In an effort to add some variety and fill in the gaps on slow weeks in the cinema, I’ll be kicking off a new series on the site: “Top 25.” The premise is simple: I’ve painstakingly crafted a list of my 25 favourite films, and every so often I’ll do a writeup of each of the films explaining why I think they’re so great. There won’t be a consistent timing for my progression through the list, just adding a new piece whenever I feel like it, and the list is unranked, which means I’ll be going through the films in alphabetical order.
It was no easy task to put together the list, as a lot of films that I adore and would love to celebrate didn’t make the cut, but ultimately I’m pleased that this list is an accurate representation of my taste. My hope through this series is both to be able to introduce you to a bit more of who I am and what I love in a film and also to introduce these cinematic gems to a new audience (not that you won’t have heard of any of them). Plus it’s nice to just spill out praise once in awhile. Fair warning now that all of the articles about these films will feature spoilers, so I highly recommend going through the list and watching any of the films that you might’ve missed before I publish each article. This post will also serve as a hub, and I’ll be updating it with links for each article as they’re published.
Without further ado, here are my 25 favourite films.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Stanley Kubrick – View
Alien (1979) – Ridley Scott
Apocalypse Now (1979) – Francis Ford Coppola
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) – Andrew Dominik
Blade Runner (1982) – Ridley Scott
Children of Men (2006) – Alfonso Cuarón
Donnie Darko (2001) – Richard Kelly
Drive (2011) – Nicolas Winding Refn
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Michel Gondry
The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin
Fargo (1996) – Joel & Ethan Coen
Full Metal Jacket (1987) – Stanley Kubrick
In Bruges (2008) – Martin McDonagh
Let the Right One In (2008) – Tomas Alfredson
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) – Peter Jackson
Mulholland Drive (2001) – David Lynch
No Country for Old Men (2007) – Joel & Ethan Coen
Pulp Fiction (1994) – Quentin Tarantino
The Seventh Seal (1957) – Ingmar Bergman
The Shining (1980) – Stanley Kubrick
Taxi Driver (1976) – Martin Scorsese
There Will Be Blood (2007) – Paul Thomas Anderson
Trainspotting (1996) – Danny Boyle
The Tree of Life (2011) – Terrence Malick
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) – Apichatpong Weerasethakul
There’s the list. You can probably make some initial observations already, but there’s still plenty more to be said about each of these. I hope you’re looking forward to reading and watching along as much as I’m looking forward to sharing my love of these films with you.
You can check out the list and follow along with what I’m watching on my Letterboxd profile. I’ll be rewatching each film before I write their articles, so keep that in mind as a potential giveaway for when the articles are about to be published.
And yes, The Lord of the Rings counts as one film. Fight me.
Cinema in Frame 
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