My Top Five Films (2025 Edition)

I really enjoyed writing My Top Five Modern Novels blog, so I decided to do another top five list for my favourite films. Of course, perceptive readers will notice the disclaimer in the title ‘2025 Edition’, which is meant to highlight that there is a good chance that my preferences will ebb and flow over time. I should note that while my number one favorite (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) is a no brainer on my end, I struggle to pick and order the rest of my film rankings, largely because there are just so many great movies that I love so much and because much of my decision process rests on my mood at any given time. Anyways, without further adieu, here’s my list.

1)      Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

I realize that I could technically break this down into three separate films, but I decided to count this as one HUGE film since all three parts would occupy my top three sports anyways (in the following order for those interested: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Return of the King, and The Two Towers). I still remember watching the first installment of this trilogy in the theatre with my dad when I was in high school. My poor father, who is also a scholar in his own right, was so bored that he literally fell asleep in the cinema (and then later complained about the movie that he didn’t watch)! I, however, was enamored with the live action adaptation of the books, exciting pounding music, and beautiful panning scenery shots. However, I will admit that I was left wanting more after watching the first film. I even left the cinema feeling slightly dissatisfied, but this was remediated upon later watching the extended edition of the film at my friend’s house. After watching that The Fellowship of the Ring extended edition, I was absolutely hooked on The Lord of the Rings franchise. Soon after I read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion, and other Tolkien works (both LOTR related and non-LOTR related works). Nowadays, I boast a collection of Middle-Earth films, board games, video games, action figures, and posters! I like to think that, as an avid collector, I make my parents proud of their Ph.D. graduand son.

What really made these films stand out for me are the rich narrative of the Free Peoples attempting to destroy the One Ring of the Shadow, the incredible scenery (with shots spanning across New Zealand), and the practical effects (especially in the first film). My wife and I used to watch these films about once a year, but are so busy nowadays that we struggle to get it to the screen due to these films’ incredible playtime (the entire extended trilogy clocking in at 11 hours and 36 minutes). When we do get a chance to watch these beloved classics, we usually end up watching about half a film a night (i.e. about 2 hours a night).

2)      Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014)

I also had the pleasure of watching this film in the cinema with some friends. It was so emotional that I had a hard time getting up from my seat after the credits began to roll! As a massive comic book fan, I initially came to Interstellar due to Nolan’s having directed the phenomenal Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) films, but I soon discovered that Nolan was a venerable director in his own right (sans the need to portray superheroes).

The film, situated in the near future, evidences a time in which human society is facing extinction on earth, primarily due to food shortages and dust storms. The protagonist, Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), is tasked with leading an expedition team through a black hole to a galaxy with twelve potentially habitable planets. The gravitas of the film comes in the form of Cooper having to make a decision between searching for a means to ensure the survival of the entire human species on a new planet or living out his life with his two children back on Earth. The film is extremely emotional, particularly with regards to Cooper’s relationship with his daughter, Murphy “Murph” Cooper (played by both Mackenzie Foy and Ellen Burstyn). The emotional relationships in this film are already very powerful in their own right, but these are also coupled with philosophical questions about the nature of space and time travel.

3)      Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One (2021)

Having watched part of David Lynch’s Dune (1984) years ago on late night television, I truthfully was not excited about another adaptation of Dune. In fact, I didn’t even make it to the cinema to watch this one (though I did see the sequel in the cinema). It was not until I had received several avid recommendations for the film, particularly from another avid Lord of the Rings film fan that I finally relented and watched the film at home on my phone (I know… a sad way to watch this masterpiece)! 

I was happily surprised and amazed by the storytelling, acting, cinematography, and the score by Hans Zimmer. I ended up rewatching segments of the film over and over (as well as listening to the soundtrack over and over). The film does a masterful job of setting up the very complicated political maneuvering in the Dune universe over the spice, which serves to fuel interstellar space travel. Like many other fans, I was saddened when the film came to an end after House Atreides was betrayed by House Harkonnen and House Corrino. Based merely on anecdotal evidence, it seems to me that most people prefer the sequel film, Dune: Part Two, but I still favor the first (while I do still appreciate and enjoy the second too). The standout element of the film for me was Stellan Skarsgård’s portrayal of Baron Harkonen, who masterfully portrays the baron’s greedy and murderous nature. (I have since come to appreciate this actor in other works such as River and Andor.)

4)      Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010)

Next up is another Christopher Nolan film, Inception. From those familiar with my writing, you will note that I have a particular love for the themes of dreams, love, and betrayal. Inception addresses all of these in a masterful way.

One thing that I find funny about this movie is the fact that the protagonists are really villains, though the film doesn’t really draw attention to this in the way that many other Hollywood films do nowadays (e.g. Suicide Squad, and The Suicide Squad, etc.). Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is hired to lead a team to ‘incept’ the dreams of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), an heir to a business empire, to sabotage his business endeavours. Often, I end up feeling bad for Fischer when watching this movie, particularly when the viewer receives several hints regarding his strained relationship with his father. As in many of Nolan’s films, Hans Zimmer helped to compose the music, and has done a masterful job. While some people have struggled to disentangle the levels of dreams in the film, this doesn’t’ pose a significant problem for me (not after having watched the film at least twice). While Cobb is certainly a villain when you get down to the nitty gritty details of the storyline, I still can’t help but be swept up in his tragic relationship with his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), and his children. Like so many other fans, my eyes have often been glued to the screen during the last few moments of the film, watching on to see whether the spinning top falls, so as to determine whether Cobb has truly waken up or not.

5)      Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005)

There are several amazing superhero films out there (to the point that I may feel another Top Five List trickling down to my fingertips). One of my favourites is Batman Begins, incidentally the third Nolan directed film in my list here. While most Batman fans tend to prefer the second film of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight, I favour the first film.

Christian Bale does a masterful job of portraying Batman AND Bruce Wayne. This is possibly the first time I have genuinely been interested in actually seeing this character on screen in the many live action adaptations. I love the gritty and dark nature of the film, which attempts to portray a grounded version of Batman and his rogue’s gallery. I loved this particular origin story of the Bat, with his international journeys and training. I also loved the way that Nolan integrated the League of Shadows into Bruce Wayne’s background, such that they are a terrorist group that Batman has already come into contact with before he actually donned his mask. Of the many Batman villains, one of my longtime favourites is the Scarecrow, so I was ecstatic that he made it into the films (at last), portrayed by one of my favourite actors, Cillian Murphy. I only wish that Scarecrow had gotten more screentime in the film, though I am happy that he makes a return in the sequels, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. One more note on this film, I seem to recall that the story involving Bruce’s love interest, Rachel (Katie Holmes), was controversial when the film first hit cinemas, perhaps in part since the character did not have a clear comic book counterpart. However, I absolutely love this character, her portrayal, and chemistry with Bruce in the film. I also prefer Katie Holmes in the role over her later replacement in The Dark Knight, Maggie Ggyllenhaal, though I do still enjoy the sequel film too.

6)      Honourable Mention(s): James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta (2005)

There are just so many other films that I could include on a list if I could extend this to my top 10, 15, 20, or 100 favourite films. However, one, in particular, jumps out at me as a close tie for fifth place in my list: James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta (2005). Admittedly, this film sometimes also finds its place in my top five. While not the box office hit that other superhero films often are (e.g. Batman and Avengers films), I honestly think this is one of the best comic book adaptations to date (with its associated graphic novel also being one of my favourite comic books). 

The story follows life of Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) who struggles to keep her head down in a dystopian, near future Britain. After she is attacked by some crooked cops and rescued by the mysterious V (Hugo Weaving), Evey later ends up being arrested for unwittingly partaking in an attempt to bring down the authoritarian government (1984 vibes, anyone?). There are some mind-blowing plot twists in the film, which I would prefer not to ruin here, so I highly recommend watching the film. Thematically, the film does a great job of portraying the seemingly helpless role of the average citizen in bringing about the end to authoritarian rule. Also, props to the amazing music by Dario Marianelli.

Well, that’s my new Top Five list. Hope you enjoyed it! A number of themes jumped out at me while writing. Apparently, I love dark, dystopian, epic films, especially those directed by Christopher Nolan. Look out for more updates soon.

That’s all for this time!

AK-M