Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame VI

Tools    





Rango I haven’t seen since the theater but I remember liking it. Very imaginative.

Iron Giant I just watched this year. I thought it was pretty great. Probably would make an animation list for me if we ever did another. Took me a minute to get into the aesthetic choice, but once I did I really liked it.

Seems like I watched Two Faces Of January, but I would count it as not because I remember absolutely nothing.
__________________
Letterboxd



I should probably rewatch The Iron Giant when I get the chance. I had no interest in seeing it when it was new, and only watched it later because my younger brother wanted to. I remember it being fine, but I've heard a lot of praise for it in recent years, and both my room mates really love it. I just had a feeling Ed would enjoy it too, and I'm glad he did.



Dunst is one of my faves
I would guess that a couple of her 2010s films might have a shot at the countdown?
The Beguiled
The Two Faces of January
Melancholia

I really should watch all three of those again before the countdown deadline is up, of course it hasn't even started yet.



The Iron Giant (1999)
Set in 1957, we have a mixture of retro nostalgia without specifically dating the storyline of an "outsider" kid who befriends a 100 ft tall Robot. His origin is left entirely unknown, and such a considerable pothole becomes almost inconsequential to the story. Which is NOT an easy task.

Thoughtful and warm-hearted, with crisp animation and a compelling story...
The Iron Giant was chose for me in PR2. I liked it and I'm not usually a big animation fan. What I liked was the 1950s setting, I thought that was a cool choice, though I wish the ending had been more darker.

Rango

This is a film that has sat and collected dust in my DVD cabinet. A couple of attempts to watch it that never worked out as well, and now here we are.

The most impressive thing to me is the voice acting of Johnny Depp as Rango as he really gives the character some flair and helps to make Rango a character to really root for. I really liked the scenes of the hawk chasing him and his reactions towards those close calls. I also liked his standoffs with the snake.

The music in this film is really quite spectacular choices. I liked the birds with the guitars who helped to narrate the film as well, they were badass. My favorite part though had to be the homage to Clint Eastwood. Really dug that as a big fan of him.

+
Surprised you hadn't seen this before as I know you like animation. Rango was picked for me in a PR, I think? I can't remember who maybe Ed? Anyway I really liked it and for all the reasons you just gave.



I would guess that a couple of her 2010s films might have a shot at the countdown?
The Beguiled
The Two Faces of January
Melancholia

I really should watch all three of those again before the countdown deadline is up, of course it hasn't even started yet.
Melancholia should probably make my list. I need to make time for a rewatch



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I just read my old review of The Two Faces of January, I think it might just be a lock on my 2010s ballot. If you're interested here's a link to my review and it's spoiler free.
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...88#post1365788
Well, that pretty much cinches it. In fact, I added it to my Movie Challenge to ensure I watch it. lol
__________________
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



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
The Iron Giant was chose for me in PR2. I liked it and I'm not usually a big animation fan. What I liked was the 1950s setting, I thought that was a cool choice, though I wish the ending had been more darker.

Surprised you hadn't seen this before as I know you like animation. Rango was picked for me in a PR, I think? I can't remember who maybe Ed? Anyway I really liked it and for all the reasons you just gave.
Didn't see it in the Personal Rec HoF or the Movie Roulette but I do remember it somehow recommended for you and I'm sure I raved about it at the time lol



Didn't see it in the Personal Rec HoF or the Movie Roulette but I do remember it somehow recommended for you and I'm sure I raved about it at the time lol
Ack! I couldn't find where Rango was picked for me either, it drove me nuts cause I knew it had been chosen...OK, so finally I found out it was in the Movie Roulette II and you picked it for me. The reason it couldn't be found was that I had misspelled it as Ragoon. *just now fixed the spelling





The Seventh Seal / Det Sjunde Inseglet (1957)
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot

Sometimes it's dangerous to watch a film you've seen referenced and parodied many times before, but fortunately none of the things I'd previously encountered had a negative impact on my opinion of The Seventh Seal. I had however expected a more sombre film, and while Bergman's masterpiece is indeed melancholic, it also has a very dry sense of humour that I rather appreciated. Most of that came from the indifferent squire, who - misogyny aside - was almost always amusing.

Given the heavy focus on dialogue, the paired down costumes, and minimal movements, The Seventh Seal feels very much like a theatrical play, so it wasn't at all surprising to read that the film had indeed started its life on the stage. There's plenty of striking, memorable imagery to be seen, but I think it's that yearning for existential knowledge, and disillusionment with a silent god that will leave a more lasting impression on me.

The performances are great all around. Other than Björnstrand's squire I previously mentioned, I particularly liked the interactions between Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot. They weren't in the film as much as I had anticipated, but the few scenes they had together were fantastic. I also enjoyed how, even though the The Seventh Seal presents the notion that we're all just playing a long game of chess with Death ourselves, it isn't entirely without hope. Everything is left comfortably vague as well, which is entirely appropriate for a film that keeps asking questions that can never truly be answered.

Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	seventh.jpg
Views:	117
Size:	127.0 KB
ID:	88724  



Seventh Seal is one of the greats. Absolutely correct about that Bergman humor. Always there, and probably why he is one of my faves.






Moonlight - This is the story of Chiron told in three parts: i. a young boy struggling to find himself on the streets of Miami. ii. A teenage boy struggling to find himself in the schools of Miami and iii. A young adult, drug dealer in Atlanta struggling to accept who he really is. I really liked the first two parts quite a bit but felt the final act didn't quite match the energy of the first two, which was probably intentional.

This was a weird watch because of how relatable certain aspects of the film were. Aspects that I will not get into here. I thought the acting, especially the young and teenage Chiron were very good. While I wanted teenage Chiron to exact some revenge on his tormentors this isn't the kind of movie that makes that revenge seem good, even though I was glad he did it, the repercussions were real and it was like Jeez, can't this kid catch a break.

If there's one thing I wish we saw more of it was Chiron's relationship with Teresa. The Juan scenes were great when Chiron was little but once he's gone what is Teresa doing with a teenage Chiron? She certainly helps him with the essentials, food and shelter, but she seemed to be mostly absent for emotional help. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between them during the teenage years.

Have to admit to knowing nothing about being an African American or gay but I do know how people can overcompensate to project a false image of themself, usually for protection and often times with results that aren't too good. Hopefully the final act of the film helped Chiron come to some kind of closure as to who he wants to be.

Thought this was a very good movie.





The similarities between Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove are too numerous to list. Sorry, but the entire time I was watching this Strangelove was on my mind.

Set during the 50's, a computer glitch causes a bomber squadron to exceed the fail safe area and start heading for...The Soviet Union. Once that happens it's a mad scramble from the President, the Premier and the Generals to avert nuclear war. You have the guys who believe a first strike may be the best option, you have the guys who are willing to give the Soviets some classified info to help take down the squadron to avoid WW3 and you have the guys who just go a little funny in the head due to the stress and crack.

While the story is very similar to Strangelove the tone is not. This is not a comedy and is played straight. Zero Hour to Airplane. I hate to compare movies like this but, sheesh, how do you not? I enjoyed this and if Strangelove wasn't one of my top 3 all time fav's this may have had a better chance at being a little more than kind of amusing.



The similarities between Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove are too numerous to list.....
I knew when I read that first sentence that you didn't like the movie.

It's hard to like a movie if you already love something very similar, I know it is for me. Usually the first version I see and like will always be my favorite. But Fail Safe wasn't my choice, luckily



Someone recommended Fail Safe for me in a previous personal hall and I was blown away. It is now on my list of all time favourite films. Moonlight is fantastic and also on my list of favourite films. I may or may not have picked one of these for someone...



Someone recommended Fail Safe for me in a previous personal hall and I was blown away. It is now on my list of all time favourite films. Moonlight is fantastic and also on my list of favourite films. I may or may not have picked one of these for someone...
I might have recommended Fail Safe for you or maybe I didn't....I think I did though!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Ack! I couldn't find where Rango was picked for me either, it drove me nuts cause I knew it had been chosen...OK, so finally I found out it was in the Movie Roulette II and you picked it for me. The reason it couldn't be found was that I had misspelled it as Ragoon. *just now fixed the spelling
ahhhh,
No, you had it right.


LOL!

Holy sh#t Snickers I've been looking for this elusive Pirated F#ckin E-crypted Limited Director's Cut from Taiwan.
I understand there's a bit of backstory to the Toad and Hawk that causes a genuine spiritual giggle.
Well, that's what I heard on Twitter, I don't know, I'm just saying, that'd be cool.



I forgot the opening line.
Some great films reviewed here. I've decided not to mention which ones were my nominations, for I'm not entirely sure which people are okay with that.

I saw Fail Safe for the first time around about Christmas time, for I had the Criterion edition and it had been jumping out at me from everywhere for quite a while. It was really good - a tense, nightmare-like vision of humanity subordinated to technical malfunction. I thought the president, played by an 'enjoyable to watch' Henry Fonda, inspired in his way of averting the end of days. Could that really have happened? Can you imagine the questions he would have faced? I guess the film gave people a lot to ponder, but unfortunately most people didn't end up seeing it because Dr. Strangelove pushed it aside (I think both films were based on the same novel) and Kubrick won the war of the doomsday movies. It's one I want to see again soon.

I love The Seventh Seal. When I was really young it seemed like a film that would always be beyond me - real arthouse stuff, but in all actuality it's very easy to understand, and it's actually far more accessible than I would have imagined. It is surprisingly light-hearted for a film about death, and is never ponderous or pretentious. Ingmar Bergman never stoops to becoming pretentious in his films, and they never have the feel of being made by a man who feels self-important - only one who loves making films. I must watch this again one day soon.

I saw Moonlight not long after it came out, and it's another film that I feel the need to go back and revisit, because I thought it was great. I have what's nearing 1000 DVDs piled up on a table next to me and Moonlight might be buried in there somewhere, or sequestered elsewhere. I hope so anyway.

I haven't seen Ragoon or The Iron Giant, but I've been interested in the latter for a while now.
__________________
Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma

Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
In the last year or two, I've delved into Bergman and, more importantly, appreciated the man. The usual journey of anyone new to his films. My last film and Top of the List for me is Wild Strawberry. The Seventh Seal always daunted me as the Mt. Everest of Bergman Arthouse dirge. Though reading Cosmic: --it also has a very dry sense of humour that I rather appreciated. Most of that came from the indifferent squire, who - misogyny aside - was almost always amusing. and Phoenix: It is surprisingly light-hearted for a film about death and is never ponderous or pretentious. It may not be so daunting anymore. Yay,

I've been curious about Fail Safe. And don't feel bad about the Strangelove vibe, Frederick. I read this on IMDb:
Columbia Pictures produced both this movie and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Director Stanley Kubrick insisted his movie be released first, and it was, in January 1964. When Fail-Safe was released, it garnered excellent reviews, but audiences found it unintentionally funny because of "Strangelove" and stayed away. Henry Fonda later said he would never have made this movie if he had seen "Strangelove" first because he would have laughed, too.


This is what I wrote in the Best Picture HoF regarding Moonlight:
Was pleasantly surprised with the "father figure" Juan; finding such a person in such an unlikely circumstance had a wonderfully "out of real life" aspect to it. The same can go for Teresa; what a truly wonderful "home" that they had together.
The romantic scenes were just that, romantic.
The time with Kevin was done beautifully, especially with the shot from behind the two of them. There was a balanced portrayal of vulnerability and pleasure.
And that closing scene with the two of them and a quick shot of him as a child standing before the ocean was a very beautiful moment.



As always, I do love seeing the pageantry of all these films in these HoFs.