The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II

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Women will be your undoing, Pépé




Almost Famous

William Miller: So Russell. . . what do you love about music?
Russell Hammond: To begin with. . . everything.

Known as "director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of life as a young Rolling Stone reporter", this film is chock full of references and inside remarks from those early 70s daze of touring with a Rock Band and all the good/bad and crazy situations that happen. A lot of them based on similar situations that occurred to Crowe during that time in a rosy-tinted perspective.
Some of the references that I got a kick out of included the remark by the Editor of Rolling Stone warning young William Miller (Patrick Fugit) that they already had one Hunter S. Thompson and they didn't need another one. As well as the acidic writer Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who, for a time, worked for Detroit based rock magazine, Creem magazine. He'd eventually die of an overdose in the early 80s.

Like he often did, Crowe used relative unknowns that would become very well known, such as Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Noah Taylor, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin and Zooey Deschanel. Along with Jay & Silent Bob regular Jason Lee as the singer of the fictitious rock band Stillwater that young Miller tours with. The cast does an excellent job and like a number of Crowe's work there are little personal touches that causes you to find yourself happily drawn into this world and those experiencing it.

Much like my previous hesitations with Dazed & Confused from the previous HoF, and being very happy to have finally delved in, it is very much the same with this movie. A very feel-good, throwback to a different time of Rock and Roll.

Thank you to whomever nominated this for me.
__________________
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



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Like the original HoF this has been filled with some incredible surprises, a few Must Sees! fulfilled and even the one or two that made me wonder "why this one?" were answered beautifully viewing them.

THANK YOU EVERYONE that participated and chose these nominations for me and to the Mastermind behind the curtains, @cricket who orchestrates it!!
F@CKIN YAY!!

God knows how I'll get them in a voting order, but I'm off to try and I'll get it sent over shortly.



Congratulations Ed, you are the 5th member to finish!

I didn't think much of Almost Famous the first time I watched it, but then I loved it the second time. It's a recurring theme for me.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

A very impressive noir that almost seems too American to be French! Of course, the fact that Dassin was American makes it so, but still, I can't imagine the people's reaction to this when it came out in France.

The storytelling and cinematography are superb and so is the soundtrack. I was unsure about the sound editing in the beginning but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the film, especially during the robbery scene! The pacing of this is also terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole 2 hours.

The acting is quite fine by all the male actors, but I didn't think the women were well chosen. Mano is a weak femme fatale (though she's not given enough screen time to make it otherwise) and the singer has the weirdest facial expressions.

Great nom whoever it was!!

+



Just watched Almost Famous again over Thanksgiving with my step son whose taste in movies couldn't be more different than mine. Messing with him, I recommended Irreversible, A Serbian Film and a few others to which he replied "Ugh, I'm not gonna watch your crap. Find something good" Since he just discovered classic rock, he asked me last summer if I had ever heard of the band Boston? (Uh...no. Never. Where are they from?) I thought Almost Famous would be a good choice. I really like it and he ended up loving it. It's nothing flashy, just a good story.



I says what is the movie with the long ass title that Neiba watched. Then I figure out it's Rififi. Of course a normal person probably would have noticed that Rififi was part of that long ass title. Anyway, great movie!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

A very impressive noir that almost seems too American to be French! Of course, the fact that Dassin was American makes it so, but still, I can't imagine the people's reaction to this when it came out in France.

The storytelling and cinematography are superb and so is the soundtrack. I was unsure about the sound editing in the beginning but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the film, especially during the robbery scene! The pacing of this is also terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole 2 hours.

The acting is quite fine by all the male actors, but I didn't think the women were well chosen. Mano is a weak femme fatale (though she's not given enough screen time to make it otherwise) and the singer has the weirdest facial expressions.

Great nom whoever it was!!

+
C'est moi.
Loved this film when I saw it in the first Rec HoF and had a good feeling you'd enjoy it.
I've seen a few other French noir films previously and more since, and I'm pretty hooked to see a whole lot more.
The sans music during the robbery is excellent and occurs in Le Trou, Asphalt Jungle, and a few others that I can't think of now, but it really added far more tension than a musical score would.

And I'd imagine the French's response was similar to this:

Though seriously, I imagine it was very favorable considering the several I've come across, including one of Melville's Le Doulos which is slang for a hat and refers to a police informer, where the criminals all drive massive American cars. So far, they've all have a similar tone to them while still being very French.




Almost Famous

Some of the references that I got a kick out of included the remark by the Editor of Rolling Stone warning young William Miller (Patrick Fugit) that they already had one Hunter S. Thompson and they didn't need another one...
It's been a looong time since I seen Almost Famous but I remember really liking it as it allowed me to feel like I was there going along for the ride...and of course I remember a lot of those times, well not everything that happens in the movie of course! I liked the Hunter S. Thompson reference too, probably because I had just seen something about Thompson so knew what the reference meant. I figured you'd like this.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
It's been a looong time since I seen Almost Famous but I remember really liking it as it allowed me to feel like I was there going along for the ride...and of course I remember a lot of those times, well not everything that happens in the movie of course! I liked the Hunter S. Thompson reference too, probably because I had just seen something about Thompson so knew what the reference meant. I figured you'd like this.
It did.
In fact, there wasn't a single film in the lot I did not like. Making it nearly impossible when I made my voting list and felt horrible for the bottom half of the list since on any other list they'd all be very high. If I could have simply had a top three and stuffed them all in there I would have.



It did.
In fact, there wasn't a single film in the lot I did not like. Making it nearly impossible when I made my voting list and felt horrible for the bottom half of the list since on any other list they'd all be very high. If I could have simply had a top three and stuffed them all in there I would have.
I just took a gander at the movies chosen for you and I'm not surprised you liked them all, they all look pretty damn good. I even see a couple movies that I had considered for you...so I guess we're all starting to get the hang of this and honing in on what someone likes.

Ed's movies:
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Almost Famous (2000)
The Apartment (1960)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
Cabaret (1972)
Marty (1955)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Spartacus (1960)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Wages of Fear (1953)

That's a nice haul there! I've not seen The Wages of Fear or A Taste of Honey but both look to be to my liking. All the rest I've really liked.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I just took a gander at the movies chosen for you and I'm not surprised you liked them all, they all look pretty damn good. I even see a couple movies that I had considered for you...so I guess we're all starting to get the hang of this and honing in on what someone likes.

Ed's movies:
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Almost Famous (2000)
The Apartment (1960)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
Cabaret (1972)
Marty (1955)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Spartacus (1960)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Wages of Fear (1953)


Well, ya all know my @ss, that's fer sure.
It was all glorious for me
and at such a buffet of varying viewing experiences. . .

all and each a f@ckin delight.


THANK YOU ALL


Hopefully, now and again, I return the favor.
That's a nice haul there! I've not seen The Wages of Fear or A Taste of Honey but both look to be to my liking. All the rest I've really liked.
Oh yeah! you'll enjoy both of those. Especially Taste of Honey, I think.
Pretty excited to read that review.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Congratulations Ed, you are the 5th member to finish!
I got an internal chuckle out of this.

::Insert an example for the definition of the word Slacker::

Being normally in the last three to finish HoFs I was f@ckin giddy that I HAD 4th Place.
BUT my slow @ss took 5th





First off I'll say this: I do like Dracula films, but considering that they're all based on the same book, I find it difficult to get invested in them/love them due to them all having nearly the same plot (even if they differ stylistically). Still though, I wanted to give this version of Nosferatu a chance. While I am glad it exists and have good things to say about it, I probably would've liked it ALOT more if I hadn't already seen the original Nosferatu, since they both follow nearly the same story beats.
Taking a silent film and remaking it can be good sometimes, because it allows you to apply sound in ways that just wouldn't have been possible with the original. I think this version of Nosferatu does it really well, whether it be the creepy noises Kinski makes as he nears his victims or his footsteps in shadowy corridors.I also have to mention the score by Popol Vuh, which is just as amazing and as transcendent as it is in Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo.
The film is also a great example of how good Herzog is at shooting nature; The scene of Harker travelling on foot to Dracula's castle is a great example of this. Everyone gave a good performance all around also, and I liked the change in the ending.

Thanks to whoever picked this.



The trick is not minding
Herzog’s Nosferatu is a joy to watch, with some really great cinematography. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it, and I’m not sure if I prefer it over the original, which I also love, but admittedly has it’s issues.