Masterpieces of the 21st century

[MikeH]

Here's my list of 21st C films that scored 91+.

Good to see several films from this year in there! Just saw Transcendence last night - IMO a masterpiece in every way that perfectly represents the enigmatic and uncertain relationship between mankind, technology and the future. I think, eventually, it will come to be seen as masterpiece along the lines of Blade Runner - once all the people who got put off by the critics get round to seeing it!

100 Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
100 Spirited Away (2002)
98 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
98 The Prestige (2006)
97 The Master (2012)
97 Transcendence (2014)
96 Calvary (2014)
96 Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
95 Batman Begins (2005)
94 No Country for Old Men (2007)
92 The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
92 The Hunt (2012)
92 The Illusionist (2010)
92 The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
92 Memento (2001)
92 Philomena (2013)
92 There Will Be Blood (2007)
91 The Fighter (2010)

[vishal8492]

Although Inception is above in my list, I consider it rather entertaining than Masterpiece.

Requiem for a Dream (2000) 97
Black Swan (2010) 96
V for Vendetta (2006) 95
In the Mood for Love (2000) 92
Inception (2010) 90
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) 90
Synecdoche, New York (2008) 90
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 89
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) 88
Atonement (2007) 88
The King's Speech (2010) 88
Mulholland Drive (2001) 88
Primer (2004) 88

[avgcrtckr]

Films with at least 50 ratings (well known to popular):
Kis Uykusu (2014) 90
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) 86
The Act of Killing (2013) 84
Jogo de Cena (2007) 84
A Separation (2011) 84
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) 84
Before Midnight (2013) 83
City of God (2003) 83
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2011) 83
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012) 83
Lake of Fire (2006) 83

Films with at least 250 rankings (popular to very popular):
The Act of Killing (2013) 84
A Separation (2011) 84
Before Midnight (2013) 83
City of God (2003) 83
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) 82
The Dark Knight (2008) 81
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 81
In the Mood for Love (2000) 81
The Lives of Others (2006) 81
Memories of Murder (2003) 81
Yi Yi (2000) 81

Films with at least 1000 rankings (very popular):
A Separation (2011) 84
Before Midnight (2013) 83
City of God (2003) 83
The Dark Knight (2008) 81
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 81
In the Mood for Love (2000) 81
The Lives of Others (2006) 81
Memories of Murder (2003) 81
The Hunt (2012) 80
Spirited Away (2002) 80

[Phelipe]

there are more movies 95+ in my full ranking list, but my top 20 is something like this (2001 to 2014):

01 Dogville (2003)
02 There Will Be Blood (2007)
03 Mulholland Drive (2001)
04 Black Swan (2010)
05 WALL·E (2008)
06 Elephant (2003)
07 The Tree of Life (2011)
08 Mysterious Skin (2004)
09 A Separation (2011)
10 The Master (2012)
11 Inglourious Basterds (2009)
12 Holy Motors (2012)
13 The Great Beauty (2013)
14 Toy Story 3 (2010)
15 Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
16 O abismo prateado (2011)
17 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
18 Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
19 Oldboy (2003)
20 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

[Proximity]

Boyhood

[lisa-]

9 of them. i have borrowed djross's rating scale.

98. melancholia (2011)
98. dogtooth (2010)
96. dancer in the dark (2000)
96. the new world (2000)
95. no country for old men (2007)
94. dogville (2003)
93. inland empire (2006)
92. there will be blood (2007)
92. 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days (2007)

i have added the turin horse, mulholland drive, synecdoche new york and antichrist, and have placed no country for old men and 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days just below my masterpiece score.

[CarsonWid]

When I look at my rankings I don't think the score alone determines whether I think it's a masterpiece, so I'm just picking out the ones that count in my mind (all within my top ~3%)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - part of this is because I enjoy the style and because I identified so much with the characters, but there are just so many great elements to this film that while it feels weird to consider it a masterpiece I don't doubt it at all.

The Departed - purely because of the quality of filmmaking and performances. This is one of the very few english remakes I can agree with and mostly because of the acting.

Amelie - no words needed, seems to be general popular in this thread.

The Dark Knight - there are a lot of bad things you can say about it, but it's also one of the rare movies that tried to be a hollywood blockbuster while also pulling the genre in a new direction. It did not succeed, but the hope that it presented classifies it as a masterpiece in my books.

City of God - I would classify this as both a masterpiece and an epic, two different things but both work here.

Requiem For A Dream - for it's ability to both glorify and pick apart a lifestyle in a quality not seen in other attempts.

Inception - similar to Dark Knight it can be very silly at times, but it also does extremely well in presenting a concept in a way that just makes me understand and appreciate it, and whenever I think about creating art my mind can always refer back to this movie to help me make more sense of it.

Watchmen - Not going to appear on many others' lists, but I very much wish this is the direction the superhero genre would have taken. If people can get past the blue penis maybe they can start appreciating it.

[mattorama12]

Watchmen - Not going to appear on many others' lists, but I very much wish this is the direction the superhero genre would have taken. If people can get past the blue penis maybe they can start appreciating it.

I can't agree with your overall opinion of the movie because I was so bored watching it. However, the title sequence stands out as one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Not only is it gorgeous, but it sets the scene for the entire film through ~60 years of history. And it does it so effectively. I could watch that scene every day.

[ShogunRua]

The issue for people with Watchmen wasn't the blue penis. It was the existence of an outstanding comic book whose appeal couldn't be (and wasn't) condensed down into a 2 hour, 40 minute movie. Specifically, my favorite part of the comic was how incredibly detailed the world-building was, with many of the small details (sections of "Under the Hood" or "The Tale of the Black Freighter") enhancing the main story as well as being as interesting on their own. But you can't translate that into a movie, especially one under 5 hours.

As Alan Moore rightly stated, adapting comic books into movies is often stupid and doesn't work at all.

[mattorama12]

The issue for people with Watchmen wasn't the blue penis. It was the existence of an outstanding comic book whose appeal couldn't be (and wasn't) condensed down into a 2 hour, 40 minute movie. Specifically, my favorite part of the comic was how incredibly detailed the world-building was, with many of the small details (sections of "Under the Hood" or "The Tale of the Black Freighter") enhancing the main story as well as being as interesting on their own. But you can't translate that into a movie, especially one under 5 hours.

As Alan Moore rightly stated, adapting comic books into movies is often stupid and doesn't work at all.

I haven't read many comics, but I love movies and books that have good world-building. Sad that you found that to be one of the comic's strengths, when that really wasn't evident in the movie at all (save for the outstanding title sequence).