My top 50 films of the 00s

So here it is. After I compiled a list of my top 100 movies from the last 10 years, I found that numbers 50 through 100 weren’t actually that amazing. But while the 00s hasn’t been the greatest ever decade for film, it hasn’t been the worst either – not by a long shot.

Let me know what you think of my list, and let me know if I’ve missed out on anything special. Thanks!

1) The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
An excellent modern-day western. After a trigger-happy border guard shoots dead the titular Melquiades Estrada, Tommy Lee Jones (directing himself) decides to give his friend the burial he deserves. The story ambles along at the right pace to enjoy breathtaking landscapes and some nice comic touches.

2) Sideways (2004)
Two friends head for Napa Valley. One wants to share his love of wine; the other wants to enjoy his last moments of not being married. They meet girls and fun stuff happens. The visual style evokes 70s Hollywood, when great character films like this weren't so hard to come by.

3) Wonder Boys (2000)
A one-hit-wonder blocked writer (Michael Douglas, in his best role by far) reluctantly takes a fresh new writing talent under his wing. Both have their fair share of personal issues to resolve. A smart, funny, perfectly executed character film.

4) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
In reality it might not be possible to erase someone from your memory, but it's a deceit that gives this surreal, creative gem plenty more bite than other love stories. The source material is wild, although pretty standard for master of invention Charlie Kaufman.

5) Adaptation (2002)
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is the hero of this film, which he wrote himself about writing a screenplay for another film. He shares the screenwriting credit -- and Oscar nomination -- with his brother Donald, who doesn't actually exist. Just go with it.

6) Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
There is much we can learn from gangly daydreamer Napoleon, who goes through life doing what his heart tells him. This quirky comedy is a love poem of sorts -- to Idaho's host of likeable losers and oddballs -- and finishes on a high: the most entertaining high school election bid of all time.

7) Doubt (2008)
A nun suspects a priest of molesting a boy, and things get out of hand. The dialogue-heavy script raises questions about morality and paves the way for big, powerful performances from Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

8) Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Account of how a hotel manager (played by Don Cheadle) protected Tutsis from murderous Hutus in 1994. A graphic and blood-chilling warning to Western governments: do nothing, and terrible things happen.

9) Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Mulholland Dr. is a weird surrealist dream-like mess of a film, but however you interpret it, you will find it darkly intriguing. Quite possibly Lynch's best. This is what cinema is all about, or should be.

10) Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The War on Terror is the decade's most engaging news story, so the Spider-Man 2 script was bound to grip audiences: Spidey is the USA, Doc Ock is international terrorism, and the police are the UN. The best comic book adaptation to date.

11) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Fast-paced detective comedy. Few understand its intricate plot on first viewing, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Robert Downey Jr's anti-hero is a riot.

12) The King Of Kong (2007)
Two men compete for the Donkey Kong world record: one is a likeable family man; the other is a cartoon villain. It gets pretty nasty, and all the tension you see is real. Documentary gold. You couldn't make it up.

13) Juno (2007)
A schoolgirl gets pregnant and must decide what to do about it. The story, characters and actors are all charming, although the snappy, wise-ass dialogue often seems contrived.

14) Team America: World Police (2004)
Trey Parker, the genius behind South Park, near his satirical, controversial best, serves up a raucous comedy about dicks, assholes (like Kim Jong Il) and pussies (like Tim Robbins). With marionettes.

15) The Kite Runner (2007)
A very bad thing happens to a young Afghan boy. It's a shock to the system, and a turning point in his relationship with his best friend. The storytellers and leading actors are so likeable and natural that you want to forgive them for manipulating your emotions.

16) The Lives of Others (2006)
It isn't easy being conscientious in the Stasi if you grow to like the people you're meant to be spying on. Ulrich Mühe, now sadly deceased, is excellent in this personal, moving drama.

17) Erin Brockovich (2000)
Julia Roberts surprised the world, playing against type and doing it well, as a lowly single mum taking down an unscrupulous water company. Will we remember this as director Steven Soderbergh's last moment of brilliance, or will he return to interesting character films again someday?

18) In the Bedroom (2001)
The pain and anger at the core of this story is dark and raw enough to sustain an uncommonly simple storyline for one and a half hours. Nearly every scene is tense, frightening, full of anguish. Tom Wilkinson's performance might be the best of his 40 or so to date.

19) There Will Be Blood (2007)
Power, religion, milkshake... I can't remember exactly what this film was about, but it is another ambitious work from Hollywood's most promising director, both funny and distressing at the same time. Daniel Day Lewis is larger than life in the leading role.

20) Borat (2006)
The layman's limited knowledge of Kazakhstan meant Sacha Baron Cohen could make his Borat character as ridiculously silly as he wanted. His actual nationality was irrelevant; the point was that by appearing foreign, he could poke fun at the West. That Borat also inadvertently offended the PC brigade and much of Kazakhstan itself made it all the more entertaining.

21) Together (2000)
The best Swedish film of the 00s is about kids growing up in a 70s commune. Lukas Moodysson's subsequent films have been experimental and thoroughly depressing, but his early work reminds us that they can also be funny and entertaining, regardless of whether that's what he wants.

22) Synecdoche, New York (2008)
An auteur hires actors to act out his life, and they do so for decades, without an audience. This is one of very few films that dare confront the fact that we're all slowly dying -- not the kind of subject matter that gets bums on seats, but intriguing in its own special, morbid way.

23) No Country for Old Men (2007)
Javier Bardem is the inhuman, devil-like Anton Chigurh, killing left, right and centre in the Coens' most gripping film of the decade. To be completely honest, I don't really understand what it was all about, but it's a thrill to watch all the same.

24) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
It's Homer's Odyssey, only Deep South style, so look out for hair pomade, the Ku Klux Klan and a bluegrass-revivalist soundtrack. As unpredictable as The Big Lebowski, and as daft as Raising Arizona.

25) Elephant (2003)
The moments leading up to a Columbine-style school massacre, seen over and over from different perspectives (see also Last Days). It's hard to watch even the most inane teenage chitchat when you can smell the impending doom in every scene.

26) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
A group of Jewish soldiers set out to scalp some Nazis in an alternative WW2 universe. Tarantino's latest changes its mind, its genre and the focus of its story every couple of scenes, but despite its incongruity succeeds in being exciting, beautiful and funny.

27) Memento (2000)
Upon first viewing, it's hard to figure out what exactly what happens and when. Memento's narrative structure is unusual, fitting for an unusual story about an amnesiac tracking down his wife's killer. The risk pays off: rewatch and be impressed.

28) Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Pixar's best film to date. Monsters are more scared of kids than kids are scared of monsters. They have an ulterior motive for acting scary. Inventive and endearing.

29) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Feelgood road movie about a family on its way to a sickening beauty pageant for kids. Funny and offbeat.

30) Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
A Quentin Tarantino western, with plenty of eastern thrown in. Uma Thurman continues her mission to wipe out her would-be assassins, but encounters a few surprises along the way. Stylish, compelling and visually enthralling.

31) Born and Bred (2006)
This Patagonia-set film is as depressing as any I've seen in the last decade. Tragic death, suffering, descent into madness: tick, tick, tick. But somehow it doesn't feel like gratuitous crap. The characters are credible and the cinematography is excellent.

32) The Descent (2005)
A thoroughly unpleasant species has evolved in a network of underground caves. We follow a group of women who enjoy caving. Or used to, at least. Great suspense, and convincing enough to scare the hell out of you.

33) Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
East German mum awakes from coma; son goes to great lengths to pretend the modern reunited Germany outside isn't really there. Funny, touching, intelligent script.

34) Last Days (2005)
The last moments of a rock star's life (loosely based on Kurt Cobain), seen over and over from different perspectives (see also Elephant), as was Gus Van Sant's custom at the time.

35) The Baader-Meinhof Complex (2008)
A study of conflicting ideologies within a super-violent 1970s German terrorist group. Riveting stuff.

36) Grizzly Man (2005)
Haunting documentary about Timothy Treadwell, a man who loves bears and gets way too close to them. Treadwell is one of the strangest individuals you could ever hope to see on film, so his source material is a goldmine for director Werner Herzog.

37) Tsotsi (2005)
A hoodlum acquires a baby in a bungled carjacking, and learns to deal with the responsibility. Simple premise, thought-provoking story.

38) Knocked Up (2007)
An unlikely couple get together and, thanks to an unexpected visit from the stork, stay together. Funny script, well-rounded characters, nice acting... The best Apatow since Freaks and Geeks.

39) Little Children (2006)
Another grown-up drama from Todd Field (see also In the Bedroom). The characters feel so real that the suspense is sometimes difficult to handle.

40) Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Unlike most one-note martial arts flicks, Quentin Tarantino's eastern has the benefit of sassy western dialogue and delivery. Mass revenge killing never looked so good.

41) The Pianist (2002)
Adrien Brody's Jewish musician must escape the Polish ghetto in WW2. Auteur Roman Polanski was there himself, so his story draws from first-hand memories. Amazing story, gripping film.

42) WALL•E (2008)
Stunning Pixar animation. In the future, people laze around in big chairs, endlessly consuming junk food, completely oblivious to the universe around them. Is that the future, or are we pretty much there already?

43) Moon (2009)
Moon is close to being a one-man show, casting Sam Rockwell as a one-man moon-based power plant for the folks back home. Most audiences will find it more accessible than more arty films like 2001 and Solaris.

44) Tokyo Sonata (2008)
A portrait of an unhappy family in Japan: nobody shares; each character is fragile and keeps secrets from the others.

45) Human Nature (2001)
This film takes a close, deep look at, well, human nature. It's a lot more interesting than you might expect a film starring Rhys Ifans to be. Criminally underrated work from Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman.

46) The Station Agent (2003)
Slice-of-life mood film that follows three unusual characters in an unusual setting. Nice pace, nice script, nice characters. Aah!

47) Lost In Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola has a rare talent for evoking moods in her films. This film, like The Virgin Suicides before it, is all mood and not much else. You don't really follow it as much as absorb it, but that can be rewarding if you're in the right frame of mind.

48) Traffic (2000)
Traffic takes a look at disparate groups of characters and their relation to America's war on drugs. Cracking stuff. And who knew Catherine Zeta Jones could act?

49) Let the Right One In (2008)
Forget Twilight. Unless you're a teenage girl, if you want a film about a friendly vampire, you will find this one far more interesting.

50) Spirited Away (2001)
It seems churlish to call this animated film overrated, given that it is hand-drawn and beautiful, but for me it marks a turning point in Miyazaki's career. His new works are still beautiful and inventive, but somehow I feel as if I've seen it all before.


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