Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
d. Chris Columbus, 152/159 minutes, Warner Bros./Heyday Films/1492 Pictures

• All of the films in this incredible fantasy/adventure film series were based upon adaptations of the J. K. Rowling books. The first film was based upon Rowling's 1997 novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. With tie-ins to the best-selling series of children's books, after the rights to the books were purchased in 1997 (the first four books were available before the first screen adaptation), the films were guaranteed a built-in fan base (of youth and adults alike).
• The seven-book series sold about 500 million copies worldwide ($400 million worth) and was translated into approximately 80 languages. The last four books set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The imaginative books revived for young people the simple joy of reading, and ingrained the stories in global popular culture.
• The Potter films were on track to be one of the biggest, longest, most successful (and lucrative), most loved, and best-received film franchises of all time in their ten year run with eight movies (at a total of $2.39 billion - domestic, and $7.73 billion - worldwide), known by the buzz-word "Pottermania."
• With a production budget of $125 million, its box-office was immense, $317.5 million (domestic) and $975 million (worldwide), and it was the highest grossing film of 2001, just surpassing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at $313 million. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) was finally surpassed as the single, # 1 highest (domestic) grossing film of the franchise by the last film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011).
• The Potter films revived the once lost genre of children's fantasy, with three young unknowns in the leads who played their roles throughout the entire series. The film series solidified the idea that multi-movie franchises should have the same basic cast - much different from the pattern followed by other major franchises (the James Bond films, the Star Wars films, etc.).
• The three main cast members, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in the three main roles, remained as the same trio throughout the entire franchise until "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" debuted in 2011. They were joined by a variety of talented and fascinating supporting characters, innovative visual effects, and great production design. There have been many attempts to capitalize on the series' success - with other copycats and wannabees.
• In all of the Harry Potter films, the title character - orphaned, bespectacled Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, battled against darkly evil cruel wizard Lord Voldemort (played by various characters in the films, although usually Ralph Fiennes) or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who had killed Harry's parents. It was a classic tale of good vs. evil.
• This film became the foundation for the same literature-to-screen adaptations pattern followed by other fantasy book series: including The Lord of the Rings, Twilight and The Hunger Games franchises. Other extended film franchises have followed Potter's lead by splitting the original literary source into installments (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2): Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Parts 1 and 2, and Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Parts 1 and 2.
• [Note: A whole new series of three films set in the Harry Potter Cinematic Universe were also a byproduct. The spin-offs and prequels to the Harry Potter film series were known as the Fantastic Beasts franchise: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and a third film due in 2021.]
• Billions in revenue were generated by merchandising deals (books, shirts, posters, toys, games, and much more). In fact, the franchise has taken in an average of nearly $1 billion every year for more than a decade. The film series became the basis for Universal Studios' theme park attraction.
• Some have suggested that J.K. Rowling’s adapted filmic tales influenced and shaped the political views of the millennials - a generation of book-reading, faithful film-attending Potter fans who developed greater tolerance and acceptance of personal differences, less authoritarianism, anti-violence sentiments, and more support for equality.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003, NZ/US)
d. Peter Jackson, 178/179/201 minutes, New Line Cinema/WingNut Films/Saul Zaentz Company

• Peter Jackson's successful fantasy adventure-epic about witches and wizards - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - the first of three films - was derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy tale of Middle Earth with Hobbits, dwarves, and elves. Jackson would go on to complete a nine-hour trilogy in the next few years, with two more films: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). It was the new generation's epic fantasy trilogy, a new 'Star Wars' for an entire new group of movie-goers and film-makers, featuring an ensemble cast.
• Fantasy films in the past, such as The Dark Crystal (1982), The NeverEnding Story (1984), and Labyrinth (1986) were mostly youth-oriented and only on a small scale. The LOTR films were epic - they created a new interest in the fantasy film genre, especially after the series won so many Academy Awards. In total, the three films won 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. The final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King (2003), won an unprecedented eleven Oscars - all of the awards for it was nominated. It became only the second sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Fantasy content would afterwards be taken more seriously as big-screen epic entertainment, and not regarded as solely for children or for animated films.
• Each film in the trilogy garnered more support - and also led to a whole new offshoot. A three part trilogy of Hobbit films (from 2012-2014), adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved 1937 fantasy novel, was created as a prequel - set decades before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• The first film was a tremendous gamble by director Peter Jackson, and its massive scale, non-linear story and sprawling scope were considered unfilmable. Back in the year 2000, it was risky for studios to fund more than one movie - fearing that the first one might flop. As a money-saving gesture, Jackson filmed the entire LOTR story as one film over 16 months in New Zealand - then divided it into three installments. This strategy transformed long-term franchise planning. Simultaneous movie productions and commitments to multi-movie deals became more commonplace. Similar future fantasy literary works would be optioned and planned, such as The Hunger Games, Twilight, and even HBO's Game of Thrones (cable tv), etc.
• The films blended revolutionary, state-of-the-art computer animation (i.e., the incredibly realistic digital movie character of Gollum created by motion-capture), computer-controlled cameras, visual effects, visual trickery, prosthetics and very large, highly-detailed miniature models (known as bigatures) to create an immersive vision of Middle Earth. The Weta Workshop in New Zealand produced many of the sets, costumes, armor, weapons, creatures and miniatures.
• CGI motion-capture performances, following Andy Serkis' remarkable portrayal of the virtual character of Gollum, included Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) (coincidentally also played by Andy Serkis), and the Hulk in The Avengers (2012). Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) was not even in the same league.
• For the huge battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the filmmakers created MASSIVE, an AI computer program that generated crowds of artificially intelligent (CGI) customizable characters that could be programmed with specific sets of actions - producing more realism for the body movements of thousands of men, horses, Orcs and other combatants.
• Beyond the theatrical cinematic experience, the original trilogy was made available as an Extended Edition on DVD, with all the formerly-deleted scenes remaining intact - for a full vision of Tokien's entire work. Its extensive multi-disc box-set with 'making-of' featurettes, and 26 hours of additional footage, set a major benchmark for home video box-sets.
• As a result of the franchise's popularity and importance to New Zealand, tourism to the country increased. Air New Zealand had two Airbus A320 jets decorated in a Tolkienesque theme, and their safety video was Middle Earth-themed.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
d. Baz Luhrmann, 127 minutes, 20th Century Fox

• Australian writer/director Baz Luhrmann's hit summer musical resurrected, reinvented or heralded the return of the Hollywood musical - a genre that was almost dead at the start of the 2000s decade. It created a desire to look for further film musical opportunities for the big screen, that also could include well-known rock-centric pop musical hits and MTV-video-styled filming.
• The dazzlingly colorful, whirling and kinetic modern musical with stunning Oscar-winning costuming was set in 1900 Paris, and told a story of tragic love.
• The fantasy film innovatively reinvigorated the stale romantic-musical format, by featuring a pop-music "jukebox" soundtrack. The interesting romantic plotline told about the development of a doomed love between poor and struggling English poet/writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) who serenaded the Moulin Rouge's star cabaret performer and courtesan (Nicole Kidman), in Paris' Montmartre district.
• The stylish and daring film was the third part of Luhrmann's "Red Curtain" trilogy with similar creative and thematic theatrical motifs, beginning with the amateur dance competition extravaganza Strictly Ballroom (1992) and followed by the modernized, MTV-inspired Shakespearean tragedy Romeo + Juliet (1996) (with two attractive young stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes).
• It was the first musical nominated for Best Picture in 10 years, following Disney's animated musical Beauty and the Beast (1991), and the first non-animated musical nominated for Best Picture since Cabaret (1972). Its eight Oscar nominations included Best Picture and Best Actress (Kidman), and it ended up with two wins: Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Shrek (2001)
d. Andrew Adamson/Vicky Jenson, 90 minutes, DreamWorks Animation

• DreamWorks Studios found the Shrek franchise as a way to successfully compete against dynamo Pixar and its feature-length animated films in the early 2000s (with Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003)). It led to three very successful sequels for the remainder of the decade: Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010).
• The quasi-fairy tale animation invented an intriguing title character - a reclusive, swamp-dwelling ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) who reluctantly went on a quest to save Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a dragon-guarded tower, with the companionship of Donkey (Eddie Murphy). It was designed to appeal to both children and adults alike - with numerous pop cultural references, entertaining songs, and laugh-out-loud humor.
• DreamWorks/PDI's subversive, revisionist fairy tale was a biting satire and irreverent spoof of classic Disney animated films, with fairy-tale in-jokes and lots of flatulence and subtle sexual humor. The film's climactic final revelation, from Princess to Creature, was an inverted "Beauty and the Beast" plot element.
• With a production budget of $60 million, the influential film had major box-office gross receipts of $268 million (domestic) and $484.4 million (worldwide). It was the third highest-grossing film of 2001, falling behind only the two major franchises: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
• It was the first animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, a new category.

Bowling for Columbine (2002)
d. Michael Moore, 120 minutes, Alliance Atlantis/Dog Eat Dog Films/United Artists

• Iconoclastic, sardonic, independent film-maker/journalist Michael Moore has had varied success with his personally-made films about the excesses and abuses of corporate America, social issues and politics, but this one really struck the mark.
• Moore's provocative Bowling for Columbine (2002), the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award-winner, presented a critical look at the US's trigger-happy obsession with gun rights, and the high rate of crime and violence in the US; it also examined the US as an aggressor nation, with its institutionalized violence, and the American culture of fear.
• The film was the first documentary to compete in the Cannes Film Festival's main competition in 46 years, and was the unanimous winner of the festival's 55th Anniversary Prize.
• It was also the first documentary film to be nominated and then win the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2003. It was also the highest-grossing documentary of all time, soon to be surpassed by Moore's own Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).
• Activist documentarian Michael Moore's film contained interviews with pro-gun advocates, including a bizarre James Nichols and members of the Michigan Militia (who counted Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh of the Oklahoma bombings as members). It also included a remarkable interview with NRA spokesman/actor Charlton Heston at his home, who expressed his pro-gun position only a few weeks after the Columbine (Littleton, Colorado) HS shooting in April, 1999.

Spider-Man (2002)
d. Sam Raimi, 121 minutes, Columbia Pictures

• It was based upon the Marvel comic-book character by writer Stan Lee. In many ways, this film ushered in or redefined the modern era of superhero films (although it did come on the heels of Batman, Superman, and X-Men franchises).
• The film introduced the popular character of geeky, bespectacled Midtown HS senior Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), who became a superhero vigilante following a spider-bite. (Sam Raimi's follow-up sequel, Spider-Man 2 (2004) proved that a comic book movie had staying power and could be both critically and commercially successful.)
• At the time of its release, it was the highest-grossing (domestic) superhero film of all time, but has now been knocked down considerably.
• With a production budget of $139 million, the film grossed $403.7 million (domestically) and $825 million (worldwide). It was the No. 1 grossing film of 2002, and has remained the # 1 film (domestic) of the entire Spider-Man franchise (from 2002 to 2019).

The Passion of the Christ (2004)
d. Mel Gibson, 127/120 minutes, Icon Productions/Newmarket Films

• Co-producer, co-writer, and director Mel Gibson's R-rated, self-financed, independent smash-hit film, a brutal and ultra-violent, blood-soaked depiction (or reinterpretation) of Jesus' last 12 hours on Earth, stirred up considerable controversy. The much-debated, controversial work was filmed with dialogue in three languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin) - with subtitles. Although Gibson claimed that the account was authentic and 'truthful' - it would be nearly impossible to derive a strict and true historical account of the events from the Gospels.
• The film went on to be the most successful and profitable R-rated film ever, with $370 million US box-office (domestic) receipts (on a budget of $30 million), mostly due to its embracing by evangelical church groups and many faithful Christian believers. Many audiences thought they were watching an accurately-portrayed vision of Jesus' (Jim Caviezel) final hours with its visceral horrors of flagellation, torture and crucifixion.
• It told of the agonizing, unsparing crucifixion death of "Jesus Nazareth/ King of the Jews" on the cross. He was first severely beaten, forced to carry part-way his own wooden cross to the hillside of Golgotha outside Jerusalem, and then was nailed to the cross to suffer and die. The scenes were visceral, horrific to watch, and brutal, although artfully portrayed with gorgeous cinematography and slow-motion ( in part).
• It set a number of records: (1) the highest-grossing independent film of all time, (2) a record number of pre-ticket sales, more than any other film in history, (3) the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, (4) the highest-grossing (domestic) foreign-language film and/or subtitled film in history, and (5) the highest-grossing (worldwide and domestic) religious (Christian) film of all time.
• Due to intense criticism over its excessively graphic scenes, an unrated, re-edited re-release of the film (still R-rated), named The Passion Recut (2005), with Gibson's own edits (removal of about 5-6 minutes of graphic violence, and toned down scenes of the grisly acts of torture) was released and shown in theatres for a short time in 2005.
• The scourging (a 10-minute sequence) and crucifixion scenes in particular were overpoweringly graphic, bloody, torturous and vicious. Even Gibson admitted that the film was deliberately "shocking" and "extreme" in order to depict Jesus' enormous sacrifice.
• Even before it was released and viewed, religious leaders were indignant over its Catholic-tinged interpretation of the Bible, its use of extra-Biblical sources, and its poetic license, and Jews protested the film as anti-Semitic - believing that the "obscene" film would blame Jews for the death of Jesus. Gibson had difficulty securing a distributor for his film.

Super Size Me (2004)
d. Morgan Spurlock, 98 minutes, The Con/Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions

• Writer/director/producer Morgan Spurlock's Oscar-nominated documentary provided a scathing expose of the enormous influence of the fast food industry and its disastrous effects upon one's health due to its poor nutritional offerings. One of his concerns was the rapid rise of obesity in US society. He decided to exist on a diet solely of McDonald's menu items for about a month in the spring of 2003, while being filmed. The film's subtitle was "A Film of Epic Portions."
• At the time, the independent film - with a budget of $65,000, grossed $11.5 million (domestic) and $20.6 million (worldwide), and in 2022 was the 32nd highest-ranking US documentary of all time.
• Super Size Me appeared just before another similar film that examined the fast food industry - director Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation (2006), based upon the 2001 non-fiction novel authored by Eric Schlosser. Linklater's ensemble drama followed fast-food chain VP marketing director Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear) who discovered that the hamburger used for Mickey's chain outlet in California (for a signature best-selling sandwich known as "The Big One") came from a processing and packing slaughterhouse plant in Cody, Colorado (the local Uni-Globe company). Fecal matter introduced into the meat at the plant was due to sloppy production standards. A side theme was the exploitation of Mexican illegal immigrants for the chain who became low-wage employees for the company.
• The result of Spurlock's binge-diet (McDiet) was that his health rapidly deteriorated during the 30 days of the experiment, even while he was being constantly monitored by three doctors. The 32 year-old Spurlock gained a significant amount of weight (25 pounds) and experienced unexpected side effects from the high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, including a large depletion of energy and lethargy, loss of muscle mass, depression and mood swings, some liver damage, and suppression of his male libido.
• Some critics decried the film as an unscientific publicity stunt, and that Spurlock hadn't released his detailed food-log for the month.
• The documentary raised awareness of the shocking effectiveness of advertising used on children to buy the product (the image of Ronald McDonald).
• As a result of the film, McDonalds discontinued its Supersize Meal option from their menu selections within six weeks, although the company denied that the film had any effect upon its decision. McDonalds also began to provide a new healthier menu, including salads, and a new adult Happy Meal.

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
d. Judd Apatow, 116 minutes, Universal Pictures

• Writer/director Judd Apatow's R-rated, adult-oriented sex comedy (his directorial debut) helped to bring realism and life (through many improvised sequences and a well-written intelligent script) in the wake of so many raunchy, gross-out and rude frat-boy films of the early 2000s.
• At its heart was the sympathetic portrayal of the title character - a loveable loser - an awkward and middle-aged geek or man-child named Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell), an electronics store clerk and toy hobbyist (with a large action-figure and comic book collection) who was being counseled by his friends and co-workers on how to lose his virginity.
• The most memorable and outrageous set-piece was Andy's chest-waxing experience.
• The surprise coming-of-age hit was a critical and commercial success, with a gross (domestic) take of $109.5 million.

Casino Royale (2006)
d. Martin Campbell, 144 minutes, Columbia Pictures

• This was the 21st installment in the series, coming at a time when the aging franchise needed a back-to-the-basics reboot or reimagining (rather than a sequel or a prequel) with a new Bond (following Pierce Brosnan's departure).
• The revitalizing, inventive film was the first of five films (through 2020) with Daniel Craig, portraying a more macho, lean, mean, and direct James Bond (complete with an origin story) - who also saw the tragic demise of his doomed, raven-haired, green-eyed love interest Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). The serious action film climaxed with a world-class poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro.
• With a production budget of $150 million, and gross revenue of $167.4 million (domestic) and $616.5 million (worldwide), it became (unadjusted for inflation) the highest-grossing Bond film of all time, even surpassing Craig's next film Quantum of Solace (2008) at $589.6 million (worldwide). It kept the record of highest-grossing (domestic) until the release of Skyfall (2012).
• To be more realistic, the film relied more on a smartly-written plot and character development and less on CGI technology; it reduced the number of techo-gadgets and jokey one-liners, emphasized real physical stunt-work, departed from long-held conventions in Bond films, and cut back on the number of obvious product placement advertising.
• In early 2007, it became the first Bond film ever to be shown in mainland Chinese cinemas.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
d. Davis Guggenheim, 96 minutes, Lawrence Bender Productions

• This harrowing, thought-provoking, and earnest, fact-based Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winner was about the twin threats of global warming (climate change) and environmental pollution. (It was followed by a sequel: An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017).)
• At the time, the film, with a budget of $1.5 million, grossed $24.1 million (domestic) and $49.8 million (worldwide), and in 2022 was the 13th highest-ranking US documentary of all-time.
• The social-issues conversation was hosted by former Vice President Al Gore (as Himself), now posing as an environmental activist, whose opening line was: "I used to be the next President of the United States of America." With a masterful use of slides, animations, flow charts, computer graphs and 'nature' photos, he delivered a multimedia lecture that he had delivered in-person hundreds of times, to illustrate the disastrous results of global warming via various man-made and climate-related disasters.
• Included in the presentation was the short clip "Global Warming or: None Like It Hot" from the animated TV show Futurama, taken from a 2002 episode in which Gore guest-starred, about the effects of greenhouse gases. His descriptions were illustrated by before-and-after photographs of the effects of global warming on various landmarks, such as the mountain peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and on glaciers at the poles.
• In one scene, he used a scissors-style fork lift to raise himself up on the right side of a mammoth graphic to examine annual temperature and the drastically high, rising rate of CO2 emissions levels for the past 650,000 years, measured by Antarctic ice core samples. With demands for quick action, he delivered warnings about the future of the Earth if his warnings weren't heeded to save the planet from destruction. His sermonizing increased awareness of the urgency of the issue of global warming, with suggestions to reverse its effects by releasing less CO2 and planting more vegetation to consume existing CO2.
• His ultimate conclusion was: "I don't really consider this a political issue, I consider it to be a moral issue." The closing credits included recommendations in answer to the question: "Are you ready to change the way you live?"
• However, critics of the highly persuasive film argued that the film was exploitatively alarmist and exaggerated, that there were numerous factual and scientific inaccuracies in the film, and differing and balanced viewpoints about climate change were not given equal weight. A discussion of nuclear power was entirely ignored in the documentary. Some also accused Gore of promoting his own political-social views in anticipation of running again for President in 2008.

Avatar (2009)
d. James Cameron, 162 minutes, 20th Century Fox/Dune Entertainment/Ingenious Film Partners

• Visionary director James Cameron's ambitious and monumental work (his first feature film since Titanic (1997)) was this futuristic, epic, science-fiction/fantasy 3-D live-action film, with ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special effects. It was the first Best Picture nominee to be entirely filmed using stereoscopic 3-D technology.
• Reportedly budgeted at over $237 million, the technically-ambitious and visually-stunning film was ballyhooed for its incredible visual effects and 3D IMAX presentation. Much of the visual effects masterpiece's reported budget was spent on CGI. (40% of the film was live-action, while 60% was photo-realistic CGI).
• It was the highest grossing film at its time at $785.2 million (domestic), surpassing his own Titanic (1997) at $659.3 million (domestic), Cameron became the director of the two biggest movies in film history, until later surpassed. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion (its worldwide revenue total was $2.78 billion).
• The 20th Century Fox blockbuster spectacle (a 'must-see' film) had nine nominations, with three technical wins for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects (unusual for a science-fiction film). Remarkably, this was Cameron's first narrative film since Titanic (1997), which had a record 14 nominations and 11 wins. No director had ever attained a total of 23 total nominations in consecutive non-documentary feature films.
• Although originally scheduled for release in late spring of 2009, the opening was delayed until mid-December 2009, due to the demands of the special effects, and the installation of 3-D projection systems to accommodate the film worldwide. The film's release spurred the installation of digital 3D projectors in US theaters.
• It was a futuristic, sci-fi adventure-action story about humans invading a fantastic planet inhabited by blue-skinned aliens for its rare radioactive natural resource - unobtanium.
• Over a period of years, Cameron had designed dual-function cameras that simultaneously filmed in both conventional 2-D and state of the art 3-D. He devised a stereoscopic 'virtual camera' allowing him to move through a 3D terrain during filming.
• The film also utilized cutting-edge motion performance-capture assisted, photo-realistic CGI technology with actors on a stage (called the Volume), to create the sympathetic Na'vi characters. The technique of performance capture involved putting actors into bodysuits covered with tiny dots, while about 140 digital cameras captured their body movements. Another tiny helmet-rigged camera was used for recording finer facial, eye, and head movements. And then the digitally-recorded data was used by animators to create the characters in their virtual world environment.
• "Avatar" started a massive wave of studios requesting profitable post-production conversion into 3D for their summer popcorn blockbusters (although the success rate widely varied). The immersive 3D effect brought movies to event-loving audiences, and substantially inflated ticket prices.
• It was reported that there would be a number of Avatar sequels, being filmed back-to-back. The first sequel was Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), with a budget of $350 million.