Shared Top Border

They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?

  WebTSPDT

[ Home ] [ Directors A-L ] [ Directors M-Z ] [ 1,000 Greatest Films ] [ 21st Century ] [ Film Noir ] [ Recommended Viewing ] [ About ] [ Links ] [ aStore ]
 
 
     
  The 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films Ranking (1-50)  
  21st Century Home  Rankings: 1-50  51-100  101-150  151-200  201-250  Full Listings: By Title  By Director  By Year  The Top 50 Directors  
     
     
  ° In ranking order, these are the 250 most critically acclaimed films of the 21st Century, to date. A small slice of information and links to Amazon and metacritic have been included for each entry. There's much to love about this list, and probably just as much to despise!  
  ° 33 films have entered the list (17 from 2007, 11 from 2006, 2 from 2003, and 1 each from 2000, 2001 and 2004). You can see the 33 films that dropped out, at the bottom of the rankings page for the 201-250 placed films.  
  ° Please note that we have fiddled about with our formulas again, which accounts for many of the movements, both up and down. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a particularly good example of the changes that have taken place.  
  ° In brackets, alongside the director's name, is the position each film held prior to our January 2008 update.  
     
 
 1  2  3
In the Mood for Love
Wong Kar-wai  (1)
2000, 97m, Col, Hong Kong-France, Romance-Drama
"Probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year, dizzy with a nose-against-the-glass romantic spirit that has been missing from the cinema forever." - Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
Selected by David Ehrenstein, B. Ruby Rich, Dennis Lim, Gerald Peary, Chris Fujiwara.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
 
Mulholland Dr.
David Lynch  (2)
2001, 146m, Col, France-USA, Mystery-Drama
"By surrendering any semblance of rationality to create a post-Freudian, pulp-fiction fever dream of a movie, Mr. Lynch ends up shooting the moon with Mulholland Drive." - Stephen Holden, New York Times
Selected by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Peter Keough, Philip French, Kent Jones, J. Hoberman.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
 
Yi yi
Edward Yang  (4)
2000, 173m, Col, Taiwan-Japan, Drama
"One of the year's best: a rich, funny, enormously humane portrait of a middle-class Taipei family in the throes of romantic, economic and spiritual upheaval." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by John Anderson, David Ansen, Kent Jones, Peter Keough, Dennis Lim.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
         
         
 
         
         
 4  5  6
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michel Gondry  (5)
2004, 108m, Col, USA-France, Romance-Drama-Comedy
"A complicated story that demands your full attention; Mr. Gondry unfolds it at a mind-bending pace. This alone makes it a hugely refreshing respite from ordinary multiplex fare." - David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Selected by Carrie Rickey, Owen Gleiberman, Michael Wilmington, Kenneth Turan, Michael Atkinson.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Far from Heaven
Todd Haynes  (3)
2002, 107m, Col, USA-France, Drama-Romance
"It rediscovers the aching, desiring humanity in a genre --and a period-- too often subjected to easy parody or ironic appropriation. In a word, it's divine." - A.O. Scott, New York Times
Selected by Gerald Peary, David Sterritt, J. Hoberman, Richard Schickel, Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Sideways
Alexander Payne  (6)
2004, 123m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
"In Sideways, Payne has created four of the most lived-in, indelible characters in recent American movies. This deliciously bittersweet movie makes magic out of the quotidian." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by Roger Ebert, Owen Gleiberman, David Sterritt, Michael Wilmington, Carrie Rickey.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 7  8  9
Lost in Translation
Sofia Coppola  (7)
2003, 102m, Col, USA-Japan, Romance-Drama-Comedy
"Coppola handles her film with very pleasant economy, with a kind of warm precision. Her father, who was one of this picture's producers, can be as proud of her as we are grateful." - Stanley Kauffman, The New Republic
Selected by Roger Ebert, David Ansen, Ty Burr, John Anderson, Elvis Mitchell, Stephen Holden.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Y tu mamá también
Alfonso Cuarón  (11)
2001, 105m, Col, Mexico, Drama-Comedy
"Echoes the unmistakable freshness and excitement of the Nouvelle Vague, the sense of joy in being alive and making movies, that made those works distinctive and unforgettable." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Manohla Dargis, Carrie Rickey, John Powers, John Anderson, Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Amazon  metacritic
 
A History of Violence
David Cronenberg  (8)
2005, 95m, Col, Germany-USA, Crime-Drama-Thriller
"This masterpiece, an art film deftly masquerading as a thriller, seems to celebrate small-town pastoralism and critique big-city violence, but this position turns out to be double-edged." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Selected by Peter Keough, Manohla Dargis, Dennis Lim, Kenneth Turan, Chris Fujiwara.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 10  11  12
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee  (10)
2000, 120m, Col, China-Taiwan-USA, Drama-Adventure-Action
"Ang Lee, a world-class director working at the top of his elegant form, has done something thrilling. For all the leaping action, it's the film's spirit that soars." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Selected by Nicole Brenez, Gerald Peary, Michael Wilmington, David Edelstein, Peter Travers.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki  (13)
2001, 124m, Col, Japan, Animated-Fantasy-Adventure
"Artful but not arty, Spirited Away is a handcrafted cartoon, as personal as an Utamaro painting, yet its breadth and heart give it an appeal that should touch American viewers of all ages." - Richard Corliss, Time
Selected by Ty Burr, David Ansen, John Powers, Kent Jones, Michael Sragow.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
 
Talk to Her
Pedro Almodóvar  (14)
2002, 112m, Col, Spain, Romance-Drama
"One of Almodóvar's most challenging pictures, jumping around in time and sending a large gallery of characters through a wide variety of situations." - David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Selected by Carrie Rickey, Kent Jones, Philip French, John Anderson, Dave Kehr.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
         
 13  14  15
Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood  (15)
2004, 137m, Col, USA, Drama
"Has a beautifully modulated sadness that's almost musical. Eastwood once made a movie about Charlie Parker (Bird), but this picture has the smoothly melancholic tones of Coleman Hawkins at his greatest." - David Denby, The New Yorker
Selected by Ty Burr, Jonathan Rosenbaum, David Sterritt, Chris Fujiwara, Kent Jones.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Punch-Drunk Love
Paul Thomas Anderson  (30)
2002, 95m, Col, USA, Comedy-Drama-Romance
"I found it exquisite. In part I responded out of sheer amazement: I've never seen anything like the sequences in which Sandler, in his boxy, sea-blue suit, charges around his warehouse to the rhythm of Brion's harsh drums." - David Edelstein, Slate
Selected by Gerald Peary, Dave Kehr, John Powers, Ella Taylor, A.O. Scott.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Peter Jackson  (12)
2003, 201m, Col, Germany-New Zealand-USA, Fantasy-Adventure-Action
"The second installment was better than the first, and this one is best of all. It has spectacular action scenes and imaginary creatures, and it’s by far the most moving chapter. The performances have deepened." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by John Anderson, David Ansen, Elvis Mitchell, Andrew O'Hehir, Mick LaSalle.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 16  17  New    18
Before Sunset
Richard Linklater  (16)
2004, 80m, Col, USA, Romance-Drama
"Because Linklater now wears his heart on his sleeve, he has made a film that in its joy, optimism and aesthetic achievement keeps faith with American cinema at its finest." - Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Dennis Lim, Michael Wilmington, Michael Sragow, Manohla Dargis, Owen Gleiberman.
Amazon  metacritic
 
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson
2007, 158m, Col, USA, Drama
"The film is above all a consummate work of art, one that transcends the historically fraught context of its making, and its pleasures are unapologetically aesthetic." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Selected by Kent Jones, Tom Charity, David Sterritt, J. Hoberman, Dennis Lim.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Peter Jackson  (9)
2001, 178m, Col, USA-New Zealand, Fantasy-Adventure
"An extraordinary work, grandly conceived, brilliantly executed and wildly entertaining. It's a hobbit's dream, a wizard's delight. And, of course, it's only the beginning." - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Selected by Michael Wilmington, Kenneth Turan, Dave Kehr, David Ansen, David Edelstein.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
         
 19  20  21  New  
Ghost World
Terry Zwigoff  (18)
2001, 111m, Col, UK-USA-Germany, Drama-Comedy
"If, like me, you've been wondering how Terry Zwigoff, the brilliant documentary filmmaker who made Crumb, would negotiate his shift to fiction filmmaking, here's your answer: brilliantly." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Selected by Roger Ebert, Kent Jones, Peter Keough, Robert Sklar, David Sterritt.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Memento
Christopher Nolan  (17)
2000, 113m, Col, USA, Thriller-Mystery-Drama
"A provocatively structured and thrillingly executed film noir, an intricate, inventive use of cinema's possibilities that pushes what can be done on screen in an unusual direction." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Owen Gleiberman, Peter Keough, Jay Carr, Desson Howe, Scott Tobias.
Amazon  metacritic
 
No Country for Old Men
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
2007, 122m, Col, USA, Crime-Drama
"A scorching blast of tense genre filmmaking shot through with rich veins of melancholy, down-home philosophy and dark, dark humor, No Country for Old Men reps a superior match of source material and filmmaking talent." - Todd McCarthy, Variety
Selected by Phillip Lopate, Tom Charity, Roger Ebert, David Fear, Gary Crowdus.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 22  23  24
Adaptation
Spike Jonze  (19)
2002, 114m, Col, USA, Comedy
"Spellbindingly original -- Like the wild orchid, Adaptation is a marvel of adaptation, entwined with its hothouse environment and yet stunningly unique." - Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
Selected by Gavin Smith, J. Hoberman, Kenneth Turan, Carrie Rickey, Michael Atkinson.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Queen
Stephen Frears  (20)
2006, 103m, Col, UK-France-Italy-USA, Biography-Drama
"The Queen is the most reverent irreverent comedy imaginable. Or maybe it's the most irreverent reverent comedy. Either way, it's a small masterpiece." - David Edelstein, New York Magazine
Selected by Michael Wilmington, Molly Haskell, Peter Keough, Michael Sragow, David Ansen.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Departed
Martin Scorsese  (24)
2006, 152m, Col, USA, Crime-Drama-Thriller
"The screenplay, by William Monahan, is simply sensational. Scenes play brilliantly. Feelings flow like molten lava. The dialogue overflows with edgy wit and acidulous arias of imprecation." - Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Selected by Kent Jones, Michael Wilmington, Joe Morgenstern, Peter Brunette, Peter Travers.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 25  New    26  27
Zodiac
David Fincher
2007, 158m, Col, USA, Crime-Drama-Thriller
"Its most impressive accomplishment is to gather a bewildering labyrinth of facts and suspicions over a period of years, and make the journey through this maze frightening and suspenseful." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Selected by Dennis Lim, Tom Charity, Graham Fuller, Cynthia Fuchs, Scott Foundas.
Amazon  metacritic
 
United 93
Paul Greengrass  (22)
2006, 110m, Col, USA-UK-France, Drama-Historical-Thriller
"A respectful, accomplished, non-exploitative piece of historical filmmaking and - for audiences - a gripping white-knuckle ride all the way." - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Selected by Michael Atkinson, Michael Sragow, Stephen Holden, Kirk Honeycutt, Ed Halter.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Squid and the Whale
Noah Baumbach  (23)
2005, 80m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
"A satirical comedy--ruthless and heartbreaking, but a comedy nonetheless. The movie is also about disintegration and the possibility of rebirth. In other words, it’s a small miracle." - David Denby, The New Yorker
Selected by J. Hoberman, Kenneth Turan, David Ansen, Molly Haskell, Peter Keough.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 28  29  30
American Splendor
Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman  (25)
2003, 101m, Col, USA, Drama
"Sad, tender, wise and beautiful film... It's a profound tribute to lives lived on the fringes of society -- to the introspective loners who are the most observant chroniclers of our times." - Scott Foundas, Variety
Selected by Roger Ebert, John Anderson, J. Hoberman, Gerald Peary, Owen Gleiberman.
Amazon  metacritic
 
You Can Count on Me
Kenneth Lonergan  (27)
2000, 110m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
"The best American movie of the year. Has a subtext so powerful that it reaches out and pulls you under. Even when the surface is tranquil, you know in your guts what's at stake." - David Edelstein, Slate
Selected by Gerald Peary, Robert Sklar, Roger Ebert, Andrew O'Hehir, David Edelstein.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Royal Tenenbaums
Wes Anderson  (26)
2001, 109m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
"Anderson's cinematic style gets more adventurous from one movie to the next, and he begins this story with bursts of originality that leave his respected Rushmore far behind." - David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Selected by Dave Kehr, John Anderson, J. Hoberman, Manohla Dargis, Ed Park.
See also: 1,000 Greatest Films
Amazon  metacritic
         
 31  32  33
Dancer  in the Dark
Lars von Trier  (34)
2000, 140m, Col, Denmark-France-Sweden, Musical-Drama
"I was astonished to find myself weeping copiously over von Trier's latest, which is another parable of monomaniacal sainthood." - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
Selected by David Sterritt, Manohla Dargis, Michael Atkinson, John Anderson, Nigel Andrews.
Amazon  metacritic
 
The Incredibles
Brad Bird  (37)
2004, 121m, Col-BW, USA, Family-Animated-Adventure
"Bird has created the unprecedented film that is not just a grand feature-length cartoon but a grand feature, period, a piece of animation that's involving across a spectrum of comedy, action, even drama." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Michael Sragow, Owen Gleiberman, Carrie Rickey, Michael Wilmington, Ty Burr.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee  (33)
2005, 134m, Col, USA, Drama-Romance
"Brokeback Mountain is that rare thing, a big Hollywood weeper with a beautiful ache at its center. It's a modern-age Western that turns into a quietly revolutionary love story." - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Selected by David Ansen, Michael Atkinson, Manohla Dargis, Peter Travers, Scott Tobias.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 34  35  36
2046
Wong Kar-wai  (29)
2004, 129m, Col-BW, China-France-Germany-Hong Kong, Science Fiction-Drama-Romance
"I'm glad that 2046 is different from "Mood" even while being strangely of a piece with it. Like "Mood," it’s a movie of utter wonder and ravishment. But the key here is different." - Glenn Kenny, Premiere
Selected by Manohla Dargis, Michael Atkinson, Peter Keough, David Ehrenstein, J. Hoberman.
Amazon  metacritic
 
Mystic River
Clint Eastwood  (28)
2003, 137m, Col, USA-Australia, Mystery-Drama-Crime
"Clint Eastwood pours everything he knows about directing into Mystic River. His film sneaks up, messes with your head and then floors you. You can't shake it. It's that haunting, that hypnotic." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Selected by Michael Wilmington, David Ansen, Chris Fujiwara, Manohla Dargis, A.O. Scott.
Amazon  metacritic
 
In the Bedroom
Todd Field  (32)
2001, 130m, Col, USA, Drama
"The compositions, the editing, the lighting, the sound, the music: everything seems meticulously considered, conjuring up a hushed intimacy that instantly sucks you in." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by Richard Schickel, Kenneth Turan, Owen Gleiberman, Roger Ebert, Carrie Rickey.
Amazon  metacritic
         
 37