Top 10 Movies of the Aughties

The Ballots

Our combined list was compiled from individual lists by the writers below. Points were awarded based on ranking, with 10 points going to each writers’ #1 pick, 9 to #2, and so on. Films that received ties based on number of points received were broken by the number of individual votes each film received. The ballots are presented below in their entirety with additional comments as each writer saw fit.

Scott

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Michael Clayton
3. Zodiac
4. Amelie
A sweet, gentle ode to the things in life that seem insignificant but mean a lot.
5. Children of Men
6. Mulholland Drive
David Lynch’s moving farewell to film is one of his best, and most straightforward, works ever.
7. You Can Count On Me
A deceptively simple parable about family and faith.
8. In The Mood For Love
9. Anchorman
The funniest comedy of the decade. I’ve probably seen it two dozen times and will probably watch it regularly for the rest of my life.
10. The Incredibles

Ellen

1. Lost in Translation
2. I Heart Huckabees
3. Bad Education
The most brightly colored noir out there, and thematically one of the darkest. iViva Pedro!
4. Spellbound
The most honest documentary yet made about Americans, following a group of plucky young kids aiming to win the National Spelling Bee.
5. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Apatow’s first is still his funniest.
6. The Life Aquatic
Wes Anderson’s trademark whimsy played out on a grand scale, but in the end it’s still all about the look on Bill Murray’s face.
7. Moulin Rouge
From its exuberant pop mash-ups to its matinee-idol performances, it soars off the screen.
8. WALL-E
9. The Departed
A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions allows Scorsese to pick up that long-awaited directing Oscar.
10. Amelie

Zoe

1. Children of Men
2. There Will Be Blood
3. The Fall
Seriously under-seen. A beautiful story, and I’ll always support Lee Pace.
4. The Prestige
5. Zodiac
The last word in serial killer movies, I think. Just grand.
6. Memento
7. The Royal Tenenbaums
8. 2046
9. Howl’s Moving Castle
Miyazaki’s weird grandmother obsession comes to head in this great film about a newly old lady and a vain, selfish jerk.
10. Let The Right One In

Robert

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2. There Will Be Blood
3. WALL-E
4. United 93
A sobering recreation of the events that played out on 9/11 that gave us an unabashed but never exploitative look at what it means to step up in the face of true adversity.
5. Unbreakable
Still one of Shyamalan’s best and undoubtedly the most grounded comic book origin movie that’s not actually based on a comic book.
6. Memento
7. Kill Bill
8. Almost Famous
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee’s masterful fusion of martial arts and tragic romance appealed to audiences worlwide and sparked a renewed interest in the genre.
10. Traffic

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  • http://sodapopjournal.com Robert Cortez

    Fun fact: the fourth and final issue of our cherished PiQ Magazine featured WALL-E as its cover story and while I can’t speak for everyone, I couldn’t be more proud.

  • http://levelorange.com Robert Cortez

    Fun fact: the fourth and final issue of our cherished PiQ Magazine featured WALL-E as its cover story and while I can’t speak for everyone, I couldn’t be more proud.

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  • http://www.thefanboys.com/ mik

    Four great lists (and reminders that there are some gaps in my aughties movie viewing… that I can try to make up over the holidays!). I love There Will Be Blood in the top spot. That movie completely floored me.

  • http://www.thefanboys.com mik

    Four great lists (and reminders that there are some gaps in my aughties movie viewing… that I can try to make up over the holidays!). I love There Will Be Blood in the top spot. That movie completely floored me.

  • Paul Starr

    Can’t argue with any of this—and I better not, since I was too busy to vote!—but I haven’t seen Zodiac (clearly I need to) and I would’ve put Pan’s Labyrinth on the list.

    I’m not sure how I feel about Lost in Translation, but I don’t think my opinion on the film can be trusted; it seems to me that people with actual experience in Japan tend not to have much time for the characters and their problems. Certainly in terms of talked-about or influential films, you can make a good case for it.

    All that said, I thought Sofia Coppola’s next movie was really underrated. I enjoyed the hell out of Marie Antoinette.

    Very pleased to see Michael Clayton on there; goddamn that was a great film.

  • Paul Starr

    Can’t argue with any of this—and I better not, since I was too busy to vote!—but I haven’t seen Zodiac (clearly I need to) and I would’ve put Pan’s Labyrinth on the list.

    I’m not sure how I feel about Lost in Translation, but I don’t think my opinion on the film can be trusted; it seems to me that people with actual experience in Japan tend not to have much time for the characters and their problems. Certainly in terms of talked-about or influential films, you can make a good case for it.

    All that said, I thought Sofia Coppola’s next movie was really underrated. I enjoyed the hell out of Marie Antoinette.

    Very pleased to see Michael Clayton on there; goddamn that was a great film.

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  • http://www.sharedwing.net/ wintersweet

    Interesting list! Several movies on here I need to see.

    I wouldn’t have put Lost in Translation on the list, but I thought it did a good job at presenting the types of people it presented–I met them in Taiwan too. They’re everywhere overseas, wrapped up in their own problems and totally failing to take advantage of where they are or look outside of themselves. I thought that was an aspect of the film that people who didn’t really like it overlooked, which was that it was really about two very flawed people and not about Japan at all. As a movie about Japan, it’s not very good, but I didn’t think it was about Japan. As a character study, I think it’s excellent. If you’ve had to spend a lot of time around those particular characters, though, it could be a bit grating…

    At any rate, I think I would have put Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on there instead; one of the better science fiction films of the last few years, and about the only watchable Jim Carrey one.

    You know, I bought Amelie on DVD ages ago and it’s just been sitting here. Maybe we’ll watch it today…I have a cold and it might be just the thing.

  • http://www.sharedwing.net wintersweet

    Interesting list! Several movies on here I need to see.

    I wouldn’t have put Lost in Translation on the list, but I thought it did a good job at presenting the types of people it presented–I met them in Taiwan too. They’re everywhere overseas, wrapped up in their own problems and totally failing to take advantage of where they are or look outside of themselves. I thought that was an aspect of the film that people who didn’t really like it overlooked, which was that it was really about two very flawed people and not about Japan at all. As a movie about Japan, it’s not very good, but I didn’t think it was about Japan. As a character study, I think it’s excellent. If you’ve had to spend a lot of time around those particular characters, though, it could be a bit grating…

    At any rate, I think I would have put Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on there instead; one of the better science fiction films of the last few years, and about the only watchable Jim Carrey one.

    You know, I bought Amelie on DVD ages ago and it’s just been sitting here. Maybe we’ll watch it today…I have a cold and it might be just the thing.

  • http://www.scott-howard.com/ Scott Howard

    I liked Lost in Translation as a tone piece about the disorientation that comes with being in an unfamiliar place physically and emotionally. Brilliant cinematography and use of music, and a feminine sensibility that’s missing in a movie world where 99.9% of directors are men.

    Glad for all the Zodiac interest and Michael Clayton love!!!

  • http://www.scott-howard.com Scott Howard

    I liked Lost in Translation as a tone piece about the disorientation that comes with being in an unfamiliar place physically and emotionally. Brilliant cinematography and use of music, and a feminine sensibility that’s missing in a movie world where 99.9% of directors are men.

    Glad for all the Zodiac interest and Michael Clayton love!!!

  • http://sodapopjournal.com Robert Cortez

    @Paul. Zodiac = Fincher at the top of his game. And I tried but I never made it through Pan’s Labyrinth. I appreciated all the imagination on display but something about it never grabbed me enough to make me sit through ’til the end. I’ll eventually come back around to it again someday, I’m sure.

    I think I’ll be rewatching Michael Clayton again very soon because of this list. Time to break out my HD DVD copy!

    Also, I’m glad to see Memento here. Yeah, Nolan did some great stuff with The Prestige and pulled off the biggest turnaround for a comic book franchise, but the jigsaw puzzle of Memento is one of those rare films that when I saw it just had master storyteller/filmmaker written all over it.

  • http://levelorange.com Robert Cortez

    @Paul. Zodiac = Fincher at the top of his game. And I tried but I never made it through Pan’s Labyrinth. I appreciated all the imagination on display but something about it never grabbed me enough to make me sit through ’til the end. I’ll eventually come back around to it again someday, I’m sure.

    I think I’ll be rewatching Michael Clayton again very soon because of this list. Time to break out my HD DVD copy!

    Also, I’m glad to see Memento here. Yeah, Nolan did some great stuff with The Prestige and pulled off the biggest turnaround for a comic book franchise, but the jigsaw puzzle of Memento is one of those rare films that when I saw it just had master storyteller/filmmaker written all over it.

  • jlo

    Zodiac rocked. Glad to see Rob’s comment about Pan’s Labyrinth, because I’ve been chewed out for not outright loving it, which I didn’t. I thought it was too confused; personally, I enjoyed the wartime backstory the most and found the fantasy elements too artificial…

    And wintersweet’s comments were right on the mark for me. Good stuff.

  • jlo

    Zodiac rocked. Glad to see Rob’s comment about Pan’s Labyrinth, because I’ve been chewed out for not outright loving it, which I didn’t. I thought it was too confused; personally, I enjoyed the wartime backstory the most and found the fantasy elements too artificial…

    And wintersweet’s comments were right on the mark for me. Good stuff.