2000s: Directors

14. Steven SpielbergI don't doubt it for a second. Go to a different page if you can't handle it. Between Munich, Catch Me If You Can, the first two acts of The Terminal and Minority Report, he made some pretty fantastic films. Sure, War of the Worlds and that Indiana Jones garbage weren't exactly proof that Spiels has matured as a director past his need for big box office vindication, but they were, like everything he makes, well made examples of big budget films. Even A.I., which also came out this decade, was well made.

Spielberg Ranked & Rated:

1. Catch Me If You Can (9.5/10)

2. Munich (9/10)

3. Minority Report (9/10)

4. The Terminal (8/10)

5.  A.I. (7.5/10)

6. War of the Worlds (6.5/10)

13. Stephen FrearsTalk about an old dog. Three of the six films Stephen Frears, a man who made is first classic in 1971 (Gumshoe), are, in the opinion of Ze Catalist, new classics. One of those films is even contending for this website's No. 1 spot on our decade list. The three we love, of course, are 2000's High Fidelity, 2002's Dirty Pretty Things and 2006's The Queen. Good luck finding three more different films. Frears' Liam, also released in 2000, is also pretty darn great. And Cheri?! Well, actually, we haven't seen that one just yet. Sounds like a miss. Can't win 'em all.

Frears Ranked & Rated:

1. High Fidelity (10/10)

2. Dirty Pretty Things (9.5/10)

3. The Queen (8.5/10)

4. Liam (7/10)

5. Mrs Henderson Presents (5/10)

(Note: Haven't yet seen Cheri)

12. Clint EastwoodSpeaking of old dogs. Damn. Eastwood, still most known for his acting, directed nine films in the naughts. NINE. Though he started the decade with a couple of forgettable throw aways (Blood Work and Space Cowboys), Eastwood started a major winning streak in 2003 with the Oscar-winning Mystic River. Next came Million Dollar Baby, which felt like thelittle brother to Mystic River. Then, in 2006, Eastwood released an epic film project in his two WWII film, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. But damn if 2008, the year both Gran Torino and Changeling were released, wasn't the best year of his directing career. Both excellent films. And now, in 2009, we have the stellar Invictus, which is getting an awful lot of Oscar buzz, both for Best Director and Best Picture. All that said, of all the great pictures he made this deade, I'm not sure I'd call any of them a classic.

Eastwood Ranked & Rated:

1. Changeling (9/10)

2. Million Dollar Baby (9/10)

3. Mystic River (8.5/10)

4. Gran Torino (8.5/10)

5. Letters From Iwo Jima (7.5/10)

6. Flags of Our Fathers (7/10)

7. Blood Work (6/10)

8. Space Cowboys (6/10)

(Note: Haven't yet seen Invictus)

11. Gus Van SantGus Van Sant made six films in the naughts. We liked every last one of them. An awful lot, even. (Okay, maybe not Last Days, but I don't think that film was made for the liking.) He started the decade with Finding Forrester in 2000, a film that surely would've won two or three or four big awards had it not been something of a sequel to Good Will Hunting. It's great. Maybe even one of the most underrated film works of the decade. Oddly, it was Van Sant's lease award-reaching works of the decade that took home the biggest prize of his career, 2004's Elephant, which won the Palm d'or at Cannes. American directors, for the most part, NEVER with the Palm. Van Sant probably should've won it two of three times before Elephant, so better late than never.

Van Sant Ranked & Rated:

1. Finding Forrester (9.5/10)

2. Elephant (9.5/10)

3. Milk (9/10)

4. Gerry (8.5/10)

5. Paranoid Park (8/10)

6. Last Days (6/10)

10. Martin ScorseseOh, Marty. You're like a long lost uncle to us here at Ze Catalist. Your films Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and Raging Bull are three of the films that made us fall in love with film. We even LOVE your Cape Fear remake. And while we weren't major fans of your two music films in the naughts (a Rolling Stones film and a somewhat decent Bob Dylan documentary), we loved your three proper films - ESPECIALLY The Aviator, which was one of our absolute favorites of the decade. Had Shutter Island come out on time (and been as good as we anticipate it will be), you'd surely have made our Top 5 for the decade. Keep it up, Uncle Marty.

Scorsese Ranked & Rated:

1. The Aviator (10/10)

2. The Departed (9.5/10)

3. Gangs of New York (8/10)

4. No Direction Home (6/10)

5. Shine a Light (2/10)

9. Alfonso CuaronLove this man. Love everything he did this decade to death. Looking back on his 90s work, we realized that each of his films, though surely great, were flawed. In many ways. Not his films from the naughts. Cuaron's films were all very different and equally good. He had a road/buddy film, a children's fantasy film and a sci-fi slum film. Seeing Cuaron ranked at No. 9 for the decade and not No. 1 is only further proof that this has been one hell of a decade for autuers.

Cuaron Ranked & Rated:

1. Y Tu Mama Tambien (9.5/10)

2. Children of Men (9.5/10)

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8.5/10)

8. Richard LinklaterWe've not yet seen Linklater's 2009 film, Me and Orson Welles, but he makes our list regardless. This because he made six films we liked very much (Tape, School of Rock, Before Sunset, A Scanner Darkly, Waking Life and Fast Food Nation) and one we think we'll love (the Welles flick). His other film from this decade, 2005's Bad News Bears, was a mistake. Not even Richard Linklater can be perfect.

Linklater Ranked & Rated:

1. Before Sunset (9.5/10)

2. School of Rock (9.5/10)

3. Fast Food Nation (8.5/10)

4. Me and Orson Welles (8.25/10)

5. A Scanner Darkly (8/10)

6. Waking Life (8/10)

7. Tape (7/10)

8. Bad News Bears (5/10)

7. Michel GondryMusic video artist turned film director turned auteur Michel Gondry directed four scripted features and two documentaries this decade. One of his film, 2004's Eternal Sunsine of the Spotless Mind just might go down as the best film of the decade by many. Not us, but it'll be up there somewhere. We love this man over at Ze Catalist. We love that he proved that he didn't need screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (who penned Gondry's first two features) to make good cinema.

Gondry Ranked & Rated:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (10/10)

2. Human Nature (9/10)

3. The Science of Sleep (8/10)

4. Be Kind Rewind (7.5/10)

5. Dave Chappelle's Block Party (6/10)

6. Alejandro Gonzalez InarrituForget all the Bourne shit (though the first flick is a modern classic). Inarritu's Death Trilogy is where it's at. Already our favorite trilogy of all-time, even. When we first saw Amores Perros in 2000, we were floored. It felt to us, at that time, like we had a new Tarantino on our hands. Then came the great 21 Grams, the second film in Inarritu's near-perfect trilogy. Great film with some amazing performances. Then, in 2006, Inarritu swung for the fences, directing an epic drama set in a handful of countries featuring a handful of language and starring a handful of bigtime Hollywood movie stars. That he pulled it off proves that he's a master. Had he relased even one more film of this quality in the naughts, he'd like have been No. 2 or No. 3 on this list. 

1. Babel (9.5/10)

2. Amores Perros (9.5/10)

3. Babel (9/10)

5. Joel and Ethan CoenYeah, sure, we love these guys. They make some not-so-great films from time to time. The rest of the time, well, they release some of the best films ever. Of the seven films the Bros. released this decade, one of the was bad (The Ladykillers), one of them was okay at best (Intolerable Cruelty), two of them were pretty darn good (O Brother and Burn After Reading), two of them were fan-fucking-tastic (The Man Who Wasn't There and A Serious Man) and one of them was one of the most perfect films ever made (No Country For Old Men). Life would be much less boring without Coens dialogue to memorize.

Coens Ranked & Rated:

1. No Country For Old Men (10/10)

2. The Man Who Wasn't There (9.5/10)

3. A Serious Man (9/10)

4. O Brother (8/10)

5. Burn After Reading (7.5/10)

6. Intolerable Cruelty (6.5/10)

7. The Ladykillers (4.5/10)

4. David Gordon GreenThe still-young David Gordon Green, despite releasing five great films this decade, has yet to see much publicity. His debut film, 2000's George Washington, edges out Christopher Nolan's great Memento as our pick for Best Debut Film of the Decade. His follow up to that classic, All the Real Girls, is equally as good. Both are very poetic, well shot and full of style and memorable scenes. Nothing Green does to establish his style is extreme, yet everything he does stands out. Watch for this guy to have a big decade through his mid-to-late 30s and early 40s.

Green Ranked & Rated:

1. George Washington (10/10)

2. All the Real Girls (10/10)

3. Snow Angels (9.5/10)

4. Undertow (8.5/10)

5. Pineapple Express (8/10)

3. Quentin TarantinoTarantino only really completed two full-blown film projects this decade, despite having four films to his name. His Death Proof film, which is actually half of the Grindhouse film he collaborated on with Robert Rodriguez, is a minor work for Tarantino - almost a tossed off effort. His two proper projects, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, are epic. Kill Bill was so epic, in fact, that the film had to be split into two great stand alone films. In addition to the Bills, the Cruelty and Death Proof, Tarantino was also an assistant director on Robert Rodriguez' excellent Sin City.

Tarantino Ranked & Rated:

1. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (10/10)

2. Inglourious Basterds (9.5/10)

3. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (9.5/10)

4. Death Proof (8.5/10)

2. Wes AndersonFucking hell. That anyone topped Wes Anderson in the naughts just doesn't feel right. Anderson, coming off the great critical and still-growing fan success of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, returned in the naughts with what might be our favorite film of this decade, 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums. His other three films this decade - The Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox - were also all very good. This is one of the world's Top 10 living film directors. And he's still young. Look for Wes to be looked back on as one of the art heroes of his time.

Anderson Ranked & Rated:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums (10/10)

2. The Life Aquatic (10/10)

3. The Darjeeling Limited (10/10)

4. Fantastic Mr. Fox (9/10)

1. Christopher NolanThat a man can be so creative, literate, skilled, industrius and efficient is amazing. Nolan is a true genius. His writing alone was some of the best of the decade, not to mention his directing and producing. We keep comparing Nolan to a young Coppola over here at the Catalist offices. Coppola had four quick classics with Godfather, Godfather II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Nolan, who has only been working for about 12 years, has already released seven feature films and has an eighth on the way that looks fantastic. His film after that film, which is set to be the third in his trilogy of Batman films, will likely have the biggest budget - both production and advertising - or any film ever made. It will also, if has last Batman film, The Dark Knight (our pick for best ever big budget Hollywood epic), is any indication, be one of the highest grossing films of all time. We could go on and on about this man, but what's the point. If you're not yet hip to the genius of Christopher Nolan, you're probably on the wrong website. If you haven't seen Memento, the film that introduced Nolan to the world and created 1,000 imitators, then, well, we just don't know what to do for you. Go out and but that DVD immediately.

Nolan Ranked & Rated:

1. The Dark Knight (10/10)

2. Memento (10/10)

3. Batman Begins (10/10)

4. The Prestige (10/10)

5. Insomnia (8.5/10)

6. Following (8.25/10)