Below is a listing of my top 20 films from each year going back to 1992 (by U.S. release dates if released theatrically in the U.S.). Please note that my top 20 lists may and will change just slightly every now and then after additional viewings and or as I catch some of the films I have missed over the years.

- Daniel Garris

Film (Director)

Rating

1

WALL•E (Andrew Stanton)

9.5/10

2

Iron Man (Jon Favreau)

9.0/10

3

Indiana Jones 4 (Steven Spielberg)

8.5/10

4

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)

8.5/10

5

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)

8.5/10

6

Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)

8.0/10

7

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)

8.0/10

8

The Bank Job (Roger Donaldson)

8.0/10

9

Speed Racer (Andy Wachowski/Larry Wachowski)

7.5/10

10

The Incredible Hulk (Louis Leterrier)

7.5/10

11

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Dave Filoni)

7.5/10

12

Batman: Gotham Knight (Animated)

7.5/10

13

Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins (Chris Barker/Mike Slee)

7.5/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)

10.0/10

2

The Assassination of Jesse James (Andrew Dominik)

9.5/10

3

I'm Not There (Todd Haynes)

9.0/10

4

Ratatouille (Brad Bird/Jan Pinkava)

9.0/10

5

Atonement (Joe Wright)

9.0/10

6

Sweeney Todd (Tim Burton)

9.0/10

7

Zodiac (David Fincher)

8.5/10

8

The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

8.5/10

9

Once (John Carney)

8.5/10

10

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel)

8.5/10

11

Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo)

8.5/10

12

3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold)

8.5/10

13

Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy)

8.5/10

14

The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman)

8.5/10

15

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon)

8.0/10

16

The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona)

8.0/10

17

Charlie Wilson's War (Mike Nichols)

8.0/10

18

No Country For Old Men (Joel Coen/Ethan Coen)

8.0/10

19

Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)

8.0/10

20

The Bucket List (Rob Reiner)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Idiocracy (Mike Judge)

9.5/10

2

Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster)

9.0/10

3

A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater)

9.0/10

4

Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Michel Gondry)

9.0/10

5

World Trade Center (Oliver Stone)

9.0/10

6

The Departed (Martin Scorsese)

8.5/10

7

Letters From Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood)

8.5/10

8

The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry)

8.5/10

9

Borat (Larry Charles)

8.5/10

10

Lady in the Water (M. Night Shyamalan)

8.5/10

11

Cars (John Lasseter/Joe Ranft)

8.5/10

12

United 93 (Paul Greengrass)

8.5/10

13

A Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman)

8.5/10

14

The Tiger and the Snow (Roberto Benigni)

8.0/10

15

The Illusionist (Neil Burger)

8.0/10

16

Hollywoodland (Allen Coulter)

8.0/10

17

Renaissance (Christian Volckman)

8.0/10

18

Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)

8.0/10

19

Flags of Our Fathers (Clint Eastwood)

8.0/10

20

The Queen (Stephen Frears)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas)

9.5/10

2

2046 (Wong Kar Wai)

9.5/10

3

Munich (Steven Spielberg)

9.5/10

4

The New World (Terrence Malick)

9.0/10

5

Wallace & Gromit (Nick Park/Steve Box)

9.0/10

6

Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch)

9.0/10

7

Cinderella Man (Ron Howard)

9.0/10

8

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings)

9.0/10

9

Match Point (Woody Allen)

8.5/10

10

Lord of War (Andrew Niccol)

8.5/10

11

Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)

8.5/10

12

Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki)

8.5/10

13

The Constant Gardener (Fernando Meirelles)

8.5/10

14

War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg)

8.0/10

15

Good Night, & Good Luck (George Clooney)

8.0/10

16

Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott)

8.0/10

17

Walk the Line (James Mangold)

8.0/10

18

Capote (Bennett Miller)

8.0/10

19

A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)

8.0/10

20

Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)

10.0/10

2

The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson)

9.5/10

3

The Aviator (Martin Scorsese)

9.5/10

4

Sideways (Alexander Payne)

9.5/10

5

The Village (M. Night Shyamalan)

9.5/10

6

The Incredibles (Brad Bird)

9.0/10

7

Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi)

9.0/10

8

Hotel Rwanda (Terry George)

9.0/10

9

House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou)

9.0/10

10

Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino)

8.5/10

11

Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess)

8.5/10

12

The Life Aquatic (Wes Anderson)

8.5/10

13

Primer (Shane Carruth)

8.5/10

14

The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes)

8.5/10

15

Finding Neverland (Marc Forster)

8.5/10

16

Tokyo Godfathers (Satoshi Kon)

8.5/10

17

Garden State (Zach Braff)

8.5/10

18

Kinsey (Bill Condon)

8.0/10

19

Hero (Zhang Yimou)

8.0/10

20

Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman/Robert Pulcini)

9.5/10

2

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino)

9.5/10

3

Seabiscuit (Gary Ross)

9.0/10

4

The Return of the King (Peter Jackson)

9.0/10

5

Big Fish (Tim Burton)

9.0/10

6

X2: X-Men United (Bryan Singer)

9.0/10

7

City of God (Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund)

8.5/10

8

The Last Samurai (Edward Zwick)

8.5/10

9

Whale Rider (Niki Caro)

8.5/10

10

Swimming Pool (François Ozon)

8.5/10

11

The Animatrix (Animated)

8.5/10

12

Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)

8.5/10

13

Bad Santa (Terry Zwigoff)

8.5/10

14

Lost in La Mancha (Keith Fulton/Louis Pepe)

8.0/10

15

The Life of David Gale (Alan Parker)

8.0/10

16

Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)

8.0/10

17

Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich)

8.0/10

18

The Matrix Reloaded (Andy Wachowski/Larry Wachowski)

8.0/10

19

Holes (Andrew Davis)

8.0/10

20

Hulk (Ang Lee)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson)

10.0/10

2

The Pianist (Roman Polanski)

9.5/10

3

Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes)

9.5/10

4

Adaptation (Spike Jonze)

9.5/10

5

Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese)

9.0/10

6

Attack of the Clones (George Lucas)

9.0/10

7

Signs (M. Night Shyamalan)

9.0/10

8

Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg)

8.5/10

9

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)

8.5/10

10

Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuarón)

8.5/10

11

Minority Report (Steven Spielberg)

8.5/10

12

About Schmidt (Alexander Payne)

8.5/10

13

Full Frontal (Steven Soderbergh)

8.5/10

14

Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes)

8.0/10

15

Solaris (Steven Soderbergh)

8.0/10

16

Chicago (Rob Marshall)

8.0/10

17

The Two Towers (Peter Jackson)

8.0/10

18

8 Mile (Curtis Hanson)

8.0/10

19

We Were Soldiers (Randall Wallace)

8.0/10

20

Panic Room (David Fincher)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann)

10.0/10

2

A.I. (Steven Spielberg)

10.0/10

3

In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar Wai)

9.5/10

4

Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff)

9.5/10

5

Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe)

9.0/10

6

Shrek (Andrew Adamson/Vicky Jenson)

9.0/10

7

The Majestic (Frank Darabont)

9.0/10

8

Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu)

9.0/10

9

Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott)

9.0/10

10

Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

8.5/10

11

The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)

8.5/10

12

Memento (Christopher Nolan)

8.5/10

13

The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)

8.5/10

14

Monsters Inc. (P. Docter/D. Silverman/L. Unkrich)

8.5/10

15

Enemy at the Gates (Jean-Jacques Annaud)

8.5/10

16

Waking Life (Richard Linklater)

8.0/10

17

A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard)

8.0/10

18

Ocean's Eleven (Steven Soderbergh)

8.0/10

19

Baby Boy (John Singleton)

8.0/10

20

Training Day (Antoine Fuqua)

7.5/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

The Cell (Tarsem Singh)

10.0/10

2

Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)

9.5/10

3

Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)

9.5/10

4

George Washington (David Gordon Green)

9.0/10

5

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)

9.0/10

6

Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson)

9.0/10

7

Gladiator (Ridley Scott)

9.0/10

8

Traffic (Steven Soderbergh)

8.5/10

9

X-Men (Bryan Singer)

8.5/10

10

Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan)

8.5/10

11

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen)

8.5/10

12

Chicken Run (Nick Park/Peter Lord)

8.5/10

13

Finding Forrester (Gus Van Sant)

8.5/10

14

Cast Away (Robert Zemeckis)

8.5/10

15

Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)

8.5/10

16

Snatch (Guy Ritchie)

8.5/10

17

Thirteen Days (Roger Donaldson)

8.0/10

18

Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh)

8.0/10

19

High Fidelity (Stephen Frears)

8.0/10

20

Ghost Dog (Jim Jarmusch)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Fight Club (David Fincher)

10.0/10

2

Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)

10.0/10

3

Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson)

9.5/10

4

American Beauty (Sam Mendes)

9.5/10

5

The Green Mile (Frank Darabont)

9.5/10

6

Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)

9.5/10

7

The Matrix (Andy Wachowski/Larry Wachowski)

9.5/10

8

Three Kings (David O. Russell)

9.5/10

9

The Iron Giant (Brad Bird)

9.5/10

10

Toy Story 2 (J. Lasseter/A. Brannon/L. Unkrich)

9.0/10

11

Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze)

9.0/10

12

The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella)

9.0/10

13

South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker)

8.5/10

14

Man on the Moon (Milos Forman)

8.5/10

15

Bowfinger (Frank Oz)

8.5/10

16

The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)

8.5/10

17

Office Space (Mike Judge)

8.5/10

18

The Insider (Michael Mann)

8.5/10

19

My Neighbors the Yamadas (Isao Takahata)

8.0/10

20

Titus (Julie Taymor)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

The Truman Show (Peter Weir)

10.0/10

2

Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)

9.5/10

3

Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni)

9.5/10

4

The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)

9.5/10

5

American History X (Tony Kaye)

9.0/10

6

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam)

9.0/10

7

Elizabeth (Shekhar Kapur)

9.0/10

8

Bulworth (Warren Beatty)

8.5/10

9

Shakespeare in Love (John Madden)

8.5/10

10

There's Something About Mary (Bobby Farrelly/Peter Farrelly)

8.5/10

11

Fallen Angels (Wong Kar Wai)

8.5/10

12

What Dreams May Come (Vincent Ward)

8.5/10

13

The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen)

8.5/10

14

Simon Birch (Mark Steven Johnson)

8.5/10

15

Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes)

8.0/10

16

Dark City (Alex Proyas)

8.0/10

17

Pleasantville (Gary Ross)

8.0/10

18

A Bug's Life (John Lasseter/Andrew Stanton)

8.0/10

19

Primary Colors (Mike Nichols)

8.0/10

20

Men with Guns (John Sayles)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)

9.5/10

2

Gattaca (Andrew Niccol)

9.5/10

3

L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)

9.5/10

4

Contact (Robert Zemeckis)

9.0/10

5

Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell)

9.0/10

6

The Rainmaker (Francis Ford Coppola)

9.0/10

7

Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant)

8.5/10

8

Face/Off (John Woo)

8.5/10

9

Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)

8.5/10

10

Titanic (James Cameron)

8.5/10

11

Austin Powers (Jay Roach)

8.5/10

12

As Good As It Gets (James L. Brooks)

8.5/10

13

Waco: The Rules of Engagement (William Gazecki)

8.5/10

14

Amistad (Steven Spielberg)

8.0/10

15

Seven Years in Tibet (Jean-Jacques Annaud)

8.0/10

16

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Errol Morris)

8.0/10

17

The Fifth Element (Luc Besson)

8.0/10

18

Men in Black (Barry Sonnenfeld)

7.5/10

19

The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)

7.5/10

20

Kundun (Martin Scorsese)

7.5/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

The People vs. Larry Flynt (Milos Forman)

9.5/10

2

Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai)

9.0/10

3

Fargo (Joel Coen)

9.0/10

4

Lone Star (John Sayles)

9.0/10

5

Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii)

9.0/10

6

Get on the Bus (Spike Lee)

9.0/10

7

Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh)

9.0/10

8

Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)

9.0/10

9

Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)

9.0/10

10

The Monster (Roberto Benigni/Michel Filippi)

8.5/10

11

Courage Under Fire (Edward Zwick)

8.5/10

12

Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh)

8.5/10

13

Kingpin (Bobby Farrelly/Peter Farrelly)

8.5/10

14

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Gary Trousdale/Kirk Wise)

8.5/10

15

Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton)

8.5/10

16

Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe)

8.5/10

17

Evita (Alan Parker)

8.0/10

18

The Nutty Professor (Tom Shadyac)

8.0/10

19

Scream (Wes Craven)

8.0/10

20

Happy Gilmore (Dennis Dugan)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Se7en (David Fincher)

10.0/10

2

Babe (Chris Noonan)

9.5/10

3

Apollo 13 (Ron Howard)

9.0/10

4

Braveheart (Mel Gibson)

9.0/10

5

Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee)

9.0/10

6

12 Monkeys (Terry Gilliam)

9.0/10

7

Toy Story (John Lasseter)

8.5/10

8

Crumb (Terry Zwigoff)

8.5/10

9

The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer)

8.5/10

10

Lamerica (Gianni Amelio)

8.5/10

11

Exotica (Atom Egoyan)

8.5/10

12

Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld)

8.5/10

13

Heat (Michael Mann)

8.0/10

14

Il Postino (Michael Radford)

8.0/10

15

To Die For (Gus Van Sant)

8.0/10

16

Devil in a Blue Dress (Carl Franklin)

8.0/10

17

Safe (Todd Haynes)

8.0/10

18

Nixon (Oliver Stone)

8.0/10

19

GoldenEye (Martin Campbell)

8.0/10

20

Friday (F. Gary Gray)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)

10.0/10

2

Three Colors: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski)

10.0/10

3

Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis)

9.5/10

4

The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)

9.5/10

5

Dumb & Dumber (Peter Farrelly)

9.5/10

6

Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti)

9.0/10

7

The Last Seduction (John Dahl)

9.0/10

8

Hoop Dreams (Steve James)

8.5/10

9

Ed Wood (Tim Burton)

8.5/10

10

Clerks (Kevin Smith)

8.5/10

11

Léon (Luc Besson)

8.5/10

12

Three Colors: White (Krzysztof Kieslowski)

8.5/10

13

Quiz Show (Robert Redford)

8.0/10

14

Nell (Michael Apted)

8.0/10

15

The Lion King (Roger Allers/Rob Minkoff)

8.0/10

16

Speed (Jan de Bont)

8.0/10

17

The Mask (Chuck Russell)

8.0/10

18

Maverick (Richard Donner)

8.0/10

19

Pom Poko (Isao Takahata)

7.5/10

20

Interview with the Vampire (Neil Jordan)

7.5/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)

10.0/10

2

Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski)

9.5/10

3

Farewell My Concubine (Kaige Chen)

9.5/10

4

Menace II Society (Albert Hughes/Allen Hughes)

9.0/10

5

Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg)

9.0/10

6

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick)

9.0/10

7

Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann)

9.0/10

8

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Lasse Hallström)

8.5/10

9

The Fugitive (Andrew Davis)

8.5/10

10

The Remains of the Day (James Ivory)

8.5/10

11

Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)

8.5/10

12

The Piano (Jane Campion)

8.5/10

13

Philadelphia (Jonathan Demme)

8.5/10

14

In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan)

8.0/10

15

A Perfect World (Clint Eastwood)

8.0/10

16

Kalifornia (Dominic Sena)

8.0/10

17

Falling Down (Joel Schumacher)

8.0/10

18

Ruby in Paradise (Victor Nunez)

8.0/10

19

El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez)

8.0/10

20

Hard Boiled (John Woo)

8.0/10

Film (Director)

Rating

1

Batman Returns (Tim Burton)

9.5/10

2

Aladdin (Ron Clements/John Musker)

9.0/10

3

Howards End (James Ivory)

9.0/10

4

Close to Eden (Nikita Mikhalkov)

9.0/10

5

Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)

8.5/10

6

Malcolm X (Spike Lee)

8.5/10

7

A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford)

8.5/10

8

Johnny Stecchino (Roberto Benigni)

8.5/10

9

Of Mice and Men (Gary Sinise)

8.5/10

10

All the Vermeers in New York (Jon Jost)

8.5/10

11

Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

8.0/10

12

Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki/Tony Bancroft)

8.0/10

13

Chaplin (Richard Attenborough)

8.0/10

14

Proof (Jocelyn Moorhouse)

8.0/10

15

Delicatessen (Marc Caro/Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

8.0/10

16

A Few Good Men (Rob Reiner)

8.0/10

17

Far and Away (Ron Howard)

8.0/10

18

My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn)

8.0/10

19

Lorenzo's Oil (George Miller)

8.0/10

20

A League of Their Own (Penny Marshall)

8.0/10