25 In 25: My Favorite Films of the First Quarter Century

2001

It's a shame this didn't start with 2000 because EIGHT films were transformative in my film appreciation journey. Alas, we start in 2001, which was transformative in its own right.

While Memento (which was one of the eight films from 2000) had a wide release date in 2001, it is still considered a film from 2000, so that took one BIG film off the board to make my choices easier.

My favorite back in 2001:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is my pick. Quite possibly, this was the first true epic of my movie-going life, minus any Star Wars film (Phantom Menace had me at Toys R Us buying all the toys weeks earlier).

A story I had read as a child gloriously leaped off the screen as Peter Jackson and crew introduced us to our heroes. To understand this world, I had a ton of precious study from the likes of R.A. Salvatore and his Icewind Dale Trilogy and then the Dark Elf Trilogy, and as soon as I saw Aragorn hiding in the shadows smoking his pipe, I had my hero.

Upon my rewatch, especially after watching Rings of Power, I had to study Boromir and his actions. For that, I have to applaud the acting of Sean Bean (Warden of the North!!!!) and the writing and direction of Jackson. All of which makes his redemption at the Battle of Parth Galen so incredibly powerful.

This film, along with the ones to follow, would be the standard bearer for action epics to come (see End Game).

My favorite looking back:

It could only be The Royal Tenenbaums. Still, and most likely always to be, my favorite film by Wes Anderson.

I loved it back then for its comedy and for its portrayal of the characters by the amazing actors. I love it now for the same reasons but also for the DEEP themes of longing, family trauma, acceptance, and depression. The set design, which, while being the most restrained, is also so intricately woven into the film as a character itself, you can't help but get lost in it.

This film will always be my north star when I judge an Anderson film in the future.