Best films of 2000s

Even now, more than 25 years later, that David Lynch directed "The Straight Story" seems to defy logic. Here was a filmmaker who proudly flouted expectations in every capacity, including whether or not critics liked him. (To wit: his previous film, the thriller "Lost Highway," netted very bad reviews indeed, and to lean into that, Lynch pursued a new marketing campaign touting the bad reviews the way that most studios trumpet positive reviews.) And what was his latest film?

Roger ebert best films of the decade Perhaps the most respected and well-known movie critic of all time, Roger Ebert is a key figure in cinema history. His widely read reviews were poignant and incisive yet sometimes divisive and ever so entertaining; often, his opinion was the one that could decide the fate of a movie. In the days before the internet, audiences looked to the newspapers for his take on the latest films. That was the magic of Ebert: bringing film criticism to the mainstream. From until his death in , Ebert wrote for The Chicago Sun-Times and became the first critic to receive a Pulitzer Prize for his film criticism.

A G-rated movie literally from Walt Disney Pictures about an old man riding on a tractor through the American Midwest. And of course, all of that is what happens in "The Straight Story," which also has a 95 on Rotten Tomatoes. It's not the kind of film that you would expect from most filmmakers, let alone Lynch. But now, in the year of our Lord , it's easier than you might think to reconcile Lynch with the material.

Ebert best films of the decade If you're looking for the best cinema the '90s had to offer, look not to the winners of the Palme d'Or or Best Picture but to Roger Eber t's favorites of each year. He was ahead of the curve in identifying several future classics, and his reviews help one to appreciate how impactful these movies were in their term. As one would expect, his picks are eclectic, ranging from biopics and historical epics to sci-fi and documentaries, although he does lean toward drama. They include some iconic movies as well as a few lesser-known gems. It ranks among the very best on-screen portrayals of the mafia lifestyle and the intricacies of organized crime, with an infectious, propulsive soundtrack to boot.

This is the same man who proudly delivered cheerful and banal weather reports from Los Angeles for years, so why not make a movie about Alvin Straight?

Based on a true story, "The Straight Story" depicts the journey of Alvin Straight as he takes his John Deere roughly miles from Iowa to Wisconsin so he can see his ailing brother (Harry Dean Stanton), from whom he's been estranged for a long time.

Richard Farnsworth stars as Straight, in a film as uncompromising yet unerringly simple as anything Lynch had ever made. For anyone who saw it initially, it may have been easy to watch and wonder when the other shoe would drop and when the movie would get strange and off-putting and goofily weird. But that moment never comes; "The Straight Story" is a powerfully effective, if quiet film that never veers off its own course, much as Straight himself took the journey in The film has a much sadder context now than it did when it was released in , as Farnsworth was ailing himself from terminal prostate cancer while filming, and ended his own life the following year.

David Lynch's filmography is full of the inexplicable and mysterious; it's part of what made him such a special, vital, and beloved filmmaker.

Best films of the decade Roger Ebert was a deeply respected and highly-influential film critic with an illustrious career spanning over four decades. He and fellow critic Gene Siskel co-hosted the enduring TV shows Sneak Previews and At the Movies, in which they would entertainingly discuss their thoughts and opinions on recent cinematic releases; their joint ventures helped popularize a televised format for discussing films. Kennedy after discovering numerous inaccuracies and questioning Lee Harvey Oswald's role in the tragedy. JFK caused quite a bit of controversy upon its release over the creative liberties taken by Stone regarding the conspiracy theory, but it nonetheless went on to win two Academy Awards. Ebert dubbed the thriller "hypnotically watchable" and commended Stone for his meticulous research and presentation of the thorough information gathered.

And the good news, if you have either/or The Criterion Channel and Disney+, is that you can stream both "Blue Velvet" and "The Straight Story," if you're looking for just the very best of his work. But Lynch had plenty of other good work too. That he didn't have too many super-high scores on aggregation sites shouldn't stop you.

Dive into Lynch's work; he deserved the attention before and he still does now.