My All-time Favourite Movies

I made a shortlist of my favourite movies.

It was difficult to quantify what makes a movie my favourite. At first, I started out with movies that I wouldn't mind watching again at a moment's notice, but some of these require the right mood, and some I haven't seen for a long time, and don't want to ruin what I enjoyed then.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

A Beautiful Mind

It's been a while since I watched this, so maybe it would come off the list if I were to watch it again. I enjoyed the concept, mystery, and the challenge of displaying someone who has the mental trials shown in the film.

Arrival

This is how science fiction is meant to be. Approachable by the laypeople, but deep and thought-provoking.

The Dark Knight

A dark and gritty superhero movie before they were cool. This is one of the few superhero films that I feel didn't require pre-existing fandom, and much is much easier to relate to in that way.

Edge of Tomorrow

The newest addition to this list, this is one goes in the non-linear storyline category, but not because it's told in a non-linear way. It's a near-future plot about the defeat of aliens which had invaded the earth for it's resources.

Fight Club

I can't talk about the fight club. Another one of those "What's real?"-type of storylines.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

(The English one. I haven't watched the older Swedish films, yet.) Based on a Swedish novel titled Men Who Hate Women, this is an aptly told, yet very sad, story about this. Even though the topic is rather sad, these are a great piece of storytelling with great acting. A story of this type really requires a special touch, and this one has it. I still hope they make films for the other two books in the trilogy, because they were some of my favourite.

The Good, the Bad, and the Weird

A Japanese spaghetti western. Surprisingly, this is a thing! If you can handle foreign-language films, watch this. Very entertaining for when you need a light-hearted story of a different caliber.

The Matrix

Even though I didn't see this until nearly ten years after it came out, and the techniques used in the film are no longer amazing, it still has a solid story that makes one one wonder what is actually real.

Memento

I have a thing for stories that aren't told with a linear progression of time. This is one of those, involving a guy who gets tattoos of things because he can't remember them.

The Prestige

Probably my favourite movie overall. A great period piece about stage magic, which is totally a lost art. The pseudoscience is very entertaining. 

The Shawshank Redemption

This is one of those films I know I would put on the list, but can't remember it well enough to write a good description. Maybe I ought to watch it again.

Snowpiercer

Dark, dystopian, and cold. Set on a train that has the last survivors of a new ice age and it doesn't get any better than that.

The Sting

A great crime drama of a proper sting operation, with great music. It's one of the few movie soundtracks that I own, or listen to on a regular basis for that matter.

Watchmen

As far as comic book superhero films go, this one takes some effort to get in to, but it's totally worth it. (Reading it might help.) The atypical concept of a world where there are both god-like heroes and and self-made ones, along with the dystopian alternate history setting, makes for a good plot.