The Women Directors Hall of Fame

Orlando

Bummed I didn't like this one more. I think Swinton is very good and the movie looks great. I have spent the day thinking about it and I just am not sure what this movie wants me to feel thematically. That and the fact that I was mostly uninterested in what was going on just left me with a bad viewing experience unfortunately.

The Russian segment which was LOVE I believe was by far my favorite. I liked the snow setting and all the skating around was kind of cool. Pretty intense moment in this sequence that is visually striking.

Besides that none of the other segments gave me anything to latch onto. I wasn't crazy about the fourth wall stuff either. Felt kind of thrown in because of Swinton's stare. Really disliked the segment with Zane, that was probably my least favorite. I don't know. Not very concise thoughts which makes sense considering that is kind of how my viewing went. Bummer.

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Letterboxd

Billy Zane would ruin anything. I was thinking about the ice skating; do people just use that as a way of getting around in some places, or did they at some time?

Jal contacted me, he's still in. He said he's got an exam in the first week of February and that he'll watch the films after that.

Good question. The film made it seem like they just used it to get around. Have no idea if that's accurate.

I liked Billy Zane in Titanic In Orlando he's suppose to be gender unspecific, that's what I thought anyway.

Oh, loved the Russian ice skating segment in Orlando, over all a strongly visual film.

After thinking about it, I didn't mind him in Dead Calm.

I see he was in Tombstone too, but I don't remember his role in that.

the winter scene is one of the best in Orlando, and I actually enjoyed Zane in it, though I'm so-so with him in general.
I do see he was in Tombstone; not sure, but I THINK he was a traveling actor. But that is a HUGE guess on my part. Been a VERY VERY long time since seeing Tombstone.
(I'm one of those who prefer Wyatt Earp over Tombstone)

That's it, you're right, he was a traveling actor. A small but good role. Love that movie!
...just kidding. Wyatt Earp is a fine film, though I do prefer Tombstone over it

same thing, spin it around. Loved Kilmer's Doc and enjoy Quaid's more gritter Doc almost equally.

Take This Waltz

Sadly, I had a few problems and wasn't able to enjoy this one. Which is a shame, since I really liked the opening to it and thought I was in for an enjoyable viewing, that just wasn't the case for me.

I'm not a fan of Seth Rogen. I just run lukewarm with him. I do enjoy his voice work in a couple of animations; Horton Hears A Who and he's pretty hilarious as BOB in Monsters vs Aliens. But with acting roles. . . Rogen being Rogen on the big screen doesn't work for me.
And yet, in this, I enjoyed him. He did a good job. Though the one scene after she confesses to him and they're at the kitchen table, as he runs the gambit of emotions; the editing felt like a series of "practice takes" trying to figure out which one to expand on.

Now I don't think I've seen Michelle Williams in anything else and I'm very curious to see her in other roles. She did an excellent acting job.
It was the character itself that really ruined it all for me. The character was like one of those bored, listless children with an entire room full of toys, shelves stacked with movies and game videos, who lives within walking distance of a park, an arcade, and an amusement park but won't bother with the effort to find something to occupy themselves except to interrupt you when you are doing something that matters to you. Because they need someone else to entertain and/or amuse them and get upset if you don't.
This was really amplified with the ending, alone on the amusement park ride, when we see only moment of true happiness is when an external force is flinging her about.

That listlessness of going through the motions seemed to permeate nearly the entire film. Or perhaps I was searching for something else and it seemed to be all I could see. Even the dancing at the party had a kind of lifelessness to it. Which I do understand where the director was going with it and what she was attempting to say regarding social interaction and the lack of a spark that happens in most day to day encounters.
I do appreciate that, but it dragged me into it's cortex as well.

Sorry.

This is, of course, the correct opinion. Guys our age loooove Tombstone. I have seen it like three times, it's fine. Earp is fantastic and has the superior Doc.

THANK YOU!

I've seen Take This Waltz and The Last Supper. I'll say more about them at some point, but I loved Take This Waltz and have some mixed feelings about The Last Supper. Some of my feelings are probably brought on by conservative vs liberal fatigue.

JJ is on five and Yam is on six as he watched two others he just hasn't reviewed them yet. That means pretty much everyone is at least halfway through. As i said on the last page Jal is still in he's just busy, he said he'll get through the films after the first week of February as he has an exam then.

Take This Waltz




The second watch of my nom. I pretty much felt about it the way I did the first time. I really do hate the first ten minutes. I am sure it was amplified by the way others in the HOF have felt, it is hard to ignore that it doesn't even need to be there and the movie would remain the exact same. In fact probably would be better without the coincidences. Anyway the beginning is what it is and the film just gets better and better from there all the way to the ending which I really love.

I usually feel a film is about the way it ends, especially for me when the themes are front and center and have a moral bend. Admittedly the film is pretty personal for me. The wife getting bored with the husband not because he is a bad guy but simply because he is more chicken than veal hits me where it hurts. So does the end though, when the ex-wife realizes that veal ends up tasting like chicken eventually as well. Rogen's line to Williams that some things in life can't be undone is very similar to a couple conversations I have had with my ex. So, yes, the movie strikes a chord with me that I am sure it doesn't with others. Enough with the personal baggage nonsense.

I also really love how the Williams Rogen relationship is portrayed. I can see the pillow talk stuff bothering some but I think it accurately shows how couples develop their own language that is unique to them and likely drives everyone else insane. Williams and Rogen are both fantastic. Especially Williams who has become one of my favorites. I like the rhythm of the storytelling. Many scenes bounce pretty easily between poignant and playful. Outside of that opening I think the script is strong.

I could nitpick some things besides the opening. I don't think the cafe scene is great. The neighborhood these people live in seems like a possibility for only about two weeks a year in Toronto. It never seems possible for a chicken cookbook writer and a rickshaw driver to live in. I doubt this hippie neighborhood exists in this form at all but, no matter, because I liked spending time in it.

Very good film. I am pleased that even if it hasn't been loved it has evoked some feelings from a couple of you. Won't be my number 1 but it will more than likely be top 3.

I thought this might be a very personal movie for you Sean. I didn't want to ask any questions about your life and how you viewed the movie, as I didn't want to pry...But now that you brought it up, I did wonder something:

I imaged the movie resonated with you because in part of Rogen's forgiveness of what his ex-wife had done. And I image that last scene where she visits him at their old house and they share a moment of resolve, was a healing moment that spoke to you. Did you feel that about the movie?

Great review! I remember you mentioning your divorce before so i figured that played into your love for it. Obviously i've never been married and it's absolutely not the same thing, but i was in a relationship for just under three years when i was 14 until i was 17 and while it was obviously a teen relationship that's completely it's own thing a few things in the film did strike me too.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night



This one was really personal for me. I once was attacked by a beautiful vampire with switchblade fangs.

I wasn't crazy about this film but it is undeniably gorgeous and well made. The look and mood is certainly what I enjoyed the most. Hard to imagine that Amirpour isn't influenced by Jarmusch. Not just the B&W cinematography and ghost town setting but her use of music and the way her characters carry themselves. It was striking especially after just watching a bunch of his stuff. That aesthetic was what worked best for me.

The story isn't bad but it just wasn't enough to sustain a feature film for me. There were a couple twenty minute stretches where the film was trying my attention span. Despite my comparison to Jarmusch where I think Amirpour fails is in character. The film is entirely too self-aware to allow its characters any room to breathe and go from feeling calculated to feeling real.

Overall a solid film, especially for a debut, that will stay with me a bit and make me watch everything Amirpour does going forward. Those switchblade teeth though.

Should be getting more lists soon TN has only one left and Sean has two. Waiting for lists is torture i love compiling these things, i'm such a dork haha.