The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

Seen it, but no vote.

Probably because I haven't seen it in maybe 10-15 years. I have probably seen it twice, and remember loving it quite a bit, but it has more or less vanished. I seriously need a rewatch. Still, I'm glad to see it make it here.


Reaching the end of the road...

Seen: 78/95

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Wait... I thought this already showed

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Love Eternal enough to have it at #17. Have I ever mentioned Kaufman’s writing on mofo? He’s got a career ahead of him in that department I think. I am surprised Eternal is this high. I figured in the 20’s.

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No, you must have mistaken it with Oldboy

Tried three times to get through the last entry, all failed. Highly doubt that I'll try again.

6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (439 points) - Just missed out on my list. Good film, really due a rewatch.

I was thinking of Paul Blart Episode IV: A New Blart

Pans and Eternal are both good, and on my 00’s top 50.

Don't believe there will be any miracles, so I'll go ahead and reveal my #13 Ip Man 2008. Biopic of master Ip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun and Bruce Lee's sensei.

Here's a clip of Ip Man who wants to fight ten MoFos that didn't vote for his bio pic.



Seen: 75/95
Ballot: 19/25

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I think I've probably gotten into more arguments over Spotless at the three film forums I've participated in (the other two being long gone - Metacritic Forums and Movie Justice), and that's even with my giving it a fair-to-middling rating (). I found it quite morose and strangely unromantic even if it was creative in a Charlie Kaufmanesque way.

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One of those meh films for me. The worst of the top 10 I'd say, one other being clue if not for a real good performance from a certain someone.

Critics

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Critics thoughts on our #6, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...



It currently has a 92% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.3/10 score on IMDb (with 965,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★★ and said:

"The wisdom in Eternal Sunshine is how it illuminates the way memory interacts with love. We more readily recall pleasure than pain. From the hospital I remember laughing nurses and not sleepless nights. A drunk remembers the good times better than the hangovers. A failed political candidate remembers the applause. An unsuccessful romantic lover remembers the times when it worked."

Meanwhile Will Self, of the London Evening Standard, said:

"For all its high-falutin' references this is just another rom com with a bit of angst and ontological confusion thrown into the mix."

As for our MoFo reviewers, @Skepsis93 said:

"Many viewings later and it always hits me in the same ways, but new ways as well. Every performance is fantastic. It's beautifully written by one of my (now) favourite screenwriters with grace, humour and incredible pathos, built around a sensational concept. It always provokes new ideas. It's gloriously smart yet brilliantly entertaining. Its pleasures are endless."

And @Gatsby said:

"Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind is a good film, but it restrains itself so the drama factor can effectively kick in. Half of the time that works, half of the time it doesn't. And the half of the time it doesn't is when the free-flowing, wild fun is needed the most."

i remember liking Eternal but its been a long while and i don't like Kaufman nearly as much as i used to.

Might as well chuck out:

1. Moon (2009) - 48th
2. YES
3. YES
4. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - 7th
5. YES
6. Shaun of the Dead (2004) - 20th
7. Zodiac (2007) - 9th
8. Sin City (2005) - 47th
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - 15th
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - 8th
11. Million Dollar Baby (2004) - 57th
12. Unbelievably NO
13. Cast Away (2000) - 69th
14. WALL·E (2008) - 13th
15. NO
16. NO
17. NO
18. The Dark Knight (2008) - 10th
19. NO
20. Unbreakable (2000) - 62nd
21. Gladiator (2000) - 40th
22. Watchmen (2009) - 87th
23. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - 63rd
24. Unbelievably NO
25. Inglourious Basterds (2009) - 18th

Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was the runner up, #2 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List. It was also #19 on the original MoFo Top 100, #92 on the 2020 reboot, and #27 on the MoFo Top 100 Sci-Fi Films list.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Eternal Sunshine is a film I've been meaning to rewatch for awhile now because I think I'll appreciate it more than I did before, but I never seem to get around to it (that appears to be a theme with me). I did manage to catch part of it on tv a few years back, but I was visiting home at the time and something came up, so not only had I missed the start, but I didn't get to see the end either haha.

Seen: 62/95

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I agree very much with "strangely unromantic." Best argument, maybe, is that it's supposed to be, because the relationship in it isn't actually a particularly good or healthy one, and it's about hanging onto something like that even when you shouldn't. This, to my mind, makes it more potent, even if it completely changes what's supposed to be good about it.

59/95, will finish 64/100. Par for the course for me.

I've still never seen Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, maybe one day though tbh I'm not the world's greatest Jim Carrey fan so maybe not.


Seen: 66/95 (Own: 46/95)



Faildictions (millennial edition v1.01):
26. Superbad (2007)
25. Memento (2000) [11]
24. Road To Perdition (2002)
23. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002) [15]
22. Shrek (2001)
21. Requiem For A Dream (2000) [26]
20. Oldboy (2003) [22]
19. Inglourious Basterds (2009) [18]
18. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) [6]
17. City Of God (2002) [25]
16. In The Mood For Love (2000) [12]
15. O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) [21]
14. Children Of Men (2006) [17]
13. Amélie (2001) [16]
12. Zodiac (2007) [9]
11. WALL·E (2008) [13]
10. The Departed (2006) [19]
9. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
8. Shaun Of The Dead (2004) [20]
7. Mulholland Drive (2001)
6. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) [7]
5. There Will Be Blood (2007)
4. The Dark Knight (2008) [10]
3. Spirited Away (2001)
2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003) [8]
1. No Country For Old Men (2007)

No change - still twenty-three down, three to go.....

Man, the way ESOTSM hits me I find it incredibly romantic. As I said in THIS THREAD...


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was my fifth pick and the last from my Top Ten to make the cut (I have two more in the collective top five). Like all of Charlie Kaufman's work it is as exceedingly clever as it is weird, but as detailed above I find at his center he really is a pretty traditional romantic. But those messages are hidden in worlds and characters who get there in the most circuitous and surreal journeys that on their surface are more about pain and disappointment. I find him to be a certifiable genius, myself.

HOLDEN’S BALLOT
1. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#86)
2. Dancer in the Dark (#49)
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#6)
7. Children of Men (#17)
8. Amélie (#16)
9. The Lives of Others (#41)
10. The Pianist (#31)
13. Zodiac (#9)
14. Synecdoche, New York (#46)
15. Moon (#48)
16. Fantastic Mr. Fox (#70)
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (#92)
18. A Serious Man (#66)
19. Adaptation. (#43)
20. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (#51)
21. Downfall (#28)
24. Memento (#11)

Pan's Labyrinth controls my #1 spot while Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sits at #17.

Pan's Labyrinth just hits on so many levels with me. I'm a blubbering wall of tear snot every time I watch it and, as mentioned before, the score is simple and perfect for projecting the emotion of any given scene. The underworld is a masterpiece of visual effects and lore. I could spend hours listening to or reading through sketch journals exhausted to finalize the concepts that made it to screen. The near seamless blend of child fantasy and horror reminds me so much of Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. Both are absolutely gorgeous to experience. So much so that I almost forget the brutal horror of what's being presented. I don't know. There hasn't been a movie that hits quite the way this one does. It's like.... It's like the magical wonder of Labyrinth (Bowie) met the gut-punch tragedies of Blue Valentine and decided to create a super mecha stacked combination bot designed to target and devour my soul. It's a wild rollercoaster of emotion, for me, and as tragic as it is depending on your perspective of the events that play out, it's a ride that I always have to return to and suffer with. It's weird, yo.


*EDIT*
ESOTSM was alright I guess.

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