The New York Times recently published its list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.” The list was determined by the votes of more than 500 influential people in the film industry. As with all lists of this sort, it caused many a heated debate amongst movie buffs worldwide. Everyone thinks their personal list is the best and any movie on the New York Times list that they don’t like just proves that the people that voted are morons. (This, despite the fact that there may be many more movies on the list that they do, in fact, like. It’s confusing.)
So, since I am a list geek, and it has been a very long time since I have
published a movie list blog, I now present to you my Top 100 of the 21st Century...
(Note: The films
ranked below are my personal favorites, and I recognize that there may be many
others that have more artistic merit, and in fact, I may even like, but I just
don’t like them as much as the rest on my list.)
(Second Note: There are 30 films on my list that also appear on the NYT list.
For those films, I note their ranking on the NYT list.)
(Third Note: I don’t have the time, patience, or attention span to do a
write-up on all 100 films, so I have just sprinkled commentary on the films
here and there. It’s not that I forgot to do write-ups for some films—it’s just
that I’m lazy.)
(Fourth Note: The only year on this list for which I have no films represented
is 2020. I think something weird may have happened that year that stopped a lot
of movies from coming out in the theaters.)
(Fifth Note: There is no fifth note. You are now free to view my list.)
100. Captain America: Civil War (Director: The Russo Brothers, 2016) – I understand that by putting
this as the first movie on my list, I may be alienating film buffs right out of
the gate. But my kids were young when the Marvel Avengers movies started coming
out and I took them to all of them and enjoyed quite a few. This one, which
pits two groups of Avengers against each other, is by far my favorite.
99. Spellbound (Director: Jeffrey Blitz, 2002) – This charming film,
which follows a group of kids at the 1999 National Spelling Bee, is the first
of four documentaries to appear on my list.
98. Nightcrawler (Director: Dan Gilroy, 2014)
97. Letters from Iwo Jima (Director: Clint Eastwood, 2006)
96. Win Win (Director: Tom McCarthy, 2011)
95. A Quiet Place (Director: Jon Krasinski, 2018) – As a horror movie
lover, I have high standards for films from this genre and don’t just like any
old guts and gore flick that hits the theater. All eight horror films that made
this list stand out as being unique and/or innovative within the genre, and
this is no exception. It’s certainly not the first movie where the characters
have to remain silent so the monsters won’t hear them, but it may be the first
movie that I’m aware of that builds its entire premise on that nuance.
94. Stranger Than Fiction (Director: Marc Foster, 2006)
93. The Disaster Artist (Director: James Franco, 2017)
92. A Complete Unknown (Director: James Mangold, 2024)
91. Selma (Director: Ava DuVernay, 2014)
90. Elephant (Director: Gus Van Sant, 2003) – This haunting, dreamlike film
that follows high school students on an ordinary day that turns horrific is
definitely not for everyone, but I only viewed it once when it first came out
and it has stuck with me for the last two decades.
89. Philomena (Director: Stephen Frears, 2013)
88. Brooklyn (Director: John Crowley, 2015)
87. The Shape of Water (Director: Guillermo del Toro, 2017)
86. The Martian (Director: Ridley Scott, 2015)
85. Thirteen (Director: Catherine Hardwicke, 2003)
84. Grizzly Man (Director: Werner Herzong, 2005, NYT- 98) – The first of
the films on my list to also appear on the New York Times list, this
documentary is a fascinating character study of someone whose unique obsession
with grizzly bears made him oblivious to the danger he put himself and others
in. Another film not for the faint of heart.
83. Everything is Illuminated (Director: Liev Schrieber, 2005)
82. Blinded by the Light (Director: Gurinder Chadha, 2019) – I will admit
that this film is a bit schmaltzy and/or hokey at times, but as a diehard Bruce
Springsteen fan, I couldn’t help but love this movie based on the real life
story of a Pakistani teen in England in the 1980s who finds meaning and
direction in his life through the music of The Boss.
81. No Country for Old Men (Directors: The Coen Brothers, NYT- 6)
80. 127 Hours (Director: Danny Boyle, 2010)
79. The Wolf of Wall Street (Director: Martin Scorsese, 2013, NYT- 20)
78. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (Director: Quentin Tarantino, 2004) – The first of
three Tarantino film to appear on this list, the first volume will show up much
further down. And while I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first, it
did provide a fantastically satisfying conclusion to this tale.
77. Inception (Director: Christopher Nolan, 2010, NYT- 55)
76. The Banshees of Inisherin (Director: Martin McDonagh, 2022)
75. Toy Story 3 (Director: Lee Unkrich, 2010) – The first of four animated
movies on this list, Toy Story is the rare series that managed to put out
multiple sequels as good as the original.
74. Get Out (Director: Jordan Peele, 2017, NYT- 8) – With this film,
writer/director Jordan Peele, previously known to the world as a sketch comedy
master, managed to emerge out of nowhere as a horror master, with one of the
most unique horror films of all time. All of the performances were great, but
Catherine Keener was so good, I don’t know if I can ever see her again without
a shiver going up my spine.
73. Argo (Director: Ben Affleck, 2012)
72. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Director: Michael Gondry, 2004, NYT-
7)
71. Super Size Me (Director: Morgan Spurlock, 2004) – In some ways this is
less of a documentary than a reality show, as our fearless director goes on an
amusing journey to see what happens if he eats nothing but McDonalds for an
entire month. Normally documentaries are nowhere near this fun.
70. Little Miss Sunshine (Director: Jonathan Dayton, 2006, NYT- 63)
69. The Imitation Game (Director: Morten Tyldum, 2014)
68. Green Book (Director: Peter Farrelly, 2018)
67. Super 8 (Director: J.J. Abrams, 2011) – I was unexpectedly charmed by
this sci-fi, action, thriller that harkens back to early-80s Spielberg.
66. Frost/Nixon (Director: Ron Howard, 2008)
65. Cinderella Man (Director: Ron Howard, 2005) – I didn’t plan to put two
Ron Howard films back-to-back, it just ended up happening that way. And there
will be yet another of his films coming up later! (Note- Ron Howard is one of
only three directors—along with Tarantino and Spielberg—who have three films on
my list. Surprised myself with that one.)
64. Big Fish (Director: Tim Burton, 2003)
63. Unfaithful (Director: Adrian Lynne, 2002)
62. Lion (Director: Garth Davis, 2016)
61. Adaptation (Director: Spike Jonze, 2002, NYT- 27) – While this film was
directed by Spike Jonze, I really think of it as the work of screenwriter Charlie
Kaufman whose absurd comic genius was first seen in 1999 with Being John
Malkovich. With Adaptation, Kaufman takes his absurdity to joyous,
dizzying heights as he incorporates himself and his fictional twin brother into
the plot of the movie.
60. Shrek (Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, 2001)
59. Hidden Figures (Director: Theodore Melfi, 2016)
58. The Substance (Director: Coralie Fargeat, 2024) – One of the oddest
entries into the horror genre in recent memory, film and/or horror buffs will
observe that director Fargeat pays homage to many other directors in her film,
including Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, and Darren
Aronofsky, to name a few. And while the ending is a bit over the top and will
leave some looking for the nearest barf bag, I thoroughly enjoyed the stylized
filmmaking and Demi Moore’s unhinged performance.
57. The King’s Speech (Director: Tom Hooper, 2010)
56. The Hurt Locker (Director: Kathryn Bigelow, 2008, NYT- 68)
55. The Others (Director: Alejandro Amenabar, 2001)
54. Drive My Car (Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021)
53. American Splendor (Director: Shari Springer Berman, 2003) – Half
documentary, half biopic, Paul Giamatti turns in a brilliant performance as
underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar, who also appears in the film to
comment on being portrayed in the film. Very unique ride.
52. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Director: Rupert Wyatt, 2011) – As a
huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes series, I decided to checkout this
reboot and was completely amazed at how good it was. Providing a completely new
spin on the rise of an ape planet, this flick gives a seemingly plausible
explanation of how such a phenomenon could even happen under the guise of
Alzheimer’s drug research gone awry. I like this movie so much, I rewatch it
about once a year.
51. CODA (Director: Sian Heder, 2021)
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (Director: Peter
Jackson, 2001, NYT- 87) – I’m not generally a huge fan of the sword and
sorcery genre (I’ve never watched an episode of Game of Thrones, nor do
I have any interest) but I did find the first film of Jackson’s trilogy quite
engaging and there was a scene towards the end of the film that was one of the
best battle sequences I’ve ever seen. The subsequent two films all kind of mesh
together in my mind, but the first one stands out for me, meriting its place on
my list.
49. In Bruges (Director: Martin McDonagh, 2008)
48. Lost in Translation (Director: Sophia Coppola, 2003, NYT- 30) – This
is such a unique, wistful, stylish film. It may be Bill Murray’s best dramatic
performance, and it provided a launching pad for Scarlett Johansson’s career.
It’s just a beautiful slice of life film.
47. Whiplash (Director: Damien Chazelle, 2014, NYT- 60)
46. Million Dollar Baby (Director: Clint Eastwood, 2004)
45. Gladiator (Director: Ridley Scott, 2000, NYT- 92)
44. Munich (Director: Steven Spielberg, 2005)
43. Godzilla Minus One (Director: Takashi Yamazaki, 2023) – Normally I
wouldn’t go into a Godzilla movie expecting it to be a great piece of art, but
by the time I got around to watching it, I had heard so many rave reviews, I
had extremely high expectations. Going into a film that way is sometimes a
recipe for disaster, as it’s difficult to match such high expectations, but
amazingly, this film actually surpassed them. Far from being just another giant
monster movie, this is a human story of how a Japanese soldier tries to pick up
the pieces of his shattered life after the end of WWII. And oh yes, he happens
to have to deal with a giant lizard in the midst of that.
42. Mullholland Drive (Director: David Lynch, 2001, NYT- 2)
41. Past Lives (Director: Celine Song, 2023, NYT- 86)
40. Brokeback Mountain (Director: Ang Lee, 2005, NYT- 17)
39. WALL-E (Director: Andrew Stanton, 2008, NYT- 34) – My wife estimates
that this is the movie she has watched most in her life because our oldest son,
who was two when it came out, constantly wanted to watch the DVD. And while she
certainly watched it more than I, because she was home during the day while I
was at work, I’m sure it’s very close to the top of my most viewed list, as
well. While many kids’ movies grow tiresome on repeated viewings, this was one
I was always happy to turn on. If you told me before I first watched it that I
would love a movie about two robots falling in love in outer space, I would
think you were insane, but WALL-E is tough not to love. We watched the DVD so
much, it eventually stopped working and we had to get a new one.
38. The Pianist (Director: Roman Polanski, 2002)
37. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Director: Alejandro G.
Inarritu, 2014)
36. About a Boy (Directors: The Weitz Brothers, 2002)
35. Lincoln (Director: Steven Spielberg, 2012) – Is Daniel Day-Lewis ever
anything short of amazing in any film he’s ever been in? The answer is “No.”
There is an argument to be made for him as the greatest living actor and his
portrayal of Abraham Lincoln only strengthens that argument.
34. Pan’s Labyrinth (Director: Guillermo del Toro, 2006, NYT- 54)
Guillermo del Toro’s films always have a magical quality to them, and this one
in particular is like watching a dazzling, technicolor dream come to life.
33. Shaun of the Dead (Director: Edgar Wright, 2004) This is one of two
films on my list that I am kind of amazed didn’t end up on the NYT list. While
most of the movies on the NYT list are serious, critically acclaimed films,
there are a handful of silly, but notable, comedies sprinkled throughout. Movies
like Superbad, Anchorman, and Bridesmaids appear on the list, presumably as
comedic cultural touchstone type flicks, but I think that Shaun of the Dead
is funnier and more culturally significant than all of those, as it is perhaps
the quintessential horror-comedy film.
32. A Beautiful Mind (Director: Ron Howard, 2001)
31. Les Miserables (Director: Tom Hooper, 2012)
30. Juno (Director: Jason Reitman, 2007)
29. The Wrestler (Director: Darren Aronofsky, 2003) – Yeah, I’m the guy who
has to name drop, so I am compelled to mention here that I went to Junior High
School with Darren Aronofsky, so I knew him “back in the day.” But that’s not
the reason I put this movie on my list. Darren has directed some very unique
films, and while Black Swan is the one that ended up on the NYT list,
and it is certainly very good in its own right, I happen to prefer this tale of
a washed up wrestler, which I would argue is Mickey Rourke’s greatest screen
performance.
28. Searching for Sugar Man (Director: Malik Bendjelloul, 2012) – This
film, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary, tells the inspiring story of
how washed-up Detroit folk singer, Sixto Rodriguez experienced a sudden
resurgence due to his incredible popularity in South Africa. It’s a fascinating
documentary and Sixto’s music, which I had never previously heard of, is great,
so I was glad to pick up his CD after watching the flick.
27. 500 Days of Summer (Director: Marc Webb, 2009)
26. Traffic (Director: Steven Soderbergh, 2000)
25. Train to Busan (Director: Sang-ho Yeon, 2016) – This Korean horror
flick, has at its core, a tender story of a man trying to connect with his
young daughter after a recent divorce. The fact that while he is trying to do
this a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out, just complicates things, as you
might imagine.
24. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Directors: The Coen Brothers, 2000, NYT- 76)
– My oldest son’s favorite film, I believe it is George Clooney’s best comic
turn. That Clooney’s madcap, depression-era adventure occurs with John Turturro
and Tim Blake Nelson by his side only makes the movie that much more hilarious.
23. The Artist (Director: Michel Hazanavicius, 2011)
22. Hotel Rwanda (Director: Terry George, 2004)
21. Chocolat (Director: Lasse Hallstrom, 2000)
20. Serenity (Director: Joss Whedon, 2005) – The greatest thing my
brother-in-law ever did for me was insist that I see this movie. A film based
on the television show Firefly, which I had not even heard of at the
time, Serenity is an action, sci-fi, western, comedy that had me at the
edge of my seat the entire time. My movie-watching experience was also helped
by the fact that I saw it on my 36th birthday and happened to be the
only person in the theater, so it was like I was having my own personal screening.
One of the best movie-going experiences of my life.
19. American Fiction (Director: Cord Jefferson, 2023)
18. Memento (Director: Christopher Nolan, 2000, NYT- 62)
17. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Director: Ang Lee, 2000, NYT- 16) This
sprawling, beautifully shot film represents the first time I saw a martial arts
movie that was clearly a work of art. Maybe there were others that pre-dated
it, and there were several that came after that were also quite good, but this
one is my favorite in this genre.
16. La La Land (Director: Damien Chazelle)
15. Let the Right One In (Director: Tomas Alfredson, 2008, NYT- 70) – The
highest rated horror movie on my list, this Swedish film that tells the tale of
a bullied pre-teen boy who befriends a girl seemingly his age, who turns out to
be not as human as she appears, may be the best vampire film of the past 50
years, let alone the 21st century.
14. Jojo Rabbit (Director: Taika Waititi, 2019)
13. 12 Years a Slave (Director: Steve McQueen, 2013, NYT- 51)
12. Catch Me If You Can (Director: Steven Spielberg, 2002)
11. Almost Famous (Director: Cameron Crowe, 2000, NYT- 47)
10. Yesterday (Director: Danny Boyle, 2019) – While this fantastical film
about a world in which the Beatles have mysteriously disappeared in the minds
of all but a few people may not technically be Boyle’s best work, it is
definitely my favorite. Certainly, having a love for the Fab Four helps in
appreciating the movie, but that aside, the main character is immensely
likeable and the whole story is quite charming.
9. Sideways (Director: Alexander
Payne, 2004) – Paul Giamatti is one of these actors who always enhances any
film he’s in, so when he manages to get into a film that already has a clever
and witty story line, stunning cinematography and a great supporting cast, the
result is nothing short of spectacular.
8. The Incredibles (Director: Brad Bird, 2004) – Not only my favorite
animated film of the 21st century, but of all time, this quirky
inside look at the lives of superheroes when they are off the clock is
endlessly fun and never gets old, no matter how many times I watch it. And
that’s good, since like WALL-E, it’s another flick that we watched constantly
with our kids when they were little.
7. Borat (Director: Larry Charles, 2006, NYT- 53) – One of the funniest
movies of all time, I was not familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen prior to seeing
this in the theater, which was probably a good thing, since I had no idea what
to expect. I was laughing so hard while watching this movie, I was actually in
pain and, in fact, missed many lines while I was trying to compose myself. But
luckily, on my second viewing, I was able to catch what I missed. Niiiiiiiiice.
6. 1917 (Director: Sam Mendes, 2019) – One of the best war movies I’ve
ever seen, having filmed it essentially, as one long continuous shot, created a
sense of realism and urgency that is rarely captured on screen.
5. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (Director: Quentin Tarantino, 2003, NYT- 61) –
Tarantino decided to take the zany, over-the-top approach of a violent Looney
Tunes episode and imbed it into a Live Action film. The result is heart-pounding
action, silly gore and endless fun.
4. Poor Things (Director: Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023) – This is the other
film on my list that I am kind of shocked didn’t end up on the NYT list. Maybe
because it’s too new? Maybe because it’s too bizarre? Maybe because there are
too many uncomfortable moments? No matter the reason, I think it is one of the
most inventive films I’ve ever seen, on top of being visually stunning, and
featuring a performance by Emma Stone that is nothing short of brilliant.
3. Inglorious Basterds (Director: Quentin Tarantino, 2009, NYT- 14) –
This reimagining of events during WWII, depicting a specialized team of
soldiers tasked with hunting down and killing Adolf Hitler, features a plethora
of great performances, including the one by Christoph Waltz that won him an
Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. You don’t generally think of movies about
Nazis as being fun, but this one definitely was.
2. Amelie (Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001, NYT- 41) – Audrey Tautou
imbues the title character of this film with a combination of charm, whimsy,
and mischief that I have never seen on screen before or since. If watching this
movie doesn’t bring you joy, I suggest going to see a cardiologist, because
your heart may be frozen.
1. Parasite (Director: Bong Joon Ho, 2019, NYT- 1) – It’s interesting
that my #1 film of the century is the same as the NYT choice. I guess it must
mean that it really is the best movie of the past 25 years. Of course this is
all subjective, but honestly this Korean thriller-comedy is about as riveting a
theater going experience as one can ever hope for. A few gruesome moments may
be off-putting for some, but the film is so well-done, with some truly
jaw-dropping plot turns, that it is hard not to appreciate this great piece of
art by Bong Joon Ho.
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