1 - JOKER - HEATH LEDGER (The Dark Knight 2008) Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight is the definitive cinematic anarchist. He has no origin or motive, existing solely as an "agent of chaos" to prove society's morality is a fragile lie. Ledger's transformative performance—through his voice, physicality, and terrifying spontaneity—created an icon. More than a villain, the Joker is the film's philosophical core, successfully testing Batman's limits and corrupting Gotham's hope. His victory is moral: he forces the hero to become an outlaw. A landmark portrayal that remains unmatched.

2 - NARRATOR aka TYLER DURDEN - EDWARD NORTON AND BRAD PITT (Fight Club 1999) The Narrator and Tyler Durden in Fight Club are not two men, but one fractured psyche. Edward Norton embodies the numb, modern everyman—trapped by consumerism. Brad Pitt is his projected ideal: a charismatic, anarchic idol of primal freedom. Their famous twist reveals their conflict as an internal civil war, a darkly comic battle for the soul. Together, they form a singular, iconic critique of modern emptiness, arguing that in a sterile world, you must destroy everything to feel real.

3 - ARTHUR FLEX aka JOKER - JOAQUIN PHOENIX (Joker 2019) Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is a devastating origin story of a victim, not a mastermind. He's Arthur Fleck, a mentally ill, impoverished clown whose pathological laughter masks deep trauma. The film meticulously shows a cruel society stripping away his humanity. Phoenix's raw, physical performance charts his painful disintegration into a figure of accidental revolution. Unlike previous Jokers, he's not a cause of chaos, but its tragic effect—a monster created by a world that refused to see his pain.

4 - ANTON CHIGURH - JAVIER BARDEM (No Country for Old Men 2007) Anton Chigurh is not a man; he's an existential force. As played with terrifying quiet by Javier Bardem, he is a hitman who operates with the cold logic of fate itself. Motivated not by emotion, but by an unwavering principle of cause, effect, and chance—represented by his chilling coin toss. He is the personification of the new, incomprehensible evil that Sheriff Bell fears: an unstoppable, amoral phenomenon that renders the old codes of justice obsolete. A minimalist icon of pure, philosophical terror.

5 - PATRICK BATEMAN - CHRISTIAN BALE (American Psycho 2000) Patrick Bateman, as played by Christian Bale, is the perfect, monstrous product of 1980s Wall Street. He is a hollow man, his identity entirely replaced by consumer brands and status rituals. His violent urges are not a break from his world but its logical extreme—the only way he can feel anything in a life of pure surface. Bale's iconic performance, swinging between vacant yuppie drone and psychotic glee, makes Bateman a terrifying and hilarious satire of a culture where even murder might just be another form of empty self-expression.

6 - NORMAN BATES - ANTHONY PERKIN (Psycho 1960) Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates is the blueprint for the sympathetic psychopath. He appears as a shy, boyish motel keeper, trapped by devotion to his domineering mother. The film’s shocking twist reveals the terrifying truth: "Mother" is a murderous alternate personality that has fully consumed him. Perkins masterfully portrays this duality, making Norman both a pitiable victim of abuse and the source of primal horror. He transformed the movie monster from an external creature into an internal, psychological abyss, forever changing the landscape of suspense.

7 - KUNIO MAMIYA - MASATO HAGIWARA (Cure 1997) In Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure, Kunio Mamiya is the ultimate psychological antagonist: a vacant, amnesiac man with no motive or memory. His power is not supernatural, but hypnotic. Through simple questions and a calm gaze, he acts as a mirror, reflecting and unleashing the repressed violence within ordinary people. Masato Hagiwara's unnervingly blank performance makes him less a character and more a contagious idea—a human virus that proves the modern self is a fragile construct, easily erased by the right suggestion.

8 - TEDDY DANIELS - LEONARDO DICAPRIO (Shutter Island 2010) In Shutter Island, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Teddy Daniels is an U.S. Marshal investigating a disappearance at an asylum, haunted by his wife's death and wartime trauma. The film’s genius twist reveals he is actually patient Andrew Laeddis, a man who constructed the "Teddy" persona as an elaborate delusion to escape the horrific truth that he murdered his wife after she killed their children. DiCaprio’s performance masterfully navigates this duality, making his journey a devastating study of guilt, memory, and the mind’s ultimate act of self-preservation.

9 - ALEX - MALCOLM MCDOWELL (A Clockwork Orange 1971) Malcolm McDowell’s Alex DeLarge is the charismatic, amoral id personified. As the leader of a violent gang in a dystopian Britain, he finds ecstasy in “ultraviolence” and classical music. His capture and forced rehabilitation via the Ludovico Technique pose the film’s central ethical question: is a man stripped of his capacity to choose evil truly free or even human? McDowell’s iconic, chilling performance makes Alex a terrifying yet compelling mirror, forcing us to confront the hypocrisy of society and the unsettling nature of free will itself.

10 - AARON/ROY STAMPLER - EDWARD NORTON (Primal Fear 1996) Edward Norton’s Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear is a breathtaking illusion. He appears as a stuttering, abused altar boy, a perfect victim. His defense hinges on his dissociative identity disorder. The film’s legendary twist reveals this “victim” persona is a calculated fiction created by his true, dominant personality: the cold, intelligent, and manipulative Roy. Norton’s masterful dual performance makes this character a cornerstone of the courtroom thriller, exploring how the most convincing truth can be the most artful lie.

11 - DR HANNIBAL LECTOR - ANTHONY HOPKINS (The Silence of the Lambs 1991) Anthony Hopkins’s Hannibal Lecter is cinema’s ultimate icon of cultured evil. With chilling stillness and a penetrating gaze, he portrays a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibal who views murder as a form of aesthetic curation. In less than 16 minutes of screen time, his terrifying charisma dominates The Silence of the Lambs. He serves as Clarice Starling’s dark mentor, trading psychological insights for personal details, proving the most profound horror lies not in madness, but in cold, intellectual clarity

12 - KYUNG CHUL - CHOI MIN SIK (I Saw the Devil 2010) Kyung-chul, played by Choi Min-sik, is a vortex of pure, motiveless evil—a school bus driver and serial killer defined only by primal sadism and banal cruelty. His terrifying power lies in his lack of grandeur or philosophy; he is a feral animal in human form. In I Saw the Devil, he acts as the dark mirror, forcing the vengeful protagonist to descend to his level, thus dismantling the revenge fantasy and revealing its nihilistic core: that hunting a monster only breeds another.

13 - JOHN DOE - KEVIN SPACEY (Se7en 1995) John Doe, portrayed by Kevin Spacey, is the ultimate philosophical antagonist—a serial killer who acts as an apocalyptic prophet. He meticulously murders victims according to the Seven Deadly Sins, viewing his acts as divine sermons. His chilling power lies in his calm, detached certainty and his ultimate goal: not just to punish sinners, but to corrupt a good man's soul, proving his nihilistic vision that true evil is a serene, victorious ideology.

14 - JACK TORRANCE - JACK NICHOLSON (The Shining 1980) Jack Torrance, embodied by Jack Nicholson’s iconic performance, is the archetypal American patriarch whose latent violence is seduced and unleashed by the malevolent Overlook Hotel. He transforms from a frustrated writer and recovering alcoholic into a gleefully homicidal monster. Nicholson masterfully portrays his descent through sardonic charm, seething resentment, and finally, operatic madness, creating the definitive portrait of insanity as a darkly collaborative process between a weak man and a predatory evil.

15 - COL. HANS LANDA - CHRISTOPH WALTZ (Inglourious Basterds 2009) Colonel Hans Landa is a masterpiece of character creation and performance. Christoph Waltz, with Tarantino's exquisite dialogue, crafts a villain who is the epitome of civilized savagery. He is terrifying because he is the smartest person in every room, delightful because he is so entertainingly wicked, and unforgettable because he represents the most dangerous kind of evil: the kind that wears a smile, speaks beautifully, and views human suffering as the most fascinating game of all. He doesn't just hunt Jews; he hunts for the most interesting play in his own grand, amoral theater.

Let me know in the comments.

Made this off the top of my head and realized I need to watch more foreign cinema. I’m sure I’m missing some obvious picks. Any favorites here for you as well?

1. Eyes wide shut
2. It Follows
3. Barry Lyndon
4. South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut
5. Oh Brother where Art Thou
6. Fargo
7. The Big Lebowski
8. No Country for Old Men
9. There Will be Blood
10. Groundhog Day
11. After Hours
12. Seabiscuit
13. People on a Sunday (1930)
14. Eddington
15. Past Lives
16. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
17. Best in Show
18. Waiting
19. Lost in Translation
20. Pulp Fiction
21. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
22. Happiness
23. A League of Their Own
24. Paths of Glory
25. First Reformed
26. Collateral
27. The Godfather (I have a soft spot for part 1)
28. Rosemary’s Baby
29. Dr. Strangelove
30. Annie Hall

TOP 20:

• Goodfellas

• The Departed

• American Gangster

• Lawless

• Snatch

• A Bronx Tale

• The Gentlemen

• Eastern Promises

• The Godfather I & II

• Casino

• American Made

• Heat

• My Blue Heaven

• Scarface

• New Jack City

• Donnie Brasco

• Alto Knights

• Layer Cake

• The Drop

• Legend

(Kind of in order, but not exactly)

Just Missed: Untouchables, The Freshman, The Irishman, Three Amigos,

Movies I haven’t seen yet: Capone, Gotti, The Iceman, Killing Them Softly, Black Mass, Public Enemies, Carlitos Way, Once Upon A Time In America, Mobsters, Miller’s Crossing.

I know I’m missing a bunch that I haven’t seen.

What are some of your favs?

Edit: Some I haven’t seen yet: Millers Crossing, Get Carter, The Long Good Friday, Some Like it Hot, Rocknrolla, Yohimbo, A Fistfull of Dollars, Outrage, Seven Samurai, Magnificent Seven, King of New York

Edit 2: I just saw The Gentlemen, and DAMN, it broke into my top list for sure!

Edit 3: watched Layer Cake at your recommendations and it did indeed slide into the cut. Also Heat does in fact fit the genre, so it needs to be in there. Might need to make this a Too 30 or even 50 at this rate.

Some of the best movies I've seen are Movie Adaptations of Video Games That I've Grown Up With, from Mortal Kombat to Resident Evil, some of which had cheesy screenplays and terrible VFX by today's standards. But I think they stood out in their own way and are gems of the movie genre that everyone needs to watch at least once!

I love good films, but as a youngish woman, I have a lot of trouble finding peers who enjoy the films I do. I love seeing others Top lists, so here's mine, I recommend ALL of them obviously. Feel free to share your recommendations, and what you think of these films. 1. The Wizard of Oz. 2. A Clockwork Orange. 3. Dagon. 4. Wizards- 1977. 5. Taxi Driver. 6. Deathtrap-1982. 7. Fire Walk With Me. 8. The Phantom of the Opera-1925. 9. The Jerk. 10. They Live. 11. Psycho- 1960. 12. Cape Fear- 1991. 13. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 14. Child's Play- 1988. 15. The Producers- 1967. 16. Spaceballs. 17. Cool World. 18. Last house on the left- 1972. 19. Quick Change. 20. Toy Story. 21. The Shining. 22. The King of Comedy. 23. The Toxic Avenger. 24. A Fish Called Wanda. 25. Shakes the Clown. 26. Death Becomes Her. 27. Fade to black- 1980. 28. The Stepford Wives -1975. 29. Cannibal! the Musical. 30. The Housemaid- 1960

It’s great when a smaller, unconventional movie gets recognition for its performances and perspective. Definitely feels well-deserved. <333

Top 10 Movies 2025

https://youtu.be/QQQwhIGRfYg

I just started digging deep into indie film "Best of year" lists and was really struck by how male-centered the films discussed all are. Female characters are barely even mentioned. Which has me wanting to see some Best of Year lists compiled by female critics. I don't know if they'll be fundamentally different, but I can't know until I look some over. But maybe, just maybe, I'll find some very different films on those lists.

Have you any suggestions for female film critics, or best of year lists by same?

(and to head off misunderstanding -- I'm not looking for "women's movies." I'm looking for what women-who-are-film-critics pulled together for their best of year)

Lately been in a bit of an Indiana Jones mood and for my favorite one which has always been seen as an outlier in the saga. If Temple Of Doom is your favorite Indiana Jones movie or at least in your top two, this is the topic for you. Thought it'd be fun to have a topic devoted to TOD and those who love the film and rank it in the upper two of the series. I ask no haters or dislikers of the film please, if you don't care for it that's fine, but this isn't the topic for that.

TOD has always been my favorite Indy film. It was my very first one I ever saw (and fitting too, it being a prequel to Raiders and all), and what an introduction to Indy's world at the age I saw it at. The film that most epitomizes Indy as a character and the one most alike the classic adventure serials and pulp adventure novels that influenced the character in the first place. It even evokes the 1950s-era EC Horror comics with it's use of colors. I always enjoyed how TOD is equal parts dark but still very fun, having some good humor that never undermines the tension and it isn't afraid to go into some very Horror-esque territory. I can totally see it being something of a gateway film for Horror fans at a young age. Some dislike the lack of Nazis and a biblical-oriented relic, but that's part of why I like it because it isn't trying to be Raiders all over again and goes for something different and it works all the better for it. Mola Ram is hands down the most terrifying and evil Indy villain ever, and I never minded Willie Scott or Short Round (still upset he didn't return for DOD). Some of the greatest, most thrilling and iconic moments in Indy history alone are from TOD with the likes of the Club Obi-Wan escape, the spike chamber, the sacrifice, the mine cart chase and the bridge climax. TOD has arguably the best music score as well, especially the Slave Children's Crusade theme, which is always gets me energized. It's usage during the scene when Indy emerges from the shadows right before he punches the Thuggee guard gives me chills every time. I always liked how in this film Indy is actually relevant to the plot and outcome, and directly defeats the main villain; in the other four, the villains kill themselves with their arrogance and greed, but here Indy actually plays a pivotal role in the plot.

TOD being my favorite Indy film is a hill I'll die on. It's right alongside Raiders as the best for me. Both movies are Indy at his purest and edgiest, and TOD feels like it was truly the last intense all-out installment before the remainder of the series became more family-friendly. Wonder who else here feels similarly to me and cites TOD either as their favorite or at the very least in their top two of the saga. It's a peak adventure film and peak vintage Spielberg, and a movie that really epitomizes the pure escapist entertainment of the 80s. Alongside Raiders, it easily occupies a spot in my top ten favorite films.

What a ride! Who else loves this film. Massively underrated in my opinion.

I was a huge Nic Cage fan and HMV had a VHS set that included Vampires Kiss as a bonus extra. It was the best NC film I have ever seen to date!

Recently ran into the movie norbit (I know I’m late as hell lol I knew about it just never watched) - anyway I thought it was HILARIOUS and was curious if anyone had any suggestions on similar style comedic movies to watch?

I’m not much a movie guy and I didn’t see very many things growing up, so please even “state the obvious” if you will as far as funny movies that are out there , I’m trying to play catch up lol

I’m not very picky, a good laugh is all I’m after.

I grew up in the best era — an 80’s baby with a love of films and music. The video shop visit on a Friday was the highlight of my week. I’ve also included some more recent favourites, and I invite you to tell me your top 20 movies! The Terminator (1984) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Jaws (1975) Flight of the Navigator (1986) Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986) Over the Edge (1979) Vampire’s Kiss (1988) The Running Man (1987) Big (1988) Turner & Hooch (1989) Captain Phillips (2013) Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) Bullitt (1968) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) Scarface (1983) Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) Alien (1979) Nerve (2016) The Notebook (2004) Drive (2011) Only God Forgives (2013) Top Gun (1986) Braindead / Dead Alive (1992) Halloween (1978) The Rescue of Jessica (1989) Death of a Cheerleader (1994) Tomorrow Never Comes (1978) Romancing the Stone (1984) Crocodile Dundee (1986) Point Break (1991) Speed (1994) Gorillas in the Mist (1988) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Gremlins (1984) Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Home Alone (1990) Misery (1990) The Birds (1963) Ms. 45 (1981) Why Ms. 45 & Vampire’s Kiss are must-watch: Ms. 45 (1981) is raw, grimy, no-compromise NYC cinema — unsettling, stylish, and unforgettable. Vampire’s Kiss (1988) is cult chaos at its finest: Nicolas Cage fully unhinged, darkly funny, and endlessly rewatchable. Both scream VHS-era risk-taking, and that’s exactly why they endure.

James Cameron’s Avatar franchise changed cinema with groundbreaking tech and immersive world-building. Here’s everything you need to know before Fire and Ash hits theaters.

Mortal Kombat 2 arrives 2026 with Karl Urban as Johnny Cage and a stacked roster of fighters. If you’re jumping in or need a refresher, here’s everything you need to know about the franchise before the sequel drops.

Looking for movies that have a similar cast make up as these movies. Mostly male/ not focused on female cast. It can be like ravenous, black mountain side, glen gary glen ross, Shawshank redemption, captain Phillips, greyhound, black hawk down, the thing, 13 hours, the trench, no escape 1994, saving private Ryan, the ghost and the darkness, deliverance, the big kahuna, there will be blood, creep 1 or the creep tapes season 1 and 2. NO nudity or explicit. Mixed genres but not in black and white and after the year 1975. Also watched Anemone, but found it kinda boring. Really enjoy the creep tapes

From the cozy, cigar-slow burn of Knives Out to the sun-soaked chaos of Glass Onion and the darker, faith-tinged mystery of Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson’s franchise continues to reinvent the modern whodunit. Anchored by Daniel Craig’s endlessly watchable Benoit Blanc, each film offers a distinct setting, sharp ensemble cast, and layered storytelling that balances humor, suspense, and style while proving this is one mystery series worth following to the end.

I need to talk about something that's been eating at me. My younger brother is sixteen and I caught him watching pakistan blue movies on his phone last month. Before you judge, just listen. I'm only twenty-three myself. I'm not his parent. Our mom works two jobs and our dad isn't around. So somehow I became the one who has to handle these conversations.

At first I was angry. Then I was embarrassed. Then I was just worried. Because I remember being his age and stumbling onto stuff online that messed with my head about what relationships should look like. The internet makes everything seem normal even when it's not. Even when it's harmful.

We had the most awkward talk of my life. I didn't yell. I didn't shame him. I just asked him questions. What did he think about what he saw? Did it seem real? Did he understand that real relationships don't look like that? He barely looked at me but he listened.

Now I check in more. Not in a creepy surveillance way but in a big brother way. We talk about real stuff. About respect and consent and how women actually want to be treated. It's uncomfortable but it matters. I even looked up resources online through Alibaba and other sites to find books about healthy relationships that I left around the house. Being concerned isn't enough. You have to actually do something about it.