Let’s Talk Cinema: The 2000s

I can close my eyes and almost feel it—the scent of buttery popcorn, the sound of quiet whispers, the rustle of candy tumbling out of a cardboard box. The lights dim, the screen expands… finally, the moment arrives. After months (sometimes years!) of hoping, wondering, and guessing, the anticipation bursts open, and suddenly you’re teleported into a whole new world. Nothing else in life matters for those two hours. Then, when it’s over, you stumble out a changed human being, disoriented, like you’ve lost all sense of time and place—because moments before, you’d been swept away into a reality so foreign to your own.

There was no better place than a movie theatre on a Friday night in the 2000s. It felt like the entire town was there! I wish I could feel that again—that communal buzz of a packed theatre. The gasps, the sniffles, the laughter. Will it ever be that good again?

I entered the 2000s as a wide-eyed, wild-and-free, innocent nine-year-old, and I left with one foot planted in carefree, secretly rebellious teenagerhood (pastor’s kid, of course) and the other teetering on the edge of adulthood, about to graduate high school in 2010. I knew absolutely nothing about how the world really worked. My parents did their best to shield me from its darker corners, letting me live a childhood full of joy and freedom before reality inevitably caught up after graduation.

Even though my I grew up in a conservative Christian home, my parents never missed a chance to take me to the theatre—or at the very least, to Family Video, our local video rental store. Honestly, I can’t even picture my childhood without movies. I still remember having to call the theatre or check the newspaper for showtimes—wild to think about now! If I was sick, my parents would rent us movies. If it was summer, we’d stock up on a week’s worth of movies- to keep us entertained (unless we got kicked outside until the porch lights came on, and then it was straight back to the movies). If school was canceled for snow—or anything, really—we’d either end up at the theatre or at Family Video. Both places felt like pure magic to me.

I wish I could remember the last time I checked out a DVD at a video store. I wish I could remember the last time my entire family—cousins and all—gathered to watch a movie together, whether in a theatre or at home. Those things didn’t truly end until the last ten years or so, when everyone grew up and life got in the way. When my local Family Video closed in 2021, I cried. My kids will never know what that experience was like. I spent hours wandering those aisles! Sometimes it was pure joy—especially when I got to go alone and just discover and devour anything and everything. Other times, it turned into a full-on negotiation war with friends or family over which movie to rent. And if you showed up on a Friday night? GOOD LUCK getting your hands on the hottest new release DVD. It pains me—and honestly makes me feel a little guilty—that streaming killed the video store. (I mean, serves it right for killing the radio star, but still…) I hate that I indulged in streaming without realizing the damage it would do to video stores and even theatres, especially after the world collapse of 2020. It just isn’t the same anymore!

I grew up on the cinema of the 2000s—from boyhood to adulthood—so this decade holds an extra special place in my heart. As I discovered life, I discovered movies, and honestly, I learned more about the world through cinema than almost anywhere else. Around 2007–2008, I stumbled into the world of “quality cinema” and the Oscars, and suddenly a whole new dimension opened up to me.

The first half of the decade, I was still a kid, happily devouring all the fun family movies. But by the mid-2000s, as a teenager navigating the chaos of adolescence, I began to discover the artistry of cinema. Almost Famous became my anthem. I wanted to be William Miller. I can’t even explain the depth of feeling that movie stirred in me—and to this day, I still feel its pulse. Then there was No Country for Old Men, which shocked and horrified me, but also left me with this lingering, quiet meditation on chance versus destiny and what “it” all means. Years later, I’m still chewing on it.

My first full year of watching and following the Oscars was 2008, and I’ve shared before all the films I caught in theatres that year. But nothing wowed me more than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Time—an evil, rotten thief—mixed with love, loss, and identity. I remember being completely captivated by its unique story. It felt honest, challenging, and just about perfect. That movie sealed my fate: I was officially in love with movies.

The next year, I discovered Awards Daily and Sasha Stone. Suddenly, I’d found this corner of the internet filled with passionate voices—movie lovers and Oscar predictors. It was like getting sucked up into and carried off by a UFO. I couldn’t escape, and honestly, I didn’t want to. I kept coming back, learning so much about movies, art, and life from people I didn’t even know, scattered all across the world. This community sealed my fate: Oscar predicting for life.

I could never have predicted that this love of cinema would become such a huge part of my life—and yet, looking back, it was always there. The countless trips to the theatre, the endless hours spent in a video rental store… all of it led me straight to a lifelong love of movies and, eventually, a full-blown passion for the Oscars. Most people outside this film community don’t fully get it—and that’s fine. I don’t really need them to. This is my escape, my world, and it’s packed with endless adventures and discoveries.

Now, I don’t know how well this take will be received, but I honestly feel like the 2000s were the last decade where Oscar winners really reflected mainstream audiences. The 2010s? Not so much. The winners started leaning more niche, and mainstream audiences just didn’t seem to factor in the same way. In my world, I don’t know too many people who could name a Best Picture winner from the 2010s—but plenty could rattle off a few from the 2000s. And the irony! The decade kicked off with Gladiator, a massive box office hit, and closed with The Hurt Locker, the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner of all time. That shift basically set the stage for the niche-driven winners of the 2010s. Back then, I was brand new to all this, so I didn’t fully get it. Looking back now, though, it feels almost prophetic—like the Oscars were showing us exactly where they were headed. A sad, yet kind of funny, observation.

With all that said, I figured we’d kick off Let’s Talk Cinema: The 2000s the same way we opened the 2010s—by ranking the Picture, Director, Acting, and Writing winners!

And just to be clear: I don’t want your favorite nominees, or even your favorite films. Nope. I only want you to rank the **winners** however you see fit. That’s where it gets fun. I love seeing how differently (or similarly) we all line things up—it’s a great way to get to know each other’s tastes a little better.

So, happy ranking!!!

JERM’S OFFICIAL RANKINGS 

Best Picture

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Chicago
3. The Departed
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
5. Gladiator
6. Slumdog Millionaire
7. Million Dollar Baby
8. Crash
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. The Hurt Locker

No Country for Old Men is absolutely brilliant—easily my third favorite film of the 21st century so far. The Coen Brothers were in top form and knocked it out of the park. Undeniably the Best Picture winner of the decade!

Chicago—also brilliant, even if it’s not the “cool” opinion. I’m still singing those songs over twenty years later, and it totally holds up. Honestly, I don’t think anyone has ever directed a more complex, dazzling song-and-dance number than “Cell Block Tango.” Props to Rob Marshall! The Departed—those last 15 minutes? Forever seared into my brain. I watched it with a group of friends, none of us had ever seen it, and by the end we were all gasping, yelling “WHAT IS GOING ON?!” A wild ride. Also, Jack Nicholson was robbed of a last Oscar nomination for that great supporting turn—HIS RAT FACE! Scorsese finally got his long-overdue Oscar! The Lord of the Rings remains this towering, gorgeous technical achievement that (in my mind) really won for the whole trilogy, not just Return of the King.

Gladiator is still one of the most widely seen Best Picture winners ever. I know so many people who count it among their all-time favorites. It’s a total “man’s movie,” but plenty of women love it too. The appeal was so broad, it’s just a shame Ridley Scott didn’t get the director win to go with it.

The bottom five winners? They’re fine, but they didn’t wow me. And I’ll just say it—Crash is NOT THAT BAD. People only hate it because it won over a more beloved film, and so it’s forever branded as “the worst.” Is it great? No. But I’d still watch Crash over The Hurt Locker any day. That one’s a boring snooze fest—yeah, I said it. And I’ll leave it there.

Best Director

1. The Coen Brothers — No Country for Old Men
2. Peter Jackson — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Roman Polanski — The Pianist
4. Martin Scorsese — The Departed
5. Ang Lee — Brokeback Mountain
6. Danny Boyle — Slumdog Millionaire
7. Clint Eastwood — Million Dollar Baby
8. Ron Howard — A Beautiful Mind
9. Steven Soderbergh — Traffic
10. Kathryn Bigelow — The Hurt Locker

The top five are all fantastic winners. The Coens remain two of the greatest directors working today—even their misfires are worth watching. Peter Jackson, in my view, again, didn’t just win for Return of the King; he won for the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. A collective triumph, finally rewarded at the end.

Roman Polanski is a complicated case. He rightly gets hate for his past crimes, but unfairly, that anger often bleeds into his legacy as a filmmaker. Separating art from the artist isn’t always easy—but The Pianist was undeniably deserving, a gut-wrenching Holocaust drama that earned him his due. I’ll never forget the rapturous standing ovation he got that night—only for many of those same celebrities to later shun him when it became unpopular to praise him. The Academy itself eventually expelled him during the MeToo era, even though his crimes had been known for decades. The hypocrisy is wild. Still, the Oscar itself was deserved.

Martin Scorsese had been robbed so many times by the time The Departed came around, so it was a relief to finally see him get his long-overdue Oscar. Honestly, it was richly deserved! And Ang Lee—always the Best Director winner without the Best Picture to match. Brokeback Mountain remains widely praised, and Ang’s sensitive direction is the reason why. He took an unlikely story and turned it into one of the greatest films never to win Best Picture.

The remaining Director winners, some were great, while others not so much. The films themselves are just not my favorites, but to each their own.

Best Actor

1. Daniel Day-Lewis — There Will Be Blood
2. Adrien Brody — The Pianist
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman — Capote
4. Sean Penn — Mystic River
5. Russell Crowe — Gladiator
6. Denzel Washington — Training Day
7. Sean Penn — Milk
8. Jeff Bridges — Crazy Heart
9. Jamie Foxx — Ray
10. Forest Whitaker — The Last King of Scotland

“I abandoned my child!” ALL. The. Chills. Daniel Day-Lewis delivered an unforgettable performance, and honestly, he deserved all three of his Lead Actor Oscars—he’s the only one to ever do it!

Adrien Brody—okay, he definitely didn’t deserve that second Oscar last year, but his shocking upset for The Pianist? One for the ages, and absolutely deserved.

Philip Seymour Hoffman… one of my favorite actors of all time. Gone way too soon. I often wonder what we’d be getting from him if he were still here, because he was such a masterclass performer. His work in Capote is mesmerizing—so, so, so good. He will forever be missed.

Sean Penn in Mystic River still holds up—complicated, layered, heartbreaking. That scene where he finds his daughter? I can’t even watch it anymore. Pure devastation. (And yes, it’s why Hamnet has me terrified already.)

Russell Crowe’s win for Gladiator was a total upset—he lost all the precursors, same as Brody, and then shocked everyone at the Oscars. The irony is that the very next year, Crowe won all the precursors, only to lose the Oscar to Denzel. He could have gone back-to-back!

The rest of the guys? Fine choices, even if they weren’t my personal favorites.

Best Actress

1. Marion Cotillard — La Vie en Rose
2. Charlize Theron — Monster
3. Julia Roberts — Erin Brockovich
4. Halle Berry — Monster’s Ball
5. Kate Winslet — The Reader
6. Helen Mirren — The Queen
7. Nicole Kidman — The Hours
8. Hilary Swank — Million Dollar Baby
9. Sandra Bullock — The Blind Side
10. Reese Witherspoon — Walk the Line

Marion and Charlize delivered two of the greatest performances in this category, period. They’re definitely in my top 10 Best Actress winners of all time. Both are transformative, complex, and absolutely unforgettable.

Julia Roberts DESERVED her win—leave her alone! Halle Berry, the first (and still only) Black woman to win Best Actress (COME ON, ERIVO), gets hate from the Spacek stans, but her work in Monster’s Ball is searing. It haunts me to this day—and honestly, I’m not sure I could ever rewatch it. Still, I’m glad she won and broke that barrier, even though she remains the only Black actress to do so. (Viola Davis, Danielle Deadwyler, and Cynthia Erivo should all have joined her by now!)

Kate Winslet—listen, Queen Meryl should’ve gotten her third Oscar for Doubt, but I’m still happy Kate won. She was fantastic in The Reader, even if it didn’t floor me the way Meryl’s performance did. Kate had been building toward a “due” win for years—her Eternal Sunshine snub left her with an IOU. And the one-two punch of The Reader and Revolutionary Road in 2008 made her a worthy winner. It was extra special that my first Oscar ceremony was watching Kate win.

The bottom five are still strong performances. Dame Helen as QEII? Perfection. Nicole Kidman—the train station scene alone! Hilary Swank, depressingly good, but again… that should’ve been Kate’s win. Sandra Bullock gets plenty of hate, but hers was a fine performance. Not great, but fine. I’ll allow it (though Gabourey Sidibe would’ve been the better choice). And Reese? Also fine—not earth-shattering, but I’m glad she’s got an Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christoph Waltz — Inglourious Basterds
2. Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight
3. Javier Bardem — No Country for Old Men
4. Chris Cooper — Adaptation
5. Alan Arkin — Little Miss Sunshine
6. Tim Robbins — Mystic River
7. Morgan Freeman — Million Dollar Baby
8. Jim Broadbent — Iris
9. Benicio del Toro — Traffic
10. George Clooney — Syriana

My top five might be a little controversial in order, but I love them all. Each one deserved their spotlight and left a lasting impression. And can we just acknowledge Waltz, Ledger, and Bardem as the ultimate Villainous Trio? Back-to-back-to-back wins. Legendary. It’s a bingo!

The bottom five I still enjoyed—Robbins, Freeman, and Broadbent all delivered solid work. Benicio and George, though… meh.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Mo’Nique — Precious
2. Catherine Zeta-Jones — Chicago
3. Renée Zellweger — Cold Mountain
4. Cate Blanchett — The Aviator
5. Penélope Cruz — Vicky Cristina Barcelona
6. Jennifer Hudson — Dreamgirls
7. Marcia Gay Harden — Pollock
8. Jennifer Connelly — A Beautiful Mind
9. Rachel Weisz — The Constant Gardener
10. Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton

Mo’Nique might actually be my favorite Supporting Actress winner of all time. Who knew she had that in her? She’d always seemed more like a funny comedian than a dramatic powerhouse—but then she turned into this force of nature and blew everyone away. She clean-swept that awards season, and rightfully so.

Zeta-Jones? Another fantastic winner. She stole every single scene in Chicago because she knew the assignment and went all in. Renée Zellweger gets plenty of hate for Cold Mountain, but I think that’s unfair. After three straight nominations for Oscar-worthy performances, there was no way she wasn’t getting it eventually. Honestly, if she’d won for Chicago, people wouldn’t hold the Cold Mountain win against her so much.

Cate Blanchett? Perfection as Katharine Hepburn. I just wanted more of her. Penélope Cruz—okay, confession time. In high school, all the guys were talking about Vicky Cristina Barcelona. And let’s be real—it wasn’t because of Woody Allen. It was because of that steamy Scarlett Johansson/Penélope Cruz scene. Enough said.

Jennifer Hudson, like Anne Hathaway later on, basically won for one powerhouse song. And it was a great song, so fair enough. Harden and Connelly both did solid work as the “complicated woman supporting the tormented man.” Rachel Weisz left me a little cold, though I know many adore her performance. And then there’s Tilda. It pains me to rank her last because she’s incredible, but that win just didn’t do much for me. She’s been snubbed for so many better roles.

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. No Country for Old Men
2. The Pianist
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
4. The Departed
5. Brokeback Mountain
6. Sideways
7. Slumdog Millionaire
8. Precious
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. Traffic

The top five here? Beautiful work. These writers took their source material and elevated it into something unforgettable. I can’t rave enough about them.

The bottom five… well, I can take or leave them.

Best Original Screenplay

1. Almost Famous
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Juno
5. Gosford Park
6. Crash
7. Lost in Translation
8. Milk
9. Talk to Her
10. The Hurt Locker

I’ve already showered Almost Famous with endless praise, so let me spread the love to Little Miss Sunshine, Eternal Sunshine, and Juno. Unforgettable films I still revisit because they’re just that good. And endlessly quotable—which, to me, is always a sign of greatness.

Gosford Park also deserves props. It’s sharp, witty, and basically gave us a sneak peek at the genius that would later gift the world Downton Abbey.

The rest? Ranging from “fine” to “no thanks.” And yes, all the shade at The Hurt Locker for stealing Inglourious Basterds’ thunder.

That’s all for now! I hope you love making lists as much as I do. I don’t want to go full OVERKILL here, so if it ever feels that way, just tell me. I just get such joy from highlighting the films and performances that left a mark on me. Ranking them feels like a way to keep their spirit alive—and maybe it’ll inspire others to discover (or rediscover) them too. There’s so much to unpack about the 2000s as a decade, so buckle up—we’re only just getting started!

Now it’s your turn: rank the winners for Picture, Director, Acting, and Writing of the 2000s. Share your thoughts, have fun with it, and of course… Let’s Talk Cinema!