23rd MoFo Hall of Fame

And it's probably people who aren't Jewish that talked about the movie being offensive. That seems to be commonplace these days. I just can't imagine a well adjusted person being offended by portraying negative stereotypes against them as foolish. You'd think it would have the opposite effect.

Nah, I know several Jewish people (online) who were pretty offended. However, they themselves said that it wasn't the movie's problem, it's just not something they can really watch. Same thing with black people and certain movies. It's about the triggering nature of it, not the intention. Same thing with portraying a rape in a movie. Just because the rapist is portrayed as an evil person does not mean that people watching won't be triggered and upset.

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Is there any doubt JoJo is an anti-hate movie? And if the bothered people say it isn't the film's problem, they probably have internal issues they need to deal with. I would say that's different than the movie being offensive. I wouldn't put rape in the same category.

The style of this film is what really makes it stick out: The story is very simple and the stakes are not particularly high, the music is used very sparsely and isn't melodramatic, none of the characters have big emotional outbursts, it's all so quaint. Maybe that's why Ozu is so beloved, his films are simply there to provide a nice, comfortable feeling. The way that dialogue is shot in this film is very unique and visually appealing, with the camera looking directly at the actor when they are speaking. I'm surprised I haven't seen more people use this technique. Speaking of, the acting in this film is great (even if they smile a bit too much), I love how due to there being no exaggeration or emotional outbursts, all the emotions have to be read by looking at the actors faces. The story is also well written, with the majority taking the form of family small talk, which gets us to know the characters really well and like them.

Great film @ahwell, will have to check out more by Ozu.

All I was doing was responding to your previous statement that you couldn't get along with people who were offended by Jojo. Does it matter if they have internal issues? Maybe you wouldn't put rape in the same category, but maybe others would.

The Great Mouse Detective came at a time of a big slump for Disney, and most American animation in general. Looking at their other 80s movies, it's not the most impressive catalogue. The Great Mouse Detective isn't a huge influential feature like The Little Mermaid would be 3 years later. But it's also just charming fun, a really enjoyable story, and great characters.

The composer for this is Henry Mancini... yes, the same Mancini of Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Touch of Evil, and many more classic movies. He does a great job here, incorporating John Williams-style orchestral techniques from the 70s and 80s with that classic slapstick Disney style of the 30s and 40s. The song numbers aren't the greatest, but I love the incidental portions.

The animation here is also actually a huge plus. Some of the Disney's animated movies from this time period look ugly for some reason. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it boggles my mind that Fantasia and Pinocchio were made twenty years before The Sword in the Stone or The Black Cauldron. Here, there is a really warm look that I can get behind. At times it almost reminds me of the softer animation of Miyazaki's 80s masterpieces.

The film also boasts surprisingly memorable characters and plot. I looove Basil so much, and for me, his mutterings and contraptions are what carry the movie. The bat sidekick's obnoxious voice can be a bit much, but also they don't overuse him, which is a relief. The villain is perfect, not deep or well-thought out, but perfect. And Dawson, who does practically nothing, is charming and lovable.

All in all, I don't know if I can say much more. This is a really really fun movie that sort of surprised me. It's by means the best Disney movie, but also perhaps in the upper echelon.

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No I know. I just mean that people who are easily offended are not the type of people that are generally fun to be around. I don't really want to have to watch what I say.

What is that even supposed to mean? You might let slip a Holocaust/rape joke or something? It's not difficult to have a filter.

Ok, anyways, I'll stop. I didn't want to make this a big thing, I'm sorry.

It's ok we're just talking. It feels good to not have to be concerned that what you say may bother others. Don't you think a Nazi would be offended by the movie? After all, they're the ones made out to look poorly. Of course, who cares if a Nazi is offended. But if that's true, yet a Jewish person is offended, my response would be grow up and get stronger because life ain't easy. It's just a movie and the jokes aren't on you anyway. And I don't let holocaust or rape jokes slip, I tell them proudly.

Believe it or not, I have a group that jokes around about such matters as well. All depends on the people obviously.
For instance, I’m not going to joke about rape around my friend, who is a rape victim and is still triggered by it.
Or people who take it seriously. It doesn’t make them “unfun”. It just means I have to watch what I say around them, and being polite about it.

Sure, rape jokes certainly have a select audience, but if people are going to be offended by JoJo Rabbit, my response would be go talk to someone.

And I definitely believe you. If you didn't know people who joke about such things, I'd figure you live in a bubble.

Movies like Jojo Rabbit and even Blazing Saddles need to be taken as satire. I will defend a movies right to such until I die

I agree. I think these movies help race relations.

Especially Blazing Saddles

Late Spring (1949)


Late Spring is the story of a father and daughter in post war Japan, told in typical Ozu fashion of low stakes boring shots and a simplistic message. Normally I hate Ozu I went through his ouvre and aside from Good Morning I've hated every one but giving this one a second watch I will admit that this one isn't half bad. Their is something to be said that everything interesting that happens in these characters lives happened pre-film but the soft war of politeness between the leads is entertaining. It's also nice that the film treats post-WWII Japan with a sense of realism and not the overt drama that other filmmakers would take. At the end I assumed this would be my last place film but it's moved up a bit on second watch. I still don't care for this filmmaker but I'll give this one it's props.

This. I so agree with this.

I just finished Hunger. It was quite different from what I expected but unfortunately, I didn't particularly like it. We'll see if my eventual review will make me look like a cold and heartless a-hole but in the meantime, I'm ordering myself a pizza to repel my own hunger.

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I got off work early today, so after I get something to eat, I should have time to watch another nomination. I'm not sure what I want to watch next though. Late Spring and Schindler's List have had a few reviews each up lately, so maybe I'll go with one of those.

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Hunger (2008)

After a quick initial check of all nominations, I expected Hunger to be a traditional historical drama. What I ended up seeing was an artsy film that distances itself from historical events and instead focuses on vague ideas of guilt and heroism, often presented in poetic shots like a grittier Malick.


There's little context to what happens inside the prison. We're only shown the dire conditions of the Irish prisoners (largely of their own making), the righteousness of their struggle and the brutality of the guards. The only stain in IRA's shining armor is the shooting in the retirement home, but that too is rationalized by the guard's earlier actions. We're not even told why Bobby is in prison (to make him feel more like an unjustly persecuted saint, no doubt).

The Irish Question itself is an interesting topic, and I don't know enough to take sides (I'll be watching a documentary about the Irish War of Independence soon, though). What I do know is that it's naive to single-mindedly condemn the Brits for responding to IRA violence and armed revolt (this doesn't depend on whether one sees IRA's actions justified or not). For this reason, I believe that a more traditional story-based narrative would have been a better fit than a stylized glorification of a martyr.

I must admit that I find the concepts of this film rather alien, too. I've never understood the effect of a hunger strike (it's a prolonged suicide - either let them die or force-feed them). Even more bizarre is the soiling of the cells, another act that mainly affects the arbitrator himself. Maybe I lack in humanity, but I didn't feel anything for the prisoners. I think that a nation that can be blackmailed with pity is too soft.

Hunger is occasionally good-looking but pretentious and one-sided in its presentation of the conflict. It goes all-in with emotions and ethics but fails to connect (at least with me).

Just saw Christiane F for the first time since early high school. Still a damn effective film. Dirty, filthy, unpleasant and it really sells this world. Even for how much it wants to be the "drugs are bad" movie - or how much it at least feels like that - it's still so authentic and in-your-face that it earns almost every scene...

Some problems throughout, but none too major to annoy me. It was mostly the way things wrapped up that felt too predictable, too fast and too "easy". And the very-very ending came out of nowhere. Felt weird. I wish the climax and ending had fit the style, tone and approach for the movie better.

But overall, an immersive and authentic experience. The acting is amazing by these no-names and the withdrawal scene is still as nasty as my brain remembered it to be 15 years ago.

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