No one asked for this - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey, on their podcast The Big Picture, are working through the top 25 movies of the last 25 years. An ambitious project with a lot of rules and expert knowledge; they also restricted themselves to one film by one director on the list - we won’t be doing that here as I present you with my list. I’m no particular expert in this field and I have huge holes in my film fandom, yet... hit the deck!

 

There Will Be Blood. Phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis performance, Jonny Greenwood score and Paul Thomas Anderson direction.

 

Nomadland. A tender, touching affirmation of the joys of being alive. Frances McDormand will make you want to give your mom a hug.

 

Dunkirk. Simply the best war movie of the last 25 years. Real edge-of-your-seat stuff.

 

Zoolander. An all-time comedy - I’ll fight anyone with a problem with this. Also, in case you missed it, this isn’t a high-brow list. We’re like Anthony Bourdain, baby - eating at Noma one day and a Frito pie at a gas station the next with equal amounts of love to give for both.

 

Lost in Translation. Simply one of the most beautiful movies ever made. End of story.

 

Mad Max: Fury Road. I had never seen a movie like this before. A cinematic experience unlike any other. Strange as hell. Rad as hell.

 

The Social Network. Just a perfect movie in every respect. Gets more important every year.

 

Superbad. A god-tier comedy with Canadian roots. Plus, it gave us the gift of Emma Stone.

 

Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece that can stand toe-to-toe with Pulp Fiction with two of the greatest scenes of the last 25 years. An unbelievable achievement.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street. Leonardo Dicaprio often gets overlooked when he plays a normal person. Well, this ends this very instant. 

 

FUBAR 2. Good to get some Canadiana in here. A sneaky Christmas movie too. RIP Tron.

 

No Country For Old Men. Another perfect movie. Javier Bardem is absolutely terrifying.

 

Phantom Thread. Unreal score. Incredible Day-Lewis performance. Visually stunning.

 

The Royal Tenanbaums. A Wes Anderson masterpiece both hilarious and heartbreaking.

 

Adaptation. Nic Cage, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman are chaotically perfect for one of the best movies made about writing.

 

Twin Peaks: The Return. The great David Lynch saw this, widely regarded as a television series, as an 18-hour movie. I refuse to argue.

 

The Departed. Martin Scorsese, the king, gives us one of the best crime movies ever.

 

Sideways. In recent years, this has turned into a Sideways column with occasional local news. Paul Giamatti not winning best actor is more criminal than anything Trump’s done.

 

The Master. A Paul Thomas Anderson film that gives us a generational Philip Seymour Hoffman - my favourite - performance.

 

Gone Girl. Easily one of the best thrillers of the last 25 years with fantastic performances.

 

The Dark Knight. Undeniably great action film; Heath Ledger’s Joker is unforgettable. 

 

Parasite. The most thought-provoking film on the list? Could be. It’s a foreign film. Don’t like foreign films? Get a life, loser!

 

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Ralph Fiennes is incredible in the film in which Wes Anderson gets absolutely everything right.

 

Spotlight. The only movie I possibly write about more than Sideways is Spotlight. Perfect, tight telling of a massively important story.

 

One Battle After Another. The newest film on the list. Endlessly riveting and one of the most prescient films of the modern era.

 

Well, that does it. Come back next week for my B-sides, comedies and documentaries.