MoFo Movie Roulette

White Boy Rick (2018)

Richard Wershe Sr.: Straight talk? Your mother and I. We didn't plan on Dawn.
We didn't plan on you either, but in the end, things worked out.
Rick Wershe Jr.: Dawn is a junkie, I'm sh#ting into a bag. Well, that turned out well.
Richard Wershe Sr.: What can I say, you know? I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy.

Much like the I, Tonya film, it was very good to see beyond the usual bullsh#t that the news spewed and the venom that lasted even longer on the streets when it came to a teenage kid that, like so many others, got the sh#t end of the stick during some very messed up, violent times when crack was rampant, drive-by shootings were - every - single - day and Detroit was labeled The Murder Capital.

While I am very glad to have seen this, it was also a sad experience as well. Thinking back to those very, very scary days that seemed to come to a head. Even though that, like anywhere else, at any given decade, bad sh#t happens. Small-time folks get used in an attempt to go after big-time folks, who, so rarely get what they deserve and the small-timers are the ones that have to pay the debt that never gets fully paid out.


On an odd comment/observation regarding every single Detroit-based film, I have ever seen. Why is it, that it is ALWAYS snowing?? It's always wintertime. Never summer. Ever.

Anyways, THANK YOU @John Dumbear for the recommendation!

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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

Glad you liked it and Grosse Point Blank didn't have snow, nor did Gran Torino...

@cricket



Shura is amazing. It's one of the best examples of black-and-white enhancing a film and making total sense over color. The way characters would completely disappear by an enveloping darkness while other characters felt super close-up because of the pitch black behind them was amazing. That is just one element of how cool this film is, but it's also super f*cked up, and when the baby got got, I let out an audible gasp. I figured it was going to happen, but there was still a little bit of hope that maybe we could still root for Gengobe. That moment let's you feel like a piece of sh*t for still being on his side after what he did in Fukagawa. I was strongly reminded of Eraserhead during that sequence, because the sound of the baby crying added a lot of tension. Two main reasons why: a) the sound of a baby crying is grating, and b) you also had the fear that Gengobe would do what he did or some other misfortune would befall the child. The effects are all great too. The only thing that really bothered me is why in the world did they keep the sake that Gengobe gave them. I would have instantly poured that out. It did lead to a gruesome scene, so I can't really complain about that. Amazing selection for me, cricket.

Glad you hung in!

Thank god! I could only come up with films that did! LOL
Four Brothers, True Romance, Out of Sight. . .

Dirty Dozen it is.




For you.......


Dark man


Enemy at the Gates


Big Fish

Cool! I think you'll enjoy that --

I've seen Dark Man and Big Fish (really liked that one) and I've been wanting to see Enemy at the Gates so -- YAY

Let me just say...all three of those rock! To bad I seen them already or you could've choose them for me

Hopefully, I'll come up with something special for ya when we pair off.

The Man Who Would Be King was one I've been tempted to throw into a General HoF, a time or two.

Sorry to be such a pain in the ass. I was out of town for a couple of days. Looked for and couldn't find any of these next three you provided. Except I could buy "Black Cop" for $10, but I stated early in this thread that I'm a cheap bastard.


EDIT: Citizen Rules set me up with "Black Cop".

You need to do more drugs

Seriously though, I kinda think that you may have liked the other films more. You picked the one that's the least traditional story. I often love films where children's imagination is mixed up with reality, and The Spirit of the Beehive excels in that. I can see how it might feel boring to some but I found it to be very much my kind of film. Sorry, you didn't like it more.

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I need to revisit Spirt of the Beehive, I can't remember when I watched it the first time, but it must have been more than 7-8 years ago. Right after that, I watched another movie little Ana Torrent was in, Cria Cuervos, and liked it much more. You seen Cria Cuervos, @pahaK? I think you might like it.

Never even heard of it, but I added it to my watchlist. Looks interesting.

Caffeine is as strong as I go I really liked your Fantasy HoF nom Tideland which had a child's imagination mixed up with reality, it worked well in that one. I even love slow films, nothing is slower than Naked Island which I rated a 4.5/5 The Spirit of the Beehive did not work for me. It didn't feel cohesive to me.

Glad you liked it!

I just watched it. Here's what I wrote to rating thread:

Cría cuervos (1976)

This was recommended on the basis of my liking of The Spirit of the Beehive. The connection is quite easy to see, and it's not restricted to Ana Torrent. The films share lots of themes (mainly death, and a child dealing with it), but Cria cuervos is less fantastical and less innocent. I wish it had gone deeper into the darkness instead of just continuously hinting at Ana's fascination with death. It trades away too much of the childish charms of The Spirit of the Beehive without ever fully committing to its more morbid path. Oh, and Porque te vas is such a great song and it's used so damn well in this film.

So yeah, a good film but I prefer The Spirit of the Beehive.

FYI watched Enemy at the Gates and was hoping to get a review up this weekend but should have it tonight (hopefully)
I enjoyed it.

Enemy at the Gates
This was not what I was expected when it first came out in 2001. Thinking that it was going the silly romance route where the love interest would be caught, and used to bait the "hero" to face off with the the "villain".

Nor did I expect the, not only gritty truth of war time battle, but to discover the reasons why, when seeing the amount of deaths during World War II how Russia nearly doubled everyone else.
The opening battle of recruits stuffed into train cars, then onto boats to join in defending Stalingrad from the winning German invasion. Without leadership, one rifle for every two men, the second carrying one clip of ammo and warned that they will be shot should they stop advancing. And then, they were, in large numbers.

This is the brutal chess board that Jude Law (depicting an historical Russian sniper hero, Vassili Zaitsev) playing a very intelligent game of cat and mouse with a German officer sniper (Ed Harris) sent to take him out.

I truly was mesmerized throughout the entire film and, had I known previously what a gritty, realistic, clever film this was, I would have seen this when it first came out and quite a number of times since.

THANKS @TheUsualSuspect for recommending this for me!