1. I Saw the Devil

This movie has everything I love in a feature film: Great acting, weird violence, black comedy, twists and turns, and thematic depth. It goes to places I’ve never seen similar movies go. My favorite movie used to be Y Tu Mama Tambien, but was pushed out of the way for Ichi the Killer. In due time, I Saw the Devil might do the same. I often say that the greatest admiration for a movie is jealously. I’m flat-out jealous of this movie. It does everything I’d want to do in a movie. I dreamed of a movie like this growing up and wondered why no one ever made it.

Well, they did.

It is a movie that would only come out of South Korea. It is dark and twisted, but deeply grounded in an utterly profound conclusion. South Koreans have some of the most daring and creative artists making movies right now and I hope the government will continue to support them and make South Korean cinema the most admired in the world next to America.

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This is not a complete list. In fact, there are hundreds of movies out there that should be on this list instead. That is the beauty of movies —  and art in general. You can live your whole life and not experience everything. It is not a dick measuring contest (you’d win), but instead a hope that you’ll see the movies I’ve admired.

Recently, I came across the great filmmaker Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop and Sonatine) and wondered how I’d lived all my life and never came across even a single one of his movies. They are spectacular. And I know there are more like Kitanos out there, just waiting for me to find them.