Decades later, these scenes remain unforgettable. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable movie moments of the aughts.
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00:00I'm gonna make this pencil disappear.
00:04Welcome to Miz Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable movie
00:10moments of the aughts.
00:12Watch out, as some of these moments are spoilers.
00:15I waited for you for 7 years, and now it's too late.
00:22Number 10, I wish I knew how to quit you.
00:25Brokeback Mountain.
00:27I'll tell you this, I can't quit this one.
00:29And I can't get the time off.
00:32How can a line be so heartbreaking and so beautiful at the same time?
00:37Brokeback Mountain took the world by storm in 2005, and is regarded as a major achievement
00:43for queer cinema, as Jack and Ennis, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger have tremendous
00:48chemistry, culminating in this beautiful scene toward the end of the film.
00:53Why don't you just let me be, huh?
00:57It's because of you, Jack, that I'm like this.
00:59On the pair's last trip together, Ennis tries to end things with Jack.
01:04As the two argue about their relationship, Jack utters a devastating line about wishing
01:09he could leave Ennis behind, but not being able to.
01:13After everything they've been through, it's a crushing thing to hear, delivered wonderfully
01:17by Gyllenhaal.
01:19I wish I knew how to quit you.
01:23Then why don't you?
01:25Number 9, Rain Scene, Pride and Prejudice
01:29Miss Elizabeth, I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer.
01:33Yes, the Hanflex moment in this Jane Austen adaptation is an awakening of sorts for many
01:39of us, but Mr Darcy's first proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice is an electrically
01:45charged chemistry fest we'll never forget.
01:48Are you laughing at me?
01:50No.
01:50Are you rejecting me?
01:51I'm sure that the feelings which, as you've told me, have hindered your regard will help
01:54you in overcoming it.
01:55As rain pours down from above, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, quite poorly in some spots,
02:02but most ardently in others.
02:04At this point in the movie, Elizabeth is aware of Darcy's attempts to keep Mr Bingley and
02:09her sister Jane apart.
02:11She refuses and the scene erupts.
02:14Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your circumstances?
02:17And those are the words of a gentleman.
02:20From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the
02:24feelings of others made me realise that you were the last man in the world I could ever
02:28be prevailed upon to marry.
02:30Darcy and Elizabeth duke it out, their remarks growing more cutting by the second, but as
02:35they get meaner and meaner, their chemistry gets hotter and hotter.
02:40Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time.
02:44Even Darcy and Elizabeth's fights are relationship goals.
02:49Number 8.
02:50Perm Maintenance.
02:51Legally Blonde.
02:57From the moment Elle Woods walks into the courtroom sporting that bright pink suit,
03:01we knew we were in for an iconic moment.
03:04But Elle's time in the spotlight doesn't start off so bright.
03:07She struggles to question Chutney at first, unable to find any holes in her story as a
03:13witness to the murder of her father.
03:15Thankfully, that same day, she entered the Beta Delta Pi wet t-shirt contest where she
03:19was completely hosed down from head to toe.
03:21Objection.
03:22Why is this relevant?
03:24Oh, I have a point, I promise.
03:26Then make it.
03:27But then hair care knowledge saves the day.
03:30If you're a child of the 2000s, we're willing to bet that you have a lot of quotes from
03:35Legally Blonde down pat, but this one is the film's peak.
03:40Isn't it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet
03:43your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm, at the risk of deactivating the ammonium
03:47thioglycolate?
03:50Yes.
03:51Elle's speech about perm maintenance is eminently quotable, and Reese Witherspoon's
03:56performance is unforgettable.
03:58The rules of hair care are simple and finite.
04:00Any Cosmo girl would have known.
04:02Number 7.
04:03Duel.
04:03Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
04:10While there are many martial arts sequences that blow us away in Ang Lee's Crouching
04:15Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this one stands above the rest.
04:19The scene involves a showdown between Yu Xiulian and Zhen Yu, with Zhen wielding the fabled
04:25sword Green Destiny.
04:26This destroys any weapon Xiulian wields against her.
04:31Actors Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Zi give stunning performances, and Yuan Wuping's fight
04:37choreography is perfectly executed and captured.
04:40The gravity-defying stance, epic swordplay, and stunning performance make this film a
04:45must-see.
04:46Number 6.
04:47The Mirror.
04:48In this film, Yu Xiulian and Zhang Zi are seen in the mirror as a pair of lovers, but
04:53the mirror is actually a mirror.
04:55While there are many martial arts sequences that blow us away in Ang Lee's Crouching
04:59Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this one stands above the rest.
05:04The scene involves a showdown between Yu Xiulian and Zhang Zi.
05:07This one stands above the rest.
05:09Yu Xiulian and Zhang Zi are seen in the mirror as a pair of lovers, but the mirror is actually
05:14a mirror.
05:15While there are many martial arts sequences that blow us away, Yu Xiulian and Zhang Zi
05:19are seen in the mirror as a pair of lovers.
05:22girls.
05:30After 2004, we would never hear Jingle Bell Rock the same way again.
05:35The classic Christmas tune sure got a lot less wholesome after Regina George and the
05:39rest of the Plastics performed it in Mean Girls.
05:43The costumes themselves are iconic.
05:46Sexy Santa has never been so perfectly rendered.
05:49But what makes this performance so memorable are its floors.
05:53When the CDs start skipping, Gretchen accidentally kicks the bean box into her boyfriend Jason's
05:58face.
05:59The girls are frozen on stage until KD starts a rousing rendition of the song a cappella.
06:05What a bright time, it's the right time to rock the night away.
06:13The moment is not only memorable for its humour, but also for its oddly wholesome finish.
06:345.
06:35The Whisper – Lost in Translation
06:41How many articles have been written trying to decipher what Bill Murray says to Scarlett
06:46Johansson at the end of Lost in Translation?
06:50How many YouTube videos are there where someone tries to enhance the audio if only to catch
06:55a portion of Murray's words?
06:57If that doesn't bode well for a scene's staying power, we don't know what does.
07:09Lost in Translation is a beautiful film about connection and loneliness, centering on Bob
07:14and Charlotte's brief time together in Tokyo.
07:18As the two part ways at the end, Bob whispers something unintelligible in Charlotte's
07:23ear.
07:24While we may never know what he said, it clearly affects Charlotte greatly, and sometimes
07:30not knowing is what makes a moment special.
07:384.
07:44Dumbledore vs. Voldemort – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
07:59Since the first Harry Potter novel came out in 1997, fans had been waiting for the fateful
08:05meeting between Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort.
08:08When the moment finally happened in the fifth book, fans started to wonder if the filmed
08:13version would live up to the enormity of the moment, and boy did it.
08:29Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes give powerful performances on their own, but when they meet,
08:35the scene explodes, literally.
08:38The special effects team did a wonderful job creating the magical images of fire and
08:43water that rip from the two wands, and Gambon and Fiennes give their all to the fight, in
08:49a fitting display of the power of both wizards and the history between them.
09:053.
09:11You Shall Not Pass – The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring
09:19Is there a more quotable moment from a franchise?
09:22Luke and his father can move over.
09:25The first film in The Lord of the Rings is equal parts thrilling, beautiful, and emotional,
09:30as director Peter Jackson strives to capture J.R.R.
09:34Tolkien's epic story.
09:35But the moment where Gandalf the Grey faces off against the Balrog is a cinematic feat
09:41like no other.
09:43Buying time for the Fellowship to flee, Gandalf makes a desperate stand against the Balrog,
09:49The line was actually meant to be, you cannot pass, but actor Ian McKellen got it wrong.
10:05Well it's iconic anyway, Gandalf's plunge into the depths of the minds is heartbreaking,
10:11at least until he comes back in the next movie.
10:152.
10:16Slide Down Kiss – Spider-Man Superhero movies have gotten significantly
10:26less sexy since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy in the early aughts.
10:32No moment captures that passion quite like this one from the very first film.
10:37After saving Mary Jane, Spider-Man, who we know is secretly her buddy Peter Parker, tries
10:42to make a quick getaway.
10:44But who could resist the promise of a kiss in the rain, especially an upside down one.
11:00This iconic kiss between Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire may be one of the most significant
11:06pop culture moments of the decade.
11:09While Dunst and Maguire say that this soaked stump wasn't all that comfortable in real
11:14life, it's perfect to us.
11:421.
11:43Why So Serious – The Dark Knight Ah, the eternal question.
11:58Why so serious?
12:00Early on in The Dark Knight, the Joker gruesomely takes over a crime boss organisation, but
12:06before he returns the favor for a failed hit, he has to monologue a little, as any
12:12good villain does.
12:13The Joker explains that his abusive father was responsible for his infamous scars, terrifying
12:19his victim to the final cut.
12:31Heath Ledger absolutely nails it.
12:34The best part is that the Joker later tells Rachel Dawes a very different origin story.
12:41This makes his mania all the freakier.
12:47While we'll never know where the madman really got those scars, this scene will haunt
12:52us for decades to come.
13:03Did we miss any scenes from the 2000s that still live rent-free in your head?
13:08Let us know in the comments below.