Name: Top 26 Best Movies of Each Year (2000 - 2025)
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T08:28:55.000Z
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And today we're taking a look at the best movie of each year since the start of the new millennium.

Although it's tempting to single out the best picture winning Gladiator.

Or the exceptionally written, almost famous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon changed the way moviegoers in Western countries looked at the wuxia genre and in due course, cinema.

We'd seen martial arts movies before, but

director Ang Lee made us believe that a person could defy gravity.

That's because the actors primarily performed their own stunts with minimal cgi.

And a key example is the treetop sequence, which only used computers to remove safety wires.

The breathtaking visuals are complemented by an epic story that flawlessly blends adventure, romance and Chinese culture.

For those who had only been exposed to English language films, it opened their eyes to the world of Chinese cinema and international cinema in general.

2001 Mulholland Drive between Shrek and Spirited Away, 2001 was a landmark year for animation.

While we considered both of those films, as well as the best picture winning A Beautiful Mind, we're still finding new reasons to Admire Mulholland Drive 20 years later.

To this day, we're not sure how to describe this thought provoking film.

Is it a neo noir mystery, a psychological thriller, a surrealist tour de force, or all of the above?

We think director David lynch put it best, describing it as, quote, a love story in the city of dreams.

Indeed, Mulholland Drive blurs the lines between reality, dreams and nightmares, with Hollywood serving as a sometimes alluring and other times haunting backdrop.

At the center is a romance that's tender, tragic, and altogether captivating.

2002 City of God From Catch Me if youf can to Gangs of New York, 2002 was an exceptional year for movies about the American dream starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The best movie, however, came from Brazil.

City of God commences with one of the most mesmerizing shots in modern cinema.

As narrator Rocket finds himself caught between a gang and the authorities, an image that perfectly sums up his life.

This isn't just Rocket's story, as it's also about Lil Xee, who we see evolve from a young boy into a drug kingpin.

As different as these two are, both have grown up in an environment where violence is routine.

City of God is as authentic as it is brutal, but the experience couldn't be more rewarding.

2003 the Lord of the the Return of the King 2003 took us on an underwater voyage to find Nemo and a thought provoking trip to Tokyo.

Yet it was our return to Middle Earth that reminded us just how magical movies can be.

tolkien's epic trilogy could never be done justice on the big screen.

Peter Jackson not only proved the naysayers wrong, but

he did the unthinkable by shooting all three films simultaneously.

Most miraculous of all, the trilogy only gained momentum with each installment, and

Return of the King was the most satisfying conclusion we could have asked for.

With rousing action, a perfectly balanced ensemble, and

emotional payoffs in spades, it's no wonder why the film swept the Academy Awards with 11 wins.

2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Do I know you?

2004 was another exceptional year, with Million Dollar Baby taking home Best Picture and the Incredibles earning the freshest critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Looking back at this year, though, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the film that we can't get out of our heads.

Equal parts romance, comedy, psychological thriller and science fantasy, the the film is a revelation of originality.

Such is to be expected from Charlie Kaufman, who deservedly took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Carried by the exquisite performances of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine tells a fantastical story.

Its portrayal of the bonds and memories that connect us, however, couldn't feel more honest.

This is one journey into the human mind you won't soon forget.

Meet me in one time 2005 Brokeback Mountain I wish I knew how to quit you.

From Philip Seymour Hoffman's all encompassing performance in Capote to Viggo Mortensen's understated yet intense work in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, 2005 gave us some of the century's finest performances, and

you won't find a better pair of performances than in Brokeback Mountain, a love story that many believe should have won Best Picture.

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal hall are spellbinding as two shepherders who fall in love at a time when same sex relationships were considered taboo.

Brokeback Mountain serves as a safe haven where they can express their love, but

these two will never have the life they want together.

As heartbreaking as Ang Lee's film is, it remains one of modern cinema's most beautiful romances and a landmark for LGBTQ representation in Mainstream media.

2006 Pan's Labyrinth even in a year that brought us contemporary classics like the Departed, Borat and Little Miss Sunshine, it wasn't hard for us to single out the best film of 2006.

We don't like to throw the word masterpiece around, but it's the best way to describe Pan's Labyrinth.

Although it draws inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and various fairy tales, Guillermo del Toro has made a film that stands on its own.

Its creatures and settings are among the most unique across the entire fantasy genre.

What really sets Pan's Labyrinth apart from all the others is its dark tone, mixing grim fantasy with brutal reality.

At its core, the film is about how childhood innocence can thrive even in the cruelest of environments.

2007 there will be blood from western thrillers like no country for Old Men to legal thrillers like Michael Clayton, 2007 had us on the edge of our seats.

The most thrilling sight of all, however, was Daniel Day Lewis transcendent performance in There Will Be Blood.

Day Lewis dominates the screen as Daniel Plainview, an oil man and the embodiment of greed.

Watching Plainview ascend up the ladder of capitalism feels more like a descent into madness.

Plainview himself is as unstable as an oil rig on the brink of a blowout.

It all builds to an explosive ending that lives up to the film's title in more ways than one.

Paul Thomas Anderson is among the most profound filmmakers working, and this just might be his crowning achievement.

2008 the Dark Knight 2008 gave us so many game changers.

Slumdog Millionaire demonstrated how far an indie darling can go.

Wall E took animation to new heights, and Iron man kicked off a cinematic universe of unprecedented proportions.

Few films released this year can rival the impact of the Dark Knight.

However, taking a grounded crime drama approach to the Batman mythos, Christopher Nolan not only made audiences see superhero movies in a new light, but

also redefined what a blockbuster can be.

Perhaps even more legendary than the film itself is Heath Ledger's Oscar winning supporting performance, which brought the Joker out of the comics and into the real world.

This town deserves a better class of criminal and I'm gonna give it to him.

With immortal dialogue, stellar action and a gritty tone, the Dark Knight is in a league of its own.

2009 the Hurt Locker In 2009 we saw the bastards go to war with the Nazis, the Na' Vi go to war with humans, and

a serious man go to war with the very meaning of life.

No film captured the horrors of combat quite like the Hurt Locker, though.

In most war movies, the audience's chief concern is whether the heroes live or die.

For William James, however, it slowly becomes clear that there will be no light at the end of a dark tunnel either way.

As the opening text says, war is a drug and it's sunk its teeth so deep into James that he can't break free.

Jeremy Renner's hard hitting performance and Katherine Bigelow's bold direction only add to this Best Picture winner's nail biting and unnerving nature.

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Top 26 Best Movies of Each Year (2000 - 2025)

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