Representin the 00's

[RobOfTheDead]

What do you think are some movies that define this current decade and generation, the same way Clerks did for the 90's and Fast Time at Ridgemont High for the 80's.

Some that come to mind for me are Children of Men, Team America: World Police and The Departed. I'd also say Judd Apatow's movies like 40-year-old virgin and Superbad also are pretty definitive of the current young generation. I'd also throw in the overlooked Sex Drive. I'm interested to hear your opinions.

[PoolMan]

The Judd Apatow flicks, for sure.

Unfortunately, also the _____ Movie fad. PLEASE GO AWAY.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was huge.

Shaun of the Dead, and the Pegg Continuum.

[Al]

Also I'd say the long string of antiwar movies, most of which were roundly ignored at the box office.

[Storm_Rider]

And we can't ignore the Harry Potter series that started back in '01, as well as the super-hero flicks that jump-started the decade with X-Men back in '00.

[StarOpal]

We'd have to include some torture porn too. And the Star Wars prequels. *sigh*

I'd include the return of the Musical as a mainstream property again.

Also the trend of returning to old franchises (which would include, the aforementioned, Star Wars), with mixed results: Rocky, Rambo, Die Hard, Indiana Jones.

The seemingly endless remakes.

More specific movies are a little harder for me since we're still in the decade.

[DarthShady]

I have to agree with Lord of the Rings, superhero flicks & franchise revivals. Also the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. I'd count the entire Harry Potter phenomenon (books, movies, merchandise, & fandom) as THE pop culture event of the decade.

I also would love for films like Juno, Amelie, & Little Miss Sunshine to define the 00's. And possibly Mean Girls, because I was in high school when it came out & EVERYBODY loved it.

[TheLuckyOne]

Spider-Man.

-D

[RobOfTheDead]

I would also say United 93 is a very poignant and definitive portrayal on 9/11 that's been released. 25th Hour amd Reign Over Me are also excellent takes on New York post 9/11.

[Al]

I think that 'filmed back-to-back' trilogies in general can probably go up there; even things that never actually ended up happening, like the Superman Returns sequel, had back-to-back clauses and involved multi-film deals in case the franchise took off.

And, although it started in the 90s with Braveheart or Private Ryan, I feel like LotR and the MASSIVE engine they designed kicked off a new wave of 'epic' films in the 00s.

[Lordmoon]

Saw – The first film was very well done and spawned all to many movies (and sequels) that just don’t measure up but continue to be made and released. Any film that creates an entire genre deserves to be on the list.

Spider-Man/X-Men – The two movies that rebooted the comic book movie industry.

Sin City/300/Iron Man/Hulk – Movies that showed Hollywood that staying true to the source material could actually work.

LotR/PotC – The two film series that showed Hollywood that when done well a long movie can do well. It’s not all about cramming the most showings in a single day.

[Rett Mikhal]

Something good was made past 1998?

...Nuh uh.

[blinkfan]

The Dark Knight is pretty much the definitive movie of the 2000's. It has been majorly praised, it's the second highest grossing film of all time, it features one of the greatest performances ever.

[sirgallahad2]

I have to go with the "Jason Bourne" movies. They just kept getting better and better. The new Bond film has shaky-cam action scenes and Bond sprinting across roof tops, and does a lot more violent hand-to-hand combat than in other bond films. Bourne made a spy movie kick more arse.

Oh yeah... little bonus here. Bourne never para-sailed down the face of a Tidal wave.