17th MoFo Hall of Fame

I think so, before I was even joining them.

That was Nathaniel. I actually followed it up with another of his noms from the Second Chance HoF.
I was hoping someone would suggest one of his, THANKS cricket!
And I went and looked, 400 Blows won in the Third Hall of Fame and was nominated by Pussy Galore.

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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

What a horrible title. I heard this title and I instantly did not want to watch it. I know that you shouldn't judge a book based on the cover, but the title does absolutely nothing to draw me in. So imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch the film and found myself enjoying it a lot.

The film juggles two tones between present day and flashbacks. The present day stuff is light, funny and even quirky at times, while the flashbacks are depressing. The colour palette is enough to indicate these changes as everything in the past is dark and dreary, while today is bright and sunny.

Kate Winslet is gorgeous, she does a good job here, as usual. The one striking thing about this film is the beauty. The dresses look great, but it's the landscape that always caught my eye. Some really captivating images in the landscape here.

The community is small where everyone knows each other. Makes me think about living in a place like that. Some of the ages of the people felt off. Winslet and Hemsworth know each other? I would have thought he wouldn't of been around when she was. Small little things like this snap me out of the film for a split second.

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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

Similar to Incendies, I was mostly curious about this film due to the guy on the director's chair; Scorsese is great and this was a film of his I had not yet seen. Leonardo Dicaprio's performance was, as always, fantastic - he was able to sell every aspect of this troubled character; the ambition, the charm, the selfishness, the arrogance, and mental derangement, he was the main reason I was completely on board with the film. I didn't know this was a bipoc on Howard Hughes, so it caught me completely by surprise when it became apparent what the film was doing. Scorsese manages to balance the many chaotic endeavours of his life quite well, all the way to his career as a filmmaker and aviator, to the shenanigans involving his personal life and her descendance in morality. I don't have too much to say, it was a nice biopic, very interesting, didn't feel as long as it was. Nice film.

SCORE - 72/100

@Miss Vicky

@Miss Vicky





Uccellacci e uccellini (The Hawks and the Sparrows)

This is definitely one of those films that deserves and needs a secondary viewing. And if I had seen this earlier in the HoF I would have happily given it a secondary watch. Since my first was more of a rhythm-less man trying to figure out dance steps.
I was deciphering the pace and the sense of what was being expressed and the idealism behind the parables and how people in those stories were named after emotional characteristics. All of which seemed to have a parody to it all. There was a message to be given, but the delivery was somewhere within the humor of it all. Or perhaps that was the philosophical message of it. There is meaning, but that meaning is ludicrous.

Again, I truly need to see this again so that I can understand the rhythm and quit tripping over my own feet.

Got ed's ballot. That's eight people finished so far.

Still waiting on six other ballots.

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I think I've figured out an unconscious reason why I finish late in HoFs. . . Because once you're done, all you want to do is know the final results.

@Miss Vicky, just so you know I haven't quit, this is my viewing plan.

I'm gonna watch Lean on Pete this weekend. Watch three films next week, and watch Day For Night after Christmas. I mean it's all good if it's before the deadline yea?

@Miss Vicky


So I've been slowly going through Truffaut's filmography over the past six months. I'd seen a good few of his films prior and it's been fun to catch up on what I've missed in chronological order. Day for Night was one that I had seen several times before and it's an all time favourite for me. As in top thirty films ever. It bares some similarity to his romance oriented stuff in terms of dialogue and the filming style of The Wild Child plays a factor but I'd say this is more of an offshoot than typical Truffaut.

Right from the first scene which shows Alphonse walking through the square, I'm invested. Truffaut has Alphonse and Alexandre explain the plot with a fast edit displaying their personalities and the scene then takes on a different meaning, becoming more cohesive. The walk which initially seemed casual morphs into a walk with purpose. Lots of little nods like this with Truffaut capturing the movie making experience with all of its manic style. It's like a cart going down a railway track that the director can't stop, he just has to guide it as well as he can, making sure it doesn't fall off the rails. Impossible to control all of the different things going on around him and the sheer mass of ego. Day for Night sets out that the psychological side of a film set often can and does play a bigger part than the technical. And when an event happens it's forgotten about as if it didn't, the movie making process rolls on, stopping for nothing.

Truffaut loves movies to the point that it consumes his dreams. He throws references in left, right and centre to his influences though I chuckled at the Godard reference. I have to wonder whether Godard had already walked out of Day for Night or maybe the reference played a factor in him walking out.

The characterisation is thorough, with no real lead and the main cast each having their unique motivations and interactions with the set around them. The automatic focus tends to be on Bisset, Cortese and Léaud but I'd say Aumont, Baye, Champion and Truffaut himself are all excellent as well. I also enjoyed how the film analyses the psyche of an actor. Alexandre makes reference to how their job involves judgement and seeking approval or love. Séverine, Alphonse and Julie all fall into this in their own way during the film but Alexandre has seemingly reached a point in his career where he is past caring about judgement. However, he still feels a sense of understanding for the emotional response of the younger actors. Truffaut is casually critiquing and showing sympathy for the attention that actors receive and how they react to that.

10/14 The Libertine
Extremely quick post on The Libertine, can't even go out fishing for a picture or anything I have to get A LOT of stuff done today but I didn't want to go a day without posting a write up because I really wanted to hit double digits.

I didn't love the movie to be quite honest, I thought Depp was appropriate and his role was perfectly fine. I'm not the biggest judge on historical accuracy but the production design was very good in my eyes, and I thought Depp's opening monologue was fantastic. It was sort of disappointing to see the film flatline for the rest of its runtime. I couldn't develop a connection with anybody whatsoever, there wasn't anything in the film that held my investment, and I honestly felt myself longing for the film to end. It wasn't a bad film, it was just... boring. I'd rather watch a bad movie than a boring one but yeah. I still enjoyed some of the different approaches like the grainy secluded look, but overall... I was underwhelmed.
@Miss Vicky

As cricket posted, if you're looking for more Truffaut The 400 Blows is the go to.

I think both of you would like Shoot the Piano Player.

I'll definitely be looking into 400 Blows, and I've considered Shoot The Piano Player, so, THANK YOU

and enjoyed the review and insight into Day for Night

Lean on Pete (2017)

A very nice drama that I'm surprised it's not more well known. I liked how dry the whole thing was, with almost new music, the same pattern of colours through out all the movie, with few actors and a very straight forward storyline.
I didn't have a very good day today and this movie made feel really sad, which means it worked on waking all the supposed feelings I should be feeling.

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

Almost every single one of my friends loves Amelie. It's one of those movies one almost feels embarassed not liking. I watched it for the first time quite late in comparison to everyone I know and I remember understanding why it was held in such a high regard.
This time though it failed to surprise me. I am not sure why but this type of magical realism doesn't attract me as much as it used to (at least in movies, cause in books I've been falling in love with Garcia Marquez). It's all too pretty and too shiny all the time and that eventually seems too fake.

That being said, I have to admit that this films excells at what's trying to make. The cinematography is perfectly adapted to its theme, the storyline manages to keep you entertained the whole film and Audrey Tautou is one of those rare cases of absolute perfect casting. She is Amelie.
The soundtrack is very very good of course, and it holds its power even if has been played everywhere tons of times and everyone knows it.

+

Just finished school, finishing my final 4 films before saturday. Wohoo!

Can someone share a link for Day for Night please?

I found this one's visual and editing style to be eye-catching, the quick edits, the grainer feel, the deep yellows, all very unique. The poker scene was really well shot, I could feel the tension lurking between the characters. The main flaw I have with this film, (and I like the film), is how jumbled it all feels in the grand scheme of things. A million characters are introduced, we see them do things, and all of the sudden we are expected to follow along, I just think it could've been more coherent in that aspect. Even then, I really enjoyed the action sequences, they're explosive, lively, and are very smoothly shot. There really isn't much I want to say about this one, I overall really liked it even if I could feel myself drift away through the confusing exposition. Worth a watch.

SCORE - 70/100

12/14 Pixote

Pardon the messy write up on Pixote, normally I like to include a picture and have some sense of structure but I have to churn this one out quickly cause I have to get ready for a trip and watch the two remaining films today and tomorrow.

I really,really liked this one. I appreciated how there was no censor in displaying the terrible living conditions of Pixote and his friends, while also establishing the dangerous environment, and the more lighthearted dynamics between them.That being said, I did enjoy the first half that takes place in juvenile more than the second half - I was gripped from the beginning to end, I did not know for the life of me what was going to happen next, and I was very much invested in the whole injurious behind-the-scenes fiasco that was going on.

Once they escape the juvenile and we see Pixote experiment with different lifestyles and fall into crime, it was interesting for sure, but the film kinda lost some its structure, and in turn some of my attention. Still really like the film, and it's probably going to be memorable down the line. One particular scene involving a breast and a kid made me REALLY uncomfortable, I was like.... what?

Anyways, 75/100

@Miss Vicky

I finally saw Pixote last week... I'll write about it after I watch Rush, which might be today or tomorrow.

Incendies


As a Canadian, I'm ashamed I had not seen this film until just now. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars and lost....tis a shame.

There were a few moments where I sat there with my mouth agape. The bus slaughter was one, especially the aftermath when she takes the little girl hoping to save here, but it amounts to nothing. Then when the small events that take place lead to a shocking revelation I didn't know what to do with myself. It was horrifying to see this poor woman go through what she went through. The film showcases intense performances that feel shockingly real. Sure, Simon is a little underwritten, but the two female leads make up for it.

Villeneuve has beautifully shot films, Incendies is no different. Sure his films tend to be on the long side of the running time, but each scene felt justified to me.

I'm glad I watched this film and that it was nominated for the HoF. I probably never would have given it a chance otherwise.