Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame VI

I have a number of favorite movies that star Gregory Peck including The Gunfighter. I thought The Gunfighter was one of the best westerns I've seen. It was my #5 on the Western Countdown ballot.

I've not seen Howard's End but it looks like something we'd watch.

Very much so!
In the scene on the train as we listen to her thoughts and there is a kind of connection between the reflection and Laura I just loved.
Was it you? It feels like one of her delightful choices.

__________________
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

Glad you liked this. Even though I think Vanilla Sky is competent and I liked Crowe's vision of the story, I think this one's way better.

__________________

This one's a favorite. The weird thing is that the first time I saw it, it didn't really hit me. I didn't care much for it. But after a second viewing, it improved immensely! The two long continuous takes alone are awe-inspiring from a technical standpoint.

WOW. Bit of a list to comment on. AWESOME write-ups, LOVED reading them. Only have time to read it all. I'll be back to comment.


Oh, that rep on Thief just above? C'est moi

I have a feeling I'd appreciate Children of Men more if I watched it again, especially after learning so much more about it over the years. I didn't like it the first time I saw it, but it looks like there's a lot of virtuoso filmmaking in it.

I caught up with Ikiru after the Foreign Language Countdown, and remember liking it - probably at the same level Frightened Inmate did. Most memorable to me was the "life is brief" song that is sung quite a bit.

I'd really like to see A New Leaf - I saw a little bit of it while watching a featurette on Elaine May not too long ago.

Howard's End was the first of my nominations to be reviewed - I was kind of surprised by it the first time I saw it. I'm not big on period films but found it to be a weighty piece of cinema and had me wanting to see more Merchant Ivory Productions.

I love The Long Good Friday - and have the Criterion edition of that. Superb film.

Haven't seen The Gunfighter.

__________________

If you’re interested in more James Ivory films, he has quite a few on Tubi, including some early works. I’ve seen a few so far, and plan to finish what’s there, but his films have been underwhelming to me.

That includes Howard’s End, Quartet, and The Remains of The Day.

Children of Men is excellent. I've seen it a few times and my opinion of it has pretty much remained the same.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

I know The Remains of the Day is one some people think highly of, but I never thought it quite captured the brilliance of the book.

Howard's End, on the other hand, captures the book almost exactly - it's just that I find the story, in either book or movie form - somewhat frustrating and never feel like I quite 'get' it. I watched the film again quite recently, and while I like looking at it and I admire the performances it's never going to be a favourite.

My Merchant-Ivory movie of choice is Maurice. Like Howard's End, it is also based on an EM Forster novel and concerned with love, repression and Edwardian class differences. It's not on any of the lists, but I highly recommend it.

That is a good part, with the reflection. The part that always gets me is when she's so overwhelmed and doesn't know what to do and just sits on a bench and then gets moved on by a policeman...no emotional breakdowns allowed in public!

Yep, Brief Encounter was my pick for you.

That one touched me as well. I remember in my youth, distraught and feeling guilty when a squad car pulled up on me, asking questions and moving me along. It got my instant sympathy when I saw it.

And THANK YOU! Quite the lovely movie experience.

Watched Akira but I think I'm going to hold off on writing anything about it for now and try to watch it again before this HoF ends. Had to split it up into a few different viewings.

As for some of the reviews:
I thought the Gunfighter was great and a nice change of pace from the usual westerns of that era. Would have made my Top 25 Westerns had I seen it before the countdown. Can't say I've watched a lot of Gregory Peck movies but he's been very good in what I've seen.

Heathers is one of my favorites of the 80's and I love everything about it.

Au Revoir les Enfants was given to me in the PRHoF Foreign Language edition and I thought it was really good.

I feel you on Akira. I had been hearing for over a decade how great it was, both from real life friends and people online, but when I finally got around to watching it, I was incredibly underwhelmed. I don't think I was able to sit through the whole thing in one go, and it still felt really long.

__________________

I didn't care for Akira when I seen it in the 1980s Teen Movie HoF... or maybe it's more like I didn't connect to it. But I loved the motorcycle, especially the stickers

Wings of Desire (1987). Directed by Wim Wenders and starring Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Solveig Dommartin, and Peter Falk. I had been meaning to watch this film for a while now, so I'm glad it was nominated for me. This is a beautifully shot film with wonderful cinematography. I really liked the look of the film and the use of black and white and then colour for some scenes. Wings of Desire is really well written and feels very poetic for much of the dialogue. The performances are quite good as well. The standouts for me were Bruno Ganz and Peter Falk, but there were no weak performances in the film. Wenders is a director I respect, who is capable of achieving greatness. Although I really liked Wings of Desire, I would rank it 4th out of the 5 films I have seen by him. His masterpiece, in my personal opinion, is Paris, Texas, which is on my list of all time favourite films. My second favourite of his films is the wonderful Alice in the Cities, followed by Wrong Move. The only film I didn't like by Wenders was The American Friend. Wings of Desire was a good pick for me. My wild guess is that Cricket picked it for me. Good job, whoever it was.

Not me Buddy but I did enjoy it the 1 time I watched it.

I'll be watching Paris, Texas, in this HoF and was unaware that he did Wings of Desire.
I saw WoD in the 13th General HoF when Cosmic nominated it. There were some wonderful nuances to the film regarding how Angels listened in and congregated in libraries where most folks were truly alone with their thoughts. Loved Peter Falk in this, but then I always do. When he "feels' Damiel nearby and reminisces about sensations when you're human, like rubbing your hands together when your cold.
A slow film, but to quote me from back then "a contemplative and serene feel to this fantastical forage."

I watched Paris, Texas for the first time in PR IV, I was impressed. I think you might feel the same. I'll be interested in reading your review of it.

I must be the only MoFo who doesn't like Peter Falk I can't help but think of him as Columbo.

And for the deluge of films in the two days I missed,

Not much love for Akira before Frederick posts his review so far. I loved it as a young pup when it came out. The animation was ground-breaking at the time, and the opening of the gang fight via motorcycles and the "youths" in the cop precinct being lil sh#ts (much like I was then) are my favorite scenes.

It has been ages since I saw Tank Girl, and I saw it numerous times when I did; Petty did pretty much rock in this though I've bounced back and forth when it came to the Rippers. Should do a rewatch to see where I stand now.

The Gunfighter was #13 on my Voting List for the Western Countdown. Gregory Peck does an exceptional job as a legendary quick-draw gunslinger, just trying to see his wife and the son he has never seen yet. All the while being harassed by vengeful cowboys and upstart wannabes. Specifically, a young punk by the name of Bromley looking to get a name for himself by gunning down a legend.
Peck brings a lot of heart to the gunslinger looking to find peace at the end of his travels with a truly great ending.

Dances With Wolves has been a favorite since its debut for me and was #4 on my Western List. On my last revisit for the 13th General HoF, I finally got to see the extended Director's Cut, which filled in a few minor holes that the Theatrical had cut out.
I've always enjoyed Costner's films. My all-time favorite is Open Range (#2 on my Western Countdown List). Everything that works, and everything DOES work in DWW, was eloquently expressed in Pheonix's review.

I finally saw Kurosawa's Ikiru last year. The sadness, regret, and longing within Takashi Shimura's eyes and demeanor are heartbreaking and endearing. A sad, lost, and lonely man having stumbled aimlessly through life. Is now hit with the realization that it all is about to end. Beautifully sad, deeply inspiring, sans any fluff of any kind.

Heathers. Well, f@ck me softly with a chainsaw. Been a bit since seeing this dark comedy of a rash of murders posed as suicides and, you know, the usual awkward moments that all teenagers go through.

Been even longer since I saw Children of Men, and I've only seen it once. Due to lack of opportunity only. Quite enjoyed it when I saw it.

Body Heat was Kathleen Turner's debut, and it was a doozy and one that has been a while since seeing this inspired by Double Indemnity with William Hurt.

Millenium Actress is a lovely walk down an elderly actress' memories. A more serene film from Satoshi Kon, whose movies I very much enjoy. The one I'm missing is Tokyo Godfathers, and hopefully, that'll be rectified.


Have not seen A New Leaf, Open Your Eyes, Titane, or Life is Sweet. I really need to see Howard's End and The Long Good Friday.