22nd Hall of Fame

It may very well be his most accessible film. He’s just not a very accessible director.

And that’s not meant in a negative way. But he just makes these very docu-drived and heavily politic films. That’s definitely not gonna be everybody’s cup of tea. Some directors chose to use the medium very differently, like Tarkovsky for example, where you don’t really follow the general rules of filmmaking. And Costa-Gavras is definitely one of them.

I’m a bit sad and a bit surprised you didn’t like this more.

We don’t see much to the bad guys because the bad guys are perhaps not even that bad. I loved this constant moral dilemma that was present at all times in the movie. We didn’t really know who was bad or what really happened. Should we root for this guy or not? It really did a great job at putting the emotions of equal amounts of anger, frustration and confusion in us. I disagree that it doesn’t want much. It want everything that you don’t usually see in revenge flicks. It’s like the Pulp Fiction of revenge flicks... how the protagonist is not really that tough. How he lives miserable before the actual kill. How the kill is actually super sloppy. How there’s many loose ends. How he tries to get weapons and it’s not as easy as it looks. How his plans fail more than succeed. How he has to encourage himself to do what he does. How he is human. How he has to wait around for the “baddies” to come home and that not everything turns out the way it should have etc etc

I’ve watched both Blue Ruin and Shine and will have reviews Written soon

Yeah, but the way the bad guys are portrayed is as if they kind of deserve it because the whole family would gladly kill someone and not sweat about it.
About the loose ends, I think Dwight wanted to go to jail and he didn't expect them not to call the cops, so he's faced with the decision to kill the whole family or let his entire family die. He really has no other option. There's merit on that, to see a human being suffer from his own actions.
Hell... I'll raise half a popcorn to the rating xD

My job here is done.

Shine


Genius has a way of of being a double edged sword. It incites jealousy from your peers, despite all the praise they also heap your way. And sometimes that can come from your own family. This is what happens with David Hefgott. Rush is amazing in this film. Lets gets that out of the way first. He was amazing when I first watched this right around when he won his Oscar for this portrayal, 23 years ago. He's still amazing after all these years. He quickly became one of my favorite actors.
Hefgott becomes a prodigy, which seems to incite jealousy from his own father, played with icy contempt by Armin Mueller-Stahl. He plays him with a stern and foreboding presence, it was no wonder David wilted under his withering gaze. The elder Hefgott abuses him both physically, and mentally. Eventually, David has a mental breakdown. what follows is his rediscovery and return to the music world, and a reconciliation of sorts with his father. The pacing is wonderful, and the director, Scott Hicks, wisely doesn't go for sentimentality here. He gives the biopic the attention and care it deserves. The way the piano pieces are filmed made me want to learn the piano. I could listen to the soundtrack all day. As such, we're left with an achievement that fully captures a man in turmoil, crushed under the weight of his mental illness. And occasionally, the genius that lurked beneath, hidden away.

I’ll do my review for Blue Ruin tomorrow. Going to start up I, Daniel Blake now. Been wanting to see this for years now.

I've decided to extend this one week, but that is it. Lists and reviews due July 27th

owill keep planning my views with next week in mind but that's more comfortable. Sorry for the slacking!

That is MORE than kind of you, but I'm still going to aim for the 20th to finish up the last films.

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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

Blue Ruin

Not a lot to say about this. It’s nothing really special, as far as revenge films go. Basic plot, basic characters, basic dialogue. About the only nice thing I can say is there were a few scenes where it got slightly intense, and there were a few nice shots.
Mostly, it was a disappointment. I expected more violence considering what I had heard about it, with comparisons to Blood Simple and Pulp Fiction. But those films offered far more then a plot. They were fresh. They were different.
Blue Ruin was just.....there.
About the only good thing to say about watching this, is that it will fill the slot on the 2020 movie challenge under “films made under 1 million budget”.
So...thanks for that.

State of Siege aka État de siège

Tupamaro leader: We don't have much time. If you want to write...
Philip Michael Santore: I'll write. But not to the embassy. To my wife only.

As a kid I remember seeing a few films done in a similar composition dealing with political/revolutionary stories, so that, even without any prior knowledge of the climate of the film, it was an easy segue into how things would proceed. And for me, finding the flow of any given film does wonders for my ability to explore and experience said film. And that experience was an enjoyable one.

Before writing this I read the reviews for this since I wanted to wait until I saw this before doing so. Something I've done with the other films in this HoF I haven't seen.
I did notice that the most common critique is that there is no look beneath the surface of the facts presented. The lack of personal knowledge in those involved; their motives, desires and so forth.
I think that kind of knowledge would have minimized the importance of the politics, aka the game of chess being played out. Removing that personal touch amplifies the indifference of what is done to the citizens and how, to fight back, the urban guerrillas leave their own personas behind and become The Idea for which they are fighting for and the Policies they are battling against.
In the end, it is a chess game and emotions and personalities create more conflict instead of the pursuit of the final move.
It may make for a boring film for many, but, understanding this simple fact from the get go, it was not, at all, for me.

From the opening of the intense amount of military and police stopping vehicle after vehicle, including armed troops on roof tops to the expertise of the guerrillas collecting vehicles I was intrigued and knew I was in for some serious old school espionage/spy genre done in a documentary film style. And while there was a number of times I had to pay very close attention, being outside the chess game as a mere observer, it was still a very good film and one I may see again to delve even deeper in game in play.

could I get a link for Dronningen, please
THANKS

Waco: Rules of Engagement

I remember when this was going on and every single news story as well as a movie that went straight to TV scarcely a few months after the fire when so many died had only one thing to say: Koresch is an insane zealot who set his compound on fire, killing his congregation. There were the occasional rumors that it was the FBI who sent in tanks that caused the fire and that the enforcement agencies severely dropped the ball. Followed by more and more stock reports: Koresch is a religious zealot that committed mass suicide to his congregation and himself. Making comparisons to the infamous Jim Jones/Jonestown where some 900 believers died from drinking cyanide drugged kool-aid. Squashing said rumors as rumors only.
For myself, during that summer as the incident was turned into a twisted circus of the agencies, government and news repeating the above fact over and over till everyone considered it the entire story and the complete truth; I tuned out, knowing in my gut that when there's that much insistence by one side, somebody somewhere is covering up some kind of f@ck up and that this lil country of mine has had a stockpile of said f@ck ups and a bigger pile of BS attempting to cover it up throughout our history. To the point when it has become an art form. Sadly.

So, to see this document which, if you didn't see the massive amount of one side propaganda going on at the time it could be easily construed that this is the exact same or perhaps just a retort to an argument that many folks know little about.
For me, what is seen on the document, especially detailing that final day is a whole lot of stuff that was NEVER mentioned in any news story or made for TV movie that allegedly was strictly fact based.

Do I know the FULL story on both sides? Nope. Only those involved do.
But gassing children and elderly people is horsesh#t.

I've also finished The Last Picture Show leaving me with Dronnegin (THANKS CR for the link) and Joker to finish up on.
Not sure if I'll have time to write up Picture Show tonight -- time will tell.

I have reviews to write up for I, Daniel Blake and Waco. Then just Dronningen, State of Siege and Mildred Pierce to watch

I, Daniel Blake


This film is a scathing attack on the welfare system and how it views those they deem dependent upon it. It’s pacing is slow, but it has to be, as we’re afforded time to get to know the characters involved. The message isn’t subtle, but it’s not supposed to be, I guess. At times, it comes close to grandstanding. For sure, it comes off slightly preachy. The final scene, where Kate reads Daniels letter, for instance.
But those are minor quibble sin an otherwise marvelous film. I feel for Daniel, and Kate. The scene where Kate breaks down in the food bank is sad and effective one. It doesn’t overreach.
The actors are good in their roles. Dave Johns plays Daniel as a proud man, one who has never depended on anyone else his whole life. A heart attack has changed that, And he is now dependent on the welfare system.
He’s caught in a literal Catch 22. He’s deemed unfit to work By his Doctor. The assessor seems him fit to go to work. Without consulting his physician. How he is treated by those those who are supposed to help him says more about the individuals in charge.
So begins his trials.
Kate is played by Hailey Squires, with a vulnerability that she hides from her children which soon takes a toll on her. She eventually is forced to do a job that Daniel feels is beneath her. But she’ll do anything for her children. That minor subplot is, sadly, dropped and never picked back up. Made Kate and her own experiences with that job would have been satisfying.
But again, that’s a minor quibble. This film is great. It’s my first Loach film, and I’ve been wanting to see his films for awhile now. I’m glad I finally have.
Dammit Neiba! If your films wins again, I’m starting a petition to ban you from future HOF! Haha

Ahah! I'm glad you liked it! But I think you don't have to worry about that, I can see Inglorious Basterds taking this!

You saving the best for last or what?

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It isn’t as good as Jagten, which was amazing, but a great film nonetheless.