The Resident Bitch Prepares for the MoFo 2010s Countdown

I found my review of Blue Ruin:

I don’t think I’ll bother with a rewatch.

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Contrary to what one might think from the title, it is not part of the Fast & Furious franchise, let alone about any drag racing cult drifting along in Tokyo.


It is from Leos Carax, who directed the recent movie, Annette. I don't know how much one extrapolate from one to guess how much they'd like the other (they seemed like very different movies to me), unless one absolutely, absolutely hated Annette (and not speaking hyperbolically), outside of the music, and one can intuit it's existing in a style of filmmaking they don't care for, then that would probably be an indicator to avoid it.

I can't think of any recommendations.
Unless you want documentaries about ethnic and political purges (of the mass murder variety) in Southeast Asia. I can give you three of those.

Just going to say again that it's really great to see someone else talking about this movie. I really loved it and immediately wanted to recommend it to everyone.

@Miss Vicky, I know that you watch a lot of animated movies, so I was wondering if you've seen any of these movies, and are they worth watching for the 2010s countdown?

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
Smallfoot (2018)
Abominable (2019)

Also, I liked Hotel Transylvania (2012), so are Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) worth watching?

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

I actually wasn't a fan of Hotel Transylvania, so I didn't watch the sequels. Of the others, I've only seen Abominable. The animation was really gorgeous but I just couldn't get into the story. I know it's an animated movie about a Yeti or whatever, but the heavy fantasy and the involvement of magic just didn't work for me. It might be worth your while, though.

Thank you.

I recently bought Smallfoot and Abominable on DVD (at garage sales, so they were cheap enough to take the risk), and I DVRed the other movies, but I didn't know if I should jump them near the top of my watchlist, or let them wait and possibly not see them before the deadline.

My Life As A Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette) (Claude Barras, 2014)
(Rewatch)

I first watched this movie last year and, while I enjoyed it overall, I had kind of mixed feelings about it. I liked the story, but really disliked the style of the characters and sets. I also didn't quite connect with it as strongly I would've liked, but I felt it had potential to grow on me... and grow on me it did. Whereas I found the art style crude and off-putting then, tonight I found it whimsical and charming and while still no tears were shed, I must admit I got a little misty-eyed this time.

The story itself isn't original. Courgette and the other children all have devastatingly tragic backstories but, while the movie never lets the audience forget where these kids came from, it also never really dwells on their past. It's still the age old trope of orphan protagonists overcoming their circumstances and finding out that family doesn't have to be blood, but it manages to somehow feel a little more authentic than some of the better known films in the same vein. It also packs everything into a runtime that's barely over an hour, making it a great choice if you're short on time.

Always hard to predict whether you will like something, but here are a few suggestions:

The Way He Looks (2014) - coming of age drama/ gay romance
The Lobster (2015) - weird comedy/drama anti-romance? Hard to describe, but weird, which is probably a plus
Under the Skin (2014) - Alien serial killer strangeness. You might hate this, I'm still not sure whether I liked it or hated it, but also very weird and stays with you in a creepy, lingering sort of a way
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) - vampire musicians confront eternity in different ways
A Ghost Story (2017) - this starts slowly as kind of look at grief but sort of evolves into more existential territory. I thought it was different and interesting.

Ghosts, aliens, vampires, and a dystopian society where single people get turned into animals? All of those sound like they require more suspension of disbelief than I usually allow for live action, so I can't promise I'll watch any of them, but maybe? The Lobster sounds weird enough that I might give it a go. I'll definitely check out The Way He Looks.

Some that I think you might enjoy. I put a few in each category.

Dramas
Phoenix--more of a drama/thriller
Mustang
The Handmaiden--also a mish mash of drama/thriller/comedy
Room
Shoplifters
Short Term 12
I, Daniel Blake
Gifted (I loved this film about a man trying to do what's best for his niece when he adopts her after her mother's death)
Calvary
I Will Follow

Family/Comedy
Paddington 2
The Farewell
The Guard

Romance
Far From the Madding Crowd (period romance from Hardy's novel)
About Time (romantic comedy)
God's Own Country (drama/gay romance that is great on both fronts)

Thriller
First Reformed
Stoker
The Invitation
Upstream Color
Tikkun (this movie is kind of hard to classify)

I second "Room" & "Shoplifters".

I third Room and Shoplifters and second Mustang, I, Daniel Blake, Gifted, and First Reformed.

I haven't heard anyone else talk about Gifted, but it's such a solid and optimistic/sweet film.

I've seen Short Term 12, I, Daniel Blake, and Room. I recall being fairly indifferent to Short Term 12, so it's not on my shortlist. The other two are possibles but need a rewatch.

I wasn't a fan of the Paddington books as kid so I never bothered with the first movie, so the sequel's pretty much out of the question. I'll add God's Own Country to the watchlist. I'll have to look up the others when I get home to see what sounds good.

I never read the Paddington books as a kid, but I thought that both films were really sweet with some good comedy and adorably committed performances from the adult actors. You also don't need to watch the first film to watch the sequel. Not trying to hard sell you, I was realizing that most of what I was recommending was pretty heavy stuff.

Nothing wrong with heavy stuff. Movies that make me cry tend to be movies that I love and I often favor movies that don't end happily. That said, happy shit makes me cry too.

LOL, same!

Please Read Before Making Any Recommendations:

My list of possible first-time watches is now over 50 movies long (including all of the movies suggested to me here, as well as those I already intended to watch). If you haven't made any suggestions yet, please check out this list of what's already been suggested:

2010s First Time Watch List

If you haven't made recommendations already and really want to, you may want to consider limiting your suggestions. If you have already made suggestions, please check the list to make sure I've selected the correct fim(s). I'll try to keep this list updated and have linked it in the first post.

Having said that, there's absolutely no way I'm going to get to all or even most of these before the deadline. If there is one particular 2010s film you really want me to watch, let me know and we can maybe make an arrangement where you watch one movie of my choosing and I watch one of yours.

Edit: Here is a list of 10 movies I most want people to watch: Movie Trades. If you'd like to arrange a trade, choose one of these (that you haven't yet seen) and let me know what you'd like me to watch, then I'll let you know if I'm down for doing the trade. If you've already seen all ten of these but are still interested in a trade, let me know and we may still be able to work something out.

Things to keep in mind before making recommendations:

-If it's not animated and requires a high level of suspension of disbelief (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Superhero, Musicals), there's a good chance I'm not going to like it. This is not necessarily a dealbreaker, but keep it in mind.
-I'm not generally a fan of documentaries, so probably don't bother suggesting them though it's not necessarily a dealbreaker.
-If it contains actual animal cruelty, don't suggest it. Period. This is a dealbreaker.
-If its central character is a woman or if it has a majority female cast, I'm probably not going to be too into it. Not a dealbreaker, but something to consider.
-If it was made by Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, David O. Russell, or Darren Arronofsky, don't even bother. There's a decent chance I've already seen it and I probably don't like it. This is not a complete list of directors to avoid.
-I don't like Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Adam Sandler, George Clooney, Paul Dano, or Robert Pattinson. So probably don't suggest anything with them in it. Wahlberg is a dealbreaker. I may add to this list later.

Okay, here are my final recommendations then:

https://www.listchallenges.com/print-list/228344

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