Best movies of the last 20 years

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Realised the other week that when I channel hop looking for a film to watch. If it's made in the 2010s I won't bother unless it has a really good reputation (see above). Generally they're too superhero, CGI, reboot or tentpole-sequel.

Too early for me to think. The first films that came to my mind:

Toy Story 3

Inside Out

Not a bad list.

The first thing that popped into my head was Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. I walked out of that movie awestruck, knowing it was the best movie I'd seen in many years.

The only other film I remember being so taken by, and it only just barely makes the 20-year cut, was Guy Ritchie's Snatch. I love that film.

"Best" film is obviously a matter of personal taste, and perhaps I have none... :-)

Worst film, BY FAR, I've seen in the last 20 years (ever...) was Aronofsky's Mother with Jennofer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. I don't understand why neither me nor my wife got up to walk out early in the film. God damn, it makes me upset just thinking about it now, several years later...

Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

What's the criteria here? It seems like your a list that you could just as easily look up on IMDB by searching for critically acclaimed movies within that time period, but don't forget that Zoolander, Superbad, Mean Girls, 40 Year Old Virgin, Step Brothers, The Hangover, The Notebook, The Fast and the Furious (all of them), Love Actually, Remember the Titans, Legally Blonde, V for Vendetta, Wedding Crashers, The Prestige, Gladiator, etc. were all released in the past 20 years.

I could see someone making a valid argument that any one of these is "better" than any one movie from your list.

Nutsack McGee wrote:(1) Oh Brother Where Art Thou

(2) Zoolander,

(1) is a legitimate top-20 candidate for me. Coen brothers, pre-Madonna Guy Ritchie and Wes Anderson are the directors who tickle my funny brain...

(2) is a guilty pleasure. Top-20 for me in anonymous company; not sure I'd admit it out loud in person to real people... :-)

It’s Such. Beautiful Day

Boyhood

Mad Max Fury Road

In the Mood For Love

Lord of the Rings

Arrival

Zodiac

Sicario

Moonlight

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

First Reformed

Toy Story 3

Cold War

Spirited Away

Anomalisa

Before Sunset

The Social Network

Whiplash

Captain Phillips

Lone Survivor

A bunch more I can't think of right now.

Spotlight

The Big Short

Sicario

Ex Machina

No Country for Old Men

Russian Ark

Wolf of Wall Street

Mulholland Drive

Drawing Restraint 9

Vanilla Sky

Borat.

The Dictator is the better Sacha Baron Cohen movie.

https://youtu.be/MFsNeR1aJx0

banned Pete wrote:

Not a bad list.

The first thing that popped into my head was Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. I walked out of that movie awestruck, knowing it was the best movie I'd seen in many years.

The only other film I remember being so taken by, and it only just barely makes the 20-year cut, was Guy Ritchie's Snatch. I love that film.

"Best" film is obviously a matter of personal taste, and perhaps I have none... :-)

Worst film, BY FAR, I've seen in the last 20 years (ever...) was Aronofsky's Mother with Jennofer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. I don't understand why neither me nor my wife got up to walk out early in the film. God damn, it makes me upset just thinking about it now, several years later...

My favorite thing about ebbing billboards was the cute girl who played the soulmate of the ex husband of the main character. She was as cute as you get

I am a huge cinema fan. I checked my collection of 5000+ movies in IMDB and there's only one movie of the last 20 years I rated as 10/10 and that is Mulholland Dr.

In fact it is also widely regarded by critics as the best movie of the XXI century. Not that you should always trust critics (in cinema you often shouldn't) but here they are right.

The thing about Mulholland Dr is that it is not the typical movie. It is not easy to watch or to understand. It is very surrealistic as most of David Lynch's work are. When you watch, you either find it brilliant or really dislike (especially if you like traditional Hollywood movies).

Secret in their Eyes (the Argentinian, not the crap American remake) is monumental.

As it is A Separation, a Iranian movie.

The recent released Parasite is also very good.

More of the traditional American cinema, the mentioned Three Billboards... is indeed a very good movie, as it is There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Men.

For those interested in Mulholland Dr the below article touches on the acclaim received by the movie in one of the lists it has topped.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160822-why-mulholland-drive-is-the-greatest-film-since-2000

Nutsack McGee wrote:

Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

Creativity should put this movie in the list. Imagine this conversation.

Pitchman: We want to use the trials of Odysseus as the premise for a movie.

Production Company: Interesting... tell me more.

It'll be set in the 1930s.

Ummm... so it's about some rich Great Gatsby type guy?

No. Just a bunch of convicts.

Convicts?!

Yeah, it's a comedy!

A comedy... a comedy about the trials of Odysseus??

Right! We envision John Goodman as the cyclops.

What?!

Oh, and I almost forgot. It's a musical.

A musical?

Yeah! You know, a musical, like back in the 1950s. A musical.

No way!

What if you could get George Clooney to play the lead?

Okay! That works!

european observer wrote:The recent released Parasite is also very good.

I was underwhelmed by Parasite.

A Ghost Story is the best movie I’ve watched in years. It’s one of the few films that stuck with me after seeing it. Huge themes explored in such a quaint way.

For american movies I would pick:

Gran Torino

The big Lebowski

Kill Bill

The Dark Knight

Usual suspects

Best american movie of last year: Joker.

For people who pick Toy Story 3, please tell me you are 10 year old.

oups usual suspects is older than that, time flies....

The Departed.