The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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A system of cells interlinked
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was my #17. While this didn't make my top of all time list, it was pretty much always going to make a more focused list on the 00s like this. Back in the actual 00s, it most likely would have been top 10, or maybe even top 5. It's faded somewhat for me over time, but I still think it is one of the best films of the decade. A touching and wonderfully creative analysis on the human condition in matters of love, and how it can fade over time.

A few years after this was released, I went through the experience of ending a long relationship of 10 years, and found myself watching this frequently throughout all that. The viewings were very potent at that time, to say the least.



Oh, one more thing...Holden's comments about the highs of love being worth it, no matter what the outcome is, reminded me of another film, which would most certainly make my Best of the 10s list: Arrival. It covers that concept in a different way, but it is just as affecting.
__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind....At least that's a film I've seen and appreciated. I did consider it for my list but like so many other fine films I just didn't have room for it.

I'm glad it made the list but surprised it made it this high. I mean I never hear any buzz about it these days.



I've never been much of a fan of Jim Carrey and I'd never seen a Michel Gondry film prior to Eternal Sunshine, so I'm not sure what it was that initially drew me to see it. What I do remember though is that I loved it instantly and it has been among my favorites ever since. I currently rank it at number 9 on my list of all-time favorites, which lands it squarely at number 7 on my list for the decade. It's also the last of the movies on my ballot that will show.

Here's what I wrote about it in 2016:



Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
Imdb

Date Watched: 10/28/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Trying to finalize the order of my next personal top 100
Rewatch: Yes

Possible Spoilers Ahead

Jim Carey gives what I believe is the best performance of his career as Joel Barish - a deeply damaged and painfully shy man reeling from the dissolution of his two-year relationship with Clementine Kruczynski, an impulsive and outspoken woman played by Kate Winslet. After discovering that Clementine has had her memories of him erased and is now dating a younger man, Joel goes to the doctor who did the procedure and demands to have his memories erased as well. As the procedure is being performed on a sedated, sleeping Joel, we are immersed into his memories. We begin with the most recent – distance, bitter fights and resentment, then we progress to a sweet, genuine romance between two messed up people, and then to their fateful meeting.

But it’s not a slow or peaceful progression. Very quickly, Joel decides he doesn’t want the procedure anymore, but is powerless to compel his body to voice his objections and make it stop. So instead he drags Clementine from one memory to the next, desperately fleeing the technology that will take away what he has left of the only thing that brought him any real happiness.

However, the thing that really makes the movie to me is what happens when Joel wakes. When his mind compels him to act on what he believes is merely impulse and he and Clementine are brought together for what they think is the first time only to discover the truth the next morning when each receives a mysterious package.

Without a doubt, this is one the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen – not just in the way it looks, but in the story it has to tell and in the way it perfectly captures the bittersweet emotions of its characters. Though it toes the line of fantasy, this is a film that is deeply rooted in reality and in a genuine understanding of what it is to be human.

Seen: 59/95 (I've also seen all five of the remaining films, which will give me a total of 64/100 seen)

My Ballot:
1. Quills (#67)
2. Gladiator (#40)
3. Up (#33)
5. Ratatouille (#23)
6. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (#91)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#6)
12. WALL·E (#13)
14. The Departed (#19)
21. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (#63)
24. Inglourious Basterds (#18)
25. Surf's Up (One-Pointer)



*notes where people are placing ESotSM and scribbles addition to the 'Proof that Yin is actually Sedai's alt' notebook



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I'm impressed that there's an entire notebook on that topic!
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



I don’t find Eternal romantic, but I guess I don’t find it completely devoid of romance either. I think every Kaufman is about our desire to be needed and to connect to somebody. He shows our brokenness so well though, so that connection has to be clawed and scratched for. Through all kinds of the messiness we bring to everything. Is that romantic? Sometimes

That’s my answer to the question nobody asked me. Is Eternal romantic? Sometimes
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Letterboxd



A system of cells interlinked
*notes where people are placing ESotSM and scribbles addition to the 'Proof that Yin is actually Sedai's alt' notebook
I questioned this myself, finding it to be complete nonsense. Right ynwtf?

Right!

Oh, whoops!

I'm impressed that there's an entire notebook on that topic!

Yes, we are impressed!



Eternal Sunshine is a perfectly fine film but having never been in a difficult relationship or experienced a truly devastating breakup I never really related to this in ways others probably can. Also I watched it long after it came out and was surprised nobody ever mentioned the B story with the kids running the thing. It takes up a good chunk of the movie but I never saw it brought up.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
got-dang-it! I HATE that "you must wait 10 seconds before you can re-log back in bla bla bla." And yes, I totally agree, yn.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Tell No One, my #14, is a tense French movie-movie, which plays out as both a compelling mystery and an action-thriller, tells the story of Dr. Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) whose wife is murdered. Although the doctor is a prime suspect, he's cleared and the death is attributed to a serial killer although things never really did add up. Eight years later, at just about the time that two bodies are found near the crime scene, Beck receives an e-mail which seems to be from his wife. Eventually, Beck is forced to take it on the lam, but he's aided by several unusual compatriots in trying to prove his innocence and find out if his wife is still alive.

What sets this flick apart from the usual paint-by-numbers thriller is that it has a strong plot and characters so that it's difficult to solve the mystery but it's easy to sympathize with the characters. Then, when you're totally drawn into the mystery, the film throws in one of the most-impressive chases by foot ever recorded (probably only topped by the one in Point Break) and adds a new level of characters to make everything even more complex and seemingly-unravellable (how's that for a word?). I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual characters and the way their fates played out. The only thing I'm worried about is that this is apparently going to be remade in English in 2011. The plot is so strong that if they cast it with character actors it could work. Unfortunately, I'm guessing they're going with big names. [Thankfully this never happened.]

Talk to Her is my #13. and my fave Almodóvar film and this is my fave scene.


My List

1. The Incredibles
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. King Kong
5. Ratatouille
7. Downfall
8. Up
9. The Dark Knight
10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
11. Everything Will Be OK
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
13. Talk to Her
14. Tell No One
15. WALL·E
16. Children of Men
17. Pan's Labyrinth
19. The Pianist
20. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
21. Pride & Prejudice
22. Hotel Rwanda
25. City of Life and Death
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page



Eternal Sunshine blew me away. The way that the world of one's mind was handled was flawless, much like one of those crazy "inside a dream" cartoon episodes but with the comedic touch of the surreal Annie Hall. My number 11.

Sent-In Ballot:

#2. Oldboy (22)
#3. Sin City (47)
#5. Requiem for a Dream (26)
#6. Memento (11)
#7. Yi Yi (49)
#8. The Departed (19)
#9. The Dark Knight (10)
#10. Casino Royale (37)
#11. Eternal Sunshine (6)
#13. Million Dollar Baby (57)
#15. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (53)
#16. Let the Right One In (29)
#19. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (8)
#20. Iron Man (83)
#21. Inglourious Basterds (18)
#22. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)
#25. Hot Fuzz (30)

Post-Ballot:

#2. Oldboy (22)
#3. Sin City (47)
#5. Requiem for a Dream (26)
#6. Memento (11)
#7. Yi Yi (49)
#8. The Departed (19)
#9. The Dark Knight (10)
#10. Casino Royale (37)
#11. Eternal Sunshine (6)
#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)
#21. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (8)
#22. Iron Man (83)
#23. Fantastic Mr. Fox (70)
#24. Inglourious Basterds (18)
#25. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)

Seen 57/95



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
The Devil Wears Prada hehehe

Not sure how this will stand the test of 48 hours, but I'm not too proud to admit that The Devil Wears Prada made my original gathering list. For some reason I love this movie. I'm not sure why as it's borderline cheese. It's just very charming and disarming. And you learn how to make a great cheese toast sandwich.



Victim of The Night
Preparing my points about why ROTK is the weakest of the trilogy like I do everytime it shows up on a countdown
Yeah, I had Fellowship in my Top 25 list, but neither of the other ones.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)



“I’m erasing you and I’m happy.”

Eternal Sunshine is my #1 and a film that has held up incredibly well with re-watches.

It's a film that embraces its own logic beautifully and realistically. This is a future that I can believe in and Kauffman litters the story with small relatable elements to make the world feel fully realized. A woman sits in the doctor's office with a dog dish, a small singular moment that anyone with a pet can relate to.

I ask myself, would I erase the love of my life because the pain of losing them is too much? Would I be willing to admit my mistake and fight to keep those memories alive? While it seems like a good idea at the start, since they are working backwards, you see all the bad stuff go first. But once you get to those special magic moments that define you as a person, you want to hold onto them no matter what. I simply love the idea and Gondry doesn't fantasize the dream world like one would expect. Using practical in camera effects works wonderfully in the dream world.

Is it romantic? Yes and no. Blue Valentine is a depressing look at relationships and how real they can be. Eternal Sunshine walks the same line, should these people be together? Do they actually end of together? Are they stuck in this erasing loop forever? You can have the procedure done and not even realize it, as is the case with a surprising story element introduced later in the film. Not all relationships work out and for people to fight tooth and nail to keep what they know is a volatile is somewhat depressing, but it's also real.

One of Winslet's best performances. She is bright, bubbly and happy in the beginning. Her hair is a personal mood ring and we get to see the gradual decrease of happiness. Relationships can suck the joy out of people, we see this happen with her. Carrey delivers what is arguably his best performance (Truman show is up there for me too). His face alone is a melancholic depressed canvass that he is able to paint with broad strokes whenever he wants.

The movie came out in February and was still in our collective minds until the Oscars almost a YEAR later, winning original screenplay. I honestly love the originality of the film and how perfectly the cast captures those relatable characters.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



I forgot one last bit of trivia for Pan's Labyrinth...

About 15 minutes in, Vidal smashes a guy's face in with a bottle... this is based on something Del Toro saw when he was a teenager.
He saw a bar fight, where one guy did exactly what Vidal does. In the commentary, he explains his shock not at the act... but at the fact the victim didn't struggle, and the bottle didn't break.

Sorry to go back to the previous movie reveal, but I'm sitting watching Pan's Labyrinth right now and got reminded