Best of the 2000s: Best Movies

The 72 MOVIES I LOVED IN THE 2000s

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - 2003 - Peter Jackson
   
2. The Departed - 2006 - Martin Scorsese
   
3. Borat - 2006 - Larry Charles
   
4. The Prestige - 2006 - Christopher Nolan
   
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 2001 - Peter Jackson
   
6. Sideways - 2005 - Alexander Payne
   
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 2002 - Peter Jackson
   
8. School of Rock - 2003 - Richard Linklater
   
9. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - 2003 - Peter Weir
   
10. Amélie - 2001 - Jean-Pierre Jeunet
    
11. Lost in Translation - 2003 - Sofia Coppola
    
12. 300 - 2007 - Zack Snyder
    
13. Donnie Darko - 2002 - Richard Kelly
    
14. Adaptation - 2003 - Spike Jonze
    
15. X2: X-Men United - 2003 - Bryan Singer
    
16. Good Night, and Good Luck. - 2005 - George Clooney
    
17. X-Men - 2000 - Bryan Singer
    
18. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - 2005 - Shane Black
    
19. Inglourious Basterds - 2009 - Quentin Tarantino
    
20. Mulholland Dr. - 2001 - David Lynch
    
21. The Fountain - 2006 - Darren Aronofsky
    
22. Zombieland - 2009 - Ruben Fleischer
    
23. Brokeback Mountain - 2005 - Ang Lee
    
24. Spirited Away - 2001 - Hayao Miyazaki
    
25. Minority Report - 2002 - Steven Spielberg
    
26. Milk - 2008 - Gus Van Sant
    
27. The Dark Knight - 2008 - Christopher Nolan
    
28. Ocean's Eleven - 2001 - Steven Soderbergh
    
29. The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 2005 - Judd Apatow
    
30. In The Loop - 2009 - Armando Iannucci
    
31. Imaginary Heroes - 2005 - Dan Harris
    
32. Narc - 2003 - Joe Carnahan
    
33. The Wrestler - 2008 - Darren Aronofsky
    
34. Step Brothers - 2008 - Adam McKay
    
35. Memento - 2001 - Christopher Nolan
    
36. Robots - 2005 - Chris Wedge
    
37. High Fidelity - 2000 - Stephen Frears
    
38. The Queen - 2006 - Stephen Frears
    
39. Serenity - 2005 - Joss Whedon
    
40. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - 2008 - Seth Gordon
    
41. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - 2004 - Adam McKay
    
42. In the Bedroom - 2002 - Todd Field
    
43. About a Boy - 2002 - Chris Weitz
    
44. Hedwig and The Angry Inch - 2001 - John Cameron Mitchell
    
45. Wet Hot American Summer - 2002 - David Wain
    
46. United 93 - 2006 - Paul Greengrass
    
47. Blue Car - 2003 - Karen Moncrieff
    
48. Michael Clayton - 2007 - Tony Gilroy
    
49. The Salton Sea - 2002 - D.J. Caruso
    
50. Seabiscuit - 2003 - Gary Ross
    
51. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - 2004 - Rawson Marshall Thurber
    
52. Blades of Glory - 2007 - Josh Gordon
    
53. The Fog of War - 2004 - Errol Morris
    
54. Dear Zachary - 2008 - Kurt Kuenne
    
55. There Will Be Blood - 2008 - Paul Thomas Anderson
    
56. Thumbsucker - 2005 - Mike Mills
    
57. Storytelling - 2001 Todd Solondz
    
58. Ghost World - 2001 - Terry Zwigoff
    
59. Shattered Glass - 2003 - Billy Ray
    
60. Layer Cake - 2004 - Matthew Vaughn
    
61. Drowning Mona - 2000 - Nick Gomez
    
62. Bloody Sunday - 2002 - Paul Greengrass
    
63. In America - 2003 - Jim Sheridan
    
64. Spellbound - 2003 - Jeffrey Blitz
    
65. The Woodsman - 2005 - Nicole Kassell
    
66. Iron Man - 2008 - Jon Favreau
    
67. Return to Me - 2000 - Bonnie Hunt
    
68. 10 Items or Less - 2006 - Brad Silberling
    
69. In Bruges - 2008 - Martin McDonagh
    
70. Russian Ark - 2002 - Alexander Sokurov
    
71. Animal Factory - 2000 - Steve Buscemi
    
72. All the Real Girls - 2003 - David Gordon Green
    

...86 HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Secretary - 2002 - Steven Shainberg
  
• Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - 2002 - Rebecca Miller
  
• The Safety of Objects - 2001 - Rose Troche
  
• The Shape of Things - 2003 - Neil LaBute
  
• Thirteen Conversations About One Thing - 2001 - Jill Sprecher
  
• Pan's Labyrinth - 2006 - Guillermo del Toro
  
• A Love Song For Bobby Long - 2005 - Shainee Gabel
  
• North Country - 2005 - Niki Caro
  
• Eastern Promises - 2007 - David Cronenberg
  
• Waking Life - 2002 - Richard Linklater
  
• Full Frontal - 2002 - Steven Soderbergh
  
• The Secret Lives of Dentists - 2004 - Alan Rudolph
  
• Lost in La Mancha - 2002 - Keith Fulton
  
• We Don't Live Here Anymore - 2004 - John Curran
  
• Fanboys - 2009 - Kyle Newman
  
• Capturing the Friedmans - 2003 - Andrew Jarecki
  
• The Darjeeling Limited - 2007 - Wes Anderson
  
• I Heart Huckabees - 2004 - David O. Russell
  
• Friends With Money - 2006 - Nicole Holofcener
  
• You Can Count On Me - 2000 - Kenneth Lonergan
  
• The History Boys - 2006 - Nicholas Hytner
  
• Vera Drake - 2004 - Mike Leigh
  
• Far from Heaven - 2002 - Todd Haynes
  
• American Splendor - 2003 - Shari Springer Berman
  
• Gone Baby Gone - 2007 - Ben Affleck
  
• Confidence - 2003 - James Foley
  
• SherryBaby - 2007 - Laurie Collyer
  
• A Very Long Engagement - 2004 - Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  
• Wonder Boys - 2000 - Curtis Hanson
  
• Role Models - 2008 - David Wain
  
• Possession - 2002 - Neil LaBute
  
• Thirteen Days - 2000 - Roger Donaldson
  
• The Shape of Things - 2003 - Neil LaBute
  
• The Triplets of Belleville - 2003 - Sylvain Chomet
  
• Friday Night Lights - 2004 - Peter Berg
  
• In the Mood for Love - 2000 - Kar Wai Wong
  
• Elephant - 2003 - Gus Van Sant
  
• The Hours - 2003 - Stephen Daldry
  
• Billy Elliot - 2000 - Stephen Daldry
  
• Finding Nemo - 2003 Andrew Stanton
  
• Frequency - 2000 - Gregory Hoblit
  
• Thirteen - 2003 - Catherine Hardwicke
  
• Old School - 2003 - Todd Phillips
  
• This is England - 2007 - Shane Meadows
  
• Stardust - 2007 - Matthew Vaughn
  
• Cold Mountain - 2003 - Anthony Minghella
  
• Rachel Getting Married - 2008 - Jonathan Demme
  
• No Country for Old Men - 2007 - Ethan & Joel Coen
  
• Y Tu Mamá También - 2001 - Alfonso Cuarón
  
• Best in Show - 2001 - Christopher Guest
  
• Monster - 2004 - Patty Jenkins
  
• Punch-Drunk Love - 2002 - Paul Thomas Anderson
  
• Requiem for a Dream - 2000 - Darren Aronofsky
  
• Shaun of the Dead - 2004 - Edgar Wright
  
• City of God - 2003 - Fernando Meirelles
  
• Roger Dodger - 2003 - Dylan Kidd
  
• Frost/Nixon - 2008 - Ron Howard
  
• A History of Violence - 2005 - David Cronenberg
  
• Wall-E - 2008 - Andrew Stanton
  
• Meet The Parents - 2000 - Jay Roach
  
• Chicago - 2003 - Rob Marshall
  
• Kill Bill Vol. 1 - 2003 - Quentin Tarantino
  
• Casino Royale - 2006 - Martin Campbell
  
• Amores Perros - 2000 - Alejandro González Iñárritu
  
• Gran Torino - 2009 - Clint Eastwood
  
• 8 Mile - 2002 - Curtis Hanson
  
• About Schmidt - 2002 - Alexander Payne
  
• Infernal Affairs - 2002 - Wai-keung Lau
  
• Children of Men - 2007 - Alfonso Cuarón
  
• Palindromes - 2005 - Todd Solondz
  
• Talk to Her - 2002 - Pedro Almodóvar
  
• The Aviator - 2004 - Martin Scorsese
  
• Kill Bill Vol. 2 - 2004 - Quentin Tarantino
  
• Batman Begins - 2005 - Christopher Nolan
  
• Star Trek - 2009 - J.J. Abrams
  
• The Squid and the Whale - 2006 - Noah Baumbach
  
• Finding Neverland - 2004 - Marc Forster
  
• Moulin Rouge - 2001 - Baz Luhrmann
  
• The Royal Tenenbaums - 2001 - Wes Anderson
  
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 2008 - David Fincher
  
• Million Dollar Baby - 2005 - Clint Eastwood
  
• Cast Away - 2000 - Robert Zemeckis
  
• Oldboy - 2003 - Chan-wook Park
  
• Garden State - 2004 - Zach Braff
  
• Zodiac - 2007 - David Fincher
  
• Monsters, Inc. - 2001 - Pete Docter
  

AND MOVIES THAT WERE OVERRATED, DISAPPOINTING or JUST PLAIN TERRIBLE:

Overrated

• Wanted
  
• Scary Movie
  
• Superbad
  
• Almost Famous
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  
• Ray
  
• Walk the Line
  
• Gladiator
  
• The Passion of the Christ
  

Disappointing

• Spider-Man (all three, but mostly "Spider-Man 2")
  
• Taken
  
• X-Men 3: The Last Stand
  
• Meet the Fockers (also see under: Terrible)
  
• Superman Returns
  
• Ocean's Twelve
  
• Babel
  
• Fever Pitch
  
• Unbreakable
  
• Insomnia
  
• The Ladykillers
  
• Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist
  

Terrible

• Gerry
  
• The Wedding Date
  
• American Dreamz
  
• Meet the Fockers
  
• 1408
  
• Cellular
  
• Changing Lanes
  
• America's Sweethearts
  

Jim Caldwell is a Gutless Coward

The only acceptable reasons that it would be okay for the Colts to tank yesterday's game against the Jets, bringing their record to 14-1 for the year.

1. They were trying to keep Denver or Pittsburgh out of the playoffs by giving the Jets an advantage. (The Jets now control their own playoff destiny.)
   
2. The Colts felt like the Jets were poised to beat them anyway, and they didn't want to tarnish their air of invincibility. (Unlikely, but possible.)
   
3. They wanted to honor Belichick's legacy.
   
4. Better draft pick position.
   
5. They think "Killer Instinct" is a Sharon Stone movie.
   
6. Mercury Morris is holding Reggie Wayne's mother hostage.
   
7. They knew they had no chance against Buffalo next Sunday anyway, so why prolong the inevitable?
   
8. So many teams go 19-0, it's not even a big deal anymore.
   
9. Fell for the Jets' old "you pull your starters, we'll pull ours" trick.
   
10. Painter is actually a better QB than Peyton and gives them their best chance to win.
    
11. Jim Caldwell inherited the great team that Tony Dungy left for him and actually has no clue how to coach a football team or how 19-0 puts you on the short list for greatest team of all time.
    

Whatever the reason, I will be rooting against the Colts and shooing away their bad karma for the entire postseason. (Unless they are playing Pittsburgh, Dallas or New England, of course.)

[Update: Man am I tired of being right. WHO DEY!]