BBC's Top 100 films of the 21st Century so Far

[DefunctTheory]

I'll give it a pass for ignoring Zootopia (I think you should at least have to wait a year before adding movies to lists like this).

But no Lego Movie? Wreck It Ralph? The Machinist?

No thanks, BBC.

 

[Fox12]

I just noticed that AI was on the list. I was under the impression that that movie had been crucified by critics. Maybe I'll give it a look. I'll also voice my surprise that one of the LotR films didn't make the cut.

 

[Ogoid]

I find these lists are ultimately subjective (and thus, generally kinda pointless), but any list with that criteria that doesn't include Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive is just objectively wrong.

 

[09philj]

Let's see, which ones have I watched:

96 - Finding Nemo: It's fine, I suppose. The visuals are certainly nice.
94 - Let the Right On In: A thoroughly unsettling piece of work, which has a real sense of wrongness throughout.
93 - Ratatouille: It's fine, I suppose. Not much more to say.
61 - Under the Skin: Difficult to watch, but worth the effort. Very visually inventive and really works well at alienating you from the events of the plot.
57 - Zero Dark Thirty: Impressively nasty, and interestingly none-judgemental about it's subject matter.
51 - Inception: A very good action blockbuster with some really cool imagery.
41 - Inside Out: Rather dull and unengaging. Has a few clever jokes but fewer that are very funny.
38 - City of God: An awesome, gritty, sprawling crime drama which is totally unhampered by it's lack of a protagonist.
29 - WALL-E: Equally a very sweet wordless love story, and a surprisingly (and gratifyingly unsubtle) skewering of modern culture.
21 - The Grand Budapest Hotel: A madcap picaresque which is like watching a well oiled clockwork machine in motion. Excellent visual style and quickfire humour that really appealed to me.
17 - Pan's Labyrinth: Fucking brilliant. Tim Burton wishes he could make something this dark and twisted. Sergi Lopez crackles with threat whenever he's on the screen. Brilliant.
12 - Zodiac: A very good drama. That's it.
10 - No Country for Old Men: A magnificently taut and gripping thriller made all the better by Javier Bardem's hypnotising performance as Anton Chigurh.
4 - Spirited Away: One of my favourite films. Like most of Miyazaki's work, it's not really about anything, but it looks so beautiful and the characters are so fascinating I couldn't care less.

 

[Laughing Man]

Why isn't Locke on there? Two hours of a Welsh Tom Hardy talking about concrete is surely in the top ten?

I know I saw that for the first time the other night and everything about it's description suggests that it should be shit and it wasn't it was really good. I just sat there thinking I am watching a Welsh guy drive a car along the motorway at night while talking about a god damn concrete pour and at no point did I want to stop watching.

- A.I no thanks
- Hurt Locker yes, Zero Dark Thirty no
- Spirited Away, good choice but I am always torn between that and Howl's Moving Castle which I am slightly annoyed to see isn't there
- The Social Network... really?

Would be nice to see the metric for the movie listing, clearly how popular with the audience they were was never one of the metrics because their are movies out there that have grossed more than ANY of these movies did.

 

[09philj]

I love Miyazaki, but remember Howl's Moving Castle being kind of a mess. I think it's his worst movie.

I think Ponyo is but regardless that's a fucking great film to have as a career low point.

It's about growing up and finding yourself. Miyazaki's works are mostly all pretty thematic.

I meant plot wise, but yeah.

 

[Hawki]

Well, my first thought was where was Lord of the Rings, but before I start my own 100 list, with blackjack and hookers, and a big cake labeled "CRITICS ARE OUT OF TOUCH," I guess I'll comment on the ones I've seen:

96) Finding Nemo: Third favorite Pixar film, absolutely lovely. No complaints.

93) Ratatouille: Um...okay. While not a bad film, it's still one of my least favorite Pixar films. I'd be surprised to find it in any top whatever list.

91) The Secret in Their Eyes: A very solid film. Far better than the remake. Glad to see it get some love.

88) Spotlight: No. Just no. It's not a bad film, but I feel its subject matter has been done before, and better (e.g. Calvary), and the film itself just isn't that engaging for me. Which is a shame, because the subject matter it depicts is worthy of recognition.

78) The Wolf of Wall Street: Yes, absolutely yes!

51) Inception: No. Just no. It's not as bad as Interstellar, but it isn't a good movie. It's a nice idea squandered on lacklustre characters. Give me The Matrix any day.

33) The Dark Knight: Well, yeah, what else can I say? Very good film. Can't argue with it being here.

29) WALL-E: Favorite Pixar film, and one of the best sci-fi films I've seen. Absolutely deserves recognition.

27) The Social Network: Surprised it's this high, but hey, it's a very solid film that I heartily reccomend.

21) The Grand Budapest Hotel: Um...really? I mean, I enjoy the film, but not to this level. I find that its main quirk is its directing style, and one that got very tiring after awhile.

4) Spirited Away: I think this is an absolutely amazing film. This high/better than the others? No, not really. But then again, it's still great.

So, 11 films out of 100. Um...yay?

 

[DefunctTheory]

51) Inception: No. Just no. It's not as bad as Interstellar, but it isn't a good movie. It's a nice idea squandered on lacklustre characters. Give me The Matrix any day.

Wait, do people still think The Matrix was a good movie? I thought we'd all finally evolved to the point where we could admit that it was an interesting idea, with good special effects, completely squandered on a lifeless world and lackluster characters.

 

[Chanticoblues]

Would be nice to see the metric for the movie listing, clearly how popular with the audience they were was never one of the metrics because their are movies out there that have grossed more than ANY of these movies did.

The metric was a selection of critics, historians, and programmers from around the world. They all contributed a top 10, and the most popular choices ended up on the top 100. You can actually look to see what particular films each person voted for; the polls are all public on the site that originally published the list.

Since people are talking about what they like on the list, my favorite films on it are:
-The Wolf of Wall Street
-Certified Copy
-The Pianist
-A Serious Man
-Before Sunset
-Tabu
-A History of Violence
-Holy Motors
-4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days
-Yi Yi

Those are probably the only ones I would put on my top 100 of the 21st century if I made one.

I haven't seen Toni Erdmann, Moolaade, Timbuktu, or Son of Saul though. Maybe one of those could too, idk.

 

[Hawki]

51) Inception: No. Just no. It's not as bad as Interstellar, but it isn't a good movie. It's a nice idea squandered on lacklustre characters. Give me The Matrix any day.

Wait, do people still think The Matrix was a good movie? I thought we'd all finally evolved to the point where we could admit that it was an interesting idea, with good special effects, completely squandered on a lifeless world and lackluster characters.

I see that you took the blue pill. ;p

 

[DefunctTheory]

51) Inception: No. Just no. It's not as bad as Interstellar, but it isn't a good movie. It's a nice idea squandered on lacklustre characters. Give me The Matrix any day.

Wait, do people still think The Matrix was a good movie? I thought we'd all finally evolved to the point where we could admit that it was an interesting idea, with good special effects, completely squandered on a lifeless world and lackluster characters.

I see that you took the blue pill. ;p

I actually watched the Matrix yesterday. Fairly unimpressive, even less so then it was a couple years ago.

It seems the only action films that have any staying power are from the 70/80s. Predator never gets old.

Anyway, since everyone else is counting off what they've seen, I guess...

96. Finding Nemo - Pretty good movie, but in this day and age of animated kids movies? Not as special as it once was.
92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) - Seriously? It wasn't bad, but... wasn't great either.
67. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) - Loved it, and there's very little else like it, so I agree - Maybe not a 'Must see,' but definitely a 'Should see.'
62. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) - Duh. If for no other reason then the fact that Christoph Waltz is amazing.
59. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) - I movie I don't think get's enough love. Absolutely adored it, probably my favorite movie on this list.
51. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) - Probably not a 'Best Film of All Time' movie, but I think its a movie worth seeing.
33. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) - Good movie.
29. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) - A very good movie, that is special. Not much like it out there.
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) - Probably my favorite visually thematic movie in recent memory. Love it, think I may watch it in an hour.
10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) - Eh. Not terrible, but the book was way better. I know that has been said about a lot of movies, but I think the divide is larger here then in most cases.
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) - Very good movie.

So... 11/100. Whee!

 

[GrumbleGrump]

Her is ranked under Inside out.

Nnnnnope.

Also, WALL-E is no way better a movie than the Dark Knight. The same goes for Zodiac and Grand Hotel (and I love both, before you accuse me of fanboyism or some shit).

Also these are 102 movies.

I haven't seen Zootopia, but I'd put Spirited Away ahead of any Disney animation I've seen. And knowing Disney, I doubt Zootopia surpasses it. It's nice to see Spirited Away so high on the list.

Nah, Spirited Away is way more visually interesting, as long as you haven't seen the entire Ghibli catalogue 5 times already. I prefer Zootopia, mostly because I haven't seen it to death already, but I am a closeted Furry (I guess?).

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Ich bin pleased. Mulholland Dr. is my favorite movie ever <3

 

[Smithnikov_v1legacy]

"Drive" and "The Raid" didn't make it, but Tree of Life DID? Guh....

 

[Hawki]

I actually watched the Matrix yesterday. Fairly unimpressive, even less so then it was a couple years ago.

I rewatched The Matrix a couple of years ago. Holds up very well IMO.

It seems the only action films that have any staying power are from the 70/80s. Predator never gets old.

I saw Predator once. Good movie. Little desire to see it again. Predator does have some staying power because of its thematic sub-text, but if you cut that out, then you get a "guys are hunted by the thing, the thing kills the guys, last guy kills the thing, the end." To be honest, I've always been more interested in the "Alien" side of the franchise.

 

[Kyrian007]

Wow, I never considered myself a film snob, but I've seen almost half of those. I'll blame my friends, I hang out with and for most of the 00's roomed with some film snobs. That's a pretty good list, the ones on it I have seen I really liked (well, no I could come up with better movies for the list than Spring Breakers.)

But more importantly, there is a FANTASTIC lesson for Hollywood within that list. There are only a few sequels and remakes on that list. Its not... but it seems like going back from now to 2000 if I can think of an original script, a brand new IP... it's on that list.

 

[Nazulu]

Blah, blah, blah, another list I'll never agree with (and I fucking mean it!). And I'll never understand why Spirited Away is so high up on so many lists. Did it do anything important for cinema or something? Seemed like just another 'Disney' movie to me.

Edit: Not one LotR movie I noticed. What!?

So it seems you just need to throw in some message or have some tacky emotional scenes and that beats out all other forms of entertainment. I'll never understand critics that do that.

 

[McElroy]

"Drive" and "The Raid" didn't make it, but Tree of Life DID? Guh....

Drive is NOT on the list?!?

I could come up with better movies for the list than Spring Breakers.

Spring Breakers is ON the list!?!

100. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) Great movie. However, my fanboner is so great for Aronofsky I'd put this, Wrestler, and The Fountain on the list.
95. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012) Very sympathetic.
92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) Eh, boring. I couldn't really concentrate when I watched it.
87. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) *vomits*
84. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) Extremely well-written.
83. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001) Wat.
82. A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009) Weird movie. Very jew.
75. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014) I don't remember a thing from this. Must be kinda forgettable.
74. Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) The naturalistic "reality" this movie throws at you actually makes it worthy of a list like this imo.
67. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) A terrific war movie.
62. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) Waltzes onto the list.
59. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) I've seen this, but it's too long ago.
53. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) For the effort?
51. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) From a movie-making standpoint I think this is the pinnacle of blockbusters for now.
44. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) Racist not to like it. ;^)
43. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) Movie to help you sleep.
37. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) What did I just watch?
35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) Still da best.
33. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) The pinnacle blockbuster before Avatar and Inception.
29. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) The best romantic comedy ever made.
27. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) OK... ok?
25. &#8203;Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) Such a mezmerising film to watch for the first time.
24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012) RIP Dusty
22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003) Dat ass. Ass wins. A beautiful film in other ways too.
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) Could maybe be the pinnacle blockbuster, but ultimately too simple for the title.
17. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) A movie that has everything.
13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006) One of, if not "the", best.
12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) What? I really don't understand why this movie is so appriciated.
10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) Great, but I'd also like O Brother, Where Art Thou? on this list.
7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011) Movie to help you sleep.
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) The second best movie starring Jim Carrey.
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) More atmospheric than Wind Rises, which is a darn tear-jerker.
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) Milkshakes, babyyyy.

A film I'd definitely add on the list would be Good Bye, Lenin!. Daniel Bruhl's performance is SUPER sympathetic as is the whole movie, really. It's funny and a nice conversation starter between people born after the fall of the Iron Curtain and those who remember the time before.