I don't normally frequent The Lounge (given my post count and joining date, it could be rightly said I don't frequent anywhere on 2+2), but Dominic's recent post on Andrew Vachss' Burke novels (where's the crime fiction thread, eh Dominic?) brought me over, and I'm a big film/tv/book fan, so seeing the powers that be want more posts, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Hope no one minds a contribution from someone who isn't likely to be a regular.
That's an interesting list, Dominic. Half I would agree with - Amelie, In The Mood For Love, Mulholland Drive, Lost In Translation. Half I haven't seen - United 93, Once, City of God, Before Sunset (it's currently sitting in my watch-this-week pile, alongside Before Sunrise, Little Children, and Sunset Blvd). Sex and Lucia I don't see as quite so much of a classic as you seem to, and the LotR movies I can't stand, despite loving the books (the first is OK, mostly due to the evocative treatment of the Boromir's tragedy subplot, but for me the second and third went progressively more downhill, with the Frodo/Sam strand getting ever more cloying, Aragorn ever more wooden, and the pacing ever more jarring).
According to Flixster, my favorite movies of the 21st century include:
Hero: A theme both compelling and at odds with most of its genre, cinematography to rival Wong Kar Wai, cleverly cast, and a nicely overlaid meta-story about the nature of storytelling, that didn't distract from the main theme. I know for many Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was too similar and better done, but I got a lot more out of Hero.
The Incredibles: More adult than most of Pixar's range, and boasting some really clever character work that's nothing to do with the animation (such as the way Syndrome wipes his nose on his way to his big entrance, or the sly look Edna gives when she knows she's trading on her wacky persona to mess with Helen's marriage), I found this fun (not funny, though it was that too) as hell. Nice use of the medium too, you could never tell this story this way using live action.
Almost Famous: OK, it's almost cliched to like this, but the performances were so good and the writing so strong that I don't mind being cliched here. Frances McDormand was robbed.
Children of Men: Wow this was well done. This is a director's film. Two scenes were world-class (both the long shots, the ambush and the 6-minute siege shot, despite the plotting weakness immediately after), and the tone was superbly executed (it's hard to make such quiet bleakness enjoyable - haven't seen it done so well since Requiem for a Dream, though The Bourne Supremacy gets a mention for the ending).
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Perhaps this wasn't mainstream enough to be a blockbuster, perhaps it did a bit too much, but I found it funnier than most comedies and more exciting than most thrillers that year. Val Kilmer got right back on the horse (factor in Spartan, and perhaps he's remembering he can act), Robert Downey Jr was pitch perfect, and Shane Black's script was so slick it's worth reading on its own (though in a couple of spots you remember that there's a reason voiceover isn't considered a good device).
Honorable mentions to
A History of Violence,
Oldboy,
Batman Begins,
Man on Fire,
Training Day, and
Requiem for a Dream (only because it wasn't enjoyable to watch, despite being so well done). I wonder what it says that this list would be halved in size if you'd excluded films made in 2000?