The 27th General Hall of Fame

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
For those of you who like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark, I highly recommend these two documentaries. (They're called "filmumentaries" because the film plays throughout the documentary, with additional voiceovers and information added as it happens, and in some cases, deleted or extended scenes are added where they would have been had they not been cut.)

Inside Jaws, A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning




Raiding The Lost Ark: A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning

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Mad Love

I was hoping to be into this flick, because I wanted to say that I had mad love for it. Instead I am mad that I don't love this film. I think I saw someone say that this film is a mad-love-it-or-mad-hate-it type of film, which might be true, because I mad loved parts of it and mad hated other parts of it. And before anyone gets mad and not love what I am doing with the title here, I'll cut it out. I have been trying to figure which terminology to use to describe what I didn't like about the energy of this film, because it's not that it's chaotic, and it's not that it's absurd, or that it's high energy or whatever, because there are plenty of films that have those qualities that I admire. But there is something about the chaos of this film that didn't work for me, I wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is, but I am struggling with that. It was kinda giving me some anxiety at times with how up it was, but as the film went on and the women received more focus, I started to love some of those parts of the film. The scene with Mary on stage was tremendous and reminded me of the scene in Possession where Isabelle Adjani got to act her ass off. The scene in Possession is way better and Possession is a way better scene and I wouldn't have drawn the comparison if it wasn't the same director, but I still think that is high praise to be mentioned in the same breath as that performance. The two main women in this film are absolutely gorgeous and were both fantastic. I need to see every movie they appear nude in, because those scenes also make it into the "love" category. I need to read The Idiot and come back to this. The dudes in this film I could take or leave. Francis Huster certainly did some acting in this film, and it's hard to judge a performance like this because it's not meant to be conventional. It's weird to me that if I had to score this film it'd be somewhere in the middle, but I have no real neutral feelings about this film. They are all pretty strong feelings that average out to somewhere in the middle, but the median would possibly somewhere on the low end. Maybe I'll read The Idiot and watch a couple other Zulawski films and come back to this to see how I feel about it then.



I forgot the opening line.
TRUE ROMANCE SPOILERS


True Romance (1993)

*SPOILER...While I was watching True Romance I was thinking of another movie I watched last week Bonnie and Clyde (1967). If I was making the movie I'd had Slater and Arguette being killed in the cross fire...Then cut to a close up of the couple with a few choice words from Patricia Arquette said with her last breath. Oh that's sort of like Romeo and Juliette.[/left]
It was scripted and kind of meant to end that way (at least for Slater's character) but Tony Scott objected to that kind of ending and changed it. I agree with you - it would have made for a much better close to the kind of film this was. Much more like Thieves Like Us or Bonnie and Clyde.
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TRUE ROMANCE SPOILERS

It was scripted and kind of meant to end that way (at least for Slater's character) but Tony Scott objected to that kind of ending and changed it. I agree with you - it would have made for a much better close to the kind of film this was. Much more like Thieves Like Us or Bonnie and Clyde.
That's interesting and I think I would've liked the original scripted ending.

I've not seen Thieves Like Us so can't comment on it. But like I mentioned in my review I just watched Bonnie and Clyde a couple of weeks ago, now that's a movie & real story that should be remade.



True Romance -


This is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes hard to watch and always entertaining caper movie that I'm happy to revisit. Due to the success of this movie, Reservoir Dogs, etc., many imitators followed in its wake - some of which are pretty good - but most are rightly forgotten. What does this one have that the Wal-Mart bargain bin dwellers don’t? Characters with depth and that have three dimensions, for starters. In imitator-in-chief Guy Ritchie's crime movies, for instance, all we usually take away from any given character is their name - which is usually overly cute like Bullet-Tooth Tony - and what they do to move the plot forward. A minor character like Gary Oldman’s pimp Drexl, on the other hand, has this as well as a history, personality, likes, dislikes; in short, memorability. Speaking of hard to watch, I've seen attempts at scenes like the fight between Alabama and Virgil - the one in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in which Big Chris's son is threatened comes close - but they lack the emotional stakes that make me sit on the edge of my seat and forget to breathe. I was deeply concerned about Alabama surviving and Clarence returning in time and I don't think it's just because of the conflict from it being a giant vs. waif mismatch. I also forgot how genuinely and memorably funny the movie is, which is something else for which my favorite punching bag Ritchie is so close, yet so far. If you are also still laughing about the title Coming Home in a Body Bag, I want to buy you a drink.

You could say the following about every movie Tarantino has written and/or directed, but not all of his trademarks - his obsession with movies in particular - work in the movie's favor. Clarence's similar taste in film to Tarantino’s is meaningful, but as much as I like Zimmer's xylophone motif, the Badlands references seem awkward and come across as pedantic since Clarence and Alabama's situation does not totally resemble Kit and Holly's in that movie. Also, while my unfamiliarity with Elvis Presley may be to blame, Clarence's obsession with him doesn't work for me except for it being responsible for delaying his return to the motel and one of the movie's biggest laughs, i.e. the line about the one man he'd have sex with. I still had a blast watching it again and believe it's worth mentioning in the same sentence as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. It's just too bad we didn't get to see if Dick Ritchie's T.J. Hooker part paid off for him.




Demons (Shura)
(1971)


Pretty much any Japanese film set in the past Samurai era will score points with me, especially if it's an older film shot in black & white. I've seen a number of these and some quite impressed me, others...I was somewhat cold too.

Visually I was impressed with the artistically rendered scenes. My favorite technique being the use of an obscured darken background with a single light source on the foreground subject...then at the appropriate moment in the story a secondary lighting comes up thus illuminating the background subject...I've seen that before in other films and it's always impressive looking.

I liked the overall theme, though at 2 hours and 14 minutes the story of revenge topped with a frosting of irony was a bit long in the tooth. A movie can have a horror killing done chilling or made cheesy by overdoing it ala John Carpenter. Some of the killing scenes just about borders on looking cheesy, especially the amount of blood that sprays out in one scene like a fountain, which reminded me of Month Python and the Holy Grail. Not a deal breaker and I still think it's a decent movie because of the strong esthetics and the fact that I was engaged by it for the most part.





Mad Love / L'amour braque (1985)
Directed By: Andrzej Zulawski
Starring: Francis Huster, Sophie Marceau, Tchéky Karyo

I am clearly not the target audience for this film. I was constantly put off by the non-stop chaotic energy, and semi-poetic dialogue that sounds like google auto-translated nonsense. I have no desire to understand what this film was trying to say, if anything at all, nor do I care to reflect on my experience with it. Consequently, this post will probably be shorter than usual.

Speaking of length, the runtime is not particularly long, but I had to break it up over the course of six days because I couldn't stand to watch too much of it at once. The performances constantly swapped back and forth between being intense and utterly bizarre, and I have no idea what the director's intention was with any of those choices. Honestly, it felt like watching something completely alien, and well beyond my human comprehension.

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L'amour braque (Andrzej Zulawski, 1985)
Oh I could not wait to see this again even though it was maybe only 3 weeks ago the first time I saw it. Just one of those films that was some indescribable quality that makes it click with me.
I think we might have wholly opposite tastes in film haha.

While I didn't enjoy your nomination, I do still appreciate being exposed to something completely out of my comfort zone.



SAFETY LAST!
(1923, Newmeyer & Taylor)



"Young man, don't you know you might fall and get hurt?"

That's the warning that an old lady gives the lead character in this silent comedy, just as he is halfway through climbing the facade of the 12-story building where he works. All because of a case of mistaken identity and his desire to, ahem, climb the "corporate ladder".

Safety Last! follows this young man (Harold Lloyd) after he moves to the city to make some money so he can finally get married to his sweetheart (Mildred Davis). But the road there is full of obstacles and he can't seem to keep himself out of danger; whether it's from his bosses, a surprise visit from his girlfriend, a persistent cop, or the rioting hordes of ladies demanding his service at the store.

As was the custom for the time, one of the main beauties of this film is in its slapstick gags and its many physical stunts. Even though he usually gets mentioned below Chaplin and Keaton, as far as silent film era stars go, Lloyd certainly holds his own against the great ones.

The most notable and iconic bit is Lloyd hanging from the clock, which is impressive. That stunt takes pretty much the last 20 minutes or so, but I like how they make it not feel overlong with the many ways that Lloyd's friend is trying to escape the cop which forces our lead to keep climbing, or the many obstacles that he faces on his way up (doves, the clock, obtrusive onlookers).

However, the film has several other clever and effective stunts and gags and Lloyd sells them well. Sure, the dynamic between the boy and the girl might border on self-interest and selfishness, but some of it can be attributed to the "sign of times". Plus it's meant to be funny! or as funny as falling from a 12-story building and getting hurt can be

Grade:
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé




True Romance (1993)

Clarence Worley: You just said you love me, now if I say I love you and just throw caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may and you're lying to me I'm gonna f@ckin' die.

True Romance has the somewhat rare obstacle of having an utter smorgasbord of excellent secondary characters that can and do outshine the story's leading characters.
Due, in part to clever dialogue and the capability of the actors to make their roles as memorable as they are.
Those scenes always take center stage whenever this film is talked about and quoted from by Tarantino fans. Even though Tony Scott directs it, Tarantino's writing has placed it as a Tarantino movie in the fans' eyes.

Clarence (Christian Slater), a lonely video store worker in Detroit, spends his birthday at a triple feature Kung Fu Film fest where Alabama (Patricia Arquette) spills popcorn on him. They spend the night together and fall in love. Very very fast and very, very hard.

And so begins their high-stakes adventure when Clarence confronts Alabama's pimp, and instead of grabbing her suitcase of clothes, he accidentally snatches a suitcase full of cocaine.
Deciding to hightail it for Hollywood where, they figure, they can sell it all in one shot to some Hollywood big wig they are unaware of the very, very dangerous men working for local mafia boss Blue Lou.

The makings of so many Getaway premises, an ex-video store worker/enthusiast, Tarantino unleashes what becomes his forte for glamorized violence, dangerous twists, colorful characters, and stylized, clever dialogue.
All of which is on display with all the frenzied, passionate enthusiasm of a newcomer hellbent on making a name for themselves. And he does, very, very effectively.

I've lost count on the times I've seen this and own a DVD of it that does get put to use, and since it had been a while since last viewing it, it made me smirk to see it nominated here.
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Nice review, @edarsenal !

It's been a long while since I last watched True Romance and I'm really looking forward to treating myself to it. I'm glad a glad a lot of other people are having fun with it.



Can't remember if you've mentioned it, but, have you seen it before?
When I first joined the site like 10 years ago it was in my top 5. Seen it many times including at the cinema when it came out. Don't think I've seen it since I joined.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
When I first joined the site like 10 years ago it was in my top 5. Seen it many times including at the cinema when it came out. Don't think I've seen it since I joined.
Hope its an enjoyable revisit for ya



My Dog Skip -


As a dog lover, I credit this movie for what it gets right about having a dog as a pet. They can be the best friend you've ever had from the confidence they instill to how they bring you up when you're down. Two of the sports scenes, i.e., the football game where Skip fetches the ball and the baseball game that he attempts to liven up are the highlights in this regard for me. In addition, while problematic - that it took a star athlete to ultimately bridge the racial gap in Yazoo City seems like the kind of stuff that inspired Jordan Peele to write Get Out - the narrator may be right that dogs are smarter than humans for how their companionship isn't race-dependent. I also approve of how the movie depicts how World War II impacted small town America, which is a perspective we do not always see in movies set during this era.

Unfortunately, there are aspects to this movie that like crabs in a barrel work against it so much that I can only give it a marginal recommendation. Sentimentality drips from every frame and in many ways, with two of the most offensive ones being William Ross's overbearing score and the sickly-sweet color scheme. The day scenes are sun-drenched in a way that's meant to convey nostalgia, but there are times when it made me want a shot of insulin. There's also something insidious about using the most painful parts of dog ownership, those being when they are suffering from illness or injury or when they finally pass on, as emotional beats. While I know that these things happen and that in Skip's case did happen since it's based on a true story, I felt a bit violated by the way the movie portrays them.

I realize that this is a family film and that the qualities I've called out are common to them, but I'm not sure if that's a defense. The standouts in Don Bluth's filmography to my own nomination in this Hall of Fame prove that "family films" can succeed without being overly sentimental. In short, this is a pretty good movie for how it shows the best and worst things about having a dog as a pet. It's too bad I felt like I likely would after binging a season of This Is Us when it ended.



I watched Baby Face yesterday, but haven't been in the mood to sit down and write anything. I did like the film, but no words are really coming to me to describe it.

It might be because I'm kind of exhausted after having to work all weekend doing inventory, so hopefully the brain fog clears up once I get some rest, and get back on my regular schedule.



You could say the following about every movie Tarantino has written and/or directed, but not all of his trademarks - his obsession with movies in particular - work in the movie's favor. Clarence's similar taste in film to Tarantino’s is meaningful, but as much as I like Zimmer's xylophone motif, the Badlands references seem awkward and come across as pedantic since Clarence and Alabama's situation does not totally resemble Kit and Holly's in that movie. Also, while my unfamiliarity with Elvis Presley may be to blame, Clarence's obsession with him doesn't work for me except for it being responsible for delaying his return to the motel and one of the movie's biggest laughs, i.e. the line about the one man he'd have sex with. I still had a blast watching it again and believe it's worth mentioning in the same sentence as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. It's just too bad we didn't get to see if Dick Ritchie's T.J. Hooker part paid off for him.
Yeah, I know. I'm quoting my own review.
I was just curious about what others think about the Elvis Presley parts of the movie. Benefit? Strength? Just plain weird? Again, besides going to Graceland many years ago, I don't know much about him, but another issue I have with them I didn't mention in my review is that while he served in the military, he seemed like a pretty peace-loving dude in real life.