The New Essentials: Essential Movies of the 2000s
To help relaunch our Essentials store, I'll be sharing some of the new lists we've come up with. Keep in mind that "essential" is not the same as "best," so these are not top 10 lists, but more a sampling of what we feel defined a genre, a decade, or a career.
To kick it off, here's our Essentials list for this decade. this one was especially hard to do since not enough time has passed to evaluate what truly defines it. But we did our best, and you can let us know if you disagree. -- Ellen
Essentials by Decade: The 2000s (in no ranked order)
The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy
Shrek (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)
Memento (Widescreen Two-Disc Limited Edition)
Brokeback Mountain (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
The Passion of the Christ (Definitive Edition)
Moulin Rouge! (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
brett on August 01, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Fahrenheit 9/11?? What are you people smoking? Absurd.
ern on August 02, 2008 at 05:46 AM
Lord of the Rings is the only essential movie on this list. The others are hardly worth watching. And Fahrenheit 9/11? Someone's off their meds.
MF on August 02, 2008 at 06:04 AM
The Rings, The Passion and Crouching Tiger were for me the only titles that stood above the rest.Visually (especially Tiger), aurally, and story-wise, these are movies that I watch regularly.
smoothjim on August 02, 2008 at 06:22 AM
People would understand Fahrenheit 9/11's technical merits better if they see F911, and Moore's work, as the Satire they are, rather than documentaries they aren't, and certainly not as The Truth.
I'd replace MBFGW with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
celebrim on August 02, 2008 at 06:38 AM
Meh. Seems pretty lame to me.
Essentials of the 00's:
1) The Incredibles
2) Stranger than Fiction
3) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5) 9/11, A Documentary by Jules and Gedeon Naudet
6) A Beautiful Mind
7) Spirited Away
8) Memento
9) The Others
10) Whale Rider
Honorable Mentions: Passion of the Christ, Amelie, Chocolat
The list you gave is almost entirely movies that are certain not to endure. Most depend on transitory politics and references. The rest are simply blockbusters that depend on what is state of the art in FX at the time. We could go back through each decade and find similar increasingly forgotten examples of both.
Mgmax, le Corbeau on August 02, 2008 at 06:40 AM
Why are we looking at a list like this made by someone who hasn't even seen The Lives of Others?
Jerrell Dove on August 02, 2008 at 06:48 AM
With a couple of exceptions, this is a terrible compilation. You chose social activism and political correctness over artistic merit. This list also explains why I have such a hard time finding a movie worth watching at the local Blockbuster. The directors can't seem to put together a total movie. Most are uneven efforts that typically fall short of a satisfying viewing experience. Paying "stars" $10-20 million per movie and then allowing these same "stars" to ad lib with adolescent prattle and profanity instead of actually writing dialogue has resulted in a scarcity of good movies. Co-stars, character actors, tv personalities from an ensemble cast, b-movie actors, and celebrities are now hyped as headlining stars, but precious few are able to carry a movie.
R. Ford Mashburn on August 02, 2008 at 06:48 AM
No "Bourne" trilogy? No "Gladiator"?
cb on August 02, 2008 at 07:05 AM
I second what mgmax said: leaving The Lives of Others off just shows that the compilers need to put down the remote and their popcorn and find something else to do. And overlooking The Incredibles? You can't be serious.
tim maguire on August 02, 2008 at 07:06 AM
I agree that it's much too early to compile a list of the 2000's. Shouldn't we at least wait until the source list is complete?
My opinion may be affected by the fact that most of these movies are nothing special.
Joe Smite on August 02, 2008 at 07:24 AM
Lord of the Rings........Passion of the Christ.
Those two movies will be remembered 50 years from now.
The rest?........get real.
.......and " Shrek"?......why is it ok to have a guy fake a Scots accent for a cartoon character?..............how about some racist black lingo?.............or some Hispanic syncopant nonsense?....no thats over..........but its ok to make fun of the Scots.
cjm on August 02, 2008 at 07:27 AM
"Sixth Sense" doesn't make the cut? this list is as useful/valid as most amazon lists.
Stephen on August 02, 2008 at 07:28 AM
If you're looking for something that "defines" the decade, you need to have at least one superhero movie, as these have been a staple of the decade. I'd vote for either Spiderman (2002) or X-Men (2000), though waiting until 2011 to do this list might mean putting "The Dark Knight" in that slot instead.
There needs to be something from Pixar on the list as well. The Incredibles or Cars are my personal favorites, but Finding Nemo would probably be more definitive.
Bullwinkle on August 02, 2008 at 08:30 AM
My Big Fat Greek Wedding? WTF? Even if you thought this movie was funny, in what way is this "essential"? Did it break the box office? Start a trend? Do anything of significance at all? Please. At least you could make a case for F9/11 (even if it was full of lies and nonsense), since Moore's films have had a (very bad) impact on documentary films as a whole.
Flap Jackson on August 02, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Please, don't make me laugh. Did you even try with this list, or did you just pick 10 random movies. 2 or 3 are good, at most.
E. MacGregor on August 02, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Joe Smite - that's OK, I can take it. So can most Scots, I think.
Not all Scots are cranky.
At least we're remembered. Right, laddie?
John Kerr on August 02, 2008 at 01:51 PM
It IS OK to make fun of the Scottish. Michael Myers is brilliant, and for proof: see "So I Married an Axe Murderer".
Every culture is fair game. Or, so it should be. Our politically correct society says otherwise, but that's why I like Chris Rock, In Living Colour, etc.
Eventually, we'll get there, people.
dccupp on August 02, 2008 at 03:54 PM
A vote for We Were Soldiers (2002) and a vote for this "essential" list mostly sucks.
Celebrim on August 02, 2008 at 08:47 PM
Ok, about the list:
The Lord of the Rings: The mark of an epic is whether or not there exists any obvious improvements that you could make in the picture. For something like Spartacus, it's the costuming and battle sequences. For something like Lawerance of Arabia though, you have a hard time thinking of anything you'd do different. Thus, Lawerance of Arabia is an essential movie, and Spartacus is a good movie of its time. The problem with the Lord of the Ring's movie is that John Howe and Alan Lee's inspired art direction is nearly spot on, but the script and directing are laughably amateur at times. Thus, LotR trilogy is likely to be remembered only as a beautiful movie for its day, that happened to make mediocre use of its source material. It's not going to last, because such obvious flaws exist in the script as it exists.
Shrek: Shrek is supposed to be a jab at Disney pics, but all it manages to prove is that satire is the sincerest form of flattery. Shrek reminds me most of those pre 'Snow White' animated shorts by WB and Disney, which all feature the same gags - the drunk, the twins (one of which has been sick), the black face little black sambo, the appearance of a couple charactitures of famous stars of the day, some singing vegitation, and basically alot of humor which seems juvenile, racist, and sexist or just down right inexplicable by modern standards. Watching them you can see why no one took animation seriously. Watching Shrek, you get the same vibe. The laughs are non-existant. The humor, such as it is, requires you to get what is politically correct at the time, know what is being made fun of, approve of the whole mess, and find it ridiculous rather than just ugly, wierd, or shallow. Why do the 'ugly' people have black features? Why is the donkey doing a black face minstril schtick? Why is it that satirizing racial and sexual sterotypes requires other racial and sexual sterotypes? Where are the jokes is this supposed comedy anyway?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Marks the arrival of Chinese cinema as a fully mature art form. The hidden message of the story is typical of approved Chinese propaganda, but just because I disagree doesn't mean I can't recognize the amazing artistic achievement of the film at every level: cinematography, writing, music, acting, choreography, artistic ambition, etc.
March of the Penguins: There is this weekly program on PBS called 'Nature'. If you've watched it for any length of time you will have seen 50 equally stirring nature documentaries. And what's with the over saturation of color? Why the need for trick photography?
Memento: Brilliant peice of film making. Amazingly creative, very well made, and very riviting. Far from the most watchable film of the decade, but will be one of the more influential.
Fahrenhite 9/11: Really? Geez, you need to watch more documentaries. Try PBS. They often have things that aren't cheezy manipulative schlock. And I mean really, do you think anyone is going to care about this movie in 20 years? This isn't even a decent first stab at history. This is just lame political punditry, and that bores most people even today - much less in 20 or 30 years. Twenty or thirty years from now, people will be watching Jules and Gedeon Naudet's documentary (or the film Flight 93) to learn what being there was like, and no one will care about Moore's lame film.
Brokeback Mountain: Oh good grief. It wasn't even an essential movie of the year it was made. If it hadn't have been a 'gay movie', would anyone have watched this trash? I'm not sure who would like this movie, as the main characters are so unlikable and self-destructive that it could be considered an anti-gay movie. It's an utterly bogus movie that couldn't play in Laramie because they'd know it for a bad joke. It's just one of those movies you are supposed to like because a certain popular crowd says you should. Those never last.
The Passion of the Christ: In a certain sense, this is just another lame, manipulative, creepy punditry movie. I'm sure it's very powerful to someone, but mostly its preaching at the choir - and not even all of them. It only makes my honorable mention list because it does accomplish what it sets out to accomplish, and Christianity has a much better track record of staying around (for better or worse, take your pick) than the various fad ideologies promoted in some of the other movies on your list.
Moulin Rouge: The first 5 minutes of this movie was brilliant. After that, it was a muddled, dreary, boring mess which only served to prove that musicals are extremely difficult movies to make well.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: This was a pretty good movie, but one of the 10 most essential of the decade? Get real. Did you watch more than 10 movies this decade?
louisvillaescusa on August 03, 2008 at 12:01 PM
I would be tempted to place An Inconvenient Truth on the list. Not because it's a great film but because of the tremendous effect it has had on our society. The film has literally shaped worldwide policies.
Michael on August 03, 2008 at 12:51 PM
What about Open Range? That may be the best western in almost half a century and seems to me to be essential for anyone who wants to understand this very important genre and how it has changed over the years. Similarly, what about Saving Private Ryan? It gives vital insite into how we have come to view war in general and WWII in particular. I agree with those who argue for one or another of the Pixar movies. Although I enjoy the Shrek franchise, I get it, I think the Pixar movies are far more reflective of the current state of our culture.
Ellen on August 03, 2008 at 10:28 PM
For date clarification, the suggestions of The Sixth Sense and Saving Private Ryan are valid, however they were released in 1999 and 1998, respectively, therefore disqualifying them from this list.