An incomplete motion picture archive. These are films I have seen, enjoyed watching, and would recommend you watch, too. Want to check out which anime films I love? They’re all here.
I should mention here that I’m a bit of a film snob. I love filmmaking. After all, that’s one of the reasons I became a film and tv actress. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is, what constitutes as worthy of recommendation is based off of excellence in either one, some, or all areas: screenwriting, direction, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, etc. Call me unfun, but there aren’t any silly comedies here. And no, Kung Fu Hustle isn’t just a laugh-out-loud comedy. It’s actually, criminally under-appreciated!!
Also, like on my Anime Archive page, please check out the notes column for tidbits of info, like a snippet of what I liked about a certain film, and mature content warnings. Star column means I seriously loved watching this film!
All titles listed in no chronological order, genre descriptors are kept at a minimum
| year | name | director | genre | notes | ⭐ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | it happened one night | frank capra | screwball comedy, romance | ||
| 1939 | gone with the wind | victor fleming | epic historical drama, romance | ||
| 1940 | his girl friday | howard hanks | screwball comedy | ||
| 1941 | citizen kane | orson welles | mystery, drama | ||
| 1942 | casablanca | michael curtiz | romantic drama | ||
| 1950 | rashomon | kurosawa akira | psychological drama | watched this in ubc’s film theatre | |
| 1952 | singin’ in the rain | gene kelly & stanley donen | musical, comedy | the music and dancing! | ⭐ |
| 1953 | roman holiday | william wyler | romantic comedy | ⭐ | |
| 1954 | rear window | alfred hitchcock | mystery, thriller | ||
| 1957 | 12 angry men | sidney lumet | courtroom drama | what a compelling film | ⭐ |
| 1958 | vertigo | alfred hitchcock | psychological thriller | ||
| 1959 | ben-hur | william wyler | religious epic, action | ||
| 1959 | the 400 blows | franÇois truffaut | french new wave, coming of age | ||
| 1960 | the apartment | billy wilder | romantic comedy, drama | ⭐ | |
| 1966 | the good, the bad, and the ugly | sergio leone | spaghetti western | ||
| 1968 | funny girl | william wyler | biographical musical comedy-drama | ||
| 1968 | 2001: a space odyssey | stanley kubrick | epic sci fi | ||
| 1972 | The Godfather | francis ford coppola | crime drama | ||
| 1976 | taxi driver | martin scorsese | neo-noir, psychological drama | ||
| 1979 | apocalypse now | francis ford coppola | epic war, psychological drama | watched this alongside reading heart of darkness | ⭐ |
| 1984 | Paris, texas | wim wenders | road movie, drama | ||
| 1991 | a brighter summer day | edward yang | teen crime, drama | ||
| 1992 | reservoir dogs | quentin tarantino | neo-noir, crime | ||
| 1994 | pulp fiction | quentin tarantino | neo-noir, comedy | ⭐ | |
| 1994 | chungking express | wong kar wai | romantic crime, comedy-drama | ||
| 1995 | before sunrise | richard linklater | romantic drama | the best walk-and-talk | ⭐ |
| 1995 | sense and sensibility | ang lee | period drama, romance | ||
| 1996 | fargo | joel & ethan cohen | black comedy, crime thriller | ||
| 1997 | life is beautiful | roberto benigni | war comedy-drama | this broke me, moved me when i saw it as a kid | |
| 1997 | good will hunting | gus van sant | psychological drama | ||
| 1998 | the prince of egypt | brenda chapman, steve hickner, & simon wells | animated musical, biblical epic | ||
| 1998 | the truman show | peter weir | satirical sci fi, drama | ||
| 1998 | shakespeare in love | john madden | period romantic comedy | ||
| 2000 | in the mood for love | wong kar wai | romantic drama | the aesthetics, the acting, the direction | ⭐ |
| 2000 | crouching tiger, hidden dragon | ang lee | wuxia, martial arts drama | ||
| 2001 | moulin rouge! | baz luhrmann | jukebox musical, romantic drama | love the music | |
| 2003 | memories of murder | bong joon-ho | crime thriller | ||
| 2003 | lost in translation | sofia coppola | romantic comedy-drama | ||
| 2004 | eternal sunshine of the spotless mind | michel gondry | sci fi, romantic drama | a beautiful example of genre-blending | ⭐ |
| 2004 | kung fu hustle | stephen chow | martial arts, action comedy | ||
| 2004 | garden state | zach braff | indie comedy-drama | ||
| 2004 | closer | mike nichols | romantic drama | ||
| 2005 | pride and prejudice | joe wright | romantic period drama | ⭐ | |
| 2007 | there will be blood | paul thomas anderson | period drama | ||
| 2007 | zodiac | david fincher | mystery, thriller | ||
| 2009 | inglorious basterds | quentin tarantino | war, alternate history | ||
| 2009 | julie & julia | nora ephron | biographical comedy-drama | ||
| 2011 | midnight in paris | woody allen | fantasy, comedy | ||
| 2011 | drive | nicolas windin refn | action, neo-noir | great soundtrack | |
| 2012 | the perks of being a wallflower | stephen chbosky | coming-of-age drama | ||
| 2012 | anna karenina | joe wright | historical romantic drama | i love keira knightley, can’t you tell? | |
| 2013 | blue jasmine | woody allen | dark comedy, drama | ||
| 2013 | her | spike jonze | sci fi, romantic drama | ||
| 2014 | boyhood | richard linklater | coming of age drama | ||
| 2014 | gone girl | david fincher | psychological thriller | ||
| 2014 | ex machina | alex garland | sci fi, psychological thriller | ||
| 2015 | the lobster | yorgos lanthimos | absurdist dystopian comedy-drama | ||
| 2016 | the handmaiden | parck chan-wook | erotic psychological thriller | masterful storytelling, ma | |
| 2016 | arrival | denis villeneuve | sci fi, drama | ||
| 2016 | hacksaw ridge | mel gibson | biographical war drama | ||
| 2016 | silence | martin scorsese | religious, historical drama | heartaching | ⭐ |
| 2017 | la la land | damien chazelle | romantic musical | cried watching this | |
| 2017 | lady bird | greta gerwig | coming of age | poignant snapshot of adolescence and mother-daughter relationships | |
| 2017 | baby driver | edgar wright | action, crime | ||
| 2018 | little forest | yim soon-rye | slice of life, food | healing | |
| 2019 | parasite | bong joon-ho | black comedy, thriller | watched this in the theatre | |
| 2019 | little women | greta gerwig | coming of age, period drama | ||
| 2020 | emma. | autumn de wilde | period romantic comedy | ||
| 2022 | decision to leave | park chan-wook | romantic mystery, neo-noir | watched this at viff | ⭐ |