The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

I really like Unbreakable. Only seen it once though but I plan to change that in the future. I love the concept of the film. Back when M. Night actually made some decent stuff.

Spider-Man 2 was a contender for my list but got cut in the end. I recently rewatch it and loved it. For what it’s going for, it’s one of the best examples of a great comic book film.

2 movies that I enjoyed and then let go.

Haven't Seen: A Serious Man and Mystic River

Thought It Was Alright: Paprika. Some of the visuals were clever and well done. But the story didn't grab me as much as it could have.

And here's an honorable mention: Unbreakable. The story of a man who's never been injured and a man whose bones are fragile as glass is gripping up until the final reveal.

And a regular Christmas miracle:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is my number 6. A film about pirates has been a no go since Cutthroat Island sunk Carolco Pictures way back in 1995, but there was disappointments riddled throughout film history since the 1970s (Polanski's Pirates, Treasure Island, Yellowbeard). The exceptions (The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Six Days Seven Nights) only deal with pirates superficially or as an interesting background for one of the characters. Disney decided to take a chance on creating a film based on one of its rides, several years after Country Bears flopped and Mission to Mars barely made its budget back. They had initial concerns over the big budget at the time and on casting Depp largely due to his quirky performance.

Yet there's something about the film that shines. Perhaps it's due to Depp's rockstar performance. Perhaps it's the wise use of CGI to enhance the story. Perhaps it's the devilishly sly performance by Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. Or maybe it's the old fashioned romance between Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley taking place around them. Or maybe it's the plot that takes some of the pirate standby plots and spins it around. Maybe it's all those reasons. But this film swashes and buckles leading to rollicking fun.

Spider-Man 2 is my number 11. It's a nice mix of action derring do and heady opera as the characters act and react based on each other's actions and words. Much like number 6, it's headlined by a great performance. This time, it's Alfred Molina as Doctor Octavius who goes from being Peter's mentor to Spidey's enemy. That scene towards the end as Spiderman tries and stretches to save a speeding train from crashing and leading to multiple deaths. Sam Raimi balances between serving fans of the comic books with giving people who haven't read it a chance to absorb the drama. And he managed here a rarity: a sequel that outdoes the original film.

Spider-Man 2 was close to making my ballot, but didn't. Sam Raimi really knew how to tell a good superhero story with Spider-Man and it did what it wanted nearly perfectly. 97.


But it calls for a rewatch since I just got back from No Way Home. 98.

Unbreakable was all the way up at #28 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List while Spider-Man 2 was all the way down at #90. The first Spidey sequel was #7 on the MoFo Top 50 Comic Book Movies List. Unbreakable, though it deals with super heroes and comic books, is not adapted from that medium and therefore was ineligible for that exercise.

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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

I've technically seen Spider Man 2 and Unbreakable but I don't remember a thing about either. Can't see myself revisiting either of them.

Christmas sucks when you're not a kid Freakin' tired but let's see if I can wind down a bit now.

I've seen both of today's films. I was pretty meh on Unbreakable when I first saw it. Didn't hate it, but didn't like it that much either. A recent rewatch sorta bumped it up a slight notch, but I still think it has some issues. Shyamalan's stilted directing of his actors sometimes gets in the way of emotion, and the film needs a bit of oomph on the third act. Obviously, I didn't vote for it.

As for Spider-Man 2, it's probably one of my favorite comic book films, but it also wasn't close to making my ballot. Overall, I like where Raimi takes the themes of the original here, and I really dug Molina's performance as Doc Ock. Anyway, it's cool to see it represented here, even if I didn't vote for it.


Where the road has taken me...

Seen: 27/40

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Stats: Pit Stop #4

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Aaaand we're finally on the fourth pit stop (60). Almost halfway there, so here are our stats so far:

Decade Breakdown

• 2000 = 9
• 2001 = 7
• 2002 = 2
• 2003 = 3
• 2004 = 2
• 2005 = 8
• 2006 = 1
• 2007 = 3
• 2008 = 1
• 2009 = 4

And 2009 just sped by 2005 with a solid lap! 3 films in this last batch were from 2000, so there's that.

Director Breakdown

• Wes Anderson = 2 (Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox)
• Joel & Ethan Coen = 2 (The Man Who Wasn't There, A Serious Man)

Not much here yet, but like I said, there's a good bunch that will come up as the countdown continues.

Genre Breakdown

• Musical = 1
• Biopic drama = 3
• Romantic drama = 3
• Horror = 3
• Coming of age = 2
• Thriller = 5
• Drama/mystery = 2
• Comedy drama = 4
• Action comedy = 2
• Epic, war drama = 1
• Psychological drama = 2
• Animated drama = 2
• Animated comedy = 2
• Superhero action = 3
• Crime = 3
• Western/Neo-western = 1
• Science fiction = 1

And finally, 12 of the 40 films are foreign, and 4 were animated.

Critics

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Critics thoughts on our #62, Unbreakable...



It currently has a 70% Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 7.3/10 score on IMDb (with 404,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★ and said:

"Shyamalan is skilled at misdirection: He involves us in the private life of the comic book dealer, in the job and marriage problems of the security guard, in stories of wives and mothers. The true subject of the film is well-guarded, although always in plain view, and until the end, we don't know what to hope for or fear. In that way, it's like The Sixth Sense."

While Nell Minow, of Common Sense Media, said:

"Unlike The Sixth Sense, in which a surprise at the end kicked the entire movie into a higher gear, this one has an uninspired ending. It's a shame, because the premise is fascinating but the movie never lives up to its promise."

As for our MoFo reviewers, @JayDee said:

"I certainly hope that M. Night can find his feet and once again deliver a film of this quality some day. He may have become a favourite whipping boy for many, but I certainly feel he has shown that he has a creative mind and no small amount of talent; culminating in this film, his personal masterpiece."

Meanwhile, @Gideon58 said:

"This movie asks some uncomfortable questions and is a little too leisurely getting to a rushed conclusion, a staple of Shyamalan's work, but there are some stylish directorial touches with solid work from Willis, Jackson, and an absolutely breathtaking musical score by James Newton Howard. It's a wild ride, but it's worth a look."

Critics

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Critics thoughts on our #61, Spider-Man 2...



It currently has a 93% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 7.3/10 score on IMDb (with 600,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★★ and said:

"Now this is what a superhero movie should be. Spider-Man 2 believes in its story in the same way serious comic readers believe, when the adventures on the page express their own dreams and wishes. It's not camp and it's not nostalgia, it's not wall-to-wall special effects and it's not pickled in angst. It's simply and poignantly a realization that being Spider-Man is a burden that Peter Parker is not entirely willing to bear."

While J. Hoberman, of Village Voice, said:

"The movie's first half is talky bordering on tiresome -- endlessly rehashing the same mix of frustrated puppy love, survivor guilt, and identity crisis."

As for our MoFo reviewers, @John McClane said:

"This sequel does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat; unlike the first one that had me drifting off in to wonderland land with sheer boredom. This film can be a disappointment for those of you who expect a bit more out of a film then this one can give. Whether you liked the first one, or not, this one is a whole lot better at keeping you interested. I don’t know what we can expect from Marvel in Spider-Man 3 but, if it’s anything like this one, it won’t disappoint."

Meanwhile, @Tramuzgan said:

"That, in turn, means I was unable to go in blind when rewatching it for this review, but that made it even better for me. The fact that I was able to not just enjoy, but respect it, even after my taste has been refined and my standards have been raised, means it stood the test of time and can be written down as a bona fide childhood classic."

Trailers

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And finally, a hint with Raul in the hint!

It was tricky figuring out what to comment on Spider-Man 2. When I saw it I felt a mix of delight and very slight disappointment at the same time.
It was on my list, so I'm obviously very happy it's on there. This movie really delves into Peter's psyche and shows just how much it can suck being Spider-Man. Being swamped with work, studies and barely managing to keep his social life afloat, is it actually worth it anymore? He might be helping others out, but has lost his sense of purpose and feel like he's doing it only because he has to. He promised Uncle Ben, so what choice does he have?
This moral dilemma along with a villain just as brilliant as Green Goblin makes for a fantastic emotionally engaging experience. I think the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane is seriously underrated as well. Mary Jane may have her set of flaws, but it's realistic that she wouldn't be some perfect patient dream girl. Peter isn't able to be there for her a lot of the time, which is something that can be unfulfilling in a relationship. Kirsten Dunst portrays her with the right amount of sweetness and snappy attitude, where you're charmed by her energy one moment and then frustrated when she gives him slack in the next one. I think this level of duality has made her hard to like for some people, which is understandable.

I really love this movie, so why did I mention feeling slightly disappointed? Well, I'm gonna be forced to spoil another pick, but I've always loved the original the most. They're very close in terms of quality, I just think the simplicity and early 2000's style filmmaking brings a quality to it I can only describe as grounded, yet stylishly zany at the same time. And Since there is no chance of it making the list I thought I had no choice but to bring it up.

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62. Unbreakable : M. Night Shyamalan gets a lot of flack for his missteps, but he's made a fair few good films and Unbreakable is definitely in my "great" column. A comic book movie that is far removed from comic books, it acts as a kind of dark and low-key origin story for a near-invincible man, who just happens to be an ordinary Joe who doesn't know he's any different until he's in a horrible train crash - and his polar opposite, 'Mr. Glass' played in a wonderful manner by Samuel L. Jackson. There have been quite a few films by now trying to twist the superhero genre into something as realistic as possible, but they're usually done with colour and humour, and Unbreakable is the opposite. Somewhat drained of colour, dark and with a somber and unsettling tone. The film still manages to set up a finish with a decent reveal. Todd Phillips recently managed to drag Batman villain The Joker into this realist kind of territory, but Bruce Willis character David Dunn and Mr. Glass as polar opposite hero and villain work so very well in this - and they ended up returning in a fairly decent follow-up in Glass. No votes from me, but I'm happy this turned up.

61. Spider-Man 2 : I watched all three of Sam Raimi's Spider-man films in preparation for this countdown. I didn't know if they were enduring enough to show up or not. I loved Alfred Molina in this as Octavius/Doc Ock and thought it was a reasonable enough comic book superhero movie. I don't really have strong feelings either way about these films, but I've seen all three more than once, so they were entertaining enough to have me come back again once they'd faded from my memory. One of my favourite things in all three were the Bruce Campbell cameos - I think in this one he's the over-officious usher who refuses Peter Parker entry to Mary Jane's play. Raimi's strength has always been his sense of humour, and these films are pretty much light enough to be enjoyed by absolutely anyone. Is this the most popular of the trilogy or will the first film appear higher up in the countdown? I know the third won't, but despite the pummeling it got I didn't think it was too bad. I haven't seen any of the other Spider-man adaptations, but the latest installment of the current lot has me curious. No votes here from me.

Seen : 30/40

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Awards

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Now to the awards received by Unbreakable...

• Golden Trailer Award for Best Horror/Thriller Film
• Bogey Award in Silver

As for Spider-Man 2, it won...

• Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects
• Took a bunch of Saturn Awards, including Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor (Tobey Maguire), and Best Director (Sam Raimi)
• AFI Award for Movie of the Year
• BMI Film Music Award (Danny Elfman)
• Golden Satellite Award for Best Overall DVD

I'm f**kin' tired so I'll post Trivia tomorrow.

It's worth noting that Spider-Man 2 marks the highest amount of ballots (11) a film has appeared in so far. Before it, Catch Me If You Can had it with 10. Like I said a couple of pages ago, double digit ballots will only happen once more in the backend 50 (#54), so nine of the following ten films will be in less than 10 ballots. This will probably result in more goofy, middling, raul-pleasing choices for all of you

Hint, hint...

One of the Kill Bill movies and Batman Begins.

Okay, another movie from my list shows up and that's Unbreakable. I really loved this movie and although I felt a lot of people were fair with this film, it really seemed that right after this film is when lots of people began piling on M. Night Shyamalan, because he turned out not to be a new Hitchcock. I haven't seen everything by him admittedly but there's only one I have seen that I actively disliked and it involved...no, I won't say because it could show up here but I highly doubt it. But Unbreakable I thought was pretty dang clever in how it treated its "superhero." Bruce Willis did a great, understated job and Samuel L. Jackson was just a blast. My favorite scene from the film involves Bruce and his son in the kitchen and Bruce shows his son an article in the paper, and then shakes his head like "yes" but puts his finger to his mouth to shush his son so Mom won't hear. The kid's eyes well with tears and he nods in agreement. Just the silent acting between them was marvelous to watch in a very small scene but I still think of that scene when I'm thinking of popping the DVD in. I loved the movies this one connects to, the second one being one of my favorite films of all-time. Who (besides Shyamalan) even suspected this would be the first in a group of connected films? Not me. It was my #8

Spider-Man 2 is greatness. All though I've enjoyed them all, it probably helped that Spider-Man has been one of my favorite comic book characters since the early 70s, but just any old movie wouldn't do. It took Sam Raimi to bring one of my heroes to life and I had no doubt he could do it. I was already an Evil Dead trilogy fan and his genius in pulling those films off left me with no doubt he would do Spidey justice. Tobey Maguire was the perfect SM for me. He made the crossing from high school student to working joe just fine, with the reboot films mistakenly putting him back in school again, IMO. We've already seen him out in the real world, saving folks and putting down bad guys, no need to make him a kid again. But I'll take what I can get. But S-M2 is top tier, no doubt. Alfred Molina is the perfect villain (it's great when an established dramatic actor takes a part in a Marvel movie and treats it with all seriousness) and Kirsten Dunst is the perfect Mary Jane Watson. I mean, I like Zendaya but c'mon, she's no Dunst! And J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson---talk about perfect casting! He was the boss you love to hate, just springing off the comic pages. Drama, action, and humor all blended perfectly together. That being said I had to chose between this one and two more perfect comic book movies and this was a difficult, hurtful cut.

#5. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 63
#8. Unbreakable 62
#22. Fantastic Mr. Fox 70
#20. Iron Man 83
#23. The Descent 80
#25. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 76

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

Another batch of ten and it's Christmas, so no comments this go around. I'm too O.D'd on family...


Have seen so far: 21/ 41
Put on list for future viewing: 7
My list that ended up on the cutting room floor (dammit!): 3
Put on "meh" list : 10
Zero chance of ever watching: 5
1 Ptrs: seen 8