This is my favorite movie. Hands down, the best. Ever. Even only looking surface deep, one sees and excellent movie, with excellent choreography, stunning camera work, and a decent, if somewhat simple story.
This story becomes more complex because the Watchowski sisters, who wrote and directed the film, came out as transgender in 2012 and 2016 respectively, and it was realized that much of the film's story could be reframed with this context. Here is a rapid-fire bullet point list of trans symbolism in The Matrix.
Beyond this, the Matrix is an excellent movie. The iconic bank scene stands as one of, if not the greatest fight scene ever, and of course, the bullet time mechanics, filmed using a massive ring of cameras around the actor in focus, remains forever in the minds of those who have seen it.
If the Matrix is the greatest single film ever, then the Lord of the Rings is the greatest series. Made in three years from 2001 to 2003 by Peter Jackson, they've defined many parts of cinema in the decades since their release. In particular, the Battle of Helms Deep, depicted in the 2002 film The Two Towers, is generally considered to be the best battle scene ever shown on film.
The most notable parts of this series, to me at least, are the moments that leave the viewer stunned, with a big, dumb grin on their face. Here is my listing of the best moments from the series.
This series makes the list less because they're excellent films like the Lord of the Rings, or for personally important reasons like The Matrix, but rather for its cultural influence. Every science fiction movie and even several non sci-fi films since 1977 have some influence from Star Wars, which, itself was heavily "inspired" by the science fiction of the past, such as the original Flash Gordon serials and, of course, Dune. The influence of this series runs deep, and in some very unexpected places.
Other pages: