Best Films of the 2000's

[Chris L]

In keeping with my usual frivolous concerns, I've already started jotting down candidates for a top 25 best-of list.  These are most definitely not in order, and there are bound to be all sorts of additions/subtractions as this not-so-dazzling decade winds down. What say You, The FOTs about the 00's?   

Anchorman
The 25th Hour
There Will Be Blood
Tropical Malady
Children of Men
Before Sunset
In the Mood For Love
I’m Not There
You Can Count on Me
Yi Yi
Mulholland Drive
Inland Empire
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Fog of War
Grizzly Man
Spirited Away
Y Tu Mama Tambien
No Country For Old Men
The Best of Youth
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Zodiac
The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Junebug
George Washington

[Regular Joe]

I think at this late date a lot of people would disagree with Anchorman being on there, but not me. That movie changed a lot of things for the better.

[jbissell]

Anchorman
There Will Be Blood
Children of Men
Before Sunset
In the Mood For Love
Yi Yi
Mulholland Drive
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Fog of War
Grizzly Man
Y Tu Mama Tambien
No Country For Old Men
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Zodiac
George Washington

That looks pretty similar to a lot of the titles I'd have on mine (there were a few others I've not yet seen but plan to), with In The Mood For Love as my current #1.  I would add The Royal Tenenbaums, Punch-Drunk Love (though I know not everyone is a fan of either), and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  I'd also consider a couple Pixar titles, probably Wall-E and Ratatouille.  Additional docs I would consider are Spellbound, The King of Kong, and Man on Wire.

[Reeleyes]

Anchorman
There Will Be Blood
Children of Men
Before Sunset
In the Mood For Love
Yi Yi
Mulholland Drive
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Fog of War
Grizzly Man
Y Tu Mama Tambien
No Country For Old Men
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Zodiac
George Washington

That looks pretty similar to a lot of the titles I'd have on mine (there were a few others I've not yet seen but plan to), with In The Mood For Love as my current #1.  I would add The Royal Tenenbaums, Punch-Drunk Love (though I know not everyone is a fan of either), and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  I'd also consider a couple Pixar titles, probably Wall-E and Ratatouille.  Additional docs I would consider are Spellbound, The King of Kong, and Man on Wire.

I'd have to add Heckler to my doc list. If any comedy fans have been avoiding it due to Jamie Kennedy, don't. The only person more suited to make that film is Carrot-top and he's in it.

[Martin]

Bunch of cinephile friends and I did this recently - about twenty of us did a big-ass poll, top 100 of the 00's (we then moved on to the 90's and are now preparing for the 80's). Of course I love/hate lists, but I participated anyways. Surprisingly, it didn't turn out to be as frustrating an exercise as I'd feared; rather the end result made for a great index of films "to see" - some sort of consensus of decent films of the decade, worthy of checking out, and a great checklist to cover up blind spots etc. Ranking my own list, especially from #20 down to #100, was incredibly frustrating though. Can't get to my list right now, nor the consensus top 100 (on another computer), but I'll be BACK.

(Kudos for including LA Plays Itself, btw - lots of film nerd points with that one.)

[fonpr]

In keeping with my usual frivolous concerns, I've already started jotting down candidates for a top 25 best-of list.  These are most definitely not in order, and there are bound to be all sorts of additions/subtractions as this not-so-dazzling decade winds down. What say You, The FOTs about the 00's?   

Anchorman
The 25th Hour
There Will Be Blood
Tropical Malady
Children of Men
Before Sunset
In the Mood For Love
I’m Not There
You Can Count on Me
Yi Yi
Mulholland Drive
Inland Empire
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Fog of War
Grizzly Man
Spirited Away
Y Tu Mama Tambien
No Country For Old Men
The Best of Youth
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Zodiac
The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Junebug
George Washington

I've only seen two of the movies listed above.

[masterofsparks]

These are a few I'd add (some or all have already been mentioned):

Spellbound
Man on Wire
The Incredibles
Wall-E
Memento

[Martin]

This was the top 50 (of 100) in the poll I mentioned. I'll post my list later.

50.  Rois et reine / Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004)
49.  Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
48.  Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004)
47.  Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)
46.  Code inconnu / Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)
45.  When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee, 2006)
44.  Incredibles, The (Brad Bird, 2004)
43.  Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007)
42.  Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)
41.  Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
40.  Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The (Wes Anderson, 2004)
39.  All the Real Girls (David Gordon Green, 2003)
38.  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (Peter Jackson, 2002)
37.  Squid and the Whale, The (Noah Baumbach, 2005)
36.  Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)
35.  Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)
34.  Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)
33.  Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2008)
32.  Kaïro / Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001)
31.  Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
30.  You Can Count on Me (Kenneth Lonergan, 2000)
29.  Departed, The (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
28.  Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)
27.  Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007)
26.  Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)
25.  Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
24.  Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
23.  Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)
22.  Artificial Intelligence: AI (Steven Spielberg, 2001)
21.  Habla con ella / Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)
20.  Wrestler, The (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)
19.  Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (Peter Jackson, 2001)
18.  Laberinto del Fauno, El / Pan|s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
17.  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (Peter Jackson, 2003)
16.  Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004)
15.  Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
14.  Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
13.  INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch, 2006)
12.  Royal Tenenbaums, The (Wes Anderson, 2001)
11.  25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
10.  New World, The (Terrence Malick, 2005)
9.  Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
8.  Fa yeung nin wa / In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
7.  WALL•E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
6.  There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
5.  Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
4.  Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi / Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
3.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
2.  No Country for Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2007)
1.  Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

[jbissell]

50.  Rois et reine / Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004)

I really need to watch this.

[Gilly]

In no order:

Mulholland Dr.
Anchorman
American Splendor
Napoleon Dynamite
Ghost World
Kill Bill Vol 1 + 2
Old School
O, Brother Where Art Thou
Gangs of New York
Almost Famous
Sideways
40 Year Old Virgin
About a Boy
DiG!
3:10 To Yuma
Devil and Daniel Johnston
I'm Not There
High Fidelity
Life Aquatic w/ Steve Zissou
No Country For Old Men
LOTR trilogy
Persepolis
Pineapple Express
Ratatouille
Royal Tenenbaums
Squid and the Whale
Superbad
This is England
V For Vendetta
Wet Hot American Summer
Watchmen
Steal This Movie

[NJL]

Is that what the decade is called, the 2000s, not the aughties or anything like that.  Would it technically distinguish it from the next decade?

[Martin]

This was my top 50. Ratings are more or less a toss-up, especially after #20 or so. I won't bore you with the rest.

(EDIT: this was compiled before I watched In the Loop.)

1.Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
2.There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3.Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
4.Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson)
5.Dead Man’s Shoes (Shane Meadows)
6.Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky)
7.Miami Vice (Michael Mann)
8.Traffic (Steven Soderbergh)
9.Bamboozled (Spike Lee)
10.This Is England (Shane Meadows)
11.Vendredi soir (Claire Denis)
12.Brick (Rian Johnson)
13.Zodiac (David Fincher)
14.No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
15.Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
16.Sånger från andra våningen (Roy Andersson)
17.The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)
18.Cowards Bend the Knee (Guy Maddin)
19.Elephant (Gus Van Sant)
20.Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
21.Il Divo (Paolo Sorrentino)
22.Gerry (Gus van Sant)
23.Jackass: The Movie (Jeff Tremaine)
24.Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay)
25.Exiled (Johnny To)
26.Hunger (Steve McQueen)
27.You Can Count On Me (Kenneth Lonergan)
28.My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
29.Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff)
30.Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain)
31.25th Hour (Spike Lee)
32.Adaptation. (Spike Jonze)
33.The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)
34.When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee)
35.The Yards (James Gray)
36.Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson)
37.Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki)
38.The Corporation (Jennifer Abbott, Mark Achbar)
39.Les Triplettes de Belleville (Sylvain Chomet)
40.Collateral (Michael Mann)
41.Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
42.Gong fu / Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow)
43.Primer (Shane Carruth)
44.The White Diamond (Werner Herzog)
45.Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
46.Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July)
47.Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
48.Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki)
49.Why We Fight (Eugene Jarecki)
50.Brand Upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin)

[wwwes]

Top 25, mostly in order:

• Cidade de Deus (City of God)
• There Will Be Blood
• No Country For Old Men
• In The Loop
• The Departed
• Zodiac
• The Queen
• The Last King of Scotland
• Capturing the Friedmans
• El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
• The Dark Knight
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Ratatouille
• Grizzly Man
• Punch-Drunk Love
• Wet Hot American Summer
• Idiocracy
• Anchorman
• Borat
• Adaptation.
• The Man Who Was Not There
• Spider-Man
• Apocalypto
• Knocked Up

Others:
Best In Show
About A Boy
Mulholland Drive
Donnie Darko
Y tu mamá también
28 Days Later
Whale Rider
Bad Santa
Kill Bill
The Butterfly Effect
I Heart Huckabees
Hotel Rwanda
Caché
Munich
Turtles Can Fly
Elephant
Ghost World
Persepolis
Spellbound
The Wrestler
Hot Rod

Gotta say, though, it's getting silly to pretend that TV hasn't been on par with film as a serious medium.
I would add:
The Sopranos
The Office (UK)
I'm Alan Partridge
The Wire
Lost (most of it)
Arrested Development
Moral Orel (the final season)
Sealab 2021
Squidbillies
The Shield
Wonder Showzen
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (for the sheer audacity of the concept at minimum)

And possibly others, that's just off the top of my head.

[roubaix]

Mulholland Drive is a good #1
I really enjoyed Syriana, City of God, CQ, and The Fall

[buffcoat]

When is In the Loop coming to the Outer Boroughs?  Namely to the Triangle area of North Carolina?


We aren't even one of Patton Oswalt's test markets for dumping awful products.  The tragedy of the middle...