100 best movies of the 21st century

[JasonEvans]

The century is less than 20 years old, but everyone loves a list so the BBC went ahead and made one. (http://collider.com/bbc-best-movies-21st-century-list/) I'm pretty sure I found every single movie in their top 10 self-indulgent and insufferable. The entire top 10 are films that were made for critics to fawn over while the audience gave a collective yawn. I should expect no less from the BBC. Here's the top 25.


25. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
23. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
20. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
18. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
17. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
16. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
14. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
9. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)
8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000)
7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
5. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

I'm being kinda mean. There are some movies that I really loved on that list. Children of Men, Mad Max, Grand Budapest, and Memento are among my favorites of the century thus far. I also really liked Eternal Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Zodiac, and No Country. I appreciated the craft on display in There Will Be Blood, Spirited Away, and a couple others. But, there's a lot of self-indulgent junk on this list.

Looking at the larger list:
Somehow, Spielberg's AI made the list by Ex Machina did not. That has to be a typo or something.
Ratatouille made the list -- and I agree it should be there -- but The Incredibles didn't. That's absurd.

Snowpiercer doesn't show up. Preposterous!
Almost Famous? Nowhere to be seen, though I rewatched it recently and it did not hold up as well as I had hoped.
The Departed gets no love. I also rewatched that recently and it was even better than I remembered.
No Whiplash, no Birdman, did they stop watching movies in 2014?
None of the Lord of the Rings films show up. Ridiculous! Same with the Bourne movies. They were groundbreaking in terms of direction.

-Jason "I can't talk about this list any more... makes me too angry" Evans

[Edouble]

Almost Famous? Nowhere to be seen, though I rewatched it recently and it did not hold up as well as I had hoped.
The Departed gets no love. I also rewatched that recently and it was even better than I remembered.
No Whiplash, no Birdman, did they stop watching movies in 2014?
None of the Lord of the Rings films show up. Ridiculous! Same with the Bourne movies. They were groundbreaking in terms of direction.

Almost Famous is at #79

#1 should be The Hours and it not in the top 100. Weak list.

[Bob Green]

I have not watched one of the 25 movies listed. Since returning to the States from Japan in 2010, I have been to the movies three times with my grandson:

1. Yogi Bear
2. Unbroken
3. Point Break

Unbroken was fantastic; Point Break was full of action and grand scenery but I preferred the original version with Patrick Swayze and Keeanu Reeves; Yogi Bear was stupid, doh...I knew it would be before buying the tickets. I enjoyed all three trips to the theater so future trips will take place.

[fuse]

Of the 25 noted, I've only seen four, not including two on the list I walked away from and chose not to finish.

There is a wide chasm between my idea of a good movie and what critics like.
I'm ok with that.

[tbyers11]

I've seen 9 of the 25 and only 27/100 overall and I would say my tastes lean a bit more indie than blockbuster. With the caveat that the amount of movies I've seen both in the theater and at home has dropped drastically in the last 4.5 years after having a kid.

Of the 9 in the top 25, I really liked 7 of them (Eternal Sunshine, No Country for Old Men, Zodiac, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Lost in Translation, and Memento), found one cute but a bit too cute (Grand Budapest Hotel) and one interesting but ultimately very confusing and not really worth it (Mulholland Drive).

Others I really liked in the 26-100 range: The Lives of Others, City of God, Inglourious Basterds and Let the Right One In

[Indoor66]

Are there 100 to truly consider?

[Devilwin]

What about American Sniper? And Lone Survivor? Reign Of Fire? They're pretty good ones.

[JasonEvans]

I've seen 18 of the top 25. I'm not a big fan of foreign films and most of what I am missing are those.


Are there 100 to truly consider?

Hmmmm, I think there certainly are 100 good-great films over the past 16 years. That's an average of only 6.25 films per year. To prove how easy it would be to get to 6.25 films, here are the films I would consider for a top 100 from only 2015. They are listed in order of boxoffice, because that is an easy way for me to look at a list of all the movies that came out that year.

2015 - Force Awakens, Inside Out, The Martian, Rogue Nation, Revenant, Straight Outta Compton, Mad Max: Fury Road, Creed, Bridge of Spies, Big Short, Black Mass, Hateful Eight, Sicario, Spotlight, Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Steve Jobs, Mr. Holmes, Room, It Follows, Carol, Love & Mercy, The Walk, Trumbo, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The End of the Tour, and Freeheld

That's 27 films. Obviously, I need to cull a bit to get to something more workable, so I am going to trim down to this list: Force Awakens, Inside Out, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Bridge of Spies, Big Short, Black Mass, Hateful Eight, Sicario, Spotlight, Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Room, and The Walk.

That's 14, still too many. So, lets cut again to get me to 7, a tiny bit above our 6.25 quota: Inside Out, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Sicario, Spotlight, Ex Machina, and Room. I'd have no problem with any of those being in a top 100 list. If I was to repeat the process for additional years, I would probably hold onto a few more just in case I came across a particularly weak year.

-Jason "bottom line - I think there are clearly 100 very strong films since the calendar turned to 2000... I just don't think the BBC came anywhere close to picking them" Evans

[A-Tex Devil]

Happy to see Children of Men and Memento make it. By far my two favorite movies this century. But I saw Spring Breakers made it at 73 and there are more than one Lars von Trier movies listed, so the list is officially garbage.

[BD80]

What number is Grown Ups 2?

[bjornolf]

No Marvel movies? Not even Deadpool? :cool: No Harry Potter or Hunger Games? Seriously, though, what about District 9? Gravity? Cloverfield? Minority Report? No Daniel Craig Bond?

Remember the Titans? Avatar? Rush? True Grit? Interstellar? The Last Samurai? Kill Bill? Gladiator? Kingsman? Speaking of SLJ, his rehash of Game of Thrones is my number one short film of all time, hands down.

Where are all the Denzel movies?

Passion of the Christ?

These are just off the top of my head.

I agree that The Departed and The Incredibles should be on the list. I think Shrek deserves a spot, too.

[bjornolf]

Thought some more... Mystic River? Gangs of New York? Ray? The Help? Argo?

[BLPOG]

They chose 100 movies from fewer than 17 years, and somehow Black Swan didn't make the cut? I am unimpressed by that list.

[gurufrisbee]

I've seen 14 of the top 25. Memento is one of the best movies ever. Boyhood is one of the worst movies ever.

I've seen 39 of the top 100. I don't enjoy having to read when I watch a movie, so I've missed most all of the ones not in English.

There are a few great ones on there.

There are definitely lots of great ones missed.

I agree with the general idea that there likely have been 100 excellent movies released since 2000. And that the BBC failed miserably on here.

[moonpie23]

no shrek? no incredibles?


mullholland drive? REALLY????? very best of all that list??



oh...wait.....a bunch of stiff britts.....oh, ok

[JasonEvans]

oh...wait....a bunch of stiff britts....oh, ok

Yeah, I feel kinda awful for even posting the list at this point. It should have been titled, "3 old, white, British snobs list their most pretentious movies of the past 15 years."

As an aside, I was at a screening tonight for Morgan (wants to be Ex Machina, but fails miserably and is the opposite of Ex Machina in many respects). Before the movie I was chatting with some critic friends about the BBC list. We all pretty much agreed that the list sucks. One buddy said, "some of the movies that would be on my 100 worst list made their 100 best... I mean, Tree of Life?!?!?!" I then commented on how many of the movies were "designed for critics to love but not for audiences" which is a real pet peeve of mine. I mentioned There Will Be Blood as a good example of this.

Anyway, after Morgan ended as I walked out of the theater, a random person came up to me and said, "you were the guy talking about There Will Be Blood, right?" I said yes and he said, "Thank you... I just wanted to tell you that some of us appreciate critics who get that movies need to entertain." It was kinda funny. I've never had someone seek me out after a movie like that.

-Jason "Morgan is the first film directed by Ridley Scott's son... he needs to go back to daddy for more advice" Evans

[YmoBeThere]

Spring Breakers was pure schlok. I'm ashamed to admit I attempted to watch it. And I'm not sure it fits into the "British snobs, pretentious movies" meme.

[brevity]

I've prematurely aged myself out of listmaking and concerning myself with listmaking, though I think a century list (or even a so-far-century list) at the 16-year mark is arbitrary. But I'll point out that there's the full list and some discussion about it over at The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/8/23/best-of-the-21st-century.html), one of the better film blogs in existence, with focuses on international filmmaking, women, racial minorities, and LGBT issues. It's New York-based but hardly insular.

Generally, I have a pretty keen sense of what movies I would like and not like, and now I usually avoid films that everyone says I should see but otherwise hold little personal appeal. I've probably seen a few more than 32 of the 100 films there, but I only have a working memory of 32. Of those 32, I would say that I appreciated most of them but would not care to revisit them. Maybe about 10 of them, including the Pixar ones, I could keep watching.

I've reviewed films before, but I resisted doing it professionally because I felt that if watching films were my job, I would no longer enjoy watching films. I imagine that film criticism as a serious discipline is probably difficult. You watch a huge number of films of varying quality with little advance knowledge, and try to keep a sharp sense of your own tastes while setting aside any instant biases. There's an impulse to default to a kind of pedigree, to like what the other critics like, so that your take or brand on films is one of quality.

As it happens, I no longer enjoy going to the theater to watch films, and don't really make up for that with home viewing, so maybe my fear was inevitable.


Boyhood is one of the worst movies ever.

I think Boyhood has very interesting ideas about when boyhood starts (self-reflection and the formation of independent thought) and ends (not at the loss of virginity, or upon leaving the nest, but at the willingness to start an adult relationship). Far less interesting are the three hours in between. So I got something out of it, but cannot recommend it.

[gurufrisbee]

I think Boyhood has very interesting ideas about when boyhood starts (self-reflection and the formation of independent thought) and ends (not at the loss of virginity, or upon leaving the nest, but at the willingness to start an adult relationship). Far less interesting are the three hours in between. So I got something out of it, but cannot recommend it.

Boyhood had a good gimmick with it being actually filmed over twelve years. Other than that it had no story, no development, no moments of interest, no message, and no acting (with a semi exception for Ethan Hawke). If it's the 5th best movie of this century, then UNC is the 5th most reputable education establishment for student-athletes.

[killerleft]

Inside Llewyn Davis. That movie was a waste of time and a very large disappointment to me, especially when compared to Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?. Did anyone like it besides the people who made the list? Looking for that cat was a real highlight, though.:rolleyes:

[JasonEvans]

Inside Llewyn Davis. That movie was a waste of time and a very large disappointment to me, especially when compared to Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?. Did anyone like it besides the people who made the list? Looking for that cat was a real highlight, though.:rolleyes:

Yeah, but it all came together in a big way at the end... either that or you were left wondering, what the heck was that?!?!?

[snowdenscold]

No Gosford Park ?! And this was a BBC list, right?
Doubly odd...

[killerleft]

Yeah, but it all came together in a big way at the end... either that or you were left wondering, what the heck was that?!?!?

I probably missed some things, but frankly, by the end, I was not in a state to be awed by the ending. I was left wondering, as you say, what the heck was that? After reading a synopsis, I may have been more impressed had I known more about the early folk scene in Greenwich Village. Llewyn Davis, in retrospect, was more easily enjoyed by those who already knew much about the era.

Just two nights ago, I watched a documentary called Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation. I wasn't totally ignorant regarding the importance of the Greenwich scene, but I came away with a better understanding of where my generation's music came from. If anyone hasn't seen it yet, the doc is worth seeing. The interviews are great. But it left me wanting someone like Ken Burns to really tackle the subject.

[WV_Iron_Duke]

I didn't like Inside Llewyn Davis and it's my least favorite Coen movie. The main character was unlikeable and my movie friend didn't like it either. We both grew up during the Sixties and we both got into folk music early.

[JasonEvans]

I probably missed some things, but frankly, by the end, I was not in a state to be awed by the ending. I was left wondering, as you say, what the heck was that?

Sorry, I should have written it like this: "Yeah, but it all came together in a big way at the end... "

[BD80]

Sorry, I should have written it like this: "Yeah, but it all came together in a big way at the end... "

It is amusing that one can upload something that seems to be so outlandish that there can be no doubt that it is sarcasm, and yet in the context of the internet, there is always something stated seriously that is even more outlandish.

A tool of the glib blunted by ignorance.

[Olympic Fan]

I share the distain most of you have for the BBC list. But I don't know why that has any more credibility than a half dozen other lists that are out there.

Just as example, allow me to suggest the website films101.com, which ranks the best movies of the last decade. They give nine films a five-star rating:

# 1 No Country for Old Men 2007 Coen, Ethan / Coen, Joel USA BD
# 2 The Hurt Locker 2008 Bigelow, Kathryn USA BD
# 3 Slumdog Millionaire 2008 Boyle, Danny / Tandan, Loveleen UK / USA BD
# 4 There Will Be Blood 2007 Anderson, Paul Thomas USA BD
# 5 Let the Right One In 2008 Alfredson, Tomas Sweden BD
# 6 Waltz with Bashir 2008 Folman, Ari Israel / Germany / France BDS
# 7 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 2007 Schnabel, Julian France / USA D
# 8 The King's Speech 2010 Hooper, Tom UK / Australia BD
# 9 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 2007 Mungiu, Cristian Romania D

Another 36 films get 4 1/2 stars. You can see the complete list here:

http://www.films101.com/yl10r.htm

Then there's this list of the best 25 movies of the last 25 years (just one a year) as moved by 250 million IMDB subscribers all over the world:

http://www.slashfilm.com/the-top-rated-movies-of-the-last-25-years-on-imdb/

Or you might want to check out the top-reviewed films from 2000-09 on Metacritic. Pan's Labyrinth at No. 1?

http://www.metacritic.com/feature/the-best-movies-of-the-decade

You can find quite a few more such lists if you google it ... I'm not saying any of these lists are better than the BBC list ... or worst. Obviously, it's all subjective -- Udaman thought Deadpool was one of the best two movies of the year -- I thought it was awful. Jason loves The Force Awakens -- while I didn't think it was bad, I thought it was unoriginal and nothing special. Big deal ... I think Watchmen is the best super hero movie this century and that the generally despised Tomorrowland is the best science fiction film in a quarter century. I'd rate almost anything by Kurosawa, Renoir or John Ford over anything made in this century. But that's just me.

I know that when the first Sight and Sound Survey -- generally recognized as then most respected movie ranking system in the world -- published its list of the greatest all-time films in 1952, Citizen Kane (more than a decade old) didn't make the list ... by 1962, it was No. 1 and stayed there until 2012, when it somehow dropped below Vertigo (in the critics poll) and below Tokyo Story (in the director's poll). FWIW, the 2012 Director's poll didn't include a single film from the 21st Century. The critics poll included two -- No. 20 Wong's In The Mood for Love (2000) and No. 28 Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001).

[killerleft]

Sorry, I should have written it like this: "Yeah, but it all came together in a big way at the end... "

I guess you should have.:)

[gotoguy]

Ex Machina???

Sounds like an album/CD that Lou Reed or King Crimson released. I'll check it out

I did just see Hell or High Water. Highly recommended :)

[ncexnyc]

I can't place the Departed onto a best movies of the 21st Century list simply because it's a carbon copy of Infernal Affairs.

[OldPhiKap]

I share the distain most of you have for the BBC list. But I don't know why that has any more credibility than a half dozen other lists that are out


Any list without three or four late-career Pauly Shore movies is lacking.

[Jarhead]

Let's see, when did Mrs. Jarhead and I stop going out to the movies? Actually, we haven't been to a movie theater this century, and more recently, we ended our Netflix and Hulu accounts. If we hear of any good movies we might start streaming a few. On that other thing, TV, it's rapidly tumbling away from us, too, but we do have some remaining TV venues that we stick with, and there are plenty of good books to read. Actually, we are quite busy these days, otherwise. Someday soon, I am going to post something about retirement, and just how much fun, and how busy it makes you without any compensation, except for the fun, itself.

[YmoBeThere]

Any list without three or four late-career Pauly Shore movies is lacking.

Adam Sandler >> Pauly

[OldPhiKap]

Adam Sandler >> Pauly

Yahoo Serious >> Pauly Shore

[JasonEvans]

Yahoo Serious >> Pauly Shore

Folks, lets start playing in the big leagues here.

I see your Yahoo Serious and raise you one Tom Green.

-Jason "I'm pretty sure Freddy Got Fingered is the worst movie ever made" Evans

[YmoBeThere]

Bucky Larson...

[OldPhiKap]

Folks, lets start playing in the big leagues here.

I see your Yahoo Serious and raise you one Tom Green.

-Jason "I'm pretty sure Freddy Got Fingered is the worst movie ever made" Evans

Wow. I was only go to Rob Scheider and then Jason pulls out the big artillery. I surrender.

[BLPOG]

What, no love for Yahoo Serious in Young Einstein? That film was a work of genius!

[gus]

What, no love for Yahoo Serious in Young Einstein? That film was a work of genius!

I'm sure its omission is solely due to the fact that Young Einstein came out in the prior century, and not the current one.

[BLPOG]

I'm sure its omission is solely due to the fact that Young Einstein came out in the prior century, and not the current one.

Well, I only brought it up because previous posters mentioned Yahoo Serious (not something you see every day) with a certain amount of disdain.

[chriso]

Of the 25 noted, I've only seen four, not including two on the list I walked away from and chose not to finish.

There is a wide chasm between my idea of a good movie and what critics like.
I'm ok with that.
I've only been on DBR a few months and just recently started looking through the Off Topic threads. So I apologize if I'm reviving long dormant threads. :) My top 5 since 2000 and it's a weird list, but here goes. 1. Inception. I am fascinated by this movie, and movies about dreams in general, such as Vanilla Sky. 2. The Dark Knight. I'm a DC guy. 3. Star Trek. I'm a big Star Trek fan and I thought JJ nailed the reboot. 4. The Descent. A horror movie that works on multiple levels. Personally I think the main girl is in a coma, so the movie is a nightmare. 5. Gladiator. Strength and Honor. Honorable mentions; Sean of the Dead, It Follows, Interstellar, Knocked Up(hilarious), AI, Pan's Labyrinth, Casino Royale, Momento, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. :cool: P.S. Jason glad to see you like It Follows. Best horror film in years IMO!

[OldPhiKap]

I've only been on DBR a few months and just recently started looking through the Off Topic threads. So I apologize if I'm reviving long dormant threads. :)

It's always good to refresh an interesting topic. Enjoy the Off-Topic board, lots of interesting stuff!

But only if you like crunchy peanut butter. People who like smooth are, well, not quite right.

[chriso]

It's always good to refresh an interesting topic. Enjoy the Off-Topic board, lots of interesting stuff!

But only if you like crunchy peanut butter. People who like smooth are, well, not quite right.

Thank you! Smooth is good, as long as it's not that healthy kind you have to stir. :)

[Turk]

It's always good to refresh an interesting topic. Enjoy the Off-Topic board, lots of interesting stuff!

But only if you like crunchy peanut butter. People who like smooth are, well, not quite right.

Is that a movie quote? Someone should make a movie where PB&J is a key plot device...

[OldPhiKap]

Is that a movie quote? Someone should make a movie where PB&J is a key plot device...

Maybe check this out:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089789/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt