50 Best Films of the 21st Century
Revealing the 50 best films of the 21st Century. I wanted to keep this to one film per director, though some directors could have multiple films on this list.
I wanted more variety. Keeping the same style as my Top 50 list of the year, listing out 50-21 and writing a paragraph about 20-1.
50. The Brutalist (2024) – Brady Corbet
49. Paddington 2 (2017) – Paul King
48. Michael Clayton (2007) – Tony Gilroy
47. Meeks Cutoff (2010) – Kelly Reichardt
46. Inside Out (2015) – Pete Docter
45. Friday Night Lights (2004) – Peter Berg
44. A Bigger Splash (2015) – Luca Guadagnino
43. 25th Hour (2002) – Spike Lee
42. Shame (2011) – Steve McQueen
41. Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) – Christopher McQuarrie
40. Melancholia (2011) – Lars von Trier
39. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – Steven Soderbergh
38. Manchester by the Sea (2016) – Kenneth Lonergan
37. Lost in Translation (2003) – Sofia Coppola
36. Past Lives (2023) – Celine Song
35. Far From Heaven (2002) – Todd Haynes
34. Drive My Car (2021) – Ryusuke Hamaguchi
33. Almost Famous (2000) – Cameron Crowe
32. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) – Kathryn Bigelow
31. You Were Never Really Here (2018) – Lynne Ramsay
30. Moneyball (2011) – Bennett Miller
29. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – Wes Anderson
28. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – Martin Scorsese
27. The Power of the Dog (2021) – Jane Campion
26. The Handmaiden (2016) Park Chan-wook
25. Spirited Away (2001) – Hayao Miyazaki
24. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – George Miller
23. Hereditary (2018) – Ari Aster
22. City of God (2002) – Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund
21. Arrival (2016) – Denis Villeneuve
20. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – Steven Spielberg
Have you ever watched a movie and then watched it many years later, and you do a complete 180 on that film? That’s what happened with Spielberg’s A.I.. Seeing this at 11, I was too young to really understand the film's themes. On a rewatch, I found this to be devastating and one of the best “What does it mean to be human?”
19. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Michel Gondry
Some may not agree, but I think this is one of the most romantic movies. Probably says something about me, I’m not going to interrogate. But to be seen completely, flaws and all, and to still be chosen for love is a beautiful thing. Plus, it’s a brilliant script and all that yadda yadda.
18. Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele
To get to see a movie in theaters in real time and know that it is going to change the cinematic language for years to come is exciting. Seeing this, knowing we have our generation’s Exorcist, an instant classic that will be inspiring for years, is an indescribable thrill.
17. First Reformed (2018) – Paul Schrader
A bleak film that has only gotten bleaker with time and the era we now live in. Only Paul Schrader could make a crisis of faith film this good. Ethan Hawke gives a career-best best as the priest having a crisis of faith. A soul-shaking film.
16. Dunkirk (2017) – Christopher Nolan
At least Quentin Tarantino agrees with me that this is Nolan’s best work, or some of his best. You can tell this is a meaningful story for him.
I think this is his film with the most heart. So many of his films are cold and technical. Dunkirk is very Nolan but with real heart.
15. Brokeback Mountain (2005) – Ang Lee
In an attempt to avoid the Oscar mess, which I spoke about a bit in my Best Picture winners of the 21st Century Ranked article. It’s the film from 2005 that still has a social footprint.
An important American film that paved the way for LGBTQ cinema to come to the forefront of Hollywood rather than staying on the outskirts.
14. Inglorious Basterds (2009) – Quentin Tarantino
I’d argue this is Tarantino’s best script ever. With some of the best performances he has put on screen. Topped by one of the greatest introductions to the US, with Christoph Waltz. Tarantino clearly has fun with revisionist history, and this is his most fun and his best film…ever? *quietly* Yes.
13. The Zone of Interest (2023) – Jonathan Glazer
Is it kitschy to call this a museum piece? Maybe, but doesn’t mean that it might not be true. The most horrifying of Holocaust movies. Because it shows just how easy it would be to get comfortable with genocide. One of the best sound designs in film.
12. TAR (2022) – Todd Field
Cate Blanchett is one of our great working actors, and she gives a career-best best as Lydia Tar. The performance only strengthens Todd Field’s magnum opus. A rich text that only gets richer after every viewing.
11. Mulholland Drive (2001) – David Lynch
I still believe Blue Velvet is David Lynch’s best film. However, it’s hard to argue that this film is more influential. Many young filmmakers today cite Lynch and this film as their impetus for filmmaking. R.I.P. Lynch, one of our most idiosyncratic and influential filmmakers.
10. A Serious Man (2009) – Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
The most nihilistic film in these nihilist brethren’s filmography. It’s also one of their funniest. Every time I watch it, it gets better. It’s the tightrope walk of tone that makes me love this more than No Country for Old Men.
09. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – Peter Jackson
It was immediate, I knew this world was for me. How kids must’ve felt when they watched Star Wars back in 1977. I wanted to live in this world. Can’t believe it took me so long to play D&D after these movies came out. The first one will always be my favorite.
08. Boyhood (2014) – Richard Linklater
What Linklater accomplished with this is nothing short of a miracle. Filming a movie over 12 years could’ve just been a gimmick, but Linklater crafts one of the best coming-of-age films ever. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke are tremendous as young parents who also come of age.
07. Moonlight (2016) – Barry Jenkins
Moonlight is a special movie that announced Barry Jenkins to the world as a voice to watch. I was so impressed on a first watch the ability to get similar performances from three different actors who don’t look alike playing the same character at three different ages. It reaches into your soul.
06. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) – Celine Sciamma
France not submitting this for this Oscar was very French and a massive mistake. Parasite took up all the love this year, but this was another incredible foreign language film. An elite final 10 minutes.
05. In the Mood for Love (2000) – Wong Kar-wai
Maybe the best film about longing. Without this film, there is no Moonlight. Watching a Wong Kar-wai film is like a study in film influence of the last 25 years. It’s lush and exquisite. Anchored by quietly brilliant performances from Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung
04. Parasite (2019) – Bong Joon-ho
A director who can meld genres, I’d argue, the best at it, is Bong Joon-ho. A film about class in Korea that translates worldwide, which is why this became such a phenomenon.
Bong melds 4 genres together and flips the movie on its head halfway through, and never loses sight of his vision. It’s one of the best films of the 21st century.
03. There Will Be Blood (2007) – Paul Thomas Anderson
It’s pretentious to say, but this film is like reading The Great American Novel. What’s great is that every time you watch it, you realize how funny the movie really is.
Daniel Day-Lewis gives an iconic performance, creating a larger-than-life character who fits right in among the men who shaped America.
02. The Tree of Life (2011) – Terrence Malick
Nature vs. Nurture in a film. Pitt vs. Chastain, a high-reaching film about the meaning of life and what shapes us as humans.
Are we created, or is it our environment that shapes us? I believe this is the closest thing we have gotten to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Several interpretations and all could be right.
01. The Social Network (2010) – David Fincher
Perfect on every level. Performances are stellar, and Garfield deserved a nomination. Reznor and Ross announced themselves as a composer force for the next however long they want to work.
The script doesn’t have a wrong note, and Fincher ties it all together. Some could argueZodiacshould be here instead of The Social Network, but I am not one of them.
