The MoFo Top 100 of the 2010s Countdown

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I thought Her was decent. A well-written film with an intriguing concept elevated by the performances of Phoenix and Johansson. I can't remember too much but for some reason, it didn't quite hit the emotional heights with me as it has done with many people I know.

Blade Runner 2049 is very good and would probably be in my top 50. I need to watch it again, probably with my brother who only watched the first film last year. I think what possibly makes it my joint-favourite Villeneuve (alongside Enemy) is the visual images at certain points from Deakins, I was disappointed they didn't reunite for Dune.

78/93 seen.
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To be fair, Ridley Scott didn't work on the sequel at all, so I'm not so sure that shuts down the theory.
It definitely does not shut down the theory Deckard could be a replicant. It's one of the key themes of all of Philip K. Dick's work, the idea we can never really know reality and we can never really know ourselves. That there is a possibility Deckard could be a replicant (a possibility inherent in the story itself without any need for a director to point this out) is central to the movie. Otherwise, it's just people running around trying to kill each other in a super cool-looking futuristic Los Angeles, but of course it's not that.

I did not have 2049 on my list. As others have said it was surprisingly not bad. I even enjoyed it in the theatre for what it was, and there were parts I liked quite well, other parts that seemed to drag, and now that I've seen it, I never plan to watch it again. I will stick with the original only. Plus the book, which I want to reread now that I haven't rewatched Blade Runner since reading the book the first time.
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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.



I'll join the trend of leaking films that didn't make it from my ballot. I'll try to post a few movies every day. So, starting from the bottom:

#24 - The Captain (Der Hauptmann)

It's a story of a German deserter who steals a captain's uniform from a dead officer during the final stages of WW2. Not that much a war movie but a dramedy set during one.

#23 - Byzantium

Neil Jordan knows how to make a vampire film. Byzantium combines the familiar with something new. It's been ages since I saw this, but I remember it being good. Not a "true" horror film, but a drama with supernatural elements (if I recall correctly).

#22 - Impetigore

An Indonesian horror that stands here not only for itself but for the whole Indonesian horror boom of recent years. Spooky stuff.

#21 - Super 8

J. J. Abrams's version of E.T. and his best movie. It's weird how I don't like Spielberg's 80's classic but enjoy this one so much.

Also, the bottom of my ballot is far from set in stone. These are just the films that ended up being there the day I submitted my vote.

Seen: 43.5/93

My ballot (this far)  
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Blade Runner 2049 was not on my list, however, I think it’s great. Perhaps it could have been with a rewatch more.

When I first saw it at the cinema, I wasn’t really that much of a fan of it. I thought it was okay. But something somehow clicked on the rewatch and I thought it was pretty amazing the second time around. So yeah, I’m glad to see it in the top 10.



Anyway, speaking of 2049, did you ever get around to watching that "Blackout" short I told you about earlier, Takoma?
I don't think so. What's the year on the short?





293 points, 18 lists
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Director

Quentin Tarantino, 2019

Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch
#7






Trivia

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - The producers had some initial difficulties convincing Hollywood Boulevard vendors to allow their premises to be fitted with period facades to better reflect the 1960s. However, after the production wrapped that section of the shoot, most of these same people asked if they could leave the facades in place, since they now much more preferred that period 'look.'



MoFo Reviewer

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The main arc is populated by Rick Dalton's dreams of becoming more than just a B-grade actor, feeling insecure with himself and feeling he's lost it. Leonardo Dicaprio brings a level of sincerity and admirable dedication to the role. Dalton is a starving artist. He's clearly got a lot of talent, but never gets a chance to fully utilize it. When he eventually even struggles to remember the simplest of lines, he loses it in what is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Yelling at himself in the mirror to lay off the alcohol and do the god-damn job an actor's supposed to do is hilarious and very relatable to anyone wanting to be taken seriously as an actor. Sometimes when I'm recording lines and I just keep doing takes of the same line over and over and over again I feel like I'm going insane. Is something wrong with me? When am I going to be good enough? Thankfully in this case, this results in Rick doing the best damn acting job he's done in his whole life. The scene with him as the mustached villain holding a little girl hostage threatening to cut her throat is legitimately intimidating. He finally found the confidence he needed to be truly great.
Read the full review here.



mark f

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
7/10

Washed-up TV star Leonardo DiCaprio and his driver/stunt man Brad Pitt live a pop culture cornucopia in the late '60s, intersecting with the Manson Clan.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood didn't make mark f's ballot.



And probably the only other DiCaprio performance I can watch...

1: Ex Machina (2015) - 49th
2: Dredd (2012) - 42nd
3: Interstellar (2014) - 33rd
4:
5: Joker (2019) - 60th
6: Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - 8th
7: Prisoners (2013) - 69th
8: The Hateful Eight (2015) - 20th
9: The Shape of Water (2017) - 52nd
10: Django Unchained (2012) 27th
11: Shutter Island (2010) - 76th
12: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) - 7th
13:
14:
15:
16: Deadpool (2016) - 85th
17:
18: Logan (2017) - 46th
19:
20: Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 79th
21: The Martian (2015) - 82nd
22:
23: Arrival (2016) - 12th
24:
25:



Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was #17 on my ballot. I expected it to be at least several places higher, but the competition was a bit tough this time around. Still a very good film though. When I watched it in the theaters, I thought it was pretty good, but when I revisited it later, once I knew what to expect with its plot structure, I found myself enjoying the loose narrative, the hangout vibes of simply following the three main characters around LA, and the strong emotional resonance of its final act much more. I enjoy Tarantino's post-Death Proof films just fine, but this film ranks with my favorite of his films.

Updated ballot:

1. The Tree of Life (#10)
2. Holy Motors (#51)
3.
4. Moonlight (#62)
5. The Florida Project (#14)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (#22)
7.
8. Arrival (#12)
9.
10. Burning (#35)
11. A Ghost Story (near miss #119)
12. Take Shelter (#67)
13. Certified Copy (#84)
14. Under the Skin (#54)
15.
16.
17. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (#7)
18.
19.
20. A Separation (#90)
21. It's Such a Beautiful Day (#16)
22.
23. Hereditary (#96)
24.
25.



Didn't Like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Gratuitous violent bore. If it wasn't a Tarantino film it would be nowhere near this list.
The violence in it is highly stylized, sure, but that doesn't mean it's gratuitous. Like, the final act is the entire point of the film, both in regards to the emotional resonance of Sharon Tate's fate and for completing Rick Dalton's character arc. Both those elements come together very well during the Manson sequence. And aside from the final act, it doesn't even have much violence in the first place (or, at least, not as much as you'd normally find in a Tarantino film).



The violence in it is highly stylized, sure, but that doesn't mean it's gratuitous. Like, the final act is the entire point of the film, both in regards to the emotional resonance of Sharon Tate's fate and for completing Rick Dalton's character arc. Both those elements come together very well during the Manson sequence. And aside from the final act, it doesn't even have much violence in the first place (or, at least, not as much as you'd normally find in a Tarantino film).
Fair points, I'd happily just call it a 'bore' in that case.



I'm always happy to see Brad Pitt in a comedic role (he's funny as hell) and I'm always happy to see Leonardo DiCaprio in anything, so of course this movie appeals to me. I did consider voting for it and if there weren't so many movies from this decade that I enjoy, it might have made the tail end of my ballot. But in the end there were just too many movies on my shortlist and it didn't make the cut. I'm happy to see it make the countdown, but I must say I'm surprised by its rank. I know Tarantino is much loved, but I didn't realize this particular movie was held in such high esteem around here.

Seen: 56/94
My Ballot:
1. Her (#9)
6. The Skin I Live In (#127, Near Miss)
7. Joker (#60)
8. Django Unchained (#27)
9. The Wolf of Wall Street (#11)
10. You Were Never Really Here (#120, Near Miss)
11. The Man From Nowhere (#95)
14. Inside Out (#59)
20. Jojo Rabbit (#89)
24. Call Me By Your Name (#102, Near Miss)
25. Kitbull (One Pointer)

Reviews in My 2010s Countdown Preparation Thread

My Most Recent Review for Once Upon a Time In Hollywood:


Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
(Rewatch)

I've seen a lot of reviews that accuse this movie of being slow, overly long, self-indulgent, and self-congratulatory and I don't disagree with any of that. But I also don't see those things as being faults. As its title suggests, this movie is a fairy tale. A sweet, blissful fairy tale - albeit one with a lot of profanity and drinking - that meanders through an atmospheric and mostly rose colored depiction of 1960s Hollywood while keeping its focus on a fictional washed up actor and his stunt double buddy. The majority of the film is far more soft and sedate than you expect from its director, but then it rewrites history in a big bloody, fiery, gruesome, and very Tarantino way.

I think this was my third or fourth time watching it and I wouldn't quite say I love it, but it is a lot of fun and I like it a lot. Not a lock for my ballot - though another Tarantino is - but it is a contender.




Blade Runner 2049 was not on my list, however, I think it’s great. Perhaps it could have been with a rewatch more.

When I first saw it at the cinema, I wasn’t really that much of a fan of it. I thought it was okay. But something somehow clicked on the rewatch and I thought it was pretty amazing the second time around. So yeah, I’m glad to see it in the top 10.
You could basically take my earlier post about Blade Runner 2049 here and just switch it out with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It was almost the exact same experience.

I also knew though, that going out of the cinema, I felt that if this movie was ever going to work for me it would be as a hang-out movie. And that's exactly the strength that shined for me the second time around. And the third even more so. It was so much fun to just hang around Brad and Leo's characters and all the other characters for that matter. And it was refreshing to see Tarantino so mature in his storytelling and filmmaking. I love when he's just having fun too, but with this one you could really feel the passion and respect for that time period and this particular script,