17th MoFo Hall of Fame

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If you guys like The Innocents you might check out The Turn of the Screw (1999) It's a BBC movie with Colin Firth and the same story of course, but with subtle differences. I watched it after my first watch of The Innocents and I liked both movies.




@Miss Vicky

The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966) N

A man and his son are walking from somewhere to nowhere in particular. Soon a talking marxist crow accompanies them and starts to tell a tale of two medieval monks trying to preach gospel to the birds. Both the crow's story and the men's encounters in the present share common themes creating at times a rather preachy leftist fable.


First half of the film is pretty decent. Its jabs at religion fall on fertile ground with me and the fantastic nature of its world make it positively unpredictable. Also the contrast between light presentation and heavy subject is nice idea that works reasonably well.

Latter half is unfortunately much weaker. To me it loses credibility when after mocking catholic church it suddenly finds salvation in communism and in general mourns the abandonment of ideologies. Somewhat clever satire about Christianity turns to a praise of another failing dogma as Pasolini demonstrates inability to turn his perception towards socialism.

I'm pretty sure that some aspects of the film were lost to me due to lack of knowledge about Italy (especially the contemporary post-war Italy). Like many others I had to use Google to know who's funeral footage was used and obviously during the film I also didn't get the Togliatti reference concerning the crow. There's probably quite a bit more profoundly Italian stuff that doesn't connect and while it isn't exactly a flaw it does affect my personal experience.

Almost good first half that's both funny and witty. Way too preachy and tunnel visioned second half. Not bad but definitely not good either.




Looks like we've had a nice little cluster of reviews and posts. I've also received ballots from @CosmicRunaway and @CitizenRules - who are now both free to post in this thread as frequently or infrequently as they'd like.

I know it's been a few days since I last posted anything on the forum and quite a few days since I last posted in here but I've been checking the thread frequently and trying to stay on top of updating people's review counts and linking their write-ups. On that note, I've been making a point of giving people rep for their write-ups - both as a way to let people know I've seen these posts and as a way to help me keep track of what has and has not been linked to the second post. If you post a write-up and do not receive rep from me for more than 18 hours - check the second post. If it's not linked there, send me message because I might have overlooked it.

I've also been staying on top of tracking people's posting frequency. All of the remaining participants are current on their check-ins, though @Luis will need to post on or before Friday to avoid missing a check-in.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
The Aviator



I actually had only seen this once before, but I really liked it the first go around. I think it's equally rewarding the second time around. The strength of the film lies around the story, how true it is to the real tale is unknown. To me but that doesn't really matter to me either. It seems like Scorsese took this in as a bit of a passion project. Perhaps he is a fan of aviation;it really seems like he has a liking to it with how much effort he put into the flying scenes, which I thought were a really strong part of the film. I've grown to become a bit of an aviation fan as well so maybe that's why I enjoy the film a bit too.

I thought the acting from Di Caprio was really well done. Really the acting was good from all involved. I actually thought Blanchett was really good. I've never really been wowed by Hepburn and I think that she played that role pretty well.

I thought the film looked really well too. I didn't really notice any of the weird color schemes because I was too fascinated by what was going on. I guess I see what people mean by it, but it didn't ruin anything for me

I'd say this is one of Scorseses more underrated works. It's different than his normal, but also shows he is not just a one trick pony. Maybe the film will fair decently in this HOF.




I never thought that. I thought Kerr's character was sexually repressed.
But the film was set in the late 1890s. I think saying she was sexually repressed is only by 21st century standards. For a 19th century single woman her reactions were in the norm.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
I'll be watching Day for Night next, probably not until Sunday or Monday although maybe I can sneak it in on Friday.

I'll be waiting to watch Rush and Lean on Pete until I see more reviews from Neiba and Luis.






Ghostwatch(1992) is a film with an excellent concept though it's execution could use a bit of work. The idea behind the series was to take a news program and run it Halloween to confuse and scare the audience at home. Some of the actors are very good others are not which takes a bit from the film. Also the pacing is a little off, I think if they went subtle for the first two acts you only need a little scare for the third. This film goes insane in the last 15 minutes where had it gone for an hour it might have been a horror classic.


It was a good watch and purchase (I bought this movie) but it left me wanting more.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I'll be watching Day for Night next, probably not until Sunday or Monday although maybe I can sneak it in on Friday.

I'll be waiting to watch Rush and Lean on Pete until I see more reviews from Neiba and Luis.
Haven't seen Lean on Pete, but you enjoy Rush.


I'm going to try to watch Let the Right One In tonight when I get home for a Halloween treat.
__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio



But the film was set in the late 1890s. I think saying she was sexually repressed is only by 21st century standards. For a 19th century single woman her reactions were in the norm.
I'm not sure what you mean, but I thought she was unfulfilled.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Haven't seen Lean on Pete, but you enjoy Rush.


I'm going to try to watch Let the Right One In tonight when I get home for a Halloween treat.
They both look good.

It's just a matter that I'm short on time to watch films so I can't be bothered to watch too much before this deadline.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
They both look good.

It's just a matter that I'm short on time to watch films so I can't be bothered to watch too much before this deadline.
completely understand that, it is quite the work load, but thankfully it's full of films I've wanted to see or been meaning to revisit. And that REALLY helps.





Wasn't expecting this to be a comedy! Overall the film IS pretty funny (Especially the monk segment). The soundtrack was very good, as is to be expected from Morricone. The title sequence was very original, never heard of a film before where the main credits are sung. The main performances were good too (Loved that little neck move Toto kept making). Also woah, the Italian censors were WAY more lenient than the American ones were back then (I seriously can't believe they got away with 'You have nice t*ts'!)

But unfortunately, the film isn't all pros. The second half is more focused on Pasolini showing his politics down the viewer's throat. If the whole film was a silly comedy like the first half I would 'love' it instead of 'liking' it.

Very good film @MijaFrost, I wouldn't have seen this if it weren't for you.




Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
4/14 Lean on Pete

Director: Andrew Haigh

MY NOMINATION

(excuse the "please watch it" comments in my review, I copied and pasted this from my review thread, obviously you guys will watch it since you're participating. I re-watched this again and I feel the same way I did before so I figured I'd just copy and paste the review)

This is inevitably going to be one of this year's most overlooked/under-watched films. But y'all for real, if you have a chance to see this, please do so, it's seriously good. A24 continues to stand out as the independent studio to keep tabs on as they deliver another masterful film that is arguably also their best one. If it's actually the best for me I'm not sure, I'm very much in love with other films like Lady Bird, but this has got to be in the Top three.

The film tells the story of a semi-poor, yet lovable and content teenager who gets a summer job involving a horse, don't let the simple plot distract you though, as this film beautifully captures the essence of someone being forced to grow up following difficult circumstances, it's exponentially resonant. The narrative takes some deeply emotional twists and turns, and the protagonist is just so likable, that you basically suffer with him, not going to lie, I was legit crying by the end of this film; not tearing up, not sad, full-on crying. Charlie Plummer delivers an absolutely fantastic performance, he is basically now at the top of my radar when it comes to promising young talent. The film normalizes tragedy in such a hard-hitting way, and it displays themes about how life could totally turn you on your head at any moment, regardless of how blessed you think you are. Forreal, if you guys want to watch a deeply human story about life and loss, please give this one a shot, it truly deserves one. I'm always hesitant on giving films a perfect score on the first watch, but even so, I think I have seen the first film released in 2018 that I would call a "masterpiece"

SCORE - 97/100



Weird is relative.
Ghostwatch (1992)

Tonight I viewed Ghostwatch to celebrate Halloween. It was aired 26 years ago today, on October 31, 1992, so that was fitting. (Coincidentally, I only realized it was a Halloween special after it started playing and the presenters announced the date.)

I liked how realistic it seemed at first... Very '90s. I can totally see why people thought it was a live television program.

Later on when things became a lot more over-the-top I hope most became aware it was fake, but it would still be unsettling. I don't watch much horror, personally, and especially not about ghosts, possessions, or slasher-type films, because I live alone and I'm a scaredy-cat (on that note, you won't look the same at cats after seeing this either). So, I did find it frightening in the last act, especially since it reminded me of an occurrence from my childhood. (I'm going to think twice about all the random noises I hear tonight...)

It was still worth watching, though. One of the best aspects of these Halls of Fame are these odd, intriguing little nominations that I wouldn't have heard of otherwise.

Let the Right One In (2008)

I watched this last week. It's more "my type" of horror, where it's not about the supernatural or possibly psychological scares, but is instead tangibly grounded and subtly foreboding. I wouldn't classify it in the same vein as a slasher either, because fictional vampires don't necessarily enjoy what they do or want to be serial killers, they just have no choice but to become predators to survive. (There are occasional exceptions, like in Only Lovers Left Alive, of course.)

Let the Right One In felt like the Michael Haneke version of a preteen fantasy romance. Atmospheric and quietly disturbing without showing much display of emotion, but rather the undercurrents of tension which lead up to sometimes horrifying climaxes, and then nonchalantly continue on to the next scene as though the prior tragic or potentially traumatizing events were no big deal, nothing to worry about.

I'm glad I watched it when the weather was cold outside, and the film would have had even more of an eerie effect had I seen it in winter while there was snow. It was good to finally cross this off my watchlist, and I wasn't disappointed.

@Miss Vicky



If you guys like The Innocents you might check out The Turn of the Screw (1999) It's a BBC movie with Colin Firth and the same story of course, but with subtle differences. I watched it after my first watch of The Innocents and I liked both movies.
I know it's not the case, but I'm imagining Colin Firth playing the baroness, and thinking that I'd totally watch that movie haha.

I did actually look for that film yesterday, but kept finding the 1974 and 2009 versions instead - though to be honest I didn't look that hard since I already had some films lined up to watch anyway. Have you seen either of those as well?



The great thing about The Innocents is it was sort of the bridge between the great English horror/thrillers of the 60's and the American Gothic horror adaptations of the 40's

Rebecca (1940)
Jane Eyre (1943)
The Uninvited (1944)
Gaslight (1944)

The Innocents (1961)

The Haunting (1963)
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
The Collector (1965)
10 Rillington Place (1971)



...I did actually look for that film yesterday, but kept finding the 1974 and 2009 versions instead - though to be honest I didn't look that hard since I already had some films lined up to watch anyway. Have you seen either of those as well?
I don't remember if I seen either of those or not. I might of?



The Hawks and the Sparrows


I didn't really have high hopes going in. For one, I saw it labeled as a comedy. I normally don't care for foreign language comedies, and the only one I can remember enjoying is Divorce Italian Style. Second, I've seen two other films from the director and though they were average at best.

The first 15 minutes were actually quite promising. I liked how the credits were sung and from there it seemed like it was going to be an enjoyable time. Then the bird came in and it felt goofy. Then there were other goofy parts. I didn't like the philosophical or religious aspects, normal for me. I did enjoy the wandering down the road from place to place and the meeting of different characters. It was just the in-between stuff I didn't care for. I liked the authentic feel, the look, and the score. Luna was hot and I had fleeting moments of enjoyment. Definitely not a bad watch but there's a lot here that doesn't suit my taste. I didn't hate it.

+


@Miss Vicky