'The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many...movies.'
In fact my favourite movies of this century. 24 years and a bit, just over 100 movies, so about 4 a year on average – see how discerning I have been? Comments, reviews and longer articles about most of them can be found below.
The movies are grouped (roughly) alphabetically - and I have emboldened my favourites – though if I did it again tomorrow some of these might be different, and I would kick myself for missing some that really should be there. I notice that some movies that I previously listed as favourites are not there now, but time gives us perspective - and even within a few weeks I have revised this, prompted by the recent New York Times Poll of 21 c. movies, reminding me of some terrible omissions.
Why do it? For my own benefit of course as an aide memoire, but also I hope it might jog your memories or attract your curiosity.
And doing so reminds me how lucky I am to live in a time when so many great filmmakers have been and still are making wonderful movies.
About Time
Adaptation
AngelA
American Hustle
Amalie
Arrival
The Artist
Attack the Block
Anatomy of a Fall
Apocalypse Now: Redux
Amsterdam
Barbie
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Black Panther
Blade Runner: 2049
Brokeback Mountain
The Beat My Heart Skipped
The BFG
Byzantium
The Bridge of Spies
Conclave
The Counsellor
Captain Fantastic
Changeling
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Cloud Atlas
The Constant Gardener
The Dark Knight
David Copperfield
Doubt
Dune
Dune Part 2
National Theatre’s Everyman
Emilia Perez,
Enola Holmes
Everything, Everywhere, All of the Time
Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live, Die, Repeat.)
The Favourite
Flow
The French Despatch
National Theatre’s Frankenstein (especially the one with Cumberbatch as the Creature)
The Girl with all the Gift
Good Night and Good Luck
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Great Gatsby
The Guard
The Handmaiden
Her
Hero
Hidden
Happy
I Am Love
National Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
Inherent Vice
In The Mood For Love
The Incredibles
The Job of Songs
Joker
Kill Bill, 1 & 2
Knives Out
Kingdom of Heaven
Le Mans 66
Loving
The Life of Pi
Leave No Trace.
Let The Right One In,
The Lives of Others
Lord of the Rings
Melancholia
Magnolia
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mary Magdalene
Michael Clayton.
Moulin Rouge
Mr. Turner
A Monster Calls
The Martian
MacBeth( Kenneth Branagh’s staged and Fassbender’s filmed versions)
Moon
No County For Old Men
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Only Lovers Left Alive
Oppenheimer
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Paddington
Paddington 2.
Pirates - an Adventure with Scientists
Phantom Thread
Poor Things
Parasite
The Power of The Dog
RRR
The Road
Rocketman
Sound of My Voice
Sinners
Slumdog Millionaire
The Silver Branch
Silver Linings Playbook
Star is Born
Skyfall
The Shape of Water
The Song of the Sea
The Three Burials
The Tree of Life
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thirst
Toy Story 3
True Grit (2010
Under The Skin
Up
Us
Volver
Wall-E
Whiplash
Winter’s Bone
What Happened, Miss Simone?
West Side Story
Yesterday
You Were Never Really Here
Zero Dark 30
