17th MoFo Hall of Fame

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I don't know if you are aware for how terrible the reviews for this film were but some highlights (because I wondered why I skipped this one)
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/libertine/reviews/
Reviews are nothing but other people's opinions and not something I care much about.



2/3 done of Day for Night. That has to be the hardest thing to watch during my time in HoFs. Hopefully I can finish it tomorrow.
Why? Is it the quality of film making? Or is it the what the story is about? I remember you said you don't like romance in a story, is that the reason?



Why? Is it the quality of film making? Or is it the what the story is about? I remember you said you don't like romance in a story, is that the reason?
That's a tough one to answer. I'll try to come up with something in my review but the film isn't just connecting with me at all. With many highly valued films that I don't like I can still see how someone else could but here I'm drawing completely blank. Maybe it's trying to show us how boring it is to make movies so that we could appreciate them more?

And you've misunderstood my stance on romance. I rarely like films that are nothing but a romance but I have absolutely no issue with romance being part of the film (like my own nomination here, romance is quite a big part of it too).



@Miss Vicky

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)


This was hyped so much before I first seen it and it was a serious let-down. Much to my friends' amusement because they all loved it. This film feels mindless to me. From its ridiculous violence and plot to its attempts at coming across as cool. To the myriad of characters that I didn't give a damn about. It screamed "90s BRO!" and I hated it.

I expected to hate it again but I liked it a little more this time. The ending scene is a classic and my initial reaction that this was a cheap knock off has waned. It contains the same stylistic trappings but there's enough of a London gangster vibe with its setting, slang and tone that I don't feel Guy Ritchie is ripping everything from a handbook. It reminded me a bit of The Krays (1990) but with a lot more dark humour. Plus, pretty much all of Ritchie's films that have come after are even worse in my opinion. This film also birthed the career of Jason Statham. There'd be no Statham vs. Shark without Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
7/14 The Dressmaker (2015)

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

I really liked this one quite a bit. The most enticing thing about this particular film is how it blends certain genres and moods to solidify its own atmosphere, it feels very different. It's warm and inviting, yet somewhat mean and secluding in some way, it's very arresting. I can't quite remember how competitive the acting landscape was in 2015, but I would've definitely have considered Kate Winslet for a nomination, she was electrifying in this role; she carries the right amount of badassery, vulnerability, spice and charm to this character - I was very invested in the protagonist. The supporting cast is also pretty good, I really how all the dynamics played out on screen and all the character interactions kept this film entertaining the whole way through. The way the inciting incident is played out very much feels original, and the whole mystery shenanigans were for the most part well-presented and unraveled appropriately, even if the whole thing I found to be overly simplistic. Overall, I can see this being quite memorable going forward, it was very, very solid, and I thought it worked well for what it set out to do.

SCORE - 78/100


@Miss Vicky



7/14 The Dressmaker (2015)
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

...The most enticing thing about this particular film is how it blends certain genres and moods to solidify its own atmosphere, it feels very different. It's warm and inviting, yet somewhat mean and secluding in some way, it's very arresting...
That's an Australian thing, they make movies that are very unique to the continent. If you look at a list of Australian films you can see they levitate towards this style of film making. Which I think is cool.

BTW The Dressmaker is on the MoFo Directed by Women list, for those who like to update their list.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
That's an Australian thing, they make movies that are very unique to the continent. If you look at a list of Australian films you can see they levitate towards this style of film making. Which I think is cool.

BTW The Dressmaker is on the MoFo Directed by Women list, for those who like to update their list.
What are some of the other Australian films you love? I find the style to be rather appealing.



What are some of the other Australian films you love? I find the style to be rather appealing.
OK, I only know a few off the top of my head. And these aren't exactly like The Dressmaker but they kinda-sorta have the same feeling in the eclectic, genre mixing, world building of the movie.

The Dish (2000)

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)


There's another one I love but I think I might use that for a future HoF nom. Oh and of course The original Road Warrior is another one.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
OK, I only know a few off the top of my head. And these aren't exactly like The Dressmaker but they kinda-sorta have the same feeling in the eclectic, genre mixing, world building of the movie.

The Dish (2000)

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)


There's another one I love but I think I might use that for a future HoF nom. Oh and of course The original Road Warrior is another one.
I actually have heard of The Dish, I have no idea what The World's Fastest Indian is, but that is a title if I've ever seen one! Will probably end up watching them at some point.



I actually have heard of The Dish, I have no idea what The World's Fastest Indian is, but that is a title if I've ever seen one! Will probably end up watching them at some point.
Indian, as in Indian brand motorcycles. It has the guy from Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins. It's based on a true story and the wow was that guy colorful!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@Miss Vicky





Incendies


. . . f@ck me


While nearly everyone previously has spoken about the twist, it is VERY IMPORTANT you DO NOT READ this review if you haven't seen it yet.

Because you can NOT speak about this film without talking about it. And, thankfully, when glimpsing reviews as they came in without delving into them, I was very happy to have skipped over a very important aspect that had a helluva impact.
Said impact brought the reading of the letters to the father and the son, by that person and the final reading of the last letter by the twins all the more emotional.

The fact that I didn't see it coming and just how invested I was, especially when I thought the initial reading of the will and a few scenes after made me question the interest and involvement that may be lacking says a lot of the Director.
And on a secondary note, I should have known not to doubt a film nominated by @Cosmic Runaway to delve into the emotional with an artistic guile. Silly, silly moi.

And for some odd reason I had completely forgotten Villenvue's past films (don't ask me why, I have no idea) and that added unbiased viewing even added more to the eventual mesmerizing effect of the film. And, in the process, those visceral moments that, without going into the absolute graphics, had an immense effect overall.
Along with the locations, the people along the way and the fact that the twins had to visit their mother's homeland really brought a more substantial impact to what she had to impart to them.

The harsh truth.

Even more so for the brother/father.
As he read the words of Nawal addressed to the father. And then, the beautiful words to the son. Very, VERY powerful.
One of contempt. The second; of love.
While the twins will have all kinds of issues to contend with, I think the son/father, having experienced the horrors of that time and became a tool of that horror was able to find something beautiful, that we all seek. A mother's love.
And that, my friends, is some very powerful stuff. Expressed in that final scene with him visiting her grave. The sorrowful peacefulness of it all.


And, you're d@mn right, this one does come with a well earned: BRAVO.
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~Mr Minio



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels





Probably Guy Ritchies most overrated film? It's true when people call Guy Ritchie a Tarantino Import. While I admire his efforts here for his first feature length film, I can't help but feel that it tries way too hard. I much prefer his second effort, Snatch.

Tis a shame, because I really like the set-up. It screams crime filled fun and I might be the one and only person on board the remake train for this one. Make it look more gritty and less indie, the yellow hue wasn't jellin' with me on this viewing, which is my second.

The acting was decent, but the characters should have been more memorable, more in line with what we got in Snatch. The comedy for me fell flat, the violence was tame. Everything felt like it was building up just to blue ball me. I don't hate the film, I'm just not a fan of it.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



Watched Ghostwatch today. I'm little behind on my reviews but will try to have a write-up done in few days. I didn't like it either but at least it's a lot better than that Truffaut which I haven't managed to finish yet.






Pixote is the story of a young man in 1980's Brazil thrown into a prison/juvenile facility with a group of other young men. While in that prison he confronts rape, murder, and corruption. Eventually he gets out and begins his new life as a pimp (he's 12 I think).


Anyways this is definitely a cricket nom, for me the film is practically unwatchable and borderline child pornography. This movie has way to many naked little boys the first fifteen minutes in you have a child sodomized and in the next scene you have the blood on his sheets. While the film reminds me somewhat of Samuel Fuller's society films and Passonlini's exploitation for me I could barely even get through it.