Best Movies from Each Year: (2000-2020)

Hi, Everybody! Today I made a list of great movies, one from each year over the past 20 years. From 2000-2020. What do you think are the best movies of each year? Let me know in the comments down below. 

2000: American Psycho

Although Memento, Requiem for a Dream and Erin Brockovich were excellent, I had to go with the film with one of the most memorable protagonists in movie history. Patrick Bateman is an American socialite businessman with psychotic tendencies. Equally a satire on the upperclass, a dark comedy and an intense horror film, American Psycho is a fantastic showcase for actor Christian Bale.

2001: Donnie Darko

The year 2001, was a great year for films, the world was introduced to Harry Potter, Dom Toretto, the Tenenbaums and Frodo Baggins. There was also Mulholland Drive, Spirited Away and Gosford Park. One film that stands out is Donnie Darko, a film that launched Jake Gyllenhaal's career. It became a cult classic after VHS sales went through the roof and has been theorized by film enthusiasts for years on what the film is really about. Is it a comedy? A horror? One thing is for sure is that the bunny has made an impact on pop culture as we know it.

2002: City of God

2002 was the year of Chamber of Secrets, Spider-Man, Gangs of New York, Catch Me If You Can, 8 Mile and 28 Days Later just to name a few. The best movie from that year however, came from Brazil. Centering on two characters, Rocket and Ze, one is an aspiring photographer and the other is an 18-year-old drug kingpin. Directed by Fernando Meirilles, this Brazilian crime drama is an uncompromising tale of gang intrigue and betrayal. I should tell you that it does not hold back in the slightest. It will break your heart and shock you to your very core.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers were masterpieces, but this was the conclusion that was 3 years in the making that beats out Mystic River, Big Fish, Lost in Translation and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Frodo and Samwise have nearly reached Mordor while the other Fellowship members fight for the kingdom of Rohan. Peter Jackson put his heart and soul into the conclusion that he wanted to make and it did not disappoint book readers in the slightest. It's also the first time that a fantasy movie has swept every category at the Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. What else can I say except "For Frodo".

2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

What would you do to forget about your relationship? You go and erase it. That's the basic premise for this mind-fuck of a romantic comedy. Directed by former French music video director Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine is an excellent showcase for Jim Carrey's dramatic chops. And let me tell you about the range on this guy. He went from playing insanely goofy characters to playing a guy with a crushed soul. Heartbreaking and hilarious, this is a movie that will make you laugh and cry. While I would've picked Prisoner of Azkaban, The Aviator or Million Dollar Baby. A movie that delves deep into the psyche of a broken relationship can never be overlooked.

2005: Brokeback Mountain

A movie about two closeted gay cowboys immediately beats out V for Vendetta, Corpse Bride, Batman Begins and A History of Violence. Directed by Ang Lee, this is a heartbreaking story of forbidden love and the unfortunate consequences. Brilliantly performed by the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain is a groundbreaking LGBT movie that changed everything forever.

2006: Pan's Labyrinth

2006 was the year that James Bond was revived by Daniel Craig, Martin Scorsese finally winning an Oscar for directing and Denzel Washington becoming a hostage negotiator in Spike Lee's Inside Man. Children of Men is one of Alfonso Cuarón's best movies, but one movie stands out above the rest, and that is Pan's Labyrinth, directed by another Mexican filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro. Taking place 5 years after the Spanish Civil War, a young girl discovers a world filled with mythical beings after witnessing her stepfather's sadistic brutality. Think Alice in Wonderland, but very dark. It's got the most creepiest creatures straight out of your worst nightmare while also showing the horrors of the real world involving General Vidal. Jesus Christ, this guy was evil. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful, its scariest moments are incredibly uncompromising and has left an impact on pop culture ever since.

2007: There Will Be Blood

American Gangster, Michael Clayton, The Darjeeling Limited and Juno were all great films. While No Country for Old Men is a favorite of that year due to Javier Bardem's unforgettable role as Anton Chigurh, but I had to go with There Will Be Blood, a movie that is considered to be Paul Thomas Anderson's best work. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, an oil man who cons landowners for their properties and sucks their resources dry. When preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview, it escalates into a feud that threatens both of their lives. As you experience Daniel's ruthless quest, you begin to feel conflicted as to whether or not you route for him or you think his cruel crusade is unnecessary. This shows how capitalism can destroy someones land. One thing that stands out is Day-Lewis Oscar-winning performance. I can drink my milkshake to that!

2008: The Dark Knight

When a trilogy is named after its second film, you know that this movie easily becomes movie of the year. The Dark Knight centers on Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent against The Joker, an egomaniacal terrorist who targets the very heart and soul of Gotham City. While Cloverfield shocked theater-goers, Liam Neeson kicked-ass in Taken, The Wrestler showed us a different side of Mickey Rourke, and Burn After Reading was an excellent dark comedy. The Dark Knight stands out due to its realistic action, incredible cinematography and Heath Ledger's iconic role. Not only is this a great superhero movie and the best Batman story ever told, it changed everything on how we see superheroes in film.

2009: The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds, Half-Blood Prince, Coraline, Watchmen, J.J.'s Star Trek and District 9 came at the end of the 2000s, one film stands out that year is The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Opening with the tag line, War is a drug, it's a brutal look of the Iraq war and the intensity of what it's like to be a U.S. Marine. Jeremy Renner plays William James, a Sergeant of the Disposal Bomb Squad in Iraq who's caught up in a war that he can't escape from. It also deals with psychological implications and stress of being in combat with insurgents. Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director, making her the first woman to do so, and winning Best Picture. Not only is the direction incredible, it has gritty cinematography that looks like it was caught on camera. Really wish I can watch it for the first time again, because this was truly unforgettable.

2010: The Social Network

What better way to start the decade of the 2010s with a biopic on one of the most controversial figures of our country, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. 127 hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception and The Town were all great films, but The Social Network stands out due to its current relevance and how it captures the culture zeitgeist of social media. Jesse Eisenberg showed his chops in his major starring role while Andrew Garfield steals the show as Mark's former friend and business partner. There's rarely a film where London Tipton sets fire to her scarf that she didn't like.😭 David Fincher has made disturbingly fantastic thrillers and The Social Network is his best work and the dialogue will keep you on the edge of your seat. Kudos to Aaron Sorkin!

2011: Contagion

Terence Malik's The Tree of Life is his best-directed film, but there's one film that has unexpectedly predicted the next 9 years, Contagion. Directed by cinema auteur, Steven Soderbergh, it follows a woman who contracts a deadly virus after flying in from China and it spreads throughout the United States, causing a pandemic. Soderbergh's movies are known for its ensemble casts and this film arguably has its best. Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwenthy Paltrow, Bryan Cranston, Sanaa Lathan and Elliot Gould. PERFECT CASTING. This is by no means a geo-politics thriller, this is an actual look on how a virus can impact our society.

2012: Django Unchained

The Avengers became a box office success, Chronice became a sleeper hit, Moonrise Kingdom was a very sweet and odd romcom, The Impossible was an incredible disaster flick, Skyfall became the best Bond movie yet and Zero Dark Thirty was an engaging political thriller. So I had to pick Django Unchained. Following up Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino directed a movie that took place before the civil war revolving around a former slave who travels with a bounty hunter and hunt down nasty criminals in the South and are in pursuit of Calvin Candie, a plantation owner where Django's wife is being held. An homage to Spaghetti Westerns and Blaxpoitation pictures, it's an impressive movie that has showed off Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz as one of cinema's memorable duos. It's all kinds of crazy with brilliant comedy and amazing action and some of the best cinematography from Robert Richardson. It might even come close to topping Pulp Fiction.

2013: The Wolf of Wall Street

American Hustle, Her, Prisoners and Gravity were exceptional movies, it was also the year that 12 Years a Slave broke many hearts, including mine. The Wolf of Wall Street stands out due to Leonardo DiCaprio's memorable portrayal of Jordan Belfort, a real-life stockbroker and one of Martin Scorsese's most memorable characters. In the world of Wall Street, there are many corrupt beast of men, including Jordan with charming charisma. Clocking in at 3 hrs, it's a memorable wild ride that you don't want to end. It feels like the shortest epic movie that you'll ever see since that each sequence has perfect pacing. Once the film is over, you'll be left to reflect on the consequences of Jordan's actions and that you'll also be wanting to buy his pen.

2014: Ex Machina

2014 was an incredible year for movies! Interstellar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Kingsman, American Sniper, Gone Girl, Fury, The Lego Movie, The Fault in Our Stars, John Wick, The Equalizer, Whiplash, The Imitation Game , The Grand Budapest Hotel and Wild. Needless to say, so many great movies came out that year and any one of them could've been movie of the year, but I have to go with Ex Machina, a sci-fi psychological thriller directed by Alex Garland, who wrote 28 Days Later. I really love sci-fi movies that have themes of the dark side of humanity. When a programmer is invited by his CEO to do a test on a humanoid robot, but  soon finds out that Nathan's narcissism is key to how he controls his androids. This movie put Alex Garland, Domhall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander on the map and shows the darker side of how technology can impact our human state of mind.

2015: Mad Max: Fury Road

When Mad Max was announced to be brought back, expectations were very high. Fury Road surprisingly blew people out of the water! Or in this case, the dirt. Due to Charlize Theron's scene-stealing role as Furiosa, Fury Road was a non-stop car chase that lasted for 2 hours! While the Avengers battled Ultron, Matt Damon lived on Mars, journalists uncovered a disturbing scandal within the Catholic Church, the financial bubble disaster of the 2000s, Leo gets attacked by a bear, and the Fast gang in their 7th film, Mad Max came back with a vengeance!

2016: Moonlight

Amongst the La La Land/Moonlight debacle during awards season, Moonlight was an emotional journey of self-identity that was worth checking out. Other great films came out in 2016, Arrival, Captain America: Civil War, Manchester by the Sea, War Dogs and Lion. Moonlight is arguably movie of the year because of Mahershala Ali's incredible supporting role, unreal cinematography and Chiron's heartbreaking story. Barry Jenkins is a director to watch!

2017: Get Out

Blade Runner 2049, The Lego Batman Movie, Only the Brave, The Shape of Water, Darkest Hour, Call Me By Your Name and Dunkirk could've all earned this spot, but Get Out was one of a few horror movies that have left an impact. Daniel Kaluyya plays a man, who's girlfriend brings him to her parents home and discovers a terrifying secret about her family. Get Out shows how scary white liberals can be, they are not Neo-Nazis or White Nationalists, they are racist middle-class people, which represents today's human society. Jordan Peele immediately became a big name horror, when this film dropped.

2018: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Hereditary may have shocked me to my core, BlackKklansman was an incredible crime drama with hilarious moments and inciteful commentary on a corrupt justice system and white supremacy, A Quiet Place made John Krasinski a household name, Ready Player One was an amazing geek culture extravaganza and Tag was a surprisingly funny movie. What I think is movie of the year is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales was adapted once on TV and Cartoons, but never in a feature-length movie. Voiced by Shameik Moore, best known for his starring role in Dope, Miles gets bitten by a radioactive spider and must come to terms with his powers, while trying to save the multiverse with Peter Parker as his mentor. The animation is amazing, the action feels so fluid and it's such a great story about growing up, passing the torch and being the best superhero that you can be. 

2019: Parasite

1917 was an amazing war movie with incredible direction, Avengers Endgame was the greatest conclusion movie with the best theater reaction of all time, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was an excellent buddy picture and throwback to late 60s culture, The Irishman was the best Scorsese picture in a very long time, Us was a terrifying and inciteful horror movie, Hustlers showed off J. Lo's impressive range, and Joker was a deeply disturbing character study of a classic comic book villain. The best movie of 2019 came from South Korea and was directed by Bong Joon-ho. Following a lower-class family, the Kims, who infiltrate the wealthy Park family. Bong Joon-ho is known for blending genres and Parasite is his best work to date. It first becomes a dark comedy, then becomes a thriller/horror and then back to comedy and so on and so forth. This one is a genre mix done right, becoming the first international film to win and Oscar for Best Picture.

2020: Soul

In a turbulent year that was 2020, few films could've been the best movie of the year. Greenland, Promising Young Woman, Minari and Palm Springs were all fantastic. But Pixar's Soul was an incredible achievement in both animation and storytelling. Joe is a middle school teacher who has been waiting for the piano gig of his life when he gets into an unfortunate accident and gets into a coma. Joe, as a Soul in a purgatory world called The Great Before begins to question the very meaning of his existence. Pixar movie are known for its life lessons and premises, but the basic premise of a Pixar movie about the meaning of life is something so ingenious it becomes a beautiful piece of work. 

Thank you reading and don't forget to share your thoughts down below.