We made it! To catch you up one last time: I’m turning forty-two today. In the spirit of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’ve spent some time considering the existential mundanity of turning this age, and what has been the answer to the question of my life, my universe, and everything.
I have also decided to hang up my film critic hat. Over thirteen years and nearly three hundred film reviews written, numerous festivals covered, and a handful of interviews conducted, all beginning with my April 2013 review of 42 (see, it’s fate that I finish on my 42nd birthday), I’m ready for my next chapter. Of course, I’ll leave the door open for the occasional guest post or podcast appearance.
If you wish to use my 100 Favorite Films list as a watchlist, here’s a handy dandy PDF checklist. A more compact list can be found on my Letterboxd account.
Here’s Monday’s post listing films #100-76.
Here’s Tuesday’s post listing films #75-51.
Here’s yesterday’s post listing films #50-26.
And now, my Top 25 Favorite Films of All Time…
Why: The book gave me chills, and I thought it was impossible to adapt to film. Alex Garland proved me wrong and delivered a beautiful, horrifying, and haunting sci-fi drama that explores humankind’s self-destructive nature.
Favorite Scene: The nightmare bear.
Why: Buoyed by brilliant performances and a keen eye for unique visual storytelling, Lanthimos crafted a devilishly funny yet dramatic narrative portraying the misuse and misunderstanding of power. This was my #1 film last year.
Favorite Scene: The badger exchange.
Why: One of my favorite books and a decisively brilliant film adaptation. It’s tough to think of a more perfectly casted movie in the last twenty years, and each performer is firing on all cylinders.
Favorite Scene: Gas station clerk coin flip.
Why: Not only is this tied for Clooney’s best performance (with O Brother), but Tony Gilroy’s script is legendary. Michael Clayton is the prime example of adult thrillers they ‘just don’t make anymore.’
Favorite Scene: The alley encounter between Clayton and Edens (and all the baguettes!)
Why: An exacting romantic drama that goes down like a warm bowl of mushroom soup.
Favorite Scene: Breakfast squabble between Woodcock siblings.
Why: Redefined the romantic comedy genre. It’s still funny. It’s still iconic.
Favorite Scene: The walk to and within The Met, from “Must’ve been the dismount” to “Paprikash.”
Why: I love Get Out‘s incisiveness, its fun yet terrifying tone (not relying on jump scares, though there are a few), and hilarious racial critiques. It’s the whole package, and endlessly rewatchable.
Favorite Scene: The welcome soiree and photo incident.
Why: Every time I watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I latch onto more details, stylistic flares, and the emotional gravitas within every moment. When the film first came out, I was dismissive of its accomplishments because it was up against Gladiator at the Oscars. Nowadays, this film gives me more.
Favorite Scene: Bamboo forest fight.
Why: A clever setup and a great cast. This movie had a slow burn into popularity, but it’s such a favorite now that sequel ideas must be circling <<fingers crossed>>.
Favorite Scene: Jesse Plemons and his famous Frito-Lay remark.
Why: My favorite Hitchcock films feature simple, terrifying premises. The Birds is so wonderful because it remains unexplained and simplistic, but allows for metaphorical readings if you so choose.
Favorite Scene: The crows gather on the jungle gym outside the schoolhouse.
Why: A meditative look at a slice of blue-collar life, exploring where creativity is born and ruminates (with or without an audience), and features my favorite poem of all time. If you know me, you know how much I relate to Driver’s character.
Favorite Scene: Paterson meets the young girl poet.
Why: Probably the most beautifully shot Bond film. Luckily the story, villain, and action rise to the occasion.
Favorite Scene: Bond in Shanghai.
Why: Inside Llewyn Davis is the perfect combination of drama, humor, music, and sad-sack self-righteousness. I got to interview Oscar Isaac and T-Bone Burnett about this film, and I approached Isaac after and told him, “Thank you for your performance, it really meant a lot to me,” and he responded with genuine gratitude. Also, remember when I said I always welcome adaptations of The Odyssey (via O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Well, this is another one, albeit more ‘inspired’ and ‘influenced’ by than ‘adapted’ from. Either way, thank you, Coens!
Favorite Scene: Davis foolishly sings “The Death of Queen Jane” to Bud Grossman during his impromptu audition.
Read my full review / my interview with Oscar Isaac and T-Bone Burnett
Why: One of only two foreign films on my list this year (the other is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), which is embarrassing, but also both are perfect five-star masterpieces.
Favorite Scene: The kid’s “ghost story” scene.
Why: Do people really not realize how amazing this film is? Even if its polarizing, Munich‘s script is superb (feel free to pass along my praise again, Geoff), and the set pieces are some of Spielberg’s finest, which is saying something. Ultimately, Munich is about an endless cycle of Government-sponsored violence, and its final moments are the most depressingly poignant about the state of the world’s inability to break the cycle.
Favorite Scene: The phone bomb sequence.
Why: No film makes me hungrier than Chef, and keeps me smiling continuously for nearly two hours. Is that reason enough for it to land in the top ten, because I need to go find a Cubano to devour!
Favorite Scene: The stop in New Orleans.
Why: An emotional fairy tale that dives deep into maternal love, humans vs machines, and our fragile makeup of energy and memories.
Favorite Scene: Rouge City.
Why: The Rosetta Stone for sci-fi horror.
Favorite Scene: John Hurt’s (literal) heartbreaking demise.
Why: The comedic chemistry between Gosling and Crowe is the film’s most unexpected triumph, and I hope they work together again soon.
Favorite Scene: Healy pays March a visit to deliver a message.
Read my full review.
Why: The funniest movie of the twenty-first century, IMO.
Favorite Scene: The plane flight. “Help me, I’m poor.”
Why: I carry Banshees’ explored themes deep within my soul. Colin Farrell’s work as the affable, childlike Pádraic is one of my favorite performances of all time. Amid the film’s hysterical dialogue is a sincere exploration of creative fulfillment and friendship.
Favorite Scene: Pádraic confronts Colm in the pub.
Why: This little R-rated fairy tale made me laugh, made me cry, and made me cheer.
Favorite Scene: The madcap “home invasion” sequence. “Please! Stop! SCREAMING!”
Why: One of cinema’s greatest tragedies is that a sequel wasn’t produced. Master and Commander is a thrilling maritime adventure.
Favorite Scene: The HMS Surprise’s surprise attack!
Why: This movie is difficult for me to praise without sounding like a millennial sadboi, but the truth is that ever since I saw Eternal Sunshine at a UCLA on-campus screening, I’ve been obsessed with its portrayal of love, memory, and relationships.
Favorite Scene: “Meet me in Montauk” finale.
Read my editorial piece, “Eternally Grateful for Eternal Sunshine”
Why: At number one is a darkly comedic tale based on the Book of Job, a film that features a foreboding parable as a prologue. I bet you didn’t expect that! You don’t need to be a member of the tribe (i.e., Jewish) or have had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah to grasp the intentions behind the story’s remarkable sense of humor, the Coen Brothers’s expert handling of tone, and the anxiety-inducing series of blows dealt to the poor simpleton, Larry Gopnik. However, if you are Jewish, this movie hits that much harder. I wasn’t high at my Bar Mitzvah, but I’ve had plenty of chats with Rabbis a lot like the ones depicted here.
Favorite Scene: The second rabbi, Rabbi Nachtner, tells Larry a long-winded, meandering tale, titled “The Goy’s Teeth.”
That’s it. Now you know my 100 favorite films of all time (at least for right now, until June 11, 2027).
Thank you for the many years of support! Please stay in touch with me via Letterboxd.
