I love movies. Movies have had such an enormous influence on my life and a lot of times I draw on them constantly. In 2012 on a very cold night in December (much like now) , I was channel surfing looking for something to watch, but out of sheer chance I noticed the film, The Tree Of Life, was on tv. I only saw it once and I absolutely loved the film so I decided to watch the remainder of the film. Again I was captivated by the beautiful visuals and the poetic artistry of Terrence Malick’s film that for some reason it made me think.
That moment I started to think about all the movies I saw that year and I thought about how blown away I was with the different stories and visuals that truly struck a chord for me. I thought so hard on it that I got a pen and paper and started listing all the movies I saw for the first time (old or new) that year I considered great cinematic master pieces. Now fast forward to now, I realized that I've been making these lists for 5 years now; each year discovering a new film and being moved by the stories told from each one.
2012
Sylvia
The Guard
007: Skyfall
The Tree of Life
The Avengers
Prometheus
The Dark Knight Rises
Everything Is Illuminated
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Fargo
Captain America: The First Avenger
Ted
Drive
Paranorman
Carnage
House of Flying Daggers
2046
Crazy Stupid Love
The Campaign
Dare
Cinderella Man
Alfie
Rango
The King's Speech
Lawless
We Have To Talk about Kevin
Menace 2 Society
The Experiment
Hesher
All the King's Men
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Monster
Never Let Me Go
Midnight in Paris
Cyrus
American History X
Hanna
Raising Arizona
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Majestic
Forrest Gump
Black Dynamite
Quiz Show
Django Unchained
The Fugitive
Inglorious Bastards
Driving Lessions
Game Change
In The Mood For Love
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Frida
2013
J. Edgar
Goon
Paper Man
Brokeback Mountain
Conversations With Other Women
Looper
The Words
12 Monkeys
Shame
Closer
Death of a Salesman
Beginners
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Million Dollar Baby
2001: A Space Odyssey
Lean On Me
Real Steel
Monster's Ball
50/50
Fast & Furious 6
Seeking a Friend For The End Of The World
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Mystic River
A Dangerous Method
Life of Pi
Pain & Gain
Men in Black III
Cloud Atlas
Detachment
Moonrise Kingdom
My Week with Marilyn
Rust & Bone
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Identity Theft
The Sessions
Edward Scissor hands
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Wolverine
Thank You For Smoking
A History of Violence
2 Days in New York
Don Jon
Erin Brockovich
12 Years a Slave
Silver Streak
Sunday in New York
Cadillac Man
The Master
Death Proof
Jackie Brown
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Fullmetal Alchemist : Conqueror of Shamballa
2014
Kinky Boots
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
American Hustle
The Place Beyond The Pines
Oblivion
We're The Millers
Silver Lining Playbook
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Dallas Buyer's Club
Rushmore
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
Blue Jasmine
X-Men: Days of Futures Past
Prisoners
Atonement
Eastern Promises
Lone Ranger
New Jack City
The Player's Club
A Case Of You
Kings Of Summer
Changeling
Clerks
She Hates Me
Real Life
The Producers
Gone Girl
Dear White People
Interstellar
About Time
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies
The Usual Suspects
Her
2015
The Interview
Panic Room
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dom Hemingway
Whiplash
To the Wonder
A Most Violent Year
The Animatrix
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Boyhood
Children of Men
Girl Fight
Private Parts
Nightingale
The Railway Man
Inside Llewyn Davis
John Wick
Sex Ed
Chef
You're not You
Begin Again
Fury
Birdman or ( The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Straight Outta Compton
The Drop
Filth
Nymphomaniac: Vol 1 & 2 Director's Cut
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Him&Her)
Beasts of No Nation
Nightcrawler
2016
The Hateful 8
Spotlight
Tortilla Soup
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice
The Martian
Creed
Blazing Saddles
Southpaw
Hollywood Land
The Revenant
The Thin Red Line
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Brick
The Night Before
End Of Watch
Me & Earl & Dying Girl
White Palace
Steve Jobs
The Danish Girl
Get on The Bus
The Wrestler
2017
Mississippi Masala
Awakenings
Brooklyn
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Logan
Punch - Drunk - Love
Dirty Harry
The World According To Garp
Youth
Saban’s Power Rangers
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
Swiss Army Man
Split
Clerks II
The Town
Friday Foster
The International
Loving
Trance
A Bronx Tale
Hell Or Highwater
Charlie Wilson’s War
Do The Right Thing
Money Monster
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Jackie
The Grey
Scott Pilgrim VS The World
Thank You For Your Service
Moonlight
Hunger
Lion
Baby Driver
Windriver
American Psycho
A Cure For Wellness
The Patience Stone
John Wick Chapter 2
If you have the time do yourself a favor and checkout a few of these films and tell me what you thought of them.
Hope You Enjoy
-Andrew