Posted by
Marc Benoza
(t5!) Movies Of The 2000s (Redux)
Back in the house, once again!
Here’s a look at the first time I did this list. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say that I’m ashamed of that ranking. You’re going to find out after this is all unveiled that I still love the majority of those movies. But I can comfortably say that when I compiled that list, I had’t watched enough movies to properly assemble a “best movies” list. Now that four-and-a-half years have passed—and, thanks to Netflix, torrents, and a wife that loves to watch movies more than I do—I’ve watched 644 films of the 2000s according to my Letterboxd, and that’s miles more than the number of movies I’ve watched right after the decade ended. Sure, that volume doesn’t put my appraisal effectiveness on the same level as Jay Sherman, but there is no question that my personal tastes have expanded, my knowledge has deepened, and my perception of the movies from that decade has changed. I’m also certain that the discrepancies between the two rankings can be explained by the fact that taste is forever evolving. Ask me again five years from now what my 57th favorite movie of the 2000s is and I’m sure my answer will be different from what I’m about to give to you during these next few days.
100 movies in this list, 2004 and 2008 are tied for the most entries with 13 each, and 2005 has the least entries with 6. It’s difficult to pinpoint what each movie’s definite genre is, but approximately, there are 36 dramatic movies, 29 action movies, 27 comedies, and eight horror thrillers. I have eight animated movies and four documentaries in here. 22 of these movies are foreign, with Great Britain having the most representatives with six. According to this list, Quentin Tarantino is my favorite 2000s director due to the fact that he has four movies in here. Three of these movies have won the Academy Award for Best Picture and eight of them have been nominated but didn’t win. There are three performances in here that won Best Actor, three that won Best Supporting Actor, and four that won Best Director.
Addendum: It seems inessential, but I have to mention that these lists are incredibly subjective. These are my favorite movies. These lists aren't a one-way street, and I would love for you to comment on movies that made the list and movies that didn't. Also, drop by and disclose your own Top 10, Top 20, or Top 100, either in the Comments section, on Let's Touch Fives! Facebook page, on my Twitter, wherever I can be reached. I also highly encourage that you join Letterboxd, a must for both cinephiles and casual movie-goers. It's a terrific social network for cataloguing the movies you've watched, discovering movies you haven't watched, and assembling lists. You can look me up there, you can post your own list, we can contrast and compare, and be friends forever.
So, drop a gem!
#100: Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
2003
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
PREPARE TO BE BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Depp invests this overfed, action-tractioned swashbuckler with a voluptuous wit and spry spontaneity it surely doesn't deserve.”
-- Time Out
“Verbinski knows when to break out the stunning action sequences and when to let his characters dominate the film, and he handles both modes expertly.”
-- Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
“This is one of the all time great, adventure movies. FACT.”
-- Daryl, Letterboxd
#099: Audition
2000
Directed by Takashi Miike
Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
SHE ALWAYS GETS A PART
Seven years after the death of his wife, company executive Aoyama is invited to sit in on auditions for an actress. Leafing through the resumés in advance, his eye is caught by Yamazaki Asami, a striking young woman with ballet training.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
“This brazen shocker is never less than compelling -- even when you feel compelled to shut your eyes.”
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“During the ghastly, surreal climax, I had fun closing one eye and with the other watching various ashen older men stumble toward the exit.”
-- David Edelstein, Slate
“I'm glad I'm married because I'm never dating again.”
-- Grooveman, Letterboxd
#098: Donnie Darko
2001
Directed by Richard Kelly
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell
WHY ARE YOU WEARING THAT STUPID MAN SUIT?
A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
“Donnie Darko is a bit like a teenager: brooding, complex, rebellious, and difficult to comprehend.”
-- James Plath, Movie Metropolis
“Like gathering storm clouds, Donnie Darko creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace”
-- Jean Oppenheimer, New Times (L.A.)
“For what seems like the hundredth time, a movie has broken my brain. And it feels brilliant.”
-- Toby Denison, Letterboxd
#097: Capturing The Friedmans
2003
Directed by Andrew Jarecki
Starring Arnold Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Jesse Friedman, David Friedman, Seth Friedman
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE?
An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
“It takes the concept of reality television and twists it into a shocking but poignant art form.”
-- Bill Muller, Arizona Republic
“By the end of the movie, it’s no longer possible to know anything with certainty -– so convoluted, contradictory, pathological, and long ago have the events become. It’s a movie that will have you talking and thinking for hours.”
-- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
“What a clusterfuck of a case.”
-- Mumbles, Letterboxd
#096: Milk
2008
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, James Franco
HIS LIFE CHANGED HISTORY. HIS COURAGE CHANGED LIVES.
The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, who became an outspoken agent for change, seeking equal rights and opportunities for all. His great love for the city and its people brought him backing from young and old, straight and gay, alike – at a time when prejudice and violence against gays was openly accepted as the norm.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Sean Penn gives a meticulously detailed performance as the cagey and charismatic pol, but credit should also go to Dustin Lance Black, whose script squarely locates Milk at the center of his community, his city, and his cause.”
-- J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
“It's a total triumph, brimming with humor, heart, sexual heat, political provocation and a crying need to stir things up, just like Harvey did. If there's a better movie around this year, with more bristling purpose, I sure as hell haven't seen it.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“Never found myself as a human rights activist but by the end of the movie I found myself longing to be ‘recruited’ and to march along side Harvey Milk.”
-- Jacob Wires, Letterboxd
#095: Fahrenheit 9/11
2004
Directed by Michael Moore
Starring Michael Moore, George W. Bush
THE TEMPERATURE WHERE FREEDOM BURNS!
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
“This is Moore's most powerful movie -- the largest in scope, the most resourceful and skillful in means -- and the best things in it have little to do with his usual ideological take on American power and George Bush.”
-- David Denby, New Yorker
“This movie, the subject of controversy, is a defiantly personal statement on what the war really is--laced with that now-familiar ‘Roger and Me’ mix of homespun wit, pop culture playfulness, populist heart twisting and ‘gotcha’ guerilla film-making tactics.”
-- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
“Moore balances investigative accusations with cheap shots and cutaway gags, which both undermines the film's ability to be truly powerful, and strengthens its ability to reach a wide audience.”
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#094: X2: X-Men United
2003
Directed by Bryan Singer
Starring Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen
FIRST, THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR ACCEPTANCE. NOW, THEY'RE BATTLING FOR SURVIVAL.
Professor Charles Xavier and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker in this sequel to the Marvel Comics-based blockbuster X-Men. Storm, Wolverine and Jean Grey must join their usual nemeses Magneto and Mystique to unhinge Stryker's scheme to exterminate all mutants.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The emotional spectrum has widened, too, encompassing buoyant mirth and heroic tragedy.”
-- Jessica Winter, Time Out
“A diverting mix of insight and spectacle, human and superhuman. This machine is built for kids, but rarely do words like ‘noble,’ ‘Hollywood’ and ‘rawkin’’ all apply to one movie.”
-- Gregory Weinkauf, Dallas Observer
“What I truly love about this film is how it takes both sides of the same coin to win at the end of the day.”
-- Jonny G, Letterboxd
#093: American Psycho
2000
Directed by Mary Harron
Starring Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon
I THINK MY MASK OF SANITY IS ABOUT TO SLIP
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The slick satire cleverly equates materialism, narcissism, misogyny, and classism with homicide, but you may laugh so loud at the protagonist that you won't be able to hear yourself laughing with him.”
-- Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
“A lean and mean horror comedy classic.”
-- Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“I just watched this with my parents. That was interesting.”
-- EnjoyCortney, Letterboxd
#092: Spider-Man 2
2004
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina
THIS SUMMER A MAN WILL FACE HIS DESTINY. A HERO WILL BE REVEALED
Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Simultaneously funnier, darker, and more emotional than its forebear.”
-- Nathan Rabin, AV Club
“The pleasure is doubled in Spider-Man 2. Crackerjack entertainment from start to finish, this rousing yarn about a reluctant superhero and his equally conflicted friends and enemies improves in every way on its predecessor and is arguably about as good a live-action picture as anyone's ever made using comicbook characters.”
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
“Funny how the greatest superhero movie ever made is not even about the superhero, but the man behind the mask.”
-- Ryan, Letterboxd
#091: The Host
2006
Directed by Jooh-ho Bong
Starring Song Kang-ho, Hie-bong Byeon,
IT IS LURKING BEHIND YOU
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“As ebullient and bizarre as a monster that can do back flips, leaving the viewer in a shock of delight.”
-- Liam Lacey, Globe And Mail
“The mix of dark humor, creeping suspense, and a sort of apocalyptic tenderness makes this the best horror flick in years.”
-- J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
“Combining unrealistic but awesome special effects with family melodrama, biting political satire, and weirdly funny offbeat humour, The Host is probably the most entertaining, the most unique, and the most memorable monster movie I've ever seen.”
-- James Haves, Letterboxd
#090: Slumdog Millionaire
2008
Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FIND A LOST LOVE? A. MONEY B. LUCK C. SMARTS D. DESTINY
The story of the life of an impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik, who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?", wins, and is then suspected of cheating.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Boyle takes his wildly high-energy visual aesthetic and applies it to a story that, at its core, is rather sweet and traditionally crowdpleasing.”
-- Christy Lemire, Associated Press
“In fact, it's the best British/Indian gameshow-based romance of the millennium.”
-- Ian Nathan, Empire
“A Bollywood film through the eye of Danny Boyle”
-- Javier, Letterboxd
#089: Rachel Getting Married
2008
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt
A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Those who surrender to Demme's disarming, almost participatory technique will find themselves overwhelmed, exhilarated and inspired by the eternal possibilities of cinema.”
-- Tom Huddlestone, Time Out
“A friend asked: "Wouldn't you love to attend a wedding like that?" In a way, I felt I had. Yes, I began to feel absorbed in the experience. A few movies can do that, can slip you out of your mind and into theirs.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Just proves that the smallest of films can do the biggest of impacts.”
-- HP Bjerva, Letterboxd
#088: Elephant
2003
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Elias McConnell, Alex Frost, Eric Deulen
AN ORDINARY HIGH SCHOOL DAY. EXCEPT THAT IT'S NOT.
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. The film chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“What I'll remember most vividly about Gus Van Sant's extraordinary Elephant is not the violent climax but the state of grace that precedes it.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“It simply looks at the day as it unfolds, and that is a brave and radical act; it refuses to supply reasons and assign cures, so that we can close the case and move on.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Never before has such a movie been so intimate, horrifying, disturbing, dream-like, powerful, shocking, violent, interesting, attention-grabbing and human.”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#087: 8 Mile
2002
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Starring Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy
LOSE YOURSELF IN THE MUSIC
The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With future and the three one third all he has to do is not choke.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It's easy to like Jimmy Smith as well as to admire him, because Mr. Mathers lets us in, with no sign of calculation, on the kindness, even tenderness, that Jimmy conceals from most of the people around him.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“This is about the rise of a pop star, plain and simple. The real deal –- and the movie's greatest fun –- is in the rap contests.”
-- Desson Thomson, Washington Post
“AND HOLY SHIT THE CLIMACTIC RAP BATTLE SEQUENCE IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTION MOVIE CLIMAXES EVER. THIS ISN'T EVEN AN ACTION MOVIE, BUT IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN BECAUSE WOW.”
-- kacman11, Letterboxd
#086: Kung Fu Panda
2008
Directed by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman
SUMMERTIME IS PANDATIME.
When the Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po the panda discovers his destiny as the "chosen one" and trains to become a kung fu hero, but transforming the unsleek slacker into a brave warrior won't be easy. It's up to Master Shifu and the Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- to give it a try.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The animation work is dazzling; it's lovingly detailed without being overdone (particularly the opening sequence, which is hand-drawn and looks like prints struck from ancient woodblocks).”
-- Bruce Diones, New Yorker
“Light and goofy, yet the fight scenes, which are the heart of the film, are lickety-split mad fun.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. KUNG FU PANDA IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FILM FRANCHISES EVER, AND I DONT CARE WHO KNOWS IT. JOIN ME IN THE AWESOMENESS. LET'S FIND OUT THE SECRET INGREDIENT TOGETHER.”
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#085: Apocalypto
2006
Directed by Mel Gibson
Starring Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernández
WHEN THE END COMES, NOT EVERYONE IS READY TO GO
Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Apocalypto isn't simply an effective movie, but an immensely powerful one: a benchmark and a foresight seemingly all rolled into one.”
-- David Keyes, Cinemaphile.org
“For those of us who prefer to judge Gibson solely in terms of his art, the movie is a virtuosic piece of action cinema -- particularly in its second half...And while there has been no shortage of recent films that decry the horrors of war and man's inhumanity to his fellow man, I know of none other quite this sickeningly powerful.”
-- Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly
“obviously this has thorny representation issues and it's probably wildly historically inaccurate but it also has a monkey fight and is generally pretty gnarly.”
-- matt lynch, Letterboxd
#084: The Wrestler
2008
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring Mickey Rourke, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei
LOVE. PAIN. GLORY.
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Aronofsky directs with unfussy candour, alternating between the intensity of the wrestling and the drabness of Randy's 'real' life.”
-- Tom Huddlestone, Time Out
“An emotional smackdown. Rourke's never been better, and the change of pace and texture suits Aronofsky perfectly. The Raging Bull of wrestling movies? Oh, go on then.”
-- Dan Jolin, Empire
“A violent stab to the heart, The Wrestler is a startling character study, a grungy and disquieting look at the wrestling world, a vessel for spellbinding performances and a film with such a shattering emotional core that it becomes difficult for the soul to stay transfixed on the screen for the entire running time.”
-- Harry, Letterboxd
#083: Mission: Impossible III
2006
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan
THE MISSION BEGINS 05:05:06.
Super-spy Ethan Hunt has retired from active duty to train new IMF agents. But he is called back into action to confront the toughest villain he's ever faced - Owen Davian, an international weapons and information provider with no remorse and no conscience. Hunt assembles his team, his old friend Luther Strickell, transportation expert Declan, background operative Zhen, and fresh recruit Lindsey..
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Mr. Abrams, it seems, has chosen to accept his mission. And I'll be darned if he doesn't succeed.”
-- Joe Lozito, Big Picture Big Sound
“A gratifyingly clever, booby-trapped thriller that has enough fun and imagination and dash to more than justify its existence.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Best in the series. Why? Well, three words. Philip Seymour Hoffman”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#082: Wet Hot American Summer
2001
Directed by David Wain
Starring Janeane Garofolo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd
HIGH TIMES. HARD BODIES. SOFT ROCK.
Set on the last day of camp, in the hot summer of 1981, a group of counselors try to complete their unfinished business before the day ends.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The skewering of underdog sports clichés, horny teen staples and Vietnam-trauma melodrama is long overdue and perfectly irreverent in execution.”
-- William Goss, Film.com
“The movie is so hilariously sly about something so fetishistically trivial that at times it appears to take in an entire culture through a lens made of cheese.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“I'm essentially never not watching this.”
-- JK Wall, Letterboxd
#081: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2008
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC DISASTER MOVIE
When Sarah Marshall dumps aspiring musician Peter Bretter for rock star Aldous Snow, Peter's world comes crashing down. His best friend suggests that Peter should get away from everything and to fly off to Hawaii to escape all his problems. After arriving in Hawaii and meeting the beautiful Rachel Jansen, Peter is shocked to see not only Aldous Snow in Hawaii, but also Sarah Marshall.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The cringingly wacky scenarios, offbeat characters and comic dialogue serve up a crowd-pleasing, laugh-filled experience.”
-- Claudia Puig, USA Today
“A raucous ride through one man's pain.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“Plus for the ladies you get to see Jason Segel’s winky!! Everyones a Winner!!
-- Scott Adcock, Letterboxd
#080: Knocked Up
2007
Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl
SAVE THE DUE DATE.
For fun loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“[A] very funny Peter Pan-and-Wendy-get-preggers story.”
-- Bob Mondello, NPR.org
“Ridiculous comedies can be fine, but the ones that matter creep up close to the truth. This one lives in it.”
-- Kyle Smith, New York Post
“Knocked Up is a sweet, authentic, funny look at love and growing up, and Judd Apatow's wonderful screenplay and direction paired with a terrific cast make it so insightful.”
-- Jordan Row, Letterboxd
#079: Irreversible
2002
Directed by Gaspar Noé
Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel
TIME DESTROYS EVERYTHING.
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Extremely difficult to endure, and if you choose to endure it, it could leave you feeling angry and upset. Nevertheless, this is serious filmmaking, and Noe is a gifted filmmaker.”
-- Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
“After a while, a didactic overdeliberateness seeps into Noé's design, but there's no doubt that he's a new kind of dark film wizard: a poet of apocalyptic shock.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“’Take the underpass. It's safer.’ - Woman on Street
No. No, it isn't.”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#078: The Pursuit Of Happyness
2006
Directed by Gabriele Muccino
Starring Will Smith, Jaden Smith
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Smith hits all the right notes - understated, engaging, inspirational - even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen.”
-- Mark Salisbury, Time Out
“The tough beauty of the picture is that it lets each viewer weigh the costs and benefits to Gardner. It's a genuinely transporting inspirational movie because it's also a cautionary tale. It doesn't downplay the hero's occasional clumsiness or pigheadedness.”
-- Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
“I have lost count of how many times I have seen this film. But, no matter how many times I see it, the scene when Will Smith claps his hands in uncontrollable happiness always brings tears. Tears of happiness”
-- Peaceful Stoner, Letterboxd
#077: The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters
2007
Directed by Seth Gordon
Starring Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell
DON'T GET CHUMPATIZED
Diehard video game fans compete to break World Records on classic arcade games.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“You could hardly call it a paragon of impartial filmmaking, but this is still a compelling and immersive glance into the nature of competitiveness and the corrupting aspects of fame.”
-- David Jenkins, Time Out
“Gordon's documentary proves better than 90 percent of the manufactured stories out this summer. One can breathe a sigh of relief that it was done right and not cobbled into another bad fictional comedy.”
-- Scott Schueller, Chicago Tribune
“Fuck Billy Mitchell. Fuck his tie. Fuck his American tie. Fuck his tie with the shitty looking trees. Fuck his Miami Vice haircut. Fuck his shoes. Fuck his videotapes. Fuck his shit eating grin. Fuck his smooth ass beard. Fuck Billy Mitchell. Fuck that motherfucker.”
-- Silent J, Letterboxd
#076: Before Sunset
2004
Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
WHAT IF YOU HAD A SECOND CHANCE WITH THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY?
Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“At the risk of overhyping 80 minutes of intimate real-time, this is the soul of generosity, a beautifully vibrant and big-spirited film.”
-- Time Out
“One of the most perfect endings of any film that comes to mind.”
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“There's a moment about halfway through Before Sunset that I can't get out of my mind. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are sitting in a Parisian café, and she lights up a cigarette. He's got the demeanor of a man who has quit smoking against his will (probably at the behest of a significant other, whom I'm guessing broke his spirit with the subtlest "I just want you to be healthy" psychological warfare imaginable), so he steals a quick glance at the carcinogenic happiness hanging from Delpy's lips. And then... there's this look that comes across his face. Richard Linklater doesn't draw any attention to it, and it's so brief that you might miss it. But it's a look that says "I remember what it was like to be twenty-three, chain-smoking until dawn and caught up in conversation with the girl across from me." (Can I have a drag of that?) It's the look of a man who was once in love with this girl, and was in love with himself for being in love with this girl. (Actually, do you have another one of those?) It's the look of someone who's relieved that there's at least one thing that hasn't changed over the past nine years, this one slender thread that connects the events of the present to the memories of one night in a happier time. (Can I get a light?) It's a perfect moment.”
-- Cramer K., Letterboxd
#075: Catch Me If You Can
2002
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken
THE TRUE STORY OF A REAL FAKE.
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars' worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A delicious cat-and-mouse game flecked with intriguing Oedipal undertones.”
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
“A gently funny, sweetly adventurous film that makes you feel genuinely good, that is to say, entirely unconned by false sentiment or sharp, overmanipulative Hollywood practices.”
-- Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
“But it's also a very perceptive movie about growing up, hating your job, loving your job, and lies that we believe until they become the truth.”
-- Matt Singer, Letterboxd
#074: Casino Royale
2006
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench
ALWAYS BET ON BOND
Armed with a license to kill, Secret Agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007 and must defeat a weapons dealer in a high stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, but things are not what they seem.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Daniel Craig is a fair-haired, bare-knuckle antidote to Pierce Brosnan. On the action-adventure level, it hits the bulls-eye.”
-- Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“This movie is NEW from the get-go. It could be your first Bond. In fact, it was the first Bond; it was Ian Fleming's first 007 novel, and he was still discovering who the character was.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“My wife has been caught using the slo-mo on the blu ray as Craig exits the sea in those tight trunks of his, without guilt I may add. Brosnan was a looker, but Daniel Craig is, according to my wife, "enough to get your knickers wet". Who am I to argue with that sort of endorsement…”
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#073: Iron Man
2008
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey, Jr. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
HEROES AREN'T BORN. THEY'RE BUILT.
When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“There are a few scenes in Iron Man that make you realize why we rely on giant studios and big budgets come the summer months.”
-- Laremy Legel, Film.com
“You hire an actor for his strengths, and Downey would not be strong as a one-dimensional mighty-man. He is strong because he is smart, quick and funny, and because we sense his public persona masks deep private wounds”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“This film has Robert Downey Jr being sarcastic whilst inside powered armour blowing stuff up to AC/DC. Your argument is invalid.”
-- Toby Dennison, Letterboxd
#072: The Fast And The Furious
2001
Directed by Rob Cohen
Starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel
LIVE LIFE 1/4 MILE AT A TIME.
Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Connor must decide where his loyalties really lie when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Even those who've never heard of 'rice rockets' (Japanese imports souped up with computerized hydraulics and customized engines) might be charmed by the film's blend of kineticism, car-culture rituals, and hilariously flat-footed dialogue.”
-- Amy Taubin, Village Voice
“Shrewdly conceived, confidently executed and outrageously entertaining.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“Vastly superior to anything Kubrick or Kurosawa or Malick or Tarkovsky or any of those other pretentious wankers ever did. Five stars worth of acting, writing, directing, cinematography, and entertainment. Glorious. Simply Glorious. Why else would they have made, like, a dozen of these?”
-- AHAB, Letterboxd
#071: Paranormal Activity
2007
Directed by Oren Peli
Starring Katie Featherson, Micah Sloat
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SLEEP?
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The climax is deliciously scary, and Peli gets considerable mileage from the simple matter of lights inexplicably going on in another room.”
-- J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
“With its this-is-really-happening vibe, Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés. The fear is real, all right, because the fear is really in you.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Apparently the inspiration for this film came from the fact that a box of laundry detergent fell from a shelf in the director's home. It was placed far in the back of the shelf and there was no logical explanation as to how it could possibly have fallen.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#070: The Prestige
2006
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale
ARE YOU WATCHING CLOSELY?
The rivalry between two magicians becomes more exacerbated by their attempt to perform the ultimate illusion.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Jackman and Bale give standout performances as rivals whose mutual obsession destroys all sense of perspective and ruins lives.”
-- Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
“To talk more about the movie's layers is to risk giving away too much. I'll say only that this film confirms Nolan's status as the director whose work I look forward to more than any other.”
-- Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
“This is one of that rare movies that just improves each time you see it. Even when all the secrets are known, there is still immense pleasure in watching everything play out. Are you watching closely?”
-- Tim Portis, Letterboxd
#069: Cloverfield
2008
Directed by Matt Reeves
Starring Michael Stahl-David, Odette Annable, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller
SOME THING HAS FOUND US
Revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The mechanism is the message in Cloverfield, a movie so aluminum-sleek, ultra-portable, and itsy-bitsy sexy, it's amazing Steve Jobs didn't pull it out of an envelope at Macworld”
-- Nathan Lee, Village Voice
“A dazzling experiment that paid off immensely, this is cinematic pleasure at its purest. One caveat: If they ever make a sequel, we’re taking two stars back.”
-- Olly Richards, Empire
“Proof that the found footage genre/technique works.”
-- Baz Film, Letterboxd
#068: All The Real Girls
2003
Directed by David Gordon Green
Starring Zooey Deschanel, Paul Schneider
LOVE IS A PUZZLE. THESE ARE THE PIECES.
Small-town love story of a young man with a reputation for womanizing and his best friend's sister.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A wise, delicate and immensely touching romance.”
-- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
“David Gordon Green's second film, is too subtle and perceptive, and knows too much about human nature, to treat their lack of sexual synchronicity as if it supplies a plot.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Anyway, I love hanging with the characters in this film, I love watching David Gordon Green's direction, and I just love spending time in this world.”
-- FilmApe, Letterboxd
#067: Snatch
2000
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Starring Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham
STEALIN' STONES AND BREAKIN' BONES
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“He's not breaking new ground with Snatch, merely fine-tuning the knack for disreputable kicks he showed in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“Snatch is nothing if not watchable: It has the insane, popcorn rhythms of a Road Runner cartoon, and for that reason alone it's a minor masterpiece.”
-- Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
“Ritchie hasn't done anything better or funnier. Great mix of quotable dialogue and memorable characters.”
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#066: Ratatouille
2007
Directed by Brad Bird
Starring Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo
A COMEDY WITH GREAT TASTE.
A rat, who can also cook, makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous restaurant.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Kids are gonna gobble Ratatouille up; adults will relish its wit, and everyone will want to go out to eat after.”
-- Bob Mondello, NPR.org
“That feeling you have as you leave the cinema - that buzzing in the fingers and lightness in the heart - is called joy.”
-- Ian Nathan, Empire
“I want to be that rat.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#065: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
2006
Directed by Larry Charles
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson
COME TO KAZAKHSTAN, IT'S NICE!
Kazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world. With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The backlash just proves how deep a nerve the faux Kazakh journalist has hit.”
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
“Absurd, outrageous, gross, disturbing, insightful, and so funny it’ll burst half the blood vessels in your face.”
-- Dan Jolin, Empire
“No other movie makes me laugh as much as this one does.”
-- Neil McCalmont, Letterboxd
#064: Battle Royale
2000
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Starring Tatsyukya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano
42 STUDENTS, THREE DAYS, ONE SURVIVOR, NO RULES.
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Stylistically it's a beauty, with khaki-uniformed waifs fighting for their lives to a crashing classical score.”
-- Sara Stewart, New York Post
“[Fukasaku's] genius is finding the overlap between teenage dreams and nightmares, between the intensity of first love and the terror of extinction.”
-- Eric Haynes, Village Voice
“omfg! such a copy off hunger games but so bad! its gross and all in a stupid langiage! i cant read subtitles and watch at the same time! plus it doesnt even have any hot boys liek peeta or gale in it so why watch? #Team Peeta 4 lyf!!!!!! #yolo!!!1”
-- Jamie Reiter, Letterboxd
#063: The Devil Wears Prada
2006
Directed by David Frankel
Starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway
MEET ANDY SACHS. A MILLION GIRLS WOULD KILL TO HAVE HER JOB. SHE'S NOT ONE OF THEM.
A naive young woman comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city's biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“If Hathaway's Andy drives the pedestrian narrative -- idealistic girl learns the value of staying true to herself and her "real" friends; snore -- then Streep is the movie's soul.”
-- Luke Goodsell, Empire Magazine Australasia
” If you can tell the difference between a mule and a pump, attendance at The Devil Wears Prada is mandatory. You might have to reach back to "Funny Face" to find a fashion movie so on-trend.”
-- Kyle Smith, New York Post
“I don't quite know the right word to describe Meryl Streep. Genius? Trailblazer? Perfection? None seem to do her justice.”
-- elias1026, Letterboxd
#062: Y Tu Mamá También
2001
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Starring Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Ana López Mercado
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Raunchy, smart, ebullient, melancholy, insightful, surprising, funny, frank and sexy as all get-out.”
-- Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
“A vivid, thoughtful, unapologetically raw coming-of-age tale full of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.”
-- Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Fair enough, after watching these smart and attractive characters having rampant sex and travelling across Mexico without a care in the World, it’s left me seething with jealousy.”
-- Jay, Letterboxd
#061: Pan’s Labyrinth
2006
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Maribel Verdú, Sergi López
INNOCENCE HAS A POWER EVIL CANNOT IMAGINE.
In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“This is a fantasy realm so fully and elegantly realized, it might be the adaptation of a classic novel. Yet the source is Del Toro's own capacious imagination.”
-- Mary Corliss, TIME Magazine
“Like the folk tales from centuries past, Pan's Labyrinth is a dark odyssey with nightmarish visions and cruel threats, but coming through the sacrifice and suffering is the childlike belief in magic and imagination that for Del Toro represents the hope and optimism of a happily ever after in this cruel world.”
-- Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Visually exquisite! Truly a sight to behold! The macabre story itself is unlike any adult fable I have ever come across! A rich blend of dark fantasy mixed with the harsh realities of a cruel unforgiving world!”
-- Naughty, Letterboxd
#060: Where The Wild Things Are
2009
Directed by Spike Jonze
Starring Catherine Keener, Max Records
I COULD EAT YOU UP, I LOVE YOU SO.
An adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world - a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures who crown Max as their ruler.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“[Jonze has] achieved with the cinematic medium what Sendak did with words and pictures: He's grasped something true and terrifying about love at its most unconditional and voracious.”
-- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
“Jonze has filmed a fantasy as if it were absolutely real, allowing us to see the world as Max sees it, full of beauty and terror.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“I have never seen the power of imagination, the wonder and problems of being a kid and the warmth and necessity of family interpreted so beautifully as in this story and Jonze's interpretation of it.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#059: Cast Away
2000
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt
AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, HIS JOURNEY BEGINS.
A FedEx executive must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Hanks's Everyman quality has never been more aptly utilized: He's the perfect stand-in for all of us who never made it to Eagle Scout.”
-- Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
“Zemeckis is more interested here in getting us thinking (and feeling) than in telling us what to think.”
-- Andy Klein, TNT RoughCut
“Made a volleyball that does nothing but sit there a compelling film character.”
-- Kurt Fabisch, Letterboxd
#058: Minority Report
2002
Directed by Steven Spieldberg
Starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max Von Sydow, Samantha Morton
THE SYSTEM IS PERFECT UNTIL IT COMES AFTER YOU.
In a future where a special police unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes, an officer from that unit is himself accused of a future murder.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
“Ferociously intense, furiously kinetic, it's expressionist film noir science fiction that, like all good sci-fi, peers into the future to shed light on the present.”
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
“This film is such a virtuoso high-wire act, daring so much, achieving it with such grace and skill. Minority Report reminds us why we go to the movies in the first place.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Steven Speilberg's technical mastery and Phillip K. Dick's ingenious source material combine to create a immensely complex dystopian worlds that will dazzle your senses and challenge your mind.”
-- Adam Moody, Letterboxd
#057: District 9
2009
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Starring Sharlto Copley
SUPPORT NON-HUMAN RIGHTS. EVERYONE DESERVES EQUALITY.
An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“To call this the best shrimp-from-outer-space South African apartheid allegory ever made does not begin to do it justice. But it's a start.”
-- David Edelstsein, New York Magazine
“No true fan of science fiction -- or, for that matter, cinema -- can help but thrill to the action, high stakes and suspense built around a very original chase movie.”
-- Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
“It has also changed the way I order "fookin" prawn salads, in restaurants for ever.”
-- Daniel Marks, Letterboxd
#056: Collateral
2004
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx
IT STARTED LIKE ANY OTHER NIGHT
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Most of the time we are with Cruise and Foxx, and their interplay is never less than galvanizing.”
-- Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
“This is a rare thriller that's as much character study as sound and fury.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“This film is about seeing people in ways we've never seen them before. While everyone is pretty much playing against type here, let's start with appearances. Jamie Foxx wears geeky glasses and unfashionable t-shirts. The Cruiser has bizarre grey hair and eyebrows. The Stath is only in it for about 20 seconds. Everyone's favourite baddie Javier Bardem pops up for about 5 minutes with short, cropped hair. Mark Ruffalo sports a slicked-back sleazeball 'do'.”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#055: Super Troopers
2001
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Erik Solhanske, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan
Altered State Police
Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The movie is as juvenile and silly as it looks. But it's also funnier than you would expect”
-- Brian McKay, eFilmCritic.com
“There's a thin line between smart-stupid and just plain stupid, and Super Troopers walks it with ease.”
-- Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
“This movie almost too quotable. Or I've seen it too many times and gotten a Super Troopers lesion on my brain.”\
-- Joey Regs, Letterboxd
#054: Memories Of Murder
2003
Directed by Joon-ho Bong
Starring Song Kang-ho, Sang-kyung Kim
In 1986, in the province of Gyunggi, in South Korea, a second young and beautiful woman is found dead, raped and tied and gagged with her underwear. Detective Park Doo-Man and Detective Cho Yong-koo, two brutal and stupid local detectives without any technique, investigate the murder using brutality and torturing the suspects, without any practical result. The Detective Seo Tae-Yoon from Seoul comes to the country to help the investigations and is convinced that a serial-killer is killing the women. When a third woman is found dead in the same "modus-operandi", the detectives find leads of the assassin.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Bong not only has an eye for beauty there are some gorgeous shots of the country's farmland but for the absurd.”
-- Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
“Suspenseful, surprising, and psychologically rich.”
-- David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
“How difficult is it for a murder mystery/thriller film to sustain interest and constantly keep viewers on their toes and at the edge of their seats, if it tells upfront that the mystery is not going to be solved? It is really difficult if you ask me.”
-- Peaceful Stoner, Letterboxd
#053: Up
2009
Directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Starring Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer
By tying thousands of balloons to his home, 78-year-old Carl sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years younger, inadvertently becomes a stowaway.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The key to Pixar's success has always been the perfect blend of heart and humor -- and they've certainly done it again here.”
-- Ben Makiewicz, At The Movies
“Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, the gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it.”
-- Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
“One hundred years from now, film scholars will study the 15 wordless minutes near the beginning of this movie as one of the finest examples of storytelling across any medium or genre. I say this without threat of hyperbole.”
-- Jeremy Bronson, Letterboxd
#052: Zombieland
2009
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
THIS PLACE IS SO DEAD
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, and a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the Last Twinkie and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Woody Harrelson has a rip-roaring time in this comic splatterfest as a redneck from hell who is out to kill zombies. It's the kind of genre acting that doesn't get much notice, but it's a gleeful rampage of a performance.”
-- Bruce Diones, New Yorker
‘Thankfully there's nothing remotely serious about Zombieland. It's just a heck of carnival attraction (Shoot the ducks/Shoot the zombies) on a roller coaster filled with laughs.”
-- Elias Savada, Film Threat
“Zombies. That Facebook guy. That Cheers guy.My biggest moviestar crush ever. (yeah, I mean Mrs. Stone) Bill fucking Murray .I am incapable of not liking this film.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#051: Monsters, Inc.
2001
Directed by Lee Unkrich, David Silverman, Pete Docter
Starring Billy Crystal, John Goodman
WE SCARE BECAUSE WE CARE.
Monsters generate their city's power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It may be harder nowadays to dazzle audiences with fancy visual effects, but Monsters, Inc. 3D proves that smart, imaginative storytelling still does the trick every time.”
-- Stephan Lee, Entertainment Weekly
“The story's charming, the set pieces are wildly inventive, and even the throwaway one-liners, about everything from movie-animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen to the old Oscar Meyer jingle, are hilarious.”
-- Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. Weekly
“Monsters Inc. is a very intelligent and detailed story based on the simple idea of ‘monsters in your closet’ A whole parellel monster dimension has been created with such detail and richness, we never question it.”
-- Paul Robinson, Letterboxd
#050: The Descent
2005
Directed by Neil Marshall
Starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring
THE SCARIEST MOVIE IN EARTH
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Super-scary and vicious, both psychologically and physically, this cleverly produced chill-ride is edgy British horror at its very best.”
-- Alan Jones, Radio Times
“It's the most intense, unpredictable and thrilling cinematic experience I've had the pleasure to squirm through in ages.”
-- Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Claustrophobia, blood, sweat, tears and air fisticuff's too numerous to count from the comfort of my recliner! I'm mentally and physically exhausted after watching this non stop theater of carnage and bone crunching thrills!”
-- Naughty, Letterboxd
#049: Kung Fu Hustle
2004
Directed by Stephen Chow
Starring Stephen Chow
FROM WALKING DISASTER TO KUNG FU MASTER
In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“With a delirious mix of the sublime and the silly, Hong Kong comedy king Stephen Chow Sing-chi has taken the kung fu comedy genre to new heights of chop-socky hilarity.”
-- Andrew Sun, The Hollywood Reporter
“So disarmingly eager to please that only a stone-faced kung fu purist could object.”
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
“Somebody figure out a way to build an entire franchise around The Landlady. Tell me you wouldn't watch.”
-- Scott Renshaw, Letterboxd
#048: City Of God
2002
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino
IF YOU RUN, THE BEAST WILL GET YOU. IF YOU STAY, THE BEAST WILL EAT YOU
Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“City of God delivers a bruising, visceral experience of the vicious spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime, brutality and murder as the only avenue open to them.”
-- David Rooney, Variety
“The film is seductive, disturbing, enthralling -- a trip to hell that gives the passengers a great ride.
-- Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
“There were genuinely times I wasn't sure the children were actors, but rather the director just found kids in gangs and bribed them to be filmed for a few days.”
-- gingerjew, Letterboxd
#047: 28 Days Later…
2002
Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris
THE DAYS ARE NUMBERED
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The movie's craft makes the dread of a killer virus contagious: viewers may feel they have come down with a case of secondhand SARS or sympathetic monkeypox.”
-- Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
“A first-rate zombie movie. The best tribute I can offer is that it makes you want to go out directly afterward and down some expensive single-malt scotch.”
-- Peter Rainer, Vulture
“That's where it shines, portraying real people struggling in an absurd aftermath.”
-- Colin the Dude, Letterboxd
#046: A History Of Violence
2005
Directed by David Cronenberg
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello
TOM STALL HAD THE PERFECT LIFE... UNTIL HE BECAME A HERO.
A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The less you know about this movie before seeing it -- and you really should see it -- the better.”
-- Christy Lemire, Associated Press
“A masterpiece of indirection and pure visceral thrills, David Cronenberg's latest mindblower, A History of Violence, is the feel-good, feel-bad movie of the year.”
-- Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“This. Is. Insane. I mean, straight-up mental. I mean, completely berserk, absolutely psychotic, off-the-rails violent.And ever so cool.”
-- Trish McFadden, Letterboxd
#045: Caché
2005
Directed by Michael Haneke
Starring Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche
A married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“[Caché] is essential viewing for those who like their thrillers with depth, intelligence, and inimitable style.”
-- Matthew Pejkovic, Matt’s Movie Reviews
“Caché encourages us to look -- and then to look harder.”
-- Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
“This is one of those films that not only flawlessly and meticulously captures the action but also forces the audience to become a part of it. Must Watch.”
-- Mithil Bhoras, Letterboxd
#044: Nobody Knows
2004
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu, Hanae Kan
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“At its heart, Nobody Knows is a sweet salute to the tenacity and courage of children who are blithely mistreated by adults who should know better and probably do.”
-- Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
“Profoundly sad, but it's made with such artistry that it's almost uplifting; you watch it mesmerized, immersed in the strange community the children create.”
-- Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
“Damn you, Hirokazu Koreeda, for making this film. Now I won't be able to get these absolutely heartbreaking scenes out of my mind.”
-- Jacob Olsen, Letterboxd
#043: Spirted Away
2001
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring Rumi Hiiragi
THE TUNNEL LED CHIHIRO TO A MYSTERIOUS TOWN...
In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The result is nothing less than magical, a throwback to the very best of early Disney. If I can't remember the last time I was this enchanted by an animated film, it's because I was too young.”
-- Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
“Miyazaki is the Pied Piper -- see Spirited Away and you'll follow him anywhere.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“It is like the very best and most fully realized dream ever dreamt.”
-- Gustav, Letterboxd
#042: Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
2004
Directed by Danny Leiner
Starring John Cho, Kal Penn
FAST FOOD. HIGH TIMES.
An Asian-American office worker and his Indian-American stoner friend embark on a quest to satisfy their desire for White Castle burgers.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Stretches the boundaries of offensiveness in ways that both make us laugh and make us think.”
-- Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
“Harold and Kumar share a quality the overgrown adolescents in films like this are never allowed to possess: They're witty, focused, and highly aware. They make having a brain look hip.”
-- Owen Glieberman, Entertainment Weekly
“My favorite thing about this movie is how every single villain is a white guy.”
-- Joe, Letterboxd
#041: The Hangover
2009
Directed by Todd Phillips
Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis
WHERE'S DOUG?
Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“You might be embarrassed by laughing at some of the silliness, but don't be: Everyone else will be cracking up, too.”
-- Sara Vilkomerson, New York Observer
“This is a movie where you WANT to stick around for the credits. The beauty is that you are totally set up for it, and you don't mind one bit. That final sequence ties the movie together in an awesome fashion.”
-- Rob Calvert, Premiere
” Hilarious all-around.”
-- TheTalent, Letterboxd
#040: Taken
2008
Directed by Pierre Morel
Starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace
THEY TOOK HIS DAUGHTER. HE'LL TAKE THEIR LIVES.
A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It's so awesome to see Liam Neeson taking out the trash in pursuit of his prized child.”
-- Dave White, Movies.com
“The beginning is a little slow, but after Neeson starts his hunt and does his best wrath-of-God impression, it doesn’t skip a beat.”
-- Patrick Parker, Premiere
“Featuring the best voicemail message known to mankind.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#039: Death Proof
2007
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Tracie Thomas
A CRASH COURSE IN REVENGE
Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Death Proof doesn't simply comment on its genre inspirations - it adds to their very legacy.”
-- Rob Humanick, Projection Booth
“By the end of the film, Tarantino delivers on the action with a car chase that will get anyone's engine revving.”
-- Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
“Victims to vixens. Your worst movie, QT? Hang up your crit habit.”
-- Keith Uhlich, Letterboxd
#038: The Bourne Identity
2002
Directed by Doug Liman
Starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente
HE WAS THE PERFECT WEAPON UNTIL HE BECAME THE TARGET.
A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The Bourne Identity is a well-written action spy film that stays true to its espionage thriller genre while inflicting flinch-inducing moments of pure cinematic action.”
-- Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
“A first-rate thriller with grit and intrigue to spare.”
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
“Before Daniel Craig turned up as Bond - Jason Bourne was what I always wished Bond would be more like. This is a super stylish spy thriller that must be seen. It's full of ultra realistic performances, amazing locations and twists and turns. We follow Jason Bourne as he pieces together his forgotten past. Excellent.”
-- Paul Robinson, Letterboxd
#037: Zodiac
2007
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr.
THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LOSE YOUR LIFE TO A KILLER
A San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A complex crime drama that limits its action, opting to save it for the times that bring the greatest impact.”
-- Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
“Its most impressive accomplishment is to gather a bewildering labyrinth of facts and suspicions over a period of years, and make the journey through this maze frightening and suspenseful.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Zodiac is a film that technically nothing happens, is only talk, talk, talk, but in the hands of David Fincher, all this talking turn into one of the most engaging film I have ever seen.”
-- Javier, Letterboxd
#036: The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
2002
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom
THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH BEGINS!
While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Part two is more a straight-ahead action flick, substituting brawn and brawling for the pastoral radiance of the first film.”
-- David Germain, Associated Press
“What makes Towers so staggering is the way it brings the full scope of Jackson's adaptation into focus. Without missing a beat in three hours, the film shifts from epic to lyrical and back.”
-- Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
“The Two Towers is that rare creature: an action film with soul.”
-- Audrey, Letterboxd
#035: Amélie
2001
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz
SHE'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It's hard not to fall under the spell of this moonstruck romance.”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“The movie is never mechanical or emotionally contrived, and at its heart is a guileless, enchanting performance by Tautou.”
-- William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“If I could live in one movie, this would be it. Skipping stones, counting orgasms, swiping mean dude's slippers, cracking my crème brûlée with my spoon.... oh Amélie how I love you.”
-- Lisa Bettany, Letterboxd
#034: 25th Hour
2002
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper
ONE WRONG CHOICE... ONE LAST NIGHT... 24 HOURS TO LIVE A LIFETIME
Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Lee and his cast are so adept at getting us acquainted with Monty and these other people that we wind up feeling like we've known them for years.”
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“The film at its simplest serves as a cautionary tale, but it also functions as a meditation on how little it takes to redirect a life by choice or by chance.”
-- Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
“This film is sadly poetic and profanely eloquent.”
-- Peaceful Stoner, Letterboxd
#033: Finding Nemo
2003
Directed by Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Starring Alexander Gould, Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres
71% OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS COVERED BY WATER. THAT'S A LOT OF SPACE TO FIND ONE FISH.
After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The H2O theme fits in with the main feature, its tale of a clownfish searching for his son constituting Pixar’s most effective amalgam of comedy, artistry and emotional pull.”
-- Neil Sith, Total Film
“Finding Nemo is laced with smart humor and clever gags, and buoyed by another cheery story of mismatched buddies: a pair of fish voiced by Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres.”
-- David German, Associated Press
”So this basically was remade into Taken, right?”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#032: There Will Be Blood
2007
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano
THERE WILL BE GREED. THERE WILL BE VENGEANCE.
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“There Will Be Blood establishes itself as a film of Darwinian ferocity, a stark and pitiless parable of American capitalism.”
-- Christopher Orr, The New Republic
“Daniel Day-Lewis's portrayal is not just the performance of the year -- there will be injustice if he doesn't win an Oscar -- but a creation of awesome proportions.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“When filmmakers or storytellers want to comment on the nature of evil, they often forget that for someone to be evil he first has to be human."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#031: Let The Right One In
2008
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
ELI IS 12 YEARS OLD. SHE'S BEEN 12 FOR OVER 200 YEARS AND, SHE JUST MOVED IN NEXT DOOR.
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“The biggest mistake you can make when watching this film is approaching it as a horror film. It isn't. What it is, is an almost existentialist coming of age drama that explores the limits of friendship, family and love. And what I love about it is that its conclusion is that there are no limits.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
“Pre-adolescent angst has rarely been as eerie or unsettlingly honest as it is in director Tomas Alfredson's stylish, psychologically complex tale,”
-- Jason Buchanan, TV Guide’s Movie Guide
“Stick your neck out for this Swedish horror show. It's a winner, full of mirth and malice, plus a young romance you'll never see on the Disney Channel”
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
#030: Almost Famous
2000
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
EXPERIENCE IT. ENJOY IT. JUST DON'T FALL FOR IT.
A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies it on their concert tour.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A blissfully sweet coming-of-age movie in which everyone, young and less young, comes of age.”
-- Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
“Oh, what a lovely film. I was almost hugging myself while I watched it.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“No words do a better job describing this film than the lyrics of Tiny Dancer. If I had to describe, it's beautifully acted and mesmerizing with one of the best soundtracks a film ever had.”
-- Silent J, Letterboxd
2001
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Starring Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke
THE ONLY THING MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE LINE BEING CROSSED, IS THE COP WHO WILL CROSS IT.
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop goes on a 24-hour training course with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Training Day isn't just one of the finest cops-and-robbers thrillers of recent years, full of devious twists and gut-grinding tension, but it also steers clear of convenient moral formulas.”
-- Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com
“As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate.”
-- Richard Schickel, Time
“Is it possible to marry acting performances? If so, I have an awkward question for Denzel Washington's...”
-- Chris Wilson, Letterboxd
#028: Crank
2006
Directed by Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo
POISON IN HIS VEINS. VENGEANCE IN HIS HEART.
Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“For those who enjoy this brand of wholly mindless entertainment, Crank delivers.”
-- James Berardinelli, ReelViews
“A Saw for the action crowd, this is an intense, stripped-down ride that goes places you’d never expect. Edgy and outrageous, it should get the fearless Statham some deserved attention.”
-- Nick De Semlyen, Empire
“Relentless frenetic action accompanied by pulse pounding kickass tunes! Gratuitous entertainment fraught with unbridled badassness!”
-- Naughty, Letterboxd
#027: Grizzly Man
2005
Directed by Werner Herzog
Starring Timothy Treadwell
A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Like so much of Herzog's work, both narrative and documentary, this is an engrossing look at obsessive behavior gone terribly awry.”
-- Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader
“A small masterpiece of a documentary that takes us into the heart of a complex darkness.”
-- Desson Thomson, Washington Post
“Despite Timothy love of the bears he wanted to live with, director Herzog tragically notes by the blank stares Treadwell captures brilliantly over and over, the bears didn't love him back.”
-- ILoveFilm 1998, Letterboxd
#026: Oldboy
2003
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Starring Min-sik Choi, Hye-jeong Kang, Ji-tae Yu
IMPRISONED FOR 15 YEARS... ...5 DAYS TO SEEK REVENGE
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Both brutal and lyrical, writer-director Park Chan-wook's existential nail-biter has torture scenes that will have you avoiding dentists, sushi bars and badly appointed hotel rooms.”
-- Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
“Startling and amazing -- a cinematic hammer to the skull.”
-- M.E. Russell, Portland Oregonian
“You need the end credits of this film. It doesn't matter if it's in Korean, you just need it for the background; a lovely, quiet mountain range. It's a relaxing image, just the antidote for what you've just witnessed. Because Oldboy is DEVASTATING...”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#025: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2005
Directed by Shane Black
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan
SEX. MURDER. MYSTERY. WELCOME TO THE PARTY.
A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“An ultra-knowing exercise in genre deconstruction, and something of a charmer to boot.”
-- Ben Walters, Time Out
“This tribute to old-fashioned hard-boiled detective fiction is laced with Hollywood satire and snappy, lightning-fast dialogue.
-- Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide
“He played Iron Man, a black man, Charlie Chaplin, and Wesley Snipes AIDS stricken best friend, but I'm certain Robert Downey Jr's best performance was as The Amazing Harold (formerly Harold the Great).”
-- Silent J, Letterboxd
#024: The Departed
2006
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon
COPS OR CRIMINALS. WHEN YOU'RE FACING A LOADED GUN WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Rude, profane, clever, hilarious, engrossing, crowd-pleasing, ridiculously entertaining.”
-- Christopher Borrelli, Toledo Blade
“Thelma Schoonmaker, a Scorsese collaborator for over a quarter-century, did the bull's-eye editing. The moviemaking throughout is swift, unaffected, masterly.”
-- Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
“And if you haven't seen it, what are ya, some f**king fitness freak?”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#023: Zoolander
2001
Directed by Ben Stiller
Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson
3% BODY FAT. 1% BRAIN ACTIVITY.
At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“If you're aware of -- and amused by -- pop culture, you'll laugh a lot.”
-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“you laugh just enough to want to see the whole thing again.”
-- Kim Morgan, Portland Oregonian
“The bromance between Stiller and Wilson in their respective Derek Zoolander and Hansel, simple minded but beautiful bodied supermodel counterparts, unfolds in a predictable yet endearing fashion.”
-- zimchick, Letterboxd
#022: High Fidelity
2000
Directed by Stephen Frears
Starring John Cusack, Iben Hjejle
A COMEDY ABOUT FEAR OF COMMITMENT, HATING YOUR JOB, FALLING IN LOVE AND OTHER POP FAVORITES.
Rob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“High Fidelity, with its knowing take on men, messed-up romance and music, is like one long, hook-filled pop song for the eyes.”
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“A guaranteed pleasure for anyone who ever loved pop music, owned a record collection or suffered in love”
-- Desson Thomson, Washington Post
“Here it goes. Top five reasons why I loved this film:”
-- Peaceful Stoner, Letterboxd
#021: Punch-Drunk Love
2002
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson
A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman, and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It's a romantic comedy on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
“With its feverish, percussive soundtrack and bravura cinematography, is like a bolt from the blue, chock-full of unexpected delight.”
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Adam Sandler, one of the worst people ever to grace the silver screen, is nothing short of a revelation here.”
Adam Cook, Letterboxd
#020: Superbad
2007
Directed by Greg Mottola
Starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
COME AND GET SOME
Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Superbad is a movie about partying and getting wasted and getting the girl, but as the night wears on, much wisdom is gained too, about self, friendship and the end of teenage innocence in all its wondrous, terrifying splendor.”
-- Scott Foundas, Village Voice
“For pure laughs, for the experience of just sitting in a chair and breaking up every minute or so, Superbad is 2007's most successful comedy.”
-- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
“’Two-time Academy Award Nominee Jonah Hill’”
-- Ryan Narc, Letterboxd
#019: The Bourne Ultimatum
2007
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles
REMEMBER EVERYTHING. FORGIVE NOTHING.
Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“While the crunchy fights and unflagging pace ensure this delivers as genre spectacle, the muddy ethics also make for a pleasing contrast with standard-issue wham-bammery.”
-- Ben Walters, Time Out
“Bursting with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it's finally done.”
-- Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
“Possibly the greatest spy thriller ever. Truly thrilling in every moment, powered by Greengrass' superb kinetic directing and editing. This film ever ceases to entertain and excite. The best of the Bourne franchise.”
-- Xarnis, Letterboxd
#018: Ocean’s Eleven
2001
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon
ARE YOU IN OR OUT?
Danny Ocean and his eleven accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“An entertaining witty, funny, and well acted piece of comedy heist.”
-- Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
“It's a scrumptious and dizzy-spirited lark, a what-the-hell-let's-rob-the-casino flick made with so much wit and brains and dazzle and virtuosity that the sheer speed and cleverness of the caper hits you like a shot of pure oxygen.”
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Just a fantastic bit of escapism.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#017: Memento
2000
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
SOME MEMORIES ARE BEST FORGOTTEN
A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A gripping, utterly unexpected noir, glinting with bits of poetry and a hard, deadpan humor.”
-- Jeff Giles, Newsweek
“I can't remember when a movie has seemed so clever, strangely affecting and slyly funny at the very same time.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“.dlrow s'yblehS dranoeL yb ezitonpyh teg syawla I ,ti dehctaw I semit ynam woh rettam t'nseod ,daeh ruoy fo tuo ti ekahs ot elba eb t'now uoy ,ti hctaw uoy ecno taht mlif esoht fo eno si 'otnemeM'”
-- Javier, Letterboxd
#016: The Royal Tenenbaums
2001
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson
FAMILY ISN'T A WORD... IT'S A SENTENCE.
An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Once you're among them, the Tenenbaums -- and Anderson -- cast quite a spell.”
-- Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
“Each character, as ever, is tucked into a shell of his or her obsessions, and yet the filming itself -- the grace of Anderson's draftsmanship, as it were -- binds the figures together into a team.”
-- Anthony Lane, New Yorker
“Not only are Wes Anderson’s style and influences at their most endearing apex in The Royal Tenenbaums, but they just so happen to coalesce with great, noteworthy performances from all of the actors involved.”
-- Rakestraw, Letterboxd
#015: The Hurt Locker
2008
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
WAR IS A DRUG
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
” The result is an intense, action-driven war pic, a muscular, efficient standout that simultaneously conveys the feeling of combat from within as well as what it looks like on the ground.”
-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
“Bigelow's film combines an expert management of tension with a sensitive and journalistic attention to detail: she has one eye on the truth and the other on the multiplex.”
-- Dave Calhoun, Time Out
“For one thing, I learned never to take my headset off or Anthony Mackie will punch the fuck out of me.”
-- Silent J, Letterboxd
#014: Lost In Translation
2003
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Starring Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GO HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD TO COME FULL CIRCLE
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Lost in Translation revels in contradictions. It's a comedy about melancholy, a romance without consummation, a travelogue that rarely hits the road.”
-- Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
“It's a bento box of shifts, feints, hints and small, sharp insights, built around a surprisingly deep core of feeling. And it confirms Coppola as an artist to watch and relish.”
-- Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
“Who doesn't love a movie that starts on Scarlett Johansson's bum?”
-- Lisa Bettany, Letterboxd
#013: Mean Girls
2004
Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried
ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE!
Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Smart, funny, well-acted and visually lively.”
-- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
“Lindsay Lohan is more likely to die before 30 than to land another lead role as suited to her (likely squandered) talent. Tina Fey's script is an observant equal-opportunity offender about how high school remains a jungle of hormones and haughtiness.”
-- Nick Rogers, suite101.com
“Nine years ago, I don't think anybody would have predicted that, of the three leads, Seyfried would become the 'It girl,' McAdams would become the 'actor,' and Lohan would become, well, Lohan.”
-- Travis Lytle, Letterboxd
#012: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
2004
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD.
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Quentin Tarantino revels in the art and craft of cinema; so much so he has managed to mine all his favourite genres and make the style the substance.”
-- Urban Cinefile Critics
“The film succeeds by expertly melding the two stages of Tarantino's career. The rambling Tarantino of ‘Jackie Brown’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ is evident in every lovingly crafted and delivered monologue, each leisurely paced scene and long take. The more action-oriented, fight-intensive Tarantino reappears in the viscerally exciting bursts of ultra-violence that punctuate the stretches of dialogue.”
-- Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club
“It's a slow paced, character and dialogue driven journey, one that comes to an emotional and staggeringly beautiful climax.”
-- Silent Dawn, Letterboxd
#011: Inglourious Basterds
2009
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent
IF YOU NEED HEROES, SEND IN THE BASTERDS
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s (Tarantino) the real thing, a director of quixotic delights.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“I'm tempted to say Tarantino has done it again, but I doubt anyone has ever done anything like his dazzlingly original World War II movie, Inglourious Basterds.”
-- Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribute
“Tarantino crafts a great tale of revenge, doused in love of cinema and covered with a lovely hint of nostalgia.”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#010: The 40 Year-Old Virgin
2005
Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Steve Carell, Catherine Keener
THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE HARDER IT GETS.
Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“It's truly dirty and truly romantic at the same time, a combination that's very hard to pull off.”
-- David Denby, New Yorker
“Surprisingly insightful, as buddy comedies go, and it has a good heart and a lovable hero.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Steve Carrell is comedy genius here on all points. He is so perfectly awkward and anxious and it makes for one of the best comedic performances of the last decade hands down.”
-- Josh Browning, Letterboxd
#009: Shaun Of The Dead
2004
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
A ROMANTIC COMEDY. WITH ZOMBIES.
A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“For those who don't mind a little laughter with their zombies (or perhaps it should be the other way around), this is an unusual source of entertainment.”
-- James Berardinelli, ReelViews
“The pasty, scruffy Pegg shows a surprising amount of range for the unlikely hero of a zombie flick.”
-- Christy Lemire, Associated Press
“Yeah if your only options are Sign O' The Times, Purple Rain and Batman you're definitely going to use Batman as a weapon, but surely you've got worse albums than Batman to toss at zombies.”
-- Willow Catelyn, Letterboxd
#008: Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy
2004
Directed by Adam McKay
Starring Will Ferrell, Chirstina Applegate
HIS NEWS IS BIGGER THAN YOUR NEWS.
Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 70's, but that's all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman is hired as a new anchor.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Full force Will Ferrell at his best. And as an added bonus, we all get one of the funniest movies of the year...that is if you don't mind your humor on the rude and crude side.”
-- Eric Campos, Film Threat
“Takes a joke and runs with it -- sometimes too far, but usually long enough to wear you down and force you to submit to its craziness.”
-- Anna Smith, Time Out
“Many of its quotes are ingrained in popular culture and the mere mention of the film's name causes most human beings to spew forth with quotes.”
-- Tom Beasley, Letterboxd
#007: Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Vivica A. Fox
HERE COMES THE BRIDE
The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her - a team she was once part of.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Kill Bill: Volume 1 shows Quentin Tarantino so effortlessly and brilliantly in command of his technique that he reminds me of a virtuoso violinist racing through ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ -- or maybe an accordion prodigy setting a speed record for ‘Lady of Spain.’”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“I would argue that, in a bizarre way, Mr. Tarantino empowers women as no action-genre director before him ever has.”
-- Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
“Quentin Tarantino is a true film fan; not cynical, not pretentious, just a fan who loves genre films, loves giving his audience a new way of seeing them and loves to have fun with each and every thing he does to make old things new again. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is just this: the fun, swashbuckling, energetic and completely and utterly awesome work of a fan who will do his best to make us fans by the end; and at this he more than succeeds.”
-- Gustav, Letterboxd
#006: Children Of Men
2006
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Starring Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Michael Caine
NO CHILDREN. NO FUTURE. NO HOPE.
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“You feel as if you're accompanying a war photographer who's lost a bet. Slogging unflinchingly through humanity's worst hours, the movie laces the narrative's forays into science-fiction grandstanding with a gut-wrenching dynamic.”
-- Joshua Rothkopf, Time-Out
“The performances are crucial, because all of these characters have so completely internalized their world that they make it palpable, and themselves utterly convincing.”
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“And it's a seriously impressive film. Staggeringly impressive. Carrying extreme emotional heft with its visceral action scenes, it's a dystopia for the ages. But before anything else, a dystopia must set up its world convincingly in order to keep its grip on us and make us immersed in its setting. This is where Cuarón excels. He takes the UK and doesn't move it too far forward.”
-- Driver, Letterboxd
#005: Wall-E
2008
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Starring Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
AN ADVENTURE BEYOND THE ORDINAR-E
In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Among its many wondrous achievements, the animated WALL-E is a sci-fi trifecta: a vision of the future, a tale for our times and a blast from the past.”
-- Joe Williams, St. Louis Dispatch
“Mixing Chaplinesque delicacy with the architectural grandeur of a Stanley Kubrick film, director Andrew Stanton recycles film history and makes something fresh and accessible from it without pandering to a young audience.”
-- Liam Lacey, The Globe And Mail (Toronto)
“I am convinced that this film can turn: cynics into kittens, lawyers into human beings, depression into tap-dance, me into a man-shaped grin”
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#004: The Incredibles
2004
Directed by Brad Bird
Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee
TWICE THE HERO HE USED TO BE
A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Exemplary mixture of top-notch storytelling, visual razzle-dazzle, accessible humor, and involving action.”
-- James Berardinelli, ReelViews
“Bird has created the unprecedented film that is not just a grand feature-length cartoon but a grand feature, period, a piece of animation that's involving across a spectrum of comedy, action, even drama.”
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“The best superhero movie made. Also, the Fantastic Four movie we never got.”
-- Mason_Daniel, Letterboxd
#003: No Country For Old Men
2007
Directed by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones
ONE OPPORTUNITY CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. ONE MISTAKE CAN DESTROY IT.
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“A masterly tale of the good, the deranged and the doomed that inflects the raw violence of the west with a wry acknowledgement of the demise of codes of honour, this is frighteningly intelligent and imaginative.”
-- Geoff Andrew, Time Out
“The ultimate vision here is of a hard world in which civilization is the aberration, and the things we fear are always waiting for an excuse to make life normal again.”
-- Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
“I see Chigurh not as a sadistic and psychopathic, but strangely principled, hit man for hire, but rather I see him as life. I see him as fate, I see him as an unsympathetic God. Not an all powerful God, just a God that has power over us and travels with us. The instances of the coin toss being fate. Good people who suffer disease or accident. Like the toss of a coin. What did the hapless gas station attendant do? Marry into run down gas station? He ran into fate”
-- Jonathan White, Letterboxd
#002: The Dark Knight
2008
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
WHY SO SERIOUS?
When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“When was the last time you saw a blockbuster that was impeccably executed and simultaneously thought-provoking, audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining?”
-- Claudia Puig, USA Today
“The symbiosis of good and evil is the film's philosophical core, and images of duality and cloaked identity are strewn through it like shards from a fun house mirror.”
-- Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“I couldn't believe when I was hearing and reading people who felt Heath Ledger only won an Academy Award for this film because he had passed away, which is a ridiculous and unfair assessment. The man won the award because he gave an iconic performance, every word, mannerism, expression, and lick of the lips was perfection. His version of the Joker is one of my favorite acting achievements ever, and it never gets old or lessens in importance.”
-- shanderson88, Letterboxd
#001: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2004
Directed by Michael Gondry
Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet
I ALREADY FORGET HOW I USED TO FEEL ABOUT YOU.
A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
Trailer | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind goes by like a fevered dream of love, but one you remember vividly, with profound pleasure.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“It's a trippy but tender examination of human emotions, relationships, all-consuming love.”
-- Steve Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“I’m not sure I have an all time favourite film but if I was pushed to pick one then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would be a strong candidate. It is such a wildly inventive and beautifully crafted film, both behind and in front of the camera, that it never fails to impress or surpise me, no matter how often I watch it”
-- Adam Cook, Letterboxd
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