Around 2 months have passed since my last blog post, when I hit 100 feature-length movies watched in 2021. Now, I’m back to discuss movies #101-150: which ones were my favorite, and which ones I wrote detailed reviews for.
Between April and June, I tried to watch more non-English-language films. Fortunately, I set a new record for the number of unique languages in a 50-movie period: 12.
Most of the films listed here are feature-length films (> 40 minutes). However, I also included some important short films and stand-up comedy routines (thanks to Bo Burnham). Conversely, I left out some short films I’ve watched. Overall, I watched around 50 substantial movies.
“Requiem for a Dream” is definitely in my top 3 movies of all time now; it may even be the #1.
Fun Statistics
Languages: 12. German, Russian, Italian, Bambara, Cantonese, Swedish, Fula, Mandarin, Japanese, French, English, Silent
Most-watched Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (3), Federico Fellini (3 watches, 2 unique movies)
Average movie release year: 1984 (previously 1983)
Median movie release year: 1994 (previously 1992.5)
Read my best movie reviews
- The Master (5/5 stars)
- The egregious racism against Asians in “Lost in Translation” (0.5/5 stars; Stanford Daily article)
- Requiem for a Dream (5/5 stars)
- The Age of Innocence (4.5/5 stars)
My recommendations for you
I tried to pick ones that are less well-known to the general American public because these are the gems that deserve attention.
*Note: not all of these movies are for the faint of heart. Search up “[movie name] imdb parents guide” for content warnings (especially for “Requiem for a Dream”!)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000; English)
- Nights of Cabiria (1957; Italian)
- The Age of Innocence (1993; English)
- Chungking Express (1994; Cantonese)
- Shoplifters (2018; Japanese)
- There Will Be Blood (2007; English)
How to interpret my list
- Blue = especially good (usually 4/5 stars or above)
- Green = non-English movie
- Red = female director
Nadia Jo 