The 27th General Hall of Fame

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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Safety Last!


I'll admit, the opening shot got me. Ha.

I feel like for silent films especially, if it's not somehow famous, people will never watch it. I haven't seen too many silent movies, just the well known ones here and there and this was kind of a delight to watch. All I knew of it was the famous clock hanging stunt, nothing else. It didn't have the striking imagery of Dr. Caligari or the defying stunts of Keaton. It had charm, it had laughs and it was a quick 1hr15min.

Comedies of late have relied too heavily on the line-o-rama style rapid fire jokes. Hope one hits and choose in the edit. Edgar Wright's comedies are mostly visual, so they are able to get the joke across different language barriers. Dialogue jokes don't always land for everyone. So when a silent film produces laughs, it's purely visual and it's well done.

Yes, the film has problems...every film does when looking at it through a 2022 lens. While I certainly didn't appreciate it, it did not ruin the enjoyment of the film for me. It doesn't reach the heights of Chaplin or Keaton, but it's nice to see someone else in the mix.

Thanks for nominating this piece.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



You've seen the movie. Now, eat the cereal!



Which one would you try?

The artist is Cris Shapan, by the way. Google him for even more brilliance.



Starting my mad dash and there's already another one in the bag, My Dog Skip. Gonna try to tackle another one tomorrow.
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Baby Face



Was looking forward to this even though I knew nothing about the story. I love the oldies and Barbara Stanwyck, who along with Marlene Dietrich would be in contention for my favorite actress from this era. I got a chuckle out of the dude emphatically telling her to USE MEN early on, but I didn't expect her to go full slut mode so quickly. It's a sad reality of life, women selling their souls to get somewhere with the help of men. The movie makes this all look much more simple than it is. There are times when I viewed her as a horrible person, but then I'd have to think back and understand her questionable upbringing and what she knew as right or wrong. It's also important to remember that men who fall for her charms aren't all the same. They can range from deviant predators to naive fools to everything in between, but it became hard for her to see any difference in them. Good hearted and well intentioned people can be caught in the crossfire, and the overall message is a sad one for women. Stanwyck easily pulls off her part with skill and charisma. The ending could have been better and the runtime longer, although restrictions of the era may have put a cap on the possibility of more complexity. Could have used more Theresa Harris who was so good. A very good watch.




Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Felt the same way about Theresa Harris who never seemed to be given her due beyond bit parts throughout her career. Love her voice.
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Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Broken, miserable, and detestable people, coping with their own hardship and spreading their own suffering into the world around them. Yep, it must be a Stephen King adaptation. The fact that he can't write a likable adult is not always an issue in his horror stories, but a drama like this would benefit from someone to root for. The flashbacks with young Selena aren't enough, and the transitions often feel awkward.

Except for the King issue above, Dolores Claiborne is a solid but predictable drama. Visually it's a bit too horror for what it truly is (especially some flashbacks seem to go over the top). Maybe that's for marketing with King's name. Acting is great, too (and I had google who plays young Selena 'cause she looked so familiar, and it turns out she's the Toilet Seat Girl).

So, there's nothing clearly wrong with the film, but it feels so unremarkable. I saw it in a theater back in the day and remembered almost nothing; I'm afraid that'll be the case again in a few years.

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Alright, just finished Thunder Road so that's one step closer for me. Also checked the 2016 short film afterwards. But anyway, that means I'm down to 10. I can do it, I can do it.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Alright, just finished Thunder Road so that's one step closer for me. Also checked the 2016 short film afterwards. But anyway, that means I'm down to 10. I can do it, I can do it.



Let the night air cool you off
Dolores Claiborne

I feel pretty bad about this, but I kinda hated everything about this movie. I don't dislike as much as I dislike the dog movie, but only because this movie doesn't have the aftertaste that movie did. But I hated the way this film looked: just blah, I hated the music: just overbearing and never adding anything, I hated the story: predictable, boring, I hated the acting: those accents were grating, I have no knowledge of whether or not people really sound like that up there, but if the actors were focusing on the accents, maybe they should have instead focusing on getting their characters and the story over. This is not an all-time bad film or anything, I just don't like any part of it.



Dolores Claiborne

I feel pretty bad about this, but I kinda hated everything about this movie. I don't dislike as much as I dislike the dog movie, but only because this movie doesn't have the aftertaste that movie did. But I hated the way this film looked: just blah, I hated the music: just overbearing and never adding anything, I hated the story: predictable, boring, I hated the acting: those accents were grating, I have no knowledge of whether or not people really sound like that up there, but if the actors were focusing on the accents, maybe they should have instead focusing on getting their characters and the story over. This is not an all-time bad film or anything, I just don't like any part of it.
From someone who is familiar with the area and it's people, some of the accents were bad.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Cure


I nominated this movie because I like thinking of films that I know a few people have never seen or even heard of. I was delighted to see that those who had seen it already were big fans of it.

I loved the aspect of this being a whodunnit mystery that solves itself for the viewer pretty early. We see the guy, we just don't know the why. Those layers are peeled back in an unsettling as we progress through the series of murders.

The film looks great, is acted strongly and has a great ending. The quick cut to black after the woman walks by with the knife if a nefarious way is such a memorable way to leave the viewer.

It is on the long side a little bit, I'll admit, but I was just as wrapped up in the investigation this time as I was the first.



Took a break yesterday, but I'm back now, striking The Secret of Roan Inish off my list. Reviews for these batch will come soon.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Baby Face


I didn't know what to expect from a movie that had a plot line involving a woman sleeping her way to the top, especially one from the 30's.

Lily works for her father in a speakeasy during Prohibition. She has slept with numerous men at a young age and it's not until a friend of hers tells her to move on to greater things does she move on to "climb the corporate ladder". Sex was thrust upon her at a young age and now she uses it as a weapon to make a better life for herself. She first uses this power on a train ride when she is caught hopping it. A simple unbuttoning of the blouse and asking to talk things over is enough to get a free ride.

Men are dogs. Ha, willing to sleep with anyone at the drop of a hat. I believe that.

I enjoyed the movie, I was expecting the female characters to be somewhat shallow and objectified. While the objectified portions are part of the story, it never felt like it was belittling anyone. I'm definitely surprised at how open the film is about sex. Decent performances help an otherwise flat looking film.



Magical Girl (2014)

This movie reminded me of my own nomination, Demons, but done without skill, style, or emotion. Everyone exists only to be a plot device, and there are almost no why's revealed. It's like the film was made from an early brainstorm for a script with most details still missing. There's an outline of what, but the reasons exist only as early sketches. I guess the story itself has potential.

Especially the first half of Magical Girl drags terribly and fails to build an emotional connection between the father, the daughter, and the viewer. The following darker turns lack impact because of this. The same applies to everyone; the movie tells us there's a connection between the people, but I'd rather see that connection myself. The end result is as shocking and heartbreaking as an obituary of a stranger in a newspaper.

The potential is there, but the execution doesn't deliver. There's maybe half a point extra for that potential.




Just to let @edarsenal know, the link to Takoma's Magical Girl review in the OP is kinda broken (it opens a reply to the review). And I also watched Baby Face today, so review up in a day or two.



Fate has thrown a monkeywrench at my schedule. There was a total power outage in the island last night, just when I was starting True Romance, so They are saying power might return during the day, or the next days so c'est la vie. Let's hope I can get back on track.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

What at first I thought was going to be a children's movie turned out to be a nice little gem filled with enough mystery to keep my attention. I went to Ireland for my honeymoon and watching this made me want to go back. The film captures the feeling of Ireland, if that makes any sense.

10 year old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small coastal town in Ireland. She discovers a legend involving a Selkie and decides to uncover the secrets of Roan Inish.

I wanted a bit more magical whimsy from the film. I feel like it scratches the surface, but I wanted a really good long scratch for that itch. The performances felt a little wooden to me and most films with children in them tend to annoy me. This one did not, so that's a plus. I would never have ever watched this if not for this HoF. So I'm glad for that.



MY DOG SKIP
(2000, Russell)



"I was an only child. He was an only dog."

Dogs are man's best friend, they say. But there's also a rather profound bond between a child and a dog. I had two dogs during my childhood and youth; one that we got when I was like 8, and another one we got when I was around 18, and I loved both very much. Dogs are unrelenting friends, and for a kid that's having a hard time blending in and making friends, that's something infinitely valuable.

My Dog Skip follows such a friendship between lonely outcast Willie Morris (Frankie Muniz) and Skip, the friendly Terrier that his mother gives him for his birthday. Willie's father (Kevin Bacon) is a well-intentioned, but stern veteran that lost his leg in the war, who seems unable to connect with his son or comfort him as he's bullied. So the bond with Skip comes to fill a certain void in the kid.

The film is based on a book written by the real Willie Morris, an author who wrote numerous books. In My Dog Skip, he recollects of the impact the dog had on his life, his family, and the town they lived in. Unfortunately, the film skims over many of the more interesting aspects, like the effect of war on certain characters, or the racial situations in the town. Granted, it is supposed to be told from the perspective of a child, but I still think they could've done a better job.

When it comes to the focus of the story, which is the relationship between Willie and the dog, the approach might be too sappy and melodramatic for some tastes, with several crucial and emotional moments lacking any subtlety, with swelling score and slow motion. In focusing on that relationship, it underserves what I thought were more interesting and important human relationships between Willie and his dad, his friends, his girlfriend, and the traumatized veteran that lives next door (Luke Wilson).

But again, the focus is the relationship between the kid and the dog, and I do think it succeeded in showcasing how important that bond is. I know, because it brought back fond memories of the times when I had a dog. The dog I had when I was 18 – Lady – stayed with us for 12 years. My then-girlfriend gave her to me when she was a newborn puppy, much to the chagrin of my mom, who had swore she didn't want another dog after losing our previous one (the one we had when I was 8).

But much like Skip, Lady earned her place, and my mom eventually came around. When I married at 29 and moved out of home, Lady stayed with my mom. Much like Skip, she started having some health issues, and died at 12 years old, while I was away. Even though I wasn't an only child, when I got her, I was the only one still at home, so we were kinda "only child, only dog" as well. With all its flaws, the film fondly reminded me of those times, so what more can I ask?

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