The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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I knew American Psycho would make it. Thr Descent's been on my mind for a while, too. I've already seen Sanctum, The Cave and Time Trap. Might as well get on The Descent.





American Psycho was #54 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List. The Descent did not place there but was #24 the first time we did a MoFo Horror List and fell to #40 when the list was re-done in 2019.
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Just realized that both films were followed by allegedly "cash-grab", straight-to-video sequels that sorta go against what's established in the first one. Can't say much cause I've never seen either of the sequels, but it kinda just popped out to me right now.

Anyway, I've seen both and love both. I've seen American Psycho a bunch of times and it's definitely deserving, but it's been a couple of good years since I last saw it, so I didn't vote for it.

The Descent, on the other hand, I consider to be probably the best horror film of the 2000s. Saw it in theater and it literally made me jump a couple of times. But aside from handling the tension, terror, and uncomfortable sense of not only being trapped in a cave, but trapped with some cannibalistic creatures, I think it does handle the character dynamics pretty well. I really thought about having it on my list, especially based on a recent rewatch (in October) where I had a particularly visceral reaction to it. I thought that was interesting and weird, especially considering that I've seen it probably close to 10 times, but this time I was literally fidgeting only at the first half scene where the girl is trapped in the cave corridor. My wife, who saw it with me in theaters, and has also seen it a good bunch of times (she likes this stuff) literally gave up. She couldn't go on watching this time. Despite that, it was one of the last 2 or 3 cuts I did to my list, but this is good stuff.

For what it's worth, here's the review I wrote after that last rewatch.

So as of now, here's where I'm at...

Seen: 12/22

My ballot:  
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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Not on my ballot.

The Descent is always a good first watch. The first part before "they" show up is the better part, but it does have a pretty good twist ending, compared to most such.

American Psycho is an obvious film; not bad, but not that good either. In fact, I'm almost tempted to say that it psucks, but of course, it doesn't, really.
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I blind bought American Psycho after hearing/reading tons of praise for it. It came in a three pack with Way of the Gun and Requiem for a Dream. I didn't care for it at all. Actually that whole pack was a strike-out for me.

I haven't seen The Descent.

At this point, I think all hope is lost for Quills.

Seen: 11/22



Yay - not only back on the diet today but another from my list shows up
The Descent still holds up very well imo, well enough in fact to make my ballot and actually hoped it would be a little higher than this. Not much of a fan of Amercan Psycho personally though.

Seen: 13/22 (Own: 11/22)
My ballot:  


Faildictions (millennial edition v1.0):
78. Burn After Reading (2008)
77. The Prestige (2006)



OK. Since my last post, I've seen three more films. Iron Man is one of the better MCU movies. It was never in consideration for my ballot, but I think I'd grudgingly call it good.

I've also seen both of today's films. I suppose I should rewatch American Psycho one day, but back when it came out, I didn't particularly like it. Can't say much more about that one. The Descent, on the other hand, is one of my favorite horrors. It barely missed my all-time list, but on this one, I had it at #8. A great horror film.

Seen: 9/22

My Ballot:
5. Watchmen (2009) [#87]
8. The Descent (2005) [#80]
25. Harry Brown (2009) [1-pointer]
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Heyyyy movies from my list!

I’ve watched A LOT of horror movies and The Descent is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. Love it to death.


I’m surprised American Psycho is so low. One of my all time faves.



Another solid pair of entries that didn't merit consideration for my list.

It's interesting to me that so many people have not seen a lot of these movies. I guess it's down to timing--I was in my late 20s/early to mid-30s and was not yet a parent, so I spent a lot of the 2000s watching movies. I've seen more movies from that decade (about 500) than any other. So I'm expecting I'll have seen most of this list--I'm only missing 3 so far (4 if you count #101).



The trick is not minding
I blind bought American Psycho after hearing/reading tons of praise for it. It came in a three pack with Way of the Gun and Requiem for a Dream. I didn't care for it at all. Actually that whole pack was a strike-out for me.

I haven't seen The Descent.

At this point, I think all hope is lost for Quills.

Seen: 11/22
Way too early to give up on Quills, considering we’re only 22 movies in.

It should make it, considering it is on my ballot, and very highly at that.



I blind bought American Psycho after hearing/reading tons of praise for it. It came in a three pack with Way of the Gun and Requiem for a Dream. I didn't care for it at all. Actually that whole pack was a strike-out for me.



two very very good movies that didn't make my list but almost
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Critics




Critics thoughts on our #80, The Descent...



It currently has an 86% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 7.2/10 score on IMDb (with 214,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★★ and said:
"Finally, a scary movie with teeth, not just blood and entrails -- a savage and gripping piece of work that jangles your nerves without leaving your brain hanging. And so, for a change, you emerge feeling energized and exhilarated rather than enervated, or merely queasy."
On the other hand, Claudia Puig, of USA Today, said:
"For my money, [the] first 20 or so minutes are the best in the film. Once the real adventure gets underway in the cave, things get less interesting."
As for our MoFo reviewers, @Sedai said:
"The Descent doesn't do anything terribly original, to be sure, but at no point does it fall into any typical horror pitfalls, and the director keeps his hand off the usual tension release valves for the entire film. So, so many horrors will attempt to alleviate tension with a little comedy or a conversation here and there with a lighter tone. This film has a crushing grip that never relents, and a completely bleak ending that pulls no punches. It's also incredibly rich with subtext."
And @Holden Pike said:
"The Descent delivers more character development than you often get in the genre, and the tension builds well even before all Hell breaks loose ... Can't say there's anything especially new here, but it's well made and involving just the same. "



Critics




Critics thoughts on our #79, American Psycho...



It currently has a 69% Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 7.6/10 score on IMDb (with 537,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★ and said:
"Christian Bale is heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor."
On the other hand, Kenneth Turan, of the Los Angeles Times, said:
"The difficult truth is that the more viewers can model themselves after protagonist Bateman, the more they can distance themselves from the human reality of the slick violence that fills the screen and take it all as some kind of a cool joke, the more they are likely to enjoy this stillborn, pointless piece of work."
As for our MoFo reviewers, @Sir2lazyThe2nd said:
"I honestly didn't know what to expect from this film. I heard some things about it before, some good, some bad. And when I watched the film, I had no idea it would be this good. What I liked about this film was Christian Bales amazing performance as Patrick Bateman."
And @KasperKristensen said:
"I guess I just expected more from the movie based on the book, which was so violent that it was criticized of being utterly and completely pointless. And I certainly expected more from Bale. This only sneaks up to this grade due to Bale’s performance in the breakdown scene."



Another two I really like. The Descent used to be my favorite horror when I was younger. Still really enjoy it.

American Psycho is good fun. A classic Bale flick and it's very entertaining.

Non from my list as of yet...



I haven't seen The Descent. Am I a bad person? Maybe. Am I a bad person because I haven't see The Descent? No. I do think American Psycho is the greatest romantic comedy of a generation, though.
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Another for my possibly might watch someday to check off the list and n The Descent.

Satire is sometimes a tough sell for me. It needs to be really funny, otherwise if it quacks too much it’s just a duck. Bale is good though. I give American Psycho a passing grade.
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