Top Film Lists & Reflections

Top Film Lists and Reflections

2019

Films of 2019:

Introduction: Why 2019 was the new 1999, and the return of original studio dramas.
On a Theme of Longing [Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Atlantics, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Photograph, Transit, Ad Astra]
On a Theme of Survival [1917, Parasite, The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão]
On a Theme of Goodness [Dark Waters, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Knives Out, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Bombshell]
On a Theme of Power [The King, Loro, Joker, The Laundromat]
On Paolo Sorrentino's Loro
On a Theme of Life [Little Women, Marriage Story, Uncut Gems]
On a Theme of Forgiveness [Waves, Honey Boy]
#2 [The Irishman]
#1 [A Hidden Life]

2016

Nathan Tries to Talk About Films But Mostly Talks About Himself, Part 1 of 4:
Deepwater Horizon
Certain Women
Demolition
Louder Than Bombs

Nathan's Overlooked Films of 2016, Part 2 of 4:
15. Loving
14. Lion
13. A Bigger Splash
12. La La Land
11. The Salesman

Nathan's Overlooked Films of 2016, Part 3 of 4:
10. Jackie
9. Aquarius
8. 20th Century Women
7. Arrival
6. Manchester by the Sea

Part 4 of 4 (Top five):
5. American Honey
4. Tale of Tales (Il Racconto dei Racconti)
3. Silence
2. Moonlight
1. Knight of Cups

2015

Part I of III:
17. Experimenter
16. Diary of a Teenage Girl
15. Hard to be a God (Trudno byt bogom)
14. Gueros
13. The Assassin (Nie yin niang)
12. 45 Years
11. Spotlight

Part II of III:
10. Amy
9. Mad Max
8. Steve Jobs
7. Sicario
6. About Elly (Darbareye Elly)

Part III of III (Top five):
5. Son of Saul (Saul Fia)
4. Carol
3. Macbeth
2. Youth
1. The Revenant

2014

Here I mimic Sight & Sound's famous division into two lists: critics and directors.

Ten Best Films of 2014 (with notes on the content of each):
1. Birdman (Inarritu)
2. Interstellar (Nolan)
3. Ida (Pawlikowski)
4. A Most Violent Year (Chandor)
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Anderson, Wes)
6. Whiplash (Chazelle)
7. Inherent Vice (Anderson, P. T.)
8. Deux jours, une nuit (Two Days, One Night) (Dardenne Bros.)
9. Mr. Turner (Leigh)
10. Foxcatcher (Miller)

Ten Best Directed FIlms in 2014 (with notes on the form of each):
1. Birdman (Inarritu)
2. Gone Girl (Fincher)
3. Blackhat (Mann)
4. Inherent Vice (Anderson, P.T.)
5. Ida (Pawlikowski)
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Anderson, Wes)
7. Interstellar (Nolan)
8. Whiplash (Chazelle)
9. A Most Violent Year (Chandor)
10. Transformers: Age of Extinction (Bay)

Thoughts on other 2014 films, including:
On Nominated films Not on My 2014 lists
-American Sniper (Eastwood)
-Selma (Duvernay)
-Boyhood (Linklater)
-The Imitation Game (Tildum)
-The Theory of Everything (Marsh)

Not Great, but Worth Mentioning
-Begin Again (Carney)
-A Most Wanted Man (Corbijn)
-Under the Skin (Glazer)
-The Interview (Rogen, Goldberg)
-Exodus: Gods and Kings (Scott)
-The Better Angels (Edwards)
-Love is Strange (Sachs)

2013

Part V:
14. Blue is the Warmest Color
13. Inside Llewyn Davis
12. Mud
11. Captain Phillips
999.99. Nebraska

Part IV:
6. The Wolf of Wall Street
5. The Past

On Gravity:
4. Gravity

Part III:
7. Her
7. Fruitvale Station
6. Prisoners

Part II:
10. Dallas Buyers Club
9. Before Midnight
8. American Hustle

Part I (Top three):
3. 12 Years a Slave
2. To The Wonder
1. Le Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty)

2012 and earlier

Top Ten Films of 2012

Part One (bottom of list):
4. Lincoln
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. End of Watch
6. Cloud Atlas
6. Killing Them Softly
7. Rust and Bone
8. Magic Mike

Part Two, (top of list):
1. Amour
1. Django Unchained
2. Zero Dark Thirty
2. The Master
3. Anna Karenina
3. Argo

Nathan's 2012 Oscar predictions with discussion and analysis of each category.

The 2007 film landscape:
Nathan's top films, notable films, and worst films.