Most cinephiles agreed that 1999 was the best movie year in recent memory — perhaps one of the all-time greats. It seemed to bode well for the decade to come, but alas, the hoped-for golden age never materialized. While independent distributors were crushed by the economic squeeze, the major studios grew ever more reliant on sequels, remakes, reboots, videogame and comic-book adaptations, and everything else beloved by teenagers with plenty of free time and disposable income. But while the decade as a whole may have been a train wreck, your Hooksexup brain trust had a fine time plundering the wreckage for twenty souvenirs well worth keeping.
20. WALL-E (2008) — No creator or creative team had a better run this decade than Pixar, and this comedy/love story/eco-fable was simultaneously its most daring and most crowd-pleasing work. To sit in an audience full of kids staring rapt at this movie's daringly extended, mostly wordless opening section is to know that moviegoers aren't born without the ability to respond to fresh, unconventional work; it's something that has to be beaten out of them.
19. The Departed (2006) — We can all agree Martin Scorsese shouldn't have had to wait so long for an Academy Award, and no one is arguing that The Departed is one of his best... but let's dispense with the notion that its Best Picture nod was some sort of travesty. All Scorsese does here is put his legions of imitators in their place by crafting a spectacularly entertaining crime epic. It boasts a rich Boston atmosphere, a handful of fine supporting performances (most notably the justly nominated Mark Wahlberg as a perpetually pissed-off statie cop), an exhilarating pace that never feels frantic, and, what the hell, "Gimme Shelter" one more time.
18. 24 Hour Party People (2002) — For U.S. audiences, who hadn't spent the '90s watching Steve Coogan's emergence on British TV, Coogan's turn as music producer/born showman Tony Wilson was the revelation of the decade. Director Michael Winterbottom's supreme intelligence has always kept his films interesting, if sometimes uninviting. Here, he satirizes the perpetual-grad-student pop figure who generates brilliance and bullshit in equal amounts, even as he taps Wilson's energy to give the audience a kind of cerebral contact high.
17. The Queen (2006) — Stephen Frears' depiction of Her Royal Majesty's reaction to Princess Diana's death (and the outpouring of grief that followed) earns its spot through good ol' fashioned craftsmanship. Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance, as a cagey monarch struggling to comprehend the emotional outpouring of her subjects, capped a spot-on turn by Michael Sheen as the Ghost of Tony Blair Past, and a well-oiled Mercedes of a screenplay that wittily explored the nature of leadership.
16. I'm Not There (2007) — With I'm Not There, Todd Haynes did for the Bob Dylan mythos what he did with the history of glam rock in Velvet Goldmine: he scrambled it all together and then bounced it off a series of funhouse mirrors, delighting in the ever-more distorted reflections that resulted. Haynes hit on a cinematic equivalent to the way Dylan adapted and exploded traditional folk, and in the process delivers a one-of-a-kind biography not so much of a man, but of an artistic sensibility.
15. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002) — Alfonso Cuarón's unpredictable, lyrical road movie helped make stars of its two young leading men, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, and an iconic figure of their traveling companion, Maribel Verdú — playing, at thirty-one, the "older woman" of a teenage horndog's dreams. Funny and beautiful and mysteriously affecting, it's simply the sexiest movie of the decade.
Commentarium (60 Comments)
thank you thank you thank you!!!
Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind is by far the best movie made in a LONG time. But this list is missing Requiem For A Dream.
I agree, Requiem For A Dream should be on this list!
And City of God!
I know that any such list invites disagreement, and I respect the subjective nature of the undertaking...but your celebration of The New World is way off. This movie perpetuated the same old stereotype of the American Indian as a New Age-y exotic "other" while suggesting that seventeenth century Englishmen had the charm and swagger of a Colin Farrell. Worse, it left unquestioned the old myth (which is demonstrably false) that Pocahontas--a pre-pubescent girl at that time--had a romantic affair with an Englishman three times her age. Why would a young Powhatan Indian girl fall in love with a hairy, smelly (unlike the Powhatan Indians, the English believed bathing was unhealthy) middle-aged man? Why, because white men are god-like, of course! I may seem like a wet-blanket here, but if you spent some time on a modern-day reservation, you'd see that media images have real oppressive power.
mmmmm 3 movies where alfonso cuaron was involved???
Looks like someone just took the AVClub's list and slapped a few personal favorites for good measure.
Stick to the sex and society. Leave film to the critics.
Film critics agreeing on what movies are good!? Preposterous.
Stick to the AV Club.
I disagree, PRM. These lists are always subjective, but I thought this one was fun - a good compilation that reflects someone's taste - and that's all. No need to get so up in arms.
this really does feel like an av club article. also, wall-e is far from original. my boyfriend and i were pulling scenes from other movies the whole time we watched it.
IDIOCRACY + SHORT CIRCUIT = WALL-E
Rename the title of this article to "The Hipster 20 best movies of the 00's"
Good list (I may have a quibble with the rankings here and there, Children of Men should place much higher, for example). And ignore the haters. "Hipster" as a pejorative? Really? In 2009? That is so 2008.
Ahhhh! Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is my favorite film!
This is an awesome list. You could argue forever on what should shouldn't be included. Maybe I am biased but what about Garden State? I haven't seen it in a while so I am not sure if it holds up but in 2004? Oof that was huge.
ummmmmmmmmmm lord of the rings duh
That Cuaron and Del Toro are the only "foreign" directors on this otherwise entirely-American list suggests just how badly you supposed critics need to hit up Hooksexup to pay for a fucking film festival pass. Christ on a stick.
Right...because foreign = good. (And Japanese and British directors somehow don't qualify as foreign...)
Don't forget Michel Gondry, a French director. Christ on a stick, doopwoop.
pretty bland..
I feel this list is invalidated due the inclusion of Knocked Up in honorable mentions, which while entertaining is merely a moderately intelligent sophomoric comedy.
For the most part this is just the author's favorites, not a list containing the best movies from an artistic standpoint.
Pretentious much, Joe? Using every polysyllable you know doesn't make you seem any smarter. Just makes you seem like a jack ass. A jack ass who probably loved Knocked Up to bits but won't ever admit it because it wasn't "artistic" enough to make you feel superior.
More films by Wes Anderson are required. Right now. Only the Royal Tenenbaums? Preposterous!
What's most comic here is the calculated middlebrow heaviness of this list. Pan's Labyrinth yes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, no. It becomes a game in which "best" is just another genre.
All movies suck out your soul and spit your brain out on the sidewalk.
Perhaps its should be the 20 best movies of the 00's that you probably did not see?
Sorry, but while I've seen a few of these I did not see most nor do I really feel compelled to do so. And really, look what you left off.
None of the lords of the rings pictures made it? What about Brokeback mountain, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, Batman the Dark Night, Chicago, and this is just limiting myself to pictures that got Academy awards notice.
Great list - included many of my absolute favorites. I'd add: "Best in Show", "The Visitor", and "The Lives of Others".
O Brother, Where Art Thou? I kept waiting for someone to call this "The Odessey by Homer.. and Jethro" but no one did. SO here it is, great list,could make another with 20 other deserving titles, but thanks for the memories and some to put in my netflix queue.
A pretty nice list, though I am in the small minority that thinks "Pan's Labyrinth" is not only not a great film but is actually a bad one. "Lives of Others" and "Requiem for a Dream" are the most prominent ones missing here. I might also have included "Letters from Iwo Jima" plus "Cache" and even "Rabbit-Proof Fence"
this writer has a thing scarlet johansen (sp?) movies...
why the departed and not infernal affairs?
Ghost World in the top 3 ?! The Movie is a bad adaptation of one of the best comics ever ! But the movie isn't good… C'est bizarre…
This HAS TO BE A JOKE ! Not one "Lord of the Rings" movies in the top movies for years 2000 ?? Most of them are in the ALL-TIME top 20 on Imdb.com !!
I think that list is kind of a joke... Very "childish" and "teen" orientated. Any character above 50 ? Any film from Europe ?
My 3 best films of the decade are : "Me, you and everyone we know" (Miranda July), "Yella" (Christian Petzold) and "Travail d'arabe" (Christian Philibert)
what about Matchpoint? and Todo sobre mi madre, or Habla con ella?
One day, US people will realize that making an exact copy of a film is far from sufficient to make a good movie, even is its director is Scorcese. The Departed is the biggest steal in recent history of cinema and US celebrate it because they simply don't have a slight of international film culture... This ranking proves it once more (d'you know Cidade de Deus, Old Boy, Zatoichi, Slumdog Millionaire, Los viajes del viento, Mar adentro, Hero, Infernal Affairs, Lord of the Rings ?... oh I know they're not US so they can't count)
And what about Amelie (2001) ?
Inglorious Basterds. Best film of the decade.
I think you should watch more foreign movies. Too many american movies on this list. And many of them are not so good (o brother, sideways ??)
I was as amazed as anyone who saw "Infernal Affairs" that Scorceses would win an Academy Award for "The Departed". Something is wrong in America when you can rip off another's work and get honors for it rather than condemnation.
The Queen is a glorified made-for-TV movie. Too cartoonish. Amelie is cotton candy, but belongs on the list. It's the last French film most people saw or liked. When Julia Roberts (Erin Brokovich) beat Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream) for best actress, I decided to never watch the Oscars again.
About "The Departed," that epic that Scorsese "crafted"? You do know it was a remake of the film "Infernal Affairs," right?
Christ on a stick is right! Any decent list will look at the following: XXY, Head-on (honorable mention! What the?), Exiles, O Fantasma, Tideland, L.I.E., Battle in Heaven, A Year Without Love, Kadosh, Happiness, Late Marriage, The Piano Teacher, Fat Girl--ugh, never mind! Hipsters, what are you good for?
What about The Diving Bell & the Butterfly?
Requiem for a Dream is shit. So's Pan's Labyrinth. Same kind of people make the same mistake on those two. The only movies that come close to being special on this list are There Will Be Blood and The New World. In 20 years nobody will remember the rest of these.
Oh, and UP! beats Wall-E seven days a week and twice on Sunday.
I mean really, where would we be without Amelie?
"Almost Famous" is in the top ten but "Inglourious Basterds" does not even get honorable mention? Oh, and by the way, "City Of God" was the best movie of the decade. Omitting it in favor of "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Ghost World" is extremely weak sauce.
Dont agree with much on the list, well, I suppose I haven't seen everything. I agree,City of God was a great movie and one of my favorites, as is lives of others, (I'm so exotic, hey) but the biggest abomination is that neither the list or any comment here has listed Gladiator. It's the most epic movie ever!! It was made in 2000 right?
Sideways took place in central california (Santa Ynez), not northern california (napa). The Departed was much better than Infernal Affairs - I sat through the entire trilogy, believe me. I also got laid after watching the New World, so there's a soft spot in my heart for that.
No Little Miss Sunshine?
Ugh.... Mulholland Drive? Really?
What about In the Mood For Love. I'd say that is without a doubt the best movie of the past decade.
Shaun of the Dead. Obviously.
Infernal Affairs 2 should be on this list.
i'm pretty sure Pan's Labyrinth was NOT set in 1944. i haven't seen it but if it were set during the spanish civil war i know for a fact, it would be set in the 1930s. please don't be so ignorant next time & get your history right.
oops! i did my research & you were right! it was set in 1944. sorry!
but THANK YOU for not putting avatar. that movie is sooooooooo over hyped.
no gladiator = no common sense
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Was looking this morning for thoughts on God’s use of ordinary people. I appreciated yours.
I think this list is great. Would my Top Movie's of the 00's be the exact same no, but for the people on here complaining and belittling, come to grips with the fact that we are all different and all have our own opinions. Don't sit there and try to make people feel bad, because they created this article/website, if you disagree with this list, make your own so other pieces of shit like you can leave negative comments on yours. Get a life.
25th Hour.
wow... I believe our Top 4 are the exact same /same order even. I'm not a big fan of O Brother ... I'd probably slide Royal Tenebaums up there or Punch Drunk Love.