The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame IV

I'd probably give it a .

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

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

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

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

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~Mr Minio

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

Starting Touch of Evil now....

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Man on Wire (2008)


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

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

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

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

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

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

Grade:

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

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

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

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

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

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

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

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

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

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

Grade: ?

Is cricket alive and well?

He's in escrow!

Fly Neiba Fly!

@cricket, how is this prediction going?

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

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

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

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

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

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

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