The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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Society ennobler, last seen in Medici's Florence
• The last two reveals were too harsh on my stats.
Probably I'll add to the seen the Hot Fuzz since I unintentionally came across it on the telly couple of years ago and saw some parts while working on my laptop.

Poor stepping into top 30 for me and I'm not optimistic for the further.
Seeing the eclectic company here, I guess, now some of the new era Star Wars are coming or another dose of vamps, zombies and whatever...

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my stats

Top 100 seen 39/74.
(seen one pointers 3/38 • seen 101-110: 5/10)
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My list:
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4. Snatch [#71.]
5. The Royal Tenenbaums [#35.]
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8. Sideways [#39.]
9. Amores perros [#81.]
10. The Wrestler [#54.]
...
12. The Pianist [#31.]
14. The Man Who Wasn't There [#84.]
...

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Not on my ballot Top 100 movies I'd support:  
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The more I think about it, it may be Requiem that doesn't make my list of 28. Nobody talks about that anymore.
Hope it makes the cut
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What surprised me about Downfall is that at a certain point of the film I thought to myself, what now there's still plenty of time left, and it just got better.

Memories of Murder is quite good as well.

1. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) (#59)
2. Downfall (2004) (#28)
5. Adaptation (2002) (#43)
6. The Devil's Rejects (2005) (#94)
8. 28 Days Later (2002) (#45)
10. The Wrestler (2008) (#54)
11. Mystic River (2003) (#65)
14. Sideways (2002) (#39)
15. Amores Perros (2000) (#81)
17. Y tu mamá también (2001) (#95)



After submitting my list, I realized I'd forgotten one movie, and that was Memories of Murder. I would probably have put it in the middle of my list. It had been my favorite Bong Joon-ho film until Parasite. Downfall is also great and deserves to be high up on this list, but as a personal favorite for the decade it's just outside the top 25.
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Which is my issue with trying to do a site-wide Film Noir list. The definition is not strict enough and these days every other thriller gets dubbed Noir, usually incorrectly. I belong to two different Film Noir pages on Facebook and 90% of the time is just spent arguing over what is and isn't part of the genre. We could combat that by making our ballots more generally be "crime films", but then that is too broad and actual classics of Film Noir will be passed over in favor of titles from the past thirty or forty years that are much more familiar to younger and more casual fans.

Anywho...
I agree it's very niche, but I'd be veeeery interested in a Film Noir list/HoF/whatever. I do think there are boundaries that can be set and guidelines to use to overcome the issues of definition and make it happen.
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Critics




Critics thoughts on our #28, Downfall...



It currently has a 90% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.2/10 score on IMDb (with 346,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★★ and said:
"I do not feel the film provides 'a sufficient response to what Hitler actually did', because I feel no film can, and no response would be sufficient. All we can learn from a film like this is that millions of people can be led, and millions more killed, by madness leashed to racism and the barbaric instincts of tribalism."
Meanwhile Jack Matthews, of New York Daily News, gave it ★★½ and said:
"The very thought of humanizing Hitler makes me queasy. If he had a good side, I don't want to know about it."
As for our MoFo reviewers, @Thursday Next said:
"Bruno Ganz gives an astonishing performance as Adolf Hitler, so much so that by the end of the film I had trouble picturing Hitler without picturing Ganz. Hitler ages visibly throughout the course of the film, he becomes frailer, weaker and his physical tics – a shaking hand most noticeably – become more pronounced. The downfall is not merely physical, however, the arrogant pride of a dictator slowly gives way to suicidal resignation."
And @Citizen Rules said:
"This German made film accurately portrays Hitler's last days on Earth. Unlike Hollywood films that show the Nazi leaders as two dimensional monsters, Downfall shows them as real people who have done monstrous acts. That's an important distinction, as humans are capable of the most vile acts."



Critics




Critics thoughts on our #27, Memories of Murder...



It currently has a 95% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.1/10 score on IMDb (with 166,000 votes).

Brian Tallerico, of RogerEbert.com, gave it ★★★★ and said:
"Memories of Murder has a solid script, but it’s a great example of a movie that’s nowhere near as powerful with a lesser director behind the camera. Bong elevates every scene with his unbelievably assured filmmaking. That didn’t start with Parasite."
Meanwhile Sean Axmaker, of Seattle Post Intelligencer, gave it a C and said:
"The script is as sloppy as Song (Kang-ho)'s unkempt cop, sprinkled with intriguing ideas and imaginative details that, like the investigation, simply get lost in blind alleys."
As for our MoFo reviewers, @aronisred said:
"this is one of it not the most satisfying serial killer movies ever where they don't catch the killer. Its about the process. Even something like Zodiac doesn't feel satisfying. But for some reason this movie felt satisfying because the movie plays up the 'no one is perfect' card. We know that there could be 100 things that could go wrong before the killer is convicted. Because he is so meticulous in his crimes that there is hardly evidence. Despite all this its a very satisfying watch."
And @adidasss said:
"A full blooded thriller with comedic elements, it keeps you tied to the seat throughout the 129 minutes. It's sort of a combination between The Summer of Sam (because it deals with actual events that took place in the past) and Seven. Great directing, the use of sound in certain scenes is simply awesome and makes your heart beat faster as the camera rolls with the excitement of the scene."



Haven't seen: Memories of Murder, Downfall

Seen, missed the list: Hot Fuzz might be Edgar Wright's funniest comedy, a solid tribute to the 1980s and 1990s partner cop films. Let the Right One In is a haunting drama with some notable images. Neither one made the top 25...both would make the top 100.



With Memories of Murder, Bong joins the list of directors with multiple entries on the list, after placing Mother at #96. He also released his first film, Barking Dogs Never Bite, and The Host during this decade. Will any of those make it?



I believe this, but I'll go ahead and watch this again real soon. Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder is basically a police procedural, but it comes across as a Hardy Boys/Korean version of a police procedural. The whole thing seems so ridiculous as the implication is that Korea is a backwards country with little technology and a bunch of incompetent, immature, violent cops who live their professional lives based on how American cops beat the crap out of everybody in 1940s movies.
It's based on a real crime, and it's set in a very intentional period where there WAS a lot of unprofessional behavior and lack of resources. Every suspect who was arrested in the case confessed, because they were all beaten until the confessed.

Memories of Murder was my #3. I think that it's a brilliant mix of mystery, thriller, and horror elements, evoking a very specific era of history.

I saw this movie the weekend it was released. My mom and I went to the theater and it was PACKED. The only seats left were two seats in the very front row. It was such a dynamic viewing experience. The sequence in the rain with the fields (trying to stay vague)--the people in the theater GASPED and SCREAMED at that part.

Years later, while in grad school, a friend asked if I wanted to go see the film screening at one of the local colleges (MIT maybe?). We went, and I was like "Whoa, why are we paying $20 for this movie?!" and the guy in the box office was like "Well, it's more expensive because of the director Q&A."

I was like "THE WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?". Yes, unbeknownst to me or my friend, Bong Joon-Ho was there, and after we watched the film he talked about the process of making it and took questions from the audience. It was great. He was great.

A movie I have a lot of affection for both because I think it's pretty great and because of two memorable experiences seeing it.



As a bit of trivia I haven't seen anyone mention, the actual serial killer that inspired Memories of Murder has been identified in 2019 as a man already serving life in prison, who confessed to the murders with DNA linking him to the victims.



As a bit of trivia I haven't seen anyone mention, the actual serial killer that inspired Memories of Murder has been identified in 2019 as a man already serving life in prison, who confessed to the murders with DNA linking him to the victims.
Whoa! That's crazy!

I read about the case in like 2002 or something. At the time, the theory was that the killer had died (or possibly been incarcerated) because the killings had stopped abruptly.



It's based on a real crime, and it's set in a very intentional period where there WAS a lot of unprofessional behavior and lack of resources. Every suspect who was arrested in the case confessed, because they were all beaten until the confessed.

No offense to Mark but it is a weird comment on his part given it's a Korean movie by a Korean director for a Korean audience, and not some Western prejudice toward Korea that they're all backwards and such. And the actual killer himself said the detectives were all a bit clueless and interviewed him several times but always to ask about other people he knew, even when once he had the wrist watch of one of the victims on his person. Also I imagine Bong Joon-ho was making his usual very thinly veiled critiques of Korean society, some of which are obvious enough even for those of us living outside Korea, but most of which can only be appreciated by Korean citizens.



Awards




Now to the awards received by Downfall...

  • Amanda Awards, Norway for Best Foreign Feature Film
  • Bambi Award for Best Film
  • Bavarian Film Award for Best Production (Bernd Eichinger) and Best Actor (Bruno Ganz)
  • Bodil Award for Best Non-American Film
  • Jupiter Award for Best German Actor (Ganz)

Among many others.

As for Memories of Murder, it won...

  • Busan Film Critics Association for Best Director and Screenplay (Bong Joon-ho)
  • Chunsa Film Art Award for Best Director (Bong)
  • Director's Cut Award for Best Director (Bong), Best Production (Seoung-Jae Cha), Best Actor (Kang-ho Song), and Best New Actor (Park Hae-il)
  • Grand Bell Awards, South Korea for Best Film, Best Director (Bong) and Best Actor (Kang-ho)



Seen: 54/74

Der Untergang, is a masterpiece, #11 on my ballot. Reading the last couple of pages it's still Unter-seen, could've placed higher on the countdown, if more people saw it.

Ballot: 10/25



Memories of Murder was my #3

…and probably also the biggest “problem child” of my list.

I have a select few on my list that I have only seen once. My entire list is more or less movies I’ve seen several times and I don’t have a movie in my top ten that I haven’t seen many many times…. well except for Memories of Murder.

I have seen it once. It was recently. And I was just blown away. I loved pretty much everything about it. And I had super high expectations, but somehow it lived up to them. Everything about that movie just clicked. It was a crime drama after my head. So so great.

Downfall I’ve seen once and thought it was great but I haven’t really had a desire to see it again



26 Locks

Fellowship
Eternal Sunshine
Dark Knight
Mulholland
There Will Be Blood
City of God
Inglorious Basterds
No Country for Old Men
Amelie
Children of Men
Departed
Return of the King
Donnie Darko
Zodiac
Memento
Pans Labyrinth
Wall E
Two Towers
Spirited Away
Downfall
Oldboy
Ratatouille
Fountain
Kill Bill 1
Requiem
Shaun of the Dead
Missing In the Mood for Love and Attack of the Clones
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Neither made my list but both are fine films indeed and well worth your time if you haven't seen them yet.

I haven't had any from my list show up in a while. Only four so far. Hm. Am I so out of touch?