12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) [EN]
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) [EN]After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985) [EN]Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker, 1980) [EN]American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000) [EN]Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016) [EN]As Good as It Gets (James L. Brooks, 1997) [EN]Baby Driver (Edgar Wright, 2017) [EN]Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) [EN]The Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022) [EN]Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007) [EN]The Big Short (Adam McKay, 2015) [EN]Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014) [EN]Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) [EN] — prefer the 2007 Final Cut!Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017) [EN]Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018) [KO]Carlito’s Way (Brian De Palma, 1993) [EN]Casino (Martin Scorsese, 1995) [EN]Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002) [EN]Challengers (Luca Guadagnino, 2024) [EN]Civil War (Alex Garland, 2024) [EN]Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook, 2022) [KO]The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) [EN]Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988) [EN]Die Hard with a Vengeance (John McTiernan, 1995) [EN]Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012) [EN]Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell, 1997) [EN]Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011) [EN]El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Vince Gilligan, 2019) [EN] — see bonus section below!Everything Everywhere All At Once (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, 2022) [EN]Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki, 2023) [FI]Fargo (Joen & Ethan Coen, 1996) [EN]The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018) [EN]Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999) [EN]Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, 2003) [EN]Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano, 1997) [JA]Force Majeure / Tourist (Ruben Östlund, 2014) [SV]Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2018) [EN]The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo* (David Fincher, 2011) [EN]Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014) [EN]Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) [EN]The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016) [KO]Heat (Michael Mann, 1995) [EN]Home Alone (Chris Columbus, 1990) [EN]Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007) [EN]In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008) [EN]Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) [EN]The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019) [EN]Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997) [EN]Kill Bill 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-2004) [EN]LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997) [EN]La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016) [EN]The Lighthouse (Robbert Eggers, 2019) [EN]The Lion King (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994) [EN]Margin Call (J.C. Candor, 2011) [EN]The Matrix (Lana & Lilly Wachowski) [EN]Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) [EN]Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) [EN]Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003) [KO]Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004) [EN]Molly’s Game (Aaron Sorkin, 2017) [EN]Moneyball (Bennet Miller, 2011) [EN]Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter, David Silverman & Lee Unkrich, 2001) [EN]Mother (Bong Joon-ho, 2009) [KO]The Night Comes For Us (Timo Tjanjanto, 2018) [ID]Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy, 2014) [EN]No Country For Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2007) [EN]Nobody (Ilya Naishuller, 2021) [EN]Oldboy* (Park Chan-wook, 2003) [KO]Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) [EN]Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019) [KO]Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) [EN]Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023) [EN]Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit, 1996) [EN]Priscilla (Sofia Coppola, 2023) [EN]Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve, 2013) [EN]Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994) [EN]The Quiet Family (Kim Jee-woon, 1998) [KO]The Raid (Gareth Evans, 2011) [ID]The Raid 2 (Gareth Evans, 2014) [ID]Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992) [EN]The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015) [EN]RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) [EN]Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) [ES]Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998) [EN]Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983) [EN]Seven (David Fincher, 1995) [EN]Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011) [EN]The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994) [EN]Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010) [EN]Sicario (Denis Villeneuve, 2015) [EN]Snowpiercer (Bong Joon-ho, 2013) [EN]Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015) [EN]The Substance* (Coralie Fargeat, 2024) [EN]Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) [EN]Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) [EN]Tenet (Christopher Nolan, 2020) [EN]The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984) [EN]Terminator 2: Judgement Day (James Cameron, 1991) [EN]There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) [EN]A Time To Kill (Joel Schumacher, 1996) [EN]Uncut Gems (Josh & Benny Safdie, 2019) [EN]Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) [EN]The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995) [EN]Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014) [EN]The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013) [EN]Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) [EN]The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023) [DE]Honourable mentions
These are films I either didn’t enjoy quite as much as the others, or I just haven’t seen them frequently or recently enough to appreciate them fully, so I don’t feel I can make quite as strong a recommendation. They’re all still pretty good.
- 21 Jump Street (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2012) [EN]
- Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021) [EN]
- Bronson (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2008) [EN]
- Cop Land (James Mangold, 1997) [EN]
- Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino, 2007) [EN]
- The Death of Stalin (Armando Lannucci, 2017) [EN]
- Enemy (Denis Villeneuve, 2013) [EN]
- Enemy of the State (Tony Scott, 1998) [EN]
- Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002) [EN]
- Glass Onion (Rian Johnson, 2022) [EN]
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón, 2003) [EN]
- Joker (Todd Philips, 2019) [EN]
- The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1982) [EN]
- Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019) [EN]
- Layer Cake (Matthew Vaughn, 2004) [EN]
- Return to Seoul (Davy Chou, 2022) [KO]
- Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter, Ash Brannon & Lee Unkrich, 1999) [EN]
- The World’s End (Edgar Wright, 2013) [EN]
Bonus: TV series
I’ve not seen that many shows that justify the time it takes to watch them fully. But these are a few that I reckon certainly do.