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About Elly (2009) -


This was an enjoyable film to go in without knowing much about the plot. It further proves that Iran has been in their golden age for film for a few decades at this point. Granted, it took me some time to get on board with the film as it doesn't get going until around half an hour in, but once it gets to the inciting incident, it hooked me and never let go. The various conflicts the characters get into - the seaside incident, the conflict between the families which arises throughout the day, Alireza's presence - were all suspenseful and kept me on board, partly due to the strong acting from the entire ensemble cast and the frenetic camerawork throughout the beach sequence. I especially loved the final act as some of the insight we learn later on in regards to Elly adds a strong emotional core to this suspense which caused the final act to resonate on a deeper level than it did before. The emotional register was rather oblique during this sequence with the knowledge that most of the family members chose to lie about Elly's motives, either out of fear or to protect her honor (which was understandable, given how the institution of marriage is taken rather seriously in Iran). While I don't have a lot to say about this film (which isn't a criticism of it, by any means), I think this film did quite a lot with its premise. Though I wouldn't say this ranks among my favorite Iranian films (I like Farhadi's A Separation more), it's still a really good one and I had a good time with it.

Next up: Bicycle Thieves
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Vertigo: Always nice to uncover a hidden gem in a HOF. People should start taking this Hitchcock guy seriously.

Great film on all fronts. Best looking Hitch film. I think this score may be my favorite as well. Awesome Stewart performance. Nothing to complain about.



I just finished watching About Elly (2009) for the first time. Directed by Asghar Farhadi, the film is about a teacher who disappears while on a picnic with some adults and children. The film focuses on the mystery surrounding her disappearance and the affect it has on the people she was with. This is a very well made film, with an interesting story and fine performances from the actors. I think this is the type of film that the less you know about it going it, the better the experience is. I've now seen three films directed by Farhadi and liked them all, giving each the same rating. This is definitely well worth seeing and I would
recommend it to others. This was a good nomination and I am glad I watched it. My rating is a
.



Vertigo -
CONTAINS SPOILERS

I'm glad I got to watch this again because it's been many years since I last saw it. My father introduced it to me since it's his favorite movie and the experience has a lot to do with me being a movie lover. I've seen hundreds of movies since my last viewing and thankfully have even more things to think and say about it. As a story about the past - specifically, its power over us, how alluring it is to obsess about it and the futility of trying to change it - it still holds up, but I noticed that it also succeeds in being about that other great mystery of the universe: women.

In Ferguson's interactions with Madeleine and Judy, we see his desire to reckon with her obsession and later his own obsession with the past. We also observe his desire to understand her, discover what makes her tick, unlock her secret code, etc. If the failure of her marriage with Elster is of any indication, it's a desire that can lead to a dark place. Another case in point: consider Hitchcock's not-so-healthy relationships with his female leads.

My watch history between this and my last viewing also made me realize what a treasure trove it continues to be for other filmmakers. There are elements of it in nearly every De Palma movie, for instance, but it's also fun to consider how it also inspired David Lynch. There's the Twin Peaks character of Maddy Ferguson, obviously, but there's also the movie's memorable use of color (the unnatural, alien green glow surrounding the resurrected Madeleine, Ferguson's blue-tinted fever dream, the bright red walls of Ernie's, etc.), the meaning of each one pretty much corresponding with how the series and movie uses them.

Except for maybe Ferguson and Madeleine/Judy's awkwardly silent and stone-faced car rides, I can't think of anything wrong with the movie or that I'd change about it. I've read complaints that the scenes where Ferguson tails Madeleine are slow and boring, but I disagree. I can't think of a better way to show Ferguson's fascination with her develop, not to mention the movie's atmosphere and sense of place. I've also read complaints about the ending being too abrupt, but I wouldn't change that either. Its confusion and abruptness are purposeful for how they match Ferguson's and it drives the movie's point home about the past nicely.

Choosing a favorite Hitchcock movie is as difficult as choosing a favorite child (or, should be, anyway), and while recency bias is at play here, it may surpass Psycho for me. Thanks, rbrayer, for suggesting it! Oh, and I know something else I wouldn’t change about the movie: the casting of Barbara Bel Geddes. Painting prank notwithstanding, who wouldn’t want such a charming friend?



I've read complaints that the scenes where Ferguson tails Madeleine are slow and boring, but I disagree. I can't think of a better way to show Ferguson's fascination with her develop, not to mention the movie's atmosphere and sense of place.
Also, if I'm remembering correctly, most of that sequence consists of him driving downhill (San Francisco is a coastal city and has a number of hills), symbolizing his descent into obsession and how he's increasingly being caught up by her behavior. It's a great touch to that sequence which makes it all the more atmospheric.

Anyways, great write-up!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
With Personal and Asian HoFs a priority right now to finish, I am SOOOO very tempted to knock out another of these films as I read through the various reviews.
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Long Goodbye: This is one of my favorite movies, and this viewing didn’t change that. I love Gould’s Marlowe and all the other characters that inhabit this world. Awesome aesthetic and score. I love the use of one song in all these different tones, very cool conceit. Another movie in this HOF with one of the great endings.

I love Vertigo but I feel like a sports fan rooting for the huge underdog in this HOF. Hoping we have the perfect storm of mofo mix and timing the pull off the upset...it ain’t happening.



Also, if I'm remembering correctly, most of that sequence consists of him driving downhill (San Francisco is a coastal city and has a number of hills), symbolizing his descent into obsession and how he's increasingly being caught up by her behavior. It's a great touch to that sequence which makes it all the more atmospheric.

Anyways, great write-up!
Thanks! I'll try to make my next one more concise. For some movies, I can't help but...

<looks around, makes sure she's not reading this>

Pull a Takoma.



Thanks! I'll try to make my next one more concise. For some movies, I can't help but...

<looks around, makes sure she's not reading this>

Pull a Takoma.
I wish I could review films as fast as Takoma does. It sometimes takes me a few days to write a review for one film.



I wish I could review films as fast as Takoma does. It sometimes takes me a few days to write a review for one film.
Same here. It depends on the movie for me. I slammed that one out in a few hours because I've seen the movie already and know a lot about it. The Day of the Jackal and The Man from Nowhere from the last HoF, however, took me a few days each since I went in cold and they're relatively long movies.



Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)

I casually enjoyed this film the first time around, back when it first came out but in current year I can't fathom why. This is the ugliest looking film I've seen in a minute. I mean, with all the light bouncing off the brass instruments no wonder it looks awash in piss during all the performance scenes and the colour pallet is just so drab throughout the other parts of the film. I really dislike the aspect ratio used as well. Like, I get what they're going for trying to make it feel kind of claustrophobic to add to the mounting pressure the character is facing but it doesn't land for me at all in that the film is paced way way way too fast to ever feel anything. That, and sacrificing any hope for any shot in the film to ever look good for a thematic gimmick is rarely gonna fly with me. There is some pretty good performances, like technically, but once again that rushed pacing means there's not really any weight to the performances, just surface level yelling most the time (and Simmons doesn't even get any memorable zingers in). This sounds like a scathing review but its not that bad really, since I could basically write the same review about any other distinctly modern film and Whiplash is just a film of its time.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
My write ups generally take about 5 minutes. 3 minutes to put my format in order and 2 to give my thoughts.
I'm a man of little words usually unfortunately. I hate my mini reviews but sorry it's all I got.



Let's see how long it takes me to write this...Right now it's 9:15 a.m. exactly.


Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958)
*spoilers*

I've seen Vertigo only once before, several years ago. I even reviewed it here at MoFo. I'll link my old review at the bottom of this review in case someone wants to contrast & compare my changing opinions on what is often called Hitch's greatest film achievement.

Vertigo is a near masterpiece thanks to Hitch ditching his usual style of film-tainment and instead creating a slower paced, introspective film that reflects a more European style of film making.

I was quite impressed by the beauty of the sets and their details...and by the color effects of the specialty lighting used...and by that amazing score. The opening title credits were equally amazing, as was the title theme score. To me Vertigo felt like a more mature Hitch film. It's refreshing.

Previously I rated this a
...after my second viewing I'd lower that to a
- still an impressive film but with some glaring editing choices by Hitch:

The bell tower murder scene
which is shown & explained in a flashback way too early in the film. There was no need for Hitch to include a flashback explanation for the audience on how the bell tower 'suicide' worked. This flashback happens after Stewart has met a mysterious woman who looks just like the dead Madeline. The audience knows she's Kim Novak...It's the mystery as to what's happened that drives the tension in the film...Is this other Kim Novak a figment of James Stewart's troubled psyche? He did have a mental break down after the suicide of Madeline. OR is the new Kim Novak part of a devious scheme? Or even a long lost twin sister who has no connection to the other Madeline? But Hitch 'shoots his wad' way to fast by conceding to the audience the mystery of the film.

The dream sequence, Hitch was known for his crowd pleasing 'camera tricks' that he performed in most all of his later films. In other Hitch films these are fun kitsch and fit well with Hitch's style of block buster entertainment. But here in the more maturely filmed Vertigo it just looks silly, like today's bad CG added just for a thrill....The initial dream scene works great with Stewart in bed with neon lights coloring his face from green to purple (that's odd looking enough)....then he wakes up from his nightmare with a scream, that alone would've said more about Stewart's condition than the candy coated animated dream fluff stuff.

The Barbara Bel Geddes gag painting,
loved Bel Geddes in this and her character added much needed chemistry, but the gag photo scene was a cheap laugh which took the film down a notch for me.

The restaurant scene where Stewart takes the dark haired Kim Novak to dinner. I was waiting for this scene to explore the budding, troubled relationship between Scottie and Judy. But nope it starts, then nothing much and then ends all too briefly. A lost opportunity for some needed expose at this point in the film.

I'm not calling these mistakes but they could've been improved on:
Kim Novak...she's really not a great actress. I've seen her in several things and she never impresses me. Actually I think she did the well-to-do, classy accent and manners well. She's not bad but she's not a stand out. There's really no chemistry between Novak and Stewart at least not the palatable type.

The ending: I didn't care for it as the audience has not been primed enough to view Judy/Kim Novak so badly that she needs to die at the end.....Stewart and Novak are in the bell tower and he's assertively telling her just how the murder was planned and committed (that part is in the film and so really no need for that earlier bell tower flash back explanation scene)...The ending should have differed when the nun enters the bell tower scaring Judy and she falls....Only in my version Kim Novak grabs the bell tower ledge and dangles perilously, just like Stewart did in the beginning of the film. Stewart is the only one who can save her, but he struggles with his vertigo..Will she fall to her death? Or will he save her?...After a few tense moments, Stewart finally musters the courage and does save her...Then a final end scene is: a far shot from the tower looking down at a cop car, as we see a blonde in a gray suit dress being placed into the cop car.

My old review of Vertigo

Time: 10:21 a.m. so that took me just a bit over an hour.