2023

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1943)

I Know Where I’m Going! (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1945)

Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese, 2023)

Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)

A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1946)

Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Christopher McQuarrie, 2023)

A Man Called Otto (Marc Forster, 2022)

The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle / Every Man for Himself and God Against All) (Werner Herzog, 1974)

The Holiday (Nancy Meyers, 2006)

Jungle Cruise (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2021)

Father Stu (Rosalind Ross, 2022)

The Two Popes (Fernando Meirelles, 2019)

Napoleon (Ridley Scott, 2023)

Shazam! (David F. Sandberg, 2019)

Christmas in Scotland (David Lumsden, 2023)

Don't Look Up (Adam McKay, 2021)

Assassin's Creed (Justin Kurzel, 2016)

2022

My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988)

Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron, 2022)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Tomas Alfredson, 2011)

The Tinder Swindler (Felicity Morris, 2022)

Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019)

Yuli (Icíar Bollaín, 2018)

Fathom (Drew Xanthopoulos, 2021)

Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog, 2020)

The Karate Kid (Harald Zwart, 2010) 

The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (Les Blank, 1968)

Disenchanted (Adam Shankman, 2022)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Burr Steers, 2016)

Nightmare Alley (Guillermo del Toro, 2021)

2021

Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) (Бронено́сец «Потёмкин»)

Pauline at the Beach (Éric Rohmer, 1983)

The Green Ray (Éric Rohmer, 1986)

Metropolitan (Whit Stillman, 1990)

The Big Short (Adam McKay, 2015) 

Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021) 

Azor (Andreas Fontana, 2021) 

The Green Knight (David Lowery, 2021)

The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014)

My Octopus Teacher (Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, 2020)

Happiness (Aleksandr Medvedkin, 1935)

The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016)

Putin's palace. History of world's largest bribe (Alexei Navalny, 2021)

India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975)

The White Crow (Ralph Fiennes, 2018)

Important rewatches: 

Doctor Zhivago 

Casablanca 

Black Narcissus

2020

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)

Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006)

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (Vladimir Menshov, 1980) (available on YouTube from MosFilm, in 2 parts, here: Part 1, Part 2)

Hélas pour moi (Jean-luc Godard, 1993)

Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019)

A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, 2019)

Vitalina Varela (Pedro Costa, 2019)

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down (Pedro Almodóvar, 1990)

Wormwood (Errol Morris, 2017)

Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003)

Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004)

The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci, 2017)
That Most Important Thing: Love (Andrzej Żuławski, 1975)
Wheel of Time (Werner Herzog, 2003)
Tale of Tales (Yuri Norstein, 1979)
High Life (Claire Denis, 2018)
Rembrandt's J'Accuse (Peter Greenaway, 2008)
The Rite (Ingmar Bergman, 1969)
Holy Motors (Leos Carax,  2012)
Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt, 2013)
La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)

2019

My annual chronicle of my own year in cinema.

This isn't so much of a ranked list as a list in three tiers:
A single film that joins the top tier of masterpieces that reveal deep truths about the physical and metaphysical world; a large number of well-crafted films that tell large truths in important ways; and a set of disappointments that deserved better from their makers.

My only two specific notes about this year are about Ordet, which overpowered me, and about Kommunisten, which inspired me.

I don't think I would have been ready to see Ordet until 2019, at least not through the eyes that it deserves. I'm very thankful that I waited to see it until I was a person who carries faith.

I wrote about Kommunisten, briefly, for Mubi's Images of the Decade.

2019:
Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955)
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)*
Kommunisten (Jean-Marie Straub, 2014)
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)
Workers, Peasants (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 2001)
Microhabitat (Jeon Go-woon, 2017)
Dragon Inn (King Hu, 1967)
Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019)
Bao (Domee Shi, 2018)
My 20th Century (Ildikó Enyedi, 1988)
Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)
Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)
White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)
The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-liang, 2005)
The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019)
Oedipus Rex (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1967)
The Death of Empedocles (Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, 1987)
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Jeff Feuerzeig, 2005)
The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)
Fortini/Cani (Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, 1976)
So Long, My Son (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2019)
The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010)
Machorka-Muff (Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, 1963)
Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino, 2018)
L'enfant secret (Philippe Garrel, 1979)
BRIDGIT (Charlotte Prodger, 2016)
Flores (Jorge Jácome, 2017)
Brave (Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell, 2012)
Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)
Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016)
Slack Bay (Bruno Dumont, 2016)
The Edge of the Knife (Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown, 2018) [abandoned at 48 minutes]
Me the Terrible (Josephine Decker, 2012)
Aquaman (James Wan, 2018)
The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980)
Doctor Chance (F.J. Ossang, 1997) [abandoned at 34 min]

* Revisited, and still terrific

2018

Drake - Nice for What (Karena Evans, 2018)
Hommage à Jean-Marie Straub (Valérie Massadian, 2018)
The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard, 2018)
(Untitled) (Bajir Cannon, 2018)
The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
Annihilation (Alex Garland, 2018)
Diamantino (Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt, 2018)
Die Hard 2 (Renny Harlin, 1990)
Milford Graves Full Mantis (Jake Meginsky w/ Neil Young, 2018)
Drake - God's Plan (Karena Evans, 2018)

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (Declan Lowney, 2013)
Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug, 2018)
Fantastic Four (Josh Trank, 2015)

2017

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
A nos amours (Maurice Pialat, 1983)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Jake Kasdan, 2017)
The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra, 2016)
HAIM - Right Now (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)
HAIM - Want You Back (Jake Schreier, 2017)
Orange Light (Ryland Walker Knight, 2016)
Ghost Comb. (Ryland Walker Knight, 2016)
Seven Years Nine Months (Ryland Walker Knight, 2015)
Spielberg (Susan Lacy, 2017)
Inferno (Ron Howard, 2016)
Independence Day: Resurgence (Roland Emmerich, 2016)
Gunpowder (J Blakeson, 2017)
Mulan (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, 1998)
Kong: Skull Island (Jordan Vogt-Roberts, 2017)
Witchfinder General (Michael Reeves, 1968)

2015

Adieu au langage (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
À propos de Venise (Jean-Marie Straub, 2014)

Inside Out (Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen, 2015)
Dialogue d’ombres (Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, 1954 – 2013)
Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955)
Le Camps de la mort (1945)
La Madre (Jean-Marie Straub, 2012)
Straight (Ai Wei Wei, 2015)
Lava (James Ford Murphy, 2014)

The Martian (Ridley Scott, 2015)
Junun (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2015)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (Louis Malle, 1987)
Schakale und Araber (Jean-Marie Straub, 2011)

Henchman Glance (Chris Marker, 2010)
An Education (Lone Scherfig, 2009)
Amy (Asif Kapadia, 2015)

2016

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)

Carol (Todd Haynes, 2014)

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1967)

Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016)

Julieta (Pedro Almodovar, 2016)

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) The Present (Jacob Frey, 2014)

In Jackson Heights (Frederick Wiseman, 2015)
Hypernormalisation (Adam Curtis, 2016)
Hit 2 Pass (Kurt Walker, 2014)

Blue (Derek Jarman, 1993)
Squirrel take GoPro and gives best POV EVER!!! (2016)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J. J. Abrams, 2015)

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One (Miguel Gomes, 2015)
The Bridge of Sighs (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
Friends Dancing to Bowie (Keith Uhlich, 2016)
For Ever Mozart (Jean-Luc Godard, 1996)

Rosehill (Brigitta Wagner, 2015)

A Cinematic Year (2014)

Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014)
It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
Beyoncé (feat. Jay-Z) "Drunk in Love" Unofficial Emoji Video (Jesse Hill, 2014)
Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini, 1954)
Les années 80 (Chantal Akerman, 1983)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa, 2014)
Camera falls from airplane and lands in pig pen--MUST WATCH END!! (Mia Munselle, 2014)
Valparaiso (Joris Ivens, 1963)
À bientôt, j'espère (Chris Marker & Mario Marret, 1968)
The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921)
Three Cheers for the Whale (Chris Marker & Mario Ruspoli, 1972)
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, 1991)
Portrait of Lotte - 0 to 14 years in 4 min. (The Original) (Frans Hofmeester, 2014)
Film for Untitled Viewer (Joseph Bernard, 1983)
The Terrorizer (Edward Yang, 1986)
Life of Riley (Alain Resnais, 2013)
Un jour Pina a demandé (Chantal Akerman, 1983)
A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1989)
Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)
Apple - iPad Air - TV Ad - Your Verse (2013)
Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
The Three Ages (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1923)
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
The Football Incident (Une histoire de ballon: le lycée no. 31 à Pekin) [from How Yukong Moved the Mountains] (Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens, 1976)
Professor Tsien [from How Yukong Moved the Mountains] (Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens, 1976)
Venezia 70 Future Reloaded - Jean Marie Straub (Jean Marie Straub, 2013)
Colorfilm (Standish Lawder, 1971)
Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 1947)
Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013)
Por primera vez (Octavio Cortazar, 1967)
color test #2 (no worries) (Phil Coldiron, 2014)
color test #3 (sisters) (Phil Coldiron, 2014)
Khan Khanne (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
Rehearsal at the Peking Opera [from How Yukong Moved the Mountains] (Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens, 1976)
21 Jump Street (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 2012)
color test #1 (full of fire) (Phil Coldiron, 2014)
Divergent (Neil Burger, 2014)
Traditional Handicrafts [from How Yukong Moved the Mountains] (Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens, 1976) 
The Restless Breed (Allan Dwan, 1957)
The Spanish Main (Frank Borzage, 1945)
Land Ho! (Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens, 2014)
Venezia 70 Future Reloaded - Yorgos Lanthimos (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2013)
HELL ORBS "Arschersetzer" feat. KC Green
Turen til Squashland (Lars Trier, 1967)
Spark: A Burning Man Story (Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter, 2013)

SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY.

       I.
She walks in Beauty, like the night
 Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
 Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
 Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

       II.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
 Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
 Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
 How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

       III.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
 So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
 But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
 A heart whose love is innocent!

vincit qui patitur / amor vincit omnia

***



***

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
     If this be error and upon me proved,
     I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

***