4. Fight Club (1999)
David Fincher's dark, nihilistic masterpiece. Fight Club was able to define an entire generation of disgruntled men into one of the greatest cult films ever made. The film works on many different levels. It can be a political thriller, a psychological thriller, a dark comedy or a character study but what is, perhaps, it's greatest achievement is there are many moments where it manages to be all four of those and more. There is never a dull moment in Fight Club due to the two amazing central performances by Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. It's hilarious and tragic in equal measure to watch these two polar opposite characters play off of each other throughout the forming of the fight clubs and project mayhem. Much has been said about the twist at the end and with good reason because it's one of the greatest moments in 90s cinema.
3. There Will Be Blood (2007)
This is the last entry for Paul Thomas Anderson, I swear. There Will Be Blood is easily the best film of the of the 00s and Anderson has never been better than he is here. The direction and story are simply awe-inspiring in their pure ambition to give the viewer an insight into the inner working of greed and religion and how they can play off of each other. The long takes that Anderson is very fond of perfectly cement the audience into the world that the film inhabits while the story only continues to become more and more gripping as it progresses. Daniel Day-Lewis gives the best performance of his career and one of the greatest screen performances of all time as the anti-hero Daniel Plainview. The way he fully inhabits the role is frightening to view which only makes it extremely compelling. Day-Lewis holds nothing back and because of his sheer commitment and talent Anderson's screenplay is able to come to life in a marvelous way. The screenplay itself is one of the richest and most compelling to ever be written due to the fact that it is so varied. There Will Be Blood is many different films in one. It is a tale of father/son relationships, a political thriller, a study of greed and capitalism, a study of organized religion and a character study of Daniel Plainview. Anderson succeeds in making his movie a fantastic portrait of many different themes that make it both heartbreaking and thought provoking at the same time.