The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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I'm not gonna lie or hide from my ignorance. when MV first posted "Hedwig" all I could think of was:



I thought huh... never figured MV for this type of kids flick. Wait... didn't this JUST come out too??

I'm too 'shamed.
Uh, no. I don't even know wtf that is.

This is Hedwig:




Did you see this coming @Miss Vicky?
No. I hoped it would make it but was worried it wouldn't especially since hk didn't vote. It was just the only qualifying musical I could think of that might have enough MoFo fans to make the cut.



Critics




Some info about #92, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly...



It currently has a 94% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.0/10 score on IMDb (with 106,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★★ and said:
"The [film] is not what you could call inspirational, because none of us would think to be in such a situation and needing inspiration. It is more than that. It is heroic. Here is the life force at its most insistent, lashing out against fate with stubborn resolve. And also with lust, hunger, humor and all of the other notes that this man once played so easily. "
On the other hand, Scott Foundas, of Village Voice, said:
"From its relentless visual distortion to its wearying parade of Felliniesque fantasy sequences, Schnabel's film wants you to know that it's art with a capital 'A.' It's also disability porn with a capital 'D.'"
As for our MoFo reviewers, @Holden Pike said:
"Amazing and ultimately inspiring true story adapted from the slim memoir of the same name by Jean-Dominique Bauby... Pretty incredible stuff, and the screenplay adapted by Ron Harwood and direction of painter turned filmmaker Julian Schnabel are able to use many of Bauby's own elegant thoughts and words directly from the manuscript, but also flesh out the larger story of his life."
And @mark f said:
"Harrowing, beguiling, ultimately uplifting true-life story... Don't let any of that dissuade anyone from watching this amazing film. I'm not a fan of Schnabel's earlier Basqiat and Before Night Falls, but this film completely disarmed me and pretty much blew me away."
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Critics




Some info about #91, Hedwig and the Angry Inch...



It currently has a 92% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 7.7/10 score on IMDb (with 35,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★ and said:
"John Cameron Mitchell electrifies the movie, with a performance that isn't a satire of glam-rock performers so much as an authentic glam-rock performance. The movie may have had a limited budget, but the screen is usually filled with something sensational... Michael Pitt's performance as Tommy is all the more astonishing if you've recently seen him, as I did, playing Donny, the overgrown tough kid, in Bully. This material could have been glib and smug, but it isn't. There's some kind of pulse of sincerity beating below the glittering surface, and it may come from Mitchell's own life story. "
On the other hand, Dennis Harvey, of Variety, said:
"Those expecting a rockin' good time are likely to be left cold by this screen translation, which despite some imaginative packaging too often proves a drag in more than the sartorial sense."
As for our MoFo reviewers, @Sexy Celebrity said:
"A rollicking romp and pretty entertaining -- if, I think, it's your speed. It's taken me years to adjust to this movie. It is a movie that I think in its own way stalks me just like how Hedwig goes on stalking Tommy. I only wish it had a more satisfying ending... I do recommend Hedwig and the Angry Inch to general audiences, though, because I think that, understandable to you or not, it features some rather amusing bits."
And @TheUsualSuspect said:
"I give props to John Cameron Mitchell, for not only directing the film and having a unique style, but for diving head first into the lead role of Hedwig. A great performance from someone who has the daunting task of having to have control over numerous things. He gives 100 percent in both positions. Hedwig isn't a film for everyone. Yet those wanting to experience something unique and fun, check it out."





Hedwig is weird and wonderful though not on my ballot. However Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the first of my choices to show. I gave it nine of its seventy points as my seventeenth selection. For me it remains Julian's best, most complete film to date. The artistic examination of locked-in syndrome as not simply a horror - which it surely is - but as the expression of life and love still capable by the thinking man imprisoned inside is touching and inspiring, but not in a cheap movie-of-the-week way that manipulates pathos. Instead the film interprets Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir with grace and humor and passion and poetry.

Le Scaphandre et le Papillon wowed the critics and was up for some high profile awards but I feared its footprint may have diminished in the years since. I am glad to see that here at MoFo anyway its spirit is still flying.

HOLDEN’S BALLOT
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (#92)
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I don't know if this is too much information as far as the rest of the list is concerned, but as of now, we've already covered the only films on the list that have a Rotten Tomatometer (less than 60%): The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (at 56%) and The Devil's Rejects (at 55%). Everything else on the list is Fresh, with most of them being Certified Fresh (over 75%).

Remember what I said before, that the Tomatometer is not necessarily a direct indicator of quality, but rather of how a collective of critics sees the film in either a positive (Fresh) or negative light (Rotten). So what we can infer about the above two is that they are "polarizing", not that they are "weak" or "bad".



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Have not seen or heard of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly but it DOES sound like something I would thoroughly enjoy.

I got to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch in the 15th HoF when @Miss Vicky nominated it and very much enjoyed:



Hedwig and the Angry Inch

"I had tried singing once back in Berlin. They threw tomatoes. After the show, I had a nice salad."

As I had imagined I would, I did really enjoy this.
A lot of things worked well with this. The addition of animation, the various gigs in itty bitty places, and the countless witticisms born from inner anguish and the tenacity to go on, this was a great little travel of one's search of their other half within themselves with a pretty d@mn good soundtrack as we follow along.

There was a wonderful mixture of melancholy, flamboyance, and, in the end, a rather lovely uplifting message to it all.
While you could easily delve into the emotional impact of the lyrics and the back story which is delivered with such bravado; it is equally as easy to simply enjoy the sights and the sounds of this film.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a few folks I know, like Michael Pitt whom I know from Boardwalk Empire playing Tommy, and Alberta Watson who I loved as Madeline in the 90's Nikita TV Show playing Hedwig's mom which I DID NOT recognize AT ALL. And finally, Andrea Martin, whom I loved since seeing her in the comedy skit show SCTV when I was a teenager to one of my favorite characters in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "He don't eat meat? What you meant he don't eat meat? Is OK, I make lamb."

Sorry, I digress.

Truly glad I finally got to see this!

Films Watched 7 out of 10 (70%)
17. Mother (#96)
25. A Bittersweet Life (One Pointer)


One Pointers: 10 out of 38 (26.31%)
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Seen both but neither made my ballot. Hedwig is excellent, a 9/10 and a worthy addition to the top 100. Diving Bell is good, but not great, in my opinion, a 7/10.



Stats: Pit Stop #1





Now that we've hit the first pit stop (90), here are some stats:

Decade Breakdown
  • 2000 = 1
  • 2001 = 2
  • 2002 = 0
  • 2003 = 1
  • 2004 = 1
  • 2005 = 3
  • 2006 = 0
  • 2007 = 1
  • 2008 = 0
  • 2009 = 1


No point in doing a director breakdown cause there have been no repeats so far, but it's interesting that the list has been a bit all over the place genre-wise:
  • Musical = 1
  • Biopic drama = 1
  • Romantic drama = 2
  • Horror = 1
  • Road film/coming of age = 1
  • Thriller = 1
  • Drama/mystery = 1
  • Comedy drama = 1
  • Epic, war drama = 1

Also, four of the 10 films are foreign, which is also interesting. No animated films... yet



Thank goodness that one pointer put me on the board. Shooting blanks since.

My Ballot:  

Have seen so far: 5
Put on list for future viewing: 3
My list that ended up on the cutting room floor (dammit!): 2
Put on "meh" list : 2
1 Ptrs: seen 8



A system of cells interlinked
I will put Diving Bell on my list, but have pretty much zero interest in seeing Hedwig.
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No. I hoped it would make it but was worried it wouldn't especially since hk didn't vote. It was just the only qualifying musical I could think of that might have enough MoFo fans to make the cut.
Sorry to let you down @Miss Vicky because you know that it's probably top 10 for me in a 2000's list. Great film and one I recommend to anyone. Especially those who (like myself and MV) aren't usually fans of musicals.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is another film I own but have not seen. I really don't know if I could watch it now.

Not seen The Devils Rejects since release but remember quite liking it. Nothing great, but it has it's place. I'm not really one for torture or prolonged pain.

Pride & Prejudice is OK but I'm not a fan of the story. I love period dramas, but that particular story has never really clicked with me regardless of the version I've seen. I much prefer Sense & Sensiblity or Emma.
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Sorry to let you down @Miss Vicky because you know that it's probably top 10 for me in a 2000's list.
No worries. Life happens. It got 7 votes even without you, which is awesome. I'm curious who the other 6 are, though. I assume @Thursday Next was one, but no clue who else did.



I'd seen MV mention Hedwig and the Angry Inch a few times and considered watching it, even though I typically hate musicals. I didn't actually get around to it until it was nominated in the 15th HoF though haha. I quite enjoyed it, and while it wasn't on my ballot, I'm happy to see it show up here.

I don't think I've ever heard of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly before.

Seen: 3/10

My List:
08. Mother (2009) - #96
25. Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) - 1-pointer



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No worries. Life happens. It got 7 votes even without you, which is awesome. I'm curious who the other 6 are, though. I assume @Thursday Next was one, but no clue who else did.
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