1. The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan) - Has been my all-time favorite since I was a kid. There is a haunting, criminally underrated style Night adds to his films, and it shines greatly here that builds up incredible atmosphere, a touching story and one of the most shocking climaxes in film history. The chemistry between Willis and Osment makes the ending even more heart-wrenching, but look past the legendary ending and you'll find, at the core, a beautiful love story and a troubled young boy who can see dead people...
2. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick) - Arguably Kubrick's scariest work of his career, and possibly of all time. Like "The Sixth Sense", The Shining is about a little boy whose ability to see ghosts begins to emitt a powerful paranormal force that begins to tear the family apart with an axe... quite literally. It balances out dazzling tracking shots, breathtaking cinematography and some of the most unforgettable scenes to ever hit the silver screen. Heeeerrrrreeeee's Johnny!
3. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa) - His epic masterpiece tells the tale of a terrorized village that hires the help of seven samurai's to defend them. Using some of the most jaw-dropping fight sequences ever put on film, and a grand-scaled setting to rival most modern epic sagas, Seven Samurai is on a level of it's own, and is widely regarded as the greatest movie of all-time. A childhood favorite, and stands tall today.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick) - I don't know what it is about this movie that keeps on making me want to watch it again and again, but it's animation is worthy of praise as being the first full length stop-motion feature. Not only are the musical numbers incredibly catchy (and non-cliched) they also enhance the voice actors' extraordinary talents. Danny Elfman will never do something like this again, and neither will Burton. A one-of-a-kind.
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry) - Charile Kaufman is a genius, and this is his masterpiece. A love story riddled in cryptic dreams, memory erasure and unothadox medical procedures. Behind it all is a brilliant love story, one that requires no experience nor mistakes if you want to relate to it. A product of creative genius.