The best movies of all time (in our opinion)

In honor of our 100th episode, a completely subjective appreciation

and

Mar 14

Hello!

We have a very special one for you this week. In honor of our 100th episode — yes, that’s right, this is the big 1-0-0! — we’re doing our own highly personal version of the AFI greatest films list. Presenting: our top seven films, respectively.

(Obligatory disclaimers: We haven’t watched everything, these are not really in any particular order, these are just our opinions, etc.)

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05:39 After Life (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1998) (Criterion)

Pelin: “It’s a quiet but devastating film … There’s something that it leaves you with — both happiness and sorrow.”

07:54 Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “It’s an idyllic view of the world, while also not shying away from the things that can scare a child … It’s one of the most beautiful films in the world.”

10:36 Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) (Criterion)

Pelin: “This is the ultimate meta film. It’s fascinating — this is truly brain breaking.”

13:09 Little Miss Sunshine (dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, writ. Michael Arndt, 2006) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “This is the perfect blend of humor and drama and warmth and bitterness. It’s a perfect road trip movie.”

15:12 Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) (Paramount+, Showtime)

Pelin: “It is a film that creeps under your skin, and, by the time it’s done, devastates you so much.”

17:33 Call Me By Your Name (dir. Luca Guadagnino, writ. James Ivory, 2017) (Netflix)

Jenny: “The perfect encapsulation of this feeling of being young and in love and it’s summer … and then summer fades, and something fades along with it … It’s pure longing.”

20:27 The Matrix (Lana and Lilly Wachowski, 1999) (HBO Max)

Pelin: “I’ve never seen anything like this. Philosophically, it says something, and that’s something I kept coming back to … this philosophical question of ‘What is reality?’”

23:49 Wolf Children (dir. Mamoru Hosoda, writ. Satoko Okudera and Mamoru Hosoda, 2012) (Crunchyroll)

Jenny: “It is about parenting: about being a mother and being so afraid for your children … A really touching, unexpectedly beautiful, emotional, poignant film.”

26:20 Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007) (HBO Max)

Pelin: “This film plays with structure in a way that I still hope to one day achieve … It’s a perfect Tony Gilroy example.”

28:50 Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, writ. Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won, 2019) (Hulu)

Jenny: “It’s so thrilling, it’s so perfectly constructed, and every little detail has meaning and a greater role to play … It really touched a nerve and struck a chord, and for very good reason.”

33:01 Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) (HBO Max, Criterion)

Pelin: “I was astounded that this film was made in 1966. I was astounded that this film was made at all … This is, to me, one of the best films about female friendship and female bonding that I’ve ever seen.”

35:35 Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020) (Hulu) (previously discussed on CID here)

Jenny: “I found this film extremely powerful, moving, stirring — every single emotion that could be elicited, it elicited … It captures the soul of America.”

39:53 Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) (Tubi)

Pelin: “This was my first understanding of what it means to be a female filmmaker, to show a female subject going through something that is distinctly uncomfortable … what it means to be a girl, growing up and having feelings for someone you shouldn’t have, and also being placed in a very adult world and realizing that you are actually the mature one.”

42:08 Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “It’s the epitome of a legend. This is an epic.”

PELIN’S LONG LIST:

Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976)
In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)
Four Lions (dir. Chris Morris, writ. Chris Morris, Sam Bain, and Jesse Armstrong, 2010)
Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)
Burning (dir. Lee Chang-dong, writ. Oh-Jung-mi and Lee Chang-dong, 2018)
Sexy Beast (dir. Jonathan Glazer, writ. Louis Mellis and David Scinto, 2000)
Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) (previously discussed on CID here)
Stalker (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, writ. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1979)
Infernal Affairs (dir. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, writ. Alan Mak and Felix Chong, 2002)
Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997)
Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)
The Social Network (dir. David Fincher, writ. Aaron Sorkin, 2010)
Klute (dir. Alan J. Pakula, writ. Andy and Dave Lewis, 1971)
Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
Tokyo Olympiad (dir. Kon Ichikawa, writ. Natto Wada, Yoshio Shirasaka, Shintaro Tanikawa, and Kon Ichikawa, 1965)
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, writ. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ercan Kescal, and Ebru Ceylan, 2011)
Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
Carol (dir. Todd Haynes, writ. Phyllis Nagy, 2015) (previously discussed on CID here)
Raging Bull (dir. Martin Scorsese, writ. Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, 1980)
When Harry Met Sally (dir. Rob Reiner, writ. Nora Ephron, 1989)
Ocean’s Eleven (dir. Steven Soderbergh, writ. Ted Griffin, 2001)
Beau Travail (dir. Claire Denis, writ. Claire Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau, 1999)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)
Where Is the Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)
Ida (dir. Paweł Pawlikowski, writ. Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013)
First Cow (dir. Kelly Reichardt, writ. Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Richardt, 2019) (previously discussed on CID here)
Y tu mamá también (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, writ. Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)
A Single Man (dir. Tom Ford, writ. Tom Ford and David Scearce, 2009)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen, writ. Enda Walsh and Steve McQueen, 2008)
Election (dir. Alexander Payne, writ. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, 1999)
Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)
Mustang (dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven, writ. Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour, 2015)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (dir. Michael Gondry, writ. Charlie Kaufman, 2004)
Arrival (dir. Denis Villeneuve, writ. Eric Heisserer, 2016)
Mad Max: Fury Road (dir. George Miller, writ. George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris, 2015)
Good Will Hunting (dir. Gus Van Sant, writ. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, 1997)
La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)

That’s it for now. We are OFF next week, but we’ll be back the week after that with not only your regularly scheduled programming, but also a new weekly run of Succession season 4 mini-recaps/reviews/reactions!

— Jenny

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Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Some credits:

Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Criticism Is Dead