BraedenG33's Top 50 Favorite Films of All Time

Hey mofo's, this is my first list on the site so even I'm not totally sure what to expect but I am very excited to put out a list showing my favorite films of all time (at least that I've seen so far). There are so many great movies that even cutting it down to 50 was difficult, but I did it.

This is only how I feel right now, there are so many more movies to see and appreciate that I'm sure even a month from now my opinion might be different as I see more films, particularly a lot of older classic films I need to catch up on (I'm only 17, I've got a lot of catching up to do).

I can't wait to get some feedback and see what you guys think of my list!

The List:
HMs: The Revenant; Guardians of the Galaxy; Terminator 2: Judgment Day; Snowpiercer; Selma; Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; Goodfellas; Big Hero 6; Kingsman: The Secret Service; The Imitation Game
50. Memento
49. The Prestige
48. Man of Steel
47. Creed
46. North By Northwest
45. Aliens
44. Captain America: The First Avenger
43. Batman Begins
42. Star Trek Into Darkness
41. Mad Max: Fury Road
40. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
39. X-Men: First Class
38. Reservoir Dogs
37. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
36. The Terminator
35. Iron Man
34. Deadpool
33. Blade Runner
32. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
31. The Avengers
30. Rear Window
29. Star Trek
28. Super 8
27. Gladiator
26. Inside Out
25. Ex Machina
24. Alien
23. Drive
22. Interstellar
21. The Iron Giant
20. Return of the Jedi
19. Captain America: Civil War
18. The Social Network
17. Ratatouille
16. Spirited Away
15. The Incredibles
14. The Martian
13. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
12. Wall-E
11. The Lion King
10. Saving Private Ryan
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
8. The Matrix
7. Whiplash
6. Star Wars
5. The Dark Knight
4. Jurassic Park
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Inception
1. The Empire Strikes Back

Starting off the list with...


Starting off the list with one of the first films of one of my all-time favorite directors, Christopher Nolan. It was an incredibly well made and inventive film with the reverse-storytelling that it is known for. It keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat as you try to piece together to puzzle of what happened to the wife of amnesiac protagonist, Leonard, portrayed very well by Guy Pearce.

It's the kind of film you simply have to watch more than once to really appreciate it, and it holds up well on multiple viewings. And in the end you're never quite sure you know what happened. It would be easy to have a complex narrative like this one become too confusing to keep track of, particularly in how it is presented, but Nolan is able to handle the material masterfully as usual. The strategic use of black and white during certain scenes to demonstrate the differences between the two timelines of the film was a brilliant move.

I have very little else to say other than it was a brilliant and original thriller and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has not seen it.

__________________
my youtube channel (mostly about filmmaking and photography not movie reviews)

my letterboxd (movie reviews)

Memento is a good flick, bring on the rest

Another Nolan film coming in early on my list, the Prestige is a film I only saw for the first time about a year ago and was really impressed with it. I'm a huge fan of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman and seeing them on screen going against each other was great. The two stars portray magicians in the early 1900s who push each other to extremes trying to outdo each other, who can create the more fantastical illusion. Featuring a great ending twist and a great cameo by the late David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, the film does an excellent job of building intensity as the two characters get pushed further and further in pursuit of greatness.

Another great thing about this film is that there is no clear-cut good guy that you root for, your alignment switches at different times between Bale's character and Jackman's, and while in some films this lack of a clear character to attach to can be frustrating, it works very well in this film, as you feel for both characters and they're very well-realized in their motivations.

The film also works very well as a period piece, as the production design is very well-done and really transports you to that time (the appearance of famous historical figures of the time such as Bowie's Tesla helps to sell this as well, which was a smart move in the screenwriting process).

One thing this movie is known for is the parallels between this film and the art of filmmaking, as it's method for describing the sleight of hand is also very descriptive of the magical qualities that film has of selling it's stylized reality (particularly in the area of special effects). I think this is something you could say about many of Nolan's films, which is one of the many reasons I love his work so much. His films are always a study into the craft of filmmaking and a love letter to it, and as an aspiring filmmaker myself the way you can see his respect for film in his movies and rich knowledge of it is something I can appreciate.

One of Nolan's arguably lesser known films, but also one of his best, the Prestige is a masterfully intense period film with depth and intrigue and inventive filmmaking that you would expect from Nolan.

Perhaps the most divisive film that will appear on this list, I am one of the people out there that really loved Man of Steel (and on the subject I actually like Batman vs Superman too, though not as much, hence it won't appear on this list). Zack Snyder's take on Superman's origin is very well done in my opinion. Snyder, despite his flaws with narrative, is a director I definitely appreciate for his skill and unique style with visuals. Man of Steel is a beautifully shot film. I also really appreciated the way they presented the Superman character. He's not just superman, he's Clark Kent first. He's just a guy from Kansas who wants to do the right thing. The fact that he has godlike powers isn't the defining trait of his character.

One of the key flaws that people have with this movie is the overwhelming destruction in the final action sequence. And while I do think that final sequence was a bit longer than it needed to be, I still loved it, as it was a visual spectacle, and the destruction made sense for the story, you're dealing with the two most powerful beings earth has ever seen, collateral damage is to be expected, and if Superman hadn't fought to stop him, the result would have been even worse. More to the point, however, is that this Superman isn't the Superman that has been at it for a long time, he literally had learned to fly a few days before and had never fought a being like Zod (who was bred trained to be the perfect warrior). Superman was barely in control of himself, still learning what he could truly do with his powers and learning how far he'd have to go to stop Zod (ultimately dealing with a crushing moral decision of choosing to save a family at the expense of Zod, a reasonable choice but also a poignant one, as he chooses humanity over his own race).

I understand why some people don't like this movie, it's not for everyone, but it really spoke to me and what I wanted out of a fresh interpretation of the Superman character. I'm a huge fan of the comics and this lived up to my expectations personally. Snyder's movies are always divisive but I am a fan of this one especially. Henry Cavill truly embodies the role of Superman and I'm very excited to see where the DC universe will go with Justice League and the inevitable revival of Superman.

It's the type of movie I've liked more and more with every rewatch, and will never hesitate to tune in when I see it while flipping channels.

I haven't gotten to The Man of Steel yet. I don't see any reason why I wouldn't like it.

I couldn't get into The Prestige but it has a lot of fans here.

The first film from 2015 (there are a few) to appear on the list, Creed was a great movie and I believe should have been nominated for an oscar (or at least give Coogler a director nomination). I've been a huge fan of Michael B. Jordan since his days on Friday Night Lights, and I also liked him in That Awkward Moment (an underrated rom-com). This is him at his absolute best. His performance was amazing in this film. He was very believable and sympathetic as the son of the legendary Apollo Creed, Adonis.

Also back at the top of his game is Sylvester Stallone, who pulls arguably his best performance since the first Rocky in 1976. This version of Rocky is unlike any we've seen in the previous installments of the franchise, and he grows into a new role mentoring Adonis.

The biggest takeaway for me though was the film's direction. Ryan Coogler did an amazing job with this movie, and I'm very excited to see what he does with the Black Panther film. He pulled out the best possible performances from everyone in the film and the cinematography was very impressive (there is a fight scene in the film shot all in one long take that was really mind-blowing to watch in the theater).

I also like that this movie, while it does play out with a lot of familiar beats to the original, does a good job of paying homage while still not being a complete retread and still breaking new ground for the 40 year old franchise. I'm very excited to see where sequels could head with the new leading character and the world and characters they set up around him.

I loved this movie and made me an instant fan of Ryan Coogler, who is one of the most talented young directors with a unique style and I can't wait to see more of him.

I've already written a review about North by Northwest before on this site, so I'm just gonna quote that here.

Every 5 movies I'm going to break and give an honorable mention to a movie that just missed the cut. These movies won't come in any particular order there just films that I want to highlight that weren't quite able to crack the top 50. I'm not going to write a full review on these but just a sentence or two and a rating.

The first of these is the Revenant, a movie that I really enjoyed (Lubezki, my favorite cinematographer, and Inarritu are a visual match made in heaven, this is one of the best looking films I've ever seen) both on a technical level and a narrative one.

"Get away from her you b*tch!"

The follow up to Ridley Scott's Alien, James Cameron brings this franchise into new territory, from a pure sci-fi horror flick to something bigger, and grander in scale. Aliens and Alien are both fantastic films and different ones and I think the better one comes down to taste. For me, Alien (which will appear on the list at some point) is the better film and Aliens is the more entertaining one.

I personally believe that James Cameron is a great director and he is at his best in the third acts of his films, perhaps better than anyone else is. This film is no different, with perhaps my favorite use of the chekhov's gun principle, in which something hinted at in the beginning of the film plays an integral part of the end of the film. In this case, I'm referring to the powerloader shown above which Ripley uses to fight the mother xenomorph at the end of the film, which is teased in the beginning of the film in what seems like a throwaway scene in which we see that Ripley is adept at using the powerloader. While you don't realize that this aspect of her character is important at first, when the film does come full circle and returns to that aspect, it's all the more fulfilling.

This film also does a good job of upping the ante over it's predecessor without a dramatic decrease in emotional resonance and overall quality, which is why it makes such a great sequel. It pushes the franchise forward and expands upon the original without losing track of the core elements that made the original film so great. It simply uses those elements (bad*ss female lead, cool monstrous alien(s), awesome atmosphere and set design in a very cool sci-fi future world, etc.) in a different way, allowing it to feel unique and still great in it's own right while still being a companion piece.

This is James Cameron in his prime working in his element in a fantastic sci-fi action film that is a great sequel that stand the test of time as well as stands up to the tremendous quality of the original film. It is an absolute classic.

Full disclosure: I absolutely love the MCU, I really do. I actually think that it is a better fictional universe than it's comic book source material, both in terms of its films and it's netflix series's. This is certainly not the last MCU film you will see on this list. My favorite part of the MCU? the Cap trilogy, which I would contend is the best superhero trilogy of all time (even compared to Nolan's batman trilogy, which as a nolan fan I absolutely love, so that's saying something). All 3 of the Cap films will appear on this list.

There's so much I can say about this film (and more than just my silly juvenile #Stucky obsessions, which could be it's own post lol -- I'm only half kidding). It's a brilliantly done origin story and a very well done period piece that introduces us to the Steve Rogers character who has developed into one of my favorite characters in any form of narrative (the stupidity of his surprise hydra alignment in the comics notwithstanding, I refer specifically to MCU cap). Chris Evans truly nails this role, and in this movie especially we see the seeds of what Steve Rogers truly is. Not just a soldier... but a good man, as put so eloquently by the scientist responsible for his transformation into super-soldier Captain America.

The first half of this film is as good as anything marvel has done, and while the second half gets a bit crazy, it's still incredibly entertaining. I feel like this film is kind of underrated because it gets lost in the shuffle with all the other superhero movies that have come out in the last 5 years, and therefore goes underappreciated, but I really loved it (and have developed a really strong emotional attachment to the characters of Steve and Bucky and to a lesser extent Peggy Carter and Howard Stark).

If you want an idea of how much I like this movie trilogy, my final exam in my AP physics class last year was to write a research paper on a topic of my choice, and I chose to write a speculative paper on the potential physics behind Captain America's shield (which, by the way, I got a 100% on *fist pumps*). Like I'm totally willing to admit that there are better films on this list, hell I would argue that every film below it except Man of Steel is more well-made than this one, but the fan in me has to have it on the list, if only because of how much I love these characters.

Also, because my #Stucky smut would go unread otherwise
(seriously though, making cap and bucky gay would be awesome)

I'm gonna try to make it through 41 tonight and then go to bed, would love some feedback on the selections so far, the rep is much appreciated!

Batman Begins, while not quite as brilliant as The Dark Knight, is perhaps Nolan's best work with the Batman/Bruce Wayne character, as TDK is definitely more the Joker's film than it is Batman's. A brilliant origin story as we see the death of the Wayne's, and Bruce's journey across the planet as he trains under Ra's Al Ghul, Batman Begins literally brought Batman back from the dead in the public eye. Following the failure of Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan brought Batman back in a whole new way, never seen before on film (as most of the films before were much campier and comic book-ish, for better or worse, than Nolan's adaptation). It was a comic book film that really took it's source material seriously and changed what a comic book film could be, laying the groundwork for one of the most critically acclaimed films of the 21st century in it's sequel the Dark Knight.

I've already said that I am a fan of Christian Bale, and while I don't necessarily love his Batman (it's the worst in TDKR), I do love his Bruce Wayne, as he's able to balance the mask Bruce puts on as a suave billionaire playboy with the damaged soul that he really is. Playing Bruce Wayne is really playing 3 characters in one. Bruce Wayne in public, Bruce Wayne in private, and The Batman. Bale had come the closest of anyone before Ben Affleck (who is now my definitive Batman) to nailing all three of these parts in Batman Begins.

This film also arguably does a better job than either of Nolan's other two Batman films of capturing the atmosphere of Gotham City. In the two sequels it feels less like Gotham and more just like sh*tty New York/Chicago amalgam (which, admittedly, is kind of what Gotham is, but it definitely doesn't feel like that in the comics and it doesn't feel that way in this first film). The atmosphere in this film is truly unbelievable and feels very faithful to the Gotham City that Batman fans like myself know.

A brilliant adaptation of it's source material, Batman Begins was a great start to one of the best Superhero trilogies ever, if not one of the finest movie trilogies ever.

The new Star Trek franchise has been relatively well received thus far but there are definitely many fans of the original series that don't really care for it as they feel like it doesn't have the same intellectual depth of the old Star Trek they're used to. That's fine. I never really watched the original Star Trek TV shows or films, so I'm just judging them based on how much I enjoyed them as films. JJ Abrams' Star Trek films definitely work for me, and while Into Darkness is definitely not as good as Star Trek (2009) was, it does have a significantly stronger villain in Kahn portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch (Eric Bana's Nero in the first film was kind of bland but still effective and the movie as a whole was so great that it worked fine for the film.

It was great to see the continuation of the dynamic between Kirk and Spock in this film and how the relationship between the two characters grew. The tone of the film, as is typical in sequels, is darker than its predecessor, which works given the differences in the narrative between this movie and the first film. Also, JJ Abrams does a great job with this film in the visuals. I love Abrams and his visual style (lens flares and all) and there are some spectacularly shot sequences in this film, which like its predecessor, has a very kinetic feeling to it as the camera is seemingly always in motion but keeps that motion smooth enough as to not be nauseating. I'm also a sucker for infrared camera work so the opening sequence in the forest (shot entirely with infrared cameras, hence the red leaves effect) was a treat for me.

JJ also does a great job of pulling strong performances out of all of the actors, from Cumberbatch's Kahn and Chris Pine's Kirk all the way down the line to Simon Pegg's Scotty and the late Anton Yelchin's Chekhov.

I know not a lot of people are as huge of fans of this film as I am, which is fine, but I really liked it. I think it's incredibly entertaining, and has the right balance of action and character to appeal to both the modern sci-fi action sensibilities while still being an intelligent film.

Is it perfect? No. Is it a ton of fun? Absolutely. And with the way that Abrams's sensibilities as a filmmaker speak to me, it would be impossible to leave it off of the list.

Mad Max: Fury Road is one of those movies that only comes along once in a very long while and will be talked about for years to come. It's the kind of film that truly shows what the medium is capable of, in the form of an action spectacle unlike any other in recent memory. George Miller puts on a tour de force in action directing with this film, and it captivated me from beginning to end. There has been plenty said about this film and its great action, so there's very little I can add to that.

What I really loved that perhaps goes underappreciated in the film, beyond the impressive spectacle of the action, is the intelligence and deliberance that drives each individual shot. It feels like a huge action spectacle with so much going on but every single frame is so deliberately and masterfully directed that you never lose sight of what's important and can always follow every component, never once feeling lost or confused by all that's happening. It would be easy to lose track of what's going on with as big of set pieces as Mad Max has, yet that's never the case. Truly a testament to the skill of the director and all the people working on the film.

Beyond the great action, there is still enough stakes and narrative in the film to make all that action meaningful. The real protagonist of the film is Furiosa, and her character in this film was truly amazing. Capable but never falling into the heartless female terminator trap, she is perhaps the best female action hero put to screen since Ellen Ripley. Charlize Theron was spectacular and truly owned the role. Tom Hardy was fine as Max, and fit the part well despite not really being asked to do as much, his character being more a supporting role despite being the titular one.

Visually, the film is striking in it's cinematography. Even in the quieter moments of the film (which there are few of, admittedly) there is such a dynamic feeling to the film. It plays very well with orange and blue to create incredibly high-contrast imagery, and it works to great effect. This goes very well with the incredible sound and production design that went into the film, as it's both one of the best looking and sounding films I've ever seen. Mad Max: Fury Road is practically flawless on a technical level and it should come as no surprise that it won so many oscars.

I mean, there's not much else to say that hasn't already been said about this film, it's a true masterpiece and one of those films that's just going to live on for years to come. If you haven't seen it, see it. If you have, well then you likely already know how spectacular this film was.

This movie surprised me in how much fun it was, while also being a fantastically well-told story. Plus, it has a great soundtrack with some really cool music. Almost made the list but the weak villain was the only real disappointment with the film.

That's the first 10 and two honorable mentions down. I'm going to bed now but I'll be picking it up again tomorrow.

This really is more of a ranking representing the whole Harry Potter franchise. I've loved the books and the films for as long as I've been reading novels really and Azkaban was always both my favorite book and film. Sirius is one of my favorite adult characters in the series for sure. If I were to rank the movies it would look something like this:

1- Prisoner of Akzaban
2- Order of the Phoenix
3- Half Blood Prince
4- Goblet of Fire
5- Deathly Hallows Part 1
6- Chamber of Secrets
7- Deathly Hallows Part 2
8- Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone, depending on how British you are).

I like that this film is the most visually unique of the films, no doubt in part because it was helmed by the best director to come to the franchise, Alfonso Cuaron. This was also where the young actors really came into their own (partly due to Cuaron's direction and partly due to their improvement as actors as they grew up, probably) which was a big step forward for the franchise. This movie was the first in the franchise to transition into the darker feeling the series has as you progress further along into the story, and it worked great, as I remember being genuinely scared (particularly of the dementors) when I saw this movie in theaters as a kid. Cuaron does an excellent job of establishing an eerie tone for the film while still maintaining the magic and wonder the earlier books in the franchise were known for (a feeling that, as the books and films go on, purposefully leaves in favor of more darkness as the children grow up and the stakes get bigger).

The Harry Potter franchise has been a part of my youth for a long time and there was no way it was not going to have some representation on the list, so this is the film I chose of the bunch, since I think it is the best one. I'd also laud this film for it's use of time travel without being frustratingly convoluted, as time travel tends to be.

theres 8 harry potter movies?? i thought there were 3 or something

__________________

Yeah there's one for each of the first 6 books and they split the seventh into two movies.

In my opinion the best of the core X-men films and one of the best superhero films ever made, X-Men: First Class was a fantastic prequel/reboot for the X-Men franchise which needed a revamp following two duds in X3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Matthew Vaughn took up the project and brought a whole new feel to the series. James McAvoy is great as a young Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender plays a perfect Erik Lensherr (Magneto).

The story follows the first group of mutants to be trained at the Xavier institute, featuring Havok, Raven (Mystique), Banshee, Angel, and Beast. The main conflict in the film is from the main villain, Sebastian Shaw, trying to start World War 3 so the mutants can rise to power (as humanity would be all but wiped out as a result). Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon, plays an excellent villain for the film, but really this plays in the background as the most interesting part of the film is the dynamic between Charles and Erik.

The visuals in this film are probably the best in the franchise (as Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, while still good films that I enjoyed, have terrible visual effects by the standards of big budget superhero films), with all the effects looking great and the camera work being top notch. I'm a big fan of the X-men comics and I like the newer X-men films quite a bit (even Apocalypse, which had very little going for it in terms of coherent plot, was a lot of fun). This film definitely struck the right balance between being true to the characters while still standing on it's own and not being a direct adaptation of the source material (since very few of the X-men films follow the comics directly).