Some of my (relatively) recent favorites:
- The Social Network -- fictionalized account of the creation of Facebook. Just... wonderful, in every way. Great music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Great writing by Aaron Sorkin, great acting by the whole cast (
especially Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg), great directing by David Fincher. Stylistically one of my favorite films ever, even if it isn't in my top 10 overall.
- The Big Short --
amazingly well-acted and well-written film about the men who predicted the downfall of the housing market bubble. I swear I don't just love the film because one of my favorite metal songs ("Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon) has a significant cameo. I love it because it's funny, it's smart, you learn a lot by watching it, and you really care about the characters by the end.
- Zootopia -- one of the most progressive and "woke" movies I have ever seen, even though it's about cute animals in a cute animal city. Fucking incredible. I have no idea who convinced Disney to make a movie about racism, ableism, and systemic bias, but thank God for that person. Not to mention, the animation and voice acting are wonderful. And...
- Bernie -- one of my all-time favorites. Based on a true story of a funeral home director turned murderer in a small Texas town. What makes it so wonderful, other than great acting and great writing and a generally Coenesque sensibility, is the fact that 80% of the actors are
real citizens of the town, only vaguely scripted and mostly improvising. Charming, dark, and gut-bustingly hilarious.
[MENTION=7]Totenkindly[/MENTION]
I actually prefer Unbreakable to Sixth Sense, but I really like both movies. Something about Bruce Willis' journey in Unbreakable really gets me.
I need to rewatch that movie. It wasn't what I expected, so I didn't like it, but I think I would like it a lot if I came at it with different expectations. It was a creative, interesting, thoughtful, and moving film. But it was much slower paced than I would have preferred at the time.
The King's Speech: a Colin Firth film about the king who learns how to overcome a speech impediment
I
love this movie.