The Aughts in Movies: 100-96

The Aughts have come and gone, and that means lists of every damn thing under the sun.  My primary focus is movies, so that's where I'll start.  Of all the movies I've seen this decade, I've paired my list down to 100 (could've probably made it smaller, but 100 is a good number and it'll make for quite a few posts).  Now certainly, there are movies that I haven't seen that might potentially wind up on this list later, and still others whose absence you might find egregious.  Tough.  This is my list.  If you don't like it, go make your own.  Here's what I'll do.  Five movies a day throughout January 2010.  20 posts, 100 movies.  Let's get crackin', shall we?

100.  Cloverfield 
(Matt Reeves, 2008)

It's a simple enough concept.  Take a modern spin on the kaiju monster film and tell it through the lens of a group of 20-something hipsters with a video camera.  The gimmick works more often than not, and there are some genuine scares to be found.  As far as these camcorder flicks go, Cloverfield is head and shoulders above the rest.

99. Team America: World Police 
(Trey Parker, 2004)

It's a real shame that Trey Parker and Matt Stone seem to hate the filmmaking process so much; when they do make a movie, it's hysterical.  As utterly ridiculous as the film is, the puppetry is top-notch, and Bill Pope's cinematography turns this silly puppet show into something as visually stunning as it is obnoxiously crass.  If Team America had been a musical (and it very nearly is), it would've been even better.

98. Kung Fu Panda 
(Mark Osborne/John Stevenson, 2008)

  After some ten years of truly groan-inducing animated films, Dreamworks drops Kung Fu Panda on us.  I was elated to find that Kung Fu Panda is every bit as good as some of Pixar's work, and infinitely better than most Dreamworks films.  The fluidity of the animation, a timeless story with a decent message, and one of Hans Zimmer's best scores all help make this one of the most fun animated films of the decade.

97. Millions 
(Danny Boyle, 2005)

Between Danny Boyle's zombie movie and his Oscar winner, this one got lost in the shuffle, but it's every bit as good.  The story of a kid consulting the saints on how to spend his found million dollars is a simple enough one, but Boyle paints a multi-faceted portrait of greed, honesty, naivete, and a truckload of other personality traits.  And if you're in the right mood, Millions even works as a Christmas movie.

96. Drag Me to Hell 
(Sam Raimi, 2009)

As entertaining as his Spider-Man films are, Sam Raimi's expertise is in horror, and his little PG-13 grossout flick was a breath of fresh air in a genre overstuffed with J-horror remakes and increasingly lame slasher flicks.  Drag Me to Hell is a ton of disgusting, goofy fun, and proof that Spider-Man hasn't dulled Raimi's style.

Keep an eye out for 95-91 in the next day or two.