The MoFo Millenium Top 100 Countdown

[Thursday Next]

I love Donnie Darko. The mystery, the suspense, that hint of surrealism, the humor... they all come together in the most fantastically entertaining way.

^This

I didn't love Donnie Darko the first time I saw it, it was weird and a little creepy and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but I ended up thinking about it a lot and rewatching, and now I like it a lot. As skepsis says it has humour and suspense, mystery, surrealism, there's also a dash of romance and sci-fi and a whole lot of 80s nostalgia and a really great soundtrack. I had it at #13 on my list.

[rauldc14]

I'd like to see another film on the list today :p

[gandalf26]

Think Donnie Darko and Zodiac are both good films that deserve to be on the list but nowhere near as high as they are.

Especially Zodiac, I only watched it once and found it a little boring, especially the ending. I think I was expecting another Seven so perhaps thats why.

Need to add Zodiac to the "watch again and see if I like it better list".

[Miss Vicky]

Especially Zodiac, I only watched it once and found it a little boring, especially the ending. I think I was expecting another Seven so perhaps thats why.

There are a lot of words I would use to describe Zodiac, but boring isn't one of them. Did you go into the movie not knowing anything of the history behind it?

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/return-ok1_zpsaf9a801f.jpg
# 14
The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King
(2003, Jackson)

155 points

[Brodinski]

Thank Photobucket for just the one pic. Other one got lost amongst the 100s others out there and I don't have the time nor the patience to look for it.

**** Photobucket.

[JayDee]

Oh there's a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a top 10 spot at least for RotK, perhaps even challenging in the top spots.

[donniedarko]

As I've stated earlier while IMO all the LOTR movies are a bit of a bore, they are well made. I don't remember each different one specifically, so I can't say which one is better than the other ones

[TheUsualSuspect]

That's going to be Fellowship.

[Guaporense]

Compare to this this ranking of the top 100 films from (http://worldsbestfilms.blogspot.com.br/2009/07/top-ranked-films-by-year-2000s.html):

This ranking was an aggregate of many rankings found in english speaking sites.

1. Spirited Away (2001) Miyazaki, Hayao #78
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) Jackson, Peter #79
3. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) Jackson, Peter #92
4. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) Jackson, Peter #119
5. City of God (2002) Meirelles, Fernando #121
6. Mulholland Dr. (2001) Lynch, David #122
7. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) del Toro, Guillermo #125
8. No Country for Old Men (2007) Coen Ethan and Joel #133
9. Lives of Others, The (2006) von Donnersmarck, Florian Henckel #134
10. Pianist, The (2002) Polanski, Roman #142
11. There Will Be Blood (2007) Anderson, Paul Thomas #150
12. WALL-E (2008) Stanton, Andrew #155
13. In the Mood for Love (2001) Wong Kar-Wai #167
14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Gondry, Michael #169
15. Donnie Darko (2001) Kelly, Richard #178
16. Toy Story 3 (2010) Lasseter, John #180
17. Dark Knight, The (2008) Nolan, Christopher #189
18. Departed, The (2006) Scorsese, Martin #191
19. Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2008) Schnabel, Julian #194
20. Memento (2000) Nolan, Christopher #195
21. Ratatouille (2007) Bird, Brad & Pinkava, Jan #217
22. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Boyle, Danny #221
23. Amores Perros (2000) Inarritu #230
24. Social Network (2010) Fincher, David #235
25. Finding Nemo (2003) Stanton, Andrew & Unkrich, Lee #236
26. Million Dollar Baby (2004) Eastwood, Clint #237
27. Amélie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain,2001) Jeunet, Jean-Pierre #242
28. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Lee, Ang #244
29. Yi yi (2000) Yang, Edward #248
30. Incredibles, The (2004) Bird, Brad #252
31. Lost in Translation (2003) Coppola, Sofia #256
32. Children of Men (2006) Cuaron, Alfonso #258
33. Oldboy (2003) Park Chan-Wook #260
34. King's Speech (2010) Hooper, Tom #267
35. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) Tarantino, Quentin #286
36. Black Swan (2010) Aronofsky, Darren #287
37. Let the Right One In (2008) Alfredson, Tomas #288
38. Wrestler, The (2008) Aronofsky, Darren #292
39. Inception (2010) Nolan, Christopher #300
40. Up (2009) Docter, Peter #305
41. District 9 (2009) Blomkamp, Neill #309
42. Talk to Her (2002) Almodóvar, Pedro #316
43. Requiem for a Dream (2000) Aronofsky, Darren #322
44. Mystic River (2003) Eastwood, Clint #323
45. Downfall (2004) Hirschbiegel, Oliver #326
46. Inglourious Basterds (2009) Tarantino, Quentin #331
47. Y Tu Mamá También (2001) Cuarón, Alfonso #333
48. Brokeback Mountain (2005) Lee, Ang #334
49. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) Ki-duk Kim #349
50. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) Miyazaki, Hayao #350
51. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) Mungiu, Cristian #360
52. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) Tarantino, Quentin #362
53. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Eastwood, Clint #365
54. Star Trek (2009) Abrams, J.J. #372
55. Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007) Greengrass, Paul #374
56. Sideways (2004) Payne, Alexander #378
57. Prestige, The (2006) Nolan, Christopher #392
58. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) Campanella, Juan José #397
59. Sin City (2005) Rodgriguez, Robert #409
60. Adaptation (2002) Jonze, Spike #414
61. Before Sunset (2004) Linklater, Richard #416
62. Hurt Locker, The (2008) Bigelow, Kathryn #428
63. Gran Torino (2008) Eastwood, Clint #434
64. Persepolis (2007) Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane #435
65. Prophet, A (2009) Audiard, Jacques #446
66. Avatar (2009) Cameron, James #454
67. Waltz with Bashir (2008) Folman, Ari #474
68. Man on Wire (2008) Marsh, James #484
69. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Anderson, Wes #491
70. Hotel Rwanda (2004) George, Terry #498
71. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) Tarr, Bela & Hranitzky, Agnes #501
72. V for Vendetta (2005) McTeigue, James #504
73. Gladiator (2000) Scott, Ridley #515
74. Ghost World (2001) Zwigoff, Terry #517
75. White Ribbon, The (2009) Haneke, Michael #519
76. Milk (2008) Van Sant, Gus #522
77. Volver (2006) Almodovar, Pedro #523
78. Traffic (2000) Soderbergh, Steve #527
79. Hidden (Caché, 2005) Haneke, Michael #531
80. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Anderson, Paul Thomas #534
81. Grizzly Man (2005) Herzog, Werner #539
82. Once (2006) Carney, John #544
83. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) Banksy #556
84. Shutter Island (2010) Scorsese, Martin #565
85. Ponyo (anime, 2008) Miyazaki, Hayao #567
86. Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001) Anderson, Wes #570
87. In Bruges (2008) McDonagh, Martin #583
88. Queen, The (2006) Frears, Stephen #585
89. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) Weerasethakul, Apichatpong #588
90. Hero (02, Yimou) Yimou, Zhang #589
91. Gosford Park (2001) Altman, Robert #593
92. Russian Ark (2002) Sokurov, Aleksandr #596
93. This Is England (2006) Meadows, Shane #599
94. Winter's Bone (2010) Granik, Debra #602
95. Nobody Knows (2004) Kore-eda, Hirokazu #606
96. American Splendor (2003) Berman, Shari, and Pulcini, Robert #610
97. History of Violence, A (2005) Cronenberg, David #611
98. Class, The (2008) Cantet, Laurent #618
99. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Dayton, Jonathan & Faris, Valerie #622
100. Squid and the Whale, The (2005) Baumbach, Noah #623

At least Spirited Away received more due recognition in this rank. Interestingly, in all film ranks Spirited Away (which is my favorite film from the decade) is ranked higher than in this (in the Sign and Sound 2012 poll, Spirited Away was ranked 4th in the decade, at the IMDB, at 8th, at metacritic at 4th and here at around 25th??).

[The Rodent]

Agree, Fellowship has a spot in the Top 10... no way will it be 11th, 12th or 13th.

I had all three LOTR in my list and had them all quite high.

Batman Begins has been out at #52, so I reckon The Dark Knight is up soon, maybe in 10th or 9th.
I reckon There Will Be Blood will break the Top 10 as well.

So there's 3 predictions from me for the Top 10. Blood, TDK and Fellowship.

[Sexy Celebrity]

89. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) Weerasethakul, Apichatpong #588

Thank God this wasn't on the MoFo list. I don't even know if you could understand this film even if you toked up to it.

[Skepsis93]

Oh there's a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a top 10 spot at least for RotK, perhaps even challenging in the top spots.

I was expecting it around here. Fellowship with be extremely high, #3, #2 maybe.

ROTK was my #4, and it was the only LOTR on my list. I rewatched them soon after I submitted mine, and they would have all found a spot after that.

[Guaporense]

Yeah, I'd certainly encourage people to try lots of different types of foreign films. At the same time, I don't think it's wrong to think or say that most great films are made in the United States. I don't think it's mysterious or controversial, either: it's a statement about the economics of the industry, not a claim about the superior creativity of Americans.

I have already dealt with the economics of the industry in my post. The fact is that billions of dollars are spent outside of English speaking countries in making movies every year. The US film industry has "only" 60% of the money, not 95% as you appear to believe.

Filmmaking is a collaborative process, so it has to gravitate towards where the money, labor, and expertise is. Lots of foreign filmmakers come here to make their movies. Lots of good ideas and talented people come here to contribute to the industry. What does it really even matter how the film is produced or distributed, anyway? I mean, Guillermo del Toro's from Mexico, but he makes "American" films, in the sense that they're largely made and financed here.

Foreign movies can have budgets of over 100 million dollars in many cases.

Usually a budget of 5 million dollars is more than enough to make a great movie: Seven Samurai was made on a budget of 5 million dollars, corrected to present value. While nearly the same time Hollywood was spending 125 million dollars on Ben-Hur.

I know all the industry statistics. My argument is that given the industry statistics we would expect about 40-50% of all great movies to be made in the US and 60-50% to be made outside of the US. Given that 80% of all movies are made outside of the US but on a smaller average budget (15 million is the average budget of an US movie compared to 2 million of an average non-hollywood film).

World wide gross is about 29 billion dollars in 2009, of which Hollywood made films made 18 billion and 11 billion were foreign films.

To be a great foreign film, then, usually means to be good enough to be produced in America, but to not actually have it happen for whatever reason.

??????????????

Didn't follow it. Akira Kurosawa's films were all made in Japan, as the most glaring example. All of Tarkovsky films were made in Europe. All of Bergman's films were made in Europe. I can go on and on.

For example, because the director in question hasn't established themselves yet. Or because, in rarer cases, there's not as much of an audience for it here.

Or maybe because there are film industries in other countries! Again, there are billions of dollars being invested into making movies in other countries as well.

The mathematics of the world film industry are as follows:

1 - 80% of all movies are foreign films
2 - 40% of the world film gross is made by foreign films

There is also the fact that today most hollywood films tend to be too commercial and have little creativity, as they aren't willing to take risks. While foreign films have smaller restrictions to make more audacious films.

Most of my favorite movies are US films but that's because most movies I have watched were US made.

[Pyro Tramp]

I like that list. More agree with than disagree with.

Let's see how this one shapes up

[The Rodent]

The mathematics of the world film industry are as follows:

1 - 80% of all movies are foreign films
2 - 40% of the world film gross is made by foreign films




By what standpoint do you class a film as "Foreign"?
For me, Hollywood movies are foreign, because I'm British.

So technically, I could say that foreign movies have the largest budgets out of any and all movies from anywhere else in the world.

[Miss Vicky]

At least Spirited Away received more due recognition in this rank. Interestingly, in all film ranks Spirited Away (which is my favorite film from the decade) is ranked higher than in this (in the Sign and Sound 2012 poll, Spirited Away was ranked 4th in the decade, at the IMDB, at 8th, at metacritic at 4th and here at around 25th??).

So what?

The whole point of compiling this was to create a list that represented the tastes of MOFOs. Not anybody else. And, since the votes of those MoFos who participated put Sprited Away at #26, that's exactly where it should be.

As for the latest entry: Not sure if I've seen it but I am sure that if I did see it I didn't like it.

[The Rodent]

True, IMDb and other lists, rankings etc rate Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Avatar, Titanic and Skyfall as the highest grossing films of all time.

Doesn't mean they're any good though. It's all dependant on who made the list and the circumstances surrounding the parameter of the list.

I mean, the highest grossing comedy of all time is Home Alone... yet there are hundreds if not thousands of comedies that are better movies overall and funnier too.

Another example is that IMDb's Top 250 is topped by The Shawshank Redemption... I rated it at 100% myself, but it didn't even make my own personal Top 100.

The MoFo Top 100 is exactly as Miss Vicky said... The MoFo Top 100, based on the majority of votes by MoFos.

[Yoda]

I have already dealt with the economics of the industry in my post. The fact is that billions of dollars are spent outside of English speaking countries in making movies every year. The US film industry has "only" 60% of the money, not 95% as you appear to believe.
I didn't mention any number, so I'm not sure how I "appear to believe" that. The only premise I'm operating under is that the United States has a disproportionate ability of to fund and produce movies, and that this makes it a natural destination for foreign directors to gravitate towards, which explains why it produces a disproportionate number of high quality films.

Foreign movies can have budgets of over 100 million dollars in many cases.
Usually a budget of 5 million dollars is more than enough to make a great movie: Seven Samurai was made on a budget of 5 million dollars, corrected to present value. While nearly the same time Hollywood was spending 125 million dollars on Ben-Hur.
I'll take these two together, because they share a common problem: I'm talking about aggregates, and you're talking about specifics. Of course foreign films can have budgets over $100 million (though how often? Seems awfully rare to me). And of course low budget films can be great. This isn't about what's possible, it's about what's more or less likely.

If I told you that smoking was bad for you, it wouldn't be a valid counterargument to tell me about how your grandfather smoked a pack a day and lived to be 98, for example.

There's a fundamental problem with most forms of anecdotal evidence, particular this kind: you don't see the failures. For every Seven Samurai, there are scads of low budget failures whose existence you and I never even become aware of, because they're not good enough to get our attention. This creates an asymmetry in our conception of the probabilities, because only the exceptions, by definition, are brought to our attention.

I know all the industry statistics. My argument is that given the industry statistics we would expect about 40-50% of all great movies to be made in the US and 60-50% to be made outside of the US. Given that 80% of all movies are made outside of the US but on a smaller average budget (15 million is the average budget of an US movie compared to 2 million of an average non-hollywood film).
Isn't that the point, though? ou're saying the average budget of an American film is over 7 times that of a movie produced elsewhere, and that a country that accounts for only a fifth of the films made should also account for half of the great films made. That's precisely what I'm getting at: the correlation between funding and quality.

??????????????

Didn't follow it. Akira Kurosawa's films were all made in Japan, as the most glaring example. All of Tarkovsky films were made in Europe. All of Bergman's films were made in Europe. I can go on and on.
Again, these are anecdotes; they tell us little of broad trends and general correlations.

That said, how long would this list be if it were restricted to modern directors? Would Kurosawa only make Japanese films today, or would he be more like Ang Lee? Would Bergman only make European films, or would he be more like Herzog? Part of what I'm talking about is made more common and more plausible in the modern world, where money and production can move around more easily.


There is also the fact that today most hollywood films tend to be too commercial and have little creativity, as they aren't willing to take risks. While foreign films have smaller restrictions to make more audacious films.
Such is the cliche. But I think it's a simplistic one. Being constrained by not having enough funding isn't necessarily any better for an artist's vision than being constrained by having to make something with broader appeal. How many visions are compromised right out of the gate because a director knows they can't possibly make, say, an historical epic on the scale they might like?

Finite resources constrain filmmaking, period. Everyone notices this when it happens because of studio pressure or the desire to be "commercial," but nobody considers the way it happens when a budget is tight, or a filmmaker doesn't even bother to develop an idea they know they can't fund. But that impedes creativity, too. And as I mentioned before, it does it in an asymmetrical way, because we never see those constraints.

[rauldc14]

Return of the King is easily my favorite of the LOTR trilogy and has been growing and growing as a favorite film of mine. No, it wouldn't crack my top 25 of the decade, but it would probably have a chance to make my next top 100 of all time.

So what?

The whole point of compiling this was to create a list that represented the tastes of MOFOs. Not anybody else. And, since the votes of those MoFos who participated put Sprited Away at #26, that's exactly where it should be.

As for the latest entry: Not sure if I've seen it but I am sure that if I did see it I didn't like it.

Spirited Away would have been higher had I seen it prior to film voting, cause it would have received quite a bit of points from me.

[Miss Vicky]

Spirited Away would have been higher had I seen it prior to film voting, cause it would have received quite a bit of points from me.

But you didn't.

If the lists were being submitted today, it would rank even higher because then Guaporense could submit a list, too. But that didn't happen.

Therefore it's still exactly where it should be.

There are tons of ifs that we could apply to this situation, but none of those ifs actually happened so they're irrelevant.

[rauldc14]

All I'm saying is if these lists were resubmitted now, there would already be much different results. But that's the fun of it all.

[rauldc14]

Anyways, I'm sitting on 10 nominated films that have made it, and I figure 3 more will make it. Fairly confident I will have 13. I plan on doing a mass writeup of all my nominees once this is all concluded as well as including what my top 25 would look like now (which it would be different).

[Tyler1]

Donnie Darko...?!?! Mofo are you kidding me?

[donniedarko]

Donnie Darko...?!?! Mofo are you kidding me?

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/31056298.jpg

[HitchFan97]

Donnie Darko snuck onto my list, at #25 I believe. Glad to see it here, though a later Kelley film, The Box, is a pretty strong candidate for the title of worst film ever made.

Surprised ROTK isn't higher. I thought it might have outranked Fellowship and gotten into the top ten.

[Godoggo]

Donnie Darko is a film that I was nuts about when I first saw it. I've cooled towards it through the years, but I still like it. I feel more nostalgic towards it than actually think it's a great movie. Love that soundtrack, though.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/up-ok_zps5e6732d2.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/up-ok1_zps91699c7e.jpg
# 13
Up
(2009, Docter & Peterson)

161 points

[Skepsis93]

About time! Not quite my favorite animated film, but definitely my favorite Pixar.

[Tyler1]

Every Pixar movie is magical, and this one is no exception.

[donniedarko]

I've never seen Up

Blasphemy

[Yoda]

Well, there it is. With this, my top six films have all been represented. And yes, this was my #1.

Why? Well, you'll find out a lot more about that sometime in 2013, when I finally publish my 7,000 word multimedia monstrosity of an essay about the film, but trust me: it's deep. Everyone remembers That Sequence, that 4 minutes and 18 seconds early in the film, but just as much care went into the rest of it. The motifs are established early and recur throughout, and there are lots of little narrative easter eggs tucked away in almost every scene. Half of what I ended up writing about is stuff I discovered after I started writing, while rewatching it. The list of hidden meanings and artful touches just kept growing.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/resize/phpThumb.php?src=/images/essays/breakdown-up/resize/SS-2010-07-30_18.40.17.jpg&w=390 http://www.movieforums.com/community/resize/phpThumb.php?src=/images/essays/breakdown-up/resize/SS-2010-07-30_18.49.25.jpg&w=390

When it comes to our favorite films, they're almost always a mix of craft and circumstance: they're usually very good, but so are lots of other films. What helps them stand out are the unique ways they connect to us, specifically. And that's the case with Up, which came along at a pretty significant point in my life, and therefore became a significant point in my life, for reasons I'll save for the essay's introduction.

It's smuggling ideas about the nature of life and its inherent connection to risk that are more nuanced and elegant than films made for most adults. It's just a beautiful, beautiful film.

[under0ath777]

Hallo! Good to be back.
Great list so far. A few blockbusters, a lot of foreign language, and the usual (Pixar:bored:), but the diversity of movies in here is quite refreshing. I was even surprised to see Solaris at 50, and was bewildered to see Unbreakable at 28 and Donnie Darko at 15.:eek: But since we're down to the last dozen, we can narrow it down to this:

Mulholland Dr, There will be blood , No Country for Old Men, & Eternal Sunshine are sure take a spot on Top 10. And at this point, Inglourious Basterds, Fellowship and Dark Knight seems inevitable. Also, I don't know but I'm getting a feeling we'll see In the Mood for Love & The New World high up, but I may very well be wrong.

My wild-cards (a bit far fetch but still.... I'm just rooting for this movies):
The White Ribbon, Far From Heaven, Yi Yi, & Dogville.

The rest is a mystery to me. Maybe some newer films. I expect some pleasant surprise but, God, please not Avatar.

[mark f]

Up is incredible (but it's no The Incredibles ;)) - it was just about at this positton on my list.

[The Rodent]

No surprise Up made it... surprised it didn't crack the top 10 though.

[Miss Vicky]

No surprise Up made it... surprised it didn't crack the top 10 though.

^This.

I voted for it at number 11.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Up was on my list, I have to ask everyone here.

Has any other film made you cry, tear up, within the first ten minutes? Up fits the bill there for me and not only is it a beautiful & colourful film, but it is a project that took guts to make. A kids film about a grumpy old man? Not really something that you'd think kids would want to see. Not to mention a flying house via balloons.

Love Up, love it to death.

[The Rodent]

I've had a tear or two at a movie, but not within the first ten minutes... I didn't cry at all at Up though.

Heavier films like The Passion Of The Christ is the sort of film that brings a tear to my eye.

I cried all the way through Star Wars Episodes I and II... but not for the reasons I was hoping to.

[mark f]

A Matter of Life and Death makes me cry from the moment David Niven and Kim Hunter talk to each other, about five minutes in.

[Yoda]

No, I don't think I've ever cried so quickly at a film before. I've cried at plenty, but not within the first 10 minutes. Not unless I'd seen it before.

My wife can't even watch Up. That's not an exaggeration. It's one of our favorite movies and she hasn't seen it in over two years.

[Miss Vicky]

I don't think any movie has made me cry so early on.


Heavier films like The Passion Of The Christ is the sort of film that brings a tear to my eye.

I wanted to cry during The Passion of the Christ, but that was mainly from boredom. (As a movie, that film is rather poorly constructed. It doesn't bother with character development at all. It expects its viewers to already be familiar with the story and to be able to fill in the information it witholds. As an atheist who has never attended church nor read the Bible, I wasn't getting the full story.)

[Gabrielle947]

oook,I'm adding "Up" to my watchlist now. :D

[honeykid]

Also, I don't know but I'm getting a feeling we'll see In the Mood for Love & The New World high up, but I may very well be wrong.

My wild-cards (a bit far fetch but still.... I'm just rooting for this movies):
The White Ribbon, Far From Heaven, Yi Yi, & Dogville.

None of those films are going to appear.


Has any other film made you cry, tear up, within the first ten minutes?
I don't think so and neither did Up. However, had it stopped after those 10 minutes, it would've been a much better film. I'm surprised, and slightly pleased, that it didn't make the top 10. On the other hand, what the hell have you people voted for to make the top 10? It could turn out that I'd rather have Up there. :D

[Miss Vicky]

On the other hand, what the hell have you people voted for to make the top 10?

We still have one LOTR movie that hasn't made it, plus there's Eternal Sunshine, The Departed, The Dark Knight, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men that are pretty much guaranteed to make it. So that's half the remaining list. Not sure what the other half will be.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I finally thought to myself when I saw Return of the King pop up that Up wasn't going to be #1, like I had predicted. I am surprised, though, that it's not even in the top ten.

This movie is good and it made me sad for various reasons, but it wasn't all-the-way good. The best parts of Up for me were the beginning and ending -- the middle, when they're at Paradise Falls (I think that was the name?) ... I didn't like the middle so much, which is the bulk of the movie. Wasn't fond of the bad guy and his posse of dogs.

It's an extremely gorgeous movie on Blu-ray, though. One of the best I've seen.

This was #16 on my list.

[HitchFan97]

We still have one LOTR movie that hasn't made it, plus there's Eternal Sunshine, The Departed, The Dark Knight, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men that are pretty much guaranteed to make it. So that's half the remaining list. Not sure what the other half will be.

Mulholland Drive, Inglourious Basterds, City of God, Amelie, Lost in Translation, and The Hurt Locker.

I guess this means no Pixar in the top ten :eek:

[JayDee]

I really, really need to watch Up again at some point fairly soon. Only seen it once and while I did very much enjoy it I didn't get that immediate reaction of 'masterpiece!' that I did with the likes of Wall-e, the Toy Story trilogy or Monsters Inc.

[Godoggo]

Up was on my list, I have to ask everyone here.

Has any other film made you cry, tear up, within the first ten minutes?

I can't think of any. That is not the only part of Up that makes me cry either. There are four or five more scenes that get me everytime.

I'm disappointed that Up isn't higher. It's most likely the last movie to make it from my list (I had it at number seven) and from here on out I doubt I'll like anything as near as I do Up.

***Actually, I may have spoke too soon. I think one more from my list still has a fighting chance.

[gandalf26]

I'm going to have to catch "Up" on some of the top animated movies of the new millenium that I've missed.

[donniedarko]

I'm going to have to catch "Up" on some of the top animated movies of the new millenium that I've missed.

Boo! Get off the stage

[Daniel M]

Up not being in the top 10 is pretty surprising, a delightful film, my second favourite Pixar film behind Wall-E.

Most of the recent films on here I think I've liked actually, but surprised that some of these films haven't made it on to the top 10 or even 5.

[MovieBuffering]

Oh Pixar. I hope they get back to the beautifully original films they have made. Hopefully they never touch the cars franchise again. Those are purely money grabs. I had high hopes for Brave, seeing as to how it was an original Pixar movie in the vein of Wall-e, Ratatouille and Up. That thing fell on it's face however, such a silly route to go with the story imo. Not to say it was horrendous but not up to the bar Pixar has set, which is mighty damn high.

However back on topic about Pixar's Up. I believe Wall-e, Ratatouille and Up are Pixar's 3 best films imo (minus Toy Story which is my favorite for nostalgic reasons, I was 8 when it came out). All beautifully crafted original films with something to say behind them. Ratatouille tops the list for me for some reason. Just seemed to enjoy it the most.

[rauldc14]

Up made my list too. Such a fun film yet still with a true message. Up is #2 for me in terms of Pixar. Finding Nemo just a hair better overall in my opinion. But they are both brilliant.

[Thursday Next]

Has any other film made you cry, tear up, within the first ten minutes?

Does this make it a truly good film, though, or merely an expertly manipulative one?

[gandalf26]

For those of us in the UK, "Up" is actually on tv in 90 minutes at 6.30pm, BBC 1 or 2.

[The Rodent]

I've set a reminder for it... worth another look methinks. I'll try not to cry as well :suspicious:

[Godoggo]

Does this make it a truly good film, though, or merely an expertly manipulative one?

There are some really emotional films that can be accused of being manipulative, but Up isn't one of them.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/depart-ok_zps4614d96b.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/depart-ok1_zps3eed43df.jpg
# 12
The Departed
(2006, Scorsese)

161 points

[wintertriangles]

https://camo.phpbb.com/b74ad72384c6aa561e61c0bafe8dfc1837ba5b54/687474703a2f2f696d616765732e7a61617a752e636f6d2f696d672f766f6d69742d626f7930322d766f6d69742d70756b65 2d7369636b2d736d696c65792d656d6f7469636f6e2d3030303635332d6c617267652e676966

At least it didn't soil the top 10

[rauldc14]

Kind of a bit of a surprise that this didn't make the top 10 either. But it is a great film to be sure. Powerhouse performances from nearly everyone involved. And though many people probably wouldn't agree with me, I do think that this is Scorsese's best film that he has made. I believe this makes 13 of my 25 that have made the list, with 2 more to surely make it.

[Daniel M]

Really good, enjoyable fun is The Departed, a great film that I expected to be around about this position. No way is it Scorsese's best though.

[Guaporense]

No surprise Up made it... surprised it didn't crack the top 10 though.

Wall-E is generally considered superior and it didn't crack the top 20. I though it was the last Pixar film to make an appearance.

Up was excellent family entertainment as well, though. But I am not a big fan of the doll look of the CGI characters. Hand drawn animation looks much better for me.

The Departed was better, though it is not among my top favorites from the decade. The Aviator was better IMO.

[Miss Vicky]

Glad to see The Departed here (I voted for it at #7). Bit sad that it didn't crack the top ten, though. Such a great movie with excellent performances (even Mark Wahlberg, who I generally despise).


Wall-E is generally considered superior.

By who?

[The Rodent]

I'd say WALL-E is a better film than Up *ducks*
Just watched Up again on telly, really good film, very symbolic in places but WALL-E outclasses it in several areas.

The Departed... never seen it *ducks again*...
Marky Mark and Leo Di Caprio, not a fan of either of them... but to have both in the same film just put me right off.

[Miss Vicky]

I'd say WALL-E is a better film than Up *ducks*

Well of course there are some people that consider Wall E superior (and there's nothing wrong with that), but there's a big difference between that and it being "generally considered superior."

The Departed... never seen it *ducks again*...
Marky Mark and Leo Di Caprio, not a fan of either of them... but to have both in the same film just put me right off.

You really should fix that. When I went into this movie, I fully expected to hate it. Marky Mark is tied (with Orlando Bloom) for the position of my least favorite actor ever. I also really dislike Alec Baldwin and don't care at all for Matt Damon. At the time I wasn't much of a DiCaprio fan either. But I was more than pleasantly surprised. You really should give it a watch. You'll probably be surprised too.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I knew that was coming. I was going to post what I thought the last remaining movies would be and The Departed was one I suspected would be soon.

[The Rodent]

I can stand Damon and I love Nicholson, so I guess if I concentrate on those two, I might give it a go at some point. :up:

[The Rodent]

Has Avatar made an appearance yet?

[donniedarko]

Has Avatar made an appearance yet?
No

The Departed is a damn good movie, great cast, great action, and a fun plot

[Sexy Celebrity]

I couldn't get into The Departed but I'd like to give it another try.

[Yoda]

Re: Up and Wall-E. I actually checked when I read that, but decided not to reply. But for the record, Wall-E is a bit higher on Metacritic, a bit lower on Rotten Tomatoes, and very slightly higher on IMDB (8.5 to 8.3). So it's more or less a wash in consensus terms.

[TylerDurden99]

The Departed makes 16 films from my list, although I haven't watched it in about two years. I loved it the first few times I saw it, though, but definitely far from Scorsese's best work.

[HitchFan97]

Sweet, The Departed was in my top five. I was wondering when it'd show up. :)

[Tyler1]

Since The Departed is on the list, let's show some love for the Hong Kong film as well:
http://www.fzmovies.net/imdb_images/infernal.affairs.jpg

[Skepsis93]

The Departed certainly didn't blow me away but it's impeccably acted and directed, unsurprisingly given the talent. Very enjoyable.

11 spots left, then. At least 10 are locks I reckon.

Mulholland Drive
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Lost in Translation
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Amelie
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Dark Knight
Inglourious Basterds
City of God

Which leaves one. Children of Men? Little Miss Sunshine? The Hurt Locker? It'll be a shame to see two of those miss out, they're all great. Or it could be something completely unexpected.

[The Rodent]

I've said many a time... Spider Man 3 will take that last spot, Skeps.

[The Rodent]

Actually that last spot, if your 10 predictions are correct, may go to Avatar.

[Guaporense]

Well of course there are some people that consider Wall E superior (and there's nothing wrong with that), but there's a big difference between that and it being "generally considered superior."

Wall-E showed up 8 times in the critics top 10 lists in the Sign and Sound 2012 poll, compared to only one time for Up:

http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film/4ce2b8c558b63

http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film/4ce2b8c558855

And the NY times critic named Wall-E the top film of the decade (though in homage to all animated films released in the decade).

And I personally consider Wall-E slightly superior first because it had a greater emotional impact on me and second because it was more creative, at least its first half, and thus appers to be more "artistically" accomplished. Though both are among my top 30 favorite animated films.

Overall, Wall-E had a greater critical performance. Specially when one consider its long term critical impact (one should note that metacritic scores for less accessible movies tend to be lower than for more accessible movies).

Metascore:

Wall-E: 94% critics, 89% users
Up: 88% critics, 89% users

IMDB:

Wall-E: 8.5
Up: 8.3

Critics top 10 films of the decade:

http://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critics-pick-the-best-movies-of-the-decade

We have Wall-E at 11th place, tied with several others, Ratatouille at 26th place, also tied with several others. Up doesn't show up. Though Up was released in late 2009 and therefore may be to early to be taken in consideration by critics.

Overall Wall-E appears to be considered superior.

[Yoda]

The NY Times Critic thing is pretty much meaningless; it's one person which is presumably reflected in the aggregates. And those are what matter, because we're talking about aggregate opinion. And as I already mentioned, they're roughly a wash. Metacritic has a tie among users and a slight edge for Wall-E among critics, but Rotten Tomatoes (which you conveniently omitted) has it the other way around, with Up leading. So all things considered, I suppose you'd say Wall-E was better received, but only slightly.

[Miss Vicky]

Wall E is considered superior by more film critics than Up. But viewers tend to find them about the same, even by your own citations.

"Wall E is generally considered superior" is a different statement than "Wall E is generally considered superior by film critics." The first implies that Wall E is more loved in general than Up, while the second just states that it receives more critical acclaim. We're not critics. We're film lovers. So it should come as no surprise that Up would rank higher than Wall E. For many of us (including myself and, apparently, our admin Yoda), Up had a greater emotional impact than did Wall E. Your experience apparently was different, which is fine, both are excellent films and both got my vote for this countdown. But you really need to stop comparing this list to those compiled by film critics. They are entirely different.

I think you need to consider the connotations of the words you choose before you post.

[honeykid]

I do think that this is Scorsese's best film that he has made.
I know I've said some things on this site which many have disagreed with, but that's just plain wrong.

Wall E is considered superior by more film critics than Up. But viewers tend to find them about the same, even by your own citations.
I've not seen Wall E, because I can't think of a reason to do so, but this is how I perceive the two. Critics prefer Wall E, but the people prefer Up.

The Departed's ok, in fact, it's probably better than ok. I thought it'd figure top 15, though it wasn't on my list.

I think there'll be two more films from my list.

[Miss Vicky]

I think there'll be two more films from my list.

I strongly suspect that Eternal Sunshine will be the only other film from my list to make an appearance, making a total of only ten of my list to make the cut.

The others that made it:

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Quills
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Gladiator
Ratatouille
Wall E
Zodiac
Up
The Departed

[Sexy Celebrity]

Oh, let's not count how many movies from our lists made it anymore... 'cause I've gone and deleted my list again from PMs. I posted it somewhere in this thread, though... but I don't know which page.

[Sexy Celebrity]

How infuriating that Eternal Sunshine (which I'm sure will make it) is going to be so high. I think it will be #2. #1 will probably be Fellowship of the Ring.

[Miss Vicky]

How infuriating wonderful that Eternal Sunshine (which I'm sure will make it) is going to be so high. I think it will be #2. #1 will probably be Fellowship of the Ring.

;)

[donniedarko]

I know I've said some things on this site which many have disagreed with, but that's just plain wrong.

For me Scorsese's best highly differ from favorite. Shutter Island is my favorite, but not best by any means. Like wise IMO Raging Bull is his best, but not my favorite. As far as The Departed goes though, it's probably my second favorite, and around the third best.

Like wise to you I have found no reason to see Wall-E

[gandalf26]

The Departed certainly didn't blow me away but it's impeccably acted and directed, unsurprisingly given the talent. Very enjoyable.

11 spots left, then. At least 10 are locks I reckon.

Mulholland Drive
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Lost in Translation
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Amelie
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Dark Knight
Inglourious Basterds
City of God

Which leaves one. Children of Men? Little Miss Sunshine? The Hurt Locker? It'll be a shame to see two of those miss out, they're all great. Or it could be something completely unexpected.

Napoleon Dynamite ofc

[meatwadsprite]

# 16
Zodiac
(2007, Fincher)

138 points


Dang, I almost forgot how cool you guys were.

[Sleezy]

Quick notes about the last few films to pop up:

Donnie Darko - Own it; haven't watched it yet.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Mostly great film. Really affected me in the theater. Falling a bit out of favor in subsequent watches, however, as it is overly long with a tiresome dose of special effects.

Up - Very nice film. One of Pixar's best, but not as good as Monsters, Inc. or the Toy Story films.

The Departed - Incredibly frustrating film with a poorly executed, disjointed ending. Not a fan at all.

How wonderful that Eternal Sunshine (which I'm sure will make it) is going to be so high. I think it will be #2. #1 will probably be Fellowship of the Ring.

This.

I'm hoping it'll take the cake. It's #1 on my list. That film is perfect.

[Pyro Tramp]

The Departed certainly didn't blow me away but it's impeccably acted and directed, unsurprisingly given the talent. Very enjoyable.

11 spots left, then. At least 10 are locks I reckon.

Mulholland Drive
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Lost in Translation
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Amelie
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Dark Knight
Inglourious Basterds
City of God

Which leaves one. Children of Men? Little Miss Sunshine? The Hurt Locker? It'll be a shame to see two of those miss out, they're all great. Or it could be something completely unexpected.

They're pretty safe bets, Inglorious i'm not entirely convinced will come up as Kill Bill 2 hasn't yet and that was his best film of the last decade :p Considering lesser Nolan's have shown up, think Memento is a shoe-in.

Surprised comedy hasn't really had a showing on the list, that I can recall. Was certain Borat would appear. Has Incredibles come in too? Definitely Pixars best

[Skepsis93]

Considering lesser Nolan's have shown up, think Memento is a shoe-in.

Already appeared, number 17 or 18 if I recall.

[Brodinski]

Since The Departed is on the list, let's show some love for the Hong Kong film as well:
http://www.fzmovies.net/imdb_images/infernal.affairs.jpg

Disgrace that they put 'the movie that inspired The Departed' on the poster. Infernal Affairs is clearly superior.

[Pyro Tramp]

Ah damn. Hard to keep track of the list with all the pages of comments between each entry.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/children-ok_zps22aa6787.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/children-ok1_zps74fd9f4d.jpg
# 11
Children of Men
(2006, Cuaron)

164 points

[JayDee]

Wow really wasn't sure that would still be appearing. Anyway an absolutely terrific film. May have come into contention for my list had I seen it in time


EDIT - Here's the little, very mini review I gave it a few months back


An absolutely fantastic film. Occasionally haunting, occasionally beautiful – it's always engrossing and riveting. It's all beautifully directed, including some harsh and brutal action scenes which really capture the fear of the situations. And it's all set in a terrifically realised world. Never mind Oscars, the people responsible for set design and art design deserve a f**king medal, it looks incredible and there is just so much detail. Powerful stuff and a must see film; right up there alongside Pan's Labyrinth as my top film of 2006. All of that despite the presence of Jude Law, one of the blander actors out there in my eyes. Though if I'm honest he does a good job here, probably my favourite performance I've ever seen of his.

[donniedarko]

I haven't seen it but I was counting it put for awhile now, pretty surprising to see It so close to the top ten.

[Skepsis93]

Told ya so. Like JayDee I saw it after submitting my list, probably wouldn't have snuck on there but would have come close. Terrific film, one of the only times I haven't found Clive Owen wooden and annoying.

[Sleezy]

Fantastic film. #15 on my list. I love it.

This is what I wrote about it way back in 2007 in the Movie Tab (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=364841):

Children of Men (Cuaron, 2006) 5

Four months ago, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post wrote:

"With its bleak palette of British blues and grays and its mournful conclusion, Children of Men can't be described as a feel-good movie, except to people who care deeply about the future of filmmaking. They'll walk out of the theater on air."

Well, I might not be walking out of a theater, but I feel like I've watched something that isn't just terribly haunting and poignant, but true. Children of Men is not science fiction. It's a quick dip into the darker side of humanity... which isn't so much a dark side as it is a deprived one. The world weathers us all as we grow older, but children remain ever innocent and joyous and free. They are our symbol of hope. They remind us of who we are, and why we must always strive to leave this world in better shape than how we found it. To lose our children means losing the spiritual, moral, and emotional ground on which we walk. The film begs the question, "What shall we do without the sound of a child's laughter?," and I have no answer.

I have no answer.

Still hoping to see Babel pop up. I doubt it will, but it's another unforgettable film that should be recognized.

[honeykid]

Children Of Men was a shoe-in on this site. Slightly surprised it didn't make the top 10, though, obviously, #11 is as close as you can get.

Not seen it, though I do have a copy. I remember this being absolutely slammed in the UK on its release. Mixed reviews at best, from memory. However, it's always been loved in the States.

[rauldc14]

Not that I want anybody to spill the beans right now, but it would be really nice to know how some of these films got so high. I mean, I definitely wouldn't have guessed Children of Men to have more points than Up, Return of the King, or Memento.

[Pyro Tramp]

A lot of key members here rate it highly and people may have tactically voted it against the more obvious choices

[stevo3001]

Not that I want anybody to spill the beans right now, but it would be really nice to know how some of these films got so high. I mean, I definitely wouldn't have guessed Children of Men to have more points than Up, Return of the King, or Memento.

Sci-Fi + dark + noted director= bizarrely high placing (see Unbreakable, Solaris, etc)

[Mr Minio]

Didn't like Children of Men. From the technical point of view it's pretty good, though.

[Sexy Celebrity]

This is the boring part of the countdown. Now it's just gonna be movies we're expecting to see.

[Daniel M]

When I did this thread, what I would have voted for - http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=29956 - I originally put No Country for Old Men as my number 1 pick, however now I think I'd actually prefer There Will Be Blood, Mulholland Drive or even Inglourious Basterds (which I love even more now). Although the top 10 should be predictable now I'm looking forward to seeing what's number one :P

[The Rodent]

This is the boring part of the countdown. Now it's just gonna be movies we're expecting to see.


Yeah, this is the part that the majority voted for... how boring ;)

[Sexy Celebrity]

Yeah, this is the part that the majority voted for... how boring ;)

Well, I mean, you can't expect something like Transformers or Jackass: The Movie to suddenly come out of nowhere now and surprise you. We've lost that element of expecting something random to show up.

[The Rodent]

I'm still holding hope for Spider Man 3 and Alone In The Dark.

[Yoda]

Brod might already do this, but I think he should probably post the last two back to back. Once we have all but the #1 movie, we'll easily be able to deduce what it is. But with the last two we can still wonder which of the two by-then-obvious choices will end up in which slot.

[HitchFan97]

I'll make a final prediction for the top ten, in order:

Mulholland Drive
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
There Will Be Blood
City of God
No Country for Old Men
The Dark Knight
Amelie
Lost in Translation
Inglourious Basterds

So The Hurt Locker gets snubbed; I figure it'll either be that, Lost in Translation, or Inglourious Basterds, but with the exception of the top two the order of the others I mentioned is anyone's guess.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I'm still holding hope for Spider Man 3

Better than the original, I think. Not as good as 2.

[Skepsis93]

I'll make a final prediction for the top ten, in order:

Mulholland Drive
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
There Will Be Blood
City of God
No Country for Old Men
The Dark Knight
Amelie
Lost in Translation
Inglourious Basterds

So The Hurt Locker gets snubbed; I figure it'll either be that, Lost in Translation, or Inglourious Basterds, but with the exception of the top two the order of the others I mentioned is anyone's guess.

I doubt The Hurt Locker will turn up now, which in a way is a shame because it's great, but I wouldn't say top 10 great. Here's my ordered prediction for the top 10 (in case you haven't already noticed, I love predicting things):

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Mulholland Drive
3. Amelie
4. There Will Be Blood
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
6. Inglourious Basterds
7. No Country for Old Men
8. Lost In Translation
9. The Dark Knight
10. City of God

[Sexy Celebrity]

I'm still hoping Brothers shows up.

[Skepsis93]

Yeah, and I'm still *hoping* The Savages, Before Sunset and Super show up.

[Miss Vicky]

I haven't seen Children of Men, but that's because there's absolutely nothing about it that interests me.

I was really hoping we'd see Milk make the cut, but at this point I'm sure it's a lost cause. Shame.

[honeykid]

I keep seeing City Of God in the predictions. I hope you're all right, it was on my list, but I'm starting to wonder if it'll show.

[Skepsis93]

I keep seeing City Of God in the predictions. I hope you're all right, it was on my list, but I'm starting to wonder if it'll show.

Eep. I hope it does. It would have been very high on my list (top 5, most likely) but I saw it after submitting.

[donniedarko]

Same I saw after submitting, after the list started to. It wouldn't be in my top 5, but it would sneak right into a cozy number 25 spot. Even though that wouldn't effect its positioning at all

[Godoggo]

I keep seeing City Of God in the predictions. I hope you're all right, it was on my list, but I'm starting to wonder if it'll show.

It's on mine as well and the last one I'm expecting to make the list. I have Lost in Translation as well, but I've given up hope for that one.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I was really hoping we'd see Milk make the cut, but at this point I'm sure it's a lost cause. Shame.

That or one of those Joaquin Phoenix vehicles I like, such as I'm Still Here or Two Lovers.

[Sexy Celebrity]

We should just do this whole thing over.

[rauldc14]

Lost in Translation will make it. Shamefully Mystic River won't. It should have at least made the list, much less in a good spot.

[TheUsualSuspect]

I think there will only be 3 on my list that don't turn up.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz

[Sexy Celebrity]

I think there will only be 3 on my list that don't turn up.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz

Please tell me that means you got more movies right than Sleezy.

[Miss Vicky]

That or one of those Joaquin Phoenix vehicles I like, such as I'm Still Here or Two Lovers.

Well I knew those two Phoenix flicks didn't have any hope of making it and I really would have been in shock if they had. I knew Quills, Gladiator and Signs were sure to make the cut. The only other one I thought might have any chance was Walk the Line, but clearly it's not going to make it now.

Milk, on the other hand, I thought might have a good shot. After all, it did receive nine Academy Award nominations, of which it won two (including Best Actor, Sean Penn) and was very relevant in terms of its message - especially given all that was happening (and is still happening) with California's Prop 8 and similar ballot measures. Oh well.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Right now I'm at 16 I believe. I'll have to look at the list again.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Milk was good when I first saw it. It's not something I've felt like going back to again and again, though.

There were a lot of gay themed movies that came out since 2000... Brokeback and Hedwig made it on the list... not sure if I'm forgetting something.

Milk may have been too historical. Most of the other gay films I can think of -- the mainstream ones, at least -- dealt with fictionalized stories. A surprisingly large number of them dealt with transsexuality -- Transamerica, Hedwig, Breakfast on Pluto. Gender bending seems to be the most popular way to explore homosexuality -- thus we have cult characters that live on forever like Frank N Furter of Rocky Horror and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Milk suffers from taking the exploration too seriously, I think. Just because it dramatized a current issue in America doesn't mean its a legendary piece of work. People want lies. Even Brokeback Mountain is a lie. There's no Jake Gyllenhaal cowboy out there romping around with another cowboy on some mountain. It's a fantasy. Transsexual movies are a fantasy -- they reduce gay men to the stereotypes. They keep gay = feminine. This is what people like the most, I think.

It's not that it's just this horrible thing to offend gay people -- it also allows everybody to explore their own issues with crossdressing, feeling like the opposite gender, or whatever. They are a type of "rebel" movie. Regular old gay movies with regular gay folk are boring and the same as straight people movies. Milk is such a film. Despite however many Academy Award noms and wins it may have had, it's a snoozer. You see it once, you applaud what it did, you go back to your business. Whereas with Rocky Horror Picture Show, you go back again and again in your Frank N Furter costume -- you become somebody that you can't be during the day. With Transamerica and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and To Wong Foo, you hitch a ride with your bold and beautiful and fearless girlfriends -- your gal pals on the road to anarchy and adventure. With Brokeback, you give yourself wet dream material as you imagine that sexy Jake Gyllenhaal is gonna come saddling up to you someday on a horse. With Milk, you learn about political gays in the 70's -- without even seeing any of the hot, no condom sex that was rampant in the gay community before AIDS hit. Without the gay discos and bathhouses and leather bars. Boring. It's an activist's movie -- that only goes so far. And it's based on real events. Not everyone can feel it deep in their bones. It reeks of, "We're doing this to get attention." Not, "We're doing this to scratch an itch you haven't been able to scratch."

[Miss Vicky]

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Milk. To me, it's not boring at all. The performances are all fantastic. The story itself is both inspiring and tragic. I don't think it's just "an activist's movie." I don't even see it so much as a "gay movie" but more a well constructed historical drama. It's my favorite movie of 2008, one of the strongest years for movies in recent memory.

As for the other films you've mentioned: To Wong Foo is amusing but empty. I hated Rocky Horror (musicals, ugh) and found it even more empty than Wong Foo. Brokeback is overrated, but culturally significant. Mrs. Doubtfire featured cross-dressing, but really didn't have anything to do with homosexuality at all. I haven't seen the others.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Milk. To me, it's not boring at all. The performances are all fantastic. The story itself is both inspiring and tragic. I don't think it's just "an activist's movie." I don't even see it so much as a "gay movie" but more a well constructed historical drama. It's my favorite movie of 2008, one of the strongest years for movies in recent memory.

As for the other film's you've mentioned: To Wong Foo is amusing but empty. I hated Rocky Horror (musicals, ugh) and found it even more empty than Wong Foo. Brokeback is overrated, but culturally significant. Mrs. Doubtfire featured cross-dressing, but really didn't have anything to do with homosexuality at all. I haven't seen the others.

Brokeback doesn't even feel so "culturally significant" to me. I guess it is in ways, but it's not the first time a gay movie had been made, it originally didn't even play in every theatre (it was limited) and the story wasn't really about regular Joes in the world who happened to be gay -- it was really some kind of odd, mythological thing about two lonesome gay cowboys in the worst place in America, trying to love each other, secretly. And it was a tragedy. In gay popular cinema, that's how it goes -- gay men are doomed to die or suffer (even in Milk - just because it's real, so what? -- the main character gets killed) while transsexuals are doomed to be stuck in cars, traveling across the country, or else they're on some other kind of lifelong adventure like Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto. Even Hedwig is a traveller and an autobiographical storyteller. Gay men die and suffer, transsexuals and drag queens travel. That's how popular cinema treats homosexuality. Gay men movies get your attention by moaning in pain, gender bending movies honk a horn at you ("Honk! Honk! We're a transsexual movie! Get in before we drive away!").

Who else watches Milk over and over again? I think it's a Miss Vicky thing. What moves you about it so much? Why are you drawn to go back to it again and again? Is it any of the actors? Is it because it gives you a sense of justice and things being right in the world? Do you feel a kinship with the people?

I do like the part where James Franco floats by naked in a pool.

[Miss Vicky]

Who else watches Milk over and over again? I think it's a Miss Vicky thing. What moves you about it so much? Why are you drawn to go back to it again and again? Is it any of the actors? Is it because it gives you a sense of justice and things being right in the world? Do you feel a kinship with the people?

Justice and things being right in the world? Seriously? Are you sure you watched the movie? Yeah Milk helped to defeat Prop 6, but the story sure as hell isn't an ode to justice. Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter despite it being, IMO, clearly a pre-meditated act. (For one thing, White reloaded his gun after he killed Moscone, which means he brought along extra ammunition.) He gunned down two people and for that served only five years in prison (after which he did the world a favor and killed himself).

I like that Milk is about an ordinary guy who didn't like what he saw in the world and actually did something about it. The Harvey Milk of the film (I say "of the film" because I didn't know anything about him prior to seeing the movie and haven't done a lot of research on the subject) is a very human, believable hero. He started off closeted. He was a republican. He didn't set out to go into politics. He loved photography and opened up a little camera shop to make some money doing something he enjoyed, but ended up making history - at great personal cost. At the same time, I think he was a little bit vain. I think that in addition to wanting to bring about change, he wanted and enjoyed the attention that it brought him. I wouldn't say that I feel a "kinship" with him or any of the characters and I have little in common with any of them but I find him - with all his flaws and insecurities - to be very relatable. Also, I have a fondness for tragedy and a sense of "realness" (whether the story be based in fact or fiction). I'm not a fan of fairy tale endings. Good doesn't always prevail. Not every hero gets a happily ever after. And this movie does well to reflect that.

One completely separate thing about this movie that appeals to me is that, like Zodiac, it's about real events that happened essentially in my backyard (though both before my time). I certainly don't spend a lot of time in San Francisco (actually I try to avoid it whenever I can), but I have gone there on many occasions, including a visit to the Castro district. So when I watch a movie like Milk or Zodiac, it's kind of a more personal experience for me than movies based in other locations.


P.S. - The thing that makes Brokeback culturally significant wasn't that it was a gay movie, but that it was a gay romance (albeit a tragic one) that gained recognition and acclaim from both critics and mainstream audiences.

[Sleezy]

Please tell me that means you got more movies right than Sleezy.

Right now I'm at 16 I believe. I'll have to look at the list again.

I'm at 16 right now too.

If the consensus predictions are right, I'll see three more on my list make it: (1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, (2) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and (3) No Country for Old Men.

I don't expect to see the rest of my list make it, but here they are anyway (in order of likelihood):

Little Miss Sunshine
Babel
28 Days Later
The New World
Sunshine Cleaning
Monsters

[Yoda]

I've got 13 so far and I think another 4-5 on my list will make it.

[Thursday Next]

13 for me as well, so far. I think there are two more on my film which will make it (City of God and Lost in Translation) with a couple more that have a very, very outside chance of sneaking in to the tenth spot if there's a major upset (I had originally thought Shaun of the Dead, 4 Weeks 3 Months and 2 Days, Moulin Rouge! and 28 Days of Later might find a place in the top 100 somewhere, since I know I wasn't the only person to vote for them).

Otherwise, I think the top ten will line up like this:

Eternal Sunshine
The Dark Knight
No Country For Old Men
The Fellowship of the Ring
Amelie
City of God
Mulholland Drive
Inglourious Basterds
Lost in Translation
and maybe Mystic River

...or possibly something else entirely. People have been saying There Will Be Blood but I wouldn't have imagined that getting this high. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Skepsis93]

12 thus far for me. If my prediction is right I'll finish with 17.

[rauldc14]

I think No Country for Old Men is next.

My last top 10 prediction (as the next one is 10 anyways):

10. No Country for Old Men
9. Amelie
8. There will be Blood
7. Lost in Translation
6. Inglorious Basterds
5. City of God
4. The Dark Knight
3. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
1. Mulholland Drive

[Sexy Celebrity]

Quickly updating this:


The Bourne Identity (100)

Iron Man (99)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (98)

Black Dynamite (97)

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (96)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (95)

Brotherhood of the Wolf (94)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (93)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (92)

American Splendor (91)

Spider-Man 2 (90)

The Darjeeling Limited (89)

The Artist (88)

Good Night, and Good Luck (87)

Quills (86)

The Help (85)

Lars and the Real Girl (84)

Monsters, Inc. (83)

Once (82)

The Wrestler (81)

Requiem for a Dream (80)

Synecdoche, New York (79)

Traffic (78)

King Kong (77)

Brokeback Mountain (76)

Brick (75)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (74)

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (73)

Gangs of New York (72)

Sunshine (71)

Man on Fire (70)

Gladiator (69)

Hero (68)

Road to Perdition (67)

Gone Baby Gone (66)

The Three Burials of Melquiadas Estrada (65)

Gran Torino (64)

Signs (63)

Tree of Life (62)

True Grit (61)

Sideways (60)

Werckmeister Harmonies (59)

Million Dollar Baby (58)

The Incredibles (57)

Sin City (56)

Adaptation (55)
American Psycho (54)

Juno (53)

Crash (52)

Batman Begins (51)

Solaris (50)

Drive (49)

Battle Royale (48)

Moon (47)

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (46)

Ghost World (45)

Finding Nemo (44)

Downfall (43)

The King's Speech (42)

Let the Right One In (41)

A History of Violence (40)

Wonder Boys (39)

Dancer in the Dark (38)

Ratatouille (37)

The Pianist (36)

Talk to Her (35)

The Lives of Others (34)

The Prestige (33)

Almost Famous (32)
The Fountain (31)

Punch Drunk Love (30)

Toy Story 3 (29)

Unbreakable (28)

The Royal Tenenbaums (27)
Spirited Away (26)
Black Swan (25)
Inception (24)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (23)
The Social Network (22)
Wall-E (21)
Oldboy (20)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (19)
Pan's Labyrinth (18)
Memento (17)
Zodiac (16)
Donnie Darko (15)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (14)
Up (13)
The Departed (12)
Children of Men (11)

Pink and blue to go!

[Sexy Celebrity]

Only 12 from my list made it so far... 12... that's less than Yoda.
- Adaptation
- Black Swan
- Sideways
- Wonder Boys
- The Help
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Brokeback Mountain
- Up
- Signs
- Spiderman 2
- Ghost World
- Inception

[ManOf1000Faces]

I don't need lists of movies.

I got 1.

No Country For Old Men.

[rauldc14]

I have 12 as well, what a small world. We only had 2 in common though.

[HitchFan97]

Wait, Mystic River hasn't appeared yet? Damn. That means two films that I assumed were shoo-ins are getting snubbed.

[rauldc14]

Other than me, Mystic River needed 13 points to make this list at all. And it didn't happen somehow :(

[Sexy Celebrity]

Wait, Mystic River hasn't appeared yet? Damn. That means two films that I assumed were shoo-ins are getting snubbed.

I know. It's glorious.

[donniedarko]

I thought Mystic River was going in too. I didn't have it on my list, but to think Gone Baby Gone did, and MR didn't is a bit shocking. They're equal in quality IMO, but Mysic River is far more acclaimed.

I've gotten ten from my list so far, I only think one more will make it now. I wouldve had Oldboy and COG on there if I watched them on time

[honeykid]

I'd have assumed that Mystic River would've made the 100, too. It still might, of course.

Are we sure Lost In Translation is going to make it? Did that many of you vote for it?

[TheUsualSuspect]

I didn't.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Mystic River is probably next.

[Miss Vicky]

I just watched The Artist.

It was entertaining and is a sweet little story, but I wasn't exactly blown away. Then again, I'm not much of a fan of silent film so I wasn't expecting to be blown away by it. I'm glad I gave it a shot, but if I were to re-do my own personal Millenium list, it still wouldn't be on it.

People have been saying There Will Be Blood Inglourious Basterds but I wouldn't have imagined that getting this high. We'll just have to wait and see.

Perceptions are funny things.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/amelie-ok1_zpsbaaf4de2.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/amelie-ok_zpsad48b62d.jpg
# 10
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
(2001, Jeunet)

166 points

[JayDee]

Well I know Brodinski himself isn't a fan but I'm delighted to see Amelie break the top 10. Just an absolutely delightful, beguiling experience. And Audrey Tautou's Amelie is just one of the most adorable and loveable characters ever. Just one of the best ever feel-good movies.

[Tyler1]

It's been years since I saw this film. Charming, witty, quirky, and Audrey Tautou's eyes sparkle like jewels set against the city of lights.

[Miss Vicky]

I don't get the love for this movie. I didn't care for this brand of "quirky" at all and it just came off as being essentially a live action cartoon. Also I found Amélie herself to be pretty creepy looking, tbh.

Oh well, one less contender for the top spot. Keeping my fingers crossed that #1 goes to Eternal Sunshine.

[Brodinski]

Well I know Brodinski himself isn't a fan but I'm delighted to see Amelie break the top 10. Just an absolutely delightful, beguiling experience. And Audrey Tautou's Amelie is just one of the most adorable and loveable characters ever. Just one of the best ever feel-good movies.

Didn't make me feel good. It's too much of everything.

[Skepsis93]

Another from my list. :up:

[Sexy Celebrity]

Oh, who cares about that broad? The movie didn't bother me when I saw it practically a decade ago (so I barely remember it now) but the gushy love for that young lady sure does. If it had been Jake Gyllenhaal traipsing through Paris, it would have been a different story for me. But little nymphs like Amelie don't give me oxygen and save me from suffocation in the polluted world we live in. Miss Vicky finds Amelie creepy looking, but I find everyone's obsession with her creepy. I just know from reading this forum over the years and from other places that most people tend to love that movie thanks solely to her. Well, toots just isn't my feel-good pill. When they make Amelie Falls Into a Meat Grinder, give me a call.

[gandalf26]

Lovely little film, not exactly my cup of tea but I really enjoyed it. Deserving of its place on the list but not quite so high. Same for Children of Men.

[Skepsis93]

I find everyone's obsession with her creepy.

If it had been Jake Gyllenhaal traipsing through Paris, it would have been a different story for me.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal

Righto.

[stevo3001]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/amelie-ok1_zpsbaaf4de2.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/amelie-ok_zpsad48b62d.jpg
# 10
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
(2001, Jeunet)

166 points

http://gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=398059&t=o (http://gifsoup.com/view/398059/team-america-puke.html) GIFSoup (http://gifsoup.com/)

[ManOf1000Faces]

Ilkka villi

Ilkka villi

Ilkka villi

Ilkka Villi


What about

Fear & Self Loathing In Las Vegas.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Righto.

In another universe (mine):

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=9854&stc=1&d=1357406205

This would have been #1, not #10.

[ManOf1000Faces]

No. Jake is no Frenchman.

here is a good French Actor

http://24.media.tumblr.com/61ed78b5f17477688051b4b92d4f30f6/tumblr_mfp9t3t8Cy1r1qubko1_500.png

[donniedarko]

Well we all were expecting this to crack in. Reading the synopsis though this truely doesn't seem like an intresting movie to me. If I watch it someday I'd be very surprised to like it

[wintertriangles]

Well we all were expecting this to crack in. Reading the synopsis though this truely doesn't seem like an intresting movie to me. If I watch it someday I'd be very surprised to like itYou should know as well as anyone a synopsis doesn't make or break any story.

[donniedarko]

You should know as well as anyone a synopsis doesn't make or break any story.

Am I the only one who thinks it sounds a lot like that Madeline film?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Madeline_movie_dvd.jpg
A film I had to watch twice in my French classes and found extremely annoying. If you guys tell me it's nothing like it, then maybe it's worth a watch

[Skepsis93]

I doubt it's anything like it, but I would recommend Amelie for its visuals alone. Some of the most eye-catching, vibrant and interesting cinematography/art direction I've ever seen. I love the story as well of course, but even if you don't you might appreciate its visual beauty.

[wintertriangles]

I don't know why you would think those are similar. Quirky women are abound in the cinematic universe.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Am I the only one who thinks it sounds a lot like that Madeline film?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Madeline_movie_dvd.jpg
A film I had to watch twice in my French classes and found extremely annoying. If you guys tell me it's nothing like it, then maybe it's worth a watch

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Thursday Next]

When they make Amelie Falls Into a Meat Grinder, give me a call.

Well, Jeunet did make Delicatessen. Maybe there could be some kind of crossover sequel to them both.

[Godoggo]

I love Amelie. I would have put it on my list except I haven't seen it for years. I'm in the mood for something sweet and charming, so I may just watch it tonight.

Personally, I think Audrey Tautou is absolutely beautiful.

[Miss Vicky]

Personally, I think Audrey Tautou is absolutely beautiful.

Just to clarify, I don't find Audrey Tautou herself creepy looking, just the way she was done up in Amélie. I haven't seen Tautou in very many films, but liked her just fine in He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (À la folie... pas du tout).

[Godoggo]

I loved her in that and also Dirty Pretty Things. You may like that if you haven't seen it. I don't know ; I'm always horrible at judging other people's tastes. :)

I had a girl crush on her for awhile. I just found her captivating.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Dirty Pretty Things - I saw that. Meh.

[TheUsualSuspect]

YAY, another film from my list made it.

I simply adore it and love the visuals, colours, story, acting, everything comes together in a nice neat little package.

[wintertriangles]

Just to clarify, I don't find Audrey Tautou herself creepy looking, just the way she was done up in Amélie. I haven't seen Tautou in very many films, but liked her just fine in He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (À la folie... pas du tout).So she's creepy in Amelie but just fine when she plays a baby killer. RIGHTO

[Miss Vicky]

So she's creepy in Amelie but just fine when she plays a baby killer. RIGHTO

I said creepy looking. It was not a comment on the nature of the actual character.

[honeykid]

YES!!!! HK 100 film and #8 on the list I sent in. Love, love, love this film. Not liking the visuals in this film is like not liking cinema. It's sumptuous to look at.

I was expecting to see one more film from my list, but I thought Amelie would be higher, so maybe it's not going to show?

[Miss Vicky]

Not liking the visuals in this film is like not liking cinema.

Because, again, the man that put Charlie's Angels at #1 is an expert on what constitutes quality cinema.

:p ;)

[honeykid]

Not that one has anything to do with the other. However, if you can't appreciate the visuals on display in Charlie's Angels, then you're not a fan of the female form. :D

[Sexy Celebrity]

YES!!!! HK 100 film and #8 on the list I sent in. Love, love, love this film. Not liking the visuals in this film is like not liking cinema. It's sumptuous to look at.

I was expecting to see one more film from my list, but I thought Amelie would be higher, so maybe it's not going to show?

Here it is (Brodinski asked me to unveil this one):

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=9866&stc=1&d=1357469400http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=9865&stc=1&d=1357468881


# 9
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Whoopi Goldberg
(2009, Jeunet)

10,000 points

[Brodinski]

I wanna post the next one, but Photobucket has teh aids.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/country-ok_zps0922a91e.jpg
# 9
No Country for Old Men
(2007, J. & E. Coen)

178 points

[Brodinski]

Will there be something else?
I don't know, will there?
Is something wrong?
With what?
With anything...
Is that wat you're asking me? Is there something wrong with anything?
Will there be anything else?
You've already asked me that.
Well, I need to see about closing.
See about closing?
Yes sir.
What time do you close?
Now. I close now.
Now is not a time. When do you close?
Generally around dark. At dark.
You don't know what you're talking about, do you?
Sir?
I said: you don't know what you're talking about. What time do you go to bed?
Sir...
You're a bit deaf, aren't you?


______________________________________________________________

In lots of films, you have difficulty picking your favourite scene. I do at least. That wasn't the case in No Country for Old Men. The following scene is arguably the greatest the Coens have ever produced:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUKq_HgQxfg

The way the tension builds; Bardem's pitch and raspy voice is terrifying and the magnificent dialogue. Just perfect...

[HitchFan97]

I was expecting both of those to be a few spots higher. Haven't seen Amelie and never cared for No Country.

[Brodinski]

never cared for No Country.

Why?

[Yoda]

Yeah, it's just a stunningly well-made film. It was #10 on my list, so I guess I can't wish it were higher. ;) But I am surprised it isn't. My guess is there are a handful of people who just left it off entirely, and pretty much anything in the top ten needs to be on most ballots, I suppose, to get there.

[donniedarko]

I think No Country is the worse thing from the Coen Brothers. The story was stupid, plot was boring, and executed poorly. An extremely overrated film and this is further proof of that

[Yoda]

Oh, geez dude. Just...geez.

[HitchFan97]

Why?

I just couldn't get into it. For a film acclaimed as one of the best thrillers of the decade, it seemed rather slow-paced and uninteresting, at least to me. Javier Bardem was pretty great in it, though.

[Skepsis93]

Heh. As much as I thought the story eventually fell flat (not to say I don't get what it's really about), I can't deny that the Coens were on top, top form for No Country. There's so much skill on display. Not on my list, but I definitely need to rewatch it before I can be sure about my judgement.

[Gabrielle947]

I've always thought that I will love No Country For Old Men but when I saw it for the first time,I disliked it.Then I re-watched it and still didn't like.Now I want to see it again. :D
I don't know,when I watch it,it seems pointless and boring but I want to like it. :D

[The Rodent]

My review for No Country...


Another fine piece of filmmaking from the Coen Brothers, this time based on a novel of the same name written by Cormack McCarthy.
No Country For Old Men gives the audience a look at adult themes and violence, exceptional acting and a hard hitting plot that is very rarely seen in Hollywood these days.
Most Hollywood flicks of this type go for action and humour combined, and then tone the whole lot down so that kids can watch. Instead, the Coen Brothers have built a world of adult content and hard faces that is a welcome breath of fresh air in the modern movie world.

The whole movie is pretty low tone and dark in it's themes, there's little to no humour involved throughout (apart from an inept Deputy Sheriff) and a lot of the screenplay is harsh on the viewer's senses.
The main part of No Country is that it's like this knowingly. It's meant to be dirty and grimy, dark and brooding.

The acting is by far though, what the movie is all about.
The ensemble cast really make an impression throughout.
Tommy Lee Jones as the Texas Sheriff Ed Tom Bell is fantastically uncomfortable in trying to figure out the series of disturbing events in his town. Sadly though, he's seen on screen as more of a supporting role in his own little side story.
Josh Brolin is at his moody best as Llewelyn Moss. He has an old soul about him and a quiet yet confident undertone that sets his character apart from most leading characters in films of this type.
Javier Bardem really shines in the role of Anton Chigurh. His quiet, unassuming demeanour is what makes the role so scary. He's like a cross between Norman Bates and something else. The overall character of Chigurh is also brilliantly written with his own twisted set of morals, to the point that you never know exactly what the character is actually going to do next.

Support from Woody Harrelson, Garret Dillahunt, Kelly Macdonald and Barry Corbin really gives the movie some weight.

There's no massive amounts of action through the film, but the little hits of gunplay that occasionally show up and some of the scenes involving Javier Bardem are really well put together and darkly exciting too.

All in all, not for everyone's taste, but definitely worth a watch simply because it's a genuinely well written and brilliantly plotted thriller, and the acting is top notch.
My rating 94%

[Miss Vicky]

All I can say for No Country is thank goodness it didn't make number 1.

I found it severely lacking in character development and the ending was totally anti-climactic. I blind bought it on account of all the acclaim it received, watched it once, and it's collected dust ever since.

[Daniel M]

I didn't submit a list for this, but did a thread of what I would of voted for a while back now, had that film at number 1. Some quotes:


So why is this film number 1? It is impossible to pin point to one aspect, but overall this film is perfection, just everything about it is so spectacular. Like “Fargo” the plot is dark and cold, and the filmmaking on show is as fine as it can be. The cinematography and directing of scenes is brilliant as you would expect, there are many memorable scenes including the great coin toss scene between Chigurh and a gas station owner. The performances of the cast involved is probably the strongest part of the film, Chigurh is brilliant in his role of a psychopathic villain ready to do anything to fulfil his task then there is also strong performances from the likes of Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Kelly Macdonald.

The ending is also great, people will criticise it because of the fate of the main characters but that is why I think it is so good, it is in fitting with the whole film and sadly feels real as we see evil incarnate in the shape of Chigurh.

A masterpiece from the Coen Brothers, I will probably give it another viewing and do a full review soon.

To people who complain about the ending:

In a usual hollywood crowd pleaser we'd probably see Brolin, the underdog confront Bardem and live happily ever after. Instead here we get the cold, harsh reality that everything isn't so rosy and sometimes failure is inevitable.

Brolin's death is somewhat of an anticlimax considering the cat and mouse chase between him and Bardem, but I also liked it because of the proposition Bardem gives Brolin to keep his wife alive, he warned him that he would die and he certainly kept to his word which shows the harsh consequences of Brolin's decision and further adds to the horror of Bardem who certainly is a man of his word and principles, in fact I've heard that in the book he returns the money to a third party at the end which is shows even more how messed up his character truly is, going through all that mess just because of his principles and want to fulfil his mission.

------

Yeh how would people have preferred it, Brolin emerges as the underdog and defeats Bardem to live happily ever after with his wife as they are now both rich?

The ending was in fitting with everything the film was about, and that is the harsh evil world Brolin has become involved in due his own actions.

Everything that has happened it entirely his fault, Bardem is simply fulfilling his task like he is supposed to. Brolin had countless opportunities to be better off but decides to be selfish and ultimately reaches an inevitable death.

- He goes for the money in the first place
- Goes back a second time
- Tries to run and hide his wife
- When given the option of sacrificing himself for his wife, he still thinks he can beat Bardem and ends up getting them both killed.

The point of the film is about just how bad things can be, that's what TL Jones is trying to get a cross. Bardem's conversation with Brolin's wife at the end is fantastic.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I didn't like the ending, either. Everything else was good, though.

I love the killer (Anton). Kinda makes me think of Michael Myers for some reason -- if he talked and didn't wear a mask, I imagine he would be Anton Chigurh.

http://thatwasabitmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/halloween4_1.jpg

[The Rodent]

^^Looks like William Shatner^^

[honeykid]

^^lol^^

As I've said a few times before, I got about 40 minutes into this and had to turn it off, as there was something on TV I wanted to watch. Wasn't into it at all and have yet to go back to it. I probably will at some point, though, but don't hold your breath. It's been about 3 or 4 years and it's not happened yet.

[rauldc14]

No Country made my list as well. It's a really really good movie. I'd be highly surprised but I think I'm only going to see one more film from my list to make it.

[Sexy Celebrity]

As I've said a few times before, I got about 40 minutes into this and had to turn it off, as there was something on TV I wanted to watch.

Shame on you. You can watch your DVD of Boys on the Side anytime you like.

[TheUsualSuspect]

No Country didn't make my list, but after re-watching that scene, it makes me want to watch the film again.

[Harry Lime]

I probably will at some point, though, but don't hold your breath.
I'll try not to.

[Tyler1]

"You don't have to do this...."

"People always say the same thing."

[Sleezy]

Great film. Cormac McCarthy's novel really fit the Coen Brothers' style well, and the visuals that Roger Deakins brings is always fantastic.

No Country for Old Men is really a horror film, I believe, and more specifically the best (and worst) kind of horror—the horror that can happen to you. That's why the film works so well. It's familiar and terrifying. And as the ending illustrates, in the real world, the horror doesn't necessarily end and the bad guy isn't always vanquished.

[Daniel M]

Great film. Cormac McCarthy's novel really fit the Coen Brothers' style well, and the visuals that Roger Deakins brings is always fantastic.

No Country for Old Men is really a horror film, I believe, and more specifically the best (and worst) kind of horror—the horror that can happen to you. That's why the film works so well. It's familiar and terrifying. And as the ending illustrates, in the real world, the horror doesn't necessarily end and the bad guy isn't always vanquished.

Good post man. And yes it is like a horror, horror and evil incarnate - Chigurh, some of the scenes with him in are among the most disturbing and scary I have seen, he just brings such a terrifying presence to the screen and it's difficult not to feel uncomfortable.

[Pyro Tramp]

It wasn't on my list but it appearance is definitely going to mark due a rewatch. I remember thinking it was a great film, just didn't LOVE it the way I felt should to include it here.

[Brodinski]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/inglourious-ok_zps45a22f41.jpghttp://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/ForgotsoFatso/inglourious-ok1_zps16320750.jpg
# 8
Inglourious Basterds
(2009, Tarantino)

179 points

[wintertriangles]

Cool

[TheUsualSuspect]

Wow, I guess more films from my list won't make it!!!! EEEEK.

[rauldc14]

strange but predictable. didn't expect it this high though.

[Brodinski]

http://img.hopaj.pl/images/0/8/086e46dd616b1619a8501eeaf39c4288.gif

[gandalf26]

No Way! Too much Tatantino love going on here.

Another film deserving of a place on the list, but Top 10? No way hose.

Personally I thought it was 8/10.

On a positive note I managed to watch "Up" the other day. What a delight of a film.

First 10-15 minutes seems quite depressing and I'm thinking, "is this a kids movie? or a depressing animation about getting old", then boom the totally unexpected happens. Masterpiece! 10/10

[Yoda]

Higher than I would have guessed (and higher than I had it), but I'm plenty happy with the ranking.

[Daniel M]

Inglourious Basterds is a brilliant film, it improves for me on every viewing, including watching it again the other night. The way it is edited and all put together, building up suspense is great, Waltz is brilliant and there's plenty of individually brilliant scenes. Had it #2 on my 'would have been' list, might even put it ahead of my then #1 choice now.

For anyone who likes the film I suggest checking out Jim Emerson's articles about it, some really well written and great stuff from him about the film: http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/inglourious_basterds/

[donniedarko]

Inglorious Basterds is a stunning film and I'm happy it got so high. I knew it wouldn't be left off coming in, but I never imagined at 8th spot. Im pleased though. It didn't make my list, now I have a deep desire to rewatch it

[Brodinski]

No Way! Too much Tatantino love going on here.

Another film deserving of a place on the list, but Top 10? No way hose.

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/20612265.jpg

[Powderfinger]

The Nazi guy in that Movie was the best. Brad Pitt...whatever!

[Pyro Tramp]

Surprisingly, yet pleasingly high. It's probably going to mature quite well as one of the classics of the decade. Don't know if I voted it. (Brod, any chance you can PM my list over? :))

[Miss Vicky]

I actually wasn't really expecting to see this one make the list at all, let alone top ten. But I can't say I'm displeased with seeing it here. I didn't vote for it, but it's a great movie

[MovieBuffering]

Sooo those who have seen Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, which one will be the best in ten years?

[Harry Lime]

I saw a Django a couple nights ago at the cinema; think I'll check out Basterds again what with Tarantino on the mind and the film's high ranking here.

[Daniel M]

Sooo those who have seen Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, which one will be the best in ten years?

Inglourious Basterds I reckon, whilst Django Unchained has everything you love about Tarantino and is 2 hours and 45 minutes minutes of fun, Inglourious Basterds I feel is probably the more complete and better constructed film of the two.

[stevo3001]

Possibly the most tedious movie on the entire list, an interminably boring mess. Stretched way beyond the strength of its ideas, overloaded with really halfassed dialogue that slows things down beyond reason and adds nothing (Tarantino really should impose a 'nobody sits down to talk' rule on himself, but obviously he never restrains himself. Once upon a time that lack of restraint was a good thing, but seeing as it's been over a decade since he managed a film with anything but small, sporadic bits of sizzling dialogue or innovation, it is no longer.) Waltz is fine and there's one funny part, which is the one someone else already put in a picture above, but nothing else worth remembering. Wouldn't be here without the cachet Tarantino still somehow has.

[Miss Vicky]

I think Django is the better film.

While Christoph Waltz was phenomenally great in Basterds, nobody else's performance in that film stood out to me as being anything more than really good. Whereas in Django, I thought DiCaprio and Jackson really did fantastically well and Waltz was also excellent. (Foxx was good, but I wasn't blown away by him.)

Then again, Django Unchained is fresher in my mind than Inglourious Basterds, so that may be swaying my opinion a bit.

[JayDee]

Watched it a few months back and wasn't particularly keen on it, so obviously I think it's ridiculous for it to place so high. While it's a visual feast at times I found it to be bloated, egotistical, self-congratulatory and immature. Other than that though it was great! :p

[Yoda]

I'd put Basterds ahead with room to spare. But then, I think Basterds is one of the better films I've seen over the last decade or so.

[Sleezy]

Haven't seen it, yet I'm still surprised to see this at #8. Is it really that good?

I've had people tell me it's "awesome" and I've had people tell me it's "terrible." Of those whose opinions I actually trust, the sense I get is that it's got sprinklings of great performances and brilliant filmmaking, but the picture as a whole is disjointed, unfocused, and overly long.

That's pretty much Tarantino in a nutshell, I find. Personally, I don't think he's made a truly complete film since Jackie Brown (still his best), and both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are better than anything he's done in recent years (noting that I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained). It just seems like he's gotten sillier and sillier, and not in a good way.

[Daniel M]

Haven't seen it, yet I'm still surprised to see this at #8. Is it really that good?

I've had people tell me it's "awesome" and I've had people tell me it's "terrible." Of those whose opinions I actually trust, the sense I get is that it's got sprinklings of great performances and brilliant filmmaking, but the picture as a whole is disjointed, unfocused, and overly long.

That's pretty much Tarantino in a nutshell, I find. Personally, I don't think he's made a truly complete film since Jackie Brown (still his best), and both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are better than anything he's done in recent years (noting that I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained). It just seems like he's gotten sillier and sillier, and not in a good way.

If you feel that way about Tarantino then I honestly reckon the bolded quote you would feel applies more to Django should you watch the two, I love both but Inglourious Basterds I would say is the more focussed, better edited and put together and has better suspense/development.

[TheUsualSuspect]

In the digital era, Basterds to me, is Tarantino's love letter to film.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Personally, I don't think he's made a truly complete film since Jackie Brown (still his best)

Agree with Jackie Brown. When I got it on Blu-ray in 2011, I watched it over and over. It might help that I love Pam Grier's 1970s blaxploitation films, but so does Quentin Tarantino, and he was really in his element. Pulp Fiction is nothing compared to it.

And there is no way that Inglorious Basterds is a better film than the Kill Bill movies. All of you people who think Basterds is THAT good and that deserving of the #8 spot -- pop that bubble you got yourselves into. You can't see a thing in there. What bull. I liked the movie a lot, but this kind of love for it is overrated.

I already know the reason why it's happening -- this is really the only Tarantino movie he's put out in years that has strong, aggressive male leads. You guys are responding to the men. You guys are responding to Brad Pitt and Christopher Waltz. That's gotta be it. That's why Pulp Fiction is responded to more. It's the men. Kill Bill, Death Proof, Jackie Brown -- they're chick flicks. They are violent chick flicks. You people -- you need to give your respect to the men. Yes, Basterds has Shoshanna, but she is not the face of the movie -- Brad Pitt and Christopher Waltz are.

But this movie - Inglorious Basterds - is lacking so much compared to Kill Bill. I voted for Kill Bill: Volume 2 and it's a grand shame that it's not going to make the list -- I know it won't because everyone loves Volume 1 (sigh) for its bloody, aggressive content, of course -- there's no way 2 would get ahead of it, especially this much. You people... this is ridiculous! #8? Heavens no.

Boring. Simply boring. This list is dead. How tragic.

http://michaeljlewis.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/funeralsixfeetunder.jpg

R.I.P. The MoFo Millenium Top 100 Countdown
#100 --- #8

[Pyro Tramp]

In the digital era, Basterds to me, is Tarantino's love letter to film.

And himself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdPrMxFgLUo).

[Sexy Celebrity]

http://aagahi.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/liquor-bottles4.jpg?w=595

Funeral reception, anyone?

[Daniel M]

.

???

I'm a massive Tarantino fan and don't feel that way about the male leads, I love Jackie Brown and Kill Bill, I'd also place Kill Bill 2 over 1 for substance over style but think both should of been made together.

Inglourious Basterds is a brilliant film and in no way boring, I don't get why people say it's unfocussed and such, it's really not.

[Sleezy]

Agree with Jackie Brown. When I got it on Blu-ray in 2011, I watched it over and over. It might help that I love Pam Grier's 1970s blaxploitation films, but so does Quentin Tarantino, and he was really in his element.

Yeah, Tarantino has seemingly made a career out of updating/emulating popular film genres of yesteryear, but a lot of the time he's just playing in a sandbox. Sometimes he's successful at sharpening his focus and making a scene or two really work, though he often seems content with including scenes just because he thought they were "cool" or "different." I think the only film on his resume that's both a deft rejuvenation of an old genre and a consistently well-executed, focused, and complete feature is Jackie Brown.

[rauldc14]

7. There Will Be Blood
6. Lost in Translation
5. City of God
4. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
3. The Dark Knight
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
1. Mulholland Dr.

Ok, so the order is a bit screwy. But these are definitive.

[donniedarko]

Sooo those who have seen Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, which one will be the best in ten years?

I liked Django more but Basterds was better in quality

[Sexy Celebrity]

Kill Bill is what's gonna survive through the years and stand the test of time -- not Inglorious Basterds. I can't say about Django Unchained because I haven't seen it yet -- though I doubt it will be like Kill Bill. Kill Bill is more entertaining, more deep, more culturally significant, more stronger, more memorable, more better. I would cry if I could never see Kill Bill again -- Inglorious Basterds, I wouldn't miss.

Pulp Fiction will certainly always be stronger than Jackie Brown. The man vs. woman thing I was talking about earlier won't matter when it comes to those movies. Pulp Fiction is what helped put Quentin Tarantino on the map. But Kill Bill was a massive comeback for him. Inglorious Basterds is nothing but the Jackie Brown-esque followup to Kill Bill. Of course, now that Tarantino has become so old and familiar, it's time to start looking at the lesser quality stuff and saying, "Oh, this is better than that! Kill Bill sucks -- I prefer this little Nazi movie he did more."

It's so fake. Just the fact that Brodinski and Wintertriangles are saluting Inglorious Basterds' space at #8 is evidence enough for me that this is a scam. Sorry, guys, but I sense it. Someday you'll come down to Earth and see I'm right.

[honeykid]

Urgh!

[Skepsis93]

And there is no way that Inglorious Basterds is a better film than the Kill Bill movies. All of you people who think Basterds is THAT good and that deserving of the #8 spot -- pop that bubble you got yourselves into. You can't see a thing in there. What bull. I liked the movie a lot, but this kind of love for it is overrated.

I already know the reason why it's happening -- this is really the only Tarantino movie he's put out in years that has strong, aggressive male leads. You guys are responding to the men. You guys are responding to Brad Pitt and Christopher Waltz. That's gotta be it. That's why Pulp Fiction is responded to more. It's the men. Kill Bill, Death Proof, Jackie Brown -- they're chick flicks. They are violent chick flicks. You people -- you need to give your respect to the men. Yes, Basterds has Shoshanna, but she is not the face of the movie -- Brad Pitt and Christopher Waltz are.

But this movie - Inglorious Basterds - is lacking so much compared to Kill Bill. I voted for Kill Bill: Volume 2 and it's a grand shame that it's not going to make the list -- I know it won't because everyone loves Volume 1 (sigh) for its bloody, aggressive content, of course -- there's no way 2 would get ahead of it, especially this much. You people... this is ridiculous! #8? Heavens no.

Boring. Simply boring. This list is dead. How tragic.

http://michaeljlewis.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/funeralsixfeetunder.jpg

R.I.P. The MoFo Millenium Top 100 Countdown
#100 --- #8



http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwhtxb5d3F1r6aoq4o1_250.gif

Sexy says the list is dead, guys. We'd all better give up and go home. We're all ridiculous and/or sexist for liking movies he doesn't.

ANYWAY... I do love Inglourious Basterds. Voted for it, in fact. It's pure Tarantino: balls-out, brutal, loopy entertainment. Brilliant. Can't wait to see Django Unchained.

[linespalsy]

Sorry honeykid, but Urgh! is a 1981 film and is not eligible for inclusion in this list.

[honeykid]

Shame the same can't be said of Inglourious Basterds.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Urgh!

I know! Exactly how I felt when they recast Jackie Brown. Remember the early teaser poster showing the original Jackie?

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=9867&stc=1&d=1357598087

[rauldc14]

Kind of getting sick of this. I think I have the Whoopi-cough.

[Miss Vicky]

Kill Bill is more entertaining, more deep, more culturally significant, more stronger, more memorable, more better.


In what way is Kill Bill culturally significant?

Also, quit your bitching. This isn't Sexy's Millenium Top 100 Countdown, it's a reflection of all of us who voted. Though by your own admission the list you submitted wasn't even a true reflection of your own tastes anyway.

[Sexy Celebrity]

In what way is Kill Bill culturally significant?

Also, quit your bitching. This isn't Sexy's Millenium Top 100 Countdown, it's a reflection of all of us who voted. Though by your own admission the list you submitted wasn't even a true reflection of your own tastes anyway.

It was that day. That hour.

Kill Bill was EVERYWHERE after it came out. It lived on. People are still hoping there will be a third and fourth chapter. I don't see the same kind of resonance with Inglorious Basterds. Look at all of the people here besides me who are surprised by its inclusion at #8 -- this doesn't make any sense.

[rauldc14]

Just because people are surprised doesn't mean it makes sense. It truly is the best approximation we have as to how MOFO perceives it for the millenium as the #8 film thus far. Could it change in 5-10 years? Of course, just like every other lists that changes as well as people's personal preferences change as well. It's going to be quite ok I assure you.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Just because people are surprised doesn't mean it makes sense. It truly is the best approximation we have as to how MOFO perceives it for the millenium as the #8 film thus far. Could it change in 5-10 years? Of course, just like every other lists that changes as well as people's personal preferences change as well. It's going to be quite ok I assure you.

I'm disappointed with the MoFoians today.

[HitchFan97]

I love Inglourious Basterds and it's my favorite Tarantino film behind Pulp Fiction. I think I may have even had it two or three places higher on my list. I was starting to think it might not make it, but glad to see it up so high.

So, the shoo-ins: Mulholland Drive, Eternal Sunshine, Fellowship, There Will Be Blood, City of God, and The Dark Knight. That leaves the 7th place for either Lost in Translation, Mystic River, or The Hurt Locker. My money's on Lost in Translation.

[mark f]

I like maybe four of those seven.

[The Rodent]

Ok, Ok... Inglorious Basterds was expected... my two pence worth though... it's boring.

Just my opinion, but I found it underwhelming after that mahhoooosive press coverage.
I love Tarantino, but IB I found just too slacking for Tarantino's style.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Just one more Whoopi poster. It's addicting.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=9868&stc=1&d=1357605369

[Sexy Celebrity]

Actually, no, one more -- I had a flash of inspiration. This will be the last one, I promise. :kiss::kiss::kiss: It's for Honeykid. :kiss:

http://i46.tinypic.com/sq134j.gif

[gandalf26]

Personally I think Tarantino made 2 10/10 movies with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, but since he has made 8/10 movies or worse.

He could do with a "Consigliere" on set to sometimes tone down what he is doing.