The CS! AFI Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century - So Far

The list is made, thanks to the help of thebtskink. 

I'm currently searching for quotes to use for the CS! Voices, but since this iteration of the boards only goes back to 2014, if there are any pre-2014 movies y'all want to provide pull quotes for, I'd suggest going ahead and leaving them in this thread.

So as I'm putting the finishing touches on the first batch of ten, it needs to be known that due to some of the lists submitted, there had to be a change in the way the tallies and rankings for all of the films were done.  Initially, my plan was to use the same method from Drac's yearly Top Ten threads and total together each movie's number of points received based on a scale of 1-100, but instead, thebtskink came up with an averaging system to make up for the lack of certain movies on certain lists.

thebtskink, care to explain further?

Just to reiterate, these rankings were achieved via a point averaging system and not a point tallying one.  Also, big thanks to thebtskink for stepping in to help impartially come up with the final list. 

All plot summaries are plagiarized from IMDB.  The list will gradually be unveiled in chunks of ten movies.

Anyway, without further ado...

Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper's paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can't bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective is recruited to close the case.

CS! Voice: This is Seth Rogen’s Taxi Driver. He’s hilarious as a delusional, off his meds, mall cop obsessed with stopping a serial flasher. He alienates almost everyone around him and even gets into fist fights with Ray Liotta. But make no mistake. He’s the hero of the story. At no point does the movie laugh at him. He’s actually a really competent mall cop. Over the top? Yes. Moderately retarded? Perhaps. But he did catch that pervert. - Neverending

99. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

CS! Voice: I’m not going to sit here and pretend that Curse of the Black Pearl has any deep, underlying themes or that there’s any type of insightful commentary it has to offer on anything. It’s just a simple, straightforward adventure story – but one that’s done with a great amount of effort, skill and heart. This movie has no pretentions about itself; it just takes all the story elements and characters it has and works them into something that’s a fun and exhilarating ride from beginning to end. Actually, this movie is kind of like a delicately-stacked deck of cards. There are so many carefully handled nuances about the performances, the line deliveries, and the ways that certain scenes play out, that if you were to remove just one small thing, the whole structure would come crashing down. Building off that, I find that every time I watch this movie, it’s the more subtle touches that I get a kick out of the most, the kind of subtle touches of humor and character actions/reactions that are just as effective, if not more so, than the more obvious jokes and whatnot. For example, the way that Jack sarcastically offers Barbossa an apple, which Jack knows Barbossa won’t even be able to taste. Or the way that Barbossa rolls his eyes after futilely getting stabbed in the chest. Or the way Jack scolds Will under his breath when Will threatens to shoot himself at a key moment in the film. Moments like those are awesome, as are the bigger ones (WHY IS THE RUM GONE???), which work just as well. - PhantomKnight

98. Joker

In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

CS! Voice: Incredible movie. Give it all the fucking Oscars. 10 outta fucking 10. Yes.

...

Having slept on it, and now that the alcohol has worn off, I am revising my score down to 9.5/10. - Deexan

97. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.

CS! Voice: It's a film as close to perfect as a film can be. Hell, I think it might even BE perfect in my estimation. It's certainly the perfect Harry Potter movie. It occupies that wonderful middleground between dark and foreboding and playful and mischievous, marvelously capturing feelings of adolescence and gradual maturation. As such, it's a great coming-of-age tale while simultaneously being a great fantasy film. This goes beyond just my huge adoration for Harry Potter as a franchise.
If one of the measures of a great film is its ability to instill an unending sense of affection in you about it, then Prisoner of Azkaban checks all of the boxes for me, proving why I unquantifiably love it. - PhantomKnight

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.

CS! Voice: Can we live with our violent acts? Does a violent act change who we are, or is it a fundamental part of identity that exists within everyone? These are the questions David Cronenberg asks in his expertly crafted thriller/drama about a small town family man whose past comes into question after he stops an attempted robbery. As a work of filmmaking, this is excellent and the questions it asks really resonate. I can't think of another film that so perfectly captures the visceral rush of violence and the disturbing aftermath of it. The film also ends on a perfect scene. Nothing is said, but the few actions and looks between characters really resonate. - PG Cooper

95. Lost in Translation

A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.

CS! Voice: Really strong film debut for Sofia Coppola. So good it almost makes us forget her performance in "The Godfather Part III", almost. - SnoBorderZero

94. Requiem for a Dream

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

CS! Voice: It would be easy to get lost in the brutality and darkness found in Requiem, but it's important to step back and acknowledge how skilful the craft is. Though many of the elements can be difficult, one can see a clear vision coming through and the choices are intentional. Granted, maybe not every stylistic choice works perfectly, but things like the use of things like split screens and the hyper editing work very well. The editing in the third act, as all of the characters meet their fate, is truly masterful, expertly laying out the story in a rhythmic and emotional way. The performances are also great. Ellen Burstyn is often is singled out for her phenomenal work, but Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and Christopher McDonald are also of note. - PG Cooper

93. Nightcrawler

When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

CS! Voice: Yeah really liked this a lot as well, it just kept building and building and the atmosphere was excellent. I liked how this film utilized it's LA backdrop as more than just a setting; Bloom figures demographics, street routes, etc. into his plans and it makes the film feel so much more real. Definitely one of the best films of the year and a whole lot of twisted fun to boot. - SnoBorderZero

92. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.

CS! Voice: M:I 6 has turned out to be one of the best action movies in recent memory. Its the culmination of all that came before it: the intriguing plots, the spy gadgetry, and of course Tom Cruise's insistence in putting himself in preposterous stunt situations. And its all fantastic.

Remember when movies had spectacle? When they weren't just overwhelming you with CGI and mindless, structure-less action but actually caught you up in the moment and took you for a ride? Don't worry; they're still here. - IanTheCool

91. Spirited Away

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

CS! Voice: I had a somewhat mixed reaction to Spirited Away on a first viewing, but rewatching the film, I honestly don't really get why I felt this way. This is clearly one of Miyazaki's masterpieces; a beautiful exploration of identity, both that of a child growing up, and a nation struggling with its own past in modernity. Chihiro's struggle to hold onto herself while still growing is rendered brilliantly with her metaphorical fantasy adventure which proves completely gripping and the ending is about pitch-perfect in terms of mixing melancholy and wonder. There are also just so many fantastic scenes here, like No Face's endless consumption at the bathhouse. The highlight for me though is the train scene. Nothing happens, and it's perfect. Huge props to Joe Hisasihi, whose brilliant score adds so much to Spirited Away. Within Miyazaki's body of work, I still prefer Princess Mononoke, but Spirited Away is clearly an exceptional piece of filmmaking and this rewatch was something of a revelation. - PG Cooper