The 100 Best Movies of the 2000s: 100-91

92. True Grit (Coen Brothers, 2010)

true grit

If you watched The Good, the Bad, the Weird, and thought ‘this movie needs more old white dudes,’ then here’s the film for you!  The Coen brothers craft a great, old-timey western featuring Jeff Bridges as a grizzled old cowboy named Rooster Cogburn, which is definitely one of the greatest names I’ve ever heard.  

The movie doesn’t quite nail the ending, but the journey to get there is tons of fun.  Great shootouts, badass old cowboys, a precocious teenage girl, and Matt Damon as a character whose name is Leboeuf (pronounced La Beef), there’s pretty much something here for everybody.

91. Minority Report (Stephen Spielberg 2002)

minority report

Remember when everyone used to love Tom Cruise?  I do, and I can’t think of any better evidence for why we all did than Minority Report.  Featuring Steven Spielberg in full Sci-Fi mode, Minority Report has car chases, psychic bald ladies, and Tom Cruise chasing a pair of rolling eyeballs down a hallway.

Predicated on an awesome premise (What if the police stopped crimes before they happened, courtesy of the aforementioned psychic bald ladies), Minority Report is science fiction as it should be.  

That's it for today!  Keep an eye out for numbers 90-81, coming soon.

94. Catch Me if You Can (Stephen Spielberg, 2002)

catch me if you can

As someone who thinks that Spielberg can lean a little heavily on sentiment, especially in his non-science-fiction work, Catch Me if You Can feels breezy and effortless — a movie that will move you, but never at the expense of having fun.  Tom Hanks plays outside his comfort zone as a tight-ass government agent, pursuing our charming, brilliant lead (Leo Dicaprio).  Also, he tells the best knock-knock joke ever in it.  So there’s that.

93. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynn Ramsey, 2011)

we need to talk about kevin

Creepy Kid movies are hard to do right.  I mean, just look at The Orphan.  However, Lynn Ramsey has nailed it with her latest film, We Need to Talk About Kevin.  Tilda Swinton stars as a mother who has always felt that her son just isn’t quite right, and is left reeling after he does something unthinkable.

Both Swinton and Ezra Miller (who plays teenage Kevin) give haunting performances, and John C. Reilly is walking around too, as the oblivious dad.  It's a difficult movie to watch, but one that will have you asking all sorts of questions about Nature vs. Nurture.  They should show this film in health classes, cause I have a sneaking suspicion that safe-sex practices would shoot through the roof.

96. The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Kim Ji-Woon, 2008)

good bad weird

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a Korean pseudo-remake of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and if that doesn’t catch your fancy, then good day to you, sir.  Focusing on a Gunslinger (The Good), a Mercenary (The Bad), and a Thief (the Weird), as they battle for a treasure map, this film, which was the highest-budgeted film in Korean history, is tons of fun.  Throw in a band of nomads, an army or two, and a place called ‘the Ghost Market,’ and you get chases and shoot-outs that would make Clint Eastwood weep with joy.  A western for people who hate old white dudes, this movie is not to be missed.

95. Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)

iron man

It is impossible for me to speak objectively about Iron Man as a character, because I’ve been obsessed with him since I was, like, eight.  Tony Stark has always been one of my favorite comic book characters, and to see him played so brilliantly on the big screen by Robert Downey Jr. was more than I could ever ask for.

You like robots?  This movie’s got robots.  You like Jeff Bridges, but wish he didn’t have so much hair all the time?  Well, have no fear.  Skip the sequel and just watch this one on a loop.  And just remember, this is the Fun-vee. The Humdrum-vee is over there.

98. Shrek (Andrew Adamson, 2001)

shrek

Look, there’s n​ot much to say about Shrek.  We’ve all seen it a hundred times, we’ve all quoted Eddie Murphey’s wise-crackin’ Donkey, and we’ve all thoughtfully wondered to ourselves ‘What ever did happen to Michael Meyers?”  Shrek is a perfect blending of comedy and fantasy in a style that both kids and adults can enjoy.  The less said about those sequels, however, the better.

Also, it was responsible for introducing a whole generation of kids to the wonders of Smash Mouth, so take from that what you will.

97. Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000)

best in show

All of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries (This is Spinal TapWaiting for GuffmanA Mighty Wind) are excellent, having created and fine-tuned an entire genre over the years.  Best in Show, however, is arguably his best.  Showing what happens when a very strange group of people gather for a dog show with their very strange pets, Best in Show is a terrifying and hilarious examination of human behavior.

And if Fred Willard as an incompetent dog-show announcer that doesn’t understand how they ‘miniaturize the Schnauzers’ doesn’t make you laugh, then nothing will.

Along with games, movies have always been my one true love, which means that over the course of the past twelve years, I’ve seen quite a lot of them.  This was especially true during the time that I worked at a movie theater and saw them for free, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever (except for the working at a movie theater part).  Anyways, since I have a lot of time on my hands, I’ve compiled this handy list of what are, in my opinion, the 100 best films of the 2000s.

Feel free to agree or disagree, but keep in mind that this is just one guy’s (awesome) opinion.  Here are numbers 100-91.

100. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004)

house of flying daggers

As you read through this list, you may notice that it contains a large number of Asian films, several of which contain an emphasis on martial arts.  This is because of one universal truth:  Kung Fu is AWESOME.  House of Flying Daggers, as you may suspect from the name, is a modern-day epic about love, loyalty, betrayal, and dudes fighting each other.

In addition to being beautifully shot, this movie has a blind chick that kicks ass, a rebel army planning an attack, a heartbreaking love triangle, and a final fight so long that the seasons literally change during the course of it.  If you like your kung fu with a hefty dose of pretty, this is the film for you.

99. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)

28 days later

There has been a deluge of zombie films in recent years, but Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later was at the forefront of that movement, despite only kind of being a zombie film.  The threat in this film are the Infected — normal folks who have come down with a nasty case of Rage Virus, brought on by some very angry monkeys.  

Containing several excellent twists on the zombie genre (“Wait, they can RUN??”) 28 Days Later is a film that never lets the viewer get comfortable, changing up the game every time you think you have it figured out.  It also served as America’s first major introduction to Cillian Murphy, who would lateter become known as ‘that creepy dude with the eyes.’