The Ultimate Film Bucket List
I’ve never been a film junkie. Like most of us, I have a ranging attention span at best, causing me to have seen the first episode of every TV series on Netflix and every trailer on Youtube. However, staying at home 24/7 has given me the time to watch all the films I've been putting off in my iphone notes. My taste in films is made obvious if i tell you my two favourites: Back to the future and Forrest Gump. My love for American classics is possibly rooted in my indulgence of American Literature and even more so, American sitcoms. On the other hand, I possess the rare talent of subconsciously knowing the soundtracks to every film musical without ever watching them. (Rent, Wicked, Funny Girl etc.)
In the process of being semi productive during isolation, I’ve tried to broaden my film knowledge from cult favourites to early 20th century film. I’ve compiled this list of new films I've discovered during quarantine and old favourites I highly recommend.
In the mood for a killer soundtrack:
1. Baby Driver
2. Dazed and Confused
3. Black Panther
4. Straight Outta Compton
5. American Pie
6. Yesterday
7. Amy
8. Shaft
9. Dirty Dancing
10. 10 Things I Hate About You
Dazed and Confused, 1993
Underrated masterpieces:
11. 500 Days of Summer
12. Big Fish
13. Atlantics
14. Short Term 12
15. In This Corner of the World
16. Malena
17. Brooklyn
18. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
19. The Untouchables
20. Surviving: A Family in Crisis
Big Fish, 2003
Binge watchable film series:
21. The Maze Runner
22. The Godfather
23. Divergent
24. Indiana Jones
25. Back to the Future
26. The Spider-Man Series (or the whole Marvel cinematic universe if you’re feeling ambitious)
27. Oceans series
28. Now You See Me
29. The Dark Knight trilogy
30. Barbershop
Back to the Future, 1985
Comedies that never get old:
31. We’re the Millers
32. Coming to America
33. Legally Blonde
34. The Inbetweeners Movie
35. Hot Fuzz
36. Crazy Rich Asians
37. Superbad
38. Girls Trip
39. Scary Movie
40. The Wolf of Wall Street
Coming to America, 1988
Artsy aesthetic:
41. The Grand Budapest Hotel
42. Waves
43. Rear Window
44. Boyhood
45. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
46. Whisper of the Heart
47. The Theory of Everything
48. Weathering with You
49. Mid90s
50. The Farewell
The Last Black Man in San Francisco, 2019
Beautiful coming of age films:
51. Stand by Me
52. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
53. The Edge of Seventeen
54. Rocks
55. Lady Bird
56. Clueless
57. It’s Kind of a Funny Story
58. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
59. Monte Carlo
60. Girlhood
Rocks, 2019
When you want a singalong:
61. Wizard of Oz
62. Singing in the Rain
63. Dreamgirls
64. La la land
65. Grease
66. Hamilton
67. Hairspray
68. Meet me in St Louis
69. Oliver
70. West Side Story
Singing in the Rain, 1952
Classics from the past:
71. Roman Holiday
72. An American in Paris
73. How to Steal a Million
74. 12 Angry Men
75. Some Like it Hot
76. Vertigo
77. Rebecca
78. The Women
79. Funny Face
80. The Gold Rush
Roman Holiday, 1953
Animated films you're never too old for:
81. Shark Tale
82. Incredibles
83. Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse
84. Toy Story
85. Bugs Life
86. Mulan
87. Big Hero 6
88. Shrek
89. The Emperor's New Groove
90. Lion King
Toy Story 2, 1999
Icons for a reason:
91. Forrest Gump
92. Inception
93. Taxi driver
94. Pulp fiction
95. Shawshank Redemption
96. Roma
97. Dead Poets Society
98. Rain Man
99. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
100. Parasite
Forrest Gump, 1994
For a side activity, just ask Siri, Alexa or whatever device you own for a random number between 1 and 100, that way the number correlating with the film is chosen for you.
Happy watching and stay safe!