We are back with the next installment of my top 25 favorite movies of the 21st century so far! Make sure you’re caught up on numbers 25-16 and then read on to see what landed at numbers 15 through 11.
15. Spirited Away (2001)
Once you do something, you never forget. Even if you can’t remember.
Spirited Away almost defies explanation; it’s something you just have to experience yourself. It’s long been considered one of the greatest animated movies of all time, and for good reason. It’s the crown jewel of Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio that has created several masterpieces over the last 40 years.
The film tells the story of Chihiro, an ordinary young girl nervous about moving to a new city with her parents. Along the way, they stop and find what looks like an abandoned town. I won’t spoil too much, but Chihiro’s parents get trapped in a magical spell and Chihiro falls into a world of spirits and mythological creatures. Think of it as Alice in Wonderland’s through the looking glass. In this world, Chihiro meets allies and adversaries, and she must learn to face her fears, save her parents, and discover the courage to keep moving forward and not look back. It’s a kind of coming-of-age story we’ve seen before but never told in such a visually rich way.
Every aspect of Spirited Away is at the top of its game. The art direction and animation style are stunning – Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli truly treat the medium as a work of art. They stretch the limits of what animation can do and use the medium to tell stories that are for adults just as much as kids. There’s always something new to discover in a Studio Ghibli movie, from the detailed and lived-in backgrounds to the actions of supporting characters. Studio Ghibli movies have connections to both traditional Japanese anime art and Western influences. It’s able to feel both similar and unique to the styles of Disney, DreamWorks, or any other Western animation studio American audiences are familiar with.
Like many of Studio Ghibli’s greatest films, Spirited Away features a soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, and he delivers an all-time classic. Like the animation, the score combines traditional Japanese sounds with modern Western influences to create a truly unique sound that helps whisk you away into a world of magic and imagination.
In Spirited Away, you’ll encounter a boy that turns into a dragon, a giant baby, a man with spider limbs, and a spirit called No Face. You’ll travel through the weird and unfamiliar, coming out the other side braver, more confident, and ready to face what’s next.
14. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Witness me.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a shot of adrenaline for two full hours and is arguably the best action movie of the century so far. It drops you into the middle of this world and expertly orients you to its mechanics with minimal exposition. What follows is a feature-length car chase that features some of the wildest and most unbelievable action, stunts and explosions ever put on screen.
Tom Hardy stars as Max, who’s desperately trying to escape the clutches of the evil Immortan Joe and his army of War Boys. Max is also trying to outrun his shame and failure of being unable to save his daughter and other villagers.
The story really kicks into gear when Max meets Charlize Theron’s Furiosa during his escape. Because while Max is the title character of the movie, Furiosa is the true engine behind the action. She’s helping captive brides of Immortan Joe escape and taking them to the place she was born. Furiosa is fighting for a better future for these women and for herself, and Max joins their party.
Fury Road is a story about survival and resilience in a world ruled by dictators and cruelty. It’s a story about how small acts of kindness can change someone’s life, like the way the War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult) comes around to help Max and Furiosa after being treated kindly by one of the brides.
Fury Road is all that and more, including a character who stands in front of a tower of speakers on top of a giant War Rig wearing a red onesie and shreds on a guitar for the entire movie.
Another aspect of Fury Road that works so well is that it’s a legacy sequel that doesn’t care if you’ve seen the movies that came before it. Having gone back and watched the first three Mad Max movies since seeing Fury Road, the franchise isn’t overly concerned with continuity to begin with, but going into Fury Road blind doesn’t lessen your enjoyment of the movie in any way. It gets you up to speed (lol) on the critical pieces of world building and then takes you along for the ride. And what a ride it is.
13. Children of Men (2006)
Very odd, what happens in a world without children’s voices.
When the real world catches up to movies that were set in the future but made long ago, they often become quaint or silly about how they depicted future events, like aspects of Back to the Future Part II or Blade Runner. But sometimes, they feel like the creators actually had some insight into what the world would really be like, and more often than not, those stories are like Children of Men.
Set in the still far away future of… 2027, Children of Men shows us a world where no children have been born for 18 years. The fallout of worldwide infertility has led to a world ruled by fear, where countries close their borders and round up refugees in prison camps, militant terrorist factions fight each other in the middle of cities, and the global economy is on the brink of collapse. Total science fiction.
But amid all that chaos, one woman, named Kee, reveals that she is pregnant, carrying the first child in nearly two decades. The movie then becomes a race for a group of freedom fighters to get Kee to a scientific research group trying to reverse the world’s infertility.
Watching this movie in 2025 feels like a punch to the gut. So many aspects of the story feel eerily analogous to what is happening in our world today. But even such a dystopian look into our future contains a bit of hope. The good of humanity can still rise. Kee gives birth during the journey to the research facility, and shortly after the baby is born, our main characters find themselves in the middle of a battle between the British army and militant activists. The baby begins to cry, and as the soldiers nearby hear the sound, they stop and turn to listen. The entire battle becomes silent, momentarily united in the hope of hearing a sound they never thought they’d hear again. It will bring you to tears.
Children of Men was directed by the great Alfonso Cuaron and his technical prowess is on full display in this movie. Several of the action scenes are shot in one continuous take, following the characters in real time through the chaos. It drops you into the center of the action and really makes you hold your breath, feeling like you’re right there with the protagonists.
Watching the movie now, Children of Men acts as a warning, a vision of what not to do. It asks us to hold on to hope, to be kind to each other, and to trust in the goodness of humanity.
12. Knives Out (2019)
It’s a strange case from the start. A case with a hole in the center. A doughnut.
Knives Out is one of those movies that didn’t really have any right to be as good as it is. Murder mystery and detective movies haven’t found much mainstream success in the 21st century. We think of names like Agatha Christie belonging to a time long past. But what director and writer Rian Johnson did with Knives Out both honored the traditions of the genre and updated it to fit into our modern times.
On the surface, Knives Out follows a lot of the familiar tropes of murder mysteries. There’s an intrigued and dedicated detective in Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc and a large cast of characters to serve as suspects.
But underneath all that, Rian Johnson manages to explore the ways class, race, and politics can divide us. Marta, played by Ana de Armas, worked as a full-time nurse for the aging crime novelist Harlan Thrombey. She is a working-class Latina immigrant, and her interactions with the Thrombey family highlight these divides by the way they accept her up to a certain extent, how both the right- and left-leaning family members can’t remember where her family is from, and how they turn on her when money gets involved.
A critical aspect of murder mystery movies is having a large cast full of actors who can play the victim and believably have a motive to be the killer. And Rian Johnson assembled an all-star troupe for Knives Out, featuring Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, LaKeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon and so many more. Craig’s Benoit Blanc was an instantly iconic detective – mostly thanks to an incredible accent. The success of Knives Out and Craig’s performance has led to two sequels so far.
Every cast member has moments to shine, but Ana de Armas and Chris Evans totally steal the show. Ana de Armas cements herself as an A-list star and holds the emotional core of the movie together. And Chris Evans gets to put Steve Rogers behind him and really relishes getting to be a rich, obnoxious jerk.
The production design and score are also major highlights of this movie. The Thrombey house is a feast for the eyes. It’s so intricately designed and set, there are so many things to look at in the background of each shot. And the score sets such a fun and spooky vibe.
Knives Out is one of those movies that I can stop and rewatch at any moment. It was such a surprise and a great fun time at the movies.
11. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
We’re all different… But there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?
Wes Anderson is one of the most interesting directors of the 21st century. He has one of the most distinct styles and is known for creating intricately detailed worlds, symmetrical framing, bright colors, and often deadpan performances. I could have put any of Anderson’s movies on this list – The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Asteroid City are all wonderful – but Fantastic Mr. Fox holds a special place in my heart.
Based on the book by Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of a fox who robs three local farmers. Once the farmers become aware of what Mr. Fox is doing, he must avoid their attacks to protect his family. Along the way, he becomes a leader in his community and works with his friends and neighbors to adapt and save their community.
Wes Anderson movies are often criticized as being more style over substance. But I’ve never understood that argument. In Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson takes a simple children’s story and uses the framework to tell a story about a mid-life crisis, about wanting to be remembered, about finding joy in what you have and not comparing yourself to others, using animals to investigate some of the most human feelings.
In the film, Mr. Fox is unsatisfied with the way his life has turned out. He doesn’t want to live in a hole anymore and feels like he deserves more than what he has. His plot to rob the farmers is a way for him to relive his glory days and to bring a spark of excitement back into his life. But his actions alert the farmers – Boggis, Bunce and Bean – and threaten the security of Mr. Fox and his family.
Mr. Fox ultimately learns that his life is meaningful to the community around him. He doesn’t have to be famous to be remembered, and he learns to be content with the life he has. That’s some pretty mature thematic material for a movie based on a children’s story. And the script is packed with incredible humor and gags that help humanize these wild animals.
Stop motion animation still feels like magic to me, and the production design and colors of Fantastic Mr. Fox are magnificent. It perfectly matches Wes Anderson’s style of filmmaking. If you love the color orange, this movie is for you. And if you love animation, no matter how old or young you are, you’ll find something to love in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
We’re down to the top 10 of my best of the century so far. Be on the lookout for the next five coming soon!
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