Were your favorites in the ‘The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century’? | Opinion
A lot of you may be looking at this list of 100 films and you, like me, might have some questions.
Why is The New York Times gathering a “century’s” worth in only 25 years? (Or 24, since a growing argument says the century actually starts in 2001.) It’s true that the newspaper does a yearly roundup of the best movies, but why not wait at least until 2050 (or 51)?
The other question is how your list stacks up. Did they pick your faves? Were you upset that they left out one or more of your must-sees? This isn’t media criticism of the list, but I do have some thoughts about my favorites and the picks presented.
At first glance, I figured I couldn’t really talk about the movies I hadn’t seen. Of the 100, I had seen about half. Most of the movies I missed were some of the foreign films, traditional comedies and biographies. Taking out those, I agreed with many on the list. I’m more a sci-fi, quirky comedy and drama girl.
I was pleased to see Wes Anderson films “The Royal Tenenbaums” (No. 21) and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (No. 22) but I would have added “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” for the soundtrack alone. I loved hearing David Bowie’s music sung in Portuguese.
I appreciated the mind-bending film about memory “Memento” (No. 62) the church abuse story “Spotlight” (No. 66) and the unique retelling of Homer’s “Odyssey” in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (No. 76).
The frenetic “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was a winner (No. 77) and just give me “Anchorman” (No. 85) because of the quirky performances of Will Ferrell and company.
I have to say I smiled upon seeing the charming animated film “Up” make the list at No. 50. I’m also in agreement with the radically and racially different “Get Out” (No. 8) and the look into an odd marriage in “Anatomy of a Fall” (No. 26).
There were movies I loved, to be sure, but I’m not sure I’d put them as my top films: “Gladiator” (No. 92), “Minority Report” (No. 94) “Black Panther” (No. 96) and “Gravity” (No. 97). But perhaps that is because we’re only looking at movies since 2000 and that’s not a lot to pick from in the larger scheme of things.
Of the films I saw, I couldn’t discern any obvious Kansas or Missouri connections — other than actor Brad Pitt, of course. Paul Rudd would have been a shoo-in if more of the Marvel Cinematic Universe connections had been listed.
However, in last year’s NYT Best Books of the 21st Century, Topeka native Ben Lerner was acclaimed for “10:04,” the sequel to his Midwest family drama “The Topeka School.” It ranked No. 62.
Most notable omissions, in my opinion, were in the genre of horror. Sure, there were films with horror elements, such as in “Get Out” and “Oldboy” (No. 43), but what about the incredible “Saw” franchise and the didn’t-know-you’d-go-there “Barbarian” and “Malignant”?
If asked, and I wasn’t, I would name three of my favorite films since 2000 in random order: “Up,” “Get Out” and “Constantine.” That good-versus-evil movie based on a graphic novel did not make The NYT’s list.
To be fair, I also asked Star opinion writers to give me their Top 3 films:
Derek Donovan: “Mulholland Drive” (No. 2), “Grizzly Man” (No. 98), “Hereditary” (last one didn’t make the list)
Melinda Henneberger: “The Tree of Life” (No. 79), “The Zone of Interest” (No. 12), “A Hidden Life” (last one didn’t make the list)
David Mastio: “Barbie,” “Deadpool,” “Minecraft” (none made the list)
Joel Mathis: “There Will Be Blood” (No. 3), “In the Mood for Love” (No. 4), “Perfect Days” (last one didn’t make the list)
Toriano Porter: “Black Panther” (No. 96), “Hustle and Flow,” “Creed” (last two didn’t make the list)
Whether you love or hate the choices, many are available on the streaming platforms. It’s a perfect holiday weekend to catch up on some you haven’t seen.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Were your favorites in the ‘The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century’? | Opinion."
