The MoFo Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown

I've not seen Holy Motors but I have seen and reviewed The Shape of Water:


I'd call this, The Shape of Things to Come. Because this is where Hollywood is heading: Dumbed down, sappy scripts...with really good actors and stylish sets...Add to that mix a few socially relative messages tacked on for 21st sensibilities and you get the illusion of something far more grandiose than the potboiler script can actually deliver...The Shape of Water masquerades as something far greater than it really is.

It's a film that's all dressed up with a du jour color pallet, in this case it's teal, not green, TEAL. Teal is everywhere in the sets and clothing...that is until our girl Friday takes a spin with the creature and starts seeing cherry red.

All these go-nowhere add-ons creates an illusion of film grandiose and these mag wheels and racing stripes on mom's 4 door car won it an Oscar.

Did I mention that the movie dragged for me. I didn't buy into the romance that happened way to quick and the Soviet spies were a dopey script idea right out of a B budget movie. Come to think of it, if this had been a low budget movie made in the early 1980s it would be one of those so bad you like it flicks.

Though I have to say as over the top that his cattle-prod wielding ass was, Michael Shannon the actor was damn good in this. He was so intense and so into his character that I was kind of rooting for him. I mean he's hard not to like, he's so over the top and yet totally focused, he's a fine actor. Too bad this wasn't done in a black comedy style, then the finger ripping scene would have been a hoot!

I liked Richard Jenkins in this and I really liked Sally Hawkins too, then again I always like her. I thought her deep friendship with her closeted gay next door neighbor was the best part of the film. That felt real and special.

But I wish the creature idea had been left at the Marvel/DC doorstep, and a more serious film about outsider people struggling in the early 1960s and feeling isolated because of their differences....that would have made a much more stronger film than what we get.

Yeah, I love Holy Motors. It was my #11. It's weird as f**k, but mesmerizing anyways. The kind of film that you don't necessarily need to *understand* to be captivated by it. Here's something I wrote about it some time after my first watch about 6 or 7 years ago, and like @Torgo said, it came up in the discussion I had on an episode of my podcast where I talked about "Mindf**k Films". Glad it got some love here.

The Shape of Water is good, but far from great, as far as I'm concerned. I also had some issues with some parts of it. Here's a link to my review on Letterboxd, where I briefly touch on them.


So, here's where I'm at...

Seen: 40/50

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No votes. I've seen The Shape of Water once and liked it at the time, but I haven't felt much inclination to revisit it - as much as I respect Del Toro's unbridled enthusiasm for cinema as an art form, I'm not 100% convinced that that translates into the quality of his own films and the Black Lagoon romance angle somehow speaks to the paradoxical nature of his imagination that is at once willing to concoct such a scenario while also executing it in a strangely limited fashion. I saw Holy Motors once and am pretty sure I liked it even if I had barely any idea what was going, but that only means I definitely want to revisit it and see if it makes any more sense a second time around.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

A friend brought his Holy Motors DVD by sometime around 2014 or so, and I know we watched it, but damned if I can recall much about the film. The main character looks familiar etc., but shit, I am going to put it in my rectification pile even if I know I have watched it.

I didn't care for The Shape of Water.

No votes!

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I was counting on you to decode my hint

Also, just out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on my brief analysis of the film upthread?

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IMDb
Letterboxd

I liked Shape of Water, but it’s not something I think about much or ever plan to revisit.

Haven’t seen Holy Motors.

#52. The Shape of Water (2017) - saw it during the awards season back then. Nice cinematography + couple of issues. (60/100).


Never heard #51. Holy Motors (2012).

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Seen: 18 - Joker - This was an alright movie, not a fan of the joker character really

Nightcrawler - The movie was okay, it didn't interest me that much

Not Seen: 32

I have not seen Inside Out, Zero Dark Thirty, The Hunt, What We Do in the Shadows, Under the Skin, The Revenant, The Shape of Water and Holy Motors

My Ballot so far:

1. Will definitely make it, it should
2. Probably not
3. Definitely not
4. Definitely not
5. Deadpool (2016)
6. Easy A (2010)
7. Definitely not
8. Definitely not
9. Definitely not
10. Will definitely make it, it should
11. Definitely not
12. Definitely not
13. Definitely not
14. Definitely not
15. Definitely not
16. Definitely not
17. Definitely not
18. Still a chance
19. Still a chance
20. Still a chance
21. Definitely not
22. Definitely not
23. Still a chance
24. Still a chance
25. The Purge: Election Year (2016)

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Moviefan1988's Favorite Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...?t=67103<br />

Welcome to the Dance: My Favorite 20 High School Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...02#post2413502

The Shape of Water is a really fun watch, filled with memorable moments and just a captivating environment. Michael Shannon is one of the best villains of the decade. Wasn't in consideration for my list, but would make a top 50. +

I've seen Holy Motors but have mostly forgotten about it. I rated it at the time, which may have been harsh since the little I do remember is that it was very pretty to look at. I do think it may have lacked some depth, but frankly, I don't recall enough to have an opinion at this point.

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Holy Motors is my #3.
Love it to bits, just such a unique and unpredictable "ride" (quite literally), driven by Denis Lavant's tour-de-force performance. Quite deep and metaphorical too—with some truly subtle commentary on modern life and human existence in general. You can peel layer after layer and uncover new meanings, and each person watching will have their own personal takeaway from it.

two movies that made my list. holy motors was the first "arthouse" movie i had ever seen and it blew my mind at the time, although it wouldn't have quite made my list until my third viewing when i saw it in a theater this october. that was when it crystallized into a true masterpiece for me. it's a movie that can make you feel anything at any time – joy, sadness, repulsion, fear, arousal, awe, you name it. the kylie minogue scene made me cry this time and it never has before. it's the definitive film on the nature of performance and the changing cinematic landscape in the digital era. denis lavant gives several of the best performances in the history of movies in just this one movie. it was my #16.

i don't know that i have any particular argument for what makes the shape of water a masterpiece, but i know that it is one because it affected me in a way few movies ever have. i haven't seen it since the theater and don't know when i will because i found it so impossibly beautiful and moving on that day that i don't see how a rewatch could live up to it. i had it at #14.

under the skin and the revenant are also great movies but i don't have much to add.

my top 200 revealed so far:
2. spring breakers
3. before midnight
13. certified copy
14. the shape of water
16. holy motors
18. toy story 3
22. inside out
24. anomalisa

26. moonlight
28. manchester by the sea
48. a separation
53. the revenant
75. gone girl
78. avengers: endgame

109. edge of tomorrow
118. ida
122. hereditary
131. under the skin
142. paddleton
158. the handmaiden
163. shutter island
173. knives out
175. 1917

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letterboxd
criticker

I have a one star review of Holy Motors around here somewhere. I’m afraid to look because I am sure it would make me go into hiding from embarrassment. It was certainly way outside my wheelhouse at that time, so I don’t know if that low of a rating would hold. I do think it’s still way too enigmatic for my taste though. Honestly not in a rush to rewatch, if I ever even do.

Shape Of Water looks awesome and has great performances. I’m not sure I will ever call it a favorite though. I double featured it in theater with Phantom Thread. That probably didn’t help my rating as I am always in the bag for PTA since he tailor makes movies for me. See what I did there?

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Letterboxd

Yeah, I failed you


But seriously, it is an interesting take that I never really considered; how it might represent different times within cinema history. To me, the key moment is the "appointment" where...




But that can even go hand in hand with your reading. I need to rewatch it with that perspective in mind, see what hits me.

Thanks for sharing!

Shape of Water was my #3.

I loved the genre blending of fairytale/fantasy/sci-fi, romance and adventure (and even, briefly, musical). I liked the characters and the friendships Elisa has with her neighbour and co-worker. Sally Hawkins is excellent, so are the supporting cast. The film looks amazing, the set design is gorgeous. It is absolutely one of those films that is a love letter to cinema. I love that it's weird. It's one of those films that speaks to me in such a personal way that gripes and plotholes are irrelevant to the overall feel of the movie; I felt this film, I was enthralled by it.

I really enjoyed The Shape of Water. It’s absolutely beautiful to look at (shout out my fellow Dane, Dan Laustsen!) and both the cinematography, set design, costumes etc. Really captures the time period and gives the film a unique look especially with that “Del Toro feel”…

But as someone else pointed out in this thread, it does have a certain slightly polished, straight forward, award type feel. It helps that it’s R-rated, but something about it still feels a tad superficial in a way. But still, I very much like it even so. I guess some of these elements just makes me not that eager to actually go back and watch it again.

Holy Motors has been on my watchlist for ages. Maybe its placement here will finally make me watch it. It seems very interesting.

With the addition of Guillermo's flick that makes five of the decade's ten Oscar winners for Best Picture in our bottom fifty: The Artist (#87), The King's Speech (#78), Spotlight (#63), Moonlight (#62), and The Shape of Water (#52).

Argo, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, Green Book, and Parasite remain unaccounted for, thus far.

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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

28/46 seen
3/46 on my ballot
The Shape of Water was good. Sally Hawkins is endearing and Mike Shannon is creepy as h ll. I enjoyed the look of the film and the ability to fill a room with water. It is definitely a fantasy I had as a kid. I loved water and used to pretend I had to canoe to school. I didn't vote for it.
Holy Motors-- I never heard of it. I probably didn't see it because it was an arthouse film and in 2012 I didn't live near an arthouse and I probably wasn't streaming anything yet. So it fell into a hole of what wasn't available to me at the time. Was Blockbuster still a thing then?

The Shape of Water is a hauntingly beautiful romantic fantasy. Visionary director Guillermo del Toro does a fantastic job in telling the story in a compelling way. Sally Hawkins is wonderful and the rest of the cast are great too. The film is gorgeously shot and the score is excellent too. Although I do think Shape of Water is one of the best films of 2017 and I rated it a , it didn't make my ballot. Only one film from 2017 made my ballot.

I saw Holy Motors once and thought it was one of the worst films of the year, rating it a .

Seen: 48/50

I was shocked by how much I enjoyed The Shape of Water. Of course it is beautiful to look at, but at its heart it is a beautiful story too. Yes, it is supposed to feel tropey, that's part of the point, it uses tropes to tell a love story between misfits. Anyhow, I had it at #5. Not a fan of Holy Motors at all.

My List:
2. Take Shelter (#67)
5. The Shape of Water (#52)
9. Nightcrawler (#55)
15. A Separation (#90)

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Haven't seen Holy Motors. I suspect when I do I'll have to be in the right frame of mind for it.

I'm on board with The Shape of Water. Although it could have eased up a bit on its outsiders/insiders subplot, the film does feel like GDT's love letter to cinema. The scene where Jenkins and Hawkins are doing a tap dancing routine is magical. While not afraid to indulge in some R rated scenes, in its beating heart is an old fashioned story of two mismatched souls who find a connection with each other. The performances are superb, particularly Hawkins who is able to express so much without saying a word. It just missed my honorable mentions list.