The Resident Bitch Prepares for the MoFo 2010s Countdown

Here I have documented all of the movies I've watched in preparation for the Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown. I submitted my ballot on December 4, 2022. If any movies appear on the countdown that I have not seen but that interest me, I may watch them and write them up in this thread.


INDEX:
(135 movies watched)

#
12 Years a Slave
A
Acts of Vengeance
Aferim!
Andhadhun
Anomalisa
Argo
Arrival
B
Belle
Big Hero 6
The Breadwinner
Bridesmaids
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Burden
C
Call Me By Your Name
Calvary
Cameraperson
Capernaum
Captain Phillips
Clash
Coco
Cold Fish
D
Dallas Buyers Club
Dark Shadows
Despicable Me
Django Unchained
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot
Drive
E
The Eagle
Enemy
Ernest & Celestine
Ethel & Ernest
F
Far From the Madding Crowd
The Favourite
The Florida Project
Frankenweenie
The Frozen Ground
G
A Ghost Story
Gifted
God's Own Country
Gone Girl
The Great Gatsby
H
Happy Death Day
The Hateful Eight
The Help
Her
How to Train Your Dragon
The Hunt
I
I, Daniel Blake
I Lost My Body
The Illusionist
I'm Still Here
The Immigrant
Incendies
Inception
Inherent Vice
Inside Out
Irrational Man
Isle of Dogs
J
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Jurassic World
K
Killer Joe
Kitbull
Klaus
Knives Out
L
Lady Macbeth
Legend
Lilting
The Lobster
Locke
Love & Mercy
Love is Strange
The Lure
M
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Man From Nowhere
Manchester By the Sea
Marshland
Midsommar
Moana
My Life As A Zucchini
N
The Nice Guys
Nightcrawler
The Nightingale
O
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
P
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Pawn Shop Chronicles
Poetry
Prisoners
Q
Quality Time
R
Rango
The Raven
Real Steel
The Red Turtle
The Revenant
Robin Hood
Room
Rush
S
Safety Not Guaranteed
Sausage Party
Searching
The Secret Life of Pets
A Separation
Shame
Shutter Island
Sing
The Sisters Brothers
Skin
The Skin I Live In
Song of the Sea
Sorry We Missed You
Source Code
Spring Breakers
Still Life
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons
T
Thirst Street
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Tikkun
The Town
Toy Story 3
Tyrannosaur
U
Under the Skin
V
Venom
W
The Way He Looks
Weathering With You
What We Do In The Shadows
Whiplash
Who Killed Captain Alex?
The Wolf of Wall Street
Wreck-It Ralph
Wrinkles
X
Xingu
Y
You Were Never Really Here
Your Name.
Z
Zootopia

Rectification Watches:
The World of Tomorrow
The Raid: Redemption
Ex Machina
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The Social Network

Other 2010s Watches:
The Lighthouse

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The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)

They might as well have called this movie Catty Bitches in Queen Anne's Court. I generally try to avoid movies with such a predominantly female cast but The Favourite looked like it was going to be a good bit of fun and it did not disappoint. I really liked the dark humor and, as a bit of a sucker for costume dramas, I really loved the sets and the clothes. I have to say that I wasn't expecting this to be a love triangle and was a little surprised by the sexual elements, but it wasn't at all graphic and worked well with the story it was telling. All three lead performances were very strong and, while it did drag in a few places and I didn't quite love it, I do think this is a movie I will want revisit. I may even try to get a second viewing in before it's time to vote for the 2010's list, though there is quite stiff competition and it probably won't make the cut for me.

What We Do In the Shadows (Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, 2014)

After seeing the trailer for this, I had my reservations but I really like Jojo Rabbit and since this made the Comedy Countdown I thought I'd give it a shot. I think the concept is good - and certainly mockumentaries can work very well for me - but it relied a little too heavily on silliness and there just wasn't enough substance here for my tastes. I did chuckle a few times, but I mostly felt detached from the whole thing and were it any longer than its 86 minute runtime I don't know that I would've finished it.

Not a bad movie and amusing enough for one watch, but not something I'm likely to revisit and I definitely won't be voting for it in the 2010s countdown.

Ethel & Ernest (Roger Mainwood, 2016)

I saw this being suggested in GBG's 2010's Recommendations thread and I thought I'd give it a shot.

There's a lot to like here. The film is really beautifully animated and it details the lives of a very ordinary couple, from the late 1920s to the early 1970s, as they try to cope with the events of the world and the ever evolving technology and politics of their day. It was really neat to get that perspective.

Unfortunately, my ability to enjoy this film was all but destroyed by one thing: Ethel. Holy shit that woman was infuriating - always thinking herself better than the "common" people, while being in denial of her own place in the social hierarchy and remaining willfully ignorant of the realities of politics and world events. I hated her so much and every time I'd start to enjoy myself she'd do or say something else that irritated me and I was left very much detached from the whole thing as a result.

But I do have to give credit where it is due and this is a very well crafted film. It's just not one that I'm likely to ever watch again and it certainly won't be getting my vote for the countdown.

Lilting (Hong Khaou, 2014)

This is another movie I saw being suggested in GBG's 2010's Recommendations thread. I hadn't even heard of it before then,

Although it's rather short, this is definitely a movie that requires patience and full engagement. It's a slow meditation on grief, guilt, obligation, and understanding. Ben Whishaw gives a particularly strong performance as a young man trying to connect with his dead boyfriend's Chinese-Cambodian mother - who doesn't like him, speaks no English, and doesn't know that her son was gay. Cheng Pei Pei is also excellent as the dead man's mother and gives a lot of humanity to a character that might otherwise have come off as cold, particularly in the film's earlier scenes.

It's a very moving film and one that I'll probably watch again, but my shortlist for the 2010s countdown is now at 82 films so its chances of making the final cut are pretty slim.

Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd, 2016)
(Rewatch)

Lady Macbeth is gorgeously shot with a palatte of earth tones and black, with just a little pop of color here and there. And it was really the look of this film that seduced me when I first saw its trailer back in 2016.

But that's not what really makes this a memorable experience. For that you must look to its central performance. Florence Pugh is absolutely chilling as Katherine - a woman who, once finding a taste of freedom in her otherwise stifling life, goes to increasingly cruel measures to keep it. She is calculating, remorseless, and will take out anyone who gets in her way.

Yet this is not a movie that is particularly violent. There are a few bursts of action and it clocks in at only about 90 minutes, but it burns at almost a snail's pace. It also almost completely lacks a score. There's virtually no music to instruct or manipulate your emotions. You are simply presented with a set of people and circumstances and are left to judge them for yourself.

As for me, I come away from it not knowing entirely how to feel about Katherine and her crimes, and I love that about it. It still remains to be seen if this will make the final cut for me, but its definitely not out of contention yet.

Is this a recommendation thread, or do you already have your watchlist assembled?

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

Feel free to post recommendations if you have them, but I can't promise I'll get to them.

I posted this in the Preliminary Thread, but I might as well send it here as well:

https://www.listchallenges.com/top-2...s-of-the-2010s

You've likely already seen most of them though.

There are actually quite a few I haven't seen:

Holy Motors
Upstream Color
Snowpiercer
Arrival
Cameraperson
Burning
Under the Skin
Exit Through the Gift Shop
A Ghost Story
Marriage Story (I started this, but quickly got bored and shut it off)
Blackkklannsman
Hereditary
Shame (this is already on my watchlist)
Prisoners
Fruitvale Station
Enemy

Of those I have seen, I hated Tree of Life and disliked Inside Llewyn Davis. A Separation was probably the one I liked best, but I really need to rewatch it because it's been awhile and I've only seen it once.

I would definitely second Prisoners above^^

I would second Prisoners and Arrival above^^

I would also recommend them, but you all already know that

Arrival is good. I better get to Prisoners sometime.

You're tough to recommend for but I'll do my best. These are all on my list of contenders.

Nightcrawler (2014)
I'm sure you've seen this, a lock for the countdown.

Capernaum (2018)
I'd recommend this to anyone on the forum. A good chance to make the countdown.

Tyrannosaur (2011)
Bleak and gritty British drama with a great lead performance. There's a tough scene with an animal but it's not real. The actor and the film both have a following so it has a chance to make the countdown.

Blue Ruin (2013)
Gritty crime thriller that has a shot to make it.

The rest have no chance to make the countdown-

Cold Fish (2010)
Gory and funny Japanese film.

Kidnapped (2010)
This is a tough one, well made and not trashy. Intense and upsetting.

Hounds of Love (2016)
Another that's a bit disturbing. Australian crime thriller based on a true story.

Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)
Interconnected stories, quirky and twisted. I think you like some of the cast.

The Nightingale (2018)
Australian historical revenge, I was surprised at how brutal it was.

The Golden Glove (2019)
Pretty messed up but you might get a kick out of it.

Sleep Tight (2011)
Very solid thriller with a creepy premise.

Skin (2018)
Based on a true story-a skinhead attempts to change. I thought it was excellent.

Widows (2018)
Crime thriller with a great cast.

Nothing Bad Can Happen (2013)
Disturbing drama from the female directors list. Based on a true story.

Headhunters (2011)
Fun action thriller.

Avoid "Holy Motors" at all costs. Was thinking of nom'g this for the "Son of Infamy" thread.

I really have no sense of what commonalities drive your taste or what to recommend, so all I can say is that I think Arrival is a masterpiece.

I always love revisiting favorites, so go for it

Of the movies mentioned here, maybe you would like these?

Blackkklannsman
Blue Ruin

Both were Cosmic's noms in past HoFs. I haven't seen most of the other films mentioned on your thread.

I've only seen Blue Ruin of those you mentioned. I know I saw it for a HOF, but it apparently didn't make any impression because that's all I can remember about it. I'll have to find my review of it and see if I think it's worth rewatching. I've also been a little interested in Nightcrawler so I'll add it to my watchlist. I'll have to look into the others.

I may give it a shot but I rarely like serious Sci-Fi movies.