Posted 13 May 2013 - 09:40 PM
The Shining - My favorite from Kubrick and an overall perfect horror film, to me. The emotion overpowers everything, the details of camera work and every shot adds up to this feeling of dread, and the score drives that home. It really is one of the best pieces of horror out there.
It's a Wonderful Life - One of the most solid pieced of moral dilemmas in film. Timeless tale, great casting and a solid experience with quite a few memorable scenes thanks to Jimmy Stewart.
Dazed and Confused - Straight up the best high school film, ever. Richard Linklater is a boss director and knows how to set atmosphere, this film is no exception. Hilarious and true subject matter. Even though the film is set in the 70s I could switch out the characters with my own friends and still see it the same way, even if we all had owned cellphones.
Lost in Translation - That thing about atmosphere comes in even stronger with Sofia Coppola. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray compliment each other so well it's hard to believe they've never been together in another film. Then again, I've watched this film so many times I'd only see them as Bob and Charlotte.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Okay so this is a documentary but it's still a must-see to me. Some of the best camera work and pacing for a documentary I've ever seen. The subject matter is beautiful, and the whole thing is really inspirational. Watch this.
Eraserhead - Had to have a Lynch film here, I went with probably the most polarizing of his works - which says a lot. This film transcends consciousness and in some parts the surrealist horror/comedy of the situation just leaves you so confused that you don't know how to respond. This film is one of the most uncomfortable experiences I've had the pleasure of having.
The Graduate - Senselessness and drift. Iconic shots of the main character isolated by the arches of a woman's legs or by the pool idillic pool water around him. This film captures an angst that every teenager tries to capture in their poetry. It's coming of age on par with Dazed and Confused, but this side of it is the lonely, sexually frustrated part.
The Assassination of Jesse James - Seriously some of the greatest f*cking vistas I've ever seen on film. The plot is forward and the story is slow. Every scene is matched by reminiscent tones of earlier westerns - mostly the sense of melancholy defeat. The inevitable end of The West as we knew it. This film takes that and turns it into a character study, putting those grand ideas of bank robbing, treachery, outlaws and modernization into people. And it works so well.
No Country For Old Men - Remember that talk of the dying West and all that? Fast forward a few decades, add some dark humor and a man in an unlucky situation, and you have this film. Probably my favorite Coen brothers film (aside from Raising Arizona and O' Brother) and I think at least one of their films deserves to be on this list.
The Wrestler - So you might be able to tell that I like that whole 'dying' motif from my other selections. This story would be the apex of that. A washed out performer in a sport whose heyday was twenty some years ago. Estranged family, loveless intimacy, an attempt to get something of substance back. It's a mesmerizing film and Rourke's performance is in some ways autobiographical, which serves to give the film even more allure.