Must-Watch Movies From the Early 2000s
Written by Rachel Pope
Photography by Noah Laroia-Nguyen
The 2000s are known for its teen movies, Mean Girls, Almost Famous, High School Musical; it’s animated movies, Shrek, The Incredibles, Monster’s Inc; and its start of film series, Harry Potter, Kill Bill, and Iron Man. Though often overlooked, the 2000s is arguably one of the best decades for films in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema. Here are some lesser* known movie recommendations from the 2000s to watch during your study breaks. Rat Race (2001) Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Cleese, Kathy Bates, and the list goes on and on. What are all these actors doing in one movie, and why have you never heard of it? In this adventure-comedy, the characters end up in a race against each other to see who can get to a huge sum of money first, and are pushed to the limits of what is ethical and even legal to win. Full disclosure, this movie is incredibly cheesy, and you might hate it for that very reason. But once you get past the foolishness of the movie, it becomes hilarious and memorable. You have to at least stick through it for the all star surprise ending. Catch Me If You Can (2002) If Rat Race was filled with stars that were popular in the decade it was made in, Catch Me If You Can stars actors that you definitely know of today. Based on a true story, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the main character who conned his way through life. Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent who tries to stop DiCaprio’s character throughout the movie, which spans the course of DiCaprio’s character’s lifetime. It has action, drama, love and everything else you’d expect in a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and with this cast. Inside Man (2006) A group of robbers walk into a bank, and, well you can predict the rest. This movie is cleverly edited together, cutting between the hostages inside the situation and in police custody. It is quite interesting to see the detectives questioning the innocent victims of the situation, and to see police racism in a post 9/11 world. It’s no Die Hard, but it’s a pretty good heist film nonetheless.No Reservations (2007) It’s your typical rom com plot: girl meets guy, guy pursues girl, the get together for a bit, have a break up, and resolve their tensions by the end of the movie. It takes a common genre and adds to it, with it’s twist being that it takes place in a kitchen (hence the title). So if you’re in need a rom com to take your mind off of studying,check this one out!Chapter 27 (2007) This film tells the story of Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon. It chapters the mindset of the killer, quite effectively; the audience is actually able to feel his insanity. Jared Leto’s acting and the editing together create a fascinating look into the mind of John Lennon’s murderer.The movie really makes you question how we deal with mental health issues and even fan culture. The Presitige (2006) In Christopher Nolan style (but brought to you by his incredible editor, Lee Smith), The Prestige cross cuts between different planes of action around magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. One of the illusionists (Bale) is in jail for killing his fellow magician (Jackman), and the movie portrays the series of events in the men's’ lifetimes leading up to, and after for one of them, this fateful event. If you like Nolan’s style, you’ll definitely love The Prestige. *It’s entirely possible that these movies are extremely popular, and you know all about them. If you have any other film recommendations (2000s or earlier), leave them in the comments below! Happy viewing!