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The trick is not minding


Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)
Imdb

Date Watched: 10/19/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 20th MoFo Hall of Fame, nominated by neiba
Rewatch: No.


Phantom Thread features beautiful sets and locations, gorgeous costumes, striking cinematography, and fine performances. It has a lot going for it and is very well crafted. The trouble is that I don't care.

And this generally seems to be the case for my experiences with the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. His characters are perhaps too believable: They're unlikable and they surround themselves with people who are equally so. And when one character wrongs another, I feel absolutely nothing. Which is exactly what happens here. Lewis's Reynolds is a man-child who surrounds himself with women and whose very livelihood is dependent upon them, yet he clearly detests them. Kripes's Alma lets him walk all over her while doing everything she can to possess him. They're both horrible people who deserve each other.

Still there's enough positive here that I'd be lying if I said I hated it, yet not enough positive for me to truthfully say I liked it.


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Were you Pauline Kael in another life? 😏



The trick is not minding
She was a famous critic who was known for her caustic wit regarding films she didn’t like.
Your reviews remind me of her.
That’s a compliment.





Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1984)
Imdb

Date Watched: 10/19/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 20th MoFo Hall of Fame, nominated by Hey Frederick
Rewatch: No.


If my count is correct, this was my eleventh Coen film and my history with them is... varied. There's one I love, one I like a lot, a few I think are okay, a few I didn't care for, and a few I absolutely hated. I did not have high hopes going into this one.

Fortunately, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The film is thick with tension and atmosphere (though at times it felt like it was trying a little too hard) and it features solid performances all around with a cast of characters that are all pretty unlikable, yet interesting just the same.

That said, I didn't love it. It's very well crafted for what it is, but what it is isn't really my kind of film. It'll likely rank high on my ballot, but this isn't something I'm likely to seek out for a rewatch anytime soon if ever.

+

P.S. - Tiny little nagging detail, but was I the only one bothered by how nobody reacted to the fish on Marty's desk? Surely they would have started to rot and make a horrible stench but not one person so much as crinkled their nose at them.



But in all reality, do you have high expectations of anything that doesn't star Joaquin Phoenix?
Of course I do and his presence doesn’t automatically mean high expectations anyways. It depends on things like what the movie is about and who’s directing it.

I'm getting pretty damn tired of the attitude of certain people who seem to think that Phoenix is some guarantee of a positive review from me or that I’m incapable of enjoying something without him.



We need more Brando in the HoFs I've pretty much enjoyed and been impressed with most of his films. Which ones have you seen? and your thoughts or ratings on them?
Almost all of them except Viva Zapata!, Burn! and The Fugitive Kind. A lot of his films need a re-watch because I was too young when I first watched them and barely remember them well enough to rate so I'll rate the ones I do remember well enough;

The Godfather
+
One-Eyed Jacks

On The Waterfront
+
Superman
+
Apocalypse Now
+
A Streetcar Named Desire
+
The story and dialogue weren't really my thing but it has great performances by Vivien Leigh, Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. And the lighting, set design and score are all top notch.
The Chase
+
Would recommend this Thriller to a couple of mofo's it has Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Angie Dickinson, James Fox and Robert Duvall.
The Freshman

Often overly critiqued, it's just a fun eighties Broderick comedy (released 1990), and a fun parody on Brando's own Don Corleone character.
The Score

Mutiny on the Bounty
+
Disappointing re-watch, maybe because I watched it right after Master and Commander?
The Island of Dr. Moreau

Garbage, pls avoid watching.



Almost all of them except Viva Zapata!, Burn! and The Fugitive Kind. A lot of his films need a re-watch because I was too young when I first watched them and barely remember them well enough to rate so I'll rate the ones I do remember well enough;

The Godfather
+
One-Eyed Jacks

On The Waterfront
+
Superman
+
Apocalypse Now
+
A Streetcar Named Desire
+
The story and dialogue weren't really my thing but it has great performances by Vivien Leigh, Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. And the lighting, set design and score are all top notch.
The Chase
+
Would recommend this Thriller to a couple of mofo's it has Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Angie Dickinson, James Fox and Robert Duvall.
The Freshman

Often overly critiqued, it's just a fun eighties Broderick comedy (released 1990), and a fun parody on Brando's own Don Corleone character.
Mutiny on the Bounty
+
Disappointing re-watch, maybe because I watched it right after Master and Commander?
The Island of Dr. Moreau

Garbage, pls avoid watching.
Have you seen Marlon Brando in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery? Now that's garbage... if there was ever a "worst movies" HoF I might nominate that.
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We need more Brando in the HoFs I've pretty much enjoyed and been impressed with most of his films. Which ones have you seen? and your thoughts or ratings on them?

5/5
The Godfather
On the Waterfront

4/5
A Dry White Season
Superman
Mutiny on the Bounty

3/5
The Score
Apocalypse Now
Last Tango in Paris
Sayonara
The Fugitive Kind
A Streetcar Named Desire

2/5
One Eyed Jacks
Guys and Dolls
Julius Caesar

1/5
Island of Doctor Moreau


Never been a big Brando guy, A Dry White Season might do well in one of these...or The Fugitive Kid.






Phantom Thread by Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those films that's an elevated indie film. So often you end up with independent films today with two to four characters who spend ninety minutes working through a plot. Phantom Thread elevates the subject matter through what I suppose would be fetishism of a nostalgic time.



We get an establishment early on in the film that Woodcock (Daniel Day Lewis) is suffering from a sense of ennui and has decided to take this out on his latest (girlfriend muse...eh who knows) He then decides to fall for a waitress of suspect origins.



A great film like this one balances both characters we see Alma as a very sympathetic person but as the story unfolds our empathy starts to move towards Woodcock. And the third reveals a strange perversity which somehow manages to give the film that nihilistic tone that most of Anderson's films have.


My biggest complaint about the film is that my favorite Anderson films play like epics with huge casts and smaller side stories...Magnolia and Boogie Nights are both top fifty for me, this is more competitive with The Master in the mid range for Anderson's work. But still it's a great film.



Almost all of them except Viva Zapata!, Burn! and The Fugitive Kind.

A lot of his films need a re-watch because I was too young when I first watched them and barely remember them well enough to rate so I'll rate the ones I do remember well enough;

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Garbage, pls avoid watching.
That's how I am, I've watched a lot of stuff including Brando films but it's been so long that I've forgotten them. Just curious, I was under the impression you were a young person? Probably because of your avatar Do you mind me asking about how old you are?

5/5
Island of Doctor Moreau 1/5
I haven't seen Brando's version of Island of Doctor Moreau but it's clear it must suck



The Brando films I've seen.

Apocalypse Now 1979

Superman 1978

Last Tango in Paris 1972...I shut this one off I was so bored with it.
The Godfather 1972
my review
Reflections in a Golden Eye 1967
-
Mutiny on the Bounty 1962

One-Eyed Jacks 1961
my review
The Young Lions 1958

Sayonara 1957
my review
The Teahouse of the August Moon 1956

Guys and Dolls 1955

On the Waterfront 1954
my review
Viva Zapata! 1952

A Streetcar Named Desire 1951
my review



I haven't seen Brando's version of Island of Doctor Moreau but it's clear it must suck
If you're curious about it, I'd recommending skipping the movie itself and watching the documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau instead.



If you're curious about it, I'd recommending skipping the movie itself and watching the documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau instead.
Thanks...Have you seen the 1970s Island of Dr Moreau? I've not but always wanted to.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Thanks for the help.

WARNING: "SPOILERS for "Blood Simple."!!!!" spoilers below
1) That makes sense. I guess I didn't think about him setting up someone else for Marty's murder, so the police weren't looking for him. I probably should have realized it when he used Abby's gun.

2) I'm glad that I'm not the only one who picked up on that. I thought that I missed something.

3) I knew Ray found the photo, but I didn't realize that he found the lighter too. Without the lighter, I thought that Ray didn't know who took the photo, so that's why I didn't put together that Ray could implicate him.

4) I didn't see her reload it, but I guess she could have done it off-screen at some point.


I noticed all the stupid stuff that Ray did too, but I don't think we saw even one cop during the whole movie, so maybe that's why he thought he could still get away with it.
WARNING: "insert secret response here" spoilers below
3) I don't think Ray found the lighter, but I assumed that Visser believed he did or since his lighter was left behind, it was a done deal.

What was so irritating for me was, at first, I didn't know it was Abby's gun. Missed that entirely somehow, so the moment he picked up it was a bottomless spiral of outrage for me for his actions. Not until later did I ease up (slightly) upon realizing it was hers. Still thought he was an utter dumb@ss but he was a dumb@ss trying to protect her. lol
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