The 11th Hall of Fame

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I've seen a couple other movies about westerners in China during the war. So yea it did happen. People get trapped behind lines so to speak and then can't leave the country. There were even more British in China at that time, then Americans.
Much like what happened to young Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun (1987).



*breathes a sigh of relief*

More than anyone else, I was worried you were going to hate this. I'm really happy to see that's not the case.
No it's very good at the least



Glad you watched it this time around

There were a lot of Americans doing business in China's big cities in the late 30s, which is before the American's entered into WWII. I've seen a couple other movies about westerners in China during the war. So yea it did happen. People get trapped behind lines so to speak and then can't leave the country. There were even more British in China at that time, then Americans.

The young boy who played the assistant to the priest was the best actor in the movie. He blew me out of the water.

SPOILER*** about the ending, what happen to the girls and the boy? Well they were armed with broken shards of glass as weapons, so safe to say whatever happened to them, wasn't good.
Yeah i read abit about it last night,the diaries that its based on is from an american teacher and it also mentions alot of foreigners being trapped.I just wonder how much of what happened specifically in the movie happened to the person whose diary it was based on and how much were things they knew had happened during that time but not necessarily like that.

They should have made a homemade bomb and taken with them.wheres macgyver when you need him?
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Nothing good comes from staying with normal people
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Dir. Shane Black (rewatch)



So...somthing happens when I sit down to watch a movie and it turns out I like it: I get sucked in. Which isn't a problem...unless I have to do this afterwards. I get so caught up in the movie I forget to put away some small parts of it that I can talk about later in my mind. The result is a general feeling of liking a movie, but I can't put my finger on why. That's the reason I picked "Ronin" when I had to choose another movie as my entry for the HoF. It poped into my head as I was thinking about what movie I could choose, I knew I liked it, but wasn't really sure why. I took a gamble, sure that I liked it, and nominated it. I'll save it for last and then I'll just have to see why I nominated it.

But I got of topic (which happens when I'm not sure what to say) and now it's time to get back.

Robert Downey jr plays a small time thief who happens to land an acting gig while on the run from the cops. He gets flown to LA, where he meets Perry (Val Kilmer), a PI hired as a consultant for RDJ to follow around and learn from to get material for his character. Watching over all this is the narrator, RDJ, who's the one telling us his story of what happened last christmas. Rather disjonitedly. This is something I do remember standing out to me as funny, especially as I recognize myself in this. This is more or less me trying to empart a movie's plot to my brother. Which I'm not good at, which makes my brother irritated, which makes me jumble the plot even more.

My brother doesn't ask me for plot summaries anymore.

It's a noir trope executed by a bad narrator, which fits in with all the other noir tropes that keeps floating around. Because this is a neo-noir film. With several levels of noir in it. It's a noir narrator, telling a noir tale, with a key plot point being a series of noir style books from whence the bad guy gets the idea for his plan, which gets discovered and investigated by a thief and a PI. I can't see how they could've shoved more tropes into this if they tried.

All this rests on a foundation of humor, without which, the movie wouldn't have survived. Shane Black wrote the screen play based on a novel by Brett Halliday and I wonder if the comedy was there before or after Black got ahold of it. Of the 17 writing credits he has, I've seen 10, all of which had a good mix of action and comedy, so I think we can acredit at least some of it to him.

RDJ playes...himself, really. He's a bit like Hugh Grant or Jason Statham, it's not the character that changes, it's the setting. Wether he plays Tony Stark, a lawyer, a psychologist or a news reporter, he pretty much plays them the same. Don't get me wrong, he does it very well, it's very entertaining and I've loved him in all I've seen (I think), but I don't think he ever strays far from what he usually does. This, though, stands out as being one of his most actionfilled roles (excluding the Iron Man/Avengers franchise). He's got the highest kill count in the movie, with the bad guys actually coming in second. Is that unusual for an action movie? I'm not sure to be honset, but a 5:1 kill ratio seems high. Then again, Commando, Die hard, First blood, all three have protagonists with higher kill counts than the bad guys, so maybe I'm wrong. Discussion later in the thread, perhaps?

Props should also go to both Kilmer and Monaghan. Kilmer as the straight man (or actually not) works beautifully, coming in with snide remarks and calling people (mostly RDJ) out for their stupidity. He keeps the movie grounded in places where it otherwise might've spun out of control or created logic gaps (what would RDJ have done when he found the corpse if not for Kilmer).

Monaghan for her part defied the noir tropes and didn't turn out to be the femme fatal I thought she'd be the first time I saw this. She has a levelheaded outlook and even solves parts of the case before our to PI:s does (well, PI and a moron with quick hands). She also dosen't get relegated to damsel in distress. In the end she activley sets the final showdown in motion and while RDJ finishes it, she saves him in the end.

Another really good movie, I think I've got three or four vying for the top of the list, and I still have four movies left. Compiling this list won't be easy.
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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?





Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Dir. Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn

I'd seen this movie a long time ago, but didn't remember much about it other than the leopard and that it liked a particular song. So when I sat down to watch this last night, it was almost like watching it for the first time. I actually rather liked the film at the start. I didn't mind that both characters were eccentric or that the situations they found themselves in were absolutely ridiculous, because I expected that going in after skimming through everyone else's reviews. I laughed a few times at the start, but not very often throughout the rest of the film.

Unfortunately my good will towards the movie soured a bit whenever people would start yelling at the same time. I had to turn the volume down a number of times, with one of the worst offenders being the scene where the aunt and dog come in, and the dog won't stop barking at Cart Grant, and everyone is yelling for far too long. I actually had to step away from the movie for a bit because even at a low volume that scene gave me a massive headache (I really can't stand barking, especially from small dogs).

I didn't dislike Katharine Hepburn like a few people seemed to. At the start I thought her character was far too ignorant/oblivious, but as the film goes on, it becomes clear that she's actually just being manipulative. The film is incredibly predictable, but I don't think that really hurts it in the long run, because that's pretty typical of most screwball comedies anyway. My only real complaint (other than the screaming), was that the film felt a bit too long. Some of the scenes dragged a bit, so cutting them down a bit definitely would've helped with that.






Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

"Dear Comrades, it is with extreme delight that I proclaim the virtues of der cinema Good Bye Lenin! The film exceeded all expectations for production quotas. Particularly note worthy is the quickened wit and charm of the leading players. I found the performers outstanding in their acting duties. Der transcript is a work of genius and equally espouses the virtues of family, progress and love of state... Respectfully, Comrade Citizen Rules."

Hey, guess what? I loved this one! A very cool, unique, cleaver movie. I enjoyed watching it! I'm old enough that I remember the 'iron curtain' and when the Berlin Wall fell. I've always had an interest in the hidden, mysterious world of East Germany. I loved the style of film making and the way the voice over narrative was done with a nod to the past, (which inspired my 'intro letter')

I really liked the actors and that's important to a movie. I instantly liked the characters of the son and his cynical sister and their mom. Alex and his mom really felt like they were real family and cared for each other. I felt like I was part of the movie and was in the rooms and streets of the DDR East Germany along with them.


The movie felt so naturally and was paced just right, not to fast, not to slow. There were so many cool moments in the film that I would have to write a novel just to cover them all. So I'll tell you my favorite.

Alex's friend who wants to be a director, but ends up making spoofed communist news reports for the mom to see, was totally clever! Along with Alex's effort to make his mom's 'world' as it was during the DDR days.

The entire movie is clever in how it weaves the changes that swept East Germany that take place as the mom is in a coma and then wakes up believing she's still in the old DDR and nothing had changed.



Thank You, Comrade Cosmic for your fine cinema selection.








I'm glad you liked it!
I'm old enough that I remember the 'iron curtain' and when the Berlin Wall fell. I've always had an interest in the hidden, mysterious world of East Germany.
It's definitely an interesting time period to study. I was only 2 when the wall fell, so I was too young to remember anything like that. I have taken quite a few University courses on the subject though, and have an old DDR entrance stamp on my passport from Checkpoint Charlie (which is currently mostly just a tourist stand) haha.



I'm glad you liked it!

It's definitely an interesting time period to study. I was only 2 when the wall fell, so I was too young to remember anything like that. I have taken quite a few University courses on the subject though, and have an old DDR entrance stamp on my passport from Checkpoint Charlie (which is currently mostly just a tourist stand) haha.
Oh cool, you visited the former east Germany. I never have but my wife went through Checkpoint Charlie into East Germany DDR in the early 80s. When we're watching the movie and they show the World Clock she recognized the tall needle building in the background and said she had went up to it's top.





Oh cool, you visited the former east Germany. I never have but my wife went through Checkpoint Charlie into East Germany DDR in the early 80s. When we're watching the movie and they show the World Clock she recognized the tall needle building in the background and said she had went up to it's top.
That's really cool. I never saw the actual DDR, it was abolished long before then. I did a University summer program in Baden-Württemberg (in the South-West) in 2010, but spent a week or so doing the whole tourist thing (with some friends) in Berlin first. You can get your passport marked at the current Checkpoint Charlie tourist spot with the old entrance stamps as a souvenir haha.

It's kind of crazy to think that the Berlin Wall today is just some rocks and concrete on the side of the street. If there are no cars around you can walk along where the wall used to stand. Well, they do have whole sections of the wall preserved, it's just out of the way now.



Maybe some day I will get a chance to visit Germany, I'd like too. Ironically I have seen the Berlin Wall up close and personal!... every time I use the bathroom at my wife's grandmothers house! I have to walk down the hallway to the bathroom and on the wall is a plaque with a tiny piece of concrete that came from the Berlin Wall. I always think it's weird I encounter the wall on the way to a bathroom break





RONIN

I didnt read about it before watching,so i was excited about all the famous faces that kept popping up!
I also realised that ive seen it before but on tv so i didnt recognize the name.
It was nice to see Natascha McElhone again,i just realised that most of what ive seen her in is from the 90/00s-i dont know if thats by choice from her,if im watching the wrong movies or if they`ve just stopped hiring her.Shes got something abit kate winsletly about her.
The plot itself was a bit predictable,a group of people all from different countries get together-the american has the smart comebacks,gets the girl and saves the day whilst the others buckle under pressure or are traitors
Jean Reno seemed dubbed at times and Stellan Skarsgårds accent also made me chuckle a few times,i dont know what was going on there

This was a great throwback to 90s actions though and even though i found it a bit predictable i still enjoyed the movie,and i absolutely loved the carchase-by far my favourite part of the movie.or actually favourite car chase.period.
I also really liked the ending,where he was sat hoping the girl would walk in but she didnt.
this movie also made me remember who much i love the irish accent.









RDJ playes...himself, really. He's a bit like Hugh Grant or Jason Statham, it's not the character that changes, it's the setting. Wether he plays Tony Stark, a lawyer, a psychologist or a news reporter, he pretty much plays them the same. .
very true!
I like RDJ and think this is a character that is perfect for RDJ being RDJ
but id love to see him do something completely different for once.
I guess hes one of those where you have to like the actor to like his work-RDJ i liked and hugh grant i dont.so that why RDJ cant get away with a bit more in my book.



Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)



Liked this better than last time but it is still not a favourite. It's exactly what i said after i watched The Nice Guys recently; i think Shane Blacks films are often cool and stylish and they give me some laughs but there's nothing there that i really love. That's the thing, there's nothing for me to criticize really either because i think the films are perfectly fine, they are just not something that excites me.

Val Kilmer is easily the best thing about this for me. He is such a random person to cast, seems like he is in nothing all i ever remember him from is Batman Forever. He is perfect for this role though, my favourite Shane Black character by far. He is incredibly bitchy, witty and mostly just really funny and likeable. "Look up the word idiot in the dictionary you know what you'll find?" "A picture of me?" "No the definition of the word idiot, which you are." Harry and Harmony are fine too but some of their drama and banter isn't that interesting to me.

The way RDJ becomes an actor really annoys me, i get the joke and i know i'm taking it too seriously but i still hate how he just happens to run into a room where there's an audition for someone whose partner was killed which he just happened to have experienced 5 minutes earlier. In general i think i take parts like this in Blacks films too seriously, i did the same with certain things in The Nice Guys, the reason for it is that i often don't find the joke funny which makes me dwell on what is actually happening more. Also another thing that annoys me about that particular part is RDJ narrating what just happened, kind of drives it home more and annoys me all over again. Actually the meta, fourth wall narration got on my nerves a bit overall, i get what he was aiming for and it led to some good jokes but i'm not crazy about something that takes you out of the film especially not that often.

There are some good laughs in this, more than i remembered. Think it made me laugh more than The Nice Guys, but there's also a few things that annoy me more about this so i think they come out about even. My favourite joke may actually be the part RDJ boldly threatens the guy near the start as if he's some badass then it cuts to him getting beat up outside . Once he started threatening him i was already laughing as i remembered what happened. One thing i do really love about this is Shane Blacks obvious love for classic noirs. I think it's a shame i haven't seen enough noirs to pick up on everything or maybe i'd like it even more. Loveletters to cinema which this isn't entirely of course are always a respectable thing in my book.

Anyway i don't dislike it anymore i actually quite like it, so i'm glad you nominated it Neiba.

Four left for me, starting with Samurai Rebellion i think.



Glad to see some admiration for Val Kilmer. I thought he was the best actor/character in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He was cool, while Robert Downy Jr was the bumbling fool. I liked RDJ in it too and he was funny, but sometimes he was a little too wind up.

I heard that film was a take off on a noir, but maybe I missed something but I didn't see much that resembled a noir in it...other than the twisty turning plot and crime and the girl.



Glad to see some admiration for Val Kilmer. I thought he was the best actor/character in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He was cool, while Robert Downy Jr was the bumbling fool. I liked RDJ in it too and he was funny, but sometimes he was a little too wind up.

I heard that film was a take off on a noir, but maybe I missed something but I didn't see much that resembled a noir in it...other than the twisty turning plot and crime and the girl.
I was kind of saying i thought i missed some stuff. I know i was reading about all the film references he placed in The Nice Guys the other day so i figured there must've been some for this too, plus there's the whole modern man uses old fashioned clue based detective work stemming from Harmonies obsession with the detective books. Also i haven't seen many noirs but if i'm correct Hollywood and LA is a pretty common setting for them. Maybe Mark F or something has some insight here.



It was a dialogue heavy, visually packed film with lots of scenes, so it's easy to miss little things. I know I did....I had to back up the DVD a couple of times and on a second watch I started noticing all these really cool details in the background, that I hadn't seen before.



To me what that movie felt like was very "American" in it's style. The whole atmosphere reminded me of movies like Pulp Fiction and Te Big Lebowsky.

While Goodbye Lenin is a great film, very few other movies left a stronger impression, I think that I feel impressed by these movies because they depict historical events that I find inspiring in their own right. Another great German movie that depicts the fall of East Germany is the Life of Others, which I liked even more, but it's mostly set in the years leading to the fall.