Best Movies of 2001

by terrence-gale | created - 19 Jan 2014 | updated - 20 Jan 2014 | Public

Here are my selections for the best movies of 2001.

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1. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

66 Metascore

A poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.

Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent

Votes: 299,250 | Gross: $57.39M

2. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery

72 Metascore

A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer

Votes: 986,425 | Gross: $170.74M

3. Memento (2000)

R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller

83 Metascore

A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior

Votes: 1,322,181 | Gross: $25.54M

4. Mulholland Drive (2001)

R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

86 Metascore

After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates

Votes: 383,586 | Gross: $7.22M

5. Amélie (2001)

R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance

70 Metascore

Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta

Votes: 793,916 | Gross: $33.23M

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

PG-13 | 178 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

92 Metascore

A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean

Votes: 2,005,865 | Gross: $315.54M

7. Gosford Park (2001)

R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery

90 Metascore

Set in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas

Votes: 93,978 | Gross: $41.31M

8. The Others (2001)

PG-13 | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

74 Metascore

In 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.

Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann

Votes: 393,056 | Gross: $96.52M

9. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama

76 Metascore

The eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller

Votes: 313,049 | Gross: $52.36M

10. Iris (I) (2001)

R | 91 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

76 Metascore

True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville

Votes: 19,133 | Gross: $1.29M

11. Ghost World (2001)

R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama

90 Metascore

Two eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man's romance-seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated.

Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Steve Buscemi, Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro

Votes: 126,793 | Gross: $6.22M

12. Shrek (2001)

PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

84 Metascore

A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.

Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson | Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow

Votes: 733,715 | Gross: $267.67M

13. L.I.E. (2001)

R | 97 min | Crime, Drama

73 Metascore

A 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.

Director: Michael Cuesta | Stars: Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay

Votes: 10,445 | Gross: $1.14M

14. The Devil's Backbone (2001)

R | 106 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

78 Metascore

After Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets which he must uncover.

Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve

Votes: 70,986 | Gross: $0.75M

15. Donnie Darko (2001)

R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

88 Metascore

After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne

Votes: 849,675 | Gross: $1.48M

16. The Deep End (2001)

R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

78 Metascore

A woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.

Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat

Votes: 11,989 | Gross: $8.82M

17. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

79 Metascore

In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.

Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi

Votes: 978,315 | Gross: $289.92M

18. Sexy Beast (2000)

R | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

79 Metascore

Brutal gangster Don Logan recruits "retired" safecracker Gal for one last job, but it goes badly for both of them.

Director: Jonathan Glazer | Stars: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman

Votes: 69,179 | Gross: $6.95M

19. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

66 Metascore

Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Director: Sharon Maguire | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones

Votes: 263,338 | Gross: $71.54M

20. The Dish (2000)

PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, History

74 Metascore

A remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.

Director: Rob Sitch | Stars: Sam Neill, Billy Mitchell, Roz Hammond, Christopher-Robin Street

Votes: 17,094 | Gross: $2.25M

21. Frailty (2001)

R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

64 Metascore

A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to destroy people who were in fact "demons."

Director: Bill Paxton | Stars: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary

Votes: 91,301 | Gross: $13.10M

22. The Anniversary Party (2001)

R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

56 Metascore

Love is complex and relationships deteriorate.

Directors: Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh | Stars: Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Kevin Kline

Votes: 8,753 | Gross: $4.01M

23. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

65 Metascore

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris

Votes: 855,591 | Gross: $317.58M

24. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

PG-13 | 146 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

65 Metascore

A highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards

Votes: 322,896 | Gross: $78.62M

25. Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Mystery

55 Metascore

Widowed Liz Garfield and her son Bobby change when mysterious stranger Ted Brautigan enters their lives.

Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem

Votes: 41,033 | Gross: $24.19M

26. Session 9 (2001)

R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

58 Metascore

Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.

Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas

Votes: 62,873 | Gross: $0.38M

27. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

85 Metascore

A gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.

Director: John Cameron Mitchell | Stars: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski

Votes: 37,334 | Gross: $3.03M

28. All Over the Guy (2001)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Romance

46 Metascore

"All Over The Guy" is a contemporary romantic comedy about the quest to find the "one" when "the one" doesn't know he's the "one." It explores the unlikely pairing of two 20-somethings ... See full summary »

Director: Julie Davis | Stars: Dan Bucatinsky, Richard Ruccolo, Sasha Alexander, Adam Goldberg

Votes: 4,975 | Gross: $1.01M

29. Kate & Leopold (2001)

PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

44 Metascore

An English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer

Votes: 89,051 | Gross: $47.12M

30. Ginger Snaps (2000)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

70 Metascore

Two death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.

Director: John Fawcett | Stars: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Mimi Rogers

Votes: 52,269 | Gross: $0.00M

31. Legally Blonde (2001)

PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Romance

59 Metascore

Elle Woods, a fashionable sorority queen, is dumped by her boyfriend. She decides to follow him to law school. While she is there, she figures out that there is more to her than just looks.

Director: Robert Luketic | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis

Votes: 247,908 | Gross: $96.52M

32. The Other Side of Heaven (2001)

PG | 113 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

38 Metascore

John Groberg, a farm kid from Idaho Falls, crosses an ocean to become a missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan islands during the 1950s.

Director: Mitch Davis | Stars: Christopher Gorham, Anne Hathaway, Joe Folau, Nathaniel Lees

Votes: 4,715 | Gross: $4.72M

33. Don't Say a Word (2001)

R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

38 Metascore

When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...

Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Skye McCole Bartusiak

Votes: 57,057 | Gross: $55.00M

34. The Pledge (I) (2001)

R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

71 Metascore

A retiring police detective pledges to catch the killer of a young child.

Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Clarkson, Beau Daniels

Votes: 67,668 | Gross: $19.72M

35. Zoolander (2001)

PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy

61 Metascore

At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell

Votes: 291,710 | Gross: $45.17M

36. The Hole (2001)

R | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.

Director: Nick Hamm | Stars: Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox

Votes: 48,237



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