Film FreeQ: April 2022

Decade-Defining Directors: The 2000s

Finally, here is a curated list of several prominent and/or prolific filmmakers who've had a major impact on film throughout the 2000s, for better or worse.

Paul Thomas Anderson

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) / There Will Be Blood (2007)

Wes Anderson

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) / The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) / The Darjeeling Limited (2007) / Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Michael Bay

Pearl Harbor (2001) / Bad Boys II (2003) / The Island (2005) / Transformers (2007) / Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Brad Bird

The Incredibles (2004) / Ratatouille (2007)

Danny Boyle

The Beach (2000) / 28 Days Later (2002) / Millions (2004) / Sunshine (2007) / Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) / The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) / Intolerable Cruelty (2003) / The Ladykillers (2004) / No Country For Old Men (2007) / Burn After Reading (2008) / A Serious Man (2009)

Pete Docter

Monsters, Inc. (2001) / Up (2009)

Clint Eastwood

Space Cowboys (2000) / Blood Work (2002) / Mystic River (2003) / Million Dollar Baby (2004) / Flags of Our Fathers (2006) / Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) / Changeling (2008) / Gran Torino (2008) / Invictus (2009)

Paul Greengrass

Bloody Sunday (2002) / The Bourne Supremacy (2004) / United 93 (2006) / The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Ron Howard

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) / A Beautiful Mind (2001) / The Missing (2003) / Cinderella Man (2005) / The DaVinci Code (2006) / Frost/Nixon (2008) / Angels and Demons (2009)

Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) / The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) / The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) / King Kong (2005) / The Lovely Bones (2009)

Spike Jones

Adaptation. (2002) / Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Hayao Miyazaki

Spirited Away (2001) / Howl's Moving Castle (2004) / Ponyo (2008)

Christopher Nolan

Memento (2000) / Insomnia (2002) / Batman Begins (2005) / The Prestige (2006) / The Dark Knight (2008)

Ridley Scott

Gladiator (2000) / Hannibal (2001) / Black Hawk Down (2001) / Matchstick Men (2003) / Kingdom of Heaven (2005) / A Good Year (2006) / American Gangster (2007) / Body of Lies (2008)

Steven Spielberg

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) / Minority Report (2002) / Catch Me If You Can (2002) / The Terminal (2004) / War of the Worlds (2005) / Munich (2005) / Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Andrew Stanton

Finding Nemo (2003) / WALL*E (2008)

Guillermo del Toro

The Devil's Backbone (2001) / Blade II (2002) / Hellboy (2004) / Pan's Labyrinth (2006) / Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Edgar Wright

Shaun of the Dead (2004) / Hot Fuzz (2007)

Decade-Defining Performers: The 2000s

Some film actors are commended for a single performance they gave in one decade. Others are celebrated for an incredible body of work they gave in the same duration. Here is a curated list of such performers from the 2000s.

George Clooney

Oceans Eleven (2001) / Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) / Syriana (2005) / Michael Clayton (2007) / Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) / Up In the Air (2009)

Johnny Depp

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) / Finding Neverland (2004) / Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) / Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Leonardo DiCaprio

Gangs of New York (2002) / Catch Me If You Can (2002) / The Aviator (2004) / The Departed (2006) / Blood Diamond (2008)

Robert Downey, Jr.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) / Charlie Bartlett (2007) / Iron Man (2008) / Tropic Thunder (2008) / The Soloist (2009)

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) / Capote (2005) / The Savages (2007) / Synechdoce, New York (2008)

Heath Ledger

A Knight's Tale (2001) / Brokeback Mountain (2005) / I'm Not There (2007) / The Dark Knight (2008)

Bill Murray

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) / Lost In Translation (2003) / The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) / Broken Flowers (2005) / The Darjeeling Limited (2007) / Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Brad Pitt

Oceans Eleven (2001) / Troy (2004) / Burn After Reading (2008) / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) / Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Kate Winslet

Iris (2001) / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) / Little Children (2006) / The Reader (2008) / Revolutionary Road (2008)

Decade-Defining Performances: The 2000s

Since we're already more than two decades into the 21st Century, I thought I'd share several screen performances that really stuck out to me, starting with the 2000s.

WRITER'S NOTE: Both live-action and voice performances will be included.