100 Favorites of the ‘00s: 100-76

The turn of the century marked the end of the Modern Era of filmmaking. It was now the dawn of the Digital Age of filmmaking. Slowly throughout the decade film became preferred less and less over digital. This was also true in standard photography.

As for the 2000s, the decade was flooded with CGI, as even animators were figuring out how to refine CG movies or to combine it with traditional animation at all. Disney suffered greatly as a result while Pixar thrived. But CGI was used to various degrees of success in live action movies, as well. As a result, many of the big budget films of the decade have aged poorly.

Comic book movies also define the decade. Once X-Men, Ghost World, and Spider-Man became critical and commercial successes Hollywood was mining every publisher for potential films. As a result, there were a hodgepodge of mostly Marvel superhero movies, but also adaptations of lesser-known work like American Splendor, Sin City, From Hell, and 300. The subgenre was growing up and with it there were growing pains like Elektra, Fantastic Four, and Constantine. But there were also some creative and commercial successes that paved the way for what would come near the end of the decade and beyond.

Judd Apatow was the dominating name in comedy during the decade, directing 3 films and producing 7 others, starting in 2004.

There were also huge trends in the popularity of musicals, foreign films, documentaries, torture porn horror, and PG-13 horror movies. PG-13 became a hugely popular rating to aim for during the decade in order to earn the most money in the theater as possible. Sometimes it meant creative compromises. Other times it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in a PG-13 movie.

I’ve seen over 750 movies of the 2000s. There’s not a lot of blindspots from that decade that I feel compelled to see. I actually don’t even think the ‘00s is my favorite decade, which makes the fact that it’s the decade I have to write the most about kind of ironic. There’s a lot of good and great films you’re about to see mentioned. But I just don’t have as much affection for the decade overall as what came before or even what followed after. That said, I had a rough list of 150 movies I had to cut down to 100. Some of the challenge came from it being so long since I’ve seen some of the films. But there were a few that just barely missed the list like Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Dear Zachary, Good Night, and Good Luck., Sin City, and Winged Migration. Here are the first 25 of the 100 that did make the list of my favorites the decade had to offer.

100. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

I am not a big fan of Lars von Trier’s work. I’ve only seen 4 of his 17 films and I do like most of those that I’ve seen. But his films do take their time and often wallow in misery or graphic physical suffering, which I don’t love. But between Breaking the Waves, Dogville, Melancholia (which I named the best film of its year), and Dancer in the Dark, Dancer is my favorite. It helps that it stars Bjork, who is largely one of my favorite musicians of all time, and is a musical. I love the music by Bjork. And I love the tragedy and how the escapism of life’s hardships that musicals can offer some is represented here. It barely made this list, but it’s a good one.

99. District 9 (2009)

This film suggested so much potential in South African director Neil Blomkamp. It is a brilliant piece of science fiction movie making and a seminal piece of South African cinema in that it is allegorical and representative of the nation’s embedded racism. It’s also got a bit of popcorn fun and impressive visual effects. It’s such a shame Blomkamp has yet to direct anything nearly as good since.

98. Thank You for Smoking (2006)

This was Jason Reitman’s directorial debut and, unfortunately, little seen or remembered these days. It’s a sharply written satire of sales marketing and our relationship to the tobacco industry as a vessel to explore personal choice and personal responsibility. If we know we’re doing something bad for ourselves do we take responsibility when that thing affects the quality or length of our lives? I think it’s really smart and really entertaining and more people should be checking it out.

97. Searching for Debra Winger (2002)

While the title of this documentary is moot and dated, as the once retired actress has since returned to the screen, the documentary is really a look at how women are treated in the film industry. It features many talking heads like Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Jane Fonda, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Meg Ryan. Coming 15 years before the #metoo movement, it’s incredibly revealing and enlightening. It’s also a bit tragic that all of these actresses were dealing with and talking about the very same issues that #metoo and Time’s Up was about and it all fell on deaf ears. It just suffers from some rough production values. Unfortunately, I don’t think the film made a dime and it’s literally nowhere to stream. One must hunt down a copy of the DVD to discover it. I’m glad I did.

96. Identity (2003)

Director James Mangold gets a lot of attention these days for Logan, Ford v. Ferrari, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But after directing the excellent Cop Land in the late ‘90s he eventually made this excellent thriller about a motel’s stranded occupants and their relationship to a serial killer. It stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, Alfred Molina, John Hawkes, Clea DuVall, and John C. McGinley and is virtually forgotten. But I’ve always enjoyed its Ten Little Indians plot and wild twists.

95. Spider-Man (2002)

This was one of the biggest and most anticipated of all of the decade’s superhero movies. It didn’t necessarily kick off the superhero renaissance, but it ensured the green light of everything that would come the rest of the decade. It’s fantastic. The only reason it isn’t higher on my list is over the years the Green Goblin has felt more and more hokey. I was never really in love with the character design with the giant metal helmet anyway. But it just rubs me silly over time. So, it’s a film that doesn’t quite measure up to all but 3 of the Spider-Man movies that have come along since.

94. Sideways (2004)

Alexander Payne is a fascinating director who focuses on comedy dramas (or dramatic comedies, as Charlie Chaplin called them). Most people focus on Election when it comes to his work. I think Sideways is better. At least, it’s one of my favorites of his 8 movies. It’s a comedy for middle aged people about middle aged people. Paul Giamatti, who was highly in-demand at that point, gives one of his career-best performances as the tightly-wound writer and oenophiliac. Thomas Haden Church, at the time a former TV star who hadn’t really done anything notable since, plays a washed up TV star who skates on by with his charm and commercial work. His career got a boost from this film and the accolades that came with it. And I’ll always think of this movie when I think of Virginia Madsen, who plays the waitress and love interest for Giamatti. It’s classy, it’s mature, and it’s intelligent.

93. Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

On the other end of the spectrum we have this film, a music industry and commercialism satire that was so hated by Roger Ebert he included it in his book Your Movie Sucks. I’ve always appreciated the satire of this film, because it came out after 5 years of pop group and pop singer saturation that ended all musical integrity the ‘90s had and portended a decade where you had to hunt for great music, because the radio wasn’t feeding you a lot of quality. So, we were in the thick of it when this movie came out and I reveled in this film’s skewering of that era. That’s not to say Josie and her band’s pop punk music was exemplary of great art. But I did actually enjoy their music. And Rachel Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson, Tara Reid, Alan Cumming, and Parker Posey were all game. It was just a clever way to adapt the Archie comic characters.

92. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

I didn’t expect much from this movie. But it turned out to be one of the more notable and unique romantic comedies to come from the 2000s. Its Greek family add a lot and the film mostly avoids the typical formula that pervaded the decade’s rom-com’s. This film was also a favorite of my wife’s family, so she and I quote it occasionally. Writer, director, and star Nia Vardalos would try to recapture the magic of this film twice, plus a TV series, but failed every time. She has since failed to land anything as notable or enjoyable as this.

91. Red Eye (2005)

Wes Craven was known mostly for his horror films. But occasionally he directed something unexpected like this thriller. It starts out as a meet-cute romantic comedy starring Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams as two people who meet at an airport and happen to be seated together on a late-night flight. It suddenly turns into a thriller with McAdams being the mark of Murphy’s terrorist. It was quite the post-9/11 popcorn movie. The third act may not be as strong as the rest of the movie, but McAdams and Murphy are great here and the overall flick is quite underrated.

90. Borat! Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

The 2000s was actually an incendiary decade for comedies and this mockumentary may actually be the best of all. The attitudes and behaviors of its unwitting participants was unbelievable at the time and revealed a lot about our country that allowed so much of what happened politically. But what we didn’t realize was how sizable our country’s problems actually were. We wouldn’t realize that for another 10-15 years. Mastermind Sacha Baron Cohen would somehow pull it off again during that time. Doing it once is impressive. Managing it a second time with any degree of success is remarkable.

89. V for Vendetta (2006)

Comic book movies were in full swing by the mid-’00s. Every comic book fan was living the dream by seeing their favorite characters brought to life on screen. Hollywood quickly expanded its view beyond Marvel and DC superheroes. Indie comics and adult imprints were being scowered for material. Half of them weren’t great. But when something unusual or edgy came along it was worth applauding. This adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel is one of those big swings that fell just shy of greatness. While the story is set in England it didn’t take much to recognize the allegory for America’s conservative politics of the time. V was a vigilante we needed at the time. Hugo Weaving gave an excellent vocal performance with some very tricky dialogue. Natalie Portman, when not starring in Star Wars movies, spent her twenties playing a lot of interesting characters like those in Garden State and Closer. After being in the Star Wars movies if she was going to star in another big budget action movie it was going to be interesting and V for Vendetta was certainly that. V for Vendetta was a movie of its time about its time and I appreciate it for that.

88. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Zack Snyder was one of the most notorious and controversial superhero directors of the 2010s, but in the 2000s he was one of the decade’s most exciting and promising new filmmakers. He chose to make his directorial debut a remake of George Romero’s celebrated zombie movie, Dawn of the Dead. That was a risky move. He mostly succeeded. With the exception of a subplot that jumps the shark a bit Snyder’s vision of the zombie flick is terrifying, thrilling, and greatly effective. The pre-title sequence and title sequence are both among the best of the decade.

87. Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan debuted with a little film nobody originally saw called Following, so this was the film that many discovered him from. It was a breakout hit for Nolan thanks to its plot told in reverse and original concept: a man with short-term memory loss is looking for his wife’s killer, but must tattoo notes on his body in order to make progress in his investigation. It stars Guy Pierce, Joe Pantoliano, and Carrie-Anne Moss. It was a great twist on the noir mystery and contained a few surprises. It isn’t my favorite Christopher Nolan movie, but I enjoy it more than some of his more recent work.

86. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

I don’t hold this cute rom-com in as high regard as others do. But I do find it charming. I think the quasi-Big concept of a girl experiencing her future life as a 30-year-old is fun. And I do think Jennifer Garner is irresistible in this movie. The rest of the cast are top shelf: Mark Ruffalo (a favorite of mine), Judy Greer, and Andy Serkis. There’s also a bit part for Brie Larson, who was not yet a star. It’s an irresistible, cute film. Is it one of the best rom-coms of the 2000s? I don’t know… there wasn’t a lot of great ones that decade. So, maybe. But it only wins thanks to the cast and that fun ‘Thriller’ dance scene.

85. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

This is not a movie I throw on every year. Or most years. But it is a contender for my favorite Darren Aronofsky movie. It’s unpleasant. It’s unsettling. It’s dark. And it’s depressing. But it’s also beautiful and haunting. The score by the Kronos Quartet is one of the most unforgettable and greatest of the decade. The editing and cinematography adds a lot to the film’s kineticism and haunting nature. Also, it’s a great PSA for teens about drugs.

84. The Mist (2007)

For many, this is the most depressing Stephen King movie ever made. But like Bambi or Old Yeller, most people’s impression of the film is based on one moment. That moment is devastating and effective, but I think there’s a lot more to this movie than that moment (to clarify, it does not have to do with an animal unlike my examples). This film is an excellent single-location movie. It’s an excellent film about society turning on itself. It’s an excellent film about fear and how fear is weaponized against the masses for one’s own objectives or even for survival. The Mist is an excellent movie about its time. And I love it for being about more than just scary monsters.

83. Shrek (2001)

I think the fact that a series of sequels sprung from this that ran the concept into the ground is the primary cause to me not rewatching this movie much the last 20 years. But when I do, I rediscover a fairy tale parody that is really witty and smart. There’s a lot of moments and characters in this movie I enjoy. For a long time this was the best DreamWorks animated movie. Then How to Train Your Dragon came along and raised the bar far above majority of the studio’s catalogue. But this was a welcome bit of fun.

82. District 13 (2006)

Better known to some as District B-13 (the ‘B’ is redundant, because in French the ‘B’ stands for ‘district’), this French dystopian action film was quite the thrill ride! It introduced many to parkour and stars the innovator of parkour, David Belle. A drug lord has possession of a bomb that could destroy Paris. A cop and a man whose sister was taken by the drug lord team up to take him down. It’s one of the most thrilling and cool action movies of the decade, but didn’t get as much attention as the Bourne movies. It should’ve.

81. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

This remains one of the greatest movies of the new century. Yes, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal provide career-high performances. Yes, appearances by Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, and Anna Faris are great. But this movie came out during a very conservative time in our country (it’s hard to believe how much worse it’s gotten since) when gay marriage was constantly stricken down by religious conservatives. Here we have a movie that helped humanize homosexual relationships. Only the most coldest and cynical weren’t moved by this story. Ang Lee’s direction and Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematography went a long way to add to the film’s appeal and set it apart from most indie LGBTQ+ movies up to that point. It’s a beautiful film and one of the greatest of the decade.

80. The Others (2001)

There was a rash of PG-13 horror movies in the ‘00s. Most of them weren’t very good and often were inferior versions of J-horror. The Others was the first and one of the best. It’s a gothic ghost story about a single mom during WWII who hires caretakers to help run the house and care for her children stricken with an allergy to light. Meanwhile, her daughter gets excited about a ghostly friend. It’s an excellent ghost story with a wonderful and tragic twist. This is one of Nicole Kidman’s few great movies of the 2000s.

79. A Serious Man (2009)

I believe I mentioned before that I have a love/hate relationship with the Coen Brothers in that I love half of their movies and don’t love the other half (hate is a strong word in most cases). A Serious Man is one of those I love. It has one of the best trailers of any Coen Bros. movie, by the way, with Larry Gopnik’s (Michael Stuhlbarg) head being slammed rhythmically against a wall. But it’s one of the Coens’ funniest movies. Fred Melamed is hilarious as the patronizing new lover of Gopnik’s wife (Sari Lennick). The film has been interpreted as a take on the Book of Job with a Jewish man constantly put-upon by those around him, climaxing with an actual act of God disaster. It’s easily a Top 5 Coen Bros. movie for me.

78. Pieces of April (2003)

This little-known indie movie that is Peter Hedges’s directorial debut is not only my favorite movie he directed, but also my absolute favorite Thanksgiving movie. It stars Katie Holmes as a young woman who is estranged from her family, but wants to make amends by hosting Thanksgiving dinner in her little New York City apartment. While her parents are commuting from some suburb to the apartment, Katie’s April is faced with one challenge after another with preparing her very important meal. Oliver Platt and Patricia Clarkson play her parents; Platt is the peace-keeper, who loves his daughter and is hopeful of reparations, while Clarkson is wounded and bitter from years of constant lying, stealing, yelling, and drug use by her daughter. It’s an underrated, funny, and moving film about the challenges of healing from the past and the opportunities the holiday provides for moving forward.

77. Scream 3 (2000)

Most consider this the worst of the Scream series - certainly of the original trilogy. I actually think there are less flaws in this movie than the last couple of movies. I can understand how Parker Posey can grate on some as a source of comic relief. And this film does have a slightly lighter tone than the previous two films. But I largely enjoy watching it more than most Scream movies. And I think the reveal makes more sense and is more satisfying than others. Wes Craven originally intended Scream to be a trilogy that had a conclusion. While I don’t hate the last three films, I sort of wish the series stayed dead after this one.

76. X-Men (2000)

I moved this movie up the list to this position, because I cannot emphasize enough how big a deal it was at the time. There really wasn’t much in the way of Marvel movies growing up. We basically had Howard the Duck and Blade shortly before this. That was it. DC and weird independent comic properties like Tank Girl and The Crow dominated the comic book movie landscape. Marvel fans had to settle for Wizard Magazine fantasy casting pieces and their own “What If” imaginary scenarios. And I was a big X-Men fan during most of the ‘90s. So, to see those characters brought to life in any way that was remotely satisfying was a big deal. So, this film will always have a piece of my heart for that reason. That said, it is fairly mediocre overall with a somewhat hokey villain plot, occasionally hokey dialogue, and a handful of things that just fall short of potential. That’s okay; the sequel (and a handful of other entries) would make up for it. I see this now as a 90+ minute prologue to X2. But I do greatly appreciate that it exists in the first place. Thanks to it (and Spider-Man two years later), comic book movies became a lucrative and legitimate subgenre of filmmaking.

That concludes the first quarter of this list. Soon I’ll share the next 25 movies of my 100 Favorites of the ‘00s. Until then feel free to share your thoughts about any of these movies below. I hope there’s already some new discoveries for you to dig into.