Top 10 Directors Working In the 21st Century (Thus Far)

This is list consists of directors that have been busy the last several years making high quality movies. I wanted to ponder and acknowledge which of the directors currently working today have brought me the most entertainment and how much their works have influenced my appreciation of movies. Below are the following conditions for how I have chosen and sorted this list.

Conditions

-I have seen at least 2 of their movies
-Director regularly produces work in the 21st Century
-My selection of movie recommendation choices are limited to 21st Century movies
-Quality over Quantity as the case made be.
-My selections are all based on my subjective opinions.

10. Brad Bird

Brad Bird is a well renowned name these days, though maybe not as big of a public figure as some of the other picks on this list. I was greatly thrilled and entertained by both Mission Impossible and The Incredibles (still haven't seen the sequel). Though I think it is interesting I appreciate an animation directors' live action movie moreso than the animated one.

Recommended Movie Mentions

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Incredibles

9. Ryan Coogler

The man has made very entertaining movies, with a dash of thematic commentary. I haven't yet seen Fruitvale Station, though I hear great things about it. He and Michael B. Jordan make a great team. Not only do Coogler's movies look good (for the most part. Black Panther had some CGI issues), but they sound good while also utilizing silence or quiet to punch up emotional moments.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Creed

Black Panther

8. James Mangold

The man knows how to direct action scenes and his adventures are quite gritty. It seems his movies are also very individual, it's hard to pick up on particular style or motifs in each of his works, which is a good thing in this case. Mangold is also very good at getting some very realistically human dialogue and emotional performances out of actors in the types of movies that are usually more focused on pure action.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Logan

3:10 to Yuma

Identity

7. Alejandro Innaritu

Innaritu seems to be the kind of director that uses movies as a form of art rather than just entertainment. I've only seen two of his movies, but they're both Oscar winning movies, so that's gotta be good, right? Both have very impressive visuals and terrific acting performances. I like the way Innaritu utilizes angles and camera movements around the actors to get different emotions and atmospheres.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Birdman

The Revenant

6. Damien Chazelle

I realize the kid has only just gotten to the party and just started making a name for himself recently (my recommended list consists of the only two full length theatrical releases he has made thus far-First Man comes out soon). However, Whiplash is just such a great, great movie! It is thrilling and stunning. La La Land, though not as great to me, also shows how well Chazelle can craft a big budget movie and find some way to make it pop out and stand above the rest of awards competitors.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Whiplash

La La Land

5. Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve, to me, is kind of a combination of Inarritu and Mangold. He crafts movies in a very artistic way rather than just focused on entertainment. He also has created enough diverse movies that it's hard to pick up any particular style, angles, themes, or other connecting factors between his filmography. While much of his work is focused on dark, tense subject matter, there's still some very humanizing moments as well.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Arrival

Sicario

Blade Runner 2049

4. Quentin Tarantino

I think my introduction to Tarantino was actually the Volume 2 of Kill Bill. Somehow that movie and the DVD's trailers for his previous movies was enough to get me interested in checking out the rest of his body of work during my teenage years. Tarantino was one of the first directors where I intentionally sought out his whole filmography.

Though I ultimately prefer his earlier modern crime movies to his current string of cinemsnob genre homages, he does still make some very beautiful movies. I enjoy Tarantino's appreciation of film history and the little nods to the films and styles that came before him. He also gets some interesting performances from a wide variety of different actors. Not to mention that Tarantino is also revered for his quality scriptwriting as much as his direction.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Kill Bill
Inglorious Basterds

3. Joel & Ethan Coen

What a diverse selection of works in this century. Coen Brothers movies always vary in terms of genre, purpose, and quality, but they consistently make intriguing and unique movies. I like that these are brothers that are working together to create high quality entertainment (or art as the case may be). This is also another example on the list of where the director has some great movies in the 20th century, but in order to make the cut for this list, they also needed to have stellar movies in this 21st century. I think what ultimately puts the Coens ahead of Tarantino for me is their movies involve less revelry in the profane and grotesque, but rather enjoy the bizarre humor of life.

Recommended Movies Mentions

No Country for Old Men

Hail Caesar

O Brother Where Art Thou

2. Wes Anderson

Take Tarantino's love for cinema history and then add zany, colorful creativity to the project and you are led to Wes Anderson. He has a very particular style that shows up in each movie he directs, even in the stop motion ones. The symmetry, the color palettes, the dialogue, the Bill Murrays, there's just always those things that let you know Wes Anderson directed it. I like the imagination and enchantment found in his work. Not to mention overall it's more accessible or at least less aggressive than Tarantino's work.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Moonrise Kingdom

The Grand Budapest Hotel

1. Christopher Nolan

I think Christopher Nolan has made consistently incredible movies. Okay, so Dark Knight Rises didn't make too much sense, and the ending of Interstellar is kinda bonkers, but not everyone can overall manage to film as many impressive and thrilling movies as Nolan. He knows how to take movies in a dark direction without being too spooky, and always with some hope and inspiration to keep this uplifting just enough. The movies always look good, they always sound good, and he even effectively plays with unique narrative time frames (the order in which the story is told) that should make Tarantino envious (Boy, I sure mention Tarantino a lot for someone who puts him at #4, hunh?).

Recommended Movies Mentions

Memento

The Prestige

The Dark Knight