Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame VI

I'm happy to be at a site like MoFo where a group of people can work together and do something special like this PR and I really appreciate everyone putting in the effort to find films. I know it's not easy picking movies for someone who you don't know...Here's my honest reaction.

Army of Shadows (1969)
An account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France. +for that synopsis, +for being a French 60s film.
Good choice.

Body Heat (1981)
In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman persuades her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.
Not my favorite subject But being from 1981 and being more stylish than brutal is a + also + for a younger Kathleen Turner + for William Hurt.
Good choice.

Collateral (2004)
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
I really dislike watching innocent people being held hostage for the length of the movie when that movie is a R rated crime thriller. I don't generally like modern crime thrillers. But + for Tom Cruise, I like Cruise as I find I can usually relate to him.
Risky choice.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Animation is usually a risky choice for me, however sometimes I've loved them. I have wanted to see this one, so + for that.
Even odds choice.

In Cold Blood (1967)
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
I might have seen a documentary about this as I'm aware of the crime and that Truman Capote wrote about it. So interesting for those reasons and for being a 60s film.
Even odds choice.

Magnolia (1999)
An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
That synopsis works for me! So does being a PTA film and hey it's Tom again. ++ for the lovely Julianne Moore.
High expectation choice.

The Madness of King George (1994)
When King George III goes mad, his Lieutenants try to adjust the rules to run the country without his participation.
I like that synopsis! Bless whoever picked a historical, comedy, pg-13 movie from the 90s, I think my wife will like this one too.
Good choice.

A New Leaf (1971)
When a playboy learns he's broke, he intends to marry a rich woman and - murder her.
Luckily this one is a G rated comedy romance. The early 70s were an interesting time in American film making, so glad to see this one chosen. I like what I read about it.
Good choice.

Raising Arizona (1987)
When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
I was hoping this one would be picked for me. I think people have avoided well known films as you might guess I avoided them, truth is I just never got around to them.
High expectation choice.

Rome, Open City (1945)
During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.
A classic foreign film that I've wanted to see that's a big plus for me.
Good choice.

A Separation (2011)
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Could be interesting, all I know about it is that it once won an HoF.
Outside odds choice.


T-Men (1947)
Film noir from the classic American era.
This is by far the most sure thing choice made for me. You couldn't go wrong by picking an American 40s 50s noir.
Best chance choice.

3 Women (1977) - This is one of those films where I recognise the title (probably from scrolling through the lists) but know next to nothing about it.
Alphaville (1965) - I've only seen a couple of Godard films and didn't like either of them, but this has always looked fascinating so I'm intrigued to see it.
The American President (1995) - I think I've always, in my mind, confused this with the film Dave, which is also a film about the American President and has a remarkably similar poster/dvd cover/vhs cover (we are talking about the 90s, here). I have seen Dave, but I have not seen this. I've been watching a lot of The West Wing recently, though, so definitely in the mood for it.
The Bridges of Madison County (1995) - I've heard of this, I think it's romantic and probably sad and has Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in it. It has never made it onto my watchlist but definitely feels like a film I ought to have seen by now.
CODA (2021) - I watched so many of the Oscar nominated movies before the Oscars last year... just not this one, because I don't have Apple TV. I know it's a remake of La Famille Belier.
Mrs. Miniver (1942) - I know the name, but that's about it. Determined to watch all the Oscar winners, though, so good pick.
Nightmare Alley (1947) - I think this is the one I'm most excited about. I've seen the recent remake but never seen this version.
Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Another movie I always got confused with a different movie (La Strada).
The Quiet Man (1952) - I saw quite a bit of discussion about this on another thread where people were recommending it, so I'm glad this was picked.
Raw (2016) - saw a lot of buzz about this when it came out and always meant to see it. It's just that horror never quite finds its way to the top of the watchlist...
The Scarlet Empress (1934) - I know this is Marlene Dietrich. I have to say I'm quite happy with the range of decades I've got to watch.
Titane (2021) - I've seen this on lists of best films from last year but I don't really know anything about it apart from that it's directed by the same person as Raw.

Trying to decide what I want to watch today, but I'm very much spoilt for choice right now, with so many quality options.

It's not a bad problem to have, but I might need to spin a wheel or something to decide where I should start haha.

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I'll decide how about A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) it's short, with a cool vibe and I think you might like it, I did. Nope not my pick.

I've decided to sit this out for a number of reasons, but I'll be keeping an eye out for the responses to these:

Two of my favorite Westerns. Dances With Wolves is probably the only film I've ever called a "masterpiece." It's been a favorite of mine since I was a child and is one of two films I've nominated in general HOFs that ended up winning. Dead Man took a while to grow on me but it won me over after several viewings.

Words cannot quite express how much I love this movie, in spite of my deep-seated hatred for musicals.

Three amazing movies. I had to let Being John Malkovich grow on me though, so I won't be surprised by any reaction to it. Heathers is a lot of fun with some seriously dark humor, but I do have to wonder how much of my love for it is the result of nostalgia and the crush I had on Christian Slater growing up. And... how TF have you not yet seen Ratatouille?

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Naturally my list is the one that always sticks out...lets run through the blind noms.

Body and Soul (1947)
- This was done by one of the blacklisted writers, this is one of those if it was on TV I would have seen it but I never see it on TV.

Brother's Keeper (1992)
- Always stuck out in the Video Store but I never pulled the trigger to check it out. The Paradise Lost documentaries are masterpieces and this is their first work.This might be a contender for the win

Caged (1950)
- John Cromwell(James Cromwell's father) was a prolific filmmaker who I don't think I've ever seen any of his work. Agnes Moorehead is a favorite of mine from this generation so optimistic.

Cry of the City (1948)
- Oneof two Siodmark filmsman on the run noirs are always hit or miss. This one looks a little midrange for me.

Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
- I might have seen this one but I'm not sure I did watch a Brooks documentary so I could be aware of this film without having ever watched it.

Ida (2013)
-Pawlikowski this is a big risk, I tried watching this one and kept putting me to sleep so now I have motivation to dissect it.

It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
- Part of why I push for noirs and documentaries is because I was overtaken with animated films in a previous one of these. This is one of those stylistic films that's I'm either going to love to loathe it.

Little Caesar (1931)
-I can't believe they made a documentary about the pizza place. Edward G Robinson is one of those actors I always have difficulty taking seriouslybut high hopes for this one.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
- Much like Man on a Wire I saw the drama version(Rescue Dawn) first so this might be difficult for me to really engage in.

Man of the West (1958)
-When you can't get John Ford you get Anthony Mann...I do like Cinemascope films if I have to watch a Western I like it to be pretty.

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
- I actively avoid Altman films because they are so hit and miss for me. Short run time and solid reviews helps but this might be the last place one.

The Suspect (1944)
- Charles Laughton is a favorite actor of mine and this is Laughton at the height of his powers so this might be a contender for a top spot.

So I decided to kick things off by watching Santa Sangre (1989). Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, the film is about a mental patient who used to be a circus performer and his armless mother who is the leader of a cult. If the film sounds strange and bizarre, that's because it is. I had seen two other films directed by Jodorowsky, The Holy Mountain and El Topo. I thought The Holy Mountain Mountain was terrible, a 4/10, but El Topo was good, an 8/10. So what did I think of Santa Sangre? I'm pleased to report I liked it and would rank it first out of the three Jodorowsky films I have seen. The weirdness works for me. I liked the look and feel of the film. The colours,sets and costumes are quite striking and effective. The performances are interesting and captivating. I also thought the score was well done and helped enhance the experience. And this film is definitely an experience. I do think the film was a little too long. There's a lot of weirdness here and they could have likely shaved off a few minutes here and there. Overall though, Santa Sangre is a weird film, but I am a weird person, so I enjoyed it.

This was actually the only movie that 2 people tried picking for you.

Allaby being the first on the board is the least shocking thing ever. I thought Santa Sangre was a bold choice but it worked out!

Were you the one who picked it for me?

Roxanne

I think this was a good choice for me, even if it doesn’t end up being terribly successful. I love Steve Martin, and since I just got done gushing over him a few times in the comedy countdown, I assume that’s why this was chosen for me. I did enjoy this quite a but when it was Martin being Martin. I also like how sweet this movie is. They could have easily just made Chris into a creep, but they don’t, and his character had a nice little arc.

Where the movie loses me is in the contrived identity situational comedy. I can absolutely love silly comedy, but I grow frustrated when characters are put in situations where it would be obvious what is happening. I’m talking about the letter writing and the date scene of course. This frustrates me with sitcoms and it definitely makes the middle third of this movie pretty rough for me.

Glad I saw this, and enjoyed it somewhat so it was not a bad choice. Just one that likely won’t rank at the top when all is said and done.

I don’t care if people tell me who nominated after I watch. Certainly won’t effect my rankings. I’m not bothered if people want to wait till the end either. I’m guessing Allaby for this rec. I may have some inside info for that guess, we will see if I’m correct.

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Letterboxd

I don't think I've seen this, at least I've not crossed it off my list yet though it seems familiar to me. I wonder how many movies I've seen and forgotten? Not hard to do when you've been watching movies for a long time! I've not see that many of Steve Martin's films most of the ones I've seen I'd rate as OK.

I just watched Predestination, but have something else to do today so I probably won't write anything about it until later this evening. For now I'll just say it was an excellent choice.

You're too late, but that was the other one I had narrowed my choices down to earlier. I might have time for another short-ish film later on though, depending on how long it takes me to write something for Predestination.

Most of the Pixar moves I've seen are ones that were out on home video when I worked at the local summer camp. I'd already moved away by the time Ratatouille came out, and for the longest while I had no interest in watching family films on my own accord. Since then I've only watched a handful, and unfortunately Ratatouille wasn't one of them.

I've actually seen my choice for you! The 2 back-up films I had lined up were blind picks though haha.

I'm going to hang out on this thread and blab/gosh/laminate about your guys' movies That don't mean they're my picks, I'm just having some fun. OK off to work now

I like the movie, but I wasn’t the one who picked it for you.

I was sos-so about Roxanne when it came out and the few times I re-watched it. Though a lot of that had to do with my love for Jose Ferrer's 1953's Cyrano de Bergerac, which until a year ago was the one and only version I loved until seeing Gerard Depardieu's 1990 version.
Regardless, Martin DOES a solid turn of adaption to the age-old storyline.

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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

I didn't nominate it, but I'm excited to read your thoughts. The first time I saw it, I had to watch it again the next day for the turns and twists but mostly for just how much I was blown away by it.

And like @Miss Vicky, I was VERY surprised to see you hadn't seen Ratatouille. lol

and like you, when it came to @Siddon's "blind guesses," lol I saw my first nomination, and my second showed up as someone else's nomination.
That little double-shot happened a few times with several of you. Except for a triple shot for @Citizen Rules where the first two were already taken, so along with them, I'm excited to see what he thinks of my nom.

I have wright’s Cyrano on my watchlist for a few months. Hopefully be checking it out this week. I assume you haven’t seen yet?

No

I'm curious as to who picked Santa Sangre for me and why.