The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame IV

[Citizen Rules]

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2229689#post2229689)
I think that many MoFos are so desensitized to violence by the movies that they watch, that they don't view brutal killings as shown in Zodiac as much of a big deal. But I don't watch slasher horror films, etc.
Thanks for your reply Frederick. I'll break up my answers into individual replies:

Sorry I'm a little late to this and I'm not trying to stir things up again.I never felt like anyone was stirring things up, in fact I'm glad people took the time to reply to my review of Zodiac. So no worries:)

but it's not so much some of us are desensitized to violence it's just that there's different types of violence. Totally agree that there are different types of movie violence. It's hard to describe in a few quick words exactly what I dislike (and what I don't mind seeing) in movie violence. Though as an aside, I do think people who watch a lot of modern R violence will be less sensitive to it then someone like me who 'lives' in the 1950s (movie/TV wise that is):p

I understand that you don't like that stuff but I don't think it's fair to compare a slasher films violence with something like Zodiac. It's different. They are trying to elicit a completely different response from the viewer. In a slasher film it's purely visual. Kind of a look how creative we can be killing folks and what we can do with the fx type thing. What I was trying to relay by saying the lake side killing scene was like a slasher/horror film (to me), was the emotional response it created in me. A very tense home invasion film with a helpless family struggling for their lives would also create the same kind of negative anxiety in me.

For me it's not about the intent of the director or the logical use of the violence. I just plain found it very uncomfortable..And yes I know that's the point of the movie scene.

There's a purpose to it in Zodiac just like there's a reason Spielberg shows the extreme violence in something like Schindler's List or Gibson did in The Passion of the Christ. I've seen both Schindler's List and The Passion of the Chris, and wasn't bothered at all by the violence in them. In fact I think I was eating pizza last time I watched Schindler's List. Not that I don't take the subject matter seriously but it doesn't bother me to watch a movie about it. I've also seen plenty of real, dead rotting bodies in Holocaust documentaries and it's very sad, but doesn't produce the same anxiety feeling as watching a couple tied up and executed in a realistic scene.

I can watch a person, hung upside down, be sawed in half with everything spilling out on the docks, in a slasher film and think it's great fun (Terrifier). That doesn't desensitize me to the violence in other, dare I say, more serious movies. When I watch something like Grand Canyon and see Kevin Kline barely slice his finger open with a paring knife, it makes me squirm. There's a reality to the scene in Grand Canyon that's not there in slasher films.I mean desensitized to movie violence only, not desensitized to real world violence, (and yes you didn't mention real world violence, I just want to throw that out there to be clear on my meaning to all who read this.)

[edarsenal]

Some excellent specifics and the various reactions brought up by both Frederick and CR. Made me think of Memories of Murder that I watched this weekend.
It's an interesting point on how we react can vary on what type of film we are watching just on its own.
Case in point, since it's so fresh in my mind enough to make it a conscious consideration; watching this Bong Joon Ho film and being a fan of him, appreciating the dark, quirky comedic play he does, causes me to chuckle at most of the violence throughout the film. The exceptions being the murders themselves.

An interesting concept of perception via representation.

[rauldc14]

Make Way for Tomorrow

https://www.kozaksclassiccinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Make-Way-for-Tomorrow-1937-Featured-Image.jpg

This one was so good. Puts into effect the realities of getting old and the "consequences" of it. I particularly loved the performance of Mrs. Cooper, played terrificly by Beulah Bondi. Her chemistry with Victor Moore was so on point and their relationship felt so genuine. Love how we are dropped right into the family predicament right at the beginning, it even gives the viewer a sense of uneasiness as to how we would proceed given the same circumstances. It's a film filled with a lot of heartfelt moments. The last third of the film is so good, with them spending time in the city together. This movie is hard to really criticize with any of it's flaws, it just feels so real. Great film!

4.5+

[rauldc14]

The Hurt Locker

Late to write up this one so unfortunately there won't be as much to say as if it were fresh, but this is a brilliantly directed film that puts us into a danger zone of these characters and crazily enough I felt like I was right there. What I like about the film the most is that the tension is basically there from start to finish, you never felt like there was a relaxing moment in the film if that makes sense, which obviously imitates how Bigelow wanted to portray the situation these characters are in. There could have been some more character development to add to the emotional attachment of what happens in the end, but overall I was quite happy with this viewing experience.

3.5+

[cricket]

Way to go Raul!

[rauldc14]

One left for me, Trainspotting. I'll take a solid link if anyone's got it.

[Thief]

In case you haven't noticed, I've put this on hold during August, but I plan to pick things up once September starts. I'm pretty sure I can handle what I have left until the October 15 deadline.

[Citizen Rules]

Link sent to Raul.

[rauldc14]

In case you haven't noticed, I've put this on hold during August, but I plan to pick things up once September starts. I'm pretty sure I can handle what I have left until the October 15 deadline.

But can you handle that AND the 26th HOF? :)

[Thief]

But can you handle that AND the 26th HOF? :)

:shifty:

[Thursday Next]

Make Way for Tomorrow

https://www.kozaksclassiccinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Make-Way-for-Tomorrow-1937-Featured-Image.jpg

This one was so good. Puts into effect the realities of getting old and the "consequences" of it. I particularly loved the performance of Mrs. Cooper, played terrificly by Beulah Bondi. Her chemistry with Victor Moore was so on point and their relationship felt so genuine. Love how we are dropped right into the family predicament right at the beginning, it even gives the viewer a sense of uneasiness as to how we would proceed given the same circumstances. It's a film filled with a lot of heartfelt moments. The last third of the film is so good, with them spending time in the city together. This movie is hard to really criticize with any of it's flaws, it just feels so real. Great film!

4.5+

I knew you would like this one!

[rauldc14]

I knew you would like this one!

If you nominated it, awesome choice!

[rauldc14]

Trying to finish Trainspotting tonight

[rauldc14]

Trainspotting

I didn't care for this at all. It was a pretty strange recommendation so I'll just chalk it up to somebosy loving the film and not necessarily knowing much of my tastes. Drug movies are usually on the bad side of things for me, unless great performances are there. For me, that wasn't the case with this. The scenes with the baby were horrible. I'm also not really sure what Boyle was setting out to do. Just not my kind of film. The word ****e was way too prevalent.

1.5

[Citizen Rules]

Trainspotting

I didn't care for this at all. It was a pretty strange recommendation so I'll just chalk it up to somebosy loving the film and not necessarily knowing much of my tastes. Drug movies are usually on the bad side of things for me, unless great performances are there. For me, that wasn't the case with this. The scenes with the baby were horrible. I'm also not really sure what Boyle was setting out to do. Just not my kind of film. The word ****e was way too prevalent.

rating_1_5Doesn't side like my kind of movie. You know what, I can't figure out what ****e is? And I thought of all the naughty words I know and none of them end in an e. But don't tell me I probably don't even want to know.

[Takoma11]

Doesn't side like my kind of movie. You know what, I can't figure out what ****e is? And I thought of all the naughty words I know and none of them end in an e. But don't tell me I probably don't even want to know.

I believe it's just the "s-word" with an e on the end because British.

I haven't seen Trainspotting in years, but I do remember it having a very distinct tone. One of those films where you totally get why someone might love it, and at the same time can imagine someone hating it.

In the days before I saw Requiem for a Dream it really stood out as a cautionary tale about the danger of addiction.

[edarsenal]

For as terrible I am for picking films for you, raul, but I had a feeling that Trainspotting would not work for you.
It has been a number of years since I last viewed it, but I have enjoyed it, having seen it a few times.

And CR, NO it is not for you. :nope::)

[cricket]

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

I'm a Trainspotting fan but I didn't pick it for you. I picked a different movie you didn't care for.

[rauldc14]

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

I'm a Trainspotting fan but I didn't pick it for you. I picked a different movie you didn't care for.

I'll send my list soon

[Thief]

Hopefully, I will pick this up today again, now that my "Birthday month" is over.

[edarsenal]

Finished Au Revoir Les Enfants today. Should get a review up tonight or this weekend.

[Thursday Next]

Not all surprised Raul didn't like Trainspotting and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for Citizen. I feel like I should rewatch it some time though. I liked the book better.

[Wyldesyde19]

Quite a few people behind with about 6 weeks to go.

[Citizen Rules]

Quite a few people behind with about 6 weeks to go."If you build it, they will come"... and if you make this 6 months long, people will take 6 months. No one really needs that much time. It just encourages people to forget about it. Hell I've forgotten about this until someone bumps the thread.



...and yes I know this wasn't 6 months long, the above was an example.

[rauldc14]

"If you build it, they will come"... and if you make this 6 months long, people will take 6 months. No one really needs that much time. It just encourages people to forget about it. Hell I've forgotten about this until someone bumps the thread.



...and yes I know this wasn't 6 months long, the above was an example.

There will be some that won't finish this for sure.

[cricket]

Damn I'm even struggling to finish, may have to extend it for myself.

[Thief]

There will be some that won't finish this for sure.

Not me :shifty: I just finished The Incredible Shrinking Man so I'm on my way :D

[Thursday Next]

I've fallen behind a bit but I will finish. I've got Waterloo Bridge on dvd and Rosemary's Baby is on Amazon. I can rent Wendy and Lucy but they sent out a different dvd which I haven't got round to watching. Need to watch that or sent it back unseen this week. Sansho the Bailiff I thought I'd found on yt but there are no English subtitles so at a bit of a loss with that one. But I will get there!

[Siddon]

Generally speaking I try and watch as many in a row as possible so I can give an accurate list. Also the fact that nothing else is going on, on this board has dulled my enthusiasm.

[rauldc14]

Generally speaking I try and watch as many in a row as possible so I can give an accurate list. Also the fact that nothing else is going on, on this board has dulled my enthusiasm.

My countdown!

[Citizen Rules]

Generally speaking I try and watch as many in a row as possible so I can give an accurate list. Also the fact that nothing else is going on, on this board has dulled my enthusiasm.I can understand that...and that's why I don't really like long HoFs or long events, as the bulk of the members finish moderately quick and then months go by with nothing much going on, which makes for boredom. I think faster is better. I know you're rock solid, as are most of everyone else, so I'm not concerned about them finishing.

I'm not talking specifically about this Personal Rec, I've said the same sentiment many times in the past about HoFs. People seem to think lots of extra time is needed for the members to be able to watch all the movies, but then you get members like Neiba waiting until the very end to watch all the films and what's the sense in that? We could make these an entire year long and some people would wait until 11 months and 2 weeks to start watching the films. Maybe we should make them only 2 weeks long:p

[Thief]

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
(1957, Arnold)

https://criterion-production.s3.amazonaws.com/carousel-files/e2c309e2d53f7a11b718515a1e192d74.jpeg


"I felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget. Easy enough to talk of soul and spirit and existential worth, but not when you're three feet tall. I loathed myself, our home, the caricature my life with Lou had become. I had to get out. I had to get away."



The Incredible Shrinking Man follows Scott Carey (Grant Williams), who after being exposed to a strange mist in the ocean, begins to gradually shrink in size. This obviously causes serious issues in his daily life, including straining his relationship with his wife, Louise (Randy Stuart) and leading him into emotional distress.

I confess that I was expecting the usual silliness of 50s sci-fi, but I was surprised at how deep and thought-provoking this ended up being. As ground-breaking and impressive as the special effects are, the film is ultimately more interested in showcasing the effects that this transformation has in Scott's psyche and emotions, while also raising questions about existentialism and what it means to be human.

Seeing him go through the process is like seeing someone go through the 5-Step Grief Cycle, all the way from denial to acceptance, and although Carey's performance is not flashy, he does his job well. Stuart's performance as the struggling wife is also pretty good, and April Kent delivers a pretty good, but very small performance as a like-minded soul in which Scott finds temporary solace.

I don't think one can talk about this film without praising the special effects. Like I said above, they are indeed ground-breaking and impressive, but in a way that's not overpowering and in-your-face, but rather to benefit the story. The story follows a seemingly simple premise, but it's quite a feat to see a film like that executed in such an engaging way, while also being as thought-provoking as this.

In the opening scene, Scott stands on a boat, in the middle of a vast ocean, looking helpless at what was ahead of him. By the final shot, we see him once again, standing in front of a vast "new world". Only this time, he's not feeling helpless; no loathing, no worthlessness. He's at peace and willing to face whatever comes next.

Grade: 4

[Thief]

Starting Black Narcissus now.

[Thief]

Starting Black Narcissus now.

Done! Two in a row, baby!

:laugh:

[Siddon]

https://cdn.britannica.com/49/176349-050-B684712B/scene-Fantastic-Voyage-Richard-Fleischer.jpg

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

The 1960's are a tricky time for Science Fiction, 1950's was really the high point for classic science fiction, often made in black and white taking the first bite of the apple filmmakers were able to make dozens of classics in a sort period of time. Then in 1968, 2001, Planet of the Apes, and Barbarella sort of launched the more adult era in Science Fiction. But in between you have something like Fantastic Voyage a film that has several things going for it but still lacking the values of later science fiction stories.

It's a film that is very much in love with it's set pieces and for good reasons they look great. The body is treated like this crazy and wondrous world that you can play on a Saturday morning for little kids. The problem with the film is everything else is lacking from the script, to the character work to the pacing. This is a film where the films gives you clear exposition with what is going to happen but then doesn't bother to explain the major plot points or who these characters are. The cast is very much set up as one dimensional features...Rachel Welch is in this film...and that's all I know about her a day after watching the film. You had a girl on the cast I think her job was to hold a box and stand there and look pretty. You have a mystery subplot about an assassin trying to kill the patient but when you only have two options...it's not much of a mystery.

You also have some misses from a technical point of view, the miniatures are good but they try and put a human in an action sequence that doesn't work. Also you never get the sense that the ship is moving as they use the classic back shot screen to show distance but everything is stationary in the ship. It's fairly distracting and the sort of thing that get's fixed in the 70's. The pacing is also pretty bad as all the good stuff happens in the last 15 minutes. But the film does have an impressive score which helped..I just wish they would have done something a little bit better.

[Siddon]

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
(1957, Arnold)

https://criterion-production.s3.amazonaws.com/carousel-files/e2c309e2d53f7a11b718515a1e192d74.jpeg




The Incredible Shrinking Man follows Scott Carey (Grant Williams), who after being exposed to a strange mist in the ocean, begins to gradually shrink in size. This obviously causes serious issues in his daily life, including straining his relationship with his wife, Louise (Randy Stuart) and leading him into emotional distress.

I confess that I was expecting the usual silliness of 50s sci-fi, but I was surprised at how deep and thought-provoking this ended up being. As ground-breaking and impressive as the special effects are, the film is ultimately more interested in showcasing the effects that this transformation has in Scott's psyche and emotions, while also raising questions about existentialism and what it means to be human.

Seeing him go through the process is like seeing someone go through the 5-Step Grief Cycle, all the way from denial to acceptance, and although Carey's performance is not flashy, he does his job well. Stuart's performance as the struggling wife is also pretty good, and April Kent delivers a pretty good, but very small performance as a like-minded soul in which Scott finds temporary solace.

I don't think one can talk about this film without praising the special effects. Like I said above, they are indeed ground-breaking and impressive, but in a way that's not overpowering and in-your-face, but rather to benefit the story. The story follows a seemingly simple premise, but it's quite a feat to see a film like that executed in such an engaging way, while also being as thought-provoking as this.

In the opening scene, Scott stands on a boat, in the middle of a vast ocean, looking helpless at what was ahead of him. By the final shot, we see him once again, standing in front of a vast "new world". Only this time, he's not feeling helpless; no loathing, no worthlessness. He's at peace and willing to face whatever comes next.

Grade: rating_4


Yeah you should take this as a tip to dig into more of Jack Arnold's work he made a number of great Science Fiction films

[Thief]

Yeah you should take this as a tip to dig into more of Jack Arnold's work he made a number of great Science Fiction films

I'm just finding out that he did The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which is great. I'll surely keep an eye on the rest of his stuff.

[Siddon]

I'm just finding out that he did The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which is great. I'll surely keep an eye on the rest of his stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtU1YYxQXJw


I actually this one better than THEM!(1954) really worth checking out.

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah you should take this as a tip to dig into more of Jack Arnold's work he made a number of great Science Fiction filmsShrinking Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon are both really great sci fi. What other Jack Arnold films have you seen that you recommend?

[Thief]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtU1YYxQXJw


I actually this one better than THEM!(1954) really worth checking out.

I've had that one, and Them!, on my watchlist for a while. Also It Came from Outer Space.

[Siddon]

I just posted one, I still have to rewatch his Alien movie because I forgot it but it got good reviews.


My Top 25 50's Science Fiction Films would be...

25.) The Thing From Another World (1951)
24.) The World, The Flesh and the Devil (1959)
23.) Them! (1954)
22.) Earth vs Flying Saucers (1956)
21.) 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
20.) The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
19.) Revenge of the Creature (1955)
18.) The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
17.) The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
16.) This Island Earth (1955)(uncredited)
15.) QuarterMass 2 (1955)
14.) When Worlds Collide (1951)
13.) Tarantula (1955)
12.) The Fly (1958)
11.) Godzilla (1954)
10.) War of the Worlds (1953)
9.) Rodan (1956)
8.) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
7.) The Tingler (1959)
6.) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
5.) Invaders From Mars (1953)
4.) The Abominable Snowman (1957)
3.) Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
2.) Forbidden Planet (1956)
1.) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)


So for my top 20 from that era 25% of it is Jack Arnold films

[edarsenal]

https://www.criterionforum.org/img/captures/lesenfants00002.jpg
https://gladsomemorning.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/au_revoir_les_enfants.jpg?w=600
https://i.imgur.com/vwe5BKN.gif?noredirect


Au Revoir les Enfants (1987)

Julien Quentin: François, what's a yid?
François Quentin: A jew.
Julien Quentin: I know, but what exactly is a Jew?
François Quentin: Someone who doesn't eat pork.
Julien Quentin: Are you kidding me?
François Quentin: Not at all.
Julien Quentin: What have people got against them?
François Quentin: The fact they're smarter than us, and they crucified Jesus.
Julien Quentin: That's not true. It was the Romans. Is that why they have to wear yellow stars?

One of the many things I loved about this Louis Malle film - beyond the personalization of a similar incident that Malle experienced at 11yrs, to the point that the blond-haired, trouble-making Julien Quentin (Gaspard Manesse) is based on Malle himself. Which, in itself, always brings such extraordinary nuance to a film. But how Malle sets this film up and we, as an audience, follow young Quentin in his oblivious knowledge of what was going on in German-occupied France during World War II.
Knowing nothing more than the sadness of saying goodbye to his mother as he goes off for another semester at a private school in the countryside run by priests.

The resulting effect of what would be the daily life of lessons, pranks, and roughhousing in the countryside draws us in as Julien's inquisitive nature discovers the secret of one of the three new boys that semester.
A reclusive boy, called Jean Bonnet played by Raphael Fejtö, who is trying his best to keep his head down and remain hidden in this private catholic boys school is given a well-choreographed gravitas as the story propels towards its climax.
It is that piercing of naiveté of the world beyond the serene chaos of school and its more crueler machinations that really hit home the impact of the final act. Which is also enhanced by the initial rivalry between the two boys, the friendship that grows that includes Jean Bonnet's real identity of a hidden Jew.

I was very easily transported to this moment in time from Malle's childhood and everyone involved. From the teachers, the priests, Julien and his older brother, François and their mother, all the other boys and the kitchen help, Joseph that is teased and bullied by the same older kids that trade stolen items with him. (A teasing that does happen with everyone, because that's what we all did as kids. Teased the sh#t out of one another.) It was all of these moments that beautifully carry the story forward. The tension quietly growing to whether or not the secret of Jean and the two other boys as well as those hiding them will last.

While I don't necessarily GUSH with love for this film, it does, wholeheartedly, hold my adoration.

[Thief]

That's a great film. One of the first "foreign" films I saw, and fell in love with.

[Thief]

Starting The Double Life of Veronique right now. Trying to keep some momentum to catch up. I might get to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? tomorrow. If I can do that, I'll be happy with only 4 remaining ones.

[edarsenal]

DAMN HELLUVA RUN Thief!!!

[Thief]

BLACK NARCISSUS
(1947, Powell & Pressburger)

https://images.mubicdn.net/images/film/632/cache-8260-1557310340/image-w1280.jpg


"I remember things before I joined our Order. Things I wanted to forget. I never thought of them until now. I’ve been 21 years in the Order and now they come back to me. I think you can see too far."



Set sometime after World War I, Black Narcissus follows a group of Anglican nuns sent to set up a school and a hospital in the Himalayas on behalf of an Indian General. Led by young and ambitious Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the group is expected to take over an abandoned "palace" set on a high cliff where one of the former rulers kept his harem.

But their stay there is not without hardship, as evidenced by the above quote from Sister Philippa (Flora Robson). All the other sisters seem to be suffering in some way from their stay there. Most notably, Clodagh spends nights remembering a failed relationship from before she joined the order, and Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) seems to be infatuated with Mr. Dean (David Farrar), the intermediary agent between the nuns and the Indian General, while also losing her grip on reality.

Through all the film, directors and co-writers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger make a point of emphasizing the impact and effect of the altitude. From the difficulties to reach the palace to its inherent isolation. Most of the more iconic shots of the film feature the nuns standing on cliffs, looking into the vast horizon, perhaps farther than they're willing to look. But their current situation has somehow forced them to look beyond their current life and work, and face things and desires they all had tried to keep repressed, hidden, and under wraps.

As the sisters slowly realize, the toll is physical, emotional, and psychological. Like Philippa, they all had things to forget; things that now come back to them. They can see too far into the past, and the past is coming back to haunt them. All of the cast excellently portrays that anxiety and uneasiness, but special praise goes to Kerr and Byron, who have the meatier roles. Kerr successfully conveys how Clodagh uses his stoicism to hide her own weaknesses, while Byron is great showing Ruth's desperation, obsession, and mental decay.

After Philippa's confession, Clodagh's advice to her was to "work hard" until she's too tired to think of anything else. I know it's a weird parallelism, but it reminded me of The Simpsons, and Marge's kinda awful advice to Lisa to take all her bad feelings and "push them down... until you're almost walking on them". It's a call for repression, instead of actually dealing with the issues at hand, which is probably what they've all been doing all their lives. But as we can see in the film, as much as you try to hide your true nature, when the chance comes to see far enough, things will undoubtedly come back to you.

Grade: 4

[edarsenal]

This was my nomination for you, Thief. Siddon was kind enough to nominate it for me in the first of these HoFs and it scored #3 in my final voting list. A very amazing film and visually engaging. My review for this had some six or so images just in an attempt to capture a solid example of that imagery.
So very happy to be able to Pay Forward by nominating it for you and seeing your enjoyment of it.

[Thief]

This was my nomination for you, Thief. Siddon was kind enough to nominate it for me in the first of these HoFs and it scored #3 in my final voting list. A very amazing film and visually engaging. My review for this had some six or so images just in an attempt to capture a solid example of that imagery.
So very happy to be able to Pay Forward by nominating it for you and seeing your enjoyment of it.

Thanks, man! Great indeed. And speaking of it, have you or anyone seen the FX mini-series? I haven't read a lot of good things, but just checking about it.

[edarsenal]

Thanks, man! Great indeed. And speaking of it, have you or anyone seen the FX mini-series? I haven't read a lot of good things, but just checking about it.
You are VERY welcome!!

I was also curious about the TV series but ended up passing on it when I heard the same things

[Thief]

And I'm done with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and wow :eek:

[Okay]

3 Women (1977) directed by Robert Altman

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6f/52/d0/6f52d066eb7fa36ecf04fb958e312fb2.jpg


Right from the opening shot, I knew that this would be a film that I would like. The characters are bizarre and interesting as we go through the first half of the film trying to figure them out. The settings are also unique and compliment the unorthodox nature of the film. The reoccurring visuals of the paintings and the use of water was also another great touch as they hint towards the true nature of the happenings. All around, this had an amazing style and atmosphere and I'm curious if more of Altman's films are like this because I'd totally be down to binge his stuff if that's the case.

Looking back, obviously I still don't fully understand what I just watched or who's who and what's what, but the feelings that this dream-like story conveys are more than enough for a first taste. It doesn't have to make sense and it can be as messy as it wants as long as the conveyed ideas are interesting and successful. Now for my interpretation of the events, I look back at the first half of the film and notice how Millie felt almost nonexistent to everybody but Pinky. She was always ignored and got paid no attention, and that could still be seen as just part of her character, but there's also room to look it as though she was never physically present. Then we have the pivotal moment of the story, Pinky's suicide attempt and rebirth, and to me it seemed like she evolved after that into a younger version of Millie and what Millie used to be, or at least what Millie thrives to be like now. Meanwhile, Millie aged into being the younger version of the third woman, Willie. And all of this hints towards the 3 women being different versions of the same woman. Pinky starts off innocent and admiring Millie for her "confidence", and she later on evolves to become her at her prime, while Millie we meet her after she's already lost her touch and attractiveness that we see in late Pinky, and so she slowly becomes the older and wiser Willie. And it all goes full circle with Willie giving birth to a new innocent woman in the end.

Other things that now make more sense and feel fulfilling are for example how Millie treated Pinky in the beginning and vice versa. One detests the innocent side of hers that she's lost, while the other is admiring the strong confident woman that she wishes to be. There are also many more subtleties and details, such as the characters of the twins from the nursing home, or pieces of dialogue that at first glance seem to be throwaway lines, and this all speaks volumes to how compact this movie truly is.

There aren't many negatives or issues that I have with the film if any, since I can totally see what I'm about to say not stay a problem after a re-watch. The movie may be a little too long, and that's more apparent because of my lack of connection with the 3 women's characters. I mean it's pretty hard to attach yourself to any of them when they're so wooden and feel very distant. And while of course that works perfectly for complimenting the style and atmosphere, it is still the obstacle that stops it from being a personal favorite.

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fwww.aviewtoaqueue.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F09%2FThe-Conversation-3.jpg%3Fresize%3D676%252C380&f=1&nofb=1


The Conversation (1974)

Harry Caul: If there's one sure fire rule that I have learned in this business is... I don't know anything about human nature. I don't know anything about curiousity. That's not part of what I do.


Gene Hackman is Harry Caul - eavesdropper extraordinaire, saxophonist ordinaire and interior decorator (not really). He's been hired by 'The Director" to follow and record two people who meet in a very public area and discuss something. It's an almost impossible place to get a clean recording of a private conversation. Is Harry up to the challenge?

You bet he is. In fact he gets the conversation before the opening credits are finished. We won't find out just how difficult acquiring this conversation was until later but this isn't a movie about recording conversations. It's about recording a conversation and the guy who did it. What in the world are these two people talking about? Why won't Harry just had over the tapes? Is someone in danger? Why is Harry so curious about this conversation?

As the film progresses we get the answers to these questions and in the process learn a lot about Harry - the most boring person alive who just happens to have a very interesting job. A lot of the movie involves the technical aspects of Harry's job and I found all that to be very interesting, similar to how I enjoy watching a bunch of bank robbers planning and executing a heist. Most of the movie is Harry's interactions with colleagues, co-workers, girlfriends and The Directors Assistant (Harrison Ford), who warns Harry not to get involved and just hand over the tapes. It's through these interactions where we get to put together who Harry Caul is and why he is so invested in this case. But is he right? Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. You'll have to watch it to find out.

I enjoyed what Coppola does here. You kind of piece together Harry the way Harry pieces together everything he hears on those tapes. When you think of some of the classic 70's films they all have a look - kind of a grimy, realism and The Conversation definitely has "the look." I love that look. This has been on my watchlist for awhile and is something I would expect someone to recommend for me and I liked it.

[Thief]

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE
(1991, Kieślowski)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/resizer/Uh3wrxImERWvddU68DuadDyp_9Y=/1200x0/filters:quality(80)/arc-anglerfish-tgam-prod-tgam.s3.amazonaws.com/public/XAIEHBHXLVBWVDU564PHN7CWNE.JPG


"Not long ago, I had a strange sensation. I felt that I was alone. All of a sudden. Yet nothing had changed."



The need for belonging, intimacy, and connection is listed among the 5 levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. As social creatures, we need that sense of belonging and acceptance among our peers and loved ones. Not achieving it, can result in feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. That's the feeling that overwhelms Véronique at one moment in this beautiful Kiéslowski film.

The Double Life of Véronique follows two identical women: Weronika and Véronique (both played by Irène Jacob) who have a mysterious connection, despite living separate lives in different cities. They've never met each other or known about the other's existence, and yet, there is something that binds them.

The interesting thing is that Kiéslowski is not very interested in the the why, but rather in how that connection affects them. As the film moves through the life of both women, we see a wide array of "connective tissue" that goes from their love of music to little things like a transparent ball that both of them play with. At one point, Véronique even dreams of a "tall, slender church", which we see is close to Weronika's home.

The thing is that the slightest hint of this connection gives both characters feelings of joy when it's felt, and loneliness when it's broken. For Weronika, seeing that "other person" in the distance instills her with a sense of belonging. For Véronique, who hasn't seen Weronika, although the connection is not clear and her feelings are more confused, it is still a source of anxiety and question.

At one point, Véronique attends a puppet show at her school. But during the show, her eyes move towards the side of the stage, where a mirror allows her to get a glimpse of what's going on behind the stage; the puppeteer pulling the strings. This sight intrigues her more than what's happening on stage, and she eventually tries to reach out to this man for reasons she doesn't fully understand.

Much like Weronika, who seemed to feel reinvigorated once she saw her "double", a signal perhaps that something beyond our comprehension is going on "behind the stage", Véronique's quest to find this puppeteer is a representation of that same desire to understand that something, anything, is going on "behind the stage". That even though nothing has changed, we are not alone.

Grade: 4

[cricket]

Great job guys keeping the ball rolling while I'm MIA. My house went on the market today so hopefully I'm back in the swing sooner rather than later.

[Thief]

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
(1966, Nichols)

https://i.imgur.com/CfmJjGy.png


Martha: "Truth and illusion, George. You don't know the difference."
George: "No, but we must carry on as though we did."



Truth and illusion. Those are qualities that accompany many marriages. We all know the stories of seemingly happy couples, only to reveal later that it was all an illusion. The truth behind it all sometimes hides abuse, lies, contempt, but also disappointment, frustration, and regrets. That is the backdrop of Mike Nichols' debut film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The film follows middle-aged marriage couple George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor), as they invite a young couple at their home after a party. The evening, though, unravels from a constant parade of insults and bickering into a game of bitter fights and tragic revelations. It's important to mention that Burton and Taylor were actually married at the moment, although they would divorce 8 years later... and remarry one year after, and divorce again one year after.

When the film opens, the couple are lumbering towards their home after that party, and there's a tediousness to their exchange at first; petty arguments about a film he can't remember or just a general tiredness of one another. This is the truth; I can only imagine that what they presented at the party was the "illusion". But tired and at home already, when this young couple comes, they make no effort to hide their "truths".

For the first hour or so, I was really enjoying the fast-paced bickering and how quippy the dialogue was. I was laughing, just like their guests were laughing. But as the night progressed, you can see the conversations shift from the regular back and forth of married couples to a more pointed, deliberate, and calculated game of hurt, so to speak. The last hour was a painful and tragic sequence of hurtful decisions and machinations that you wonder if their marriage, or any marriage, could recover.

Both Burton and Taylor were simply excellent on their roles. I think I was more impressed with Burton, but Taylor was great, and she really nailed that key final monologue where the illusion is dropped, and the truth comes out. Also, George Segal and Sandy Dennis were pretty good as the young couple. It's no wonder that all four were nominated for Oscars.

My wife and I celebrate our 15 anniversary later this month. I like to think that there is no "illusion" in our relationship, and that we are, for the most part, truthful to each other. But seeing this, you realize that these "illusions" might from the best intentions, and yet can sometimes wrap around any marriage without you even expecting it. And sometimes, the only thing to do is to carry on.

Grade: 4.5

[Thief]

I asked this spoiler-y question for VIRGINIA WOOLF on the Rate the Last Movie You Saw thread, but I'm gonna paste it here, see what everybody thinks...


Do you think Martha and George are better at the end than they were at the start? I mean, taking away all the hurt, the bickering, and the insults, my mind thinks that the climatic moment was necessary to move on. And even though that "breach" in their intimacy from both parts will surely leave a dent, to put it mildly, their final interaction hints at the possibility of them... maybe making it? What does everyone think?

[Citizen Rules]

I seen WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? when I first got into old movies, years and year ago. I didn't really understand what it was about or what it was trying to do as I was use to more Hollywood-ish type formal movie stories. I do think I watched something great, but I so need to watch this one again. Maybe I'll binge Liz.

[Takoma11]

I asked this spoiler-y question for VIRGINIA WOOLF on the Rate the Last Movie You Saw thread, but I'm gonna paste it here, see what everybody thinks...


Do you think Martha and George are better at the end than they were at the start? I mean, taking away all the hurt, the bickering, and the insults, my mind thinks that the climatic moment was necessary to move on. And even though that "breach" in their intimacy from both parts will surely leave a dent, to put it mildly, their final interaction hints at the possibility of them... maybe making it? What does everyone think?


I think that they have certainly experienced a kind of catharsis. But I think that it's hard to tell if they will be able to move forward with a more open communication and relationship, or if they will slide back into that place of contempt.

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fjaredmobarak.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fanotherearth011.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


Another Earth (2011)


I've had this recommended to me before but obviously have never watched it. A young woman, Rhoda, gets accepted to MIT and, as young people tend to do, decides to celebrate with her friends a little. The night she's celebrating just happens to be the night when another Earth is discovered approaching our Earth. She learns of this on the radio while driving home from the party and, being a sciencey person, she wants to get a glimpse of it. While looking out the window at the other earth, she slams into another car, killing a wife, a child and putting the father in a coma. She goes to prison.

Four years later she is released (she was underage at the time of the accident), her future now shot, she takes a job as a custodian at a school. One day she walks to the site of the accident and see's the surviving father place a toy next to a pole where the accident occurred. Guilt ridden, she wants to apologize to the father, goes to his home, chickens out on the apology but does eventually develop a relationship with the guy. That's about it.

Pretty much this is a movie about two people dealing with grief, over the same event, from different perspectives. Have to admit, I didn't get it. I mean, I got it, I don't get the love for it. It has good performances but getting through this indie romance, for me, was tough. Science fiction is usually a win for me but the sci-fi here was basically non existent so what was left was the love story and the ending which I won't get into except to say that if that were me in Rhoda's shoes I would be even more upset.

[Citizen Rules]

Another Earth (2011)....Not my choice for you, but I had considered it for a couple members. I don't remember if you were one of them. I really liked this simple non sci-fi/sci-fi as it deals with remorse in a very 1st person way. I've always found movies that deal honestly about emotions to be intriguing.

[Takoma11]

Pretty much this is a movie about two people dealing with grief, over the same event, from different perspectives. Have to admit, I didn't get it. I mean, I got it, I don't get the love for it. It has good performances but getting through this indie romance, for me, was tough. Science fiction is usually a win for me but the sci-fi here was basically non existent so what was left was the love story and the ending which I won't get into except to say that if that were me in Rhoda's shoes I would be even more upset.
[/LEFT]

What I liked about this film (which I'd probably give a 7/10 or 8/10) is not only the way it addresses the question of grief, but also the way it addresses the question of closure. What does forgiveness actually look like, and how does that function between the person who was wronged and the person who wronged them.

And I think that the question at the end about who gets the ticket is a compelling one.

What I like from the sci-fi angle is the question it asks about the possibility of "starting over" and what that actually means.

[Thursday Next]

I watched Another Earth quite recently. I thought I hated it for quite a lot of the runtime, but then parts of it were thought provoking. Some of the time I felt like I could see what it was trying to do, but it wasn't quite doing it for me. It's a certain style of film I think you have to be in the right mood for.

I get the whole 'who deserves the ticket to move on' thing it has going on. BUT in the world of the film, he's going to another Earth where a version of him plus his wife and kid are still alive, right? So what's he going to do, just go there and really creep them out? That's not really moving on.

Part way through this film I was thinking of it in my head as 'low budget Melancholia'. Weird that they came out in the same year.

[Thursday Next]

Rosemary's Baby

"It's not what you're expecting."

The film's tagline was true for me, because somehow, despite this being on pretty much every list ever, I didn't really think I would like it.

I was wrong.

This is a really great film. It looks great, the performances are great, especially from Mia Farrow. It's horror but it's the kind of horror I can get on board with. The story from a book by Ira Levin is really interesting. I was surprised at first that they showed the dream scene conception rather than leaving it as more of a mystery, but it absolutely made sense. If you didn't see that you would be wondering the whole time if she was imagining things rather than what it actually goes for, which is the increasing tension and sense of dread as she slowly realises what is happening and you are mentally screaming at her to get out of her claustrophobic situation - except, of course, she can't run from the real horror which is growing inside her.

I thought that the film functioned really well as a look at how people get into these kind of situations where they have no control - especially women (and more especially pregnant women). She's isolated and absolutely stripped of all control over her own body, life and decisions by people who try to convince her that they have her best interests at heart - people who should have her best interests at heart - like her husband, her doctor and her 'kindly' neighbours. And it happens at first because she's just being nice. The bits where the doctor is completely dismissing her pain and her husband saying she can't get a medical second opinion because it would hurt the doctor's feelings (never mind her feelings!). And then convincing her (and everybody else) that she is crazy when she tries to protest and confront them. And the other doctor not believing her. These things happen to people every day in real life - OK, they aren't actually impregnated with the spawn of Satan, but everything else about it rings absolutely true and that's what's so chilling about it. Rosemary's disgusting husband was as much of a monster as any demon.

There was one thing, though, that I did not like about it and that was the ending. It just seemed to undermine the understated dread of the rest of the film and go a bit over the top and silly. Plus there's a random caricature of a Japanese person with a camera which seemed really off. I think it's a real shame that the ending wasn't stronger. That aside, though, it definitely deserves its spot on all those lists.

[Citizen Rules]

I didn't really care about the other Earth part or the ticket second chance aspect...I just kinda ignored those. To me what resonated was how the movie revolves around the relationship between the two survivors of the car crash, and their relationship is based on a lie. I liked the way the movie explored the guilt that these people had and how they dealt with it.

[Takoma11]

I watched Another Earth quite recently. I thought I hated it for quite a lot of the runtime, but then parts of it were thought provoking. Some of the time I felt like I could see what it was trying to do, but it wasn't quite doing it for me. It's a certain style of film I think you have to be in the right mood for.

I get the whole 'who deserves the ticket to move on' thing it has going on. BUT in the world of the film, he's going to another Earth where a version of him plus his wife and kid are still alive, right? So what's he going to do, just go there and really creep them out? That's not really moving on.

But, see, I think that's actually what's kind of brilliant about the ending.

Going to the other Earth isn't really moving on. You're exactly right---he is careening into this past/present in which he doesn't really belong. Who is to say the wife or child would behave the same? Who is to say he will be welcome or be able to belong in any way?

Ironically, by staying behind and facing the life ahead of her---as hard as it will be with her guilt and other people thinking she's a bad person and all of that---she is the one who is moving on.

I think that the other Earth represents the aspect of guilt that is all about regret and looking backward. I fall into this trap all of the time. If I could tell you how many times I have thought or wished that I could go back and do this differently or that differently. How I could save myself or especially save other people from harm or heartbreak. But that kind of thinking isn't actually productive.

I think that this adds a bit of bite to the ending. What on the surface appears to be a "good thing" maybe isn't.

[Thief]

I haven't seen Another Earth in a while, but I agree with all of you who said they liked how it handled the issues of grief, guilt, and forgiveness. But then again, I remember also liking this weird pseudo-scifi angle, which is hardly airtight, but that I did find intriguing in terms of what it opens up. As for the ending...


I think that the presence of the other Rhoda in the final shot means that there will be some sort of reckoning for our main character, and that the same will probably happen with John on Earth-2. So I don't think he (or she) are taking easy ways out. They're all gonna have to face that "reflection", so to speak (to go to the film's thesis of the "broken mirror") and face their realities in some way.


Anyway, I saw this three films close to each other, so I've always felt that this film made for a hell of a 1-2 punch with either Melancholia (in terms of the themes of grief, guilt, and another freakin' planet getting close to ours), and/or with Sound of My Voice (another low budget, indie project from Brit Marling).

[Hey Fredrick]

I think that this adds a bit of bite to the ending. What on the surface appears to be a "good thing" maybe isn't.


I'll give this to Another Earth, it's definitely a movie that gets you thinking. I took it one way and understand that someone else could see it and take it in a completely different direction. I didn't think that the ending was a good thing at all.
I get John wanting to see how his family MAY have ended up if what Rhoda is suggesting is actually how it is and Rhoda wanting that for him but there's no guarantee that that's how it will be. She's giving him a ticket to God knows what. I actually was thinking the same thing as Thursday about John's potential scenario on Earth 2. It would be creepy. Also, kind of off topic, I want to know what she wrote that got her that ticket. I just couldn't believe that she won it. I don't care if what she wrote was some Shakespeare level brilliance she isn't getting that ticket. Not with her history.

As for the ending, to have Earth 2 Rhoda show up all MIT educated and looking great and basically being like "Yeah, things could have been great for you too. Sorry it didn't work out" is kind of a kick in the gut, isn’t it? Earth 1 Rhoda still has all the guilt, the four years of prison and the lost opportunities, so what does she gain by having Rhoda 2 show up? What closure is there? If a more successful Earth 2 version of me showed up at my house tomorrow I'd be like GTFOH! Maybe it all worked out for John on Earth 2 but we don't know and at the point the movie ends, Rhoda doesn't know. Five minutes after the movie ended Rhoda 2 could have jumped on Rhoda 1 and eaten her face, that's how open ended this movie was. Anything is possible and none of it would be wrong.
I don't think it's a bad movie and I can see what people like about it. Maybe I missed some things along the way but it's not my cup o' tea.

[Hey Fredrick]

Some thoughts on some of the past reviews:

Trainspotting I liked a lot. I remember hearing about it when it was till being shown in Europe and was excited to hear about it's release in the USA...in select cities. ****! Ended up driving an hour and half away with a buddy to see it in a dumpy little theater, in a city I hate visiting. Spud and Begbie are my fav characters and Ewan does a good job as kind of the straight guy in this motley crew of junkies. There is something about this that hits close to home and I think Boyle handled everything pretty well.

Rosemary's Baby is one I held out watching for quite a while. It was probably the biggest miss for me as far as horror films go so one day I just figured I'd knock it out. I think it's one of the best movies ever at continually building tension. It blew me away.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Saw it last year for the first time and loved it. Don't remember all the little details about the story but I do remember the performances and they were outstanding. In a movie with two powerhouse actors at the top of their game Liz, who was only 34 at the time, was my favorite.

[Takoma11]

As for the ending, to have Earth 2 Rhoda show up all MIT educated and looking great and basically being like "Yeah, things could have been great for you too. Sorry it didn't work out" is kind of a kick in the gut, isn’t it? Earth 1 Rhoda still has all the guilt, the four years of prison and the lost opportunities, so what does she gain by having Rhoda 2 show up? What closure is there? If a more successful Earth 2 version of me showed up at my house tomorrow I'd be like GTFOH! Maybe it all worked out for John on Earth 2 but we don't know and at the point the movie ends, Rhoda doesn't know. Five minutes after the movie ended Rhoda 2 could have jumped on Rhoda 1 and eaten her face, that's how open ended this movie was. Anything is possible and none of it would be wrong. [/spoilers]
I don't think it's a bad movie and I can see what people like about it. Maybe I missed some things along the way but it's not my cup o' tea.

First, I think that you have to regard "the ticket" as being very allegorical in a sci-fi context. (It's deeply unrealistic, for example, that you could win such a thing with an essay and then also GIFT said ticket to some random person). It is basically symbolic of a "what if" scenario, as in what if you could go to a different reality where a horrible thing might not have happened. Would you do it?

I think that Rhoda 2 just continues the theme of grief and "what if" thinking being inescapable. Rhoda will always wonder what things would have been like if not for the accident. But in this sci-fi reality, there are very literal ways to confront both the "alternate past" and the "alternate future". I think that a lot of people are haunted by ideas of what they "could have been." What if I'd gone to that college instead? What if I'd married this person not that person? What if I'd taken a risk and gone for that job and not this job?

As an allegorical exploration of grief, guilt, and regret, I think it's thought-provoking. But I agree with you that the narrative around the allegory can feel maybe a bit too open ended. I think that this is partly because the film isn't offering solutions so much as exploring dynamics, but that doesn't make it more satisfying if you're wanting any kind of closure.

[cricket]

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
(1966, Nichols)

https://i.imgur.com/CfmJjGy.png




Truth and illusion. Those are qualities that accompany many marriages. We all know the stories of seemingly happy couples, only to reveal later that it was all an illusion. The truth behind it all sometimes hides abuse, lies, contempt, but also disappointment, frustration, and regrets. That is the backdrop of Mike Nichols' debut film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The film follows middle-aged marriage couple George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor), as they invite a young couple at their home after a party. The evening, though, unravels from a constant parade of insults and bickering into a game of bitter fights and tragic revelations. It's important to mention that Burton and Taylor were actually married at the moment, although they would divorce 8 years later... and remarry one year after, and divorce again one year after.

When the film opens, the couple are lumbering towards their home after that party, and there's a tediousness to their exchange at first; petty arguments about a film he can't remember or just a general tiredness of one another. This is the truth; I can only imagine that what they presented at the party was the "illusion". But tired and at home already, when this young couple comes, they make no effort to hide their "truths".

For the first hour or so, I was really enjoying the fast-paced bickering and how quippy the dialogue was. I was laughing, just like their guests were laughing. But as the night progressed, you can see the conversations shift from the regular back and forth of married couples to a more pointed, deliberate, and calculated game of hurt, so to speak. The last hour was a painful and tragic sequence of hurtful decisions and machinations that you wonder if their marriage, or any marriage, could recover.

Both Burton and Taylor were simply excellent on their roles. I think I was more impressed with Burton, but Taylor was great, and she really nailed that key final monologue where the illusion is dropped, and the truth comes out. Also, George Segal and Sandy Dennis were pretty good as the young couple. It's no wonder that all four were nominated for Oscars.

My wife and I celebrate our 15 anniversary later this month. I like to think that there is no "illusion" in our relationship, and that we are, for the most part, truthful to each other. But seeing this, you realize that these "illusions" might from the best intentions, and yet can sometimes wrap around any marriage without you even expecting it. And sometimes, the only thing to do is to carry on.

Grade: 4.5

20 years for us on Wednesday

[cricket]

Had open house yesterday and having another in a little while. Getting some offers tomorrow so then hopefully I'll have more time so I can get back in the swing here. Here is my listing, thought my agent did a good job- https://www.redfin.com/MA/Brockton/128-Quincy-St-02302/home/16334609

[Thief]

20 years for us on Wednesday

Woohoo! It can be done. Congrats in advance.

[gbgoodies]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fjaredmobarak.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fanotherearth011.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


Another Earth (2011)


I've had this recommended to me before but obviously have never watched it. A young woman, Rhoda, gets accepted to MIT and, as young people tend to do, decides to celebrate with her friends a little. The night she's celebrating just happens to be the night when another Earth is discovered approaching our Earth. She learns of this on the radio while driving home from the party and, being a sciencey person, she wants to get a glimpse of it. While looking out the window at the other earth, she slams into another car, killing a wife, a child and putting the father in a coma. She goes to prison.

Four years later she is released (she was underage at the time of the accident), her future now shot, she takes a job as a custodian at a school. One day she walks to the site of the accident and see's the surviving father place a toy next to a pole where the accident occurred. Guilt ridden, she wants to apologize to the father, goes to his home, chickens out on the apology but does eventually develop a relationship with the guy. That's about it.

Pretty much this is a movie about two people dealing with grief, over the same event, from different perspectives. Have to admit, I didn't get it. I mean, I got it, I don't get the love for it. It has good performances but getting through this indie romance, for me, was tough. Science fiction is usually a win for me but the sci-fi here was basically non existent so what was left was the love story and the ending which I won't get into except to say that if that were me in Rhoda's shoes I would be even more upset.



It's been a few years since I watched Another Earth, so I only remember bits and pieces of the movie, but I remember liking it a lot.

[Thursday Next]

Sansho the Bailiff

This was a long overdue watch, a film that has been languishing on my watchlist for a long time.

Sansho the Bailiff is a deliberately paced melodrama. A governor is exiled and separated from his family. Years later, his wife and children travel to meet him but are kidnapped into slavery and a life of misery and suffering. (It's not really about Sansho the bailiff at all, so I'm not sure why he gets the title).

There are some affecting moments in here - several of which revolve around a song the children's mother sings about. It's well made in a lot of ways. I thought I would like to get to know the characters a bit better though. And there's just so much suffering - it's all slavery and death and missed chances to reconcile. I've certainly seen films that are more like that and appreciated them, but there was something very grey about this that I couldn't quite warm to. I know it is a very well-regarded film, so it's probably just me.

[cricket]

I liked Sansho a good amount but it didn't blow me away like I had hoped. Another time maybe!

[Siddon]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/XMPaCTbuguUnLuWCuBX3uUg8pQgx7ilmSb65mJQwMcTHesQrwEr2W3gsEZWpr2lb0steKTKxgif4SUjC1HZ2d3wH3oVf-1lIt-84gfH6eRAqWDhP1PTkPUbVs2Z23Q


Pursued (1947)

Funfacts about me is that even though Citizen Kane is my favorite film, my least favorite decade is the 1940's. To me the 40's are an era of blandness, slow predictable and disappointing. I also do not care for westerns, because once again I find them silly and predictable. And my least favorite best picture winner...the directors film In Old Arizona. So with all of those red flags this is a risky pick...it paid off.

Pursued doesn't play like a western it plays like a film noir so it's a good pick. It was actually a nice little surprise because it's a film where the darkness builds. So the plot of the story is an unlucky orphan is taken in by a local family, he goes off to war and returns planning to court the little girl he grew up with. The conflict of the romance causes for a fairly high body count and the main character to become isolated and misanthropic. Great casting of Robert Mitchem and a field of unknowns made me appreciate the film.

While the story is great what sets this apart and makes this a favorable film to me is that the action set pieces are well done and varied. The town feels claustrophobic and the farms feel expansive. The shootings all look and feel different and that's very important and frankly uncommon in many westerns. Smart choice and an elevation of the subject matter.

[Okay]

Dark City (1998) directed by Alex Proyas

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61TGQsXTKXL._AC_SY741_.jpg

The best qualities about Dark City are also present in most science-fiction films. It's the philosophical ideas that fundamentally come with the genre and deal with questions such as 'what exactly makes one human'. For example, we have in the film this idea of putting human memories into these alien beings and seeing what comes of it. Unfortunately it wasn't as prevalent of a plot point as I would of wanted it to be, especially since I was hoping it would lead to a development such as the one in Hunter X Hunter (shoutout to all my anime fans) where there was a clear contrast between the main character and one arc's villain with how the former was slowly changing into more of what the latter started off as, and vice versa. I don't know, just thought it would be great to see that with this film's characters, still a cool little concept.

Another question that is heavily posed is about the importance of memories in defining a person. There's a great scene near the end where our main guy exclaims how he knows he shouldn't care about Jennifer Connelly's character because he knows he never actually knew her despite the implanted memories telling him otherwise, but then they obviously still care deeply about each other regardless of this knowledge. If you ask me, this whole memories = feelings shouldn't even work to begin with. I would've much rathered had the people of dark city behaved like zombies because they didn't know how to feel about all these fake memories implanted in them. And you know what, that could also be the reason why these aliens haven't understood the human element yet.

Let's talk about these aliens and their goal for a sec. First of all, I like their design and sound, and their first appearance was a great moment that genuinely felt menacing, but that effect kind of dissolved somewhere throughout the film, and by the end of it all they just became ridiculous. There's a lot of other things that are ridiculous about them too, the most damning one being their goal. I don't understand how changing peoples' memories everyday will help them figure out the secret to humanity, and more importantly how do they even process this kind of data in the first place. We never see them study or analyze all these infinite combination of subjects that they created, and it is very important to show some kind of scene that does so because it's such a nonsensical idea to begin with. And then, once they discovered that a human subject can now "tune", they drop everything and they're like tHis Is tHE FinAL sTaNd aNd hE's tHE Key fOr Us tO aNSWer aLl oUr qUEstiONs, but it's like I can't even begin to imagine how something like that would be of any help at all.

Anyways, as you can tell, Dark City was a mixed bag. In one hand, the city's look from outer space was cool as **** with all the water surrounding it, but the production design overall was just alright. The CGI looks really stupid sometimes, especially in the action sequences, but then it looks great for the tuning of all the buildings. Speaking of the tuning, that last psychokinetic fight was absolute bonkers and is my favorite part of the entire movie, it was so hilarious. Almost as hilarious as seeing everybody in the city fall asleep at once at midnight without any kinds of accidents happening. I guess we're lucky that everyone's foot coincidentally stomps on the brakes every time and everything else...Nothing special about the cinematography, the acting (although the doctor's constant hyperventilating was pretty annoying), the story (if I have anything to add it would be that I liked the decision of keeping what happened to the Earth unknown), the music...but alas I still have one last question that I can't wrap my head around, how many Jennifer Connelly standing on a pier scenes are there in the world?

[Okay]

Thoughts on other films mentioned recently

The Double Life of Veronique - Kieślowski is one of my favourite directors (Dekalog, Trois Couleurs, No End...) and he has yet to disappoint me with any of his films. The Double Life might actually be my least favourite of his, but it's also a hard film to love after only one watch. Still, it's beautiful from head to toe and it's the one I'd probably revisit the soonest out of all his work.

Make Way for Tomorrow - Not a personal favourite but I'd agree that it's pretty flawless. I for one was more into the first half of the film that focused much more on the family dynamics and less so on what the last half was about. But you know, of course I would, love me some depressing ****, hate me some happy-go-lucky ****.

Au Revoir Les Enfants - Another one of my favourite directors, top 5 even, and Au Revoir is one of his best too. Here's how I would rank what I've seen from him: Feu Follet > Au Revoir > Dinner with André > Lacombe Lucien > Elevator to the Gallows > Murmur of the Heart >>> Zazie

As for my progress in this HOF, I'm planning on finishing with everything by the end of next week at the latest. I'll also be watching something for tonight, probably Citizen Kane, about time to get that checked off.

[Thief]

Sansho the Bailiff

This was a long overdue watch, a film that has been languishing on my watchlist for a long time.

Sansho the Bailiff is a deliberately paced melodrama. A governor is exiled and separated from his family. Years later, his wife and children travel to meet him but are kidnapped into slavery and a life of misery and suffering. (It's not really about Sansho the bailiff at all, so I'm not sure why he gets the title).

There are some affecting moments in here - several of which revolve around a song the children's mother sings about. It's well made in a lot of ways. I thought I would like to get to know the characters a bit better though. And there's just so much suffering - it's all slavery and death and missed chances to reconcile. I've certainly seen films that are more like that and appreciated them, but there was something very grey about this that I couldn't quite warm to. I know it is a very well-regarded film, so it's probably just me.

This was recommended to me on a previous PR and I loved it.

Re: the title, this is what I wrote back when I saw it...


It is interesting that the film is titled the way it is, considering that Sanshō is after all a secondary character. We meet him 30 minutes into the film and compared to other characters, he's barely in it. But what's important is what Sanshō represents. He is a presence that hangs above Zushiō all through the film. He is the opposite of his father's teachings: merciless and unforgiving, and by spending more time under his fist, Zushiō becomes more like him and less like his father.


Here's the link to my full review (https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/2202632-sansho-the-bailiff.html), in case you're interested.

[Thursday Next]

Thanks Thief. I really felt like I should have liked it more. Perhaps one to rewatch.

I really liked The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum from the same director. That was also quite tragic but the story and characters grabbed me a bit more. I would definitely recommend it.

[Citizen Rules]

I watched Sansho the Bailiff for the Personal Recommendation III and had the same reaction as Thursday and Thief. An excerpt from my write-up:
Sansho the Bailiff
Technically & artistically a near perfect movie. I appreciated it and it was a good choice for me. Classic Japanese films like, Late Autumn, 24 Eyes & The Naked Island are my favorite type of personal stories. Those are the kind that I like the most. I would still rate Sansho the Bailiff highly, but for me my reaction to the sad tale was one more of appreciation for the great sets and customs and one rather dismal realization...

[edarsenal]

I asked this spoiler-y question for VIRGINIA WOOLF on the Rate the Last Movie You Saw thread, but I'm gonna paste it here, see what everybody thinks...


Do you think Martha and George are better at the end than they were at the start? I mean, taking away all the hurt, the bickering, and the insults, my mind thinks that the climatic moment was necessary to move on. And even though that "breach" in their intimacy from both parts will surely leave a dent, to put it mildly, their final interaction hints at the possibility of them... maybe making it? What does everyone think?

Great film that stuck with me even though its been quite a long time since watching it.

I remember feeling that they were the far stronger couple being able to sustain the mutual vocal abuse unlike the "new" couple who easily fall apart at the mere hint of "trouble". Whether or not they continued onward for better is far more speculative for me.
For me, they signified the solid ground established over time when the "idea" of marriage is replaced with the reality and the more concrete "real" love of an experienced relationship.
I've seen this about two or three times and the shared look at the end had a tinged shared bemusement of two cynical people enjoying messing with the foolish, naive beliefs of a younger, inexperienced couple.

[edarsenal]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/XMPaCTbuguUnLuWCuBX3uUg8pQgx7ilmSb65mJQwMcTHesQrwEr2W3gsEZWpr2lb0steKTKxgif4SUjC1HZ2d3wH3oVf-1lIt-84gfH6eRAqWDhP1PTkPUbVs2Z23Q


Pursued (1947)

Funfacts about me is that even though Citizen Kane is my favorite film, my least favorite decade is the 1940's. To me the 40's are an era of blandness, slow predictable and disappointing. I also do not care for westerns, because once again I find them silly and predictable. And my least favorite best picture winner...the directors film In Old Arizona. So with all of those red flags this is a risky pick...it paid off.

Pursued doesn't play like a western it plays like a film noir so it's a good pick. It was actually a nice little surprise because it's a film where the darkness builds. So the plot of the story is an unlucky orphan is taken in by a local family, he goes off to war and returns planning to court the little girl he grew up with. The conflict of the romance causes for a fairly high body count and the main character to become isolated and misanthropic. Great casting of Robert Mitchem and a field of unknowns made me appreciate the film.

While the story is great what sets this apart and makes this a favorable film to me is that the action set pieces are well done and varied. The town feels claustrophobic and the farms feel expansive. The shootings all look and feel different and that's very important and frankly uncommon in many westerns. Smart choice and an elevation of the subject matter.
Glad to hear that, even with the flags stiffly in place, it STILL worked for you. Very cool!
Pursued is not the typical Western and thematically has some solid noir to it. Been a couple of years but a really good film.

[edarsenal]

Had open house yesterday and having another in a little while. Getting some offers tomorrow so then hopefully I'll have more time so I can get back in the swing here. Here is my listing, thought my agent did a good job- https://www.redfin.com/MA/Brockton/128-Quincy-St-02302/home/16334609

Great house. For some oddball reason, I thought you lived around Tenessee and not Massachusetts.
Good luck with the sale!!

[cricket]

Great house. For some oddball reason, I thought you lived around Tenessee and not Massachusetts.
Good luck with the sale!!

Went on the market on a Thursday, open house that weekend, sold above asking price on the Monday.

So great job everyone keeping it going, I'll be back on the reg soon.

Thinking of a different format for next time to eliminate lapses in activity.

[cricket]

Under control :)

Still under control? It's getting late in the game.

[neiba]

Still under control? It's getting late in the game.

Hey! Sorry, these last couple of months of post-COVID have been hell, haven't had a single day off since early august. I can finish this, but it will take me a week to start watching stuff, and I'll binge it really quickly.

[edarsenal]

Went on the market on a Thursday, open house that weekend, sold above asking price on the Monday.

So great job everyone keeping it going, I'll be back on the reg soon.

Thinking of a different format for next time to eliminate lapses in activity.

CONGRATS!!

And pretty f@ckin intrigued about a "different format" looking forward to it

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmountainx.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F08%2Fwalked3.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Betsy Connell: I don't know about zombies, doctor. Just what is a zombie?
Dr. Maxwell: A ghost. A living dead. It's also a drink.

A Canadian nurse (Betsy) travels to the West Indies to help a man's wife who has taken ill. It's almost like she's a zombie. Betsy tries everything she can think of to help her (electric shock is always nice) but nothing is working so she does what anyone in her shoes would do - take her to a voodoo Dr.

While Betsy is trying to figure out what's wrong with the wife she's also learning more about the husband, the wife, his half brother and the island. And there's a lot going on between them.

I liked this and it reminded me a little of Onibaba. It's not scary but it has good atmosphere, builds slowly and by the time Betsy takes the wife to the voodoo Dr. you're ready for it. The ritual was done well and was something I was really hoping wouldn't be all cringy. Thankfully it didn't go that route. I have zero experience with voodoo rituals but the way it was presented seemed respectful. Had they gone the other route and presented it as a bunch of flailing nut cases it would have ruined what had been built up.

The entire movie felt like a parable that would be passed down from generation to generation around a campfire and when those stories are done right I really enjoy them.

[Siddon]

https://i2.wp.com/moviesandmania.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/The-Voices-reviews-movie-film-black-comedy-horror-2014-Ryan-Reynolds-talking-cat-dog-factory-worker.jpg?resize=564%2C317&ssl=1

The Voices (2014)

The Voices tells the story of a factory worker Jerry, (Ryan Reynolds) who decides to not take his medication so he now hears voices from his cat and dog. Jerry is very interested in a british accountant named Fiona (Gemma Arterton) who isn't really into Jerry but the other accountant Lisa (Anna Kendrick) is. First I thought the film was going to be a wacky love triangle.

To me this felt like a pilot for a TV show that got retrofitted into a film. You have a lot of quirkiness and underdeveloped actors and storylines. Often times I felt like we were going to see certain things happen and they were just sort of dropped. Tonally the film is solid, it has high points when Jerry goes into his fantasy world and then we get hit with reality. Unfortunately the film jams to much plot into the story. Their's a second act twist and after that everything just kind of speeds up.

Ryan Reynolds is good as Jerry but not so much as Mr Whiskers and Bosco. The dog and cat are treated like one note charactures and we spend way too much time with them...it felt fairly self-indulgent and somewhat sank the film for me.

[Siddon]

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/msnbc/Components/Photos/070815/070815_BillyMitchellPacMan_hmed_2p.jpg

The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters (2007)


This is one of those "documentaries" that was actually a crime passed off as a documentary. This is the story of a group of nerds who compete in old arcade games for high scores and pride. On the surface it's a touching thrilling little character study of a pair of men. The villain Billy Mitchell an 80's wunderkind who is a D list celebrity and Steve Weibe a challenger...an out of work every-man who never succeeded at anything inspite of being a master of several skills.


Now while on the surface this is a story of two men who enjoy Donkey Kong years later we find out that this is actually a scam. Walter Day is the man who runs this contest for the high scores of these games and it turns out what he was really doing was lying, cheating and inflating and eliminating scores to make his arcade business more profitable for a sale. It's an amazing crime the you don't find out in the documentary but rather what happens in the 10 years post. But the actions manage to elevate the subject matter...this is fraud or a Kabuki show dressed up as a documentary



We never found out which of the participants are in on the scam and which are just pathetic hanger oners. but still it's a great documentary and I hope we get a sequel.

[Thursday Next]

Waterloo Bridge (1940)

"Darling don't cry, it's a happy ending!"*

*spoiler alert, it isn't

Good pick for me as I enjoyed the original Waterloo Bridge and also Random Harvest which was picked for me in a previous HoF. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it as much as the pre-code original as there were a lot of changes, but the old fashioned melodrama of it all got to me in the end.

Vivien Leigh gave an excellent and understated performance as Myra. I like Gone With the Wind in many ways, but I've always thought she was a bit OTT as Scarlett O'Hara. This is a very different performance. Robert Taylor is hopelessly miscast as a British army officer and I didn't feel the romance between them as much as I wanted to. Virginia Field gives a good performance in a small but important role as Myra's friend Kitty.

One thing that bugged me a little was that it was supposedly set in the first world war but everything about it looks 1940s, there's very little attempt at the period part of period drama.

At first I thought it wasn't that interesting visually, and certainly it's not the aspect the film is most interested in, but there were some interesting choices - like the first time Myra meets a client on the bridge, you don't see him at all, just hear his voice off screen.

A few similarities with another of my nominated movies, The Cranes Are Flying. Not sure yet where each will finish on my ballot!

[Takoma11]

The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters (2007)


This is one of those "documentaries" that was actually a crime passed off as a documentary.

I think it's pretty apparent from the documentary that there's a ton of shady business going on in this community and that it leads to a lot of really unhealthy dynamics.

The part of this film that is seared into my mind is when the family is driving to the competition and the daughter is like "Maybe you could find another way to spend your time. *pointed and pained stare*". Like, dad please get out of the garage and attend to me growing up.

[cricket]

Great job folks!!

[rauldc14]

Great job folks!!

Except Neiba :)

[Siddon]

https://filmjunk.com/images/weblog/blackdynamitetrailer.jpg

Black Dynamite (2009)

Black Dynamite is a throw back satire of old Blacksplotation films of the 70's. The lead character is a pimp-CIA-ex vet whose brother is killed as he goes on a rampage against drugs in the ghetto exposing a conspiracy which leads all the way up to the presidency. It's really stupid, deliberately poorly made for jokes and the jokes only land on occasion.

Part of me wants to check out the anime to see if it works through it's storyline problems. Technically it had a lot to admire to it, the film tries very hard to get that cheap B look...though it does miss with most of the actor choices. Less would be much more with this one as it feels like a Naked Gunn movie with Dumb and Dumberer humor and the mix just doesn't work.

[Thief]

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/msnbc/Components/Photos/070815/070815_BillyMitchellPacMan_hmed_2p.jpg

The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters (2007)


This is one of those "documentaries" that was actually a crime passed off as a documentary. This is the story of a group of nerds who compete in old arcade games for high scores and pride. On the surface it's a touching thrilling little character study of a pair of men. The villain Billy Mitchell an 80's wunderkind who is a D list celebrity and Steve Weibe a challenger...an out of work every-man who never succeeded at anything inspite of being a master of several skills.


Now while on the surface this is a story of two men who enjoy Donkey Kong years later we find out that this is actually a scam. Walter Day is the man who runs this contest for the high scores of these games and it turns out what he was really doing was lying, cheating and inflating and eliminating scores to make his arcade business more profitable for a sale. It's an amazing crime the you don't find out in the documentary but rather what happens in the 10 years post. But the actions manage to elevate the subject matter...this is fraud or a Kabuki show dressed up as a documentary



We never found out which of the participants are in on the scam and which are just pathetic hanger oners. but still it's a great documentary and I hope we get a sequel.

Love this documentary. I recently had a chance to talk about it as a guest on a podcast and it was a lot of fun to revisit it. I think it's one of the most enjoyable and accessible documentaries out there.

[Siddon]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/a8/29/2ba82997312cff199969cc7bdfcc4cb5.jpg

The Straight Story (1999)

I'm actually not that big of a fan of David Lynch. Often times his films just aren't to my taste. Often times I leave a Lynch film and feel a bit cheated because the guy clearly doesn't like telling a straight story. Well when I heard about this film I just kinda passed on it because it just sounded so boring.

So I was a bit shocked when I realized I was watching the classic Odyssey story told with a Lynch twist and a tremendous amount of restraint. One of the big differences between this film and some of the other films is the lead while being eccentric also feels like a real person. The fine line was walked with Lynch and I really appreciate it. One of the things I really loved about it was you had horrific events happen with the characters but you never see it. I also like how you get the weight of the journey time passes by and can really feel it and see how it affects the other characters.

Some of the scenes didn't work all the way for me...especially the bargaining scenes it felt a bit removed from the characters motivations...but still the good greatly outweighs the okay.

[Thief]

Into my last leg, I just finished Exit Through the Gift Shop. 3 to go!

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpa1.narvii.com%2F5891%2F2dabeabc1e0c35c2520a2e35e78a93563c7f686c_hq.gif&f=1&nofb=1
Castle in the Sky (1986)

Pazu: A girl just fell from the sky, boss!

A girl (Sheeta) and boy (Pazu), along with some pirates, some military folks and a bad guy, who reminded me of Toht, search for a Castle in the Sky with the help of a magical crystal.

The movie opens with the pirates attacking a blimp like flying machine looking for the crystal which Toht currently possesses. The girl steals the crystal from Toht and trying to escape climbs out a window, slips and crashes to the ground below. Not really though. As she nears the ground the crystal comes to life and floats the girl gently to the ground where she is found by the young boy and the race to the Castle is on.

Eventually they all reach the castle and the movie climaxes with a very well done action sequence where everything comes together. Why Toht is so consumed with the castle, what the pirates are looking for and what is Sheeta's connection? The action in this is pretty exhilarating especially the first chase, on the train. It had a bit of that early 80's action/adventure feel to it. That's what hooked me and got me thinking this may not be what I was expecting ( a heavy handed, message movie). The animation is fantastic, a little more oomph to it than Porco but a little less impressive than Mononoke. One thing that surprised me was the soundtrack. The music was so good, it fit perfect and I think that's a big reason why the movie felt a little Spielberg-like to me.

Sometimes with these HoF's there are movies you just expect to be a slog to get through and this was the one I was worried about. I've never been a fan of anime because I never really watch a lot of anime. I have to get over that because here is another anime that I liked a lot. Castle in the Sky is solid adventure movie and one I'm sure to share and watch again.

[cricket]

I loved The Straight Story!

[rauldc14]

Need to see Castle in the sky again

[edarsenal]

Have not seen I Walked with a Zombie but it does look worthwhile.

Seen Voices a couple of times and I do remember the first time being a bit offset by how much off the rails it goes. Though, knowing that, the second and third times I quite enjoyed it.

Curious about The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters, especially the scam aspect of it.

No interest in seeing Black Dynamite for the exact reasons Siddon remarked on.

The Straight Story was recommended for me in the first of these HoFs and it was a wonderful surprise, not only in itself but that it was Lynch that directed it. Because it was SO out of his norm. A heartfelt story played by a true gentleman who, sadly, died after making it.

Castle in the Sky along with, Howl's Moving Castle is on my watchlist in regards to this genre of anime.



I have three somewhat daunting films left to go and I'd much rather find the mood to experience, and most likely enjoy them and thereby appreciate what looks to be some very good films. But I WILL get to them. Preferably, rather soon.

[Thief]

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
(2010, Banksy)

https://kpbs.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2010/11/17/12_t800.jpg


"I don't know how to play chess, but to me, life is like a game of chess."



Chess is described as a game of strategy. One that requires patience and long-term "planning" as each player positions their pieces strategically to achieve the final goal. Because of this, a lot of people find it tough to learn or follow, or consider it unrewarding because of its "long-term" focus. When amateur filmmaker and aspiring street artist Thierry Guetta compares life to a game of chess after admitting he doesn't know how to play it, well, that probably gives you an idea of his general approach to his work.

Exit Through the Gift Shop chronicles the evolution and rise of Guetta from French immigrant and small businessman to street art sensation. Directed by mysterious street artist Banksy, you can see Guetta bounce and stumble from "passion" to "obsession", and viceversa. From his obsession with carrying a camera and filming everything and his subsequent venture into the world of street art, to his obsession with meeting Banksy and his eventual desire to become a street artist himself.

This is a captivating documentary that captures the essence of what could be a madman or a genius, or both. Banksy presents both sides to Guetta's personality, starting with the way he earned the respect of street artists around the world by joining them in nocturnal escapades and daring stunts. But halfway through, he shifts to show a more worrying side of Guetta, a side that's probably more obsessed with an endgame, whatever that is, than with the craft itself.

Guetta is a captivating figure himself precisely because you can't really figure him out. At some point, some of the interviewees argue that he has possible mental issues, all while we see people from all walks of life pay thousands and millions of dollars for his stuff. As we see his crazed rise to fame, which some think disregards what street art means and stands for, another interviewer wonders "who the joke's on" or even "if there is a joke".

Ultimately, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about a man who I might say doesn't know what he's doing, but is still bold enough to play the game in order to do *something*. He might not know how to play chess, but he's still moving his pieces, hoping that they land in the right place. And as far as he's concerned, so far they have.

Grade: 4

[Thief]

Curious about The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters, especially the scam aspect of it.



The documentary is a great watch, but it is worth noting that it doesn't really focus on the "scam aspect" of it, most of which really surfaced in the years after. You can see shades of it, but the focus is the rivalry between these two players: Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, as they each use different methods to achieve this record.

[Takoma11]

Ya'll sleeping on Black Dynamite makes me sad. The diner sequence is one of my favorite scenes from any parody type film.

[Siddon]

Curious about The King of Kong:A Fistfull of Quarters, especially the scam aspect of it.



The documentary covers like 06 the con doesn't really come out til 2018 but you see the early parts of the scam in the documentary.

[Siddon]

https://dkanut5j171nq.cloudfront.net/catalogue-images/ti109612.jpg

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

I started watching this film in high school and just found it boring and turned it off. Watching it now older with a more refined cinematic palette I can appreciate what the filmmaker was going for. You see enough bad hangout films you appreciate the good ones.

It's basically a hangout film, a bunch of interchangeable low income new yorkers hanging around the seedy side of the city(before it got all cleaned up). Tony Manero is a narcissist working a dead end job living to dance and get laid he enters a contest where he swaps out Annette for Stephanie obviously feeling like he could do better. Tony chases Stephanie throughout the film trying to hook up with the older woman over the easier younger girl.

The film builds up to a rape, gang fight and death but it all just feels tacked on and underwhelming. Once again this New York doesn't feel real but who knows maybe people were just banging in cars on the streets and the police ignore a car driving through a building.

I didn't hate it enough to turn it off like I did when I was 17...now in my 30's I was just bored but it's simplistic messages and one dimensional characters.

[Thief]

Just finished The Virgin Spring so you can chalk another one for me. Just two to go.

[Hey Fredrick]

The Voices - Kind of surprised this is on a MoFo list. Barely remember it but I do remember it had its moments but not enough of them.

Dark City - One of my fav sci fi movies even with Kiefer hyperventilating through it all.

King of Kong - plunked my fair share of quarters into that GD machine wasting away my free time (and money) at Galaxy of Games as a kid. I never understood how they just accepted Billy's crappy video as proof that he beat Wiebe's score. Thought it was an interesting doc about a bunch of Peter Pans and an angry Ape.

Black Dynamite - Love this one, it's hilarious and is easily one of my fav comedies of the last 20 years. I think it does perfectly what it sets out to do and has some memorable one liners. If you enjoy this the animated series has some hilarious episodes as well.

Straight Story - Haven't seen it in a while but I like it.This is the movie that makes respect Lynch even more than I already did. Hard to believe that making a movie like this is stepping out of someones comfort zone but that's exactly what Lynch did and pulled it off.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1443951478998278146

[Takoma11]

The Voices - Kind of surprised this is on a MoFo list. Barely remember it but I do remember it had its moments but not enough of them.

I'd probably give it a 3.5.

There are a lot of movies out there about men who just can't stop themselves from hurting women, and I thought that this one managed to get both the dark comedy and some actually poignant moments right. I agree that it's flawed, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.

[Hey Fredrick]

I'd probably give it a rating_3_5.

There are a lot of movies out there about men who just can't stop themselves from hurting women, and I thought that this one managed to get both the dark comedy and some actually poignant moments right. I agree that it's flawed, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.


Just a little surprised it hit a top 100. Part of that may be because I didn't think anybody had really seen it. I had never heard of it until I stumbled across it when flipping through one of the streaming apps. I like Reynolds, I like cats and dogs, lets give this one a run. It exceeded my expectations. I have it at rating_3 so I don't think it's a bad movie at all.

[Takoma11]

Just a little surprised it hit a top 100. Part of that may be because I didn't think anybody had really seen it. I had never heard of it until I stumbled across it when flipping through one of the streaming apps. I like Reynolds, I like cats and dogs, lets give this one a run. It exceeded my expectations. I have it at rating_3 so I don't think it's a bad movie at all.

I am also surprised that it made a top 100, both because, like you say, I don't feel like it's widely seen, and because it's good but not great.

[edarsenal]

That was my experience with The Voices along with the surprise that it made a List as well as thinking it was unknown, as well as my own surprise at it being decent. I'd go with around a 3.5+ for it. A strange but amusing attempt at being inside, what he believes himself as, a nice guy's head and the voices he hears from his cat and dog convincing him to do murder. Well, the cat really, the dog isn't all that crazy about it.

[rauldc14]

11 movies in 12 days.....can he pull it off?

[Thief]

Starting Touch of Evil now....

[Siddon]

https://watchdocumentaries.com/wp-content/uploads/man-on-wire.jpg

Man on Wire (2008)


So this was an interesting experiment where I had already seen the drama and now I'm going back to watch the documentary. It's a good film on it's merits of filmmaking, the reenactments are solid the score is really strong and Phillippe Petite is incredibly charismatic. But yeah this was just a rehash of the film I had already saw so it didn't really work for me..it was just kinda a slough something to get over with. Some stories can be told multiple times others lose most of the impact on a second telling and this is the sort of story that loses it's impact on second telling.

[Thief]

THE VIRGIN SPRING
(1960, Bergman)

https://amherstcinema.org/sites/default/files/styles/field_image_front/public/VirginSpring_0.jpg?itok=2nU0CpTc


"A day can start out beautifully yet end in misery."



That's the chance we take every time we wake up. We make plans and try to stick by them, but only one minor deviation can result in unexpected, or even catastrophic outcomes, and alter the course of our day dramatically. A beautiful day turned into misery. That is the situation in which the characters of this Ingmar Bergman's film find themselves.

Set in medieval Sweden, The Virgin Spring starts with Karin (Birgitta Pettersson), a young woman sent to take candles into church by her parents, Töre and Märeta (Max Von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg). But when their day turns to misery, they have to think about their response against those that caused it.

This is my 6th Bergman film, and I have to say that each film of his is a revelation in many ways. Be it for the mind-boggling and emotionally charged depth of Persona, or the striking use of colors and sounds in Cries and Whispers, or even the sexy but fun simplicity of Smiles of the Summer Night. The Virgin Spring goes for a more straightforward, raw approach, but without losing that emotional anchor of his other films.

With this film, Bergman extends one of his main themes, which is the questioning of God's purposes in the things that happen to us, and end our days in misery. But on his way to that questioning, he walks us through a valley of dread and death. It is a bit of a tough watch, as things unravel, but Bergman keeps us focused on our main characters: Töre and Märeta, and how they think, rethink, and think again of their reactions to tragedy.

All of the performances are great, with Von Sydow and Valberg having the meatier roles; but Pettersson does a pretty good job of transmitting the innocence and naïvete of a young woman starting a beautiful day, not knowing the misery that awaits her. But even though he may question, Bergman manages to reassure us that the misery and tragedy can recede, and make way for another beautiful day.

Grade: 4.5

[rauldc14]

THE VIRGIN SPRING
(1960, Bergman)

https://amherstcinema.org/sites/default/files/styles/field_image_front/public/VirginSpring_0.jpg?itok=2nU0CpTc




That's the chance we take every time we wake up. We make plans and try to stick by them, but only one minor deviation can result in unexpected, or even catastrophic outcomes, and alter the course of our day dramatically. A beautiful day turned into misery. That is the situation in which the characters of this Ingmar Bergman's film find themselves.

Set in medieval Sweden, The Virgin Spring starts with Karin (Birgitta Pettersson), a young woman sent to take candles into church by her parents, Töre and Märeta (Max Von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg). But when their day turns to misery, they have to think about their response against those that caused it.

This is my 6th Bergman film, and I have to say that each film of his is a revelation in many ways. Be it for the mind-boggling and emotionally charged depth of Persona, or the striking use of colors and sounds in Cries and Whispers, or even the sexy but fun simplicity of Smiles of the Summer Night. The Virgin Spring goes for a more straightforward, raw approach, but without losing that emotional anchor of his other films.

With this film, Bergman extends one of his main themes, which is the questioning of God's purposes in the things that happen to us, and end our days in misery. But on his way to that questioning, he walks us through a valley of dread and death. It is a bit of a tough watch, as things unravel, but Bergman keeps us focused on our main characters: Töre and Märeta, and how they think, rethink, and think again of their reactions to tragedy.

All of the performances are great, with Von Sydow and Valberg having the meatier roles; but Pettersson does a pretty good job of transmitting the innocence and naïvete of a young woman starting a beautiful day, not knowing the misery that awaits her. But even though he may question, Bergman manages to reassure us that the misery and tragedy can recede, and make way for another beautiful day.

Grade: 4.5

I didn't nominate this for you, but super glad to see you loved it!

[Thief]

Thanks to whoever recommended it. Second favorite Bergman, although it's closely followed by Shame.

[Thief]

Maybe I'll write my Touch of Evil review tomorrow, and I have what? 10 days to watch An Autumn Afternoon?

[gbgoodies]

https://watchdocumentaries.com/wp-content/uploads/man-on-wire.jpg

Man on Wire (2008)


So this was an interesting experiment where I had already seen the drama and now I'm going back to watch the documentary. It's a good film on it's merits of filmmaking, the reenactments are solid the score is really strong and Phillippe Petite is incredibly charismatic. But yeah this was just a rehash of the film I had already saw so it didn't really work for me..it was just kinda a slough something to get over with. Some stories can be told multiple times others lose most of the impact on a second telling and this is the sort of story that loses it's impact on second telling.


I haven't seen Man on Wire, but I saw The Walk with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I thought it was great. I was thinking about watching Man on Wire eventually, but it sounds like you're saying that it's not worth watching it because there's nothing in the documentary that wasn't in the movie. Am I reading that right?

[Thief]

I didn't nominate this for you, but super glad to see you loved it!

It might be tangentially worth noting that I hated both versions of The Last House on the Left :laugh:

[Thief]

TOUCH OF EVIL
(1958, Welles)

https://www.zekefilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TouchEvil2-1280x600.jpg


"I'm always thinking of her, drunk or sober. What else is there to think about, except my job, my dirty job?"



Set in the US-Mexican border, Touch of Evil follows the investigation of a car bombing that kills a wealthy businessman and his girlfriend. Even though he's on his honeymoon, "Mexican" agent Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) tries to assist in the investigation, which is led by Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles), a veteran but shady officer that might have other motivations in mind.

Objectively speaking, this is a pretty good film. Welles does a great job both behind and in front of the camera. His Quinlan is certainly despicable, but still layered. There's so much thing that he does with his expressions and his stance that communicate so much. As for his direction, what can be said? From the impressive opening shot, you know you're in for a technical treat. He uses some techniques similar to the ones he used in Citizen Kane, low angle shots, pans and zooms, but he also manages to create a good deal of tension, especially regarding the fate of Vargas' wife, Susie (Janet Leigh).

However, one can't deny the context of some of the other decisions made for this. As good as Heston's performance is, his casting as a "dark-skinned Mexican" is... problematic, to say the least. Moreover when he ends up being the *only* "honorable" Latino character in the film, while the others are all thugs, criminals, or prostitutes. There are some things I can give a pass, chalk it up to just a sign of the times. But there are others, like the implications of a single throwaway line in the ending, which kinda neuters any goodwill the film could have.

So the movie feels much like the duality in Quinlan, being a seemingly competent and renowned police officer, haunted by a past that he just can't shake. The film has undeniable technical merits and an inherently thrilling nature, in addition to great performances... but unfortunately, it's haunted by decisions of the past that I just can't shake that easily.

Grade: 4?

[Thief]

Is cricket alive and well?

[Citizen Rules]

Is cricket alive and well?He's in escrow!

[rauldc14]

Fly Neiba Fly!

[Thief]

cricket, how is this prediction going? :laugh:

Anyone want to guess the order that people finish?

I'll say

Allaby
Sean
Takoma
Citizen
Thursday
Okay
Fredrick
Cricket
Raul
Siddon
Ed
Thief
Neiba

Takoma would finish in 3 days except she'll have a movie that gets lost in the mail.

[Okay]

Woman in the Dunes (1964) directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

https://scontent.frak1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/35416243_1677045332391733_2343277119531909120_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=9267fe&_nc_eui2=AeEASbDIEg-zrwx8UFN4un71THDDI94R1mBMcMMj3hHWYM64R0CgZO2ImME4_4Bc3GM3W6_tRmLVnqXBr9Y0Plis&_nc_ohc=fbipNL9LBQAAX-wK4XS&_nc_oc=AQkENcBAXt9SGaQMFust5Cjt1oxcjpE5ErzOYPcNRlv38fqNlKvaEHxKLW1qb0ZYrSk&_nc_ht=scontent.frak1-1.fna&oh=306dbaadd32e7e62b7656370b360f19c&oe=61830DF3

This movie was wild. It has such a unique story to begin with, and it's wrapped up in a haunting score and sound design, phenomenal cinematography that feels sensual and vulnerable, and an incredible set design and location that amplify the atmosphere.

It tells the tale of this teacher (Niki) who goes to a beach (that resembles a desert more than anything) to collect some insects, he stays for the night in a woman's "house" and is then tricked into becoming the villagers' slave essentially. All of his attempts at escaping generate some incredibly tense and at times shocking scenes. I was very impressed to see that during his first try at climbing out of this hole he's in, he ignites a huge sand avalanche that knocks him back down. Looking at it all happen you would think that the film had a bigger budget than it really does, but no that's just the kind of confidence it walks around with, and it's present and strong throughout the entirety of its runtime. Just a few minutes later, we see Niki getting lifted up by the villagers with a rope, only for them to sadistically and mockingly drop him back down clearly impacting the floor hard, this all being in one continuous long take. So yeah, this movie was pretty wild.

The film also puts in contrast the life that our main characters share with the life of the average person and his 9 to 5 city job, which showcases the overwhelming similarities between the two seemingly different lifestyles, only this time, Niki is shoveling sand from 9 to 5 instead of teaching. However, our main character eventually discovers an actual purpose after being forced into this environment for so long. Not only has he grown a little attached to the woman he's with, and not only is she having his baby, but more importantly, he discovers a technique to draw water from a damp sand by capillary action. With the latter, he breaks the monotonous cycle he's been living in all of his life, and feels he has now accomplished the first meaningful thing he's ever done. That is why he chooses to stay in the end. He will make substantial accomplishments and have more of an impact in this deserted village than he ever will in Tokyo.

We also have the woman in this film (who we only know as "the woman") who is the emotional string of it all. After finally having a companion in Niki, there's a shining light in this dark tunnel of loneliness she's been trapped in for what seems like now an eternity. In reality, I think she'd even do double the work she's already been doing just to keep him as someone to talk to and accompany her throughout this life she's living. And because Niki is so passionate about leaving this place, and he's from the city, she's constantly comparing herself and the life she can give him to what he's known and had available in the past. She wants him to care for her just as much as he would normally care for someone back home, and not just because of the circumstances they're in. She wants to be enough for him, and she wants him to be satisfied with what they have and what they can be.

Meanwhile he's building a grappling hook (which I'm still confused on how he managed to even do that) behind her back and manipulates her emotionally in order to sneak out smoothly. After another gripping failed attempt though, we can see how his acts truly affect her and her self-esteem. Then there's of course that heartbreaking rape attempt, which reminded me a lot of the cow scene from Apocalypse Now in terms of feels and form. Even though the woman would do anything to please this man at this point, she absolutely refuses to stoop that low and fights desperately for he life. And of course she would because otherwise letting him have his way would validate all of her insecurities of being lesser than.

[Thief]

Such a great film. Saw it earlier this year for another HOF and thought it was mind-blowingly good.

[Citizen Rules]

I watched Woman in the Dunes for the last PR, it was my #1 film.

[Thief]

I watched Woman in the Dunes for the last PR, it was my #1 film.

Yep. Same. Got it on the Foreign PR and it ended up at #1.

[Okay]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I'm already finished with watching all the films I have left, so now it's just a matter of scattering my posts on them for the next few days. I'm not sending my list yet because I think I still might re-watch a particular movie.

[Citizen Rules]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I'm already finished with watching all the films I have left, so now it's just a matter of scattering my posts on them for the next few days. I'm not sending my list yet because I think I still might re-watch a particular movie.You should rewatch mine and vote it high!

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2Fk5%2Fw3%2F2z%2Fpv%2Fhow-green-was-my-valley-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D47a5c76fd7&f=1&nofb=1

How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Mrs. Morgan: Where ya goin'?
Mr. Morgan : To get drunk.


This is the story of a family living in a small, Welsh mining village. You have the father, who is kind of a liaison between the coal miners and the mine owners, the mother aka the heart of the family, four older brothers who work in the mines, an older sister who is quite fetching and catches the eyes of many men in the village and finally the the youngest son Huw, who is the first of the family to be able to attend school and is also the stories narrator.

These are tough movies to review as a lot happens but it's not a plot heavy movie. It's more here's a slice of life in a Welsh mining village movie. Everything happens to the family in order, almost like acts in a play. The four sons union issues and fallout, then the daughters story and finally Huw's story, which makes up most of the movie.

The film is filled with conflict and resolution. Sometimes those resolutions aren't very... they can be messy. Sometimes they are fun (boxing lessons anyone?) and it always feels real for the time. A movie like this needs to have solid acting and I thought everyone was great, especially the mother and father.

If there's one thing that bothered me it's that the movie seems to take place over a few years but Huw never ages. It makes the timeline feel a little weird but that's a minor nitpick.

So was it good? I'd say it's a very good movie and one I probably would never have watched had it not been recommended. It gets flack for being one of the weaker BP winners but if it was released in almost any other year I don't know if it would have that rep. I've seen six Ford films so far and I don't know if this cracks his top three for me but that's more a testament to how good his movies are than any slight to How Green Was My Valley.

[Thief]

I've been meaning to watch that one for a while.

[Takoma11]

I've been meaning to watch that one for a while.

I think you'd enjoy it. Honestly, to me the title just always sounded so bland, but it's a pretty powerful look at how communities change over time through the lens of a single family.

[cricket]

Congratulations Fredrick, you are the 6th member to finish!

[cricket]

Will I be the first host to ask for an extension?

[Takoma11]

Will I be the first host to ask for an extension?

Scandalous! Then again, there are advantages to being the person in charge . . .

[cricket]

I've been out of my mind busy and I'm so exhausted. Moving day is technically Saturday but it'll go on a few days. Then I will have a bit of a break.

[Thief]

https://c.tenor.com/w_T70DXEchIAAAAC/did-you-hear-something-gossip.gif

I think that's neiba's sigh of relief :laugh:

[Thief]

Seriously though, I doubt that anyone would complain about a couple of days extra.

[cricket]

Seriously though, I doubt that anyone would complain about a couple of days extra.

How about a month?:p

I've only watched 1 movie in 2 months now.

I'm happy with the apartment we found though-

https://www.apartments.com/viva-lakeshore-bridgewater-ma/0mzsks0/

[rauldc14]

A month!?! Good Lord lol.

[Allaby]

How about a month?:p

I've only watched 1 movie in 2 months now.

I'm happy with the apartment we found though-

https://www.apartments.com/viva-lakeshore-bridgewater-ma/0mzsks0/

Nice looking apartment. Enjoy it!

[cricket]

It's a good thing I didn't join the 26th because I was tempted.

[seanc]

How about a month?:p

I've only watched 1 movie in 2 months now.

I'm happy with the apartment we found though-

https://www.apartments.com/viva-lakeshore-bridgewater-ma/0mzsks0/

Those Northeast prices give me heartburn just looking at them.

[Citizen Rules]

How about a month?:p

I've only watched 1 movie in 2 months now.

I'm happy with the apartment we found though-

https://www.apartments.com/viva-lakeshore-bridgewater-ma/0mzsks0/The apartment looks nice, but yikes to the price. If it was me I'd be staying in a van down by the river:p

[rauldc14]

No way in hell I'd pay 3500 a month for an apartment. That's insanity

[Takoma11]

I look forward to the end of this challenge in November of 2023.

[cricket]

Those Northeast prices give me heartburn just looking at them.

The apartment looks nice, but yikes to the price. If it was me I'd be staying in a van down by the river:p

No way in hell I'd pay 3500 a month for an apartment. That's insanity

Mine is 2795, not sure why apt K is so much more as it's the same size. Then it's $60 per month each dog, but I wrote a letter claiming them as emotional support animals and had my therapist friend email it from her account:D

[Citizen Rules]

Mine is 2795, not sure why apt K is so much more as it's the same size.

Then it's $60 per month each dog, but I wrote a letter claiming them as emotional support animals and had my therapist friend email it from her account:DI like that!

Question, is that apartment like a temp thing as you find another house? or are you planning on living there long term?

[Siddon]

Obviously there is a new deadline when is it? Also anyone see Neiba

[Thief]

Well, I just finished watching An Autumn Afternoon, so all I need is to write my final review and I'm done.

[Okay]

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) directed by Alexander Mackendrick

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1057/4964/products/sweet-smell-of-success-vintage-movie-poster-original-window-card-14x22-3363.jpg?v=1543957815

Even though Burt Lancaster's face is all over the posters and is probably the more recognized figure out of this film, Tony Curtis carries the movie for me. He delivers the best performance out of the bunch. His character is charismatic and tricky and just so interesting to follow, especially when he hops around from place to place cleverly orchestrating devious plans and shenanigans to get what he wants. He's also nuanced enough to have a conscience and moral limits, but that sweet smell of success always hypnotizes him to turn the other cheek and just go along with whatever wrongdoing. He's in practice just as evil as J.J. but is clearly not malicious and infinitely more entertaining to watch. So let's talk about J.J. (Lancaster's character) for a sec. I didn't find him to be enjoyable at all. He has no charisma and simply comes off as creepy, which begs the question of how he got into the position of power he's in while being so unlikeable. Add to that the fact that he's extremely controlling of his sister's dating life, without us getting any backstory or explanation as to why, to the point where it comes off as incestual. And if that's what they were going for, I would've loved for the film to boldly push the boundaries in that direction instead of having it be so vague that it's unrecognizable and unsubstantiated. In this case it is also very important for me to get some sort of motive out of J.J. because his character had nothing for me to latch onto, and that made him super uninteresting, so anything that could've added to his character would've definitely helped.

To finish off with my problems with the film, the stakes overall were way too low for me to care about the main conflict, especially when most of the people involved in it are vanilla cakes. J.J., his sister, and her boyfriend all have nothing to show or write home about, they were all boring to me. Also, did anyone think the ending was weird as ****? First of all, who phoned Sidney? I'm pretty sure J.J. did, but the fact that it was an "urgent" call yet he wasn't already in his house waiting and the way the film was building things up as if to expect a twist all made me believe otherwise. But the weirdest part was Lancaster's reaction to Sidney "touching" his sister. You would think that J.J. would have enough trust in Sid by now to know he has more sense than ever crossing that line, so not only was his reaction nonsensical, but it also put him in a corner that would immediately expose him to his sister (not that it wasn't obvious already), and you'd think he would at least care about that. I really still can't tell if J.J. was just acting about with his ludicrous reaction or if he's genuinely that psychotic over his sister, it's not made clear at all, because he then calls Kello and sells Sid out even further while his sister is literally in the next room which should undoubtedly fully expose that he was behind everything, so again...for such a calculated and successful man he sure becomes a complete mess unnecessarily.

On the other hand, there's a lot of other stuff I loved about the movie, the cinematography being one of them. I mean holy hell the mise-en-scène in this film is unbeatable. The dialogue is sharp and impeccable, but it also feels a little too overstuffed at times because it's non-stop quotable line after quotable line. And as I've already stated, the most enjoyable elements were just watching Tony Curtis moving around New York city, finessing people and executing his devilish plans.

[Thief]

AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON
(1962, Ozu)

https://i.imgur.com/mvjKxxu.png


"In the end, we spend our lives alone... all alone."



An Autumn Afternoon follows Shūhei Hirayama (Chishū Ryū), an aging widower torn between his parental duty of arranging a marriage for her daughter, Michiko (Shima Iwash!ta) and her desire to remain with him and take care of him and her younger brother. If it sounds similar to other film, that's because there are several parallelisms between this film and Ozu's own Late Spring, which I saw in December last year.

On that film, however, the focus is mostly on the character of the daughter, whereas here, Ozu decides to focus on the father. This is my third Ozu film within less than a year, and it's just another evidence of how well he can craft compelling and moving stories from seemingly mundane family occurrences, which he does with great writing and excellent performances.

Just as he has done in the other Ozu films I've seen, Ryū does a great job of transmitting the inner dilemma within Hirayama. His performances are not flashy, but there's such a calming aura in his delivery and presence, and you can see the genuine care for his children in his performance. Iwash!ta's role isn't as meatier as Setsuko Hara's were, but she does a great job with the moments she gets.

I won't deny that there is a certain element of "been there, done that" to the film, since it pretty much follows the same beats as Late Spring, but coming 13 years after that film, it's interesting to see tinges of "evolution" and "growth" in how men and women, fathers and children interact. Just like with Late Spring, I have some very minor issues with the notion of an "arranged marriage", but that's not on Ozu, but the culture itself. Still, I like how Hirayama doesn't force things on his daughter as he's setting things up ("I'm not insisting on this other man. If you don't like him, you can say so") which, again, shows some degree of growth in the country's overall culture and Ozu himself.

I'm still wondering why Ozu invested so much time into the whole "golf clubs" issue. Maybe I missed something, but I feel like he could've nipped most of that and it would've felt tighter. I also feel that this film didn't pack as much of an emotional punch as the other films of his I've seen. Maybe it's because of its similarities to Late Spring, or maybe it's because I feel it kinda lacked a more defining and climatic moment towards its last act, but I still found myself moved by it.

I just realized after watching this that Ozu never married, and that he lived all of his life with his mother, dying from cancer two years after her. This adds a bit more weight to the film, as far as being his final film but also in how it approaches the subject of loneliness, particularly as you get older. Some of the characters reiterate the point that I quoted above, but also warning not to end up "lonely and sad". Regardless of what we do, we spend our lives alone. The other part's on us.

Grade: 3.5

[Thief]

And that's it from me....

https://c.tenor.com/mmDi750LXfoAAAAd/over-done.gif

[Thief]

cricket, remind me of the rules. I just need to send you my list ranked from 1-10 (best to worst) and that's it, right?

[Citizen Rules]

@cricket (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=68505), remind me of the rules. I just need to send you my list ranked from 1-10 (best to worst) and that's it, right?My choice for you goes first:p then the rest doesn't matter to me:eek:

*We send Cricket by PM, our ranked voting list, from best to worst as you mentioned.

[Thief]

My choice for you goes first:p then the rest doesn't matter to me:eek:



If only I knew who sent what :(

:D

*Thanks

[Citizen Rules]

If only I knew who sent what :(

:D

*Thanks
True! That's why I'm known as Honest Citizen:p

[Thief]

Ok, list sent to cricket, so NOW I'm really done.

[Thursday Next]

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

This one was surprisingly quite hard to get hold of - had to buy it off ebay in the end.

It's an extremely low key drama about a woman just passing through a town loses her dog after her car breaks down and she gets arrested for shoplifting. I don't really like either misery dramas or sad films about animals, so I was a little wary going into this but it wasn't particularly sentimental or heavy handed. Although there definitely is drama and tension, it's so low key overall that it doesn't feel manipulative.

I have mixed feelings about Kelly Reichardt films. They're a very definite style, and I do appreciate them in some ways, but they don't always completely work for me. There's something about the mumbly, at times amateurish, acting and lack of a script that is sometimes more annoying than achieving realism, and there's almost always an ending that leaves you wondering where the ending is. In some ways this was similar to Nomadland - but I think Nomadland did the things that were similar much better.

Michelle Williams was good as Wendy. I was struck how much Michelle Williams in this resembled Jesse Eisenberg in Night Moves - I don't know if it is something about the direction that required the same mannerisms.

I think this is probably the best of Reichardt's films that I have seen.

[Thursday Next]

OK, that's me done, just in time for the now-defunct deadline :D

[Thursday Next]

Man on Wire (2008)


So this was an interesting experiment where I had already seen the drama and now I'm going back to watch the documentary. It's a good film on it's merits of filmmaking, the reenactments are solid the score is really strong and Phillippe Petite is incredibly charismatic. But yeah this was just a rehash of the film I had already saw so it didn't really work for me..it was just kinda a slough something to get over with. Some stories can be told multiple times others lose most of the impact on a second telling and this is the sort of story that loses it's impact on second telling.

I think you're probably right about the story losing its impact, so it probably really depends on which version you watch first. I liked the doc, but I've put off watching the movie version for just that reason, feeling like it would just be a rehash. I think I will watch it sometime when enough time has passed since I saw the doc that I've forgotten some details.

[Thief]

I haven't seen The Walk, but one of the things I admire the most about Man on Wire is that there is no actual footage of it, and still, James Marsh managed to create an extremely engaging and tense atmosphere and sustain it through most of the duration of the documentary. I think the heist-like vibe to it really helps to sell it.

[edarsenal]

https://crookedmarquee.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/grizzlyman.jpg


Grizzly Man (2005)

Sam Egli: We have a saying "He never scared the Horses".

A Documentary by Werner Herzog about an amateur Bear enthusiast, Timothy Treadwell who spent some thirteen summers in the wild of Alaska filming and interacting with grizzly bears and red foxes only to be eventually eaten by a rogue, starving, old bear that, unlike the group of bears he had known for the past decade simply saw him as food.
A fate he had danced around and known could very well be his final outcome. With his love for the area and his almost child-like awe, admiration, and blind love for the one true place he found a sense of belonging.

Along with Timothy's passionate ravings and personal insights of equally insecure and egotistical self-proclamation, Herzog, whose own view of Nature is a more realistic one brings a balancing rod that delves into Timothy's Child of Nature dogma sans scientific practicalities and long-term effects of what he believed as his Life's Work.
Interviewing friends, parents, Nature Preserve Officials, the Coroner, and the helicopter pilot that flew him out and eventually found his and his girlfriend's corpses.

After viewing this rather interesting and well-paced Documentary I am unsure if I could easily dismiss Treadwell as a foolish child-man playing chances or simply someone of great passion and love, drunk with the joy of leaving civilization behind in the face of the enchantment of the wildness for all its Beauty and for all of it's Danger.

A VERY solid recommendation and VERY worthy of its 21 Awards.

[Thief]

Saw that one last month. Very good documentary.

[Takoma11]

What makes Grizzly Man a little hard for me, in retrospect, is the fact that Treadwell was clearly dealing with some mental health issues. (See: the meltdown over the bee).

Watching footage, used without consent of the person in the footage, of someone with mental health problems just makes me a bit wibbly. I do get that his family allowed the use of the footage, that they wanted his story shared, and I appreciate the decision not to directly use any of the footage of his death.

I probably need to revisit it at some point. My response was very positive when I first watched it.

[Thief]

What makes Grizzly Man a little hard for me, in retrospect, is the fact that Treadwell was clearly dealing with some mental health issues. (See: the meltdown over the bee).

Watching footage, used without consent of the person in the footage, of someone with mental health problems just makes me a bit wibbly. I do get that his family allowed the use of the footage, that they wanted his story shared, and I appreciate the decision not to directly use any of the footage of his death.

I probably need to revisit it at some point. My response was very positive when I first watched it.

I understand that, but I think that's part of the point of Herzog's commentary. I think I mentioned as much in my review, but the shift in the second half is very notable and intentional in pointing out the frailty of his mental health. So I think the documentary works as much as a cautionary tale as it works as a chronicle of Treadwell's life.

[Takoma11]

I understand that, but I think that's part of the point of Herzog's commentary. I think I mentioned as much in my review, but the shift in the second half is very notable and intentional in pointing out the frailty of his mental health. So I think the documentary works as much as a cautionary tale as it works as a chronicle of Treadwell's life.

I agree that the film is aware and empathetic toward him. It's just the question of using the footage of him--sometimes with comedic intentions--that at times doesn't quite sit well with me.

[Wyldesyde19]

Ah, Grizzly Man. A modern day tale of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun.

[Thief]

So... any word from cricket about the deadline?

[Citizen Rules]

So... any word from cricket about the deadline?cricket? who's that:p

[Thief]

https://media.giphy.com/media/uLy4Bo680hZxm/giphy.gif

:D

[Citizen Rules]

Seriously, Cricket said his house just sold...So now he's probably knocking himself out moving everything out of the house and into his apartment.

[edarsenal]

What makes Grizzly Man a little hard for me, in retrospect, is the fact that Treadwell was clearly dealing with some mental health issues. (See: the meltdown over the bee).

Watching footage, used without consent of the person in the footage, of someone with mental health problems just makes me a bit wibbly. I do get that his family allowed the use of the footage, that they wanted his story shared, and I appreciate the decision not to directly use any of the footage of his death.

I probably need to revisit it at some point. My response was very positive when I first watched it.

I understand that, but I think that's part of the point of Herzog's commentary. I think I mentioned as much in my review, but the shift in the second half is very notable and intentional in pointing out the frailty of his mental health. So I think the documentary works as much as a cautionary tale as it works as a chronicle of Treadwell's life.

I agree that the film is aware and empathetic toward him. It's just the question of using the footage of him--sometimes with comedic intentions--that at times doesn't quite sit well with me.

Ah, Grizzly Man. A modern day tale of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun.
Like thief, I definitely see your concerns, Takoma, and at times, I wondered if they were going to cross the line and become exploitive during the documentary. Though, for me, I found Herzog's narrative fairly grounded while exploring both Treadwell's Love/Passion and his mental frailty. Creating a more rounded, fuller exploration of this gentleman. Even with Herzog's understanding of Nature being a far harsher reality as opposed to the whimsical beliefs of his subject matter.
To use Thief's wording, "a cautionary tale" while still retaining the AMOUNT of love Treadwell had for the place and the bears he had known for the past thirteen years. And the Red Foxes. They were SO COOL.
I would like to see some of the "field studies" and interviews Treadwell did through the years to gauge the "behind the scenes" process that such a documentary examines.

I also wanted to add Wylde's remark, because it's an excellent metaphor for Treadwell. I also imagine that Treadwell, himself, would probably appreciate it as well.

[rauldc14]

So... any word from cricket about the deadline?

The deadline is 5 hours from now. He texted me.

[Thief]

The deadline is 5 hours from now. He texted me.

Oh snap!

[Thief]

Sooooo.... what's up, everybody :shifty:

[Citizen Rules]

Sooooo.... what's up, everybody :shifty:I don't know and I'm hoping all is well with Cricket, it's been a long while since he posted and that's very unusual for him.

[rauldc14]

Probably moving.....or got arrested

[edarsenal]

they both DO take up a lot of your time lol

For me, I got two left to watch and review

[Thursday Next]

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.f3e69990674282baea025ecbbdb3597e?rik=o7qGSO01YYpRwA&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

[cricket]

Getting settled in, might watch my 1st movie in a long time tonight! I'll be back in a while to catch up.

[cricket]

Congratulations Thief, you are the 7th member to finish!

[cricket]

Congratulations Thursday Next, you are the 8th member to finish!

[cricket]

Hey! Sorry, these last couple of months of post-COVID have been hell, haven't had a single day off since early august. I can finish this, but it will take me a week to start watching stuff, and I'll binge it really quickly.

You ok? You still have a little time!

[Okay]

Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welles

82484


I finally watched the classic answer to what's considered the best film ever made, Citizen Kane, and it happily didn't disappoint at all. I do agree with the sentiment that the film revolutionized filmmaking in a way as it combined different technical and narrative techniques and put them all in one movie. A lot of aspects whether it be the cinematography, the editing, or rather the entire structure of the film, they all feel very contemporary. Visually the film is impeccable. I loved the use of shadows and space. Loved the editing style especially during the transitions and montages. And I just love how the movie is overall structured. The movie opens up with a newsreel that tells you exactly where this film is going, and I thought that was particularly great because it immediately eliminated any pacing issues that could've been, as the experience essentially becomes almost like a re-watch.

The story itself is pretty engaging. It stars off with a reporter being tasked to find the meaning of "Rosebud", the last word uttered by Kane, and through his journey we jump back and forth through time and the life of this enigma of a man, while the gimmick of "Rosebud" slowly becomes less significant and more of a doorway to learn and understand such an interesting character. There's also surprisingly a lot of comedic elements to this drama. I for one found the scene when Kane first buys The New York Inquirer to be hilarious, and that's to the credit of the dialogue and the character writing, with the original owner acting frantic and all over the place while Kane and his team bamboozle him with their energy. There's just way too many memorable scenes overall, whether it's the scene of the huge party and celebration, or the big argument between Kane and his ex-guardian, this film is stacked either way. However, it's the emotional stakes that the film raises that bring the movie to a higher level for me. Once Susie enters the picture, that's when the movie starts to connect with me on an emotional level.

In the first encounter between Susie and Kane, Susie passively mentions how much she likes opera singing, and so after losing the election because of their intimate relationship becoming public, Kane goes on and forces her into becoming the "successful opera singer wife trophy". He wants to let it be known that he only suffered a loss politically to gain a bigger win and achievement through Susie. Everything he touches has to be covered in success, so the world has to eat their words for ever doubting him and his chosen wife, and retract the mocking quotes they initially put between "opera singer" when referring to Susie. I guess I forgot to mention how good the performances are in this film, especially Susie's. We see her constantly training and trying her hardest to fit into the mold K wishes her to be in, but it's clearly not enough, and she herself knows that it'll never be enough to reach that desired level. Regardless, she keeps going and continues to put the effort in, only to be humiliated time and time again. That feeling of not being wanted nor accepted, it's crushing, and it crushed Susie along with her relationship with Kane.

K's entire existence at this point has thrived in proving others wrong. After his childhood being ended abruptly, he made it a personal mission to succeed in doing everything that his guardian opposed. He's very spiteful, and we can really see how spiteful he is with how he ended his relationship with his best friend and the circumstances of his firing. The older he got, the more spiteful he became, to the point where he almost develops a god complex by the end. He wants to control everyone's thoughts and opinions to his favor, and he become to have no use of friends as he can buy them and have them modeled to what he likes them to be. There are also other aspects to his character that fascinate me, like him buying endless expensive stuff and not having any use or care for them. Their purpose or lack thereof says a lot about his character. Him destroying them in the end, and the remainings being treated as museum pieces after his death, that also says a lot about what the film is trying to say.

[Hey Fredrick]

Citizen Kane, which I did not expect to like, was the movie that made me change my opinion of old movies. It was one of those movie experiences where I was thinking, while it was playing, this is really f'n good and it just kept getting better. After watching it for the first time I remember thinking that it felt modern, like it could have been released a few years before I watched it (late 90's).

[Citizen Rules]

Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welle

K's entire existence...Something tells me Orson Welles would have something poignant to say about that:p

Citizen Kane, which I did not expect to like, was the movie that made me change my opinion of old movies. It was one of those movie experiences where I was thinking, while it was playing, this is really f'n good and it just kept getting better. After watching it for the first time I remember thinking that it felt modern, like it could have been released a few years before I watched it (late 90's).I would not have guessed you would like Citizen Kane...and people say my movie taste is hard to figure out🙂

[Thief]

I think Citizen Kane is a bit of a hard film to peg. It tends to give the impression to be a stuffy, boring drama which, paired with its reputation as the best film ever made, make people think they wouldn't like it, when in fact, it is extremely engaging and a lot of fun.

[rauldc14]

Is this the new longest HOF ever?

[Okay]

I mean I could probably post my reviews on the rest of the films I have in one go, but where's the fun.

[Okay]

The Others (2001) directed by Alejandro Amenábar

https://www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2016/02/file_748712_others1.jpg

I came into this film thinking I was spoiled, thinking that instead of what actually ended up happening only the two children would be the ghosts/imagined, and so the experience of watching the movie was feeling more so like a re-watch. I was very much so enjoying how everything was fitting together with the context of the "twist". I was loving the atmosphere, the presentation, the slowness of it all, and I was just loving how much this wasn't the conventional horror film. It even had Kubrickian vibes to it due to the cinematography and the setting. Surprisingly, I was liking this so much that in my head I had it above Citizen Kane at one point ranking wise. Even after the father's appearance, which coincided with the film slowing down a bit and getting repetitive, especially considering how we've been trapped inside this mansion's doors for an hour by now, I was still admiring how his appearance added so much to our understanding of the main character's psyche...or so I thought.

The reveal happens. Dun, dun, dun, everyone is a ghost, and not only was that not what I was expecting, more importantly, I found it to be such a cop-out. Yes, the twist in itself is unique and genre-bending and is a great reversal of expectations, but this is not the film for it. It negates so many enjoyable moments and details that now, with the actual hindsight, make less sense. Had the children been just part of Kidman's imagination and coping mechanism for her loss, and had the servants been just playing along to feed her psychosis and not have her face the actual truth as it hurts too much, this would've been a great character study about a grief process so intense it has maddened a woman. It would've told the story of a mother's twisted lifestyle that implodes on itself once she uncovers right outside the graves belonging to her family, which snaps her back to reality. Even still, she would rather be in denial, and kick the servants out, only for them to come back later on and go along with this same routine that they've grown used to and even bored with by now. But instead, we got a twist that allows the answer to any question one could ask to be: "well, they're ghosts so...". Even then you would still have some questions with unsatisfied answers, like why any of them are even attached to this house to begin with and not at least a dozen of others more. The only explanation we get from the servants is an "oh we love this house", and there's no need to delve into why that's such an unsatisfying reason. Moreover, the fact that they're completely unrelated to the family and are actually from a whole other era is even more annoying. With Kidman and her kids, I guess it's because it's where she killed them and herself...whatever it is, it makes so much less sense for her to be as over-protective of them when they're all dead. Certain details throughout, especially in the dialogue, are now ripped of what initially made them amusing. When Mrs. Mills goes "you have no idea what grief can lead people to do sometimes", or when they all exclaimed how "she's starting to lose it again", those are a few examples of what I'm talking about. And the revelation of the graves belonging to the kids and the husband would've worked much much better for me than them ending up being of the servants.

Otherwise, this is a pretty good movie all in all. It has great performances by everybody, with Kidman being a stunner and the kids being incredibly adorable, loveable, and talented. The cinematography was amazing, matter of fact it's probably my favorite aspect to the film as it heavily contributed to the haunting atmosphere. As for the scares, they're scarce but very well thought through, and fitted right in with the ongoing tone.

[Thief]

Oooh, I love that film. Saw it in theaters and when the twist came up, it blew my mind. I think I heard the audience's gasp. So good


EDIT: BTW, I had never seen that poster, but it's horrible :laugh:

[cricket]

Good going Okay!

[cricket]

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/9f/7c/699f7c7b3c256c6ba2a49bbf8365afd3.gif

This was the first movie I've watched since August, and in August I only watched two. I'm not sure if it took me a while to get used to watching movies again or if it was this movie, but I didn't really get into it until about half way through. Flat out, I felt a little lost for the first half even though I was intrigued. The rest of the movie I enjoyed much more. I am a little up-and-down with Fritz Lang anyway and I think I would put this about in the middle of what I've seen from him. Another watch would probably give me a stronger opinion one way or the other. Overall I enjoyed it and I'm glad to get back into the swing of things.

3.5-

[Okay]

Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

https://www.dking-gallery.com/pix/BUF/Psycho_hires.jpg

This is one of the films I watched twice for the HOF, and after a second viewing I definitely appreciate it a lot more. The first half hour is still my favourite part of the movie, but overall the rest is just as solid and well done. It's shot well, and there's some great acting too. Anthony Perkins does a fantastic job. The way he speaks and behaves like an innocent child, down to the mannerisms even with how he's constantly biting his thumb, he was perfectly cast for the role as he even has such a clean and innocent looking face. Janet Leigh is great too but sometimes suffers from the same tropey kind of acting that was present throughout that period of time, I mean she couldn't act any more suspicious if she could during that whole first act. On the other hand, I loved that we got such a character to follow and have as the "protagonist" in the beginning, that alone diverted expectations, let alone the twist that she dies not even midway through, which of course I sadly already knew was gonna happen along with the final twist and all.

I just really dug the structure of the film, especially with how at first there was so much emphasis and importance put on the money, only for it to become irrelevant later on. The movie was revolutionary in other ways as well. By showing such gruesome death scenes, Hitchcock opened up the flood gates for all future horror films so they definitely have him to thank. And although they look goofy by today's standards, I can still appreciate them for what they are, and I was thankfully not spoiled of the detective's death which was genuinely shocking and unexpected, so who knows, I might've of loved the film had it not been for its unescapable notoriety and gigantic cultural impact.

All in all, this a pretty solid movie. Even the intro is amazing. The only real problem is that I couldn't get attached to anybody or anything going on, whether it be because of the nature of the acting, or because of how the characters were written, or even small stuff like hearing the mother's voice and conversations while the camera is far and outside of where it's happening, you know tropes like that. We also have the ending, which is infamously so overexplanatory and heavy handed, but just like other stuff I can overlook it and see where it was coming from and take in consideration the time when all of this was made, it makes it understandable but it doesn't better the experience either.

[Thief]

As great as Psycho is, it has just gotten better for me with every rewatch. Anthony Perkins' performance is mind-blowingly good once you pay attention to all the little nuances he puts on that character. Little movements, body language, mannerisms, tone of voice... he's excellent.

[Citizen Rules]

I'd have to say Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is one of the finest acting performances recorded on film.

[Thief]

I'd have to say Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is one of the finest acting performances recorded on film.

I agree.

[Allaby]

I'd have to say Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is one of the finest acting performances recorded on film.

I also agree.

[Citizen Rules]

I agree.I haven't seen Perkins in a lot of films, I did see Psycho II and thought he was brilliant there too. And yes I'm going to plug my review:p as I think Psycho II is underappreciated.

Psycho II my review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1772073#post1772073)

[Thief]

I haven't seen Perkins in a lot of films, I did see Psycho II and thought he was brilliant there too. And yes I'm going to plug my review:p as I think Psycho II is underappreciated.

Psycho II my review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1772073#post1772073)

I don't remember if I've ever seen that one, but I've been reading/hearing a lot of good feedback about it in recent years. I have plans to check it out one of these days.

As for Perkins, I've only seen a handful of his films: On the Beach, Murder on the Orient Express, and a cheap TV film called Daughter of Darkness, and although he doesn't necessarily reach the levels he did on Psycho, I would say he's always interesting to watch. Maybe skip that last one, but the other two are good watches.

[Citizen Rules]

I don't remember if I've ever seen that one, but I've been reading/hearing a lot of good feedback about it in recent years. I have plans to check it out one of these days.

As for Perkins, I've only seen a handful of his films: On the Beach, Murder on the Orient Express, and a cheap TV film called Daughter of Darkness, and although he doesn't necessarily reach the levels he did on Psycho, I would say he's always interesting to watch. Maybe skip that last one, but the other two are good watches.I've been wanting to see Murder on the Orient Express, ever since I watched that gawd awful remake. I've heard alot of good stuff about the original though.

[Thief]

I've been wanting to see Murder on the Orient Express, ever since I watched that gawd awful remake. I've heard alot of good stuff about the original though.

Haven't seen the remake, but the original was a pretty good film.

[Wyldesyde19]

Haven't seen the remake, but the original was a pretty good film.
They’re releasing the remake of the sequel this January I think?

Anyways, I like the original as well. Need to see the sequels and the Branagh remake yet.

[Allaby]

Haven't seen the remake, but the original was a pretty good film.

I'm in the minority on this, but I actually liked the remake better than the original.

[Thief]

Soo.... how's everybody doing? :shifty:

[rauldc14]

I could probably rewatch these all and still beat the others to the deadline.

[Hey Fredrick]

I've seen It's Such a Beautiful Day 3 times already.

[Citizen Rules]

@cricket (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=68505)

Can we wrap this Persona Rec up?...It looks like it won't be finished and I hate to see this idea die, it was a damn fine idea and a lot of people liked it. I know you said you were too busy to be hosting these and we're all grateful that you did, but we need some closure here bro!

[cricket]

@cricket (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=68505)

Can we wrap this Persona Rec up?...It looks like it won't be finished and I hate to see this idea die, it was a damn fine idea and a lot of people liked it. I know you said you were too busy to be hosting these and we're all grateful that you did, but we need some closure here bro!

I'll have to get on mine. I was taking a little extra time hoping Neiba would show.

Should I watch the movie he picked for me? Thinking I should since everyone else had to watch his nom.

[Citizen Rules]

I'll have to get on mine. I was taking a little extra time hoping Neiba would show.

Should I watch the movie he picked for me? Thinking I should since everyone else had to watch his nom.No don't watch it, he's missed the deadline by a long ways!
I like Neiba and nothing against him as a person, I think he's pretty cool...but it's clear he's not finishing this.

[rauldc14]

No don't watch it, he's missed the deadline by a long ways!
I like Neiba and nothing against him as a person, I think he's pretty cool...but it's clear he's not finishing this.

Even if he is then it's kind of a slap in the face to the whole process, yeah I'd agree. The guy isn't really suited for this kind of stuff and I'm not trying to make him out to be bad but he's too busy for this stuff.

[Okay]

Eh, almost forgot about this. Just sent my list in. I guess it's about time I post my thoughts on my last film.

[rauldc14]

Are we done yet? :)

[Thief]

Who hasn't finished, other than cricket and neiba? I don't know how updated the first page is.

[Wyldesyde19]

This is the HOF that never ends….it just goes on and on my friends!
🎶 🎼 🎵

[cricket]

Who hasn't finished, other than cricket and neiba? I don't know how updated the first page is.

First page should be updated. You think I slack or something?

[rauldc14]

Neiba wins! He wasted the least amount of time :)

[edarsenal]

Regardless of how this all plays out I still want to watch the final two of mine and will continue participating in further Rec HoFs.

[Citizen Rules]

Neiba wins! He wasted the least amount of time :)The sad thing is by Cricket letting the deadline go 2 months past due...He's in effect, inadvertently made Neiba the heavy here. It would've been kinder to Neiba to just complete this event.

[Thief]

At this point, I think it's best to just stick a fork in it. We have 8/13 that finished (9, if I count Okay, who said he had finished).

[SpelingError]

Let's do a coin flip to decide the winner. In this case though, it would be a 13 sided coin.

[rauldc14]

Oh well at least 2 new favorites came out of it for me

[cricket]

Neiba hasn't been online in a couple of months so I hope he's ok. At worst, this will be finished with only him absent. I watched another one, I just have to get something written up.

[Thief]

What about Siddon and edarsenal?

[edarsenal]

I've got two to knock out that I'll be doing this weekend along with my final one for the 26th.

[Siddon]

Well I feel like Cricket should have told us who Neiba nominated for us but I'll finish it this week as well.

[cricket]

Well I feel like Cricket should have told us who Neiba nominated for us but I'll finish it this week as well.

Actually, let me see if you watched his nom yet. It didn't occur to me before because he has a history of finishing at the last second.

[cricket]

Well I feel like Cricket should have told us who Neiba nominated for us but I'll finish it this week as well.

You haven't watched his nomination. I'll pm you.

[rauldc14]

Actually, let me see if you watched his nom yet. It didn't occur to me before because he has a history of finishing at the last second.

We're well past the last second :p

[cricket]

Brother's Keeper

https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/50095/1001895457/original/the-wards-insisted-the-police-coerced-confessions-from-them-photo-u1

A rural farm community in which a lot of people would consider the residents to be hicks. Even among them there are the Ward brothers who stand out even more for their uneducated and uncivilized ways. They are simple people living in a world of simple people. One night one of the brothers passes away. Was it natural causes or a mercy killing?

For me this is the best type of documentary. It's not looking back at a case, but rather it's filmed while it is happening giving you a front row seat. Delbert Ward didn't know what he was doing or saying when interviewed by big city law enforcement so how valid his confession was is the question.

There were times when this movie felt exploitive when often focusing on the Ward's lack of intelligence and living conditions, but it was a necessary evil. The only part I didn't care for was the random killing of a pig, farmer style. Besides that, this was up there with some of my favorite documentaries.

4

[Citizen Rules]

Actually, let me see if you watched his nom yet. It didn't occur to me before because he has a history of finishing at the last second.Neiba also has a history of dropping out. He was the host of the 3rd Short Fird HoF (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=42203) and just disappeared, the only reason the HoF was saved was because JJ stepped in and hosted it. Neiba also dropped out of the 13th HoF (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=48960) without telling anyone.

[cricket]

Neiba also has a history of dropping out. He was the host of the 3rd Short Fird HoF (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=42203) and just disappeared, the only reason the HoF was saved was because JJ stepped in and hosted it. Neiba also dropped out of the 13th HoF (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=48960) without telling anyone.

That's quite the recollection you have there!

[Citizen Rules]

That's quite the recollection you have there!Ha, I have stats for all the HoFs, with final results and points for the noms...and those who dropped out. Plus I was in both of those HoFs.

[Okay]

L.A. Confidential (1997) directed by Curtis Hanson

https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/022/875/633/large/alexey-kot-lac-web-1.jpg?1577047471&dl=1

I watched the film twice now and the second watch felt very much so needed as I enjoyed the experience a whole lot more. I still feel like the movie begins in a clichéd manner which was probably what set the tone for me during that first viewing. Good cop with childhood trauma helps helpless woman out of a domestic violence situation, angry white cops beat up minorities for revenge... And I'm not talking about the situations themselves being clichéd, not at all, but rather how they're presented is what makes them receive an eyeroll of a reaction out of me. It's also lowkey problematic how at first it is made seem that Guy Pearce's character's going to be the antagonist of the film, while Crowe's the one who we're gonna be following and rooting for, thus romanticizing doing the wrong thing and the "snitches get stitches" mentality, when in reality we should all hope for more policeman such as Exley and reject anything less.

Overall, the story felt convoluted on the first watch, but everything clicked together upon a second viewing. In fact, I really wish there was a longer/mini-series version to the film, it would've suited it perfectly. The dialogue is quick and clever, and although that can be to a fault, this time I thought it worked and felt seamless 95% of the time, which is more than enough. Most of the side plots had somewhat of a fulfilling payoff, but what I most enjoyed was their interconnectedness and the whys and hows of that. There's just so many scenes and sequences that are very memorable (Kevin Spacey's death *chef's kiss*), all thanks to the writing that builds the bridge for the story to go in all kind of different directions.

The biggest difference however between my two viewings of the film is my feelings towards the characters, especially the three main ones, who by the way resemble the three characters from Platoon quite a bit. This time they felt more defined and contrasted each other pretty well. They each have different motivations that feel alive and make their actions much more interesting to follow, and it's all summed up in their answers to why they became a cop, to which Kevin Spacey's character responds "I don't remember anymore". There are even moments where each of these three are put in situations that force them to contradict their driving purpose and motivations, and we see the clear effect that that has on 'em, so it's impressive that there is a constant maintain of all the details and nuances that make these characters. All in all, all of the characters have active motivations rendering them into constantly moving pieces regardless of their importance, and that's what makes the interconnectedness and complicatedness of the story so exciting.

I still have some annoyances that survived from my first watch, like the lack of consequence Crowe faces for his behavior throughout the movie, which was mainly why I hated his character so much after the first watch. There's his backstory that puts his actions into perspective, but it doesn't forgive the absence of repercussions that should undoubtedly be there. I mean this guy almost kills the district attorney, thrashes the police office, and beats up a detective without anyone batting an eye. It's the same thing with Dudley, he has too many followers, kills too many people, and creates too much of a ruckus for anything to be believable. Its absurd that this man has this much power, especially when there's not enough there to gain for his followers to do his dirty work and indulge in all the craziness they end up in.

[Okay]

Welp, there you have it, I guess now I'm officially done. Quite a lot of favorites came out of this HOF, at least compared to the other ones I participated in. Thanks for that, and see you next year (maybe).

[Thief]

L.A. Confidential is an excellent film. Easily one of my favorites.

[edarsenal]

HUGE fan of LA Confidential and of the book and its trilogy as well. Glad to hear you did a second watch to get it all in, Okay.

[rauldc14]

Yup Confidential is awesome

[cricket]

L.A. Confidential (1997) directed by Curtis Hanson

https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/022/875/633/large/alexey-kot-lac-web-1.jpg?1577047471&dl=1

I watched the film twice now and the second watch felt very much so needed as I enjoyed the experience a whole lot more. I still feel like the movie begins in a clichéd manner which was probably what set the tone for me during that first viewing. Good cop with childhood trauma helps helpless woman out of a domestic violence situation, angry white cops beat up minorities for revenge... And I'm not talking about the situations themselves being clichéd, not at all, but rather how they're presented is what makes them receive an eyeroll of a reaction out of me. It's also lowkey problematic how at first it is made seem that Guy Pearce's character's going to be the antagonist of the film, while Crowe's the one who we're gonna be following and rooting for, thus romanticizing doing the wrong thing and the "snitches get stitches" mentality, when in reality we should all hope for more policeman such as Exley and reject anything less.

Overall, the story felt convoluted on the first watch, but everything clicked together upon a second viewing. In fact, I really wish there was a longer/mini-series version to the film, it would've suited it perfectly. The dialogue is quick and clever, and although that can be to a fault, this time I thought it worked and felt seamless 95% of the time, which is more than enough. Most of the side plots had somewhat of a fulfilling payoff, but what I most enjoyed was their interconnectedness and the whys and hows of that. There's just so many scenes and sequences that are very memorable (Kevin Spacey's death *chef's kiss*), all thanks to the writing that builds the bridge for the story to go in all kind of different directions.

The biggest difference however between my two viewings of the film is my feelings towards the characters, especially the three main ones, who by the way resemble the three characters from Platoon quite a bit. This time they felt more defined and contrasted each other pretty well. They each have different motivations that feel alive and make their actions much more interesting to follow, and it's all summed up in their answers to why they became a cop, to which Kevin Spacey's character responds "I don't remember anymore". There are even moments where each of these three are put in situations that force them to contradict their driving purpose and motivations, and we see the clear effect that that has on 'em, so it's impressive that there is a constant maintain of all the details and nuances that make these characters. All in all, all of the characters have active motivations rendering them into constantly moving pieces regardless of their importance, and that's what makes the interconnectedness and complicatedness of the story so exciting.

I still have some annoyances that survived from my first watch, like the lack of consequence Crowe faces for his behavior throughout the movie, which was mainly why I hated his character so much after the first watch. There's his backstory that puts his actions into perspective, but it doesn't forgive the absence of repercussions that should undoubtedly be there. I mean this guy almost kills the district attorney, thrashes the police office, and beats up a detective without anyone batting an eye. It's the same thing with Dudley, he has too many followers, kills too many people, and creates too much of a ruckus for anything to be believable. Its absurd that this man has this much power, especially when there's not enough there to gain for his followers to do his dirty work and indulge in all the craziness they end up in.

Congratulations Okay, you are the 9th member to finish!

[Hey Fredrick]

Brother's Keeper

For me this is the best type of documentary. It's not looking back at a case, but rather it's filmed while it is happening giving you a front row seat.



I think that's why I like this so much as well even though I've only watched it once (repeat viewings of Doc's are tough for me.) Been a long time since I've seen it but I remember never feeling like your being manipulated with this, it's just all laid out very matter of fact and it's a very sad story. I hated the pig scene as well but kind of understand why they included it. That scene is a big reason why I usually don't recommend what is otherwise a very good documentary.

[cricket]

I think that's why I like this so much as well even though I've only watched it once (repeat viewings of Doc's are tough for me.) Been a long time since I've seen it but I remember never feeling like your being manipulated with this, it's just all laid out very matter of fact and it's a very sad story. I hated the pig scene as well but kind of understand why they included it. That scene is a big reason why I usually don't recommend what is otherwise a very good documentary.

My wife was going to watch it with me but didn't end up having the time. A blessing in disguise.

[edarsenal]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/f7/a6/f4f7a6632442cf1e020e88ff38ede828.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/bm3BAZe.png


Woman in the Dunes aka Suna no onna (1964)

An existential film that delves into the pointlessness of it all by showcasing senseless repetition of action within a confined, trapped existence intermixed with moments of sensual pleasure.
A metaphor, perhaps for the perpetual grind of everyday life of sleep, eating, work, futile attempts at moments of pleasure and hope only to fail and fall back into the familiarity of pointless behavior.

An entomologist (bug enthusiast) wanders in a desert, capturing and studying insects, only to find himself snared and cooped up in a sandpit with a woman who knows nothing else but the endless life of sand and nightly shoveling to keep it from encasing her home.

Like him, I spent much of it in a permanent scowl that continues to linger as I write this. Being unable to decipher the point of it all while battling the simple truth of feeble struggling to climb up a sandhill and its futility - welcoming the distractions of the, at times, almost microscopic closeups and poetic camerawork that, in itself, mirrors the point(lessness) of daily pursuit.

It is a film I fully respect but will most likely not revisit while still thankful for having seen it.

[Thief]

Oooh, I loved that one

[cricket]

Great job Ed, sorry you didn't like it more!