For the purposes of this thread I am counting 2000 as being part of the decade. So films from 2000 to the present.
My personal top ten in no particular order:
Gosford Park
About Schmidt
Spirited Away
LOTR (counting both)
Russian Ark
Traffic
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Memento
Whalerider
Finding Nemo
I should add that I am not a huge movie goer and there are a number of interesting films of recent years which I haven’t yet seen.
it’s on the cusp ('99), but “the thin red line”
Not in order:
Chicago
LOTR
Gangs of New York
Requiem for a Dream
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Monsters, Inc.
Adaptation
Cast Away
The Royal Tenenbaums
Donnie Darko
In order:
Gladiator
Traffic
Memento
Amores Perros
Requiem for a Dream
25th Hour
Catch me if you can
Monsters inc
What a sorry lot.
Looking at these lists so far, I would nominate nothing but 25TH HOUR, and maybe GOSFORD PARK.
Are movies this bad now? Yes. Yes, they are.
When was “The Straight Story” released? I’d put that in there.
Nonsense. The LOTR movies, just for one example, are head-and-shoulders the best live-action fantasy movies ever made.
To answer the original question however:
LOTR: FOTR and TTT
Blackhawk Down
Shadow of the Vampire
XMen
XMen 2
Unbreakable
Catch Me if You Can
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Open Range
LotR (both) are my picks.
Also:
Almost Famous
Memento
Amelie
Monsters, Inc.
Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?
Best film: Mulholland Dr. (Lynch)
Rounding out the Top 10 (in alpha order):
All the Real Girls (Green)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (A. Lee)
Far from Heaven (Haynes)
Marooned in Iraq (Ghobadi)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Coen)
In the Mood for Love (Wong)
Russian Ark (Sokurov)
Spirited Away (Miyazaki)
25th Hour (S. Lee)
Honorable Mentions: A.I., Lagaan, No Man’s Land, Peppermint Candy, Yi Yi
Best documentary: Capturning the Friedmans (Jarecki)
Best Live Action Short: The Heart of the World (Maddin)
Best Animated Short: The Brainwashers (Brouchard)
Tough question.
I’ll also vote for the Lord of the Rings movies, taken together.
Ghost World
Minority Report: I rewatched it the other day and I’m pretty sure I liked it better than A.I., which was also a good movie. I enjoyed both of those movies better the second time than the first. I’d also like to add an honorable mention for Catch Me if You Can, which was an extremely tight little movie. Spielberg has had a great decade so far.)
The Poor and Hungry: In the interest of full disclosure, this is a Memphis movie and I know the director, but it’s really, really good! Seek it out, you won’t be disappointed.
O Brother! Where Art Thou?
Spirited Away
Adaptation
Traffic
The Man Who Wasn’t There (not as good overall as O Brother!, but Billy Bob Thornton’s performance, the cinematography, and Tony Shalhoub’s “Uncertainty” speech are enough to make the list)
Waking Life
Moulin Rouge
OK, perhaps the story’s not tremendous, but the music is terrific (El Tango de Roxanne gets me all goosebumpy!) and the visuals are simply exquisite. Granted, the music-video paced editing can be an acquired taste…
This is the disc I pull out to demonstrate how movies can be at home with an artfully mastered DVD, progressive-scan DVD player, hi-def TV and good speakers.
My choice for “thriller” films would be The Others.
A.I.? Ugh… I found it so saccharine, the movie should have been in a pink packet.
If we can do cusp, then it’s easy:
FIGHT CLUB!!! I have patterned my life after FIGHT CLUB. I even burned a big blister on the back of my hand.
If no cusp allowed, then MOULIN ROUGE!
And:
UNBREAKABLE
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
SUPER TROOPERS
When’s the special DVD of RUDY gonna come out? That was last century’s best film, IMHO.
Equilibrium. A must see.
I think LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the great movies of all time, I don’t know any other film this century for which that can be said.
Equilibrium??
The Ring. Scared the living crap out of me, and has haunted me ever since. And I’m a veteran of every horror movie of the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s rare that one stands out. This one did.
Fight Club actually came out in 1999.
I’d go with:
Memento
Spun
Ghost World
Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
Best in Show
for my top 5.
I saw Equilibrium the other day and damned if I can figure out why it wasn’t a hit. It starred Christian Bale and Emily Watson in a cross between Gatacca and The Matrix. It was derivative, but very competently done and a fine entry into its genre. Certainly wouldn’t make my top ten of the new decade, but not bad.
Vibrotronica,
I am from Memphis and I am amazed that Wanda Wilson is mentioned in www.imdb.com. I have found Jerry Lawler and Adrian Rogers in there, but didn’t think about Wanda.
I have drank many a beer in her place.