The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II

[edarsenal]

I. Am SUCH a putz :rolleyes:

Not only have I already seen Underworld, but I also placed it at #22 in the Pre-30s Countdown - - Good f@ckin gravy!! :facepalm:

In the opening bar scene, things were getting awful familiar and I kept telling myself; I'm just recognizing similar setups like this, but once they got to the old hideout and they opened up the steel-enforced secret door, that cinched it. I finally went and checked, and yep, it was.

I'm 23 min in, so. . . screw it, it's a great gangster/love triangle film, so I'll finish 'er up as a nice rewatch.

Certainly explains WHY I had such a good gut feeling you'd like this cricket lol

https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4883042284_f34818fbd6.jpg
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_0P47AokZY/URoZI2ruo6I/AAAAAAAADqA/YfNto65Xhxo/s1600/Underworld+6.jpg

[Wyldesyde19]

It really is hard to keep up with everything one has watched over the years.

[edarsenal]

It really is hard to keep up with everything one has watched over the years.
Good Lord YES lol

[Miss Vicky]

70126

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097108/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/13/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

I think I would have loved the ending to this movie if I hadn't hated absolutely everything else about it. The film was ugly in every way - the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, the people. It all just looked gross, which I get was the director's intent, but it was too damn much. The film also dragged terribly. So much yelling and arguing. It was also unsexy despite an abundance of nudity (none of which I wanted to see). It was unfunny and it didn't bring out any kind of emotion in me. And perhaps worst of all was that f***ing kid's singing, which caused me actual physical pain. Seriously, I just downed like four Ibuprofen to combat the headache this caused.

Not my least favorite movie I've ever seen, but not too far off.

1.5-

[Chypmunk]

Breaking news:
Next week Ed will be recommending Laugh, Clown, Laugh and The Beloved Rogue to fellow MoFos in order to gauge their reactions before deciding whether or not to rewatch them himself ;)

[Thursday Next]

I picked The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover for Neiba, but would not have picked it for you, @MissVicky ! Not sure who did.

I would have thought you would have got a kick out of the ending ("Try the cock, Albert.") if nothing else.

I can't agree that it looks ugly though, I thought the colour changing was very visually striking.

[neiba]

70126

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097108/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/13/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

I think I would have loved the ending to this movie if I hadn't hated absolutely everything else about it. The film was ugly in every way - the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, the people. It all just looked gross, which I get was the director's intent, but it was too damn much. The film also dragged terribly. So much yelling and arguing. It was also unsexy despite an abundance of nudity (none of which I wanted to see). It was unfunny and it didn't bring out any kind of emotion in me. And perhaps worst of all was that f***ing kid's singing, which caused me actual physical pain. Seriously, I just downed like four Ibuprofen to combat the headache this caused.

Not my least favorite movie I've ever seen, but not too far off.

1.5-

I was expecting worse tbh! There was so much of this I knew you would hate. I even sent a message to cricket cause I was unsure of what you would think of the animal cruelty.

[Hey Fredrick]

70126

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097108/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/13/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

I think I would have loved the ending to this movie if I hadn't hated absolutely everything else about it. The film was ugly in every way - the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, the people. It all just looked gross, which I get was the director's intent, but it was too damn much. The film also dragged terribly. So much yelling and arguing. It was also unsexy despite an abundance of nudity (none of which I wanted to see). It was unfunny and it didn't bring out any kind of emotion in me. And perhaps worst of all was that f***ing kid's singing, which caused me actual physical pain. Seriously, I just downed like four Ibuprofen to combat the headache this caused.

Not my least favorite movie I've ever seen, but not too far off.

1.5-

I was very close to nominating this for you but that kid singing was the main reason I passed. I knew that would push all the wrong buttons so I went with the other family drama. The one without singing. First time I saw this was with a girl I had just started dating, who was not a movie fan at all. Drove across town to the one video store that had a copy on VHS and we watched it. There was some very awkward silence when it was over, then I got the "Do you like this kind of stuff?" Me:
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FLLqssqD1Y7heM%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1

She still brings it up to this day (along with a lot of other stuff).

[Miss Vicky]

I would have thought you would have got a kick out of the ending ("Try the cock, Albert.") if nothing else.

Like I said, I would've loved the ending if I hadn't hated everything else. That scene alone is responsible for the extra half a popcorn box.

I was expecting worse tbh! There was so much of this I knew you would hate. I even sent a message to cricket cause I was unsure of what you would think of the animal cruelty.

I didn't notice any actual animal cruelty. There were lots of dead animals and a scene where a dog gets run over by a car, but the dog's injuries didn't look real to me.

I still hated the movie and it stands a good chance at taking last place, just not for that reason.

I was very close to nominating this for you but that kid singing was the main reason I passed.

Wise decision.

[edarsenal]

Breaking news:
Next week Ed will be recommending Laugh, Clown, Laugh and The Beloved Rogue to fellow MoFos in order to gauge their reactions before deciding whether or not to rewatch them himself ;)

:D:)

[Thursday Next]

I'm now thinking that if Miss Vicky doesn't hate my nomination then, in a way, I'll have won. I'm not holding my breath though. :D

[cricket]

I thought that was a good try for Miss Vicky but at least she won't have Blue Velvet last:D

One thing I'll say is that Helen Mirren is a goddess:fire:

[cricket]

Secrets & Lies

https://bestinfilm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/mikeleigh-secretsandlies-1170x468.jpg

I've wanted to see this for awhile, and for some reason, I was thinking it was a Bergman film. Of course it isn't, but I would say in some ways it is like a Bergman film.

I don't think I related to these characters at all besides just having empathy for other human beings. I felt strongly for every single one of them and each performance was wonderful. For a story that I wouldn't normally be drawn to, I was drawn in from the start. I felt emotion the whole way through and there were parts that were unbearable to watch. It was a little different for me than other emotionally powerful movies in that I found it more rewarding than devastating. I even found some of it humorous. Perfect musical score. I'm not even sure I'm rating it high enough because I thought it was brilliant. I'm loving everything picked for me so much that I'm becoming confused as to how to rate them. Another home run.

4.5+

[Miss Vicky]

I'm now thinking that if Miss Vicky doesn't hate my nomination then, in a way, I'll have won. I'm not holding my breath though. :D

I take it that means I haven't watched yours yet.

I've been saving the ones that I think have the best shot for last, so you might be okay. I would have watched The Thief, the Cook... much sooner but I had issues understanding people in the streaming copy I found and it didn't have subtitles (I suck at understanding accents and my hearing's not great), so I had to wait awhile for my library's copy to become available.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=70167
Do the Right Thing (1989)

Now that's some great urban cinematography! Spike really shot his film well. I liked those three older guys and their commentary on stuff going on in the community. The three older men worked like a Greek chorus in classic Greek theater. By that I mean, they cue us in on the happenings and do so in a semi-omnipresent way. Which worked brilliantly as they anchor the film for the viewer.

I have to say Spike Lee was brilliant in his film making casting choices too. Right at the start we get Rosie Perez dancing to Fight the Power...At first I'm thinking, 'hey, she can really move', but then after my 10 second attention span waned she kept dancing....and dancing and dancing! Her moves and the music was frantic! Just when I thought she was finally done, the scene changes to nighttime and now she's dancing/boxing at the camera and looking quite hostile too! Which set me on edge...AND THAT'S BRILLIANT, because Spike Lee had that planned out.

And he continues that pressure cooker effect with the ever present heat wave and craziness. He makes us feel the craziness by introducing one character after another and they're all yelling or ranting about something. So by the time we get to the pizza parlor I'm as worked up as the denizens of the street block were. I think Spike Lee did something special here!

You know what the difference between Tarantino and Spike Lee is? Spike can actually act and Tarantino sucks when he's a character in his own films. Spike as the actor was as good as Spike the director, he made for a very interesting character, kind of like a black Woody Allen. There were a lot of colorful characters in Do the Right Thing, Rosie Perez with her nasal jaw poppin whine and her profanity spewing, drove me bonkers through out the film and so did the stuttering guy...BUT that's exactly what Spike intendeds these characters to do to the audience.

I could wrote a book about the movies examination of racial and social problems in this poor inner city neighborhood. I'm sure the film can be interpreted a 100 different ways. For me I'll sum it up, I think Spike Lee wanted to show how it is, and in my book he succeed.

[edarsenal]

I honestly had no idea how you'd respond to Do the Right Thing. Far better than I did when I watched it previously, I must say.
You were able to bypass the "triggers" that Spike installed to bring the audience to the same level of anger as the people in the film and appreciate the film as well as the prowess of the man directing it.

I didn't.
Unlike another film we discussed at the time, The Hunt, which angered the hell out of me but I thoroughly appreciated.
It's interesting how I was able to move past the anger with one, and could not with this film.

[Wyldesyde19]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=70167
Do the Right Thing (1989)

Now that's some great urban cinematography! Spike really shot his film well. I liked those three older guys and their commentary on stuff going on in the community. The three older men worked like a Greek chorus in classic Greek theater. By that I mean, they cue us in on the happenings and do so in a semi-omnipresent way. Which worked brilliantly as they anchor the film for the viewer.

I have to say Spike Lee was brilliant in his film making casting choices too. Right at the start we get Rosie Perez dancing to Fight the Power...At first I'm thinking, 'hey, she can really move', but then after my 10 second attention span waned she kept dancing....and dancing and dancing! Her moves and the music was frantic! Just when I thought she was finally done, the scene changes to nighttime and now she's dancing/boxing at the camera and looking quite hostile too! Which set me on edge...AND THAT'S BRILLIANT, because Spike Lee had that planned out.

And he continues that pressure cooker effect with the ever present heat wave and craziness. He makes us feel the craziness by introducing one character after another and they're all yelling or ranting about something. So by the time we get to the pizza parlor I'm as worked up as the denizens of the street block were. I think Spike Lee did something special here!

You know what the difference between Tarantino and Spike Lee is? Spike can actually act and Tarantino sucks when he's a character in his own films. Spike as the actor was as good as Spike the director, he made for a very interesting character, kind of like a black Woody Allen. There were a lot of colorful characters in Do the Right Thing, Rosie Perez with her nasal jaw poppin whine and her profanity spewing, drove me bonkers through out the film and so did the stuttering guy...BUT that's exactly what Spike intendeds these characters to do to the audience.

I could wrote a book about the movies examination of racial and social problems in this poor inner city neighborhood. I'm sure the film can be interpreted a 100 different ways. For me I'll sum it up, I think Spike Lee wanted to show how it is, and in my book he succeed.



I love this review.
This is a good movie that I hope to revisit someday and maybe see if it gets better on repeat viewings.

[neiba]

Secrets & Lies

https://bestinfilm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/mikeleigh-secretsandlies-1170x468.jpg

I've wanted to see this for awhile, and for some reason, I was thinking it was a Bergman film. Of course it isn't, but I would say in some ways it is like a Bergman film.

I don't think I related to these characters at all besides just having empathy for other human beings. I felt strongly for every single one of them and each performance was wonderful. For a story that I wouldn't normally be drawn to, I was drawn in from the start. I felt emotion the whole way through and there were parts that were unbearable to watch. It was a little different for me than other emotionally powerful movies in that I found it more rewarding than devastating. I even found some of it humorous. Perfect musical score. I'm not even sure I'm rating it high enough because I thought it was brilliant. I'm loving everything picked for me so much that I'm becoming confused as to how to rate them. Another home run.

4.5+

Almost picked this for you! Mike Leigh is becoming my soul mate director. Glad you liked it.

[Thursday Next]

I honestly had no idea how you'd respond to Do the Right Thing. Far better than I did when I watched it previously, I must say.
You were able to bypass the "triggers" that Spike installed to bring the audience to the same level of anger as the people in the film and appreciate the film as well as the prowess of the man directing it.

I didn't.


I hated Do the Right Thing, but the more I think about it, the more I think you are right, Ed, that it is deliberately designed to make the audience as angry as the characters. Which is clever, in its way, but still not the sort of thing I enjoy in a movie!

[Hey Fredrick]

Nice review Citizen! My top two films of 1989 were both recommendations this time around. Do the Right Thing is one of them and I think it's one of the best movies of the 80's.

[Miss Vicky]

I didn’t care at all for Do the Right Thing but I don’t remember the specifics of why I disliked it.

[cricket]

Almost picked this for you! Mike Leigh is becoming my soul mate director. Glad you liked it.

I was surprised that I liked it even more than Naked.

[cricket]

I'm a little up and down with Spike Lee but Do the Right Thing is one of his three movies I love, to go along with 25th Hour and Summer of Sam.

[Thursday Next]

My favourite Mike Leigh film is Topsy Turvy. It's a little different from a lot of his other films, but perhaps that's why I like it better!

[edarsenal]

My favourite Mike Leigh film is Topsy Turvy. It's a little different from a lot of his other films, but perhaps that's why I like it better!
That one has been on my watchlist for quite some time.

[edarsenal]

I hated Do the Right Thing, but the more I think about it, the more I think you are right, Ed, that it is deliberately designed to make the audience as angry as the characters. Which is clever, in its way, but still not the sort of thing I enjoy in a movie!
In that sense, it worked brilliantly for me because I was pissed from the get go to the very end. Non stop.
Far too much so to appreciate the ability and talent that Spike put into it.
I won't give it another go at any time though. Pretty sure it'll be the exact same reaction.
I didn’t care at all for Do the Right Thing but I don’t remember the specifics of why I disliked it.
The consistent yelling/arguing?
That's what did it for me.

[Citizen Rules]

Nice review Citizen! My top two films of 1989 were both recommendations this time around. Do the Right Thing is one of them and I think it's one of the best movies of the 80's.So you picked it for me, cool. I had thought it was probably Cricket.

So now I have four films that could be tied for 1st place
in alphabetical order:
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974))
Black Orpheus (1959)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Midnight Cowboy (1969

And...I have one more film left a film noir by one of the great directors Nicolas Ray, On Dangerous Ground (1951). I have real high hopes for this one, which could work against, we'll see.

[Citizen Rules]

I didn’t care at all for Do the Right Thing but I don’t remember the specifics of why I disliked it.See if you can get through this 4 minute opening title sequences with Rosie Perez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=739XYgoA-x8

[Miss Vicky]

See if you can get through this 4 minute opening title sequences with Rosie Perez.



:shrug:

It just made me think of an overly long version of what the "fly girls" from In Living Color used to do, except this has one dancer instead of several.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=672Uod0X-1g

[Citizen Rules]

I never seen In Living Color but yeah they could have inspired one another (I'm not sure which came first).

[Hey Fredrick]

So you picked it for me, cool. I had thought it was probably Cricket.


Sorry, I did not pick that one for you.

[TheUsualSuspect]

So you picked it for me, cool. I had thought it was probably Cricket.

So now I have four films that could be tied for 1st place
in alphabetical order:
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974))
Black Orpheus (1959)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Midnight Cowboy (1969

And...I have one more film left a film noir by one of the great directors Nicolas Ray, On Dangerous Ground (1951). I have real high hopes for this one, which could work against, we'll see.

https://media.tenor.com/images/edce2d71a105d589e4abbb0cbe8407ef/tenor.gif

[matt72582]

I hated Do the Right Thing, but the more I think about it, the more I think you are right, Ed, that it is deliberately designed to make the audience as angry as the characters. Which is clever, in its way, but still not the sort of thing I enjoy in a movie!


I hated it, too.

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-IupNobZd3Wc%2FUu6_6M-VFNI%2FAAAAAAAAV6U%2FRyccEhN9N9E%2Fs1600%2FAva%2BGardner%2B%2B%2BThe%2BKillers%2Bblack%2Bgown%2B4.jp g&f=1&nofb=1
The Killers
Big Jim Colfax: If there's one thing in this world I hate, it's a double-crossing dame.

Someone killed the Swede (Burt Lancaster) and if it wasn't the blonde in the pic who was it? And why?

I'm not gonna say much about the plot because the fun of The Killers is watching how it all unfolds, but if you like noir this should be on your watchlist. It's very similar to Citizen Kane in how the story is told. An insurance agent is investigating the death of the Swede and interviews several of his former friends, associates, cellmates etc. and the story unfolds piece by piece through flashbacks. Every flashback gives a little more info on who the Swede was and what happened while also opening a whole new can of worms. It's all really well done and kept me guessing until the end.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love the way gangsters talk in these older movies - "You're making a sucker play Dum-Dum, she took a powder and ran off with the dough so I put the pinch on 'em - a copper's a copper, Bright Boy." This is one of the older movies that shows it's age at times and in some movies I find that off putting and sometimes I think it's charming. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling about the movie and here I found it charming.

Lancaster is good as the Swede. He seems like a likeable fellow, Lancaster that is, but sometimes his acting puts me off. Other times he really shines. He's in the middle here but he doesn't have to carry the movie as this is definitely a plot driven film. Everybody is good but there isn't a wow performance and it doesn't need one. This is gonna be something I watch again and again. If this was the first film I watched like I had planned, it may have hung on to the no.1 spot throughout the HoF just as Pandora's Box did last time. Highly recommend.

[Thursday Next]

Arsenic and Old Lace

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.rZnnRkduMtHdPE96FMalLwHaEz?pid=Api&rs=1

There was a lot to like about this but I didn’t completely love it, which disappointed me a bit as I had high hopes - maybe too high!

First off, it reminded me quite a lot of You Can’t Take It With You with the whole eccentric family angle.

The poisoning old ladies are great, as is Cary Grant’s initial reaction to discovering their crimes (he has some great facial expressions), and later on the brother discovering the same. Also the bit where he’s talking about how stupid people are in plays waiting around to be murdered…although I wonder why they didn’t change ‘plays’ to ‘movies’. The whole climax was pretty great, actually.

On the downside, it gets a bit frenetic and farcical, and there was a bit too much shouting and people pushing and pulling each other about. There was also a lot of onstage-offstage which probably would have worked better on the stage than on the screen. I didn’t find the way Mortimer treated his wife very funny either, the film would have worked almost as well without that sub-plot, although I suppose it was necessary for the revelation that he isn’t actually related to all these crazy people to work. They could have given her more to do than shriek and get shoved out of doors, though.

[cricket]

I liked Arsenic and Old Lace more when I saw it 20 years ago than I did when I watched it for it's decade countdown. Good movie though.

The Killers is pretty awesome obviously 🙂

[edarsenal]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-IupNobZd3Wc%2FUu6_6M-VFNI%2FAAAAAAAAV6U%2FRyccEhN9N9E%2Fs1600%2FAva%2BGardner%2B%2B%2BThe%2BKillers%2Bblack%2Bgown%2B4.jp g&f=1&nofb=1
The Killers
Big Jim Colfax: If there's one thing in this world I hate, it's a double-crossing dame.

Someone killed the Swede (Burt Lancaster) and if it wasn't the blonde in the pic who was it? And why?

I'm not gonna say much about the plot because the fun of The Killers is watching how it all unfolds, but if you like noir this should be on your watchlist. It's very similar to Citizen Kane in how the story is told. An insurance agent is investigating the death of the Swede and interviews several of his former friends, associates, cellmates etc. and the story unfolds piece by piece through flashbacks. Every flashback gives a little more info on who the Swede was and what happened while also opening a whole new can of worms. It's all really well done and kept me guessing until the end.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love the way gangsters talk in these older movies - "You're making a sucker play Dum-Dum, she took a powder and ran off with the dough so I put the pinch on 'em - a copper's a copper, Bright Boy." This is one of the older movies that shows it's age at times and in some movies I find that off putting and sometimes I think it's charming. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling about the movie and here I found it charming.

Lancaster is good as the Swede. He seems like a likeable fellow, Lancaster that is, but sometimes his acting puts me off. Other times he really shines. He's in the middle here but he doesn't have to carry the movie as this is definitely a plot driven film. Everybody is good but there isn't a wow performance and it doesn't need one. This is gonna be something I watch again and again. If this was the first film I watched like I had planned, it may have hung on to the no.1 spot throughout the HoF just as Pandora's Box did last time. Highly recommend.

Ava's pleased to hear you enjoyed it
https://64.media.tumblr.com/408bbe75842973d256f0adbddb9fd3d7/tumblr_ppq6u1BLjo1r8177lo3_250.gifv

I had a feeling this would be up your alley when I nominated it for ya. This has been an all-time noir favorite of mine for quite some time.

[edarsenal]

Arsenic and Old Lace

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.rZnnRkduMtHdPE96FMalLwHaEz?pid=Api&rs=1

There was a lot to like about this but I didn’t completely love it, which disappointed me a bit as I had high hopes - maybe too high!

First off, it reminded me quite a lot of You Can’t Take It With You with the whole eccentric family angle.

The poisoning old ladies are great, as is Cary Grant’s initial reaction to discovering their crimes (he has some great facial expressions), and later on the brother discovering the same. Also the bit where he’s talking about how stupid people are in plays waiting around to be murdered…although I wonder why they didn’t change ‘plays’ to ‘movies’. The whole climax was pretty great, actually.

On the downside, it gets a bit frenetic and farcical, and there was a bit too much shouting and people pushing and pulling each other about. There was also a lot of onstage-offstage which probably would have worked better on the stage than on the screen. I didn’t find the way Mortimer treated his wife very funny either, the film would have worked almost as well without that sub-plot, although I suppose it was necessary for the revelation that he isn’t actually related to all these crazy people to work. They could have given her more to do than shriek and get shoved out of doors, though.

Very fun movie and the old ladies are my absolute favorites in this film. If I remember right they were both in the original play that this movie is made from.

[Citizen Rules]

The Killers


I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love the way gangsters talk in these older movies - "You're making a sucker play Dum-Dum, she took a powder and ran off with the dough so I put the pinch on 'em - a copper's a copper, Bright Boy."

This is gonna be something I watch again and again... Highly recommend.It's a good one alright! Glad to see you take a shining to it. I also love that old gangster/noir talk. Cosmic Runaway nominated Murder, My Sweet (1944) for the Noir III HoF. Fun movie with oodles of hip noir talk, you might like it.

Ava's pleased to hear you enjoyed it
https://64.media.tumblr.com/408bbe75842973d256f0adbddb9fd3d7/tumblr_ppq6u1BLjo1r8177lo3_250.gifv
Great gif! I just seen Ava on What's My Line and I swear she moved just like that...and she was sitting down too! But still doing the shimmy.

[edarsenal]

It's a good one alright! Glad to see you take a shining to it. I also love that old gangster/noir talk. Cosmic Runaway nominated Murder, My Sweet (1944) for the Noir III HoF. Fun movie with oodles of hip noir talk, you might like it.

Great gif! I just seen Ava on What's My Line and I swear she moved just like that...and she was sitting down too! But still doing the shimmy.
I second Murder My Sweet (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037101/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) regarding some really great noir talk:
"She was a charming middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud. I gave her a drink. She was a gal who'd take a drink - if she had to knock you down to get the bottle."

Love the shimmy but, oh those smoldering:yup: eyes

[cricket]

Downfall

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTgwMTU2ODgzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDAwMzc4NA@@._V1_.jpg

This was the movie I most wanted picked for me, and two members tried. I'm glad it was because it was incredible. It's got all of the production of a major Hollywood film, but of course it's German. I think Schindler's List is a masterpiece but I don't consider it to be a personal favorite. Downfall will be. I think it's a pretty accurate true story told from a completely different perspective. I don't feel like going on about it so just watch it if you haven't seen it. I'm looking forward to Suspect's review. This has been the best HoF for me by far and I still have some left.

5

[Thursday Next]

Downfall was one I considered nominating for you. It's a very good film. I wanted to watch it again to consider it for my all time list but ran out of time.

[Citizen Rules]

I reviewed Downfall and gave it a 4.5/5. I've seen it twice and it's a powerful look at a moment in history. I wrote this in my review:

This German made film accurately portrays Hitler's last days on Earth. Unlike Hollywood movies that show the Nazi leaders as two dimensional monsters, Downfall shows them as real people who have done monstrous acts. That's an important distinction, as humans are capable of the most vile acts.

[edarsenal]

still need to see Downfall.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=70463
On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray 1951)


I don't know. That's apt for this last review entry in this second Personal Recommendation. I've immensely enjoyed this endeavor of ours. But with this last write-up, of the last film that was chose for me, I find myself unsure of how to evaluate it?

Do I compare it to the other noirs I've seen? I've seen a lot! Or do I compare it to the other Nicholas Ray films I've seen? Some of those are power houses. And how in the hell do I compare it to the other interesting choices that were selected for me?

Basically I don't know! Well, I gotta write somethin' right? So here it goes...I enjoyed this noir, as I enjoy noirs. Ida Lupino is a plus and Robert Ryan is a good noir type too. But I don't feel this is one of Ray's best works and its story intent never really comes into focus. Some of that might be on Ray himself and how he directed this. Some of it might lay on the shoulders of Robert Ryan who's asked to show a tender side that he just wasn't able to show. But mostly I think the blame lays with financier Howard Hughes who owned RKO studio and had a hand in editing the film.

The film has a split personality to it. The first half is a matter-of-fact police procedural, docu-drama. The second part takes an abrupt turn as our police detective (Robert Ryan) leaves the city and heads to upstate New York to solve a local murder. In the country side he encounters a blind woman (Ida Lupino) and falls for her. His encounter with the blind beauty changes his previous brutal bad-cop ways. Abrupt is the key word here as Ryan's character changes gears at a drop of a fedora.

So the dilemma is: I enjoyed this because it is noir and I love noir. But it was IMO flawed in it's narrative construction. So how do I rank it? Decisions, decisions!

[edarsenal]

The last film always does have that effect, does it not?
You want to watch a film as is. But then you find yourself gauging it against the others you've watched and its placement amongst them.
Been guilty of it myself. Time and again.
Which is probably why I go with something that may be a power hitter. That way placement sort of falls to the side and I can get back to focusing on the film itself.

Doesn't necessarily always works. But, sometimes, it works just fine.

Have not seen On Dangerous Ground. Have seen a couple of Ray's films and I do very much appreciate and enjoy Robert Ryan. Even more so as I begin to work through his films and I've noticed this isn't the only one the two have them worked on together so my interest is piqued regarding it. Add to the fact that I've only caught Miss Lupino enough to want to see more.
And since I do enjoy conversing Noir with you, sir, I do find myself considering this film to expand on what you've hinted at.

[Citizen Rules]

The last film always does have that effect, does it not?
You want to watch a film as is. But then you find yourself gauging it against the others you've watched and its placement amongst them.
So true. Right now I'm thinking about ranking my voting list and there are five films that could be my #1 choice. The weird thing is each of those 5 films have a completely different reason for vying for the number 1 spot. Last time around I based my list on pure enjoyment, but this time around I feel like I should use more objective criteria. Oh! Making a list is so tough:eek:

[Thursday Next]

I reviewed Downfall and gave it a 4.5/5. I've seen it twice and it's a powerful look at a moment in history. I wrote this in my review:

Can't seem to quote your quote, but that was exactly one of the things I liked about it too.

[Miss Vicky]

I'm off Thursday through Sunday so I'm gonna try to get at least two of my remaining three movies watched.

[Citizen Rules]

This German made film accurately portrays Hitler's last days on Earth. Unlike Hollywood movies that show the Nazi leaders as two dimensional monsters, Downfall shows them as real people who have done monstrous acts. That's an important distinction, as humans are capable of the most vile acts. Can't seem to quote your quote, but that was exactly one of the things I liked about it too.For me, the realization that humans are capable of monstrous acts...and others are easily persuaded to go along with those acts...is a frighting reality. It starts with one megalomania leader and a number of blind followers motivated by propaganda, who are willing to subvert democracy in a blink of an eye.

[cricket]

Congratulations Citizen Rules, you are the 1st member to finish!

I'm sure I liked On Dangerous Ground but I can't specifically recall it:p

[Miss Vicky]

70506

The Player (Robert Altman, 1992)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105151/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/22/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

This was a nice surprise. I really liked the way it poked fun at the Hollywood machine with all its hypocrisies and shallowness. I loved all the little in-jokes and references to other films. It also boasts an incredible cast and is absolutely littered with familiar faces.

I don't usually go in for comedy but when I do it's often with films that offer up their laughs with a big helping of darkness and satire. I know I shouldn't be rooting for Robbins's Griffin Mill to get away with it, but he and the situation he's found himself in are just so damned interesting that him getting his comeuppance would just ruin the fun.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I loved it, but I do think this is one that I'll revisit sometime in the future. Also, my experiences with it and The Long Goodbye have got me curious to check out more of Altman's work.

3.5+

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheweereview.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F06%2Finheritthewind1960_678x380_03052013034413.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Inherit the Wind

Matthew Harrison Brady: Why is it, my old friend, that you've moved so far away from me?
Henry Drummond: All motion is relative, Matt. Maybe it's you who've moved away by standing still.

What happens when you start teaching the Theory of Evolution in Hillsboro? Well, you get arrested of course and then there's a trail which is the story behind Inherit the Wind.

I expected this to be something I'd really get into. Unfortunately, I did not. There was a lot I did like about Inherit the Wind, for one it does make you think, at times, but the overall problem for me was the characterization of the townsfolk and especially the prosecuting attorney. They were too over the top and it took me out of whatever it was trying to do. It was almost like revisiting Two Thousand Maniacs. Of all the characters in the movie there were three that I liked: The Teacher, The Banker and the Prosecutors wife. They were the most real of all the characters, at least they were real to me.

The movie ultimately became less about the teaching of evolution and more about the historical accuracy of the Bible in a long cross examination were the prosecutor is called to the stand by the defense as an expert on the Bible. This may be interesting to some who have never heard two people debate the historical accuracies/inaccuracies of the Bible but having grown up hearing this argument ad nauseum (born again father, atheist mother), it was a bore at what should have been the climax of the picture.

I felt that the best scene in the movie is when Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, old friends who find themselves battling it out in court, have their little conversations on the porch of Mansion House without feeling the need to a make a spectacle in front of the townspeople. That was the one scene involving both of the leads that felt authentic. As for the overall debate, I had cousins attend schools that didn't teach evolution at all. Other cousins went to schools that didn't teach religion at all. I was fortunate. I went to a school that taught both.

[TheUsualSuspect]

70506

The Player (Robert Altman, 1992)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105151/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/22/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

This was a nice surprise. I really liked the way it poked fun at the Hollywood machine with all its hypocrisies and shallowness. I loved all the little in-jokes and references to other films. It also boasts an incredible cast and is absolutely littered with familiar faces.

I don't usually go in for comedy but when I do it's often with films that offer up their laughs with a big helping of darkness and satire. I know I shouldn't be rooting for Robbins's Griffin Mill to get away with it, but he and the situation he's found himself in are just so damned interesting that him getting his comeuppance would just ruin the fun.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I loved it, but I do think this is one that I'll revisit sometime in the future. Also, my experiences with it and The Long Goodbye have got me curious to check out more of Altman's work.

3.5+

https://media.tenor.com/images/d19cda4140c6bce6de172f8cb8a17c82/tenor.gif

Glad you liked it. With your ratings of the other nominated films I was worried this one would get trashed, hahaha.


edarsenal I nominated Spartacus for you cause you said you liked war movies. So I thought I'd try and do something in that vein.


I'm so far behind because I was trying to put that Top 100 list together that I neglected this. Knowing my tendencies though, I'll get it done....the night of the deadline, hahaha.

[cricket]

The Player was picked for me the last go around and I was shocked how much I loved it. I never would have watched it on my own.

I also loved Inherit the Wind, and much of that was due to the performances.

[edarsenal]

https://media.tenor.com/images/d19cda4140c6bce6de172f8cb8a17c82/tenor.gif

Glad you liked it. With your ratings of the other nominated films I was worried this one would get trashed, hahaha.


edarsenal I nominated Spartacus for you cause you said you liked war movies. So I thought I'd try and do something in that vein.


I'm so far behind because I was trying to put that Top 100 list together that I neglected this. Knowing my tendencies though, I'll get it done....the night of the deadline, hahaha.

The Player was picked for me the last go around and I was shocked how much I loved it. I never would have watched it on my own.

I also loved Inherit the Wind, and much of that was due to the performances.
VERY much appreciated TUS. It was a VERY good call!

I've bounced back and forth about The Player and whether or not I'd be inclined to watch it and possibly enjoy it. I remember when it came out and I was not inclined, at all.
Though I do feel myself shifting to a more curious position regarding it.

Very happy to see ya get one you at least enjoyed, Miss Vicky
I'd offer a recommendation for other Altman but we both know better ;)

[cricket]

The Help

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/08/14/movies/thehelp-span/thehelp-span-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale

I never had interest in this before yet it was in my Netflix queue because my wife wanted to see it. I've had the DVD since this HoF started but was waiting for when we could watch it together. Our schedules haven't been lining up so I just put it on last night.

It's almost 2 1/2 hours long and for the first hour I didn't care for it at all. I thought it was way too light, and while it did stay a little too light, it got much better and I did end up enjoying it.

It's a good and worthy story, and I assumed it was a true story until I looked it up after and discovered otherwise. Maybe I would have preferred if one of the black women were the writer but I'm not sure. Most of the white women seemed like types more than characters, with the exception of Jessica Chastain in the second half. Viola Davis is one of my favorite current actresses and she was superb throughout. Octavia Spencer was also good like usual. I generally like Emma Stone but I didn't think she or her character stood out.

So yea the second half was much better, and perhaps I'd like the movie as a whole more knowing that if I watched it again. The poster I showed in the movie you're watching tonight thread featured the pie. I had no idea what that actually meant. It was pretty funny but it also became too big a part of the movie. It's also going to be the most memorable part of the movie and that's unfortunate for such a serious subject matter. There were things in the movie that infuriated me, in a good way, and pie shouldn't be my lasting memory.

A bit uneven for me but the end result was good. It's a well made film with some very good performances and a meaningful story.

3.5-

[Miss Vicky]

I definitely wasn't expecting you to love The Help, so I'm glad you at least mostly liked it. It's one of the rare few exceptions to the "Miss Vicky doesn't like movies with predominantly female casts" rule.

[cricket]

I definitely wasn't expecting you to love The Help, so I'm glad you at least mostly liked it. It's one of the rare few exceptions to the "Miss Vicky doesn't like movies with predominantly female casts" rule.

I thought you were going to pick Philadelphia for me because I recall you liking that. Not disappointed though, it was good.

[Miss Vicky]

I thought you were going to pick Philadelphia for me because I recall you liking that. Not disappointed though, it was good.

That is an excellent movie and I do recommend it. For whatever reason, I was just feeling The Help more when I made my choice.

[mark f]

Without gore in it that's a high rating from him. Of course it does have excrement.

[Miss Vicky]

70703

Miller's Crossing (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1990)
Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100150/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 12/22/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

I don't know what it is about the Coen brothers, but as much as I love The Big Lebowski and really like Burn After Reading, their other films just don't really work for me. They're generally really well acted, boast excellent atmosphere, and look great, but somehow I am just left disconnected and cold to most of them.

Miller's Crossing wasn't an exception. The performances were strong, it had good atmosphere, and the story was interesting enough, but I just didn't give a crap about anybody in it.

3

[Thursday Next]

Miller's Crossing was my pick for you Miss Vicky. I'm sorry you didn't like it more, but at least you didn't hate it!

[cricket]

I'm pretty up and down with the Coen brothers. Miller's Crossing I'd have right in the middle. It's good, but I don't love it like many others.

[Citizen Rules]

I thought Miller's Crossing was well constructed and didn't diverge into utter wackiness like some of the Coen Brothers films. Though I have liked most of their films except The Big Lebowski. This is my old review, I forget if I watched it for an HoF or just on my own.
I liked it, it kept me on my toes as to what was going to happen...This was NOT like later Coen Bros films. It didn't have any of the Coen's trademark wackiness, yet it still had their film making mastery and style about it.

Miller's Crossing is a straight up, serious, gangster drama with a whole bunch of twists that kept me guessing who was double crossing who, and how they were doing it? It was cleverly written and the plot was hard to follow at times, which is a good thing...as it means the film is intelligent, either that or I just wasn't paying attention.

I was impressed by how well grounded the actors were in their characters. No over the top characterizations here. I believe this is how prohibition mobsters actually behaved and interacted with each other back in the day. It was all more low key and yet the stakes were high.

rating_3_5

[Siddon]

https://img.youtube.com/vi/05NRWLKITH4/hqdefault.jpg

Shoplifters (2018)



One of the things I really don't like in film is unoriginality. Often times I'm very skeptical when a film about poverty gets glowing reviews because it seems to happen every year and often times it either feels like the same film, or its just how can we top the other ones. Canne's has gone on a bit of a poverty binge awarding Dheepan, I, Daniel Blake, Parasite and the satire The Square.



Where Shoplifters succeeds where others have failed is that it also felt to me very reminiscent of Ozu's work. It was like a modern retelling of that style of normal Japanese family values with a slight quirk. Most of the film is just a meandering of this world it doesn't have the basic structure of a typical film...the action plot points are spread out, in a lot of ways I feel like the film climaxes after the first act and the rest of the story is just sort of dealling with the consequences of that action.


I thought the story, ideas and performances were very good. My biggest criticism is that it's not shot particularly well. Visually it was a huge flop for me but you kinda manage to just move past that and enjoy it for what it was.


great nomination...big contender for winning this batch.

[Wyldesyde19]

Went out and picked up Raising Arizona. Should get to that in a few days.

[cricket]

Besides what was picked for me, Shoplifters is 1 of 4 movies I haven't seen. It sounds good.

[Thursday Next]

Contact

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/7d/cc/167dccc16ca16a4197af70c3851fa0b5.jpg

This is one of those dvds that has been sitting on my shelf unwatched for years, so I was glad to finally see it.

What I really liked about this film was the pace and structure – it doesn’t quite follow a typical predictable plot path, which I liked. I liked how it depicted Ellie as a woman being sidelined and others taking credit for her discoveries; it had a similar ‘woman in a man’s world’ feel to Silence of the Lambs. Jodie Foster was great, she’s never not great and I always think I should watch more films with her in it. Recommendations welcome :)

It’s not a great looking film, that’s for sure, it has a messy kind of look. I suppose it’s inevitable in a film about cutting edge technology that it’s going to look really dated, really fast – the futuristic alien tech is fine, but the fax machines! (I had a similar giggle at the phones in Iron Man when I rewatched that the other day.) I do wonder what Palmer Joss would have made of people glued to twitter on their phones these days.

At times I was unsure about the whole science v. faith theme, it threatened to become a bit simplistic and heavy handed but in the end it comes full circle and it just about worked. I liked how it all played out in the end.

I thought this was a good film and a good nomination for me. I don’t know where it will place in my ranking though – with only one film to go I should have more of an idea, but while I’ve got a clear front runner and clear last place, everything else in the middle is more movable. Lots of good films with a lot to like about them, so second-last won’t even be a bad film. Unless I really hate the one I’ve got left!

[Thursday Next]

Oh, wait, I forgot to mention Interstellar! I felt that there were a lot of similarities... not least Matthew McConaughey, the father-daughter relationship, the wormhole... The whole thing when the older guy is recalling the end of the 20th Century and beginning of the 21st and thinking back to evolving new technology being exciting and comparing it to how they live... I feel like that world he's recalling is the world of Contact, but we've already left it behind. New technology now is smaller, entertainment and convenience focused... already looking to the stars seems to belong to the past, never mind trying to find alien life.

I think Contact is the better film but it makes for an interesting comparison.

[Citizen Rules]

...Jodie Foster was great, she’s never not great and I always think I should watch more films with her in it. Recommendations welcome ...
I really like Jodie Foster too, I think she's a top notch actress and really can deliver heart felt and real performances. I haven't seen much from her but I did really like these three movies.
Nell (1994) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321860/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7)

The Beaver (2011) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321860/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7)

but my favorite performance by Jodie would be in:
Anna and the King (1999) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166485/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_17)

[Wyldesyde19]

See Jodie Foster in Bugsy Malone and The Accused.
She funny in the former, and great in the latter.

[Thursday Next]

I have seen Anna and the King and she was great in that, yes. I'll check out some of those others.

[Citizen Rules]

Probably Nell would be my next recommendation. I liked The Beaver too but that's more Mel Gibson's movie.

[cricket]

My wife dragged me to see Contact. It was before we were married I wouldn't listen now. I barely remember it but I know it was good.

[edarsenal]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/images/4394-5d3e481b8bfa3e455cadc1c9ff81a557/current_21_528_medium.jpg


The Wages of Fear aka Le salaire de la peur

Dick: When I was a kid, I used to see men go off on this kind of jobs... and not come back. When they did, they were wrecks. Their hair had turned white and their hands were shaking like palsy! You don't know what fear is. But you'll see. It's catching, it's catching like small pox! And once you get it, it's for life! So long, boys, and good luck.

I had originally seen the remake Sorcerer (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/) back in the 70s Hall of Fame and even though the original does not have that intense bridge crossing, there is still some taut, suspense filled moments of two nitro laden trucks being driven some three hundred miles through the haphazard mountains of South America.

Director Henri-Georges Clouzot knows when to use extreme angles, when to set up close ups and when to give a more grand scale to what is occurring to this collection of desperate individuals where no one is the good guy. Nor is anyone truly bad either. Just a very, highly dangerous job needs to be done and Clouzot gives us four flawed men with pasts looking for enough cash to get the hell out of the crummy town they've been stuck in.

Just over two hours this film actually clips along rather nicely, even with the extended introductions of the four men who jump at the suicide mission of driving such a dangerous payload of nitroglycerin and every conceivable obstacle that blocks their progress. Including one another.

Another Hidden Gem.
To whomever nominated this -- THANK YOU

[Miss Vicky]

I watched Wages of Fear for the Fifth HOF. I remember pretty much nothing about it so I had to look up my thoughts on it. I rated it a 3+ and said I respected it, but didn't like it.

[Miss Vicky]

70773

The Untouchables (Brian Depalma,1987)
Imdb.com ("https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094226/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)

Date Watched: 12/28/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II
Rewatch: No.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this. I mostly enjoyed it. I think the acting was all pretty strong, the film looked good (and so did Kevin Costner :randy: ), and the story was engaging. However, I couldn’t seem to shake a certain sadness at all the senseless violence and it reminded me of a war movie in that way. The knowledge of how foolish prohibition was never left the back of my mind and it kept me from fully enjoying the film. I also disliked the score and found it a little too intrusive.

Still, I’m glad to have finally seen it.

3.5

[Wyldesyde19]

I love The Untouchables, but yeah, It has its faults. I happen to love Morricones’s score. Especially the end theme! I play it often when at the gym, it’s so inspiring!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, and a decent rating is the best I could hope for.

[Hey Fredrick]

Thought Contact was really good although I am a bit with South Park as far as the ending (SPOILER - Waited 2 hours just to find out the alien was her GD father) As far as Jodie Foster goes, I've always liked her and think The Accused, which I watched again recently, is her best performance but it sure isn't the easiest film to take in.

Untouchables is one of my favorites and I LOVE the music.

[Citizen Rules]

I've not seen Wages of Fear but I've sure heard of it. I need to brush-up on my classic foreign films watching.

I've not yet watched The Untouchables but plan on it as it sounds like something I'd dig. I did see Costner in The Highwaymen (2019) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860242/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_4)which was about the man who tracked down and killed the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. I thought the movie was pretty damn good and far better than its low IMDB rating of 6.9. I guess it wasn't bloody enough for some. I highly recommend it if you like Costner, history based films and good acting.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Thursday Next


I wanna believe I nominated this for you. Glad you dug it. There is one shot in the film that I'm still in awe at and that is when the girl is running up the stairs and reaches for the door, then we find out we're in a mirror of that door. A really inventive way of shooting that scene.

[Thursday Next]

Thursday Next


I wanna believe I nominated this for you. Glad you dug it. There is one shot in the film that I'm still in awe at and that is when the girl is running up the stairs and reaches for the door, then we find out we're in a mirror of that door. A really inventive way of shooting that scene.

Yes, I really liked that shot too.

[edarsenal]

"You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!"
Very pleasantly surprised you like the Untouchables, Vicky -- VERY nice!
Can't count how many times I watched that when it came out.

And CR, I think you and I spoke about The Highwaymen and just how good it was.
I agree, the 6.9 rating is too low for how good it was.

[cricket]

Congratulations Miss Vicky, you are the 2nd member to finish!

Count me as another fan of The Untouchables, and I consider Brian De Palma to be one of my favorite directors.

I do prefer the remake but The Wages of Fear is really good.

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ll be watching Raising Arizona tonight.

[Citizen Rules]

I’ll be watching Raising Arizona tonight.
I've never seen it, so I'll be interested in your thoughts on it.

[edarsenal]

I've never seen it, so I'll be interested in your thoughts on it.

I'd put that about 50-50 that you'd enjoy that one, CR

[Wyldesyde19]

Raising Arizona

The Coens have always populated their films with quirky, larger than life characters. This was no exception.
Nic Cage stars as H. I. McDunnough. Hi to his friends. When we first meet him, he’s constantly getting arrested for robbery. He meets Edwina (Holly Hunter), falls in love, and get married. He goes straight. Then they find out she can’t have kids. But that’s ok, a local rich couple jus had five! So they steal one. As you do....
This is one quirky comedy, with some funny scenes between Hunter and Cage.

But mostly there’s a undercurrent of contempt for the Reagan era. There’s references to the “have and have nots” and how the rich couple have “too much” with regards to their kids. The kidnapped infant could have easily been a metaphor for greed. Everyone wants the kid for themselves. And not even for reasons one might expect. Indeed, Hi even makes a reference to his disdain towards Reagan.
And take note of a strange scene involving John Goodman and his cell mate escaping prison. Their emergence from the muddy ground is much like birth, complete with Goodman pulling his buddy out by the legs.
Along the way a bounty hunter dressed like a Mad Max wannabe shows up also chasing after the child.
This all gets weird, with some genuinely funny moments, but some of the scenes go on for too long.
And unfortunately it’s those scenes that ultimately what keeps this film from completely working. The weirdness outweighs the funny to the point it becomes distracting.

Coen films have been hit or miss for me, with Blood Simple being an amazing film earlier this year, when it was recommended for me. This joins Barton Fink as too weird to be completely enjoyable.

[Siddon]

I've not seen Wages of Fear but I've sure heard of it. I need to brush-up on my classic foreign films watching.




It's my favorite Clouzot film...which is saying something but then again you didn't care for The Raven so I don't know if you'd want to watch something three times as long.

[Thursday Next]

Raising Arizona

And take note of a strange scene involving John Goodman and his cell mate escaping prison. Their emergence from the muddy ground is much like birth, complete with Goodman pulling his buddy out by the legs.


When I first saw this scene, I thought it was a a parody of The Shawshank Redemption. I couldn't believe it when I checked and realised Raising Arizona was made some years before.

[cricket]

I don't like Raising Arizona

[edarsenal]

I've bounced back and forth from like to dislike for Raising Arizona

[Wyldesyde19]

It was mostly a miss for me. Just too weird at times.

[Hey Fredrick]

Raising Arizona is on my Mt. Rushmore of comedies and rotates as one of my favorite Coen Bros. movies. I've seen this more than any of their other movies and it's not even close. It's basically a live action cartoon and I love cartoons. It definitely has a unique tone and if you like that I think it works. If you don't, well, it's probably gonna be a rough one to sit through.

[edarsenal]

First film of the new year:
A Taste of Honey
gonna try to write something up tonight for it. Good film!

[cricket]

Good Night, and Good Luck

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/theadvocate.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/62/f62ef850-8693-11e9-b2a6-8b9bfb3074aa/5cf612e602cc2.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C798

This is a movie I've always been interested in yet not enough to move to the top of my list. Finally watching it has validated my previous feelings.

It felt pretty relevant as I've heard comparisons between Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump. I can understand those thoughts but unfortunately there's no comparing the media.

This is a very fine all around film from the direction to the performances. It's a very tight movie that I believe is pretty accurate historically. It was a wise decision to film in black and white, and in my mind the only option.

Even though I don't really have anything negative to say about it, I wouldn't be happy had I gone to the cinema to see it. The viewer gets what they expect, but nothing more. As well done as it is, I thought it was routine. I think it would have been awesome as a live made for TV film like the excellent remake of Failsafe, which the director of this film (George Clooney) starred in.

3+

[cricket]

Some of you guys could pick up your pace a little!

[Wyldesyde19]

Some of you guys could pick up your pace a little!
Btw, I should actually be at five films watched. Missing the link for My review for The Shape of Water.

[Citizen Rules]

Good Night, and Good Luck

I'm sure I seen that and most likely really liked it, but I couldn't find my review of it so can't really say what I rated it at.

[cricket]

Btw, I should actually be at five films watched. Missing the link for My review for The Shape of Water.

I didn't even notice that you watched it. I will find it and add it.

[Citizen Rules]

...I really liked Good Night and Good Luck but oddly enough I can't remember why I liked it? I can't even remember what it's about. I think it's a biopic about a famous 1950s journalist? I guess that means I should see it again.Damn I'm a broken record:D

[edarsenal]

Good Night and Good Luck has been on my radar for forever. NEED to watch that one.

[Miss Vicky]

I think Good Night and Good Luck is a very well made movie, but it's not my kind of movie.

[Thursday Next]

I saw Good Night and Good Luck at the cinema late at night. My husband fell asleep, but I thought it was compelling.

[edarsenal]

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mcbumiRsyLY/VGd3InhKd6I/AAAAAAAAO6A/yXWZivEc6TY/s1600/OfHoney.jpg


A Taste of Honey (1961)

Jo: I hope to be dead and buried by the time I reach your age. Just think, you've been living for forty years.
Helen: I know, I must be a biological phenomenon.
Jo: You don't look forty. You look a sort of well-preserved sixty.
Helen: Oh, you cheeky monkey!

What continued to dance about my noggin while watching this was just how beautifully shot this film is of such a dirty, industrialized city as Manchester England.
Mirroring the story written by 18 yr old, Shelagh Delaney, that had been made into a stage play before being adapted to film by Tony Richardson.
A story that would, at first hearing, could be just as brutally harsh as the location. But, like the filming of the squalor architect, there is something quite beautiful in the telling of a teenage girl, her irresponsible/self-absorbed mother, the short fling the girl has with a sailor on leave, (who happens to be black), being abandoned by said mother when her latest man demands she must decide between him and her, to finding a "home" when she welcomes a gay gent into the hovel she acquired and soon after, realizes she's pregnant.

All of which was quite the Taboo picnic basket for its time.
All of which is given a moment in the sun as it were.
No politics, no getting trampled beneath Social Expectations or heat-fueled debates regarding Morality.
It is also NOT glamorized, finding the silver lining, making lemonade out of lemons, the sun will come out tomorrow drivel.
Just life.
Every day, as is, life.

Our leading lady, Jo is no innocent waif out of a Charles Dickens novel to be used and abused. But a head strong, independent young woman who finds a moment of love with a very good man who cannot stay. And an even kinder one who's domestic flair puts her own mother (who is not cruel, just more involved in her own pleasure) to shame.

It is. . . well, just what its called: A taste of honey.


BRAVO to whomever nominated this for me
And THANK YOU

[TheUsualSuspect]

Some of you guys could pick up your pace a little!

https://media.giphy.com/media/jUwpNzg9IcyrK/giphy.gif

[cricket]

I believe A Taste of Honey was the first kitchen sink movie I saw. That actress was phenomenal.

[Citizen Rules]

A Taste of Honey (1961) Another classic I've heard about for years but still haven't seen. Sounds intriguing.

[Thursday Next]

edarsenal It probably won't surprise you to know that I nominated A Taste of Honey for you. I am so glad you liked it!

[edarsenal]

edarsenal It probably won't surprise you to know that I nominated A Taste of Honey for you. I am so glad you liked it!
I had wondered when I first saw it nominated; who it might have been and why they may have considered it for me. But I didn't linger since I've had a few, including the previous Rec HoF, wonderful surprises, so I waited to see what I would see. Surprise-wise.

Having seen it, it is quite apropos that it was one of yours. You do have a kind of elegance for procuring such gems from the rough, as it were.

BRAVO my dear, BRAVO:)

[Wyldesyde19]

Rented Bringing up Baby. Will get to that tonight.

[Miss Vicky]

Rented Bringing up Baby. Will get to that tonight.

I hope you enjoy it more than I did. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1582990#post1582990)

[Wyldesyde19]

I hope you enjoy it more than I did. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1582990#post1582990)
I’m pretty sure I will. Haha

[edarsenal]

I hope you enjoy it more than I did. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1582990#post1582990)

ahhh, good rant. Good rant. :)

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ll have a review for Bringing Up Baby later today.
I can say with certainty that I enjoyed it. I laughed. A lot. Screwball comedies from that time were sometimes hit or miss, but this was largely a hit.
Proper review to come later.

[cricket]

Philadelphia

https://2014afo.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/klux.png?w=800

I've wanted to see this ever since it came out and it just fell through the cracks. It's hard to believe it's been 27 years but that really hit home when I saw how young the actors were. I thought this movie was a little dated but that's an observation rather than a complaint. I just think it would have been even more effective had I seen it 20 years ago. Like Good Night, and Good Luck, this was a movie that didn't go anywhere unexpected, but I enjoyed this one more due to the emotional component. I knew the movie was about Hanks having HIV but I didn't know it featured homophobia so prominently. It actually cracked me up at times because that behavior is so archaic, yet it was a good reminder of the progress we've made. This was prime Hanks as far as I'm concerned. One may say this performance or the one as Gump were Oscar bait, but at least he was playing characters as opposed to playing himself the way it seems recently. He was great, as was Denzel as always, and the supporting cast. It's a sappy and manipulative movie, but that's the way it should be with an important human story like this one. Good flick.

3.5

[rauldc14]

I've let a lot of movies fall through the cracks

[cricket]

All I have left is Underground which I'm really excited about.

[edarsenal]

That was one that fell through the cracks for me as well. Nice write up!

[edarsenal]

https://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/d233/marty-1955-movie-review-marty-clara-ernest-borgnine-betsy-bl.jpg


Marty (1955)

Marty Pilletti: Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it.

You know you're watching something very good when the end credits roll and it surprises the hell outta ya. Now, I know its only 90 min to begin with, but it truly does shoot right by.

Anyway, in the crowded city of The Bronx, New York, 34 yr old Marty, the Butcher, is asked by every customer: "When you gonna get married, Marty? You should be ashamed of yourself."
It drives him crazy. He wants to get married, but all he gets is shot down. Surrounded by buddies who want action but spend more time asking each other, "What you wanna do?" "I don't know. What you wanna do?"

Pestered by his ma to check out the Stardust Ballroom because it's full of tomatoes, a frustrated Marty goes with his buddy Angie. To stand against the wall with other guys doing the same thing. Scoping. Hoping. And coming up with nothin.

This time, Marty meets Clara.
She's 29. Tired of being alone and getting dumped.
They talk.
For the rest of the night.
Because, as Marty says to Clara, "See, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are."
They see something more in one another as they continue talking.

And who knows.
Maybe. Just maybe.
Anyway, it sure as hell beats hanging around the street corner, everyone asking everyone else: "What ya wanna do?" "I don't know, what you wanna do?"

A simple story of very ordinary, lonely people that works quite beautifully. It makes perfect sense why it won an Academy Award.

[Miss Vicky]

cricket

Glad to see you enjoyed Philadelphia. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time.

The homophobic behaviors do feel archaic now, but 1993 was a much different time and the AIDS epidemic just made the homophobia worse. I don't know if you noticed how tame the movie is in terms of same sex affection, but they had to be really careful because other wise it wouldn't have been accepted by mass audiences of the time. They actually filmed a scene of Hanks and Banderas in bed together (just talking, not a sex scene) and couldn't use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKMS91y7Udg

[cricket]

cricket

Glad to see you enjoyed Philadelphia. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time.

The homophobic behaviors do feel archaic now, but 1993 was a much different time and the AIDS epidemic just made the homophobia worse. I don't know if you noticed how tame the movie is in terms of same sex affection, but they had to be really careful because other it wouldn't have been accepted by mass audiences of the time. They actually filmed a scene of Hanks and Banderas in bed together (just talking, not a sex scene) and couldn't use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKMS91y7Udg

Yea remember the tee shirt the lead singer of Skid Row wore? He would later apologize but still. There were a lot of nice subtle moments in the movie like when it showed the older juror. Without saying it, the look on his face said I'm gay and I understand.

[Wyldesyde19]

I did not like Marty.

[cricket]

I always mix up Marty with Harvey but they're both good so who cares.

[Wyldesyde19]

Bringing up Baby


Katherine Hepburn has always been an actress of immense talent. Never was that more apparent then Bringing Up Baby.

Here she displays her comedic talents with perfect timing. She Plays a ditzy heiress who meets a uptight paleontologist (Cary Grant) and falls in love with him. Problem is eh can’t stand her. So she concocted a plan to keep him around. Everything goes wrong. But she just keeps on trying to please him, and perhaps show him how to live a little. Along the way they pick up a Leapord named Baby, which further escalates and exacerbates the issues they face.

This screwball comedy is just one adventure after another as they keep getting further and further in trouble. It’s so absurd you can’t help but laugh, because it’s supposed to be absurd. And somehow it all works! And when it sometimes feels likes a scene is going on for too long or it’s ventured too far into absurdity, Hepburn steps in to remind us that it’s all just a game.

And really, it is her movie. She’s adorable in this. Kooky, precocious, free spirited and somewhat silly, she brings a childlike innocence to Susan Vance, the heiress. She has to be played over the top because of played seriously, the effect wouldn’t be the same. She nails the role, and indeed, I kept watching her every time she appeared even if she didn’t have a line.

Great pick, surprised me by how much I enjoyed this one.

[Thursday Next]

I had wondered when I first saw it nominated; who it might have been and why they may have considered it for me.

It's a film I like a lot, for pretty much all the reasons you articulated in your review, and I thought you might appreciate it. Pretty sure it was my number one pick for the 60s list.

[Thursday Next]

I hope you enjoy it more than I did. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1582990#post1582990)

Yeah, I'm with Miss Vicky on this film. One person's charming is another person's extremely annoying :p

[cricket]

I'm with the girls regarding Bringing Up Baby. I don't care for K Hep.

[Hey Fredrick]

I thought Bringing Up Baby was pretty good and you can put me in the not a fan of Katherine Hepburn camp. Didn't like it as much as Philadelphia which I consider one of the better movies from one of the better decades for movies.

[Citizen Rules]

The more I've watched Bringing Up Baby the more I've liked it. It's not my favorite 30s screwball comedy, that would be My Man Godfrey. If you have the dvd with BUP try watching the commentary track by Peter Bogdanovich, I did and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the movie.

[rauldc14]

The more I've watched Bringing Up Baby the more I've liked it. It's not my favorite 30s screwball comedy, that would be My Man Godfrey. If you have the dvd with BUP try watching the commentary track by Peter Bogdanovich, I did and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the movie.

My favorite is It Happened One Night

[Wyldesyde19]

It Happened One Night and My Man Godfrey are both great movies.
I’d have to give the edge to Gable and Lombard of course.

[Miss Vicky]

I didn't care for It Happened One Night, but it was better than Bringing Up Baby.

[Citizen Rules]

My favorite is It Happened One NightI never think of that as a screw ball comedy, but yeah I love It Happened One Night even more than My Man Godfrey.

[Wyldesyde19]

Letter from an Unknown Woman will likely be next if not next week, the week after.
Going to knock off a few from the 24th HOF first.

[Citizen Rules]

Letter from an Unknown Woman will likely be next if not next week, the week after.
Going to knock off a few from the 24th HOF first.I really liked that film and have seen it twice. I think it was picked for someone in the last PR we did?

[cricket]

I really liked that film and have seen it twice. I think it was picked for someone in the last PR we did?

I don't think so but I'm going by my very unimpressive memo.

[Citizen Rules]

I don't think so but I'm going by my very unimpressive memo.I just checked....and your memo ain't all that bad! you're right it wasn't in the last PR. Hmm, my memo must suck! I swear we talked about that movie somewhere fairly recently.

[edarsenal]

Letter from an Unknown Woman will likely be next if not next week, the week after.
Going to knock off a few from the 24th HOF first.
Looks my memo is a bit crap as well. Had to look up the film to realize I saw it as well and wondering WHERE the conversation was regarding it. lol
maybe the 40s Countdown. . .?
I liked it quite a bit as well.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Alright, gotta play catch-up. Been super busy at work with inventory counts, but that ends tomorrow. So I hope to get through a few this weekend.

[Thursday Next]

I just checked....and your memo ain't all that bad! you're right it wasn't in the last PR. Hmm, my memo must suck! I swear we talked about that movie somewhere fairly recently.

It was in the 30s hall of fame part 2, not super recent but could be it.

[Citizen Rules]

It was in the 30s hall of fame part 2, not super recent but could be it.Have you seen Letter From an Unknown Woman? It seems like you might like it, I was impressed with it especially the acting by Joan Fontaine. I know it was in the 7th HoF way long ago. But I remember we had a convo about it more recently (at least it seems recent to me:p might have been awhile ago)

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fatomtickets.com%2Fmovie-news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F06%2Fginger-snaps-1024x576.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Ginger Snaps

Ginger: I get this ache... And I, I thought it was for sex, but it's to tear everything to f****** pieces.

I have to preface this by saying that movies about vampires, werewolves, mummies, Frank and the like are not my cup o' tea. Now there are obviously some films with those characters that are very good and Ginger Snaps falls right about in the middle of them but towards the top of the werewolf films.

I've always liked movies were the outsiders get the upper hand. Ginger Snaps is about two sisters, not exactly the most popular girls in school, who fantasize about some pretty weird stuff encountering a werewolf one evening where the older sister, Ginger, gets attacked but survives and well, you know what comes next.

Her transformation to werewolf coincides with her "blossoming" as a young woman which was actually kind of a decent spin. Now I have no experience with what Ginger was going through on either front but it was rather enjoyable to watch for the most part and actually created some pretty funny moments. Aside from the werewolf stuff it has a bit of a revenge aspect to it which I liked as opposed to just random attacks on nobody's. My favorite parts of the film were actually the family dinners and more specifically Mimi Rogers as the Mom who is unusually excited to witness her daughters changes. I'm not going to say this is like Heathers (which I love) but it definitely shares some of the same characteristics. This is a teen centered film where most of the adults are portrayed as idiots in an over the top, comical way.

The werewolf fx are pretty bad but pretty bad practical fx are still better than cgi in something like this. The end is probably the weakest part of the movie but it's not so weak as to ruin what came before it. It doesn't leave a bad taste in yer mouth, anyway. This is one of them movies, similar to The Blair Witch, that I've always avoided and just like the Blair Witch I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. If I come across this on tv someday I wouldn't hesitate to check it out again.

[TheUsualSuspect]

I nominated that for you. Why? I can't remember.

[edarsenal]

I keep wanting to check out Ginger Snaps. Someday I just might

[Thursday Next]

Have you seen Letter From an Unknown Woman? It seems like you might like it, I was impressed with it especially the acting by Joan Fontaine. I know it was in the 7th HoF way long ago. But I remember we had a convo about it more recently (at least it seems recent to me:p might have been awhile ago)

I've seen it twice - I think it was in two halls of fame!

[cricket]

Ginger Snaps is a very solid horror film!

[Wyldesyde19]

I need to see Ginger Snaps at some point.

[cricket]

I need to see Ginger Snaps at some point.

Yea especially with an avatar like that

[Thursday Next]

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

https://s1.r29static.com/bin/entry/f27/0,675,2000,1050/x,80/1760880/image.jpg

I had not watched this before, because I was going to read the book first. Then I tried reading the book, and didn’t get very far. Then I wasn’t going to watch it until I had watched the Swedish version, being suspicious about pointless American remakes. But then it was nominated for me here, and I thought it would be unfair to watch the two versions so close together, so watching this was my first experience with any version.

The first thing to say about it is that although there are some ugly things that happen in this film, it is beautifully shot. There is a lovely shot of a snowy, tree lined drive quite early on in the film and a pervading tinge of green throughout. It’s most definitely a David Fincher film. Different moments and moods reminded me very much of Zodiac, Gone Girl and Alien3.

I loved the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Not as much as their Gone Girl score, but it’s good. And there was even a character wearing a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, which made me smile. Did you know Fincher directed a NIN video? I only found that out today.

The acting was all very good. Rooney Mara is a pretty fearless actress. And she doesn't even eat any pie in this one. Stellan Skarsgaard is probably too good – he’s too noticeable to think he’s anything other than the villain from the off. It was sometimes a bit mumbly but aren't a lot of films. I think we had this discussion earlier in the thread.

The story is a typical unsolved murder mystery complete with lots of dead, brutalised women who are just faces on police files. I guess the differences here are the setting (more on that in a moment) and that it is not just about a crime being solved by a detective/journalist, but about Lizbeth Salander as a relentless, tech-savvy, motorbike riding avenging angel. I’m still not sure if the implication is supposed to be that she killed that guy or that the gangland killing actually happened as a result of her taking his money.

The setting was interesting because of the effort that was taken to make it seem Swedish. I think the setting is intrinsic to the story, the mood and the politics of it, so it was good that they didn’t transplant it to the US. It was interesting that they had Swedish shopping bags, but a little strange that they all spoke English, often with Swedish accents, while reading books and newspapers clearly printed in Swedish. It didn’t really bother me, it was just interesting.

There were some quite brutal scenes in here for a mainstream movie, so I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. I had a couple of reservations about it, but overall it was very good. I had to watch it in two installments, and found it definitely got into my head and under my skin in between and after watching it.

Glad to have watched it and happy to have now completed the Millennium top 100. Hopefully, just in time for us to do a new 2000s list. Which this won't be on, because it's 2011.

[Thursday Next]

And that's my last film for this hall of fame. Now for the hard part: ordering the films. I know for sure what's first and what's last but pretty much everything in the middle is much less certain. There are at least seven films which definitely need to be in the top 5 ;) So I hope nobody's offended if their film finishes in the lower half of my list, there were a lot of good films.

I really think this has been the best hall of fame I have taken part in so far - no trolls, no drama, all good films and some really good discussion - even though we're all watching different films! It's good to read different reviews as well, and there are a few films nominated for other people I might put on my watchlist.

Looking forward to the personal rec hall of fame part 3, whenever everyone's ready for it!

[neiba]

Arsenic and Old Lace

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.rZnnRkduMtHdPE96FMalLwHaEz?pid=Api&rs=1

There was a lot to like about this but I didn’t completely love it, which disappointed me a bit as I had high hopes - maybe too high!

First off, it reminded me quite a lot of You Can’t Take It With You with the whole eccentric family angle.

The poisoning old ladies are great, as is Cary Grant’s initial reaction to discovering their crimes (he has some great facial expressions), and later on the brother discovering the same. Also the bit where he’s talking about how stupid people are in plays waiting around to be murdered…although I wonder why they didn’t change ‘plays’ to ‘movies’. The whole climax was pretty great, actually.

On the downside, it gets a bit frenetic and farcical, and there was a bit too much shouting and people pushing and pulling each other about. There was also a lot of onstage-offstage which probably would have worked better on the stage than on the screen. I didn’t find the way Mortimer treated his wife very funny either, the film would have worked almost as well without that sub-plot, although I suppose it was necessary for the revelation that he isn’t actually related to all these crazy people to work. They could have given her more to do than shriek and get shoved out of doors, though.

That was my pick for you Thursday. It's funny you mention that this would have worked better on stage because the first time I saw this story was in a german puppet theater piece and I found it amazing.

About the frenetic side of it, I had no problems with it because I kind of expect it on a slapstick comedy but I get your point

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.electric-shadows.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F05%2FAQOTWF1.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Bäumer: War isn't the way it looks back here.
or
Paul Bäumer: You still think it's beautiful to die for your country. The first bombardment taught us better. When it comes to dying for country, it's better not to die at all.

I've heard those quotes (same meaning - different words, of course) in almost every war film I've ever seen. I had to let this one soak in a little before trying to say anything. It's quite the movie and there's about 15 quotes I wanted to pull out of it. It's also the movie I was most interested in seeing because of all the movies recommended this time around this is the one I have wanted to see for the longest time but never have.

The story is basically following Paul from recruitment to war vet. He starts off all gung ho for The Motherland thanks to some proper propaganda but quickly makes an about face as soon as he lands on the front. War is not at all what he was led to believe. Yep, hard to believe but the govt. lied. There's no glory. It's all a gigantic mess.

The more I think about this the more I'm liking it. There are a bunch of real hard hitting scenes in it but two really stand out. The first is the overnight in the hole with the stabbed French soldier scene. I thought the acting in that scene was a little dated but the power of that scene still comes through. The second was when Paul goes on leave and sits in on a bunch of older gentleman discussing the war. They have no idea what they're talking about yet have all the answers. In a movie filled with good scenes these were my two favorite.

I'm having a hard time with this because there are movies out there that take a single aspect of this film and make an entire movie based off that one aspect. From basic training, the war, coming home, dealing with the boredom of down times, this really touches all the bases, getting deep enough into each to get it's point across then moving on to the next. It's not seamless but it's well done.

AQotWF is a slow elevator ride going down right up to the last scene. It's influence can't be overstated. Almost every scene you start thinking "oh that reminds me of (name any war movie since 1930)." I'm starting to wish I hadn't sent it back already or I may have given it another watch. Needless to say, I enjoyed it very much.

[cricket]

Congratulations Thursday Next, you are the 3rd member to finish!

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo looked like a good pick for you. I remember it being long but worth it.

I watched All Quiet on the Western Front for another HoF and it's up there with the best war movies I've seen.

[Thursday Next]

All Quiet on the Western Front is the one book I would recommend to everyone to read. The film version is pretty darn good.

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftwscritic.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fparis-texas-1986.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Paris, Texas
Walt: I thought you were afraid of heights.
Travis: I'm not afraid of heights. I'm afraid of fallin'.

This is one I started watching over last summer, made it about 40 minutes in and fell asleep. Anyway, I was glad to see it was nominated because who knows if I ever would have made it back to it.

This is going to be one of them movies that I really liked but have a hard time explaining why. At it's most basic, I guess I would say this is about a man reconciling with his past. Everything in Paris, Texas moves so deliberately that it almost feels as if it isn't moving at all, yet it's never boring. It's a character driven movie, for sure, and the performances are all very good to great. Harry Dean Stanton, love this guy, is really good as the lost brother of Dean Stockwell with mysterious past. It was nice to see him get a starring role and the role is perfect for him. He's one of them actors who can tell you so much of what a character is thinking just by altering the lines on his face or drooping his eyes a bit. That come in handy especially near the beginning of the film. I've had my issue with kid actors in the past but the little tyke in this one is pretty good. Mature beyond his years and never annoying. Finally, Nastassja Kinski has never been what I thought of as a great actress but in the final couple of scenes she's outstanding. Okay, she looks great too (her dad is who?!?) but I already knew that. The movie lands on a pretty heavy emotional scene and her and Harry really deliver. That's the thing with Paris, Texas. There's a sadness about it but it's not a sad film. But it kind of is. Eh, maybe I read it wrong the entire time. I don't know. Really good nomination from Cricket, I think.

And with that, I'm done. Gonna be a logjam at the top of my rankings. Nice job everyone and thank you!

[cricket]

Congratulations Fredrick, you are the 4th member to finish!

I wanted to see Paris, Texas for a long time and finally did when it was nominated for me in the first Personal Recommendation HoF. Good flick!

[Thursday Next]

Glad you liked Paris, Texas @HeyFredrik

I really must rewatch that one soon.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm ready for PR3

[cricket]

I'm ready for PR3

I'm about there but we need the slackers to pick it up!

[edarsenal]

finished Almost Famous two days ago and gonna get a write up tonight and the send out my vote. This is NOT gonna be easy

[HashtagBrownies]

MAJOR apologies for the long absence.

71806

The story of a man who learns to take full advantage of life once he learns he's about to die. I really enjoyed this one. Thematically it has a lot to say about life and modern society: About how difficult it is to break your monotonous routine unless you have a life-changing event, or how government officials rarely care about the concerns of the people. Takashi Shimura is an amazing actor; he so effectively portrays Watanabes feelings of guilt, sadness and fear. I also like Kurosawa's direction, how he constantly uses close-ups to show character's expressions.

I do have to say thought, I wasn't a big fan of the approach that the second half of the film took: Just as Watanabe is about to turn his life about, the film changes perspective to his workers who discuss his last few months of life. I do understand this was done so the film could make a point about bureaucracy, but I feel the film would've been much more effective if the focus was kept on Watanabe in the second half.

Thanks to whoever picked this one.

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

gonna try to devote more time to this by the end of this month, hopefully finishing some time in february

[cricket]

gonna try to devote more time to this by the end of this month, hopefully finishing some time in february

That timetable sounds good and I have full faith in you!




Great job Hash, and of course Ikiru is now also on the new mofo top 100!

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ll return to this in the next week. About 5 left to go, so probably about 1 a week should be good. Maybe even fit 2 in one week. I’ve barely watched anything the past week due to work

[Citizen Rules]

finished Almost Famous two days ago and gonna get a write up tonight and the send out my vote. This is NOT gonna be easyVery curious about your thoughts on this one.

[edarsenal]

Very curious about your thoughts on this one.

well, I started writing my review but there seems to continually be bullsh#t going on at work, so this'll have to wait till tomorrow.

[Citizen Rules]

well, I started writing my review but there seems to continually be bullsh#t going on at work, so this'll have to wait till tomorrow.BS at work...bad, sorry to hear that. BTW I watched your nom tonight and will review tomorrow.

[edarsenal]

BS at work...bad, sorry to hear that. BTW I watched your nom tonight and will review tomorrow.
Thanks CR. Much appreciated and VERY curious to hear what you have to say about my nom
I'll be writing up (finally) Almost Famous this afternoon

[edarsenal]

https://i0.wp.com/media3.giphy.com/media/DnK61NfnJdQyI/giphy.gif
https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7ow9w348n1qexgq4o1_500.gif


Almost Famous

William Miller: So Russell. . . what do you love about music?
Russell Hammond: To begin with. . . everything.

Known as "director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of life as a young Rolling Stone reporter", this film is chock full of references and inside remarks from those early 70s daze of touring with a Rock Band and all the good/bad and crazy situations that happen. A lot of them based on similar situations that occurred to Crowe during that time in a rosy-tinted perspective.
Some of the references that I got a kick out of included the remark by the Editor of Rolling Stone warning young William Miller (Patrick Fugit) that they already had one Hunter S. Thompson and they didn't need another one. As well as the acidic writer Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who, for a time, worked for Detroit based rock magazine, Creem magazine. He'd eventually die of an overdose in the early 80s.

Like he often did, Crowe used relative unknowns that would become very well known, such as Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Noah Taylor, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin and Zooey Deschanel. Along with Jay & Silent Bob regular Jason Lee as the singer of the fictitious rock band Stillwater that young Miller tours with. The cast does an excellent job and like a number of Crowe's work there are little personal touches that causes you to find yourself happily drawn into this world and those experiencing it.

Much like my previous hesitations with Dazed & Confused from the previous HoF, and being very happy to have finally delved in, it is very much the same with this movie. A very feel-good, throwback to a different time of Rock and Roll.

Thank you to whomever nominated this for me.

[edarsenal]

Like the original HoF this has been filled with some incredible surprises, a few Must Sees! fulfilled and even the one or two that made me wonder "why this one?" were answered beautifully viewing them.

THANK YOU EVERYONE that participated and chose these nominations for me and to the Mastermind behind the curtains, cricket who orchestrates it!!
F@CKIN YAY!!

God knows how I'll get them in a voting order, but I'm off to try and I'll get it sent over shortly.

[cricket]

Congratulations Ed, you are the 5th member to finish!

I didn't think much of Almost Famous the first time I watched it, but then I loved it the second time. It's a recurring theme for me.

[edarsenal]

I had a few hesitations in the beginning but I found myself sort of drifting into the tide as it were as it went on.

[cricket]

I had a few hesitations in the beginning but I found myself sort of drifting into the tide as it were as it went on.

Nice drift!

[edarsenal]

Nice drift!

drugs. . . ya gotta love 'em

[neiba]

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

A very impressive noir that almost seems too American to be French! Of course, the fact that Dassin was American makes it so, but still, I can't imagine the people's reaction to this when it came out in France.

The storytelling and cinematography are superb and so is the soundtrack. I was unsure about the sound editing in the beginning but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the film, especially during the robbery scene! The pacing of this is also terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole 2 hours.

The acting is quite fine by all the male actors, but I didn't think the women were well chosen. Mano is a weak femme fatale (though she's not given enough screen time to make it otherwise) and the singer has the weirdest facial expressions.

Great nom whoever it was!!

3.5 +

[Hey Fredrick]

Just watched Almost Famous again over Thanksgiving with my step son whose taste in movies couldn't be more different than mine. Messing with him, I recommended Irreversible, A Serbian Film and a few others to which he replied "Ugh, I'm not gonna watch your crap. Find something good" Since he just discovered classic rock, he asked me last summer if I had ever heard of the band Boston? (Uh...no. Never. Where are they from?) I thought Almost Famous would be a good choice. I really like it and he ended up loving it. It's nothing flashy, just a good story.

[cricket]

I says what is the movie with the long ass title that Neiba watched. Then I figure out it's Rififi. Of course a normal person probably would have noticed that Rififi was part of that long ass title. Anyway, great movie!

[edarsenal]

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

A very impressive noir that almost seems too American to be French! Of course, the fact that Dassin was American makes it so, but still, I can't imagine the people's reaction to this when it came out in France.

The storytelling and cinematography are superb and so is the soundtrack. I was unsure about the sound editing in the beginning but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the film, especially during the robbery scene! The pacing of this is also terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole 2 hours.

The acting is quite fine by all the male actors, but I didn't think the women were well chosen. Mano is a weak femme fatale (though she's not given enough screen time to make it otherwise) and the singer has the weirdest facial expressions.

Great nom whoever it was!!

3.5 +
C'est moi.
Loved this film when I saw it in the first Rec HoF and had a good feeling you'd enjoy it.
I've seen a few other French noir films previously and more since, and I'm pretty hooked to see a whole lot more.
The sans music during the robbery is excellent and occurs in Le Trou (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054407/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0), Asphalt Jungle (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042208/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0), and a few others that I can't think of now, but it really added far more tension than a musical score would.

And I'd imagine the French's response was similar to this:
https://media3.giphy.com/media/3o6ozr8OQVhR1CNv4k/source.gif
Though seriously, I imagine it was very favorable considering the several I've come across, including one of Melville's Le Doulos (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054821/?ref_=vp_back) which is slang for a hat and refers to a police informer, where the criminals all drive massive American cars. So far, they've all have a similar tone to them while still being very French.

[Citizen Rules]

Almost Famous

Some of the references that I got a kick out of included the remark by the Editor of Rolling Stone warning young William Miller (Patrick Fugit) that they already had one Hunter S. Thompson and they didn't need another one...It's been a looong time since I seen Almost Famous but I remember really liking it as it allowed me to feel like I was there going along for the ride...and of course I remember a lot of those times, well not everything that happens in the movie of course! I liked the Hunter S. Thompson reference too, probably because I had just seen something about Thompson so knew what the reference meant. I figured you'd like this.

[edarsenal]

It's been a looong time since I seen Almost Famous but I remember really liking it as it allowed me to feel like I was there going along for the ride...and of course I remember a lot of those times, well not everything that happens in the movie of course! I liked the Hunter S. Thompson reference too, probably because I had just seen something about Thompson so knew what the reference meant. I figured you'd like this.
It did.
In fact, there wasn't a single film in the lot I did not like. Making it nearly impossible when I made my voting list and felt horrible for the bottom half of the list since on any other list they'd all be very high. If I could have simply had a top three and stuffed them all in there I would have.

[Citizen Rules]

It did.
In fact, there wasn't a single film in the lot I did not like. Making it nearly impossible when I made my voting list and felt horrible for the bottom half of the list since on any other list they'd all be very high. If I could have simply had a top three and stuffed them all in there I would have.I just took a gander at the movies chosen for you and I'm not surprised you liked them all, they all look pretty damn good. I even see a couple movies that I had considered for you...so I guess we're all starting to get the hang of this and honing in on what someone likes.

Ed's movies:
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Almost Famous (2000)
The Apartment (1960)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
Cabaret (1972)
Marty (1955)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Spartacus (1960)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Wages of Fear (1953)

That's a nice haul there! I've not seen The Wages of Fear or A Taste of Honey but both look to be to my liking. All the rest I've really liked.

[edarsenal]

I just took a gander at the movies chosen for you and I'm not surprised you liked them all, they all look pretty damn good. I even see a couple movies that I had considered for you...so I guess we're all starting to get the hang of this and honing in on what someone likes.

Ed's movies:
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Almost Famous (2000)
The Apartment (1960)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
Cabaret (1972)
Marty (1955)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Spartacus (1960)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Wages of Fear (1953)



Well, ya all know my @ss, that's fer sure.
It was all glorious for me
and at such a buffet of varying viewing experiences. . .

all and each a f@ckin delight.


THANK YOU ALL

Hopefully, now and again, I return the favor.
That's a nice haul there! I've not seen The Wages of Fear or A Taste of Honey but both look to be to my liking. All the rest I've really liked.
Oh yeah! you'll enjoy both of those. Especially Taste of Honey, I think.
Pretty excited to read that review. :)

[edarsenal]

Congratulations Ed, you are the 5th member to finish!

I got an internal chuckle out of this.

::Insert an example for the definition of the word Slacker::

Being normally in the last three to finish HoFs I was f@ckin giddy that I HAD 4th Place.
BUT my slow @ss took 5th
:D:D:rotfl:

[HashtagBrownies]

71876

First off I'll say this: I do like Dracula films, but considering that they're all based on the same book, I find it difficult to get invested in them/love them due to them all having nearly the same plot (even if they differ stylistically). Still though, I wanted to give this version of Nosferatu a chance. While I am glad it exists and have good things to say about it, I probably would've liked it ALOT more if I hadn't already seen the original Nosferatu, since they both follow nearly the same story beats.
Taking a silent film and remaking it can be good sometimes, because it allows you to apply sound in ways that just wouldn't have been possible with the original. I think this version of Nosferatu does it really well, whether it be the creepy noises Kinski makes as he nears his victims or his footsteps in shadowy corridors.I also have to mention the score by Popol Vuh, which is just as amazing and as transcendent as it is in Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo.
The film is also a great example of how good Herzog is at shooting nature; The scene of Harker travelling on foot to Dracula's castle is a great example of this. Everyone gave a good performance all around also, and I liked the change in the ending.

Thanks to whoever picked this.

[cricket]

That has to be one of the better remakes, horror or otherwise.

Great work Hash!

[Thursday Next]

The score is the thing I remember most about Nosferatu, very good.

[edarsenal]

have not seen this remake but often wanted to.

[Wyldesyde19]

Herzog’s Nosferatu is a joy to watch, with some really great cinematography. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it, and I’m not sure if I prefer it over the original, which I also love, but admittedly has it’s issues.

[HashtagBrownies]

72144

I'm not a squeamish person when it comes to violence and gore, but something about people biting into other's necks just makes me squirm. This film is probably the most graphic depiction of vampire bites I've seen on film, and I got to respect 'Interview With The Vampire' for that. I like the approach it takes to the vampire mythos: that everything is untrue except they still drink blood and die in sunlight, also the blood can only come from a living being. I think more writers should mix up and change the vampire rules, so as to not have the genre grow stale.
The performances are all good; I feel the old accents that Pitt and Cruise use helped to add a sense of extravagance and mystery to their characters, showing that there's something just a little off about them even when they're pretending to be human. The brief moments of dark comedy were effective. All of the sets and lighting are well done, and are great in how they add to the gothic tone.

Apart from that I don't have much to say, most of my interest in the film just came from the story and how it was told.

Thanks to whoever picked this, definitely have to see more Neil Jordan films.

[cricket]

I really liked that movie but I haven't seen it in years.

Good work Hash!

[Wyldesyde19]

Didn’t care for Interview with a Vampire.

Edit: to elaborate, I found it flat, and maybe it had something to do with the fact I read the book a few years before it, but it never lived up to its potential

[TheUsualSuspect]

Deliverance

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/2TrAzNJlHyNYYSkQf6asg3rs2Xr.jpg

3.5


I had come to know this movie as the Hillbilly rape-revenge flick but consider my surprise when I find out this was more of a survival film fighting the elements of mother nature. Sure the added dangers of dead bodies piling up create tension and logistical problems for our characters, but it was interesting to me to see how this movie has been known for one scene and one scene only for decades since its release. There is so much more to dive into with this movie and I'm glad I finally sat down to watch it.

When four friends decide to go on a canoeing trip down the Cahulawassee River before it becomes one giant lake, they run into problems when two members find themselves at odds with two mountain men who sexually assault and threaten to kill them. In an act of self-defense, one of the mountain men is killed and the four friends must decide what to do with the body and how to navigate the rest of the dangerous waters.

Pleasantly surprised by this one. With beautiful cinematography, tense action sequences and suspense at almost every corner, deliverance delivers a solid time. It was nice to see Reynolds, the 'star' be side-lined with a broken leg and have us now spend time with Jon Voight. He's less sure of himself and we as an audience lose confidence in them making it out of this alive.

Solid nomination.

[cricket]

Hooray Suspect, glad to see you're still on the forum!

I love Deliverance and have seen it many times. It was on in a bar one time, and when going out for a cig, I jokingly said to my wife, come get me if it's time for the rape. Came back in and we finished our drinks and were leaving, and some lady says, aren't you going to stay for the rape?

[Hey Fredrick]

Interview With a Vampire is one of a handful of vampire movies I enjoy and a lot of it has to do with Kirsten Dunst. Cutest little kid and just nasty. She did great. I remember when it was being made and the set was closed off as the studio didn't want anyone to see Tom all made up as it was such a different role than we we used to seeing from him. I thought it was one of his better performances.

Deliverance is also good but it's not something you pop in for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon.

[Citizen Rules]

I've been meaning to rewatch Interview with a Vampire, I've only seen it once but like Hey Fredrick just posted a lot of that film's credit goes to Kirsten Dunst's performance as a kid vampire. I don't remember much about though, so a good reason to check it out again sometime.

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

the exterminating angel
https://www.slantmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2003/09/exterminatingangel.jpg
of the three bunuels i've seen, i'd say this slightly edges out belle de jour and un chien andalou as my favorite. i have my misgivings about the film as a whole, but without question the thing that makes this movie work is bunuel's refusal to explicitly identify the force keeping these people in the room. cinema is so much more compelling when it deals in the unexplainable, so i appreciate any movie in which the very premise deliberately makes no logical sense. the fact that their entrapment seems essentially self-imposed rather than external is so much more interesting and, most importantly, funnier. the resolution of the film clearly implies it in some way stemmed from a breakdown in social order, which bunuel uses to show the rot at the heart of the decadence of the ruling class when they are stripped of their social etiquette and material excess, one of the purest distillations of marxism i've seen on screen. or, conversely, you could argue he's showing that same rot by leaving them with ONLY that etiquette and excess, as they are trapped in the very room in which they congregate in de facto celebration of their lavish lifestyles.

my only quibble is that the film feels distinctly sociological rather than dramatic, which is why it lends itself to such fascinating analysis, but it also precludes any sort of emotional investment on the part of the audience. i admire the lack of sympathetic characters because that's how it should be when you're dealing with rich pricks, but it would've been cooler if they also felt like actual fully-formed characters. instead they're basically just manifestations of various upper-class components that we must observe from a distance, with no psychological insight aside from what bunuel deems necessary for his satirical purposes. i suppose this is why some would say it's ill-advised to make a film where you hate all your characters, but i respect his purposes too much to really hold it against him or the film. under normal circumstances i would probably care even less about a film not having sympathetic characters because i usually think that's a lame complaint for such biting satire, but when the bulk of a film's satirical content can simply be found in its premise, once the premise has been established you aren't left with much to latch on to. luckily bunuel does find some clever and entertaining elucidations on his central theme so i was never bored, but i'd still say its fairly unsatisfying on a dramatic level. but that's really only a minor complaint when you consider what the film is going for. very much looking forward to the other bunuel i have to watch for this.

4-

[cricket]

Thanks for checking in Inmate! I don't know if it'd be the same for you, but my favorite from that director is That Obscure Object of Desire.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Hooray Suspect, glad to see you're still on the forum!


Yup. Again, sorry for the lateness. But I will be going through my list at a quicker rate now.

[Wyldesyde19]

Going to hit up Letters from an unknown Woman tomorrow.

[Hey Fredrick]

Caught a couple of Bunuel last year, Viridiana and Simon of the Desert. I really liked Viridiana, one of the best movies I watched last year, and thought Simon, which is a short, was very good as well. Have been wanting to see Exterminating Angel just haven't gotten around to it.

[Wyldesyde19]

So, can’t find A Letter from an Unknown Woman available to stream or rent at my local, and the same with the Innocents.
So plan C. Watching A Woman Under the Influence instead.
Eventually, and not right now, but probably in a few weeks, I’ll need to ask for links for those two.
But for now, I’m fine.

[gbgoodies]

So, can’t find A Letter from an Unknown Woman available to stream or rent at my local, and the same with the Innocents.
So plan C. Watching A Woman Under the Influence instead.
Eventually, and not right now, but probably in a few weeks, I’ll need to ask for links for those two.
But for now, I’m fine.


I think both of these movies are on YouTube for free.

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tTGu7ndZGI


The Innocents - (1961):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0P4yNjMUvA&vl=en

[Wyldesyde19]

I think both of these movies are on YouTube for free.

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tTGu7ndZGI


The Innocents - (1961):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0P4yNjMUvA&vl=en

If all else fails, I guess I can. Not a fan of watching them via YouTube.

[gbgoodies]

If all else fails, I guess I can. Not a fan of watching them via YouTube.


I only skimmed through them quickly to see if they were the full movies, but at a quick glance, they both look like they're nice copies.

[Wyldesyde19]

I only skimmed through them quickly to see if they were the full movies, but at a quick glance, they both look like they're nice copies.

Ok. I’ll probably end up watching them that way then. Thank you! 🙂

[gbgoodies]

Ok. I’ll probably end up watching them that way then. Thank you! 🙂


You're welcome. :)

[Wyldesyde19]

Ok, hunkering down to watch Woman under the Influence now.

[Wyldesyde19]

A Woman Under The Influence


Going into this, I thought it was a film about a woman’s descent into alcoholism. It was the first mistake I would make in my assumption about this film. The second would be expecting a good film.

Rowland’s delivers an a performance filled with overacting full of wild gestures. It’s an exaggerated act with unbalanced scenes. Their idea of a mentally unstable woman is a hollow one.

Falk delivers the best scene's as her husband Nick, but only when he’s alone, and Rowland’s not around flailing about. Nick is an angry person with his own issues, namely a bad temper. He’s angry at his circumstances. For himself and his family. But mostly he’s angry at himself. He doesn’t know what to do with his wife, Mabel. His treatment of her is one that alternates between callousness and exasperation. And his decision haunts him with guilt.

As a whole the film didn’t work for me though. It’s treatment of mental illness was, as I explained earlier, hollow and could have been expanded on more.

Sorry, whoever picked this.

[TheUsualSuspect]

The Elephant Man

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gxcF104iwy6ciAXkU7OLmIJ8h3R.jpg

4


David Lynch doesn't come off as a guy too concerned with emotion that centres around sympathy or dignity. His world and the films that populate his filmography tend to lean towards abstract emotions and the absurd. The Elephant Man walks a fine line of both, with the story being the emotional core element and Lynch offering his usual "Lynchian" style of the abstract and absurd.

Why did it take me so long to watch the film? I don't really have an answer other than maybe the content didn't interest me enough and I thought I might be bored by it.

I was wrong.

This film captured me from the very beginning. It starts off as a typical Lynch film with cross-faded imagery, in this film we get elephants and the violent distress of a woman. We later find out that the woman is the mother of the deformed John Merrick. The first thing I thought of was how striking the black and white cinematography is and more importantly, how appropriate it was for this film. Seeing Hopkins walk down the smoke-filled alleys trying to find his way to the Elephant Man was beautifully done and not only set the tone of the film but transported me to that time and place. Very few films manage to capture that feeling and this film did it wonderfully.

Here is a film with genuine emotional performances. Hurt does a really good job bringing this character to life, being timid and afraid of people in the beginning and eventually crawling out of his shell. People have pointed, laughed and hit him his whole life and now someone is showing genuine care towards him. He doesn't know how to react at first but eventually sees that he can live a better life. I was utterly gutted when he was captured and whisked away to France to perform for 'Freakshows" I thought to myself, this is going to end depressingly, isn't it? Then he managed to get away, but then we get an angry mob chasing after him and my mind went back to the depressing angle. Are these people going to beat this man to death because he looks like a monster? Then we get that iconic line from him claiming he is not an animal.

The Elephant Man is a depressing look at how our society is willing to shun a brilliant mind due to their exterior complications. This man enjoys books, the theatre, drinking tea and building miniatures...yet all people can see is a monster and they treat him as such. Such is true in life, and if I ever feel bad about how my life is going, I just have to turn to this film to remind myself how truly good I've got it.

[cricket]

Hey finally someone else who thought Falk was better than Rowlands, though it's unfortunate you didn't like the film more. I don't know how many movies you've seen from John Cassavetes, but I think he might be a bit of an acquired taste.

Hooray Mr. Suspect! Now that you're done with the countdown, I bet you're going to roll right through this!

[Wyldesyde19]

Hey finally someone else who thought Falk was better than Rowlands, though it's unfortunate you didn't like the film more. I don't know how many movies you've seen from John Cassavetes, but I think he might be a bit of an acquired taste.

Hooray Mr. Suspect! Now that you're done with the countdown, I bet you're going to roll right through this!

I’ve seen The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and that’s it. It was ok. I found Husbands is available for streaming via Amazon so I saved it for a future watch. He has a rather small filmography, so I should be able to crank out them over time.

[cricket]

I’ve seen The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and that’s it. It was ok. I found Husbands is available for streaming via Amazon so I saved it for a future watch. He has a rather small filmography, so I should be able to crank out them over time.

Out of what I've seen, Chinese Bookie is my favorite. Even more than that, I love Mikey and Nicky, starring Cassevettes, but not directed by, but it's the same style.

[Wyldesyde19]

Will start Letter From an Unknown Woman and The Innocents this weekend. Reviews to follow.

[Citizen Rules]

Will start Letter From an Unknown Woman and The Innocents this weekend. Reviews to follow.I've seen them both a couple times and liked them too. Looking forward to reading your thoughts (on the previously mentioned movies that is:p)

[Wyldesyde19]

I've seen them both a couple times and liked them too. Looking forward to reading your thoughts (on the previously mentioned movies that is:p)

Really looking forward to them. 3 day weekend gives me plenty of time to watch them as well as rent a few other movies for the 24th.

[Citizen Rules]

Really looking forward to them. 3 day weekend gives me plenty of time to watch them as well as rent a few other movies for the 24th.Oh, a 3 day weekend, that must be nice! Me? work, work, work all 3 days:(

[Wyldesyde19]

Oh, a 3 day weekend, that must be nice! Me? work, work, work all 3 days:(

Yeah. That’s rough.
I got lucky it was my shifts turn in the rotation for the weekend off. Coupled with President’s Day, I aim to take full advantage of it during the weather.

[cricket]

I only have 1 left, just been waiting for some slackers to catch up.

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/the-discreet-charm-of-the-bourgeoisie-1972/EB19720101REVIEWS201010306AR.jpg
this one has always been near the top of my list for movies i haven't seen but desperately wanted to. i thought it was pretty good but also a little disappointing, although maybe that's on me for always building up movies in my head. i love it conceptually for the same reasons i really liked the exterminating angel, but i have a hard time getting on the wavelength of bunuel's dry surrealism, idk. the conceit of a group of rich people perpetually unable to consummate their dinner parties with actual eating is wonderful, but the obstacles are never as clever as you want them to be (except for the fake turkey one, that part ruled) and its maybe just a bit too discursive. i'd rather it committed to its schematic structure even further because the narrative digressions never really amounted to much in my mind. the lack of compelling characters is i think at least partly intentional because bunuel is showing how their dinner-party lifestyle has drained these people of any discernible personality, but it still leaves me cold. pauline kael writes approvingly of bunuel's "relaxed" direction in this film, but to me it just feels utterly without rhythm or comedic timing so the comedy comes across as lifeless. i can appreciate the way he plays with structure but he seems completely disinterested in basic filmmaking concerns so the formal trickery is all there is. it's possible to throw away all narrative rules and still make a film that's compelling.

with that said, i still like the movie overall. i admire bunuel's contempt for these people and their way of life. a lot of individual moments worked for me, especially the shots of them walking down the street, seemingly on a road nowhere. i appreciate how matter-of-factly he presents the absurd, even if it can also be a hindrance for me at times. the aesthetic is simple, but he still utilizes camera movement quite effectively. i was never bored really, just perpetually in a mild state of amusement that i thought would improve as the film went along, but it never really did aside from a few moments. still looking forward to exploring more bunuel, i think i could get on his wavelength eventually.

3.5

[cricket]

Beautiful work Inmate, keep it up!

I think that was the first Bunuel I saw. I'm not generally a fan of the surreal so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

[Citizen Rules]

I only have 1 left, just been waiting for some slackers to catch up.Get that whip out:D

[Siddon]

can I get a link with subtitles to La Collectionneusse (1967)?

[Citizen Rules]

can I get a link with subtitles to La Collectionneusse (1967)?I got one, I'll PM you.

[Siddon]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gXyxi-jnKxw/hqdefault.jpg


Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring(2003)


So this is a South Korean film who never made a film I had seen before so this was an experience. I understand why this film was picked for me because I can recognize the quality in the film making. Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring tells the story of a Buddhist monk who raises a young pupil through several chapters of his life. Each segment basically has it's own lessons though to be frank I found myself so board with this I couldn't really keep up.


The plotting is just so predictable all the cool things the filmmaker does (we don't get names, we don't see the crime, we don't know the disease) is all somewhat wasted I suppose it's supposed to be meditative but for me I just left the film feeling empty wishing there was more to it or that the lessons weren't so shallow. It was a good idea for a nom but a flop for me.

[cricket]

Wow, this is like the page of the slackers!

Good job Siddon:)

As for that movie, no comment.

[Siddon]

https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/great-movie-la-collectionneuse-1967/EB20120514REVIEWS08120519995AR.jpg


The Collector (1967)


I'm not a huge fan of Rohmer's moral tales series but this was the best of the bunch. The Collector tells the story of several middle aged men who end up summering at a rental home. When getting into the home they come across a teenage nymph type character and we get a sexually charged tale.



The characters were well defined, Haydee Politoff works well as the teenage cypher who is fairly boring and child like but also very sexual and fairly manipulative. Patrick Bauchau is a solid lead what makes the sexual situation work is that both characters are on the same level morally. I didn't feel the need to root for anyone and that helped dive into the moral issues of the film.


Much like the other film I watched this also dragged on a bit, but it went by a bit quicker by utilizing supporting actors changing the scenery and getting more into the personalities of the main players.

[cricket]

That is also my favorite of what I've seen from Rohmer.

[HashtagBrownies]

73242

This is the kinda Western I like, where everyone and everything is rough, dirty and violent. An aspect of the film that I found really interesting was the way it handles justice and bounty hunters. In the westerns I've seen, the bounty hunters are always depicted as the good guys; Upholders of the law. In this film, they're depicted as the bad guys. The murders committed by the bounty hunters are often unprovoked or in the presence of their family members. I guess, in this way, the film promotes the idea of lawlessness more than most westerns (considering the heroes are outlaws instead of bounty hunters).

It's almost pointless at this point to acknowledge the score, Morricone score's are always wonderful. The absence of music is also used well because the constant wind from the snowstorms adds to the film's atmosphere. The snow makes for a really lonely and interesting setting. Jean Louis Trintignant is a great screen presence because of how he manages to emote our silent protagonist. Kinski is good as the villain too.

I know the film had quite a dark tone throughout, but I still wasn't expecting that ending. Quite the gutpunch.

Thanks to whoever picked this, definitely worthy of a rewatch.

[cricket]

That's a great western and I think I'd like to see it again myself.

Way to go Hash!

[edarsenal]

73242

This is the kinda Western I like, where everyone and everything is rough, dirty and violent. An aspect of the film that I found really interesting was the way it handles justice and bounty hunters. In the westerns I've seen, the bounty hunters are always depicted as the good guys; Upholders of the law. In this film, they're depicted as the bad guys. The murders committed by the bounty hunters are often unprovoked or in the presence of their family members. I guess, in this way, the film promotes the idea of lawlessness more than most westerns (considering the heroes are outlaws instead of bounty hunters).

It's almost pointless at this point to acknowledge the score, Morricone score's are always wonderful. The absence of music is also used well because the constant wind from the snowstorms adds to the film's atmosphere. The snow makes for a really lonely and interesting setting. Jean Louis Trintignant is a great screen presence because of how he manages to emote our silent protagonist. Kinski is good as the villain too.

I know the film had quite a dark tone throughout, but I still wasn't expecting that ending. Quite the gutpunch.

Thanks to whoever picked this, definitely worthy of a rewatch.

When I saw that you enjoyed spaghetti westerns and saw you haven't seen this I KNEW it'll be one for you to enjoy. Glad to hear it.
about the gut punch of an ending. The first time I saw this I sat slack-jawed for quite a while afterward. Talk about an anti-western ending!! Which, along with everything else this films offers up, really sets it into the higher echelon of it's genre.

[Wyldesyde19]

Letter From an Unknown Woman


Stefan Brand had it all. A lauded career as a pianist and legions of fans. One of which was a shy, barefoot girl who lived next door who became obsessed with him. He hardly noticed her, as she was beneath his notice at the time. Little did he know how important she would become to his life.
The film begins with him receiving a letter from an unknown woman. It begins mysteriously with “By the time you receive this I will have died.” Right away the movie hooks you. Who is Thai mysterious woman? How did she fit into his life and what caused her death?
We get answers to these, and more, but they aren’t the point. We watch as Lisa, played with skillfully by Joan Fontaine, slowly becomes obsessed with Brand. She becomes immersed in his world. She takes dancing lesson, etiquette classes and learns all about the great pianists to better appreciate his music. It isn’t until year later, that he first really notices her upon their second meeting. He doesn’t remember here.
A romance follows. He leaves her, while she is unknowingly pregnant, and their lives go on. Until one faithful night where they meet again. Of course he doesn’t remember her.
The romance drags a little but the movie managers to get back on track when they meet for the third time. By this point her life has improved as she has married a man of stature and his career has gone downhill.
It’s sad watching Lisa totally in love with him, while he could care less. He’s caught up up in his own selfishness. He never really sees her for what she could be but rather what represents. She’s nothing more then a conquest to him.

I’m sure I’m missing out on down other details to this film. My mind is jumbled from having watched it, where I’m still processing it. But it’s a really good film, that hit me in the feels as I watched this woman grow, and sadly risked throwing it all away because of a love that isn’t reciprocated from his end. I felt for them both. I’m still trying to process my thoughts as I typed this.
It’s a good film. One I suspect will improve upon a rewatch. That’s a testament to how much I enjoyed Fontaine in this.
Solid pick.

[cricket]

Great movie^^^^!

[Wyldesyde19]

Great movie^^^^!
It really was. I was struck by how good Fontaine was. And it was so sad!

[Wyldesyde19]

I’ll be watching The Innocents today. Review to come later.

[cricket]

Just a thought if we can wrap this up soon. How do people feel about Personal Recommendation HoF III: the Foreign Language edition?

Assuming that will be the next countdown

[TheUsualSuspect]

I'm blasting through these this week. Sorry everyone!!!!!




Classic Suspect.

[Wyldesyde19]

Just a thought if we can wrap this up soon. How do people feel about Personal Recommendation HoF III: the Foreign Language edition?

Assuming that will be the next countdown

I like that idea.

[HashtagBrownies]

73378

I always like when a film has a unique plot idea, so this film was a treat. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the characters: Our main character Sidney starts out as a loud, carefree man with a 'kill or be killed' attitude to life. He seems to only adopt this surface in front of specific people however, as every scene in which he is talking with the villain J.J. he acts weak and is almost sympathetic. In comparison, J.J. is a towering, threatening force that will manipulate anyone and anything in order to get his own way. Every scene where these two characters interacted was tense and engaging.

All the comments people make about the film's script are true; the way characters argue and express their emotions is so interesting. One thing that bothers me about old movies is the constant use of a loud, melodramatic soundtrack, so I was very pleased with this film's jazzy soundtrack that's only used in the most intense moments or scene transitions. Since it's a noir, it uses light and shadows very well to enhance the dark atmosphere of these characters. I guess if I had one bad thing to say about the film, it's that the story takes a bit too long to get going.

Big thanks to whoever recommended this, one of my favourites from this HOF so far.

[cricket]

Nice going Hash no slacker there!

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=73378

I always like when a film has a unique plot idea, so this film was a treat. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the characters: Our main character Sidney starts out as a loud, carefree man with a 'kill or be killed' attitude to life. He seems to only adopt this surface in front of specific people however, as every scene in which he is talking with the villain J.J. he acts weak and is almost sympathetic. In comparison, J.J. is a towering, threatening force that will manipulate anyone and anything in order to get his own way. Every scene where these two characters interacted was tense and engaging.

All the comments people make about the film's script are true; the way characters argue and express their emotions is so interesting. One thing that bothers me about old movies is the constant use of a loud, melodramatic soundtrack, so I was very pleased with this film's jazzy soundtrack that's only used in the most intense moments or scene transitions. Since it's a noir, it uses light and shadows very well to enhance the dark atmosphere of these characters. I guess if I had one bad thing to say about the film, it's that the story takes a bit too long to get going.

Big thanks to whoever recommended this, one of my favourites from this HOF so far.Glad to see there's another fan. It's in my Top 10!

[Wyldesyde19]

The Innocents


I’ve spent the last few days letting this percolate in my head as I wrestled with what I just witnessed. I was astounded by it. Confused. Lost. Much like The Governess and the children. I felt their confusion.

I still can’t figure out the meaning. Or what happened. I’m left trying to piece together what happened. I’m sure someone can explain it better. But the story, as complex as it seemed, wasn’t the only thing I enjoyed. Clayton’s use of shadows, mist, eerie sounds, and closeups of Kerrs frightened face was effective at setting the mood.

And the kids. So creepy. It is t easy to get such an effective performance from children, partially Martin Stephens as Miles. He oozes creepiness.

I mean, this is a great movie. It’s easy to see it’s influence on future films. It’s unsettling. Especially it’s ending. But I still have to wonder. What’s it all about?

Thank you whoever picked it. Home run.

[cricket]

2 great movies in a row for Wyldesyde, very nice!

[Citizen Rules]

The Innocents won the 17th HoF, it was Siddon's nom. Such a great movie! It's been remade at least a couple different times and each version has a different take and feel about what is or isn't going on.

[Wyldesyde19]

The Innocents won the 17th HoF, it was Siddon's nom. Such a great movie! It's been remade at least a couple different times and each version has a different take and feel about what is or isn't going on.

I’m still confused by the ending. But that’s perhaps a testament to how well it was made.

[Dobb]

When I saw that you enjoyed spaghetti westerns and saw you haven't seen this I KNEW it'll be one for you to enjoy. Glad to hear it.
about the gut punch of an ending. The first time I saw this I sat slack-jawed for quite a while afterward. Talk about an anti-western ending!! Which, along with everything else this films offers up, really sets it into the higher echelon of it's genre.

One of my favorites! Spaghettis are the lifeblood of all Westerns, IMO.
Klaus Kinski and Lee Van Cleef had a scene here which I will never forget. Actors doing 5 star work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Awv1n438I

[Dobb]

Pan's Labyrinth

Here's one I saw for the 3rd time (so far) last night. Extraordinary acting, the horrors of war, good and evil, innocence of children, bravery, cowardice and sacrifice...
Special effects and fantasy setting are not only creative and unique, but blend well into the psyche of a distraught child's mind, and her ability to cope.

I'm a certified, crazed celluloidphile, and my list of likes are too long to recall, but this is one is right up there with my favorite movies which doesn't really have a hard and fast category.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcHasH-nLhU

[Citizen Rules]

I’m still confused by the ending. But that’s perhaps a testament to how well it was made.Yup and that's why the movie is so good...as it can be interrupted so many ways.

[cricket]

Just a thought if we can wrap this up soon. How do people feel about Personal Recommendation HoF III: the Foreign Language edition?

Assuming that will be the next countdown

????