MoFo Movie Roulette II (a movie watching participation event)

Tools    





Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I'm probably just going to stick with the 26th Hall of Fame, but thanks for the invitation.
I was just posting your comment for BooBoo about joining the 26th though he already knew and joined yesterday.
__________________
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



Here’s looking at you, kid.
WOW!!!
It IS an amazing film and definitely in the very top echelon of its genre, easily. I have yet to see someone see this and NOT enjoy it and yet I am wonderfully surprised at HOW MUCH you have. THANK YOU! I was exactly the same way on my first watch of this and truly need to see it again. For so many reasons, including the ones you mentioned. Miss Noel was utterly captivating and wonderfully enticing in the show they go to. And fully agree how much their personalities really shined through. I think my favorite of the group, and it's not easy to pick, was Robert Manuel as Mario Ferrati. He was just TOO SMOOTH for words! lol
And I would LOVE to see this in a theater, that would be so f@ckin cool!

It was a superb film and I had just rated a film 5 stars this year when I saw The Handmaiden.

My only 5 star ratings I’ve had so far:

•The Handmaiden
•The Master
•Seven Samurai
•The Tree of Life
•Singin in the Rain
•Cinema Paradiso
•Paths of Glory
•Rififi

I am very picky when it comes to films. Not only does the film need all the qualities I look for in a good movie, but to be a 5 star it needs to really give me that feeling that I can’t explain that just feels like perfection, otherwise it’s just a 4.5 to me.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I know exactly what you mean. Though I am pretty liberal with my 4 stars but then if a film doesn't get me in the beginning third of the film, and its one I'm watching on my own, it's our house rule to move on to something else.
The beginning of this year I got extremely lucky with some foreign films that I was utterly amazed with. One of several that I watched on my own, Rome, Open City was a solid 5 for me.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé




Ikiru aka To Live (1952)

Novelist: Misfortune teaches us the truth. Your cancer has opened your eyes to your own life. People are fickle and shallow. We only realize how beautiful life is when we face death. And even then, few of us realize it. The worst among us know nothing of life until they die.

Now and again, you come across the intangible - the vain attempt to express a movie experience that is too elusive to dissect or define.
I find myself doing this with Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru. Starring Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe. A minor bureaucrat that has shuffled papers and has done nothing but for the past thirty years. Only to learn that he has stomach cancer and won't live past six months.
The sadness, regret, and longing within Takashi Shimura's eyes and demeanor are of equal measure, heart-breaking, and beautifully 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.
In the skillful hands of Kurosawa and his deep understanding of and the ability to illustrate the human condition with a sublime accuracy, we not only delve into the older man's emotional process but of those in his life and at work who are clueless to his approaching death.
An aspect that plays out in the final act as his coworkers' piece certain bits of the puzzle of Kanji Watanabe's recent actions at his funeral.

There is so much to say, and yet, much like Kanji, I am unable to express anything regarding the profound effect, appreciation, and humble joy I have experienced. Not to mention just how much this not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them as would a Kurosawa film. The impact of the film continues to resonate within me and most likely will for some time.
Beautifully sad, deeply inspiring, sans any fluff of any kind.





THANK YOU, Cosmic!!!




Rango (2011) @edarsenal

Yahoo! Finally an animated film that I really liked. There's been a few animated films that I've rated really high but mostly I'm not a big fan of them, Rango was the exception.

When it comes to live action films I mostly dislike modern CG but when it comes to animation I do enjoy cutting edge computer animation...Yes, I can appreciate the artistry that went into the classic Disney films, but they always look flat to me, two dimensional. But what I liked about Rango was the textures, the depth perception and the details of a very good looking 'set'. It helps it was a western and paid homage to a lot of great films. Some of the nods, like the Star Wars canyon chase scene I got...and some I didn't. I did read about them on IMDB and I swear there was one movie nod that wasn't mentioned. On a couple occasions the clock in the tower would make a loud clunk as the minute hand moved...the scene then cut to a close-up, angled upward look at the clock hands. I'm pretty sure that was done in The Quick and the Dead.

Johnny Depp as a voice actor was amazing. I knew it was him but yet never heard his natural cadence. He made a good cartoon character, go figure Fun movie! Well made too!



Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	original.jpg
Views:	337
Size:	27.1 KB
ID:	81314  



Women will be your undoing, Pépé

Rango (2011) @edarsenal

Yahoo! Finally an animated film that I really liked. There's been a few animated films that I've rated really high but mostly I'm not a big fan of them, Rango was the exception.

When it comes to live action films I mostly dislike modern CG but when it comes to animation I do enjoy cutting edge computer animation...Yes, I can appreciate the artistry that went into the classic Disney films, but they always look flat to me, two-dimensional. But what I liked about Rango was the textures, the depth perception and the details of a very good looking 'set'. It helps it was a western and paid homage to a lot of great films. Some of the nods, like the Star Wars canyon chase scene I got...and some I didn't. I did read about them on IMDB and I swear there was one movie nod that wasn't mentioned. On a couple occasions the clock in the tower would make a loud clunk as the minute hand moved...the scene then cut to a close-up, angled upward look at the clock hands. I'm pretty sure that was done in The Quick and the Dead.

Johnny Depp as a voice actor was amazing. I knew it was him but yet never heard his natural cadence. He made a good cartoon character, go figure Fun movie! Well made too!



And for all those reasons I had a strong feeling, this would work for you. Including the details of the world-building. All the knick-knacks in the interior shots such as the bar or the wagon of hares leaving town stacked with belongings. (Did ya notice the one child literally dangling off the side, tied off?) There is so much going on without being overwhelming. And they do get noticed on repeat viewings and this is one I've seen countless times.



And for all those reasons I had a strong feeling, this would work for you. Including the details of the world-building. All the knick-knacks in the interior shots such as the bar or the wagon of hares leaving town stacked with belongings. (Did ya notice the one child literally dangling off the side, tied off?) There is so much going on without being overwhelming. And they do get noticed on repeat viewings and this is one I've seen countless times.
I did notice the child tied to the wagon..Ha! loved that. Lots of clever funny stuff in the film but I bet I missed so much too...Good choice Ed.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I did notice the child tied to the wagon..Ha! loved that. Lots of clever funny stuff in the film but I bet I missed so much too...Good choice Ed.
Like I've said before I've been wanting to recommend it to you for some time now, so I'm glad it finally came to be and that you enjoyed it.
Glad you loved it! I'll divide up those thanks and send a portion to Allaby, since I wouldn't have suggested it for you had he not suggested it for me first haha.
I'm that way with the film Rififi since it was recommended to me. Of course, I need to research and found out which person did recommend it to me in the first Personal Rec HoF.
Also, like the talking ones self into adding another half star I initially was going with 4 and a half and by the end of the review. . . lol



Also, like the talking ones self into adding another half star I initially was going with 4 and a half and by the end of the review. . . lol
Speaking of this, I've been thinking about The Raid a lot lately and I kind of want to give it another half star as well, though it's far too late now haha.

I binged the rest of Iko Uwais' filmography (well, the ones I hadn't already seen), and even rewatched large portions of The Raid a couple of times. I just seem to like it more and more. I even said to someone the other day that if The Raid had the visual aesthetics of The Raid 2, I'd definitely give it 5/5 stars. And now in retrospect, my rating of it here seems a bit low.

I don't want to set a precedent for changing scores well after the fact though, so I'll just have to live with the rating I gave it at the time.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Speaking of this, I've been thinking about The Raid a lot lately and I kind of want to give it another half star as well, though it's far too late now haha.

I binged the rest of Iko Uwais' filmography (well, the ones I hadn't already seen), and even rewatched large portions of The Raid a couple of times. I just seem to like it more and more. I even said to someone the other day that if The Raid had the visual aesthetics of The Raid 2, I'd definitely give it 5/5 stars. And now in retrospect, my rating of it here seems a bit low.

I don't want to set a precedent for changing scores well after the fact though, so I'll just have to live with the rating I gave it at the time.
I was doing the same with Ikiru. I KNEW if I didn't do a full 5 I'd be regretting it and wishing I had.



Let the night air cool you off
Sorry I'm running late on my film. I've had a busy weekend and I'll probably be busy for the rest of this week too. I'll do my best to get to it before the week is up.



Let the night air cool you off
I had a big road trip from Alabama to Oklahoma back to Alabama from Thursday through Sunday and back to work on Monday, so I have been very busy. Normally I stroll into work about 30 minutes after 8, but tomorrow there is a prompt 8 AM meeting, so that means I won't stay up as late as usual. But I swear I'm going to get to this.



Let the night air cool you off
Okay, last night I finally got to Pixote

It was a lot like most of the Brazilian films I've seen (I've seen probably less than ten or right at ten at this point), it showed poverty and crime. People living in squalor. Nothing was glamorized and the events played out in a matter-of-fact way that sometimes make you forget that you are watching children. There is the stark reminder at the very end when Pixote is shown with the prostitute both as surrogates for the other. There seemed to be a very no-frills approach to this film and I see why others, smarter than I, recognized the influence Italian neo-realism must have had on this film. I could use a little less on the kid dick front though.




Okay, last night I finally got to Pixote

It was a lot like most of the Brazilian films I've seen (I've seen probably less than ten or right at ten at this point), it showed poverty and crime. People living in squalor. Nothing was glamorized and the events played out in a matter-of-fact way that sometimes make you forget that you are watching children. There is the stark reminder at the very end when Pixote is shown with the prostitute both as surrogates for the other. There seemed to be a very no-frills approach to this film and I see why others, smarter than I, recognized the influence Italian neo-realism must have had on this film. I could use a little less on the kid dick front though.

I thought you might like Pixote. I liked it too, fairly well. It was Cricket's nom in the 17th HoF, it came in at 9 out of 14.

This is what I wrote:

I should've been grossed out by that scene in the photo, but for some reason nothing in the film disturbed me. In fact I think it was a well made film and I did like aspects of it. I won't say I loved it, as it's not the kind of film I would love. But it was unique.

I liked the direct-documentary style with little music score and no fancy cinematography. The film is effective as it literally puts us in the shoes of these forlorn Brazilian street kids who end up in a state run orphanage. The orphanage is just another kind of hell for them. I've heard that in places like Rio or Mexico City that they have so much crime from the street kids that they have death squads that go around and shoot the kids down in cold blood on the streets. It's really a sad thing and it happens for real, so I believe what I seen was a true depiction.

I wasn't too involved in the movie for the first hour but once the group of boys left the orphanage the film got interesting for me. I liked how the four kids interacted and both supported each other but also fought with each other. The scenes with the prostitute was my favorite.

There's a scene where the boy Pixote suckles at the breast of the prostitute. I actually found that scene to be the most emotional of the movie, as it wasn't sexual, but it was a pathetic bittersweet moment between two deeply wounded people. It was touching.

I kind of hate that the movie didn't end on that scene, because when the prostitute then freaks out and tells Pixote to stop and get the hell away from her...it broke the emotion of the previous scene.




I believe we're done here...and...everyone won! We all seen some great films and hopefully had fun, so I say that's a win win!

Final stats (unless I can't add, and I probably can't):
@Jiraffejustin 21.5
@CosmicRunaway 21.5
@BooBooKittyFock 21
@Citizen Rules 20.5
@Allaby 19.5
@Edarsenal 20.5

Thanks everyone for the neat movie choices I got and for joining!



I believe we're done here...and...everyone won!
That's very likely the case, as the average rating per film was a little over 4 stars, with 3.0 being the absolute lowest. That's a good selection of films!

I really enjoyed participating in this. Thanks everyone!



That's very likely the case, as the average rating per film was a little over 4 stars, with 3.0 being the absolute lowest. That's a good selection of films!

I really enjoyed participating in this. Thanks everyone!
I'd join again, maybe someone else better at math can host? Not much really to do hosting this anyway, not hard and not like an HoF.