The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
6. The Pianist (2002)

This is such a tragically depressing film that flourishes with visuals. It gets better with each viewing that I have, which due to the subject matter, isn't a lot. There are numerous scenes that stick out in my mind, such as Brody's character walking pass discarded luggage in tears while it rains ash above him. That ash most likely belongs to the family and hundreds of others that were torn away from him on the train earlier in the film.

Or how about the Nazi soldier asking him to play a song on the piano and the beauty of it makes him realize the horrors of his own actions. How many lives with this talent have they extinguished? Just how many lives in general? How many people are now dead that could have lived on to do something? It's a moment of humanity being realized in real time on this soldier's face.

Brody was virtually an unknown at the time and he dived head first into this character. He has yet to really capture something as significant or real again, but at least he's found some niche casting in Anderson's films. In the review I was quoted in I said that this film is no Schindler's List, yet that film had multiple actors to do the heavy lifting. This film really does rest on Brody's shoulders and he nails it.


13. Lost in Translation (2003)

Here is a film I thought was good on first watch, but have grown to love it more on repeated viewings. There is a dreamlike melancholic style to the film that weirdly makes me feel at peace. I feel like I could go for another watch soon too.

It always makes me want to visit Japan.

5. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
6. The Pianist (2002)
13. Lost in Translation (2003)
14. Sin City (2005)
16. Up (2009)
20. Battle Royale (2000)
25. American Psycho (2000)
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Suspect's Reviews



I think we can all agree Hot Fuzz was for the greater good...


The film features not one...but two best actress winners









28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I liked Let The Right One In, but not enough to make my list.

15. Hot Fuzz (2007)

What a wonderfully realized film this is. Everything presented in here has purpose and is impactful. It's a wonderful homage and parody to the action genre while maintaining a serious enough story to not be over the top.

What makes me appreciate this film even more if that most of the comedy is done though images and not line-o-rama style improv. Sure, I find the stuff Will Ferrell and co do is funny, but there is a sense of "riff and we'll see what's funny" that gets a little stale. Here, everything is storyboarded to the tiniest little detail and edited to a chaotic yet balanced scale that it just works.

I have a soft sport for Shaun of the Dead, but Hot Fuzz might be Wright's best movie and showcases just how in control he is of the camera, the edit and the music.

5. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
6. The Pianist (2002)
13. Lost in Translation (2003)
14. Sin City (2005)
15. Hot Fuzz (2007)
16. Up (2009)
20. Battle Royale (2000)
25. American Psycho (2000)



Awards




Now to the awards received by Hot Fuzz...

  • Empire Award for Best Comedy
  • National Movie Award for Best Comedy


As for Let the Right One In, it won...

  • Bodil Award for Best Non-American Film
  • Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography (Hoyte Van Hoytema) and Best Screenplay (John Ajvide Lindqvist)
  • Empire Award for Best Horror
  • Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Score (Johan Söderqvist), Best Actress (Lina Leandersson), and Best Screenplay (Lindqvist)
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Amazing that Hot Fuzz only has two awards really.



Amazing that Hot Fuzz only has two awards really.
I was surprised too. I usually skim the awards list to come out with 4 or 5, but the list for this one was surprisingly small.



I guess I’m one of the few mofos not surprised about Hot Fuzz. It’s the only Wright I straight up dislike so far, but I have always felt well in the minority on that, so I’m not shocked to see it show.
To clarify, I'm not surprised by the presence of Hot Fuzz on the list. I'm surprised by its placement. If it had been in the bottom half I wouldn't think anything of it.



3 from my list came up!

Kill Bill vol 2 is my #9
The Pianist is my #12
Lost in Translation is my #18

Special mention to Royal Tenembaums that was one of the last movies I cut from my list. The only reason I didn't include it is that I've only seen it once, even though I remember loving it the time I saw it. The Needle in the hay scene particularly stuck with me.

Kill Bill: I just love Tarantino, everything he makes is a favorite of mine (almost). I see Kill Bill as one long film so I don't really distinguish the quality of the second and the first. It's incredibly unique, stylish, toony, but so much fun. It ranks among the film I just love for their entertainment value, it doesn't have anything to say about the world, I don't feel changed after watching it, I just have a good time.

The Pianist: I rewatched it for the list and I'm so glad I did. The movie is shocking, beautiful, I can't really explain why, but it has a whole different feel then other holocaust movies I've seen. I felt more the poverty, the despair in Adrian Brody's character then in almost any other character in any movie. The scene when he plays piano for the German soldier is among my favorite of the decade. I think Adrian Brody isn't the best actor in general, I have a hard time to forget he's Adrian Brody (so I don't get immersed in the character). However, he's perfect in this role, it's the only film I've seen from him that I really see the character and not the actor. Loved it.

Lost in Translation is a feel good movie to me. I just have a good time seeing Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson having a good time together. The film is also visually beautiful. There are flaws in the film, I think Giovanni Ribisi's character is poorly written, he's overly non caring for his wife, I don't find that realistic (to be that much indifferent). Overall a film I love.
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I love Let the Right One In. I'm so glad I saw it in the theater when it came out, and at the time I really didn't know anything about it, but I was instantly drawn into the story and its dark, snowy Swedish setting, and of course the relationship between Oskar and the androgynous vampire Eli, who despite being quite old is stuck in the form of a twelve year old. It's remained as one of my very favorite horror movies ever, and it was #6 on my list.

My List:
3. Synecdoche, New York (#46)
6. Let the Right One In (#29)
8. Sin City (#47)
13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (#53)
14. The Lives of Others (#41)
16. The Royal Tenenbaums (#35)
18. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#86)
19. The Incredibles (#36)
20. Lost in Translation (#32)
22. The Man Who Wasn’t There (#84)
24. Moon (#48)
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To clarify, I'm not surprised by the presence of Hot Fuzz on the list. I'm surprised by its placement. If it had been in the bottom half I wouldn't think anything of it.
Agreed. Never thought it would beat Up.



DAMN. I should've guessed Hot Fuzz. Both of these movies were on my ballot, but I was thrown off because I expected Kill Bills 1 & 2 to be very close (that and it's a way bloodier movie than Hot Fuzz). Hot Fuzz redefined how I look at the crime genre, and it's an excellent example of genre bending, turning a buddy cop into a slight folk horror story.

Let the Right One In hurts in all of the best ways. People could keep writing unique vampire stories for ages and never reach the heights of this. It's everything Twilight should've been.

Sent-In Ballot:

#3. Sin City (47)
#7. Yi Yi (49)
#10. Casino Royale (37)
#13. Million Dollar Baby (57)
#15. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (53)
#16. Let the Right One In (29)
#20. Iron Man (83)
#22. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)
#25. Hot Fuzz (30)

Post-Ballot:

#3. Sin City (47)
#7. Yi Yi (49)
#10. Casino Royale (37)
#12. Snatch (71)
#14. Million Dollar Baby (57)
#16. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (53)
#17. Let the Right One In (29)
#18. Slumdog Millionaire (not placed but it made my new 25)
#19. Monsters, Inc. (74)
#22. Iron Man (83)
#23. Fantastic Mr. Fox (70)
#25. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)

Seen 41/72



DAMN. I should've guessed Hot Fuzz. Both of these movies were on my ballot, but I was thrown off because I expected Kill Bills 1 & 2 to be very close (that and it's a way bloodier movie than Hot Fuzz).
Yeah, but like I said before, I haven't seen Hot Fuzz in a while so the hint was leaning more for Let the Right One In. I do remember the impaled in the steeple scene sticking with me (no pun intended) and it having some decent amount of blood, but yeah.





Let the Right One In was #41 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List. Neither Hot Fuzz nor Shaun of the Dead made that list, though Shaun was on both the original MoFo Horror list (#17) as well as the reboot of that list (#21).
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We've gone on holiday by mistake
I'm delighted at the love for Hot Fuzz! Still plenty of people here who haven't shot their gun in the air and gone AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Get it watched, immediately!

It's one of the greatest comedies ever made.

My #7
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We've gone on holiday by mistake
*fires gun up in the air and goes ahhhh*
Dammit! Thought I was gonna be first with that one!



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I had Let the Right One In at #16. One of the best vampire films.The setting is great - time and place both. Both this and Alfedson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are great. The Snowman (2017) by the same director was not so well received (I haven't seen it yet).

I'm not in the slightest bit surprised Hot Fuzz made it this high; I know it has a lot of fans on this forum. I rewatched it recently and still don't love it. I feel like there are a lot of clever and funny bits to it, but I don't enjoy it so much as an overall film. I prefer Shaun of the Dead, but a now starting to wonder whether it's too late for Shaun to show up.