The amazing years just keep on coming.

1. City of God - Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund
2. The Pianist - Roman Polanski
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson
4. Talk to Her - Pedro Almodóvar
5. Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes
6. Adaptation. - Spike Jonze
7. Hero - Zhang Yimou
8. The Hours - Stephen Daldry
9. Russian Ark - Alexander Sokurov
10. Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson

11. Infernal Affairs - Andrew Lau & Alan Mak
12. Bowling for Columbine - Michael Moore
13. Minority Report - Steven Spielberg
14. Gangs of New York - Martin Scorsese
15. 25th Hour - Spike Lee
16. Ten - Abbas Kiarostami
17. Chicago - Rob Marshall
18. 28 Days Later - Danny Boyle
19. Road to Perdition - Sam Mendes
20. Catch Me if You Can - Steven Spielberg

21. Irréversible - Gaspar Noé
22. The Bourne Identity - Doug Liman
23. Spider-Man - Sam Raimi
24. The Man Without a Past - Aki Kaurismäki
25. About Schmidt - Alexander Payne
26. The Son - Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
27. Distant - Nuri Bilge Ceylan
28. In America - Jim Sheridan
29. Blissfully Yours - Apichatpong Weerasethakul
30. Oasis - Lee Chang-Dong

1. City of God - Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson
3. The Pianist - Roman Polanski
4. Talk to Her - Pedro Almodóvar
5. Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes
6. Adaptation. - Spike Jonze
7. 28 Days Later - Danny Boyle
8. Spider-Man - Sam Raimi
9. Chicago - Rob Marshall
10. Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderso

11. Russian Ark - Alexander Sokurov
12. The Hours - Stephen Daldry
13. Hero - Zhang Yimou
14. Gangs of New York - Martin Scorsese
15. About Schmidt - Alexander Payne
16. Minority Report - Steven Spielberg
17. 25th Hour - Spike Lee
18. Bowling for Columbine - Michael Moore
19. The Bourne Identity - Doug Liman
20. Catch Me if You Can - Steven Spielberg

2000-2004 >>>> 2005-2009

Totally agree. The years 2005-2013 were not the greatest period in cinema.

2019?:

1. Parasite
2. The Irishman
3. Marriage Story
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. 1917
6. Joker
7. The Lighthouse
8. Uncut Gems
9. Jojo Rabbit
10. The Farewell

Others: Ford v Ferrari, Little Women, The Two Popes, Knives Out, Dolemite is My Name, Hustlers, I Lost My Body, Ad Astra, Midsommar, Us, Rocketman, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Waves

I feel like it's too early for 2019 but since I already have a draft for it I will post it.

1. Avengers: Endgame - Anthony & Joe Russo
2. Parasite - Bong Joon-ho
3. The Irishman - Martin Scorsese
4. Joker - Todd Philips
5. Marriage Story - Noah Baumbach
6. Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino
7. Pain & Glory - Pedro Almodóvar
8. Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi
9. Ford vs Ferrari - James Mangold
10. Knives Out - Rian Johnson

11. Uncut Gems - Safdie brothers
12. Us - Jordan Peele
13. Booksmart - Olivia Wilde
14. Little Women - Greta Gerwig
15. The Lighthouse - Robert Eggers
16. The Farewell - Lulu Wang
17. Midsommar - Ari Aster
18. Ad Astra - James Gray
19. Les Misérables - Ladj Ly
20. 1917 - Sam Mendes

I refuse to think Endgame is the #1 movie of the year. Parasite and the Irishman are much better films that will hold up better. I get how successful it is and how much of a phenomenon it is right now, but I really don't think it is the BEST movie of the year....

I am not saying it's best film of the year but judging by criteria I would think gap in popularity is much bigger than in acclaim given that Endgame was actually very well-recieved. Influence is still up in the air for such recent movies and so are lasting acclaim and popularity.

I understand, I didn't know the original criteria

What the fuck kinda year was that? There's at least 30 films that would have made the top 20 in certain other years:

1. City of God
2. The Pianist
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. Talk to Her
5. Adaptation.
6. Hero
7. Far from Heaven
8. Bowling for Columbine
9. 28 Days Later
10. The Hours
11. The Man Without a Past
12. Chicago
13. Infernal Affairs
14. Russian Ark
15. Catch Me if You Can
16. The Son
17. Distant
18. About Schmidt
19. Punch-Drunk Love
20. Minority Report

21. Gangs of New York
22. Irréversible
23. Blissfully Yours
24. Road to Perdition
25. Ten
26. 25th Hour
27. Spider-Man
28. In America
29. To Be and to Have
30. 24 Hour Party People
31. Bend It Like Beckham
32. The Bourne Identity
33. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
34. The Magdalene Sisters
35. 8 Mile
36. Bloody Sunday
37. Oasis
38. Frida
39. Signs
40. Whale Rider
41. Rabbit-Proof Fence
42. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
43. The Twilight Samurai
44. Insomnia
45. Bus 174
46. Ice Age
47. Lilya-4-Ever
48. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
49. Spellbound
50. Spider
51. Dirty Pretty Things
52. About a Boy
53. Morvern Callar
54. Sweet Sixteen
55. Lilo & Stitch
56. The Quiet American
57. The Ring
58. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
59. All or Nothing
60. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
61. Unknown Pleasures
62. Gerry
63. Blade II
64. The Count of Monte Cristo
65. Devdas
66. Man on the Train
67. The Cat Returns
68. Dolls
69. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
70. In This World
71. One Hour Photo
72. Treasure Planet
73. Femme Fatale
74. Stevie
75. Panic Room
76. Divine Intervention
77. The Transporter
78. Jackass: The Movie
79. The Good Girl
80. Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron
81. Solaris
82. Resident Evil
83. We Were Soldiers
84. Sunshine State
85. Nicholas Nickleby
86. Waiting for Happiness
87. Austin Powers in Goldmember
88. Changing Lanes
89. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
90. Unfaithful
91. xXx
92. On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate
93. The Crime of Padre Amaro
94. Stuart Little 2
95. Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

I am thinking:

1. City of God - Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson
3. The Pianist - Roman Polanski
4. Talk to Her - Pedro Almodóvar
5. Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes
6. Adaptation. - Spike Jonze
7. 28 Days Later - Danny Boyle
8. Hero - Zhang Yimou
9. Bowling for Columbine - Michael Moore
10. Russian Ark - Alexander Sokurov

11. Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson
12. The Hours - Stephen Daldry
13. Chicago - Rob Marshall
14. Infernal Affairs - Andrew Lau & Alan Mak
15. The Man Without a Past - Aki Kaurismäki
16. Catch Me if You Can - Steven Spielberg
17. The Son - Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
18. Gangs of New York - Martin Scorsese
19. About Schmidt - Alexander Payne
20. Minority Report - Steven Spielberg

Nice.

*Chicago - Rob Marshall

Thanks for correction.

Hmm not sure about Two Towers > Pianist.

By its numbers Two Towers could easily have been #1. But since it's pretty much only the least adored LotR while City of God was a surprise success and The Pianist a late return to form for Polanski, I figured it could at least be behind these two. So, I'm with you here.