- Donnie Darko
This movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal is hard to summarize. It touches on the subjects of mental illness, time travel and the world ending. The main character Donnie, is a teenager and experiences all these things, while being in a dream-like state. It is definitely a movie that will leave you with a lot of questions, not only about the film itself, but your own reality.
- Black Swan
This classic ballet film focuses on the main character, Nina played by Natalie Portman and her strive for perfection. The movie deals with psychosis and mental illness in the ballet world and what it takes to perfect your art. I really love the style of the film and how the soft ballet aesthetic is a part of the entire movie. Natalie Portman did an amazing job in this role and gave a truly breathtaking performance. As someone who loves ballet, this film definitely deserves a place in my top 10.
- Her
This Spike Jonze film gives a very modern or futuristic take on a romance film. It is a love story between a man and his computer. It truly feels like a real love story and Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johannson were incredible in their roles. I love the cinematography in this movie, it is truly beautiful and the futuristic feel definitely makes it a fresh watch.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I love this movie. It is another movie that involves some kind of futuristic technology, this time it removes memories of a person from their brain. The love story in this, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, is so raw and beautiful and is another fresh take on a romance film. This is definitely a must watch movie and will probably leave you with tears in your eyes.
- Juno
A top favorite film of mine for sure. Michael Cera and Elliot Page are the perfect, quirky, indie, early 2000’s couple. The struggle of teen pregnancy and growing up are the main heavy subjects of this film, but it also has a great sense of humor. This film all around is beautiful and feels realistic.This soundtrack is also one of my favorites.
- The Shining
This classic Kubrick film definitely deserves its place in my top ten. Any story by Stephen King I am bound to love due to being a horror fan, but I feel that Kubrick really brought this book to life in such a stunning way. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is incredible and is overall a must-watch film. I love the style of this movie and its 70’s influence; it is still very quotable to this day.
- Pulp Fiction
There of course has to be a Quinten Tarantino film on this list and it is of course, his most classic film. I love the style of this movie and its 90’s vibes. Uma Thurman’s character is easily one of my favorites. I don’t have much else to say other than, if you haven’t seen this movie, what are you doing?
- Requiem for a Dream
This film starring Jared Leto, is one that most people can only watch once due to its disturbing nature. It deals with drug addiction and mental illness and the extremely dark places they can take you to. I really appreciate the love story in this movie and how eye-opening it is. As disturbing as it is, I almost feel like it could be a film used to prevent drug abuse.
- The Virgin Suicides
I really love the subject matter of this movie and what it stands for. The whole movie focuses around the beauty and mystery of teenage girls, but shows that most people fail to recognize the mental problems that these girls struggle with. It is really a beautifully tragic film and is a must-watch.
- Kids
This is another disturbing and hard to watch film. It deals with teenagers passing around the AIDS virus in 90’s New York City. It is so disturbing to watch children deal with such mature issues and abuse drugs and alcohol. It is another eye opening film to how the real world can be. I love Harmony Korine and his directing; it always feels so raw and realistic, which makes most of his movies only watchable one time.