Early 2000s Movies Everyone Needs To Watch At Least Once

While grandiose claims that the end of the 20th century would mark “the end of history” were disproven, the attacks on September 11, 2001 and subsequent “War on Terror” nevertheless signaled a new period of turmoil. The early 2000s were a rough time for the world but, for those seeking an escape, they were a pretty good time for movies. Hollywood was breaking box office records, while the DVD boom helped turn many great films that were initially box office bombs into cult classics.

Breakthroughs in special effects concurrent with the growth of online fan communities saw traditionally “geeky” genre titles emerge into franchise behemoths that still dominate multiplexes and the discourse today. This new wave of fantasy and superhero blockbusters, however, had yet to crowd traditional mid-budget films out of the marketplace. The following ten titles are among the best and most essential to emerge from this landscape between the years 2000 and 2004.

A brief disclaimer: while all of these films are worth enjoying, some aren’t suitable for all audience members. Half of these entries are rated R, with two being so extreme they are rated NC-17 in their full uncut versions, so parents should do due diligence to make sure young viewers wait until they’re ready.

Wong Kar-wai’s 2000 romantic drama “In the Mood for Love” might be the most canonized classic of the 21st century thus far — on the most recent Sight and Sound polls, it ranks as critics’ fifth favorite movie of all time and is tied for ninth place on the directors’ list.

Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the movie follows the relationship between neighbors Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) whose spouses are having an affair, and who come very close to have one of their own while acting out what they suspect their partners are doing. The result is one of the most sensual films ever made starring two of the world’s hottest movie stars not having sex.

The film’s craft is immaculate with William Chang’s ravishing period production design and luscious cinematography by Christopher Doyle, Pun-Leung Kwan, and Ping Bin Yee (though there is some controversy about the 2021 4K restoration dramatically changing the color scheme). Its influence can be seen in everything from “Lost in Translation” to “Moonlight” to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Our recommendation that everyone should see “American Psycho,” Mary Harron’s 2000 adaptation of the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel, comes with an asterisk (beyond the obvious content disclaimer for nearly NC-17 extreme violence and sexual content): guys who don’t understand satire probably shouldn’t see it — though they probably have already. It’s up there with “Fight Club” in the canon of movies that toxic bros love without realizing they’re being made fun of. Coincidentally, it and “Fight Club” are both are among the few Jared Leto movies we can still stand to watch, largely because his characters are on the receiving end of the aforementioned extreme violence.

For everyone in on the joke that Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner were pulling on the materialistic misogynistic lifestyle that kids nowadays call “sigma grindset,” “American Psycho” is surprisingly effective work of feminist art. It’s darkly funny while also deeply disturbing, with a central performance from Christian Bale as Wall Street serial killer Patrick Bateman, which established the former Newsie into one of our most transformative movie stars. While the ambiguity of the ending was unintentional on Harron’s part, it’s fascinating nonetheless.

The movie musical, deemed a dead genre outside of animation in the 1990s, experienced a comeback at the start of the new millennium. “Moulin Rouge!” packed theaters and “Chicago” won big at the Oscars, but the cool kids know the best movie musical of this new wave was “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

John Cameron Mitchell, who directed the film based on the off-Broadway show he wrote with Stephen Trask, stars as the title character, a genderqueer East German musician who immigrates to America via a green card marriage and some botched surgery (hence the “angry inch”). The movie’s take on gender was so cutting edge that talk shows were scared to promote it at the time. Decades later, it remains a bold piece of queer art.

The film adaptation expands upon what was originally a single-set two-character concert piece, able to dramatize characters and history stage-Hedwig could only monologue about and going all out visually on the glam extravaganza. Crucially, it’s one of the rare rock musicals that full-on rocks — there’s good reason none other than David Bowie gave it his approval.

After a promising indie debut with 1992’s “Chronos” and the 1997 Weinstein-butchered disappointment “Mimic,” Guillermo Del Toro made his first full-blown masterpiece in 2001 with the Spanish film “The Devil’s Backbone.” A combination of eerie ghost story and historical tragedy, “The Devil’s Backbone” established Del Toro as a serious artist, and launched his unofficial trilogy, also including “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Pinocchio,” about children in wartime.

The film takes place during the Spanish Civil War in an orphanage haunted by the ghost of a murdered child, Santi (Junio Valverde). The orphans’ investigations into this haunting, and the personal and political conflicts between their caretakers, gradually build to an explosive third act with a finale that’s simultaneously sad and cathartic. The ghostly presence is creepy but sympathetic — it’s the greed of the living you have to worry about. Even while working in a more grounded space than his later fantasies, Del Toro crafts unforgettable imagery: a still-ticking bomb frozen in place in a courtyard, malformed fetuses preserved in rum, blood forever falling upward from the wound in Santi’s head.

David Lynch’s 2001 mind-bender “Mulholland Drive” is up there with “In the Mood for Love” in terms of critical praise, ranking eighth on Sight and Sound’s critics poll of the best movies of all time and topping the New York Times’ ranking of the best films of the 21st century. Had things panned out differently, it wouldn’t be on this list at all, as the Hollywood neo-noir was originally filmed as a feature-length TV pilot for ABC.

The network’s loss was cinephile’s gain, as after a meditation session, Lynch figured out the perfect way to expand the rejected pilot into a stand-alone movie: flesh out the relationship between amnesiac Rita (Laura Harrington) and aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts) as a lesbian romance, and add a new ending that shockingly recontextualizes everything we’ve watched.

For many, “Mulholland Drive” may very well be Lynch’s best movie. At times scary, sexy, campy, mysterious, sad, beautiful, and haunting — sometimes evoking multiple emotions at once. Don’t expect to understand it all, especially on first viewing. Nevertheless, enjoying it doesn’t require knowing everything, and it’s more approachable than some of Lynch’s more out-there work.

Yes, we’re counting all three of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” films, released between 2001 and 2003, as one entry. They were filmed simultaneously, after all, and once you’ve watched “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” how could you not want to watch “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King” right after? Theatrical or extended edition doesn’t matter; the former has tighter pacing, but the extra scenes in the latter are worthwhile.

People were skeptical at the time whether J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing could translate to live-action, but every aspect of this adaptation pulled off the impossible. Every actor was perfectly cast, the mix of practical effects with CGI and motion capture still looks great, and the story of small people fighting through the darkest of times remains deeply resonant.

If there’s any problem with Jackson’s trilogy, it may be that it was too good. Akin to how the blockbuster successes of “Jaws” and “Star Wars” inadvertently led to the death of New Hollywood, the way “The Lord of the Rings” proved that nerdy fantasy franchises could both make billions of dollars and be high art may have become an excuse for Hollywood to only focus on such genre tentpoles (while hardly ever approaching the same artistic heights). But it feels wrong to hold that against these masterpieces.

If you have a child and they aren’t easily frightened, show them “Spirited Away.” It’s the sort of movie that can change a young person’s life forever, widening their perspective on art and culture. And if you don’t have a kid, you should still watch “Spirited Away,” because you were a child once, and can still experience beauty and wonder.

Hayao Miyazaki’s Shinto twist on “Alice in Wonderland” is a film almost impossible not to love. Its 2001 Japanese release broke box office records, and while its rollout in the United States the following year was relatively low-profile, the positive attention it received from critics and the Academy Awards helped introduce many Americans to anime.

GKIDS and Fathom Events have given “Spirited Away” regular theatrical re-releases for a while now, and people keep returning because a movie packed with this much detail, imagination, and intelligence rewards repeat viewing (even if Miyazaki himself would probably rather you go out and commune with nature rather than obsessively watch his movies). All of Miyazaki’s and most of Studio Ghibli’s works are masterpieces, and “Spirited Away” is arguably the best Studio Ghibli film of them all.

It’s understandable why one might not want to watch Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” duology today, mostly relating to the writer-director himself. Over the decades, Tarantino’s image has shifted from cinema’s edgy bad boy to its cranky boomer uncle, and the feminist angle of “Kill Bill” has become harder to digest in light of the knowledge that Tarantino shielded abusers and pressured lead actress Uma Thurman into a driving stunt that left her seriously injured.

As complicated as the circumstances around its production are, “Kill Bill” is still fantastic. “Vol. 1,” released in 2003, is a non-stop action onslaught, featuring a stand-out anime sequence and culminating in the downright insane bloodbath at The House of Blue Leaves. 2004’s “Vol. 2” switches gears from martial arts movie to spaghetti western, taking the story in a quieter, more dialogue-driven direction. 

Uma Thurman is fantastic as The Bride, infusing the gory genre pastiche with genuine emotion. Though released separately, both parts were always intended as one movie, and the complete uncensored release of “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” makes it easier to appreciate the totality of this revenge epic.

Jack Black movies may not be must-sees for higher-brow audiences, but even those who’d never be caught dead yelling “CHICKEN JOCKEY!” have to admit two things about the comedy star: he’s musically talented, and he gives great performances in Richard Linklater movies. 2003’s “School of Rock” was Black’s first film with Linklater, and it’s the perfect match of talent and material. Loser rocker Dewey Finn (Black), impersonating his substitute teacher roommate Ned Schneebly (Mike White), is the role that made Black a star.

“School of Rock” is as close to perfect as mainstream family comedies get, tweaking inspirational teacher tropes with enough subversive edge to avoid becoming cheesy or sentimental while still providing the feel-good catharsis you expect. The kids (including future “iCarly” star Miranda Cosgrove) are natural talents, the title song is a banger, and just about everything Black says is instantly quotable. The jokes in this PG-13 movie are often funnier for adults than they are for kids, but the messages is positive enough for younger audiences that cool parents will want to share this movie with their children.

It wouldn’t be right to do an early 2000s recommendations list without acknowledging Pixar’s unbeatable winning streak that decade, nor without representing the rise of superhero movies. With all due respect to “Monster’s Inc.” and “Finding Nemo” in the former camp and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” films in the latter, the best film in both categories from this era is 2004’s “The Incredibles.”

Brad Bird’s family action-comedy is, unofficially, still the best “Fantastic Four” film ever made (even acknowledging that “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” was pretty good). Just about everything about “The Incredibles” works perfectly: the action scenes are exciting, the jokes are funny, and every character arc hits the right emotional beats. This was Pixar’s first movie centered on human characters, and thanks to its distinct stylization, it’s probably the oldest example of CG humans that still look good today. Even the big thing people criticize about the film — that, when read from a certain angle, it has kind of weird politics — is still a much more interesting problem to argue about than the flaws you typically find in all-ages animation.