By Anja Djuricic
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The 2000s were diverse when it comes to cinema; the decade ushered in some iconic parodies, comedies, franchises, and new beginnings for old characters. The decade was integral for cinema that moved boundaries when it came to storytelling and world-building; it seems that the new millennium and Y2K inspired filmmakers to go all in and give their best visions to the world. It resulted in them becoming some of the best movies of all time, and it was a pretty great time to grow up, with all its ups and downs.
The most important, or essential, movies of the 2000s are a bold mix of international features that changed or impacted how audiences watch and experience movies. For many English speakers who hadn't seen a foreign language movie until then, new opportunities came at every step. The new millennium obviously made a mark on filmmakers and moviegoers alike, which is best seen through some of the decade's essential features.
10 'Casino Royale' (2006)
Directed by Martin Campbell
The James Bond franchise was once again revived with Daniel Craig as the titular character. Many people couldn't warm up to Craig being James Bond at first, but the five movies he made brought a modern and fresh perspective on the somewhat dated character. Movies about James Bond will always be popular and embraced by the fandom, but Casino Royale engaged more than just the hardcore 007 fans. This could be because the 2006 hit "resets" Bond in a way, giving him a 'licence to kill,' or the title of 007 at the start of the movie, rather than him continuing from an uncertain starting point.
Casino Royale follows Bond entering a high stakes poker game in a casino in Montenegro; his goal is to play, and win, against a well-known private banker and terrorist, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). Though it has very popular contenders, Casino Royale is truly the best Craig movie in the Bond series, because it has elements of multiple genres: it's a classic spy movie, but also an action thriller and a romance, with the femme fatale Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) as the second Bond girl he was ever shown to actually love (after Diana Rigg as Tracy Bond). Casino Royale changed the trajectory for Bond movies, raising the standard for many other action movie franchises during the decade.
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Casino Royale
PG-13
Action AdventureCrime
Thriller10/10
- Release Date
- November 14, 2006
9 'District 9' (2009)
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Neill Blomkamp's incredible sci-fi directorial debut, District 9, flips the classic alien-coming-to-Earth story onto its head. Starring Sharlto Copley in his international rise to fame, Blomkamp's movie shows aliens who've come to Earth as prisoners trapped in a slum-like area in Johannesburg, South Africa, called District 9; as expected, the sentiment against the imprisoned aliens is hostile. When the government decides to relocate the aliens, they appoint a defense contractor, who in turn appoints his son-in-law, Wikus van de Merwe (Copley), to oversee the relocation.
The movie received high critical praise and was appreciated for a different kind of view on an alien invasion; though a bit depressing and not the classic sort of sci-fi story, the movie also gives justice to the creatures through the transformation of Wikus from a mild-mannered yes-man to the aliens' ally. The movie's name was inspired by District Six, a notorious area created during South African Apartheid. District 9 was also uniquely filmed in a mockumentary style in some parts, giving it a more realistic feel; it's a sort of grounded sci-fi/alien invasion that's truly groundbreaking and has found its way into the ranks of the best cult sci-fi films of the 2000s.
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District 9
R
ActionSci-Fi
Thriller- Release Date
- August 5, 2009
WHERE TO WATCH
RENT
BUY
8 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004)
Directed by Adam McKay
Who knew a movie about news anchors would be one of the funniest (and best) movies of the decade? Adam McKay's hilarious contribution to the cinematic world, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has a script that's simultaneously absurd and clever, using social comedy and improv to depict a bunch of clueless news anchors as self-proclaimed rock stars. Anchorman counts as one of the most beloved comedies and one of the most quoted movies of all time. Judd Apatow served as producer, and David O. Russell as executive producer.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy follows news anchor Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his team, weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner). They enjoy a high level of local fame, but embody stereotypes like being vain, proud, highly competitive, and lacking self-awareness. When a woman, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is hired to work alongside Burgundy, he develops a tumultuous relationship with her. The dedication to the jokes in Anchorman was rarely seen before it came out; the gags run for minutes, and look and feel improvised, showing the cast had a lot of fun on set. This makes Anchorman legendary and essential to 2000s lore.
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
PG-13
Comedy
- Release Date
- July 9, 2004
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
7 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
How could any talk of essential 2000s movies exist without mentioning one of the biggest of the time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? The Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet drama blends science fiction and romance in an emotionally heavy story about love and memory. The movie follows Joel (Carrey) and Clementine (Winslet) who undergo a memory erasure procedure after a difficult breakup. The story evolves into a non-linear retelling of the two-year romance from Joel's point of view, as the workers in the company called Lacuna, which offers memory erasure, start the procedure on him.
Charlie Kaufman wrote the script, and it seems he modeled Joel after himself; Michel Gondry, the director, stood firmly by the choice of Winslet and Carrey as the leads, who were usually typecast until Eternal Sunshine. This movie simply makes sense to anyone who's ever been in love or had a bad breakup; sometimes, the two can't be separated, but is it all better left forgotten? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind remains one of the most beautiful and sentimental romantic movies that expertly blends multiple genres and defies the confines of each.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
R
RomanceSci-Fi
Drama- Release Date
- March 19, 2004
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
6 'Gladiator' (2000)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Gladiator is one of the most influential movies of all time; it's the feature gym bros and cinema fanatics quote to this day, uniting two (kind of) opposite sides into a united front. Jokes aside, Gladiator really did change the landscape of cinema just after the turn of the century; it helped usher in a new standard for movies about the Roman Empire, inspiring the love that the HBO series Rome got about five years later. Gladiator is one Ridley Scott's gamechanging movies, after Alien, Blade Runner, and .
The movie follows the transformation of Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) into a gladiator after being betrayed by Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), Emperor Marcus Aurelius' son. With years of fighting experience under his belt and army strategies in his mind, Maximus aims to win the gladiator fights and avenge the deaths of his family and the emperor. He also develops a romance with the Emperor's daughter, Commodus' sister, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). While Crowe is a huge part of why the movie was so successful, overall, great performances brought eternal fame to the feature. The sequel, Gladiator II, may not be an upgraded masterpiece, but it manages to continue the legacy of Maximus, one of the biggest cinematic heroes of the 2000s.
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Gladiator
R
Action Adventure Drama9.5/10
- Release Date
- May 5, 2000
5 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' (2001)
Directed by Chris Columbus
Kids born in the 1990s predominantly understand the impact that the first Harry Potter movie in the franchise had on them. Sure, people in other generations can relate, but interestingly, 90s kids carry the movies in their hearts as massive inspirations while growing up; the magical world of Harry Potter and his wizarding school, Hogwarts, was imagined firstly as a novel by J.K. Rowling (a woman who is now a lot less admired and a lot more controversial). She created an elaborate world of wizards that's developed into seven books, eight movies, a theme park, a video game, and so much more.
The first movie of the series is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and it introduces the wizarding world of Hogwarts and its main character, the orphaned Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) who lives with his aunt and uncle. Harry is unaware of his heritage, and when he gets a letter to join the wizarding school called Hogwarts, he accepts the invitation that reveals more about his family. Harry also meets his soon-to-be best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). The movie was a charming first installment in the complex story of the wizarding world of Harry Potter, and it changed the course of history in many ways.
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
PG
AdventureFamily
Fantasy5.5/10
- Release Date
- November 16, 2001
4 'City of God' (2002)
Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund
The Brazilian powerhouse of a film, City of God, came unannounced and swept viewers off their feet; it's greatly the reason why Wagner Moura's Tropa de Elite was even remotely popular, and, one could argue, the reason I'm Still Here's Fernanda Torres is now an Oscar nominee. See, it's all connected, and we have Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund to thank for putting Brazilian cinema on the map. This epic crime movie combines elements of the novel of the same name and real-life events that took place in Rio de Janeiro.
City of God is a literal translation of the phrase Cidade de Deus, which is a ghetto area in Rio de Janeiro; the movie documents the rise of its crime ring, including the lives of its participants, down to the most innocent. The events take place between the 1960s and the 1980s, and the narrator is Buscapé aka Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), who documents the events in City of God through his passion, photography. This epic is a powerful, dark, and brilliant depiction of life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro; it's often placed on lists of the best movies of all time, and it earns the title with each moment of its runtime.
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City of God
R
Crime
Drama- Release Date
- February 13, 2004
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Director
- Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
3 'The Dark Knight' (2008)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
When Christopher Nolan took on the colossal task of putting the story of Batman on the big screen, no one expected the trilogy to become a massive hit with a strongly devoted following. The Dark Knight is the second out of three movies, following Batman Begins and preceding The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale steps into the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, while Michael Caine, Nolan's most frequent collaborator, slips into the shoes of Alfred, Wayne's butler and father figure. It also has one of the best and most memorable Joker iterations, played by Heath Ledger, who passed away just before the movie was released.
The Dark Knight follows Batman's struggle to defeat his new nemesis, The Joker. The Joker is a highly organized but unstable individual, and his motives for destruction don't always seem to be rooted in logic. However, the more Batman fights against common criminals, the further Joker seems to escalate his attacks, mirroring Batman's increasing war on terror with more terror. The movie carries various metaphors and mirrors some real-life events and situations, but it's also open to interpretations from viewers of all pedigrees. This is probably why The Dark Knight was so groundbreaking when it came out - it's a lot more than just a superhero movie or a black-and-white story.
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The Dark Knight
PG-13
Drama ActionCrime
Thriller1/10
- Release Date
- July 16, 2008
2 'Spirited Away' (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli is an irreplaceable part of cinema today, and in 2001, Spirited Away became its most significant representative. Though there were plenty of Ghibli movies before it, equally iconic and magical, Spirited Away had an undeniable charm that opened the world's collective heart and mind toward observing anime as more than just a children's genre (as opposed to the already aware few). It's one of the essential anime movies, and a great representation of director Hayao Miyazaki's depictions of female characters. Spirited Away is a visually stunning story about youth, life, death, and even work ethic, though the interpretations are wide and plentiful.
Spirited Away follows Chihiro, a little girl who moves with her parents to another home, and, while on a walk around the countryside with them, finds a way to enter the spirit world. Her parents fall for a trap that turns them into pigs and Chihiro has to navigate her way around the confusing and complex world of spirits to save her parents and avoid being stuck there forever. The colorful movie is a coming-of-age fantasy that many 'kid adults' and (surprisingly) first daughters could easily relate to. The impact of Spirited Away on people of all ages and backgrounds is still discussed today, which is why it's an essential 2000s movie.
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Spirited Away
PG
AnimationFamily
Fantasy- Release Date
- July 20, 2001
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
1 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' (2001)
Directed by Peter Jackson
The movie that launched Peter Jackson into the ranks of iconic filmmakers is the first of three, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. No amount of words can describe what this movie meant and still means to people everywhere; global audiences can surely unite in their love for the LOTR trilogy, and if anything was a catalyst for increased visits to global cinemas, it was The Fellowship of the Ring. In a weird way, if LOTR could solve problems, it would end feuds around the world.
The Fellowship of the Ring follows the journey of four residents of a place called The Shire: the Hobbits, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), "Pippin" Took (Billy Boyd), and "Merry" Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan). When Frodo gets visited by his uncle Bilbo's old friend, the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), he's given a quest to carry Bilbo's old ring to the center of the evil realm called Mordor. He must destroy the ring, because it's not just any piece of jewelry - it's the One Ring, the holder of the might of the dark lord Sauron, who needs it to return to power. The story is a fantastical and beautiful journey that was based on the novels by the "modern fantasy father," J.R.R. Tolkien.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
PG-13
Action Fantasy Adventure10/10
- Release Date
- December 19, 2001
KEEP READING: The 10 Best Movie Villain Performances of the 2000s, Ranked
- Movie
- 2000s
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
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