Here's what does it for me - there's not really a top 5 cos I tend to either go for something, or not go for it at all.
In no particular order....
Film
Magnolia - I know some folks hate it, but when I saw it all I could think was "this is the real world, utterly random and unbelievably f&&king amazing because not one bit of it makes any of this so-called 'sense' that we keep trying to impose on it".
American Beauty - kind of the same as Magnolia for me, it's full of what I can only see as real people. For me the lines that are walked between reality and caricature are so delicately walked that it works: I've known people who deal or use who you'd never suspect, I've known couples who think they're unhappy but really just don't know what the hell they're doing - that sort of thing. They're all around us, and they *are* us, seems to me.
The Fountain - if there's ever been a more engulfing portrayal of grief captured by the medium of film, I've yet to see it. Just stops me dead and puts me in a different place every time I watch it. Stunning, literally, in every way.
Baraka - I think I'll always watch this at some point, every year or two, for the rest of this life. Have yet to see
And a guilty pleasure, apologies in advance:
Casino Royale - yep, the Daniel Craig remake. I don't care that bits of it don't make sense, it just hits all the buttons labeled "I want to be that"!
TV
Breaking Bad - just love it.
The Newsroom - Dunno, I just enjoy it. I'm a sap for long, drawn-out stories that keep on going. Really, it's not about a newsroom. Which I guess makes me more of a sap. Oh well!
But sadly that's it for TV for me - tried to go for Falling Skies, Defiance, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, but when I thought about it they're things I'll watch 'cos they're on', not cos I really *must* watch them.
Guess I need some TV suggestions...!