| Title |
Year |
Rating |
Rank |
Review |
| Godfather, The | 1972 | 96 | 1 | - An incredible crime saga told with so much detail and conviction, you question just how fictional it really is. |
| Hurt Locker, The | 2008 | 96 | 1 | - What Platoon was to Vietnam, Hurt Locker is to Iraq. Beautifully done. Keeps you fully engrossed and never falls into the temptation of giving you a political perspective on the war. |
| Argo | 2012 | 94 | 3 | - Ben Affleck is quickly establishing himself as the next great American storyteller. But for all the rave reviews his acting gets in the film, Bryan Cranston is sorely overlooked. He is phenomenal! |
| Million Dollar Baby | 2004 | 94 | 3 | - The characters are a little formulaic, but the acting gets better as the movie progresses and, like Maggie Fitzgerald on Frankie Dunn, 'Million Dollar Baby' grows on you to the point where you love it. |
| Forrest Gump | 1994 | 93 | 5 | - There's no other movie like it, and I'm not sure there ever will be. |
| Spotlight | 2015 | 93 | 5 | - For all the talking heads, half-truths, and sensationalism that dominates the so-called "news channels" these days, we needed this film. Not only to remind us what passionate people can still do, but what journalism, true journalism, can still be. |
| 12 Years a Slave | 2013 | 92 | 7 | - What makes '12 Years a Slave' stand out is its unwillingness to censore itself. While the characters are clearly shaded in either more darkness or light, no supposition is absolute. Thus, a brilliant level of honesty comes out. |
| Departed, The | 2006 | 92 | 7 | - Scorcese at his best. There's a reason this one put him over the top. A near-perfect film! |
| Gladiator | 2000 | 90 | 9 | - It's an action flick, it's an epic. It's one very awesome movie. |
| Titanic | 1997 | 90 | 9 | |
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | 89 | 11 | - The slow-building thriller relies on brilliant cinematography and flawless performances to deliver all the tension. |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 1975 | 89 | 11 | - It takes the long way around getting to its point, but, once there, you're left awestruck. |
| Braveheart | 1995 | 87 | 13 | - This will stand for all time as the way historical epics SHOULD be made. |
| Silence of the Lambs, The | 1991 | 87 | 13 | - It's rare that a thriller is, at the same time, both genuinely creepy and compelling. Ultimately, that's what makes The Silence of the Lambs special. |
| Schindlers List | 1993 | 84 | 15 | - Very good, but, a tid bit overrated if we're being perfectly honest. |
| Gone with the Wind | 1939 | 81 | 16 | - After watching it, you'll wonder if anything truly good and pure can ever exist. |
| Lord of the Rings: Return of the King | 2003 | 81 | 16 | - Epic in nearly every way...including runtime. |
| Moonlight | 2016 | 81 | 16 | - A thoughtful and methodical drama. |
| Crash | 2004 | 80 | 19 | - A tough, raw story about the gaps in social statuses, racism, and the fears we admit to no one. |
| Deer Hunter, The | 1978 | 80 | 19 | - 'The Deer Hunter' is a tough one to figure out because while it is undeniably good, it also feels like it could've been so much better. |
| Platoon | 1986 | 80 | 19 | - This is THE Vietnam War movie. All others are just fighting for second. |
| It Happened One Night | 1934 | 77 | 22 | - It's sort of the original rom-com. |
| Birdman | 2014 | 75 | 23 | - 'Birdman' is like a three-ring circus. While it's both wonderous and amazing, there's also a little too much going on. |
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | 73 | 24 | - "Epic" does not have to be shorthand for "slow-moving drama" as it is here for most of 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'. |
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | 72 | 25 | - Anyone whose ever battled mental illness or known someone who has will not be able to forget this movie. |
| Godfather: Part II, The | 1974 | 72 | 25 | - Like the chronological order of the story, this film is all over the place. The first one should just how much a crime family could control. The sequel shows just how much it can't. |
| Dances with Wolves | 1990 | 70 | 27 | - It's sort of a 'Lawrence of Arabia' for the Western world. |
| Chicago | 2002 | 69 | 28 | - It's not a musical just for the sake of being a musical, and that's a welcomed surprise. |
| French Connection, The | 1971 | 69 | 28 | - After an hour or so of nothing more than people following people, The French Connection FINALLY gets going. |
| Rocky | 1976 | 69 | 28 | - A bit overrated if we're being completely honest. |
| Unforgiven | 1992 | 69 | 28 | - Neither terrible nor amazing. But the second half is worth the price of admission. |
| Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | 65 | 32 | - I like biopics as much as anyone, but 'Lawrence of Arabia' is and always will be overrated. There, I said it. |
| Kings Speech, The | 2010 | 63 | 33 | - Sorely overrated. If you can't sell the audience on caring about the protagonist's struggles, what chances does your film have? |
| Amadeus | 1984 | 58 | 34 | - Rather than using quirks as a pleasant garnish, in Amadeus it is the main ingredient. And, somewhere past the two-hour mark, amusement turns into eye-rolling. |
| American Beauty | 1999 | 55 | 35 | - 'American Beauty' likes to think of itself as Ricky Fitts, but it's much more Angela Hayes than it realizes. |
| Slumdog Millionaire | 2008 | 55 | 35 | - Boyle's high-adrenaline, psychedellic vision for the film gets in the way of what would have otherwise been a fairly impressive script. |
| Artist, The | 2011 | 54 | 37 | - Sorely overrated. Go into it with a blank mind, not thinking it's good because it took some Oscars. |
