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The 27th General Hall of Fame Recap
Well, I mean to do a quick recap during every Hall of Fame so I won't get lazy and scrap that idea just yet. It's been another good one, with quite a few films I never would have come across really impressing me. Shura (or Demons or Pandemonium or whatever you want to call it) sticks out in my mind as something I'll watch again and recommend to others. I can't think of many other films like it, with dark shadow being used to such great effect and a harrowing depiction of what revenge does to a person's soul. Magical Girl, which has had something of a mixed reception here, was also terrific in my estimation. Very Pedro Almodóvar-like, it hits a few nerves and tells a compelling story that's hard to predict when you're watching it. I still think about Thunder Road, even though my rating for it wasn't particularly high - and I'll keep an eye out for Jim Cummings in the future. I noticed him playing a cop in Halloween Kills and that struck me as strange - as if this down-to-earth character had suddenly been planted in a horror film. Cure is a great counterpoint to have after enjoying Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse, seeing the similarities and differences, and getting some kind of grasp on his style.
One Cut of the Dead had a huge surprise in store for me that I really enjoyed - I didn't see it coming, so it worked really well. Im glad to have finally seen Safety Last! My first Harold Lloyd film. It holds up pretty well after 99 years. L'amour braque was a massive challenge I tried to meet, with Andrzej Zulawski's style forcing me to look at a film in a different manner. My anxiety is rising just thinking about it - a film speaking in a cinematic language I haven't yet learned, and as such being sometimes incomprehensible to me. All that shouting and jumping up and down, crazy facial expressions and absurd action. I was introduced to two family films, My Dog Skip and The Secret of Roan Inish - has there been a Hall of Fame featuring kids movies? Notice how I skipped giving my verdicts on those again. Average to slightly above average for those two.
Then there's the heavy-hitters which I'd already seen. True Romance I was reintroduced to after seeing it an age ago. It held up really well - but like nearly everyone else, I have to say the two leads paled into insignificance compared to the supporting cast in that film. That shouldn't happen - but it doesn't stop the film from being a great ride. Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark are classics, and two of the greatest films ever made. I don't think I've mentioned it, but Andrzej Zulawski hated Steven Spielberg and his films with some passion. There's a reason so many of us have seen them many times though, they are truly great. That goes for Midnight Cowboy as well, a film I'd already rated in my mind as 4½ popcorn boxes - but watching it again and doing a bit of research led me to go the full 5 - it's such a great movie, and even though I've seen it a few times I really enjoyed watching it again a lot. With Apocalypse Now I watched the Redux version for something new, and I didn't mind - especially the French Plantation segment of the film being restored - because I thought that part said a lot. Dolores Claiborne was visually clever, and something of a departure for Taylor Hackford and Tony Gilroy - I second what Siddon said about Judy Parfitt in his review - she was really great in that film.
Nearly forgot Baby Face - the uncensored version which is really good, but still needed a better ending than it got. I don't think a botched ending should wreck a person's enjoyment of a film. If I watch something I really enjoy, and it has an ending I hate, sometimes I just go on and ignore the ending to preserve what was good about the film. Barbara Stanwyck really was a stunner in her day - a real old time star.
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Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma