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