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Footballguy
2000s rankings:
Preamble: I cannot promise that I am the greatest at knowing the greatest of movies (in contrast to my truly greatest ever sports knowledge), but I did choose categories I do believe I can do a decent job. Movies are difficult because, aside from maybe awards, they are so very subjective and not as easily comparable. I find the decades categories to be extremely difficult because there are varying genres. And, as to be expected, a significant number of s movies that would have easily scored high on or at least likely made these rankings were picked elsewhere (e.g. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on Wire, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Chicago, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Departed, Spirited Away Lord of the Rings, Slumdog, Memento, Let the Right One in, Pan’s Labyrinth, Before Sunset, etc.). Finally, as a confession, I regret to say that I’ve still not been able to watch Synedoche, New York. Sorry. I really wanted to.
Criteria:
Significant weight – RT scores, metacritic score, academy awards and nominations, etc. I don’t know of a more objective metric.
Significant weight – Critical reviews. I tried to find some reputable critics and review their rankings and input. Looked particularly at Rolling Stone and a few others.
Medium weight – Online rankings. Looked at several and roughly averaged them out.
Medium weight – staying power. Put differently, if I showed the movie to a teenager right now what would he or she think?
Little weight – notoriety (i.e. has somebody like my father-in-law – a fairly big movie fan but more casual in his choices - likely seen it?).
Little weight – my own opinion. By that I mean my life experience and watchability for somebody coming of age in the 2000s. As such, while I loved movies like Minority Report, Boondock Saints, Super Troopers, Anchorman, 28 Days Later, Zombieland, and Adventureland I’ve kept them off the list.
No weight – the drafters’ comments (haven’t seen any).
Glaring omissions: The Wrestler. Seriously, this wasn’t drafted?? I’d have had it in my top tier and believe it to be one of the best movies of all-time (top ten for me). You should all be ashamed of yourselves and may G/god have mercy on your souls. Also, A Beautiful Mind won the Oscar in 2000 and was plenty good enough to make this list.
Somewhat surprising omissions (probably wouldn’t have ranked last of the 16 picked): Up, Sideways, Lost in Translation, Juno, Crash (won Oscar although I do think it’s overrated), Shaun of the Dead, Y Tu Tambien, Love and Basketball, Precious, Little Miss Sunshine, Bourne Ultimatum, and Old Boy (original).
Tier 1 – Long epics/industry-changers (note: The Wrestler, The Dark Knight, Man on Wire, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Departed, and Gladiator would have made this tier and possibly been near tops for the category):
1. (16 points) No Country for Old Men– Coen brothers finally got their due with mainstream notoriety with this money. Won an Oscar, stands up to critical reviews, and that coin flip scene is possibly one of the greatest scenes in move history. Chigurh, the star of that scene, introduced the world to one of the best movie villains of all-time as well. Honestly, I struggled with a number one in the category but think this is the right call for mix of accreditation, acting, and story-telling.
2. (15 points) There Will Be Blood – Oscar winner and put Daniel Day Lewis out there as the greatest method actor. A true epic with just outstanding performances by its cast. Ranks number two solely because it did seem to drag on at times whereas my top choice didn’t.
3. (14 points) Gangs of New York – Same could be said of this movie as the others in this tier. Only docked because the ending of the movie kind of made the rest of it totally pointless. But, great acting, etc.
4. (13 points) Finding Nemo – Yeah, I’m surprised I have this in the top tier as well. But its RT critical score is second for the decade and it really is an epic in of itself. While it wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award and wasn’t in my initial top tier, multiple rankings I kept seeing had it in the top half for the decade and I couldn’t ignore the RT score. Plus, my kids still love it almost 20 years later.
Tier 2 – Really damn good movies (Hurt Locker, Memento, Wall-E, Spirited Away, Up, and LOTR would have made this tier):
5. (12 points) Children of Men – That four-minute shot was nuts. The rest of it gripping while depressing. But, can’t ignore the critical acclaim and high RT score.
6. (11 points) 25th Hour – Norton at his best in a similarly depressing but gripping snapshot of both New York City shortly after 9/11 and, in a subject close to my heart, the experience of somebody about to head off to prison for a significant time period. Great film.
7. (10 points) Capote – PSH at his finest. Probably should have one the Oscar in 2005. Respectable RT score.
8. (9 points) Mulholland Drive – Admittedly not something on my radar during the decade, this movie seems to stand up and found itself on a number of lists.
Tier 3 –Overrated but deservedly on the list:
9. (8 points) Avatar – Ranking this movie made me angry because it’s a really rehashed, poorly written story that was better when it was Fern Gully or Dances with Wolves. But, one cannot deny the technological advancement of this movie and some of the visually-stunning scenes. I think this ranking is appropriate then, just out of the top half. It did win stuff and the 3-D experience cannot be ignored. It’s just not that great of a movie.
10. (7 points) Million Dollar Baby – Also an Oscar winner that, to me at least, is a weaker version of the glaringly omitted The Wrestler and therefore really feels overrated when I apply it to my metric. I mean, as a movie it was fine. Acting is good. Story is okay even with the abrupt 180 it takes into sadness land. It won stuff. But I just can’t rank it higher.
11. (6 points) Amelie – I remember a kid on my floor college proclaiming this would be the best movie of all-time when it came out. I thought such a proclamation was strange then and I kind of think the same now. But, it’s a good movie with some critical acclaim.
12. (5 points) American Splendor – I strongly prefer Sideways if we’re going with a Giammati film from the decade, but a 90 critics score on RT rates it well but a bit over where it should be.
13. (4 points) Oceans Eleven – My favorite movie in this tier, but my metric isn’t very favorable to it. Really fun, but the plot is so over the top and silly and its lack of acclaim doesn’t allow me to put it any higher. Second worst critical score on the list.
Tier 4 – Throwing my hands up: these are quirky great movies, but I don’t know how they stack up:
14. (3 points) Borat – Brilliant on a comedic level. It does have an 89 critical score on RT. I wavered a lot with where to put it. I like it better than most of the movies in tier 3. But I’m not sure a long practical joke can hold up to other Oscar winners.
15. (2 points) Donnie Darko – I was in the target audience for this movie when it came out and definitely saw it several times. Interesting movie that requires multiple views. 88 critical score and a respectable 8.0 on IMDB. I would have rated it really high in a hypothetical “cult classic” category (@timschochet , you slacked on that) but would have left it undrafted for this category.
16. (1 point) Synecdoche, New York – I apologize profusely for not seeing it. But it had the lowest RT and IMDB scores of the movies drafted and it never popped up in any online rankings I looked at. I don’t see how I can put it above another movie on the list.
Preamble: I cannot promise that I am the greatest at knowing the greatest of movies (in contrast to my truly greatest ever sports knowledge), but I did choose categories I do believe I can do a decent job. Movies are difficult because, aside from maybe awards, they are so very subjective and not as easily comparable. I find the decades categories to be extremely difficult because there are varying genres. And, as to be expected, a significant number of s movies that would have easily scored high on or at least likely made these rankings were picked elsewhere (e.g. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on Wire, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Chicago, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Departed, Spirited Away Lord of the Rings, Slumdog, Memento, Let the Right One in, Pan’s Labyrinth, Before Sunset, etc.). Finally, as a confession, I regret to say that I’ve still not been able to watch Synedoche, New York. Sorry. I really wanted to.
Criteria:
Significant weight – RT scores, metacritic score, academy awards and nominations, etc. I don’t know of a more objective metric.
Significant weight – Critical reviews. I tried to find some reputable critics and review their rankings and input. Looked particularly at Rolling Stone and a few others.
Medium weight – Online rankings. Looked at several and roughly averaged them out.
Medium weight – staying power. Put differently, if I showed the movie to a teenager right now what would he or she think?
Little weight – notoriety (i.e. has somebody like my father-in-law – a fairly big movie fan but more casual in his choices - likely seen it?).
Little weight – my own opinion. By that I mean my life experience and watchability for somebody coming of age in the 2000s. As such, while I loved movies like Minority Report, Boondock Saints, Super Troopers, Anchorman, 28 Days Later, Zombieland, and Adventureland I’ve kept them off the list.
No weight – the drafters’ comments (haven’t seen any).
Glaring omissions: The Wrestler. Seriously, this wasn’t drafted?? I’d have had it in my top tier and believe it to be one of the best movies of all-time (top ten for me). You should all be ashamed of yourselves and may G/god have mercy on your souls. Also, A Beautiful Mind won the Oscar in 2000 and was plenty good enough to make this list.
Somewhat surprising omissions (probably wouldn’t have ranked last of the 16 picked): Up, Sideways, Lost in Translation, Juno, Crash (won Oscar although I do think it’s overrated), Shaun of the Dead, Y Tu Tambien, Love and Basketball, Precious, Little Miss Sunshine, Bourne Ultimatum, and Old Boy (original).
Tier 1 – Long epics/industry-changers (note: The Wrestler, The Dark Knight, Man on Wire, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Departed, and Gladiator would have made this tier and possibly been near tops for the category):
1. (16 points) No Country for Old Men– Coen brothers finally got their due with mainstream notoriety with this money. Won an Oscar, stands up to critical reviews, and that coin flip scene is possibly one of the greatest scenes in move history. Chigurh, the star of that scene, introduced the world to one of the best movie villains of all-time as well. Honestly, I struggled with a number one in the category but think this is the right call for mix of accreditation, acting, and story-telling.
2. (15 points) There Will Be Blood – Oscar winner and put Daniel Day Lewis out there as the greatest method actor. A true epic with just outstanding performances by its cast. Ranks number two solely because it did seem to drag on at times whereas my top choice didn’t.
3. (14 points) Gangs of New York – Same could be said of this movie as the others in this tier. Only docked because the ending of the movie kind of made the rest of it totally pointless. But, great acting, etc.
4. (13 points) Finding Nemo – Yeah, I’m surprised I have this in the top tier as well. But its RT critical score is second for the decade and it really is an epic in of itself. While it wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award and wasn’t in my initial top tier, multiple rankings I kept seeing had it in the top half for the decade and I couldn’t ignore the RT score. Plus, my kids still love it almost 20 years later.
Tier 2 – Really damn good movies (Hurt Locker, Memento, Wall-E, Spirited Away, Up, and LOTR would have made this tier):
5. (12 points) Children of Men – That four-minute shot was nuts. The rest of it gripping while depressing. But, can’t ignore the critical acclaim and high RT score.
6. (11 points) 25th Hour – Norton at his best in a similarly depressing but gripping snapshot of both New York City shortly after 9/11 and, in a subject close to my heart, the experience of somebody about to head off to prison for a significant time period. Great film.
7. (10 points) Capote – PSH at his finest. Probably should have one the Oscar in 2005. Respectable RT score.
8. (9 points) Mulholland Drive – Admittedly not something on my radar during the decade, this movie seems to stand up and found itself on a number of lists.
Tier 3 –Overrated but deservedly on the list:
9. (8 points) Avatar – Ranking this movie made me angry because it’s a really rehashed, poorly written story that was better when it was Fern Gully or Dances with Wolves. But, one cannot deny the technological advancement of this movie and some of the visually-stunning scenes. I think this ranking is appropriate then, just out of the top half. It did win stuff and the 3-D experience cannot be ignored. It’s just not that great of a movie.
10. (7 points) Million Dollar Baby – Also an Oscar winner that, to me at least, is a weaker version of the glaringly omitted The Wrestler and therefore really feels overrated when I apply it to my metric. I mean, as a movie it was fine. Acting is good. Story is okay even with the abrupt 180 it takes into sadness land. It won stuff. But I just can’t rank it higher.
11. (6 points) Amelie – I remember a kid on my floor college proclaiming this would be the best movie of all-time when it came out. I thought such a proclamation was strange then and I kind of think the same now. But, it’s a good movie with some critical acclaim.
12. (5 points) American Splendor – I strongly prefer Sideways if we’re going with a Giammati film from the decade, but a 90 critics score on RT rates it well but a bit over where it should be.
13. (4 points) Oceans Eleven – My favorite movie in this tier, but my metric isn’t very favorable to it. Really fun, but the plot is so over the top and silly and its lack of acclaim doesn’t allow me to put it any higher. Second worst critical score on the list.
Tier 4 – Throwing my hands up: these are quirky great movies, but I don’t know how they stack up:
14. (3 points) Borat – Brilliant on a comedic level. It does have an 89 critical score on RT. I wavered a lot with where to put it. I like it better than most of the movies in tier 3. But I’m not sure a long practical joke can hold up to other Oscar winners.
15. (2 points) Donnie Darko – I was in the target audience for this movie when it came out and definitely saw it several times. Interesting movie that requires multiple views. 88 critical score and a respectable 8.0 on IMDB. I would have rated it really high in a hypothetical “cult classic” category (@timschochet , you slacked on that) but would have left it undrafted for this category.
16. (1 point) Synecdoche, New York – I apologize profusely for not seeing it. But it had the lowest RT and IMDB scores of the movies drafted and it never popped up in any online rankings I looked at. I don’t see how I can put it above another movie on the list.
