MoFo Movie Roulette II (a movie watching participation event)

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Here’s looking at you, kid.
@edarsenal

Badlands: Terrence Malick

1917: Sam Mendes

My own personal recommendation-

My Name is Nobody: Written by Sergio Leone/Directed by Tonino Valerii

Very corny Spaghetti Western, definitely not for everyone. It’s got a good moral story and it’s a very fun film, more of a comedy.



My nominations for you:

Ikiru (1952)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Limelight (1952)
Those are some great picks! I have no idea which one I'm going to go with.

I hope you don't mind waiting a little while for my choices for you. I had just gone to bed when CR posted the next round, and I have to head to work soon. I'm not working a full day though, so I should have some films lined up for you by early this afternoon.



@Allaby
Here are your choices! Sorry for the wait, but I managed to get them in just before noon at least haha. You have seen so many films and don't have anything on your watchlist, so I wasn't sure what direction to go in. Hopefully at least one of these will appeal to you!

Incendies (2010)

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Notes: You liked some of Villeneueve's other work, so hopefully this one will be up your alley too, even if the subject matter is a bit different from his other films.

Strange Days (1995)
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Notes: Runtime's a little long, but it's a good watch if you want a sci-fi thirller with a dose of social commentary.

Persepolis (2007)
Directed by: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Notes: Am I going to choose an animated film for everyone? Maybe.



@Allaby
Here are your choices! Sorry for the wait, but I managed to get them in just before noon at least haha. You have seen so many films and don't have anything on your watchlist, so I wasn't sure what direction to go in. Hopefully at least one of these will appeal to you!

Incendies (2010)

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Notes: You liked some of Villeneueve's other work, so hopefully this one will be up your alley too, even if the subject matter is a bit different from his other films.

Strange Days (1995)
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Notes: Runtime's a little long, but it's a good watch if you want a sci-fi thirller with a dose of social commentary.

Persepolis (2007)
Directed by: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Notes: Am I going to choose an animated film for everyone? Maybe.
Those all sound like good recommendations. I have been meaning to get around to all three. I think I will go with Persepolis.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@edarsenal

Badlands: Terrence Malick

1917: Sam Mendes

My own personal recommendation-

My Name is Nobody: Written by Sergio Leone/Directed by Tonino Valerii

Very corny Spaghetti Western, definitely not for everyone. It’s got a good moral story and it’s a very fun film, more of a comedy.
It's been a few years since I've seen and thoroughly enjoyed My Name is Nobody. Great film, with an up-and-coming looking to give a famous old gun, whether he wants it or not, an equally famous ending.
There's a great little story that Terrance Stamp's Nobody tells, in parts during the film that I've always loved that they tell, with minor changes, in one full shot in Assassins


I've been hunting for 1917 on and off all summer, but it seems, since Showtime has it, they may have shut down all other streaming opportunities, so I will happily see Badlands, which I do have a link for.
Thanks!!
__________________
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



Here’s looking at you, kid.
It's been a few years since I've seen and thoroughly enjoyed My Name is Nobody. Great film, with an up-and-coming looking to give a famous old gun, whether he wants it or not, an equally famous ending.
There's a great little story that Terrance Stamp's Nobody tells, in parts during the film that I've always loved that they tell, with minor changes, in one full shot in Assassins


I've been hunting for 1917 on and off all summer, but it seems, since Showtime has it, they may have shut down all other streaming opportunities, so I will happily see Badlands, which I do have a link for.
Thanks!!
That’s awesome! Thanks for the video! One of my favorite parts of the film besides the bar scene with the shooting game.





Ikiru / 生きる (1952)
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori

Going into Ikiru, I expected a slow, melancholy story about one man suffering alone at the end of his life. Though the film does have a rather depressing tone, to my surprise it's actually quite heartfelt and not entirely devoid of hope. The runtime could use a little trimming, but overall I found myself quite engaged.

I have something of a soft spot for films that criticize bureaucracy. While Brazil satirized it, and Shin Godzilla turned it into an antagonist, Ikiru had apparently produced a combination of both, decades before either of those films were made. It's as integral to the story as Watanabe's search for meaning, and unexpectedly takes centre stage for the latter half of the film.

The entire cast was great, but Takashi Shimura's performance was definitely the highlight of the film's earlier scenes. I can't imagine Ikiru without him. His sad eyes pulled at my heartstrings without him needing to even say a word, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I reached for the tissues on more than one occasion.



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Ikiru was another film that graduated from a
to a
when I reflected on what I wanted to say about it.

It's really somewhere between the two ratings though, with the former feeling a little low, and the latter looking just a touch too high. Now I get why some people give ratings with + and - modifiers haha.





Ikiru / 生きる (1952)
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori

Going into Ikiru, I expected a slow, melancholy story about one man suffering alone at the end of his life. Though the film does have a rather depressing tone, to my surprise it's actually quite heartfelt and not entirely devoid of hope. The runtime could use a little trimming, but overall I found myself quite engaged.

I have something of a soft spot for films that criticize bureaucracy. While Brazil satirized it, and Shin Godzilla turned it into an antagonist, Ikiru had apparently produced a combination of both, decades before either of those films were made. It's as integral to the story as Watanabe's search for meaning, and unexpectedly takes centre stage for the latter half of the film.

The entire cast was great, but Takashi Shimura's performance was definitely the highlight of the film's earlier scenes. I can't imagine Ikiru without him. His sad eyes pulled at my heartstrings without him needing to even say a word, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I reached for the tissues on more than one occasion.



Glad you liked it! For me, Ikiru is a masterpiece and a
.



I just finished watching Persepolis (2007), as suggested by @CosmicRunaway. Directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, this animated film is based on the Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel. The film was nominated for several awards, including best animated feature film at the Oscars and best foreign language film at the Golden Globes. It is about a young girl growing up in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and her experiences. This is an unusual and excellent film that is well worth watching. I loved the look of the animation. The story was interesting and told in an effective, intelligent way. Persepolis is a film with substance that has something worthwhile to say. The main character was fantastic and I liked watching her grow up and seeing how she responded to others and the situations she was in. This was a great suggestion for me and I'm glad I watched it.



This was a great suggestion for me and I'm glad I watched it.
I'm relieved you enjoyed it, because it was the option I was on the fence about nominating the most.

I wanted to pick an animated film, and it was between that and Millennium Actress. I went with Persepolis because, even though they're tonally very different, you placed Satoshi Kon's Paprika fairly low on your ballot for the Asian HoF, and there are similar elements at play in those two films (particularly the blending of reality and fantasy).



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Ikiru / 生きる (1952)
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori

Going into Ikiru, I expected a slow, melancholy story about one man suffering alone at the end of his life. Though the film does have a rather depressing tone, to my surprise it's actually quite heartfelt and not entirely devoid of hope. The runtime could use a little trimming, but overall I found myself quite engaged.

I have something of a soft spot for films that criticize bureaucracy. While Brazil satirized it, and Shin Godzilla turned it into an antagonist, Ikiru had apparently produced a combination of both, decades before either of those films were made. It's as integral to the story as Watanabe's search for meaning, and unexpectedly takes centre stage for the latter half of the film.

The entire cast was great, but Takashi Shimura's performance was definitely the highlight of the film's earlier scenes. I can't imagine Ikiru without him. His sad eyes pulled at my heartstrings without him needing to even say a word, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I reached for the tissues on more than one occasion.



Very wonderful review and, normally, I've become a bit reluctant with sad films. Not out of dislike but out of a preference for laughter in my older years. There are absolute exceptions. Such as, most recently, like Shoplifters, and Grave of Fireflies off the top of my head that easily hit my echelon of favorite tear-jerkers and I have a very strong belief Ikiru could be of that stature and I'm pretty excited to find out with it on my Wishlist/Movie Challenge.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@BooBooKittyFock






Badlands (1973)

Holly Sargis: At this moment, I didn't feel shame or fear, but just kind of blah, like when you're sitting there and all the water's run out of the bathtub.

I have seen two Malick films, The Thin Red Line, which I remember in the theater in confusion at the arthouse film I mistakenly thought would be a gritty war flick. And Tree of Life. A mesmerizing film of poetic imagery.
With all the respect I have and a deep fascination with his symbology-infused imagery, I have felt like a young child being told a poetic fable whose intricacies are just out of his feeble grasp. So, I have had equal measures of intrigue and reluctance to experiencing his debut feature film. A film, like so many truly worthwhile endeavors - d@mn near didn't come to be due to every single problem of a variety of levels, causing all kinds of havoc.
And like so many truly worthwhile endeavors, it endured and blossomed.
And now, almost fifty years later, I have experienced and fully enjoyed this Terrence Malick film where he was the director and the chief producer, screenwriter, and uncredited editor. BRAVO sir.

Inspired by and set at the time of two similar youths on a murder spree in the late fifties North West and a statement regarding the glamorization of killers that was becoming common in Hollywood, Malick does not take that route. Nor does he necessarily go in the opposite direction either by demonizing the central characters.
Kit (Martin Sheen) is an affable young man who doesn't hesitate to kill when he believes it's warranted. Holly (Sissy Spacek) is our Narrator and, thereby, our perspective of all that occurs. A teenage girl's fantasy of love and an almost indifferent/lackluster regard to the murders tallying up as they go on the run.
Even the soundtrack in some of the early scenes has a fantastical cant to it. But unlike the usual intention of adding an ironic and, therefore, more intense feel, Malick truly creates something dreamlike as we experience it all through young Holly's perception. But, Malick also is able to keep a substantial reality to all of it as well. A finesse that would mature and grow in his later films is presented here in its promising infancy.





Very wonderful review and, normally, I've become a bit reluctant with sad films. Not out of dislike but out of a preference for laughter in my older years. There are absolute exceptions. Such as, most recently, like Shoplifters, and Grave of Fireflies off the top of my head that easily hit my echelon of favorite tear-jerkers and I have a very strong belief Ikiru could be of that stature and I'm pretty excited to find out with it on my Wishlist/Movie Challenge.
Thanks! I'd say Ikiru is probably closer to Shoplifters than Grave of the Fireflies. It's sad, but not really in a depressing way (even though it deals with a terminal illness and stifling bureaucracy). It was the first time in awhile I genuinely felt something while watching a film, so it certainly deserves recognition for that alone. Hopefully if/when you get around to it, it ultimately ends up being the good kind of tear-jerker for you as well.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Thanks! I'd say Ikiru is probably closer to Shoplifters than Grave of the Fireflies. It's sad, but not really in a depressing way (even though it deals with a terminal illness and stifling bureaucracy). It was the first time in awhile I genuinely felt something while watching a film, so it certainly deserves recognition for that alone. Hopefully if/when you get around to it, it ultimately ends up being the good kind of tear-jerker for you as well.
Very cool.
That non-depressing tone is an additional plus for me. I found a similar reaction to Bicycle Thieves when I watched it earlier this year.
I noted GofF simply because even though Its emotional reaction took me out for a number of weeks, I would still see it again. That kind of gravity is something that keeps me from rewatching such films as Manchester By The Sea (2016), or The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012). Both, truly great films but hit me far too hard, depression-wise, to revisit voluntarily. Especially TBCB which I truly, truly loved, and OH MY GOD I was an utter lump of sadness as the credits ran; to the point that I can still get a sense of it just thinking about it.




Cairo Station (1958)

I had intended to watch War and Peace, I downloaded the entire 7 hour movie only to find I couldn't get sub titles for it. I found subs, but they were in parts, from 1-4. I even tried combining the sub files to no avail. Well maybe some other time. But I'm glad I watched Cairo Station!

Hind Rostom, who was the lead actress was dynamite in this. She had the same vitality as Brigitte Bardot. They even kind of looked alike, but mostly they just popped right off the screen with their unbridled enthusiasm and joy.

I liked the story idea of all the going ons at a crowded Cairo railway station. People were hustling and bustling and busy going somewhere. The antagonist was good too as a creepy stalker dude, who was way too horny for his own good.




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Let the night air cool you off
I watched The Red Shoes and I liked it a lot. I'll say more about it tomorrow, but for now I'll say that The Red Shoes ballet is one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinema. Masterclass in filmmaking in that scene.



Let the night air cool you off
I'm going with
for The Red Shoes. The performance of The Red Shoes ballet is an easy
+ for me. It was dazzling. The rest of the film is good, but that scene alone elevates this film at least half-a-star. The film is gorgeous as all Pressburger and Powell Technicolor films are. Those guys are officially in my group of favorite directors of all-time now. I have seen enough to know that they are fantastic and made lively and memorable films. The biggest positive, other than that scene, is that this film made me care about the ballet, which I don't care about at all.



Who's smart here?....I can't figure out how to evenly pair up the 4th round? Maybe I'm just tired or just plain stupid! Or maybe both, ha. But it looks to me that there's no way to do it evenly.