Last summer, The New York Times asked readers to create their own ballots for their “Readers’ Choice” edition of their list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. For my ballot, I selected 10 random films that I had seen from this century (a few of which influenced my filmmaking) and submitted them for consideration. A few of them actually made the official list released by the Times, while others were named honorable mentions. What follows are each of those 10 that I selected, in alphabetical order, and why I believe they are among the best of the century.

With 2025 about to be a year behind us, here’s a look at my most anticipated films of 2026, ranking from what I’m really most excited about to ones where I’m simply just going to go in with an open mind and see what happens.