The 11th Hall of Fame

No I haven't. And being a Wes Anderson movie, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to like it. But who knows, maybe this will be the movie that finally impresses me.

You're not the only one. It's not that I think my nom's bad, but seeing the other's nominations I'm counting on coming in last. Felt a little better hearing that Cosmic also liked my nom but still think I'll have an up hill battle.

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Why not just kill them? I'll do it! I'll run up to Paris - bam, bam, bam, bam. I'm back before week's end. We spend the treasure. How is this a bad plan?

Somebody has to come in last, but...that doesn't mean that the last place movie sucked, it's just means somebody liked the other movies more

Also, Cosmic, I think we need to come together to compare notes. I'm curious as to how close our tastes in movies aline.

I don't think I've said anything about your nomination. You might be confusing me with cricket. I know I've seen it before, but I literally remember nothing about it.

True. Maybe I'm just nervous, it's my first HoF after all.

In my first General Hof I came in second to last! Which only inspired me to try again

Crap, sorry to both Cosmic and Cricket. Been browsing too many posts too fast, lost track of who said what

I've never seen your nom Clazor.

Ronin (John Frankenheimer, 1998)...I just looked it up, it has a high IMDB rating, it's directed by a respected director and has a very well liked actor (Robert DeNiro)...it sounds like a perfect choice for a nomination. Of course there's a lot of great movies in this HoF, but I think your movie will have some fans. I'm looking forward to watching it.

The first HOF I joined, there were at least two people who straight up hated my nomination. That was particularly disappointing because I nominated my all time favorite movie. I tried not to get too discouraged though, and reminded myself that the whole reason I had signed up for it was to get people to watch it.

This time I signed up to give myself incentive to watch movies again. Also because I have a hard time saying no to Camo even though he sucks.

Thanks all for the encouragement, it helps. Aside from how it ends, I think I'll enjoy the way there. The nominations look interesting, I know from Tongo that Embrace is awesome. I think I'll see that tomorrow, perhaps along with Her. Haven't had time/been up to seeing much of anything lately on account of working three hours overtime per day the last few days. Feel like I've bearly made through the front door before hitting the sack.

But no excuses. Tomorrow, movies!

No worries. And to be fair, it did sound like something I'd say haha.

What, no more Doc Strange? Although, Will Graham is plenty strange too

I've been going back and forth between Will Graham and my old avatar all afternoon. I didn't change my pic for any of the other Survivor games, but I was thinking about doing it for the new one. But I'm so used to Doctor Strange that anything else just looks too odd.

Yeah, about that. I saw the blurb under your avatar and I've been wondering, what is the survivor game?

I'll send you a PM so as not to derail this thread too much.

Much obliged.

El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent) (Ciro Guerra, 2015)
Imdb

Date Watched: 9/18/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The 11th MoFo Hall of Fame
Rewatch: No

Embrace of the Serpent is a powerful tale of two physical and spiritual journeys of a man named Karamakate - a shaman and the last of his people - and the white scientists who come to him seeking a sacred plant.

It examines spirituality, greed, madness, the horrors of colonialism, the extinction of indigenous people, and the raping of the environment and of native culture. The performances are solid throughout - especially by Nilbio Torres and Antonio Bolivar - who each play Karamkate at different stages of his life. The story is both heartbreaking and infuriating.

But about the cinematography I was admittedly torn. The images are crisp and effective, but I couldn't help but be frustrated and saddened by Guerra's decision to shoot in black and white. Where we should be treated to the glorious hues of greens and blues of the jungle, river and sky, and the rich shades of brown, red and orange of the earth, its animals and its people we get only shades of gray.

And for that I couldn't quite love this film. I think Embrace is a considerable achievement and something that needs to be seen, but the decision to mute the natural beauty of what we see on the screen was a misstep in my eyes.

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I wonder if the decision to shoot in black and white was due to budget restraints.

So I started this HoF with a rewatch of my own nom.
I nominated this for 3 reasons: first, I remember loving this film, the first time I watched it; second, I wanted an excuse to rewatch it and finally, HoFs are usually filled with heavy movies, and I wanted to introduce a bit of lightness into this Hof and change my pattern of nominations.
It's not a movie I knew it would win or anything, I just wanted everyone to have a nice and entertaining watch, especially after I made most of you sit through Amour.

That being said, this movie is not a masterpiece and after this rewatch it will drop some places on my Top 100 (maybe fall from it). However, it's one of the most entertaining and funny movies I've ever seen. I laughed loudly in some moments (and that rarely happens to me).
The chemistry between the leading double is amazing, Robert Downey Jr. is doing the type of role he does best and Val Kilmer as the sarcastic gay detective is hilarious! The story is quite cliché to anyone who has ever seen a noir but it still manages to be thrilling at some points.
So, this nomination served its purpose, so get ready for a foreign heavily dramatic artistic thing on the next HoF! xD