The 27th General Hall of Fame

[TheUsualSuspect]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/cure.gif
Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123948/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 01/27/22
Rewatch: No.

There's definitely a lot to like about this mystery thriller - it's thick with atmosphere and tension, the story takes some unexpected turns, and it certainly doesn't all tie itself up neatly in the end. If I'd been in a more patient frame of mind - instead of being restless after like ten days of being cooped up thanks to Covid - I might actually have really liked it. But I was feeling restless and this real slow burn of a movie put quite a strain on my attention span, so much so that I ended up watching it in bits and pieces over the course of the day.

Even struggling as I was, it's pretty apparent that there's some real good stuff here and maybe one day, when viewing conditions are better, I might give it another go. But if nothing else, it does stand to rank above most of the other films I've watched for this Hall of Fame so far.

3+

Out of everyone in this HoF, I was most curious about your reaction to this film. Glad it was a positive one and I hope you can enjoy it on any possible repeat viewings.

[CosmicRunaway]

I thought I'd have to break my Apocalypse Now rewatch up over a couple days, but I managed to find time to watch the entire thing through with no interruptions.

Hopefully I can get something written for it tomorrow, and maybe squeeze in another (shorter) film before the weekend's over. We're doing inventory at work next weekend, and I have both a big assignment due and a term test coming up, so I likely won't have much time until the following week. :(

[Miss Vicky]

I could use a good link for Magical Girl if anyone's got one.

[SpelingError]

I could use a good link for Magical Girl if anyone's got one.

Sent!

[cricket]

Midnight Cowboy

https://i.gifer.com/9puq.gif

SPOILERS

I've seen this movie many times over the years with the last time being 4 or 5 years ago. It has always been a source of frustration, because even though I thought it was a terrific movie, it never managed to become a personal favorite. I was hoping that this would be the time it finally clicked with me and it was.

I think I saw Joe Buck as someone a little different before. I saw him as just some naive small town hick. I wasn't wrong, but that's not what tells his story because his dominating characteristic is that of a severely damaged human being. I believe someone here mentioned that he was probably raped along with his girlfriend, and I'd say that's a certainty based on what we see not only in flashback, but in the present as well. Ratso is a little harder for me to pin down, and I think it's because his type is so common, and there can be a lot of reasons why a person may turn out that way. None of them are good. These guys really have nothing in common except for the fact that they have problems. When people have problems they are drawn to other people who have problems. The problems can be completely different but they can become extremely close while simply sharing their sorrow. It's a very powerful thing. The ending affected me more this time. It was always sad, but this time it felt like an exclamation point on a life of pain, to go with even more trauma for Buck.

I read Ebert's review and I was surprised to read that he's not a big fan. I'm paraphrasing, but he said he wanted to see the depth of the relationship more instead of set pieces. I completely disagree with this because if these guys met under different circumstances then they would never be friends. The set pieces are what happens in real life when you live this way. Without them the movie would be unrealistic. Every step for these guys is an adventure, and that's the way it is.

The look and feel of this movie is perfect for me and I couldn't think any higher of the two lead actors. Flashbacks and scenes of imagining can hurt a film but they are extremely effective here. Great theme song. I still think I can get more out of this movie but this was a big step.

4.5

[Takoma11]

I could use a good link for Magical Girl if anyone's got one.

I know Speling already sent a link, but if you live in the US and have a library card, you may have access to Kanopy!

[ueno_station54]

I know Speling already sent a link, but if you live in the US and have a library card, you may have access to Kanopy!
Canada too. that's where i watched it.

[SpelingError]

it never managed to become a personal favorite.

Aw :(

I was hoping that this would be the time it finally clicked with me and it was.

Yay! :)

[Miss Vicky]

I know Speling already sent a link, but if you live in the US and have a library card, you may have access to Kanopy!

:facepalm:

I’ve had Kanopy for a few years now and I keep forgetting that it exists. I have the app installed on my iPad and everything.

[Citizen Rules]

I know Speling already sent a link, but if you live in the US and have a library card, you may have access to Kanopy!My library doesn't access Kanopy, but my library will give a reciprocal library card to a nearby Seattle library system and then in that way I access Kanopy. Just thought I'd mention that, as it might help someone.

[Takoma11]

Both Kanopy and Hoopla have been great resources for me.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=84878
Baby Face (1933)


That's not the screenshot I wanted and it's not the 'look' that I was looking for. I wanted an image of Lily (Barbara Stanwyck) while she's turning on the charm & sex appeal as she moves up the business world.

I was rooting for Lily all the way! I loved every minute of this pre-code classic and I loved seeing a young fresh faced Barbara Stanwyck. This is the role that made her one of the truly great Hollywood stars. Later she would ply her feminine wiles again with that 'look' in Double Indemnity. It's a pity though that many will only know Stanwyck from her later, harder roles when by all accounts she was one of the sweetest, kindest persons on the movie set. Her friends called her 'Missy' during her early film days and described her as a big happy going kid that got along with everyone. Strange then that she often ended up playing cold as ice women. But at least here in Baby Face you can get a glimpse under her veneer and see a real kindness behind her eyes. Which all has nothing to do directly with this film!

My third watch and I still love it.

[crumbsroom]

I approve of all the Midnight Cowboy love in this thread.

[SpelingError]

I wasn't sure how much everyone would enjoy it, but I'm glad it's getting some positive reactions so far.

[Takoma11]

I wasn't sure how much everyone would enjoy it, but I'm glad it's getting some positive reactions so far.

It's a technically solid and interesting film with some neat stylistic choices and good performances at the center.

You have to figure that most viewers are going to click with at least some of those things.

[SpelingError]

It's a technically solid and interesting film with some neat stylistic choices and good performances at the center.

You have to figure that most viewers are going to click with at least some of those things.
Yeah, I know. I just wasn't sure if the reactions to it were going to be mixed, slightly positive, or very positive.

[CosmicRunaway]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=84892

Apocalypse Now (1979)
Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando

What is there to say about Apocalypse Now that hasn't already been covered in-depth thousands of times since the film's initial release? Its depiction of war is well-known, even to people who haven't ever seen it. I could easily write at length about the pointless deaths, the destruction caused solely for soldiers' pleasure, or the increasing disillusionment with how the military is being run, but I don't think any of that is necessary.

Instead I want to bring up some comments my room mate made as he passed by, and took notice of what I was watching. He's never seen Apocalypse Now before, and only knows a few lines and images of the film that have become part of pop culture through casual or satirical references. The first thing he said to me was: “This looks way more modern than I expected”.

To me, that reaction proved how universal the film really is. While there is certainly commentary on the United States' actions in Vietnam, this isn't a film about that war specifically. The setting is secondary to its themes; it could've been set 100 years ago, or it could be set today and the only thing that would change is the weaponry used in combat. My room mate's last comment, after passing by a few more times was: “How come I haven't seen Marlon Brando yet? Wasn't he billed as one of the main characters?”. He didn't check back in after, which I think was apt given the film's conclusion.

[CosmicRunaway]

Cosmic's Reviews, now with 80% less opinions about the film itself, and 1000% more anecdotes! :lol:

[pahaK]

Apocalypse Now (1979)

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/76/b9/5e/76b95e037ed919dde34f1f0c78145139.gif

After all the negativity towards the longer cuts here, I watched the theatrical one. This was probably my third viewing; the first one was as a kid, and the second early 2000s (unlike I initially thought, this second one must have been Redux, as based on Hearts of Darkness, I've certainly seen the French plantation scene). There's a clear trend in my opinion of the film after each viewing, and thankfully, it's an upward trend.

For the most part, Apocalypse Now looks absolutely stunning. It has this old-school Italian feel to its visuals, and I love it. The style is there to support the film, too, and not just prancing for its own sake. The way it focuses more and more on darkness, the closer we get to Kurtz, and in the end, almost like in Demons, the blackness becomes close to all-consuming.

There's this growing insanity in the film's world. Maybe it tips too far into the absurd at times, but I like how reality slowly gives in to a dream or nightmare. Maybe Coppola didn't mean it that way, but I love how the ending is, again, almost Lovecraftian; madness from knowing too much, only the horror remains.

On the negative side, I think the acting is a little uneven, and it's a little too much like a road movie for me (there's no real story, but the film flows from one event to another). I don't have any big complaints, though, and I absolutely loved this one.

4.5

[Citizen Rules]

84893
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas struck pay dirt with one of the most beloved and successful action adventure flicks of all time: Raiders of the Lost Ark. A movie so successful that it spawned three more movies in the franchise and even inspired a TV series.

But there's a dirty little secret about Lucas' & Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark...They ripped off an earlier, largely unknown film Secret of the Inca's (1954). Now there's nothing wrong with being inspired by previous work and there's even nothing wrong with copying a character and storyline, but only if you give the original film credit...and Spielberg and Lucas didn't credit Secret of the Incas and that amounts to plagiarism.

I had seen Secret of the Incas a couple of years ago and had no idea of it's connection to Raiders of the Lost Ark at that time. But it was instantly clear to me as I watched it that the look of Indiana Jones and his mannerisms was lifted from Charlton Heston's character. The story line is also very similar. Even shot for shot there are similarities that can only be labeled as rip offs....

Raiders of the Lost Ark costume designer Deborah Nadoolman revealed that the crew watched Secret of the Incas together multiple times...and thought it was strange they never officially admitted the influence.All that makes me think less of Spielberg and Lucas. As far as Raiders of the Lost Ark, I hadn't seen it in 20 years and wasn't all that impressed with last night's viewing. It's all action with little development of the Indiana Jones character and in that way the film reminds me of the numerous Bond films where 007 is a 1 dimensional character who's soul purpose is to have hair raising adventure after adventure. If you like that sort of thing than Raiders is tops. Me, I prefer Secret of the Incas with a much more colorful and caddish Harry Steel and originality to boot...think I'll watch that one tonight.
84896

[edarsenal]

I remember your review of Secret of the Incas, CR and like now, I was very curious to see the blatant similarities nevermind watching Heston playing that character.
I've done a few of those "Hey, wait a minute," moments when watching older films and seeing a modern film's very probable reference and rare acknowledgment of inspiration.
And this isn't the first time Lucas claimed originality when it wasn't. I do remember it took quite a while for him to admit the source for a chunk of Star Wars.

[Citizen Rules]

I remember your review of Secret of the Incas, CR and like now, I was very curious to see the blatant similarities nevermind watching Heston playing that character.
I've done a few of those "Hey, wait a minute," moments when watching older films and seeing a modern film's very probable reference and rare acknowledgment of inspiration.
And this isn't the first time Lucas claimed originality when it wasn't. I do remember it took quite a while for him to admit the source for a chunk of Star Wars.Gosh did I review Secret of the Incas? I'll have to go and take a look at. What film was Star Wars supposedly based on?

[ueno_station54]

Gosh did I review Secret of the Incas? I'll have to go and take a look at. What film was Star Wars supposedly based on?
Hidden Fortress i think??

[Citizen Rules]

Hidden Fortress i think??I've not heard of that before. Thanks

[jiraffejustin]

Baby Face

I'm told this is a feminist movie... or something. Well, I'm not a feminist and I don't really see this is a feminist movie. I'm all for people taking advantage of their opportunities and resources to make their living and to fend for themselves, including using their body to do so. I don't really see it as being any different than using your money or position to achieve your goals or get what you want though. I think by doing this, it might make you a sh*tty person, but that's not my position to cast that judgment on you. Do what you gotta do, but I don't really have to enjoy watching it. Plus it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, because there seemed to be a bunch times where the real life equivalent would have just been the guy saying the girl made a move on him and the girl getting fired on the spot, because it's not like these guys wouldn't have been having affairs with other women at the time. It's not like Stanwyck's character is the only slut on the block, ya know? This movie treats these guys as though they didn't really know p*ssy existed outside of this one woman. These dudes are dudes with power and money, that banker dude would have been yachting out to the 1930s equivalent of Epstein's Island. It's hard to buy in to this one woman bringing all of these men to their knees, maybe a couple low-level simps, sure. And no doubt, there have been some gold-diggers who managed to snag some dumbass old rich guy into marriage, but I'm not buying this story of the woman rising through the ranks unimpeded while all of these dudes are out here killing themselves over her. Or I just don't like this story because I am a masculinist. (Googled to see if masculinist is a thing, kinda lame to see that it is actually a thing.) I don't really think Stanwyck could pull this performance off, I think it needed someone that could pull off trashy-slutty a little better.

2.5

[SpelingError]

Jaws (1975) - 4.5

(SPOILER WARNING)

I didn't revisit this film before writing this review, but that's only because I've seen it several times (once a couple months ago, in fact), so the film is still really fresh in my memory. As great as it is though, it's not my favorite kind of film to review since its strengths (the shift from a comparably slower police procedural thriller in the first half to survival horror in the second half, the mayor's poor handling of the situation, Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue, several iconic shark scenes, the soundtrack), have already been analyzed to death, so when I discuss those aspects, I feel like I'm just repeating things that many other people have already said. Therefore, I'll instead talk about some other aspects I like about the film which aren't brought up as often.

Quint's aforementioned USS Indianapolis monologue is great and it could be argued that it's the origin of his rough outward personality, but I think his character is more complex than that. On the surface, his "tough guy" demeanor seems to represent masculinity or manliness, but the more you analyze his behavior, the more pathetic he appears as a character. He's an arrogant, obsession-fueled narcissist who's willing to put Brody and Hooper in danger to kill the shark (at one point, he even goes as far to prevent Brody from calling for help by smashing a radio). His view appears to be that acting like a dick to everyone around him gives him a sense of manliness. While Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue is an excellent scene though, none of the actions he mentions in that speech (which mainly consist of him floating in the water for several hours and hoping a shark doesn't pick him out of his fellow sailors to attack) seem braver than Hooper going underwater in a cage to try to kill the shark as a last resort or even Brody coping with his fears and setting out to hunt the shark (more on that later). Quint failed to kill the shark and got himself killed in the process, while Brody killed the shark instead. Compared to Brody and Hooper, Quint seemed significantly less manly and brave.

I also feel like Brody is an underpraised character. Most people I talk to generally say that Quint is the best character in the film but, while he's complex, too, I think there's also a lot to praise Brody for. Before the shark showed up, Brody was an outsider who left New York to get away from the violence and settle down into a more peaceful community. As the shark begins wreaking havoc on the town though, he has to put up with several things, like the mayor refusing to close the beach and the other townspeople having a somewhat unfavorable opinion of him (Alex Kintner's mother slapping Brody is a powerful scene since the mayor was much more at fault for getting Alex killed and deserved the slap instead). These are the people Brody has to save and he isn't happy about this. Ultimately though, while his concern for the town has somewhat of an effect on his decisions, Brody's concerns for his family's safety influence his decision to hunt the shark the most (simple scenes of Brody telling his kids not to play by the water or his reaction to one of his sons going into shock after an encounter with the shark give his decisions an extra layer of resonance). To briefly go back to my points on Quint, that Brody eventually overcomes his fears and kills the shark makes him the more courageous and manly of the two characters by a long shot. Really, Brody is a terrific character and his arc doesn't get nearly enough credit, in my opinion.

Overall, Jaws is an excellent film which gets better the more I rewatch it. That the quieter drama scenes prove to be just as, if not, more memorable than the shark scenes is truly something special that few horror films I've seen have been able to accomplish.

Next Up: L'Amour Braque

[Thief]

Just started rewatching Safety Last! Let's see if I can catch up :laugh:

[Takoma11]

Just started rewatching Safety Last! Let's see if I can catch up :laugh:

What, have you been busy with something?

[Thief]

What, have you been busy with something?

https://c.tenor.com/Ry1_TEvHF3IAAAAC/naw-psh.gif

[Torgo]

Cure - 5

This is a superb psychological thriller in the same vein - and that may be even scarier than - Se7en. Kôji Yakusho is very good as Takabe for how he lets you get inside his head. The detective's increasingly strained efforts to avoid Mamiya's influence became my own almost immediately. The way the movie shows his struggle's impact to his sanity such as his dream with the bus in the clouds have a lot to do with this. Masato Hagiwara's performance as the villain, however, may be the movie's secret weapon. I like how Mamiya's tendency to never stay in one place as well as his bad posture make him seem more like a spirit than a human being. Also, even though the influence of what comes out of the Edison cylinder may explain it, I approve of the movie not 100% defining what motivates Mamiya to spread his influence. Does he get pleasure from it? Is it a survival skill? Is it an addiction? I also have to give credit to Tokusha Kikomura's unique camerawork for how its wide angles highlight the architecture as much as the people, which put me into an oddly satisfying and contemplative state. It made me think about what is happening as much as it made me feel (and be unsettled) about it, if that makes sense.

With all of that said, why is this movie so scary? How it raises the possibility of randomly encountering someone who throws your life into disarray is one reason. In this regard, it reminds me of Fallen and the first season of Fargo, which it undoubtedly influenced. However, what really got me is how it not only made me wonder if just a little self-examination would make me throw my morality out the window, but also what thoughts would make me do it. It ends up being one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen, not to mention a great Hall of Fame pick. It's also more proof that maybe, just maybe, Japan does it better.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Apocalypse Now

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gQB8Y5RCMkv2zwzFHbUJX3kAhvA.jpg

4

re-watch

It is still a long movie.

My first viewing was the Redux version which takes an already long movie and decides it needs to drag it out even longer. That version put me off the film for the longest time. So I was nervous to revisit this film, but determined to also view the theatrical cut instead of Redux.

We've all heard the horror stories of the film and the fact that not only is it good, but good enough to be considered one of the greatest films of all-time is astonishing. Apocalypse Now showcases the horrors of war, you can be sunbathing on a boat one second and under constant fire the next. With every war film, every single one of them, I sit back and thank God that I never had to go through such events.

Coppola is a talented director, just look at the man's filmography. Yet, he is a filmmaker that I appreciate from afar. The Godfather films are indeed "masterpieces" that I don't feel the need to revisit. The Conversation is a good movie that had hints of being something great. Apocalypse Now is somewhere in the middle. I see the greatness, I feel the greatness, but I can't get on the damn boat. I do feel that I like the film a little bit more with each viewing, this being my third

[TheUsualSuspect]

Cure - 5

This is a superb psychological thriller in the same vein - and that may be even scarier than - Se7en. Kôji Yakusho is very good as Takabe for how he lets you get inside his head. The detective's increasingly strained efforts to avoid Mamiya's influence became my own almost immediately. The way the movie shows his struggle's impact to his sanity such as his dream with the bus in the clouds have a lot to do with this. Masato Hagiwara's performance as the villain, however, may be the movie's secret weapon. I like how Mamiya's tendency to never stay in one place as well as his bad posture make him seem more like a spirit than a human being. Also, even though the influence of what comes out of the Edison cylinder may explain it, I approve of the movie not 100% defining what motivates Mamiya to spread his influence. Does he get pleasure from it? Is it a survival skill? Is it an addiction? I also have to give credit to Tokusha Kikomura's unique camerawork for how its wide angles highlight the architecture as much as the people, which put me into an oddly satisfying and contemplative state. It made me think about what is happening as much as it made me feel (and be unsettled) about it, if that makes sense.

With all of that said, why is this movie so scary? How it raises the possibility of randomly encountering someone who throws your life into disarray is one reason. In this regard, it reminds me of Fallen and the first season of Fargo, which it undoubtedly influenced. However, what really got me is how it not only made me wonder if just a little self-examination would make me throw my morality out the window, but also what thoughts would make me do it. It ends up being one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen, not to mention a great Hall of Fame pick. It's also more proof that maybe, just maybe, Japan does it better.

I can't remember, have you seen this film before?

[Torgo]

I can't remember, have you seen this film before?No, this is a first-time watch. It's the first Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie I've seen as well.
It looks like Pulse is a good place to continue, but do you recommend any other ones?

[TheUsualSuspect]

No, this is a first-time watch. It's the first Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie I've seen as well.
It looks like Pulse is a good place to continue, but do you recommend any other ones?

Tokyo Sonata and Pulse are the only other two movies I've seen. Liked them both.

[pahaK]

No, this is a first-time watch. It's the first Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie I've seen as well.
It looks like Pulse is a good place to continue, but do you recommend any other ones?

Pulse is the best I've seen from him. Cure is my #2 before a rewatch for this. I've also seen Charisma and Retribution, and while worse than the previous two, I still rated them both as good (3.5/5). So, I'd recommend all of those.

[Torgo]

Pulse is the best I've seen from him. Cure is my #2 before a rewatch for this. I've also seen Charisma and Retribution, and while worse than the previous two, I still rated them both as good (3.5/5). So, I'd recommend all of those.Cool, thanks. Looks like those and Sonata are all on VOD.

Thief, you're a Se7en lover, right? You gotta see Cure next!

[Chypmunk]

I'd put Cure and Pulse pretty much on a par. Serpent's Path and Eyes Of The Spider were an interesting experiment but neither are great (3/5 and 2.5/5 respectively for me) with the budget and rushed writing clearly evident imo.

Stay well away from the US remake of Pulse.

[pahaK]

Stay well away from the US remake of Pulse.

Unless you really, really have to see Kristen Bell (even then, I'd probably go with something like Veronica Mars). But yeah, I'd remember that being one of the worse US remakes of J-horror.

[Allaby]

I just finished rewatching Dolores Claiborne (1995) on dvd. Directed by Taylor Hackford, this crime drama is about a woman who returns to her small hometown after her mother is arrested for murdering the elderly woman she had been working for. The always wonderful Kathy Bates is fantastic here, in a believable, layered performance. She is sympathetic and shows great range, having some powerful moments. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also great here. The supporting cast, including Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt, David Strathairn, and Ellen Muth, are all good too. I thought the film was well directed in an effective and compelling way. I've seen five of Taylor Hackford's films and this is by far his best. The screenplay, written by Tony Gilroy and based on the novel by Stephen King, is sharply written and tells the story in an engaging and entertaining way. I read the novel years ago before I had seen the movie and really enjoyed it. I've seen over 30 films based on King's writings and this is definitely one of the top 3 films based on his books. Dolores Claiborne works as a crime thriller, a murder mystery, and as a drama about family secrets and the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. Excellent film. 4.5

[Thief]

Cool, thanks. Looks like those and Sonata are all on VOD.

Thief, you're a Se7en lover, right? You gotta see Cure next!

Yeah, it looks interesting. I don't know when I'll get to it, but I *will* get to it :cool::D

[edarsenal]

Baby Face

I'm told this is a feminist movie... or something. Well, I'm not a feminist and I don't really see this is a feminist movie. I'm all for people taking advantage of their opportunities and resources to make their living and to fend for themselves, including using their body to do so. I don't really see it as being any different than using your money or position to achieve your goals or get what you want though. I think by doing this, it might make you a sh*tty person, but that's not my position to cast that judgment on you. Do what you gotta do, but I don't really have to enjoy watching it. Plus it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, because there seemed to be a bunch times where the real life equivalent would have just been the guy saying the girl made a move on him and the girl getting fired on the spot, because it's not like these guys wouldn't have been having affairs with other women at the time. It's not like Stanwyck's character is the only slut on the block, ya know? This movie treats these guys as though they didn't really know p*ssy existed outside of this one woman. These dudes are dudes with power and money, that banker dude would have been yachting out to the 1930s equivalent of Epstein's Island. It's hard to buy in to this one woman bringing all of these men to their knees, maybe a couple low-level simps, sure. And no doubt, there have been some gold-diggers who managed to snag some dumbass old rich guy into marriage, but I'm not buying this story of the woman rising through the ranks unimpeded while all of these dudes are out here killing themselves over her. Or I just don't like this story because I am a masculinist. (Googled to see if masculinist is a thing, kinda lame to see that it is actually a thing.) I don't really think Stanwyck could pull this performance off, I think it needed someone that could pull off trashy-slutty a little better.

2.5
Solid review, JJ. Not everything works for everyone as we all know, but still, sorry it didn't work for you.

For me, it's that they didn't go the "trashy-slutty" route which would have been too easy and a tad preachy that really scored points for me.
It is true there was no one that challenged or used their power against her but to see a film from the 30's that DIDN'T simply uses a woman's role for the benefit of every other man's personal use and was not the usually docile and demure part aka the whole Madonna/Whore standard. Instead, going with the Independent, self-reliant individual was a nice turnaround for me. And having such a lioness as Stanwyck playing the part won me over completely.

[Allaby]

I rewatched Apocalypse Now (1979) on blu-ray. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film stars Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest, Laurence Fishburne and Dennis Hopper, amongst others. During the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is tasked with locating and eliminating a renegade Colonel. For me, Apocalypse Now is one of the greatest films of all times. It is a classic and a masterpiece. Francis Ford Coppola's direction is masterful and brilliant. He should have won an Oscar for this film. The cinematography, which deservedly did win an Oscar, is some of the best in any film. This is visually stunning and beautiful work. The cast is great and all are excellent in their roles. The screenplay is top notch. The film is exceptionally well crafted from top to bottom, sound, art direction,editing, all of it. Apocalypse Now was nominated for best picture but lost the Oscar to Kramer vs Kramer. As much as I enjoy Kramer vs Kramer, Apocalypse Now should have won. I've seen 9 Coppola films and I think this is his best. 5

[edarsenal]

Allaby Citizen Rules CosmicRunaway cricket jiraffejustin Miss Vicky pahaK PHOENIX74 Siddon SpelingError Takoma11 Thief TheUsualSuspect Torgo ueno_station54

Just wanted to remark on something I noticed and since I'm normally a slacker in these was pretty impressed by the numbers.
At only two weeks in, we are already at the halfway mark of movie reviews which means out of 256 reviews for a group of 16 people, we already have 123 on the board.

FRICKIN WOW!!

[Thief]

Allaby Citizen Rules CosmicRunaway cricket jiraffejustin Miss Vicky pahaK PHOENIX74 Siddon SpelingError Takoma11 Thief TheUsualSuspect Torgo ueno_station54

Just wanted to remark on something I noticed and since I'm normally a slacker in these was pretty impressed by the numbers.
At only two weeks in, we are already at the halfway mark of movie reviews which means out of 256 reviews for a group of 16 people, we already have 123 on the board.

FRICKIN WOW!!

Woohoo! one of those is mine!!

https://i.gifer.com/3kHK.gif

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=84968
Dolores Claiborne (1995)

I thought highly of this film and the funny thing is I'd seen it some years ago and didn't even remember much of it...Kathy Bates deserved the Oscar for her portrayal of the titular character, damn she's good! Then again she's always good.

I wasn't so sure about Jennifer Jason Leigh. I've never been a big fan of hers and at times I felt she was reaching to portray her character. But then again Leigh's was the hardest role to nail. The hardest part for actors is realistically playing someone who's deeply troubled with emotional/physiological problems while under the influence of booze and pills. Lots of pills! OMG she had a pharmacy in her luggage.

Gosh I loved the lighting choices or was it all done in post production? It doesn't matter to me because the blue-washed present looked so cold and so hopeless that it set the tone of the film and made the emotions of the story palatable. When we flash back, the color changes to normal hue and that was very effective. In fact when we first see the family the film stock has a strong red tint which looks oh so warm and inviting....that is until we get to the log smack on the back! Damn that was one powerful scene, right there we know the husband is a first class bastard...well more like last class, because the guy was a creep!...Back to the lighting which became a gloriously over saturated gold tone during the eclipse scenes. Gosh that looked beautiful and so crisp, like the old three strip technicolor.

Loved the look and the acting and the story. I'd rate this a rating_4 But one fault the last scene at the judge's hearing...OMG the dialogue sounded like some overly dramatic soap opera court drama. I could go with the daughter sounding soapy melo dramatic because it would fit her characters personality. But the cop went there too and that's not good writing when the cops' dialogue sounded like it could be coming out of the daughter's mouth.

Still this will place higher on my ballot, though I've loved or liked a lot of the films, so all I can say for sure is this is a fine nomination!

[Takoma11]

I wasn't so sure about Jennifer Jason Leigh. I've never been a big fan of hers and at times I felt she was reaching to portray her character. But then again Leigh's was the hardest role to nail.

I think that her character had relatively weak writing, especially compared to Dolores. The whole function of her character, to me, was to really hammer home that the efforts Dolores made to save her daughter have actually ended up isolating her and backfiring in some ways.

But the way she's written is a bit messy, as over and over she just has to be frustrated with Dolores, sometimes in ways that didn't entirely feel realistic.

And as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I didn't totally buy that her character would have suppressed the degree of sexual and emotional abuse that she endured. Between the age of the character at the time of the abuse, the duration of the abuse, the confrontation with her mother on the ferry, and the fact that her father died around that time, it felt way too far-fetched to me that she'd have blocked it all out.

Her character is really the audience surrogate in many ways, we come to understand Dolores as she comes to understand her mother. It's just that because she's this more "observer" character, overall she's a bit weakly written on her own.

[Allaby]

I just rewatched my 29th favourite film, the classic silent comedy, Safety Last (1923). Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, the film stars Harold LLoyd as the boy who is in love with the girl and goes to the big city to get a job so his sweetheart can marry him. Wacky shenanigans and madcap adventures ensue. I really enjoyed LLoyd's performance here. He is the relatable, likeable everyman and I found him charming and funny. The gags and stunts are pretty good here and for the most part worked for me. The climatic building climbing sequence is a highlight and has become iconic and memorable. I've seen 7 of Harold Lloyd's feature films (plus 8 of his short films) and I would rank this as his best film. Other Lloyd films I would recommend are The Freshman (1925), Girl Shy (1924), and Speedy (1928). My rating is 5.

With that, I have successfully completed this Hall. It has been a blast. We have laughed together, we have cried together, we have fallen in love and become best friends forever. See you in the next hall, friends.

[Allaby]

Not a fan of Eggs in your Cake? —- Don’t Worry, we at Crustncakes, bake 100% Eggless cake. and all the ingredients we use in the making process are really fresh… so that you get Fresh Cake Every time

But I like eggs in my cake!

[Citizen Rules]

Report Spam...3 reports will automatically remove spam post like this one below. I reported it, we need 2 more reports.


84986

[Allaby]

Report Spam...3 reports will automatically remove spam post like this one below. I reported it, we need 2 more reports.


84986

I was going to report it, but I want to learn more about eggs in cake. Our next countdown should be the top 100 cakes with eggs in them.

[Citizen Rules]

I was going to report it, but I want to learn more about eggs in cake. Our next countdown should be the top 100 cakes with eggs in them.Ha🙂 I like egg substitute in my cake!

BTW...Thanks for your neat nom Safety Last. I enjoyed it and it's nice to have the diversity. Always a pleasure to have you join the HoFs:) I'm thinking of making a specialty/genre HoF fairly soon. I just have to decide what and when:p Hope to see you join!

[Allaby]

Ha🙂 I like egg substitute in my cake!

BTW...Thanks for your neat nom Safety Last. I enjoyed it and it's nice to have the diversity. Always a pleasure to have you join the HoFs:) I'm thinking of making a specialty/genre HoF fairly soon. I just have to decide what and when:p Hope to see you join!

Thank you, Citizen. I always enjoy these and will most likely join the next one. For a speciality Hall, how about "hidden gems" type of thing with movies that are not well known and are underseen?

[Takoma11]

Thank you, Citizen. I always enjoy these and will most likely join the next one. For a speciality Hall, how about "hidden gems" type of thing with movies that are not well known and are underseen?

I was promoting this idea a ways back in the "What should we do next?" thread.

I have a few ideas about how it would work if you'd like to co-host.

[Allaby]

I was promoting this idea a ways back in the "What should we do next?" thread.

I have a few ideas about how it would work if you'd like to co-host.

I think you and/or Citizen would be good hosts for a hidden gems type hall. I don't think I would be ready to host any of these Halls yet.

[Citizen Rules]

I was promoting this idea a ways back in the "What should we do next?" thread.

I have a few ideas about how it would work if you'd like to co-host.I think it's a neat idea for an HoF, but it wasn't the idea I had in mind.

[Allaby]

Ha🙂 I like egg substitute in my cake!

BTW...Thanks for your neat nom Safety Last. I enjoyed it and it's nice to have the diversity. Always a pleasure to have you join the HoFs:) I'm thinking of making a specialty/genre HoF fairly soon. I just have to decide what and when:p Hope to see you join!

A Canadian film Hall would be good (since everyone knows that Canada is awesome and everyone loves Canada). A "so bad it's good" hall might be fun with movies that are considered bad, but are still fun or entertaining.

[cricket]

I think I'd join a hidden gem HoF

[ueno_station54]

i'm down for a hidden gem HoF. finally somewhere i can nominate the stuff i'd get jailed for putting in a general hall lmao.

[jiraffejustin]

What I wish some of you would do is decide on a theme that you'd like to join, decide what you'd nominate for that, and then just nominate it in a general. Some day I'll practice what I preach and nominate The Slumber Party Massacre II in one of these.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/jd4s7mmv/safety-last.jpg

Safety Last! - 1923

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor

Written by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor
& Tim Whelan

Starring Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis
& Bill Strother

Those images have had a life of their own, leaping out of the film and liable to pop up anywhere - from television to posters and books everywhere - Harold Lloyd clinging onto the minute hand of a deteriorating clock, or any of his other near-shaves climbing the fictional Bolton building. I've been seeing them for my entire life. For that alone, Safety Last! has entered a worldwide cultural consciousness since it's release. Harold Lloyd himself entered my consciousness very slowly. Charlie Chaplin I knew going back all the way to my conception, it seems. Buster Keaton more slowly, but as I saw some of his shorts he became a fast favourite of mine - and cemented that place when I saw Steamboat Bill Jnr. But if I approached Buster Keaton from the right end, I approached Harold Lloyd from the wrong. The first film of Lloyd's I saw was his disastrous final feature, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, which was re-edited into a version called Mad Wednesday - the former was released in 1947, the latter 1950. Both versions use footage from Lloyd's The Freshman as a kind of prologue. I was doing a series on the worst and most troubled comedies ever released, which gives you some idea as to The Sin of Harold Diddlebock's quality and conception.

Safety Last! (I never know how to deal with punctuation when it becomes part of a film's title) was released in 1923, and I almost regret getting to it on it's 99th anniversary - although, if it at all comes up next year I can confidently claim to have seen it and know about it. This film is the peak of Harold Lloyd's career, which was tremendously successful all throughout the silent years, and slowly became less so when sound was introduced to films. His added element to comedies was the introduction of danger, and they're often cited as "thrill pictures". They're all the more impressive when you consider that Lloyd lost the thumb and forefinger from his right hand - in an incident which sounds like it comes straight from a silent comedy : the actor was holding what he thought was a prop bomb which was lit and exploded. From that moment on he wore a glove which gave the impression of a whole hand, with a finger that bent when his other fingers did. It's noticeable if you really examine some of the images of him hanging onto those clock hands. He'd started out with a character known as Lonesome Luke, which was an imitation of Chaplin's little tramp until coming into his own with his own persona - the bespectacled "Glasses character".

Lloyd goes large on the very first gag in Safety Last! He creates the illusion that he's on his way to the gallows, with him, a priest and what looks like a jail warden behind bars, and his mother and would-be wife on the other side. In the background there's a hangman's noose that appears to be on a gallows. But when the shot is reversed we see that he's really at a train station, and that the 'noose' is in fact a coil with a note attached that the train engineer cheerfully grasps as a train passes. Obviously, a lot of stretching is done to pull this off, and the set designers had to use a lot of invention for this brief joke. There follows the usual series of mistakes, as Lloyd grabs a baby in it's crib thinking it's his luggage, and gets on a wagon instead of the train. The film as a whole was a lot better than this opening, and I almost felt like it was a bit much a bit too soon. Basically, a simple plot is set out : Lloyd is off to the big city to make something of himself before his sweetheart joins him there - presumably to marry him. Of course, he struggles as most would, but his letters home paint a portrait of someone tremendously successful and almost instantly wealthy. This leads to his sweetheart immediately racing to join him - and Lloyd having to pretend to be better off than he really is. His overnight solution to this problem will involve a stunt of epic proportions.

The humour gets better as the film gets into it's stride, and many gags have multiple pay-offs, which is the kind of cleverness you always hope to find in a comedy. One-note jokes that come and go and have no relation to the story are cheap - but humour that has a bearing on the plot and plant seeds for further laughs pay much larger dividends. Much also depends on Lloyd's character using his wits to try and solve problems - such as when he's locked in a truck and taken miles from where his place of employment is, making him late for work. After attempting to take a (very) crowded streetcar and get a lift from a passing motorist, he discovers an ambulance sitting nearby that will surely get him back there in no time at all if he feigns injury. He also devises a devious way of clocking in and avoiding detection when he gets there. All of this involves the usual amount of slapstick and pratfalling we've come to expect from 1920s silent comedies. The whole shtick had been greatly refined since the early one and two-reelers from the 1910s, but I usually find that some of it amuses me and some of it just passes me by with a kind of resigned expectation.

Where Lloyd's films, and especially Safety Last! really differs is in the "thrill" aspect that made them somewhat unique. The second half of the film involves Lloyd climbing that Bolton building - having to take the place of real human fly Bill Strother, who has been diverted from this task by a somewhat determined policeman. This climb will involve all manner of near-disaster and setback that actually had me on the edge of my seat, despite the fact that it was so ridiculous. It's said that audience members used to scream during these portions of the film, and I have no trouble at all in believing that. During the climb he'll be distracted and have to overcome such things as pigeons, a badminton net, a mouse that climbs up his trouser leg, hanging onto a clock that's quickly starting to fall apart, electric shocks, a savage dog, a man with a pistol posing for photographs that he thinks is real, a metal coil that becomes entwined with a foot and other such moments of ill-fortune. He's always close to losing his grip or his balance, and when he does lose his grip he's usually saved at the very last moment by some hasty contrivance. He's doing this for love - with the prize money for all of the attention for the store he's attracted he can get married with financial security (and perhaps his new bride might forgive him for pretending to be general manager.) The risk and the reason compliment the daring work done by all during this fraught segment of the film - and for 1923 it's absolutely incredible.

The actual trick of the illusion doesn't involve rear-projection, but instead the filmmakers actually built facades on top of smaller buildings, and shot the footage from an angle which made it look like the façade was that high off the ground. It was still dangerous work, and for some long shots an actual stuntman was climbing a building at a daredevil height. Close-up though, eight-fingered Harold Lloyd was climbing the façade with the aide of fake bricks which had inner grips to them which allowed him to get a better hand-hold. The realism can't be beat, and must even have been the envy of the stunt-happy Buster Keaton. These days, Safety Last! would have been considered an 'action' movie along with being a comedy, and with this inclusion my opinion of the film was much higher than it would have been if we'd gone straight down the road of a broad comedic outing. There had been an earlier climb by Bill Strother, with Lloyd looking on and crushing a hapless man's flowers in fright - and in real life Strother had a broken leg at the time (note that at the start they call him 'Limpy Bill'.) In real life, Lloyd had come across Strother performing the very same stunt.

Along with Strother and Lloyd is Mildred Davis as the 'girl' in this story - she'd been Lloyd's leading lady for a while now, ever since replacing Bebe Daniels. The two would get married shortly after making this film, and Daniels would only appear in three other non-Lloyd related films before retiring from the acting business. She has that typical 20s silent leading lady look and style in her performance - with a slight tendency to overact, perhaps to make up for the fact she couldn't use her voice. The humour is focused solely on Lloyd, whose best scenes are when he's trying to convince his girl that he's more important than he actually is. Comedically, the scenes inside the department store he works in worked the best for me - and there are plenty of films going around these days purporting to be 'funny' that don't come close to the invention and cleverness on display here. Nevertheless, certain parts have aged to the extent where they're more curiosities than something to be related to. Surrounding the lead cast are mostly members of Harold Lloyd's troupe that would appear in most of his films, such as Noah Young as 'the law' and Wally Howe. Much of the film was shot in downtown Los Angeles, which gives us an interesting snapshot of what life was like in a big city in the 1920s.

Although Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor are credited as the directors, most of the work was done by Lloyd himself, and much the same goes as far as Hal Roach and Tim Whelan as writers. During this era, many of the Keatons and Chaplins would spread credit around despite their ventures being very much dependent on the star performer. Much of the crew, such as camera operator Walter Lundin, were part of a large organized family of filmmakers dedicated to the one man. They paint a much different picture to what we are used to these days, and as such films such as these are simply referred to as "Harold Lloyd pictures" or "Buster Keaton pictures" with production, direction and other aspects all under some kind of control by the lead star. These days, the more control you cede to an Eddie Murphy or Bruce Willis the more bloated, ungainly and misguided a film results. The process had been more or less organic to the early days of making films, and the Chaplins and Lloyds of the day had first-hand experience with most aspects of the flimmaking process.

I have to admit I enjoyed spending time with Harold Lloyd's Safety Last! - and despite watching it twice I could see myself watching it again in the future without any other reason than to just enjoy the show it puts on. Even when it doesn't quite work as was intended at the time, it's a fascinating look at early cinema - with the added advantage that more often than not it does work as was originally intended, especially during the more tense moments of Lloyd's famous climb. The 1990 score by Carl Davis is my very much preferred option, and is a terrific addition to this classic. Silent comedies aren't the easiest kind of film to slip into so far from their original place in time, and I find it hard to compare, contrast or judge them in any other way than how I see them hold up to today's films. In that regard, Safety Last! does surprisingly well during it's second half, and I found myself completely forgetting this was nearly 100 years old as I watched Lloyd's long climb. He's been dangling from that minute-hand for nearly a century now - and I still worry he'll slip off (no doubt onto a trampoline on a passing truck.)

4

[SpelingError]

I might or might not be able to join a hidden gem HoF, depending on when it comes up. I do love the idea of that though.

[PHOENIX74]

For those counting, that's another two reviews of the same film one after the other. I'd never seen One Cut of the Dead or Safety Last! before, and they were both pretty good. I love the standard of Hall of Fame nominations everyone here makes.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Midnight Cowboy

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/f7YLzOxwWzeEdo7RhAlPSBTYa8.jpg

3

re-watch

Sometimes a movie can have a lot going for it, such as deep character performances, a good soundtrack, an honest look at friendships and lower class. A movie can have all those element firing off and yet still not connect with the viewer. Despite the obvious heart and talent put into this story, it simply did not connect with me on the level that I was hoping it would on this re-watch.

The look of the film matches the reality of these character's lives. They have aspirations for far greater things, but life usually throws curveballs your way until you've strayed from your path. People who are popular in high school and have great plans for their future usually are crushed under the reality of hard work, something they might not have experienced when things are handed to them on a silver platter. Joe thinks he's God's gift to women, but good ol' reliable New York makes it clear he is not.

At the end of the film, I sat there thinking...yeah that was sad, but I didn't feel it. I just, I don't know, wanted more I guess. I understand and see the great qualities this movie has, but at the end of the day, it just didn't hit the right notes for me.

[Thief]

I usually lean towards "hidden gems" for my HoF nominations anyway, so I guess I'm ready for that if it ever occurs.

[Citizen Rules]

I usually nominate what I personally believe to be a film of some greatness, others usually disagree:p

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85025
True Romance (1993)

I'd wanted to see this for awhile as I though it might be a bit like Heathers, a film I really like. But nope, it's pure Tarantino and while I really liked the cast and liked much of the movie too, it was those Tarantino moments that turned me off. I'm talking his trademark dialogue where characters talk about stuff that apparently Tarantino thinks is cool and the over the top zany violence.

I did dig the first meeting of Slater and Patricia Arquette and I even liked Oldman as a pimp...that entire scene was fun and rewarding as the killings in the pimp pad was 'justified'. And so most of the movie I actually liked, except I couldn't stand the beating of Alabama:( I mean I get that scene should take place in the movie but I would've liked it if it was resolved much quicker and without reveling in the brutality of poor Patricia Arquette.

Oh, Christopher Walken's character was so good that I was on his side! I wish he would've had a larger role. Dennis Hopper was effective as a non wacky character, which was unusual for him. It was sure an all star cast and I won't name them all, but I'll say all were really good...Except I've never liked Saul Rubinek, I just don't buy him on the screen.

The film wraps up well except I don't want to see a bunch of cops get killed just for movie fun. It would've been enough to have Walken's boys show up and shoot it out with the producers hench men.

*SPOILER...While I was watching True Romance I was thinking of another movie I watched last week Bonnie and Clyde (1967). If I was making the movie I'd had Slater and Arguette being killed in the cross fire...Then cut to a close up of the couple with a few choice words from Patricia Arquette said with her last breath. Oh that's sort of like Romeo and Juliette.

[Miss Vicky]

Well, that's a more positive review than I was expecting given your dislike of Tarantino. Citizen Rules

[SpelingError]

L'Amour Braque (1985) - 3

This was a very unique film and, while I'm not sure I fully understood it, I did find it interesting and I'm glad it was nominated in this thread. Granted, I found its plot very difficult to follow (the film might make more sense with another viewing though) and I didn't feel much of a connection towards any of the characters, but I'm also not sure that plot and character were Zulawski's main concerns. Story wise, this was a very freeform, anything goes film where the technical aspects, visuals, and mood are at the forefront. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed my time with it, but I did appreciate it to a degree and enjoyed a few aspects here and there. As I began watching the film, I noticed that none of the characters acted normal in the traditional sense. They all acted manic and, though I initially found this distracting, I eventually grew accustomed to the film's rhythms. The sudden bursts of violence and the somewhat surreal color scheme were also well-done. Overall, I don't have a lot of insights to offer on this film, but I did respect it and I'll probably check out some more of Zulawski's films in the future. Still need to watch Possession, for instance...

Next Up: Magical Girl

[Takoma11]

I'll probably check out some more of Zulawski's films in the future. Still need to watch Possession, for instance...

Get on that ASAP.

I've seen it three times (two on the big screen) and it is awesome.

[SpelingError]

Get on that ASAP.

I've seen it three times (two on the big screen) and it is awesome.

Yeah, it looks right up my alley. I should give it a shot one of these days.

[gbgoodies]

For those of you who like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark, I highly recommend these two documentaries. (They're called "filmumentaries" because the film plays throughout the documentary, with additional voiceovers and information added as it happens, and in some cases, deleted or extended scenes are added where they would have been had they not been cut.)

Inside Jaws, A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning

https://vimeo.com/68400837


Raiding The Lost Ark: A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning

https://vimeo.com/36011979

[jiraffejustin]

Mad Love

I was hoping to be into this flick, because I wanted to say that I had mad love for it. Instead I am mad that I don't love this film. I think I saw someone say that this film is a mad-love-it-or-mad-hate-it type of film, which might be true, because I mad loved parts of it and mad hated other parts of it. And before anyone gets mad and not love what I am doing with the title here, I'll cut it out. I have been trying to figure which terminology to use to describe what I didn't like about the energy of this film, because it's not that it's chaotic, and it's not that it's absurd, or that it's high energy or whatever, because there are plenty of films that have those qualities that I admire. But there is something about the chaos of this film that didn't work for me, I wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is, but I am struggling with that. It was kinda giving me some anxiety at times with how up it was, but as the film went on and the women received more focus, I started to love some of those parts of the film. The scene with Mary on stage was tremendous and reminded me of the scene in Possession where Isabelle Adjani got to act her ass off. The scene in Possession is way better and Possession is a way better scene and I wouldn't have drawn the comparison if it wasn't the same director, but I still think that is high praise to be mentioned in the same breath as that performance. The two main women in this film are absolutely gorgeous and were both fantastic. I need to see every movie they appear nude in, because those scenes also make it into the "love" category. I need to read The Idiot and come back to this. The dudes in this film I could take or leave. Francis Huster certainly did some acting in this film, and it's hard to judge a performance like this because it's not meant to be conventional. It's weird to me that if I had to score this film it'd be somewhere in the middle, but I have no real neutral feelings about this film. They are all pretty strong feelings that average out to somewhere in the middle, but the median would possibly somewhere on the low end. Maybe I'll read The Idiot and watch a couple other Zulawski films and come back to this to see how I feel about it then.

[PHOENIX74]

TRUE ROMANCE SPOILERS

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85025
True Romance (1993)

*SPOILER...While I was watching True Romance I was thinking of another movie I watched last week Bonnie and Clyde (1967). If I was making the movie I'd had Slater and Arguette being killed in the cross fire...Then cut to a close up of the couple with a few choice words from Patricia Arquette said with her last breath. Oh that's sort of like Romeo and Juliette.[/LEFT]


It was scripted and kind of meant to end that way (at least for Slater's character) but Tony Scott objected to that kind of ending and changed it. I agree with you - it would have made for a much better close to the kind of film this was. Much more like Thieves Like Us or Bonnie and Clyde.

[Citizen Rules]

TRUE ROMANCE SPOILERS

It was scripted and kind of meant to end that way (at least for Slater's character) but Tony Scott objected to that kind of ending and changed it. I agree with you - it would have made for a much better close to the kind of film this was. Much more like Thieves Like Us or Bonnie and Clyde.That's interesting and I think I would've liked the original scripted ending.

I've not seen Thieves Like Us so can't comment on it. But like I mentioned in my review I just watched Bonnie and Clyde a couple of weeks ago, now that's a movie & real story that should be remade.

[Torgo]

True Romance - 4

This is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes hard to watch and always entertaining caper movie that I'm happy to revisit. Due to the success of this movie, Reservoir Dogs, etc., many imitators followed in its wake - some of which are pretty good - but most are rightly forgotten. What does this one have that the Wal-Mart bargain bin dwellers don’t? Characters with depth and that have three dimensions, for starters. In imitator-in-chief Guy Ritchie's crime movies, for instance, all we usually take away from any given character is their name - which is usually overly cute like Bullet-Tooth Tony - and what they do to move the plot forward. A minor character like Gary Oldman’s pimp Drexl, on the other hand, has this as well as a history, personality, likes, dislikes; in short, memorability. Speaking of hard to watch, I've seen attempts at scenes like the fight between Alabama and Virgil - the one in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in which Big Chris's son is threatened comes close - but they lack the emotional stakes that make me sit on the edge of my seat and forget to breathe. I was deeply concerned about Alabama surviving and Clarence returning in time and I don't think it's just because of the conflict from it being a giant vs. waif mismatch. I also forgot how genuinely and memorably funny the movie is, which is something else for which my favorite punching bag Ritchie is so close, yet so far. If you are also still laughing about the title Coming Home in a Body Bag, I want to buy you a drink.

You could say the following about every movie Tarantino has written and/or directed, but not all of his trademarks - his obsession with movies in particular - work in the movie's favor. Clarence's similar taste in film to Tarantino’s is meaningful, but as much as I like Zimmer's xylophone motif, the Badlands references seem awkward and come across as pedantic since Clarence and Alabama's situation does not totally resemble Kit and Holly's in that movie. Also, while my unfamiliarity with Elvis Presley may be to blame, Clarence's obsession with him doesn't work for me except for it being responsible for delaying his return to the motel and one of the movie's biggest laughs, i.e. the line about the one man he'd have sex with. I still had a blast watching it again and believe it's worth mentioning in the same sentence as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. It's just too bad we didn't get to see if Dick Ritchie's T.J. Hooker part paid off for him.

[Citizen Rules]

85070
Demons (Shura) (1971)

Pretty much any Japanese film set in the past Samurai era will score points with me, especially if it's an older film shot in black & white. I've seen a number of these and some quite impressed me, others...I was somewhat cold too.

Visually I was impressed with the artistically rendered scenes. My favorite technique being the use of an obscured darken background with a single light source on the foreground subject...then at the appropriate moment in the story a secondary lighting comes up thus illuminating the background subject...I've seen that before in other films and it's always impressive looking.

I liked the overall theme, though at 2 hours and 14 minutes the story of revenge topped with a frosting of irony was a bit long in the tooth. A movie can have a horror killing done chilling or made cheesy by overdoing it ala John Carpenter. Some of the killing scenes just about borders on looking cheesy, especially the amount of blood that sprays out in one scene like a fountain, which reminded me of Month Python and the Holy Grail. Not a deal breaker and I still think it's a decent movie because of the strong esthetics and the fact that I was engaged by it for the most part.

[CosmicRunaway]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85083

Mad Love / L'amour braque (1985)
Directed By: Andrzej Zulawski
Starring: Francis Huster, Sophie Marceau, Tchéky Karyo

I am clearly not the target audience for this film. I was constantly put off by the non-stop chaotic energy, and semi-poetic dialogue that sounds like google auto-translated nonsense. I have no desire to understand what this film was trying to say, if anything at all, nor do I care to reflect on my experience with it. Consequently, this post will probably be shorter than usual.

Speaking of length, the runtime is not particularly long, but I had to break it up over the course of six days because I couldn't stand to watch too much of it at once. The performances constantly swapped back and forth between being intense and utterly bizarre, and I have no idea what the director's intention was with any of those choices. Honestly, it felt like watching something completely alien, and well beyond my human comprehension.

[CosmicRunaway]

L'amour braque (Andrzej Zulawski, 1985)
Oh I could not wait to see this again even though it was maybe only 3 weeks ago the first time I saw it. Just one of those films that was some indescribable quality that makes it click with me.
I think we might have wholly opposite tastes in film haha.

While I didn't enjoy your nomination, I do still appreciate being exposed to something completely out of my comfort zone. :up:

[Thief]

SAFETY LAST!
(1923, Newmeyer & Taylor)

https://i.imgur.com/geVmMtB.jpg


"Young man, don't you know you might fall and get hurt?"



That's the warning that an old lady gives the lead character in this silent comedy, just as he is halfway through climbing the facade of the 12-story building where he works. All because of a case of mistaken identity and his desire to, ahem, climb the "corporate ladder".

Safety Last! follows this young man (Harold Lloyd) after he moves to the city to make some money so he can finally get married to his sweetheart (Mildred Davis). But the road there is full of obstacles and he can't seem to keep himself out of danger; whether it's from his bosses, a surprise visit from his girlfriend, a persistent cop, or the rioting hordes of ladies demanding his service at the store.

As was the custom for the time, one of the main beauties of this film is in its slapstick gags and its many physical stunts. Even though he usually gets mentioned below Chaplin and Keaton, as far as silent film era stars go, Lloyd certainly holds his own against the great ones.

The most notable and iconic bit is Lloyd hanging from the clock, which is impressive. That stunt takes pretty much the last 20 minutes or so, but I like how they make it not feel overlong with the many ways that Lloyd's friend is trying to escape the cop which forces our lead to keep climbing, or the many obstacles that he faces on his way up (doves, the clock, obtrusive onlookers).

However, the film has several other clever and effective stunts and gags and Lloyd sells them well. Sure, the dynamic between the boy and the girl might border on self-interest and selfishness, but some of it can be attributed to the "sign of times". Plus it's meant to be funny! or as funny as falling from a 12-story building and getting hurt can be :D

Grade: 3

[ueno_station54]

non-stop chaotic energy, and semi-poetic dialogue that sounds like google auto-translated nonsense.
yeah this is the most appealing sh*t in the world to me lol.

[edarsenal]

https://i.imgur.com/ZjdnA0t.gif
https://movie-fanatic-res.cloudinary.com/iu/s--HIWhPEn---/t_full/cs_srgb,f_auto,fl_strip_profile.lossy,q_auto:420/v1364991696/christopher-walken-true-romance.jpg
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d78f7aafa2a676e1fcddfe9/1602676340243-43C6Q00IBA95V19AD95H/True+Romance


True Romance (1993)

Clarence Worley: You just said you love me, now if I say I love you and just throw caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may and you're lying to me I'm gonna f@ckin' die.

True Romance has the somewhat rare obstacle of having an utter smorgasbord of excellent secondary characters that can and do outshine the story's leading characters.
Due, in part to clever dialogue and the capability of the actors to make their roles as memorable as they are.
Those scenes always take center stage whenever this film is talked about and quoted from by Tarantino fans. Even though Tony Scott directs it, Tarantino's writing has placed it as a Tarantino movie in the fans' eyes.

Clarence (Christian Slater), a lonely video store worker in Detroit, spends his birthday at a triple feature Kung Fu Film fest where Alabama (Patricia Arquette) spills popcorn on him. They spend the night together and fall in love. Very very fast and very, very hard.

And so begins their high-stakes adventure when Clarence confronts Alabama's pimp, and instead of grabbing her suitcase of clothes, he accidentally snatches a suitcase full of cocaine.
Deciding to hightail it for Hollywood where, they figure, they can sell it all in one shot to some Hollywood big wig they are unaware of the very, very dangerous men working for local mafia boss Blue Lou.

The makings of so many Getaway premises, an ex-video store worker/enthusiast, Tarantino unleashes what becomes his forte for glamorized violence, dangerous twists, colorful characters, and stylized, clever dialogue.
All of which is on display with all the frenzied, passionate enthusiasm of a newcomer hellbent on making a name for themselves. And he does, very, very effectively.

I've lost count on the times I've seen this and own a DVD of it that does get put to use, and since it had been a while since last viewing it, it made me smirk to see it nominated here.

[Miss Vicky]

Nice review, edarsenal !

It's been a long while since I last watched True Romance and I'm really looking forward to treating myself to it. I'm glad a glad a lot of other people are having fun with it.

[edarsenal]

It's ALWAYS a pleasure to see a favorite pop up in your nominations, Miss Vicky!
Hope you enjoy your revisit as well!

[cricket]

I'm planning on watching True Romance next

[edarsenal]

I'm planning on watching True Romance next
Can't remember if you've mentioned it, but, have you seen it before?

[cricket]

Can't remember if you've mentioned it, but, have you seen it before?

When I first joined the site like 10 years ago it was in my top 5. Seen it many times including at the cinema when it came out. Don't think I've seen it since I joined.

[edarsenal]

When I first joined the site like 10 years ago it was in my top 5. Seen it many times including at the cinema when it came out. Don't think I've seen it since I joined.

Hope its an enjoyable revisit for ya

[Torgo]

My Dog Skip - 3

As a dog lover, I credit this movie for what it gets right about having a dog as a pet. They can be the best friend you've ever had from the confidence they instill to how they bring you up when you're down. Two of the sports scenes, i.e., the football game where Skip fetches the ball and the baseball game that he attempts to liven up are the highlights in this regard for me. In addition, while problematic - that it took a star athlete to ultimately bridge the racial gap in Yazoo City seems like the kind of stuff that inspired Jordan Peele to write Get Out - the narrator may be right that dogs are smarter than humans for how their companionship isn't race-dependent. I also approve of how the movie depicts how World War II impacted small town America, which is a perspective we do not always see in movies set during this era.

Unfortunately, there are aspects to this movie that like crabs in a barrel work against it so much that I can only give it a marginal recommendation. Sentimentality drips from every frame and in many ways, with two of the most offensive ones being William Ross's overbearing score and the sickly-sweet color scheme. The day scenes are sun-drenched in a way that's meant to convey nostalgia, but there are times when it made me want a shot of insulin. There's also something insidious about using the most painful parts of dog ownership, those being when they are suffering from illness or injury or when they finally pass on, as emotional beats. While I know that these things happen and that in Skip's case did happen since it's based on a true story, I felt a bit violated by the way the movie portrays them.

I realize that this is a family film and that the qualities I've called out are common to them, but I'm not sure if that's a defense. The standouts in Don Bluth's filmography to my own nomination in this Hall of Fame prove that "family films" can succeed without being overly sentimental. In short, this is a pretty good movie for how it shows the best and worst things about having a dog as a pet. It's too bad I felt like I likely would after binging a season of This Is Us when it ended.

[CosmicRunaway]

I watched Baby Face yesterday, but haven't been in the mood to sit down and write anything. I did like the film, but no words are really coming to me to describe it.

It might be because I'm kind of exhausted after having to work all weekend doing inventory, so hopefully the brain fog clears up once I get some rest, and get back on my regular schedule.

[Torgo]

You could say the following about every movie Tarantino has written and/or directed, but not all of his trademarks - his obsession with movies in particular - work in the movie's favor. Clarence's similar taste in film to Tarantino’s is meaningful, but as much as I like Zimmer's xylophone motif, the Badlands references seem awkward and come across as pedantic since Clarence and Alabama's situation does not totally resemble Kit and Holly's in that movie. Also, while my unfamiliarity with Elvis Presley may be to blame, Clarence's obsession with him doesn't work for me except for it being responsible for delaying his return to the motel and one of the movie's biggest laughs, i.e. the line about the one man he'd have sex with. I still had a blast watching it again and believe it's worth mentioning in the same sentence as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. It's just too bad we didn't get to see if Dick Ritchie's T.J. Hooker part paid off for him.Yeah, I know. I'm quoting my own review.
I was just curious about what others think about the Elvis Presley parts of the movie. Benefit? Strength? Just plain weird? Again, besides going to Graceland many years ago, I don't know much about him, but another issue I have with them I didn't mention in my review is that while he served in the military, he seemed like a pretty peace-loving dude in real life.

[Allaby]

Yeah, I know. I'm quoting my own review.
I was just curious about what others think about the Elvis Presley parts of the movie. Benefit? Strength? Just plain weird? Again, besides going to Graceland many years ago, I don't know much about him, but another issue I have with them I didn't mention in my review is that while he served in the military, he seemed like a pretty peace-loving dude in real life.

I liked the references to Elvis. I felt it added to the film and gave it a little more character.

[CosmicRunaway]

I was just curious about what others think about the Elvis Presley parts of the movie. Benefit? Strength? Just plain weird?
Just weird, because it's underutilized. We see the delusion early in the film, but then he doesn't appear again until the end. If Elvis was appearing to Clarence on a consistent basis, directly influencing his decision-making, then it would be perfectly fine. But as it is, it just seems random.

[Takoma11]

Yeah, I know. I'm quoting my own review.
I was just curious about what others think about the Elvis Presley parts of the movie. Benefit? Strength? Just plain weird? Again, besides going to Graceland many years ago, I don't know much about him, but another issue I have with them I didn't mention in my review is that while he served in the military, he seemed like a pretty peace-loving dude in real life.

Very contrived, in my opinion.

First of all, the whole "If I HAD to sleep with a man," just makes him sound like a homophobic weirdo.

And then him randomly popping up twice as some sort of, I don't know, internal monologue? Imaginary friend?

It felt pretty half-baked to me. It either should have been more present in the script or cut, IMO.

[Torgo]

Agree with Cosmic & Takoma.

According to IMDB, QT said it's his most autobiographical movie, so I can only assume it's a nod to his acting breakthrough as an Elvis impersonator on Golden Girls, maybe?

Here it is in case you haven't seen it already:

https://youtu.be/_ZJ-p_2C_-A

[edarsenal]

I watched Baby Face yesterday, but haven't been in the mood to sit down and write anything. I did like the film, but no words are really coming to me to describe it.

It might be because I'm kind of exhausted after having to work all weekend doing inventory, so hopefully the brain fog clears up once I get some rest, and get back on my regular schedule.

I know that feeling.
Get some rest and take care

[cricket]

First of all, the whole "If I HAD to sleep with a man," just makes him sound like a homophobic weirdo.

Not talking about the context of the conversation, but I think that's a lot closer to normal than being homophobic. Somebody that's homophobic would never even entertain the idea or think to say something like that.

[ueno_station54]

Not talking about the context of the conversation, but I think that's a lot closer to normal than being homophobic. Somebody that's homophobic would never even entertain the idea or think to say something like that.
not to hijack this convo but nobody thinks or talks about gay stuff more than the phobes.

[cricket]

not to hijack this convo but nobody thinks or talks about gay stuff more than the phobes.

Then you haven't heard a lot of guys talk unfiltered. It's so common it's beyond normal. It's everyday talk. Normal guys can talk and joke that way because they are confident in their own sexuality.

[ueno_station54]

Then you haven't heard a lot of guys talk unfiltered. It's so common it's beyond normal. It's everyday talk. Normal guys can talk and joke that way because they are confident in their own sexuality.
yes these are the phobes i'm referring to.

[cricket]

yes these are the phobes i'm referring to.

So normal guys are phobes? What an unfortunate way to see things.

[cricket]

And also, women talk that way as well.

[edarsenal]

I always felt that Elvis was that Inner Monologue that we all go through when trying to attain a kind of compass on what to do and whether or not to do something and it reminded me of the old Happy Days sitcom when Fonzie would talk to a poster of James Dean(?) so it wasn't weird and that it only occurred when something very very serious was going down to help muster his determination kept it from looking like it was "voices" telling him what to do.

[cricket]

I always felt that Elvis was that Inner Monologue that we all go through when trying to attain a kind of compass on what to do and whether or not to do something and it reminded me of the old Happy Days sitcom when Fonzie would talk to a poster of James Dean(?) so it wasn't weird and that it only occurred when something very very serious was going down to help muster his determination kept it from looking like it was "voices" telling him what to do.

Right on

[cricket]

And also, women talk that way as well.

And....I've heard a lot of gay people talk that way, proud gay people.

[ueno_station54]

So normal guys are phobes? What an unfortunate way to see things.
yeah i'd say being homophobic/transphobic is still the normal stance for most straight/cis people. i don't think that's a crazy assertation.

[edarsenal]

I got to side with cricket, just because you're not into something doesn't instantly make you terrified/hateful, albeit a phobe about it. Hate, and outward aggression out of ignorance, and/or insecurity is being a phobe.

[jiraffejustin]

I’m probably a phobe :(

I hope not

[edarsenal]

yeah i'd say being homophobic/transphobic is still the normal stance for most straight/cis people. i don't think that's a crazy assertation.
And that is the other side of the narrow-minded coin. To generalize any specific group or belief and to broadcast that narrow view is wrong.
You sort of hate an action that you yourself just admitted to doing.

Acceptance of ourselves and respecting the diversities of others is more the way to go than to paint little ugly stigmas and insist that this group or that group is nothing more than that isn't how to live.

[cricket]

yeah i'd say being homophobic/transphobic is still the normal stance for most straight/cis people. i don't think that's a crazy assertation.

My original point is that I don't think a homophobic guy would even joke about sleeping with another guy. A healthy minded and secure person should be able to say just about anything, at least to the right audience. I don't know how you would arrive at this idea. So if a guy is not homophobic, they wouldn't talk or joke about certain things? I don't follow the logic, but rather I think that some people just have different sensitivity levels. Not to mention, it's yet another example on this forum of judging people based on very little.

[cricket]

True Romance

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WealthyFewHare-size_restricted.gif

Once a top 5 favorite, I was very curious how much I'd enjoy this after not seeing it for several years. It's fallen a little but it was still pretty awesome. I now tend to prefer movies that I can relate to or that make me feel something. At this point I'd call True Romance an excellent entertainment piece.

I used to lend my DVD of this out all the time way back when it wasn't so well known. People would always be surprised when it wasn't a standard love story because of the title. I got a little chuckle when Alabama lit a cigarette in the movie theater because the last time I smoked in the cinema was when I first saw this.

I don't know if I saw it this way before, but Tarantino seems to be quite the nerd, and I think this movie plays out like an alternate fantasy for him, and a lot of younger males. Meet girl, kill pimp, get coke, go to L.A. and sell coke for a lot of money. We've all daydreamed about such a fun scenario. Well, maybe not all of us but a lot of us. This movie is largely how that fantasy would play out, with a few bumps on the way.

Most of the dialogue works but some of it is a little much. Obviously it's the many supporting characters that make the movie different, or special depending on how you view it. They're all great, and special shout out to Bronson Pinchot for his performance. He seemed like an odd actor to have in the film with all of these guys who have played gangsters, cops, and other various tough guys. He really plays a big part in the last third of the film. Of course they all overshadow the 2 leads, but the 2 leads are fine enough.

Four main scenes highlights the movie; the Drexel scene, Walken vs Hopper, Bama in the hotel, and the finale. These are all very memorable scenes, although the finale ends up being the least effective in my mind. Fortunately the lead up to the gunfire is done very well. It was fun to revisit this classic.

4.5

[ueno_station54]

My original point is that I don't think a homophobic guy would even joke about sleeping with another guy. A healthy minded and secure person should be able to say just about anything, at least to the right audience. I don't know how you would arrive at this idea. So if a guy is not homophobic, they wouldn't talk or joke about certain things? I don't follow the logic, but rather I think that some people just have different sensitivity levels. Not to mention, it's yet another example on this forum of judging people based on very little.
i just don't get where you see being able to joke about something makes you immune from hating it? every guy i know makes these jokes, there isn't a problem with that but (and this is just my personal experience of course) most of them will also say some pretty gross sh*t if you talk about LGBT issues or even mention something like drag, y'know anything that's like actually gay. I'm not vilifying anyone here or in general but i do think most straight/cis people are casually homophobic/transphobic and it has nothing to do with them being bad people its just kind of ingrained in the culture.

[cricket]

i just don't get where you see being able to joke about something makes you immune from hating it? every guy i know makes these jokes, there isn't a problem with that but (and this is just my personal experience of course) most of them will also say some pretty gross sh*t if you talk about LGBT issues or even mention something like drag, y'know anything that's like actually gay. I'm not vilifying anyone here or in general but i do think most straight/cis people are casually homophobic/transphobic and it has nothing to do with them being bad people its just kind of ingrained in the culture.

Well it's the way the character jokes about it, about himself sleeping with a man. I think there's a big difference between hateful joking and playful joking. I'm sure a homophobic person would say something disgusting, I just don't think they would joke about themselves sleeping with a man. Say something about someone else? Sure. "If I had to" is in reference to personal taste in my eyes, whereas a homophobic guy wouldn't even go there. I think a lot of homophobic guys are closet gays anyway. I haven't heard of anything homophobic in decades but of course I live in Massachusetts so maybe that helps.

[SpelingError]

Magical Girl (2014) - 3.5

While the direction of this film was too cold and distant to resonate with me as much as it could've, I still enjoyed enough about it to give it a recommendation. For one, I enjoyed Barbara as the emotional core. Most films would have her start off in good health and have her mental health decline more and more throughout the film. In this film though, she was already unstable and Luis's behavior made her go from bad to worse. For instance, after she intentionally cuts her head on a mirror, Javier comments on it being another scar and later in the film when she's asked to disrobe, we see that her body is full of scars. Given those scenes, it's clear she had been suffering long before she encountered Luis. While Luis's control over Barbara is quite apparent though, Javier, her husband, is guilty of this as well. His monitoring of whether she takes her pills starts out as seemingly innocuous. The more he escalates though, the more paranoid he seems (a scene where he feels inside her mouth to make sure she swallowed a pill is super uncomfortable to watch). Another interesting thing about the film is the struggle which several characters face at finding closure or satisfaction. To list examples of this theme would involve spoiling major parts of the film, but that extensions of it pop up in smaller moments, like Luis missing an important radio broadcast from his daughter, or some unexplainable moments, like the final scene, is quite impressive. As mentioned at the start, the coldness of this film kept me from loving it, but while I'm not sure I'll revisit it again, I did enjoy my time with it.

Next Up: Midnight Cowboy

[Takoma11]

i just don't get where you see being able to joke about something makes you immune from hating it?

Right.

I think that the character (and maybe Tarantino by extension?) wants edgy points for talking about sleeping with a man, but has to be really careful to couch it as "if I HAD TO sleep with a dude," because of course he'd only do it if he was forced. (The way that he delivers this monologue reveals that this is a go-to conversation starter for him). And he later tells Alabama that she seemed to good to be true so he was worried she was transgender.

It does feel real, I guess. Like how the teenage boys in front of me at the basketball game talk about a male athlete having a good build and then immediately having the nervously throw in a "no homo!". But it's the kind of casually bigoted insecurity that I find off-putting in a character.

I was looking at an early draft of the script and in it Alabama is also casually racist? She refers to Sonny Chiba as "the oriental" and then later says her only turn-off is "Persians."

Again, it's not that this isn't a real way that someone would think or talk, but it makes them characters I don't really want to root for or spend much time with.

[cricket]

Right.

I think that the character (and maybe Tarantino by extension?) wants edgy points for talking about sleeping with a man, but has to be really careful to couch it as "if I HAD TO sleep with a dude," because of course he'd only do it if he was forced. (The way that he delivers this monologue reveals that this is a go-to conversation starter for him). And he later tells Alabama that she seemed to good to be true so he was worried she was transgender.

It does feel real, I guess. Like how the teenage boys in front of me at the basketball game talk about a male athlete having a good build and then immediately having the nervously throw in a "no homo!". But it's the kind of casually bigoted insecurity that I find off-putting in a character.

I was looking at an early draft of the script and in it Alabama is also casually racist? She refers to Sonny Chiba as "the oriental" and then later says her only turn-off is "Persians."

Again, it's not that this isn't a real way that someone would think or talk, but it makes them characters I don't really want to root for or spend much time with.

There has been times that I've been relieved that my wife cooked with beef rather than turkey meat. It doesn't mean I have something against turkey meat, it just means I don't like it for me.

[crumbsroom]

I think there is a lot of fairly casual homophobia in what men say amongst eachother. Like, a lot. Teasing each other for being 'gay' or 'feminine' for one. While I don't think this necessarily translates as being any kind of proof about dislike of hatred of the gay community if any particular individual participates in it, the root from where it comes from is very much that, and I think it at the very least tips a hat towards an unease towards queer culture. A need to distance oneself from it. Which says something when we are always needing to push something away before we are willing to talk about it.



But, that said, I don't know if I would place the "If I HAD to comment" in that category. Not that it is a totally great way to phrase it, but I think it is understandable to couch it that way if one does not have any interest in men that way, but are intrigued or open enough to talk about what they'd go for if they did (a lot of men, straight up, would not even consider such a hypothetical). Personally, as a male who came to wonder in my early twenties if I had boxed myself into the 'strictly heterosexual' category, and experimented outside of those straight parameters, only to find that it simply wasn't for me, this might be how I'd broach this subject as well. Being that I now have come to realize through personal experience that I don't have any particular interested in men sexually, I doubt I would have sex with a man unless I 'had to' either. Because it's not something I'm remotely interested in at this point (well, maybe The Strokes are the exception, but in that case I'd HAVE to build a time machine to get me back to 2002, and now not only am I putting a moral distance between me and such a possibility, but am placing the entire space/time continuum paradox between us, so that might be some serious metaphysical homophobia I'm exhibiting here).


But, then again, I haven't seen True Romance in years and so can't comment on the specific scene in particular. And QT hardly seems like someone who wouldn't at least occassionally deal in some casual homophobia. Because he's kinda an *******.

[cricket]

I think there is a lot of fairly casual homophobia in what men say amongst eachother. Like, a lot. Teasing each other for being 'gay' or 'feminine' for one. While I don't think this necessarily translates as being any kind of proof about dislike of hatred of the gay community if any particular individual participates in it, the root from where it comes from is very much that, and I think it at the very least tips a hat towards an unease towards queer culture. A need to distance oneself from it. Which says something when we are always needing to push something away before we are willing to talk about it.



But, that said, I don't know if I would place the "If I HAD to comment" in that category. Not that it is a totally great way to phrase it, but I think it is understandable to couch it that way if one does not have any interest in men that way, but are intrigued or open enough to talk about what they'd go for if they did (a lot of men, straight up, would not even consider such a hypothetical). Personally, as a male who came to wonder in my early twenties if I had boxed myself into the 'strictly heterosexual' category, and experimented outside of those straight parameters, only to find that it simply wasn't for me, this might be how I'd broach this subject as well. Being that I now have come to realize through personal experience that I don't have any particular interested in men sexually, I doubt I would have sex with a man unless I 'had to' either. Because it's not something I'm remotely interested in at this point (well, maybe The Strokes are the exception, but in that case I'd HAVE to build a time machine to get me back to 2002, and now not only am I putting a moral distance between me and such a possibility, but am placing the entire space/time continuum paradox between us, so that might be some serious metaphysical homophobia I'm exhibiting here).


But, then again, I haven't seen True Romance in years and so can't comment on the specific scene in particular. And QT hardly seems like someone who wouldn't at least occassionally deal in some casual homophobia. Because he's kinda an *******.

Great post. I just don't like quick judgment and labeling based on such little information. To me it's very similar to what you are accusing someone else of. Most people deserve some level of understanding, tolerance, and compassion.

[Takoma11]

So my last word on this (unless someone wants further clarity) is that I didn't say that the character was homophobic, I said that the things he said made him sound like someone who is homophobic, and I hope we can appreciate some nuance there.

But also:
I don't know if I would place the "If I HAD to comment" in that category. Not that it is a totally great way to phrase it, but I think it is understandable to couch it that way if one does not have any interest in men that way, but are intrigued or open enough to talk about what they'd go for if they did (a lot of men, straight up, would not even consider such a hypothetical)

To push back on this point a little: it's so easy to say "If I were gay" instead of "If I had to." The latter phrasing, which evokes force/coercion/lack of choice/etc, associates the idea of gayness as something being pushed on a straight person. The fear of gay people--and of gay sex being forced on straight men--has literally been used as a legal defense for men who killed gay men, the "gay panic" defense.

Again, I totally understand the demands of masculine performance and "Oh but I would never really . . . " qualifiers. I think it's realistic. I think it's true to the way that a lot of men would speak. But I (as a person and a viewer of this story) find such behavior by men to be off-putting weaksauce and it makes me like the character less as a person. Honestly, it's the fact that it's a rehearsed bit that is the most irritating thing about it.

[CosmicRunaway]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85166

Baby Face (1933)
Directed By: Alfred E. Green
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Theresa Harris

At face value, a woman who has been taken advantage of all her life finally deciding to use her body for her own benefit is a rather empowering message. However, the perception that women in positions of power only got where they are because they've slept their way to the top isn't exactly a view that should be reinforced, and that is essentially the entire plot of Baby Face.

Taking advice from Nietzsche is certainly not recommended either, even before the Nazis were appropriating his work, so I do appreciate that Lily eventually realizes that she's taking her own self interest a little too far. With that said though, I never felt any pity or remorse for the men she used along the way. They fell for her charm and sexual availability despite knowing her history, and that's wholly on them. I was on her side the entire time.

I actually thought the ending I saw was an edited scene forced upon the film by studio heads, since the sudden (but inevitable) change of heart concluded the film on a far less morally ambiguous note. Though apparently that was the original version that still needed censoring at the time, and the theatrically released edit provided an ever bigger cop out. I'm glad the original cut was restored, because the only downside is that Lily's personal growth seems a bit rushed. It was a quick, fun watch, and I wish I had something more substantial to say about it.

[CosmicRunaway]

My one sentence review of Baby Face would read "Lily Powers did nothing wrong." but I can't get away with just writing that lol.
You know, one sentence reviews might be an interesting concept for some other format haha.

Also, QTF. :up:

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/3xKZsvgs/thunder-road.jpg

Thunder Road - 2018

Directed by Jim Cummings

Written by Jim Cummings

Starring Jim Cummings

This is a tough one to grab and get a hold of - thinking about Thunder Road and what to say about it, I feel like an ant falling off a piece of paper and getting put back on. At one stage I went and watched the short film which preceded the feature version of Whiplash and started to fill up with a voluminous amount of imaginary dialogue - only to have to switch myself back onto the track of Thunder Road. I think it's because this film exists so close to the very precipice of an idea. I don't find a lot to compare this film with - although I'm sure there will be a lot in the future. Jim Arnaud, who tellingly shares the same first name as creator Jim Cummings is wholly a man of today. He is, of course, more sensitive, distracted, delicate and empathetic than most, and probably his creator - but he's most of us and what most of us will be - screwed by the 21st Century and angry about it. Part of an unworkable system that dehumanizes, he goes through what most people and families do and must go through in a very modern way. Obviously his unique character means and says a lot - but so does the world that Cummings has surrounded his character with.

I judged this book (movie) by it's cover at first, and my expectations of being presented with some kind of wacky comedy full of absurdity were ill-founded. Rather, I found that this narrative included so much pain and tragedy that I was completely unsure if Jim Cummings intended or wanted me to laugh. That's despite comedy being firmly present in the opening scene - a funeral, which of course can always be slanted towards comedy - but less so when our main character is obviously going through so much torment and pain. This juggling act, between pathos and an invitation to laugh at ridiculous behaviour didn't make me uneasy - but it did make me unsure. I felt like I was being invited to laugh and feel sad at the same time and as such I was finding it hard to do or feel either. The second time around I resolutely decided to treat Thunder Road as a serious drama that just happened to have surreal moments that in other contexts could be seen as comedy. It's that complicated for me. The movie as a whole does more to support this way of looking at it than not. By it's end things have become as serious as you could possibly get - but we still get these little moments, mainly by way of Jim Arnaud and his mannerisms.

Arnaud is a police officer whose mother has just died, and who is experiencing grief in his own way. Complicating this further, is the fact that he's been separated from his wife for a few years, who wants a divorce and custody of their young daughter. His emotions affect his behaviour, and before you know it this costs him in court which has a flow on effect to him losing his job and really reaching the brink before matters elsewhere bring about an unexpected resolution. This isn't as much a story though, as it is a character study - Cummings' Arnaud is one of the rare people in the world these days that you're instantly sure you like, even at his worst moments. He genuinely thinks of others, but at the same time he's very human and goes through the same frustrations we all do, which renders just enough imperfection to him to make him relatable. His friendly talkative manner puts him high on our list of people we could stand to be around, but it's his somewhat distractible mind that takes him on tangents and leads him into saying things which are sometimes out of place or absurd. If he's ever pushed over the brink and lashes out, he apologizes so immediately that he leaves you wondering if he was ever angry to begin with.

It's fairly well-known that Jim Cummings adapted Thunder Road from a short film of the same name which he directed, wrote and starred in two years before in 2016. This short film basically formed the opening of the feature - which is the funeral scene for Jim's mother at which he gives a rather eccentric eulogy and then completely tops all of that by performing a dance routine to Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road (in police uniform.) It's a funeral that's sublimely ridiculous in short form - which is much further from anything we have to compare with reality than the world of a feature. It's interesting to note that in the short, he actually manages to start the track and dance to actual music - which makes it (slightly) more believable. In our feature, the CD player doesn't work, but having obviously rehearsed and planned, he decides to go ahead with the dance routine anyway. Obviously almost all of us will have realised by this time that going ahead with the dance is a bad idea (it was a bad idea to start with) - and would instead back down. Jim Arnaud somewhat lacks a sense of what's socially acceptable, or even agreeable. His endearing trait of being easily moved to tears also complicates proceedings - but to be fair this is true for many in such emotionally trying circumstances.

Interesting to look at, are Jim Cummings' short films of the year after (2017) and what they deal with. His trio of shorts under the banner of Still Life all look at key modern issues in society (and more specifically America) today - and they also all exist as performances captured in one shot, like Thunder Road. It’s All Right, It’s OK deals with race and justice in what I feel is a society that dysfunctions in it's rigidity - but some might see the whole episode as pandering to social justice. Hydrangea looks at the modern family dynamic and a wish to escape it into a modern media landscape where everything truly is fake, and The Mountains of Mourne features Cummings playing a more serious role in an assisted suicide which goes to show that a funeral isn't the only place to confound an audience with what they should be thinking and feeling. That same year, as part of the Minutes series at Sundance he exhibited The Robbery - his most comedic short, but still darkly involved with today's problems with a young lady smoking meth and robbing a liquor store while still indulging her addiction to her phone, which distracts and somewhat removes her from what's happening. The fact that The Robbery has all been captured in one take is exceptional, and something I very much enjoy for it's degree of difficulty and stage-like drama and performance from Rae Gray. Racism, family dysfunction, assisted suicide and meth-fueled violence fit neatly into a class that give me similar feelings to that funeral at the start of Thunder Road - I'm apt to look at it seriously even if any of it works comedically. I can't relax enough to laugh.

Thunder Road is a solid film, and Cummings has written a wonderful character who feels real, and who I wish were real. This has the feel of an independent feature, with Cummings himself imbuing the score with his ukulele playing and Lowell A. Meyer - behind the camera bringing to life the Minutes series at Sundance, including The Robbery - a young hand at his profession at around the same stage Cummings is. From it's inception to the editing room, this is essentially a one-man show and at a level that's less polished but performed with exceptional dedication and belief. There are no side-characters in it that take the spotlight for a moment and blow my mind - but young Kendal Farr should be pleased with herself for having something of a responsibility on her shoulders as an important part of the dynamic as Arnaud's daughter - someone he's desperate to connect with, and who remains disconnected to a degree - while still managing to tune in enough to be frustrated, embarrassed, bored and disappointed with him. Apart from Cummings, I'll remember her.

Overall, this was a small (if, reasonably good) package that gave me so much pause that I sometimes hesitated to even grin during it's funnier moments. A movie that's so very hard to classify - I like to think of it as a drama which veers towards comedy, but I do believe that it's meant to be a comedy that veers towards melodrama. A modern character study of a decent man torn asunder by an awry world - one with it's fair share of fun parceled out amongst the pain it somewhat uncomfortably shares a date with. It's decidedly fresh, and definitely not something rehashed or unoriginal, but feels like just one step in a direction Jim Cummings has taken towards his full potential. He really has fully fleshed-out his character from the Thunder Road short, so much so that the tears feel real, and moments spent with his friend drinking in the back yard or at the table with his daughter have real authenticity to them. A strange little film that I may have even taken the wrong way - but I feel too much for Arnaud to laugh at him a lot of the time, even at his most absurd moments. Cummings succeeded in giving him a real dimension, almost to the extent of diminishing his comic appeal.

3

[Miss Vicky]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/magicalgirl.gif
Magical Girl (Carlos Vermut, 2014)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089326/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)

Rewatch: No.

If I had been watching this movie for my own purposes, I never would've finished it. That first hour or so was an absolute chore. It was so cold and so off-putting that I watched it in tiny fragments over the course of several days. I hated it. But somehow the film pulled off a miracle in the second half and I was drawn in and fully engaged by the way all the characters' stories collided together, even if I didn't really understand Damian's motivations.

That huge disparity in my enjoyment of the two halves of the film leaves me feeling pretty neutral to the film as a whole and I will probably never watch it again.

3-

[Citizen Rules]

85182
Cure (1997)

Personally I liked the slow, leisurely pacing of Cure. This pacing gave the film a reflective, realistic feel and worked well tonality wise. None of the actors 'stood out' as memorable and I liked that too as it made them seem more like real everday people and not like actors. Equally I was impressed with the editing choices and the shooting locations. The mundane streets and austere houses juxtaposed with that old dilapidated hospital building. Cure isn't artsy in it's camera work and like the other aspects of it's film making that lack of obvious cinematography worked to create a unified feeling of normality, while highly unusual murders occur.

I wish this had been made as a straight, murder crime investigation film...as the reveal that the man with no memory has discovered an ancient taboo method of hypnotism that causes the victims to murder, just didn't convince me that it was possible. I couldn't buy that a lighter flame or a spilled glass of water along with some psycho jargon could induce all these people to commit murders (and yes I get that these people had hidden violent desires that were then unlocked by the antagonist). I guess I'm too much of a naysayer and doubter to buy into the film's premise. I hate conspiracy theories and I just couldn't buy the supernatural or was it super-science theory of the murders. Other than my disbelief in the cause of the mysterious murders, the film was well made.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85207
Magical Girl (2014)
*spoilers

I just now got done watching this and I feel drained by the last scene, which I'm rewritting;). For almost two hours I thought I could post and say that this was a really great film...But then comes the shock ending to Magical Girl and now I'm pissed about the last few minutes of the film. I'm pissed because so much of the film felt so really polished and yet not polished at all as polishing it would be all about the polish and that's too obvious. Well, that makes sense to me anyway.

I loved the first 40 minutes it was good and slow and I like it that way. I didn't think I'd like the next part about Barbara and the blackmailing, but I did as that was handing in an austere and yet effective way and I was curious as to how these people's lives would connect up. I was even down for the old guy bumping off the teacher, because the teacher was a dumbass, but I so didn't need three innocent people to be killed including the poor little girl.

I would've ended the film like this: The old guy finds the teacher and follows him out of the small cafe and confronts him about Barbara in a secluded spot with no one around. He kills the teacher after he says he did indeed blackmail her. Then the old guy shoots himself, because he's a dumbass too. The film ends with the magic girl in her dress standing in her room waiting for her father to return home.

[cricket]

Dailymotion a good way to watch Mad Love?

[Citizen Rules]

Dailymotion a good way to watch Mad Love?I think ueno said Dailymotion was a crappy looking link? I got a good link for it, I'll send it to you.

[SpelingError]

The Dailymotion link is divided up into two parts and comes with several ad breaks, so I don't recommend that version.

[Miss Vicky]

Dailymotion a good way to watch Mad Love?

I did a free trial subscription of Mubi through Amazon Prime, watched Mad Love, then cancelled the subscription immediately after.

[pahaK]

Dailymotion a good way to watch Mad Love?

Here in Finland, it was on Netflix.

[Torgo]

Thunder Road - 4

This is an affecting little movie that I can neither describe as a drama nor a comedy since during so many scenes, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The opening scene defines this odd sensation: should I weep over Jim's attempt to honor his mother's love of dance or laugh at him for making of a fool of himself? This is hardly a drawback, however. This dichotomy defines Jim's internal struggle and the fallout of each of its setbacks and victories never rings false.

As for highlights of Jim's battle, it's hard to top his post-firing breakdown in the parking lot for setbacks, and as for wins, merely thinking about him mastering his daughter's hand-slapping game makes me smile. I also approve of how the movie shows that when Jim emerges from his personal hell, his life won't be a breeze. How he idealizes his much more stable pal Nate's life - who admits during their argument about the funeral footage that it's not as stable as Jim thinks it is - is my favorite example of this. With all of that said, the scene I replay the most in my mind is the parent-teacher conference. Besides escalating in a way that resembles how the entire movie does, it's an acting masterclass thanks to of course Cummings and Blue Ruin's Macon Blair, who has sort of made a career of making brief yet memorable appearances in movies like this one.

The movie's theme of not wanting to pass your least enviable qualities to the next generation resonates. All the same, it's our hero's primary journey - not to survive his divorce and custody battle, but to ponder the question, "what is a man?" - that is its main strength. Thankfully, it's a journey that despite its bumps on the road, Jim survives, and to the movie's benefit, his destination is more like a rest stop than a final one. Oh, and at a time when even the typical Marvel and James Bond movie is nearly three hours long, that it's a 90-minute journey is icing on the cake.

[CosmicRunaway]

Blue Ruin's Macon Blair, who has sort of made a career of making brief yet memorable appearances in movies like this one.
You know, I thought the teacher seemed familiar but I couldn't figure out why haha.

[Torgo]

You know, I thought the teacher seemed familiar but I couldn't figure out why haha.There's something comforting about him showing up because everything he's in (that I've seen, anyway) is good. The Florida Project? Green Room? I Don't Feel at Home in this Home Anymore? I Care a Lot? He's in 'em!

[CosmicRunaway]

I watched half of My Dog Skip yesterday, and the other half just now. Turns out I've actually seen it before, and just straight up forgot about it.

I don't know if I watched it on tv at some point when nothing else was on, or if my younger brother had it on when I still lived at home. Either way, that's another unintentional rewatch added to the list. I forget how many films are on it now though haha.

[Takoma11]

I did a free trial subscription of Mubi through Amazon Prime, watched Mad Love, then cancelled the subscription immediately after.

Same, LOL!

Thunder Road - 4

during so many scenes, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Where I have ultimately landed with this film is that the tension you name---is this funny or serious?--is the most perceptive part of the film.

In real life people in challenging situations or with mental health issues do things that are, on the surface, comical. But what underpins the behavior of the character is not just that he's some goof---it is certainly driven by grief and also possibly by mental health problems.

I think that a lot of scenes are Cummings deliberately pushing this tension in one direction or the other. I think that it often ends up doing kind of a circle: a scene will start out a bit serious, then get absurd, then get more absurd, but then suddenly it feels serious because an emotionally and mentally healthy person would not go to these extremes.

I feel this laughing/crying tension all the time with some of my students. One day a student in my class who has some neuro-atypical stuff going on simply laid himself out on my carpet like a starfish, and when I asked him to sit up so we could work together, he wailed that he couldn't because his pants were hurting his legs. So do I laugh or do I cry? Kind of both, right?

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/2yVmTMLS/my-dog-skip.jpg

My Dog Skip - 2000

Directed by Jay Russell

Written by Gail Gilchriest
Based on a novel by Willie Morris

Starring Frankie Muniz, Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane
& Luke Wilson

This review contains SPOILERS

Jay Russell appears to have been very workmanlike in constructing My Dog Skip, showing efficient competence but not inspiration. The best example of this is the surrendering of his initial hope that he'd use just an ordinary dog for this film, as opposed to a trained 'acting' dog which would give everything a somewhat artificial feel. Frustrations very soon changed his mind, and that change of mind led him all the way to the other extreme - Moose and Enzo, who play the dog Eddie on Frasier, would be called upon to play Skip, which solved the problem very neatly but led to every scene involving Skip in the film feeling somewhat like he's a 'one dog trick per scene' performer rather than a boy's beloved friend. This seems to be the approach Russell takes to a lot of his filmmaking - he's definitely a man with a "job" and certainly no artist. Overall, the joints and seams were showing in My Dog Skip and that made it look and feel like a movie and not an experience. It's very ably made, and the heart at it's center isn't missing - it just doesn't feel as genuine as it should.

I should really start out by admitting that the epilogue to the film got to me - but that had nothing to do with most of what preceded that short section of My Dog Skip. The film for the most part is a living Norman Rockwell painting, and is based on the musings of American writer Willie Morris about his boyhood including the relationship he had with his dog. It's the 1940s and the Second World War is in full swing. Willie is an only child, and finds it hard to relate to other children in his neighbourhood. His best friend is young man Dink Jenkins, who Willie looks up to. His father was wounded during the Spanish Civil war, and lost a leg - he's strict and not an overly warm or hospitable father. His mother is independent, outgoing, and more emotionally engaged with her son. She insists on getting him a dog for his birthday, which has the exact effect she hoped it would. With his dog, Skip, Willie begins to interact more with kids his own age and explore the world both socially and physically. Through Skip, Willie learns about life and many of his childhood memories will be forever welded to this - his best childhood friend. The unquestioning devotion, and unwavering loyalty that a dog gives to a person (along with it's boundless optimism, sense of fun and enthusiasm) is like nothing on else to be found in this life.

Frankie Muniz didn't do much for me personally in the lead role - but I don't mean to imply he was awful either. He was very much the equal of Jay Russell and his "I guess that'll do" attitude. Kevin Bacon, as Willie's father, was one of the few people involved with this that decided he'd try and really give something beyond the scope of what most gave to the film - and stands apart. Diane Lane as Willie's mother and Luke Wilson as Dink Jenkins are fine. The rest are mostly child actors and older actors who often stand around mute. The music from William Ross - never too fussy about the films he works on - fits the tepid, somewhat derivative, average feel to everything that goes on around us. Director of Photography James L. Carter is most comfortable around television production, as are the film's editors. Apart from all of this, I don't mind at all that My Dog Skip went on to become a successful film and do exceedingly well at the box office. The sentiments of Willie Morris are genuine, and I also believe those of Jay Russell are - Morris would end up seeing the film in it's rough form just days before he passed away. He understood that this was just a "movie version" of what he wrote, and I believe he would have enjoyed it, as straightforward as it was.

Stories by Mark Twain and paintings by Normal Rockwell were really in Russell's thoughts while the film was being shot - his heart was engaged by Americana as much as the love a boy has for his dog. Willie Morris grew up Yazoo City, Mississippi (the story about the Yazoo Witch you hear about when the kids are in the graveyard is a real local legend) and the Southern heat beats down on most shots - as it did in real life. The film was shot on that location (along with nearby Canton) and as such there is a genuine feel for place and time. But, in spite of all of that, it was the most important element - the dog itself - that I felt lacked that genuine and spontaneous feel. When you interact with a dog everything is unprompted, and a dog rigidly performing tricks is no substitute for that. Some scenes, for example when the kids are playing football and baseball, were shot with a more documentary kind of style and as such these are a few of the scenes that are full of motion and real spontaneity. At the other end of the scale, the episodes with the moonshiners in the graveyard is something very novelistic and awkwardly shoehorned in to provide drama and excitement. Tearful moments with a boy begging for his dog to pull through after being hurt feel manipulative and exceedingly clichéd, but at the same time - what else could screenwriter Gail Gilchriest do? This was exactly where a movie like this was headed.

Some issues within the film, dealt with briefly, were interesting. The whole look at what Dink Jenkins goes through with his wartime experiences was complex and, I felt, informative for kids. He doesn't return a hero - instead he runs and is sent home in disgrace. Willie is disappointed in a man that was his idol, but when it comes to accusing him of cowardice, Dink explains to him that he wasn't afraid of being hurt or dying - that it's the killing that he had a problem with, and was running from. The torment they go through removes the glamour that the war seemed to have for the kid up until that point, and I thought it was very well put. It only makes up a small portion of the film, but I admired that. Also, as Willie observes, Skip is 'colourblind' - meaning that even though the South was still segregated, Skip would enjoy interacting with all portions of the community, and Willie takes especial note of the fact that of course black and white people are equals - people have to be taught to hate and exclude. It's good that some of this is included for kids in this movie. I wish I'd read the novel to know if these issues are discussed, or if it was an inclusion on the part of the filmmakers.

Harry Connick Jr. narrates as an older Willie Morris (he almost ended up with the part of Willie's father, before Kevin Bacon decided he'd take the part) and so it's with his voice that we go through the film's epilogue, with Willie growing up and leaving home, and Skip growing old, struggling - sleeping in his best friend's bed and bedroom and eventually dying. Willie's parents call him one day, and let him know - his childhood friend has passed away. I thought that the script at this point was of just the right tone, and that this would have left most of the adults in the cinema with a tear or two in their eyes. Perhaps this whollop of an end is what ensured that My Dog Skip would be successful and memorable. A lot of what had come before was decidedly average, and standard stuff - with some high points and some low points. The main crux - the dog - felt unnatural. It's tricks stilted, with very little unbridled action. Overall I was left with the impression that this was very much middle of the road when summed up as whole. When reviewing this, Roger Ebert decided to leave the entire film itself out of the equation, and simply think back to his childhood dog. I can just see Jay Russell crossing his fingers and hoping everyone does just that.

2.5

[crumbsroom]

Same, LOL!



But MUBI is incredible! I've come across SO many great movies I've never even remotely heard of on there, and I've only had it for about a month and a half. I don't think I've yet to see anything I didn't at least like a little bit, which is amazing considering how many of these films I've gone into completely blind.



And it has The Wise Kids on it, which seems so lousy in the first half hour, only to become one of the most subtley rendered coming of age stories I've seen (mixed with a lot to say about small town life in a religious community as well as what it is like to be gay in such a place as this). And I would have never got through it to the end if I didn't have faith enough in MUBI that it couldn't possibly be as bad as it seemed at first.

[CosmicRunaway]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85265

My Dog Skip (2000)
Directed By: Jay Russell
Starring: Frankie Muniz, Enzo, Harry Connick Jr.

I've never been a fan of coming-of-age dramas, and while I did watch a number of episodes of Malcom in the Middle when it originally aired, I've never liked Frankie Muniz either. However despite those hurdles, the opening act of My Dog Skip is perfectly fine for the type of film it is. My problem is that it quickly overstays its welcome, and the longer it went on, the more contrived the whole thing felt.

The film also suffers from having a supporting cast whose stories are far more interesting than the central character we're supposed to engage with. I'd rather see more of Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane, and Luke Wilson, but neither or them get much screen time or depth. Sure, the dog is cute and very well trained, but the highly staged interactions make him seem more like a cartoon character than a real pet.

I was actually quite content to watch the first forty minutes or so of the film, and if most of the final act had been cut, my overall opinion probably would've been much higher. The plot is so incredibly predicable that I can't help but wonder how much liberty was taken with the source material, and how much of said novel was embellished as well. My Dog Skip just doesn't feel authentic, but I imagine my issues would be perfectly excusable to the people who enjoy these types of melodramatic family films. I'm just not one of them.

[CosmicRunaway]

Sentimentality drips from every frame and in many ways, with two of the most offensive ones being William Ross's overbearing score and the sickly-sweet color scheme.
(the music tries but doesn't quite get there)
It wasn't until I started reading the other reviews that I realized I have absolutely no recollection of the film's soundtrack.

The music from William Ross - never too fussy about the films he works on - fits the tepid, somewhat derivative, average feel to everything that goes on around us.
If this description is accurate, perhaps that's why none of the music had any impact on me, and was immediately forgettable.

[Takoma11]

But MUBI is incredible! I've come across SO many great movies I've never even remotely heard of on there, and I've only had it for about a month and a half. I don't think I've yet to see anything I didn't at least like a little bit, which is amazing considering how many of these films I've gone into completely blind.

I'll keep it in mind.

For me, I'm at the edge of my entertainment budget, and I wasn't seeing enough to interest me to make it worth spending an extra $6 per month.

(And I made note of your positive review of The Wise Kids in another thread. It's on Prime, Tubi, and Kanopy, so I'll definitely get around to it.)

[ueno_station54]

Mubi was worth it to me even back when it was just 30 films at a time <3

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/1RpdfNdJ/cure.jpg

Cure - 1997

Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Starring Masato Hagiwara, Kôji Yakusho
& Tsuyoshi Ujiki

This review contains SPOILERS


Kiyoshi Kurosawa was definitely doing more than telling a story when he wrote and directed his breakout 1997 film Cure. It's a film that forces the viewer to ask questions and think hard about what the answers may be - there's no hand-holding, exposition or easy explanations to be had. We know how we feel - which is creeped out by that hazy, dark kind of ghostly atmosphere that infused itself not only in this, but into the DNA of many of the Japanese horror films which began proliferating around this time. Kurosawa is particularly adept at creating that kind of mood. But feeling and thinking are separate when it comes to this - and Cure is like a shape you glimpse that's below water. You know something scary is there, and that it's alive - but what is it? Quite apart from most Asian horror from this time, the supernatural isn't invoked and relied upon to a greater degree, but rather our very own human nature and what may be lurking just under the surface. This gives the movie added weight, and only serves to heighten our apprehension when we realize just how real this horror is - it is ever-present in all of us.

Serial Killers were a staple of the 1990s, and as such this all starts out in familiar fashion, with a murder that, although pretty much instantly solved as far as the suspect is concerned, continues a mysterious pattern of homicides that all bear a remarkably distinct thumbprint. In all murders an 'X' has been carved into the victims upper chest and neck, and in all murders the perpetrator is easily apprehended, dazed, and somewhat fuzzy on exactly what occurred and why they suddenly decided to kill. The general layout plays much like a police procedural movie - with the mysterious character of Mamiya wandering through it. Although suffering amnesia and dazed himself, nevertheless he appears to hypnotize those he comes in contact with and inevitably it's these people who decide to murder those in close proximity to them. When apprehended, he confounds the police, and main character Detective Kenichi Takabe, who simply cannot penetrate the hazy wall of nothingness coming from within. Mamiya asks more questions than gives answers - but seems fascinated by Takabe, who he studies in an almost psychic manner. The last act appears as a battle of wills, which ends with a suggestive and eerie conclusion.

Mamiya is central to the mystery at the heart of Cure, and we glean more about him from his own words than anything Takabe might discover with his diligent legwork and investigation - but needless to say, what Takabe does dig up provides a fountain of fascinating mystery, suggestion and creepy imagery. The hypnotic power of the cross appears everywhere we look - not only carved into people, but walls, into the air and into some poor old desiccated monkey corpses. Water also appears to be important to the rituals that lie underneath Mamiya and his work, not to mention bright lights, which can be seen littered through this cinematic landscape. There must be times where we become suspicious of the film itself and it's attempts to beguile us - as if hypnotic suggestion is some kind of disease. The title Kurosawa gave this film gives some sort of sense of it's presence, and some connection is made between Mamiya and 18th Century German physician Franz Mesmer. The one thing it seems people are being relieved of in these instances is our inhibitions and repressed murderous desires, and the results don't appear like a clean bill of health for our society. Takabe's own cure appears to be about to reap a terrible price when the credits roll.

Director Kurosawa's long shots, without any close-up references for emphasis, put us in the frame of mind of constantly questioning inquisitors - even murders occur with cold brutality without any visual or aural emphasis to drive home their horrible impact. Of course, presented to us like this these murders feel even worse - more shocking in their unfiltered, natural cold and quiet surroundings. Interrogations and investigation also go forward with long uninterrupted takes - but when Mamiya begins his battle of wills with Takabe, flashes, hallucinations, intrusive thoughts and images appear before us, sometimes for just a few frames - and in light of what has gone before they seem all the more disturbing, yet important. We see a lot from the inside of Takabe's mind. Dreamlike images of seeing himself on a vehicle amongst the clouds, with and without his wife - not to mention his wife's suicide, and his wife's murder. Are these repressed desires? Perhaps everyone who watches this film will come to their own very unique conclusions. This is very much a film for pondering, asking questions and coming into contact with fundamental existential mysteries.

As far as mood goes, this film is devestatingly effective and very certain in each of it's steps and manners. Interiors are dim, dark and dirty - and even exteriors don't lack haze or twilight-like shades of shadow. Cinematographer Tokushô Kikumura would go on to film Ju-on: The Grudge not long after this, along with it's first sequel - which increases his J-horror credentials, as debatable as it is if Cure belongs strictly in that category. For the most part the complete lack of score increases that sense of discomfort which comes from that eerie and disquieting atmosphere to all proceedings here. When music does make it's occasional interludes, it can come in the form of strange sounds, or even a lighthearted contrast to bloody violence erupting, such as when a prostitute is murdered early on to some jaunty keyboard suggesting a completely free and happy mindset as far as the killing's perpetrator is concerned. Towards the end the sound of the wind, as haunting as that may be, is heard with no accompaniment. On paper it might sound a little too trite, but when you're watching this film it works perfectly and provides a real sense of what lurks in the frightening depths of the mind.

In the script, we learn what we can directly - that Kunio Mamiya, once a psychology student, vanished after becoming interested in the teachings of Mesmer. He describes to one of the people he comes into contact with that he's an empty vessel. That everything that used to be inside him, is outside - and that therefore he can see all of the things inside other people. A kind of ego death. His loss of identity has removed the boundaries between him and the universe. He might be trying to pass this along to everyone he comes into contact with - which might be why he continually asks everyone who they are. They often interpret this to mean "What is your name?" But when he asks "Who are you?" he's probably trying to get them to focus on identity and see beyond it's construct. He does the same by questioning Takabe, who has a mentally unwell wife at home who he continually has to look out for and protect. Takabe has two identities, detective and caring husband - and by asking which one he truly is he's suggesting that Takabe is neither. Takabe presents as a stressed man full of worry and preoccupation, until, by film's end - where he is changed after a confrontation with Mamiya.

I really appreciate mystery in a film of this nature, and especially when it's not explained away and dissipated. Towards the end we're introduced to a strange old abandoned hospital with instruments, wards and something about it appears to be wrong. This place most assuredly does have something to do with Mamiya and what he's doing, but everything is kept suitably vague. This is where Takabe eventually confronts Mamiya - after his psychologist friend Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) commits suicide, suggesting that underneath his repressed desires he was a good man and wished no ill on society. Sakuma was pushed over the edge by Mamiya, increasing the stakes by the end of the film. There are some nice little flourishes near the end, which are wonderfully strange - such as the Edison Phonograph found in the hospital, which contains a recording both tantalizing and beyond comprehension, and the significance of the red dress that appears before Takabe when he is arguing with his dry cleaner. The final scene is cut short - and was originally more definitive - but if you're watching closely you can see that the waitress that Takabe (now happy and relaxed) interacts with is about to attack someone with a knife. A pretty chilling moment to throw us straight to the credits with.

Any gender politics surrounding the female doctor (I'm assuming that's unusual in Japan) I'm going to leave alone - the murder/mutilation scene involving her was great horror, and her "conversion" by Mamiya was the best of all the differing methods I saw. It was interesting that he had so many differing techniques, and when she forbade him access to his trusty lighter he found he could also rely on water to do the job. Something else I really enjoyed were all of the brief flashes, dreams and imagination - with Takabe's wife at one stage shown as a particularly disturbing murder victim, X inscribed into her neck/chest, sat upright - seeming to move. Also Takabe talking to her in that vehicle amongst the clouds. The head with no face that flashes up occasionally, and appears in textbooks or behind plastic screens adds to the whole swirling sense of dream logic - perhaps suggesting the death of ego alluded to earlier. I hate seeing monkeys in cages - but that pales in comparison to whatever the sacrificial monkey seems to have gone through, suspended above a bathtub, twisted, tortured and killed. There are many ingredients which swirl in the subconscious after seeing Cure.

The only other Kiyoshi Kurosawa film I'm familiar with is 2001's Pulse, but he has remained active and he seems to be the kind of filmmaker who is intent on exploring philosophical questions about society, people, and life in general - flitting across genres, which is an aspect he says he decides on first, before even formulating what his film will be about. I was very interested in Cure's supposition that the alleviation of many of the things that plague us could also unleash an intent to murder - with the crime's very repression possibly being what makes us sick. That we live in a society where, whether it be our close cohabitation or general culture, makes us on a more primitive level wish to kill each other. (I guess it turns the phrase "the cure is worse than the disease" into a completely different supposition!) Of course, I'm only leaving an impression of what my mind made of the film after pondering it for a while. I'm willing to forecast that many differing interpretations can be made - for nobody sits the hero of this story down and proceeds to lay out 4 and a half minutes of exposition for no other reason than let the audience know exactly what they're meant to think. Instead we're left to go to bed and lay awake half the night, creeped out by every noise we hear and unable to stop thinking about murder, ritual, mystery and the probability that our very next dream will frighten us a little more than we're ready for.

4

[CosmicRunaway]

Any gender politics surrounding the female doctor (I'm assuming that's unusual in Japan) I'm going to leave alone
Even today not much more than 20% of doctors in Japan are women. I assume the gap was even more substantial in the 90s. It's still quite common for women to give up their careers after getting married in order to raise children. So even if a woman doesn't plan to leave her job, the social expectation that she eventually will makes it more difficult to be awarded professional opportunities.

[jiraffejustin]

Jaws

I have been trying to figure out what to say about Jaws, but nothing is really coming. It's one of the greatest films of all-time, but other than just mentioning scenes I like, I don't have much to say. I could possibly explore certain aspects of the film a little closer, but I haven't honestly put enough thought into them. Like, I'd probably need to actually read Moby Dick to talk about Quint's obsessive behavior regarding the shark and how that harkens back to Captain Ahab. The only thing I don't like about the film is the score. It either sucks or just feels out of place the whole film, the exception being the most famous piece of music for this film, which I still think is great and fits perfectly. I don't have any cool-guy hot takes about Jaws being overrated or anything. I might get more excited about more out there filmmaking styles, but (almost) everything comes together in this film. Sometimes films are made by masters and they are great for that reason, but sometimes films are great because imperfect individuals find a way to bring greatness together. To me, this is Spielberg at his best.

[PHOENIX74]

Even today not much more than 20% of doctors in Japan are women. I assume the gap was even more substantial in the 90s. It's still quite common for women to give up their careers after getting married in order to raise children. So even if a woman doesn't plan to leave her job, the social expectation that she eventually will makes it more difficult to be awarded professional opportunities.

Considering that her patient was taken aback by being asked to lower his trousers, and that he felt the need to say "You're not shy, are you!" when she examined him, I had to wonder what daily trials female doctors in Japan must go through just to do their job in a straightforward manner. There's some tough cultural barriers to break through over there. In the film, Mamiya takes this to a pretty dark place.

For anyone else interested, I found a chart which compares the ratio of female doctors country by country. Japan features in last place (Australia and the U.S. not too far ahead - but it seems in Eastern Europe most doctors are women) - and yeah, back in 2000 the percentage was much lower :

https://i.postimg.cc/BQp1npc4/female-share-of-doctors-600.jpg

[Takoma11]

Considering that her patient was taken aback by being asked to lower his trousers, and that he felt the need to say "You're not shy, are you!" when she examined him, I had to wonder what daily trials female doctors in Japan must go through just to do their job in a straightforward manner.

My friend is a surgeon in a small town in North Carolina. She works in a hospital that is very small, and there are only four surgeons. She is always referred to in professional meetings by her first name, while her male colleagues are referred to as Dr. Lastname. So "We're going to update the rotation with Megan and Dr. Smith." Very disrespectful, obviously, and makes her crazy. She's asked multiple times to be referred to as Dr, and they just . . . won't.

There are also people who will not take orders directly from her, and so she has to get her male partner to give them the order. Total crap (and inefficient, when you think about it!).

I have another friend who manages field hospitals for Doctors without Borders (she is pretty hardcore---including managing an ebola outbreak in Liberia while she was pregnant). She has some WILD stories.

[SpelingError]

Midnight Cowboy (1969) - 4.5

This film was just as great as I remembered it being when I watched it last year, perhaps even more so. It's the kind of film that nails a few different types of greatness.

A lot of the film's greatness lies in the relationship between Joe and Ratso. When we first meet Joe, he seems overly-confident and adopts a John Wayne look with his cowboy clothing to create what he thinks is a sense of masculinity. The more we learn about his life via flashback though (his girlfriend and potentially him being sexually assaulted, for instance), the clearer it becomes that he dresses the way he does to cope with his past trauma. As he spends more and more time in New York City and experiences failure after failure, his confidence slowly slips away. New York City is shown to be a brutal city (we frequently see buildings being demolished and people breaking into abandoned apartments) and Joe doesn't seem to have it any better than the average, er, Joe living there (if anything, he seems to have it worse than most of the people we meet in the film). That's when he meets Ratso. Though they initially start off on shaky terms, they eventually warm up to each other and soon become close friends. Joe works as a male prostitute (he doesn't have much luck with this though), while Ratso, who's lived in NYC longer and has better adapted himself to its cruel environment, steals from people on the streets.

The emotional core of the film is watching two dysfunctional people bond. As the film goes on, their friendship potentially develops into a love that neither of them seem to fully understand. Joe has a couple sexual experiences with men in the film, so even though we never learn what his sexuality is, he doesn't appear to be straight (or, at least, he's in a process of questioning his sexuality). As for Ratso, even though he uses a number of homophobic slurs throughout the film, a breakthrough moment for him is when, after Joe helps him up a set of stairs at a party, he intimately leans his head into Joe's torso. This shows that both men are a lot softer than their masculine and homophobic outward personalities suggest. In a more cliché films, their growing (romantic?) friendship would give them extra confidence and lead to them finding success, but this film opts for a more brutally honest story where friendship and love don't save the day.

I also love the craft of the film. It has so many standout sequences (the hallucinations in the bus ride to NYC, changing the channel multiple times during a sex scene, Joe chasing Ratso to a subway, Joe's dream of the sexual assault, Ratso imagining him and Joe together in Miami, and the Warhol-esque party) which are literally perfect. Not only is the editing and visuals in those scenes spectacular, but the various cuts in the more grounded scenes are also excellent. And to top it off, that the film sometimes feels meandering and character-driven rather than plot-driven is the icing on the cake.

Overall, I'm glad I got to revisit this film. I wouldn't quite call it a favorite, but it's definitely really close to a 10/10 for me. A third viewing down the road may get me to bump it up to a 10/10. Who knows.

Next Up: My Dog Skip

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/rstRwp0B/midnight-cowboy.jpg

Midnight Cowboy - 1969

Directed by John Schlesinger

Written by Waldo Salt
Based on a novel by James Leo Herlihy

Starring Dustin Hoffman, John Voight
& Sylvia Miles

This review contains SPOILERS

The Oscar most assuredly should have gone to Dustin Hoffman when all was said and done, although Jon Voight matched him in Midnight Cowboy - John Schlesinger's instant classic about one man's spiritual transformation, friendship and struggle to survive. The seedy streets of New York came of age, and for the first time the lens truly focused on the hustlers, con artists, crooks and desperados amidst the dirt and grime. Hoffman's performance was faultless, and rarely has an actor toiled as hard, or been as dedicated, as this actor was at the start of his film career. He already had The Graduate (and another Oscar nomination) under his belt, but Voight was as fresh faced as his character and had to go through many tests and auditions to play Joe Buck. It's a supreme pleasure to watch both of them perform, elevating each other and really bringing something from deep inside of themselves - the friendship that Joe Buck and Hoffman's Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo develop is not only touching, but the driving force behind Buck's evolution as a whole person who can feel compassion and really see other people for what they are. In Danny Peary's Alternate Oscars he gives the award to Dustin Hoffman (but takes Midnight Cowboy's Best Picture Oscar and gives it to Once Upon a Time in the West.) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was that year's favourite for Best Picture - but Midnight Cowboy was most deserving, and proof that the Academy sometimes gets it right.

In a small town in Texas Joe Buck packs his bags and quits his job as a dishwasher in a cheap restaurant to find fortune in the Big Apple as a hustler, convinced as he is of his prowess as a sex machine. Harry Nilsson performs Fred Neil's song "Everybody's Talkin", which captures the mood perfectly and really propels the film forward - both outwardly, and inwardly as Buck takes moments looking through store windows and on the bus to remember his past - a childhood that is more detailed in James Leo Herlihy's novel of the same name. Buck's 'cowboy' persona is very superficial and almost childlike in it's simplicity - he appears more or less as a fully grown man playing dress-up with his hat and boots. His expressions match this simplicity, not to mention naivety and overconfidence. This is soon punctured on the streets of the city, and in a hotel room which already begins to let him in on the fact that everything here will cost him. Instead of doing the hustling, he's outwitted and preyed upon by his first would-be customer who takes him for $20. There's a sweetness to Buck however, in as much as he feels compassion for people and hates to see this woman (Cass - played by Sylvia Miles in an Oscar-nominated turn) cry. Who he really needs is someone to show him the ropes.

That someone could be "Ratso" Rizzo, but of course Rizzo also decides to con Buck out of $20 while introducing him to a crazy closeted religious nut (John McGiver) and taking off. Buck plots his revenge in a series of crazy black and white shots, but soon enough is broke, eating free crackers in diners and doing sexual favours for young guys in movie theaters (who invariably don't have the money to pay him.) A young Jewish kid is played by a young Bob Balaban - a Wes Anderson favourite and future Oscar nominee. Locked out of his hotel room, with all of his belongings confiscated, Buck eventually comes across Rizzo again, and despite an initial confrontation "Ratso" invites him to stay at his place - an apartment in a condemned building, which is broken down, filthy and has no electricity. Rizzo, who suffers from a limp and bad cough, dreams of travelling to Florida, which he believes will help his poor health - posters of Florida adorn the otherwise dull walls of this apartment, where Rizzo and Buck will stay despite the cold which sets in, and for which they have no remedy. Desperation seeps through. The two often go hungry, and desperate for money Buck pawns the one thing he loves above all others - his transistor radio.

The two will remain close for the rest of the film. Rizzo's obsession about Florida leads to one of my favourite segments of Midnight Cowboy - which is Rizzo's fantasy about what life there will be like as Buck heads off to earn some money (that was intended for someone else.) In it, cinematographer Adam Holender completely transforms thought into another dimension - and the difference in light from overexposure makes everything seem heavenly. John Barry introduces a cheerful melody - a jaunty tune which accompanies scenes where Rizzo is a regular playboy and adored by the older women as he cooks, gambles and flirts with the ladies. He can outrun Buck, and returns waves from balconies in this happy, healthy atmosphere. Holender had come from Poland and became the director of photography during an audition process where different cinematographers came and went during preproduction. He used a long lens for many of the shots on New York streets, capturing the characters from far off in a more naturalistic way. John Barry is most famous from his work on the James Bond films, and the pieces of music we hear on New York streets are recognizable as his kind of melodic trademark.

Midnight Cowboy has a lot going for it as far as talent goes, not the least of which is it's terrific screenwriter Waldo Salt - who lovingly and carefully put together the screenplay, and spent many days on set revising it to perfection to make sure everything worked. Salt was a writer who spent time on everything he wrote, his slow pace a thoughtfully purposeful mode of working to make sure everything was exactly how he wanted it. He'd been blacklisted during the McCarthy Red Scare for being an avowed communist - a stance he abandoned when the many cruelties of the Stalin regime came to light. Waldo Salt won an Oscar for his screenplay for Midnight Cowboy, and would go on to write ones for such films as Serpico, The Day of the Locust and Coming Home (for which he won another Oscar.) Director John Schlesinger, an Englishman, was really coming into his own here, and his fascination for America and New York saw him accentuating things that an American director may have completely overlooked. He also won an Oscar for Midnight Cowboy and would work again with Salt on Day of the Locust and again with Hoffman when he directed Marathon Man.

Once established, the close friendship between Buck and Rizzo take them to a New York party that was shot over the course of three days, almost in documentary style, taking advantage of the many friends of Andy Warhol at an art event (Warhol himself had been shot around this time, and was unable to be present.) It seems a little slow, and out of place, but at the same time I feel that the film needed this change of setting and pace, and it's another event which takes the characters along on their journey of change. Characters and people who populated the Warhol Factory scene appear, such as Viva, Ultra Violet and International Velvet. Buck accidentally smokes a reefer, and finds for himself his first bona-fide client, which will potentially lead to more - but not before Rizzo's illness worsens and a desperate Buck resorts to violence in a powerful scene opposite Barnard Hughes. The two of them then find themselves on the road heading to Miami - Buck in the midst of great personal change and Rizzo deteriorating quickly. Those final scenes in Midnight Cowboy are masterful, moving and a perfect way to end what is nearly a perfect film.

Midnight Cowboy came on the scene over 50 years ago, and it appears to have aged particularly well. It's a film that has only grown in stature as far as I'm concerned, and although I've always held it in particularly high regard I admire it even more when I look at it today. It doesn't dwell on the darkness found in the deepest recesses of the alleys and tenements in New York, but instead takes what it finds in those places and uplifts it - holds a light to it so we can see inside and not only understand it, but realise that there is love and goodness to be found there as well. Buck is redeemed, not only through the journey he takes but by painfully recalling how he became the man he was when he set out on his journey. "Ratso" Rizzo is a dirty con-man scratching around for dimes in telephone booths, but shown love he becomes a human being once more - desperate for dignity and somebody to share a meal and cigarette with who might consider him an equal and companion. The friendship these men share is profound, and through Waldo Salt, John Schlesinger, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight every ounce of it is imparted to us the audience.

I love seeing the innocence on the face of John Voight and how it changes during the course of the film. There's a realisation he has, when he gets to New York and he briefly begins to write a postcard to a coworker he used to wash dishes with (and who he realises is illiterate, and as such couldn't read his postcard anyway) - a realisation that he doesn't really have a friend in the world, and perhaps never did. Through flashbacks we find out that Buck was once in a relationship with the town floozy - and that both of them were raped in a traumatic incident, where she ended up in a mental institution and him in prison. His mother dumped him on his grandmother, who used to force enemas upon him and treat him in an unusually tactile way. He's hardly had a chance to grow in a normal manner. None of this has hardened him - on the contrary, he's a soft and sensitive individual - but through what is perhaps the first real friendship of his life his childlike innocent selfishness turns outward and he reacts less about himself and more towards his friend. Eventually he throws his cowboy suit away, adorning adult clothes and talking to a waitress without putting a stud-like show on for the first time. Instead he talks to her simply as adult to adult in a normal manner. From start to finish this change in him has been transposed onto the screen in such a manner that it's simply so pleasurable to watch.

Another character in this film we can't forget is New York itself, a hard place for a child-like man with naïve dreams to land in alone with all of his worldly possessions in a small suitcase. John Schlesinger was fascinated by the place, and the crazy people doing crazy things on nearly every street (the drugged-up woman playing with the plastic mouse, and the one running about the street in a paranoid fashion were played by the same actress and both based on things Schlesinger had recently seen.) He was also captivated by American television of the day, some examples of which he included in the film. Recently arrived Adam Holender had the same kind of fervour and wonder for the place, with it's neon lights, skyscrapers, advertising and strange people. The film got some of it's most enthusiastic receptions from New York audiences, who agreed with the reflection of the city (while ironically, in other places some of the darker depictions of New York were frowned upon.) I've never been to New York, but simply having lived right in the heart of my city gives me an appreciation for how inner city living is depicted in Midnight Cowboy.

Midnight Cowboy ushered in a new era of filmmaking at a key period in United States history, one that could finally look at sex and homosexuality in a more open way, and be less restrictive when it came to depicting city streets and the lives of those living in cities who were less fortunate. For me though, it's the performance from it's leads that lift it into the stratosphere - a place it was destined to reach with such talent as Salt, John Schlesinger, John Barry and Adam Holender involved. Hearing "Everybody's Talkin", seeing those long shots, watching Voight and Hoffman and travelling on their journey will always remind me of just how great this film is. It is probably overlooked too often on "Best Films" lists these days - and to tell you the truth may have been overlooked by me if I hadn't of revisited it and really payed attention. There are many small and unmentioned little touches that add to it, and they're everywhere - from Dustin Hoffman's ad-lib when nearly knocked over by a taxi to Barnard Hughes suggesting that maybe his false teeth should come out when he's hit in the face by Buck. Everyone involved cared deeply about making the best film they could possibly make - and as such they did make the best film they could possibly make. When I see Voight lean over and close Hoffman's eyes, and then hold his little buddy on that bus - the look in his eyes reverberates in me - into my heart. Moments like that are why I love movies.

5

[Torgo]

Demons - 4 CONTAINS SPOILERS

This delightfully bleak samurai tale aims to reveal the dark heart of humanity, and boy, does it ever! While I didn't always like having to question whether what I was seeing was actually happening or imagined, this ambiguity is still one of my favorite qualities of the movie. It has an effect similar to the one in video games with morality systems such as Mass Effect for how it put me in Gengobei's shoes. I also approve of the high contrast black and white for its aesthetics and for how it enhances the movie's moral divide. As for Gengobei, talk about being born to play a part! The movie's makeup and hairstyling departments contribute a lot to Katsuo Nakamura's frightening appearance, but it's hard to think of another performance where someone embraces the darkness as convincingly as he does. That the movie doesn't shirk on the violence, particularly in the baby killing scene, also has a lot to do with this (and could explain why it's never been released on DVD here in America).

Even though this is a samurai movie, the other movies this one made me think about the most while I watched it are those by the Coen brothers, Fargo in particular. Marge Gunderson's "it's a beautiful day" monologue played in my head as the camera lingered on the accursed 100 Ryo one last time, thus confirming that money, poverty, wealth inequality, what have you is the stuff that demons are made of. Again, I have a love/hate relationship with the real vs. imagined ambiguity, and despite its unique use of black and white, the overall look and feel is a little off-putting since it seems more like a filmed play than a movie. I still think it stands alongside movies like Sword of Doom as a worthy addition to the "dark samurai" sub-genre.

[SpelingError]

https://i.postimg.cc/rstRwp0B/midnight-cowboy.jpg

Midnight Cowboy - 1969

Directed by John Schlesinger

Written by Waldo Salt
Based on a novel by James Leo Herlihy

Starring Dustin Hoffman, John Voight
& Sylvia Miles

This review contains SPOILERS

The Oscar most assuredly should have gone to Dustin Hoffman when all was said and done, although Jon Voight matched him in Midnight Cowboy - John Schlesinger's instant classic about one man's spiritual transformation, friendship and struggle to survive. The seedy streets of New York came of age, and for the first time the lens truly focused on the hustlers, con artists, crooks and desperados amidst the dirt and grime. Hoffman's performance was faultless, and rarely has an actor toiled as hard, or been as dedicated, as this actor was at the start of his film career. He already had The Graduate (and another Oscar nomination) under his belt, but Voight was as fresh faced as his character and had to go through many tests and auditions to play Joe Buck. It's a supreme pleasure to watch both of them perform, elevating each other and really bringing something from deep inside of themselves - the friendship that Joe Buck and Hoffman's Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo develop is not only touching, but the driving force behind Buck's evolution as a whole person who can feel compassion and really see other people for what they are. In Danny Peary's Alternate Oscars he gives the award to Dustin Hoffman (but takes Midnight Cowboy's Best Picture Oscar and gives it to Once Upon a Time in the West.) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was that year's favourite for Best Picture - but Midnight Cowboy was most deserving, and proof that the Academy sometimes gets it right.

In a small town in Texas Joe Buck packs his bags and quits his job as a dishwasher in a cheap restaurant to find fortune in the Big Apple as a hustler, convinced as he is of his prowess as a sex machine. Harry Nilsson performs Fred Neil's song "Everybody's Talkin", which captures the mood perfectly and really propels the film forward - both outwardly, and inwardly as Buck takes moments looking through store windows and on the bus to remember his past - a childhood that is more detailed in James Leo Herlihy's novel of the same name. Buck's 'cowboy' persona is very superficial and almost childlike in it's simplicity - he appears more or less as a fully grown man playing dress-up with his hat and boots. His expressions match this simplicity, not to mention naivety and overconfidence. This is soon punctured on the streets of the city, and in a hotel room which already begins to let him in on the fact that everything here will cost him. Instead of doing the hustling, he's outwitted and preyed upon by his first would-be customer who takes him for $20. There's a sweetness to Buck however, in as much as he feels compassion for people and hates to see this woman (Cass - played by Sylvia Miles in an Oscar-nominated turn) cry. Who he really needs is someone to show him the ropes.

That someone could be "Ratso" Rizzo, but of course Rizzo also decides to con Buck out of $20 while introducing him to a crazy closeted religious nut (John McGiver) and taking off. Buck plots his revenge in a series of crazy black and white shots, but soon enough is broke, eating free crackers in diners and doing sexual favours for young guys in movie theaters (who invariably don't have the money to pay him.) A young Jewish kid is played by a young Bob Balaban - a Wes Anderson favourite and future Oscar nominee. Locked out of his hotel room, with all of his belongings confiscated, Buck eventually comes across Rizzo again, and despite an initial confrontation "Ratso" invites him to stay at his place - an apartment in a condemned building, which is broken down, filthy and has no electricity. Rizzo, who suffers from a limp and bad cough, dreams of travelling to Florida, which he believes will help his poor health - posters of Florida adorn the otherwise dull walls of this apartment, where Rizzo and Buck will stay despite the cold which sets in, and for which they have no remedy. Desperation seeps through. The two often go hungry, and desperate for money Buck pawns the one thing he loves above all others - his transistor radio.

The two will remain close for the rest of the film. Rizzo's obsession about Florida leads to one of my favourite segments of Midnight Cowboy - which is Rizzo's fantasy about what life there will be like as Buck heads off to earn some money (that was intended for someone else.) In it, cinematographer Adam Holender completely transforms thought into another dimension - and the difference in light from overexposure makes everything seem heavenly. John Barry introduces a cheerful melody - a jaunty tune which accompanies scenes where Rizzo is a regular playboy and adored by the older women as he cooks, gambles and flirts with the ladies. He can outrun Buck, and returns waves from balconies in this happy, healthy atmosphere. Holender had come from Poland and became the director of photography during an audition process where different cinematographers came and went during preproduction. He used a long lens for many of the shots on New York streets, capturing the characters from far off in a more naturalistic way. John Barry is most famous from his work on the James Bond films, and the pieces of music we hear on New York streets are recognizable as his kind of melodic trademark.

Midnight Cowboy has a lot going for it as far as talent goes, not the least of which is it's terrific screenwriter Waldo Salt - who lovingly and carefully put together the screenplay, and spent many days on set revising it to perfection to make sure everything worked. Salt was a writer who spent time on everything he wrote, his slow pace a thoughtfully purposeful mode of working to make sure everything was exactly how he wanted it. He'd been blacklisted during the McCarthy Red Scare for being an avowed communist - a stance he abandoned when the many cruelties of the Stalin regime came to light. Waldo Salt won an Oscar for his screenplay for Midnight Cowboy, and would go on to write ones for such films as Serpico, The Day of the Locust and Coming Home (for which he won another Oscar.) Director John Schlesinger, an Englishman, was really coming into his own here, and his fascination for America and New York saw him accentuating things that an American director may have completely overlooked. He also won an Oscar for Midnight Cowboy and would work again with Salt on Day of the Locust and again with Hoffman when he directed Marathon Man.

Once established, the close friendship between Buck and Rizzo take them to a New York party that was shot over the course of three days, almost in documentary style, taking advantage of the many friends of Andy Warhol at an art event (Warhol himself had been shot around this time, and was unable to be present.) It seems a little slow, and out of place, but at the same time I feel that the film needed this change of setting and pace, and it's another event which takes the characters along on their journey of change. Characters and people who populated the Warhol Factory scene appear, such as Viva, Ultra Violet and International Velvet. Buck accidentally smokes a reefer, and finds for himself his first bona-fide client, which will potentially lead to more - but not before Rizzo's illness worsens and a desperate Buck resorts to violence in a powerful scene opposite Barnard Hughes. The two of them then find themselves on the road heading to Miami - Buck in the midst of great personal change and Rizzo deteriorating quickly. Those final scenes in Midnight Cowboy are masterful, moving and a perfect way to end what is nearly a perfect film.

Midnight Cowboy came on the scene over 50 years ago, and it appears to have aged particularly well. It's a film that has only grown in stature as far as I'm concerned, and although I've always held it in particularly high regard I admire it even more when I look at it today. It doesn't dwell on the darkness found in the deepest recesses of the alleys and tenements in New York, but instead takes what it finds in those places and uplifts it - holds a light to it so we can see inside and not only understand it, but realise that there is love and goodness to be found there as well. Buck is redeemed, not only through the journey he takes but by painfully recalling how he became the man he was when he set out on his journey. "Ratso" Rizzo is a dirty con-man scratching around for dimes in telephone booths, but shown love he becomes a human being once more - desperate for dignity and somebody to share a meal and cigarette with who might consider him an equal and companion. The friendship these men share is profound, and through Waldo Salt, John Schlesinger, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight every ounce of it is imparted to us the audience.

I love seeing the innocence on the face of John Voight and how it changes during the course of the film. There's a realisation he has, when he gets to New York and he briefly begins to write a postcard to a coworker he used to wash dishes with (and who he realises is illiterate, and as such couldn't read his postcard anyway) - a realisation that he doesn't really have a friend in the world, and perhaps never did. Through flashbacks we find out that Buck was once in a relationship with the town floozy - and that both of them were raped in a traumatic incident, where she ended up in a mental institution and him in prison. His mother dumped him on his grandmother, who used to force enemas upon him and treat him in an unusually tactile way. He's hardly had a chance to grow in a normal manner. None of this has hardened him - on the contrary, he's a soft and sensitive individual - but through what is perhaps the first real friendship of his life his childlike innocent selfishness turns outward and he reacts less about himself and more towards his friend. Eventually he throws his cowboy suit away, adorning adult clothes and talking to a waitress without putting a stud-like show on for the first time. Instead he talks to her simply as adult to adult in a normal manner. From start to finish this change in him has been transposed onto the screen in such a manner that it's simply so pleasurable to watch.

Another character in this film we can't forget is New York itself, a hard place for a child-like man with naïve dreams to land in alone with all of his worldly possessions in a small suitcase. John Schlesinger was fascinated by the place, and the crazy people doing crazy things on nearly every street (the drugged-up woman playing with the plastic mouse, and the one running about the street in a paranoid fashion were played by the same actress and both based on things Schlesinger had recently seen.) He was also captivated by American television of the day, some examples of which he included in the film. Recently arrived Adam Holender had the same kind of fervour and wonder for the place, with it's neon lights, skyscrapers, advertising and strange people. The film got some of it's most enthusiastic receptions from New York audiences, who agreed with the reflection of the city (while ironically, in other places some of the darker depictions of New York were frowned upon.) I've never been to New York, but simply having lived right in the heart of my city gives me an appreciation for how inner city living is depicted in Midnight Cowboy.

Midnight Cowboy ushered in a new era of filmmaking at a key period in United States history, one that could finally look at sex and homosexuality in a more open way, and be less restrictive when it came to depicting city streets and the lives of those living in cities who were less fortunate. For me though, it's the performance from it's leads that lift it into the stratosphere - a place it was destined to reach with such talent as Salt, John Schlesinger, John Barry and Adam Holender involved. Hearing "Everybody's Talkin", seeing those long shots, watching Voight and Hoffman and travelling on their journey will always remind me of just how great this film is. It is probably overlooked too often on "Best Films" lists these days - and to tell you the truth may have been overlooked by me if I hadn't of revisited it and really payed attention. There are many small and unmentioned little touches that add to it, and they're everywhere - from Dustin Hoffman's ad-lib when nearly knocked over by a taxi to Barnard Hughes suggesting that maybe his false teeth should come out when he's hit in the face by Buck. Everyone involved cared deeply about making the best film they could possibly make - and as such they did make the best film they could possibly make. When I see Voight lean over and close Hoffman's eyes, and then hold his little buddy on that bus - the look in his eyes reverberates in me - into my heart. Moments like that are why I love movies.

5

Great review :up:

[Miss Vicky]

Gonna try to get Demons watched today. I know I'm doing fine time-wise, but I feel like I'm falling behind.

[SpelingError]

Next time your school has a show and tell, bring something like that to class and see how well that works out for you.

85382

[SpelingError]

Also, I'll have my review up soon.

[Citizen Rules]

I need a link to Apocalypse Now but not the longer Redux version. Anyone?

[Takoma11]

Next time your school has a show and tell, bring something like that to class and see how well that works out for you.

85382

LOL.

I did show and tell with my class last Friday and honestly it would have been less harrowing if someone had just brought in a muzzle-loader or something.

[Thief]

Starting Cure now; see if I can catch up with this.

[CosmicRunaway]

I feel like I'm falling behind because I didn't do anything this past week, but that's not the case at all. I only have 4 films left (3 of which I've seen before) and like, 2 months to go until the deadline haha.

I also rewatched about 90% of Midnight Cowboy yesterday. Would've finished it if I didn't have to spend so much time shovelling snow. I hate winter. I should have time to get that finished this afternoon though, and hopefully something written as well.

[CosmicRunaway]

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Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Directed By: John Schlesinger
Starring: Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvia Miles

For audiences today, there isn't anything particularly scandalous about Midnight Cowboy. It's a film that I initially saw on television, and not even late at night or on a specialty channel, yet upon its release, its subject matter warranted an X-rating. The narrative doesn't explore any of its “explicit” topics in detail, which means there's practically no introspection or analysis of them. While that is a little disappointing, it's understandable given social and cultural restrictions at the time.

That doesn't detract from the main draw of the film either, which is the relationship and banter between Joe and Rico. I could never take anyone in a full cowboy outfit seriously, but in this case that bias actually serves to emphasise how naïve Joe really was when he moved to the big city. I tried to pay more attention to Voight's performance this time, but Dustin Hoffman still stole the show whenever he was on screen.

I appreciate how dirty and lived-in the entire city is, even outside the derelict apartment complex. It all feels very real and grounded - except for the flashbacks and drug-fuelled hallucinations late into the film, of course. At its core is an unremarkable story about two men struggling to get by, but it's the way the characters are written and their chemistry together that make the film a compelling watch. It has a rather dour atmosphere, but it's miserable in all the right ways, if that makes any sense.

[Torgo]

Yeah, I know. Yet another Midnight Cowbow review.

Midnight Cowboy - 4

This movie is still a classic about the power and value of friendship over fifty years later. I know that sounds like the cheesiest critic quote ever, but allow me to count the ways. For starters, John Wayne must have been really something in True Grit because this is one occasion where a tie for the Best Actor Oscar would have been justified. Voight and Hoffman's performances are iconic for how they portray Joe and Ratso's desperation, haplessness and love for each other. Equally enduring is the movie's portrayal of American life - particularly for those on the fringes of society - which has thankfully improved in some ways over the years but remains the same in others.

Besides the performances, what makes Joe and Ratso's friendship so special? That they are sort of a microcosm of those in their class in America has a lot to do with it. Each was dealt a different losing hand, with Joe's coming from a neglectful upbringing and toxic environment, which made him want to escape via the hustler life, while Ratso, the son of an uneducated immigrant in a city like New York, was forced into the role. Equally apt is that neither Joe nor Ratso are suited for such a life as evidenced by Joe's kind heart and politeness and Ratso's eagerness to ditch his moniker. It’s also inspired that the movie never labels Joe and Ratso's relationship. Are they gay? Are they just good pals? Does it matter? Besides, by not labeling it, they become the perfect mirror to American society for how it labels those they subjugate and/or do not understand.

This is not just a great movie for how it portrays friendship. A young Bob Balaban and Brenda Vaccaro impress as two of Joe's "customers" and there is brilliant comedy that undercuts the sadness whether it's the classic "I'm walkin' here" line or what happens during Joe's first and very unfortunate hustle. This is a stylish movie, and while I'm not against experimentation, some of it is not to its benefit. I like the direction of the flashbacks that show Joe's painful formative years as well as Ratso’s heartbreaking vision of what his new life in Florida could be like, but the visuals and editing in some sequences like Joe's dreams call too much attention to themselves. I still think this movie deserves to be called a classic, not to mention an American one. Joe and Ratso, like too many other disadvantaged Americans, not only have to be something they're not just to survive, but also are led to believe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, their pursuit of which only benefits those who instill the belief. Sadly, all of this gets in the way of one of life's greatest joys: being loved for who we truly are.

[SpelingError]

My Dog Skip (2000) - 2.5

I should probably note that the schmaltzy crowd-pleaser family film is not anywhere near my wheelhouse. I wouldn't call this film bad per se (rather, it's exactly what it wants to be), but it contained very little of anything I found interesting. For instance, the schmaltziness I mentioned weighs the film down way too much. The overbearing emotional score which plays over so much of the film quickly grows excessive, while some other sentimental scenes feel more cringe-inducing than emotionally affecting, like when Skip grabs a football during a game and Willie carries both Skip and the football to the touchdown line. Also, several character arcs and sub-plots feel either underdeveloped or incomplete. The issue of racial segregation is a prime example of this. For example, after Willie meets an American American boy named Sammy in his neighborhood, the kid doesn't appear much in the film after that scene and is only seen in the background a couple brief times. I also found Jack's arc confusing. He initially shows reluctance towards letting Jack keep the dog as he wants him to man up. And yet, his idea is to give him a stuffed dog instead. Like, what? There were also some questions left open regarding the outcomes of some other characters in the film (Big Boy, Henjie, Spit, Rivers, Sammy). With that being said, there were some things I enjoyed about the film. I liked how the film explored the long-term effects war can have on people through Dink as some of his scenes were powerful. I also found Skip helping Willie out with growing up and meeting new people both compelling and relatable since I also had a dog when I was about Willie's age. I suppose it was also cool seeing Frankie Muniz again as I haven't seen him in anything since Malcolm in the Middle. Overall though, this film was pretty average. If you enjoy films like this, you'll likely find a lot to like about it. I've seen much better films though.

Next Up: One Cut of the Dead

[Miss Vicky]

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Demons (Toshio Matsumoto, 1971)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165473/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Rewatch: No.

I absolutely hated the first half of this movie and, like the last movie I watched for this HOF, I had to watch it in bits and pieces. Only this time it wasn't coldness that made it a chore, it was artifice. The acting felt incredibly unnatural. I didn't buy any of these characters as real people and I absolutely despised the slow motion murder scenes and the repeated frames. Add to that the fact that not a single one of these characters had any redeemable features (they weren't even bad enough for me to want to root against them) and I was really bored... at first.

It did start to get interesting right about the time Hachiemon sacrificed himself, but by then I was pretty well mentally checked-out. And then I went from being bored to wishing death on Gengobei and not being granted that satisfaction. Definitely not my cup of tea.

2.5

[Thief]

Need to write my review for Cure, but it's in the bag. I'm climbing!

[Thief]

CURE
(1997, Kurosawa)

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"All the things that used to be inside me, now they're all outside. So... I can see all of the things inside you, Doctor, but the inside of me... is empty."



Cure follows Detective Takabe (Kōji Yakusho) as he investigates a series of murders where victims end up with an X carved on their necks and chests. The weird thing is that in each case, the murderer is found close to the victim, with no recollection of what happened and sometimes no clear remorse. "He was someone I didn't like... I couldn't stand it anymore", says one of them after killing his partner.

There really is no mystery as to who's causing these murders, since we find out fairly early that a mysterious man called Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) is behind it all. The man, who seems to be suffering from severe memory loss while aimlessly wandering around, seems to have some sort of mental influence in people, forcing them to let their emotions and anger out.

So the film unfolds in two halves, the first of which plays in a more or less straightforward, procedural way, as we see Takabe and his psychologist partner Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) play a cat-and-mouse game to find whoever's causing the murders. After Mamiya is captured halfway through the film, the cat-and-mouse game is transferred to their minds as we see Takabe become increasingly more frustrated with the man, which leads him to often let his emotions and anger out.

I thought this was a really interesting watch. I really liked the way the film unfolded, first with the thrill and mystery of what's happening, only to become a more psychological and nuanced look at how we process our frustrations and how we handle our angers; whether it comes from being unable to close a criminal case or dealing with a mentally ill relative. I liked how director Kiyoshi Kurosawa handled those themes, while keeping an almost clinical and distanced direction.

The performances were mostly solid, with Hagiwara probably having the best one as the ambiguously cold Mamiya. His performance and the way the story handles him defies most of the conventions of these kind of thrillers, but it works really well. As far as that is concerned, I really liked that ambiguity, but I think the film could've benefitted from letting a few more things out towards its conclusion, especially regarding the subplot of Takabe's wife. Still, this was a very effective psychological thriller.

Grade: 3.5

[CosmicRunaway]

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Safety Last! (1923)
Directored By: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother

I first watched Safety Last! for a film class years ago, but didn't find it particularly engaging at the time. While I wouldn't say I disliked it, it wasn't something I'd choose to revisit on my own accord either. It certainly had some impressive stunt work, but I didn't care for the story, and the film's brand of slapstick comedy became tired despite a fairly lean runtime.

During this viewing, I did find the whole thing much more enjoyable, and after an exhausting week it was nice to just sit back and watch something quick and light-hearted. I still don't find Harold Lloyd's character to be that likeable, but most of the individual scenes were entertaining enough, and whenever something started to overstay its welcome, the film soon moved on to some other gag anyway.

Previously, the big finale was my favourite part of the film, but this time around I honestly thought it was a bit excessive. Instead I appreciated the moments where Lloyd interacted with the store's customers the most, particularly the chaos of the sale event. Those shoppers might initially seem like exaggerations or caricatures, but I promise if you work long enough in retail you will encounter people just like them. They're actually the most believable part of the whole film.

[CosmicRunaway]

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Magical Girl / Magična devojka (2014)
Directed By: Carlos Vermut
Starring: Luis Bermejo, Bárbara Lennie, José Sacristán

As cold and detached as the film is, there's something strangely compelling about Magical Girl. The camera is often kept at a distance, with stationary shots that frequently feel clinical in nature. There's an uneasiness to the atmosphere, as though something tragic is always waiting just around the corner. I expected it to get gruesome at some point, especially once the film starts to follow Barbara, but it actually handles her experiences in an incredibly restrained manner. We never get too close to her, and instead have to draw our own conclusions.

Reading that the director took inspiration from elements of Madoka Magica made perfect sense, as the series is a dark twist on the “young girl gets magical powers” genre that shows the unintended and sometimes harrowing consequences of wishes coming true. The lives of these magical girls may seem fantastic from the outside, but they are full of pain and despair, and each of them are ultimately headed for a grim fate. When laid out, the parallels between the Japanese series and Vermut's more grounded story are hard to miss.

It was a little weird weird to see Javier Botet, with his incredibly tall stature and slim appendages, play just a regular, ordinary role in a film, but it was a pleasant surprise to see him show up nonetheless. The main performances were all really good. I didn't find Barbara that interesting at the start, but she became far more intriguing later on. For most of the film, I couldn't help but think that the daughter would've been more than happy with a cheaper replica of the dress, but in retrospect, compromising on the costume would've been counter to what Magical Girl was really about.

[Takoma11]

For most of the film, I couldn't help but think that the daughter would've been more than happy with a cheaper replica of the dress, but in retrospect, compromising on the costume would've been counter to what Magical Girl was really about.

I think that the father's insistence on getting the "real" costume was a reflection of the, for lack of a better word, clinical approach he was taking to his emotions. He was clearly in a driven "problem ----> solution" mode, where he was listening to the literal parts of what his daughter wanted (a costume) but not the emotion behind it. A lot of the tragedy comes from his inability to see that the actual costume is not necessary. In fact, he ends up sidelining his daughter as he pursues all his little schemes.

[CosmicRunaway]

A lot of the tragedy comes from his inability to see that the actual costume is not necessary. In fact, he ends up sidelining his daughter as he pursues all his little schemes.
Exactly this.

The first person he goes to see about lending him some money even pointed out that what his daughter really wants is for him to be there with her. Perhaps he would've understood that if he wasn't so obsessed with getting her the exact dress she wrote about in her diary, but his single-mindedness caused him to dismiss everything else, including her needs. To be fair, we don't know exactly how long she has left, but he couldn't even wait around a minute to hear the heartfelt letter that was about to be aired on the radio for him. :(

[Takoma11]

Exactly this.

The first person he goes to see about lending him some money even pointed out that what his daughter really wants is for him to be there with her. Perhaps he would've understood that if he wasn't so obsessed with getting her the exact dress she wrote about in her diary, but his single-mindedness caused him to dismiss everything else, including her needs. To be fair, we don't know exactly how long she has left, but he couldn't even wait around a minute to hear the heartfelt letter that was about to be aired on the radio for him. :(

I sympathized (TO A DEGREE) because I also have a "fixer" mentality and it can be really hard to shake out of and it can be really hard to accept that some things can't be fixed.

Acknowledging that you can't fix something is challenging, and under the pressure of grief and the burden of being a single parent, I can understand why it was more comforting to him to go after something concrete ("If I can get X dollars, I can get this physical item") rather than sitting with his own discomfort and helplessness.

I had a conversation with a guardian of one of my students who is having a lot of problems both academically and emotionally. And this adult said, kind of helplessly, "I'd buy him anything he wants." And I could weep, because this kid doesn't need another pair of sneakers, he needs someone to sit with him and talk about his artwork and tell him he's good at drawing and also let him know that it's okay to be angry about the (very unpleasant) custody dispute he sits in the middle of.

[Citizen Rules]

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Apocalypse Now
(Coppola 1979)

That opening scene is cinematic genius. The way the helicopter sound is mixed, it's like it's coming out of a long tunnel and into the light...then, receding back into that sound tunnel as the opening notes of The Doors opus The End plays...Orson Welles would've been impressed.

I'm impressed as the entire first sequence is genius, from the overlay of Captain Willard's (Marin Sheen) upside down face superimposed over scenes of the jungle, aglow in a napalm blaze...Brilliant. I equally loved how the scene opens on Willard's Saigon hotel room and the camera slowly pans from closeups of those items that define his existences in Vietnam....a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of booze and a .45 pistol...All strewn about his chaotic room. A room that is prison like, like Vietnam was for Captain Willard.

The next de-briefing scene where he receives his assignment is well done...Equally good is his initial journey up the river to find a renegade Colonel turned demi-god (Marlon Brando). The aerial long shots of the battles and of the countryside is intrinsic to the cinematic beauty of the horror of war.

By far the most potent scene was the river encounter with the Vietnamese family on their little fishing boat. God, that scene hit me like a ton of bricks. It was staged and acted beautifully which made the horror and intensity of the incident seem so real...then punctuated by the coup de grâce delivered with cold necessity by Captain Willard. Damn! That's movie making!

Coppola impressed me with his artistic mastery of his visuals. He reminds me of another director famous for his film's look, Ridley Scott...And all of this amazement and sublime film making achievement is why I'm coming down hard on this film...

Of all the film's in this HoF Apocalypse Now, to me, is the most serious work of film. It aims high and so I hold it to a high bar....and I'm sorry to say there were other scenes that just blew. In another film that I was watching just for fun I could glaze over them, but here in what has the framework of a masterpiece I expect nothing short of perfection. Here's what is not perfect:

Like Ridley Scott, Coppola has an eye for the visuals, with set designs that are memorable. But it's those unbelievable sets with their juxtaposition to the seriousness of the narrative, that takes this film's soul out of the Vietnam war experience and places it in the heart of Hollywood style spectacular.

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The 'last' bridge far up the river where the enemy is bombing the bridge at night and during the day the troops rebuild it, all in vein. Sure all those lights look neat in film and make a striking visual impact, but you don't light up a bridge at night so the enemy can see to destroy it!






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As they travel up river into hostile territory we get a stop over at a supply depo and this huge amphitheater arena with a circular stage built right on the water...and this is in a war zone??? Notice the blocks of light again. Sure it looks cool, but it requires too much suspension of disbelief. There would be no such elaborate USO shows so far up river. Shows like this would be held in the South close to Saigon and even then it wasn't quite this spectacular of a stage construction.

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Then at the end we get a way over the top jungle strong hold set of Colonel Kurtz. An impressive looking set that reminded me of a cross between Kevin Costner's Waterworld and Spielberg's Temple of Doom. Just too over the top to match the realistic effects of the Nam experience that most of the film explores.


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So after being free in the Colonel's stronghold temple where he has every opportunity to kill the Colonel...Captain Willard chooses instead to return to the now empty river boat where he apparently applies camouflage makeup and jumps into the river....so he can pop up out of the mist covered water and Coppola gets his 'artistic shot'. When a director's visionary look of his film gets in the way of the narrative and defies logic, then the film is a fail.

I had such high hopes for the first 45 minutes, that I was sure this would be #1 on my ballot. I'm glad I watched this as it had been decades since I last saw it.

[CosmicRunaway]

But it's those unbelievable sets with their juxtaposition to the seriousness of the narrative, that takes this film's soul out of the Vietnam war experience and places it in the heart of Hollywood style spectacular.
I think how over-the-top some of the latter set pieces are are meant to be a reflection of the madness many of the soldiers are experiencing that far out in the jungle.

Take the last bridge sequence, for example. The music accompanying those scenes is distorted and feels incredibly unhinged. Those lights make the bridge look like a circus tent, which is what the whole situation really is when you think about it. They might not make any practical sense, but the soldiers there know what they're doing is entirely fruitless anyway, and nothing they do even matters.

[Citizen Rules]

I think how over-the-top some of the latter set pieces are are meant to be a reflection of the madness many of the soldiers are experiencing that far out in the jungle.

Take the last bridge sequence, for example. The music accompanying those scenes is distorted and feels incredibly unhinged. Those lights make the bridge look like a circus tent, which is what the whole situation really is when you think about it. They might not make any practical sense, but the soldiers there know what they're doing is entirely fruitless anyway, and nothing they do even matters.Yeah I gathered that and that's why I was explaining that the juxtaposition of those 'spectacular scenes' are out of league with the brutally honest horror of scenes like the Vietnamese family killing. This is one film because of it's main structure and subject matter that the spectacle entertainment aspect doesn't jell with the rest of the film.

[SpelingError]

One Cut of the Dead (2017) - 3.5

(SPOILER WARNING)

It's hard to talk about this film without spoiling it, so I'm not going to try. With so many zombie films being released each year, it's hard to find a modern one that has an original voice, but this film aces that. For the first 35 minutes, the film feels really trashy. The acting is bad, the direction feels awkward, and several scenes seem out of place and confusing. I didn't dislike the first act of the film though. Rather, I found it funny and had a good time with it. After the film appears to end though (in spite of an hour of the film remaining), it's revealed that the "movie production gone wrong" element of the first act was actually just a film crew shooting a film. The remainder of the film shows us the behind the scenes footage of the film crew preparing for and shooting the film. While the middle act dragged for me somewhat (this is the only part of the film I had an issue with), the final half hour brings everything home. There, we see the filming of One Cut of the Dead from the perspectives of both the actors and the crew members. It's in this portion of the film where we learn of all the mishaps which occurred during production which the crew had to work around. For example, two cast members got in a car crash on the day of filming and had to be replaced at the last minute, one actor was drunk and another actor had diarrhea during filming, the main cameraman suffered a back injury in the middle of the film and had to be replaced, one actress went off-script and began actually attacking several people, and a camera crane they planned to use for the final shot broke, requiring for the crew to form a human pyramid to improvise. While One Cut of the Dead initially seemed like a trashy horror film, the final act showed why it was as trashy as it was. So many things went wrong while shooting the film and the film crew only managed to finish it by the skin of their teeth. Given all these mishaps, the movie production gone wrong element of the first act was technically real. Just for a different reason than what I had initially suspected. Overall, I enjoyed this film quite a bit. In spite of my issue with the middle act, I found the rest of it really clever and I'm glad I watched it.

Next Up: Raiders of the Lost Ark

[CosmicRunaway]

Next Up: Raiders of the Lost Ark
How right you are...

[CosmicRunaway]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85516

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Did I need to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark again? Absolutely not, as I've seen the whole film (and various pieces of it) so many times over the years that I can recount the details of any individual scene from memory alone. Was I excited to watch it again regardless? Of course! Raiders has been one of my absolute favourite films, problems and all, since I was a child. Any excuse to sit down for another viewing is entirely welcome.

I've written multiple essays on the film for various University classes, from detailing its technical aspects, to critiquing Indiana Jones as an actual archaeologist, and everything in between. I've gone over Raiders with a fine tooth comb in the process, and even wrote a visual analysis of one of its most iconic theatrical posters. I dressed up in costume for its IMAX premiere, and often whistle the theme music when I'm doing chores around the house.

Why am I going over all this instead of saying anything of value about the film? I could've broken down what I enjoy most and what I would change about it, but none of that would have shown how deeply it has burrowed into my heart. I took real archaeology classes because of how much I like Indiana Jones. So when I say I love Raiders of the Lost Ark, know that I mean it with every fibre of my being. It's not a perfect film, but the overall experience far outweighs the criticisms for me.

[CosmicRunaway]

Yes, that is around 250 words that say nothing about the film itself. :lol:

[Takoma11]

Yes, that is around 250 words that say nothing about the film itself. :lol:

Don't be so hard on yourself!

You told us, um, that there's an archaeologist in it. And . . . . that it has a poster!

[Citizen Rules]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

I've written multiple essays on the film for various University classes, from detailing its technical aspects, to critiquing Indiana Jones as an actual archaeologist, and everything in between.

I've gone over Raiders with a fine tooth comb in the process, and even wrote a visual analysis of one of its most iconic theatrical posters.

I dressed up in costume for its IMAX premiere, and often whistle the theme music when I'm doing chores around the house.

I took real archaeology classes because of how much I like Indiana Jones.



Wow, Wow and Wow again! I guess you really like Raiders:) That's totally cool that you love this film so much, I hope you don't vote it last;)

[Citizen Rules]

Yes, that is around 250 words that say nothing about the film itself. :lol:I said it before, that's the best kind of reviews!

[CosmicRunaway]

I hope you don't vote it last;)
Could you imagine though?

It would be interesting to see what kind of crazy stacked HoF would see one of my all-time favourite films place dead last on my ballot haha.

[CosmicRunaway]

You told us, um, that there's an archaeologist in it. And . . . . that it has a poster!
And a theme tune! That part was very important. :cool:

[SpelingError]

I've gone over Raiders with a fine tooth comb in the process

I disagree with this point. I suspect you went over the film with a brush instead.

[Citizen Rules]

I disagree with this point. I suspect you went over the film with a brush instead.Ha, I get it! Very clever!:p

[CosmicRunaway]

I disagree with this point. I suspect you went over the film with a brush instead.
I was incorrect. It was actually...a wide tooth comb. :eek:

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HeftyNegligibleIndianspinyloach-size_restricted.gif

[jiraffejustin]

Midnight Cowboy

SPOILERS AHEAD

I guess I didn't really have any idea what this movie was despite knowing the name of it and that it was an important film. I knew that one of the characters was a gigolo, so I expected one of the characters to be just out there crushing it. I didn't expect a naive and dumb kid loaded down with enough trauma to choke a donkey. Every time there are two dudes who are friends in movies everybody just always says nah it's homoerotic, them boys wanna f*ck. Which, I think the relationship here isn't erotic at all, but there is something there that could be more, and maybe would be erotic if Ratso wasn't sick and both of them weren't afraid of being gay. I love the way we see the trauma in experimental little flashbacks. It's an interesting way to break your heart for a character that you might not like at first glance. He's casually tossing around the other F-bombs and projecting a false bravado and confidence, he's pretty much a loser. Yet, when you see the full story, you can tell why. He's gotta run away from all that the best he can, he goes to New York to become a new person, then he goes to Florida to become a new person. It's probably not meant to be one of the themes of the film, but it kept reminding me that I need to be better about judging folks, or at least be aware that maybe something's lead them there. Or maybe realize, yeah this person might be sh*tty, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't be compassionate about them. I'll probably keep being the judgmental scum I've always been, but I'll feel a little worse about it. Dustin Hoffman is interesting to me because it seems like everybody loves him, but I don't really love him. I think he's good, very good in this film, but Voight was better. He was very good at looking sweaty and that made me realize that I don't know how they do that in films. Did he get a little spritzing or did they make him get active a little bit and start sweating. He looked actually sick sweating like that, it reminded me of when I had covid, because I have never sweat that much in my life. Of course, tuberculosis or whatever the f*ck he had is worse than that. The scene where he tells Joe that he can't walk is a real "oh sh*t" moment for me, I think because I didn't really expect it. I know it's obvious and kinda a Chekhov's Gun scenario where you don't show an illness early on unless that person is getting got by it by the end of the film, but I was engrossed enough in everything else going on that the obvious conclusion was still kinda lost on me until that moment. Anyway, we should cancel this movie because of the use of the F-bombs, I'm putting it last on my list for that reason. But it's really good.

[CosmicRunaway]

He was very good at looking sweaty and that made me realize that I don't know how they do that in films. Did he get a little spritzing or did they make him get active a little bit and start sweating.
Both Midnight Cowboy and Apocalypse Now feature very visible sweat, which was something I certainly wondered about as well. I assume for the latter it was mostly real though, since it can be quite humid in the Philippines.

[edarsenal]

I have heard that spritzing and for better effect a little vaseline or oil works well

[CosmicRunaway]

Man, it's going to be hard settling on an order for my list. I've swapped multiple films 5-6 places already.

[PHOENIX74]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85516

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Did I need to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark again? Absolutely not, as I've seen the whole film (and various pieces of it) so many times over the years that I can recount the details of any individual scene from memory alone. Was I excited to watch it again regardless? Of course! Raiders has been one of my absolute favourite films, problems and all, since I was a child. Any excuse to sit down for another viewing is entirely welcome.

I've written multiple essays on the film for various University classes, from detailing its technical aspects, to critiquing Indiana Jones as an actual archaeologist, and everything in between. I've gone over Raiders with a fine tooth comb in the process, and even wrote a visual analysis of one of its most iconic theatrical posters. I dressed up in costume for its IMAX premiere, and often whistle the theme music when I'm doing chores around the house.

Why am I going over all this instead of saying anything of value about the film? I could've broken down what I enjoy most and what I would change about it, but none of that would have shown how deeply it has burrowed into my heart. I took real archaeology classes because of how much I like Indiana Jones. So when I say I love Raiders of the Lost Ark, know that I mean it with every fibre of my being. It's not a perfect film, but the overall experience far outweighs the criticisms for me.





My number one film for around 40 years - I whistle that tune while I do household tunes also, and I must say that your numerous University essays, visual analysis of it's theatrical poster and various influences makes me want to write the best review of it I can - including, like you, something of the personal effect it has had on my life - which is huge.

[Miss Vicky]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/doloresclaiborne.gif
Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford, 1995)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109642/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)

Date Watched: 2/20/2022
Rewatch: No.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. I thought the story was really intriguing and I thought Kathy Bates did a really good job with the performance - though the dialogue kind of bugged me (Do people actually say "Gorry"? WTF?).

There were a couple of other things that kind of bugged me, like how quickly Dolores came to suspect what Joe was doing. I get that he was an abusive POS towards Dolores and I know her suspicions were correct, but it still seemed like a bit of leap based on the evidence she had. I also had an issue with Joe himself. While not a favorite, I usually find David Strathairn to be a very capable actor but something here just didn't work for me. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly was lacking in the performance, but Joe didn't feel real to me and it kept me from being fully engaged with the movie.

Even so, I enjoyed the film overall and while I don't think I'll watch it again, I don't feel my time was at all wasted in seeing it.

3.0+

[Takoma11]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/doloresclaiborne.gif
Dolores Claiborne (Taylor Hackford, 1995)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109642/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)

how quickly Dolores came to suspect what Joe was doing. I get that he was an abusive POS towards Dolores and I know her suspicions were correct, but it still seemed like a bit of leap based on the evidence she had.

You have to wonder if it's something she had experienced as a child. I thought that in the sequence on the ferry you sort of see her ticking off check boxes in her head.

I'm not a parent--just a teacher--but when kids are that secretive and distressed, it just sends your mind to the worst places.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/Bnp2NY15/the-secret-of-roan-inish.jpg

The Secret of Roan Inish - 1994

Directed by John Sayles

Written by John Sayles
Based on a novel by Rosalie K. Fry

Starring Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan
& Mick Lally

If I had a young daughter I think she'd enjoy The Secret of Roan Inish, and I think I'd enjoy watching it with her - without one, or any other children to watch this with, it's more difficult. Through a child's eyes the mystical and magical elements would ring more true, and there'd be a vicarious thrill as young Fiona Coneelly discovers her family has an extraordinary bloodline which includes a Selkie. I'm far too jaded to take anything like that at face value - and truth be told I even struggle a little with films depicting angels and magical creatures that are even meant for adults. A Selkie is something like a mermaid - half human and half seal, they can shed their seal-skin to reveal their human form. Folk-tales involving them usually come from Scotland, Ireland or Scandinavia and usually involve a female Selkie being beholden to a man who steals their skin, whereby they eventually return to the sea once it has been found or returned, abandoning their husband and children, who spot her from time to time in seal form over the ensuing years. It's a mythological creature I have never seen before depicted in a film, this being an adaptation of Canadian writer Rosalie K. Fry's children's novel The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry (originally published as Child of the Western Isles)

The film takes place not long after the Second World War. Fiona Coneelly (Jeni Courtney) has recently lost her mother to illness, and has been sent to live with her grandparents in a fishing village off the coast of Ireland. Talking to her family, we discover that they all used to inhabit a small island called Roan Inish, and that Fiona once had a brother, Jamie, who was lost as a baby when his crib floated out to sea as they were leaving. She also discovers that one of her ancestors had a wife that was a Selkie, and that the dark-haired children that are born are closely related to it. She hears tales about Jamie being spotted sailing along in his little crib, and one day while visiting the island she spots Jamie herself. She comes to the conclusion that if the family were to return to Roan Inish whatever force that is keeping Jamie from them will allow him to return. The film shines brightest when a tale is being told - tweaking just enough with lighting and cinematographic elements to take us into another realm. This is especially true when we get to see Susan Lynch bathed in orange light, transforming into human form and simmering on a beach as the Selkie instigator of the whole story.

Cinematographer Haskell Wexler was an awesomely expert hand that director John Sayles had at his disposal. Wexler was director of photography on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and had won 2 Oscars by the time he filmed The Secret of Roan Inish, for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1967 and Bound for Glory in 1977. Sayles had him use all aspects of technique and technology during the difficult shoot in Donegal, Ireland, where weather conditions changed so frequently the entire crew had to be on their toes and sometimes change the order in which scenes were shot. Sometimes foggy, and sometimes brightly lit, the film shows how Wexler, a veteran, could conjure exactly what was needed at any given time, and he had added challenges here when scenes were being shot at sea, or when they involved seals that were sometimes trained real ones and at other times animatronic robotic seals. The movie definitely looks great, and is a film that gives Ireland a dream-like fantastic quality with earthy greens and cool rocky greys. It's a consolation for someone like me who hasn't been completely swept away by the story alone, apart from it's fantasy sequences.

John Sayles is partly of Irish descent and had wrote and/or directed films in a multitude of genres by the time he adapted and directed The Secret of Roan Inish, having made his debut feature in 1980, Return of the Secaucus 7 which many compare to The Big Chill. He'd just been nominated for an Oscar for his previous screenplay - that for Passion Fish in 1992 - and would go on to be nominated again for writing the script to Lone Star which was released in 1996. He was at a career high-point, and comes across as an exceptionally thoughtful and intelligent writer and director. He'd written three novels by the time this film came along, and the purposeful creativity he put into this family film - a difficult kind of movie to get just right - served it as well as it could possibly be served. If I had kids I'd like to be able to show them The Secret of Roan Inish as something that rises above much of the asinine and meaningless action-orientated kind of films that are produced with more regularity these days. If I were younger I would have taken to the seals enthusiastically (the live ones caused Sayles no end of troubles) and I thought the lonely countryside, that seems completely at peace, was captured perfectly. Sayles also imbued the kids in this story with a strong work ethic, where they give their all to simply provide their family with a chance of reclaiming Jamie and their connection with the land.

One aspect that didn't work for me in particular, however, was young Jeni Courtney who leads the film as Fiona Coneelly. She was a non-actor who was chosen because she looked right for the part, and I didn't find her convincing in her role. At times her monotone delivery became annoying, and her cries of "Jamie!" whenever she spotted her young brother made me cringe, my ears stinging and my eyes watering. The rest of the cast is littered with either amateurs or actors who are most well-known from Irish television - there are no famous faces to distract, except for John Lynch in the small role as Tadhg. Lynch was one of the leads in Angel Baby, which is a film I recommend - a tragic love story with two people with severe mental illnesses falling for each other. The 1990s were a good time for John Lynch. This isn't really a film that depends on it's performances however - rather it's Rosalie K. Fry's story and it's adaptation and Wexler's cinematography that bring it off. What adds to it is frequent John Sayles-collaborator Mason Daring's score which manages to add a touch of ecstatic Irish joyfulness to proceedings.

Daring had been providing John Sayles films with their musical accompaniment since Sayles set out directing in 1980 with Secaucus 7 - which Daring was providing legal work for before Sayles had heard any of his music. Ever since, the two have worked closely together, and nearly everything Sayles has done has been provided with a Mason Daring score. For The Secret of Roan Inish a magical Irish flavour is maintained by a wide diversity of instruments which seem to emanate from the ground itself in the form of violins, drums, flutes and quite often vocals which are performed by Irish musician Maire Breatnach and Eileen Loughanne. Loughanne's give especial other-worldliness to the Selkie legend scenes with Susan Lynch. I'd credit Daring's score with complimenting Wexler's work behind the camera and producing such a successful film that so many saw so much magic in. A lot of the music has an ancient quality to it, speaking of many generations and their history with the Irish landscape - it takes you to a place that is so much more at ease than most others, if not still challenging to forge a life in. Mason Daring was nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for his score, but was beaten out by Randy Newman and Toy Story.

The Secret of Roan Inish provides a kind of bridge between humans and nature, especially in relation to the seals which occupy the coastline and waters which we see throughout the film - they guide Coneelly family members to safety when their boats sink, and become directly related to the family through the marriage between Selkie and Coneelly. When the family leave the island, they take guardianship of young Jamie Coneelly and watch over him. They're beautiful creatures that I'd have liked to have seen even more of - although the robotic ones that poke their head out of the water to watch goings-on by humans do look just slightly unnatural, as do the mechanical seals sitting on rocks. They take up only a small amount of seal footage overall, with trained ones taking up the slack. If that were not challenging enough for the filmmakers here, they also had to deal with seagulls, creatures which are even more difficult to film. It all works out to the extent that John Sayles himself was able to edit together an easily digestible and magical tale that's easy to follow and does provide that connection between man and the wild.

Being presented from Fiona's point of view, this is a film that is best viewed through a child's eyes, or at least with kids. I can appreciate how well made this is, and certainly soak in it's atmosphere, but the story has at it's center a character who is child we're meant to relate to - and that left me behind. The more fantastic elements would be much more easy to digest as a child, especially as everything is being presented in a non-fantastical way. I can't imagine how seals could look after a human child, and raise him - so this was a children's story that I didn't feel a connection with, but one which someone younger really could. I rate this film as a balance between how well made I think it is, and how much I enjoyed it, and in that respect The Secret of Roan Inish comes off as a very well made film that I didn't get a great amount of narrative enjoyment from. I did very much like the fantasy/flashback scenes however, as they could exist apart from that narrative and could be as outlandish as they liked without needing me to believe that they were really happening. It would get a much higher rating if I were rating it objectively. I really admire what John Sayles and his crew have done here, transforming a children's novel into a magical, mystical film that I'm sure many people have fond memories of seeing over the years.

3

[Torgo]

Apocalypse Now (Theatrical Cut) - 5

This is as much of a milestone in movie history as it is in my own obsession with film. A movie that is just as compelling to watch as it is to study how Coppola and company made it, it inspired me to read Heart of Darkness, and the making-of documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, is one of the few documentaries I've watched more than once. I've seen many other movies about the Vietnam War since I first watched Apocalypse Now many years ago and I may choose Full Metal Jacket over it if I were forced to choose a favorite. My opinion of it having legendary status and my admiration for what it asks about the war and how it is a black mark in America's history book still stands.

This viewing made me realize that Martin Sheen doesn't get enough credit for his performance as our guide in his journey to Hell, Willard. While he looks plain and is not particularly charismatic - one critique I've read described him as a milquetoast – these traits are more strength than drawback. They let me walk in his shoes more easily, and as frightening as his drunken episode in his hotel room may be, Sheen doesn't need it to convince us how traumatized and world-weary the war has made him. Speaking of his journey, I'm a fan of stories with simple overarching plots that string varied episodes together, and I approve of this movie's, which owes as much to The Odyssey and Alice in Wonderland as it does Heart of Darkness. Each episode provides a reason why America's involvement in the war was such a blunder, my favorite being the one with Kilgore and his fight for a good place to surf. While Francois Truffaut famously said, "you can't make an effective anti-war film because war by its nature is exciting," you could point to this episode’s masterfully edited helicopter attack sequence as a counterargument. I can see how some could find it exciting, but it fills me with - for lack of a better word - horror. It's also worth calling out how good the movie looks - Storaro's cinematography being a major factor - as well as how its transition from realistic to dreamlike is expertly gradual. What's more, it's amazing how funny the movie manages to be in spite of how deathly dark it is at its core. Frederic Forrest and Sam Bottoms' very different and human reactions to the journey provide much-needed relief, as does Hopper's court jester of a photojournalist.

While I cannot rate this less than 5 stars, I still have to call out something that still doesn't sit right with me and that's Brando's performance as Kurtz. Aside from hardly having a soldier's physique - he may have let himself go after setting himself up as a God, but it's doubtful he was there long enough to end up like he does - I've always felt that Hopper, Sheen, etc. are reacting to Brando's oddities and not Kurtz's. With that said, I've thought about other actors who could have pulled it off like Kirk Douglas, Gene Hackman, etc., but I cannot think of anyone better than Brando for the role. No Hollywood actor at the time or possibly ever has the required presence and mystique to pay off what Willard's narration builds up. Besides, Brando being a product of a lifetime in Hollywood, an organization that also has plenty to hide and be ashamed of, mirrors Kurtz being a product of a lifetime in the Vietnam-era U.S. military.

Like the best art, this is a movie I react differently to and that provides something new to obsess over every time I watch it. Before this viewing, my general reaction was similar to Roger Ebert's philosophical one in his Great Movies review, but it was much more political this go-around. There are consequences to countries adopting a hypocritical, "everything is fine" response to atrocities like the Vietnam War, and the longer they deny this lesson, the longer they will start fires that those like Willard will have to extinguish. With all of the whitewashing, rebranding, whatever you want to call it that is happening in recent times, this is clearly a difficult and/or expensive lesson to learn.

[SpelingError]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - 3.5

Before I start, I might as well address the "sleeping with underage women" bit which has been getting some controversy in this thread. After watching Jones' and Marion's first scene together, I definitely raised an eyebrow at the "You knew what you were doing" conversation, and after reading the transcript where Spielberg and Lucas intended for Marion to be 15 and for Jones to be 25 when they had their affair, that aspect of the film stuck out as problematic. Due to that (in addition to Jones being a colonist), I wasn't able to get invested in their friendship and eventual romance. If Jones' arc was of him redeeming himself throughout the film, that would be different, but he instead seemed to be portrayed as noble and charming all throughout.

So yeah, couldn't get invested in the characters this viewing. In spite of that, however, I still think this is a solid action film. It has some memorable action scenes (the opening), a couple terrific magical scenes (the God's wrath scene at the end is outstanding, in particular), and its fair share of humor here and there (Jones shooting the swordsman). Back when I was a kid, this film was everything for me. When I rewatched it a couple days ago, however, I found that the love I felt towards the film when I was a kid wore off. This isn't to say the film aged poorly per se (rather, I think the film aged great for the most part). It's just not my kind of film anymore and I'm no longer the target audience for it. Since I've watched a number of films like Battleship Potemkin, Zulu, The Wild Bunch, Apocalypse Now, Hard-Boiled, Saving Private Ryan, etc since then, which have action scenes that are far more engaging and technically outstanding, that may play a part in why my tastes have moved on. Who knows. Still though, I think this is a great gateway film and it would definitely be among my top recommendations for someone new to classic film.

Next Up: Safety Last!

[Citizen Rules]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - rating_3_5

Before I start, I might as well address the "sleeping with underage women" bit which has been getting some controversy in this thread. After watching Jones' and Marion's first scene together, I definitely raised an eyebrow at the "You knew what you were doing" conversation, and after reading the transcript where Spielberg and Lucas intended for Marion to be 15 and for Jones to be 25 when they had their affair, that aspect of the film stuck out as problematic. Due to that (in addition to Jones being a colonist), I wasn't able to get invested in their friendship and eventual romance... I want to ask you a question and I'm not trying to change your mind or anything like that.

I'm just curious how you have a problem with something that was discarded in a pre-script about an underage romance, that wasn't shown on screen and yet your own movie Midnight Cowboy has a man going homophobic and attacking and killing (off screen) a gay man. I just reread your review and you seem to have a positive reaction to the character played by Jon Voight, the man who killed a gay man out of homophobia....I just wonder how you resolve that as OK as far as the film goes?



BTW, I thought Midnight Cowboy was great and I voted it higher than my own movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[SpelingError]

I want to ask you a question and I'm not trying to change your mind or anything like that.

I'm just curious how you have a problem with something that was discarded in a pre-script about an underage romance, that wasn't shown on screen and yet your own movie Midnight Cowboy has a man going homophobic and attacking and killing (off screen) a gay man. I just reread your review and you seem to have a positive reaction to the character played by Jon Voight, the man who killed a gay man out of homophobia....I just wonder how you resolve that as OK as far as the film goes?



BTW, I thought Midnight Cowboy was great and I voted it higher than my own movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I think the difference between those two sub-plots is with the portrayal of the characters in each. In Midnight Cowboy, I didn't feel like the film was really defending or agreeing with the actions of Voight's character. He's an already troubled character who killed the man out of desperation in an attempt to save Hoffman's character. Then, when Hoffman asks him about it on the bus rude, Voight is reluctant to talk about it, as if he regrets his actions. I didn't feel like I was asked to support his character during that scene. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, seeing the opening scene and Jones' initial confrontation with Marion seems to paint him as immoral as well, but the more I watched the film, the more he seemed to be portrayed as noble and charming. While Indy's flaws are left out in the open, I think the film tries to have it both ways.

[Takoma11]

I want to ask you a question and I'm not trying to change your mind or anything like that.

I'm just curious how you have a problem with something that was discarded in a pre-script about an underage romance, that wasn't shown on screen and yet your own movie Midnight Cowboy has a man going homophobic and attacking and killing (off screen) a gay man. I just reread your review and you seem to have a positive reaction to the character played by Jon Voight, the man who killed a gay man out of homophobia....I just wonder how you resolve that as OK as far as the film goes?

I would just point out that one very obvious difference is that Raiders endorses the relationship between the two leads (even framing it as her needing to get over her problems with Indiana and falling for him), while Midnight Cowboy never pretends that the homophobic violence is anything but disturbing, excessive, and a reaction to the main character's past sexual assault. I think that Voight's character is sympathetic, but not for a minute did the film endorse or approve of his violence. It is a miserable extension of his own misery.

I'd also argue that the underage romance wasn't necessarily discarded, just made subtext instead of text. She says "I was a child. I was in love. It was wrong and you knew it." He replies "You knew what you were doing." (And abusers telling victims "You knew what you were doing" or "It was what you wanted" is definitely a thing. ""Basically they said it was my fault," he said. "Honest to God, they said it was my fault that that priest abused me - that I let him do it. And that was the end of it. I was flabbergasted. They said, 'You were 16 years old at the time. You knew what you were doing.'")

[TheUsualSuspect]

I gotta catch up.

[Citizen Rules]

I think the difference between those two sub-plots is with the portrayal of the characters in each. In Midnight Cowboy, I didn't feel like the film was really defending or agreeing with the actions of Voight's character. He's an already troubled character who killed the man out of desperation in an attempt to save Hoffman's character. Then, when Hoffman asks him about it on the bus rude, Voight is reluctant to talk about it, as if he regrets his actions. I didn't feel like I was asked to support his character during that scene. I can understand that...thanks for explaining.


In Raiders of the Lost Ark, seeing the opening scene and Jones' initial confrontation with Marion seems to paint him as immoral as well, but the more I watched the film, the more he seemed to be portrayed as noble and charming. While Indy's flaws are left out in the open, I think the film tries to have it both ways.
I perceived Indy to be a bit of a rogue or a cad. I think we see his less than shiny noble behavior when he shoots the Arab with the sword which isn't exactly sportsmanship like...and in his ever present smirky smile and in other things he does as well. I'm not saying that's the ultimate truth of Indy, there is no ultimate truth...I'm saying that's how I perceived him. I liked his character myself.

[Citizen Rules]

I would just point out that one very obvious difference is that Raiders endorses the relationship between the two leads (even framing it as her needing to get over her problems with Indiana and falling for him), while Midnight Cowboy never pretends that the homophobic violence is anything but disturbing, excessive, and a reaction to the main character's past sexual assault. I think that Voight's character is sympathetic, but not for a minute did the film endorse or approve of his violence. It is a miserable extension of his own misery.

I'd also argue that the underage romance wasn't necessarily discarded, just made subtext instead of text. She says "I was a child. I was in love. It was wrong and you knew it." He replies "You knew what you were doing." (And abusers telling victims "You knew what you were doing" or "It was what you wanted" is definitely a thing. ""Basically they said it was my fault," he said. "Honest to God, they said it was my fault that that priest abused me - that I let him do it. And that was the end of it. I was flabbergasted. They said, 'You were 16 years old at the time. You knew what you were doing.'")OK thanks, but I'm not into arguing viewpoints much these days as one person's opinion is their own truth. That's why I asked SpelingError and said I wasn't trying to change his mind or anything, as I was just curious as to how he viewed it. To me the individual though process that we all use to arrive at our opinions is more interesting than the usual back and forth debating stuff (I'm not saying you specifically are debating my opinion.)

[Miss Vicky]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/jaws.gif
Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)


Date Watched: 2/28/2022
Rewatch: Yes.

I have kind of mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I can understand how audiences in 1975 might've found it terrifying, given the limits of practical/special effects at the time. But on the other hand this movie is 6 years older than I am and I first watched it in 2014. To say the least, its effects appear very dated and not at all convincing - so much so that every time a person is attacked, it's downright comical. The intercut scenes of actual great white sharks do nothing to help this despite efforts to hide the obvious size difference between them and the mechanical shark. That said though, I did enjoy the interaction between Brody, Quint, and Hooper aboard the Orca and found the movie to be pretty entertaining overall.

3.5

[SpelingError]

I can understand that...thanks for explaining.


I perceived Indy to be a bit of a rogue or a cad. I think we see his less than shiny noble behavior when he shoots the Arab with the sword which isn't exactly sportsmanship like...and in his ever present smirky smile and in other things he does as well. I'm not saying that's the ultimate truth of Indy, there is no ultimate truth...I'm saying that's how I perceived him. I liked his character myself.

I'm not saying that Jones never does any unlikable things throughout the film. In addition to shooting the swordsman, he's a colonist, there's the aforementioned backstory between him and Marion, and he also burns a group of snakes alive. I felt there was a disconnect between these scenes though and Ford's portrayal of the character. It seemed like what the film wanted us to takeaway from Jones was that he was noble for fighting the Nazi's and charming since Marion eventually got over the past conflict she had with him and fell in love with him.

[Miss Vicky]

I think we see his less than shiny noble behavior when he shoots the Arab with the sword which isn't exactly sportsmanship like.

To be fair, that scene wasn't in the original script and had to be improvised due to unforeseen circumstances (https://www.businessinsider.com/harrison-ford-reddit-ama-2014-4):

We were shooting in Tunisia, and the script had a scene in which I fight a swordsman, an expert swordsman, it was meant to be the ultimate duel between sword and whip. And I was suffering from dysentery, really, found it inconvenient to be out of my trailer for more than 10 minutes at a time. We'd done a brief rehearsal of the scene the night before we were meant to shoot it, and both Steve and I realized it would take 2 or 3 days to shoot this. And it was the last thing we were meant to shoot in Tunisia before we left to shoot in England. And the scene before this in the film included a whip fight against 5 bad guys that were trying to kidnap Marian, so I thought it was a bit redundant. I was puzzling how to get out of this 3 days of shooting, so when I got to set I proposed to Steven that we just shoot the son a bitch and Steve said "I was thinking that as well." So he drew his sword, the poor guy was a wonderful British stuntman who had practiced his sword skills for months in order to do this job, and was quite surprised by the idea that we would dispatch him in 5 minutes. But he flourished his sword, I pulled out my gun and shot him, and then we went back to England.

[Citizen Rules]

...he's a colonist...I don't have the greatest memory for movie details, I'm sure you're right that he's a colonist, but at the risk of me sounding daff:eek: What is a colonist? (in regards to the film). I thought he was a college professor who taught archeology.

[SpelingError]

I don't have the greatest memory for movie details, I'm sure you're right that he's a colonist, but at the risk of me sounding daff:eek: What is a colonist? (in regards to the film). I thought he was a college professor who taught archeology.

Colonialism is different forms of control over people in other areas or regions. In the context of the film, however, it refers to how Jones steals cultural artifacts of indigenous people to bring back to his country. The opening is a key example of this.

[Citizen Rules]

Colonialism is different forms of control over people in other areas or regions. In the context of the film, however, it refers to how Jones steals cultural artifacts of indigenous people to bring back to his country. The opening is a key example of this.That never dawned on me, thanks for explaining.

[cricket]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.

[Allaby]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.

Sorry to hear that. Hope doggy feels better soon. Sending positive thoughts and love.

[Citizen Rules]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.Best wishes for your dog🙂 Hope all goes well.

[SpelingError]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.

Best wishes for your dog :up:

[Miss Vicky]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.

Take your time. I hope he feels better soon.

[edarsenal]

Everyone gets everything he wants.
I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.

https://c.tenor.com/4napKU7vBecAAAAC/apocolypse-now.gif

Apocalypse Now Redux (1979)


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/32/cd/3f32cd4f5a4d4eaa7058fe83efceb74a.jpg
https://c.tenor.com/qzrDq5NArr4AAAAC/apocalypse-now-do-lung-bridge.gif


It is said that the very idea of War is, in itself, insanity. To the mind, the heart, to the very core of one's soul.
To inflict horror, murder, for the supposed Greater Good? WTF?

To experience the nightmare from the mindset of said insanity. We embark on a sojourn of contradictions and absurdities that only a nightmare could fathom.
Francis Ford Coppola's visually hallucinogenic demonstration kicks in from the very opening of slow whirring choppers, jungles exploding and the upside-down close-up of Martin Sheen's character, accompanied by The Doors' "The End." To the actions of all involved and the continual narration, charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets in the Indy 500. as well as Brando's dialogues We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won't allow them to write "f@ck" on their airplanes because it's obscene!

An added layer of authenticity is how Coppola's vision of chaos and insanity birthed from the chaos and insanity of the filming process itself.


I'm not sure if I've ever seen the Redux version, and I'm kinda glad I did. It had been a solid twenty years since I viewed the Theatrical performance and had tripped along with the characters themselves in my earlier daze. So I am unsure exactly what was added beyond, I believe, the French Plantation, which some may think bogs things down; it, for me, was an informational perspective other than the usual U.S. mentality and a minor history lesson regarding the French's occupation of Indochina. I do know that much of the chaotic mess that I remember from the Theatrical version seemed to be explored more fully in this Director's Cut.

Also, with my life and film experience, I found a deeper appreciation of the cinematic symbolism exhibited in both cerebral and visceral formats, as well as Vittorio Storaro's Award-winning Cinematography. Which -- OH MY GOD! WOW!!

[edarsenal]

Sorry I've been absent, one of my dogs is dealing with a health issue and I can't focus on anything else. The doctor thinks he'll be better in a week or 2 and then I'll be back in action.

as with everyone else, hopes and best wishes with your beloved pooch's health.
Take care, cricket!

[PHOENIX74]

Apocalypse Now Redux (1979)

...So I am unsure exactly what was added beyond, I believe, the French Plantation, which some may think bogs things down; it, for me, was an informational perspective other than the usual U.S. mentality and a minor history lesson regarding the French's occupation of Indochina...

Others have already stated the opposite in their reviews, but I've always regarded the French Plantation segment of Apocalypse Now Redux very informative, and think it really gives an added perspective on how America's involvement in Vietnam differed so much from most other wars of conquest/defense. Not to mention that I really enjoy that segment of the film a great deal even aside from that. If Willard's journey down that river is taken as a trip back in time, it also makes sense that he'd have some kind of contact with the French colonialist period of Vietnam.

[edarsenal]

Others have already stated the opposite in their reviews, but I've always regarded the French Plantation segment of Apocalypse Now Redux very informative, and think it really gives an added perspective on how America's involvement in Vietnam differed so much from most other wars of conquest/defense. Not to mention that I really enjoy that segment of the film a great deal even aside from that. If Willard's journey down that river is taken as a trip back in time, it also makes sense that he'd have some kind of contact with the French colonialist period of Vietnam.

Something I had no prior knowledge of so I rather enjoyed for those same reasons.

[Torgo]

One Cut of the Dead - 4 CONTAINS SPOILERS

I like meta entertainment and this joins Shadow of the Vampire and Too Many Cooks as one of the most fun examples of it I've seen. The movie has almost every trademark of the format that I admire about it and it does a good job at pulling them off. I particularly like how the lead actress, Chinatsu, goes from mediocre at portraying fear to 100% convincing upon facing "real" danger. My favorite meta moment, however, has to be the end credits fake out. Believe it or not, I was so invested in what was happening that I thought the movie was over, but to my surprise, an entire hour remained!

During the "making of" portion, despite knowing that it's another layer of the onion, I was in a state of constant anticipation of having the rug pulled out from under me once more. I thought this would affect my enjoyment of the movie, but I missed the sensation when it ended and I credit the movie for making me care enough to feel this way. Besides, that's not all I felt: there's plenty of laughs, especially in the scenes involving Shinichiro's, umm...bowel trouble, and plenty to smile about like the director's daughter's horror obsession. All the same, this may say more about me than the movie since I've seen my fair share of zombie horror from 28 Days Later to as much as I could stand of The Walking Dead, but I wish it were a little scarier. I still had a lot of fun and I have even more appreciation of the blood, sweat, tears and good luck that go into producing low budget entertainment. Now, if only there were another layer of the onion to peel back...

[SpelingError]

Safety Last! (1923) - 4.5

When I first watched this film a few or however many years ago (it's hard to remember this stuff nowadays lol), it was among my favorite silent films. Given the somewhat mixed (or generally positive) reactions it received in this thread from a few posters, I was wondering whether I'd like it less this time around, but while I can understand some of the issues people have with it (the cat gag is definitely problematic and cruel), I found the film to be just as great as I remembered it being, more even. Unlike some other silent comedies I've seen (e.g. Chaplin), this film didn't move me or have much emotional resonance, but I don't think it needed it. Through a variety of cleverly-timed and well-executed gags, this film ranks among the most entertaining silent comedies I've seen. When I first watched it, I felt it dragged somewhat in the first couple acts, but that portion of the film fared much better for me this time around. (If you're reading this sentence, reply to this review with a picture of a dog; the first person to do this wins) Not only did I find more gags to enjoy, but I also enjoyed the punchlines at the ends of a few of them. For instance, after a customer has Lloyd bring out every piece of fabric he has on display to the counter, she says she likes the first one he showed her the most and only takes a small piece of it. Brilliant. The climbing sequence in the final act is easily the highlight of the film though. The obstacles Lloyd runs into throughout the climb are memorable and the cat and mouse chase his friend gets into along the way makes for an extra layer of suspense. I can see why the sequence is as iconic as it is. Since the strengths of the film revolve around the precision-timing and execution of its gags, I found that any attempts by the film to insert pathos into the mix fell flat for me (Lloyd imagining his girlfriend wearing a piece of jewelry or how he's not being able to buy any food after spending his entire paycheck). Fortunately though, these scenes are few and very far in between. Overall, I'm glad I got to revisit this film as it went up for me this viewing.

Next Up: The Secret of Roan Innish

[PHOENIX74]

Safety Last! (1923) - 4.5

When I first watched this film a few or however many years ago (it's hard to remember this stuff nowadays lol), it was among my favorite silent films. Given the somewhat mixed (or generally positive) reactions it received in this thread from a few posters, I was wondering whether I'd like it less this time around, but while I can understand some of the issues people have with it (the cat gag is definitely problematic and cruel), I found the film to be just as great as I remembered it being, more even. Unlike some other silent comedies I've seen (e.g. Chaplin), this film didn't move me or have much emotional resonance, but I don't think it needed it. Through a variety of cleverly-timed and well-executed gags, this film ranks among the most entertaining silent comedies I've seen. When I first watched it, I felt it dragged somewhat in the first couple acts, but that portion of the film fared much better for me this time around. (If you're reading this sentence, reply to this review with a picture of a dog; the first person to do this wins) Not only did I find more gags to enjoy, but I also enjoyed the punchlines at the ends of a few of them. For instance, after a customer has Lloyd bring out every piece of fabric he has on display to the counter, she says she likes the first one he showed her the most and only takes a small piece of it. Brilliant. The climbing sequence in the final act is easily the highlight of the film though. The obstacles Lloyd runs into throughout the climb are memorable and the cat and mouse chase his friend gets into along the way makes for an extra layer of suspense. I can see why the sequence is as iconic as it is. Since the strengths of the film revolve around the precision-timing and execution of its gags, I found that any attempts by the film to insert pathos into the mix fell flat for me (Lloyd imagining his girlfriend wearing a piece of jewelry or how he's not being able to buy any food after spending his entire paycheck). Fortunately though, these scenes are few and very far in between. Overall, I'm glad I got to revisit this film as it went up for me this viewing.

Next Up: The Secret of Roan Innish

Nice review! I hadn't seen Safety Last! before this Hall of Fame, although I'd been meaning to. I thought it was great. And :

https://www.thesprucepets.com/thmb/EpDM0nWiLTrA-cTT577VmD4b-80=/2448x2448/smart/filters:no_upscale()/FunnyDogSmiling-ef11b73fa1834734b8c47025039fcd43.jpg

[SpelingError]

Nice review! I hadn't seen Safety Last! before this Hall of Fame, although I'd been meaning to. I thought it was great. And :

https://www.thesprucepets.com/thmb/EpDM0nWiLTrA-cTT577VmD4b-80=/2448x2448/smart/filters:no_upscale()/FunnyDogSmiling-ef11b73fa1834734b8c47025039fcd43.jpg

You win! Also, thanks.

[PHOENIX74]

I won!

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/HWyg90y4/magical-girl.jpg

Magical Girl - 2014

Directed by Carlos Vermut

Written by Carlos Vermut

Starring Luis Bermejo, Bárbara Lennie, José Sacristán
& Lucía Pollán


Well written characters appear to be driving a story all by themselves, with the influence of the writer seeming to have disappeared, and such are the characters in Magical Girl - they're three-dimensional, and part of the reason I found the film so enjoyable to watch. Not knowing where the story was going to go is something I savored - as far too often these days I know exactly where a story is going, but the three principal figures in this do the unexpected, and do so while still in keeping with who these people are. Being introduced to them before, for the most part, their fates entangle, I initially thought this was going to be some kind of anthology much like Magnolia - but Magical Girl is far from that. Carlos Vermut's screenplay digs downwards, and pulls us with it once our fascination has fixated on the fate of it's life-like and very human personalities. You won't be uplifted, but you will feel like you've been told a really scintillating tale - the moral of which is don't go on to a dark path, even if your reasons are full of pure and heartfelt love. It will consume you, and destroy everything you care about. Pay heed to both your emotional and rational sides.

Luis (Luis Bermejo) is a single father, and his daughter Alicia (Lucía Pollán) is terminally ill. All of his thoughts center around making the little time she has left special, and as such he's determined to buy her a one-of-a-kind costume which belongs to her favourite character - 'Magical Girl' - from Japanese television. Unfortunately, this costume costs a fortune, and Luis is unable to borrow the money from anyone he knows or raise the funds himself. When he happens to cross paths with Bárbara (Bárbara Lennie) he thinks he's stumbled into his answer, but there will be consequences for the actions he decides to instigate, and this will involve ex-convict Damián (José Sacristán). Bárbara is a fascinating character played with a certain intensity by Lennie. She's obviously mentally unwell, and her husband strictly tries to make sure she takes medication to quell her demons - although it appears he's often unsuccessful. There is one great scene where she somewhat uncomfortably holds a friend's baby - and then confides to the mother something that, although meant in jest, is absolutely chilling. You know right off the bat that any part of the story that involves her will be subject to her unstable whims.

Luis' relationship with Alicia is also very involving and interesting. His love for his daughter is apparent, and a source of anguish knowing that she will pass away before long, but this leads to him becoming distracted and distant - his obsession with finding a means to buy her the costume she has wished for means he has less time to spend by her side during her illness, an irony that the film explores. There's no-one to really fault for this aside from a society that places too much emphasis on material goods and their value being insanely out of proportion with people's needs. In the meantime he grapples with his unusual circumstances when Alicia asks to be able to smoke a cigarette and drink alcohol despite her being a tender 12 years of age. Being in the position he is, Luis finds it impossible to refuse his daughter anything, which is really what propels the story forward and makes Luis a complicated protagonist. This didn't stop me from begging him to reconsider the path he eventually decides to take, and simply give himself up to her rather than try to pacify her with material goods.

Damián appears at first more mysterious, and it will take some time before his part to play in the story really becomes clear. For much of the film he simply exist as an older man who sits in his apartment doing a jigsaw puzzle*. Only later do we learn of his criminal past, and connection to Bárbara. José Sacristán, as Damián, is responsible for bringing the film to it's climax and the actor really delivers well - as all the actors do in this film. His delicate yet rough, experienced exterior and interior give him a relatable quality despite being involved with the criminal underworld - and he really seems to be the moral arbiter of the tale, which doesn't exactly unfold the way he expects it to. He cares for Bárbara perhaps a little too much considering how unbalanced she is, but he has a long history with her and obviously means well, having once been a teacher and guardian. His moral standing is never more questionable as when the credits start to roll however, as he certainly loses the audience completely as events spiral out of control - in the end all of our characters appear to be both victims of fate and circumstance, but also perpetrators and authors of their own destiny.

More than once, in reference to Bárbara, who is central to everything in Magical Girl, we listen to 'La niña de fuego' (The Girl of Fire) performed by Manolo Caracol which certainly fits her, but also interesting is the inclusion of 'Song of Black Lizard' by Akihiro Miwa. The Black Lizard, which is a motif that makes it's presence felt during one of the film's most dark moments, is in relation to 1968 film Black Lizard directed by Kinji Fukasaku, which is based on a novel by Rampo Edogawa about the underworld and was a noted inspiration for the film as was the Magical Girl anime series in Japan which have been appearing in different forms since the 1960s. On the surface it sounds like a strange and exotic mix of influences for writer and director Carlos Vermut to be drawing from. Vermut specifically referred to Puella Magi Madoka Magica a Magical Girl anime show from 2011 in which girls were granted wishes and magical powers, but realise that much pain and suffering are the price to pay for wielding them. This mix of influence and song transform what is very much a Spanish worldview which questions it's identity and meaning.

One of Magical Girl's underworld figures puts this self examination thus : "It’s funny that Spain is the country where bullfighting is most popular. Do you know why Spain is in perennial clash? Because we don’t know whether we are a rational or an emotional country. The Nordic, countries for example are cerebral countries. Still, Arabs or Latinos have accepted their passionate side with no complex or guilt. They all know which side dominates. We Spaniards are in a balance hanging right in the middle. That’s the way we are, like bullfights. And what are bullfights? The depiction of struggle between instinct and technique. Between emotion and reason. We have to accept our instincts and learn to handle them like if they were a bull, so they don’t destroy us.” Luis, an unemployed teacher in the midst of selling his prized books during an economic crisis while looking after a terminally ill daughter is in the midst of this push and pull between the intellectual and emotional, as is Damián, who was also a teacher and has been tested himself by Bárbara. It's a destructive conflict that Carlos Vermut explores in a way that is viscerally thrilling and makes a memorable film.

Emotion and reason, passion and calculation. That Vermut handles the material so well, and directs his actors so expertly has me wanting to search his other films out, which are few so far as this is a filmmaker at the very starting point of his career. His debut, Diamond Flash was released online and hasn't been seen by many, but was well regarded enough to see that he found backers for this great film and has gone on to direct Quién te cantará (Who Will Sing to You) in 2018 and write the screenplay for The Grandmother in 2021. He has the potential to be a great Spanish filmmaker, and I was thinking about Pedro Almodóvar while watching Magical Girl as I thought this ranged into the quality spectrum that Almodóvar occupies. Vermut has sectioned his film into three chapters, 'World', 'Devil' and 'Flesh' which represent the three enemies of the soul in Christianity. This cinematic journey relates to more than Christians however, but all people who face the kinds of decisions which pit their emotions up against the more rational side of their mind.

Pedro Almodóvar himself has written an article praising the work of Carlos Vermut, and he no doubt enjoyed Magical Girl a great deal himself. It's an Alice in Wonderland-inspired trip (Alicia representing Alice and Luis representing her father - Lewis Carroll) with many clever little references inserted in many places (note the Rampo search engine Luis uses, which references Rampo Edogawa, the author of Black Lizard.) These are the kinds of film I enjoy a great deal. It ended up winning the Silver Shell (Concha de Plata) at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and Bárbara Lennie ended up winning the Goya Award for Best Actress at the 29th Goya Awards ceremony for her superb performance as the damaged and psychologically volatile Bárbara in it - a performance which is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. It's a film full of life, the unexpected and relevant meaning to us all. I can imagine that many in the audience might recoil at it's ending, but I'm glad Vermut didn't take a backward step, and that he's not at the mercy of the Hollywood machine. This film needed to be unambiguous, and to end with such a full stop - such a descent, into such an underworld, demanded it. It nevertheless had me with a lump in my throat - Alicia dressed up and looking like Alice in Wonderland in a situation that was as real as Alice in Wonderland is fantasy. Remember - it's just a movie. Only - it's a really good one.

4.5

* An extraordinary coincidence. When I saw Damián doing the jigsaw puzzle I thought back to a time when I'd just moved into a new apartment myself, and a jigsaw puzzle I did in the first few days while settling in. The Ravensburger 3000-piece puzzle of the painting of a naval battle happened to be exactly the same jigsaw that Damián gets given to himself in this film.

[pahaK]

True Romance (1993)

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WealthyFewHare-size_restricted.gif

First things first: True Romance meets the expectations; it feels like a Tarantino movie, but it looks like a Tony Scott film. It has all the QT trademarks already, but either because of his youth or having someone else at the helm, they're not as strongly emphasized yet. He's already disguising speeches as dialogue, but at least the monologues don't go on for minutes.

I think True Romance falters when it tries to arouse sympathy for its young lovers. I found both the QT alter ego and his wife annoying and unlikable. Because of that, the ending made me feel nothing, and I was never really rooting for them throughout the journey. The supporting cast and their caricature characters were way more interesting.

I don't remember what I thought of True Romance back when it came out (I only remembered Pitt's pothead character and some Elvis stuff). Considering I haven't rewatched it earlier, I probably wrote it off as mediocre as today. I don't know what else to say. Well, I'm not a great Tarantino fan, but I respect that he's clearly writing for himself, damn others with their worthless opinions.

2.5

[CosmicRunaway]

(If you're reading this sentence, reply to this review with a picture of a dog; the first person to do this wins)
Were you just in a fun mood, or was this a clever way to see who actually reads the reviews instead of skimming them? :lol:

[CosmicRunaway]

Vermut has sectioned his film into three chapters, 'World', 'Devil' and 'Flesh' which represent the three enemies of the soul in Christianity.
That's an interesting catch that never would've occurred to me (as I'm not really familiar with Christian mythology). "Devil" is pretty obvious in retrospect though, haha.

* An extraordinary coincidence. When I saw Damián doing the jigsaw puzzle I thought back to a time when I'd just moved into a new apartment myself, and a jigsaw puzzle I did in the first few days while settling in. The Ravensburger 3000-piece puzzle of the painting of a naval battle happened to be exactly the same jigsaw that Damián gets given to himself in this film.
I have only, at most, helped complete a few 1000 piece puzzles lol. If it were even possible for me to finish one that's 3k, it would definitely takes ages.

[Torgo]

Safety Last! (1923) - 4.5

When I first watched this film a few or however many years ago (it's hard to remember this stuff nowadays lol), it was among my favorite silent films. Given the somewhat mixed (or generally positive) reactions it received in this thread from a few posters, I was wondering whether I'd like it less this time around, but while I can understand some of the issues people have with it (the cat gag is definitely problematic and cruel), I found the film to be just as great as I remembered it being, more even. Unlike some other silent comedies I've seen (e.g. Chaplin), this film didn't move me or have much emotional resonance, but I don't think it needed it. Through a variety of cleverly-timed and well-executed gags, this film ranks among the most entertaining silent comedies I've seen. When I first watched it, I felt it dragged somewhat in the first couple acts, but that portion of the film fared much better for me this time around. (If you're reading this sentence, reply to this review with a picture of a dog; the first person to do this wins) Not only did I find more gags to enjoy, but I also enjoyed the punchlines at the ends of a few of them. For instance, after a customer has Lloyd bring out every piece of fabric he has on display to the counter, she says she likes the first one he showed her the most and only takes a small piece of it. Brilliant. The climbing sequence in the final act is easily the highlight of the film though. The obstacles Lloyd runs into throughout the climb are memorable and the cat and mouse chase his friend gets into along the way makes for an extra layer of suspense. I can see why the sequence is as iconic as it is. Since the strengths of the film revolve around the precision-timing and execution of its gags, I found that any attempts by the film to insert pathos into the mix fell flat for me (Lloyd imagining his girlfriend wearing a piece of jewelry or how he's not being able to buy any food after spending his entire paycheck). Fortunately though, these scenes are few and very far in between. Overall, I'm glad I got to revisit this film as it went up for me this viewing.

Next Up: The Secret of Roan InishGood review, although I like the scenes with pathos a bit more than you do for how they humanize Lloyd's character and add stakes to his quest to make Mildred believe he's made something of himself.

I'm not just taking an opportunity to show off my dog. Honest.

https://i.imgur.com/NUy3KJk.jpg

[Miss Vicky]

(If you're reading this sentence, reply to this review with a picture of a dog; the first person to do this wins)

I read the sentence last night, but was too lazy to post a dog pic because someone had already beat me to it and I don't have a dog.

Perhaps a Dawg pic will suffice?
https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/RattieGirl/scaredydawg.jpg

[SpelingError]

Were you just in a fun mood, or was this a clever way to see who actually reads the reviews instead of skimming them? :lol:
Both, I suppose lol

[SpelingError]

Thanks for the dog pics y'all :up:

[PHOENIX74]

I have only, at most, helped complete a few 1000 piece puzzles lol. If it were even possible for me to finish one that's 3k, it would definitely takes ages.

https://cdn.mysalemarketplace.com/v1/files/661a773f-0149-4658-a801-64d9880fefe3/35377ef0-be17-413d-8842-8abe8b15f889.jpg?profile=img&b

Ravensburger keeps upping the ante, since there are those who keep wanting to beat their own records. This puzzle is over 40,000 pieces. Personally, I got to finish a few 6000 piece ones before I retired (they take about a year of dedication, and who has the time these days really) - I never tried to beat that record mainly because of the space you need though. Even for 6000 piece ones I needed to buy a big board to slide it around on. That 3000 piece one Damián is doing in Magical Girl was the very last puzzle I ever did - back in 2014.

[Miss Vicky]

This puzzle is over 40,000 pieces. Personally, I got to finish a few 6000 piece ones before I retired.

That's just nuts. 1,000 pieces is my limit but I usually won't do more than 500. I'm not a patient person and I have cats that like to mess with stuff so anything that takes more than a day to complete just isn't going to happen.

[PHOENIX74]

That's just nuts. 1,000 pieces is my limit but I usually won't do more than 500. I'm not a patient person and I have cats that like to mess with stuff so anything that takes more than a day to complete just isn't going to happen.

I had a free-roaming bird that used to like to steal pieces and take them back to it's cage. Nowadays I have cats as well, so that helps keep me in retirement. Especially young Pinky, who loves to get into absolutely everything. Probably just as well I don't have that bird anymore...

[CosmicRunaway]

This puzzle is over 40,000 pieces.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a02a510dbd4887fe19bfaf7dc98fed8/tumblr_np8d3g3NdC1re3x32o1_400.gifv

[jiraffejustin]

Safety Last

The story in this film seems secondary to the gags, which is totally fine, I'm sure that may be the case in some Keaton films. Off the top of my head, it doesn't seem that is the case with Chaplin films. And like I said, that's totally fine, that isn't what makes one better than the other. I think the thing that makes Chaplin and Keaton better than Lloyd is that they are just funnier. I am basing that off very little exposure to Lloyd, but this film does feel a tier below the best of Chaplin and Keaton. It's impossible for me not to compare the three of them, but this film can stand on its own as a solid, fun movie. The gags are usually worthwhile, but almost never blow-away funny. There are impressive stunts that are easy to appreciate. I do like how the film is a big setup for the final act which is just a comedic stunt show of climbing the side of the building. Solid film.

[pahaK]

Started watching Thunder Road today, but it's one of those that I just can't finish in one day. 100% not my kind of movie.

[Siddon]

http://cinesavant.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5733g.jpg

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Midnight Cowboy was made by John Schlesinger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Schlesinger) of the British New Wave which was highly influenced by the French New Wave and decided to come to Hollywood...by making a film of New York. And that's kinda what makes Midnight Cowboy so good...the film is a result of several movements and ideologies brought together in a compelling story.

The film has a duel aspect to the film where it's about Joe Buck coming to New York to work as a male prostitute where he is quickly disillusioned. But the film is also about Joes PTSD and about sexual events of his childhood/young adulthood that framed his personality. He is both naive and empty...it's a testament to the Voight performance that he's able to walk this line. We often think of the film as a buddy film because it was promoted as such. Dustin Hoffman plays Rizzo who is I believe Puerto Rican or Italian, he has the physical embodiment of Bucks mental issues. Someone who likely worked as a prostitute himself and likely carrying a disease (I'm guessing syphilis).

The films biggest flaw is it's about homosexuality, the idea of "gay panic" as the 60's moved on we got our first view of homosexuality and the problems with the homosexual in New York. We have the self-hating religious version, the college virgin, and the predatory masochist. Buck want's but he's constantly confronted by men which he doesn't want. It doesn't help that it's implied his mother sodomized him when he was little, and he was raped and cuckolded in Texas. The film is constantly hitting you over the head with the darkest possible elements of homosexuality. It's provocative but also terribly dated and we know in the years that followed that these images and ideas are heavily exaggerated.

And really that's kinda my biggest issue with the film is that every scene is very awkward and a little to long almost to the point of self indulgence to go with the self loathing. It's a great film but when you are a message film from 50 years ago the message has a habit of changing and you are left with something else. I love the French New Wave and do not care for the British New Wave...this is really in the middle of the two.

[cricket]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

85853

[Allaby]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

85853

Glad he is doing better.

[SpelingError]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

85853

Glad your dog is doing okay.

[CosmicRunaway]

Randy looks so happy there! Glad he's feeling better :heart:

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah...Randy!

[pahaK]

Yeah...Randy!

https://youtu.be/9WjYGlB8T9s

[edarsenal]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

85853

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

[PHOENIX74]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

85853

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll36/Bigsteve87/Gifs/carlton-dance-gif.gif

[Siddon]

Since yesterday Randy has suddenly gotten better thank god so I'm back. Will have a write up of Mad Love in tomorrow.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=85853


Compliments to your taxidermist...I had the same thing done with mother.

[cricket]

Mad Love

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s90/obviouslysubtle/lamourbraque2-1.png

I was looking forward to this movie, and while I wasn't really disappointed, it was a bit hard to take it seriously. Based on the same book, Kurosawa's The Idiot (1951) is far superior and doesn't contain any of the same ridiculousness. It's haywire from start to finish and that was mostly fine. Boredom never crept in but that sort of thing has a shelf life for a lot of viewers. There wasn't any particularly good reason to like or enjoy any of the characters yet somehow I did as there was some charisma and charm that broke through. The acting seemed pretty good for what they were going for. I liked how the movie looked but the music was often cheesy, much in the way it was in many 80's American movies. I was reminded of many other films during the course of the runtime but I thought as a whole it was a fairly unique film. Worth watching.

3+

[cricket]

Dolores next

[Thief]

https://i.gifer.com/origin/7b/7baa4bfd3a5b92a82575358c150f9a49_w200.gif

*Checking the deadline to see in how much of a hole I am*

[cricket]

Dolores next

https://i.gifer.com/origin/7b/7baa4bfd3a5b92a82575358c150f9a49_w200.gif

*Checking the deadline to see in how much of a hole I am*

Maybe I should reconsider:bea:

[Thief]

Maybe I should reconsider:bea:

https://c.tenor.com/VDrcoVb3nrQAAAAM/not-a-quitter-aint-ever-been-a-quitter.gif

:laugh: To be fair, three of the films in question I've seen so many times, I could write something without rewatching them so if I do roughly 1 or 2 of the films a week, I'll be ok. I've just been focused on some of the Oscar nominated films from this year for an interview this week.

[Miss Vicky]

https://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics2/midnightcowboy.gif
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Date Watched: 3/8/2022
Rewatch: Yes.

I first watched this movie back in 2015 for the 60s countdown and, while I gave it a respectable ranking of #15 on that ballot, I had sort of forgotten about it since then. So tonight's viewing was done with almost fresh eyes.

I don't have much to say that wasn't already covered multiple times in other people's write-ups, but I was pretty thoroughly engaged with this tale of desperation, suffering, shattered dreams, and the frail hope that comes with finding a connection with another person. On the surface, neither Joe nor Ratso are likable people. Ratso is a thief and a low-life who preys on Joe's naivete. Joe, at least at the start, appears to be a cartoonish buffoon. They're both homophobic - sometimes violently so - and toss around a certain F word like it's nothing.

And yet, I don't find that to be problematic nor does it detract from my ability to invest in them. Rather that homophobia serves to make the pair feel more real and as the film progresses it becomes obvious that much of this is facade. They both are desperate for human contact and affection and they find that in each other. The film certainly puts forward the suggestion that there may be more to their relationship than simple friendship, but whether or not they are anything other than heterosexual is not something the film ever answers either for the audience or for the characters themselves. But ultimately the answer to that doesn't make any difference. Midnight Cowboy is a tragic story about two men - irreparably damaged by their circumstances - who find love and comfort in each other. It is moving, well-crafted, and well deserving of its reputation as one of the film greats - even if it might not ever rank as a personal favorite for me.

4

Just have rewatches of Raiders and True Romance left. Gonna try to finish this weekend.

[SpelingError]

Glad to see so many positive reactions towards Midnight Cowboy so far.

[Torgo]

Jaws - 5 CONTAINS SPOILERS

This remains a terrifying thriller almost 50 years after it came out and a more than worthy one to be considered the first blockbuster. What makes it hold up after all these years? A lot of things, particularly that it’s a masterclass in tension buildup and release. It's a happy accident that the shark prop rarely worked properly because it makes its appearances count, and what a prop it is, one that I believe pays off what Quint and Hoopers' obsessions with sharks, John Williams’ timeless theme and of course its first attacks where it goes unseen make it look like in your head. What's more, the buildup works so well because the movie doesn't rush through it. The dinner scene from Brody's cute moment with his son to getting to know Hooper's backstory is a highlight for this reason, and it seems like the kind of scene that would be half as long or removed entirely were the movie to be made today. My favorite example of how deliberate the movie is about buildup and possibly favorite scene in any movie, though, is the one with Quint’s "U.S.S. Indianapolis" monologue. Aside from it being a strong counterargument that it’s better to show than tell, it proves that great writing and acting are just as mesmerizing as the best special effects. As for the grand finale, from its Kirk/McCoy/Spock-like character interplay to it taking to place on a, well, not big enough (or functional) boat, it pays off all the anticipation and then some, and that Brody - the guy who is most like us for how he knows as much about sharks as we do - gets to pull the trigger is the icing on the cake.

The best movies offer something new to think about each time you watch them, with this viewing making me wonder if the shark is not actually the villain. After all, it's just an animal with a big appetite. I was going to write something about Mayor Vaughn (any of you other Twilight Zone Hall of Famers recognize him from One for the Angels?) being the villain, but his confession to Brody I always seem to forget that his children were also on the beach paints him in a different light. Could the movie be saying that the American way is the villain? It's a system that encourages Vaughn to keep the beaches open (on Independence Day, no less, which I know is a holiday, but it’s hardly a coincidence), sends Quint on a secret mission that leaves him a traumatized husk of a person when it (tragically) ends; in short, one that seems to idealize death and destruction. There is optimism that people from such different walks of life like Brody, Quint and Hooper got together to save their community. All the same, when you consider they did it to save a community, should it really be a minor miracle that it happened at all?