The Best Movies of the 21st Century (So Far)

Rolling Stone asked a bunch of its contributors to work on a massive list of the best films of the 21st century. Remarkably, we're already 25 years into this new century, which means a lot of good movies. As always, I didn't have any say in the final rankings, but I did some of the write-ups, including Y Tu Mama Tambien, Inside Llewyn Davis, Dogville, Burning, Uncut Gems, I Am Not Your Negro, The Souvenir and others. Dive in. 

Cannes 2025: 'Honey Don't!' Review

Honey Don't! is the second solo narrative feature from Ethan Coen, who previously made Drive-Away Dolls. I wasn't a fan of that film, but this one works better. And Margaret Qualley is a big reason why. I reviewed Honey Don't! for Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Warfare' and Looking Back at 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

Apologies: I'm behind on posting last week's podcast. Will was in town! So we recorded in my dining room. We reviewed two new movies, Warfare and The Amateur, and then took our time while revisiting Inside Llewyn Davis. Check out the whole thing down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Ethan Coen Solo, Christopher Nolan Reappraised and 'His Girl Friday'

On this week's podcast, there's only one new movie, which is Drive-Away Dolls. Then, we give Tenet a second look in honor of its re-release and go back to 1940 for His Girl Friday. Dive in!

'Drive-Away Dolls' Review

Joel and Ethan Coen have been directing their own projects of late. Ethan's first narrative solo film is Drive-Away Dolls, which I know some people love. I ... did not. You can read my review here.

How Does a Comedy "Age Well"?

For Cracked, I gave myself the task of selecting 25 films from the 20th century that have "aged perfectly." What does that mean? And which films did I pick? Read on.

Which Best Picture Nominees This Century Have Been the Funniest?

To be clear, I'm not saying "funniest" because they were bad choices. I mean, "these movies make me laugh." Turns out, the funniest aren't necessarily the ones that are comedies. My Top 10 is here.

The Best Comedic Performances Overlooked by the Oscars

So many funny performances received no love from the Academy. For Cracked, I shine a light on some of the most egregious oversights. Hope you enjoy. 

My Interview With Peter Exline, One of the Inspirations Behind 'The Big Lebowski'

He was a Hollywood executive and a professor at USC film school. But he also is buddies with Joel and Ethan Coen, who incorporated a few of his best stories into their cult comedy The Big Lebowski, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For Cracked, I had a long conversation with Peter Exline. Hope you enjoy.

Cannes 2022: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

An informal poll I conducted of colleagues who, like me, attended last year's pandemic-affected Cannes confirmed my suspicion: The 2021 installment was better than this one. Partly, it was the fact that there were fewer people around, making navigating the festival easier, and partly it was because the films were stronger. To be fair, the 2021 edition had, essentially, two years worth of movies to work from, which allowed for an extra helping of greatness. (Also, there were simply more films programmed in 2021 than this year.) But even so, 2022 yielded fewer terrific movies, although I am cognizant of having missed out on several pictures that were well-reviewed, including Aftersun, Corsage, Godland and The Blue Caftan. You spend 11 days watching movies, but there are still some you can't get to.

But if the highs of this year's slate weren't as high -- or as frequent -- then at least the lows weren't so low. Looking at my rankings, even the films at the very bottom of my list offered a few pleasures or some interesting ideas. There were no outright stinkers, and the truth is, I generally liked most of what I saw, even if my enthusiasm was often measured. That said, I know plenty of folks who strongly support Three Thousand Years of Longing, Elvis, Stars at Noon and Top Gun: Maverick, so my festival experience is no guarantee to have been anyone else's. That's part of the fun of being at Cannes.

So, without further ado, here are my rankings, including movies I'd seen prior to the festival. Links lead to individual reviews.

39. Three Thousand Years of Longing
38. Elvis
37. Stars at Noon
36. Father and Soldier
35. Remains of the Wind
34. Brother and Sister
33. The Innocent
32. Top Gun: Maverick
31. War Pony
30. Final Cut
29. Rebel
28. Mediterranean Fever
27. Our Brothers
26. Imagine
25. Funny Pages
24. Crimes of the Future
23. God's Creatures
22. Holy Spider
21. Smoking Causes Coughing
20. Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind
19. Tchaikovsky's Wife
18. The Silent Twins
17. Hunt
16. Plan 75
15. The Eight Mountains
14. Moonage Daydream
13. Armageddon Time
12. Decision to Leave
11. Leila's Brothers
10. Triangle of Sadness
9. Men
8. All That Breathes
7. Close
6. Broker
5. Tori and Lokita
4. EO
3. R.M.N.
2. Showing Up
1. One Fine Morning

(If you'd like to be additionally annoyed that I didn't care for Top Gun: Maverick, let me point you to this essay I wrote for MEL about my misgivings about Maverick as a character.)

For me, there were two true standouts, one I saw at the beginning of the festival and one I saw at the very end. One of the unfortunate themes of this year's Cannes was world-class directors bringing less-than-world-class films to the Croisette, with everyone from Claire Denis to David Cronenberg being accused of not living up to their previous high-water marks. (Of course, this take was subjective as well: I was quite taken with Broker, generally considered a letdown from former Palme d'Or-winner Hirokazu Kore-eda, and I deeply dug Tori and Lokita and R.M.N., which proved that, respectively, the Dardenne brothers and Cristian Mungiu still have plenty to say.) But One Fine Morning, Mia Hansen-Love's just plain lovely look at a widowed mother (Lea Seydoux, wonderful), and Kelly Reichardt's deceptively simple Showing Up were clear outliers, finding their makers doing some of the best work of their illustrious careers. The only reason I think Showing Up should win the Palme is because One Fine Morning was in Director's Fortnight, which keeps it out of the running. (Why it wasn't in the official competition, which slotted Hansen-Love's slightly-less-great Bergman Island last year, is a mystery to me.)

The other prevailing theme of the 2022 edition was the glut of good-enough films. Not bad, not amazing, just ... good. I suspect a second viewing will add dimension to Park Chan-wook's densely plotted Decision to Leave or may make me appreciate James Gray's Armageddon Time more. That's the hope, anyway: If this Cannes wasn't filled with stunners, the movies certainly didn't lack for ambition, and sometimes a fresh perspective away from the rush-around of a festival can help. Maybe just maybe I'll even come around on Stars at Noon. 

And now, here's where I indulge my annual tradition of incorrectly guessing what's going to win the Palme d'Or. It's impossible to know, of course, because the nine people who make up the competition jury will be giving out the prizes, and it's not like they're talking to anyone. But in terms of possible victors, Lukas Dhont's late-arriving Close, which just got picked up by A24, could be a consensus choice, emotional and heartfelt. If the jury wants to go in a more career-achievement direction, Cronenberg could walk away with the prize for his audacious (I'm not sure entirely successful) "return to form" Crimes of the Future. Nostalgia has been the best-reviewed of the competition films I haven't seen, and Armageddon Time got such a warm reception at its premiere, which featured Grey getting choked up about what the movie means to him, that I think it has a shot as well. 

But ultimately I see the Palme going to either Close or Decision to Leave, with my pick being the former. Park is a revered filmmaker, and Decision to Leave is a Hitchcockian thriller that's inspired plenty of comparisons to Vertigo. It's a work of consummate craftsmanship that deals in obsession, both familiar and challenging at the same time. But Close makes people cry. I'm gonna go with tears.

And if Showing Up should somehow win? Well, that loud noise you'll hear on Saturday is me turning on my phone when my plane lands and letting out a cheer when I see the news.

Cannes 2022: 'Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind' Review

Joel Coen made his own film last year with The Tragedy of Macbeth. Now his brother Ethan has a documentary about one of the architects of rock 'n' roll. I had some things to say about Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.

The Greatest Movies of the 1980s

This has been a while in the making. Over at Rolling Stone, I worked with a group of talented writers and editors to put together a list of the 100 best films of the 1980s. I didn't have a say in the final rankings, but you can read me on Testament, Stop Making Sense, Reds, The Thing and plenty of others right here.

Denzel Washington as the GOAT

On Tuesday, Denzel Washington could receive his 10th Oscar nomination. For MEL, I examined one heck of a career, one that's far from over.

Why I Love Bob Dylan's Singing Voice

Bob Dylan turned 80 yesterday. Over at InsideHook, they're spending all week running pieces about the man and his music. My contribution was writing about Dylan's singing voice, which is an underrated weapon in his arsenal. This was a lot of fun.

Let's Rank George Clooney's Movies

Where does The Midnight Sky place among George Clooney's performances? We break it all down over at Vulture. 

Me and the Dude

This summer, the MEL staff will be doing a series of Scorching Hot Takes, writing about indefensible positions we sincerely hold about culture, politics, whatever. So, I decided to wrestle with the fact that I've never loved The Big Lebowski, a movie I saw opening night. I've seen it twice in the last couple years to give it another shot, and still nothing. My piece is here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: "Raising Arizona,' 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil' and Looking Back at 1997

On this week's podcast, our Reboot segment is devoted to the Coen brothers' first comedy and a beloved festival favorite. But the majority of the show is dedicated to a discussion of 1997, a year that started with Star Wars (really) and ended with Titanic, a film that was destined to supplant it (at least at the box office). A very fun episode ... and you can hear the whole thing down below.

The Beauty of Black and White in Modern Cinema

I love a good black-and-white film. For MEL, I highlighted some of this century's best monochrome movies.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Our Most-Anticipated 2020 Movies and Predicting the Oscar Nominations

The podcast returns with its first episode of the new year. In the first half, we preview some 2020 movies we're excited to see -- and a couple we're dreading. And then we make our predictions for the Oscar nominations, which come out January 13. Lots of fun, and you can hear it all below.

LAFCA's Best Films of the Decade Poll

Ten years ago, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association did a Best of the 2000s poll of its members: David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. emerged triumphant. Another decade has ended, so here we go again. See our results here (including my essay). And check out the individual ballots (including mine) here.