The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek, 2010)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/09/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th Hall of Fame, Citizen Rules's nomination
Rewatch: No

I struggled a little with this one. There were some parts of it that I really liked and some parts that bugged me. I thought the basic idea of it and its attempt to examine what it means to live, to love, and to be human were very good. The performances were also solid and I did find myself shedding a tear or two by the end.

However, the sort of incongruity between the setting of the film and level of advancement in medical technology bugged. There were also times when I felt like the story was a little too heavy on the drama. I get that the characters find themselves in a pretty shtty situation but I also found it odd that a film that focuses so much on the soul is so devoid of humor. It also bothered me that they so willingly accepted their fates. I know that they were conditioned to do so by their upbringing and their isolation but they just seemed to have no fight in them, even Tommy's pitiful rage at the end - when he can no longer continue to foster any hope for his situation - just seemed weak. Impotent.

And in some ways that's kind of how I felt about the film overall. It had promise, but didn't quite meet the potential that I think is there. Still, I can't deny that I did enjoy it for the most part.

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Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/15/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th Hall of Fame, jiraffejustin's nomination
Rewatch: Yes

I saw this movie once before, back in 2014, and I remember being impressed with it - the story was excellent, the performances were all strong, the music was good, the cinematography was great, and I appreciated the themes of love, duty, honor, and forgiveness - yet not actually loving it because I just wasn't that invested in the characters.

History repeated itself tonight. I'm still impressed with it for all the same reasons. I understand why it's considered such a great film, but - aside from Rick and possibly Sam - I was mostly indifferent to its characters, Ilsa and Laszlo especially. These characters just felt underdeveloped and, aside from Bergman's beauty, I failed to understand why men would risk so much for Ilsa.

Still this is a relatively minor complaint and my respect for the film remains. I just don't think it'll ever quite be a favorite.

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What about being très witty?

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/18/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th Hall of Fame, SilentVamp's Nomination
Rewatch: No

I usually avoid live action comedies because... well... they just aren't funny. Most of them anyway. But other than feeling a little wary of it being a comedy,I really had no idea what to expect from this movie going in. With its strong cast I was hopeful I'd enjoy it, though.

I didn't enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't quite hate it. Close, but not quite. The cast was capable enough and I suppose if I had let myself not think about what was happening I might have liked it. Maybe. But as the movie dragged on (and it did drag, they should've shaved off 30 minutes or so) I found myself becoming more and more irritated with the writing and with the character of Jack.

Now I'll admit that I don't know the laws pertaining to bounty hunting, but a lot of the things in this movie just sounded like a load of crap that was made up by the writers as a lame excuse for some of the stupid ***** that happens. "I can't keep you cuffed on a commercial flight." Huh? "You know you can't take a prisoner on a plane if he doesn't want to fly." What?! Who gives a ***** what the prisoner wants?

And then there's Jack. We're supposed to like Jack. Jack used to be a cop. A good cop who wouldn't take money from a mobster. So he lost his job and everything he loved and we're supposed to sympathize with him. Right. Okay so this "good cop" wouldn't take money from the mobster, but he thinks nothing of stealing several civilian owned cars and robbing a bar - because theft and robbery are TOTALLY A-OKAY when you're a bounty hunter trying to get a fugitive back to L.A. so you can collect money from the bondsman. No. No, it f***ing isn't. And to that end, Jon wasn't any better. Yeah he's supposedly this "Robin Hood" figure who gave stolen money to charity, but the robbery was his idea.

Oh and let's not forget what a winner of a father Jack is. He says he hasn't seen his daughter in nine years. Nine f*cking years. When we meet her, she says she's in eighth grade. That would put her at about twelve or thirteen years of age, so she was three or four when he last saw her and he couldn't go see his only child or be part of her life because... reasons. Why exactly am I supposed to like this guy again?

So all this just made the ending feel empty, since my irritation towards Jack and apathy towards Jon meant I wasn't rooting for anyone. Oh and as I feared would happen, I never laughed nor even once broke a smile during this whole "comedy."

Sorry Vamp, but this just really wasn't for me.

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What's funny is I really loved Midnight Run when I first saw it in the theater in 1988.
Then I did a rewatch about a year ago... somehow it didn't feel the same. The movie hasn't aged well.

I've not seen that film in 20 years, but you've given it a higher rating than I would've, MV. Literally the only thing I remember about that film is the argument I got into with my Film Studies tutor over it.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Throw me into the same pool as Vicky and HK (oh that sounds fun! ). I've seen Midnight Run a couple of times and just really didn't like it. Never been able to understand the reputation it has and to be honest I don't think I would even have realised it was meant to be a 'comedy' if it hadn't already been sold as one to me

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I think the film works as dark and gritty, because that's the atmosphere of the whole movie/plot. Sure, part of it is because of the age and low-budget factors. But I think the B-movie cinematography makes it more home-hitting than if it were some big production.

Midnight Run is ok. Just one of those "pass-the-time" movies. I'd give it a 3/5. I wasn't laughing hysterically at it or anything, but I did have some chuckles along the way. The John character is really annoying though, and a complete idiot. Jack should have just given him a sedative at the very beginning and none of the stuff would've happened. Problem solved.

All of you guys suck. Midnight Run is fantastic

I've argued with people about this, but I always enjoyed Charles Grodin's movie performances. I always liked his comedic deadpan delivery especially in movies like Catch-22, The Heartbreak Kid and The Lonely Guy.

For the record, i don't actually think it is fantastic. Well i do, it's one of my favourite films but i don't really disagree with any of the criticisms here. It's just one of those dumb 80's/early 90's comedies that along with My Cousin Vinny and The 'Burbs especially makes me really happy and takes me out of bad/sad moods. The only thing that works better than those three is Arrested Development. It's flawed as all hell and i completely get people not finding it totally hilarious, while it's one of my favourite comedies i wouldn't say it's one of the films that make me laugh most. Here's my post about it in the 12th:

This makes me realize we really don't have a variety of comedies being made today as in the past. I was going to say I miss Charles Grodin being in movies, but he probably wouldn't fit in today's comedies. It seems almost all of it is Seth Rogen / Frat Pack level toilet humor and vulgarity.

I always object to films today being categorized as "always" anything since there is just as much variety as before just not always in Hollywood which tends to latch on to niche's they find to milk them for all they're worth. I don't really focus on comedy films though so couldn't suggest any alternatives, maybe some of the bigger comedy fans here will be able to.

TV Comedy has been consistently fantastic since the 90's though, obviously there's been plenty of garbage but i don't think comedy has been explored as well and as in depth as it has in the last 25 years in TV Shows though. Saying that they clearly latch onto certain types of shows too, every time i turn around i seem to see a new show emulating Louie for instance.

Earlier on I just finished watching Never Let Me Go by the way. I was quite curious about it back when it was released but missed it and had largely forgotten about it. Seeing you and some other people talking about it because of the Hall of Fame made me decide to give it a go. While you certainly rated it higher than I would have I think I largely shared your opinion of it. I struggled to really engage with it, finding it a bit dull in stretches. I think it had some very interseting ideas in there but that none of them were really explored to their full potential. The central idea was interesting but I think so much of it was left vague that I found myself frustrated. How does the whole operation, with all the different centres and stuff, actually work? How do they keep track of the donors? Do the donors ever rebel and try to escape or hide? Like you I was irritated by how willingly they all accepted it. I think the idea of using art to judge a person's soul also had some potential for real depth but wasn't fully explored. I did find it to be a rather lovely looking film though and thought Carey Mulligan gave a rather endearing, mesmerising performance.

Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/21/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th HOF, Pussy Galore's nomination
Rewatch: No

There are a lot of things to praise about Hiroshima Mon Amour. The performances and writing are solid. It's a really beautiful film. The cinematography is gorgeous and many of the images, particularly of Hiroshima's survivors, are quite haunting. I really respect the artistry that went into its creation.

The trouble is, even with all its strengths, I didn't enjoy it at all and I really struggled to finish it. The problem is that I simply did not care about either of its central characters. I found her emotional instability annoying and his bizarre fascination with her equally so. I was not at all engaged in the story of her German lover in Nevers and her time in the cellar. And, while I found the sound of the main actress's voice soothing, the excruciating pace and endless and repetitive talking made it hard for me to maintain my focus and I was quite bored throughout.

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Looks like the rating you gave it may mean I would really like it.

Perfect Blue (Pafekuto buru) (Satoshi Kon, 1997)
Imdb

Date Watched: 02/23/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Animation Tournament, also because I just felt like it
Rewatch: Yes

Although I still prefer the wonderful characters of Tokyo Godfathers and the twisted imagery of Paprika, Perfect Blue is an excellent film.

What really makes this film great is just how disorienting it is. It's confusing in a way that makes it intriguing rather than frustrating. Nothing is really as it seems and even by the film's end you're not entirely sure what actually happened. While I find the character of Mima actually kind of annoying (her childish naivete in the beginning was really grating), I definitely felt like I was seeing things through her eyes as she lost touch with reality and things spun out of control.

But there's more to like here than just that. The imagery, though not as memorable for me as Paprika's, is still striking and haunting at times. It really adds a lot to the sense of paranoia that permeates most of the movie. I also really liked the contrast between the colorful costumes and bright lights of the life of a pop idol and the darker, more seedy images of Mima as an actress and how those brighter images took on a really ominous feeling as the film progressed.

Overall, Perfect Blue is really taut and engrossing. It's definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I've seen but I still hesitate to call it a favorite.

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@Camo @CiCi

Jesus, yeah you are the best momentarily at least

I am the best always.