"Sounds like you like Josh Brolin" - Fans react after Matt Walsh names his top five films of the century

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh ignited widespread discussion on social media after he publicly responded to Quentin Tarantino’s list of the greatest films of the 21st century. These rankings, shared by the Pulp Fiction director in an interview on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast, sparked online discussion, later prompting Walsh to publish his own competing list.

The commentator wrote on X on December 3, 2025:

“Not sure about top 10 yet but the top 5 movies of the century must include (probably in this order): No Country For Old Men, Master and Commander, There Will Be Blood, Apocalypto. For the 5th spot I’ll accept Children of Men, Sicario, Whiplash, or The Assassination of Jesse James.”

Matt Walsh

@MattWalshBlog

Not sure about top 10 yet but the top 5 movies of the century must include (probably in this order): No Country For Old Men, Master and Commander, There Will Be Blood, Apocalypto. For the 5th spot Ill accept Children of Men, Sicario, Whiplash, or the Assassination of Jesse James

The list provided by Matt Walsh instantly gained the attention of netizens. Evaluating his choices, X users posted reactions that were a combination of humour, criticism, and approval. One user remarked:

“Sounds like you like Josh Brolin”

Tim Ryan

@TimRyanDOPEMAN

@MattWalshBlog Sounds like you like Josh Brolin💯

This remark cited the fact that Josh Brolin is featured in two of the top-rated movies Walsh mentioned, No Country for Old Men and Sicario, making the actor a noticeable common thread in Walsh’s top selections. Others commented:

Matt Mehan

@MTMehan

@MattWalshBlog You need at least one comedy, for the sake of the country, Matt.

CeeCee

@Orion_TatoChip

@MattWalshBlog I didn’t think anyone else had even seen Apocalypto. List is off to a great start. Though, I’d expect nothing less from Matt.

Miami Esquire

@EsquireMiami

@MattWalshBlog Matt, that is a great list but as good as there will be blood was because of the incredible acting but the Lord of the rings trilogy has to be up there as well as Gladiator.

Several responses also echoed a strong appreciation for two of Matt Walsh’s top titles, while offering their own replacements.

Max Torque

@TapeTorque

@MattWalshBlog one of the most underrated movies of all time great cinema leaves you thinking

Facts Merchant

@FactsMerchant

@MattWalshBlog Excellent top 5. I'd include Michael Clayton though.

Eric Pistey

@shawnpisteySC

@MattWalshBlog All very good films. There will be blood and No Country for Old Men are masterpieces.

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Matt Walsh reacts to Quentin Tarantino’s Top-10 movie list

Matt Walsh extended the conversation to YouTube by releasing a video titled Quentin Tarantino’s Movie Rankings Are Wildly Wrong. Here’s What He Missed. The political commentator took the opportunity to elaborate on his opinions about contemporary cinema to his audience, specifically targeting the top-ten list in Tarantino's films.

In the video, Matt Walsh broke down Tarantino’s choices one by one. He noted that while the director’s rankings featured many critically acclaimed 21st-century titles, the list also reflected Tarantino’s well-known tendencies toward genre experimentation and auteur-driven filmmaking. The Kill Bill filmmaker's ranking outlined ten films he considered the most significant of the 21st century so far.

Quentin Tarantino named Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down as his top film of the 21st century. He said about his first pick:

“I liked it when I first saw it, but I actually think it was so intense that it stopped working for me, and I didn’t carry it with me the way that I should’ve.”

The filmmaker added:

"I think it’s a masterwork, and one of the things I love so much about it is […] this is the only movie that actually goes completely for an ‘Apocalypse Now’ sense of purpose and visual effect and feeling, and I think it achieves it."

His list further placed Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3 firmly at No. 2, followed by Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation at No. 3 and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk at No. 4. At No. 5, he included Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, a film also referenced prominently in Matt Walsh’s own selections.

The list continued with David Fincher’s Zodiac at No. 6, Tony Scott’s Unstoppable at No. 7, and George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road at No. 8. Rounding out the rankings, Tarantino placed Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead at No. 9 and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris at No. 10.

Walsh argued that while many of these films held significant artistic and cultural value, the list overlooked several titles he believed had a deeper narrative impact and a stronger influence on modern cinematic storytelling.

"He has his interesting things to say about movies, as you would expect. But I have to say this list is a mess... This list is a bit of an atrocity. I don't know. I think Tarantino maybe was overthinking a bit here. That's my guess. Got up in his own head, ended up listing Toy Story 3 as the second- bestfilm of the century. I don't know if he was confused or having a stroke or something while he said that," Walsh said.

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Throughout his critique, Matt Walsh contrasted Quentin Tarantino’s preferred films with those he highlighted in his own X post, emphasizing the standard by which 21st-century cinema is judged.