The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

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I was surprised that you liked it too when I watched it last night. I thought about it, and a lot of movies you like seem to have the disenfranchised outsider who's at odds with society with conflicted feelings. Which sounds like the movie Joker to me, only I haven't seen the movie yet. Does that sound right?
That sounds about right.





Hostiles (Scott Cooper, 2017)
Imdb

Date Watched: 12/07/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



This was much more my style than many of the other Westerns I've watched. I'm a sucker for stories of redemption and this was a pretty good one. I don't much like Christian Bale but he was well suited to the role of the hardened soldier with a grudge to bear. The film also featured really beautiful landscapes and an engaging story that provided a more realistic and balanced portrayal of the interactions between whites and natives than is often shown in Westerns.

That said, I'd be lying if I claimed to not be a least a little disappointed with this. The movie dragged a bit and was longer than it needed to be. I had a lot of trouble understanding some of the dialogue - in particular from the man with the beard and very dark hair. Not sure of the actor's name. I was also disappointed in how small Ben Foster's role was. He did well with what he had but I really wish he had more screen time.

Still it was a pretty solid film and could possibly sneak onto my ballot.

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I'm sorry to see that you're not having much success so far with your western selections. The Outlaw Josey Wales and Hombre will both be on my ballot. I have high expectations for One-Eyed Jacks and The Big Country. I wasn't crazy about Shane, either, and I found the little boy incredibly annoying, but I plan on giving it another chance soon. Haven't seen Sukiyaki Western Django but director Takashi Miike specializes in WTF. I checked to make sure that the George Miller behind The Man From Snowy River isn't the same mastermind responsible for the Mad Max films, and it isn't, so there goes any potential interest. The Hanging Tree is indeed an underrated/underseen western gem, and the theme song is also one of the best of its kind. Hostiles is solid but underwhelming.

You put a lot more emphasis on the likeability of characters than I do. ("Sh*tty people being sh*tty to each other," as I think you described The Master, is probably one of my favorite narratives --- chalk that up to me being a misanthrope, I guess.) It's impossible for me to predict which characters will resonate with you, so I'm not sure which westerns to recommend. I'd love to see you give one of my personal favorites, The Gunfighter (1950), a chance. It's less than 90 minutes long, so it's got that going for it, and I'd like to think that you'll be emotionally invested and captivated . . . but who knows. For newer westerns, you might dig The Rider (2017), with its gorgeous cinematography and artful authenticity.
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Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
Imdb

Date Watched: 9/22/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The 11th MoFo Hall of Fame
Rewatch: Yes, though I've not seen it since childhood and remember almost nothing about it


I hated everything about this movie: Every scene, every character, every line of dialogue. How this is considered one of the film greats is beyond me. David and Susan are possibly the two most aggravating film characters I've ever seen. He's a bumbling, spineless moron who spews made-up bullsh!t phrases and I don't believe for a moment that he's any kind of scientist. But he's a paleontologist? Spare me. "Intercostal clavicle"? F*** you.

As for her, I can't decide whether this bitch is crazy, stupid, or a combination of the two. What I do know is that I wanted to punch her repeatedly in the face from the moment she appeared on screen to the film's final scene. The supporting characters are not much better, but at least I didn't feel any violent urges towards them.

There were moments when I actually wanted to cry at how painful this was to endure. I'm going to be generous and give it one popcorn box on the off-chance that there was some sort of semi-redeeming feature somewhere in this mess that I missed.



Sorry, Camo.

Add my to the others. I guess it has more than it's share of detractors.