JJ – 2000s Movie List

Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

After inheriting a massive, glass-walled mansion from an eccentric uncle, a family discovers the house is actually a complex machine designed to contain twelve malevolent spirits—and they are intended to be the thirteenth.

  • Trivia: To help the actors react to “ghosts” that weren’t there, the production used specific lighting and physical cues so they knew exactly where each spirit was supposed to be standing.

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

While driving home for spring break, siblings Trish and Darry find themselves hunted by a flesh-eating ancient creature that emerges every 23rd spring for 23 days to feast on human body parts.

  • Trivia: The “Creeper’s” truck was modified with a high-performance engine so it could actually reach the terrifying speeds shown during the chase sequences.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Nicholas Angel, a high-achieving London constable, is reassigned to the sleepy village of Sandford. However, a series of “accidental” grizzly deaths leads him to suspect a dark conspiracy is afoot among the town’s elders.

  • Trivia: To prepare for their roles, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost spent time training with real police officers, though Pegg was much better at the tactical drills than Frost.

Four Brothers (2005)

After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store robbery, four tough, disparate brothers reunite in Detroit to track down the killers and exact their own brand of street justice.

  • Trivia: The film is loosely based on the 1965 John Wayne Western, The Sons of Katie Elder.

Hancock (2008)

John Hancock is a powerful superhero whose reckless behavior and alcoholism have made him a public pariah. When he saves a PR executive’s life, he enters a rebranding campaign to fix his image and discovers the secret of his origins.

  • Trivia: The movie spent over a decade in “development hell” and was originally titled Tonight, He Comes.

Superbad (2007)

Two inseparable high school seniors, Seth and Evan, embark on a frantic, booze-fueled quest to provide alcohol for a massive party, hoping to lose their virginities before they head off to separate colleges.

  • Trivia: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg started writing the script when they were only 13 years old because they wanted to see if they could write a movie.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

In this gritty remake of the 1974 classic, a group of friends traveling through rural Texas encounter a family of cannibalistic psychopaths, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface.

  • Trivia: Andrew Bryniarski, who played Leatherface, reportedly stayed in character for much of the shoot and avoided the other actors to maintain a sense of genuine fear.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with the eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow to rescue the love of his life from Jack’s former crew—undead pirates who turn into skeletons under the light of the full moon.

  • Trivia: Disney executives were initially terrified by Johnny Depp’s performance, fearing he was playing the character as “drunk” or “gay,” but the performance eventually earned him an Oscar nomination.

Up (2009)

Elderly widower Carl Fredricksen ties thousands of balloons to his house to fly to South America to fulfill a promise to his late wife, only to find he has a young “Wilderness Explorer” stowaway named Russell.

  • Trivia: Technical directors calculated that it would actually take roughly 26.5 million balloons to lift a house in real life, though they only animated about 10,000–20,000 for the film.

Eden Lake (2008)

A romantic weekend at a remote lake turns into a fight for survival when a young couple is relentlessly terrorized by a gang of sadistic local teenagers.

  • Trivia: Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly spent a significant amount of time outdoors in the mud and rain to ensure their physical exhaustion looked authentic on screen.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Po, a clumsy and noodle-obsessed panda, is unexpectedly chosen as the Dragon Warrior. He must train under Master Shifu and the Furious Five to protect the Valley of Peace from the vengeful Tai Lung.

  • Trivia: The animators took a real Kung Fu class to understand the mechanics of the fighting styles, which were then adapted to fit the anatomy of the different animals.

The Hangover (2009)

After a wild bachelor party in Las Vegas, three groomsmen wake up with no memory of the previous night, a tiger in their bathroom, a baby in the closet, and a missing groom.

  • Trivia: Ed Helms (who plays Stu) is actually missing a front tooth in real life; his adult incisor never grew in, so he simply removed his dental implant for the filming of the movie.