It is a damn good detective movie.

Chinatown's deep focus cinematography, dialogue direction and long takes are identifiably Polanski.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre chopped up our expectations more than 30 years ago, and for that we will always remember - and be thankful that some experiences do stay up on the screen.

If the first film could be considered to glorify violence and organized crime, this one shows the consequences of that life. It also serves as a thinly veiled metaphor for American capitalism and its destructive effect on family, cultural heritage, community identity and morality.

There are too many classic moments in this film to possibly count, and I won't even bother trying to quote lines or describe gags.

De Niro's performance is one of legend.

Kubrick originally planned Dr. Strangelove as a straight drama. That he realized the absurdity of the whole thing is a testament to his intelligence; that he pulled it off so brilliantly is a testament to his talent.

The scene where Dorothy opens the door of the house and steps into Oz and into color is striking.

The times they are a-changin’ but the Coens keep bringing the hits back home. A masterpiece.

The film never slips into cheap melodrama, and ultimately offers a remarkable portrait of humanity at its best and worst, not to mention an ideal to which all people should aspire.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon have told their own story in a funny, highly engaging way that doesn’t feel precious or sanitized, but instead is relatable and engrossing from start to finish. And you’ll laugh a hell of a lot.

Where Night of the Living Dead was a straight up horror film (with some minor social commentary buried beneath the ever-present threat of the shambling undead), Dawn is something a bit more intriguing. Sure, much of Dawn's first thirty minutes or so has the same unrelenting feel of the earlier film, but once our heroes arrive at their final destination, the tone changes.

Double Indemnity is a masterpiece of Hollywood storytelling.

The movie is filled with great music, original choreography, and memorable songs. Along with a story that's a great update of Romeo & Juliet, it's really no surprise that the film is considered to be one of the best musicals ever made.

Big ambitions inspire great designs; little things bring them to life. Nausicaa has both in abundance.

If Spirited Away can be considered the top anime film of this age, Castle of Cagliostro is most certainly its age-old counterpart, and a true masterpiece.

Where Citizen Kane changed the way live action films were looked at and made forever, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs did the exact same thing for animation. It remains one of the finest examples of the art form, and anyone who considers themselves a film snob or animation fan must have this on their shelf.

Featuring a riveting, fully realized, and Oscar-worthy performance by Joaquin Phoenix, Joker would work just as well as an engrossing character study without any of its DC Comics trappings; that it just so happens to be a brilliant Batman-universe movie is icing on the Batfan cake. You will likely leave Joker feeling like I did: unsettled and ready to debate the film for years to come.

Welles manages to wring engaging performances out of all of his actors, but what's most impressive about the film is the way in which the director makes use of every corner of the screen with deliberate precision.

The Wolf Man is one of a kind.

It's that rare movie that I will not only continue to enjoy as a moviegoer and all-around romantic, but recommend as a legitimate standard-bearer for the animated classics yet to come.

Matt Reeves’ violent, thrilling, darkly beautiful take on The Batman more than justifies its place in the franchise’s canon.

John Wick: Chapter 4’s incredibly staged set pieces, engaging ensemble, and stylish production design coalesce into a modern action masterclass.

Writer-director Aaron Sorkin's star-studded chronicle of The Trial of the Chicago 7 is timely and terrific.

The Father is a devastating masterwork by first-time director Florian Zeller.

Kemp Powers' thoughtful script gives us an insight into what might have been going on behind the sports and entertainment performances that awed us, and in doing so urges us to look at what's still going on now. Director Regina King's cast delivers some of the best performances of the year, unveiling the hidden pain of public figures. Through a keen focus and confident flow, she unfurls their struggles in a poignant display to show how they live on today.

It’s hard to overstate how immaculately crafted Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is, both as a prequel to Max Max: Fury Road and as a stand-alone story of how the Wasteland created a powerful character.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a complex film that encompasses a variety of subjects, but it does justice to each of them with a carefully written script, marvelous performances, and a healthy dose of bizarre humor to counter its bleak story. Michelle Yeoh in particular gives a powerhouse performance in a story that puts a fresh, welcome spin on the idea of the multiverse.

A full-tilt biopic unlike any before it, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is as stunning as it is terrifying.

White Heat is to the gangster genre what The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was to Westerns: it took all the clichés, tropes and general violence of its genre and made it into art.

Riddle of Fire is a charming, fantastical debut just begging for a cult audience to ride its uniquely silly wavelength. It’s familiar, and yet like nothing else you’ve seen.

A bizarre tale about a family of sasquatch is an emotional masterpiece of experimental cinema and fart jokes.

There are so many little details, seemingly inconsequential touches – the filmmaker’s style, if you will – that all add up bit by bit to turn this amazing movie into a masterpiece.

An extraordinary first feature and one of the best films of 2025 so far, Sorry, Baby pulls off astounding feats of storytelling.

Mason Reeves delivers one of the most stunning child performances in recent memory, while Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan lean into their familiar acting hallmarks but find uncomfortable new layers as a mother and father bound by their own upbringings. The result is visceral, gentle, and ultimately, shattering.

The exploration of political upheaval, class and gender inequalities make this an important film, but the fact that it always remains grounded in its personal story makes Roma a compelling and emotional film, shot masterfully by a veteran director who finally created his masterpiece.

At its worst, First Match is a gripping drama centered on the relationship between a teen and her estranged father. At its best, it’s an emotional ride with a soul. Its inevitable praise is a testament to the powerful performances therein.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the quintessential Star Wars movie. It embraces everything in the franchise that came before while taking big risks to push the story into new and unexpected places.

It organically expands and grows what came before. It’s a deep, rich, smart film that’s visually awesome and full of great sci-fi concepts, and one that was well worth the 35-year wait.

Certainly weird, confrontational, wildly satirical, and certainly unique, Sorry to Bother You is one of the funniest, energetic, and best films of the year.

Fun, action-packed and dramatically deep, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a prime example of "How to Make a Sequel."

Avengers: Endgame is easily the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most ambitious, emotional, and affecting film to date, somehow managing to tie up more than a decade of storytelling in a confident (and mostly coherent) climax - a hurdle that many other blockbuster franchises have stumbled over in their final runs.

War for the Planet of the Apes is an excellent closing act to this rebooted trilogy, but also one that does enough world-building that the series can potentially continue from here – and it’s a rare case where, after three movies, we’re left wanting more.

Pixar Animation delivers another hilarious yet also deeply moving chapter in their blockbuster franchise.

Dunkirk is a monumental, unconventional, and frequently stunning war movie.

One of Wes Anderson’s best movies, an imaginative and amusing travelogue through incredible settings, populated by wonderful characters, with a lot of heart and even a little insight. You can feel the love radiating off of this movie, like a hug from your own beloved pet.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is Martin McDonagh’s most emotional and profound film to date.

The film's brilliant pacing and expertly woven narrative deliver an empowering story that will stick with you long after the credits roll.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos lures us into his dream and shackles us there, for his own fascinating reasons. The experience is exquisite agony, both revelatory and painful. This is one of the best and most disturbing movies of the year.

One of Spike Lee’s best movies. With a dynamite cast, sharp script and pointed humor that underscores real-life, disturbing horrors, it’s an entertaining crime drama that amuses and shocks and invites the audience into a complex and impassioned conversation about the power of racism - and the moving image - to influence our lives.

Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk is beaming with style and detail, but at its core, it’s a mindful meditation on human beings seeking the greatest gift we can give each other—love.

Stan & Ollie muddles up the history a bit, as all biopics do, but it’s a film without any meaningful flaws. Every character is wonderfully realized, every performance is spectacular. You’ll laugh all the way through, you’ll cry by the end, and you’ll see the brilliance of Laurel & Hardy come back to life via the very same cinematic magic that made them legends in the first place.

Few filmmakers are as playfully cynical as the Coens, and in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs they haven’t just made a funny, sentimental, exciting and blistering western, they’ve also unlocked their entire filmography for anyone who may have missed the connections before. And there’s no going back now. It’s the Coen Bros.’ world, and good luck to anyone who lives there.

It’s a heartbreaking tale of why the haves and have-nots will stay that way, crafted by a virtuoso director at the very top of his game.

1917 is an expertly crafted and emotionally exhausting thrill-ride behind enemy lines. Gloriously shot, deftly paced, and striking in its gruesome recreation of the time and place, Sam Mendes’ 1917 wisely never loses sight of the smaller, intimate elements in a fast-paced story with immense scale and action.

Kelly Reichardt’s heist movie The Mastermind is crackingly, urgently alive, an assured and magnificent addition to an already storied body of work.

Top to bottom, Frozen is a delight. The writing is witty, the voicing is excellent, the story is nuanced and the songs are some of the best since Beauty and the Beast. It's a throwback to a wondrous time in Disney animation, and just a ton of fun.

A stunning cinematic achievement that celebrates one of humanity’s biggest triumphs (and mourns the tragedies that happened leading up to it), yet it never loses sight of its personal and small-scale story about a man going to work.

The Disaster Artist is a hilarious and heart-wrenching ode to outsider art, with a baffling story that would be impossible to believe if it weren’t apparently true. James Franco directs the film with sensitivity and painstaking detail, and gives a fantastic performance as one of the worst filmmakers - and one of the most unusual human beings - ever.

Steven Spielberg tells an intimate story through extravagant storytelling, giving audiences an intensely relevant historical drama, and giving Meryl Streep one of her most nuanced roles in years.

Fiercely intelligent and deeply suspenseful, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is an absorbing morality tale from writer/director Dan Gilroy, and boasts one of Denzel Washington’s finest performances.

Hereditary is one of the scariest movies around, and a spectacular showcase for actors Toni Collette and Alex Wolff. The film’s subtle shocks and realistic drama combine to create a dreamlike atmosphere, drenched in psychological horror, which builds and builds to a climax that you won’t forget anytime soon.

The Safdie brothers continue their winning streak of making harshly real films about everyday New Yorkers with fatal flaws. But this time, they’ve also given Adam Sandler a platform to show just how good he is with the right collaborators. The results are as stylish as they are affecting.

Brad Bird’s strong script and direction elevate this animated adventure to new heights. Instead of trying to copy or parody the superhero films of the past 14 years, Incredibles 2 embraces what made its first outing so memorable: The Parr family and their willingness to work together in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

With The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker has shown himself to be a confident, extraordinary filmmaker. He not only gets good performances from his cast, but has created a film that seems sure of itself, one that knows when to lean into depicting hatred, when to lean into depicting love, and when to cut away; when the look on a face is more important than the blood on a back and when it isn't.

IT may not be the best Stephen King movie (even though it comes impressively close), but it’s probably the MOST Stephen King movie.

A refreshing take of this classic showbiz rise and fall tale, with updated character work, fantastic performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, and a soundtrack that will be stuck in your head for days.

This is a film about pain, and it forces the audience to live in and work through that pain. And it’s absolutely worth the effort. By the end it’s a transformative experience.

Saoirse Ronan gives a standout, brilliant performance and so does Laurie Metcalf as her long-suffering, big-hearted mother. It’s a remarkable solo directorial debut from Greta Gerwig.

The master filmmaker has made an introspective, thoughtful, even somber film that manages to be just as entertaining as his classics, even while diving deep into the darkest souls and finding some semblance of a heart.

It’s a classy, riveting remake, and it will make you want to see even more adventures featuring this particular Poirot.

Mudbound is a daring approach to a classical narrative, a film that tries to look from multiple perspectives at an intimate human drama that has far-reaching ramifications. Its imperfections are debatable, and fairly minor. It is the work of a bold storyteller working at the top of her game.

I wholeheartedly love Evil Dead II. It's a great midnight movie, and one of the best horror-comedies ever made.

The movie is simply luxurious: huge, ornate stage settings; bright, colorful circus like street scenes; gorgeous costumes. [2002 Director's Cut]

Best of all, it's just a story of a kid's Christmas. There is no big spiritual redemption, no one has to learn a lesson.

While no entry in the franchise has surpassed the original film, this Halloween sequel is truly a cut above the rest and a great piece of horror entertainment even for those unfamiliar with the series.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic, visually stunning and poignant way to end this beloved trilogy.

It's funny. It's sad. It's imaginative. It's great sci-fi, and terrific family entertainment. In short, Back to the Future is brilliant.

The writers are comic geniuses, and the experience is so enjoyable that upon viewing This Island Earth's non-MST3K version, a grin will cross your face as you remember this parody masterpiece.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a spy movie made by James Bond devotees who know the genre so well that they can have a good time with it while also paying it respect -- and taking it to someplace new entirely.

What holds Mary Poppins back from being absolutely perfect (as opposed to practically perfect) is due to the episodic structure of the story. Since scenes and songs were drawn from a range of stories from the book series, they play as a series of random adventures, not an organic progression of a single tale.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mixes stunning animation with a poignant, surprisingly mature story to deliver the Shrek franchise's answer to Logan we didn't know we needed.

Black Panther delivers the goods as an adventure film, a political statement, and a cultural celebration. It shakes off a sluggish start thanks to a memorable cast of characters going up against Marvel’s best-realized villain in almost a decade.

Using the strength of its powerful and interesting villain to set the stakes higher than ever, Avengers: Infinity War successfully brings together the past 10 years of Marvel movies into a largely effective cocktail of super-heroic dramatics.

A masterful exploration of femininity and the pressures of perfection.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivers a dynamic visual experience unlike any other.

Wicked is a well-oiled machine in the hands of Jon M. Chu. This film adaptation epitomizes what modern movie musicals can and should be, embracing its source material while cleverly translating it to screen. Tear-jerking performances by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo make the movie, playing to their individual strengths to bring to life the rapport between Glinda and Elphaba, who’ll go on to become the good and wicked witches of Wizard of Oz fame. If as many people love this film as much as I did, Wicked will undoubtedly immortalize the Grande and Erivo in movie musical history.

Moonlight is a complex, haunting coming-of-age story unlike anything else this year.

Carlito's Way, like Casualties of War and Mission: Impossible, seems to stand at a nexus between commercial fealty and directorial idiosyncrasy; it's a sort of half-breed film that exudes personal vision but functions satisfactorily for the multiplex crowds at the same time.

Coco wonderfully explores familial themes, identity, and learning what it means to grow up in a world that isn’t perfect.

Redford offers just the right amounts of arrogance and innocence to make Hooker a believable hustler but half-hearted scoundrel.

Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t the technical leap forward that its predecessor was, which is to be expected after three years instead of thirteen. But what it lacks in novelty, it more than makes up for with refinement on every level.

Us is a very, very strange film. But that’s OK because it wouldn’t be a Jordan Peele joint if there wasn’t a little risk involved. Peele has proven that he’s not a one-hit-wonder with this truly terrifying, poignant look at one American family that goes through hell at the hands of maniacal doppelgangers.

Misery offers a first-rate Hitchcockian thriller filled with amazing performances, solid direction and masterful writing.

Romero’s zombies are terrifying in black and white, but one could even argue who was the true monster in the movie: the undead or the living?

It takes real intelligence to make the best dumb jokes. Game Night has plenty of both, combining skilled filmmaking and ridiculous gags in equal measure, and letting the seriousness and silliness play off of each other for maximum effect.

Cocoon has its flaws, to be sure, but it's an ambitious, visually stirring piece of sci-fi drama. The performances from the cast (both young and old) are terrific, and visual effects are quite gorgeous.

The film is absolutely beautiful, with some of the most gorgeous sets and images ever committed to celluloid. The three main actors are just incredible - the first two hours are carried almost solely on Rex Harrison's charisma and screen presence. Later, Burton perfectly portrays a deeply flawed man who will do whatever is necessary for love. Elizabeth Taylor anchors the entire film.