The Constant Gardener
Carried by its two leading performers, The Constant Gardener supplies us with a compelling look at government and pharmaceutical corruption and exploitation that maintains its watchability primarily through Weisz and Fiennes, who earn it a spot 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.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
Between its phenomenal scenes of combat, compelling worldbuilding, and beautiful animation style, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train offers itself as a film for anyone interested in dark fantasy, fast-paced action, and/or anime drama, earning itself a spot among the greats in the process.
What Ever Happened TO Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? could have easily fallen by the wayside as so many psychological horror films have throughout the history of cinema, but instead, the three actors at its heart gave some of the best horror performances of all time and elevated the film to a place of greatness.
Bloody Sunday
Told with such a gripping style, Bloody Sunday showcases its greatness and Greengrass’s skill as a filmmaker by refusing to let you look away from the atrocities that it seeks to depict, cementing a place beside the Greatest Films of All Time as it does so.
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.
Monster
By framing its story around the nature of relationships and perceptions, Monster invites its audience to better appreciate and accept the “others” in our lives and to seek to consider others’ circumstances before slapping them with labels or accusations, a sentiment more than deserving of a place of greatness.
Goldfinger
Goldfinger checks all the right boxes for an easily watched and rewatched classic spy thriller, blending creative action, memorable characters, and zany plots into a singularly great film in the pantheon of espionage thrillers.
The Great Escape
The brilliant pacing, storytelling, and character work done by all those involved in The Great Escape have turned it into one of the most iconic and Greatest Films of All Time.
The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece of a film in The Handmaiden is elevated to that status by its brilliantly engaging story, beautifully crafted production, and compellingly portrayed leading trio of characters, earning it a spot among the greats.
District 9
Blomkamp gives his audience a harrying look at racism and xenophobia from the corporate to the individual level, packaged in an easy to watch science fiction action thriller that without a doubt belongs among the Greatest Films of All Time.
To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not is full of a slew of iconic characters that help set it apart from its predecessors with similar stories and still earn a deserved spot among the Greatest Films of All Time.
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda does the important work of showing audiences that the Rwandan Genocide was carried out by actual people as the result of European colonization of the nation, all of it with engrossing performances from its lead man and chief supporting lady, warranting recognition as one of the Greatest Films of All Time.
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.
Persona
Without spending thousands of words breaking down each scene of Persona piece by piece, I don’t know how else to convince you of its greatness other than by saying that the film might be the prime example of a director in full mastery of his art working with his ideal script and two incredibly talented performers.
Sherpa
You hate to say that Sherpa benefitted from an act of nature when that act of nature left sixteen people dead, but that act also provided the film with a much-needed catalyst to present the horrors of the reality that it wants to show the audience, ultimately earning it 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.