the top ten movies of the 21st century

according to me and some friends

We’ve all seen the list of the New York Times’ Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century. Well this is mine! Stay tuned below for the lists of two of my good friends, Adam and Chris. And then tell me who got it right and who should be exiled to the leper colony on the Moon that our government is currently attempting to build.

Seth’s List

There Will Be Blood (2007), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

There’s no shortage of movies about how the American capitalist dream is rotten at its core. Hell, there’s no shortage of excellent movies about how men will pursue their ambition to the detriment of their families, friendships, and souls. But what sets TWBB apart is how masterfully everything comes together. The pure surreality of Paul Dano appearing as one twin and later as the other. Jonny Greenwood’s dissonant strings screeching over a majestic western vista. The way Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance has been memed to death but still stuns on every viewing. I usually name this as my all-time favorite movie. It’s held up incredibly well and is also, you may have forgotten, often extremely funny.

Mulholland Drive (2001), dir. David Lynch

The puzzle box that keeps on giving. There are exactly as many answers as you want there to be. Or you can just sit back and accept the illusion. No hay banda.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), dir. Guillermo del Toro

It’s best remembered for its many wondrous creatures – Doug Jones’ mesmerizing faun, also Doug Jones’ unbearably creepy eye-hands monster – but Ofelia, the young girl dealing with a fragile mother and fascist stepfather, is the heart of Guillermo del Toro’s dark fairy tale. The balance of darkness and light here is perfect; although The Shape of Water may have won Best Picture, in my opinion, this is the del Toro film that deserved it first.

A Serious Man (2009), dir. Joel and Ethan Coen

Possibly the most Jewish movie ever made. It captures so much of the Jewish-American suburban experience: lying on the floor of your carpeted bedroom, chanting along to a cassette tape of your Torah portion; having a weird relative stay with you while they’re working on a mysterious project; being told cryptic stories with impossibly murky meanings. Plus: Sy Ableman, one of the most perfectly named and impeccably costumed movie characters of the past 25 years. Plus: one of my all-time favorite movie endings. I would like to smoke a little weed with the Coen brothers!

Nope (2022), dir. Jordan Peele

I’m kind of stunned we’re not talking about this movie all the time. Jordan Peele’s take on Spielbergian alien-invasion horror has Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer fighting one of the coolest and most memorable movie aliens in recent memory. (And if the chimp stuff doesn’t freak you out, you are stronger than me.) It’s about family, race, moviemaking and Hollywood, and it’s thrilling, funny, and sharp. Get Out was a strong debut from a new filmmaker, but Nope is a more mature work; it really shows off Peele’s confidence and ability to tell a story through stark, stunning visuals.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024), dir. Jane Schoenbrun

They made a movie about my life and they called it I Saw the TV Glow! This movie literally has it all: a searing depiction of being trans and closeted; the sinking feeling that comes with hearing your dad say “Isn’t that a show for girls?”; 90’s-era fan culture; Conner O’Malley screaming the Happy Birthday song at some kids. I rewatched it recently and Brigette Lundy-Paine’s monologue in the second half of the film made me feel like I was lucid dreaming. Just a total masterpiece.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), dir. George Miller

Probably the greatest action movie ever made. Stunningly simple: it’s a chase scene in one direction, and then it’s a chase scene in the other direction. The script doesn’t hold your hand; it presents a completely deranged world and lets your brain fill in the blanks, and it’s just as thrilling on the 20th rewatch as it is on the first. Also: one of my favorite scores from any movie.

Synecdoche, New York (2008), dir. Charlie Kaufman

One of those movies that eventually overwhelms you with how deeply sad it is, and how we’re all going to die, so you just start crying at one point and don’t stop until the credits have finished rolling. It tells the story of Caden Cotard, a theatre director played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who uses a MacArthur grant to construct a full-size replica of New York City and fill it with actors playing real people, and then actors playing the actors, and so on. It’s kind of like The Rehearsal if The Rehearsal were made by Charlie Kaufman, a man who is able to brilliantly juxtapose searing existential dread with the many little indignities of everyday life. I love all of Kaufman’s films and could easily see swapping this out with Eternal Sunshine or I’m Thinking of Ending Things on a different day, but there’s just something so towering and impressive about this movie - and, most notably, in PSH’s beautiful, pathetic, human performance.

Titane (2021), dir. Julia Ducournau

This started out on my Honorable Mentions list and then slowly climbed up into the main list. Titane is fully insane: a woman goes on a killing spree, then disguises herself as the grown version of a lonely firefighter’s missing son to avoid being caught. She also fucks a car at one point and becomes pregnant with its offspring. This movie is so disturbing and intense and strange and fixated on gender and human connection and I really love it. It’s also one of my most memorable moviegoing experiences of the past decade: every single person around me was squirming in their seat because something truly horrifying was constantly about to happen. When the movie ended we were all bonded for life.

Wet Hot American Summer (2001), dir. David Wain

Barely a movie, more like a hundred tiny sketches stitched together, insanely quotable, and yet… for my money, maybe the funniest movie ever made. Impossible to pick a favorite scene, but it might be THE PHONE, THE PHONE, WHERE’S THE FUCKING PHONE?! Bradley Cooper, and I mean this sincerely, has never been better.

Honorable Mentions: Spirited Away, Hot Fuzz, The Handmaiden, Arrival, Lord of the Rings, Black Swan, Before Sunset, Kill Bill, Melancholia, Zodiac, The Social Network, Call Me By Your Name, Silence, TAR, 20th Century Women, Paddington 2, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sound of Metal, May December, Mission Impossible: Fallout

Adam’s List

I’ve included some favorite quotes from each movie because yay writing! Also this was incredibly difficult.

Almost Famous – This was the archetype sleepover movie for pre-teen me, and it holds up so well. Peak Kate Hudson performance and excellent supporting roles for Zooey Deschanel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frances McDormand, and even Jimmy Fallon. It’s impossible for me to hear “Tiny Dancer” without thinking warmly of the bus singalong scene. A sharply written ode to my favorite genre of music and to a wild time and place to come of age.

Lester Bangs: So, you're the one who's been sending me those articles from your school newspaper.
William Miller: I've been doing some stuff for a local underground paper, too.
Lester Bangs: What, are you like the star of your school?
William Miller: They hate me.
Lester Bangs: You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.

Amélie – The score is note-perfect, and, coupled with the ethereal visual palette, creates a delightfully melancholy vibe. It’s also a story that makes you laugh a bit, think a bit, and in the end want to get up and seize the day (or curl up with a cat and watch the Parisian rain). Do I also have a forever crush on Audrey Tautou? Mais oui!

Narrator: Amélie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony. It's a perfect moment. A soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind overcomes her.

Django Unchained – I had a very hard time picking between this, Inglorious Basterds, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Django eked it out because while all have ridiculous and enthralling characters, jokes you’re not sure you’re allowed to laugh at (a personal favorite) and inventive narrative structure, Django had me rooting hardest for the protagonists. Leo’s work as Calvin Candie is rightfully praised, but Samuel L. Jackon’s “Stephen” is an even more interesting take on racism and white supremacy; their relationship is fascinating. Jonah Hill’s cameo as a would-be Klansman who packs up his toys and goes home when his wife’s hood-making efforts are disparaged is an all-time favorite scene.

Dr. King Schultz: Now, anything else about Mr. Candie that I should know about before I meet him?
Leonide Moguy: Yes, he is a bit of a Francophile.
Dr. King Schultz: Ha! What civilized people aren't?
Leonide Moguy: And he prefers "Monsieur Candie" to "Mr. Candie".
Dr. King Schultz: Si c'est cela qu'il préfère.
Leonide Moguy: He doesn't speak French. Don't speak French to him; it'll embarrass him.

Lady Bird – My favorite of the growing number of Greta Gerwig bangers. It’s also my favorite Saoirse Ronan performance; Lady Bird and her mom are electric. The movie brilliantly captures the angst of wanting to flee from a boring suburban childhood into the exotic ‘otherness’ of adulthood, of being simultaneously undervalued and burdened with too much expectation—and of being so stifled that you’d, I don’t know, jump out of a moving car. Plus, who knew a Dave Matthews Band song could be so moving?

Father Leviatch: Lady Bird. Is that your given name?
Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson: Yeah.
Father Leviatch: Why is it in quotes?
Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson: Well, I gave it to myself. It's given to me, by me.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Probably the movie I’ve watched the most in my life. It still blows me away how compellingly and lovingly Peter Jackson and team were able to bring this story to life. Strider is my aspirational spirit animal, the Moria sequence might be the best 20 minutes in fantasy film history, and Howard Shore introduces part one of the greatest movie score of all time. Give me the extended release edition or give me death!

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

No Country for Old Men – Javier Bardem has done a lot of great work, but he’s always Anton Chigurh for at least a second in my mind every time I see him. The cinematography and use of diegetic sound and atmospheric noise (there’s only 16 minutes of music including the end credits) help build the tension so well. I made the fun choice of showing this movie to my wife while we were staying in a dinky Wyoming motel during a road trip. She… did not sleep well.

Anton Chigurh: And you know what's going to happen now. You should admit your situation. There would be more dignity in it.
Carson Wells: You go to hell.
Anton Chigurh: [Chuckles] Alright. Let me ask you something. If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?

Parasite – I don’t speak Korean, but the performances were so good I often forgot I was reading subtitles. Funny, creepy, thought-provoking, unpredictable. Perfectly paced and filled with legitimate WTF twists/moments. Possibly a top five movie of all time for me.

Park Yeon-kyo: Anyway, ram-don as soon as we walk in, okay?
Chung-sook: Then you're almost here?
Park Yeon-kyo: 8 minutes, according to the GPS.
Chung-sook: You arrive in 8 minutes...
Park Yeon-kyo: Start boiling the water right away!
Chung-sook: [after getting off the phone] What the hell is ram-don?

The Departed – Peak-of-their-powers work from Marty, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg. Inject the “Shipping Up to Boston” and “Gimme Shelter” needle drops straight into my bloodstream. Damon is great and Leo out-acts him. Even Jack Nicholson going 15% overboard and that stupid shot of the rat at the end aren’t enough to drop this from my list. Hat tip to the Internal Affairs story that it remakes.

Dignam: This is unbelievable. Who put the fuckin' cameras in this place?
Police Camera Tech: Who the fuck are you?
Dignam: I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.

The Social Network – Has it become crack for Letterboxd Bros? Def. Does it nevertheless deserve the hype? And how. Aaron Sorkin wrote the shit out of this one and Fincher brought it all together. It’s basically a movie about people talking and typing and yet you can’t look away. Bonus points for a phenomenal trailer set to a stripped-down choral version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” (Which it feels like every third trailer has since tried to rip off.)

Erica Albright: You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole.

Whiplash – Love me a small movie written for adults about a specific subculture of modern society most people (self included) know nothing about. This one is perfect. I like to pretend JK Simmons’ characters in this and the Farmers Insurance commercials are the same person pre- and post-therapy.

Terence Fletcher: Not quite my tempo.

Honorable Mentions: Borat, Bowling for Columbine, Bridesmaids, Catch Me if You Can, Inglorious Basterds, Little Miss Sunshine, Little Women, Mean Girls, Moonrise Kingdom, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Oppenheimer, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Prisoners, Ratatouille, Return of the King, Sound of Metal, Tar, The Hurt Locker, The Two Towers, Tropic Thunder, Zodiac

Chris’s List

Mean Girls

A super tight script that works as a razor sharp satire and a joke-a-minute, side-splitting movie. This came out when I was the same age as the characters and takes place on the North Shore where I grew up, so it really hit at the right time and right place for me. Endlessly quotable, and endlessly rewatchable.

Before Sunset

The middle chapter of Linklater’s wonderful Before trilogy takes place in nearly real time. So beautifully acted, beautifully shot and beautifully scripted that it’s practically a minor miracle. This movie has a kind of indescribable romantic and wistful energy that I wish I could bottle up and keep.

The Dark Knight

Superhero movies are arguably the dominant movie genre of the last 25 years and if there is one film that best exemplifies (or perhaps rises above) the genre, this is it. A claustrophobic city crime movie, with an all-time villain performance by Heath Ledger. A superhero movie that actually gazes inward about the type of unchecked power a real superhero would wield. This movie was such a hit, and so imitated and parodied that I feel like people forget how really exciting, compelling, and smart it is.

Minority Report

I feel like this movie was well-regarded and well-liked when it came out, but has risen in esteem over the years. This movie has great world-building, super taut intensity, and maybe the last Tom Cruise performance before he jumped the couch. Like The Dark Knight, the movie has a lot to say about conservatism v. liberalism in policing and criminal justice, but it doesn’t hit you over the head with its message. Plus, I’m still trying to get my wife to float in the tub and predict murders.

Bowling for Columbine

This movie came out in 2002 and is still (unfortunately) hyper-relevant nearly a quarter of a century later. A super funny documentary that shifts genres effortlessly. What I think it gets right about gun violence in America is how complicated the issue is and how anyone who claims to have all the answers is lying to you.

Almost Famous

God, I love just the entire vibe of this movie. Has anyone made a coming-of-age film so full of joy, with such a sense of time and place? The Frances McDormand character is one of my favorite movie moms. She could have been such a cliched nagging, overprotective mom character, but she’s allowed to have such a different, more nuanced take on the character.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

This movie just really makes me laugh all the way through. I’m not sure if it has anything super unique to say about relationships or love or Hawaii, but it’s just super funny and unique top to bottom.

Ratatouille

I think that Ratatouille best nails the Pixar formula of comedy, heart, music, beautiful animation, and compelling story. Starts with an absolutely gonzo premise (a rat sits in a guy’s chef hat and pulls his hair to control his actions and makes him a famous chef). Ends with genuine poignancy about the nature of criticism in art and the power of food to evoke emotion and connection.

Lady Bird

I can’t even put my finger on what’s so good about this movie. Nothing about it is particularly groundbreaking. The conflicts all feel familiar. But I think that’s secretly its strength. The whole movie just feels so real. Lady Bird herself feels like a real person I would know. Her mom feels like a real mom. They live in what feels like a real house. By the end of the movie, you feel like you know the characters, messiness and all.

The Social Network

Over the last five or so years there’s been a mini-trend of what you could call business biopics (Air, Tetris, Blackberry…), that seem to be more about how they did it, rather than why they did it. Maybe this movie oversimplifies the rise of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, but it was prescient in how social media would shape the first part of this century. Also, this movie is just well-acted, well-written, and well-shot. I do blame it for the annoying trend of having a slowed down cover of a popular song in the trailer (in this case, Creep).

Honorable Mentions: The 40 Year Old Virgin, Best in Show, Borat, Boyhood, Bridesmaids, Conclave, Catch Me if You Can, The Departed, Django Unchained, Edge of Tomorrow, Eighth Grade, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Holdovers, Hot Fuzz, The Hurt Locker, In Bruges, Inception, The Incredibles, Inglorious Basterds, The King of Kong, The Lego Movie, Little Miss Sunshine, Little Women, Mission: Impossible Fallout, Monsters Inc, Moonrise Kingdom, Nebraska, Nightcrawler, No Country for Old Men, Ocean’s 11, Parasite, School of Rock, Superbad, There Will Be Blood, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Top Gun: Maverick, Tropic Thunder, Uncut Gems, Up In the Air, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Way, Way Back, Wet Hot American Summer, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Wrestler