What 21st Century Films Will Be Remembered The Best?

[Mister Mets]

One thing I'm interested in is how perceptions about works of art change, and how reputations can slowly rise. Let's look at this with movies. Some films are immediately acknowledged as being among the best of the art form. Schindler's List made the AFI top ten within a few years of its release. Others take longer. Raging Bull was in 23rd place in the 1998 list, and fourth place in the 2007 list. Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction have started to do very well in modern rankings.

I'm wondering what films of the 21st Century are going to be rated highest in the future. This is slighty different from the question of which films are the best. One thing that matters a lot is whether a film can have a slightly bigger devoted following than another.

My top ten...

10. Walk the Line: The reputations of Johnny Cash and Joaquin Phoenix are probably going to stay pretty high, which will help this film. It differs from notable musical biopics about famous men by also including a strong lead female performance, as it's also about one of the great celebrity romances. Country music fans/ proud southerners aren't going to have a lot of similar things to vote for.

9. Brokeback Mountain: It's probably the most notable film to deal with gay issues, and the reputations of the stars (Ledger, Gyllenhal, Williams) and director (Ang Lee) have only increased after the release.

8. Selma: It's a very good film that hits a lot of sweet spots for certain critics/ film professionals.

7. There Will Be Blood: Daniel Day-Lewis seems to have developed a well-earned reputation as the best actor of the modern era. This is probably his finest performance in a film that's about something.

6. The Social Network: I might be biased because I really liked this film. The Director's a critical favorite, the writer has a major following, the young stars are on the rise (which means if any of their reputations increase significantly, it helps this film) and it's about something modern and interesting.

5. The Avengers: Massive success critically and commercially. Most notable of the MCU films. And it did something that's groundbreaking by merging four film franchises together for one massive crossover.

4. Django Unchained: Gets the support of the people who like Tarantino (to say nothing of Leonardo Dicaprio and Samuel L Jackson, both of whom have memorable performances) and it does deal with a serious topic (slavery.) Also has two of the best buddy pairing in film with Django and Schultz.

3. Wolf of Wall Street: A-list Director. Probably Dicaprio's most notable performance. Great supporting cast. It's about something relevant to the modern era (capitalist excess) and if you want something fun and Hard-R, there really isn't any serious competition.

2. Wall-E: It's slowly getting the reputation as one of the best Pixar films. Cinephiles like the completely silent first act. And it's probably the best science fiction film in a generation, so it's going to get support from that crowd.

1. The Dark Knight: Generally acknowledged to be the best example of a type of movie that is very popular right now.

I'm keeping the Lord of the Rings trilogy off the list because it's not fair to compare movies to an entire series. I suspect a lot of future lists are just going to make the Lord of the Rings saga one trilogy (as some combine The Godfather & The Godfather Part 2) but if people are voting for one film there may be a split between support for The Fellowship of the Ring (which kicked off the saga) and Return of the King (which won all those Oscars, brought the saga to a successful conclusion, and had a bigger role for Gollum, arguably the best character.)

What do you guys think? What have I left out? What have I overrated?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I don't mean to be a prick, but you seriously need to watch some better films.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Wall-e over Fly Me to the Moon? What is wrong with you?

[Mister Mets]

As I noted, these aren't the best films of the 21st Century, nor are these my favorite films.

But I think these are the ones that are most likely to pop up in Top 100 lists made twenty years from now, often for reasons that have little to do with quality.

[Mr. Smith]

With films out here and now:

Only 12 Years a Slave, Lord of the Rings, Brokeback Mountain, No Country for Old Men, and pick-a-Chris Nolan-film-that-isn't-Following-or-The Dark Knight Rises seem to have a shot far as I can tell.

[afleitch]

I don't mean to be a prick, but you seriously need to watch some better films.

All is relative. People like what they like, people are best left to be their own critic when it comes to movies and TV shows

THE SINGING DETECTIVE! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP

Having said that, 15 years of a century is nothing. From 1915-1940 the highest grossing movie of all time was a piece of racist filth, so it's very difficult to determine what people will take away from 2000-2015. If anything, all we (and to be honest the critics too) take away from the first years of cinema is Keaton and Chaplin. We can look back on it, but for all you can critique it, it was just pratfalls. What's to say all we will remember of this time as we pass away into obscurity ourselves is something repeated ad nauseam like Shrek 2?

[Beet]

I don't mean to be a prick,

Yes you do.

[The Other Castro]

If you mean what's come out already this century: Whiplash, Birdman, Toy Story 3, The King's Speech, Up, The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Children of Men, The Incredibles, LotR:RotK, The Pianist, Spirited Away, and Cast Away are some of my favorites,

[Badger]

I don't mean to be a prick, but you seriously need to watch some better films.

OK, step up and offer your own list, smart guy.

[Mr. Morden]

The American Astronaut is a timeless classic that will be remembered for centuries.