23rd MoFo Hall of Fame

Christiane F.



Movies about drug addiction are always really hit and miss with me. But this one was a really good one and it's surprising that I haven't even heard about the film prior to this. Natja Brunckhorst did a sensational job in the lead role of Christiane F. I'd actually say it's one of the better child performances that I've seen. The story does well by showing us rather than making us pick a side with these characters. It isn't meant to be a very emotional film I'd say, rather focusing on the horrifying effects of addiction and early life bad choices.

I was also very impressed by the look of the film, which a lot of people really haven't commented on. But for being almost a 40 year old film, it doesn't look dated at all. The direction was very solid and again I could tell there was a lot of Passion put into this. I'd say the weakness was how it all ended, I was left with a wanting more feeling, but perhaps that was done intentionally. Overall I quite thought the film was good and successful with what it was trying to do. Can certainly see a film like this being used to curb those types of behaviors. Luckily from a drug perspective all I've done is smoked a few cigars. Baffles me some of the things that people will do to their bodies.

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Pleasantly surprised with how much^^you liked it. I figured it's not the type of movie you usually go for.

Yeah I was surprised how much I liked the movie too. One of my more favorite nominations of yours I've seen.

Stand by Me



Y'know reading everyone's reviews and it seems like the consensus is this is a "coming of age" story. Watching this film for the fifth or sixth time I've come to the conclusion that this isn't a real coming of age film but rather a collection of parables told in an epic style. Four boys go on a quest to find a dead body which is the framing device for the opportunity to tell as many smaller stories as possible. Each one of the smaller tales, tells a different moral lesson in a lot of ways this is King's version of religion.


The film is a bit of a mixed bag, it does a great job with Chekov's gun by the symbolism is at times eye-rollingly corny. For example you have a scene where the boys are told to stay on the right track...they diverge from the right track and end up with leaches. Talk about mixing your metaphors. Though I do admire how King keeps his horror off the page it's an exercise in restraint that allows this film to be an entry level for King.


As for my thoughts on this film...I think it loses it's magic when you get critical of it. Almost like it's got a sell by date and if you watch it too much the cynicism slips in and it ceases to be art rather it becomes the discussion of art. I don't think I care for Rob Reiner the director often times I feel like his choices of shots are lazy and undermine the subject matter. The child performances are pretty good, Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, WIll Weaton, Keifer Sutherland, John Cusack, and Jerry O'Connell are all well cast I think sadly Sutherland is the character that seems to have more wisdom yet he's the villain it's a strange choice but a good one.

The Fisher King


We'll never know what Terry Gillem's Don Quixote would have looked like but fortunately we get this Quixotic tale. Jeff Bridges plays a shock jock who due happenstance falls on hard times. Robin Williams plays a crazy homeless person who secretly has ties to Bridges character. I don't think this is the sort of story you could get away with today.



The film is well made and it goes into interesting side stories. The supporting figures often seem to have larger and grander tales than the main ones though sadly they are just flickers in the quest of Bridges to get better and Williams to get saner. And really this is the central problem I have with the film...mental illness is viewed as being elective and treatable kind of a horrible message to send to the audience. And then you get to the point of do we judge a film based on ideas that weren't offensive in a post-yuppie New York period but can be viewed as awkward and unpleasant today. Something should be said about two white men who have failed and were then taken in by the only two minorities in the film.


For me the question of how to judge this film is if it's a bad Oscar bait film that was good for it's time and aged poorly. Or should I judge this film as an auteur trying his hand at restraint and doing a remarkable job at it.

He actually did get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finished after. It came out last year and stars Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce.

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eh...yeah kinda but not really

I've seen the film and it definitely is the Don Quixote film Gilliam had been trying to make for a couple decades. It's the same story he had started filming with Johnny Depp back in 2000, as seen in Lost in La Mancha.

I watched The Skin I Live In today. It was a bit different than I expected (thought it was more like Eyes without a Face). Not bad but definitely not good either. Review in a few days.

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Film The Fisher King
Year of release: 1991
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Run time: 2hr 17
Starring: Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer

I was quite torn about how to rate this film. I had expected good things due to the many rave reviews that I had seen.
Overall I really enjoyed it, although it was a film of two halves.
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The first half was all a bit manic and wacky for me, although I do acknowledge that it reflects what is going on in the lives of the characters, but it was just a bit much. I contemplated turning it off more than once.
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The second half, once I had a clearer understanding of what was going on was much more enjoyable.
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I acknowledge the things that the great reviews that I read said, but I don't think they impacted me as greatly as they did others, largely due to the chaotic nature of the first act.
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Bridges and Williams put in outstanding performances as we would expect but shouldn't take for granted, but they are not alone. The strength of this film is in the acting for me.
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The heart and emotional connection really came through in the second half of the film, I am just pleased that I stuck with it to see that.

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"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)

In The Fisher King, I know that Jack blamed himself for the guy killing people in the restaurant, but what exactly did Jack say to the guy that triggered (no pun intended) the shooting?

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

I believe this is it:

While on the radio Jack says this to a call in viewer:
Edwin... Edwin... Edwin... I told you about these people. They only mate with their own kind. It's called Yuppie-In-Breeding... that's why so many of them are retarded and wear the same clothes. They're not human. They can't feel love. They can only negotiate love moments. They're evil, Edwin. They're repulsed by imperfection and horrified by the banal -- everything America stands for. Edwin, they have to be stopped before it's too late. It's us or them.

I felt the same way. Seeing more now than I did as a young pup.

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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

I still got one more film to go.

Slacker

Ha!

Christiane F. thrives in moments, most of them the kind of moments we wouldn't want to find ourselves in. The only moment from the film that I'd actually want to be in is at a David Bowie concert. Most of the moments that stand out to me are the disgusting ones, like a boy slumped against a wall, eyes seemingly loosened and empty, a girl vomiting what looks like wine all over the place (what actually was the drink they were drinking, I'm unfamiliar with it), or the scene where we uncomfortably sit in the car with Christiane the first time she participates in prostitution of any kind.

Those scenes all have an affect on me. It might not be the same feeling produced, but each one gets me in a different way. When the boy slumps against the wall during the moment Christiane and Detlev share a bed, I was at first appreciative of the audacity of the moment that shows that perhaps a moment that should be fondly remembered, even if they are too young for my conservative mind, they are not far removed from horror they are ultimately going through. During the vomit scene, I was pretty grossed out, but loved the idea of this process being ultra dirty, grimy, nasty, gritty, and a complete pain-in-the-ass to get through with the vomiting, much like addiction, seeming to never stop. The scene with Christiane masturbating the dude in the car just made me squirm and I hated feeling like I was in the car with them, Christiane's hand always hovering around and touching the door handle but not pulling and jumping out of the car and running away felt like torture. But I guess, that's part of it too, because the answer seems so easy to us who aren't afflicted with these problems, something that seems as easy as just not doing it isn't as easy as someone who is already in the middle of it. The movie does a great job dealing with the little lies we tell ourselves to give ourselves comfort, an excuse, or a pass.

I would have liked to see more of how Christiane's discovery of Detlev's lie to her affected her decision to really get clean, but that's where my only problem with the film comes in: the ending felt abrupt, tacked on, and unfitting with the rest of the film. It's based on a true story, but I think it would have been a nicer ending to see this moment being the straw that broke the camel's back for Christiane. Instead, she was taken away from the Zoo and basically put back together again. We don't really know about lasting damage or anything like that, but as a snapshot of a terrible time filled with terrible moments, Christiane F. is a great film.

Christine F


Well this was a cheery little tale, Christine F tells the story of a bored lower middle class girl that through loneliness dives into a deep depression and heroin use. The film has a number of technical strengths that elevate the subject matter. We get really good set pieces a fairly larger cast, some good makeup work and best of all...David Bowies music. All of these things elevate Christine F from your typical teensplotation film to something presentable and palatable.



The problem with a film like this is that it really only has the one note. This film is a slow decent...the joy of sex drugs and rock'n'roll is quickly stripped away and we the audience are left with a two hour sermon. The strange thing about a film like this is how it doesn't glamorous anything and yet the climax is somewhat ridiculous and frankly cheap. I think it could have been handled better.


Like most films of this sort the autobiographical nature of the film works to it's advantage...this is a fully realized junkies world where these children are sex trafficked and live with their own sense of cultural norms. I just wish I could have latched onto some of these characters because they all felt sort of one toned. I will say this I finished the film which I've had trouble with several of crickets noms in the past...so I would tepidly give this film a positive review.