It's easy for classic movie lovers to be nostalgic for Hollywood's "Golden Age" of the 1930s and '40s. And many cineastes will tell you that film as an art reached its peak in the late '60s and early '70s. But the truth is there have been remarkable movies made in the 1990s and 2000s. From big budget blockbusters, to breakout independent films, to discoveries from around the world, we have seen exciting and groundbreaking cinematic work created in the last two decades.

For our second installment of our "100 Movies to See Before You Die," we decided to highlight these "Modern Classics" made between 1990 and 2009. Like our first list, we chose movies based on their artistry, originality, and pure cinematic entertainment. And even we were surprised by the results.

While big stars like George Clooney, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman are well-represented on the list with three films each, it's acclaimed actress Catherine Keener who appears in the most movies. By working in both independent films like "Being John Malkovich" and studio productions like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," she personifies the best of the era.

Look through the list below to see our choices for the top movies made in the last twenty years. Click on a title to add your comments about that particular choice. And take a look at the original "100 Movies to See Before You Die" to see the seventeen films that appear on both lists.

Jump to a Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT
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• 

  Goodfellas

  Directed by: Martin Scorsese

  Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci

  Why You Should See It

• Misery

  Directed by: Rob Reiner

  Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates

• Beauty and the Beast

  Directed by: Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale

  Starring: Paige O'Hara, Robbie Benson
• 

  The Silence of the Lambs

  Directed by: Jonathan Demme

  Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins

  Why You Should See It

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day

  Directed by: James Cameron

  Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick

• Thelma & Louise

  Directed by: Ridley Scott

  Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis

• Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam)

  Directed by: John Woo

  Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai

• Malcolm X

  Directed by: Spike Lee

  Starring: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett

• The Player

  Directed by: Robert Altman

  Starring: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi

• Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)

  Directed by: Zhang Yimou

  Starring: Gong Li, Ma Jingwu
• 

  Supercop (Ging chat goo si 3: Chiu kup ging chat)

  Directed by: Stanley Tong

  Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung

  Why You Should See It

• Unforgiven

  Directed by: Clint Eastwood

  Starring: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman

• Dazed and Confused

  Directed by: Richard Linklater

  Starring: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey

• Groundhog Day

  Directed by: Harold Ramis

  Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Stephen Tobolowsky

• Schindler's List

  Directed by: Steven Spielberg

  Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes

• 

  Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam)

  Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai

  Starring: Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong

  Why You Should See It

• Ed Wood

  Directed by: Tim Burton

  Starring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker

• Forrest Gump

  Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

  Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise

• Four Weddings and a Funeral

  Directed by: Mike Newell

  Starring: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Simon Callow

• Pulp Fiction

  Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

  Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis

• The Shawshank Redemption

  Directed by: Frank Darabont

  Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman

• Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge)

  Directed by: Krzysztof Kieslowski

  Starring: Irene Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant

• Babe

  Directed by: Chris Noonan

  Starring: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski

• Before Sunrise

  Directed by: Richard Linklater

  Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
• 

  Clueless

  Directed by: Amy Heckerling

  Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy

  Why You Should See It

• Heat

  Directed by: Michael Mann

  Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer

• Living in Oblivion

  Directed by: Tom DeCillo

  Starring: Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener

• Sense and Sensibility

  Directed by: Ang Lee

  Starring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant
• 

  Toy Story

  Directed by: John Lasseter

  Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen

  Why You Should See It

• 

  The Usual Suspects

  Directed by: Bryan Singer

  Starring: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri

  Why You Should See It

• Big Night

  Directed by: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci

  Starring: Tony Shaloub, Stanley Tucci, Ian Holm

• Dead Man

  Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

  Starring: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen
• 

  Fargo

  Directed by: Joel Coen

  Starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy

  Why You Should See It

• Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai)

  Directed by: Mamoru Oshii

  Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka

• Lone Star

  Directed by: John Sayles

  Starring: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey,
• 

  Scream

  Directed by: Wes Craven

  Starring: Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore

  Why You Should See It

• Secrets & Lies

  Directed by: Mike Leigh

  Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Timothy Spall

• Sling Blade

  Directed by: Billy Bob Thornton

  Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Lucas Black

• Swingers

  Directed by: Doug Liman

  Starring: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham

• Trainspotting

  Directed by: Danny Boyle

  Starring: Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle

• 

  Boogie Nights

  Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

  Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore

  Why You Should See It

• Eve's Bayou

  Directed by: Kasi Lemmons

  Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan

• L.A. Confidential

  Directed by: Curtis Hanson

  Starring: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey

• The Sweet Hereafter

  Directed by: Atom Egoyan

  Starring: Ian Holm, Bruce Greenwood, Sarah Polley
• 

  Titanic

  Directed by: James Cameron

  Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

  Why You Should See It

• The Big Lebowski

  Directed by: Joel Coen

  Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

• Fireworks (Hana-bi)

  Directed by: Takeshi Kitano

  Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto
• 

  Out of Sight

  Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

  Starring: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Catherine Keener

  Why You Should See It

• 

  Saving Private Ryan

  Directed by: Steven Spielberg

  Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore

  Why You Should See It

• There's Something About Mary

  Directed by: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly

  Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller

• All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)

  Directed by: Pedro Almodovar

  Starring: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz

• American Beauty

  Directed by: Sam Mendes

  Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

• Being John Malkovich

  Directed by: Spike Jonze

  Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich

• Election

  Directed by: Alexander Payne

  Starring: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein
• 

  Fight Club

  Directed by: David Fincher

  Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton

  Why You Should See It

• 

  The Matrix

  Directed by: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski

  Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne

  Why You Should See It

• Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime)

  Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

  Starring: Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida

• Run Lola Run (Lola rennt)

  Directed by: Tom Tykwer

  Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu

• The Sixth Sense

  Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

  Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette

• Three Kings

  Directed by: David O. Russell

  Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube

• Almost Famous

  Directed by: Cameron Crowe

  Starring: Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson
• 

  Best in Show

  Directed by: Christopher Guest

  Starring: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara

  Why You Should See It

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)

  Directed by: Ang Lee

  Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang
• 

  Yi Yi

  Directed by: Edward Yang

  Starring: Wu Nien-jen, Issey Ogata, Elaine Jin

  Why You Should See It

• Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain)

  Directed by: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

  Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz

• Donnie Darko

  Directed by: Richard Kelly

  Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze

• In the Mood For Love (Fa yeung nin wa)

  Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai

  Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai
• 

  The Lord of the Rings

  Directed by: Peter Jackson

  Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

  Why You Should See It

• Memento

  Directed by: Christopher Nolan

  Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

• Mulholland Drive

  Directed by: David Lynch

  Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring,

• The Royal Tenenbaums

  Directed by: Wes Anderson

  Starring: Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow

• The Pianist

  Directed by: Roman Polanski

  Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Fox

• Y Tu Mama Tambien

  Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

  Starring: Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna

• City of God (Cidade de Deus)

  Directed by: Fernando Meirelles

  Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino De Hora Phellipe, Seu Jorge
• 

  Elephant

  Directed by: Gus Van Sant

  Starring: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson

  Why You Should See It

• Finding Nemo

  Directed by: Andrew Stanton

  Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres

• 

  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

  Directed by: Adam McKay

  Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate

  Why You Should See It

• 

  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

  Directed by: Michel Gondry

  Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet

  Why You Should See It

• Shaun of the Dead

  Directed by: Edgar Wright

  Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

• Sideways

  Directed by: Alexander Payne

  Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen

• The 40-Year-Old Virgin

  Directed by: Judd Apatow

  Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Seth Rogen
• 

  Brokeback Mountain

  Directed by: Ang Lee

  Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal

  Why You Should See It

• A History of Violence

  Directed by: David Cronenberg

  Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris
• 

  Oldboy

  Directed by: Park Chan-wook

  Starring: Choi Min-shik, Kang Hye-jeong

  Why You Should See It

• Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

  Directed by: Larry Charles

  Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Kenneth Davitian
• 

  Children of Men

  Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

  Starring: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore

  Why You Should See It

• The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)

  Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

  Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muehe, Sebastian Koch

• Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)

  Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

  Starring: Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile)

  Directed by: Cristian Mungiu

  Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov
• 

  The Bourne Ultimatum

  Directed by: Paul Greengrass

  Starring: Matt Damon, Joan Allen, David Strathairn

  Why You Should See It

• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon)

  Directed by: Julian Schnabel

  Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze

• Michael Clayton

  Directed by: Tony Gilroy

  Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton

• No Country for Old Men

  Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

  Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin

• There Will Be Blood

  Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

  Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano

• The Dark Knight

  Directed by: Christopher Nolan

  Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

• Slumdog Millionaire

  Directed by: Danny Boyle

  Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto
• 

  WALL-E

  Directed by: Andrew Stanton

  Starring: Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Garlin

  Why You Should See It

• Avatar

  Directed by: James Cameron

  Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow

  Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

  Why You Should See It

• Inglourious Basterds

  Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

  Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent