The Fantasy Hall of Fame

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Definitely worth a read guys.
I have several.. based on different parts of the fairytale/folklore world.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Because its boring, should I give up in trying to rewatch i
I'm staying out of that bear trap
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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



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I watched E.T. today. As usual, the review will be on in a few days, but @gbgoodies don't need to be afraid as I didn't hate it.

It's nice to know that you didn't hate it, but I hope that you liked it too.

And about good vs. bad reviews, I usually don't write out my review in advance. I sometimes keep short notes while watching the movies, just as reminders for myself, but most of my reviews are just my thoughts about the movie, regardless of whether they're good or bad.

One thing that I don't do that I think most people do is I don't look at who nominated what movie. I don't want my opinion of the movie to be swayed either way based on my feelings for the person who nominated it, or their taste in movies. My opinion is always based solely on the movie itself, so if it's a bad review, it should never reflect poorly on the person who nominated it.
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



I don't want my opinion of the movie to be swayed either way based on my feelings for the person who nominated it, or their taste in movies. My opinion is always based solely on the movie itself, so if it's a bad review, it should never reflect poorly on the person who nominated it.
I really do hope that everyone feels this way as well. To have personal opinions of a participant affect how one judges and ranks their nomination would ruin the integrity of the HoFs.

Personally, I care so little about who nominated what film, that I sometimes forget which film was my own nomination haha.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
The Dark Crystal



One of those films that I really wish I liked more. But something about it just doesn't click for me. I think it's a film that kind of needs a little bit of nostalgia to appreciate, and I hadn't seen this before or as a kid, a bit too before my time so to speak.

The characters are just odd to me and it's hard to latch onto any of them and really care about what is going on in the film. My favorite character is probably Fizzgig. Yeah, the damn cat. I think it's important to care for the character of Jen on his journey but that just really didn't happen for me.

I liked the ending of the film though. Yeah a pretty typical and somewhat heartwarming ending but it worked well for the film. The animation was fairly impressive but not necessarily a style that wows either. But I still give credit to Henson and Oz for the film, I don't think this is one that I won't watch again, there's a lot of subtle things that I believe I had missed and there's a lot going on that I could get more out of a repeat viewing. For now it sits in the middle of the pack.




I really do hope that everyone feels this way as well. To have personal opinions of a participant affect how one judges and ranks their nomination would ruin the integrity of the HoFs.
Agree with that. If anyone was to study my voting record, they'd see at times I've loved someone's nom, then next HoF I hated their nom. It's never personal. Though some people tend to pick noms I'm more likely to hate...while other members pick noms I'm more likely to love...just the luck of the draw.

I feel that when I have to write a review I have to be honest and say so, even if that means I have to say I hated the film. By now most of the regular members should be able to predict my reaction to most of the noms.



The trick is not minding
E.T

What an amazing film! Spielberg fills this film with wondrous scenes and dazzling spectacle, hi tech special effects that still look amazing today, and enough emotion to keep the film grounded.
Everything works in this. The cinematography, the music, the acting. That last part is tough when dealing with children, but they manage to nail it.
And of course the alien. No mere puppet here. Spielberg helps capture the emotion with the alien, and even manages to capture the emotional bond it creates with the young boy, Elliot. We see and feel the sadness of the alien of being separated from his family. And we see, as well, the sadness of Elliot having a broken home. His parents having divorced. The connection they make after meeting is something that I can never forget.
What we have here is movie making at its finest. (I’ll fight you on it!)
Side note:
I was always struck by the neighborhood and always thought to myself “I’d love to live there!” Just a silly observation.



With that, everyone has now embarked on their Hall of Fame journey!

So far, we have 68 reviews for eligible films, 10 additional reviews for the optional Lord of the Rings sequels, and a bonus review for a related film. That's nearly 80 reviews in just four weeks!

Three of us have finished our quest already, but there's still plenty of time left for those who didn't feel like sprinting across the plains as we did. The deadline is still set to September 19th, which gives the rest of our adventurers approximately seven weeks to complete the remaining films.

Good work everyone!



One thing that I don't do that I think most people do is I don't look at who nominated what movie. I don't want my opinion of the movie to be swayed either way based on my feelings for the person who nominated it, or their taste in movies. My opinion is always based solely on the movie itself, so if it's a bad review, it should never reflect poorly on the person who nominated it.
I try to do that too. Not that I have any personal vendettas against other MoFos, but better safe than sorry. E.T. being the only late nomination it was rather hard not to know whose nom it was, though
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Lord of the Rings (1978)


Ralph Bakshi attempted to do Lord of the Rings 25 years before the Peter Jackson trilogy, blended several different animation styles and consolidating two of the first three books the result is a mixed bag. Bakshi mixes his animation styles between traditional art styles and rotoscopping.


The strength of the film to me is surprisingly the script, a number of issues I had with the trilogy where answered in the 78' version. Jackson glosses over certain things in his 9 hour version that Bakshi addresses in the solo effort. Frodo's journey and descent is actually done better in this version because you don't have the same false starts that pad out the trilogy. I also really dig the different takes the battle of the Balrog is done through beautifully rendered paintings. The battle of Helm's deep is shot in a different way and has an almost creepier vibe to it. I also like how the clans are differentiated here, Boromir, Aragorn and Theoden are all very distinct.


The film though sadly a mixed bag some of the artistic choices are really bad...Gimli, Sam and Gollum both get the short end of the stick here as they are very shallow and poorly rendered. The edit is fairly cruel to the Ents, Shire, and Rivendell. The characters also move very awkwardly and the animation shows it's age the most at that point. Animation definitely improves in the next five years but it also seems less effective than Wizards that came out before this. It also has several scenes of corniness that could take you out of the film.


I would recommend watching this as a companion piece...the different takes are fun and the runtime isn't that bad. In essence it's like watching the non-extended versions of the three LOTR films.



I've not seen Bakshi's version of Lord of the Rings in ages, but I have been meaning to revisit it for awhile now. I think I turned it on a couple of years ago but wasn't really in the mood so I didn't watch much of it.

Maybe I'll try to sit through it again before the HoF is over.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I had seen Bakshi's version several times before Jackson came out with his and when I first saw the trilogy I did find myself making comparisons. One thing I had noticed was how very close this shot was done.




My assumption was that Jackson must of liked the composition as well and copied it.

I also preferred the Boromir in Bakshi's a little more though. Not to downgrade Sean Bean any. He just seems less stoic, which is how I've pictured Boromir.



I think Sean Bean does a great job in LOTR, but I found Bakashi's version to be more effective. Jackson telegraphs Boromir's turn in Fellowship it's a lot better in Bakashi's version.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki: We better rest here until it's dry.
Jiji: Won't we get in trouble?
Kiki: Not if nobody's finds us.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this previously on recent watches of Miyazaki films, several of which, including this one, I hadn't seen before, but I definitely have a greater appreciation for his style of storytelling than when I was much younger. When I would only appreciate the artwork only.
It's hard to describe but perhaps it has to do with being so much less cynical than I used to be back then and therefore opening up to the innocence of much of his stories.
I definitely found it to be the case here with a young witch seeking to find her own way in her own town. In fact, I was letting out a sigh of enjoyment in the very opening, seeing her laying out in the grass by the water. Those little moments that fill the world building of a Miyazaki film along with the simple lessons of hope and kindness, and allowing inspiration to find you as opposed to chasing after it.

Quite a beautiful thing, that.

Oh, and yes, gbg, the very first time Tombo makes that big smile he TOTALLY looks like Curious George. When it happened I instantly remembered your comment and let out a laugh.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
The Dark Crystal



One of those films that I really wish I liked more. But something about it just doesn't click for me. I think it's a film that kind of needs a little bit of nostalgia to appreciate, and I hadn't seen this before or as a kid, a bit too before my time so to speak.

The characters are just odd to me and it's hard to latch onto any of them and really care about what is going on in the film. My favorite character is probably Fizzgig. Yeah, the damn cat. I think it's important to care for the character of Jen on his journey but that just really didn't happen for me.

I liked the ending of the film though. Yeah a pretty typical and somewhat heartwarming ending but it worked well for the film. The animation was fairly impressive but not necessarily a style that wows either. But I still give credit to Henson and Oz for the film, I don't think this is one that I won't watch again, there's a lot of subtle things that I believe I had missed and there's a lot going on that I could get more out of a repeat viewing. For now it sits in the middle of the pack.


Fizzgig was a cat??? He's a cute little furball, but I don't think I would have guessed he's a cat.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
E.T

What an amazing film! Spielberg fills this film with wondrous scenes and dazzling spectacle, hi tech special effects that still look amazing today, and enough emotion to keep the film grounded.
Everything works in this. The cinematography, the music, the acting. That last part is tough when dealing with children, but they manage to nail it.
And of course the alien. No mere puppet here. Spielberg helps capture the emotion with the alien, and even manages to capture the emotional bond it creates with the young boy, Elliot. We see and feel the sadness of the alien of being separated from his family. And we see, as well, the sadness of Elliot having a broken home. His parents having divorced. The connection they make after meeting is something that I can never forget.
What we have here is movie making at its finest. (I’ll fight you on it!)
Side note:
I was always struck by the neighborhood and always thought to myself “I’d love to live there!” Just a silly observation.

What a great review! It sounds like you love this movie even more than I do! (I rarely get to read these types of reviews of my noms, so this was a nice change of pace. )



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I try to do that too. Not that I have any personal vendettas against other MoFos, but better safe than sorry. E.T. being the only late nomination it was rather hard not to know whose nom it was, though

I don't think that anyone has any personal vendettas against anyone else here, but sometimes people's opinions can subconsciously get in the way.

But, yeah, it was pretty hard for anyone to not know which movie was my nom in this HoF.



The trick is not minding
What a great review! It sounds like you love this movie even more than I do! (I rarely get to read these types of reviews of my noms, so this was a nice change of pace. )
I love this movie! I watch it every few years around Halloween, since it takes place during that Holiday.