The MoFo Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown

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Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I watched The Florida Project recently so finally I can say something more.

I thought I was going to hate it, but I ended up really liking it. It's the kind of white trash film that I theoretically deplore, but I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy it.

First of all, Dafoe is incredible in this. And I'm not even talking about his acting abilities, even though they are indeed inseparable from the outcome. And the outcome is that he plays one of the most helpful, nonjudgemental, and badass characters in recent memory. His job is to take care of that place. And he does that. But he also does so much more. He's so understanding toward the mother character. I'm pretty sure it's because of her daughter, but still - I would've smacked her more than once. But Dafoe is super chill all the time. He's also a superhero for saving children from the pedophile. He even gently talked to the birds asking them to move away! I was super impressed by how he would try his best to help the mother no matter what she did. He was a great mediator, too. I heard some people claiming that Dafoe didn't deserve an Oscar for his role because it wasn't anything special. And perhaps the good-natured character he played weighted in on a lot of the positive judgment. I don't know about that. All I know is that I absolutely loved his character, a truly good spirit of the lower class.

Second of all, there's a helicopter flying in the background in several scenes. I had three theories as to what it could've been.
  1. It was a medical helicopter. Those poor places probably breed a lot of crime, so maybe it was taking the victims of assaults or brawls.
  2. It was a private helicopter of a millionaire who lives nearby; a sort of juxtaposition to the poor people in the movie.
  3. It was just a helicopter. Maybe they shot the film next to a place where helicopters fly regularly, perhaps one of those places where you can go for a short flight for some bucks.
After watching the film I did some searching, and apparently, there's a theory that the helicopter symbolizes helicopter parenting. I would have never thought about that because I hadn't known that expression.

Third of all, the social themes. The precariat living in almost a slum-like place next to Disneyland is very telling. Then, the compassionate manager who acts as a father figure for teenage mothers enters the scene. He tries to help, but eventually, he's powerless. When problems pile up in the adult world, which is incomprehensible to children, the children run toward their dreams. But all that energy, carefreeness, and joy of life will leave these kids, and their life will probably not offer them anything more than their parents. But that huge change is for one girl a possibility of escaping from that inexplicable poor world. But where to? Possibly toward more suffering. But for the moment, only toward Disneyland.

I wasn't crazy about The Master when I watched it back in 2013. Something about most Anderson films that doesn't sit well with me. The cinematography, the 'therapy' session, and the protagonist duo were all good, but nothing else impressed me. That's all I can remember.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.




The entire film is amazing but especially that ending really impressed me, kids and animals just get me every time man, powerful and memorable. The Florida Project is my #21. Sean Baker's Red Rocket had a lot of the same style visually but I was less sympathetic towards the story and characters. Planning on watching The Master soon. (Does this mean Her is not showing up?)

SEEN 71/88
BALLOT 18/25







So are we set on the final 12 then or possible surprises? What are they?
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Had no idea or hope that The Florida Project would land this high but it is way cool that it did. It was one of the last ten I cut from my ballot.

Good job, MoFo!
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So are we set on the final 12 then or possible surprises? What are they?
It's set in stone as far as what makes it. The order will be super interesting though:

Mad Max Fury Road
Blade Runner 2049
Parasite
La La Land
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Arrival
Her
Wolf of Wall Street
Grand Budapest Hotel
Tree of Life
Social Network
Whiplash



Planning on watching The Master soon. (Does this mean Her is not showing up?)

I wouldn't say so, since it's a very different movie from a very different director, but I'd give up any hopes for Inherent Vice though.



The Master is an elusive one and I mostly write these things up on my phone, but I think the best way to summarize a number of the themes is, what does society owe to the marginalized, to the constant screw-ups? What is society, and how much do we yield to it. What are we yielding to? Do we have some basic need to yield to something, or someone? Or in Quell's case, the idea of someone (he was also clearly in love with the idea of a woman at one point and didn't really have anything in common with her). How much do we rewrite ourselves for the acceptance of those people?
Also love the complete lack of sense of time and passage of time during his drunken periods.
That's an interesting take. The reading that resonates with me the most, which may be a rewording of what you said, is that it's a study of what separates humans from animals and that the line between them isn't exactly solid. After all, Freddie is more animal than man for most of the runtime, Lancaster is essentially society, religion, etc. personified, and Freddie's need to be loved, accepted and feel more human by buying what Lancaster is selling and Lancaster's need to have control and the unquestioning devotion of his followers don't always gibe.

With that said, I find the movie interesting and I always get something out of discussing or reading things about it, but I can't say I enjoy it. PTA is a director like Spielberg for me in that the more serious he gets, the less I like the results. The only ones I really like by him are Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Punch-Drunk Love, in other words (I haven't seen Licorice Pizza yet). There's something off-puttingly portentous about this movie, There Will Be Blood, etc., as if PTA is constantly reminding you that what he's doing is super serious and deserving of your respect. If any movies could be described by the old Family Guy joke that they "insist upon themselves," they're his serious ones. Curious if anyone else feels this way.



I'm surprised Her makes it this high and Infinity War doesn't make it.
I'm not convinced. And that's nothing against Her - it's a very good film, top 50 of the decade for me.



Mad Max Fury Road
Blade Runner 2049
Parasite
La La Land
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Arrival
Her
Wolf of Wall Street
Grand Budapest Hotel
Tree of Life
Social Network
Whiplash
Her is definitely there.

The only one of the twelve Raul listed that I am unsure about is Whiplash. The other eleven have to be there, in some order.



"The Florida Project" was my number seven. A peek into the lives of poverty. Think the helicopters are just a sightseeing company that resides nearby. It is Orlando.
Haven't seen " The Master".



The Florida Project unfortunately didn’t quite work for me. I thought it was a fine film, but I failed to truly connect with it and love it.

The Master, however, was #5 on my list. A, well, masterful film. In fact, I think it might be one of the first PTA films I saw and one that truly stunned me and made me love his work and become to person in cinema that he is to me today…



The Master was my #2. I have gushed enough over PTA around here enough to last every mofo forever. Plus Spelling Error tagged one of only a couple of my reviews that doesn’t make me want to puke, so I will let it speak for me. I’m still planning a double feature of Favourite and Master some Saturday. I have always thought they would go well together. Maybe it’s just the score, I don’t know.
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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I haven't seen The Florida Project.


I really disliked The Master. I know people are saying the performances... But it's all performance. It's just putting two people there and having them Act at each other. It felt very showy and not sincere... I didn't quite believe in them as characters.



A system of cells interlinked
The Florida Project was my #11. In retrospect, I should have Top 10'd it. Such a memorable and affecting film, so much so, that it upset my wife so much, she claims she will never watch it again. Myself, I have seen it numerous times. The way it portrays the world through the eyes of the children is pretty much unmatched.

As a child of a broken home who had to fend for myself more often than not, and who found himself in apartment complexes not unlike the hotel as far as occupants are concerned, this film speaks to me. Although I was never involved in arson, I can recall several instances of getting into trouble when a few of us kids would run off and get into some damned thing or another. We once sneaked into a body shop around the corner and upended various cans of paint and/or chemicals on the floor. I managed to get some sort of clear chemical on the cuff of my salvation army purchased jacket, and when I got home later, my mother immediately zeroed in on the odor, then the stain, and subsequently proceeded to browbeat the truth of the situation out of the lot of us. Because we were fairly poor, and my mother feared she would have to pay for the damages and lost product, she didn't report us to the business owner (she told me this later in life), but she said she was going to turn us all in and that we would have to work on the weekends for free to repay it! These kids in this movie... their lives resonated with me.

The rest of the film, chock full of people who aren't actors and a magnificent performance by Willem Dafoe, is just a poker hand full of aces, in my book. I also really liked that scenes where his character zeroed in on the sick bastard who was stalking the kids, and really let him have it.

I've not seen The Master. More PTA - I may see it, maybe not.
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The truth is in here
Given the skepticism towards Her and Avengers: Infinity War appearing, it's safe to say this countdown has a trend of movies either ranking way lower than expected or much higher than expected.



Loved The Florida Project. It’s hard enough making characters in movies feel human, let alone kids. But that’s the magic of this movie. Felt guilty leaving it off my list but it clearly didn’t need my help.

Haven’t seen The Master.



All right I'm going Rogue One here with the final 12.

Mad Max Fury Road
Whiplash
The Wolf of Wall Street
Parasite
Blade Runner 2049
The Tree of Life
The Social Network
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Avengers: Infinity War
Arrival
La La Land
The Grand Budapest Hotel



Florida Project is pretty great and probably should be on my list. I have watched it 3 times now, and it’s one of those movies that never really leaves me. I’m always ready to watch it again pretty quickly after my last watch. Don’t know why I haven’t gone full 5 stars on it yet. Even less idea why I don’t rank it among my favorites of the decade. Maybe next time.



Well once again at least today's movies seem like they belong on the countdown.

I haven't seen The Master. I did watch The Florida Project and just looked at the review page for it as I thought I had given it it's lowest review but that honor goes to PahaK with a 2.5/5 and three of us (me, Gideon, MovieMediation) rated it a 3/5. So I guess my opinion of the film isn't to far out there


Citizen review:

The Florida Project (2017)

Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe
Writers: Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch
Genre: Drama

'Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.'

I tried watching The Florida Project after it first came to DVD, but I shut if off after 15 minutes. In those first few minutes I found the kids and their mom annoying as they hammed it up for the camera.

So, I finally watched the entire movie and found out the first 15 minutes was just like the rest of the movie...The Florida Project plays like a 2 hour long selfie, or some home made video where little kids act way more silly than usual.

You know that photo I used, to me, defines the movie: overdone & hammy without any real substances. It's like the director wanted to make a cross between Boyhood (2014) and a reality TV show where people act anything but real. One would have to really like watching shrill small children acting 'cute' to enjoy this movie.

I've seen films centered on small kids that do work, such as the ground breaking Boyhood. But The Florida Project felt fake...not only the kids but the mother too. She so over exaggerated all her actions that she seemed like an actress trying way too hard. She never seemed to be the person she was playing. Even when she was smoking she so over done the smoking movements as if she was trying way to hard to draw attention to herself that she was indeed smoking.

All of that hamming it up took me right out of the story and made me accurately aware that this was a movie. One positive point is that The Florida Project is different than your average movie, so that's at least something.


Oh and I hated the last few minutes of the ending at DisneyWorld. Just when the film was getting interesting with the child protection services, we get the scene of the two girls at DisneyWorld, ugh.