writing of any movie I've ever seen. Usually when someone mentions The Prestige, it's followed by calling it "overlooked". I don't think I'd agree with this. I'm always seeing the movie praised online, although it is kind of sad to see Interstellar rated higher on imdb.

3. No Country For Old Men



Even though it won Best Picture back in '07, it sometimes seems like everyone subsequently forgot about it. I was fairly young when I first saw NCFOM, but was still blown away, despite its slower pacing. It has one of the scariest/most compelling villains of all time and it's no wonder why Javier Bardem keeps getting cast as the villain when trying to revitalize a franchise. It's the Coen Bros. best work without question.

2. Schindler's List



It's been several years since I've seen this one and I've only seen it once but as I recall it's one of the movies that's had the biggest impact on me. It really doesn't need to be viewed that many times because the story really sticks with you in a way that other movies don't. It's probably Spielberg's best film, which is a pretty huge claim, with Saving Private Ryan as a close second.

1. The Godfather



As Verb already stated: no explanation needed, but I'm going to give one anyway. It honestly amazes me how many great characters, plotlines, and themes Coppola fit into 2.95 hours. The Godfather Pt II is a decent extension but doesn't keep up the momentum or intrigue. It genuinely perplexes me how people consider it superior. Pt I has a fantastic arc for Michael whereas Pt II really doesn't, a much better story, and a role for basically everyone in it's large cast. Every time I watch it, I'm left with the feeling that I've just watched the best movie I've ever seen.

Lot of Scorsese in this thread

The Warriors

Lot of Scorsese in this thread

YouTube

Kill yourself squad 2

YouTube