Ten films that should have been included on the top 1000 films of all time

 IMDB's top 1000 films of all time covers ninety-four years of film from Charlie Chaplin's 1925 The Kid to Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley's 2015 Vacation. Of course, it cannot include every film ever made, but I do think there are some egregious omissions. Considering there are at least thirty films that do not deserve to be on this list, I'm going to propose ten films that could take their place. This list is in no order, but chronology.

Bugsy Malone (1976)

If there's something that IMDB loves, it's both gangster films and musicals. The Godfather, Sweeney Todd and Les Miserables  all feature on the famous list. Bugsy Malone combines these two genres in a heart-warming pastiche of the mob films of old.

It tells the story of Bugsy Malone (Scott Baio) who is caught in a war between two rival gangsters. The film is notable for how it cast teenage actors in adult roles - like Jodie Foster in one of her earliest roles. Sure it gets a bit cheesy at the end, but so does Argo and that won the Best Film Oscar, despite lacking so many of the brilliant musical numbers Bugsy Malone has.

1984 (1984)

This is a film that needs no introduction. Considering how IMDB seems to love dystopia films, with Twelve Monkeys, Dark City and V for Vendetta all placing on the list, I don't understand why 1984 wasn't even mentioned.

1984 and its associated ideas of double speak and Big Brother have long entered the cultural lexicon. The film stars John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton, but I still don't understand why it wasn't included. It can substitute Brazil. At least 1984 actually has a point.

It (1990)

This adaptation of Stephen King's horror epic was actually a two-part TV film, so I guess that's why it didn't appear on IMDB's list. Yet I still think it deserves a place.

You could certainly argue that it might seem dated by today's standards, but Tim Curry's villainous performance as Pennywise the Clown was a lot scarier than the excessive gore, CGI and jump-cuts that dominate horror today. Best of all, it isn't nearly as long as Stephen King's 1000 page source material.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

NBK was highly controversial on its release. Some were critical of its extreme depictions of violence, while its distinctive visual style probably did nothing to help naysayers. Even writer Quentin Tarantino has since disowned this film.

But I think those who hated this film have missed its key idea. Director Oliver Stone was criticising the true-crime phenomenon that fascinated society even in the 90's. He was making the point of how the media irresponsibly glorifies criminals, which is as true back then as it is now.

Some love NBK. Some hate it. I loved it and I think it deserved a place on this list. it could easily replace Field of Dreams. At least NBK has something to say.

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Relax, fan boys. The prequels aren't as bad as you say. As long as you don't take them too seriously, they're good fun to watch. And Attack of the Clones has plenty of fun, action sequences to carry it through.

Yes the dialogue is pretty bad with the characterisations being very thin, but how does this make it any different from any of the other Star Wars films?

The other films (sans Phantom Menace, obviously) appear on this list, so why not Attack of the Clones too? At least there isn't a Death Star where the villains were so stupid the designed it with a giant hole - a plot chasm so great, they had to make a whole film to fix it. May the force be with you.

Three and Out (2008)

I must be the only person who would put this on a top 1000 film list. This British black tragicomedy was panned by audiences and critics alike.

But I loved it. It was equal parts hilarious and heart-breaking with great performances from Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Gemma Arteton and Imelda Staunton. It was a film severely hurt by a disastrous marketing campaign.

Some might say this is a terrible film, but so is Running Scared and the Boondock Saints and they still featured on the list.

The Road (2009)

The Road is a bloody depressing film. Perhaps that's why it didn't feature. But Blue Valentine is equally depressing and that still featured. The Road is another adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy book featuring a father and son traversing an apocalyptic wasteland. Yes, it is downbeat and frustratingly vague, but it is still a powerful tale of hope and redemption.

No Country for Old Men - another Cormac McCarthy adaptation - placed at number 204th. Why wasn't the Road included too?

Carrie (2013)

Remakes are rarely a welcome sight among audiences. Most see them as shameless cash grabs, as was the case with the 2013 remake of Carrie.

But I'm going to be controversial and say that Carrie deserved its place on this list alongside the 1976 original. For one, it has a more faithful representation of Carrie, and two it has the excellent Chloe Grace-Moretz taking over from Sissy Spacek.

Despite what some critics have said, there are also some genuine scares too.

Whiplash (October 2014)

Whiplash received critical acclaim. It was won a whole host of awards including multiple Oscars. JK Simmons won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a tyrannical music teacher. it was directed by Damian Chazelle who two years later won a Best Director Oscar.

So why wasn't this film included on IMDB's list? I am absolutely baffled. It is a brilliant film - yes the ending doesn't make sense, but neither does The Hunger Games and that was still selected over Whiplash. Why?

Big Hero 6 (November 2014)

Frozen was a Disney film included on the IMDB list. Big Hero 6 was not. Frozen was picked over Big Hero 6. FROZEN!!! Big Hero Six was a fantastic film that had one of the cutest Disney protagonists since Wall-E. It had gorgeous animation and perfectly balanced humour and heartbreak. I can't think of many other films that make me cry from both laughter and sadness.

Have I missed out of any films? Let me know your thoughts below.

Ten films that will be on IMDB's next list of the top 1000 films of all time

 I started watching IMDB's original list in 2015. Almost a decade later, I am 620 films deep. I don't know when the original list was released, but presumably 2015, as there is only one film from that year on the list.  Although I don't quite understand why, but there aren't any films from 2014.

In this list I will count down ten films released from 2014 onwards that are so good they will surely appear on IMDB's next iteration of the top 1000 films of all time. As usual, this list is in no other order but chronology.

Whiplash (2014)

Damian Chazelle directed this stunner of a film. Only two years later, he went onto become the youngest winner of the Best Director Oscar. It is no surprise as his depiction of a relationship between a tyrannical music teacher and his student is cinema at its best.

JK Simmons and Miles Teller are brilliant in the lead roles with JK Simmons taking home a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar. This film is all about a teacher putting his student to be the absolute best whatever the cost. It was a rollercoaster that will leave you with whiplash in more ways than one.

Manchester by the Sea (November 2016)

This isn't the first time I've mentioned this film on one of my listicles. It also appeared on my list of films too traumatic to watch again. It is a damn depressing film. Considering it follows a man coming to terms with losing his family in a house fire, this is no surprise really. It is a poignant if heart-breaking examination of the different ways that we handle grief.

Casey Affleck plays the tragic husband and father in a role that won him an Oscar. This is a powerful if depressing film that would not be out of place on an updated list of the top 1000 films of all time.

Star Wars: Rogue One (December 2016)

It wouldn't be controversial to say that Disney's new saga of Star Wars films have been polarising. But with five films to pick from one of them has to make the list.

That film should be Rogue One: the best out of the bunch. It is a grittier realisation of the Star Wars universe: albeit it still has some comedic elements, but overall, it is much darker. It also takes some brave creative risks that separate it from the other Star Wars films.

Yes, the age-regression CGI looks dodgy, but the Darth Vader sequence at the end was enough to excite even a casual fan like me.

Blackkklansman (August 2018)

It is all too easy to dismiss the United States' obsession with race relations as a perversion. But when you see films like Blackkklansman, you can see the US' troubled relationship with race over the years.

Spike Lee tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) a black cop who infiltrates the KKK in the seventies with the help of his Jewish colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver.) Washington and Driver are both absolutely fantastic in his film that brings new life to a hackneyed conversation - a conversation that was particularly prescient considering the context of Charlottesville.

Green Book (November 2018)

America's examination of race continues in this superlative film. It won the Best Picture Oscar with some arguing it didn't deserve that award. Critics said it was too derivative of older films like Driving Miss Daisy, as well as failing to consult the families of the people it was portraying like Don Shirley.

Yet it is still a much better film than 2005's Crash which engages with similar themes and also controversially won the Best Picture Oscar.

Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali were great in the lead roles with Ali winning a much-deserved Oscar. This is an excellent, feel-good film that shows you there is still hope for everyone.

Joker (October 2019)

It is no secret that I am not a fan of comic book/super hero films. I never have been. But Joker is a far cry from the campy 60's TV shows or the CGI, special-effect heavy films that have dominated so much of the noughties and 2010s.

It is a dark, gritty re-imagining of one of Batman's most compelling villains. Director Todd Philips shows exactly what can happen when people are pushed past their limits in frightening fashion. Joaquin Phoenix earned a long-overdue Oscar for playing the Crown Prince of Crime. But this wans't just a legacy win. He was a true marvel.

El Hoyo (The Platform) (November 2019)

This is a Spanish Netflix release that took the streaming service by storm. Considering how the original IMDB list loves its kooky, science-fiction/dystopian films, I think El Hoyo would fit in perfectly in an updated version of its list.

Goreng wakes up to find himself prisoner in a vertical tower block. The prisoners are fed via floating platform covered in a feast of food that stops at each level for a couple minutes before moving onto the next one. The catch? The food isn't replenished from top to bottom meaning that the upper levels gorge while the lower levels starve.

Beyond the obvious moral message, El Hoyo also hosts a range of interesting characters who all have their own stories to follow.

Help (2021)

This British film stars the incredible actor Stephen Graham, as well as the equally fantastic Jodie Comer. Help was a TV film that follows care worker Sarah (Jodie Comer) as she struggles working in a care home during the pandemic. Stephen Graham plays one of her patients - Tony - a man with early-onset dementia.

I similarly worked in a care home all through Covid so this film hit me hard. I'm not afraid to say it made me cry. It was a gut-wrenching but magnificent piece of film-making.

Boiling Point (January 2022)

Another British film starring Stephen Graham! Here he plays a struggling head chef at a prestigious London restaurant in this one-take Netflix release. This film had an absolutely terrific energy that made it difficult to look away for a second.

It highlights every single element that goes into creating a successful restaurant service from the cooking to the dish-washing to the serving. We quickly understand that every single college is essential. Without them, the whole system collapses. The whole cast is great, but so is writer-director Philip Barantini for creating a set of characters where everybody is interesting.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (March 2022)

The final film I will mention was one of the biggest films of 2022. It received critical acclaim as well as a whole bunch of awards including seven Oscars. It is a powerful film that is funny, tragic, amazing and heart-warming.

This mind-bending science-fiction film follows Chinese-American immigrant Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) as she navigates her family life and the multiverse. The film's surreal, complicated storytelling is certainly not for everyone, but Michelle Yeoh and Key Huy Quan gave performances that earned them well-deserved Oscars. I may argue that Stephanie Hsu deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar over her co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, but maybe that's just me.

That's my list. I freely admit that by having spent so many years dogmatically wading through IMDB's original list, I am at least ten years behind on popular films. Have I missed any out? Let me know in the comments below.