Hollywood’s Best Movies

10 Best Movies Of The New Millennium

With hundreds of films being produced out of Hollywood every year, the winning of the title of Best Movie is quite an accomplishment. What must a film do to compete?


Picking the best movie ever made is nearly an impossible undertaking. The sheer number of movies that have been released over the decades makes the task of picking the ‘number one’ a Herculean one. Crossing genres complicates the issue as well. How can a romantic comedy be held up in comparison to a horror flick? And can an animated film hold its own against a drama? In a battle to the top, who would win: Harry Potter or Quentin Tarantino?

What criteria are required to make a movie one of the best movies ever? Box office receipts? Some of Hollywood’s biggest grossing films have not been considered the best movies. For example, the two ‘Twilight’ projects, although enormously profitable, have not been seen on the best movies lists of 2008 or 2009. ‘The Informant’, on the other hand, was highly regarded by many critics yet was a great disappointment at the box office, landing in the second-run theaters within weeks of its debut. It is apparent that a movie that may be applauded by critics is not guaranteed to be a favorite of the paying public.

On the lists of the best movies of 2008 both ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Iron Man’ were near the top. Both based on comic book series, these films raked in the dollars. Why were they considered the best by fan and critic alike? For films that are based on printed media, such as a novel or comic book, these filmmakers have an even tougher job. They must convince the fans of the original that they were true to the book. These two movies are great examples of screenwriters who believed in the original stories. On the opposite side of the coin, if a film deviates much from the original material, such as the 2009 movie, ‘The Half-Blood Prince’, the fan-base shrinks.

Two of this writer’s best movies 2008 showcased Brad Pitt as the anti-aging Benjamin Button, and Will Smith as a tormented accident survivor in ‘Seven Pounds’. Where Benjamin Button is considered one of the10 best movies, the Will Smith vehicle is not. In picking the best of the best, it all comes down to two words: personal preference.