To mark the21st centurybeing a quarter of the way through,The New York Timesorganized a poll to celebrate and highlight the best movies of said century so far.500 relevant people – specifically, “filmmakers, stars and influential film fans” – were asked to provide a list of their personal Top 10 movies that were released from the year 2000 onward, and from those lists, a Top 100 was made.
There are some surprising movies on there, withSuperbadkicking off in the #100 spot (because why not?), andParasiteultimately being #1.No list is perfect, though, and the following films might well count as snubs, or at least surprising omissions. Still, in the interest of being nuanced, their exclusion does not mean they’re not great or unloved, and trying to include them would mean having to take away another 10 great movies already there. Maybe the best way to put it is that if it had been a Top 110 instead of a Top 100, you might well have expected to see some of the following titles.
10’The Lobster' (2015)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
ThoughThe Lobsteris a bit of a tough watch, it also speaks to certain truths about the discomfort and struggles that can be involved with finding someone to love, albeit in a heightened and darkly funny way. The premise involvesa dystopian future where single people are forced to find a partner within a certain amount of time, all while staying in a strange hotel. Failure to do so in time will result in a person being turned into an animal (which they at least get to choose).
It’sa Yorgos Lanthimos movie alright, and maybe the one that first got him significant attention on an international scale… though there was alsoDogtooth, but that one was even more abrasive and extreme.At least Lanthimos wasn’t left off the final top 100 entirely, consideringThe Favouritedid end up at #52.
The Lobster
In a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they’re transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
9'1917' (2019)
Directed by Sam Mendes
As you can probably guess from the title,1917takes place during World War I, andaims to show the reality of fightingin such a conflict almost entirely from the point of view of two young soldiers.They’re tasked with delivering a message on foot, going through dangerous territory and with a time limit in place, since their message involves halting an infantry charge that’s otherwise doomed to fail.
There’s one section of the film that jumps forward in time by a number of hours, but otherwise,1917largely feels like it takes place in real-time, andit’s filmed to look like one continuous shot, too. That makes it immersive and naturally intense throughout, and though the characters and story at hand are rather simple, the experience is a uniquely visceral one, with1917being quite masterful on a technical front.
April 6th, 1917. As an infantry battalion assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.
8’District 9' (2009)
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
District 9is a movie with a lot going on and,like many great science fiction films, can be enjoyed as both entertainment and something a little weightier/more thought-provoking.It’s about a group of aliens getting stranded on Earth, effectively, with the film covering how they’re mistreated and exploited, all the while one of them risks a great deal to get them back to their home planet.
…District 9explores heavy and relevant themes while also being a moving, gritty, and distinctive sci-fi film.
Much of this is seen through the eyes of a man named Wikus (Sharlto Copley) who, for rather surprising reasons, is forced to acknowledge the aliens and their plight in a way he was previously unwilling to.So, it’s about prejudice, class, inequality, and various other heavy and relevant things, butDistrict 9explores them while also being a moving, gritty, and distinctive sci-fi film. ThatDistrict 9was alsomade on a pretty modest budgetmakes it all the more impressive.
District 9
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
7’The Devil Wears Prada' (2006)
Directed by David Frankel
To credit the people who voted on what became this top 100, comedy, as a genre, was not shied away from to too great an extent. Finding a Letterboxd list that’s compiled all the movies andselecting “comedy” as a genreturns up 26 results, though many of those are not just comedies, and a good chunk of them might be better defined as dramedies.
But still, the omission ofThe Devil Wears Pradamight be seen as a little strange,considering it’s got its fair share of fans, and it does feel like a pretty definitively “2000s” movie, in style, tone, and content. It’s also got one of themost memorable Meryl Streep performancesof the past few decades, with the other cast members (and the screenplay overall) not being too shabby, either.
The Devil Wears Prada
Andy (Anne Hathaway) is a recent college graduate with big dreams. Upon landing a job at prestigious Runway magazine, she finds herself the assistant to diabolical editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy questions her ability to survive her grim tour as Miranda’s whipping girl without getting scorched.
Directed by Shinichiro Ueda
For reasons that are obvious to anyone who’s seen it,One Cut of the Deadisfar from your average zombie movie. But, for the benefit of anyone who hasn’t seen it, what won’t be discussed here is how exactly it differs from most zombie movies. What can be said is that there is one very long take (the cut alluded to in the title), andwhen things look like they’re about to finish, they don’t.
Is that vague? Yes, but it’s best that way.One Cut of the Deadis tooweird, offbeat, hilarious, and (oddly) heartwarming to spoil.It’s one of the most unique horror/comedy films not just of the past few decades, but maybe even of all time, and its charming qualities are very unlikely to diminish with the passing of time.
One Cut of the Dead
5’The Nice Guys' (2016)
Directed by Shane Black
Not being in the recent New York Times top 100 is far from the first timeThe Nice Guyshas been overlooked or snubbed, and it sadly probably won’t be the last. This is a movie that seems destined to live in the shadow of like, everything else, but it shouldn’t, sinceit feels the absolute peak of what a buddy cop movie can possibly be.
It starsRussell CroweandRyan Gosling at their comedic peaks(though both have admittedly been in many amazing non-comedies), and strikes a remarkable balance between being a homage and an elevation of action/comedy films. It’s not so much what happens, but how it happens,withThe Nice Guyspotentially being one of the most entertaining movies of the centuryso far.
The Nice Guys
In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.
4’In Bruges' (2008)
Directed by Martin McDonagh
In Brugesis simultaneously a crime movie,a comedy, and an astoundingly bleak drama, and how it plays out without tripping over itself is something to behold. It starts out with two hit men (Colin FarrellandBrendan Gleeson) being forced to wait for further orders while being in Bruges, and so they sit around, walk a bit, and argue/swear a lot.
And all that’s funny for a while,but thenIn Brugestakes something of a tonal swerve, and it becomes impactful in very different ways. It’s another one of those surprisingly unpredictable movies that’s best not discussed too much, for the benefit of anyone who might not have seen it before, but what can be said quite comfortably is that it’s a cinematic trip worth taking.
Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
3’Casino Royale' (2006)
Directed by Martin Campbell
Confidently injecting new energy into theJames Bondseries,Casino Royalemight not be everyone’s absolute favorite, but it’s likely to be up there in a good many personal rankings. It wasn’t the first007movie of the 21st century technically, but in spirit, it kind of was, representing a significant pivot away from the sort of filmDie Another Day(2002) was, and not just becausePierce Brosnanwas out as James Bond andDaniel Craigwas in.
There’san undeniable intensity and gravitytoCasino Royale, but it’s not overwhelmingly bleak. It’s just a little tougher and rawer than people might’ve been expecting in 2006, and it really did set the007series on a whole new course for the subsequent 15 years. It’salso just very entertaining and well-paced on top of being intense and unpredictable, and as an action movie, it gets pretty much everything right.
Casino Royale
2’Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
There are only two superhero movies in theNew York TimesTop 100:Black PantherandThe Dark Knight, which is still something, but there probably should’’ve been a third, and that third should’ve beenSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Speaking of Spider-people, it’s also something of a shame thatSpider-Man 2didn’t crack the Top 100, asthat’s almost just as worthy.
As forSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, though, this is a movie that’s almost over-packed with stuff and style. It’s funny, exciting, action-packed, visually spectacular, and moving in ways that are both expected and more surprising.It’s another origin story, in a way, but told in a fashion that felt appropriately youthful and invigorating. It’s also proved influential in the years that have followed its release, which is impressive, considering it’s still a fairly recent release (the likes ofThe Bad GuysandPuss in Boots: The Last Wish, for starters, certainly have moments that feelSpider-Verse-inspired).
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Teen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
1’Perfect Days' (2023)
Directed by Wim Wenders
While some might say the most essentialWim Wendersmovies (likeParis, TexasandWings of Desire) came out before 2000, others could point toPerfect Daysas being pretty much just as great. Those other two films came out in the 1980s, and so a few more decades will have to pass before one can be certainPerfect Daysis as timeless, but it looks likely.
Itreally is a pretty much perfect movie, being about very little narratively while proving tremendously moving in quiet and unexpected ways. It’s about one man’s seemingly mundane life,following him over the course of a number of days, and highlighting how he finds small moments of happiness that lead to an overall peaceful life. There’s a little more to it, sure, but that is nevertheless the core ofPerfect Days, and it’s genuinely far more captivating than any description of it could make it sound.
Perfect Days
An unassuming janitor in Tokyo embraces the beauty of his daily routine, finding contentment in the simplicity of his life. Through his meticulous work and the serene moments he cherishes, he connects with the world around him in unexpected ways. The narrative delves into his personal journey, highlighting how ordinary days can be filled with extraordinary meaning.
