Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2021 Edition

This is by far the nicest way anyone has ever said “I couldn’t get him to shut up!”

You’re a gentleman, Thief.

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I actually hint at a pretty big update with Bad Night that will hopefully lead to some really cool news in the next week or so. I couldn’t go FULLY into it as it’s not finalized but fingers crossed.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

I plan to re-watch that one for the 2021 Challenge so I'll check out your episode afterward.

BROOOOO!
I thought your announcement was going to be "someone famous read my script" or something, not "Someone is making my movie"! That's awesome. I know you can't share anything yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing more. Can't wait to watch Ti West's A Bad Night In Talbot.

That was a fun listen guys. Thief, what was that TV Western with the killer? I forgot to note the title. Sounds right up my alley.

And I totally did the "looking at my toys from different angles" thing. I hadn't thought of it before, but I guess for me it translated into an interest in drawing rather than filmmaking, but yeah...
One example I remember is my slot car racetrack. I was less interested in beating my brother than I was in finding the right position to lie in to get the coolest angle to view my mini-Trans Am coming around the curve or jumping the ramp or whatever. Interesting.

I just finished watching it and I really enjoyed listening to all your thoughts. I've only seen a couple movies you two talked about, but I'll have to keep an eye out for the other ones.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

Ha! Yeah, man. It’s been some time in the making too but it is seemingly becoming a very real possibility and...



But like I said, nothing is signed yet and even then, it’ll have to survive pre-production, production and post before it’s REAL to me. But it’s certainly been an experience thus far.

As for toys, I credit them with a good deal of my creativity as I think it was the first arena I tried to develop storytelling skills (in addition to a rudimentary understanding of mise-en-scene). I didn’t go all the way into it but I eventually reached a point where I had a couple of friends that would come over to watch me play with my toys because of the stories and action sequences I planned (even creating cardboard sets). A plot I created that was done with GI Joes and Jurassic Park toys was of particular popularity (Cobra opened up a time portal and accidentally infested their base with dinosaurs, so when the Joes assault the base, they have to team up with the bad guys to survive).

As you can tell, I’ve always been a real lady killer.

Which ones had you seen?

Thanks for listening, man.

The western is called A Man for Hanging (according to JustWatch, it's still on Roku Channel and Tubi). Let me know what you think.

Just The Wave, Conspiracy, and The Invitation (it was mentioned at the end). I enjoyed The Wave quite a bit and thought it was a pretty solid disaster flick. I also thought Conspiracy was good, even though I remember thinking it was a lesser 12 Angry Men. However, it's been a few years since I've seen it and I'm probably due for a rewatch. I've only seen The Invitation once, but I like it quite a bit. It's one of my favorite horror films of its respective year.

Thanks. Sounded like something I'd be into, and that screenshot only confirmed that.

Big fan of the Invitation. I think at nearly 100k ratings on IMDb and now being 6 years old (egads! What’s happening with time???), it can officially be a modern cult classic rather than obscure.

I need to get that Drafthouse blu, though. It’s a glaring omission as I have most of their releases and like many of them less.

Yeah I'm getting way ahead of myself here, just glad to see so much progress in such a short time ("short" from my perspective of course).

And as for You-Know-Who, I guess it's for the best that all of your Corrie postings about him have disappeared.

Heh! I hope that this will lead to more rapid progress as I’m whipping up another script to sell them if this all plays out well (this one is Lovecraftian, so it’s all en vogue).

The RT and Corrie died for my sins.

I killed them to hide my sins.

That is unless their hearts are broken in the process. Because then, the opposite applies. That is more or less what happens in this 1939 French film. Directed by Marcel Carné, Le jour se lève follows François (Jean Gabin), a factory worker that falls in love with *wait for it* Françoise (Jacqueline Laurent), a florist, only to find out she's more interested in a sleazy and narcissistic entertainer (Jules Berry).

The thing is that the film follows a non-linear narrative, starting with François murdering a man in his apartment, and then goes back to show how he ended up in that position. That is when we see how François and Françoise meet by chance, bond over their similarities, their names, and their orphan upbringing, only to see her gush over Valentin later on. The film frequently returns to "present time", as we see François barricade himself in his apartment as the police outside figure out how to apprehend him.

This film was a magnificent surprise, and the kind of film that makes you wonder why the heck isn't it mentioned more often. I had literally never heard of this film before this, and yet I was completely captivated by pretty much every aspect of it. From its structure, its striking cinematography and direction, the great performances, and the edgy script. Every single thing was top of the line.

Gabin and Laurent are great, but they also have an undeniable chemistry that's loaded with a melancholy that's perfect for the story. Arletty, who plays Clara, François' "temporary" lover is also very good. The script and the overall execution, which has tinges of noir, felt so ahead of its time. Finally, the way Carné moved the camera around and the shot composition were both excellent.

This is easily my favorite first-time watch of the year so far (tied with Ran!) so kudos to whoever recommended it. As opposed to the characters, whose decisions end up making them miserable and, well, not alive, like a star-crossed lover just discovering something, this made *me* feel alive! Excellent film.

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The term "duck soup" refers to an easily accomplished task or assignment; something that should be easy to succeed at. In the film, it is a kind of ironic jab at Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx), who has just been appointed as leader of the troubled country of Freedonia, but we can also use it to ironically refer to the Marx brothers task of making a comedy that succeeds at parodying government and war. The thing is that the brothers make it seem easy indeed; duck soup.

Groucho is joined by his three brothers in various roles. Harpo and Chico play a couple of bumbling spies for the rival country of Sylvania, while Zeppo plays Firefly's assistant. Firefly's task of governing is complicated when he starts a grudge with Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania, something that threatens to lead them to war. But the truth is that the plot, even though it's there, matters little as it serves primarily as a vehicle for the brothers barrage of jokes, gags, slapstick, and musical montages.

This happens to be my first Marx brothers film, but I can happily say that it was a pleasant watch and a lot of fun. As someone who really hadn't had any experience with the brothers, I was surprised at how dry and slightly risky the jokes were. I guess I was expecting something more a-la Chaplin, with a bit more heart and charm, but I adjusted my gauges quickly and found myself enjoying the biting satire of things like war and politics.

Sure, some of the routines felt like, well, routines; like they were already established and were just transposed to this film and slightly adjusted to fit the narrative, but that doesn't make the jokes any less clever, and the frenetic and lively energy of the cast makes up for it. I also found the musical numbers to be real treat. Knowing of its reputation, I wasn't expecting less, but I was still surprised by how effortless and easy the comedy and fun felt here; you know, duck soup.

Grade:

I watched that film earlier this year and I really loved it (I'd probably rate it a bit higher though). I was surprised by how many of its jokes landed. It would definitely make a short list of my favorite comedies of all time.

I can see it going a bit higher with time. We'll see.



I just finished my challenge with two days to spare, whew! Just have to catch up with pending reviews.

I'm hardly an expert on martial arts films but a good chunk of them are known for their excessive violence, blood, and the swift use of the sword. There is a lot of the latter in this film, but not a lot of the former. Instead, director Zhang Yimou chooses a more zen-approach to his film highlighting not only the way the different warriors embrace their surroundings, especially during a fight, but also the peace they achieve in whether they use it or not.

Set in Ancient China, Hero follows Nameless (Jet Li), a mysterious swordsman that meets with the King of Qin (Chen Daoming) claiming to have killed three powerful fighters that were trying to kill him. However, as he tells his story to the king, we realize there might be more to him than what he claims.

The story has a bit of a Rashomon vibe, as we see the events that led Nameless to where he is now, as he fought the three warriors Long Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). As the narrative goes back and forth between past and present, as well as different versions of the same story, we find out more about Nameless, the king, and the fighters.

As well acted as it was, I felt the story got too twisty at times, with the motivations of the different characters never clear as we see them through the different point of views of the multiple characters. It might make it interesting to figure out, but a bit harder to latch onto. Plus, the ending felt to me a bit anticlimatic.

But regardless of the story, what takes front and center in this film is its great direction, gorgeous cinematography, and striking use of color to drive the narrative. Director Zhang and cinematographer Christopher Doyle both do a great job in the way they incorporate the characters surroundings, nature, and structures into their shots, while highlighting the colors in the wardrobe, walls, and other items. The end result is magnificent and peaceful to look at.

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