The Resident Bitch Prepares for the MoFo 2010s Countdown

Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019)

I don't know what exactly I was expecting with this, but given its reputation and popularity, it didn't meet whatever those expectations were. I think I gave a light chuckle like twice the whole movie, but mainly I was bored. Even with all its twists and turns, the movie dragged terribly for me and Daniel Craig's stupid fake drawl just irritated the shit out of me - and probably accounts for a large part of why I was so disengaged with it. I wasn't impressed with anybody else's performance either or anything else about the movie for that matter.

About the only positive I can say for it is that it's always nice to see Don Johnson in a popular movie. I've had a soft spot for him since his days on Nash Bridges. Otherwise this was just a very mediocre to borderline bad experience for me.

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Zootopia (Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush, 2016)
(Rewatch)

Zootopia is a breeze to watch. It's really funny, has a fair amount of action, and features adorable characters, strong voice performances, and some fun pop culture references. And it uses these strengths to present its messages of following your dreams and the importance of refusing to allow prejudice to cloud your judgement in a way that never really feels preachy or too overt.

But the main thing I enjoy about it is the camaraderie between its leads Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, with the latter's sarcasm and wit being particularly amusing. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who really likes this pair so tread carefully if you're ever online looking up images related to this movie.

I'm trying to watch as much as possible that could make the countdown. Do you think Zootopia is likely to make it?

Too bad you didn't care for Knives Out, it is a solid contender for my ballot.

I might rewatch Zootopia before the deadline if I'm able to. I've seen it mentioned at least 3-4 times on this forum recently.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

Tough to say. I feel like too many people on here don’t like animation or at least don’t consider it to be anywhere on the same level as other movies. I know I will be voting for it and I’m pretty certain gbg will as well but no idea beyond that.

I watched it solely based on this post. It's bloody awful, and not in a so-bad-it's-good way. Not in a guilty pleasure way either. Bryce Dallas Howard is h0t, tho.




I think @Swan should start crushing on Bryce instead of Jessica Chastain!



Jessica, I didn't mean it that way! Stop being so rude! Don't worry, Swan will always love you!

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

My favorite part of this page was reading a review that states how mediocre a movie is and then sings the praises of Nash Bridges. That gave me a chuckle.

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Letterboxd

Whatever, man. Nash Bridges is fun. I'm actually in the process of rewatching all of it and I still love it.

Knives Out just annoyed me.

I've seen Knives Out two or three times and quite like it. There are lots of fun details in the house, and I'm a sucker for an ensemble mystery.

I also have fond feelings for it because it's the rare film that my whole family enjoyed. We have pretty different tastes and strong opinions (yes, it's a family trait!) and so a movie that we can all have a blast watching always gets a bump in my affection.

That said, it's very stylized, so I can imagine that if it doesn't work for you, it really doesn't work for you.

I hope so. Zootopia is very likely to be on my list.


Knives Out has a chance to make my list, but it might just miss it.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)
(Rewatch)

I first watched this movie back in 2020 when it was chosen for me in a Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame after I'd intentionally avoided it for 9 years. I've never had much of an opinion of Ryan Gosling, the movie just looked so slick, and I often find highly stylized movies to be a big turn off.

But I was treated to a pleasant surprise. Whereas stylish movies often come across as cold, Drive does well to balance the cool elements with a little bit of warmth and humanity. Ryan Gosling does a great job of carrying this movie with his performance - ever cool and collected, with just that little smirk to betray any kind of emotion. He's a badass with a heart of gold: One moment we see the driver gently putting a young child to bed or tenderly kissing his girl and another moment we see him kicking a guy's head in. He's complicated. He exists in a gray area between good and bad. And I love that.

One thing I didn't love on the first watch though was that I felt we didn't get to see enough of his tender side, or at least not enough for me to buy his motivations for the risks he takes and the sacrifices he makes. But this time around I wasn't bothered at all by that and was fully immersed in the experience of the film.

Ultimately I don't know if it'll get my vote - I'm just too spoiled for choices here - but I do very much hope it places high on the countdown.

Drive is in the running for my ballot.

I just rewatched Drive as well. I still love it, but not as much as the first time. I gave it a 4, and it won’t be on my ballot. I would like to see it in the bottom half of the list though.

I gave it a 3.5 last time, so this was an improvement for me.

I wasn't crazy about it the 1st time

Searching (Aneesh Chaganty, 2018)

I don't think I'd ever heard of this movie prior to its appearance in the Group Watch thread and I didn't read anything about it before going in. Now that I've seen it, I have kind of mixed feelings.

On the one hand, the performances were all really strong, I was really engaged with the story, and I definitely didn't see that final twist coming. On the other hand, I found the "screens" concept kind of gimmicky. It's certainly novel and I appreciate the effort to do something different, but ultimately it just felt limiting and a little frustrating.

Still a good movie and I'm glad to have seen it, but it's not likely to get my vote.

The Illusionist (L'illusionniste) (Sylvain Chomet, 2010)
(Rewatch)

Watching this movie is truly an experience. Dialogue in the film is very sparse and when it does occur, the actual words spoken are unimportant. Everything is conveyed through actions as this melancholy story of disillusionment and the pointlessness of trying to flee obsolescence unfolds. But it's also speckled with touches of humor here and there and at only 80 minutes it never drags or feels like it's too much.

And all of this is done in gorgeous traditional hand drawn animation with muted colors and whimsical character designs that are a joy to see, even if the story carries much sadness. It's a big contender for my ballot and I'll be quite sad if it doesn't make it onto the countdown.

Ernest & Celestine (Ernest et Célestine) (Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, and Benjamin Renner, 2012)
(Rewatch)

This movie positively oozes charm and warmth with its gorgeous hand painted watercolors that look like they leapt from the pages of a beloved children's book (indeed it is based on a series of children's books), full of humor and whimsey. We are presented with a pair of oddball outcasts - one a starving street performer and musician and the other a plucky orphan who refuses to buy into the prejudices she's been taught. Both face incredible hardship from a classist, racist society that aims to punish them for being who they are and each finds a kindred spirit in the other.

But neither the movie nor its characters dwell on the negatives, instead focusing on the sweet and heartwarming bond between Ernest and Celestine and on the joy they find in the little things. It also spatters its setting and other characters with tiny little details that aren't important in the story but are delightful just the same - the bear family that owns a candy store and a shop that sells replacement teeth for the ones that rot away from all the sugar, the bears telling the story of the tooth fairy mouse right before panicking at the sight of a real mouse and the mice telling the orphan children stories of the big bad bear just before sending them out into the homes of real bears to collect their teeth.

It's all just so wonderful and I love it a little more every time I watch it. I think it's just about perfect and it absolutely baffles me that it failed to make the Animation Countdown. It is downright tragic that mine was one of only two votes it received back then - and the other voter gave it only one point. I will be absolutely ecstatic if it makes it onto this countdown and I urge everybody to give it a chance.

I'm definitely making a point to see that one, thank you!

Join us in the Group Watch thread