50 Films That Are Basically Perfect
Some of the best films of all time have flaws that aren’t definitive but are nonetheless noticeable: questionable execution, a problematic element, an ending that doesn’t quite work out. That’s okay: a film that takes risks and misses the mark is usually preferable to a technically competent but boring film, and a film can be great without being perfect.
However, there are some films that you shouldn’t complain about; films whose flaws (if they can be said to exist) fit so well into the overall package that they are indistinguishable from strokes of genius. Nothing in life is perfect, but these 50 films are enough.
Double Indemnity (1944)
Noir thrives on a bad reputation most of the time: the genre’s best films are films that feel busy and cluttered, as if there isn’t enough money or time to burnish their ass (think DOA or The Detour ). And yet, here’s Double Indemnity : a decidedly A-list movie from a major studio (Paramount) with a bankable star and a director Billy Wilder who’s already made a name for himself. Barbara Stanwyck (ably assisted by some truly unforgettable hair) brings all her talents to bear as Phyllis Dietrichson, a shameless old-school femme fatale who enlists Fred MacMurray in her insurance fraud scheme through murder. . Fred MacMurray plays Walter Neff with the stolid, slightly goofy casualness he would later bring to his sitcom work, but here you’re pretty sure he’s clinging to enough barely-contained excitement to follow Phyllis straight into hell. And you don’t seem to blame him. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
The Shining (1980)
Stephen King famously hated Kubrick’s adaptation of one of the writer’s most famous novels, and it’s not hard to see why: in the book, we’re meant to see Jack Torrance as an essentially good husband and father, his violent tendencies exacerbated by his substance abuse. – an abuse problem that he cannot fully control (as well as an evil hotel that constantly egges him on). The book is great, but the movie holds up so well for precisely the reason King hated it: Torrance is a bastard from the start, and we’re discouraged from viewing his abusive behavior as something that requires a redemptive arc. The hotel doesn’t push him to do evil, it just encourages him to break free. Shelley Duvall, once derided, is superb here, playing a woman who doesn’t seem to handle the stress of living in an isolated hotel with her increasingly unhinged husband very well. Add to all this Kubrick’s clever and deliberately disorienting directing style, and you have a masterpiece of domestic horror. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
It’s nothing less than a tribute to Humphrey Bogart’s unique charm: he could play one of the greatest bastards (Fred Dobbs) in the history of American cinema, and yet we are still willing to join him in his quest for gold. There’s a uniquely American feel to the film as Dobbs and company venture into the titular mountains in hopes of promised gold, but greed and paranoia grip the party in increasingly terrifying ways – and it’s clear to both us that simply sharing the very real abundance on offer will benefit everyone …and yet very tenacious, sweaty American greed leads them to destruction. We were still a year or two away from the horrors of HUAC and the Red Scare, but Bogart and Huston were both at the forefront of civil liberties in that era, and as a result this film feels more than a little prophetic. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
There’s a little art and a lot of commerce in our (waning?) interest in superhero movies, but there are a few real triumphs in the sea of things. Among the latter: a brilliantly animated celebration of teenage heroism that’s full of heart and wildly beautiful at the same time. It’s unlike anything before or since, and even though there’s a lot going on (including multi-dimensional spider people), it always comes back to the story of a teenager trying to make sense of a big, confusing world. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
This screwball comedy by Preston Sturges is one of the best films to come out of the old Hollywood studio system, and is a defense of that very system. The story of a burned-out low-brow comedy director trying to survive real-life hardships for the sake of his “art,” Sullivan’s Travels effortlessly combines sharp comedic dialogue and eccentric characters with social commentary about privilege and poverty that is still relevant in the 2020s. —Stephen Johnson
Where to watch : Digital rental.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
This sci-fi action film, shot in Australia on a shoestring budget, forever defined the look of cinematic post-apocalyptic societies for all time. The war machines plot begins immediately, and director George Miller doesn’t take his foot off the gas until the end credits roll. It’s pure adrenaline rush of film, but it’s never cheesy or superficial. —Stephen Johnson
Where to watch : Tubi
Amelie (2001)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s endlessly inventive romantic comedy is the last word on the deliciousness of the French (at least in cinema). This is the kind of film you want to hate because its whimsy is off the charts, but Amelie melts even the coldest of hearts because the sweetness never becomes sickening. —Stephen Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Master (2012)
Every frame of Paul Thomas Anderson’s exploration of the complex relationship between a 1950s cult leader and his damaged assistant is mesmerizing. Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman give the best performances of their lives, and the richness of the cinematography and attention to period detail make post-war America a character of its own. This is not a movie with a predictable plot; instead, his stream-of-consciousness style gets into your brain and stays there. — Steven Johnson
Where to watch : Tubi, The Criterion Channel.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Sergio Leone’s epic film reveals the entire cinematic myth of the American West, presenting cowboys as mud-covered demigods or living ideals locked in an eternal struggle, unconcerned with the affairs of mere mortals. The combination of an unforgettable soundtrack, a superb cast, and visionary cinematography and editing make the film one of the greatest ever made. — Steven Johnson
Where to stream: Max
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Just when he thought he was out of the game, Dr. Frankenstein is pulled back in. Director James Whale followed up what could have been the greatest of monster movies with one of the most impressive feats in American film history: something downright funny, weirder and weirder still, with gay icon Ernest Thesiger prancing around a gothic backdrop, making bitchy remarks and tempting his old é to reanimate the dead once again. That’s all before Elsa Lanchester trades her Mary Shelley outfit for a Cage Bride wig, giving birth to an icon in just a few short moments of film and no dialogue. Keith and company are clearly having a lot of fun, but the level of detail in the story, makeup and set design ensures that nothing looks sloppy. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
His Girl Friday (1940)
When we think of the lively, smart style of the best screwball comedies, we think of His Girl Friday . Or we should be. There are some better examples of this form, and director Howard Hawks deserves a lot of credit for insisting on a relentlessly brisk pace—the film was based on a popular, dialogue-heavy play that had already been adapted once before as The Front Page .
This version has several innovations over the original, the most significant of which concerns the main character Hildy Johnson: a man in earlier versions, here “Hildy” is short for Hildegard, and she is played by Rosalind Russell, now the ex-wife of Cary Grant’s character, but yet in every way a tough reporter and the equal (or some) of every man in the newsroom. Not a single moment sag. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Vudu, Tubi, Crackle, Kanopy, Freevee and several others.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Everyone knows about Citizen Kane , but I suspect its reputation for cinematic greatness is putting off a lot of people who would enjoy it. And that’s too bad, because it’s more than great: it’s good . Stunningly beautiful to look at, with stylistic and technological innovations that still impress today, it is also quirky, funny and remains impressively timely in its portrait of an American whose youthful idealism curdles in the presence of his own growing power and wealth (and a media mogul whose interest in truth fades away over time). — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Casablanca (1942)
A product of Hollywood’s golden age, Casablanca is without a doubt a great film that is easily underrated. From the opening chase through the streets of the main city to the poignant and unforgettable finale, there’s nothing here that doesn’t work brilliantly, with off-the-charts chemistry between all the leads, not just Bogart and Bergman. .
What makes it even better is its ambiguity: it takes place in a criminal world in which people may do some right things, but no one is good all the time. Bogart’s character Rick Blaine, one of the most beloved characters in film history, stubbornly refuses to stick his neck out in the face of Axis aggression until it becomes absolutely inevitable. This anti-heroism saves the film from its own production values. — Ross Johnson
Where to stream: Max
Morgan’s Creek Miracle (1944)
All films are products of their time, but comedies are especially difficult. Laughter is often based on behavior that goes against social norms, so what is funny to one generation may seem outdated or toothless decades later. That’s why it’s remarkable that this almost 78-year-old screwball farce from writer-director Preston Sturges is still damn funny.
The plot is much more adult than you’d expect from the ’40s: small-town girl Trudy Cockenlocker celebrates with the boys at a bar before they head off to war. She drank too much and the next morning wakes up with a ring on her finger, but cannot remember who she married (“…it had a Z in it. Like Rackiwacki. Or was it Zickiwicki?”). To make matters worse, she soon realizes that she is pregnant and does not have one marriage license.
The innuendo-laden script, which only gets weirder from here on out, naturally ran into trouble with the era’s censors, and while it’s incredibly dull by today’s standards, it’s still sharp and funny. (If you’re a classic film buff and think Sturges’ The Lady Eve should be included on this list, I can’t argue too much.) — Joel Cunningham
Where to stream: Hoopla, Kanopy.
Installation (1949)
Director Robert Wise remains underappreciated precisely because he did not seem to have a signature style, working in a wide range of genres (he is best known for brilliant Hollywood musicals such as The Sound of Music and West Side Story ). The setting is very different: a sweaty, claustrophobic and violent boxing noir about a boxer trained for diving. Nobody told him; he’s just such a piece of trash that he’s expected to lose. Except he doesn’t. It’s as dark as noir gets and doesn’t let up for any of its brisk 70 minutes. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Tubi
All About Eve (1950)
Often cited as having one of the best screenplays ever written , All About Eve is a behind-the-scenes Hollywood satire that is both period-appropriate and timeless. It’s about the bitter feud between beloved aging actress Margo Channing (played with bitter perfection by Bette Davis) and ambitious young up-and-comer Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), who is willing to do anything to become a star. Filled with biting wit and deep cynicism and impeccably acted (the cast received a total of five 1951 Academy Award nominations; Marilyn Monroe also wows in a four-line cameo), All About Eve will delight modern soap-loving viewers. raunchy work by Ryan Murphy. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: digital rental.
Rashomon (1950)
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon is one of the most revered films ever made. The ubiquity of the once new central narrative conceit—looking at the same series of events through the eyes of three different characters, each offering a different view of the truth, if there is one at all—has earned the status of shorthand. (The AV Club recently described 2021’s The Last Duel as Ridley Scott’s own take on this “influential ode to subjectivity.” )
The legendary Toshiro Mifune plays a woodcutter who claims to have discovered the body of a murdered samurai warrior in the forest. He is called to court along with other witnesses, each of whom has their own explanation for how and why the body ended up there. Even after it’s been copied and parodied in everything from The Last Jedi to The Simpsons , the original is still a delight. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Tubi, Max
Rear Window (1954)
A film about watching movies, Hitchcock’s classic is as meticulous as anything he ever made, but delights in tailoring its audience to our own voyeuristic tendencies. That doesn’t mean it’s any harder to keep an eye on our friends and neighbors, and the movie’s line, “What people should do is get out of their own homes and look for variety,” is at least as true now as it ever was. in 1954 . — Ross Johnson.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Pather Panchali (1955)
Coming from a film culture dominated by musicals and adventure films, Satyajit Ray overtook not only Indian film traditions, but also Hollywood and even the French New Wave traditions, making an ultra-realistic yet beautifully shot story that was also universal (especially in its tense family dynamics ) and is tied to its time and place. The magic of the film (and its two equally wonderful sequels) is that while watching it, the border between rural 1950s India and the modern world almost disappears. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy.
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Ingmar Bergman has a reputation for being joyless, and while that’s not entirely fair, it’s not helped by the fact that his most famous film is about a chess match with death in a plague-ridden medieval landscape. However, there is extraordinary beauty here and some unusually human moments. Bergman is far more interested in exploration than answers or morality, but the suggestion here is that hard-won moments of love, sex and family in the face of death are far more precious. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy.
Lion in Winter (1968)
Forget Die Hard : The Lion in Winter is my favorite Christmas movie. This decidedly non-epic medieval story is a cross between Peter O’Toole’s Henry II and Katharine Hepburn’s Elinor of Aquitaine, as they gather at the king’s residence in Touraine, France, to discuss matters of politics and succession. Henry wants his son John (Nigel Terry) to inherit the throne, while Eleanor prefers their son Richard (Anthony Hopkins).
However, thanks to the intervention of King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton), the intrigue increases, but in reality this is two hours of superbly written debate (James Goldman’s Oscar-winning screenplay based on his play) between the king and queen more exciting than any war that could unfold on the battlefield . — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: digital rental.
Alien (1979)
A sci-fi/horror hybrid produced by B-movie talent, Alien is a masterpiece of both genres. The cast is a superb collection of soon-to-be-legends, and each of them manages to convincingly portray workers forced to survive with absolutely no help from their employer. Equally important, Giger’s creature designs give the film an iconic monster that would be unrivaled in subsequent decades for its originality and sheer alienness. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Hulu
Back to the Future (1985)
A master class in screenwriting, BTTF’s script pays off every joke and plot, balancing the arcs of different versions of dozens of characters across multiple timelines without missing a beat. That alone might have earned him a reputation for excellence, but the film probably wouldn’t have been as beloved without Christopher Lloyd’s manic energy and Michael J. Fox’s free and easy touches in his coolest ’80s moments, each of which brought personality to the film and style. balance out (and disguise) the machinations of the film’s finicky and convoluted script. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Spike Lee’s third film may be his masterpiece. Do the Right Thing takes place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on an incredibly hot summer day. It explores the rising racial tensions in the neighborhood, fueled by encroaching gentrification, unjust policing, and general prejudice. The plot, such as it is, concerns the conflict that arises between the black residents and the Italian-American owners of the local Sal’s Pizzeria, but the film is more remarkable for the way this conflict sheds light on the daily life of this particular man. layers of New Yorkers and how injustice can cause people to take sides and take action when in reality they would rather keep the peace. But more than that, it is as bright, funny and full of life as it is tragic. This is a party movie that has a lot to say about America. And this is already 30 years old, and it is more relevant than ever. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: digital rental.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Is this the best romantic comedy ever made? This is definitely a film without bad scenes. Perhaps the sexual politics seem a little dated – the entire film is based on the premise that men and women can never truly be friends (because “the sex part always gets in the way”), which means the relationship between the inseparable Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Billy Crystal) Meg Ryan) is either destined to explode or develop into something more, but I too had similar arguments with my wife, 33 years later. Shot smack in the middle of director Rob Reiner’s marvelous spectacle (which includes The Princess Bride , another film on this list) and with an insanely quotable script by the never-better Nora Ephron, this may be the most rewatchable movie ever made. . — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: digital rental.
Home Alone (1990)
I’m going to get some crap for this, but after countless seasonal viewings, I maintain that this cartoonishly violent Christmas classic accomplishes its mission flawlessly—which is probably why we’re all still watching Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) slap his hands. his face 32 years later. That doesn’t mean there’s anything realistic about it, but that doesn’t matter. You can poke a million holes in the setup (how on earth could a parent forget a child at home? Why were the criminals so stupid as to plan such a notable string of burglaries?) without letting the air out of the crazy antics of an orphan boy’s temporary attempt to protect his home from the bad guys, or the grief felt by the boy’s mother (Catherine O’Hara, the film’s real secret weapon) when she repeatedly fails to return to him and then does – just in time for Christmas. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Disney+.
Groundhog Day (1993)
Like Rashomon , Groundhog Day is built on a plot that has since become the basis of storytelling. It’s a pity that everything turned out right the first time. Grouchy weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray), snowed in in the idyllic hamlet of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and angered by it, is forced by an inexplicable cosmic chance to repeat the titular holiday over and over again until he learns how to become a better person. man, we are all forced to face the terrifying fact that we are only given one chance to make life right, so we better take it into account. On the one hand, this is a high-concept romantic comedy, and while it’s nice to see Phil get the girl, it’s more interesting to ponder its philosophical core. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: digital rental.
Ghosts (1963)
Robert Wise never met a genre he couldn’t master (think The Sound of Music and West Side Story among his musicals, the noir-style Montage or the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still ). This 1963 film, based on Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House , is one of the most definitive horror films of its era and remains creepy, unsettling, strangely moving and, well, a fascinating piece of cinema about a haunted house that meets its ideal. pairing is Julie Harris as Nell, a deeply lonely woman who has no idea where to start connecting with other people. She almost forms a romantic connection with Claire Bloom’s Theo, but ultimately the film works best as a love story (often genuinely scary) between a woman and a creepy old house. The Netflix miniseries about Mike Flanagan is also an excellent, completely different adaptation of Jackson’s book; The 1999 remake is best avoided. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Actor Charles Laughton made exactly one film in his life, and then quit because the reviews were cruel and audiences didn’t understand him at all. Those who received it weren’t particularly impressed with its take on religious hypocrisy. However, it is a film that is brilliantly executed, full of arresting imagery, dark satire and a chilling lead performance from Robert Mitchum as itinerant preacher and serial killer Harry Powell, traveling from town to town killing multiple wives. Full of religious passion, Harry Powell has no doubt that he is the hero of this story, and the townspeople, impressed by his fervor, are happy to follow him to hell. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Tubi
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
This is a war film set entirely in the shadow of war. It’s remarkable that director William Wyler and company so clearly assessed the cost of conflict so soon after the end of World War II. The drama tells the stories of three United States servicemen as they adjust to civilian life after overseas tours: Al leaves home as a successful bank employee, but risks his post-war promotion due to excessive drinking and softness when it comes to making loans. fellow veterinarians; Fred suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has difficulty finding work; while Homer has lost both his arms and struggles to become an object of pity. Screen legends Fredric March and Dana Andrews play the first two, and real-life veteran and amputee Harold Russell plays Homer—the kind of stunt casting that shouldn’t work, but instead gives the film an even stronger sense of sentimental reality. Considering the era and time, it is almost shockingly prophetic of the struggles that veterans would face not only after World War II, but after every war that followed. The performances are all top notch and there is a verisimilitude to it all that sells every moment. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Prime Video, Peacock, Freevee
The Princess Bride (1987)
One of the most beloved films in cinema. It’s often said that one movie has something for everyone, but that might just about be true when we’re talking about director Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride , based on the book by William Goldman. The endlessly quotable script (by Goldman himself) beautifully blends genres and tones into a joyful cacophony where it could have simply been a mishmash. There’s action, fantasy, comedy and some very nice kissing moments. There is no moment here that is not completely memorable. — Ross Johnson
Where to stream: Max
Others (2001)
Alejandro Amenábar’s gothic ghost story earns its place here partly because of its staying power: Even though the film includes one of those twists that turns everything you know on its head, it remains chilling and even chilling across successive viewings . Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a mother raising her children in a huge house on the Channel Islands in the shadow of World War II when things get very strange. Like the best ghost stories, this one is always about Grace and her increasingly fragile state of mind. She’s not a great person, but it’s a tribute to Kid’s performance and Amenábar’s direction that we never lose interest or completely lose sympathy. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Harlan County, USA (1976)
The film, shot during the event, documents what became known as the “Brookside Strike” against the owners of the Brookside Mine and Processing Plant in Harlan County, Kentucky. Director Barbara Kopple’s original intention was to make a film about the attempts to overthrow the wildly corrupt leader of the United Mine Workers of America at the time, W.A. Boyle, who seemed to many to be in the pockets of the mine owners (he was later found guilty of plotting to murder the entire family of a reforming opponent). However, this explosive story turned out to be a minor episode of the brutal, bloody and violent resistance faced by the striking miners and their families.
Kopple and her team’s focus on local strikers and their families is the smartest of smart decisions, and the film holds up brilliantly as a result. It’s a timely depiction of corporate abuse, but it also serves as a time capsule of an era when unions were a stronger, more effective force. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Sounder (1972)
Cicily Tyson and Paul Winfield pair flawlessly in this 1933 drama about a Louisiana sharecropping couple and their family. Tyson’s Rebecca is forced to cope when her husband Nathan is sent to prison for very stupid reasons. Racism is very present and a key factor in the plot, but to be smart, this is not a film about racism. This is a beautifully crafted drama about a family affected by American-style racism, but which is more than the sum of white people’s cruelty. There is grief, but also a lot of joy. Part of the credit goes to the screenplay by Lonn Elder III, as well as Tyson and Winfield. All three were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself for Best Picture, although none took home the award. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, Freevee
Halloween (1978)
What makes the perfect slasher movie? In some ways, it’s tempting to pick something like Friday the 13th , which is brilliant in its own way by being a brisk and efficient machine that delivers exactly the kind of damn good time you might be in the mood for. However, Halloween is something else entirely, and a lot of that has to do with the talent behind the scenes. Although these were John Carpenter’s early days, his talents are on full display in his almost Hitchcockian ability to create suspense and suspense. It also has to do with the brilliant, underrated producer Debra Hill, who also wrote the script and gave life to the everyday interactions between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. The film cleverly left Michael Myers a mystery, despite also being inspired by the racial violence Carpenter witnessed as a teenager who moved from New York to Kentucky as a teenager. This ability to view Michael as either universal evil or something more insidious and specific is an important part of the character’s staying power (for better or worse). — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Shudder, Crackle, AMC+
Black Narcissus (1947)
The films co-directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, including The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death , are among the most stunningly made films… ever? Perhaps someday. And yet Black Narcissus , directed by the great Jack Cardiff, is probably the most beautiful of them all – a fact that both highlights and contrasts with the plot about a group of nuns invited to open a school in a crumbling palace in the Himalayas. . What initially looks like an uplifting drama quickly turns into something vaguely reminiscent of horror as the stunning but harsh environment and psychological isolation begin to take their toll. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Freevee, Shout Factory TV.
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Eve’s Bayou , director Kasi Lemmons’ incredibly confident debut, transports and conjures a world of Southern Gothic, mystery and magic that never loses sight of the emotional reality of its protagonists. Jurnee Smollett plays the title character, who begins the film with the promise of a story: one in which she killed her father at age ten. The film deals with dark and thorny issues, but in a Rashomon style, understands the fickleness of memory and how time and perspective can radically change the way we view events. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: Freevee, Mubi, Starz
The Truman Show (1998)
The Truman Show would have been great if only it had predicted the rise of reality television and our coming obsession with the role of protagonists in the narrative unfolding on the canvas of social media. But this strange sci-fi tale of a man who unwittingly becomes the star of the world’s most popular show is also a moving exploration of the human desire to question one’s origins and find a way to live meaningfully, despite the risks involved. Director Peter Weir brings the right mix of the mundane and the surreal to Andrew Niccol’s high-concept script, and Jim Carrey fully deserves the Oscar nomination he didn’t receive. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Paramount+
All About My Mother (1999)
Pedro Almodóvar’s films are so noisy, colorful and wild in nature that calling any of them “flawless” sounds like faint praise. Perfection can be boring, and Almodóvar is never like that. All About My Mother reinvents melodrama (and expands our understanding of motherhood) with this quirky, sex-positive, and hilarious story of a heartbroken mother who discovers a brand new family while traveling to Barcelona. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
A great twist ending can really make a movie, but the true measure of quality is whether it has more than just a twist. You could strip out the final version of this box office smash about a boy (Haley Joel Osment) who can see ghosts and the psychologist (Bruce Willis) who tries to help him, and you’d still be left with one of the most artfully crafted, emotionally devastating horror films ever made. ever created. Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan made a name for himself with this film and never fully stepped out of its shadow. And this is understandable, because how can you improve a film that is damn flawless? — Joel Cunningham
Where to stream: FXNow, Fubo
The Matrix (1999)
Come on, I don’t need to tell you why The Matrix is perfect, do I? Beyond the discourse, beyond the divisive sequels, this is a film for the ages: an unrivaled combination of martial arts, anime style, strong sci-fi and thematic depth that only gets better with time. Wow. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Max, Netflix
Spirited Away (2001)
Hayao Miyazaki’s love of animation as an art form and his passion for his own story are present in every frame of Spirited Away. There isn’t a second, not a single frame in the film that isn’t stunningly detailed to the point where you feel like you could walk into the frame and live there for a long time without ever getting bored. I’m not sure Spirited Away is any more or less perfect than some of Miyazaki’s other films, but the story of a lonely child lost in a dark fantasyland is one of the most moving. — Ross Johnson
Where to stream: Max
Memory (2001)
Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough film, this crime thriller is less flashy than his later hits like Inception and Tenet , but no less high concept: unfolding in reverse order, it tells the sad story of a man with no short-term memory who hunts for a murderer of his wife and at the mercy of whoever controls his narrative at any given moment. It’s like a magic trick; even after seeing it performed back and forth, you can’t quite understand how the director pulled it off. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Peacock, Freevee, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
This breakneck comedy-drama is that rare example of an “aromantic comedy”: a film about two people whose relationship is so clearly doomed that we can’t help but hope they end up together. Music video director Michel Gondry brings a gritty, handcrafted, low-tech charm to the outlandish story of a dysfunctional couple (played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) who use strange new technology to erase memories of each other from their minds (“Technically speaking, the procedure represents brain damage,” the doctor notes), but they still manage to find each other again, suggesting that even (perhaps) doomed love is better than no love at all. In the wrong hands, Charlie Kaufman’s script would have seemed confusing or overly misanthropic. On the contrary, it is one of the best stories of doomed love ever told. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Starz
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The only thing wrong with this quasi-Western crime thriller from the Coen brothers and Cormac McCarthy is that it’s so demanding that it borders on nihilistic, which means it’s not exactly the kind of film you want to watch again and again. However, there’s not a single false note in the cascading nightmare of violence that follows a drug deal gone wrong, as a petty criminal (Josh Brolin) is pursued by an almost supernatural hitman (Javier Bardem in an instantly iconic film). productivity – and haircut). Humble, methodical and uncompromising, this is a bleak exploration of the line between destiny and self-determination, set against the stark emptiness of the American West. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: PlutoTV
Get Out (2018)
If you hadn’t witnessed the hype generated by the release of Get Out (box office success, mega awards attention, instant meme status), you’d be forgiven for wondering how the hell Jordan Peele managed to put the future of cinematic horror on the map after one movie. But you were, so you know what I’m talking about.
In some ways, this dark sci-fi tale plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone , as a young black man (Daniel Kaluuya) anxiously visits the upstate New York estate where his wealthy girlfriend’s family lives and discovers strange things going on. beyond the expected cultural heritage. and social classes. Peele’s wry script combines surreal laughs with genuine horror while creating a perfect metaphor for the black experience in a “post-racist” America, in which those in power pretend that inequality and injustice are relics of an earlier, unenlightened era, and even even as they continue to benefit in both horrific and transformative ways. — Joel Cunningham
Where to watch: Prime Video, FXNow, Tubi, Prime Video.
Weekend (2011)
Andrew Haigh’s The Weekend , more or less a two-hander between Tom Cullen and Chris New, marked a new verisimilitude in queer cinema. It’s just two guys meeting with nothing more than a quick hookup in mind and discovering there’s a lot to learn about each other over the course of the title weekend. The meeting seems very specifically gay and at the same time completely normal, there are no hate crimes involved. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: The Criterion Channel, Mubi.
Happy Together (1997)
Wong Kar-wai’s beautifully dark triumph, Happy Together follows a strikingly mismatched couple (Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai) as their relationship unravels during a trip to Argentina. The super hot but deeply codependent couple keeps getting pulled back into each other’s orbits—and they make being young, gay, and in love with sweaty love so cool that you can’t help but hope they can make it work. The cinematography here is stunning, with each frame feeling like a mini work of art.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Knives Out (2019)
We’ve seen similar star murder mysteries before (including in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express just a couple of years earlier), but never in this style. Retaining all the frothy fun of previous locked room mysteries (and then some), Rian Johnson’s film delves deeper into the dark hearts of our plethora of suspects while still wanting to laugh at their rich white asses. And rarely has a decision brought such satisfaction. — Ross Johnson
Where to watch: digital rental.
Parasite (2019)
Bong Joon Ho’s goal here is nothing less than to pull the rug out from under us all, examining the scaffolding that holds our social structures together before making a compelling case for tearing it all down. This genre-defying masterpiece starts out as something of a dark comedy before turning into something of a horror film. There are moments when Bong’s film feels like it’s about to go off the rails, but every carefully crafted twist only makes the film more thrilling. — Ross Johnson
Where to stream: Max