I Will Watch at Least One Recommendation From Each MoFo
Oh, I did say after I've watched yours you could recommend another didn't I?
Okay then, nevermind... I'll go ahead and add it to the bottom of the list.
Okay then, nevermind... I'll go ahead and add it to the bottom of the list.
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Favorite Movies
I watched Monsieur Lazhar, and here is my review:
Before we start, let’s be clear. I don’t like movies about teachers. I’m not mad on ‘inspiring’ movies. And movies about inspiring teachers are even worse.
So as you can imagine, I approached this film with some trepidation.
There’s always a sense of artificiality in schools in movies. Lessons are simple, a teacher or a student reads an (inspiring) passage from a book, there’s one (inspiring) line chalked across the blackboard, there’s an (inspiring) discussion, the students are always listening (and, irritatingly, the lesson is never finished when the bell rings and the teacher always shouts the homework as the class is leaving, they never seem to write it down). There are also really small classes, of which only four or five students ever speak. Discussions between teachers are always of an ideological nature.
And all of that is there in Monsieur Lazhar. (As well as the most ridiculous implausible plot point, that he could just walk into the job without proper checks.)
But if you can swallow all that, it’s actually quite a rewarding film.
It’s quiet and undramatic, even given its subject matter with the suicide of the former teacher. It’s not sweet or twee. Monsieur Lazhar is inspiring not because he jumps on tables and rips pages out of poetry books but because he works with dignity and determination and hope, even after all that has happened to him.
The end, with the story about the chrysalis was very sad and moving.
So now I am going to recommend you another film, and I'm going to pick a British film, A Taste of Honey (1961)
Before we start, let’s be clear. I don’t like movies about teachers. I’m not mad on ‘inspiring’ movies. And movies about inspiring teachers are even worse.
So as you can imagine, I approached this film with some trepidation.
There’s always a sense of artificiality in schools in movies. Lessons are simple, a teacher or a student reads an (inspiring) passage from a book, there’s one (inspiring) line chalked across the blackboard, there’s an (inspiring) discussion, the students are always listening (and, irritatingly, the lesson is never finished when the bell rings and the teacher always shouts the homework as the class is leaving, they never seem to write it down). There are also really small classes, of which only four or five students ever speak. Discussions between teachers are always of an ideological nature.
And all of that is there in Monsieur Lazhar. (As well as the most ridiculous implausible plot point, that he could just walk into the job without proper checks.)
But if you can swallow all that, it’s actually quite a rewarding film.
It’s quiet and undramatic, even given its subject matter with the suicide of the former teacher. It’s not sweet or twee. Monsieur Lazhar is inspiring not because he jumps on tables and rips pages out of poetry books but because he works with dignity and determination and hope, even after all that has happened to him.
The end, with the story about the chrysalis was very sad and moving.
So now I am going to recommend you another film, and I'm going to pick a British film, A Taste of Honey (1961)
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I'm glad you liked it Thursday Next, despite the criticisms. I've never heard of A Taste of Honey, but 60's British films are usually right up my alley. I look forward to watching it.
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I've had a hard time getting into British films of that era, but I thought A Taste of Honey was terrific.
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Zotis - a Taste of Honey is a great film, very evocative of the changing times of the 1960s.
Don't forget to watch my recommended film Distant Voices, Still Lives!
Don't forget to watch my recommended film Distant Voices, Still Lives!
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I've seen phone and I didn't like it to be honest...
Don't worry Christine, I've got it on my list on the first page.
Don't worry Christine, I've got it on my list on the first page.
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Thanks bluedeed, looking forward to eventually getting to it. :P Boy this list sure is massive now.
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How about my favorite Howard Hawks film, Only Angels Have Wings?
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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
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Zotis, have you ever seen Lone Star (1996, John Sayles)?
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
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Favorite Movies
Hi Zotis! May I recommend a movie? Not sure if you like foreign films with subtitles but if you do check out Alphaville, a 1965 movie by Jean-Luc Godard.
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"I've noticed the more we doubt, the more we cling to a false lucidity, in hope of rationalizing what feelings have made murky." - Contempt
"I've noticed the more we doubt, the more we cling to a false lucidity, in hope of rationalizing what feelings have made murky." - Contempt
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Bicycle Thieves (1948) A.K.A. The Bicycle Thief
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Lamberto Maggiorani
This was a beautiful movie; a work of art. I loved it. Movies like this are why I love film, art, and life. The acting, cinematography, directing, attention to detail, dialogue, character design, realism, story, everything was impeccable. It was practically a perfect movie.
WARNING: "My favorite scene was..." spoilers below
...when Maggiorani's character, Antonio Ricci, steals a bicycle himself. I loved the emotion, the moment of weakness on the character's part, the downcast misery when he's caught, and the interaction with the group that catch him. I thought it was really interesting how they had sympathy and let him go. It was a stark contrast between him and the thief who had stolen his bicycle.
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