There have been many "Best movies of the 21st century" lists happening ever since The New York Times decided to reveal theirs last week. I'm not going to comment on the list Manhola Dargis and A.O. Scott compiled for NYT in their assessment of the best films of the 21st Century [HERE]. I especially dig Villeneuve's list, any of those would make my own. All are passable to great movies, but it's not really an ideal list that aligns with my own tastes.
Last year the BBC polled hundreds of film critics, scholars, writers, journalists etc. and asked the same question. The results from that poll were a little more to my liking. It's been 17 years since the start of the new century and we've had plenty of great films. If I had to pick these would be on it:
(1) "Mulholland Drive," Dir. David Lynch
(2) "Tree of Life," Dir. Terrence Malick
(5) "Children of Men," Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
(6) "No Country For Old Men," Dir. Joel Coen
(7) "Zodiac," Dir. David Fincher
(8) "Margaret," Dir. Kenneth Lonergan
(9) "A Separation," Dir. Asghar Farhadi
(16) "Upstream Color," Dir. Shane Carruth
(17) "Memento," Dir. Christopher Nolan
(18) "Lost in Translation," Sofia Coppola
(23) "Oldboy," Dir. Park Chan-Wook
(24) "WALL-E," Dir. Andrew Stanton
(25) "The 25th Hour," Dir. Spike Lee
(26) "The Lord of the Rings," Dir. Peter Jackson
(29) "Pan's Labyrinth," Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
(30) "4 Month, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," Dir. Cristi Mungiu
Here is a little something I wrote on Facebook concerning Mulholland Drive:
"How about because it's the kind of film that is exactly about why we go to the movies in the first place. A dreamy, surreal, almost unexplained work of art. It intrigues you, frustrates you and passionately reaffirms your undying love for the movies. David Lynch dared us to get inside his bag of magic tricks and the epiphanic result felt like a religious re-awakening. In Scorsese's "Hugo" George Melies says concerning the cinema: "If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, look around this is where they're made. Come and dream with me." Lynch invited us to dream with him as well back in 2001 and we haven't been able to shake it ever since.
Last year the BBC polled hundreds of film critics, scholars, writers, journalists etc. and asked the same question. The results from that poll were a little more to my liking. It's been 17 years since the start of the new century and we've had plenty of great films. If I had to pick these would be on it:
(1) "Mulholland Drive," Dir. David Lynch
(2) "Tree of Life," Dir. Terrence Malick
(3) "There Will Be Blood," Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
(4) "Spirited Away," Dir. Hayao Miyazaki(5) "Children of Men," Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
(6) "No Country For Old Men," Dir. Joel Coen
(7) "Zodiac," Dir. David Fincher
(8) "Margaret," Dir. Kenneth Lonergan
(9) "A Separation," Dir. Asghar Farhadi
(10) "Inside Llewyn Davis," Dir. Joel Coen
(11) "Cache/Hidden," Dir. Michae Haneke
(12) "The Master," Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
(13) "Holy Motors," Dir. Leos Carax
(14) "Dogtooth," Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
(15) "Son of Saul," Dir. Lazlo Nemes(16) "Upstream Color," Dir. Shane Carruth
(17) "Memento," Dir. Christopher Nolan
(18) "Lost in Translation," Sofia Coppola
(19) "The Social Network," Dir. David Fincher
(20) "Whiplash," Dir. Damien Chazelle
(21) "12 Years A Slave," Dir. Steve McQueen
(22) "Dancer in the Dark," Dir. Lars Von Trier(23) "Oldboy," Dir. Park Chan-Wook
(24) "WALL-E," Dir. Andrew Stanton
(25) "The 25th Hour," Dir. Spike Lee
(26) "The Lord of the Rings," Dir. Peter Jackson
(27) "Mad Max: Fury Road," Dir. George Miller
(28) "Uncle Boonmee," Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul(29) "Pan's Labyrinth," Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
(30) "4 Month, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," Dir. Cristi Mungiu
Here is a little something I wrote on Facebook concerning Mulholland Drive:
"How about because it's the kind of film that is exactly about why we go to the movies in the first place. A dreamy, surreal, almost unexplained work of art. It intrigues you, frustrates you and passionately reaffirms your undying love for the movies. David Lynch dared us to get inside his bag of magic tricks and the epiphanic result felt like a religious re-awakening. In Scorsese's "Hugo" George Melies says concerning the cinema: "If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, look around this is where they're made. Come and dream with me." Lynch invited us to dream with him as well back in 2001 and we haven't been able to shake it ever since.