The 10 Best Films Of The Aughts.

If I have to jump the gun a year or so early, I'd have to go with the following.

1) There Will Be Blood
2) No Country for Old Men
3) Children of Men
4) American Splendor
5) In the Mood for Love
6) Spirited Away
7) George Washington
8) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
9) Far from Heaven
10) The Wrestler

In no particular order, other than the top 3.

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. Sideways
3. Memento

There Will Be Blood
The Dark Knight
Gladiator
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Der Untergang (Downfall)
A History of Violence
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Honorable Mentions: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Mystic River.

I enjoy Sideways, I even own it, but top ten of the decade material? No fucking way.

Nordling's top 5 picks pretty much echo mine, although I would have There Will Be Blood in the number one spot.

That's a pretty good list, Nordling. Replace Brokeback with Lust/Caution, wedge Children of Men towards the top, and it's looking real good.

Good call on 25th Hour. Probably wouldn't make it to my personal top 10 but I really think that was a wonderful film that is far too often overlooked.

In no order...

There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Mulholland Dr
24 Hour Party People
Children of Men
The Hurt Locker
AI
Pan's Labyrinth
The Squid and the Whale
I Heart Huckabees

The Wicker Man
Bankok Dangerous
Next
Knowing
National Treasure 2
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
National Treasure
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
World Trade Center
Season of the Witch

Something like:

No Country
Memento
In the Mood For Love
Eternal Sunshine
Spirited Away
Irreversible
Children of Men
Mulholland Dr.
Oldboy
City of God

Dammit, I meant to put Adaptation on there.

It is difficult for me to seperate films that really worked for me just due to my own personal tastes in cinema, and films that are actually objectively the best.


i do feel children of men is the best film i've seen in the past 9 years though

i also feel that some of the hbo series , in a broader sense of best general film media of the past 9 years, would be on a top 10 list for me

also children of god would be on any top ten list of mine, though maybe further back towards position 8 or

EDIT: i should say, children of men is NOT the best film i've seen in the last nine years. its the best film i've seen in the past nine years... that was released within the past nine years


also, alexander would be on my list.

1) Adaptation. (2002) - I love this movie so much that it made "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" a huge disappointment to me. I think it's good, but I wish this movie had the following that one seems to have, because it seems that the love for Kaufman's follow-up screenplay has left this one largely forgotten. I believe it's the greatest movie ever about the agony of writing when one struggles with it and the joy when one succeeds at it.

Nicolas Cage's performance(s) filled me with such glee and sympathy and I could relate to his Charlie character so strongly that I can forgive him for just about anything he's done (and will do) after this movie. In my eyes, I don't think Kaufman will ever top what he did here. The characters, story, and structure are so breathtakingly original, funny, and smart. They feel so unlike anything I've ever seen and yet at the same time so familiar.

2) City of God (2002) - One of the most intense movies I've ever seen, yet it is at times heartwarming in its beauty. I don't know how something could be so profoundly disturbing and ugly, and have such reverence, humour, and love in its characters and setting at the same time.

3) Traffic (2000) - I never get tired of this movie no matter how many times I watch it. One of the only movies I've seen that cuts between different characters and story arcs where I find all of them equally fascinating, never wishing one would stop dragging the movie down so it could get back to a better one. I love how the stories are differentiated visually too. Not quite as ingenious as Sodeberg's radical editing techniques in "The Limey" and "Out of Sight" but almost equally clever and enthralling.

4) Sideways (2004) - Best love story of the aughts so far, even though it's mostly about male bonding. The dialog between Giametti and Madsen is just gorgeous and the ending, like that of Before Sunset, is the best example of one of my favourite kinds - romantic and uplifting without being too pat. It's open-ended, yet satisfying, real and ideal at the same time.

5) Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) - One of the few movies I've been really excited about and totally satisfied with after seeing. I thought Bill was one of the most memorable villains ever and couldn't get enough of his dialog. Spent an hour talking to a friend about how awesome the movie was after it was over. That doesn't happen often.

6) Requiem for a Dream (2000) - Riveting in its uncompromisingly close observation of some of the darkest depths of human pathos. Will haunt me forever, and I'm glad. I'm also glad there was some absurd, almost surreal comedy like the fridge and the fantasy game show sequences to keep it from being completely bleak.

7) Before Sunset (2004) - I have a huge bias on this one just because of how much the story parallels an experience of my own, but even if I didn't relate to it so much, I think I'd still find it amazing. It meanders a little, but the last half when they start talking about the really important stuff is powerfully bittersweet and the ending is incredible.

8) Catch Me if you Can (2002) - What I consider the last truly excellent Spielberg movie (at this point in time). Even though it's considered one of his lighter, more 'minor' works, I think it's one of his best because of how lovable and moving the characters are (especially Walken's) and how consistently entertaining it is. Ebert said it best when he called it "effortlessly watchable". Every time I watch it, I'm kept thoroughly involved from start to finish.

9) X2: X-Men United (2003) - My pick for best superhero movie of all time for now. It dragged slightly with the escape from the flooding base at the end and the grieving bit with Cyclops and Wolverine was a bad, bad idea, but up until that point I thought it was flawless. Just the right mix of action and quiet or intense (or quietly intense) character moments, without getting too carried away with either (like many superhero/comic book movies do) and just the right amount of exposition without too much dragging it down (another common mistake in these kinds of movies).

10) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - My favourite movie of 2008. A nearly perfect comedy, except for the unfortunately irritating and unfunny character and subplot of Jack McBrayer.

In no particular order:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Children of Men
All The Real Girls
Zodiac
Superbad/Adventureland (I see them as two sides of the same sort of bitter coin and they both compliment each other really well)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Life Aquatic
Adaptation/Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
There Will Be Blood
I'm Not There

More like my favorite films as opposed to "the best" but this is more fun to talk about:

RATATOUILLE - A funny, moving, literate cartoon about art, food and rats. I've never been so moved by a critic's musings on his role in society or the pursuit of pure creativity. Also, if our kids grow up to reject over-processed instant foodstuffs, this film could take a little bit of credit.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD - It's so bloody brilliant, it's shiny. If there's any mark against it (and its not even that bad), its that all subsequent zombie movies either borrow from (see: Zombieland) or are working to separate themselves from this film. (see: 28 Days Later)

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Essentially a western crime drama with all the dread of a serious horror film. Unsentimental and sparse, it plays like a horrible nightmare that feels totally real. Perfect in its own way.

CHILDREN OF MEN - The post-9/11 era of filmmaking might end up being remembered for a remarkable run of science fiction. This sits at the top of that list. Films of this kind of scope rarely work this well. Shit, they are hardly ever even attempted.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD - Except when they are this movie. Can't say enough great things about it. As much a personal story about ambition as it is about the origins of the major industrial commodity of the 20th century.

LORD OF THE RINGS - I'm counting this as one because as soon as I watch any one part, I don't mind the idea of sitting through the entire trilogy. Again. You know this film well.

That's all I got so far. I'll come back and add more after I've had some time to see more movies.

edit:

BATTLE ROYALE - I can't quite put my finger on the chemistry that makes this film work as well as it does but there's a great mix of black humor and earnestness, anger, fear and heart. I find it fascinating. Also, great death scenes!

THE HOST - A vivid family drama dropped into a fantastic monster movie and layered with all the social commentary the genre (and story) can handle. Plus it has one of the best endings I've seen in a long time.

KILL BILL - Okay, so Inglourious Basterds might be a more mature, deeper, more richly thematic film that KBs Vol 1 &2, but I love action films, esp of the marial arts variety. Call me a fanboy but I'm gonna pull a QT and declare this over indulgent, pastiche of cinema his greater achievement.

I see what you did there.

I have an informal rule about not making 'best' picks for movies under ten years old. There's just not enough room for perspective. But okay, off the top of my head:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Let the Right One In
Donnie Darko
Mulholland Drive
Punch-Drunk Love
Tuvalu
Goodbye, Lenin!
Brick
The Man Without a Past
Finding Nemo

ETA: Aw, I left out The Squid and the Whale.

Of the top of my head it'd be:

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. The Pianist
4. Memento
5. Shaun of the Dead
6. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
7. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
8. Memories of Murder
9. Visitor Q
10. The Hurt Locker

With Grindhouse just out of the top ten, as with There Will Be Blood, No Country, The Fountain, United 93, etc.

This makes sense. But sometimes a film is an instant classic, while the majority of time they creep up to being classics. I have that much faith in There Will Be Blood. Paul Thomas Anderson did his best Scorsese with Boogie Nights, his best Altman with Magnolia, and in both cases he had his own style. He's almost like Tarantino how he absorbs and spits out styles, while still keeping their own.

There Will Be Blood is almost like Kubrick lives, but it's not a rip-off. I seriously think it blows away everyone else of the decade. The only flaw is having the brothers be twins, and that still worked out in an interesting way, and the actor held his own against the unstoppable force of Daniel Day Lewis.

I'm content with my PTA pick. I think it's his most original film.

To each their own, man. Punch-Drunk Love is his weakest film in my eyes(but I still like it a lot).

I'm not trying to be an asshole, I never realized how many people loved Sideways. It just never clicked with me on that level.

Thank you. Finally, someone picks this over Oldboy. I love Oldboy and all, but this is his greatest film. Definitely makes my Top 10, if I ever post it.

1. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - I have only seen it once, but it left an unforgettable impression on me.
2. Almost Famous - Perfectly works for personal reasons.
3. Children of Men -
4. No Country For Old Men - It's one of those movies that I watch to study editing, composition. Otherwise, it's pretty much a perfect film on all the levels.
5. Zodiac - I like Fincher alright, but this one is so much better than rest of his films.
6. The Royal Tenenbaums - My favorite W.Anderson film.
7. Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford - I had some issues with VO in the film, but otherwise it's a masterpiece.
8. Memories of Murder - Out of all the great Korean films this decade, this one just works the best for me.
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I wish Gondry would work with talented screenwriters more often. His own ideas are better suited for music videos and shorts.
10. Shaun of the Dead/Anchorman - Had to include two of my favorites.

In alphabetical order, a mixture of favourites, classics and the most important films of the decade:

Amelie
American Psycho
Amores Perros
Capturing the Friedmans
City of God
Downfall
Gone Baby Gone
Grizzly Man
Irreversible
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Oldboy
Pineapple Express
Shaun of the Dead
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Incredibles
The Lives of Others
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

1. Children Of Men
2. El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan´s Labyrinth)
3. Lord Of The Rings
4. No Country For Old Men
5. Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford
6. Memento
7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
8. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
9. Das Leben Der Anderen (The Life Of Others)
10. Kingdom Of Heaven DC

The Woman Chaser
American Psycho
Spirited Away
Punch-Drunk Love
Solaris
Gerry
The White Diamond
Wheel of Time
The New World
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Children of Men
4. This is England
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring
7. The Fountain
8. No Country for Old Men
9. Shaun of the Dead
10. Pan's Labyrinth

(My Messy List)

1. No Country For Old Men
2. The Wackness
3. Grindhouse
4. George Washington
5. Children of Men
6. Adaptation
7. Pineapple Express/ Hot Fuzz
8. United 93/ Zodiac
9. Untitled: Almost Famous-the Director's Cut
10 Battle Royale

**Lord of the Rings, Shaun of the Dead, Assassination of Jesse James, Spider-Man II, Eternal Sunshine, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, When the Levees Broke

I simply can't narrow it down to 10:

There Will Be Blood
No Country
Zodiac
Once
Let The Right One In
Traffic
Sideways
Master & Commander
The Lives of Others
The Wrestler
Oldboy
Pineapple Express
Adaptation
Eternal Sunshine
Up
The Incredibles

Off the top of my head...

1. Hero
2. Oldboy
3. Memento
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. About Schmidt
6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
7. Shaun Of The Dead
8. Kung Fu Hustle
9. The Assassination Of Jesse James
10. City Of God

Shouldn't we wait until the end of next year and not include 2000?

A valid point, since technically the 21st Century did not begin until 1 Jan 2001.

In some ways you are right. In some ways, I would say in my opinion that you are wrong. You are right in that we should wait to make 10 best of lists untill the films of 2010 are released. We cannot accurately rank the films that have come so far when there might be films that would be added to the list coming out next year. Perhaps a more generalized "best films of the past decade" would be better at this point.

You are wrong in that we should absolutely include The Year Two Thousand. That is when the world celebrated the millenium, whether or not it made mathmatical sense.

1. Children of Men
2. Into the Wild
3. Gladiator
4. Shaun of the Dead
5. Lord ot he Rings
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. The Wrestler
8. Casino Royale
9. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
10. City of God

That's instant gut reaction on a Saturday morning. I may revisit this at the end of the year.

Oh, and you wouldn't make Best of the 80s list without 1980 and with 1990. Aughts lists start now!

1. Untitled: Almost Famous Director's Cut
2. Children of Men
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. 25th Hour
6. The Fellowship of the Ring
7. The Assassination of Jesse James
8. There Will Be Blood
9. About a Boy
10. City of God

Just On the Outside: Lost in Translation, A.I., Synecdoche, New York

When the Levees Broke is a great addition to the lists, Fat Elvis.

I'm going to have to wait a year and some change to really make a coherent list of the decade's best - there's too many films I still have to catch up with, and a goodly number yet to come. I can say that MY LIFE AS MCDULL, MINDGAME, and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN will all make the list barring one HELL of an amazing rest-of-2009. Don't know which Pang Ho-Cheung film will be selected, between the dark relationship comedy BEYOND OUR KEN, the arty drama ISABELLA, or the insane 70s style paranoid conspiracy of EXODUS - but he's been on one hell of a hot streak in the aughts. When the quite good omnibus TRIVIAL MATTERS is what passes for your weakest film to date, you make the cut.

One thing's for sure - it's been an exceptional decade for animation.

Probably more of a favorites list but I'd stack any of these up as the best of the decade. Of course this is before seeing District 9, Inglourious Basterds, and the movies of the next half of the year. I couldn't do just ten though.

No Country For Old Men
Pan's Labyrinth
Oldboy
Children of Men
Zodiac
Moon (Too soon?)
Memento
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Shaun of the Dead
A History of Violence
Let the Right One In

Off the top of my head in no order:

Children of Men
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
No Country for Old Men
Zodiac
Lord of the Rings trifecta
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Into The Wild
Memento
The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

I think it should be 2 lists. "2001-2006, 2008-2009" and 2007.

Ooh, good one, and a film I wish were better-known. Too bad it's from 1999.

Wow, there were some really crappy movies released the first few years of this decade. Right around 2004, though, the quality level seems to pick up.

I've a feeling District 9 could become a fave too, and I haven't seen it.

Basterds? Not sure about the decade in cinema, but its certainly Tarantino's best this decade.

The New World
In this World
Master and Commander
Before Sunset
The Sea Inside
Chopper (i think 2000-2009)
Memories of Murder
The Wrestler
London to Brighton
Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Observe and Report could well make it on there, i need to see it again. I feel Miami Vice should be on there too.
This thread has brought up a conundrum, i'm sure i owned City of God but i can't find it anywhere and can't remember lending it out? Shit!

Chopper was 2000, so you're good to go.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is too low on this list.

1. Sideways
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3. Zodiac
4. Almost Famous (Untitled)
5. The Squid & The Whale
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. The Royal Tenenbaums
8. Wet Hot American Summer
9. All the Real Girls
10. No Country for Old Men

Fine, I'll take a stab at this. I'll even count 2000.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. There Will Be Blood
3. In The Mood For Love
4. Oldboy
5. No Country For Old Men
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Lord of the Rings
8. City of God
9. I Heart Huckabees
10. Shaun of the Dead

EDIT: Fuck, totally forgot about Children of Men. I may revise this in the near future. I didn't really give it enough though. This is why I hate lists.

Children of Men
There Will Be Blood
Shaun Of The Dead
25th hour
Sideways
Munich
Once
Team America
Burn After Reading
Little Children
Lost In Translation

I had to cheat.

Yes! I gotta think about my list, but this will certainly be on it.

Little Children...good one. Both of Todd Field's movies would probably appear in my Top 30 of the 00s.