23rd MoFo Hall of Fame

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=68075
The Skin I Live In
*spoilers*

Wow, that was weird, really weird!...Nothing at all like I had expected. I went into this blind and well, I didn't know what to expect, except I thought it might be visually graphic & gross, which it wasn't.

I have to say subjectively this is an excellent made film with some uncomfortable subject matter that's presented quite seamlessly. I can see why people would really like this. Objectively it's not the type of film I usually watch, though the second to last 'payback' scene was just desserts! I don't think I've ever more wanted to see two evil characters get what they deserved than here in this film. I'm so glad for that scene, it felt like redemption.

I liked the pacing and the art design of the sets too. Everything was very professional and artistically done, nothing seemed rushed. I like how that screen shot that I used...mirrors a nude painting that hangs in the doctors house. I thought that was pretty creative. So was the breakfast scene where the doctor has a small bottle of syrup he pours on his waffles and then licks the bottle, then the maid brings a bigger bottle which turns out to be blood. I don't know why but I thought that was ingenious.

[edarsenal]

https://timeincsecure-a.akamaihd.net/rtmp_uds/219646971/201808/3835/219646971_5827493978001_5827490966001-vs.jpg?pubId=219646971&videoId=5827490966001


Schindler's List

Itzhak Stern: It's Hebrew, it's from the Talmud. It says, "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcRRxXM4UVrPEQhLqw2etE-TMO9BcH306UBTTQ&usqp=CAU

What a truly exceptional film.
This actually took me three separate sittings of about an hour each through the week to watch due to time frames during work. Allowing me to, on some levels, to - for the lack of a better wording, absorb all that this film is and signifies. I imagine that a straight 3 hour viewing must be quite devastating emotionally. Which I will, at some future point, will experience.

Going into this, and this is also part of the reason I have never ventured a viewing of my own, I have seen documentaries, photographs and even a TV series called Holocaust (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077025/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3) that was run for 4 nights, each one about 90 min long in '78 when I was in 8th grade (13yrs old) a few books including The Bielski Brothers who hid over a thousand Jews in a forest for some two years. The imageries, films and books I have read from my youth and throughout my life still cause my heart to weep and my soul to shudder; aghast.
So, bracing myself and having no real prior knowledge of Oskar Schindler I began my sojourn into this film.
I was both impressed by and emotionally captured through it all by the humanity of the victims and the precious few survivors. Spielberg deserves every accolade he was given for making this film. There is a beautiful balance between the death that is, at times overwhelming, but, more importantly, the Life of those that suffered it.

There are far too many moments in this film to remark upon and those of you who have seen this know the truth of it. I will remark that I thought the ending was a wonderful reminder of Life and Hope as the B&W changed to color and we see the cast giving respect to the real Schindler's grave.

I reiterate, what a truly exceptional film!!

[rauldc14]

Hunger

https://idrawonmywall.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/29-hunger-2008.jpg

My second McQueen film following 12 Years a Slave. I think McQueen likes to get a lot out of his acting and I would say Fassbender delivers. Unfortunately I can't be 100% sure due to the fact I know little to nothing about what the film is based on. And it seems like this is an overall negative to the film as it's hard to make any emotional connections to exactly what is going on.

The like the dark, gritty look of the prisons. It gave the film a rather dull and dooming attitude which seems to fit the overall films tone. One thing is I don't think specific scenes were as climatic as they needed to be and also felt overdrawn, like when Fassbenders character was talking to the guy by the table it seemed to drag forever.

I hate to dog the film but it will need to get a proper rewatch down the road. It's a hard film to rate because it does things well but leaves a viewer like me wanting to get more out of it while feeling pretty empty to what it had to offer with such a serious subject matter.

3-

[jiraffejustin]

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/23rdHOF/stand2.jpg
Stand By Me
(Rob Reiner, 1986)
Nominated By: Sarge
89 minutes, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Some of the Stephen King dialogue for children can be a little much. I feel the same way when watch It, but like It, Stand By Me overcomes that shortcoming to become something worthwhile. Stand By Me is better than It, but both films do a good job of putting the viewer back in time within their own life. Stand By Me has an extra little bit with the youngster dealing with the recent loss of a revered presence in his life. I don't know if I buy the behavior of the parents, particularly the father. I'm sure a lot of dads do care more for their athletic kid than the non-athlete, but whether it's the acting of father or the writing or whatever it is, I wasn't buying it that much. I'm just thankful King didn't take that idea out on the athletic brother like a lot of lazier writers might do. I thought the Lardass scene was a nice touch in world and character building. I enjoy the idea of this specific journey a lot. The acting left something to be desired, but that's a lot of pressure to put on children. I particularly didn't care too much for Corey Feldman's performance. I like the fat kid well enough, and there seems to be something about Stephen King writing fat kids to be the exact same character. Sutherland was pretty over-the-top, as mentioned before. I also don't know if I buy the kids brother sticking with the Kief against him like that. Maybe that's a real thing that's happened, but I need more information on why he'd do that before I buy it. Maybe that's just my own relationship with my brother making it hard for me to see things any other way. I enjoyed watching this film, but it'll never be a big-time favorite.

[pahaK]

It's taken a while to get my Schindler's List review done. I've had other things on my mind the last few days (mainly related to the water damage to my bedroom caused by someone falling to drunken sleep in his shower two stories up). I'll try to get going on these again soon.

[rauldc14]

I'll take a link for Yellow Submarine if there's one floating around

[CosmicRunaway]

I've had other things on my mind the last few days (mainly related to the water damage to my bedroom caused by someone falling to drunken sleep in his shower two stories up).
Stuff like that is the worst part of living in a building with other people. Hopefully you didn't lose anything valuable!

[HashtagBrownies]

Hunger

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A look at the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, with special attention drawn to Bobby Sands

Quite an interesting approach to telling a historical film: Instead of explicitly telling us about the conflict and the reasons behind it, the film simply presents us with random scenes from the struggle that give us a certain emotion, whether it be sadness, anger or shock. I do agree with the criticism that too little context is given and that the film should've provided some more information about The Troubles.
I quite like how Sands isn't even the main character really; half of the scenes are about the struggle of the prisoners. Another example of how this is quite an experimental historical film. Of course all of the acting and dialogue is good, otherwise that long talking scene wouldn't be as good as it is. The depiction of starvation near the end of the film is quite realistic and very painful to watch. The dark colour pallet works well for the feel of the film and the natural light is very visually appealing.

My favourite Steven McQueen film. Amazing pick MovieGal

[cricket]

Gangs of New York

https://i.gifer.com/1Bwl.gif

With Martin Scorsese being my favorite director, this was a glaring omission from the films I've seen. I've always wanted to see it, but I guess not enough to go forward with it's long runtime. There are Scorsese movies I don't care for, like The Aviator, Shutter Island, and Bringing Out the Dead. I liked this more than those, but I'd still rank it in the bottom third of his filmography.

My first impression, and one that lasted throughout, was that it didn't seem like a Scorsese movie. I thought it seemed like a Steven Spielberg or a director of a Pirates of the Caribbean film production. Of course it's got the violence of a Scorsese film and that was good.

The general plot is very standard, but it has the time and place which are original. The movie looks fine but it could've looked great. The score was basic. I like Leo plenty but he was pretty average here. I love Cameron Diaz but I think it's just dirty thoughts as she's not a great actress and hasn't even been in many good movies. Daniel Day Lewis is everything to this movie. It's compelling when he's on screen and nothing when he isn't. Thankfully he's onscreen a lot. It is an over the top performance and character, probably better suited for a Quentin Tarantino movie, and while he is the movie, he's also one of the reasons I couldn't take the movie seriously. The best scenes of the movie occur close together about half way through; when the Butcher, wrapped in a flag, talks to the kid about his father, when the Butcher torments Diaz on stage, and when the Butcher bloodies and scars Leo. Notice a common denominator?

It's not a great movie but I was mostly entertained and I'm glad I was finally forced to watch the f**ker.

3+

[cricket]

Finished and sending my votes

[pahaK]

Schindler's List (1993)

Spielberg's depiction of the holocaust is surprisingly uneven and too manipulative. It's like he didn't trust his viewers to have correct feelings and went overboard with melodrama. A film can rarely move from greatness to awkwardness with such fluidity as Schindler's List.

68171

This unevenness affects everything. At times the black and white cinematography is stunning (mostly during the outdoor shots), but many scenes look overexposed and grainy and poorly lit. Horrifying moments of infernal beauty (like the arrival of the women's train to Auschwitz) mixed with too much underlining (like the endless litanies of names to emphasize that the jews were actual people) is another pair. And that girl in a red dress just didn't fit.

Perhaps the biggest issue for me was the language. It was a total mess of proper English and weirdly accented English with German nouns mixed in (this reminds me of something like the old Commando comics, not a highly esteemed movie like this). In addition to that, most of the extras spoke German or Polish or Hebrew in the background. I can't understand why the whole film wasn't done in correct languages (with other actors, if necessary) or at least in proper English throughout. The annoyance was further amplified by the inconsistency due to no subs for the non-English parts.

Regardless of the issues, Schindler's List is a good movie (albeit barely). The melodrama doesn't hamper its effectiveness too much, and in general, the positives outweigh the negatives. The language issue is the only one without any redeeming factors. I still think it's overvalued film, but perhaps the topic makes it hard for people to be critical.

[Sarge]

https://i0.wp.com/biffbampop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/reflectingskin-e1566935829140.jpeg?resize=1212%2C666&ssl=1
Film The reflecting skin
Year of release: 1990
Directed by: Philip Ridley
Run time: 1hr 36
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper

Watching this was a bit like viewing modern art, I know what I see, but I am not sure whether that is what the creator intended or indeed what others see.
The things that I interpreted from it helped me to not simply see it as indulgent nonsense, but rather a carefully crafted metaphor for much bigger things.

It is weird, slightly disturbing, raw, brutal and a bit messy all wrapped in stylish film making.
2 days later and I am still not fully able to articulate how I feel about it.

One of those films (like a few others in this HOF) that is hard to say you 'enjoyed' but it certainly impacted me.
The acting was really excellent even if the characters were all hard to like.

I hope that by the time it comes to voting that I have a more coherent opinion :D

[pahaK]

I just had an acid trip watched Yellow Submarine. As usual, full review in a few days but let's say that I liked some of the songs :shifty:

[Citizen Rules]

I had acid reflux while watching Yellow Submarine too many hot peppers:eek:

[pahaK]

Yellow Submarine (1968)

I don't know if Yellow Submarine is aimed solely at Beatles fans or was there enough children doing LSD in the 60s to consider as a target audience. Unfortunately, I don't belong to either group, so my pleasure was limited to a few decent songs and general inept weirdness.

https://i.gifer.com/1sm4.gif

Even calling Yellow Submarine a movie feels wrong. It's a music video with a rudimentary narrative linking the songs (like an episode of a children's show stretched to movie length by musical padding). The characters are as empty and meaningless as the so-called story (unless you're flabbergasted by the fact that they're Beatles, of course). Even the voice-acting is flat and boring.

Visually Yellow Submarine isn't awful, but I don't think its style fits a feature-length movie. It's like Monty Python's animated breaks that work wonders in short bursts of wit and innovation but would most likely lose their steam in longer form. There are occasional good moments, but they're too few and far between. Rest is just a fan service for the Beatles enthusiasts.

I didn't exactly hate Yellow Submarine, but it's balancing right at the edge of badness. I hope this review doesn't make me a blue meanie.

[Miss Vicky]

We are now at the halfway point in this Hall of Fame.

You have had 7 weeks to watch movies (8 if you count the week between the initial reveal and the sign-up deadline). This HOF is a watch-at-your-own-pace arrangement, but if you have not watched and reviewed at least 7 movies by now, you need to think about speeding up your pace.

Also, please take a moment to check the first and second posts of this thread to make sure that your number of reviews is correct and that all of your reviews are properly linked.

As a reminder, the deadline to finish write-ups and voting is November 21st.

67207
ahwell edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin MovieGal neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

[edarsenal]

https://media3.giphy.com/media/69rP6loSnAkY0qLwrB/giphy.gif


Yellow Submarine

Ringo: Hey, I wonder what'll happen if I pull this lever.
Old Fred: Oh, you mustn't do that now.
Ringo: Can't help it. I'm a born "Liver-pooler."

Packed with a vaudevillian styled play on words for dialogue that refenced other Beatles songs and themselves, the Fab Four originally didn't want anything to do with it. Having a general dislike for the TV cartoon that the same folks made until they saw some of the finished work and then agreed to do the quick finale.
The acid trip, pop art of the film was done by a German artist who actually never did drugs and simply went by hearsay; is really just a trippy way to enjoy old Beatles songs via crazy imagery. Even the voicing talent sorta falls short of the charismatic timing that John, Paul, George and Ringo had that won them over to, at first, the press interviewing them, and then, to the ever growing fandom who bought their albums, went to their concerts and enjoyed the two previous films that actually featured them, A Hard Day's Night (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) and Help! (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5) Both of which are Guilty Pleasures of mine.
Haven not seen this since I was, literally, a little kid, I did, very often, during this thought I really should have smoked beforehand and, perhaps, even during. Still, I did get enjoyment of the maniacal Blue Meanies. The Boss of, in particular, and listening along to the playlist of Beatles songs is always a pleasure. "Eleanor Rigby" was my favorite of the bunch.

[edarsenal]

That puts me at the halfway mark of films viewed/reviewed at this halfway mark of the HoF.
Just to let everyone know I will be vacant this next week since I'll be out of state and away from my computer. Going down to the pan handle of Florida for the week to visit with my room mate's Aunt and Uncle.
See you all when I get back next week
Take care!!

[gbgoodies]

That puts me at the halfway mark of films viewed/reviewed at this halfway mark of the HoF.
Just to let everyone know I will be vacant this next week since I'll be out of state and away from my computer. Going down to the pan handle of Florida for the week to visit with my room mate's Aunt and Uncle.
See you all when I get back next week
Take care!!


edarsenal, Have fun in Florida, and stay safe. :)

[Wyldesyde19]

That puts me at the halfway mark of films viewed/reviewed at this halfway mark of the HoF.
Just to let everyone know I will be vacant this next week since I'll be out of state and away from my computer. Going down to the pan handle of Florida for the week to visit with my room mate's Aunt and Uncle.
See you all when I get back next week
Take care!!
Enjoy! I miss Florida, and hope you have a enjoyable time there

[pahaK]

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Ah, the 80s when even Disney animations had drinking, smoking, sexual innuendo and deaths. I miss those decadent times.

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Poor Olivia, that plug is gonna hurt.

I found The Great Mouse Detective an easy watch. In a way, it loans too much from Sherlock Holmes to properly stand on its own feet, but I suppose the primary target audience is children who haven't yet read Doyle. As an introduction to detective stories, it's entertaining and gives a little taste of the suspense the big-boy stories offer.

I like the visual style of the film (I guess I'd prefer a bit grimier and spookier Victorian London, but it was along the right tracks). Characters and animation are good as well (memorable, lively, competent voice acting). Even the early use of CGI looks OK, but it's probably because of the hand-drawn characters are stealing the spotlight.

I don't usually watch animation (even less the ones aimed at children), but The Great Mouse Detective was a pleasant surprise. Not my type of film, but I didn't mind watching it.

Weird how some reviews sound so negative and others so positive while I rate the films exactly the same :rolleyes:

[Miss Vicky]

I Need A Vote

You may have noticed that ahwell has been absent from this thread for over a month, despite initially racing through the majority of the nominated films. I noticed this too and sent him a private message.

Here's the situation: ahwell will not be returning to this HOF, but has watched all 14 films and has written up the two remaining films elsewhere on this site:

Late Spring (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2104344#post2104344)

Stand By Me (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2102452#post2102452)

He has also given me his ballot.

Here's where I have a problem: I had to contact him publicly on another site to find out WTF was going on, since he didn't have the decency to contact me himself and basically just ditched this whole thing, then gave me his ballot after I contacted him - again on a completely separate site. I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little pissed off and a bit tempted to give him the boot since I don't think I would've found this out had I not gone off site to contact him.

As a reminder, the rules of participation state this:

However, you will still be expected to write up your thoughts on the film in this thread.

So what say you, MoFos? Do we cut the kid a break and count his vote or do we disqualify him and Late Spring?

ETA: Vote no longer needed. The issue has been resolved. ahwell posted here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2129611#post2129611).


67207
Citizen Rules CosmicRunaway cricket edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin MovieGal neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

[jiraffejustin]

I'm fine with counting his vote.

[Citizen Rules]

I vote to allow his ballot and keep Late Spring in the HoF.

I hope everything is OK with him.

[HashtagBrownies]

Keep his vote.

[neiba]

Me too.

[rauldc14]

I don't understand why he can't finish since he's watching like 5 films a day still.

[rauldc14]

Doesn't seem like him to not write up Late Spring and Stand by Me again

[Miss Vicky]

I don't understand why he can't finish since he's watching like 5 films a day still.

It's not that he can't do it, it's that he won't. This is a choice he has made.

[cricket]

That's weird. Did something make him leave the site? Maybe he'll be back after whatever cools down. He's been a good reliable member so I say count it.

[Wyldesyde19]

I think he needs some time away from the site. Hopefully he comes back. Hate to lose him.

[cricket]

Actually, he didn't rate my nomination highly so omit it. And omit CR's ballot too.

[Wyldesyde19]

Did he give a reason for leaving?

[ahwell]

Hi everyone, super sorry of me. I just up and left one day and I should have thought about it more and tied up loose ends. To make it official, here are my final two reviews:

Stand by Me(1986)

I sometimes feel so absolutely alone in the world. Like I'm sitting in a house in a town in a county in a state in the middle of nowhere. I am the center of my own life, yet I always feel like the real center is thousands of miles away. Each car that drives past my window, each family walking their dog. Every drop of rain, every whisper from the wind. Life is so fleeting, and I feel like I'm missing every moment. I sometimes wonder if I'm watching my own life, instead of choosing it. Yet I am so lucky to even experience it in the first place.

Stand by Me deals with childhood nostalgia. And innocence. And our friendships. But to me what hit the most was identity, and choosing your own path. It's about cherishing every moment in your life, and embracing your identity to help you be successful. Love yourself, and then you can love others.

The four boys in Stand by Me don't realize this at first. They have such big hearts, and such big minds, but they all - especially Chris - look down on themselves. Chris wants to be someone, but he doesn't feel he has the brains, or the means. Gordie also wants to be someone, but he feels pressured and hated by his parents and by his dead older brother. The other two have motives more concealed, but Stand by Me doesn't push them to the side. It lets the characters breath and develop.

When I finished Stand by Me the only complaint that I could think of was that I wanted more. I wanted an arc, an ending, a reunion where the adults could share good times. But I realized that would destroy at all. Just like Gordie said about his pie eating story; that's just the end. Sometimes the ending doesn't have to explain everything. Like how the boys dealt with the older gang. How Gordie dealt with his trauma and parents. Where Teddie and Vern went with their lives. Those are questions we care about, but also questions that are so much valuable to think about than to "know" for fact. Every life is intertwined, and we will never for sure truly understand anyone's story except our own.

So let's work every day on making our own story better and better. Let's not let any predetermined fate define us. Let's love ourselves, and love others. If we don't have a center, look for that center instead of letting it find you. Make your own future. Most of us are out of young childhood, and whether it was awful or amazing, remember that as a time of hope and courage and love and friendship, and let that inspire your new adventures.

Listening to the soft, melodic rain outside my window, I'm reminded just how beautiful life is. It will go by before we know it, but we are so fortunate to even be alive. Even for a fraction of a second in the span of the universe. We are so small, but we are a part. If fate really does exist, then rise to meet it.

Thinking about it this way, I don't feel so alone after all.


Late Spring (1949)

I've only seen three of his films, but Ozu already seems to me sort of an anti-Kubrick. Kubrick is known for his more colder, distant, often cynical style - humans aren't role models in most of his films, like Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, or Barry Lyndon.

Ozu does just the opposite, he brings an incredible warmth to humanity, a hope and optimism for the good things we can do, and he just infuses love and passion into his work.

That comparison isn't an insult to either director; Kubrick is my favorite director of all time and Ozu is getting up there. And of course I'm hugely generalizing their respective styles, every great director has many many unique things about his/her/their work.

Late Spring seeps into a plot conflict; It's slice of life at its finest, yet also so tight and structured, with a very simple plot that it sticks to. Noriko wants to stay by her father's side, he's the person she loves most in the world. Shukichi, her father, loves her dearly and wants what's best for her, which in Japanese society must mean marriage.

While the end might leave a potentially sulfurous taste in the mouth for modern viewers - Noriko gets married against her own will? - it's important to remember that Ozu was well aware of the societal restrictions and norms for women at the time. He knew - like Noriko's father - that Noriko would unfortunately have no chance in life if she didn't get married. It's not fair, but it's a fact that Noriko has to deal with.

I always love the father-daughter relationship here. It's truly amazing comparing Western and Eastern cultures through film. None is superior to the other, but - I think - Eastern movies tend to prioritize family and community over Western independence and personal needs. In an American movie, Noriko may have been the independent girl who wants to get married already, but her father is holding her back. In Late Spring, it is just the opposite; a girl has grown up her whole life by her father's side, and now must leave him, for a man she has known only a couple weeks?

Shukichi feels the same pain, yet we never see it on the surface. He lies to his daughter in order to convince her to search for a husband. Does he want Noriko to marry? Not in his heart. But his sister - and eventually his head - tell him that Noriko will get too old to marry, and then will not succeed in Japanese life.

What struck me throughout was - along with the simplicity of the plot - how simple the rest of it was. The camera movement is very minimal (is there any true camera movement??). We get Ozu's famous technique of sitting the camera on the floor and letting the actors just... act. And that's another thing. The brilliance and the beauty of the dialogue. The characters have simple conversations about every day life, of course with the plot tied in. There are few cuts, we see the conversation as someone watching in real life would.

It's an incredible, still novel, style of film-making, and Ozu - who didn't quite impress me with the first movie I saw of his, A Hen in the Wind - just hits dynamite. I don't think I'm truly capable of appreciating this as much as a Japanese/Eastern audience might, but I can definitely call it a masterpiece and one of the best movies I've seen.



Again, I'm really, really sorry, and if anyone feels upset or annoyed with me that would be totally understandable since I communicated nothing. I am taking a bit of a break from MoFo for personal reasons (among others). I'll also be taking a HoF break (obviously haha), but I will definitely try to return someday since these have been really fun.

[Wyldesyde19]

At the very least, Ahwell, return to MoFo. You’re a good guy. Hate to lose you permanently, but I also understand sometimes one needs to take a break.

[rauldc14]

But u had a 25 day break. Confused

[jiraffejustin]

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/23rdHOF/reflecting2.jpg
The Reflecting Skin
(Philip Ridley, 1990)
Nominated By: pahaK
96 minutes, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100469/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")


I am a dumb guy, so I miss a lot of stuff. I don't really know what aueteurs are trying to say most of the time, but what I get out of a film matters more to me than what others get out of a film. I'm assuming that this film has something to say about America at some point in time, cause the fella comes home and throws the flag down. The film is a joint effort from the UK and Canada, so that's not too big of a surprise. I don't really care about that as it's not too overwhelming to the viewer like a lot of modern films have a problem with. They will go out of their way to ruin a film to make a point, usually an awful point, about as subtly as a kick in the nuts. All I need is something to latch on to, if I get that, I can forgive things I don't care for. For instance, I think Parasite is very well crafted and tense, an overall well-made film, so I can forgive it for its obvious propaganda. So, what point does The Reflecting Skin try to make? I couldn't tell you.

Did I find something to latch myself on to? You bet your weird, petrified, fetus ass I did. On IMDb I learned that Philip Ridley hand-painted the wheat to make it stand out. I don't know exactly why it is, but details like this fascinate me. It shows that a guy probably "gets it". I don't know what that it is, like I said before, but my eyes show that there is something to it with this film. It's weird, reminds me of Lynch a lot. Much to my surprise the only person who brought up Lynch was Citizen, and he was not fond of this film. Even before the weird fetus angel thing, I was getting some kind of Eraserhead vibe mixed with Twin Peaks vibes. This film felt like if aliens were tasked with recreating what they saw of Earth from nothing but memory. It didn't feel quite right, but everything looks like it should. A film can grasp me with an odd atmosphere, peculiar characters, an interesting look, and dark undertones, that's what The Reflecting Skin gave me.

[HashtagBrownies]

The Skin I Live In
68328
A man performs experiments on a woman he keeps hostage, whom he's infatuated with.

Despite being quite brutal and gross, The Skin I Live In takes a very meticulous and professional tone to its film-making; There's no over the top music or acting, it's all very subdued. It's so interesting to see this contrasted with such disturbing themes and imagery.
The use of colour in this film is very effective too. The posh look of a mostly grey and blue house contrasted with a fiery red ball, bed or carpet. It gives the viewer a sense of foreboding, as in will or how much blood will be sprayed on these clean surfaces near the end of the film?
The presentation of the film is effective. The story jumps between the past and the present, letting us discover new things about the characters' histories when we start to wonder during the present scenes/

Of course everyone makes a comparison to this and 'Eyes Without a Face'. While I do see a few elements, personally I feel they are two completely different films: TSILI introduces us to the human experimentation that Vera is being subjected to, but after that the film relies more on the characters and their history than the experiments themselves. In EWAF however, the film is a lot more focused on the experiments themselves and the shock value that comes with them. Both films are good in their own ways, but personally I wouldn't compare them too hard.

I guess if I was to make a criticism, it's that that the scene with the tiger man felt out of place. I know it's almost obligatory for artsy films to have at least one goofy scene, but I feel that this scene did not add much to the film.

Good choice Miss Vicky, I cant wait to check out that new short film by Almodóvar.

[CosmicRunaway]

Work has been quite busy these past few days, so I haven't been around much. I haven't commented on any posts in awhile as well, but I just don't really have anything additional to say.

I just saw what happened with ahwell. It's sad to see him leave the site since he's been a great HoF participant, but hopefully whatever personal reasons have contributed to his decision get sorted out.

[neiba]

I know I haven't been exactly active lately, so sorry everyone, the post-lockdown has been quite busy (luckily) for me, as Switzerland is trying to get back to the typical concert filled day-to-day life.

I've been watching stuff though, so here's a few write-ups:

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

HoFs are usually filled with heavy dramatic films which sometimes can make them hard to binge-watch, so it's always good when some light-hearted wholesome little movies come in the between.
I thought I had perhaps watched this as a child but I realized soon that I didn't. Ratigan was familiar, but maybe I read it on a book, cause I'm pretty sure I never watched this before. However, there's still some nostalgy effect that works for me, because Disney has such a familiar and always-in-development animation style that you could easily order every film chronologically without knowing the years they came out.

What I liked the most was the voicing. This film is still from a time when film actors had a solid theatre career so there's an extra attention to diction and to text declamation that you simply can't find in someone who started doing directly cinema (which is the case for many modern actors). This is not only extremely pedagogical to the kids, but also highly artistic, because it adds a layer to the personality of every character. Vincent Price is obviously great on this, but I especially loved Barrie Ingham as Basil.

It was a very relaxing watch and even if it didn't amaze me I'm glad it was nominated.

3+

Yellow Submarine (1968)

So... For starters let me say I watched a big part of this on the most unlikely website: Pornhub! :confused:

About the film: I don't really know what to say. I liked that the visuals are a perfect representation of the way I imagine The Beatles songs. I always felt that psychadelic tones were present in much of their music and it was great to see that was not only a thing from my imagination. Even Eleanor Rigby is so well animated it seemed that I always imagined the song like that in my mind even before I had even heard of this film.

That's pretty much what I liked on this, I'm sad to say.

The plot is weak at most and I hated the voicing of almost every character. Not understanding every word everyone says really annoys me, so this is quite the opposite of The Great Mouse Detective. Those 2 factors really hurted my experience and this became quite a boring watch, as much as I love some of the songs that are here.

2

Schindler's List (1993)

Stanley Kubrick once said that, if you excluded documentaries like Shoah of Night & Fog, there were no Holocaust films. When asked about Schindler's List he said something like this: the Holocaust is about the murder of 6 million people, Schindler's List is an history of success.

Now, while this may seem a bit extreme, I do get what he's trying to say. There's something in the film that doesn't let me feel the horror of the Holocaust at its true dimension. I'm not sure if it's the cinematography or the story in itself, but I feel like I'm watching a film with heroes and villains doing something that's safe in the past, and that's not something I want to feel when I watch a film about what may be the lowest point in the history of mankind. I want to feel threatened, I want to feel like this may happen again, that it was not an isolated event and that there's simply no silverlining to the massacre of millions of people for no reason whatsoever.

That being said, Schindler's List is still a very good film, that even for such a long running time is extremely well paced, very well acted and quite well directed overall. It's obviously among Spielberg's best works (which doesn't exactly mean that much to me cause I don't look at him as the genius that many people think he is) and I still happy I got the chance to rewatch this, so many years after my last view.

3.5 -

Stand by Me (1986)

Stand by Me is easily my go-to choice of a coming-of-age film that is at the same time wholesome. It's somehow highly relatable even I didn't experience anything like what's portrayed, and very very nostalgic.
It's one of the movies that gives you a different and maybe deeper experience with every single viewing. It got me thinking about childhood, it made me reflect on how my past experiences and the relationships with my friends forged the person I am today. If that's not exactly what a coming-of-age film should do, then i don't know what is.

4 +

[pahaK]

My review of The Fisher King is coming soon to HoF thread near you! As a short teaser, I'll just say that I'm not a fan of romcoms even when they're done in a Gilliam style.

[rauldc14]

I get to my JoJo Rabbit rewatch soon here.

[Sarge]

https://offscreen.com/images/made/images/articles/_resized/the-skin-i-live-in-3_630_340_90.jpg

Film: The skin Ilive in
Year of release: 2011
Directed by: Pedro Almodova
Run time: 2hr
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya,Jan Cornet

Well...erm...:eek:

I knew nothing about this film before I watched it, apart from what I could grasp from the image.
I had no idea what was coming and that continued throughout the film, it was intriguing and compelling in equal measure.
That was strange to say the least, although as I said, utterly compelling.
It was frustrating and torturous from an ethical and psycholigical viewpoint. The whole thing was a little Freudian.
An interesting concept wrapped up in a minefield of ethics, morality and a whole lot of crazy.
Superbly made film, with some great twists and a really satisfying sense of justice that had it not came could have had me throwing my TV through a window :D
It was a slightly disturbing film but not due to what was visual but what it conjures up in your mind.
I won't forget it for a while, A very interesting choice that I am glad was included.

[rauldc14]

JoJo Rabbit

https://i.insider.com/5e345160ab49fd06ae529896?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp

For my second watch I will bump this up a tad but it still doesn't reach favorite status. The best thing for me this time was Hitler getting kicked out of the window by the ten year old. I found myself often wanting more Hitler in this movie and I think Taiki Waititi (spelling) was the star of the show. Most of the acting was really good to me. I guess I wasn't a huge fan of the boy lead, but he wasn't terrible either. Johannson delivered a really nice performance and obviously Rockwell absolutely crushed his role.

It's probably not as funny as it needs to be for me to really love it. It has moments that I really don't like too, such as that end with the two characters dancing but overall it's a fairly charming film to watch overall. Just needs more Hitler.

3.5-

[pahaK]

I now have two reviews on the way (seems like they're taking a detour) as I just watched Late Spring. Sadly, it didn't surprise me but was exactly what I expected from Ozu, and that isn't my thing.

[pahaK]

The Fisher King (1991)

So, Gilliam has directed a romantic comedy (or dramedy, I guess) too? It reminds me of films like Moonstruck, Amélie and The Shape of Water. Unfortunately, I'm lukewarm at best towards them, and The Fisher King fares no better.

68408
"Hello. My name is Terry and I'm a Dutch-angleholic."

I’ll go as far and call The Fisher King an Oscar bait. I’m not an expert on how the Academy thinks, but some themes seem to be more common among the winners and nominees: nostalgia, awkward people having love troubles, a fascination towards a city (New York more often than not), and syrupy (or tear-jerker) endings to name a few. The Fisher King has them all, and it comes in a visually proficient packet filled with love, loss, guilt and forgiveness.

Despite the minor fantasy elements and some mentally unstable characters, The Fisher King is very normal by Gilliam's standards. In fact, most of the more fantastical things (especially the Holy Grail) in the film don't really fit. The characters aren't likable (or they're played by Robin Williams, which means about the same), and the sentimentality overdrive between this lot is more irritating than touching.

So, even Terry Gilliam can't make a rom-com I'd love. As a matter of fact, he doesn't even fare well.

[edarsenal]

self note: pahaK + romcom/dramedy = tepid moisture.
Got it.
;)

JoJo Rabbit

https://i.insider.com/5e345160ab49fd06ae529896?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp

Just needs more Hitler.
I SOOO love the crazy comments that come out of watching this film. :rotfl:

I had thought my own lack of voice in the past month or so was isolated but it seems there are fellow MoFos feeling a similar state. . .

Well, I'm back from Florida. Helluva drive there and back again and the week was quiet but very enjoyable sitting around a kitchen table and talking with my roomate's aunt and uncle. Funny people with great stories to tell.
The only bad experience was on the trip back in Macon Georgia when I wasn't paying attention and came across a fire ant hill. They're very common in the south and this is the first time I ever ran afoul with them. They were all over my shoes, up my pant leg and on my belly with some hellacious bites in seconds. Even on my hands. Nasty f@ckers.
https://images.theconversation.com/files/287002/original/file-20190806-84221-1nhmlga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C627%2C4928%2C2464&q=45&auto=format&w=668&h=324&fit=crop

And I had been keeping a close watch the entire time. Not that day though. If you want to see the results of such a bite, go ahead and google it. YUCK!
But then, if you don't experience extreme highs AND lows on a vacation it isn't much of an adventure then, is it? So in the scope of it all, very good trip.

Any ole ways, got a review for The Great Mouse Detective coming atcha in a few minutes --

[edarsenal]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/be/27/b8be27e699fdfdfd56ca275b70268c64.jpg


The Great Mouse Detective

Basil: Remember, Dawson, we're low-life ruffians.
Dr. Dawson: Well, I was until that...
Basil: Shh!

I have watched Walt Disney films and animation since I was a toddler until I began drifting away from Disney during the 80s as Japan's extraordinary artwork (anime) caught my imaginative eye. Missing many a film during that time and only coming back when they took a budding company, Pixar, under their wing to figure out what the latest generation of "kids" like. So it was pretty cool to catch one of those films now.

While far from iconic and, like Disney is wont to do, it was easy to notice a few older anamorphic individuals from past cartoons with new clothing; this was still an enjoyable kid cartoon. Albeit a little darker than what is labeled children's animation nowadays.
The highlight, of course, being Vincent Price as the villainous Ratigan who, as Basil comments "There's no evil scheme he wouldn't concoct! No depravity he wouldn't commit." And not too shabby at show tunes either, I must say.
I did enjoy the side references to the actual Sherlock Holmes stories to the point of using an old audio of Basil Rathbone during one of the many Sherlock Holmes films that he and Nigel Bruce made together.
I found Barrie Ingham's voicing for Basil was very well done.
Along with him I have to mention Candy Candido who voiced the bat, Fidget. An unknown common voice actor for Disney who's majority of work is actually uncredited except for playing Indian Chief in Peter Pan (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046183/?ref_=nm_knf_i2).

Though I'm not sure this would be a repeat watch in the future I'm still pretty d@mn happy to see it now.

[rauldc14]

Would have never made that connection edarsenal between the Indian in Peter Pan and Fidget. Cool stuff.

[edarsenal]

Would have never made that connection edarsenal between the Indian in Peter Pan and Fidget. Cool stuff.
He has a couple of deep voiced minor characters under his belt that surprised me as well.

[Sarge]

Got two more reviews to post up. Will get to it tomorrow

[rauldc14]

I'll get to Yellow Submarine tomorrow.

[HashtagBrownies]

The Great Mouse Detective
68438
A girl goes to a world famous detective to help her find her father, leading to a tale full of twists and turns

This is a rarely talked about era in Disney history I feel, which is a shame because it's very interesting. Just after the critically acclaimed but slightly meandering films like Sword in the Stone and Bambi, but just before the Renaissance. Even if this era is considered the black sheep of Disney's history, it's interesting to think about why.

My favourite part about the film, and the one that stands out the most, is the atmosphere of the film: An eternally moonlit Victorian-era London occupied by cozy homes, wet streets and lively pubs. It makes viewing the film a pleasurable experience as you can imagine yourself there. The action scenes in the film are also very well realized and exciting, the filmmakers took full advantage of the fact that our main characters are small, making for more interesting visuals (The view from atop Big Ben made me dizzy!). The voice acting is all very effective, everyone using the stereotypical posh British voice to amusing effect. I didn't even realise Vincent Price was in this until I looked it up afterwards.

Good pick rauldc14.

((Also the fact that there's a mouse Holmes and Watson and a mouse Queen makes me think, are these mice just an early rendition of the monsters from 'Us'? Completely copying everything the humans are doing? Does this apply to London only or the whole world? Was there a mouse Blitz, which in turn implies the existence of a mouse Hitler? THIS MOVIE NEEDS A SEQUEL PEOPLE!)

[rauldc14]

Glad you liked it Hash!

[edarsenal]

The Great Mouse Detective
68438
A girl goes to a world famous detective to help her find her father, leading to a tale full of twists and turns
there a mouse Blitz, which in turn implies the existence of a mouse Hitler? THIS MOVIE NEEDS A SEQUEL PEOPLE!)

hey rauldc14, check it out -- even your nomination "needs more Hitler" :D

[pahaK]

Glad you liked it Hash!

I initially read this "glad you like hash" :D

[rauldc14]

Yellow Submarine

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcTfck55d3UEY27EYopvw7Qk6rHXaacz6H_Yfg&usqp=CAU

I think one has to be a massive Beatles fan or be having an acid trip while watching this in order to really love it. Unfortunately for me, neither of these are the case and I don't do drugs so that will never be the case with number 2. I've grown to have a lot of respect for The Beatles, but I still wouldn't have them listed amongst my favorite bands. Definitely influential however.

I like some of their songs, so the songs are definitely a highlight, favorite in the film being Lucy in the Sky.

It's much of what others have said, I don't care about the story and I also don't think it's a particularly good one either. The animation is quite decent to look at but not anything ultra extraordinary. The characters range from uninteresting to super vanilla to me, another knock. Surprised to see this make the animation countdown when considering some of those that didn't make it. Oh well, like Miss Vicky said, it's short and yes I've definitely seen worse things.

2

[cricket]

I think Yellow Submarine is considered a classic? If so, I don't think I've seen a classic get so roundly pooped on.

[rauldc14]

Wizard of Oz got trampled in a Hall of Fame.

So did Inglorious Bastards it's first time.

[Miss Vicky]

Wizard of Oz got trampled in a Hall of Fame.

WOZ placed 7th out of 15 noms in that HOF. I wouldn't call that "trampled."

In any case, I'm pretty sure this HOF is just a race for second place. I only have 5 ballots though, so maybe I'll be proved wrong.

[rauldc14]

WOZ placed 7th out of 15 noms in that HOF. I wouldn't call that "trampled."

In any case, I'm pretty sure this HOF is just a race for second place. I only have 5 ballots though, so maybe I'll be proved wrong.

I just got to rewatch Gangs of New York. You could technically probably have my ballot already as I'm pretty sure of it's placement for me but I'll hold off. Kinda hoping it's still on Netflix for ease of watching.

[edarsenal]

WOZ placed 7th out of 15 noms in that HOF. I wouldn't call that "trampled."

In any case, I'm pretty sure this HOF is just a race for second place. I only have 5 ballots though, so maybe I'll be proved wrong.

And then I'll send my vote in and mess it all up.
;)

[Miss Vicky]

And then I'll send my vote in and mess it all up.
;)

That would require you to finish watching the movies and write them up, Slacker.

[Miss Vicky]

Speaking of slackers, we are only one month away from the deadline.

neiba
MovieGal
Siddon

We need reviews from you. You haven't posted any in several weeks!

[edarsenal]

That would require you to finish watching the movies and write them up, Slacker.

VERY f@ckin true

[rauldc14]

Who's running 24th? I'm down to do it if nobody else wants it.

[MovieGal]

Speaking of slackers, we are only one month away from the deadline.

neiba
MovieGal
Siddon

We need reviews from you. You haven't posted any in several weeks!

I have been in the process of moving from apartment to apartment... I plan on having mine done by next friday.

[jiraffejustin]

68279
The Fisher King
(Terry Gilliam, 1991)
Nominated By: edarsenal
137 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101889/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")

My experience with Terry Gilliam films has been mainly positive. I believe I've seen only three of his films prior to checking out The Fisher King. I adore his adaptation of Munchausen and I also adore Time Bandits. The other film of his I've seen, and the one Fisher King reminds me more of, Brazil, is a film that I had mixed feelings about. It was a more positive than negative experience overall, but I didn't adore it the way I did with the other two. The weird, dreamy sequences of Brazil are the thing I most remember about it, and it's also the thing I most enjoyed about The Fisher King. I think if there was more of that and less of the romance angle, I probably would have enjoyed it even more. It's not to say I hated anything with the movie, but the romance stuff was pretty standard, whereas the weird, bizarelly angled scenes with the Red Knight stuff was way more interesting. I don't really have much to say, I've had a few drinks and my head hurts. The Fisher King is a decent movie.

[cricket]

68279
The Fisher King
(Terry Gilliam, 1991)
Nominated By: edarsenal
137 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101889/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")

My experience with Terry Gilliam films has been mainly positive. I believe I've seen only three of his films prior to checking out The Fisher King. I adore his adaptation of Munchausen and I also adore Time Bandits. The other film of his I've seen, and the one Fisher King reminds me more of, Brazil, is a film that I had mixed feelings about. It was a more positive than negative experience overall, but I didn't adore it the way I did with the other two. The weird, dreamy sequences of Brazil are the thing I most remember about it, and it's also the thing I most enjoyed about The Fisher King. I think if there was more of that and less of the romance angle, I probably would have enjoyed it even more. It's not to say I hated anything with the movie, but the romance stuff was pretty standard, whereas the weird, bizarelly angled scenes with the Red Knight stuff was way more interesting. I don't really have much to say, I've had a few drinks and my head hurts. The Fisher King is a decent movie.

The complete opposite for me, but what you like is why Gilliam is who he is and what I like is why I don't normally care for Gilliam.

[Sarge]

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/hero/public/hero/hnuger.jpg?itok=u_pPGGH4

Film: Hunger
Year of release: 2008
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Run time: 1hr 36
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham

This was a graphically shocking film that was relentless in its portrayal of life inside the prison and the lengths that individuals would go to in order to gain status and influence.
There isn't a lot of dialogue in the first half of the film, so som understanding of the context in Northern Ireland at this time would be useful. I had that as it affected my family (which also gave me both an insight and a bias) but I realise that everyone doesn't have an understanding of the context.
Due to my own experience it was hard for me to see 'Sands' as a victim yet fully acknowledge that some of the treatment that he receieved was inhumane.
After the first 30 minutes I did think I got the point of the violence and mayhem in the prsion, yet it went on for quite a bit longer. I get that McQueen was trying to hammer home the point but after a while I was getting frustrated with it.
I think McQueen did a good job, but appreciate that it won't be for everyone, with some scenes having a 'real time' feel and not just the neccesary information like with the majority of films. An example would be the conversation with the priest - I enjoyed it but know that it will frustrate some.
The sounds of this film played as big of a part as the visuals and really enhanced the severity of what was going on.
The acting was quality and Fassbender was exceptional.
A well made film that is quite dark in nature.

[pahaK]

晩春 (1949)
aka Late Spring

This is the second Ozu I've seen, and it's quite similar to A Hen in the Wind. If anything, it's even less eventful of the two films, and I already called the other one barebones and less-is-less cinema.

68482

Again, I have difficulties in getting the character dynamics and motivations. Is the daughter in love (romantically) with her father, or why is she so against someone else taking care of him? Also, her change of stance concerning the marriage seems to lack any reason (except maybe her just accepting her place in society). There's just too little anything to make me feel invested.

I don't want to spew too much hatred on the film because I know the issue is about compatibility, but I don't enjoy watching these mundane and uneventful stories. Late Spring is about as dull and boring as my life, and that's not what I want from movies. I don't even know what to write about it, so I'll just stop here.

[Sarge]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d0/09/e6/d009e6f4d1ad018110a622975a3dacbe.jpg

Film: Christine F
Year of release: 1981
Directed by: Uli Edel
Run time: 2hr 18mins
Starring: Natja Brunckhorst, Eberhard Auriga, Peggy Bussieck

I found this film to be disturbing and thought provoking. It was like watching something unfold and you cant do anything about it. I had a genuine sense of helplessness that caused frustration. It was almost as if I knew and cared what happened to Christine, even in the openeing scenes.

I thought that it challenged the frequent and lazy narrative that all heroin dealers and addicts are criminals and bums. This film really captured the humanity of the characters and illustrated the journey to addiction in a powerful way.
I think it has a more realistic edge than 'Trainspotting' but reminded me a bit of 'Requiem for a dream', in that it pulled no punches and was utterly harrowing in parts.
A sensational display from Brunckhorst!
I haven't been able to stop thinking about this film.
A good nomination that I may not have watched otherwise.

[Citizen Rules]

Late Spring
This is the second Ozu I've seen, and it's quite similar to A Hen in the Wind. If anything, it's even less eventful of the two films, and I already called the other one barebones and less-is-less cinema...That's what I love in movies, less is more minimalism. By that I mean films that are not in your face like Hunger was, films that don't spoonfeed their messages like Christiane F did. For me Late Spring was one of the most moving experiences I had in this HoF.

[cricket]

That's what I love in movies, less is more minimalism. By that I mean films that are not in your face like Hunger was, films that don't spoonfeed their messages like Christiane F did, films that aren't all over the place like The Fischer King was. For me Late Spring was one of the most moving experiences I had in this HoF.

But how do you show the horrors of drug abuse without showing the horrors of drug abuse? Late Spring works as minimalist because it's a simplistic story.

[Citizen Rules]

But how do you show the horrors of drug abuse without showing the horrors of drug abuse? Late Spring works as minimalist because it's a simplistic story.Well, it's like so many movies get panned because people say: that they can't believe the characters went from meeting, to being in love so quickly that it wasn't believable. That's been given as a reason in HoFs before. Even myself sometimes a film doesn't invent enough backstory and motive to make the actions of the characters believable. And for me that's what Christina F needed, more back story and motivation.

[Miss Vicky]

Well, it's like so many movies get panned because people say: that they can't believe the characters went from meeting, to being in love so quickly that it wasn't believable.

They were a bunch of dumb teenagers. Seemed believable to me.

[Citizen Rules]

They were a bunch of dumb teenagers. Seemed believable to me.Not to me.

[cricket]

Well, it's like so many movies get panned because people say: that they can't believe the characters went from meeting, to being in love so quickly that it wasn't believable. That's been given as a reason in HoFs before. Even myself sometimes a film doesn't invent enough backstory and motive to make the actions of the characters believable. And for me that's what Christina F needed, more back story and motivation.

I'm not sure you're saying it wasn't believable and I wouldn't say it either because it happens every day. You wanted more back story? I didn't need it but I can understand that.

[cricket]

Actually, I think it's better that Christiane F had little backstory. You don't want people thinking well if you avoid this then you won't become an addict. There are too many reasons why it happens and often times there's no apparent reason.

[SpelingError]

I know I'm not in this HoF round, but I've been somewhat following along with this thread and I'd like to address some of your complaints if nobody minds me peaking in.


Is the daughter in love (romantically) with her father
I don't think she is, nor do I see any evidence which implies she may be. I think she just loves him the way a child loves their parent.


or why is she so against someone else taking care of him?
Because then she'd have to marry Satake and leave her father, who she prefers to look after herself as she enjoys her life with him just fine. The reason she gave for not wanting to marry Satake was that she wanted to look after her father as she was worried he'd be alone and helpless. If somebody else were to look after him though, she'd have no reasons left. Coupled with how she earlier called the idea of marriage distasteful, I think it makes sense why she reacted the way she did to someone else taking care of her father.


Also, her change of stance concerning the marriage seems to lack any reason (except maybe her just accepting her place in society). There's just too little anything to make me feel invested.
As stated above, with the knowledge that her father was marrying, there were no other reasons for her to stay with her father. Though she was still unhappy about her decision, with no reasons to stay left and with pressure on all sides, she reluctantly agreed to the marriage. With the ending, it's shown that both Noriko and Shukichi were pressured into doing something that neither of them wanted to do.

[jiraffejustin]

SpelingError yeah but what about the vase?

[Citizen Rules]

I'm not sure you're saying it wasn't believable and I wouldn't say it either because it happens every day. You wanted more back story? I didn't need it but I can understand that.I think it comes down to how different people relate differently to movies.

I've read various MoFo's reviews and thoughts on movies and many people seem to relate to the movie's story, as if it's real. If they like the story, they like the movie...if they hate the story, then they also hate the movie.

I often relate to movies from a production standpoint, it's like I'm in the mind set of a producer looking at how the elements were utilized in a movie. So with that perspective in mind, remember I'm not talking about could it happen or anything like that. I'm saying to me the film didn't present enough motivation for Christina who appears to be coming from a supportive, loving home to become a heroin addict/prostitute. Yeah of course I know she did in real life, but the film doesn't capture the impetuous of what drove her to what she ultimately became.

From a production standpoint I believe the film makers wanted to focus on a parable/warning story, you 'know drugs are bad!' And in that way it reminded me of some of the Afterschool TV specials that they made for teens back in the 80s with their warnings of 'don't do like the characters did or you'll end up like them'.

A good example of a movie that earned it's character's stripes was Lilya 4 Ever. It's also based on a true story where the teenage girl ends up in a horrible situation...But the first act establishes the hell that she lives in and the desperation in poverty that drove her to prostitution. When she first does a prostitution act it's completely understandable (at least to me) as her and her friend were starving to death. In contrast Christian F starts off with a preamble about vomit & urine soaked steps to her squalider apartment that draws an image of utter hell, but then we see a rather nice apartment, a loving mom and a normal younger sister and so it was hard to make that transition from characters state of normalcy to becoming what she became. What I'm saying is bared out by her own real story as her early life was much more brutal and abusive than the movie showed. And to me the movie from a production stand point wanted to make a preachy anti-drug movie so had a huge juxtaposition between Christina's life in the first part of the film compared to her ending.

[SpelingError]

SpelingError yeah but what about the vase?

I think the vase scene shows how she's having second thoughts on her marriage. Before that scene, she seems happy as she talks to her father, but after he falls asleep, her smile is gone and is replaced by a serious look as it cross cuts between her and the vase. Then, in the morning, she asks why she can't just stay with her father.

[cricket]

I think it comes down to how different people relate differently to movies.

I've read various MoFo's reviews and thoughts on movies and many people seem to relate to the movie's story, as if it's real. If they like the story, they like the movie...if they hate the story, then they also hate the movie.

I often relate to movies from a production standpoint, it's like I'm in the mind set of a producer looking at how the elements were utilized in a movie. So with that perspective in mind, remember I'm not talking about could it happen or anything like that. I'm saying to me the film didn't present enough motivation for Christina who appears to be coming from a supportive, loving home to become a heroin addict/prostitute. Yeah of course I know she did in real life, but the film doesn't capture the impetuous of what drove her to what she ultimately became.

From a production standpoint I believe the film makers wanted to focus on a parable/warning story, you 'know drugs are bad!' And in that way it reminded me of some of the Afterschool TV specials that they made for teens back in the 80s with their warnings of 'don't do like the characters did or you'll end up like them'.

A good example of a movie that earned it's character's stripes was Lilya 4 Ever. It's also based on a true story where the teenage girl ends up in a horrible situation...But the first act establishes the hell that she lives in and the desperation in poverty that drove her to prostitution. When she first does a prostitution act it's completely understandable (at least to me) as her and her friend were starving to death. In contrast Christian F starts off with a preamble about vomit & urine soaked steps to her squalider apartment that draws an image of utter hell, but then we see a rather nice apartment, a loving mom and a normal younger sister and so it was hard to make that transition from characters state of normalcy to becoming what she became. What I'm saying is bared out by her own real story as her early life was much more brutal and abusive than the movie showed. And to me the movie from a production stand point wanted to make a preachy anti-drug movie so had a huge juxtaposition between Christina's life in the first part of the film compared to her ending.

It's an interesting take. For me, the movie is not so horrific because of her story, but rather because there's so many like it. It gets to the point where I don't care about specifics. Instead my focus is how do we help "these" people.

[Citizen Rules]

I agreed with SpelingErrors replies to PahaK's questions, but I thought I'd put a few of my own thoughts down.
Late Spring (1949)
Again, I have difficulties in getting the character dynamics and motivations. Is the daughter in love (romantically) with her father, or why is she so against someone else taking care of him? Also, her change of stance concerning the marriage seems to lack any reason (except maybe her just accepting her place in society). There's just too little anything to make me feel invested. You need to view this film in the place and time that it was made, Japan 1949 right after the war. There's no way a traditional nation like Japan in 1949 was making veiled references to a daughter having romantic feelings towards her father. That's a 21st century view.

Late Spring is about a grown adult daughter who's devoted to her widowed father and doesn't want to marry and leave her life of freedom and the home she's known all of her life.

Of course in Japan in 1949 it's a daughter's duty to get married and have children and this she then finally realizes during the late spring of her life. The film is about growing up and leaving the nest with all the pain that it incurs.

[Citizen Rules]

...what about the vase?I haven't talked about the vase yet. I see it as a static shot of an inanimate yet familiar object, used as a director's tool to show the passage of time and change.

[jiraffejustin]

68376
Schindler's List
(Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Nominated By: Citizen Rules
195 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

An obviously well-crafted film that pays respect to holocaust victims, while at the same time being very much a Hollywood film. I'm a bit torn, because the best holocaust film of all time, Night and Fog, is a stomach punch that shows you some of the worst things that have ever happened and doesn't really do it with the same sheen Schindler's List does. I don't know if the style of the film undermines it's sincerity in paying tribute to Schindler and the lives that he saved, but it does keep you aware that you are watching a movie made many years later in a land across an ocean that's supposed to be palatable to a major audience. Perhaps it is unfair to compare Schindler's List to Night and Fog, after all, Night and Fog is not competition to Schindler's List in this particular event.

There are very real moments that turned my stomach and brought moisture to my eyes, I won't deny that. Seeing the road cobbled together with headstones from a Jewish cemetery really bothered me. Every time there was a moment where a parent realized their children were being taken to be killed hurt me a lot, and the scene where the women are put in the shower riddled me with anxiety. I had seen this film before, but it had probably been around the time I joined this forum. I had forgotten a lot of the specific moments, remembering mainly the plot. I noticed the music being a little overbearing at times, something I was trying to reconcile. I was trying to figure out how to properly tackle something as intricate as the holocaust with proper delicacy. I don't know that the music really fit, but I can't say that it doesn't fit either. If I believe the choices in this film were done in earnest, I can't be too mad at them even if they don't always hit. I think this film deserves respect as an important film and a bold undertaking. I don't think it's as great as its reputation, but I wouldn't begrudge a group of people putting it atop any type of poll they constructed.

Also shoutout to Ralph Fiennes for his performance. I don't know if this is ever talked about, but I also want to lend my endorsement to anybody who argues in favor of Liam Neeson's performance in the final scene where he cries. It's easy to hate on actors trying to do the breakdown in tears moments, but I think those moments are always uncomfortable and awkward in real life, so if they feel that way on the big screen, they've done something right.

[Siddon]

https://i.gifer.com/FcPU.gif

The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective is a Sherlock Holmes story told with mice. This is one of those films where you have regrets over the end result. It's a fine movie that has a number of very good ideas, artistically it's top notch maybe the best Disney film for a setting. The vista's of Victorian London are incredible for a Disney film but unfortunately the film had to go the musical adventure route instead of the detective story. If you are going to do Holmes shouldn't the film be a mystery?


Anyways the characters are 50/50, Vincent Price is way over the top in this as Ratigan a rat who doesn't like being called a rat...even though he's a rat. It's a very good idea...turning him into a bond villain with elaborate schemes to kill Sherlock...that was a bad call. The bat is also very annoying but I loved every other side character in the story so can I really hold one annoying supporting character against a film.

[edarsenal]

https://i.gifer.com/6uN7.gif


Hunger

Father Dominic Moran: [offering Sands a cigarette] Bit of a break from smokin' the Bible, eh?
Bobby Sands: [agrees]
Father Dominic Moran: Anyone work out which book is the best smoke?
Bobby Sands: We only smoke the Lamentations. A right miserable cigarette.

This is my second McQueen film and like 12 Years a Slave (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) it was done with equal exceptional quality and without any respite from the emotional anvil that slowly places its full weight upon your heart and upon your soul.
His craft is delivering such films with a heart rending delivery of a horrifyingly eloquent construct.
Such a film demands an immediate review as the credits roll. Allowing the full weight of the film's effect to be expressed without a single moment to ease the lump that permeates both the throat and chest.

Delving into the Hunger Strike of Irish prisoners in British prison and the full brutality without nearly a word of dialogue, conjecture, debate of idealism and political chess play; we only witness a few facts in both the opening and the very ending and only that along with Bobby Sands (Fassbender0 and Father Moran's (Liam Cunningham) rather captivating conversation.

I believe, since that there was no public recognition by Britain after the Strike, McQueen's vision was to expose what was never acknowledged and, in that exposure, leave conjecture to those who have already spoken it so that the imagery and the actions speak volumes on their own. And my god how they do!

I have spoken on many occasions of my love for these HoFs and the reasons for them. One of the often repeated ones is the films I would never have watched on my own accord. Exceptional films that are an emotional torture to sit through but are still very much important works to witness, to experience, and to be knocked to my very knees, windless, from their viewing.
So, even as I sit, numb from it all I still applaud the excellence of the Director and the importance of the film.
Thank you, MovieGal.

[edarsenal]

Who's running 24th? I'm down to do it if nobody else wants it.
That'll work rather nicely. Please do!

[MovieGal]

https://www.dia.org/sites/default/files/2017-06-10%20night%20of%20counting.jpg

Al-Mummia: The Night of Counting the Years
(1969)
Directed by Shadi Abdel Salam
Nominated by jiraffejustin

First off, I want to say, I enjoyed this Egyptian film. I love ancient Egypt, mummies and many things that go with it. However, I never would agree with looting tombs of the dead.

It was refreshing but moving. I can understand how Wannis would feel. Torn between his clan and what was right. Egyptian artifacts are part of Egypt's history and not to be sold to the highest bidder. I understand the tombs were previously looted for their gold and these were minor artifacts that they were selling. I wish I would have had a cleaner copy of the film to watch but Im not sure if that would be available due to the age.

Thanks JJ, you touched on a subject I highly enjoy, I have studied Ancient Egypt and mummies at least half of my life.

[pahaK]

I wish I would have had a cleaner copy of the film to watch but Im not sure if that would be available due to the age.

Apparently, there's a proper restoration but it's never been published on a disc. It's been shown at some festivals, though. It's made several years ago, I'd remember, so it's weird that Criterion or some other publisher hasn't made a release yet.

[MovieGal]

https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2636108.1462442790!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg
There is only criminal murder, criminal bombing, and criminal violence. There will be no political status - Margaret Thatcher


Hunger
(2008)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Nominated by MovieGal

Hunger is a beautiful, intense, emotional, quiet, brutal piece of cinema. There is very little dialog throughout most of the film except the conversation of the hunger strike between Robert "Bobby" Sands and Father Dominic Moran. There are three things we learn through this film, 1) the life of a Maze prison guard, who must be on the weary that someone doesn't take his life. 2) the life of a Provisional IRA prisoner, whose day to day life in the cell is of constant beatings by guards on one end to the loneliness of playing with a fly on the windowsill and 3) the determination to make things more humane by participating in a "no wash" protest, a blanket protest and leading up to the hunger strike. Bobby Sands' hunger strike only lasted 66 days. Nine other prisoners died during the hunger strike before it ended.

For the people who don't know me that well, I am a fan of IRA films. My love started with Jim Sheridan's "In the Name of the Father" about the Guilford Four. I have seen several films since then. When I first watched Hunger, I was amazed and shocked at the same time. There are scenes that continue to play over in my mind when I think of the film.

Citizen Rules, this film is supposed to be intense as it should be remembered. It shows the cruelty of Human Nature. The beatings didn't happen yearly, monthly or weekly, they happened daily. These men endured this every day. Maze prison, where the story takes place, is an English prison, on Irish soil. Those guards were probably Irish working there. But they were working under English rule and was told to treat the prisoners in that manner.

There are two other films that would go along with this. "Maze" from 2017 and a documentary called "Bobby Sands: 66 Days".

[edarsenal]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/93/28/df/9328dfc109eb622e9b1371b1d359f7bb.jpg


Banshun (Late Spring)

This is my second (official) Yasujirô Ozu film. Officially meaning that I think I may have seen one other at some point in time but I have no frickin clue what it may have been. The first was in the recent Japanese HoF, A Hen in the Wind (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2057905#post2057905) where I actually paused in mid viewing to do some light research on the man himself. Garnering an inner peek into the artist and the man. Appreciating the technical aspect of his film making. The use of static shots and inanimate objects during very emotional shots.
This time around I found myself delving into the story telling aspect in what I conceive as a "slice of life" film. And from what I've read on IMDb; "It is the first installment of Ozu's so-called "Noriko trilogy". The others are Early Summer (Bakushu, 1951) and Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari, 1953)".
And I must say it has me intrigued to follow through the following two films.

This is a very beautiful story of a father and daughter. The gentle pace of the film gives a peaceful sensation that one gets from resting beside a creek or river.
Both leads, Chishû Ryû and Setsuko Hara do splendid jobs and the ending held a sublime tear jerking moment as the father sits alone in his home for the first time. Hence the reason I chose the above image.

I wish I could express more regarding my experience with this film but words seem to be infringement on the stillness, the quiet serenity I am adrift within and contemplate simply taking a photo of a relaxed, at ease me and post it.
That is how i feel about my experience watching Banshun.

And so, my thanks must be double fold. Once again to rauldc14 for his initial nomination and my initiation into Ozu and now, to ahwell for giving me cause and reason to drift outward into this new discovery.
Thank you! Both of you!

[neiba]

La Piel que habito (2011)

This is a level of crazy that is only reached by Almodovar. He has a way of building the most insane plots, twisting the morality of each character, and yet never looking out of control. That's what I love the most about this film, one that I consider top-tier Almodovar, and I've seen all his major ones.
Banderas does a terrific job, being the obvious attraction of the whole cast, but the rest of the actors are also very very good.
And of course, the soundtrack... Perhaps the most underrated of all the soundtrack composers is Alberto Iglesias and here he delivers another one his masterpieces (check Hable con Ella if you liked the music here).

I've watched this for the first time many years ago and I didn't remember much so the twist still worked even if I was only half surprised.

4

--------

Al-Mummia (1969)

So, this was a hard watch. I never saw anything egyptian so I was curious about this. First, I adored the landscapes and the tone of the film! What didn't quite worked for me was the politics which is kinda surprising because I usually love this type of film. But I think the film kept me in the dark for so long that I just lost interest midway and then it was hard to get into it. I mean, the whole conflict of cultures is obvious but it's like we're thrown into a story that has been happening for a long time and nobody cares to explain anything.
My copy wasn't exactly great so that might have hurted the experience also.

I'm still glad I watched this, even for its historical importance.

2 +

[Wyldesyde19]

For those who have enjoyed The Nght of Counting the Years, another older Egyptian film is available on Netflix. Cairo Station (1958)*
I highly recommend it.

[rauldc14]

I got 9 minutes down on my Gangs of New York rewatch.

[cricket]

I got 9 minutes down on my Gangs of New York rewatch.

What's that like halfway through the opening credits?

[rauldc14]

I'm at 13 minutes now. Keep getting interrupted.

[edarsenal]

I'm at 13 minutes now. Keep getting interrupted.
so. . . by Sunday you might get about halfway? lol

I'll be checking out Christine tonight and THANKS cricket for the initial link. That name for the site STILL makes me chuckle. I wonder what your Movies Watched percentage is on that one

[cricket]

so. . . by Sunday you might get about halfway? lol

I'll be checking out Christine tonight and THANKS cricket for the initial link. That name for the site STILL makes me chuckle. I wonder what your Movies Watched percentage is on that one

Hey there's another link hold on

[HashtagBrownies]

I've begun watching The Mummy and will post my write up of it tomorrow

[jiraffejustin]

For those who have enjoyed The Nght of Counting the Years, another older Egyptian film is available on Netflix. Cairo Station (1958)*
I highly recommend it.

And even if you didn't like it, I'd still say you should check out Cairo Station. If you are a fan of film noir, you should probably check it out.

[Wyldesyde19]

And even if you didn't like it, I'd still say you should check out Cairo Station. If you are a fan of film noir, you should probably check it out.
Yes! Mix of noir and Italian Neorealism

[rauldc14]

so. . . by Sunday you might get about halfway? lol

I'll be checking out Christine tonight and THANKS cricket for the initial link. That name for the site STILL makes me chuckle. I wonder what your Movies Watched percentage is on that one

Sunday halfway would be a good goal! Lol

I've seen it before but I'll probably have to watch it in increments this time. Not ideal but oh well

[MovieGal]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/8v/02/j9/dw/le-samourai-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=3bfe9387e1

La Samourai
(1967)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Nominated by Siddon

Jef, a hitman, is on the run from the police after he murdered the owner of a nightclub. He uses every method to escape the police until he is paid to do another hit. This time, it is a piano player in the nightclub of the deceased owner and the police will be waiting.

I don't have much to say about this film as it is not my type of film. I have only seen one other neo-noir and it was french as well. It wasn't a terrible film but it was not my type of film and I was easily distracted. Not sure if I would be interested in seeing another neo-noir film.

It wasn't the worst film out of the HOF but still not a huge favorite.

Miss Vicky I will have you my list in the next few days.

[rauldc14]

50 minutes of Gangs down. Just 117 left!

[edarsenal]

you are on a roll, my friend!!

Using the new link from cricket and starting up Christine


just finished Christiane and I think I need a night to ponder over it before writing up a review

[rauldc14]

Update today: at 71 minutes

[HashtagBrownies]

The Night of Counting the Years68745

Now these are the types of nominations I like: films that I have never heard of before that I would not have ever discovered if it weren't for the fact that they were nominated. It's also good to explore a part of cinema that I'm not familiar with at all, in this case a film made in Egypt.
I think the part about the film that strikes me the most is the atmosphere: The constant sound of the wind combined with the creepy ambient music gives the film a tense vibe. This doesn't make the film outright scary or anything, it's just a lingering emotion of uneasiness that becomes justified by scenes of violence later in the film. The acting in the film is also quite great, especially considering I can't find much about the actors in the film after Googling them (so they were probably non-professionals). It's also very well shot; the dark corridors and the contrast of the black clothing on the yellow desert is visually appealing.
Unlike most films set in the desert where it's depicted as completely beautiful like in Lawrence of Arabia, or outright evil in Woman in the Dunes, there's a middle ground in the film. The desert is just an average environment where negative emotions and violence break out. I guess that's one of the benefits of watching films by different countries; you can see a new perspective on everything due to different cultural and geographical contexts.

Good film jiraffejustin, would not have seen it if it weren't for you.

[jiraffejustin]

68280
Gangs of New York
(Martin Scorsese, 2002)
Nominated By: neiba
167 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217505/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")

I do not want to see Scorsese tackle romance ever again. All of the Scorsese films that I love (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, The King of Comedy) are not films with a traditional romantic angle, and they are all better for it. The relationship between DiCaprio and Diaz seemed so by the numbers and boring and a big nothing. It was old hat, like I had seen it a million times. I didn't care at all for DiCaprio or Diaz's performances in the film anyway, so maybe those two things influenced my opinion of the other. I had a thought that I never had before during my viewing of this film: "Do I hate Leonardo DiCaprio now?". I don't mean the person of course, but the actor. The answer was no, after some thought, but this film and his performance makes me want to revisit some of his other films to try to evaluate him to see if I actually like him or not. Cameron Diaz has never felt like an actress to me, but Leo at least has some cred with me for his performances in Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall Street. It comes off that he could be these characters, and even though I don't think I'd care to rewatch Titanic, he at least seems like a character and not just Leonardo DiCaprio in that film. His accent in Gangs actually brought more attention to the fact that I was watching this dude instead of immersing me.

I feel that way about the whole film really. I kept waiting for it to feel like I was watching something different, but beat by beat and pace by pace it feels like a million other things and never once does it feel like it is its own thing. Daniel Day Lewis did a fine job, but his character wound up being a paint by the numbers bad guy. He is a great actor for sure, because he gave that character a menacing presence despite there not being much original about him. The story of revenge and getting close to villain to take him out only to be thwarted and punished in some way is something I've seen before. The riots made it seem like they could be leading to something that could change the outcome of the film and maybe give us a curveball, but ultimately Leo does what he would have done without them.

Gangs of New York has an interesting setting and interesting costume design with a somewhat interesting villain, but the film almost never does anything interesting.

[rauldc14]

108 minutes down. 58 left!

[Citizen Rules]

108 minutes down. 58 left!Where are you watching this movie at? It seems like your watching only a few minutes at a time. You're not can-watching are ya:p

[rauldc14]

Where are you watching this movie at? It seems like your watching only a few minutes at a time. You're not can-watching are ya:p

Online. I've seen it before as well. It's a rewatch.

I don't want to split it up like I have been. But I've been super busy. I've only seen 1 film in November so far.

[Citizen Rules]

Online. I've seen it before as well. It's a rewatch.

I don't want to split it up like I have been. But I've been super busy. I've only seen 1 film in November so far.I hear ya, I almost have no free movie time these days, work, ugh!

[Siddon]

https://i0.wp.com/thespool.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Jojo-Rabbit-Trailer-1-10.jpg?fit=1920%2C1038&ssl=1

Jojo Rabbit (2019) is the story of a 10-year old boy in Germany during the end of the War. The film is filled with a litany of colorful characters from an early feminist mother (Scarlett Johanssen) to a disgraced Nazi soldier (Sam Rockwell) to an imaginary friend Hitler (Taika Waititi). Those colorful adult characters are balanced with three stellar child actors Jojo, Elsa, and Yorki who provide three very different perspectives of the war.



Elsa is hidden away in Jojo's house and helps with his growth from indoctrinated boy to lovestruck one. Yorki is amusingly a pal who is likely going through the worst of the war yet he's constantly used to break the tension. We the adults get whats happening... Klenzendorf and Dorf's relationship is fairly obvious though not to the children.


I think this film gets better on repeat viewing the first time you watch it you admire the script the second time I think you admire the filming. I think it's biggest strength is the way it changes tones...the humor is solid but you get these heartwrenching scenes every once and while. Everyone in this film is disillusioned and snarky at points...until something serious happens and that shakes you.


Really good nom.

[Miss Vicky]

The Deadline Is Approaching Fast!

There are only two weeks left in this Hall of Fame and I only have six ballots including my own. Those of you who have not yet finished need to speed things up as we get down to the wire. The deadline to finish write-ups and voting is midnight Pacific Time, the night of November 21st.

67207
edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin
neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

[rauldc14]

I'm done. Last review soon here. Ballot sending tonight too.

[rauldc14]

Gangs of New York

https://scontent.ccdn.cloud/image/nospoiler/cfd892d9-b9f7-4311-8c1d-87b43d802203/gangs-of-new-york-1-1920x1080.jpg

The biggest problem this film has is one that really it should be at no fault for. It's hard to compare this among Scorsese's other great works because, well, it really isn't at that type of level at all. Bit like many have said there is a lot of good in it. I think the film is shot rather tremendously, as with all Scorsese but I'd even say this one is maybe upper echelon type for that.

The acting is quite what we expected, with Day-Lewis and DiCaprio among the more consistent in the business. But you can't really say this is much more than a footnote for either of them in their acting characters. Not a slight, but often I'd say I really am enamored with their sorts of performances. Part of thisbwas killed by the fact that I really didn't care for their characters anyways. Diaz really killed it for me on the first view and I wouldn't say I thought she was that bad after seeing it twice but nothing of major note either.

Biggest thing I got a kick out of this time around was when they were talking about voting ballots. "The ballots don't decide the results, the counters decide the results. And the counters keep counting. Oh how relatable for this week.

Overall a decent film that doesn't wow me though.

3

[edarsenal]

https://christinepelin.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/gallery_1238487204_christianef_11.jpg?w=610


Christiane F. aka Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo

Dedicated to:
Andreas W. "Atze" (1960 - 77)
Axel W. (1960 - 77)
Babette D. "Babsi" (1963 - 77)
and all others who didn't have the luck and strength to survive

In '77 I was in 7th grade going into 8th grade and already enjoying smoking pot with a curiosity for acid and the mind-meandering trips that it would bring.
The kids in this film reminded me so much of people I partied with to the point of drifting back to those early daze, up into high school. Wondering about some of them and where they may be now.
I did know one or two in the next few years in high school who did try the needle. And, much like the kids in the film, had the same warning: "You don't want any of this."
To which a lot of the crowd I ran with pretty much fully agreed. Just the idea of using a needle when there were so many other, happier ways to get high seemed a little f@cked up and all sorts of scary. Without even knowing the full story of addiction and the evitable death for those unable to get clean.

As I watched this I wondered how I would have reacted to this film back in '81 when I was a Junior in High School.
I think it would've scared the sh#t out of me. Not so for myself, having stayed cleared of such things, but for them. I would have wept for. . . well, all of them. It would have been FAR more effective than the glossy propaganda that seemed to continually miss the mark about any and all of the partying that we were all enjoying at that time via After-School Specials and the like.

Using, not only the actual Zoo Station, but quite a few of the addicts that tricked themselves out for that next fix; this film skipped all the "whys" of kids trying heroin and the unknowledgeable views of everyone outside that life. Placing you dead center of it all. No glamourous "trips" but the slow degeneration of body and mind and the scabs from the needle that dragged half-alive people further and further down the spiraling drain.

A powerful and authentic film based on the dismal facts sans idealisms or poetic conjecture.
Bravo cricket.

[edarsenal]

Tomorrow or Monday I'll have a write up of The Reflecting Skin if I am unable to get to it tonight at work.

[pahaK]

I watched half of Gangs of New York today and will hopefully finish that tomorrow.

[neiba]

Just gathering my thoughts on Christiane F. Will have a review up later

[cricket]

For Ed's a jolly good fellow, for Ed's a jolly good fellow,
For Ed's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!

[HashtagBrownies]

68783

I have to say, while I did like the film, I wasn't nearly as hooked as a lot of people here seem to be. I've seen the story of a person's slow descent into drugs many different times, so I finished this film feeling like I wanted more. I feel I'd like it way more if it was one of the first drug movies I'd seen.

I will say though, the film does have many aspects that that make it stand out from the average drug movie: The scenes in which characters swear they will not get hooked/relapse, yet they sadly do: All these scenes were really successful portrayals of how futile it is to quit something once you're addicted. I feel a lot of drug movies don't pay enough attention to this aspect.
Another thing I also really liked is that there is no glorification of the drug. While films like Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting take an anti-drug stance, they still have montages and scenes that glorify the high, almost contradicting their message. Christiane F. doesn't do this whatsoever; we simply just see the characters reaction after they take the shot.
Filmmaking wise it's very good: The dark blue tint combined with the handheld camera reminded me an awful lot of other Western European films from the time like Possession and Angst. All of the acting is spot on. The film's attempts to disturb the viewer may not have disturbed me as much as they were supposed to, but they are still very effective.

Good film cricket.

(I have to ask though, what's up with the scene where they go into the cinema? When Christiane goes into the cinema she's watching a scene near the end of 'Night of the Living Dead'. But when she leaves the cinema, a scene from near the beginning of the film is playing. I know there's probably a simple answer to this but I'm genuinely curious)

[cricket]

I didn't feel shock exactly either, more like pain.

I already forget the cinema scene lol

[Sarge]

The Deadline Is Approaching Fast!

There are only two weeks left in this Hall of Fame and I only have six ballots including my own. Those of you who have not yet finished need to speed things up as we get down to the wire. The deadline to finish write-ups and voting is midnight Pacific Time, the night of November 21st.

67207
edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin
neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

Watched them all just need to write them up!

[Sarge]

https://moviemaniamadness.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/le-samourai-e1529161508555.jpeg

Film: Le Samourai
Year of release: 1967
Directed by: Jean Pierre Melville
Run time: 1hr 45mins
Starring: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon

I had never heard of this film before and after seeing some of the reviews come in on here I was quite excited to watch it.
I guess that I should come out and say off the bat, that I was quite disappointed.
Yes, it looked good, with some exceptional shots and a beautiful colour palette, it really was a beautifully made film.
Beyond that, I struggle to find anything that I really appreciate about the film. It was ok and there was a strong plot but it just didn't seem to get out of second gear.
The music was a real mixed bag, the contextual parts were excellent - mostly nice Jazz played in Marteys club, the 'mood music' was largely irritating, with someone seeming to just smash keys on a piano at random intervals.
The characters were very one dimensional and none more so than Jef who just seemed to endlessly walk about getting on an off trains looking like he had lost his lunch money.
The action was all a bit cliche, and ultimately it was a story about a man that wan't very good at his job.
It just really didn't grip me at all.
It was stylish and slick but ultimately underwhelming.

[neiba]

Christiane F.

Oooff! This one is hard to digest.

First of all, the best representation I've ever seen of Berlin in film, period. Yeah, Berlin can be many things because the city is ******* huge but there's this weird energy to the city that really freaked me out the last time I was there and it's exactly this!

Now, I never did drugs and I haven't dealed with any heavy drug user. However I'm told one of my best friends from 8th grade is now an heroin addict though I don't see her since I was like 15. But I could see her in Christiane before the first shot. Even physically. And it ****ing hurt to think about her so many years later. Oh, and btw, my friend lives now in... Berlin.

I love how this story just chooses to go a different way than any other famous anti-drug films, by never glorifying the trips. And I loved we are shown a more and more decadent cinematography as the addiction grows stronger. It's a painfully real story, so all that can be asked to a film is to be faithful to that. And this film just goes all the way in that regard.

4 -

[edarsenal]

https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/19431_1.jpg


The Reflecting Skin

Cameron Dove: Why don't you go play with your friends?
Seth Dove: They're all dead.

Opening my review with my enjoyment of the "curveball" this film threw me in regards to the emotional shift that it instantly knocks you - not entirely off-balance, but just enough to keep you in a subtle unease thorough out all of it.
I had forgotten it was a pahaK until just now when I looked to thank whoever nominated this and the realization caused me to smile at how apropos it is to be from pahaK.
The man has a knack for some d@mn fine films that cause you to pause and wonder about what truly is going on. Not once being a frustration but more of a beckoning to proceed further into this dark film beneath a harshly bright sun.

Reflecting Skin does a very splendid job creating an undecipherable unease as if there is something even more dire beneath what is on the tension-filled murky surface.
One of so many such scenes is the first time Dolphin invites our little frog demolition expert into her home and shares her morbid backstory with such a captivating and unsettling eloquence and delivery.
This film is full of these and while such an unrelenting course could become cumbersome, they are not. From the opening scene to the very end. Leaving you a little unhinged, a little unsure, and a bit speechless from it all. And quite frankly, pretty d@mn happy about it.

Another BRAVO for yet another film in this Hall of Fame.
Really enjoyed this, pahaK, thank you!

[jiraffejustin]

68283
Hunger
(Steve McQueen, 2008)
Nominated By: MovieGal
96 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986233/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2")

I really enjoy when a film lets me know that maybe the hero isn't always right, whether it be in their actions or motivations. We get a little bit of that in Hunger during the long conversation between Bobby Sands and the priest. Both sides believe what they say, but they fail to understand each other. Sands says he does the right thing, but there is clearly a selfish motivation behind it. His choice of words when he says he knows he has the respect of the other boys after saying he did the right thing by drowning the hurt foal shows that, but that makes you think about this idea of doing the right thing for potentially the wrong reasons. It almost doesn't matter what you stand for, because ultimately it just matters that you make your actions and your life mean something to you. You keep yourself moving on by having something to fight for. Life goes by in waves, and from wave to wave you need to have that thing that you believe is worth fighting for. I don't know if I really agree with any of that philosophically, but it at least makes me think.

My knowledge on the history of the so called Troubles is very, very limited, so I don't know how accurate the film is or which side, if any, is the side to be admired. I'm just taking the film at face value and assuming the film is its own universe. Those who know more about Irish history would probably be able to get more out of this.

Outside of the long conversation, this film thrives in its documentary style filming. It looks very good despite also looking like the sh*t splayed and spread across the wall. It's uncompromising in how nasty and brutal it all is. It never feels like anything good will ever happen. For some reason, I like films like that. I probably shouldn't it, but I do.

[pahaK]

Gangs of New York (2002)

I remember this felt lackluster when I saw it in the movies, and my rewatch attempt a few months ago was never finished (and don't get me wrong, I've plowed through a ton of worse films Gangs of New York). So, I was a little disappointed when this was nominated.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9lq77QT9D1qedb29o1_500.gif

It's hard to point out a single issue with Gangs of New York, but most of it boils down to the idea that it doesn't feel like a movie made by someone as prolific as Scorsese. The script is all over the place with its poorly executed love story and stupidly cliched dialogue; casting is off (DiCaprio and Diaz have no chemistry, and neither of them even fit their roles); the whole is teetering in an uncomfortable balance between a B-movie and a historical epic.

For a revenge story, Gangs of New York has one big issue: it's difficult to sympathize with Amsterdam avenging his father, who died pretty much in a war of his choosing. The film tries to sell a story of just retribution and heroism while, to me, it looks more like a story of a life wasted. With all his flaws, Bill seems more honest and honorable than the backstabbing Amsterdam.

To put it short, Gangs of New York is below average epic. Some of its sets look good, but they also look distinctively sets rather than real places. Day-Lewis is by far the best thing in the film, but even his character is lazily written. It's one of the worst films by Scorsese.

[jiraffejustin]

Gangs of New York (2002)

For a revenge story, Gangs of New York has one big issue: it's difficult to sympathize with Amsterdam avenging his father, who died pretty much in a war of his choosing. The film tries to sell a story of just retribution and heroism while, to me, it looks more like a story of a life wasted. With all his flaws, Bill seems more honest and honorable than the backstabbing Amsterdam.

Great point.

It's not like this was a Lion King scenario where Scar betrays Mufasa, Amsterdam's father engaged in mutual combat and was the loser. I get the idea of wanting vengeance in that scenario too, but to then go about it in the way Amsterdam did is not the way to get the audience on his side. Unless the message is that morality is less important than getting what you want. Which, if that's the message, you might still be able to get me on your side. But, I think what's fair is fair, so if that is the case, I can't continuously be on Amsterdam's side against Bill. He gets caught trying to betray Bill because he, himself, is betrayed. I don't know if that is supposed to be some sort of poetic justice, or if it is a coincidence nobody recognized and we are just supposed to feel bad for Amsterdam.

Another thing, if we take the angle that the combat between Amsterdam's father, Priest, and Bill is mutual, but acknowledge that perhaps Priest had to fight to give his people, the Irish immigrants, some sort of claim to the area, there is still something lackluster to Amsterdam's motivations. If we take the aforementioned angle, it could be accepted that Amsterdam would want his revenge by any means necessary. However, it would also have to be that Amsterdam would care about his Irish people, and that would have to go somewhere too. It just doesn't though. Even when it is supposed to be heading that way with the reformation of the Dead Rabbits, it never feels like Amsterdam is truly motivated by helping his people. It always feels like he is only acting in his own self-interest in a rather unlikeable way.


Some of its sets look good, but they also look distinctively sets rather than real places.

Another good point. It sometimes has a cool look, but there is an authenticity missing in this film throughout. I know it's easier for Scorsese's other films to look legit, because a lot of them are set in a time that is either modern or close to it. In Taxi Driver, New York City plays a big role, and it is authentically New York City. It looks like the seedy armpit that it is. I understand that in Gangs, it would be a lot hard to nail that authenticity, but it is still essential. It feels very much like a theater set than a real place. Even with the onscreen violence, part of the time it felt like it wouldn't be too surprising if the gangs would have broke out in song at some point.

[Citizen Rules]

Gangs of New York (2002)

To put it short, Gangs of New York is below average epic. Some of its sets look good, but they also look distinctively sets rather than real places. Day-Lewis is by far the best thing in the film, but even his character is lazily written. It's one of the worst films by Scorsese.

I think Scorsese with his Gangs of New Yorkwas not trying for brutal realism, but was crafting a different style of film media than he was known for. I don't think Scorsese missed the mark, as to me it seems clear he was fully aiming to make a fun, broad epic with the emphasis on entertainment. It's his answer to Spielberg's style of film making and in that vein I'd say he succeeded. Though Cameron Diaz isn't up to the task at hand.

[pahaK]

Just rewatched Jojo Rabbit, so I'm done with viewing the films. I'll write the review in a few days, and hopefully, by then I've managed to finalize the order of my ballot too.

[Miss Vicky]

One Week Remaining

There are 7 days left in this Hall of Fame and half the participants still haven't finished. Those of you who have not yet finished need to really speed things up. You have until midnight Pacific Time next Saturday to get those movies watched, written up, and your ballots turned in!

67207
edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin
neiba pahaK Sarge Siddon

[neiba]

Watching Fisher King right now!

[neiba]

The Fisher King (1991)

I never had heard of this till it was nominated so I had no clue what was it about. And for the first 20 minutes I was just looking at the screen stunned and thinking: what the hell am I seeing???
Then things got clearer and the film became more and more enjoyable. It's a perfomance film, which means every actor really needs to bring his A game or else the film falls flat. Luckily everyone here brings the right energy, which for the most part is almost psychotic! Williams' is obviously the best thing about it - every good comedy actor is always better doing dramas and this man is no exception. He finds a perfect balance of crazy and likable without ever losing his personal touch to the character. Bridges is also solid and the two women are a great counter-balance to the dynamic of the main duo.

While it didn't touch me the same way it might have touched other people I still had a great time watching this!

3 +

[Siddon]

https://www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/default/files/asset/9/9djpti/9djpti.jpg?resize=452%2C241&strip=all





One of the things I love about Pedro Almodovar is he looks towards the past and takes old films and is inspired to make new ones. It's less about remakes and more about inspiration. The Skin I live In clearly takes quite a bit from classic horror films. What Pedro does that is so good is he takes the premise of what would be the classic story and then hides it so that it's the reveal. It's a brilliant tool and it works really well here because the actual third act is really nothing to write home about.



Almodovar does a great job with sexuality, this is a hard R film that had it take some extra steps could have been an NC-17 film and a classic. Pedro makes several choices to pull back (in some cases literally) to not make this sexual horror film too sexual and to horrific. This is likely Antonio Banderas's best work...certainly his best with Almodovar as your sympathies bounce between Vera and Robert.



Visually it's a great movie, it does the typical indie thing with four actors and a house but where the film elevates it's self is in the colour palette. It's a very sterile environment that gets these splashes of color, it makes everything kind of pop out.

[HashtagBrownies]

68898

A film that manages to find optimism in a hopeless scenario; Eleven million people had their lives violently ended, but at least one man managed to save a thousand of them. Filmmaking wise it’s solid all around; the soundtrack is iconic and the use of black and white allows for brilliant uses of lighting. For a war film the script is quite well balanced: I see so many war films that are either 100% torture porn, or mainly a character piece where scenes of the soldiers/victims suffering are lackluster. Schindler’s List manages to balance the scenes of suffering and the scenes of character in a way I’ve seen a few times with war films but not very often. When a film starts to be held as a classic, that often leads to them getting heavily scrutinised over others. I think this applies to Schindler’s List; but unlike other scrutinised beloved classics that may have objective flaws or leaps in logic, there’s nothing particularly wrong with Schindler’s List. Say it’s too sappy all you want, but that’s a pure example of the subjectivity of film.

Very good pick Citizen Rules.

[Citizen Rules]

Schindler’s List
A film that manages to find optimism in a hopeless scenario... I like that you said that and now that I think about it, it's apt to. Glad you appreciated the film.

[Siddon]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmUzNzc5MGMtNTZmYS00ZTMyLTgwNGUtMTM5N2VmNTM1NzIzXkEyXkFqcGdeQVRoaXJkUGFydHlJbmdlc3Rpb25Xb3JrZmxv dw@@._V1_CR0,60,640,360_AL_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_.jpg

Gangs of New York (2002) received 10 Oscar nominations, it took 20 years to make and frankly it's due for a remake. It's a good film it runs 3 hours long and as an historical epic it does a wonderful job telling a story that spans 15 years. The film has a number of small flaws..Leo gets "disfigured" but then well it's gone. Interesting characters pop in and out while the boring ones hang around far to long...and the casting of German/Italian and German/Spanish actors as Irish is a poor choice on Scorsese's part.



But I love this movie, you see so many historical epics but you never see one that attempts to build massive set pieces. Creating an 1850's New York that looks and feels real in an incredible accomplishment. Yeah yeah I know they just repeat certain scenes (we get two assassinations attempts in event halls) and the shelling scene could have been done better.


I suppose most people take issue with the moralizing of the characters thinking that you need to have good or bad ones. We see Amsterdam's story so naturally we view him as the protagonist afterall he hasn't murdered anyone yet and Bill is an old killer. Yet each time you watch the film you are left to wonder what Bill knew and did he decide to die. Why did he make so many iffy and poor tactical choices. He hates the Irish but he continued to take them into his inner circle and work with them. Is this the story of the nature of corruption?


Part of me wants to watch this not with Goodfellas and Mean Streets but with Silence and The Last Temptation of Christ because I feel like the religious issues of the film are now more interesting to me. Anyways I applaud it for it's textual depths and I liked it alot.

[Citizen Rules]

...I love this movie, you see so many historical epics but you never see one that attempts to build massive set pieces. Creating an 1850's New York that looks and feels real in an incredible accomplishment... Well said. The sets and the recreation of 1850s New York was a highlight for me. I mean we don't see many films about NYC in the mid 19th century so that alone was worth the watch for me.

[edarsenal]

I like that you said that and now that I think about it, it's apt to. Glad you appreciated the film.
[/LEFT]
[/CENTER]
I got that "A film that manages to find optimism in a hopeless scenario..." as well when I watched it.

[Citizen Rules]

I got that "A film that manages to find optimism in a hopeless scenario..." as well when I watched it.I like that sentiment, as it's one of my own personal philosophies, find good in all things if possible.

So yes I agree of course, but also I see the film as a more detached, clinical-historcial look at the Holocaust and Schindler. Almost like Spielberg said to the world: we need to document this story but in drama film form. I guess what I'm saying is kudos to Spielberg for not being his usual sentimental self. I think it's his crowning achievement in film making.

[pahaK]

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Even after the second viewing, I still don't know how exactly I feel about Jojo Rabbit. There's definitely more good than bad, but is it enough to raise it above OK. At the moment, I'm leaning towards yes.

https://media1.tenor.com/images/8e8ea6b720b42fe91bd4e4cd909cd946/tenor.gif?itemid=14958855

First of all, the kids playing Jojo and Elsa are superb. They also have great chemistry together that makes their cinematic relation very enjoyable to watch. Jojo's mother fills the triangle really well, but I don't like Johansson's performance that much (especially the father scene is cringy). While I still don't think Waititi is the right actor to play Hitler, he didn't annoy me as much this time. Overall, the cast is good, but the kids are the real stars.

While it's true that Jojo Rabbit doesn't aim for any kind of realism, it sort of irks me how it twists everything to a modern Antifa agenda. For a comedy, it's easier to forgive such things, but I think it hurts the drama-side when Germans are always depicted either evil or stupid (except Jojo's mother). At least the film manages to be mostly entertaining, so I can't complain too much about this. I just think it wastes quite a bit of potential.

So, as a whole, Jojo Rabbit is quite an entertaining comedy that loses part of its potential by trying to steer its "difficult" subject within the boundaries of modern sensibilities. It manages to do it better than most, and it excels with its child characters. I actually liked this a tad more on the rewatch, which appears to be a common theme with this movie.

[neiba]

I got that "A film that manages to find optimism in a hopeless scenario..." as well when I watched it.

I also got it. The difference is, I view that as a huge flaw. :p

[jiraffejustin]

I've rewatched The Skin I Live In. I'll try to get to Jojo tonight and get the last two written up before Friday.

[neiba]

Hunger (2008)

Heavy film. I didn't know a lot about IRA, and the film also doesn't care to explain, apart from a few isolated remarks either from Sands and what I presume is Margaret Thatcher. However, the context in which all this happens isn't very important.

The first half hour of the film is a beautifully executed circular narrative which culminates in the presentation of our main character. After that, there's a build up for the dialogue scene which is the key element around which everything revolves and after that we are left with witnessing Sands growing weaker and weaker till he finally dies.

I like how the cinematography and structure are so minimalistic so the message doesn't get lost. Also the acting contributes to this, with no member of the cast being less than exactly what they need to be, Fassbender being obviously the main attraction in that regard.

I am not sure how much I liked this but at least I respect it very very much.

3.5

[edarsenal]

Watched The Night of Counting the Years but did not have enough time to write a review and that leaves me with my grand finale watch: The Skin I Live In

[jiraffejustin]

I've finished all of the films now. I'll try to make sure I have everything written up in the next few days, but I do have a busy schedule with a report due and major midterm exam in the next 48 hours. I'll also add that Jojo Rabbit was probably my favorite viewing experience out of all the nominations. There's plenty of things I didn't like about it, but as an overall experience I loved my first time viewing of it.

[rauldc14]

Seemed like Jojo would have been down your alley Justin

[edarsenal]

https://www.unz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Al-Mumia_04_ALFILM.jpg


Al-Mummia (The Mummy a.k.a The Night of Counting the Years)

It is intriguing to see an Egyptian film regarding the thieving of ancient tombs and thereby delving into a more intimate nature of those using that treasure to sustain their own lives and, as such scenarios play out; the brutality that is doled out to the sons who find it all a desecration and not the right of their tribe's self preservation.

The pacing is incredibly slow and at first, seems to drag it all down but, in the end it truly is the correct pacing for the contemplative torment that Wasin suffers in his attempts to be a good leader and son.
With a kind of sluggish dream-state we venture through the elders, the merchants and eventually the men from Cairo. All of which seem to have little regard for the history of their people. Their only focus lies within personal gain.

I will admit that I wish I had watched this earlier so that I could rewatch it and thereby appreciate it more since this initial viewing felt like a child bumbling through an adult's discussion. Finding myself unsure of what each scenario truly represented. Shadowing Wasin's uncertainty with my own limited vision.

[Sarge]

https://d13ezvd6yrslxm.cloudfront.net/wp/wp-content/images/The-Great-Mouse-Detective-Revisited-700x300.jpeg

Film: The great mouse detective
Year of release: 1986
Directed by: Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, David Michener, John Musker
Run time: 1hr 14mins
Starring: Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin

I absolutely believe that I watched this film as a child but I remembered nothing about it. This is a surpise because as an adult I absolutely loved it.
It has to be one of the most under ratedof all Disney animations.
It was short, great story, funny in parts, an absolute joy.
Who would have though that a cartoon rat and a one legged bat could come across so sinistre? It was really well done, although I could imagone it being quite scary for young children.
Strong story, good action, dark undertones and not ruined by too much singing.
I really enjoyed it.

[Sarge]

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/574f0b9a37013b939ab0b866/1485268245245-Y1EIWELUPO0UNCSIAK5I/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBEk5GvGWksZFX5w26JBi6gUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIII bLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcniPN9VJ1GFyRvLg5OBIPLi1OEGEya55k9jauCGI-cNh9DMJ6Ch7aE2mGOLFuqzVE/the-welcome-blog-tours-of-new-york-gangs-of-new-yoirk.jpg?format=1500w
Film: Gangs of New York
Year of release: 2002
Directed by: Martin Scorcese
Run time: 2hrs 47mins
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis

I find this a difficult film to rate as some aspects of the film are mesmerising and others drive me mad.
The acting, sets and aspects of the plot are superb, yet I struggle with the over use and movement of the camera throughout the entire run time. It was like Michael Bay on a bad day.
The first half of the film seems a bit slow, I know it is building up to an incredible shift of pace, but the first half feels long.
Lewis is outstanding.
The film as a whole is excellent but some of the technical direction choices and the drag of the first half stop it from being better.

[Sarge]

Will write my last two up this afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest and get my votes in well before the deadline.

[Miss Vicky]

Nice to see people really pushing to finish. :up:

I'm still waiting on five ballots but so far it's shaping up to be a much closer race than I expected. One particular film could pull an upset.

[Siddon]

https://assets.cdn.moviepilot.de/files/38280547950294153f4288d5dd5616fdfb44cbc29255690c5bdd9c13f7ad/fill/390/234/the-night-of-counting-the-yearsv-the-mummy-al-mummia.jpg


The Night of Counting Years(1969) is a film that really could have been told any time in the last 100 years. Parts of the film feel like a theatrical production but then you look past the actors you see these amazing historical set pieces...and then you go back to the actors and see what you miss. :D


It's good film, strong nomination I can see why it was picked it was a bit to dull for me. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters or line up the plot. The films biggest issues are that while it has the resources you can see it lacks the knowledge to make certain things compelling. The blocking is really bad in this a lot of scenes feel like they could have been better thoughtout.


But still it's a good watch.

[jiraffejustin]

68374
La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In)
(Pedro Almodóvar, 2011)
Nominated By: Miss Vicky
120 mins, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

I'm a big fan of this film and I have been since I saw it back in 2011/2012. It's ultra-sleek and very perverse. It's Almodovar being playful and allowing you to have fun with things you shouldn't be having fun with. It's that psychosexual nastiness that Hitchcock would probably be making if he had come along 40 years later. We've seen a million revenge films over the years, so if you are going to make a revenge film you gotta keep raising the bar. The Last House on the Left had to do some crazy sh*t, I Spit on Your Grave did some crazy sh*t, but none of that matches up to the level of revenge on display in this one.


68331
Jojo Rabbit
(Taika Waititi, 2019)
Nominated By: CosmicRunaway
108 minutes, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2584384/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")

I don't think I'll be able to even convey how this film made me feel. I think I loved it, but all the way up until ScarJo's feet are seen dangling, I didn't think I was feeling this film. I was for sure amused by about half of the jokes, but I just kept getting the creeping feeling that we were going to get some lame attempt to equate the Nazis to Republicans or something. If that was the intent, the film was a failure in that regard as I actually saw more in this film that would actually be warning about where the American left can go very wrong. That's not really what I care about here though. I wasn't sure what to make of the Nazis all being a bunch of silly goofs. I mean, dunking on the Nazis isn't exactly difficult, and it's not dangerous at all anymore. This film is a bit of a mess in it's tonal switching, because we have all that wackiness, but when ScarJo's feet are shown dangling at the gallows, I was legitimately hit by it. Now, it could be that anytime a parent dies in a film, I can't help but thinking about my own mother. But, a lot of people have dead mothers, I suppose that's why it happens in movies too. I think the wackiness of the goofy Nazis and the off-kilter, diet-Wes Anderson vibes make that abrupt switch in tone work, because you are reminded of the real stuff instead of this Mickey Mouse bullsh*t we had been seeing. I was worried a bit that this film's humor would be getting too meta and be annoying when Rebel Wilson quipped "It's a bad year to be a woman", but as it was the only time I remember a winking, peek around the fourth-wall type of joke in the film, it works in hindsight. Even though I'm sure it wasn't the intention, it does at least highlight how much better American women have it now than German women had it in the 30s. Rebel Wilson was fantastic in the final scene when she was pushing as many men towards their inevitable deaths in any way she could before grabbing a heavy machine gun and going at the allied forces like John Rambo against the Vietnamese. I don't really want to keep rambling, but I really enjoyed this film. I'm curious how I will feel about it upon a rewatch.

[Sarge]

https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/ethics_onfilm/0017/_res/id=Picture/Schindlers-List.jpg

Film: Schindlers list
Year of release: 1993
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Run time: 3hrs 15mins
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes

This is simply one of the most important pieces of cinema ever made.
This is the second time I have watched this film and part of me hopes to never watch it again.
It is superbly made and very sensitive towards the subject matter whilst not shying away from the brutality of it, even though much is left to the power of suggestion, which makes it so much more powerful.
It is simply harrowing from start to finish. Absolutely incomprehensible to myself.
Technically the film is excellent, with the camera work and almost fully being filmed in black and white. The powerful uses of colour really are magnificent.
The acting is also superb, but for me the technical aspects of the film are almost rendered irrelevant by the magnitude of the subject matter, though of course I acknowledge that all of these technical aspect do justice to the importance of this film.
As harrowing as it is, the story of inspiration and hope gently runs through it and left me once again being ashamed of much of humanity and marvelling at the power of compassion of individuals at the same time.

[rauldc14]

I never realized this HOF started in August.

[Citizen Rules]

Jojo Rabbit
(Taika Waititi, 2019)
Nominated By: CosmicRunaway
108 minutes, IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2584384/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1")
...I just kept getting the creeping feeling that we were going to get some lame attempt to equate the Nazis to Republicans or something. If that was the intent, the film was a failure in that regard as I actually saw more in this film that would actually be warning about where the American left can go very wrong... I certainly didn't get any kinda vibe from the film equating it's subject matter to the current U.S political situation. I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else thought it was.

[Sarge]

https://www.toledoblade.com/image/2020/03/23/1140x_a10-7_cTC/Stand-by-Me-Train-jpg.jpg

Film: Stand by me
Year of release: 1986
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Run time: 1hr 29mins
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell

This is one of my favourite films of all time and it is my nom, so it should come as no surprise that I rate it really highly.
I love everything about it.
It captures youth and friendship perfectly. There is a sense of adventure through the eyes of a group of teenage friends that is portrayed wonderfully. The film makes me smile and also pulls on the heart strings and fills me with all the nostalgia.
It has a tremendous soundtrack and is beautifully filmed, with some breathtaking shots of the landscape and the groups tiny place upon it.
The most magical thing is that ever single time I watch it, I don't merely observe but I am transported into the midst of that group and that adventure. I feel the heat, laugh at the jokes, fear the leeches and want to delay the sadness of the end.
A timeless classic that I will never tire of.

[Siddon]

https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/12831_1.jpg

The Reflecting Skin (1990) is a pahak nom so you know what you are getting into, it's a gothic story about a child with some inappropriate sexual issues. Though if I'm being honest I actually liked this one quite a bit...it was a huge step up from Tideland the cinematography, score and set pieces where much higher than the typical B-movie stuff we get. In fact the story was actually chugging along pretty good. It's the story of an 8 year old boy who believes his neighbor is a vampire, he also starts losing his friends. It's one of those movies where his mentally ill mother is the actual villain the vampire lady isn't...but you keep getting these weird little scenes that are meant to shock you...and it would a film I would recommend except.....it ends.


It's not often that a films ending sinks the film. Seth doesn't really factor into the ending...we have all this build and we are just left with this idea ..oh this thing happened around him and now he has to live with it. Well the kid is already living with a brother who is dying of cancer(he doesn't know it yet), and his father kills himself, and his mother is a crazy person...so we get no resolution and it just kinda lays there. He's a survivor but it doesn't really mean anything. Which is really frustrating because a lot of this film I enjoyed and I wanted a third act payoff.

[Miss Vicky]

The Deadline is Tomorrow

I need to have all ballots and write-ups in by midnight, Pacific Time, tomorrow night.

I'm still waiting on ballots and write-ups from:

edarsenal
The Skin I Live In

HashtagBrownies
Gangs of New York

neiba
Late Spring
Le Samouraï

I'm aiming to post the results at around noon on Sunday.

[rauldc14]

Sunday around that time works great for me to be around for live results

[rauldc14]

Also if everyone cool with it I was thinking of green lighting the 24th Hall of Fame on New Year's Day thread wise.

[HashtagBrownies]

69131

Honestly a very interesting film; Everyone seems to have issues with it, but all of their issues seem completely different. Some people say it almost has the element of a cartoon in terms of its camerawork and editing, personally I didn't mind that at all; I know it's not Scorsese's usual style but I found it to be a nice change of pace.
For me, it's hard to pinpoint what the biggest issue was. While I was never bored, nothing about the characters or their personalities felt like they justified a 3 hour film; I wanted to know more about them. For example, We know Leo's character wants to avenge the death of his father, but I can't tell you anything about him apart from that. The film also seems to take a change in story at the last hour, which in other films might work, feels weird in this film.
Film isn't terrible though: All of the sets are good, and the diverse soundtrack worked for me. Daniel Day Lewis putting in the effort as always, even if the script doesn't flesh out his character nearly enough.

Interesting nom neiba, I like the ones that encourage the most discussion.

(and my list is sent, had a hard time deciding the order of the bottom half of it.)

[Sarge]

Have really enjoyed this HoF overall.
Sorry for the lack of interaction - Been really busy in recent months.

[neiba]

Banshun (1949)

This was the rewatch I was least looking forward. Ozu has been miss or miss with me, and my second try watching Banshun was no exception.

I really don't know what it is that it stops me from enjoying this, but I always end Ozu's films feeling guilty because I always feel I'm not still mature enough to enjoy this. And that's because I can see there is value on this film. I see the minimalist cinematography and acting. There's a clear structure and idea behind every choice made by the director which usually is all I need. I don't usually need the choices to be the best, but I need to understand them. And here I totally do. But it still leaves me cold.

It's a different culture that I don't know a lot about, focused on family values which I don't really follow. I literally have no connection point to these characters except from the fact we're both human beings.

Setsuko is obviously the best thing about this, but even her acting doesn't speak to me (sorry Minio).

Oh well... I hope someday I'll get this.

2.5 +

[neiba]

Le Samouraï (1967)

Also a rewatch but one that worked even better on a second time.

This film is so freaking cool! This is a film on solitude, more than anything. The colours, the music, the long silent scenes, the looks that say everything, everything is so well planned and executed, everything shows how sad the world of each one these characters is.

Then you have of course a very good plot, perfectly paced. The first act hits you like a hammer and then it's just a game of patience and intelligence. On the acting, I especially loved Alain Delon as Jeff Costello and Rosier as the sexy femme fatale.

This rewatch just bumped this into my All-Time Top 100 and to one of my favourite french films ever.

4.5 -

[neiba]

List sent. I wasn't the last one! Yay!!! :p

[Miss Vicky]

Just waiting on that slacker edarsenal

[Miss Vicky]

I just caught an error on one of the ballots, so I'm also waiting for that to be corrected.

[edarsenal]

https://lwlies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/the-skin-i-live-in-review-768x539-c-default.jpg


The Skin I Live In aka La piel que habito

Profesora de Yoga en TV: There's a place where you can take refuge. A place inside you, a place to which no one else has access, a place that no one can destroy.

Holy f@ckin sh#t!

What a very beautiful and engrossing cerebral mind f@ck this was and quite the excellent finale to this Hall of Fame.
This is my very first Pedro Almodóvar film and I'm quite curious and little worried about that curiosity to witness more of his work. Causing an underlying. . . not dread nor trepidation, but something akin to being lost in the unknown that instantly feels intimate and subconsciously familiar.
That sensation took root at the very start of the film with the home/clinic/holding cell that had a mixture of cold methodical architecture whos walls are lined with sensual paintings. Giving the eye both a warning and an invitation to this dwelling and it's denizens.

Shot extremely well, that even the disturbing subject matter held a fixed fascination. And when the twist is brought into play and the proverbial other shoe echoes in both the mind and the body I was completely hooked into the premise and what was to occur next in regards to the "prisoner/patient" being held in the Doctor's home.
And I very much loved the ending.

BRAVO Miss Vicky, you delightfully sick b#tch you :randy:;)

[edarsenal]

And now to struggle with the votes and send them in

[cricket]

Good job guys coming through just in time:)

[edarsenal]

Just waiting on that slacker edarsenal

The best for last, my dear, ALWAYS the best for last ;)

[Miss Vicky]

The best for last, my dear, ALWAYS the best for last ;)

If only your ballot said the same...


Just waiting on a correction from jiraffejustin so I can finalize the points.

[jiraffejustin]

It wouldn't be a 2020 election without some ballot irregularities. My error has been corrected.

[Miss Vicky]

All votes have been received.

I plan to announce the results at 12:00 noon (Pacific Time) tomorrow.

ahwell Citizen Rules CosmicRunaway cricket
edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin
MovieGal neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

[rauldc14]

I'll be there for sure

[Siddon]

Also if everyone cool with it I was thinking of green lighting the 24th Hall of Fame on New Year's Day thread wise.


Eh...that's like six weeks some people finished this in October

[Miss Vicky]

The Results of the 23rd MoFo Hall of Fame...


ahwell Citizen Rules CosmicRunaway cricket
edarsenal HashtagBrownies jiraffejustin
MovieGal neiba pahaK rauldc14 Sarge Siddon

[Miss Vicky]

14th Place

67109

Yellow Submarine
(George Dunning, 1968)
Nominated By: HashtagBrownies
Rank: 14 / Score: 37 points
(1 fourth place, 1 ninth, 1 tenth, 4 thirteenth, 7 fourteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063823/)

[Miss Vicky]

I was one of the seven that had Yellow Submarine last, though the last few on my ballot were fairly interchangeable for me.

[rauldc14]

Yellow Submarine was low for me. I deleted my list though.

[rauldc14]

Favorite part was the Lucy in the Sky segment though

[cricket]

It was just the wrong bunch for Yellow Submarine. I had it last too.

[Miss Vicky]

Yellow Submarine was low for me. I deleted my list though.

You had it at 13. I sent you your list back.

[Miss Vicky]

13th Place

68549

The Fisher King
(Terry Gilliam, 1991)
Nominated By: edarsenal
Rank: 13 / Score: 71 points
(1 sixth place, 2 eighth, 4 ninth, 2 tenth, 1 eleventh, 2 twelfth, 2 thirteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101889/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[rauldc14]

Fisher at 9 for me, but I didn't mind it. It was a pretty deep HOF

[Miss Vicky]

The Fisher King was my #13. Sorry, Ed. I just don't love your nominations. :laugh:

[cricket]

I'm surprised The Fisher King finished that low. There were parts of it I loved. My #9.

[Miss Vicky]

12th Place

68548

The Night of Counting the Years
(Al-mummia)
(Chadi Abdel Salam, 1969)
Nominated By: jiraffejustin
Rank: 12 / Score: 76 points
(1 second place, 1 fourth, 1 fifth, 2 sixth, 3 eleventh, 2 twelfth, 2 thirteenth, 2 fourteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064703/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)

[Miss Vicky]

Al-mummia was my number 6, though I think that was more a reflection of what I thought of the movies behind it than what I actually thought of it.

[cricket]

Had The Mummy at 12 but it's a fascinating movie that I enjoyed a good amount.

[Citizen Rules]

Checking in....I appreciated both Yellow Submarine and The Mummy. I didn't love them, but both were cool noms and worth watching.

I had them at:
9 The Fisher King
10 Yellow Submarine

[Miss Vicky]

11th Place

68558

The Reflecting Skin
(Philip Ridley, 1990)
Nominated By: pahaK
Rank: 11 / Score: 79 points
(1 first place, 1 seventh, 3 eighth, 3 ninth, 3 eleventh, 1 twelfth, 1 thirteenth, 1 fourteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100469/)

[cricket]

I had it at 13 but I liked it.

[Miss Vicky]

The Reflecting Skin was my number 9. There were things that I liked about it, but I hated pretty much all of the characters.

[rauldc14]

The Mummy was last and The Reflecting Skin I had at 7 it surprised me.

[Miss Vicky]

10th Place

68555

The Great Mouse Detective
(Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, David Michener, and John Musker, 1986)
Nominated By: rauldc14
Rank: 10 / Score: 80 points
(1 fifth place, 1 sixth, 2 seventh, 2 eighth, 4 tenth, 1 eleventh, 2 twelfth, 1 fourteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091149/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt)

[Citizen Rules]

I almost could've liked The Reflecting Skin, though it lost me at the exploding frog. It was my #11

[rauldc14]

I had Mouse at 5. Probably the lowest I've had my own nom.

[cricket]

Animated films usually rank poorly on my ballot but I liked that a lot. My #10.

[Miss Vicky]

I should like this movie. I like the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movies quite a bit and I love Sherlock the television show. I also love rodents and animation. So a Disney animated Sherlock Holmes movie with mice should be right up my alley, but I've watched it twice and really didn't like it either time. I had it at 12.

[Citizen Rules]

I had a bad video quality of The Great Mouse Detective and to make things worse I couldn't understand some of the accents and no sub titles. I'm not a fan of post 1970 Disney anyway. It was my #14 vote...but that doesn't mean I hated it, it was OK, but nothing to special for me.

[rauldc14]

Still feel animation needs more representation when it comes to generals. Hopefully sometime one will do well.

[Miss Vicky]

9th Place

68554

Gangs of New York
(Martin Scorsese, 2002)
Nominated By: neiba
Rank: 9 / Score: 84 points
(1 third place, 1 fourth, 1 fifth, 2 sixth, 1 eighth, 1 ninth, 1 tenth, 2 eleventh, 1 twelfth, 1 thirteenth, 2 fourteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217505/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[Citizen Rules]

Still feel animation needs more representation when it comes to generals. Hopefully sometime one will do well.Spirited Away was #1 in a main HoF if memory serves me.

[Miss Vicky]

I didn't like Gangs of New York when I saw it in the theater or when I watched it several years later during a DiCaprio kick, but for some reason it worked for me this time around. I definitely didn't love it and I don't think I ever will, but I liked it enough to rank it at 5.

[Miss Vicky]

Spirited Away was #1 in a main HoF if memory serves me.

I'm pretty sure that was the second Animation Hall of Fame.

[cricket]

Not a great Scorsese movie but there was plenty good to it. My #11, and my 9 - 14 has shown up 9 - 14, in different order.

[Citizen Rules]

I had: #8 Gangs of New York

A fun, but somewhat long watch. I liked the sets and the time period, but Cameron Diaz kinda blew.

[rauldc14]

Spirited Away was #1 in a main HoF if memory serves me.

No it was in one but didn't win

[cricket]

Spirited Away was #1 in a main HoF if memory serves me.

I prefer The Great Mouse Detective:p

[Citizen Rules]

I'm pretty sure that was the second Animation Hall of Fame.It was in the 8th HoF and came in second, but not first as I just posted.

[rauldc14]

Gangs was 10. It's ok.

One day Scorsese will win another of our Halls

[Miss Vicky]

8th Place

68556

Hunger
(Steve McQueen, 2008)
Nominated By: MovieGal
Rank: 8 / Score: 98 points
(1 first place, 1 second, 1 fifth, 1 sixth, 2 seventh, 1 eighth, 2 ninth, 2 tenth, 1 twelfth, 2 thirteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986233/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2)

[Citizen Rules]

Back to work for me:(

[rauldc14]

Hunger was my 12. Didn't care much for it.

[Miss Vicky]

Hunger was my number 7. It had some great moments, but overall it just isn't really my kind of movie.

[cricket]

I thought Hunger was terrific, my #6.

[Miss Vicky]

7th Place

68561

Stand By Me
(Rob Reiner, 1986)
Nominated By: Sarge
Rank: 7 / Score: 119 points
(1 first place, 2 second, 2 fourth, 5 seventh, 1 eighth, 1 tenth, 1 twelfth, 1 thirteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[Miss Vicky]

I've seen this movie a few times and it's just never really worked for me. That stupid pie eating contest scene was especially bad. I had more interest in seeing a young John Cusack than I did in anything else and he was barely in it. I still preferred it over several of the other films, though, and had it at number 8.

[rauldc14]

Stand by me was my 4. Thought it was really good.

[cricket]

Stand By Me was a long time favorite that isn't quite a favorite anymore. I still have very positive feelings for it. My #7.

[rauldc14]

That scene was pretty lame MV, but I loved most the rest.

[edarsenal]

dumb @ss me thought pacific time was four hours away not three.

here's mine so far:

7) The Reflecting Skin
8) The Fisher King
9) Gangs of New York
10) Hunger
11) Al-Mummia (The Mummy a.k.a The Night of Counting the Years)
12) The Great Mouse Detective
13) Stand By Me
14) Yellow Submarine

Had my nom at #8, FAR too many great films that easily were better viewing excursions. Including Reflecting Skin that was a great little surprise for me.
The lower echelon was only there due to those above beating them out. Didn't have a single bad experience in the whole lot.

[Miss Vicky]

dumb @ss me thought pacific time was four hours away not three.

About time you showed up. :p

[edarsenal]

I've seen this movie a few times and it's just never really worked for me. That stupid pie eating contest scene was especially bad. I had more interest in seeing a young John Cusack than I did in anything else and he was barely in it. I still preferred it over several of the other films, though, and had it at number 8.

I would have liked to have seen more of him as well.
Good movie though. Not a favorite

[Miss Vicky]

6th Place

68550

Late Spring
(Banshun)
(Yasujirô Ozu, 1949)
Nominated By: ahwell
Rank: 6 / Score: 120 points
(3 second place, 2 third, 1 fourth, 3 fifth, 2 eleventh, 2 twelfth, 1 thirteenth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041154/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[edarsenal]

About time you showed up. :p

I miss you too darlin :p

[Miss Vicky]

I've had to watch Late Spring twice and was bored and annoyed by it twice. I hope to never watch it again. It was my number 11.

[cricket]

I didn't love Late Spring as much as I did the first time but it still made my #5.

[edarsenal]

Had Bashun at #4 and it's gotten me intrigued in delving more into Ozu

[Miss Vicky]

Anyone care to guess the order of the top 5?

[edarsenal]

I think Jojo or Schindler took this

[rauldc14]

Late Spring my 2

[cricket]

Schindler's
Samourai
JoJo
Skin
Christiane

[rauldc14]

1. Schindler
2. Jojo
3. Samourai
4. Christiane
5. Skin

[HashtagBrownies]

Yellow Submarine

7 fourteenth)


You guys are brutal! :yup:

---------------------------------------

Also yeah, had Late Spring at No.3 on my list, my only new watch from this HOF that I'd say I genuinely loved and would re-watch at a moment's notice.

[rauldc14]

I've had to watch Late Spring twice and was bored and annoyed by it twice. I hope to never watch it again. It was my number 11.

I don't think Ozu is your jam.

[Miss Vicky]

You guys are brutal! :yup:

Sorry, man.

[Miss Vicky]

5th Place

68553

Christiane F.
(Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo)
(Uli Edel, 1981)
Nominated By: cricket
Rank: 5 / Score: 120 points
(1 first place, 1 third, 2 fourth, 2 fifth, 2 sixth, 2 seventh, 2 ninth, 2 twelfth)

http://i.imgur.com/TLhM4Wp.jpg (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082176/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[edarsenal]

You guys are brutal! :yup:

sorry hash

[cricket]

Top 5 is good for me in a General HoF. My #1.

[rauldc14]

Christiane was my 6. Really enjoyed it

[edarsenal]

Christinia was also at my #5. could have been higher, my whole top five was pretty mercurial except for #1 and that was VERY close when it came to #2.