The 23 best movies of the 2000s

This is an excellent list. Nitpick away, but I’m betting there’s something new and delightful for you here.

My three favorites from the list:

  • Spirited Away: If you’ve never experienced a Studio Ghibli film, this is a great starting point. On my personal list of all-time great films. From the writeup:

Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki seems unable to make anything but masterpieces; still, this epic tale of a young girl separated from her parents and thrust into a magical world, stands as his greatest — not only for its transporting visuals but for its bracing sense of adventure, terror, resilience and heroism.

  • Michael Clayton: Talking truth to power, personal growth, with just a sprinkling of a “caper” film, this is George Clooney at his best. From the writeup:

If movies can be evaluated as sums of their parts — script, performance, design, editing and sound — then this legal thriller is sheer perfection.

  • Children of Men: This was made in 2006, but it might well be talking about today. From the writeup:

Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of the P.D. James novel evinced the perfect balance of technical prowess, propulsive storytelling, complex character development and timeliness when it was released in 2006. But its depiction of a dystopian near-future – what we ruefully now call the present — has proved to be not just visionary but prophetic. Its predictive value aside, it stands as a flawless movie — a masterwork of cinematic values at their purest, with each frame delivering emotion and information in equally compelling measure.

I love this list, not just for the movies it surfaces, but for the descriptions. Well done.