The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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Thanks, raul. What do you all think will be #1? Seems like Fellowship to me. A little surprised Zodiac will be this high but hey I think it's a great film so all good. I think I'll make a top 10 guess after the next two are posted.
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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."




My List
1. The Pianist (2002)
2. Donnie Darko (2001)
6. Oldboy (2003)
8. Gran Torino (2008). (#108)
11. Caché (2005)
12. Ratatouille (2007)
14. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
15. Downfall (2004)
16. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
17. A Serious Man (2009)
18. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
21. Battle Royale (2000)
22. City of God (2002)
25. Bellamy (2009. (1 pointer)
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if i was a guessing man

1. No Country for old men
2. Return of the King
3.Dark Knight
4.There Will Be Blood
5. Fellowship
6. Pans Labyrinth
7. Memento
8. Spirited Away
9. Mulholland Drive
10. Eternal Sunshine
11. Zodiac
12. In the Mood



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I swear, every time I take part in one of these things I learn just how much I do NOT know about you weirdos.
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Parts of Wall-E are strong, such as the sequence where Wall-E and Eva are dancing in space or where Wall-E tries to mimic the moves in Hello Dolly. But the satire on the ship was heavy handed and the villain is kinda meh. It didn't make my cut, although it's still a solid film.

Kill Bill Volume 1 is my number 20 (Considering my bad luck with the foreign film list, I'm tickled that I'm getting more entries here). Although the part at the van is kind of weak to be honest, each of the fight sequences feels different. From the brutal and up close battle with Vernilla to the wild chaos of the fight with Gogo to the elegant fight with O-Ren and the bad-ass one with the Crazy 88s. Throw in an anime sequence the chronicles how O-Ren got to be and Sonny Chiba as a sushi chef/master swordsman and the results are chef's kiss.

My List:
1. City of God
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
8. Up
9. Million Dollar Baby
11. Spider-Man 2
13. Brokeback Mountain
14. Finding Nemo
15. Requiem for a Dream
19. Amelie
20. Kill Bill Volume 1
21. Chicago (Just Missed)
22. The Wrestler
25. Gladiator

Honorable Mentions:
Remember the Titans
Unbreakable
Shaun of the Dead



Trivia




Kill Bill Vol. 1



Did you know that...
  • Quentin Tarantino has mentioned the 1971 western Hannie Caulder, starring Raquel Welch, as one of his influences behind the film?
  • Jack Nicholson, Kurt Russell, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Costner, Warren Beatty, and Burt Reynolds passed on the role of Bill? Aside from his hands, the character is not seen in this part.
  • Tarantino heard the all girl band The 5,6,7,8's on a store radio as he was leaving Japan after location scouting? After asking the clerk to sell him his CD, Tarantino listened to it and immediately signed them to play during the Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves.
  • the long take scene took 6 hours to rehearse and was shot in 17 takes? The whole Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves fight sequence took 8 weeks to film.

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Trivia




WALL-E



Did you know that...
  • both WALL-E and EVE are voiced by not "traditional" actors? Ben Burtt is a sound designer for Pixar, while Elissa Knight was a Pixar employee that occasionally recorded "scratch tracks".
  • Roger Deakins was consulted about realistic lighting and cinematography?
  • WALL-E's eyes were inspired by a pair of binoculars that were given to Andrew Stanton during an MLB game?




I expect 4 more films on my ballot to appear, and at this point I am now sure that 12 of them will not.

I'm sure everyone feels this way about their films that didn't make it, but at least three of them I genuinely feel didn't make the cut because they are so underseen.



I've seen Kill Bill 1 and consider it as a top-tier Tarantino. I even considered it for my ballot, but haven't seen it in ages (and maybe wanted to punish QT for making lots of garbage). Just like other Pixars, I haven't seen Wall-E.

As we're so close to the end, I'll start revealing one of my missing films each day (in somewhat random order, starting from the ones I expect to have the least love from others).

Seen: 46/88

My Ballot:
1. Let the Right One In (2008) [#29]
5. Watchmen (2009) [#87]
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) [#15]
8. The Descent (2005) [#80]
13. The Children (2008) [DNP]
18. Battle Royale (2000) [#77]
25. Harry Brown (2009) [1-pointer]
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The trick is not minding
I expect 4 more films on my ballot to appear, and at this point I am now sure that 12 of them will not.

I'm sure everyone feels this way about their films that didn't make it, but at least three of them I genuinely feel didn't make the cut because they are so underseen.
Is Wendy and Lucy one of them? I just watched that and had I gotten around to it beforehand, it defiantly would have ranked highly on my ballot.
But that’s how it goes…there were so many films released in that decade it’s difficult, and almost a Sisyphean task, to get around to all of them in a timely manner.



Was Wendy and Lucy one of them? I just watched that and had I gotten around to it beforehand, it defiantly would have ranked highly on my ballot.
But that’s how it goes…there were so many films released in that decade it’s difficult, and almost a Sisyphean task, to get around to all of them in a timely manner.
Wendy and Lucy was a late cut, unfortunately, though I did love it.

I think that part of it is that two of the films on my list were worldview-shifting for me, and the fact that people either (1) haven't seen them or (2) don't think of them as top-tier is a little sad/disappointing.

I'll be interested to hear, when it's all over, what everyone's highest-ranked pick (from their own list) didn't make it. For me it'll be my #4 film.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I've abandoned most of my list at this point, but I am still pining for Walken's masterpiece, Balls of Fury, to make the show. I was so excited to see it not fall into the one-pointers list!! Sadly, I didn't vote for it, but I had a feeling it would square itself comfortably on a lot of other lists. I must admit that I'm a bit giddy in disbelief that it's made it to such a high rank with this community.


For all the other flagrant faults in this developing list, this one is great stuff. I'm truly proud of some of you.



I forgot the opening line.
14. Kill Bill Vol. 1 : It's been 20 or so films since I had one appear from my list (there are 3 or 4 upper echelon locks to go) but 4 films that were on my list before I cut them have appeared in the last 12 - well, they were the films that didn't need my help and I felt comfortable letting go. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the last of those that were on it for a long time - I have a slight preference for it over Vol. 2, but that's not to say that I don't enjoy the latter immensely. I've got to the point though, where I feel a little over-familiar with them - seeing them so many times that it's hard to judge just where they sit in comparison to others. The fact that I've watched them multiple times however speaks to their value as entertainment - Uma's battle's with Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu and the Crazy 88 are remarkable, and her ordeal with a somewhat unethical hospital attendant is typically over the top. The soundtrack is electric, cast enviable and revenge story like something from the pages of a comic book.

13. WALL-E : This was one of the Pixar films I caught up with in preparation for this countdown, and I agree with the general voting consensus that it's the best (unless there's another waiting in the wings.) This really is something different - the two main characters have to rely on a lot more than words to communicate - and they're as cute as hell. Everything goes up a notch when they end up on a mammoth space ship populated by grossly obese humans who have lost touch with where they come from - a prescient depiction of a ruined Earth. I enjoyed this one the most, and I'd love to hear about what kids think about it. When I was a kid I remember the robot from Short Circuit who reminds me quite a lot of WALL-E ("Number 5 is alive") - but these days the imaginative minds at Pixar bring today's younger generation stories and images that have my generation well and truly beat. No votes from me though.

Seen : 75/88

The List :

1. #1 contender
2. Adaptation. (2002) - #43
3. #1 contender
4. Will probably show - 95%
5. I'm still pretty confident - 93%
6. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) - #51
7. Lost in Translation (2003) - #32
8. Dancer in the Dark (2000) - #49
9. A Serious Man (2009) - #66
10. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - #102
11. 3% - Thought it had an excellent chance for a lower spot on the countdown
12. 66% - This is still getting mentioned in predictions - but with so few spots left I'm wondering
13. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005) - #78
14. 1% - Not enough spots left - this one was simply not popular enough
15. 1% - Was talked about a lot before the countdown, but it's not showing
16. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) - #59
17. Sideways (2004) - #39
18. 0% - I cut a good film for this, but I do love this film - thought it had a chance
19. Michael Clayton (2007) - #109
20. In Bruges (2008) - #56
21. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) - #84
22. 0% - A late addition after I remembered it and wanted it represented. Maybe too few have seen it.
23. Snatch (2000) - #71
24. 1% - I thought this was a certainty, but if it didn't show in the top 70 it wasn't going to show at all
25. World's Greatest Dad (2009) - 1-pointer
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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



I know at least 4 more of mine will make it and 3 others have no chance.



Short hint...

WARNING: spoilers below

Let's get together and do nothing
Forget about the world around us
Come sit with me and write
about this or that, about my loss



I loved Kill Bill Vol.1 but as I loved Vol. 2 a bit more and didn't vote for that one, well, you know.

Wall-E is top-notch Pixar but my sentimental favorite has always been Finding Nemo and since that's already on the list, no-go for this Pixar joint. I don't know---I'm expecting maybe three of mine to make it, but will not hope for more. I'll just wait and see. This list has been all over the place but I've loved it because of its unpredictability.


#4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 15
#5.Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 63
#8. Unbreakable 62
#10.Million Dollar Baby 57
#15. Shaun of the Dead 20
#18. The Royal Tenenbaums 35
#20. Iron Man 83
#21 Finding Nemo 44
#22. Fantastic Mr. Fox 70
#23. The Descent 80
#25. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 76
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