4) Metropolis

3) Memento

2) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

1) The Godfather

This is one of the few lists I think I even need to justify. The Godfather is among the small group of films that could be the best ever made. As many Matrix fans as there are, I think it terms of invention it's below what Metropolis did 70 years earlier, and then as I always do, I deferred to the best screenplays to fill the gaps.

Memento is staggering, but even still, it's not as terrific and beautiful as Charlie Kaufman's script for Eternal Sunshine. And that seals it for me.