Which were the best films of the 2000s so far!? Here are my selections! The “Noughties” seem to have been characterised by a pervading sense by jaded reviewers and cultural critics that the movies being made “aren’t as good as they used to be”. However, I see a collection of very powerful, poignant, reflective, and even challenging films in a decade made more cynical and afraid by the world around us. There are many beautiful pieces of cinema to inspire any viewer, and I hope the rest of the decade will reveal even more gems to appreciate. So which were the best films of the decade? I make no apologies for my choices or omissions, as these are my favourites, but I hope you get some inspiration to add to your own film collections when you’re shopping for DVDs!
Here are my favourite movies for each year of the 21st century:
2007
Critics will write of 2007 as the year of the Coen Brothers v. Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”) for awards recognition, with Joel and Ethan sweeping the top Oscar prizes for “No Country for Old Men”. It’s a film I liked, but won’t bandwagon myself into loving. I was pleased with the variety of movies released this year, and having read Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild” about Christopher McCandless’ ill-fated self-discovery voyage into Alaska, the movie did it complete justice in evoking his story. If you want an example of masterful direction, tense storytelling, and intelligent movie-making, go no further than part three in the Jason Bourne saga. “The Bourne Ultimatum” is the pick of the trilogy, and it’s hard to see a further instalment getting any better. “Trade” didn’t get much coverage in the UK, but it has a “Babel” feel to it, following the story of women captured for the sex trade, a Texan (Kevin Kline) on a mission to find his missing daughter, and his compassion in helping to track down a Mexican youth’s sister. Neither Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” nor David Fincher’s “Zodiac” received the attention or box office they deserved, but I believe both are very accomplished looks at America in the 1970s. “Knocked Up” is just plain funny! I’ve snuck “The Inner Life of Martin Frost” into my Top 10 because it’s by Paul Auster whose novels are amazing.
1) INTO THE WILD
(dir: Sean Penn, stars: Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener)
2) THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
(dir: Paul Greengrass, stars: Matt Damon, David Strathairn)
3) TRADE
(dir: Marco Kreuzpaintner, stars: Kevin Kline, Paulina Gaitan)
4) AMERICAN GANGSTER
(dir: Ridley Scott, stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe)
5) ZODIAC
(dir: David Fincher, stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo)
6) KNOCKED UP
(dir: Judd Apatow, stars: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl)
7) THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
(dir: Julian Schnabel, stars: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner)
8) THE SAVAGES
(dir: Tamara Jenkins, stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney)
9) THERE WILL BE BLOOD
(dir: Paul Thomas Anderson, stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano)
10) THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST
(dir: Paul Auster, stars: David Thewlis, Irene Jacob)
2006
While Scorsese was being rewarded for a body of work by receiving the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for “The Departed”, I think all film fans should start by watching the beautiful and touching Danish film “After the Wedding”. Nominated for Best Foreign Language film, clearly Susanne Bier is well-thought of as a result of this movie, since several of her previous Danish efforts are currently being remade in the English language. A clever and offbeat script is the feature of “Stranger Than Fiction” with Will Ferrell proving there is more to his acting talent than his usual fare. Certainly if you like such films as the Spike Jonze / Charlie Kaufman collaborations, then it’s worth watching. “Babel” was really the stunning cinematic achievement of the year, especially for Inarritu’s segments in Japan where we view the world through the eyes of Rinko Kikuchi’s character. Ken Loach made perhaps his best film in “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”, and John Cameron Mitchell’s follow-up to “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is the moving exploration of New Yorkers’ sex (and emotional) lives in “Shortbus”.
1) AFTER THE WEDDING
(dir: Susanne Bier, stars: Mads Mikkeksen)
2) STRANGER THAN FICTION
(dir: Marc Forster, stars: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal)
3) BABEL
(dir: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, stars: Brad Pitt, Rinko Kikuchi)
4) THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
(dir: Ken Loach, stars: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney)
5) SHORTBUS
(dir: John Cameron Mitchell, stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson)
6) ATOMISED
(dir: Oskar Roehler, stars: Christian Ulmen, Franka Potente)
7) LITTLE CHILDREN
(dir: Todd Field, stars: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson)
8) FAST FOOD NATION
(dir: Richard Linklater, stars: Greg Kinnear, Catalina Sandino Moreno)
9) BREAKING AND ENTERING
(dir: Anthony Minghella, stars: Jude Law, Juliette Binoche)
10) THE HOTTEST STATE
(dir: Ethan Hawke, stars: Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno)
2005
For those of you satisfied with the Paul Haggis ensemble film “Crash” winning the Best Picture Oscar in 2005, go back and watch this trilogy: Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts”, “Training Day” with Denzel Washington, and “The House of Sand and Fog” featuring Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. I’m all for “originality” being perceived as the “new construction of old ideas”, but too much of “Crash” gave me déjà vu for a string of films I’d already seen. Instead I pick the most compelling of Steven Spielberg’s cinematic resume with his story of Israel’s secret mission to gain retribution for the killing of their Olympic athletes in the 1972 Munich Games. “Munich” is tense, intelligent and the final shot of the World Trade Center in New York makes you dwell on the long-running exchange of violence between the Arab and Israeli factions, and where the passage of history has taken us. As a companion piece, “Paradise Now” follows two men as they choose the path towards becoming suicide bombers. Noah Baumbach comes from the Wes Anderson school of filmmaking (and indeed they are collaborators) with his quirky “The Squid and the Whale”. Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” gives me a smile, and in a way, takes his previous effort “Jerry Maguire” on a different journey. Hot young exec Orlando Bloom gets fired for splendid incompetence but finds love and family history on a road (and plane) trip.
1) MUNICH
(dir: Steven Spielberg, stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig)
2) PARADISE NOW
(dir: Hany Abu-Assad, stars: Kais Nashif, Ali Suliman)
3) THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
(dir: Noah Baumbach, stars: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney)
4) ELIZABETHTOWN
(dir: Cameron Crowe, stars: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst)
5) SYRIANA
(dir: Stephen Gaghan, stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon)
6) JARHEAD
(dir: Sam Mendes, stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard)
7) CAPOTE
(dir: Bennett Miller, stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener)
8) GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
(dir: George Clooney, stars: David Strathairn, George Clooney)
9) HUSTLE & FLOW
(dir: Craig Brewer, stars: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson)
10) TRANSAMERICA
(dir: Duncan Tucker, stars: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers)
2004
Is “Million Dollar Baby” really going to be remembered as a classic? Clint Eastwood’s boxing drama took Best Picture behind the performance of Hilary Swank, but can it really be compared to the witty wonders of “Sideways”? Even if you’re not a wine drinker, Alexander Payne’s look at two loveable losers cruising the vineyards of California prior to Thomas Haden Church’s wedding is funny, poignant, and highly involving. For fans of European films, Francois Ozon consistently makes brilliant films, and “5 x 2” is no different. A couple’s story (the 2 people) is told in reverse through a series of significant episodes (the 5!) in their partnership from divorce to first meeting. “The Edukators” looks at three young Germans who decide to rail against modern culture and capitalism by breaking into the houses of the rich and comfortable, rearranging their furniture, and trying to “educate” them to becoming better people. “Before Sunset” is Richard Linklater’s lovely follow-up to 1994’s “Before Sunrise”. After Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy spent a day together in Vienna, this sequel has them meeting up for the first time in Paris, and wondering what could have been. Not a car chase in sight!
1) SIDEWAYS
(dir: Alexander Payne, stars: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church)
2) THE EDUKATORS
(dir: Hans Weingartner, stars: Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch)
3) BEFORE SUNSET
(dir: Richard Linklater, stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
4) 5 x 2
(dir: Francois Ozon, stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Stephane Freiss)
5) THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
(dir: Walter Salles, stars: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna)
6) STAGE BEAUTY
(dir: Richard Eyre, stars: Billy Crudup, Claire Danes)
7) THE CHORUS
(dir: Christophe Barratier, stars: Gerard Jugnot, Jean-Baptiste Maunier)
8) CLOSER
(dir: Mike Nichols, stars: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen)
9) KINSEY
(dir: Bill Condon, stars: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney)
10) THE SEA INSIDE
(dir: Alejandro Amenabar, stars: Javier Bardem, Lola Duenas)
2003
It was inevitable after the global impact of Peter Jackson’s box office bashing trilogy, “Lord of the Rings”, that the final part would grab Best Picture and nearly all awards on offer for the 2003 Oscars. Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander” would have been an equally worthy winner, as it is a great example of the power of cinema to truly take you to the other side of the world. I love the scenes set in the Galapagos Islands. However, it is the French influence that took my attention for this year’s films. Ozon’s “Swimming Pool” follows a British crime writer escaping to her editor’s French country hideaway where she writes, she swims, and relaxes, until the editor’s daughter arrives to share the house. Or does she?! Bernardo Bertolucci never makes films without a luxurious and intimate quality. The three students who encounter passion and politics during the 1968 Paris riots make “The Dreamers” a compelling tale blending fiction into a factual story. It also signalled a very notable arrival for Bond girl Eva Green. Denys Arcand, the French Canadian director, offered up “The Barbarian Invasions” as a sequel to 1986’s “Decline of the American Empire”, and it makes several very pronounced criticisms of the United States in the wake of 9/11. If you’re looking for well-written stories, “The Station Agent” is a beautiful film, and Peter Dinklage is excellent in the leading role.
1) SWIMMING POOL
(dir: Francois Ozon, stars: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier)
2) THE DREAMERS
(dir: Bernardo Bertolucci, stars: Eva Green, Michael Pitt)
3) MASTER AND COMMANDER
(dir: Peter Weir, stars: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany)
4) THE STATION AGENT
(dir: Thomas McCarthy, stars: Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson)
5) THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
(dir: Denys Arcand, stars: Remy Girard, Marie-Josee Croze)
6) NOWHERE IN AFRICA
(dir: Caroline Link, stars: Juliane Kohler, Merab Ninidze)
7) PIECES OF APRIL
(dir: Peter Hedges, stars: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson)
8) 21 GRAMS
(dir: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, stars: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts)
9) COLD MOUNTAIN
(dir: Anthony Minghella, stars: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman)
10) THE COOLER
(dir: Wayne Kramer, stars: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin)
2002
One of my favourite films of the new millennium is Spike Lee’s very powerful “25th Hour”. In the shadow of the post-9/11 months in New York City, Edward Norton is to go to jail for his drug convictions. Prior to that “25th Hour”, we will see his last twenty-four spent in the company of girlfriend and old friends, evaluating what has gone before, and what could play out in the future. Spike Jonze made the excellent “Adaptation”, spinning off from “Being John Malkovich” into the dilemmas of an autobiographical(ish) look at writer Charlie Kaufman struggling to adapt Susan Orlean’s book “The Orchid Thief”. The movie very cleverly plays with genre and form as Charlie tries to decide what tone his adaptation will take. “Wonder Boys” follows a different kind of writer, with Michael Douglas far away from his “Wall Street” powerhouse character, lounging around in a pink dressing gown as a novelist whose next work gets bigger and bigger, with publication a far-off impossibility. Virginia Woolf is the central character, and inspiration for following generations, in the beautiful Stephen Daldry film “The Hours”. Nicole Kidman and her prosthetic nose took the acclaim, but Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep are also brilliant in their characterisations. Special mention also to Richard Kelly for his very inventive “Donnie Darko”, as well as the intersection of love and politics in the Southern American tale, “The Dancer Upstairs”. “Chicago” won the Best Picture Oscar, but this was a very rich year for cinema so it doesn’t make by favourite ten!
1) 25TH HOUR
(dir: Spike Lee, stars: Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson)
2) ADAPTATION
(dir: Spike Jonze, stars: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep)
3) WONDER BOYS
(dir: Curtis Hanson, stars: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire)
4) THE HOURS
(dir: Stephen Daldry, stars: Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep)
5) THE DANCER UPSTAIRS
(dir: John Malkovich, stars: Javier Bardem, Laura Morante)
6) DONNIE DARKO
(dir: Richard Kelly, stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze)
7) HEAVEN
(dir: Tom Tykwer, stars: Cate Blancett, Giovanni Ribisi)
8) TALK TO HER
(dir: Pedro Almodovar, stars: Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti)
9) ARARAT
(dir: Atom Egoyan, stars: Christopher Plummer, Marie-Jose Croze)
10) SOLARIS
(dir: Steven Soderbergh, stars: George Clooney, Natasha McElhone)
2001
How can you not love “Amelie”? Audrey Tautou is the perfect leading lady for this inventive Jean-Pierre Jeunet Parisian rose-tinted love story. Unlike his more sinister “Delicatessen” or “City of Lost Children”, “Amelie” has so much for viewers to care about and be inspired by. “Moulin Rouge” is the perfect companion piece for those in need of a Paris-appreciation night! A musical of a different kind is the inventive adaptation from the stage play of the same name, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. If I explain that the plot involves a boy growing up behind the Berlin Wall who moves to America, has a botched sex change operation, and sings about his disappointment at a prodigy stealing his songs to become a minor rock star, you wouldn’t think it could work as a movie! The songs are great, and so is the attitude and emotion in the film. Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park” is worlds away from John Cameron Mitchell’s world of wigs and make-up, but it is a masterpiece of intersecting lives and characters, upstairs and downstairs in pre-World War Two England. For a more poignant piece of film, try any of the examinations of family dynamics in the Argentinian “Son of the Bride”, the Italian Nanni Moretti movie “The Son’s Room”, or mates saying goodbye to their departed friend, Michael Caine, in “Last Orders”. Surely all are better than the bloated Oscar winner, “A Beautiful Mind”?
1) AMELIE
(dir: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz)
2) HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
(dir: John Cameron Mitchell, stars: John Cameron Mitchell, Michael Pitt)
3) MOULIN ROUGE
(dir: Baz Luhrmann, stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor)
4) GOSFORD PARK
(dir: Robert Altman, stars: Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren)
5) SON OF THE BRIDE
(dir: Juan Jose Campanella, stars: Ricardo Darin, Natalia Verbeke)
6) LAST ORDERS
(dir: Fred Schepisi, stars: Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins)
7) THE SON’S ROOM
(dir: Nanni Moretti, stars: Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante)
8) LOVELY AND AMAZING
(dir: Nicole Holofcener, stars: Emily Mortimer, Brenda Blethyn)
9) INTIMACY
(dir: Patrice Chereau, stars: Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox)
10) WAKING LIFE
(dir: Richard Linklater, stars: Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke)
2000
I remember seeing “You Can Count On Me” in the cinema and thinking that I was watching something rare: a film that is exceptionally well-written, feels authentic, and makes you care about small town America’s characters, confronting a difficult past for a brother and sister. Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” will be on my “to see” list when it eventually gets released in 2008. If you’re in any way inspired by seventies music, “Almost Famous” is a fun look at a teenage journalist getting to fulfil his dream to go on tour with a rock band, while not wishing to “make friends with the enemy”, and not reveal all of the band’s secrets! “Best In Show” is a hilarious send-up of the world of Crufts-like dog shows from the gang who made “This is Spinal Tap”. “High Fidelity” transports Nick Hornby’s novel to a Chicago record store as John Cusack tries to make sense of his relationship wreckage by revisiting old girlfriends to find out “what went wrong”. And French director Francois Ozon has Charlotte Rampling living with the aftermath of the disappearance of her husband who may (or may not) have drowned during their holiday in the South of France, in “Under the Sand”. In 2008 director (and artist) Julian Schnabel was celebrated for his beautiful filming of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. His previous film “Before Night Falls” also is exquisite to watch, and Javier Bardem is superb as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas.
1) YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
(dir: Kenneth Lonergan, stars: Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo)
2) ALMOST FAMOUS
(dir: Cameron Crowe, stars: Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson)
3) BEST IN SHOW
(dir: Christopher Guest, stars: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara)
4) UNDER THE SAND
(dir: Francois Ozon, stars: Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer)
5) HIGH FIDELITY
(dir: Stephen Frears, stars: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle)
6) BEFORE NIGHT FALLS
(dir: Julian Schnabel, stars: Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez)
7) ERIN BROCKOVICH
(dir: Steven Soderbergh, stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney)
8) THE TASTE OF OTHERS
(dir: Agnes Jaoui, stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Anne Alvaro)
9) EVERYBODY FAMOUS!
(dir: Dominique Deruddere, stars: Josse De Pauw, Eva van der Gucht)
10) PASSION OF MIND
(dir: Alain Berliner, stars: Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgard)
The “Noughties” feels like a decade where the sheer volume of films being released each year has increased on previous decades. For every overblown big-budget effects movie, there is an intelligent and compelling literary adaptation or virtuoso performance to watch on screen. The candidates for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars showcase some truly global cinematic masterpieces each year. I realise that I gravitate to those movies that have a deep flavour of Americana, or those intimate and small-scale dramas produced in Europe. To pick a favourite ten movies from the decade (that still has several years left to run!) is a challenge, but for the record, here they are:
TOP 10 MOVIES OF THE 2000s!
1) SIDEWAYS (2004)
(dir: Alexander Payne, stars: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church)
2) 25TH HOUR (2002)
(dir: Spike Lee, stars: Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson)
3) AMELIE (2001)
(dir: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz)
4) THE EDUKATORS (2004)
(dir: Hans Weingartner, stars: Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch)
5) MUNICH (2005)
(dir: Steven Spielberg, stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig)
6) BEFORE SUNSET (2004)
(dir: Richard Linklater, stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
7) 5 x 2 (2004)
(dir: Francois Ozon, stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Stephane Freiss)
8) AFTER THE WEDDING (2006)
(dir: Susanne Bier, stars: Mads Mikkeksen)
9) THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004)
(dir: Walter Salles, stars: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna)
10) SWIMMING POOL (2003)
(dir: Francois Ozon, stars: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier)
