So here are the first five films of my annual list.

1. One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film “One Battle After Another” is a full-throttle political genre mix to captivate and then entertain you in unexpectedly various ways. As he has always done during last three decades since his first feature film “Hard Eight” (1996), Anderson takes another surprising turn for his diverse filmography, and it is quite compelling to observe how ambitiously and brilliantly the movie swings back and forth across many different genre modes while also unabashedly wielding its political ideas on the screen. Yes, some good movies can vividly reflect their respective eras in one way or another, and, considering how things become more chaotic and alarming in not only US and but also many other countries, and the movie will probably be regarded as one of the main representatives of our current era. In short, Anderson strikes again, and the result is one of the best films of this year.

2. Sinners
   Ryan Coogler’s new film “Sinners” is an enthralling genre piece packed with style, atmosphere, and personality to be cherished. While it sometimes feels a bit too overstuffed with story ideas and elements which do not get totally mixed that well in my humble opinion, it is still quite entertaining genre fusion on the whole, and I enjoyed and embraced those numerous bold and ambitious moments throughout the film. In short, confirms again that he is indeed one of the most interesting African American filmmakers at present, and it will be fascinating to watch how he will leap further from this point during next several years.

3. Frankenstein
   Guillermo del Toro’s latest film “Frankenstein” is certainly something he is born to make. After all, he is an undeniably talented filmmaker of darkly vivid and fantastic imagination, and his utterly impressive adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel will solidify his status more just like many of his other excellent works in the past. I think it is too good and epic to watch at home, and I strongly urge you to grab a chance to watch it at movie theater – especially if you admire del Toro’s works as much as I do.

4. It Was Just an Accident
   Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident”, which won the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival early in this year, demonstrates that he will not step back at all in his critical stance against the Iranian government. While looking like a typical revenge drama at first, the movie engages us more than expected as dexterously balancing itself among drama and comedy along the story, and it is certainly another impressive achievement to be added to Panahi’s admirable career. In short, this is a seemingly modest but undeniably powerful human drama to remember, and it is also definitely is one of the most compelling movie experiences of this year in my inconsequential opinion.

5. Train Dreams
   Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams” is a mesmerizing work of poetic atmosphere and details to be appreciated. Clearly influenced a lot by those meditative works of Terrence Malick such as “The Tree of Life” (2011), the movie engages and then touches us with its sublime visual qualities, and it is certainly something worthwhile to be experienced in my inconsequential opinion. Although it is a shame that I watched it at my home instead of movie theater, I can say at least that it is definitely one of the highlights of this year, and I think you should really check it out as soon as possible.