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  1. #1
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    NYT- 25 Best Films of the 21st century

    As you might expect from the NY Times haughty critics, the list is full of films that most of us have not seen. The "artsy" ones here that I have seen are often borderline unwatchable and are mad, I think, only to please critics, not audiences.

    What an arrogant, pseudo-intellectual list.

    1. There Will Be Blood (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
    2. Spirited Away (Dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2002)
    3. Million Dollar Baby (Dir. Clint Eastwood, 2004)
    4. A Touch of Sin (Dir. Jia Zhangke, 2013)
    5. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Dir. Cristi Puiu, 2006)
    6. Yi Yi (Dir. Edward Yang, 2000)
    7. Inside Out (Dir. Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, 2015)
    8. Boyhood (Dir. Richard Linklater, 2014)
    9. Summer Hours (Dir. Olivier Assayas, 2009)
    10. The Hurt Locker (Dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)
    11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
    12. Timbuktu (Dir. Abderrahmane Sissako, 2015)
    13. In Jackson Heights (Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 2015)
    14. L’Enfant (Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2006)
    15. White Material (Dir. Claire Denis, 2010)
    16. Munich (Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2005)
    17. Three Times (Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2006)
    18. The Gleaners and I (Dir. by Agnčs Varda, 2000)
    19. Mad Max: Fury Road (Dir. by George Miller, 2015)
    20. Moonlight (Dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016)
    21. Wendy and Lucy (Dir. Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
    22. I’m Not There (Dir. Todd Haynes, 2007)
    23. Silent Light (Dir. Carlos Reygadas, 2008)
    24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Dir. Michel Gondry, 2004)
    25. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Dir. Judd Apatow, 2005)

    -Jason "more later, but I am just shocked that the unwatchable Terrence Malik film, Tree of Life, isn't on here" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    As you might expect from the NY Times haughty critics, the list is full of films that most of us have not seen. The "artsy" ones here that I have seen are often borderline unwatchable and are mad, I think, only to please critics, not audiences.

    What an arrogant, pseudo-intellectual list.

    1. There Will Be Blood (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
    2. Spirited Away (Dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2002)
    3. Million Dollar Baby (Dir. Clint Eastwood, 2004)
    4. A Touch of Sin (Dir. Jia Zhangke, 2013)
    5. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Dir. Cristi Puiu, 2006)
    6. Yi Yi (Dir. Edward Yang, 2000)
    7. Inside Out (Dir. Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, 2015)
    8. Boyhood (Dir. Richard Linklater, 2014)
    9. Summer Hours (Dir. Olivier Assayas, 2009)
    10. The Hurt Locker (Dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)
    11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
    12. Timbuktu (Dir. Abderrahmane Sissako, 2015)
    13. In Jackson Heights (Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 2015)
    14. L’Enfant (Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2006)
    15. White Material (Dir. Claire Denis, 2010)
    16. Munich (Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2005)
    17. Three Times (Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2006)
    18. The Gleaners and I (Dir. by Agnčs Varda, 2000)
    19. Mad Max: Fury Road (Dir. by George Miller, 2015)
    20. Moonlight (Dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016)
    21. Wendy and Lucy (Dir. Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
    22. I’m Not There (Dir. Todd Haynes, 2007)
    23. Silent Light (Dir. Carlos Reygadas, 2008)
    24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Dir. Michel Gondry, 2004)
    25. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Dir. Judd Apatow, 2005)

    -Jason "more later, but I am just shocked that the unwatchable Terrence Malik film, Tree of Life, isn't on here" Evans
    I think I've seen 2 of these (Mad Max and 40 year old virgin) and neither would make it for me. Mad Max I recall discussing on here before and I hated it. Just awful.
    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    I love this description for "Spirited Away":

    Del Toro: "As a young adult, I saw My Neighbor Totoro and it moved me to tears. I mean, I basically couldn’t stop crying at the beauty and the enormous feat of capturing the innocence of being a child. I immediately chased down everything he had done."
    So, uh - what about the movie actually on the list?

    I don't get why Mad Max is there. I mean, I thought it was a good movie, but I wouldn't have included among the best in the year it came out, let alone the entire (young) century.

  4. #4
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    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Quote Originally Posted by gus View Post
    I love this description for "Spirited Away":



    So, uh - what about the movie actually on the list?
    .
    Maybe he's politely pointing out that Totoro is a better movie, which it is. Totoro is a sweet poignant journey into the imagination and angst of children. Spirited Away is creepy and nightmare inducing.

  5. #5
    This is just an astonishingly pretentious list. I honestly don't think I would consider any film in the NYT's top 25 in my top 50.

    When you are talking greatness, doesn't a great film have to connect with an audience? Maybe not initially - there are great films that took a while to find their audience -- but eventually. A film that's so high-brow that it's only seen by a few critics cannot in my mind be even considered a great film.

  6. #6
    So, what do you think of this list? Did we already discuss it here?

    http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films

    Code:
    1 Mulholland Dr. David Lynch 2001
    2 In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai 2000
    3 There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson 2007
    4 Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki 2001
    5 Boyhood Richard Linklater 2014
    6 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Michel Gondry 2004
    7 The Tree of Life Terrence Malick 2011
    8 Yi Yi: A One and a Two Edward Yang 2000
    9 A Separation Asghar Farhadi 2011
    10 No Country for Old Men Coen brothers 2007
    11 Inside Llewyn Davis Coen brothers 2013
    12 Zodiac David Fincher 2007
    13 Children of Men Alfonso Cuaron 2006
    14 The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer 2012
    15 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Cristian Mungiu 2007
    16 Holy Motors Leos Carax 2012
    17 Pan's Labyrinth Guillermo del Toro 2006
    18 The White Ribbon Michael Haneke 2009
    19 Mad Max: Fury Road George Miller 2015
    20 Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman 2008
    21 The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson 2014
    22 Lost in Translation Sofia Coppola 2003
    23 Caché Michael Haneke 2005
    24 The Master Paul Thomas Anderson 2012
    25 Memento Christopher Nolan 2001
    26 25th Hour Spike Lee 2002
    27 The Social Network David Fincher 2010
    28 Talk to Her Pedro Almodóvar 2002
    29 WALL-E Andrew Stanton 2008
    30 Oldboy Park Chan-wook 2003
    31 Margaret Kenneth Lonergan 2011
    32 The Lives of Others Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck 2006
    33 The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan 2008
    34 Son of Saul László Nemes 2015
    35 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ang Lee 2000
    36 Timbuktu Abderrahmane Sissako 2014
    37 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Apichatpong Weerasethakul 2010
    38 City of God Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund 2002
    39 The New World Terrence Malick 2005
    40 Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee 2005
    41 Inside Out Pete Docter 2015
    42 Amour Michael Haneke 2012
    43 Melancholia Lars von Trier 2011
    44 12 Years a Slave Steve McQueen 2013
    45 Blue Is the Warmest Colour Abdellatif Kechiche 2013
    46 Certified Copy Abbas Kiarostami 2010
    47 Leviathan Andrey Zvyagintsev 2014
    48 Brooklyn John Crowley 2015
    49 Goodbye to Language Jean-Luc Godard 2014
    50 The Assassin Hou Hsiao-hsien 2015
    51 Inception Christopher Nolan 2010
    52 Tropical Malady Apichatpong Weerasethakul 2004
    53 Moulin Rouge! Baz Luhrmann 2001
    54 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Nuri Bilge Ceylan 2011
    55 Ida Paweł Pawlikowski 2013
    56 Werckmeister Harmonies Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky 2000
    57 Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow 2012
    58 Moolaadé Ousmane Sembčne 2004
    59 A History of Violence David Cronenberg 2005
    60 Syndromes and a Century Apichatpong Weerasethakul 2006
    61 Under the Skin Jonathan Glazer 2013
    62 Inglourious Basterds Quentin Tarantino 2009
    63 The Turin Horse Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky 2011
    64 The Great Beauty Paolo Sorrentino 2013
    65 Fish Tank Andrea Arnold 2009
    66 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring Kim Ki-duk 2003
    67 The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow 2008
    68 The Royal Tenenbaums Wes Anderson 2001
    69 Carol Todd Haynes 2015
    70 Stories We Tell Sarah Polley 2012
    71 Tabu Miguel Gomes 2012
    72 Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch 2013
    73 Before Sunset Richard Linklater 2004
    74 Spring Breakers Harmony Korine 2012
    75 Inherent Vice Paul Thomas Anderson 2014
    76 Dogville Lars von Trier 2003
    77 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel 2007
    78 The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese 2013
    79 Almost Famous Cameron Crowe 2000
    80 The Return Andrey Zvyagintsev 2003
    81 Shame Steve McQueen 2011
    82 A Serious Man Coen brothers 2009
    83 Artificial Intelligence: A.I. Steven Spielberg 2001
    84 Her Spike Jonze 2013
    85 A Prophet Jacques Audiard 2009
    86 Far From Heaven Todd Haynes 2002
    87 Amélie Jean-Pierre Jeunet 2001
    88 Spotlight Tom McCarthy 2015
    89 The Headless Woman Lucrecia Martel 2008
    90 The Pianist Roman Polanski 2002
    91 The Secret in Their Eyes Juan José Campanella 2009
    92 The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford Andrew Dominik 2007
    93 Ratatouille Brad Bird 2007
    94 Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson 2008
    95 Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson 2012
    96 Finding Nemo Andrew Stanton 2003
    97 White Material Claire Denis 2009
    98 Ten Abbas Kiarostami 2002
    99 The Gleaners and I Agnčs Varda 2000
    100 Carlos Olivier Assayas 2010
    100 Requiem for a Dream Darren Aronofsky 2000
    100 Toni Erdmann Maren Ade 2016


    And don't get me wrong, I have issues with both lists. But both polls rate Spirited Away very highly. And Totoro certainly wouldn't have been eligible for this list...
    Last edited by YmoBeThere; 06-09-2017 at 08:58 PM.

  7. #7
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    Mar 2008
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    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by YmoBeThere View Post
    So, what do you think of this list? Did we already discuss it here?

    http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201...greatest-films
    We have.

    I said what I had to say about these kinds of lists in that thread, and would only add 2 thoughts:

    1. If groups of critics want to define cinema as more of a global creation than the American box office would indicate, I have no problem with that.

    2. I question the ability to properly process a recent film and put it any kind of pantheon. Back when I cared about such things, I would implement a Hall of Fame rule and make a film (or TV show, or song) ineligible for 2 years so that I could assess it after it has aged somewhat. For example, a lot of people were into that Boyhood vs. Birdman debate about 2 years ago because of The Oscars, but upon reflection, both films have diminished in value for me. I'm a little surprised that Boyhood still places so highly; I would find it very hard to revisit. As for TV, Mad Men had its finale a little over 2 years ago, and I've had time to think about the show as a whole rather than piecemeal -- it always struck me as a novel in TV form -- and in my mind it's changed some. As for music, I know what I like, and a song ages better over those 2 years if I hear it less. I really liked only 2 songs that received a radio release in 2015; I still like both, but I miss one of them more.

  8. #8
    How quickly I forget...

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    California
    #6 and #18 weren't even released in the 21st century. But thanks for playing, NYT.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by El_Diablo View Post
    #6 and #18 weren't even released in the 21st century. But thanks for playing, NYT.
    Ha! Love it.

    As for the list, I thought Boyhood was pretty good. Eternal Sunshine I love. Most of the others I haven't seen.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado
    I'm surprised to see Million Dollar Baby rated so high. I loved it. Most of my friends didn't. IIRC it won the Oscar for best picture that year but I though it got lukewarm reviews from the higher critics.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by MartyClark View Post
    I'm surprised to see Million Dollar Baby rated so high. I loved it. Most of my friends didn't. IIRC it won the Oscar for best picture that year but I though it got lukewarm reviews from the higher critics.
    Higher critics don't buy the tickets.😎

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by MartyClark View Post
    I'm surprised to see Million Dollar Baby rated so high. I loved it. Most of my friends didn't. IIRC it won the Oscar for best picture that year but I though it got lukewarm reviews from the higher critics.
    It got exceedingly good reviews.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  14. #14
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    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Saw three of the list, was not impressed too much with any of them. And since "American Sniper" was not on the list then it's garbage anyway. Just my opinion, don'tcha see.

  15. #15
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    Feb 2007
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    Wanna know how pretentious the list is?

    I see everything... I am talking like 80+ movies a year.. and I have only seen 12 of the films on this list. I would submit that if a truly avid moviegoer who sees more than 1 movie a week has not seen half the films on your list (in many cases, I have not even heard of these films), then your list is pretty much #!%^!%^!@.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Wanna know how pretentious the list is?

    I see everything... I am talking like 80+ movies a year.. and I have only seen 12 of the films on this list. I would submit that if a truly avid moviegoer who sees more than 1 movie a week has not seen half the films on your list (in many cases, I have not even heard of these films), then your list is pretty much #!%^!%^!@.
    C'mon, Jason: Tell us what you really think!

    (And do you agree with any of them?)

    -jk

  17. #17
    Seems silly to get upset with people over what kinds of movies they like. It should be understood that these lists are inherently subjective. You might say...why even make such a list? Well, it generates clicks and gets people talking. Case in point.

    Personally, I've only seen 10 movies on that list, and of the ones I haven't seen, there's only 2 more I've even heard of: There Will Be Blood and Llewelyn Davis. I can't imagine either one not being boring, but I've been wrong before...

    For what it's worth, Eternal Sunshine and Spirited Away are two of my Top 5 all time. And A Separation, which I'm shocked isn't on this type of list, may be in my top 10. Also surprised something like The Lives of Others isn't on here. That movie was the bomb.

    Or WALL-E (which I think is Pixar's best and probably in my Top 10 as well).

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    C'mon, Jason: Tell us what you really think!

    (And do you agree with any of them?)
    Here are the ones I have seen and a quick comment on each --

    1. There Will Be Blood (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) - I appreciate the film for the acting and some amazing individual scenes, but it dragged and the plot was muddled. No way it would be among my Top 25 of the century.

    3. Million Dollar Baby (Dir. Clint Eastwood, 2004) - A great film that has surprisingly not really held up all that well. I have not seen it since 2004. I do recall thinking it was a deserving Best Pic winner. I doubt it would be a real consideration for my Top 25 of the century though.

    7. Inside Out (Dir. Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, 2015) - Fabulous, remarkable animated flick. It would be a contender for my Top 25 of 2000s

    8. Boyhood (Dir. Richard Linklater, 2014) - While I appreciate what Linklater accomplished, I found the plot too disjointed and the film overly long (not much happened). I thought it was really overrated by critics. No chance at my top 25.

    10. The Hurt Locker (Dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 2009) - Very good film that I still thought was a tad overrated. I enjoyed Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty more. Not near my Top 25.

    11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) - I usually like the Coens but this was pretentious and meandering. I enjoyed some scenes, but the whole movie turned me off.

    16. Munich (Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2005) - Again, portions of it were good, but I found this to be one of Spielberg's most disjointed stories.

    19. Mad Max: Fury Road (Dir. by George Miller, 2015) - Fabulous film with some of the best action scenes this century. It would certainly be a strong contender to be in my top 25 of 2000s.

    20. Moonlight (Dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016) - A wonderful, emotional film. I doubt it would be among my top 25 of the century, but it is deserving of praise.

    22. I’m Not There (Dir. Todd Haynes, 2007) - Pretentious, dull, and very hard to follow/enjoy. This film fits perfectly into the genre of movies that haughty critics love to praise but audiences cannot stand.

    24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Dir. Michel Gondry, 2004) - It has been years since I saw it, but this is a deserving member of this list. It is a wonderful look at how the mind works.

    25. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Dir. Judd Apatow, 2005) - A fabulous comedy with so much heart, amazingly funny cast, holds up incredibly well... yeah, I could see this on a top 25 list. I'm impressed the NYT pretentious crew managed to include it.

    -Jason "films they did not include that would be strong contenders for my top 25 of the 2000s: The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, Whiplash, The Departed, WALL*E, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Children of Men, Room, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spotlight, Argo, LOTR: The Two Towers, Brokeback Mountain, The Descendants, Moneyball, Lincoln... and a few more" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    22. I’m Not There (Dir. Todd Haynes, 2007) - Pretentious, dull, and very hard to follow/enjoy. This film fits perfectly into the genre of movies that haughty critics love to praise but audiences cannot stand.
    But a killer soundtrack!
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Here are the ones I have seen and a quick comment on each --

    -Jason "films they did not include that would be strong contenders for my top 25 of the 2000s: The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, Whiplash, The Departed, WALL*E, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Children of Men, Room, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spotlight, Argo, LOTR: The Two Towers, Brokeback Mountain, The Descendants, Moneyball, Lincoln... and a few more" Evans
    What are your top 10 of the 1900s and top 10 of the 2000s?

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