Not the 30 Best Films of the 2000’s
“Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.”
- Oscar Wilde, preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray
The following movies are not the best of the previous decade. They received mixed reviews at best, have obvious flaws and are at times just downright bad. But they also have vision, artistry, and the balls to go out and do something different. And despite their flaws, all these movies have grown on me, and most of them have become much more meaningful to me than some of the Great Films of the decade.
There are some varieties to this list: some are films by known directors who did something different that not everyone liked, some are small indies that resurfaced when they were released on DVD and almost all of them are just so damn weird that the critics who hated it did so with a passion and the critics who liked it didn’t really know what to say about it. None of these quite turned out to be the little movie that could. But all of them were the little movie that tried.
Waking Life
Richard Linklater could never really be bothered with stuff like plotting or coherence, but he really cut loose on Waking Life. The story, for what it’s worth, follows a young man who is wandering through his dreams. The stuff he stumbles upon is philosophical, rambling, strange, radical, wild, and in general as illogical as illogical as dreams are. And it’s animated. Because of course.
The lovers will say:
“a soothing flow of intelligence, of questioning, of curiosity and imagination”
– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The haters will say:
“an endless bull session”
– J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
The Science of Sleep
There’s no denying the greatness of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but in the end the movie is more Charlie Kaufman’s than Michel Gondry’s. How unlike the whimsical Science of Sleep, which is all Gondry, all the way. The tone is dreamy, sexy and funny throughout, and yet it doesn’t feel like wish fulfillment on the part of the maker. For a decade that spawned the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, that’s a pretty big plus.
The lovers will say:
“the dream you wish you could have, if you could only remember it”
– Urban Cinephile
The haters will say:
“What Eternal Sunshine did with magic and whimsy, The Science of Sleep accomplishes with confusion and pretentiousness”
–James Berardinelli, ReelViews
The Fall
Outside of The Fall, Tarsem Singh has made only commercials, a mediocre thriller and a terrible action movie. So how everything came together to make such a shiver-inducing wonderland is a bit of a mystery. But this is a film that likes mysteries, and doesn’t feel like breaking them. Also, if nothing else, this is surely the most gorgeous-looking film on the entire list.
The lovers will say:
“Rarely does a film employ the frame so fully and serve up images of such breathtaking scale as in The Fall”
– Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
The haters will say:
“…like two hours of high-end perfume commercials.”
– Kurt Loder, MTV
Hunger
Steve McQueen is not a filmmaker to go for the easy way out, not for himself and definitely not for the audience. Hunger is a cannonball to the face, both in what it says and the lingering existential dread that lurks behind it all.
The lovers will say:
“Hunger does for modern film what Caravaggio did to Renaissance painting.”
– Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
The haters will say:
“Trite, grim and feebly provocative.”
- Ray Bennet, Hollywood Reporter
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York belongs to that peculiar category of movies that set out to tackle nothing less than all of human existence. Coming from a man who once wrote a movie about himself writing a movie, there was no doubt it was going to get weird. But the heights, depths, lengths and widths the movie goes to are indescribable. This genuinely has to be seen to believed, whether you believe it to be amazing or awful.
The lovers will say:
“A soul-altering, heart-changing, brain-transplanting masterpiece.”
- Matthew De Abaitua, Film4
The haters will say:
“…bitter, hollow and adolescent: like a gargantuan music video conceived for an emo band with a penchant for Pirandello.”
– Jonathan Romney, Independent
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Taken as an action-comedy Scott Pilgrim is already pretty damn good, but the real merit of the film lies in its portrayal of young people nowadays. There are few movies that so accurately (and hilariously) reproduce the workings the brain of an urban 20-year dude old. Oh, and people punch each other in the face with flaming swords. That as well.
The lovers will say:
“This movie is like the entirety of American youth culture crammed into a single package: It’s about love, alienation, video games, comic books, chord-grinding indie/punk rock, texting, dead-end jobs and evil ex-boyfriends.”
– Cristopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The haters will say:
“[It’s] a string of scenes, it’s a blur of faces, it’s a heaving great two-hour maelstrom of noise and punching. But it’s not a proper movie.”
– Robbie Collin, News of the World
Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog is like an atheist who keeps going to church because he thinks the priest is such an interesting guy. Even though he at times downright scornful about humans and all the folly adventures they throw themselves into, he just can’t resist the fascinating stories of those who truly venture to the end of the world (Antartica, in this case). The result is one of the most mystical documentaries ever made.
The lovers will say:
“This is Herzog in awe at life, the universe, eternity itself.”
– Anthony Quinn, Independent
The haters will say:
“Gosh, Werner Herzog, would you like a little movie to go with your 99-minute, rambling lecture on Antarctica?”
– Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press
The Triplets of Belleville
Somehow retro, modern and timeless all at once, The Triplets of Belleville is above all supremely French. It’s a movie that seems to be funny and delightful almost by accident, so entirely devoid of cheap gags is it. But it’s not difficult viewing, it’s smart viewing, and I dare you not to fall in love with it.
The lovers will say:
“Zee French, zay are different, non? Well, in this case, wonderfully so.”
- Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The haters will say:
“Perhaps the worst animated feature film I’ve ever seen.”
- Phil Hall, Film Threat
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
I initially resolved to restrict myself to one film per director, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave Werner Herzog’s other masterpiece from this decade off the list. Its protagonist, played by Nicholas Cage, is firmly on the “anti” side of antiheroes, the story is twelve ways bananas and the humor is not so much dark as it is just downright sadistic. And I loved every second of it.
The lovers will say:
“A depraved, perfect storm of cinema.”
- Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
The haters will say:
“Cage is a flailing madman and the only polite thing to do is look away.”
- Stella Papamichael, Digital Spy
Brick
Making a great high school movie is pretty hard. Making a great noir is even harder. Brick, somehow, is both. It’s one of those ideas that really shouldn’t work, but ends up being utterly amazing, to writer-director Rian Johnson’s everlasting credit. Although a mesmerizing Joseph-Gordon in the lead certainly helps as well.
The lovers will say:
“That rarest of things: a movie called ‘unique’ that actually is.”
- Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress
The haters will say:
“A glorified student film”
- Cole Smithey, colesmithey.com
45 Comments
Nice list but there’s 2 films that don’t belong in that list. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 release while The Virgin Suicides premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival at the Director’s Forthnight.
Well well my my isn’t that something.
I believe that stranger than fiction is very underrated. Will Ferrel’s peroformance is perfect and the rest of the cast is brilliant (Dustin Hoffman’s characther is my favourite). Ferrel deserved, at least, an Golden Globe.
Yea I love me some Stranger than Fiction as well. And it’s always nice to see a comedian doing well in a mostly dramatic role.
Most of the titles on here are definitely not for everyone. They’re usually for those who have the patience of a saint (ie, Hunger). I applaud the inclusion of Control, which is a fantastic film.
Ooh good list. There are many I haven’t seen, but it also has some of my most favourite films ever like The Dreamers, Virgin Suicides, Scott Pilgrim, I’m Not There, Control, American Psycho, and also some stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed like Coffee and Cigarettes and Wristcutters.
And many I haven’t even heard of! Coffee and Cigarettes being among those. It definitely looks intriguing
Coffee and Cigarettes is brilliant. like basically everything Jarmsuch does.
Good to know!
Personally disagree on The American. I saw it and I hate it whereas I’d say Drive is the best film of 2011. I just could not care less about any of the characters or the plot points in The American whereas I was riveted from minute one with Drive. Well thought out, in depth list, though. Great stuff!
Dude, lots to chew on this list. I’m going to try and throw all my thoughts out there pathetically in bullet point style in the hopes of not forgetting any of them.
*Love how you offer the dueling quotes.
*Love your description of Herzog.
*Haven’t even heard of Heima. I need to get on that.
*I agree with you about Sofia (but that goes without saying). Couldn’t we find a way to sneak Marie Antoinette on to this list, too?
*I hated Rules of Attraction. Hated.It.
* Thanks
* Thanks, and also this: http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/2011/06/meet-the-geeks-werner-herzog/
* You totally have to. Make sure to get some decent speakers for the occasion as well.
* I like Marie Antoinette, but I don’t really love it. The lushness doesn’t suit Coppola.
* Well, that’s why it’s listed as “not the best film of the 2000′s”.
“The lushness doesn’t really suit Coppola makes no sense to me; maybe my definition of the word lush is different than yours, but I think that’s a gross oversimplification of the film’s faults and Coppola’s strengths as a filmmaker.
What I mean is that the style seems to smother out the substance. It’s still a good movies, but one that I found lacking in strong characters.
This is one interesting post…I haven’t seen all but really fun to read.
I like Scott Pilgrim but I am not a lover or hater…just like
so many films on here that are truly dear to my heart.
This is great Max. I stand of different sides of the fence for some of these films. Many I have not yet seen.
I thought most people loved Sideways. I know I do – and I do think it is one of the best films of the last decade.
Great list. Love that things like Science of Sleep and Hard Candy are included. Great overlooked films.
This is a great list, Max! I’ve seen only a few, but they all generally look like the kinds of movies that I’d like. The Virgin Suicides is possibly one of my top 10 favourite films of all time. Sofia Coppola makes some great films. Scott Pilgrim, Brick and American Psycho are all awesome. And as for Hunger – I love that film to bits. Michael Fassbender is devastatingly amazing in that movie.
Yeah, I’d rank The Virgin Suicides in my top 10 as well. It just keeps getting more and more layered every time I watch it.
Wow! Great list, Max! There’s a few I’ve got to look into which look different to say the least! Couple of movies I really enjoyed like Jesse James, Stranger then Fiction and The Fall, but their cons are understandable – loved the analogy of the purfume advert with The Fall! Found Synecdoche New York and Belleville Rendezvous infuriatingly pretentious though. Love the flip side concept though – good stuff :]
what a great collection of films in one list… brilliant work matey.
I am on the side of the LOVE±RS with most of them… all except The Fountain… Hates that one
It is nice to hear that not everyone loved Scott Pilgrim. I wasn’t much of a fan.
Awesome list you got here. I’ve seen a lot of the films listed here. For the ones I still haven’t, the fact that they’re included here is enough to arouse my interest. “Triplets” is currently at the top of my to-watch list.
Yea Triplets looks like an amazing animation. It kind of reminds me of old-time animations from a visual standpoint.
What a fantastic list. I love a handful of this films (Hunger, Encounters at the End of the World, Bad Lieutenant, and more). Great concept, great execution. Well done.
Several of these were my no 1 in their respective years.
Science of Sleep, Brick, Bad Lieutenant all come to mind.
I was all ready to watch the few I hadn’t seen, assured your taste was near infallable when you by spoiling it proclaiming how great Drive was
Thanks for the Heima recommend. I’ll check it out.
I love this list! I’ve seen a many of these, but want to watch them ALL. Just a way better collection of interesting movies than any average “best movies” list.
For me, Funny People is a movie that seems to be regarded as the red-headed stepchild in the Apatow filmography, but for me it may be his best movie yet. I think the balance of comedy and drama was just perfect in it
I watched it when it got all the critics raving, and I really didn’t like it all that much. The cameos frankly struck me as it’s strongest point.
What’s funny is that if I were to make a list of my favorite movies from the last decade or so, probably 10 of these movies would be contenders, if not locks for the list. I went bananas for The Assassination of Jesse James (a Malick impersonation done right, with a tremendous score and tie-in to American folklore, wrapped around a social statement about celebrity worship). I loved The Waking Life. I enjoyed Scott Pilgrim quite a bit. American Psycho is one of the best horrors of the last 20 years peppered with awesome social satire. The Twilight Samurai is an incredible movie that sort of re-shaped the samurai movie tropes. I love I’m Not There (though I have to confess, I might not if I wasn’t such a freak for Dylan). And that comment from the negative critic for Triplets of Belleville is absurd.
Yea I absolutely loved The Twilight Samurai as well. Such an underseen movie and I don’t think it’s flawed beyond being a bit too slowly-paced, most particularly in the first 20 minutes.
ZOMG who are you? Scott Pilgrim is awesome! AWESOME! That’s it! You cocky cock! You’ll pay for your crimes against humanity. Now, do I jest or am I speaking in earnest? You decide.
I will say, I think The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of the finest films of the decades featuring a stellar turn from Affleck everyone remembers but an even more brilliant (Volvi cup winning) turn from Brad Pitt….and so gorgeously shot.
(And Stranger than Fiction is so weird and oddly charming. Also, Emma Thompson.)
Ahaah Andrew, I’m one of those people who found Scott Pilgrim to be nothing special. I was mildly bored throughout to be perfectly honest
Wow, what a fun post! I really cannot imagine the amount of time it took to put it together! The Fountain is the one that stuck out to me the most, it is a masterpiece in my opinion, and I love how so many different people have different views on it.
Thanks for sharing!
A huge number of these easily belong in any “best of the decade” list– particularly Twilight Samurai, which I’m really happy to see someone else heap some lovin’ on– and I can say that some, like Brick, showed up in mine, though I will admit that that list was put together in a huge rush and doesn’t at all reflect what I really think the best movies of 2000-2009 are.
The only one I’d really contend here– apart from Samurai, which, screw its critics, is flat-out amazing– is Hunger, which is widely thought of as an instant masterpiece and wound up being one of the more lauded films that most people didn’t see in its release year.
I remember seeing Hunger at a NYFF press screening. At most screenings, after the film there is much discussion about whatever film we just saw. With Hunger, I think everyone was in a state of shock as everyone just got up and quietly exited out into the Manhattan night. It is a harrowing picture indeed. Gorgeous and tragic. Instant classic is right.
I wish you would have put “The American” near the beginning so I could have known you have terrible taste and skipped the rest of the article. I’m sorry you found George Clooney doing pushups and cleaning his gun for 2 hours entertaining.. but I think it gets no love for a reason.
Nice work, Max. I dig the variety of this list, and it has a few of my favorites as well.
What a great list of oddities and special films. Like the previous commenters said, this is far more interesting than a “Best of” list. Movies like these are why we all love films so much.
I would add two small, odd, flawed-but-wonderful and just-about-fucking-perfect movies to that list:
PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER
and
WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN
For me, they would blend right in with your titles.
Awesome work, man.
Haven’t seen The World’s Fastest Indian. Have seen Perfume, and… eh. I dunno. I really didn’t like it when I saw it, and when I read the book I was flabbergasted as to how much they screwed it up. I have since softened up to the movie a bit and I see now that it’s probably the best adaptation anyone could have hoped for, I just doubt it was really ever a book to be adapted.
Sideways is the only film I believe shouldn’t be on here.
Otherwise … great list.
I had the distinct displeasure of having to sit through Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. I should have got up and walked out actually. What made the experience even more galling was the fact that it had been a ‘surprise screening’. Worst surprise movie… ever!
Good idea for a post! I’d also throw Requiem for a Dream into the hat, I just reviewed it. Not sure what reviewers said back in the day, probably mixed. Tough to love, but impossible to forget, very powerful stuff.
There are basically 100s to choose from during the 2000s: Dummy (2002), A Love Song For Bobby Long (2004) , The Secret Life Of Words (2005) come to mind for me as under-appreciated.
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