Crash! Landen’s Best 100 Movies of the Decade (2000s/2000-2009)
When I first posted this list I wanted to keep it simple. There aren’t any explanations for their worthiness of being on the list other than a few have links to my reviews of the movies. I’m updating as I go and at some point all of these will have their proper review links. You can see by the number of ‘bumped’ movies (17 and counting) that I have already had a number of revisions, including leaving one of the Lord of the Rings movies off and not being able to count to 100 properly. I think that’s corrected now.
This is a List that covers the decade of the 2000s, so don’t expect any films from 2010 and beyond to be on this list. This is NOT a list of my personal favorites. It’s a list of the films that I think were the most well-made and that can cover a lot of things. I took into account what the film was aiming to do, the story, characterization, production values, aesthetics, importance, where the film originated from, entertainment value, subtext, originality and even the audience it was intended for among other things. There are films on the list that I definitely was not for whom the film was intended for, but I still recognize its success with it’s intended audience. It still has to be a good movie, though. I think I could properly and to some degree objectively defend every film on the list. The placement isn’t imprortant to me so much, whether a film at #22 might be better than a film at 16. I just tried to make a list with 100 (+) films that were worth seeing. Everyone has different tastes, so you might not enjoy one of these as much as I did, but I’m sure there are films here that would surprise even if you weren’t a fan of the particular genre that the story takes place in. I personally would have never thought that I would have liked a ‘chick flick/kids’ movie like ‘Enchanted’ or one like’The Band’s Visit’ a slow moving foreign film about an Egyptian orchestra gets stranded overnight in a small Isreali town without any large fireworks. Okay, maybe ‘The Band’s Visit’. Subtitles don’t scare me.
I guess that’s enough of an explanation and if you want more… Here’s my Top 100 of the 1990s.
And now I’ve also completed my Top 100 of the 1980s.
The next few films (15 or so) have been ‘bumped’, but were in my Top 100 at one time. I’m leaving the posters up for the ones that got knocked out, though. TMNT was once #100 and is still a great film. Hands down, the best computer generated martial arts flick ever. There are still revisions to be made, though, having seen some other REALLY good films of this era that deserve to be here. This isn’t a list of cement. It’s in a constant state of flux as all of my lists are.
The Lookout
Lord of War
The Proposition
The Girl In The Cafe
A Knight’s Tale
The Darjeeling Limited
War of the Worlds
The Weather Man
Walk the Line
The Incredibles
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
(Bumped) Michael Clayton
(Bumped) The FallAnd Now the Top 100.
100 Ghost Town
99 Beautiful Creatures
98 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
97 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
96 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
95 Zatoichi (The Blind Swordsman)
94 Kabluey!
93 Enchanted
92 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
91 Serenity
90 Hellboy II
89 Eastern Promises
88 The Road
87 3:10 to Yuma
86 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
85 Ghost World
84 The Last King of Scotland
83 The Fountain
82 Babel
81 Sunshine
80 The Bourne Ultimatum
79 The Prestige
78 Stranger Than Fiction
77 Apocalypto
75 American Splendor
74 The Passion of the Christ
73 Kill Bill Vol. 2
72 Melinda and Melinda
71 Garden State
70 Seabiscuit
69 Spider-Man 2
68 Kill Bill Vol. 1
67 Intermission
66 House of Sand and Fog
65 Grizzly Man
64 King Kong
62 Match Point
61 Finding Nemo
60 Wall-E
59 Crazy Heart
58 Enemy at the Gates
57 A Prophet
56 Amélie
53 The Wrestler
52 Body of Lies
51 Croupier
50 The Royal Tenenbaums
49 Monsters, Inc.
48 Kung Fu Panda
47 In Bruges
46 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
45 Gone Baby Gone
44 Ratatouille
43 Unbreakable
42 Up
41 Closer
40 The Aviator
39 Chicken Run
38 Hulk
37 The Bourne Identity
36 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
35 The Ring
34 In America
33 Sideways
32 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
31 Requiem for a Dream
30 Gangs of New York
29 Cinderella Man
28 Gladiator
27 City Of God
26 Slumdog Millionaire
25 The Constant Gardener
24 Blood Diamond
23 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
22 Casino Royale
21 Kingdom of Heaven
20 Black Hawk Down
19 The Return (Russian flick)
17 Hot Fuzz
16 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship OfThe ring
15 The Departed
14 Batman Begins
13 Munich
12 Twilight Samurai
11 The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
10 Man On Wire
9 The Band’s Visit
8 The Dark Knight
7 No Country For Old Men
6 Zodiac
5 Pan’s Labyrinth
4 Gosford Park
2 Children of Men
1 AdaptationThoughts?
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August 21, 2011 at 4:42 AM
I’ve seen Wild Target now. Liked it, but I wouldn’t put it in my Top 100. It was very ‘light’. Review pending… Still have to see Rec 2.
March 22, 2011 at 1:41 PM
Hi Good list, but you missed Rec and Rec2. Both excellent. Or Wild Target for example. Hilarious!
Can anyone help? Looking for a movie set in Namibia. Basically, microlight pilot goes missing, his daughter and a tracker search. They get captured by armed gang. A geologist is forced to help the gang search for diamonds and he shows them that diamonds are in the sand glinting in the moonlight.
Not a bad movie, great scenery in Namib.
Preciate any help
March 22, 2011 at 2:18 PM
Thanks! I have not seen Wild Target or Rec2. I’ll have to Rec-tify that. Bu dum bump! Thank you, I’m here all week! Don’t forget to tip your waitress on the way out…..
These aren’t the only 100 good films. This is a list of fiims that I HAVE seen, though. I’m still seeing films that I should have seen when they came out. I could also easily make a list of 350 good films (I actually have such a list). Maybe even 400-500. But there are only so many movies you can see, even if you watch movies all the time.
I did see Rec. Maybe I’ll go back and view it again. Rec’s American twin ‘Quarantine’ (which made my worst of 2008 list) may have skewed my perception about that one.
December 1, 2010 at 12:18 PM
First. Thanks, for posting and the comment. The fact that you’re only disputing the order and think that there are only a couple of stinkers (which of course I disagree with) I think is a sign we both can spot quality movies…
Everyone’s tastes aren’t the same but at least we agreed a bit.
On ‘Whatever Works’… That’s one of those movies where I struggle with where to put the release date. It had a limited run (353 theaters) for the most part. I think it eventually played here in early 2010 (I believe) at the local art house theater. My general rule is that I put the release date when it opens locally or its DVD release…. I’m not the only one that does that. Mark Kermode, British Film Reviewer, had Let The Right One In as his #1 film of 2009, whereas I saw it in 2008 (and was #19 on my list, I think).
Independent films sometimes make the rounds on the festival circuits for years before they’re actually acknowledged. I can’t think of examples off the top of my head for sure, but I think ‘The Diving Bell And The Butterfly’ was out for a couple of years when it got nominated for an Academy Award (I could be wrong about that though). I do know movies like Saw and Shaun Of The Dead were out about a year befor they were released here in the states, also…
And besides all that, I haven’t seen ‘Whatever Works’ yet. I’m sure I’ll see it at some point, though…
December 1, 2010 at 2:11 AM
I liked the list, though I disagree with the order in a number of ways. Only two real stinkers on there as far as I can see: “Match Point” was pretty blah for a Woody Allen film (I liked “Whatever Works” better) and “Enchanted” wasn’t my cup of tea.
May 17, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Thanks for opining! Moon was good. It made my list, obviously.
May 17, 2010 at 4:53 PM
This list is not that great but I do agree that moon is one of the best films and personally it is my favorite.
March 28, 2010 at 7:01 PM
I agree with the majority of the films you’ve chosen (i haven’t seen them all), but Unbreakable?
I pretty sure that I’d class it as one of the worst movies i’ve seen.
I’m just wondering how it made it into your top 100?
March 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM
Well, I’m glad you agree with some of them. I doubt there are too many people that could watch 100 movies and agree on all of them. Million Dollar Baby won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2004, but for me it was the worst that I saw that entire year. There are many reasons to like or dislike a movie, and without knowing WHY you think it’s awful it’s hard for me to answer. You might think it’s too slow… Or maybe you don’t like one of the actors… Or thought it was dreary. But, I’ll try and answer what I liked about it.
For me, it’s well made in every aspect. If you don’t know what it’s about, you won’t know where it’s going. At least I didn’t. Without giving away too much it has a great villain and his worldview drives the movie. In a good way.
M. Night Shyamalamadingdong ATTACKS the genre he’s working in. It’s one of the best films OF its genre (can’t say which genre without giving anything away). It had several very good actors. It’s suspenseful in the vein of Hitchcock. It has a beautiful cinematic quality to it and very professionally lit. It follows its own logic and treats the ‘supernatural’ elements with as much realism as it can (it takes itself seriously, which isn’t always a bad thing in movies).
It has a great story that is bolstered by its visuals. The scenes aren’t just shot, they were well thought out and filmed with purpose. Everything in it contributed to the overall style of the film. From the water and mirror motifs, to the carefully thought out color schemes to the camera’s movements and angles.
it WAS slow, but being slow doesn’t make a movie bad. It WAS a bit sedate in the characters’ personalities, but I don’t need every movie that I see to be an action movie or a Jim Carrey comedy. I just want to see a good tale told. AND I think it’s Shyamalamadingdong’s best movie (yes, better than the Sixth Sense). This movie actually had a purpose to it instead just being a movie built around a very well done gimmick.
I haven’t liked all of his films and they’re not big FX movies (until the Last Airbender), but M. Night Shyamalan does make movies with his own sense of style.
Anyway, I hope that explains my like for that one to some degree. Thanks for posting.
March 27, 2010 at 3:40 AM
Syriana
March 27, 2010 at 11:01 AM
Haven’t seen that one Sean… So, no.
February 15, 2010 at 8:20 PM
Yes I did love ‘that shit’, but King Kong’s #55 on my list, so no….
February 15, 2010 at 3:41 PM
King Kong you loved that shit