Top 100 best films according to a movie-watching millennial

Top 100 Best Movies

If you've read my top 100 favorite movies list you know my definition of a favorite, or "list-worthy" film. The best films are different.

The best films, according to me, a movie-watching millennial, are those films post-1980 that a person born post 1975 could remember seeing in theaters. And they're not only the films they "could" remember (studies say humans remember major events around age 5), they are the films they "do" remember.

These are the films that left a lasting memory on me -- this is my cinefile of the best films of my time:

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
3. Schindler's List (1993)
4. Inception (2010)
5. The Dark Knight (2008)
6. Star Wars: Episode V - Empire Strikes Back (1980)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
8. Fight Club (1999)
9. The Incredibles (2004)
10. Snatch (2000)
11. Goodfellas (1990)
12. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
13. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
14. Gravity (2013)
15. The Matrix (1999)
16. The Usual Suspects (1995)
17. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
18. Se7en (1995)
19. The Social Network (2010)
20. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
21. Braveheart (1995)
22. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002)
23. Memento (2000)
24. Forrest Gump (1994)
25. Back to the Future (1985)
26. Toy Story 3 (2010)
27. Arrival (2016)
28. Dunkirk (2017)
29. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
30. American History X (1998)
31. Good Will Hunting (1997)
32. American Beauty (1999)
33. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
34. Gladiator (2000)
35. WALL-E (2008)
36. The Shining (1980)
37. Avatar (2009)
38. Up (2009)
39. A Star is Born (2018)
40. The Pianist (2002)
41. The Departed (2006)
42. Aliens (1986)
43. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
44. Argo (2012)
45. The Sixth Sense (1999)
46. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
47. The Prestige (2006)
48. The Green Mile (1999)
49. Pacific Rim (2013)
50. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
51. Amadeus (1984)
52. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
53. There Will Be Blood (2007)
54. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
55. A Quiet Place (2018)
56. Black Swan (2010)
57. Iron Man (2008)
58. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
59. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
60. Icarus (2017)
61. Die Hard (1988)
62. Sin City (2005)
63. Batman Begins (2005)
64. L.A. Confidential (1997)
65. Heat (1995)
66. Blade Runner (1982)
67. No Country for Old Men (2007)
68. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
69. Free Solo (2018)
70. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
71. The Lion King (1994)
72. The Big Lebowski (1998)
73. Toy Story (1995)
74. Donnie Darko (2001)
75. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
76. Platoon (1986)
77. Into the Wild (2007)
78. Black Panther (2018)
79. Rain Man (1988)
80. X-Men: First Class (2011)
81. Scarface (1983)
82. Trainspotting (1996)
83. Groundhog Day (1993)
84. Finding Nemo (2003)
85. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
86. The Terminator (1984)
87. Casino (1995)
88. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
89. Get Out (2017)
90. Stand by Me (1986)
91. V for Vendetta (2006)
92. Ratatouille (2007)
93. Prisoners (2013)
94. Star Trek (2009)
95. Mystic River (2003)
96. Inside Out (2015)
97. Big Fish (2003)
98. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
99. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
100. The Cove (2009)

Honorable Mentions:

• Monsters, Inc. (2001)
• Shutter Island (2010)
• Fargo (1996)
• The Truman Show (1998)
• The Wrestler (2008)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• Wonder Woman (2017)
• RBG (2018)
• Let the Right One In (2008)
• Gran Torino (2008)
• Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing Missouri (2017)

Last updated: 2/24/2018