KP's top 100 movies of the 00s -...and WE ARE DONE!!! (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)

Imdb - 8.3  Metascore - 89

Trailer

I guess 2007 was a year for dark movies with TWBB, No Country, and Zodiac.  2004 Evidently touched me with movie about relationships.  Just love the originality of this movie.  The movies Kaufman has written have been hit or miss with me, but this one I fell for instantly.  Very interesting take on the heartbreak at the end of a relationship, what we want to remember and why.  He had done music videos before and other shorts, but I think this was Gondry's first directing effort for a movie.  What a perfect marriage of his vision and style for this story. 

 

[sports_fan]

3. BEFORE SUNSET (2004)

Imdb - 8.0   Metascore - 90

Trailer

No surprise if you were following along in the last countdown.  I had Before Midnight in the top 5 there, and this is my favorite movie of the trilogy.  Hell, this just might be my favorite romance/relationship movie ever.  In case you don't know this is a trilogy (so far) of movies that Linklater started in Before Sunrise in '95.  Simple story about two people that just have one night together.  Here they meet again for the first time in 9 years and they have an afternoon (well, about an hour) together.  Hopefully in 2022 we will get the 4th update on these two.  I just love these characters and the chemistry the actors have together.  There is more urgency and tension this time and the stakes are higher.  Also has one of my favorite movie endings ever. 

I love these movies. I've been meaning to watch them all back-to-back-to-back at some point.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Just because MOP is doing it too, just based on my tastes and looking at this list and my near misses, I would say that 2007 was one of the best years for movies (at least the best in about 20 years.  Here is what made this list from that year:

There Will Be Blood, Zodiac, No Country, Into the Wild, Superbad, Gone Baby Gone, Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Hot Fuzz, 4 Months/3weeks/2days, The Orphanage, Sunshine, Lars and the Real Girl, Once, The Lookout

Here were damn good movies, but didn't quite make the list: Atonement, Juno, Bourne Ultimatum, Eastern Promises, The Savages, Assassination of Jessie James, The Host, Away From Her, Shotgun Stories, Talk to Me, Timecrimes,

Fantastic year for movies. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

I love these movies. I've been meaning to watch them all back-to-back-to-back at some point.

 

I did a marathon with the wife when Before Midnight came out.  Doesn't take too long, as they are all fairly short. 

 

[culdeus]

I love these movies. I've been meaning to watch them all back-to-back-to-back at some point.

Skip the one where it's just post kid angst. The 2014 one

 

[Kafka]

66. ELEPHANT

Trailer

Unsettling movie that has stuck with me over the years.  Here we have Gus Van Sant going back to more experimental/arthouse mode.  This is the middle movie of his "death triolgy", and here we follow around students as they go about their business the morning of a Columbine-like incident.  Love the way the camera moves around the halls calmly following the kids, and it makes it more nerve racking since we know what is going on elsewhere.  Didn't even know until today that it took top prize at Cannes. 

This & "Requiem" haunt me to this day... extremely disturbing; not just because of their subject matter, but because of the banal presentation the directors' employ (if that makes sense)...& both soundtracks complement the material perfectly, in my opinion.  Great list, great effort...

 

[JoeSteeler]

2. THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Imdb - 8.1  Metacritic - 92

Trailer

One of the best actors ever meets up with one of my favorite directors, and yeah, this is going to be at the top.  I think a main theme as I looked over my top is obsession.  A lot of the movies that seem to pull me in have that at the core - Jake's character in Zodiac, The Prestige, and it oozes from the screen in the single minded Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood.  I am also drawn in to PTA's warped versions and ideas of family and the father/son dynamic (even if technically not father/son in the movies, the dynamic is here as well in Boogie Nights and The Master).  On top of everything he also has the ability to pull top notch acting performances out of everybody.  DDL is fantastic, but Dano also shines in his scenes with him.  If I remember right he had to play both the twins because nobody else could put up with DDL's #### and keep up with the intensity. 

once you got to your top 5 I was thinking you might not have it listed. IMO great, great, great film. DDL blows it away (as usual) but I agree that Paul Dano stayed right there with him.

For some reason several or friends/family don't like this or think it is a just an average film. They couldn't be more wrong and would have been #1 for me had I compiled a similar list.

8.1 on IMDB is a joke and I feel it should be a full point higher

 

[KarmaPolice]

once you got to your top 5 I was thinking you might not have it listed. IMO great, great, great film. DDL blows it away (as usual) but I agree that Paul Dano stayed right there with him.

For some reason several or friends/family don't like this or think it is a just an average film. They couldn't be more wrong and would have been #1 for me had I compiled a similar list.

8.1 on IMDB is a joke and I feel it should be a full point higher

While I don't agree, I get why this one would rub people the wrong way.  It is a movie that does test your patience.  I mean, how long do we go at the beginning before we get any dialogue.  I have talked a lot of people that feel the same way - that this movie is an incredible bore and don't get why people love it. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Of course I never claim to have watched everything, and had a running list of movie I need to get to as I poked through and did research.  A few I think I saw but remembered zero about, but most I haven't.  Here is my 'need to watch' list:

In the Mood for Love, Sexy Beast, Yi Yi, Road to Perdition, A.I., Cold Mountain, Maria Full of Grace, Blood Diamond, Last King of Scotland, Charlie Wilson's War, Whale Rider, Secret Lives of Dentists, Munich, Gerry, The New World, The Man Who Wasn't There, Kung Fu Hustle, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lives of Others. 

 

[El Floppo]

I can tell you right now that Lives of Others is my #1 of the decade.

 

[Kafka]

Sexy Beast!

 

[El Floppo]

Sexy Beast!

No, you!

 

[Kafka]

No, you!

No, Ben!

Error...I mean, Sir Ben!

 

[culdeus]

Good list, can't help be nostalgic for what was the peak of filmmaking.  I can't remember a really great movie I've seen come out since roughly 2007 timeframe.  All the enjoyable things in film are in the serial dramas for me now so much to the point where I don't even seek movies out anymore.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

Good list, can't help be nostalgic for what was the peak of filmmaking.  I can't remember a really great movie I've seen come out since roughly 2007 timeframe.  All the enjoyable things in film are in the serial dramas for me now so much to the point where I don't even seek movies out anymore.  

I think movies like Her, Nightcrawler, Whiplash, The Revenant, and others are every nit as good as movies near the top of this list  

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

I agree with many of your top 100--I've seen 80 of them.  Many of yours would be in my top 100, minus most of the superhero and kid movies

My guess at your top 20 was really just my "rough" top 20--but 11 of them made your list, and you haven't seen 3 or 4 of them.

Thanks for posting your list--great job, again!

 

[gianmarco]

Some notable omissions after a cursory search of movies from that time.  I have others, as well, but these are some movies that I'm surprised weren't near the top of the list let alone completely left ott.

The Departed

Gladiator

Slumdog Millionaire

Gran Torino

American Gangster

Snatch

And one more I'll mention since I saw the Prestige on the list is how the Illusionist didn't make it.  Very similar films that came out in the same year and I actually prefer the Illusionist. 

Some honorable mentions:  Cinderella Man, Burn After Reading, Hotel Rwanda

 

[culdeus]

I think movies like Her, Nightcrawler, Whiplash, The Revenant, and others are every nit as good as movies near the top of this list  

Thanks for the ideas, I'm so out of the loop on movies now that I have not heard of any of these four.  

 

[sports_fan]

I think movies like Her, Nightcrawler, Whiplash, The Revenant, and others are every nit as good as movies near the top of this list  

Thanks for the ideas, I'm so out of the loop on movies now that I have not heard of any of these four.

Whiplash is must watch IMO.

 

[Kafka]

Some notable omissions after a cursory search of movies from that time.  I have others, as well, but these are some movies that I'm surprised weren't near the top of the list let alone completely left ott.

The Departed

Gladiator

Slumdog Millionaire

Gran Torino

American Gangster

Snatch

And one more I'll mention since I saw the Prestige on the list is how the Illusionist didn't make it.  Very similar films that came out in the same year and I actually prefer the Illusionist. 

Some honorable mentions:  Cinderella Man, Burn After Reading, Hotel Rwanda

I loved Snatch.

 

[The Future Champs]

Of course I never claim to have watched everything, and had a running list of movie I need to get to as I poked through and did research.  A few I think I saw but remembered zero about, but most I haven't.  Here is my 'need to watch' list:

In the Mood for Love, Sexy Beast, Yi Yi, Road to Perdition, A.I., Cold Mountain, Maria Full of Grace, Blood Diamond, Last King of Scotland, Charlie Wilson's War, Whale Rider, Secret Lives of Dentists, Munich, Gerry, The New World, The Man Who Wasn't There, Kung Fu Hustle, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lives of Others. 

Cold Mountain - Very good overall.   Zellwenger is outstanding.  

Blood Diamond - Good overall.   Excellent production.   I thought the story was lame and predictable, and the script was yet another example of how Hollywood can't tell a story about a third world country without framing the narrative around some white people.   Would not rewatch, even if stuck on a plane with limited reading material.    Well, let's see what SkyMall has on sale.

Last King... - OK overall.   OK production.   Same Hollywood script failing.

Munich - Very good overall.  I dislike scripts that are only partially true to real life events.

The Man Who Wasn't There - Big Coen Bros fan, and I liked this one.   It will be a complete waste of time for many people.    It's got all the excitement of watching sludge ooze across a level surface.   Scarlet's part felt like it was penciled in shortly before shooting began b/c they needed a couple more minutes of film.   Or maybe someone was trying to get laid.   

Kung Fu Hustle - Awesome, if you're in the mood for a ridiculous, funny, check your brain at the door kung fu film.    Otherwise, you should obviously pass.   Classic in the genre.

Royal Tenenbaums - Worth watching for Hackman and Pallana; those two are absolute $ every time they're in the same shot.  Lots of other good things in the film.   

 

[KarmaPolice]

Thanks for the ideas, I'm so out of the loop on movies now that I have not heard of any of these four.  

The OP has a link to my top 50 from 2010-2015 if you want more ideas (assuming you agreed with at least a little of my this list)

#### I hate this site on mobile now

 

[Mr. Mojo]

While I disagree on some choices, your time, effort and reasoning in putting this together was impressive.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

once you got to your top 5 I was thinking you might not have it listed. IMO great, great, great film. DDL blows it away (as usual) but I agree that Paul Dano stayed right there with him.

For some reason several or friends/family don't like this or think it is a just an average film. They couldn't be more wrong and would have been #1 for me had I compiled a similar list.

8.1 on IMDB is a joke and I feel it should be a full point higher

TWBB had great acting, but I enjoyed the first half much more than the second. In fact I found the first half riveting and the second half thinking WTF? 

The soundtrack was also bizarre and distracting in a bad way.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Some notable omissions after a cursory search of movies from that time.  I have others, as well, but these are some movies that I'm surprised weren't near the top of the list let alone completely left ott.

The Departed

Gladiator

Slumdog Millionaire

Gran Torino

American Gangster

Snatch

And one more I'll mention since I saw the Prestige on the list is how the Illusionist didn't make it.  Very similar films that came out in the same year and I actually prefer the Illusionist. 

Some honorable mentions:  Cinderella Man, Burn After Reading, Hotel Rwanda

There were a few that you mentioned that were very close at the end.  The top 80 or so were easy, but narrowing down the bottom of the list was murder.   Snatch and Hotel Rwanda were all in that last grouping.  The Departed I had written down, but also think the foreign movie it's based on (Infernal Affairs) to be better and that would have made it on the list first.  Gladiator I like more now than I used to, but still find to just be OK.  American Gangster and Cinderella Man have been added to my "need to see" list. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

While I disagree on some choices, your time, effort and reasoning in putting this together was impressive.

Thanks for the kudos.  I am curious what you disagreed with. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Cold Mountain - Very good overall.   Zellwenger is outstanding.  

Blood Diamond - Good overall.   Excellent production.   I thought the story was lame and predictable, and the script was yet another example of how Hollywood can't tell a story about a third world country without framing the narrative around some white people.   Would not rewatch, even if stuck on a plane with limited reading material.    Well, let's see what SkyMall has on sale.

Last King... - OK overall.   OK production.   Same Hollywood script failing.

Munich - Very good overall.  I dislike scripts that are only partially true to real life events.

The Man Who Wasn't There - Big Coen Bros fan, and I liked this one.   It will be a complete waste of time for many people.    It's got all the excitement of watching sludge ooze across a level surface.   Scarlet's part felt like it was penciled in shortly before shooting began b/c they needed a couple more minutes of film.   Or maybe someone was trying to get laid.   

Kung Fu Hustle - Awesome, if you're in the mood for a ridiculous, funny, check your brain at the door kung fu film.    Otherwise, you should obviously pass.   Classic in the genre.

Royal Tenenbaums - Worth watching for Hackman and Pallana; those two are absolute $ every time they're in the same shot.  Lots of other good things in the film.   

Thanks for the input. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Not to get all Debbie Downer on the thread, but thought I would bring up my list of movies I would put on the list of "I just don't get the love for". 

Hurt Locker - Core story would have been great, but then it got to be absurd during the sniper battle and him running around off the base on his own.  As I have stated, I also just don't like Renner, so that didn't help it's cause. 

LOTR - I saw the first two in theaters and was bored to tears.  Didn't read the books and don't like CGI all that much, so this was a recipe for disaster.  I do like fantasy a tad more now, so the plan is to give them a rest for a little bit, and I am sure I will watch them in a couple years with my son and maybe I might like them more. 

Crash - AKA - "racism is bad, mmmmmkay?"  Hits you over the head repeatedly with it's message.  Usually the multiple stories converging movies hook me, but this fell way flat. 

Almost Famous - this is the movie that I hinted at that 10 years ago might have been in the top 10, but now I can barely stand. 

Chicago - hated this movie with every fiber of my being. 

 

[msommer]

Of course I never claim to have watched everything, and had a running list of movie I need to get to as I poked through and did research.  A few I think I saw but remembered zero about, but most I haven't.  Here is my 'need to watch' list:

In the Mood for Love, Sexy Beast, Yi Yi, Road to Perdition, A.I., Cold Mountain, Maria Full of Grace, Blood Diamond, Last King of Scotland, Charlie Wilson's War, Whale Rider, Secret Lives of Dentists, Munich, Gerry, The New World, The Man Who Wasn't There, Kung Fu Hustle, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lives of Others. 

Wow, a lot of good movies in the first line of that list. The second line, not so much

I did like Munich, hated the tennenbaums, missed most of the rest, so there is that.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Thanks again for the input guys, and keep the comments coming - I love the discussions.  I toyed with the idea of doing a 90s list, but honestly am not sure.  I think these would be boring if it is just the same ol' same ol' list of stuff we usually see pop up, and I figure the list would be full of the usual suspects. (bad joke intended)   I might work on a list of top documentaries since somebody mentioned that awhile ago.  That might be a little harder, because there is VERY rarely a doc I don't like, and that is not a genre I tend to rewatch movies from. 

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Thanks for the kudos.  I am curious what you disagreed with. 

Some films that I didn't like as much as you, so I didn't agree with their inclusion and others that I liked much better that were not included. You could ask any 2 people on the planet and it would be the same story.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Well, I would have the hair for it...

Funny, I love listening to movie podcasts and thought it would be fun to do one.  I have ideas for some, and have been trying to convince my son to try one with me, but maybe I should be looking toward you weirdos...

I like to talk and I am opinionated.

 

[El Floppo]

still hoping to find the time to quickly cobble together a top 50...without commentary. 

really love what you've done here- and as mentioned upthread, regardless of the exact rankings and movie choices, truly inspiring stuff. love the ongoing disucssion too

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Awesome thread @KarmaPolice

I am working on the 80s list rather than just highlighting a few years, it's a lot to go over. I have a working list right now but I scratch my head at films not on the list. 

I also am reviewing a few films to make sure they are as good as I seem to remember. I would love to work on a 90s list and see what we come up with, you run your 100, I run mine and see how many appear on both. I think you do a terrific job of showcasing overlooked films. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Awesome thread @KarmaPolice

I am working on the 80s list rather than just highlighting a few years, it's a lot to go over. I have a working list right now but I scratch my head at films not on the list. 

I also am reviewing a few films to make sure they are as good as I seem to remember. I would love to work on a 90s list and see what we come up with, you run your 100, I run mine and see how many appear on both. I think you do a terrific job of showcasing overlooked films. 

I was scanning through last night, and really think my list would get up being a who's who of movies in the 90s.  Just not sure how many overlooked movies would be on it.  I will think about it some more. It could be interesting because a couple very highly rated and popular movies I don't dig and wouldn't be on the list. 

What could be fun is if it was limited to movies that are rated under 7.0 even a lower score, but defend and think people need to watch.