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You might give out 1 star ratings like candy, but most critics reserve 1 star for the utter failures.
18th Mofo Hall of Fame
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Because this (and other similar remarks in the past) was a big reason I did this I'm just going to leave a link here too: statistics from my first calendar year as a mofo
But it's true, you do give really low ratings to beloved movies in HoFs...which of course is your choice and your right. But it's pretty obvious you usually don't like classic Hollywood dramas & comedies especially with adult romance themes. I believe you've said so yourself. Which is your right too, no one has to change their viewpoints.
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the square - 2017 - Ruben Östlund
spoilers
a highly original and tense movie working with subtleties in/and humor.
an art curator is fractured about with several subplots relating to parenting, power playing, artistic/moral integrity, and ...just a lot of other things.
spoilers
a highly original and tense movie working with subtleties in/and humor.
an art curator is fractured about with several subplots relating to parenting, power playing, artistic/moral integrity, and ...just a lot of other things.
I was entertained and kept on the edge of my seat for reasons I am still trying to understand.
The way things were orchestrated kind of blew me away a little, and I've been the audience on a good amount of films that pull the rug from underneath you but this movie sets the scenes up so tonal and so misleading that it's often hard to tell what we're watching. At one point I thought I may have witnessed 2 separate murders. What's left off of camera, and what is implied with very glaring yet subdued visual clues really had me twitching.
I think some of my confusion was that because I could never fully adjust to the tone - that the moral message trying to escape the script was hindered for me. I could never really connect on any serious level outside of some quiet carnage, and it's not that I connect with carnage, it's only that at least I thought I understood what might be coming around the corner. Does it take a twist? The tension builds for apparently no reason. I believe this was done on purpose. I mean, obviously it was done on purpose. It was done well.
I was allowed to enjoy each scene as an experiment and I was interested in this movie pretty much from start to back. I would have personally liked to have seen it a bit shorter. I felt that the children with daddy subplot kind of only acted as a reflection of a man slowly embracing his hypocrisy, but then again, that may not have been the message the film was aiming to put across. I think the script in that regard was muddled, just the way it translated. I cared less for some of the elements meant to maybe weigh more(?)
Definitely a comedy with some nice dark blend going on in there and the cinematography was next level in some areas.
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Thanks for your thoughts @Joel !
Glad you had a mostly entertaining and stimulating experience. You definitely aren’t a square.
but seriously, a good write-up. I’m glad to see how people respond to my nom exactly as I want them to - not to necessarily love or even like it - but just to be provoked, stimulated, interested, fascinated, uncomfortable or even downright mad or irritated, or whatever they may feel. This one gets you going, I hope... for whatever reason to you. Good or bad. But it should get you going alright.
I didn’t watch any noms today unfortunately... went for some Redford at sea and Dafoe at a gate instead.
Glad you had a mostly entertaining and stimulating experience. You definitely aren’t a square.
but seriously, a good write-up. I’m glad to see how people respond to my nom exactly as I want them to - not to necessarily love or even like it - but just to be provoked, stimulated, interested, fascinated, uncomfortable or even downright mad or irritated, or whatever they may feel. This one gets you going, I hope... for whatever reason to you. Good or bad. But it should get you going alright. I didn’t watch any noms today unfortunately... went for some Redford at sea and Dafoe at a gate instead.
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MovieMeditation's Cinema Reviews // Film Diary 2015 // Letterboxd Profile // MovieMeditation's Top 50 Horror
/watching movies for mark f/
MovieMeditation's Cinema Reviews // Film Diary 2015 // Letterboxd Profile // MovieMeditation's Top 50 Horror
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I had put this on my watchlist just before the HoF so I was going to see this anyways. Not quite as good as I hoped but quite solid nomination (by my standards) nonetheless.
The Little Stranger (2018) N
A doctor returns to his hometown and gets entangled in the lives of what's left of the family living in large but slowly crumbling manor.
I often like slow burn Gothic horrors and there's lots of good in The Little Stranger too but also lots of little issues that kinda pile up and weigh the whole down a notch. Perhaps my main issue with the film is its ambiguity or more precisely how it is achieved - both the script and Domhnall Gleeson are selling Dr. Faraday's envy so hard that the ending felt like a copout (it's about the envy anyways but the exact nature of events is left open for no good reason).
Acting is generally very good (especially Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter) but Gleeson is (probably per director's instructions) too emotionless and cold all the time. I suppose he's meant to try to act like the upper class gentleman does in his mind but it feels hard to grasp why the disillusioned and somewhat humble Caroline would fall for such antics. I found the relationship as a whole very unconvincing.
There's good atmosphere in The Little Stranger and it uses the class conflict pretty well as a base for the story. The build-up works to a large degree but like I said earlier it pushes its premise little too hard. It's pretty close to being good though and it definitely wouldn't need big changes to be that. We'll see if it grows on me with time but for now...
A doctor returns to his hometown and gets entangled in the lives of what's left of the family living in large but slowly crumbling manor.
I often like slow burn Gothic horrors and there's lots of good in The Little Stranger too but also lots of little issues that kinda pile up and weigh the whole down a notch. Perhaps my main issue with the film is its ambiguity or more precisely how it is achieved - both the script and Domhnall Gleeson are selling Dr. Faraday's envy so hard that the ending felt like a copout (it's about the envy anyways but the exact nature of events is left open for no good reason).
Acting is generally very good (especially Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter) but Gleeson is (probably per director's instructions) too emotionless and cold all the time. I suppose he's meant to try to act like the upper class gentleman does in his mind but it feels hard to grasp why the disillusioned and somewhat humble Caroline would fall for such antics. I found the relationship as a whole very unconvincing.
There's good atmosphere in The Little Stranger and it uses the class conflict pretty well as a base for the story. The build-up works to a large degree but like I said earlier it pushes its premise little too hard. It's pretty close to being good though and it definitely wouldn't need big changes to be that. We'll see if it grows on me with time but for now...
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The Square (2017)
The Square presents the viewer with a seemingly random set of circumstances that Christian (Claes Bang) the curator of a contemporary Swedish art museum faces. We see Christian, an atypical Swede (according to this film) to be a man of high morals...He drives an electric car and stands for openness and civility. He's seemingly a model citizen. However the way he handles himself after his phone & wallet are stolen, shows he's not quite versed at practicing what he purports.
At each encounter with an 'outsider' he reacts with mistrust. His incongruity grows as he overreacts to each situation. In one rather humorous example, Christian has a one night stand with an 'outsider' (an American woman) he mistrusts her so much that he refuses to let her have the used condom, out of fear that she will use the contents to impregnate herself.
There's many vignettes within the film's structure that goes to show how a high minded man like Christian, isn't always so broad thinking when faced with real world situations. That narrow, world view happens in reverse too....When Christian as head curator of the museum quickly agrees to use the promotional video idea of two fellow Swedes for the new exhibit. He trust them, even though their idea for a YouTube video on the museums behalf is beyond wild and ends up causing an outrage. His trust is based on his familiarity with people who look like him, thus he gives the two young Swedes free rein. That trust in this case is misplaced.
I especially liked the museum's exhibit where visitors have to choose between two paths to enter...they can choose, 'I Trust People' or 'I Don't Trust People'. Above each entrance is a count of how many have entered each path. Most chose, 'I Trust People'. Only to find they're required to prove that trust in strangers by leaving their phone and wallet unattended in a square.
The Square is an interesting film that creates real worldliness through low key filming & editing techniques...It's kind of like watching someone else's life on a videocam feed. But you know if you spend 2.5 hours watching someone else's life it does tend to get a bit monotonous at times.
At each encounter with an 'outsider' he reacts with mistrust. His incongruity grows as he overreacts to each situation. In one rather humorous example, Christian has a one night stand with an 'outsider' (an American woman) he mistrusts her so much that he refuses to let her have the used condom, out of fear that she will use the contents to impregnate herself.
There's many vignettes within the film's structure that goes to show how a high minded man like Christian, isn't always so broad thinking when faced with real world situations. That narrow, world view happens in reverse too....When Christian as head curator of the museum quickly agrees to use the promotional video idea of two fellow Swedes for the new exhibit. He trust them, even though their idea for a YouTube video on the museums behalf is beyond wild and ends up causing an outrage. His trust is based on his familiarity with people who look like him, thus he gives the two young Swedes free rein. That trust in this case is misplaced.
I especially liked the museum's exhibit where visitors have to choose between two paths to enter...they can choose, 'I Trust People' or 'I Don't Trust People'. Above each entrance is a count of how many have entered each path. Most chose, 'I Trust People'. Only to find they're required to prove that trust in strangers by leaving their phone and wallet unattended in a square.
The Square is an interesting film that creates real worldliness through low key filming & editing techniques...It's kind of like watching someone else's life on a videocam feed. But you know if you spend 2.5 hours watching someone else's life it does tend to get a bit monotonous at times.
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 07-12-19 at 04:24 PM.
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Acting is generally very good (especially Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter) but Gleeson is (probably per director's instructions) too emotionless and cold all the time. I suppose he's meant to try to act like the upper class gentleman does in his mind but it feels hard to grasp why the disillusioned and somewhat humble Caroline would fall for such antics. I found the relationship as a whole very unconvincing.
My interpretation
WARNING: spoilers below
I think a big part of the story is what each individual is missing. Caroline to me is a lesbian who desires to leave England and relocate somewhere where she can be herself. Faraday on the other hand is missing parts of himself, he has an emptiness to him because the house took a part of him and manifested into this poltergeist. Faraday is only complete when he's at the estate.
But three stars from you is a pretty good score
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My interpretation
WARNING: spoilers below
I think a big part of the story is what each individual is missing. Caroline to me is a lesbian who desires to leave England and relocate somewhere where she can be herself. Faraday on the other hand is missing parts of himself, he has an emptiness to him because the house took a part of him and manifested into this poltergeist. Faraday is only complete when he's at the estate.
WARNING: spoilers below
Caroline being a lesbian makes sense in many ways, I suppose (and the author is, as far as I know, very keen on lesbian protagonists).I don't know about the Faraday thing though. He's very much the same at the mansion too and part of my ambiguity issue is that I'm not even sure if he really manifested the poltergeist (Caroline saying "You" right before her fall implies she knows the attacker and she's never seen the boy Faraday) or just dealt with the family as his regular adult self. Maybe the boy at the end is just sad that the man never got over the child's envy.
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Thanks for your thoughts @Joel !
Glad you had a mostly entertaining and stimulating experience. You definitely aren’t a square. but seriously, a good write-up. I’m glad to see how people respond to my nom exactly as I want them to - not to necessarily love or even like it - but just to be provoked, stimulated, interested, fascinated, uncomfortable or even downright mad or irritated, or whatever they may feel. This one gets you going, I hope... for whatever reason to you. Good or bad. But it should get you going alright.
I didn’t watch any noms today unfortunately... went for some Redford at sea and Dafoe at a gate instead.
Glad you had a mostly entertaining and stimulating experience. You definitely aren’t a square.
but seriously, a good write-up. I’m glad to see how people respond to my nom exactly as I want them to - not to necessarily love or even like it - but just to be provoked, stimulated, interested, fascinated, uncomfortable or even downright mad or irritated, or whatever they may feel. This one gets you going, I hope... for whatever reason to you. Good or bad. But it should get you going alright. I didn’t watch any noms today unfortunately... went for some Redford at sea and Dafoe at a gate instead.
Dafoe. Hmm..animal farm?
And yesh man. Solid nom! What a well done collectio. Of scenes!
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The King of Comedy (1982)
Masha's and Rubert's interaction scenes were my favorite part of this innovative film directed by Scorsese. I remember way back in the 80's watching Late Night With David Letterman and Sandra Bernhard (Masha) was a frequent guest. I never knew who in the heck she was back then. She seemed to me to be only famous for being on Letterman. Of course she had co starred in 1982's The King of Comedy, but I didn't know that...On Letterman, Sandra was just like her character in the movie: loud, obnoxious and odd...very, very odd and very funny too! She's a strange person, at least on screen and I always enjoyed watching her. Robert DeNiro aka Rubert Pupkin, (love that name!) who IMO gives one of his best performances in his phenomenal career. Rubert is both annoying and likable, at the same time. He does the oddest things and yet we can still relate to why he does them, even if we don't approve of the way he approaches his rise to fame.
You know, I never liked those old Jerry Lewis movies, (gosh I hope no one nominates one of them, ha) but, I really liked Jerry here as a TV star talk show host...I doubt any of you guys, except for Ed maybe, are old enough to have watched The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, so I don't know if everyone will get that the Jerry Langford Show is meant to be a thinly veiled version of Johnny Carson's TV talk show. I love that they have the show done up so much like the old Carson show that you actually get the real producer of The Tonight Show, Freddy De Cordova playing the producer. And we see the behind the scenes production which I thought that was cool.
At the time The King of Comedy came out it was like seeing one of the most popular shows on TV in a dark comedy film...oh so very surreal and somewhat of a scary thing for the real Johnny Carson and other celebs of the time. Scorese is on record saying he regretted doing the subject matter of the film due to it's potential effect on potential future Ruberts. I for one am glad he made it, this might be my favorite Scorsese.
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 02-11-19 at 03:36 PM.
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Oh that was good. That redford flick. Forgot the name.
Dafoe. Hmm..animal farm?
And yesh man. Solid nom! What a well done collectio. Of scenes!
Dafoe. Hmm..animal farm?
And yesh man. Solid nom! What a well done collectio. Of scenes!
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It’s All is Lost and At Eternity’s Gate, respectively.
spoiler free of course
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It’s All is Lost and At Eternity’s Gate, respectively.
spoiler free of course
I remember checking to see if this was one of the few more recent pictures shot on film and learning an Arri Alexa was responsible. Most digital movies are RED or Sony. The Arri smokes them. Usually always looks like film on one of those.
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road to perdition - 2002 - sam mendes
SPOILERS
I didn't remember everything about this film, but I had seen it at least twice before since it came out. I remember liking it each time. Something occurred to me this time, however, and that was the glaring mismatch of themes and tone, or I should say the geling of the two.
On one hand you have powerhouse actor Paul Newman doing of course his balsamic vinaigrette Newman's Own job of acting which is always fun to watch. Then you have Tom Hanks, who could have been a real bad fella had he not felt almost forced in his role. I didn't fully believe him. Then came the sentimentality and typical Hollywood fuzzy heartwarming elements that were dreadfully out of place in a large scale gangster film about avenging your wife and child's murder while protecting the only kid you have left.
These themes are much too heavy to succumb to the typicality of moments that season this film and wear it thin. Everything down to an anonymous farm couple who's sole responsibility is just to be a cardboard caricature of a stereotypical plot device. Less than 30 seconds after we meet the couple - the little boy is waving in slow motion to his father as he works with Pa Farmer in the distance. It's moments like this, along with moments of canine galloping that kind of destroy the credibility that this film knew what it wanted and what it could do.
Take The Shawshank Redemption for instance. That film blended thriller elements and heavy subject matter with a lightheartedness well because the writing was so good. The writing was textured, and characters had ample time to familiarize themselves with the audience. In this picture I couldn't say the same thing. Driving lessons with hit man dad didn't seem to really sell me all that much. I felt like the writing needed way more breadth.
I think the film looks gorgeous, and some of the action and surprises are worthwhile, but soon or a later the whole thing kind of crumples. I get a strong feeling that Sam Mendes really had no business trying this type of picture, and that he really didn't know how to make it work, because, well, it didn't really work. Not as a confident balancing act. Not for me.
I liked it, though, as contradictory as that sounds. I enjoyed it yet again. I guess it took a third viewing to finally realize that this is a by-the-numbers type of studio film, and not the grim self discovery tale it aimed to be. I'll probably not watch it again for this reason, and because three times is usually a charm. In this case I liked it less the 3rd time.
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Road to Perdition
This was the film that perhaps I most looked forward to in this Hall of Fame as Tom Hanks is usually very good in whatever films he chooses. Thought he did a good job in a different type of role for him, probably the best performance in the film. The rest of the cast was good though it's a shame there wasn't a standout performance as I was hoping the film would lend to. My favorite part of the film was the look and feel of it. It's cinematography and dark gritty atmosphere gave the film an authentic 1930s mobster vibe. Overall it was a good film but I had such high hopes for it that I would be kidding if I said I didn't come away at least a tad disappointed. I actually thought the ending was quite good, in contrast to what a few of the other members have thought.
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This was the film that perhaps I most looked forward to in this Hall of Fame as Tom Hanks is usually very good in whatever films he chooses. Thought he did a good job in a different type of role for him, probably the best performance in the film. The rest of the cast was good though it's a shame there wasn't a standout performance as I was hoping the film would lend to. My favorite part of the film was the look and feel of it. It's cinematography and dark gritty atmosphere gave the film an authentic 1930s mobster vibe. Overall it was a good film but I had such high hopes for it that I would be kidding if I said I didn't come away at least a tad disappointed. I actually thought the ending was quite good, in contrast to what a few of the other members have thought.
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18th Hall of Fame
The Little Stranger
2018
Though this gothic tale did boost a gloomy atmosphere akin to that of pure horror, it didn’t really get under my skin due to a rather stale story. I might not have held my breath in any scenes, maybe besides one, but the film did hold my attention well enough even so, which is weird considering how much it has going against it. But what it does have going for it is the atmosphere, the acting and the general professionalism in the way the story is put forward – however that story may be. The film looks good, it sounds good but ultimately isn’t that good when looking at the bigger picture… at least in my eyes.
While I do admire a story, which doesn’t jump to sorry excuses for scares nor execute every member of the cast in a cascade of blood by the minute, I wish ‘The Little Stranger’ was… well, a little stranger. It plays it extremely straight and therefore the film is in desperate need of either crooked characters, some canny writing or perhaps a few call-backs to classic horror, which the house and atmosphere either hints at or sets itself up to, at times. But it never happens. Nothing ever really happens. As an audience, I feel like some sort of passive poltergeist to this story. I wish I could throw stuff at these people and make them do something of interest, but I’m just trapped behind the screen unable to communicate with the characters or change the ways of the story. Like the house, the story kind of feels… a bit empty and hollow.
It is like a character drama (quietly) clashing with a family tragedy being stuck in a glossy gothic tale. If it wasn’t for the acting, the first two wouldn’t be fascinating at all and if it wasn’t for the set design and generally solid cinematography, the latter would be litter too. Pretty much everything on the outside is oozing with professionalism, but underneath it feels like a hollow shell to me. When the film finally grabs me, it doesn’t hold on for very long and it doesn’t drag me into the story more than it merely drags me along. If it wasn’t for that last-minute attempt at “something” resembling ambiguity, as well as the small outbursts of intensity, I wouldn’t have remembered this movie the next day.
I really wish this film would have been better... I feel like there is a story in there somewhere that could work, if only it would decide whether to go full-bodied drama or full-blown horror. Instead I just get the sense of an unsteady middle-ground, where neither of the genres are followed through with. I love my drama with a dash of horror and vice versa, but ‘The Little Stranger’ could really have been a little stronger in both departments, if it really wanted to bind the two of them together beautifully. If the film was a flower, it would be pretty to look at but with bad binding work. And you wouldn’t see it bloom nor would you see it wither away. It never rose to something bigger nor let a leaf fall just to trigger or trick our mind. The flower would look pretty on a grave though.
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The Little Stranger
2018
Though this gothic tale did boost a gloomy atmosphere akin to that of pure horror, it didn’t really get under my skin due to a rather stale story. I might not have held my breath in any scenes, maybe besides one, but the film did hold my attention well enough even so, which is weird considering how much it has going against it. But what it does have going for it is the atmosphere, the acting and the general professionalism in the way the story is put forward – however that story may be. The film looks good, it sounds good but ultimately isn’t that good when looking at the bigger picture… at least in my eyes.
While I do admire a story, which doesn’t jump to sorry excuses for scares nor execute every member of the cast in a cascade of blood by the minute, I wish ‘The Little Stranger’ was… well, a little stranger. It plays it extremely straight and therefore the film is in desperate need of either crooked characters, some canny writing or perhaps a few call-backs to classic horror, which the house and atmosphere either hints at or sets itself up to, at times. But it never happens. Nothing ever really happens. As an audience, I feel like some sort of passive poltergeist to this story. I wish I could throw stuff at these people and make them do something of interest, but I’m just trapped behind the screen unable to communicate with the characters or change the ways of the story. Like the house, the story kind of feels… a bit empty and hollow.
It is like a character drama (quietly) clashing with a family tragedy being stuck in a glossy gothic tale. If it wasn’t for the acting, the first two wouldn’t be fascinating at all and if it wasn’t for the set design and generally solid cinematography, the latter would be litter too. Pretty much everything on the outside is oozing with professionalism, but underneath it feels like a hollow shell to me. When the film finally grabs me, it doesn’t hold on for very long and it doesn’t drag me into the story more than it merely drags me along. If it wasn’t for that last-minute attempt at “something” resembling ambiguity, as well as the small outbursts of intensity, I wouldn’t have remembered this movie the next day.
I really wish this film would have been better... I feel like there is a story in there somewhere that could work, if only it would decide whether to go full-bodied drama or full-blown horror. Instead I just get the sense of an unsteady middle-ground, where neither of the genres are followed through with. I love my drama with a dash of horror and vice versa, but ‘The Little Stranger’ could really have been a little stronger in both departments, if it really wanted to bind the two of them together beautifully. If the film was a flower, it would be pretty to look at but with bad binding work. And you wouldn’t see it bloom nor would you see it wither away. It never rose to something bigger nor let a leaf fall just to trigger or trick our mind. The flower would look pretty on a grave though.
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I will be back to read this review once I watch Little Stranger.
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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio
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