TOP 150 MOVIES

Films depicting the Vietnam war came thick and fast after the fall of Saigon, but not many tapped into the horrors of war and the mourning that followed as effectively as Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter.

Starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep whilst at the peak of their youthful prowess, The Deer Hunter courted controversy due to its depiction of the Vietnam War while tapping into the political divide of an America at war with itself.

The film’s focus on a group of friends from a Pennsylvania steel town gives the story a personal weight, particularly in the way it tracks the lasting damage done to those who return. Robert De Niro delivers one of his best turns while Walken’s performance remains one of the most haunting of the era.

A strong morality tale about corruption and redemption, On the Waterfront is a timeless classic that features both Marlon Brando and director Eliz Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire) at the top of their craft.

Brando stars as Terry Malloy, a former prize fighter who now plays muscleman for ruthless crime boss and labour leader Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). After a dock worker is murdered by Friendly's crew, Terry is urged to stand up and fight for justice.

A big reason for the success of On the Waterfront is Marlon Brando's heartbreakingly powerful performance, as his natural charm and sensitivity is bestowed upon an (at first glance) brutish, blue-collar man conflicted by his loyalty to his brother (Rod Steiger), the love for his girl (Eva Marie Saint), and his duty to tell the truth. 

Slumdog Millionaire is a gritty, captivating and wonderfully uplifting watch, sure to move the most cynical of souls.

Set in India, Slumdog Millionaire uses a back and forth, timeline jumping structure as it follows Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) from his upbringing in the slums of Mumbai, to being a contestant on India’s version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) successfully blends nerve raking thrills, comedy driven sequences, and gritty depictions of violence to make for a unique and ever engrossing movie. Yet above all Slumdog Millionaire is a film that celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit.

Beautifully performed and directed, The Shawshank Redemption takes the brutality of the prison movie and creates a film of friendship and hope that will touch the most cynical of souls. 

Based on the short story by Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) a banker wrongly convicted of murder. Once on the inside he strikes up a friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman) a lifer who through Andy finds hope can bloom even when behind bars.

Directed with a graceful, sensitive touch by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption is a film that is both majestic and intimate, with a conclusion that will bring a tear to the eye.

The seventh feature film from director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) is the best yet from the South Korean filmmaker, with Parasite a stunning and immensely engrossing tale of deception, a family and a crippling hierarchical class structure.

It is also a film that is a symphony of emotion, sweeping from drama to tense thriller with an ease that is both hypnotic and startling. Indeed, the way in which Joon-ho weaves the many elements of Parasite into a comprehensive, majestic whole is further validation of his mastery of the cinema medium, establishing his standing as one of the best filmmakers working today.

Incredibly entertaining, moving as well as illuminating, Parasite is one of the best films of 2019 for good reason.

Intellectually engaging, visually and sonically stimulating, and packing an emotional wallop, Oppenheimer further cements Christopher Nolan’s standing as the thinking man’s blockbuster filmmaker.

Oppenheimer also places a spotlight on one of the 21st centuries most brilliant minds and his most infamous achievement: Robert J. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), and the creation of the atomic bomb that decimated the Japanese islands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Skipping back and forth between different time periods, as well as black and white and colour photography, Nolan knocks the dust off the stuffy biopic formula and delivers a movie that is pulsating with energy and epic in its scope. Cillian Murphy delivers his best feature film performance yet as Oppenheimer, portraying the eccentricities and fragilities of this brilliant mind with an impressive restraint as the guilt that consumes Oppenheimer slowing eats him up inside.

Project Hail Mary is that rare blockbuster that speaks to audiences young and old; a combination of smarts, imagination, and an ability to have fun without diminishing the high stakes at play.

Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary as Dr. Ryland Grace, a molecular biologist who is tasked to investigate how to stop a mysterious space phenomenon from draining power from the Sun. When his findings result in Grace blasting into space on the Hail Mary vessel in a mission to reverse the potentially apocalyptic event, he joins forces with an extraterrestrial creature whose world is also in peril.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street) have a knack for making their films pop and they do just that on Project Hail Mary while also delivering an emotionally stirring film that delves into themes of mateship, bravery, and the promise of mankind’s ingenuity when faced with dire circumstances. Gosling, meanwhile, delivers a performance full of charm, natural comedic instinct, and stirring emotional power.

Chronicling the true story of how the Boston Globe exposed the sex abuse cover up within the Catholic Church, Spotlight is both a masterful investigative thriller and profound exploration into the power of culture upon a city.

Directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy (Win Win) with a keen eye for detail and deft touch on character, Spotlight also displays the best ensemble cast of that year led by stellar performances from Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo.

A film of relevance and importance, Spotlight handles its subject with forthright clarity without resorting to sensationalism, letting the facts guide its drama. 

Unfortunately derided over the years as sentimental palp, Forrest Gump is a masterful feat of fantastical movie making, brilliantly directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) and scripted by Eric Roth (The Insider.)

Tom Hanks stars as the title character, a simple man who achieved extraordinary things all the while holding a flame for the love of his life, the wayward Jenny (Robin Wright). Excellent use of visual effects and production design feature throughout this decades spanning epic, as those a choice cut of soundtrack selection.

From the opening scene when that floating feather lands into his lap, Hanks takes the ball and runs as Forrest Gump, fronting the screen for the majority of the films 142 min and delivering a performance that can be only described as iconic.

Delivering one of the great cinematic characters of the last 30-plus years, The Big Lebowski features the Coen Brothers at their witty, quirky best.

The Big Lebowski stars a hilarious, perfectly cast Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, an unemployed bowling loving stoner who gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity with a millionaire whose trophy wife is abducted. On the case, The Dude must navigate the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles and reign in his volatile Vietnam veteran buddy Walter (John Goodman) to clear his name.

Both Bridges and Goodman are a downright hoot in their respective roles, as the Coens brilliantly blend neo-noir elements with surreal imagery and stoner comedy conventions to make a potent, unique comedy.