32nd Hall of Fame
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Missing
First time seeing this. I remember when it came out and all of the acclaim, I was 11. I've been interested in seeing it since then but it just never happened. The funny thing is that I thought it was about a missing child, and that Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek were the parents. The age difference never occurred to me, probably since I was so young when I first got this idea, and I still thought it was about a missing child. In fact, a few minutes in I stopped it because I thought I was watching the wrong movie. Oh so it's a guy not a child, and Spacek is the GF, and it's a political film by the guy who made Z. Ok this was not at all what I thought it was, I thought. If I knew it were a political film, I would never had wanted to see it all those years. That has changed over the last 5 years or so as I've seen a lot of good political films, Z among them. Also never knew it was a true story, which I tend to like. Anyway, this was a terrific film that kept me glued throughout. The only scene that I wasn't that fond of was the stadium scene. The political leanings make it still relevant today. I liked how Lemmon learned things about his son that surprised him. Him and Spacek are total pros, hard to go wrong with them. Glad I was finally able to cross this off the list.
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First time seeing this. I remember when it came out and all of the acclaim, I was 11. I've been interested in seeing it since then but it just never happened. The funny thing is that I thought it was about a missing child, and that Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek were the parents. The age difference never occurred to me, probably since I was so young when I first got this idea, and I still thought it was about a missing child. In fact, a few minutes in I stopped it because I thought I was watching the wrong movie. Oh so it's a guy not a child, and Spacek is the GF, and it's a political film by the guy who made Z. Ok this was not at all what I thought it was, I thought. If I knew it were a political film, I would never had wanted to see it all those years. That has changed over the last 5 years or so as I've seen a lot of good political films, Z among them. Also never knew it was a true story, which I tend to like. Anyway, this was a terrific film that kept me glued throughout. The only scene that I wasn't that fond of was the stadium scene. The political leanings make it still relevant today. I liked how Lemmon learned things about his son that surprised him. Him and Spacek are total pros, hard to go wrong with them. Glad I was finally able to cross this off the list.
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Double Indemnity (1944)
Walter Neff: How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?
Considered a MUST SEE for anyone who enjoys noir films, this was co-written by a detective-story great and creator of Philip Marlowe; Raymond Chandler, and his style of colorful penmanship is all over this film.
The other writer? None other than Billy Wilder.
This film has all the usual pieces to a clever scam going to hell. With a femme fatale; Barbara Stanwyck, whom I really love when she plays it tough. When she plays the nervous/scared damsel, it doesn't seem real. Or perhaps that's the point since it's all a charade anyway. One you can see in multiple scenes when she watches Murray's character walk away; and if you know what you're looking for, you do see behind the mask. However, she does hide it VERY well. She truly shined in the final confrontation. Sitting coldly on the sofa as things fell apart between her and Murray, the tension was very well done.
As for Murray, he played the sucker perfectly. Making the plays and orchestrating the plans without the slightest clue, he was the one being used. Though I must say, I never had any sympathy for him, while I did enjoy him trying to play it cool. But I really think that has to do with the bias of being so used to him playing Walt Disney films when I was a kid; like Flubber and The Shaggy D.A. Never mind the sitcom My Three Sons. So, any time I ever watched this, those characters always stuck in my head. Though, happily, it was far less on this most recent rewatch. YAY
The final character, Murray's boss, played with his usual excellence is my man Edward G Robinson. I think some of my favorite scenes included Murray and Robinson; especially the closing scene of this movie. Robinson, along with his iconic gangster roles, does exceptionally well when playing a character with investigative skills.
I'm VERY happy to revisit this classic noir, and thanks to whoever nominated it!
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Dial M for Murder
Seen this a few times, the last time being in prep for the 50's countdown, and it ranked high on my ballot. I have considered it to be my 2nd favorite Hitchcock film, and that opinion still stands. I didn't realize until I started watching but it was as if I had never seen it. I remembered almost nothing. Kind of cool but wtf at the same time. I think it's partly due to it being a film I enjoy rather that one which affects me. Sucks me in right from the start and that lasts until the final second. I think usually in a film like this, the character's plan would go smoothly until the very end when it falls apart. In this film, his plan falls apart over and over again just for him to recover. The actors overact, but the film calls for it and it works. It's a "one smoke break film", and that means it's great.
Seen this a few times, the last time being in prep for the 50's countdown, and it ranked high on my ballot. I have considered it to be my 2nd favorite Hitchcock film, and that opinion still stands. I didn't realize until I started watching but it was as if I had never seen it. I remembered almost nothing. Kind of cool but wtf at the same time. I think it's partly due to it being a film I enjoy rather that one which affects me. Sucks me in right from the start and that lasts until the final second. I think usually in a film like this, the character's plan would go smoothly until the very end when it falls apart. In this film, his plan falls apart over and over again just for him to recover. The actors overact, but the film calls for it and it works. It's a "one smoke break film", and that means it's great.
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Light in the Piazza
Starting off with this one as it was the title I was least familiar with. It feels kind of like a story for it's particular time. Everyone has their own sort of motivations that conflict with those of the other characters. There's plenty of scenery to chew as we progress through the story as it unfolds. Certain characters show up later on to add a bit more complications to the dreams of the others but one could say it gets resolved. A good start to break the ice on this HoF.
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H-8...
This is supposedly (maybe) based on a real life incident. The lives of numerous people are affected by the head on crash of a passenger bus and and a heavy size truck carrying a father and son. We are given a number of details in the beginning explaining the fate of all those involved including a mystery driver who's involvement is of great impact. Throughout the proceedings we are introduced to passengers from both the bus and truck but are left to question the identity of others involved. I found a few of the players interesting but some not at all and that ending I believe will get some of your head wheels spinning.
Last edited by John W Constantine; 10-03-23 at 12:21 AM.
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Departures
Daigo plays cello in an orchestra in Tokyo, well he did until his group is disbanded. He decides with his Mrs. to move back home to his mothers house to live a more cost efficient living. He assumes to hit the jackpot when he answers an ad for what he believes is a position in flight services. Little does he realize at first is that he has applied and been hired to prepare corpses for their final departure. His financial issues are quickly resolved but there seems to be a cultural stigma to the type of business Daigo has gotten into. Despite pressure from those close to him to leave his new calling he finds he may have found his life's purpose and a link to something more. These types of films are what I really enjoy from Asian filmmakers. It doesn't rush the story but doesn't get too methodical in it's storytelling. Tender and surprisingly funny in spots. Good nomination from whoever.
Last edited by John W Constantine; 10-03-23 at 12:19 AM.
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Blow-Up
Well, this was something. This is going to be a tough one to summarize after a single watch. It'd be like looking at Picasso's Guernica for two seconds and thinking you have it all figured out. There's definitely something beneath the surface of this film about a photographer who thinks he captures a murder while out in a park filming two people who appear to be having a good time with each other. The photographer is not a particularly likeable fellow. He's a bit of a self centered creep but not to the point that you actively root against him. My guess is he's probably a pretty good representation of fashion photographers of the time and he does a good job with the role. If they remade this in the late 80's James Spader would be a nice choice to play the photographer. That's pretty much all there is to say about the characters. Other characters float in and out but this a film based around an individual.
Blow-Up is the kind of film that I'm sure film schools love to watch and analyze, analyze and when they're done, analyze a little bit more. And why not? There's plenty to talk about, it's sticking with me and I'm positive I didn't get it all. There are times in the film where the photographer is blowing up his pictures until all you see is a a bunch of black blobs - like a Rorschach test. He sees something and sometimes I see what he see's and sometimes I don't. That's what I think of this film. Sometimes I see where it's going and sometimes I don't (****ing Mimes!). Can't say I liked it but I didn't dislike it either and, to be fair, it would need another watch from me to have a solid opinion.
And yes, that forehead on the model was - WHOA! hubuhhh.
Blow-Up is the kind of film that I'm sure film schools love to watch and analyze, analyze and when they're done, analyze a little bit more. And why not? There's plenty to talk about, it's sticking with me and I'm positive I didn't get it all. There are times in the film where the photographer is blowing up his pictures until all you see is a a bunch of black blobs - like a Rorschach test. He sees something and sometimes I see what he see's and sometimes I don't. That's what I think of this film. Sometimes I see where it's going and sometimes I don't (****ing Mimes!). Can't say I liked it but I didn't dislike it either and, to be fair, it would need another watch from me to have a solid opinion.
And yes, that forehead on the model was - WHOA! hubuhhh.
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Blow-Up
...The photographer is not a particularly likeable fellow. He's a bit of a self centered creep but not to the point that you actively root against him. My guess is he's probably a pretty good representation of fashion photographers of the time and he does a good job with the role. If they remade this in the late 80's James Spader would be a nice choice to play the photographer....
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I swear every single time I say 'I'm going to watch a movie tonight' on MoFo, something happens to prevent me from watching it! It happens all the time. Last night I went to watch H-8 and had it as a .mp4 file that I downloaded from the YouTube link. Of course when you do that you don't get the 'soft subs'. So I had to go to SubScene and get subtitles. Only they were off by a whooping 27 seconds! So far off that I couldn't figure out who was saying what. So shifting the subs timing was hard to do, but I did it and it matched perfectly....But then after 20 minutes the timing was getting off again and subs were appearing on the screen 15 seconds before anyone spoke. At this point I'm getting very frustrated!But I knew H-8 was on YouTube and I was determined to watch it. So I turn on Roku and go to the YouTube app and use the search function and type in H-8....the movie would not come up! It must be something about YouTube on Roku that stopped me from finding the movie. I'm not giving up! I'm trying again.
BUT the day was saved when I found a site that if you coped the YouTube url to it's search function it would grab the subtitle file and you could save it as a .srt. The site is DownSub and it is not an illegal pirate site, it's a legit .com site, you can not get movies, only the subtitle files. So to end my long dilemma I watched the remastered version of H-8 with perfectly synced subs. Yahoo!
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The Little Girl Who Conquered Time
Yoshiyama Kazuko is a third-year junior high school student. One day while cleaning the lab with fellow students Goro and Fukamachi, she smells lavender and faints. Following these events, Yoshiyama begins to notice strange little instances during her travels around town. One day on their travels home, Yoshiyama notices the same smell of lavender in the garden house located at Fukamachi's grandparents. We are given backstory to Yoshiyama and Fukamachi's childhood in memory. After a huge natural disaster that takes place in the night, Yoshiyama awakens the next day to experience the previous nights events haven't yet taken place and she is reliving the previous day. Made by the same filmmaker responsible for the classic Hausu, i wasn't surprised as this film has an almost dreamlike quality to it. There is definitely mysterious things happening but it's a little difficult to place a finger on it. I enjoy a good mystery and this one kept my attention until the end supported also by a nice score in the background. Based on a graphic novel series released in the 60's, I might have to check that one out.
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The Name of the Rose
In 1327 (I believe...), a Franciscan monk and his novice arrive at an abbey in Northern Italy. Apparently one of the members of the residents has been found dead, an apparent suicide, and William of Baskersville has come to inquire about the situation. Using his well of knowledge and intelligence, monk William begins an investigation as to the death of the recently deceased monk and some artifacts (books) that reside in the walls of the abbey. If only the monk residents weren't attempting to keep William from gathering certain information that could solve the mysterious death of the mentioned monk. I couldn't help but get serious Sherlock Holmes vibes from this. Connery, even as a monk, is his normal suave self with the help of a young Christian Slater as his novice. Lots of welcomed faces from known actors, and some ugly ones also. I wouldn't say any of the proceedings come off as humorous but it never goes full on too serious even with the story it's trying to tell. The set pieces were somehow great to see and somehow reserved for the setting. Maybe a tad bit much to revisit this one often but would definitely watch again somewhere down the road.
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I rewatched Blow-Up (1966) on Criterion blu ray directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. For me, this is Antonioni's best film out of what I have seen. The performances are effective, although not exceptional. I liked the look and feel of the film. It is a stylish film with substance and intelligence. It's a fairly interesting story too. I'm glad to have revisted Blow-Up. Good nomination.
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I'm all caught up with reviews. 14 already. You guys are animals!
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 10-02-23 at 11:33 PM.
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John W. is he's flying through the movies. I did watch another last night.
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So I wasn't able to put much thought into a potential nomination because I was in a lot of pain all weekend, and actually had to make an emergency trip to the hospital overnight. I'm fine now though (for the most part lol) so no need to worry!
While I do now have the rest of the week off work, and the general anaesthesia wore off early this morning, I'm not really feeling up to the task of rushing to think of a film to submit at the very last minute. So I'll be sitting this one out, though there are a few nominations that I might watch anyway.
I'd like to rewatch Dial M for Murder since I don't really remember anything about it, and I've been meaning to watch Picnic at Hanging Rock for some time now.
I'm familiar with the animated adaption of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, but wasn't even aware there was a live action one that came before it. I might check that out as well.
Departures sounded interesting, but the tone of the trailer I just watched kind of seems... all over the place? I might give it a go anyway though, we'll see.
Out of the rest, I've only seen The Banshees of Inisherin and Double Indemnity. They're both very solid films, and I'll definitely be watching the results to see how they do here.
While I do now have the rest of the week off work, and the general anaesthesia wore off early this morning, I'm not really feeling up to the task of rushing to think of a film to submit at the very last minute. So I'll be sitting this one out, though there are a few nominations that I might watch anyway.
I'd like to rewatch Dial M for Murder since I don't really remember anything about it, and I've been meaning to watch Picnic at Hanging Rock for some time now.
I'm familiar with the animated adaption of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, but wasn't even aware there was a live action one that came before it. I might check that out as well.
Departures sounded interesting, but the tone of the trailer I just watched kind of seems... all over the place? I might give it a go anyway though, we'll see.
Out of the rest, I've only seen The Banshees of Inisherin and Double Indemnity. They're both very solid films, and I'll definitely be watching the results to see how they do here.
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