Sling Blade
Altogether, Sling Blade gives audiences a relatable, and generally positive, look at the ways we need each other to get through life’s hardships, highlighted by Thornton’s brilliant turn as writer, director, and actor, which earns the film its place among the greats.
The Usual Suspects
With a plot twist that stands the test of time, a phenomenal script, and a memorable performance from its primary witness, The Usual Suspects earns its place in cinematic history, standing among the other great crime thrillers as one of the best.
Reversal of Fortune
The leading performances of Reversal of Fortune are what have earned it a place among the all-time greats, but none stand taller than Jeremy Irons’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Claus von Bülow, which keeps the audience guessing and almost rooting against the narrative at every turn while staying fully hooked into how it’ll all play out.
Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York feels like the culmination and combination of the overwhelming majority of Scorsese’s filmography, capturing the filmmaker’s essence, vision, and passions all in a single film that certainly deserves a spot among the Greatest Films of All Time.
John Wick: Chapter 4
A cohesive conclusion to John Wick’s story, John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers big on action thanks to Reeves and newcomers Donnie Yen and Shamier Anderson and on story thanks to the work put in by Reeves and Stahelski in the previous installments that pays off well in this one, earning the film a spot among the Greatest Films of All Time.
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Compelling performances from an ensemble cast help turn what could be a disjointed story of two different tones into a cohesive and engaging piece of film in Crimes and Misdemeanors, earning it a spot among the greats.
Dead Man Walking
With his two shining leads in Sarandon and Penn, Tim Robbins delivers a truly nuanced and heartfelt look at the death penalty, emphasizing the universality of human dignity and the need of all people for love in the process, earning this film a place among the greats.
Ernest & Celestine
While its animation and style would make for a great film on their own, Ernest & Celestine’s message of overcoming prejudices in order to forge bonds of friendship that lead to the cultivation of one another’s strengths makes it a film worthy of all-time great status.
Capturing the Friedmans
By exploring the inconsistencies of the American legal/judicial system and the confirmation bias inherent to many police investigations and interviews, Capturing the Friedmans asserts itself as one of the premier true crime documentaries.
Promising Young Woman
Carey Mulligan’s leading performance pairs perfectly with Emerald Fennell’s script and story in Promising Young Woman to give audiences a film that captures the outrage of victims of sexual assault across the world who have been silenced because of the inconveniences of their plights, making this one of the most necessary and greatest films ever made.
Ball of Fire
Stanwyck’s leading performance works perfectly in the story and script from Billy Wilder to turn Howard Hawks’s film from just any other screwball comedy into one that stands the test of time to earn a spot among the greats.
Better Days
A strong leading duo and innovative additions of romance and crime to the typical trappings of an anti-bullying high school drama make Better Days a refreshingly original film from Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsang that is worthy of its place among the greats.
Amores Perros
Amores Perros presents the audience with a brutal breakdown of social, economic, and relational gaps that highlights the central need of all people to be loved by and connected to other humans, resulting in a film worthy of a place among the greats.
