The MoFo Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown

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The Shape of Water

Read the full review here.

Holy Motors

Read the full review here.

I haven't seen it but Holy Motors never crossed my mind making it.

I haven't seen either of today's movies and can't say I ever really had any desire to.

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Shape Of Water was my #9.
I was surprised at how good it is considering the subject of a fish man and a mute woman, and it also delivered a few things I wasn't expecting, particularly in Strickland (Shannon). He's not exactly a straightforward antagonist, and feels a little tragic at times as well as a person.
Also, can't go wrong having Richard Jenkins in a movie.
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1: Bloody well better had do
2: Bloody well better had do
3: 100%
4: Bloody well better had do
5: Joker (2019) - 60th
6: 100%
7: Prisoners (2013) - 69th
8: 100%
9: The Shape of Water (2017) - 52nd
10: 100%
11: Shutter Island (2010) - 76th
12: 100%
13: Hopefully
14: Hopefully
15: Hopefully
16: Deadpool (2016) - 85th
17: Maybe
18: Probably
19: Probably
20: Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 79th
21: The Martian (2015) - 82nd
22: 100%
23: 100%
24: Maybe
25: Probably not

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Holy Motors is superb. A chaotic, mysterious film with one of the best actors of this generation doing what he does best. I loved it but it just missed out on my list. Nice to see it here though.

I dislike the Shape of Water quite alot. For me it's everything that wrankles me about modern big budget cinema. It's tropey, it's predictable, it's clear who the bad guys are early on, it's extremely derivative of 1930s / 40s monster movies, it brings very little to the table and it's pretty obvious what will happen from minute 10 onwards. I'm not surprised to see it in this list as I appear to be the outlier here as many people love it, but it's a real stinker for me.

No votes

mark f

I couldn't find any ratings/reviews mark f wrote for The Shape of Water, but I did come across this:

The Shape of Water made mark f's ballot at #16:

Updated ballot:

1.
2. Nightcrawler (#55)
3.
4.
5. 1917 (#86)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. The Shape of Water (#52)
17.
18.
19.
20. World of Tomorrow (#99)
21.
22.
23.
24. Behemoth (one pointer)

The Shape of Water is pretty good, but I haven't thought much about it since.

Holy Motors, on the other hand, was #2 on my ballot and has been among my favorites for a while.It's been some time since I've seen it, but my interpretation for what the film is about and what type of themes run throughout it are that it's about the ways cinema has evolved throughout the years, as well as a mournful reflection on different technologies which have/will become outdated and prior relationships/roles the characters had in the past.

As the movie went on, I began to notice that after the entr'acte, the "appointments" (which I think represent different movie roles) Oscar went to appeared to blend into reality. The way they seemed to affect him (such as stumbling weakly into his limo after he's stabbed during one of the appointments) cause them to become harder to distinguish from reality, culminating in the final couple appointments where I'm not even sure if they were actual appointments or not. I think this showed how, as various types of movie equipment (cameras, lighting, sounds, etc.) improved over time, the images they captured grew more and more akin to reality, so I think that's what's being represented by this dynamic.

The film also makes a number of interesting references to other films. Edith Scob's character putting on the mask at the end is a reference to her own role in Eyes Without a Face (her most iconic role, I believe). I like to think of that as her reconnecting with one of her past roles as this fits with the film's themes pretty well. In addition, Lavant's character climbing out of the sewer is a reference to his role in Tokyo! (I haven't seen the film though, so I can't say a whole lot about what that means). The most interesting reference, however, comes in during the musical/romance segment about reunited lovers. After researching the film, I found that Kylie Minogue wasn't the original actress Carax wanted to play her role. He instead wanted to cast Juliette Binoche in the role. This would've been a reference to Lavant's and Bnioche's roles in The Lovers on the Bridge. Although Binoche dropped out of the role and Kylie Minogue got it, you can still see the original intent of the casting.

I also found a few other scenes in the film interesting, like the opening, ending, and a few smaller scenes within the film. However, this post is already pretty long, so I figured I'd cut it off here.

Updated ballot:

1.
2. Holy Motors (#51)
3.
4. Moonlight (#62)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Take Shelter (#67)
13. Certified Copy (#84)
14. Under the Skin (#54)
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20. A Separation (#90)
21.
22.
23. Hereditary (#96)
24.
25.

No votes for either from me.

I really did not enjoy Holy Motors when I saw it in the theater. But I'll say that 1) I was probably not prepared for it or in the right frame of mind, and 2) enough people whose opinions I respect love it enough that I will give it another shot some day.

I thought The Shape of Water was fine (and a fun, if obvious, double feature with The Creature from the Black Lagoon), but not much more.

Once more onto the beach dear friends - seen both, voted for neither. A nice pairing as both The Shape Of Water and Holy Motors can be somewhat divisive. Not for me though as I like them both, of the two the former was closest to making my ballot but I'm actually more delighted that the latter has made it which I know probably makes zero sense whatsoever

Seen: 42/50 (Own: 26/50)

I saw Shape of Water and I liked it especially the cinematography and art direction. I generally like Del Toro's jobs. But I think that's all I can say about Shape Of Water and it is not included in my ballot. I think I can say that the place in the list is acceptable. I haven't seen Holy Motors.

I haven't seen Holy Motors, but allow me to praise our resident podcaster, Thief, because I really enjoyed his discussion about it in his "mindf*ck" episode (and the episode in general).

There is apparently some really weird stuff in it, hence its appearance in that episode, which has made me skeptical about watching it. With its high appearance on this list, I suppose I should jump in after all.

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Very much enjoyed "The Shape of Water" and " Holy Motors" may just be the worse film I ever saw. Never made it to the end, something I will not remedy.

The Shape of Water is typical post-modernist schlock, stuffed with pretty much everything you can think of, which creates one clusterf*ck of a movie! It's basically a fairy tale for adults, unashamedly Hollywoodish, but not the worst watch, especially if you're a fan of Creature from the Black Lagoon-inspired erotic fan fics bathed in Pan's Labyrinth sauce.

I can't even say Holy Motors is necessarily a bad film but I didn't like it when I watched it many years ago. It's my least favorite Carax film. I'm not generally a fan of the guy, but Boy Meets Girl, a Godardesque poser-core for suiciders with amazing black'n'white cinematography would be my answer if anybody asked if there's a Carax film I'd recommend.

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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.