80. Short Term 12 (2013) Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton, 96 mins.
The film stars the excellent Brie Larson (in her first leading performance) as Grace Howard, a young supervisor of a group home for troubled teenagers. Director/writer Cretton based Short Term 12 on his own experience working in a group facility. Watch
79. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) Dir. Abdellatif Kechiche, 179 mins.
The film follows Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a French teenager who discovers desire and freedom when an aspiring painter (Lea Seydoux) enters her life. The film charts their relationship from Adele’s high school years to her early adult life and career as a school teacher. Watch
78. Lady Bird (2017) Dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, 117 mins.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales becomes one of many Spider-Men as they team up to save New York City from Kingpin.
77. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, 117 mins.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales becomes one of many Spider-Men as they team up to save New York City from Kingpin.
76. Spotlight (2015) Dir. Thomas McCarthy, 128 mins.
The film follows The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests.
75. Hard to Be a God (2013) Dir. Aleksei German, 177 mins.
Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, the final film from Russian master, German, follows a scientist from Earth who is sent to a planet that has striking similarities to our own during the middle ages. The natives of this chaotic and cruel society treat the scientist as a sort of god, but he is not allowed to interfere with their development and left impotent in the face of the brutality he witnesses.
74. Uncut Gems (2019) Dir. Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, 135 mins.
The film stars Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict in New York City’s Diamond District, who must retrieve an expensive gem he purchased to pay off his debts.
73. Melancholia (2011) Dir. Lars von Trier, 135 mins.
The film’s story revolves around two sisters, one of whom is preparing to marry just before a rogue planet is about to collide with Earth.
72. Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013) Dir. Frank Pavich, 90 mins.
The film explores cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unsuccessful attempt to adapt and film Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel Dune in the mid-1970s.
71. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 114 mins.
The winner of the much coveted Grand Jury prize at Cannes, the film follows Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar), who, afflicted by acute kidney failure and convinced he will soon die, chooses to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears and brings him guidance, and his estranged son returns home in a non-human form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave. Writer, producer and director Weerasethakul delivers an oddly unique dose of often profound magical realism that removes the boundaries between life and death and which has been recognised as one of the best films of the 2000s in several polls. More…
70. Ad Astra (2019) Dir. James Gray, 124 mins.
it follows an astronaut (Brad Pitt) who ventures into space in search of his lost father, whose experiment threatens the solar system.
69. First Man (2018) Dir. Damien Chazelle, 141 mins.
Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, alongside Claire Foy as his wife and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969. The film’s emotional core comes just as much from Armstrong dealing with the loss of a child (7 years before the lunar landing), as it does his remarkable achievement as an astronaut. The film features some brilliant direction, outstanding performances from Gosling and Foy, a haunting musical score and an extraordinarily powerful Moon landing sequence. However, the film was not without detractors and its choice to not depict the planting of the American flag on the lunar surface led critics and politicians from both political parties to debate the film’s stance on patriotism.
68. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Dir. Tomas Alfredson, 127 mins.
Based on the classic 1974 novel of the same name, Alfredson’s visually stylish espionage thriller is set in London in the early 1970s and follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of the British secret service. The outstanding Gary Oldman leads a high quality ensemble cast as John Le Carre’s British spy George Smiley, formerly disgraced, but brought back by MI-6 to lead the hunt. While some will dislike the slow pace and find the narrative structure difficult to follow, the film displays a brilliant sense of time and place that combined with the atmosphere of Cold War paranoia builds to a satisfying and compelling finale.
67. The Irishman (2019) Dir. Martin Scorsese, 209 mins.
The film follows Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and his crime family, including his time working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).
66. The Great Beauty (2013) Dir. Paolo Sorrentino, 142 mins.
Journalist and ageing socialite Jep Gambardella (the marvellous Toni Servillo) has charmed and seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades. Since the legendary success of his one and only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in the city’s literary and social circles, but when his sixty-fifth birthday coincides with a shock from the past, Jep finds himself unexpectedly reflecting on his life. Sorrentino’s art film plays homage to the likes of Fellini and Antonioni and is poignant, sad and beautiful to behold. Was listed among the BBC’s 100 greatest films since 2000. Watch
65. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 150 mins.
Turkish drama film, co-written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan based on the true experience of one of the film’s writers, telling the story of a group of men who search for a dead body on the Anatolian steppe.
64. The Revenant (2015) Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 156 mins.
The screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Iñárritu is based in part on Michael Punke’s 2002 novel of the same name, describing frontiersman Hugh Glass’s experiences in 1823.
63. Son of Saul (2015) Dir. Laszlo Nemes, 107 mins.
Set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, Son of Saul follows a day-and-a-half in the life of Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig), a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando (a work unit made up of death camp prisoners). Numbed by his harrowing experiences cleaning up the gas chambers, Saul regains some humanity when he takes it upon himself to arrange a burial for one of the victims. Winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, the film is probably the most intense and devastating look at the horrors of World War 2 since Klimov’s Come And See made 30 years earlier.
62. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) Dir. Benh Zeitlin, 91 mins.
A pulsating and atmospheric fable set in a forgotten but defiant bayou community, cut off from the rest of the world by the sprawling Louisiana levee, that follows a big hearted six-year-old girl (the enchanting Quvenzhane Wallis) and her relationship with her no-nonsense father (Dwight Henry). Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. First time director Benh Zeitlin delivers an impressive and visually engaging mix of magical fantasy and biting realism despite a small budget.
61. Carol (2015) Dir. Todd Haynes, 118 mins.
Set in New York City during the early 1950s, Carol tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aspiring female photographer (Rooney Mara) and a glamorous older woman (Cate Blanchett) going through a difficult divorce. An elegantly restrained melodrama with lush visuals that features superb performances from Blanchett and Mara.
