My All Time Favorite Movies

#25A. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

#25B. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

#25C. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

#25D. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

#25E. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

#25F. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Peter Jackson's adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's world are hands down my favorite movie franchise of all time. The reason these are at the bottom collectively at #25 is because I think the books collectively are much much better and each trilogy have plenty of flaws plus I I have just seen more movies that have influenced me more. Sorry Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, MCU, DCEU, or any others that are on going or mercifully concluded but this is the one I return to over and over again.

#24. Brazil

Yep. This one is Terry Gilliam's masterpiece. I love all his work but this one is truly something special. I don't know what else to say that hasn't been said about this one already. Its a classic. Watch it.

#23. The Place Promised in Our Early Days

My introduction to the fabulous works of Makoto Shinkai. Although Your Name might be his masterpiece, this one will always have the most special place in my heart as this one caught my attention the most of all his early work. I got caught up in the story between three friends and the struggles that come between them and fulfilling a promise. Also, I need to say that I liked his work long before tons of other people did. Ha Ha!

#22. The Apartment

My all time favorite Billy Wilder film and also I feel his most touching story about a man needing to grow a backbone and more courage and become a true human being. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine share great chemistry and excellent comedic/dramatic exchanges in a perfectly paced/written/acted romance that one will want to return to again and again.

#21. Taxi Driver

Martin Scorsese's best film and to be honest I don't have anything more to say about that hasn't been said already. It's an amazing study of loneliness that hasn't been surpassed to this day.

#20. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

I love the Ghost in the Shell series and the 1995 film is a classic and everyone should watch it. But boy oh boy Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (AKA Innocence in Japan) is my absolute favorite of the entire series. In visual, narrative and character departments, I find it to be more rewarding than the original. Oh and the music is amazing too.

#19. Apocalypse Now

If you were ever wanting a surreal journey in the dark side of human nature, your best bet is watching the combination of Joseph Conrad and the Vietnam war. The result is Apocalypse Now. I feel that this is Francis Ford Coppola's Masterpiece. Yes, he has the first two Godfather films but this one is so much more ambitious and memorable. Almost every filmmaker (no matter how great they are) has that one movie that is so close to perfect that they are never able to repeat that success. For Coppola, that film is Apocalypse Now. Everything from the acting, writing, cinematography and the sheer amount guts it took to get this picture out makes it one of the most memorable cinematic experiences ever. Which version do I like best? Well...I haven't decided yet.

#18. Angel's Egg:

I don't know what this movie is really about. Maybe I will come up my own interpretation eventually. I love the atmosphere created through sound, music and of course Yoshitaka Amano's art style and just find myself kind of hypnotized every time I watch it. I heard someone say that Mamoru Oshii created the anime equivalent of Eraserhead. I can see that. This one is underrated and often overlooked. Check this one out and experience it yourself.

#17. The Darjeeling Limited:

Perhaps this one is Wes Anderson least comedic films but for me it is his best. A story about three brothers on a journey in India and having to deal with a parent that disappoints them is one that strangely resonated with me. It is also about how they bond and reconnect after a long time apart. It's odd to see Wes Anderson so dramatic but it works and is immensely satisfying.

#16. The Double Life of Veronique:

I still don't quite know what this movie is all about but I love the atmosphere, the performance by Irene Jacob and Krzysztof Kieslowski's direction. This was my introduction to Kieslowski and for me his most beautiful film.

#15. Fanny and Alexander:

A fairy tale the kind that only Bergman could tell but it is also him at perhaps his most autobiographic. I love his entire body of work but this and Autumn Sonata rank as the my favorites with this one being the winner after seeing the 5 hour television version which is the Bergman preferred version. I prefer that one too.

#14. King Kong (2005)

My favorite take on the King Kong tale and of all of Peter Jackson's films, this one is easily my favorite (Sorry The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings... I still love you guys too but this is one I revisit the most). Deeply involving, extremely entertaining and emotionally devastating, Jackson's King Kong ranks as among the best blockbusters I've ever seen. However, I prefer the theatrical cut to the extended cut. Also, I prefer King Kong as a poignant tale but I'm willing to check out him fighting Godzilla...

#13. Crimson Peak

I never expected this one to be my favorite of Guillermo del Toro's works but yeah this one is great. Criminally underrated and monumentally misunderstood at release, Crimson Peak is a beautiful gothic romance that only del Toro could create. Everyone is fantastic in the film and help sell this cautionary tale with perfect clarity.

#12. A Clockwork Orange

My favorite of all of Stanley Kubrick's films and still as potent today as when it was released. A dark comedy while simultaneously a warning against government measures to "reeducate" and "recondition" people. They may start with dangerous criminals like Alex to start with but how long would it be before innocent citizens are subjected to the treatment? Speaking of Alex, Malcolm McDowell really is the star here and creates a character that puts the audience in an odd position. Are we supposed to like this guy or hate him and are we wrong for feeling bad about what happens to him even though he does terrible things to others with no remorse? That's for you to decide.

#11. Akira:

This and Ghost in the Shell introduced me to how good animation for adults could be. But I latched onto Akira more than Ghost in the Shell after reading the graphic novel. While there is a story being told, the film is more of a visual experience. If you want the full story, read the manga. But don't worry, the film stands on its own just fine and like 2001 it’s an experience you just need to take in.

#10. The Thing:

John Carpenter's best film and my favorite horror film. It comes very close to perfect in just about every department. Effects, acting, cinematography, music etc. Kurt Russell and the rest of the cast is amazing...it's great. I don't know what else to say right now.

#9. Howl's Moving Castle:

I know Spirited Away is considered Studio Ghibli's best film, but I will always love Howl's Moving Castle the best. I love how romantic this film is and I genuinely found the story of a woman learning to be confident in herself and a man learning to not run away to be a great one and it was told in a way that only Hayao Miyazaki could have done. Oh, Did I mention that the film is gorgeous visually and the music score rocks?

#8. Macross: Do You Remember Love?:

My introduction to the fantastic Macross franchise and probably the best way to experience the original series. I saw this before I watched the original TV show, but I still managed to fall in love with the universe that was established and care for the characters. The animation is great and the action between the UN Spacy Valkyries and the Zentradi rocks. Kentaro Haneda's score and Mari Ijima's song and the hand drawn cel animation add to the films nostalgic feel. I adore this movie.

#7 Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev is one of a kind. An epic film about spiritual subjects relating to art and the place of the artist within the circumstances of his time. And this is a work that only Andrei Tarkovsky could have brought us. There is simply too much in the film to discuss here but seriously check this film out. If you are serious about the art of cinema, this one is a must see.

#6. The End of Evangelion:

Evangelion is the anime franchise I love the most. It was one of those things that happen to come at just the right time in my life and proved to be very cathartic for me. The End of Evangelion replaces episodes 25 and 26 of the TV show and is quite possibly the best representation of the apocalypse put on film, but it used to show a young man struggling to find his reason to be. I have never seen any other animated film really do anything like this and I likely never will.

#5. Stalker

My absolute favorite of all of Andrei Tarkovsky's films. I love it's tone, atmosphere and the journey in the Zone itself. To this day, I still don't quite know what this film is really about and the film makes no effort at all to spell anything out for you but every time I watch it I get more from it and it gets better and better. Admittedly this film, like Tarkovsky's other films, is not for everyone. The pacing is glacial, it is very dialogue heavy and will likely strain the attention spans of most viewers. Tarkovsky's is an aquired taste but very rewarding for those willing to take the trip. Having read the source material "Roadside Picnic" twice (or rather listening to the audio book twice) I can safely say that Stalker is pretty much an awful adaptation of the book but a great film on it's own terms.

#4. Song of the Sea

My official introduction to the works of Cartoon Saloon and what a beautiful film this is. I rented this film on a whim and was just blown away by the wonderful and heartfelt story. I was eager to follow Ben and Saoirse's journey from it's beginning to it's absolutely heartrending conclusion. Featuring truly beautiful visuals, great vocal performances from everyone involved and an unforgettable score from Bruno Coulais, Song of the Sea is simultaneously the one of the most underrated films of 2014 and one of the very best of the 2010's. Easily the best animated film of the decade.

#3. Interstellar:

My favorite Christopher Nolan film and probably my favorite film involving space travel and the effects it has on people especially when they leave loved ones behind to travel across the stars. This film features my favorite Hans Zimmer score and has some of the best special effects I seen this past decade. Between this, Gravity and the Martian, Interstellar is the winner by a wide margin for me.

#2. Seven Samurai:

If there is a flaw in this movie, I personally can't find it. The story of this film is familiar to probably everyone as it has been reused in films ranging from the Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Stars and even Pixar's A Bug's Life. But as entertaining as those re-imaginings are, they can never surpass the original Kurosawa masterpiece. From the memorable characters played by great actors such as Takeshi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune, realistic and thrilling battle sequences and a narrative that doesn't feel wasted at any moment and makes its 3 hour and 27 minutes seem like no time had passed at all, it's no wonder why this is one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. This film is the one that made me look at cinema as an art form and not just for entertainment.

#1. The Sky Crawlers:

This one came out of nowhere for me. I became a fan of Mamoru Oshii work (aside from just the first Ghost in the Shell) around the time Sky Crawlers came out in Japan. I saw a trailer but had to wait for the Blu-ray almost a year later. It's hard for me to describe in this list why I love this movie so much. From the slow and stoic pace in which the narrative unfolds, lack of tons of action and scenes of dialogue that forces the audience to pay attention, it is a film that makes itself hard to like. Without spoiling anything, this film helped me realize even when things always feel the same and no change seem to come there are always new things to discover and if you want things to change in your life you have to keep on living and keep trying. That may be a simplistic way of summarizing what I discovered in the story but it was one that came to me at the right time in my life and when I re-watch it I am not only reminded of what I learned from it, but I discover new things too. This is my all-time favorite film and I will have to do a full-fledged review of it later on to properly convey why I love it.