33rd Hall of Fame

Registered User

03-12-24

Aftersun (2022)

This film was on my radar after Paul Mescal's Oscar Nomination for his lead work. Looking into this film it's a debut project from a first time female director/writer and promoted and launched by A24. A24 has somewhat of a mixed track record with me and coming of age films as they can be fatiguing and redundant. Aftersun is not bad...it's actually pretty good.

The big thing that this film/story has is a mood/vibe. We're getting a story of a young father on Holiday with his per-pubescent daughter. The daughter is about to turn 12 and we're seeing her come to terms with certain realities of her flawed but well meaning father. The story takes place in the later 90's mostly to keep cell phones out of the story and to focus on the directors autobiographical feelings of this film.

The film is focused on tackling several major themes and once again we're dealing with the sexualization of chidren. I will credit the filmmaker for treating it with sensitivity but the film has sort of a weird horror tease...a great sense of forboding when the shoe is going to drop and something bad is going to happen.

View Spoilers

WARNING: spoilers below

But then nothing happens and we find out she grew up to be a lesbian. And that's kinda my problem with a story like this in that it's very nebulous and leaves us with a sense of the banal. The film ends up just being a character study and then it ends.

Visually it's a solid film, it doesn't feel elevated past student film but it's also shot well enough that it's not a distraction. The biggest criticism that I would have is that it really feels low budget at times. Most of these direct to streaming site films are 4 actors in a place this is really just the 2. You also don't really get that it's a period piece with music choices that are all over the place. But these are quibbles...it's a strong film and good nom.

B+

Siddon

Registered User

03-12-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

I think some people really need to be more open minded towards weird/unconventional nominations and to not assume the worst intentions possible of those who nominated them. The level of drama/dogpiling over some of the prior HoFs were beyond tiring to read through and why I withdrew from participating in them.

So you aren't participating now...the movie is available on Tubi so why don't you review it and talk about it. End of the day these films are being put out to be watched, reviewed and ultimately judged.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

03-12-24

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

3rd or 4th time rewatching this John Huston classic tale of greed and it's aftermath on three gold prospectors. This is one of my favorite Bogart films but it's Walter Huston, the director's father who steals the show. I'm pretty sure the character in the animated Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) Klondike Cornelius was pattered off of Walter Huston's character. Most movies have some script problems or plot holes were something illogical or unsensible takes place and you left thinking if only the director had done this instead...but not here, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has one well oiled script that delivers the goods.

Forgot to say kudos for filming in Mexico and using many Mexican citizens and actors. Loved Gold Hat and the badges line, best part of the movie.

Last edited by Citizen Rules; 03-14-24 at 03:09 PM.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

03-12-24

Please everyone, let's drop this now before it escalates, we've all had our say and nothing good will come from more talking about it.

PHOENIX74

I forgot the opening line.

03-12-24

Why oh why do people only fight when I host...

Like CR said, the whole issue of why certain noms are nominated has been well and truly debated, and I'm only one more snarky post away from shutting this one down and walking away from it. Some people just don't understand why people get upset when they get personal about a nomination instead of just focusing on the film. We've already had a large exodus because of the way these things are getting, and along with me shutting this one down, I wouldn't be coming back for any more either.

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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)

ScarletLion

Wales, Europe

03-13-24

My thought on The Treasre of the Sierra Madre

A classic that I took way too long to get around to. Bogart is magnificent as the paranoid and greedy Fred C. Dobbs. Lots of tension and backstabbing in the mountains. Director John Huston cast his father as the part of Howard, and he stole the show for me.

8.6/10

Also puts alot of meat on the bones of other films that have paid homage to it, like the line in Blazing Saddles.

ScarletLion

Wales, Europe

03-13-24

Originally Posted by Siddon

View Spoilers

WARNING: spoilers below

Aftersun is semi autobiographical. It's the telling of Director Charlotte Wells real youth.

So the idea that it's set in the 1990s " to keep cell phones out of the story" is way off.

The entire story is about how her father lives in aguish at the thought that he has passed his mental frailty onto his daughter. We see this through the footage that she rediscovers.

Siddon

Registered User

03-13-24

Originally Posted by ScarletLion

I would say that the film is more about a young girl coming to grips with her fathers weaknesses. That this is the last time the father is really going to be in her life as she's become aware of the world around her. I think the story is more about looking back in regret into her what I would assume is the age her father is during the flash forwards.

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

03-13-24

Let's keep it rolling kids! I'm almost done with Beau Travail. Review coming today!

Siddon

Registered User

03-13-24

Beau Travail (1999)

So this movie made the top 100 list on Sight and Sound, the film ranked fairly highly so I was somewhat expecting someting a bit better. This is Clair Denis retelling and updating of the classic Melville story Billy Budd. Though it should be noted this film does not have a traditional narrative structure. I think it's polarizing nature gave it it's popularity in that the film is unique I just didn't care for it.

The story now takes place in Africa with an outpost of French soldiers. You kind of get a vague grasp of the three main characters...the new soldier, the sergeant, and the commander. But it's only sort of because the film maker is more concerned with gving us endless montages of the day to day work/life of the soldiers. The idea I think is to dehumanize the characters in thes story. Most of the action happens off screen I think this was mostly done for budgetary reasons.

Things happen in this film but Denis is more interested in giving up a long shot of the men doing laundry than actually establishing the characters. This is a choice and it's really not my thing. The visuals are the strongest element of the film...Denis is poetic in her filming but the entire time I felt like if the camera moved six inches to the left I would have been taken out of the story. I can understand why this film was nominated and I'm glad to have watched it...but I didn't particularly enjoy it.

B-

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

03-13-24

Beau Travail

Admittedly I get rather bored to death with some of these war movies that really don't centralize on any characters. And yes I get that that is done intentionally it seems by Denis but that still is ineffective for me. I will say that the film looks really good, but it's story isn't anything for me to grip onto. I'd rather learn about the characters and what they are going through and there just isn't enough of that here for me. Not having that aspect working for it really makes the film a drag and I feel like I slogged my way through it. I can certainly see aspects where it would be well worth looking into more Denis films though.

John W Constantine

Alias: John Utah

03-13-24

The Bank Job

(2008, Donaldson)

Terry Leather (....yes that is his name) is your ordinary ex-con turned small time car dealer trying to make ends meet with his friends and family. When a woman from his past shows up with a plan to rob a bank with him and some of his associates, Terry sees it as a way to escape from the less than good financial situation for him and his family. When the action takers finally pull off the heist to eliminate their tough situations they have unexpectedly raised the stakes to another level with the contents they happen to acquire in the cases.

Statham takes a break from kung fu'ing mofos to plan a heist. This gave me vibes of some of the early 60's capers, like The Great Escape and Le Trou but set in the London 70's with ex-con car dealership employees, if that makes sense. Statham brings his usually snarling charm to the proceedings and the film presents a sort of above average juggling act with all the players involved. Lots of female nudity. This wasn't bad for an average Statham vehicle with some things thrown in.

John W Constantine

Alias: John Utah

03-13-24

God's Little Acre

(1958, Mann)

Ty Ty Walden has spent the better part of the last 15 years digging up dirt on his family farm looking for gold. While other members of his kin navigate through those days experiencing everything from perceived marital problems, booze, workers issues, and lord knows what else.

Man, kind of hard what to say about this thing. I assume most of you guys are going to struggle with this one because I did myself. I'm wondering if someone from Hollywood visited a state in the south once and just decided that "all" southern people sound like they were taken from a stage play. The accents in this movie made this such a chore to sit through where I almost couldn't focus on anything else, which is to say the actual story won me over. Robert Ryan in his obsessed actions to dig up every single plot of his land is beyond insanity. Only in the end to remember his faith triumphs over the gold stuff. I don't think any of the other characters did much for me and Ryan's over the top performance tried my patience in trying to make it to the finish line with this.

John W Constantine

Alias: John Utah

03-14-24

There Will Be Blood

(2007, Anderson)

Daniel Plainview is a man of ambition, he has a competition in himself that doesn't want anyone to succeed. After discovering oil in parts of California he begins a highly profitable business. But his ambition for riches conflicts with the character of Eli Sunday who happens to have a church in the small area near Plainview. These two personalities conflict as one man's faith is pitted against another's ambition.

DDL's performance as Plainview has been my favorite since this debuted in 2007 when I was getting serious about films. All the technical achievements mixed with the character works has made this a favorite over the years although I don't think it has ever become a T100 favorite for me but I can't deny the craft that went into making this. A true classic and worthy choice.

Siddon

Registered User

03-14-24

Mona Lisa (1986)

I'm pretty happy to see people diving into the adult neonoirs of the 80's/90's. One of the things I miss most about modern films is you rarely get to see adults and complicated sexual situations. And I don't think you would ever see a pairing like this is in a modern film. Bob Hoskins plays a middle aged man recently released from Prison. When he goes to track down his old buddy (Michael Caine), Caine sets him up as a driver for a high class call girl.

Now is it a little weird for a middle-aged man to try and wrap his head around the sex industry...yes. But when you get past the stuff that's dated you have a fairly provocative film. You have a elevator in particular with a pimp that is just cinematic perfection, it's simple but it works so well. And while I'm not crazy about violence towards women in film at the very least this film handles it better than most. They aren't just throwaway scenes but they build on each other. The final act is also a real standout...one of the things I've noticed in this hall is so many films here don't stick the landing. Even Treasure the weakest part of the film is the last 10 minutes. Really solid nom...hope to see it show on the neo-noir countdown.

B+

Siddon

Registered User

03-14-24

The Bank Job (2008)

The British crime genre explosion of the late 90's was in it's dying days in 2008. So here we have a period piece noir trueish story about a group of bank robbers, MI5, and Drug lords. And yeah this movie bounces around a lot but unlike Gods Little Acre they don't switch genres they are just telling one expansive story. And the film feels very different than most heist films. The first thing you notice is that the heist is the least exciting part of the film, the story gets more interesting after the heist than during it.

One of the things I admire about this filmmaker is he doesn't follow the same rules as everyone else. You get sex and violence at different points in the film with characters that would normally be "safe". The body count in this film is surprisingly high but more interesting is the tone, it's basically stripped of sentimentality or suspense. I also found the script to be very strong as I could follow all the characters very easily, the filmmaker was very economical with everyone's screen time but they were established well. You don't see that anymore.

Now...is Jason Statham good in this....no he's the worst part. He's miscast and far to young to play a father and leader of a gang like this. Jason drags the film down from being great but it was still pretty good and the time flew by.

B

Hey Fredrick

Registered User

03-14-24

Mona Lisa (1986)

Bob Hoskins is George, a recently released prisoner who lands a job for his old boss driving around an expensive call girl, Simone (Cathy Tyson). It's an oil and water mix at first with George not really understanding what's expected of the role. Discretion is appreciated by Simone in some of the high class hotels and George looks like he's ready to have a pina coloda on the beach. They work through their issues and end up in a pretty cordial relationship with George being somewhat protective of Simone. Once the friendship is established Simone lays a little bit of her past on George and asks him for help finding an old friend, who is actually quite young and involved in the same work as Simone. So the search is on. Of course there are people who don't want any of this extracurricular stuff taking place, mainly Georges boss played by Michael Caine and Simone's last pimp, played by Clarke Peters (The Wire)

I have to agree with Siddon about the elevator scene. When watching that scene I was thinking "This is kind of fantastic." It's the highlight of a really good movie. The movie also made me chuckle a few times with quick little lines or when when George tries ordering some tea in one of the more luxurious hotels. All of the main performers do a very good job. There's a bit of a side story going on with George and his daughter. It's not a huge part of the film but I'm glad they put it in as it helps fill out Georges character. Even though he did time, he's not a bad guy. I also really enjoyed how the film takes us through the uppity hangouts of England and down into the gutters. If I had a gripe it's that I thought the ending was a bit abrupt but it's not bad. Good nomination.

John W Constantine

Alias: John Utah

03-14-24

A Man For All Seasons

(1966, Zinnemann)

England circa 1529, Cardinal Wolsey has attempted to sway the pope in hopes of being granted an annulment for King Henry VIII and his bride Catherine of Aragon. Sir Thomas More, our main character, is the only member of the council to oppose Wolsey's proposition, which causes some friction and curiosity. Sir Thomas then faces many challenges from seemingly all types of characters in pursuit for Thomas to change his stance and faith in regards to blessing the divorce and new wife for Henry VIII.

Paul Scofield's performance is one my favorites and this film and his character are one I could revisit very often. The story of More as a man of ultimate conscience and faith in this story where seemingly no one is above testing him on these fronts over a perceived slight acknowledgment is a treat to watch play out. Great choice.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

03-14-24

Beau Travail

I hate to use the 'B' word but my gawd was this boring. Nothing engaged me and I have a new dislike for the director who made a nothing film composed of various camera shots of unusual places in Northern Africa. Then writes a voice over narrative to put her collection of shots together. That's not film making, that's photography.

There's no story here, no world building, no character depth, no emotions generated, nothing explored...it's just a collection of shooting locations with interesting backgrounds....Scenes, if you can call them that, start in the middle and end with no rhyme or reason. The scenes add nothing to the story outside of a few key scenes towards the end of the film. I have a hard time believing someone got financing to make this. I did like the director's film White Material, but find Beau Travail to be hollow. For me the only redeeming aspect was being able to see the natural terrain of Djibouti.

Last edited by Citizen Rules; 03-14-24 at 03:14 PM.

Hey Fredrick