1. The Departed, 2006

This is definitely one of the movies of the early 2000s you must see if you haven’t already. The Departed is a drama/thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Alex Baldwin and Martin Sheen. If that list of A-list actors starring in this film didn’t convince you enough to go watch it then maybe the fact that The Departed also won 4 Oscars including the Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year (2007) might!

2. The Pianist, 2002

Such a beautiful and sad movie, the Pianist is about young Jewish man trying to survive during World War II. This drama is actually also a biography and is based on the real life story of Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman. The Pianist won the award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay in 2003.

3. The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers (2002)

Be prepared to see a lot of The Lord of the Rings on this list! In fact, The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. The Two Towers is the second volume in the series. Thus, The Two Towers was the second installment in the Lord of the Rings movie series.

4. Inception (2010)

One of my favourite movies of the early 2000s, Inception is an action-adventure movie that you can completely get lost in. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Inception is about a man and his team who extract personal and valuable information from the subconscious by entering through a person's dreams. Although stealing thoughts is no issue for these skilled extractors, they are challenged when they are asked to place thoughts in to the mind, otherwise known as inception.

5. The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

What did I tell you, another Lord of the Rings movie! The Fellowship of the Ring is based on the first volume of The Lord of The Rings. The Fellowship of The Ring won 4 Oscars in 2002 including winner for Best Cinematography.

6. The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King (2003)

Last but not least in the series, The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King has to be included. Arguably the best installment from the entire series, The Return of the King won an incredible 11 Oscars – that’s more Oscars than the first two movies combined! In addition, the film won 122 other awards. So, if you’ve never seen any of the Lord of The Ring movies, then this last movie alone is enough of a reason to go rent all three tonight.

7. The Dark Knight (2008)

Possibly one of the best movies of the early 2000s, The Dark Knight (the second movie in the three-part Batman film series starring Christian Bale) is # 4 on IMDb's (International Movie Database) top movies and has received an average of 9.0/10.0 stars from over 1 million IMDb users. The movie, essentially, is about the struggle between good and evil – Batman believes in the goodness of humanity but The Joker is more than determined to prove that humans are selfish, cold and inhumane when it comes to survival.

These movies are great for so many reasons! The actors, the cinematography, the script, and the directors and producers are just some of the reasons these movies are as wonderful as they are. What are some of your favourite movies of the early 2000s?