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Yeah, but it's a sort of a matter of "quality over quantity" for me, in a manner of speaking; you can have every other single character in the film take the story as seriously as possible, but the tone of the film will still feel conflicted because Marlowe doesn't take it very seriously, and since he's the main character (and one that appears in every single scene, if memory serves me correctly), he's the one we're most likely to identity with and take our cues on how to respond to the film from, since he's the biggest "lens" we see the story through. I mean, just try to imagine how dramatically different the tone of Chinatown would've been if Jake had reacted to the central conspiracy and its repurcussions with the same attitude as Gould's Marlowe; the entire film would come off as a radically different experience, wouldn't it?
Okay, fair enough. I think we're on the same wavelength now.
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All good people are asleep and dreaming.
The Consequences of Love


I was hoping there would be more films like this on the 1001 movies you must see list. Could really use The Criterion treatment.



I forgot the opening line.

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43827023

Predestination - (2014)

A time travel neo-noir movie with Ethan Hawke as 'The Barkeep' - based on Robert A. Heinlein's short story --All You Zombies--. The film has to contort itself quite a lot because of it's incredible premise - and I couldn't quite suspend disbelief. Still, it's admirable for what it sets out to achieve. It's damned hard to adapt that kind of story for the screen, and sometimes I want a movie to work so badly that I'll forgive all kinds of things.

6/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13686487

Father of the Bride - (1950)

Spencer Tracy was incredible in this. What a wonderfully understated performance - he can say so much with just a subtle look or slight enunciation. This film is still funny some 70+ years after it's release. Tracy missed out on an Oscar - beaten by José Ferrer who appeared in the 1950 version of Cyrano de Bergerac - but is awarded one in Alternate Oscars by Danny Peary. One day I'm going to do my own Alternate Oscars for 1992 onwards - something Peary has frustratingly never done.

9/10


Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6678394

A Man For All Seasons - (1966)

If I'd seen A Man For All Seasons before watching A Hidden Life I'd have surely mentioned it. Instead of one man's defiance of Hitler by refusing to swear an oath we have Sir Thomas More refusing to pressure the church into annulling King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and later his refusal to swear an oath proclaiming the King Supreme Head of the Church. A real Oscar went to the film for Best Picture and Paul Scofield for Best Actor - but alternates went to Cul-de-Sac and Richard Burton for his role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I haven't seen Cul-de-Sac, so I can't judge this selection yet.

The film is enjoyable, and I loved Robert Shaw's depiction of Henry VIII - it was all too brief. Also John Hurt, who was only 26, appearing as Richard Rich and Orson Welles as the bloated Cardinal Wolsey, who was Lord Chancellor before Sir Thomas More. Without those three the film wouldn't be as rewatchable as it is - I indeed intend watching it again.

8/10



THE GREAT BEAUTY


Wonderful.

Agreed! I hope it makes mofo's top foreign language films list.

The Consequences of Love


I was hoping there would be more films like this on the 1001 movies you must see list. Could really use The Criterion treatment.
^ watchlisted, I think you will like this one too @ThatDarnMKS; Sorrentino + Toni Servillo.


Night Falls on Manhattan 1996 Sidney Lumet
Underrated crime drama/thriller starring: Ron Leibman, James Gandolfini, Richard Dreyfuss, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Andy García, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, Bobby Cannavale.









Every once in a while a good film comes along, it's very rare, and often from the most unexpected of the places, until then, I have to pass trough the two hours crap each time. Someone once said that in order to find real artists in the future one had to go to Africa, those kind of places, because, according to him, people would all think the same way, even those who try to think differently, they're thinking the same. Maybe that's the free speech we all keep in the tongue, maybe once people are told they can do something, they won't do it, and when they're told they can't do something, they'll do it for themselves sparing everyone else, and by that make it truthful and honest, nothing else is needed.

The author is authentic, honest, sensitive, this film is not the typical- what everyone thinks should be mentioned combined and made into a movie for awareness sake, or, what no one thinks made into a movie to make a certain point in order to change people's minds, that's not art, and that's not needed, everyone has opinions and everyone wants to share them. An Elephant Sitting Still unmasks the great journey of false hope. The journey of the grass always greener on the other people's lawns, the journey to enlightenment, the journey to immortality, the journey to truth, the journey to individual knowledge, the journey for social climb, the journey for the hidden goody goody that doesn't exist, the elephant. In that quest the objective makes a entire life always suspended. Although this is one of my favorite films, I don't necessarily agree with the dark picture the author made, the world ain't dark unless you make it, but I appreciate his honesty.

Hu Bo and this film will be revered in the coming years.

1988 – 2017



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Decided to watch some entertainment to take it easy after the emotional rollercoaster that
the last Tora-san film was.

魔翡翠 [The Magic Crystal] (1986) -




Damn good time courtesy of Wong Jing. Lots of badass fights. Also, the guy with his feet and hands swapped is the funniest scene in film history.

劍奴 [Slave of the Sword] (1993) -




Apart from lots of fighting and some flying, which are inherent elements of wuxia pian, the film features a cast of beauties and has some scenes of lesbian kissing, which I'm partial to. Still, at its core, this sexploitation film is pretty sad. People either cut each other to pieces or cheat and deceive. In the end, madness and evil win, and any good, even if it was there in the first place, is crushed very early. Not a gay film (although it's kinda gay in one way!). Also, these HK films with beauties and those airy big rooms with curtains moving in the wind are my jam.

They Were Expendable (1945) -




Watching more John Ford? Don't mind if I do! Great and for most time chill flick. Joseph H. August freakin' killed it with outstanding cinematography! Some beautiful, serene moments. Lots of subtle poetry but also some excellent action sequences. In one word: swell!

都会の横顔 [Tokyo Profile] (1953) -




Quite an adorable film from Shimizu! A little girl gets lost and a billboard man starts looking for her mother. All of this but an excuse to show the busy streets of Ginza. The idea that you are anonymous in a big city is the point of the film, I guess.

The Killers (1964) -




Initially meant for TV but shelved due to explicit violence (features women getting hit). Not enough Lee Marvin roughing up people but at least John Cassavetes punches Ronald Reagan in the face. Quite honestly, I wasn't big on this. I prefer Siodmak's film.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



The Mothman Prophecies, 2002 (A-)

A journalist from DC finds himself oddly stranded in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where strange sightings all around town presage something ominous.

The events of the movie are not crazy interesting in and of themselves. It has all the flow of an average monster movie with not enough budget to actually have the monster on screen most of the time. The concept of the Mothman, however, is built up so well and so carefully, that the movie gains this awesome sense of Lynchian mystery. The movie clearly draws from some esoteric principles for inspiration, and it gives the whole thing a depth that you don't typically find in these movies. There's no point where you feel they went too far or ruined it by trying to overexplain. Good stuff.



I forgot the opening line.

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57635090

The Old Man & the Gun - (2018)

A not bad film about notorious bank robber and escape artist Forrest Tucker, definitely helped by Robert Redford, Casey Affleck and a strong supporting cast. Redford portrays Tucker as the most friendly, helpful and happy bank robber you're ever likely to come across. He has a certain air of class about him. Affleck is also terrific as a cop in way over his head - but determined to track Tucker down. At one point Tucker robs a bank with Affleck in the queue waiting for a teller. The look on his face after being informed the bank has just been robbed is priceless. I love Casey Affleck.

Director and screenwriter David Lowery did a great job with A Ghost Story (I thought) and continues his good form with this. Sissy Spacek is a thankfully age-appropriate love interest. Danny Glover and Tom Waits seem to come as a team (they both appeared in The Dead Don't Die.) The film doesn't reach any great heights, but is at least enjoyable escapism through the lens of a (mostly) true story.

6/10



Revisiting The Mothman Prophecies. It's really a pretty good movie, obscure as it is, with an excellent cast, a quiet, slow-boil plot line and a minimum of cheesy FX. People in a small town in West Virginia are troubled, and a cynical DC news reporter finds himself there (how?). The locals have been seeing things, don't understand what's going on and nobody's OK with what they've seen.

The cool thing about this movie is that it's based on real events in 1966 and 1967, sightings of some sort of entity, labelled Mothman by doubters. It builds to a crescendo that seems to culminate when a bridge collapses, killing dozens of people (real events).

The excellent cast includes Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alan Bates and Will Patton, all of whom play understated, believable people. Unfortunately for him, the character played by Will Patton carries the burden of sightings that (in real life) were had by about a hundred people, so things don't go well for him.

If you're in the mood for creepy understated creatures, this is the flick.

7.5 of 10, up to 8 because it's a favorite.




Oceans 11 (2001)


Not much I can say about this movie that hasn't been said before, and I've rewatched it many times. One of my favorite Vegas movies, and probably my favorite of the Oceans series.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

City Hall (Frederick Wiseman, 2020)
6/10
No Time to Be Young (David [Lowell] Rich, 1957)
5/10
Skater Girl (Manjari Makijany, 2021)
6/10
The Donut King (Alice Gu, 2020)
6.5/10

Ted Ngoy's biography as a Cambodian immigrant who became the Donut King is also full of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.
Dream Horse (Euros Lyn, 2020)
+ 6/10
The Saint in New York (Ben Holmes, 1938)
5/10
Infinite (Antoine Fuqua, 2021)
5.5/10
In the Heights (Jon M. Chu, 2021)
- 7/10

Dancing at the salsa club before the power goes out and some major plot points occur.
Fast Company (David Cronenberg, 1979)
5/10
Runaway (Michael Crichton, 1984)
6/10
Rogue Hostage (Jon Keeyes, 2021)
5/10
Wish Dragon (Chris Appelhans, 2021)
6.5/10

The Wish Dragon reveals himself to his new owner.
How to Make a Monster (Herbert L. Strock, 1958)
5/10
Walk a Crooked Mile (Gordon Douglas, 1948)
5.5/10
Nightmare in Wax (Bud Townsend, 1969)
5/10
Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934)
5.5/10

Washed-up actor John Barrymore tries to get back in with his star wife Carole Lombard.
Spare Parts (Andrew Thomas Hunt, 2020)
5/10
Zebra Girl (Stephanie Zari, 2021)
6/10
The Retreat (Pat Mills, 2021)
+ 5/10
Endless Night (Sidney Gilliat, 1972)
6/10

Somewhat muddled yet still-surprising Agatha Christie thriller with newly-wed couple Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Excellent movie, but it took about 2 days to slog through it. At least 25% Lost in Translation.
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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

I really loved this, thought I'd posted a (small) review....more opinion in my case I guess ...after watching the BBC series the other year, which was very good, this knocks it's socks off for atmosphere and plotting. Peter Weir is pitch perfect in all aspects of the tale. The underlying frustrations and eroticism are brought wonderfully to the screen.




Revisiting The Mothman Prophecies. It's really a pretty good movie, obscure as it is, with an excellent cast, a quiet, slow-boil plot line and a minimum of cheesy FX. People in a small town in West Virginia are troubled, and a cynical DC news reporter finds himself there (how?). The locals have been seeing things, don't understand what's going on and nobody's OK with what they've seen.

The cool thing about this movie is that it's based on real events in 1966 and 1967, sightings of some sort of entity, labelled Mothman by doubters. It builds to a crescendo that seems to culminate when a bridge collapses, killing dozens of people (real events).

The excellent cast includes Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alan Bates and Will Patton, all of whom play understated, believable people. Unfortunately for him, the character played by Will Patton carries the burden of sightings that (in real life) were had by about a hundred people, so things don't go well for him.

If you're in the mood for creepy understated creatures, this is the flick.

7.5 of 10, up to 8 because it's a favorite.
You've piqued my interest with this one. I don't like horror movies, but this one seems tame enough with a PG-13 rating. Is it?