According to World of Reel, Quentin Tarantino has finally revealed his top 10 movies of the 21st century, following his rundown of numbers 10 through 20 on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast last week. The filmmaker has long teased the list, often hinting at which modern films he believes measure up to his exacting standards. Now, fans have a clearer picture of the titles he thinks define the era, offering a rare glimpse into the movies that have genuinely impressed him. Here, his absolute favorites.
10. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
Source: IMDb
Tarantino admits he had a rocky start with Midnight in Paris, largely because he couldn’t stand Owen Wilson’s screen persona. But repeat viewings softened him, and by the third time through, he found himself increasingly drawn to Wilson’s performance. What began as a love-hate experience eventually became an unexpected favorite.
9. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright)
Source: IMDb
He calls Edgar Wright’s breakout one of the strongest feature debuts of the century, praising its affection for George Romero’s zombie universe. Tarantino loves that it’s not a parody but a full-fledged zombie film with sharp writing and endlessly quotable lines. For him, its sincerity is what elevates it above other genre send-ups.
8. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)
Source: IMDb
Tarantino initially resisted seeing Fury Road because he couldn’t imagine a Mad Max movie without Mel Gibson. But relentless praise—and some nudging from his editor—finally pushed him into the theater. What he found was pure cinematic muscle: a visionary filmmaker working with limitless resources to craft something ferociously original.
7. Unstoppable (Tony Scott)
Source: IMDb
He considers Unstoppable one of the great final films by any director, a late-career Tony Scott triumph he likes more each time he revisits it. The chemistry between the leads and the stripped-down intensity stand out, but Tarantino especially loves the film’s central conceit: the runaway train as a full-on movie monster. In his view, it’s one of the best creature features of the 21st century—even stronger than Godzilla or King Kong.
6. Zodiac (David Fincher)
Source: IMDb
Tarantino’s appreciation for Zodiac grew slowly, deepening with each unexpected rewatch on cable over the years. He eventually came to savor its hypnotic pacing and meticulous construction, calling the film a “luxurious experience” that reveals new layers every time. Now, he considers it a mesmerizing masterwork.
5. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Source: IMDb
He reveres the film’s craftsmanship and Daniel Day-Lewis’ towering performance, describing it as old-school Hollywood mastery without the nostalgia trappings. Still, Tarantino has one major gripe: he believes Paul Dano is miscast, weakening what should be a true two-hander. Even with that flaw, he says the film could easily rank at the very top of the list.
4. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
Source: IMDb
Like several films on his list, Dunkirk didn’t fully click with him on first viewing. But repeated watches unlocked the movie’s precision and control, revealing a level of mastery he hadn’t initially grasped. By the third and fourth viewing, he found himself completely blown away by Nolan’s achievement.
3. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
Source: IMDb
Tarantino recalls falling so hard for Lost in Translation that he wound up falling for its director too, joking about publicly “wooing” Sofia Coppola at events like a character in a Jane Austen novel. He praises the film’s intimate, “girlie” sensibility—done, he says, with exceptional finesse. To him, it’s a rare, beautifully rendered emotional world.
2. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
Source: IMDb
He describes the final minutes of Toy Story 3 as devastatingly emotional—so powerful he can barely talk about them without choking up. Beyond its heartbreak, he sees the film as nearly perfect, including its comedic beats, which he says never stop landing. In his eyes, it’s the greatest conclusion to a trilogy since The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
1. Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott)
Source: IMDb
Tarantino considers Black Hawk Down a flat-out masterwork, one he initially underestimated because its sheer intensity overwhelmed him on first viewing. Over time, though, he came to see it as the only modern film that truly captures the “Apocalypse Now” sense of purpose and immersive visual force. He praises its relentless pacing, extraordinary direction, and the way it gripped him—heart pounding—for nearly three hours without ever letting go.
