The MoFo Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown

The Post sucked!

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Spotlight is worth it just to hear Micheal Keaton say "spotlight" in a Boston accent.

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Two very good movies with strong local interest for me. Neither made my ballot but a different Boston area movie did. Unsure if it shows.

I absolutely love Manchester by the Sea! Lonergan really knows how to pull off a very human film. I usually dislike when people cuss a lot in films but Lonergan always kinda gets away with it, not to mention he mixes the swearing with classical music, seemingly a total blasphemy, but oh boy if his films aren't special.

Spotlight is fine but I'd say its important message overshadows everything else to the point I'd call it a "substance over style" film, not unlike All the President's Men is one.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Of course Spotlight gets the spotlight in this thread.

A really well-made film on a very tough subject. It's an exercise in restraint, as we never get to see any of the events that happened, just hear all about them in gruesome detail. And frankly I'm relieved that's the case, since even hearing about them was stomach-churning at times as it is. It's so sad and depressing how normal these kinds of scandals are, and there still is a ton of work left to be done. The acting is perfectly understated, sticking to the harsh realism of the story while at the same time also showing how even the most hardered journalists will eventually start breaking. Sifting through all the same horror stories day by day isn't easy, and they are definitely heroes for undertaking this unglamorous task.

Didn't make my list nor was it a contender, but I still highly recommend it.

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So far, my second 25 is blowing the doors off my delivered ballot. 7 - 3.


Fully approve of three of the last four. Oddly, I enjoy Linklater, but never really connected with the "Before" franchise.

My list so far looks like this…

1. Will definitely make it
2. Will definitely make it
3. Will definitely make it
4. Will make it
5. Will definitely make it
6. Will definitely make it
7. Will probably not make it
8. Will definitely make it
9. Will probably make it
10. Manchester by the Sea (2016)
11. Before Midnight (2013)
12. Will make it
13. Will definitely make it
14. Will definitely make it
15. Will definitely make it
16. Will not make it
17. Will not make it
18. Will hopefully make it
19. Will not make it
20. Will make it
21. Will probably not make it
22. Ida (2013)
23. Will probably make it
24. Will probably not make it
25. The Raid 2 (2014)


Seen 35/38

20/34 seen
3/34 on my ballot


Yay! One from my ballot. Spotlight was my #21. I picked it because it was extremely memorable. That may be due to the the nature of the allegations uncovered in the story. I remember a scene with an old ex-priest talking about what he did and his lack of understanding of the pain that he caused his victims. It was chilling to see someone so out of touch with the nature of their wrongs. I am not even sure this scene was in this movie or in another film or documentary about child sexual abuse. Still it really stuck with me.


As for Manchester-by-the Sea, I didn't like it. I remember the horror of the fire scene and the depths of the main characters despair. And it may be this film's unrelenting grip on the pain of grief that had me disliking it so. No vote for me.

I won't get super into it, but some of Affleck's actions have kept me at a point where I don't want to look at him for an extended period of time (and, yeah, I'd even include Ghost Story in that ). So a bit like Gone Girl, it's this film I keep hearing great things about yet still have a really strong aversion to seeing.

I thought Spotlight was okay, but I kept thinking that I'd rather just be watching a well-researched documentary on the topic instead.

I don't want to insult anyone's film taste, but it would be one of the only films that would make me go "Really? Really?". Even the other films I haven't loved I could at least understand someone being passionate about. But I can't imagine someone's pulse quickening over Green Book. If it does make it I'll be very interested to hear from those who picked it what they liked so much about it.

• 64. Manchester by the Sea (2016) - Saw it during the awards season back then. I remember how heavily activated were the clappers about it. Well, it is OK film. - (68/100). Probably will make my top 70-75 of the decade.

• 63. Spotlight (2015) - I always try to avoid cartel commissions like hell, that's why skipped this one.

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Seen both.

Manchester is ok. I felt Williams, who is normally superb, was a little weak in this. Her crying scene felt forced.
You Can Count on Me remains Lonergan’s best.

Spotlight is my #13. An intelligent and well acted investigative journalism procedural, made all the more upsetting when you consider how factual it all is.

Manchester by the Sea was my number 3. Such a heartbreaker, but a super well directed and acted film. Was wowed by it in theaters and still wowed by it today. Affleck was so great in this.

I honestly can't believe I nailed the Manchester guess. I haven't even seen it. I was just going on awareness of Speling's hint patterns. But I'm on Spotlight right now, and believe me, this is very intriguing. I mean, I can't help but compare an investigation movie with Mark Ruffalo to Zodiac a little unfavorably, but I'm starting the third act and I can't wait to see what happens next.

By tonight I'll have seen 21/38.

Hints:

62.



61.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

62. Boyhood

61. Eighth Grade

61: The Favourite

62. American Hustle

64. Manchester by the Sea - This is one of the few films on my ballot that I've only ever seen once, but once is enough to confirm that Manchester by the Sea was one of the best films of the decade - a searing, emotional rollercoaster ride which just sticks in your heart. I could watch Casey Affleck in anything - I love him - but his role as Lee Chandler in this is probably his best, and his greatest performance. The story is absolutely heartbreaking, but the film successfully charges our emotions without bringing us down or making us depressed, instead highlighting depression and grief itself in a way that captivates and works on our empathy. Great screenplay and direction from Kenneth Lonergan, and I also have to highlight the performance from Michelle Williams. This film was way up in my #8 slot, and while I might have hoped it would have appeared higher, I still don't know how well regarded this film is amongst my fellow MoFos.

63. Spotlight - Seen this a couple of times and I think it's a gripping film and right up there amongst the best true story investigative journalist movies. I enjoy the way all of the journalists hunting down this story have absolutely no idea how big it is going to be, and how many priests have been sent to other parishes after molesting young boys and girls (mostly boys I think.) The shock that reverberates amongst all of them when they do uncover the numbers echoes this dismay of us all, and that feeling quickly shifts to anger when we realise that all of this was being swept under the carpet. So, that marks 3 Best Picture winners so far - Spotlight, The King's Speech and The Artist. I'll have to go back and check my predictions. Anyway, this one didn't make my list, but it's awfully good all the same.

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Seen 30/38
Films on my radar : 3
Films I've never even heard about : 5

Films from my list : 4

#64 - My #8 - Manchester by the Sea (2016)
#71 - My #12 - Ida (2013)
#93 - My #15 - It Follows (2014)
#96 - My #1 - Hereditary (2018)

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