That's an awfully tough question to answer. You could easily just look at my list of movies that have earned a 10/10 score, but there are others out there that I haven't really reviewed, or I just prefer personally above all others, even if I'd be obliged to review them lower than some others.
With full knowledge of how subjective this list is, here is my personal Best of The Best list:
- Inception (2010) - When I saw Nolan's epic in IMAX for the first time, I left with my jaw hanging, but it wasn't until I went and really started reading about it that I began to truly love it. Personally, I think there's incredible evidence for the allegorical "movie about making movies" theory, and even if there isn't, Inception is still a pitch-perfect allegory for storytelling and the art of suspending an audience's disbelief. It's easy to see why Nolan held off on making this movie until he could practice with Batman Begins.
- How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) - I still think this was the greatest Oscar snub of the year, because this picture comes with emotional depth and maturity that most live-action films can't even aspire to. This picture ends up in this list almost exclusively because this is my go-to example of how to do a sequel right. Everything I think a sequel should be—how it should grow the characters and advance the world—this picture is.
- The Lion King (1994) - This is the most personal pick for me. I grew up loving this film, and I still love it. It rocket-jumped the career of Hans Zimmer, made Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane into a power team, and showed what a movie can be when a studio isn't held down by the executives and a group of B-team creators just try to make a fantastic movie.
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - Not the most controversial pick on this list, that's for sure, but Empire is the best example I know of for how to do a middle movie. It builds the drama, unveils its own plot twists, perfectly sets up the finale, and manages to be exciting while still turning all of the characters on their heads and showing us different sides of each.
- Song Of The Sea (2014) - The recent addition. There's literally nothing I can dislike about this story. It was thoughtful, creative, achingly beautiful, heartfelt, and earnest. This small studio took its time to craft a movie to a perfect shine, and I left with such a smile on my face that it's hard to put into words.
