Hoo boy, this is a hard list but here goes.
10:
Cloud Atlas Given that my username here is a direct reference to a character from the novel it's no surprise that it makes my list. I adore the novel (and really most of David Mitchell's novels,
no not that David Mitchell) and the trailer alone got me monumentally excited. The Wachowski's have had a bit of a downward spiral in terms of their movies post-The Matrix but I feel that Cloud Atlas is their most accomplished. Sure, The Matrix was a landmark film but this is far and away their most ambitious work. It doesn't hit quite as hard in the novel in order to make the six stories more immediately connected but the way it all comes together, the various genres and tones, makes for a thoroughly engaging watch. And the soundtrack is fantastic too.
9:
New WorldUndercover cop stories are a weakness of mine. Yes, the majority of them always go down the same beats with the cop struggling with the whole 'in too deep' thing but New World manages to make the undercover agent's struggle and slow descent into the world of organized crime feel refreshing. This is a character study through and through, with action being appropriately sparse and hard hitting when it happens. It's not afraid to make the most of its run time, with slow, methodically paced scenes of various groups, police included, trying to seize control of this insanely large power vacuum. It's a crime movie that could stand up against Scorsese at his finest.
8:
A Girl At My DoorOh, Bae Doona how I love your work. A Girl At My Door is a rather simple movie on the surface, what with a city cop being transferred to a very small town and her style clashing with the style of the local authorities much in the same sense that Hot Fuzz was parodying. But it doesn't take long at all before the tension rises. It's right about the time the two leads first truly interact with each other that the accusations and secrets slowly make their way to light resulting in a movie that at first seems unfortunately predictable becomes anything but by the end. Beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and with just the right amount of creepy to make an effective dramatic thriller.
7:
DopeThis is the first time in recent memory that I left a movie going "Finally, a movie that gets nerds right". The dialog is witty and the script is just smart in general which makes for a coming-of-age flick that stands out, especially among a whole genre of coming of age films set in similar areas. Bitcoins play a major role in the plot. Bitcoins. It's not laugh-a-minute funny but it's definitely humorous without having to resort to slapstick or low brow humor. Which is always welcome. Plus the soundtrack is great, but I'll say that about any movie that ends with The Humpty Dance. Do the humpty hump.
6:
Ghost WorldFor my money, this is still the second best comic book movie ever made. If there's a theme that seems to be present on my list it's that I really like the slower movies. What's here is essentially a movie about adolescence and the worry that a lot of people face before entering the adult part of life. It's still easy to relate with the character of Enid as she deals both with growing up and the pitfalls of an unexpected but life altering romance. Featuring a Scarlett Johansson performance that would not be topped until 2013 with Under The Skin and Her, which is reason enough to give it a watch. Though it's really Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch's relationship that makes this movie so poignant.
5:
American PopI have a love/hate relationship with Ralph Bakshi. I really like Wizards and Fire and Ice (even if Fire and Ice is just sort of standard barbarian faire) and I really hate Fritz The Cat, Cool World, and his more racial works. American Pop is probably his least stand out movie and that's probably why I like it so much. Essentially a movie about an immigrant family trying to live that American dream, their story parallels that of the music in America from the 1900s to the 80s. I really like the rotoscoping and the story of one of the family members would have worked just as well as a standalone thing. It's simple. It's effective. Its got a great soundtrack. One of those 'Sunday afternoon' kind of movies.
4:
HappinessNothing in this movie is happy. Watching this movie will make you miserable which is the opposite of happy. This is not an easy watch but then, what movie going into the the depths of human depravity is? Every character is broken and miserable in some way and searching for what makes them, well, happy. Even if what makes them happy is appalling. I appreciate how Todd Solondz goes dark while still making interesting, provoking movies. He doesn't do dark to be edgy or anything, but to satirize and reveal the seedier sides of the middle class suburban lifestyle. Happiness is, in my mind, the perfect blend of that dark, satirical, dramatic blend that he does so well. Plus it's got Philip Seymour Hoffman at arguably his most reprehensible, which is always the PSH I enjoyed seeing in movies, R.I.P.
3:
Blue Is The Warmest ColorMight as well keep the emotional train rolling right on its track. Your first love is a hell of a thing and I don't know of any movie that takes that feeling of powerful, first love and makes it feel so real than this movie right here. The slowest of burns, BITWC has you living in Adele's shoes at that key moment when adolescence is ending and you're struggling to find yourself and your place in the world. Here's a coming of age movie that doesn't just stop at the moment when age has come and instead gives a long, all too real glance at a relationship. Love isn't always a wonderful thing. But love is definitely powerful and life altering. An investment of a watch but damn if it isn't immediately engaging.
2:
Linda Linda LindaOh, Bae Doona, that's three times you've made an appearance on this list. I take back what I said about American Pop being a good Sunday afternoon movie. This...this is a great Sunday afternoon movie because of how easy it is to watch and enjoy. On the surface it's a simple movie with the lowest stakes possible. Three girls in a music club at school decide to make a band for a school festival but they don't have a singer so they ask the first girl they see. This girl turns out to be a Korean exchange student who doesn't really speak Japanese all that well. It, like almost every other movie on my list, is a slow paced look at loneliness and friendship. Son, the Korean exchange student, is alone and friendless but eternally optimistic while Kei, the leader of the band, is lonely despite the presence of friends. Both girls need each other in ways neither really know. Linda Linda Linda is just a feel good kind of movie, one that doesn't deal in high stakes or outlandish settings, but instead a simple plot with simple characters. It's wonderful.
And the soundtrack is by James Iha so that's great too.1:
Chungking ExpressThis movie did two things to me. One, it made me a permanent fan of Wong Kar Wai. Two, it made me really hate the song California Dreamin'. Two love stories about police officers moving on after break ups is a quick summary of Chungking Express but there's more to it than that. This is a movie where the style raises the presentation. Wong Kar Wai's style creates this rapid, energetic motions and movements to punctuate the densely populated area the film is set in. I guess I have a thing for movies about lonely people coming out of their shells as a result of love. But in my defense, I daresay it's next to impossible not to fall in love with Faye Wong in the movie. If the ketchup dance doesn't get you...then nothing will, I'm afraid. This is probably not a film that is an easy sell, because what I love about it has more to do with the style than the story, though Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Faye Wong have some dynamite chemistry.
