movies I’ve enjoyed

Sometimes I watch a flick and dig it, but then when someone asks for a recommendation I can’t remember the names of the ones I’ve like, so I’m going to make a list of them here to keep track of it. I guess my list of films I like is short enough that I can probably include all movies I’ve ever enjoyed, although the main focus of this is films I’ve seen more recently. Those are the ones I tend to forget.

• Arrival (2016) – smart sci-fi.
• Predestination (2014) – story-driven sci-fi. Impressive twist.
• La Jetee (1962) – one of the best sci-fi films ever, IMO. And it’s just still photos and narration!
• The Core (2003) – this is a fucking stupid sci-fi movie but it’s so dumb, it’s good.
• The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) – probably my fave modern horror movie.
• Suspiria (2018) – wait, this might be my fave modern horror movie.
• YellowBrickRoad (2010) – super, super low budget horror movie, but effective and weird.
• I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House (2016) – it’s been a while since I saw this one but I remember really liking the tense, spooky atmosphere of it.
• Snowpiercer (2013) – another fucking stupid sci-fi/action movie that is so dumb, it’s good.
• Doctor Sleep (2019) – sequel to The Shining. Does an excellent job of paying tribute to both King’s book and Kubrick’s film, and stands on its own feet quite well, surprisingly. A friend described it as being like high quality fan fiction, which I think is perfectly apt.
• The Witch in the Window (2018) – a low budget yet extremely competent little horror movie. I jumped a few times.
• Vivarium (2019) – I’m not sure how to classify this one, psychological thriller/horror is the closest I can get but it’s not so much horror or thriller as just really fucking weird and uncomfortable.
• The Platform (2019) – social commentary in a horror movie. Not enough of this kind of thing.
• Possessor (2020) – psychological thriller/horror from Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg.
• Antiviral (2012) – also by B. Cronenberg, a psychological thriller.
• ABC’s of Death (2012) – 26 short horror segments, some funny, some scary, some dumb, some great, but overall a neat concept that is well executed.
• ABC’s of Death 2 (2014) – same as above but this installment varies in terms of quality a bit more — the good stuff is great while the bad stuff is lousy but overall it’s still very enjoyable.
• I Stand Alone (1998) – a grim, feel-bad watch from Gaspar Noe. Especially impressive considering it’s form 1998.
• Irreversible (2002) – wow, I didn’t realize this was from 2002. This is also impressive for that era. More brutality from Gaspar Noe.
• Martyrs (2008) – while I don’t consider this one amazing, its brutality has stuck with me since so I’m putting it on the list. It’s definitely my fave of the New French Extremity movement.
• Serbian Film (2010) – the single most disturbing flick I’ve ever seen. Made me feel awful for a few days, maybe a week.
• Antichrist (2009) – Brutal, nihilistic, psychological thriller from Lars von Trier.
• The House That Jack Built (2018) – Another brutal, nihilistic psychological thriller from Lars von Trier. He’s good at this.
• Dancer in the Dark (2000) – Another von Trier affair. Still brutal and nihilistic, but also terrifically sad.
• Lost Highway (1997) – one of my fave Lynch films. Psychological thriller, I guess?
• Dune (1984) – everyone shits on Lynch’s Dune but fuck them. I love it.
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) – another of Lynch’s work that was panned but I think is amazing. Weird psychological thriller obv, but don’t watch it without watching the first two seasons of the Twin Peaks tv show first.
• The Exorcist (1973) – still the scariest movie ever, IMO.
• The Blair Witch Project (1999) – also really fucking scary. Done on a shoestring budget, yet it’s so effective! Amazing.
• The 4th Kind (2009) – most people hate this alien horror movie but I found it terrifying.
• The Shining (1980) – right up there with The Exorcist. Everything is perfect. The acting is insane.
• Blade Runner (1982) – sci-fi drama. Visually and aurally stunning.
• The Deer Hunter (1978) – a fucking slow burn, uncomfortable throughout, sad, touching. I don’t usually like drama but this one is special.
• Akira (1988) – I find anime is undervalued in the world of cinema, like “if it’s animated, it doesn’t count,” and that’s stupid because this is an incredible sci-fi story. I grew up with the first English dub so that’s my preferred version.
• Princess Mononoke (1997) – more fantastic anime. This one is fantasy but it’s brutal and has a strong message.
• Alien (1979) – how can a single alien on a space ship be so scary? Ridley really hit it out of the park with this one.
• The Wall (1982) – I’m going out on a limb here because I haven’t seen this in decades, but I remember being brought to tears by it a few times so I’m throwing it in here. Sad, fucked up, moving.
• Under the Skin (2013) – Psychological thriller/horror? Hard to define. Slow, artsy, disturbing, sad. Criminally underrated.
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) – Really fucking slow but for someone like me who gets off on the devil and evil, the payoff was well worth it.
• The Passion of the Christ (2004) – I know, how does a fervent antichrist like myself have such an affinity for Christian shit? Blame my upbringing. Anyway, Satan is amazing in this one.
• Coherence (2013) – super low budget and it shows but there are some genuinely uncomfortable/unsettling moments that make this one worth it, IMO.
• First Reformed (2017) – slow, sad, brooding, uncomfortable.
• Apocalypse Now (1979) – Such a great portrait of the insanity of mankind. Up there with Blade Runner and The Deer Hunter as my fave movie of all time.

More to be added as I remember them.