5.:
Paprika.
Possibly the greatest movie by the late, great visionary director Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers). This adaptation of the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui is an anime and uses all of the strengths of that medium. This couldn't have worked as a live-action movie, or CGI, or as a comic book or video game. It explored the concept of shared dreams years before Inception was ever filmed. And while Inception works on more levels than Paprika (Heist movie, exploration of guilt, philosophical essay about dreams and reality, action movie, etc), Paprika pulls off the dream world so much better. Applied dream logic, recurring motifs and sudden transformations that are so common in our dreams...
Add to all of that a suspenseful plot about an unknown individual that wants to merge the dream world with reality, and the police officer and the psychologist that want to stop him, and you've got a true masterpiece.
4.:
In Bruges.
This is an emotional rollercoaster ride. When it's funny, it's sidesplittingly hilarious. When it's tragic, you're almost in tears. And the film switches easily between both extremes almost at random. It all starts when a hitman (Colin Farrell in what is easily the best role in his career) botches a job and has to hide in a small city in Belgium. What he doesn't know: His best friend and mentor has orders to kill him. This film is littered with actors from the Harry Potter films, by the way.
3.:
Inception.
If this film didn't exist already, I would have to write and direct it myself. Brilliant actors, brilliant visuals, a brilliant score, and best of all, a brilliant story dealing with lots of stuff that interest me (see Paprika). If it wasn't that recent, it might even rank higher.
2.:
The Usual Suspects.
You know the classic lineup scenes? Police has a suspect and a witness, then they place the suspect along with a bunch of paid extras in one room and let the witness identify him? Well, in this case, they don't have one suspect and four random guys off the street. In this case, you have a dirty ex-cop, two masterthieves, a truck hijacker and a con artist. And they use the opportunity to form a supergroup of criminals, pulling the perfect crime. The problem is, they unknowingly mess with the wrong man: The urban legend known as Keyser Söze. And Keyser Söze always gets what he wants. Narrated almost entirely in flashbacks told by what seems to be the only survivor of the group (or is he?), this movie turned director Bryan Singer (X-Men, House, Valkyrie) and actor Kevin Spacey (LA Confidential, American Beauty, Moon) into superstars.
And it was all done with a budget of just $6 million.
1.:
25th Hour.
Again, it's the emotions that this film creates in the audience. In this case, it's the overwhelming post-9/11 melancholy, paired with the emotional gamut that the protagonist (played by the always brilliant Edward Norton) has to run. Anger, frustration, sadness, hope, love, hate... It's all there, and it's infectuous. Add to all of that the brilliant score by Terence Blanchard that goes from smooth jazz to honestly moving pathos without missing a single beat. Wonderful, wonderful movie.