15th Hall of Fame

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch

I don't know what I expected, but I know I got more than that. I figured this would be very silly and playful and funny and probably lack some heart, but boy was I wrong. First off, the music was great, and you'll enjoy it if you like any of the artists Hedwig admits to being inspired by. Particularly Bowie. I couldn't wait until the end of the movie to pick my phone up, go to Apple Music, and download the soundtrack. I've seen some comparisons of this film with Rocky Horror, but this one blows that one out of the water. This feels like a great band actually made a really good double-LP rock odyssey/opera, and now this is the movie. It wouldn't be the greatest of that type of movie, that distinction belongs to The Wall, but for all the heart this film has, it doesn't take itself as seriously as that. It is somewhere between the two extremes of the intended comedy of Rocky Horror and the super serious The Wall. When something is played for a laugh, Hedwig isn't usually in on it, yet it doesn't feel mean spirited towards its characters and it allows them to be human beings, flaws and all.



Thrilled to see you really liked it, Justin! Great review.

I didn't really know what to expect the first time I saw it either, and I really wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it blew me away. There's just so much going on there underneath the wigs and makeup.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
The Elephant Man



“Pray to God he’s an idiot.”

There really is a sort of timeless quality about this film. Partly that is down to the black and white which at times recalls David Lean Dickens adaptations of the 40s (with a Bill Sykes-esque villain in Bytes), but the off centre angles prevent it from being entirely straightforward and conventional. Although by David Lynch standards it is fairly straightforward. I didn’t like the nightmarish sequence at the beginning with the elephant and the screaming woman, but that was the most Lynchian thing in it, besides the very end.

I like that even when he thinks he must be an imbecile, before he really knows him, Dr Treves treats Merrick with respect, apologising to him when the young nurse screams. Even though in the end he ends up being a freak show attraction at the hospital too, “He’s only being stared at all over again.” The bit where they break in and torment him is almost unwatchable and the famous “I am not an animal” moment is very powerful.

There are excellent performances from Hopkins and Hurt. Wendy Hiller as Mothershead is a significant presence too. I also enjoyed spotting various other actors I hadn’t remembered were in this like Pauline Quirke and a very young Dexter Fletcher.

I liked the music, and the fact that it was used sparingly - both the slightly off kilter carnival music and then the use of Adagio for Strings at the end.

And the make up was incredible.

Great film!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Hedwig and the Angry Inch

"I had tried singing once back in Berlin. They threw tomatoes. After the show, I had a nice salad."

As I had imagined I would, I did really enjoy this.
A lot of things worked well with this. The addition of animation, the various gigs in itty bitty places and the countless witticisms born from inner anguish and the tenacity to go on, this was a great little travel of one's search of their other half within themselves with a pretty d@mn good soundtrack as we follow along.

There was a wonderful mixture of melancholy, flamboyancy and, in the end, a rather lovely uplifting message to it all.
While you could easily delve into the emotional impact of the lyrics and the back story which is delivered with such bravado; it is equally as easy to simply enjoy the sights and the sounds of this film.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a few folks I know, like Michael Pitt whom I know from Boardwalk Empire playing Tommy, and Alberta Watson who I loved as Madeline in the 90's Nikita TV Show playing Hedwig's mom which I DID NOT recognize AT ALL. And finally, Andrea Martin, whom I loved since seeing her in the comedy skit show SCTV when I was a teenage to one of my favorite characters in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "He don't eat meat? What you meant he don't eat meat? Is OK, I make lamb."

Sorry, I digress.

Truly glad I finally got to see this, THANK YOU @Miss Vicky!!



I've been bombarded with life lately even though I still literally pop my head in here on breaks and idle thumb time, which is very broken up. I've decided to write 3 quick reviews for my remaining films...

L'Avventura

Not my thing but I believe my current life situation is part of the reason for that. Very, very nice to look at but I was feinding for something instantly gratifying and I didn't get it. I feel out of my league even reviewing it because clearly I need to see it again under better circumstances.


In the Mood for Love

Again, reading the film of such complexity was a real chore and I think under different circumstances I would have really let it wash over me without being antsy, anxious and depressed. I couldn't get into it but I do not blame the film.


The Elephant Man

I've seen this a few times already. It's a super movie. It looks enormous (no pun) and is very emotional. Not as emotional as I remmebered, but still effective. One of Lynch's best mixing surrealism with straightforward narrative.



OK, so my finish line reviews are junk, I know this. For me to watch these films again when I'm in a "better mood" would be unfair to this specific touranment. What I will say is that instinctively I already know how I would rank these films even though I couldn't let them penetrate me as much as I wanted them to.

I'll have my list ready in time.

Also, here is my old review of The Station Agent. I don't think I've changed my thinking on it since I wrote it way back last year so...

https://www.movieforums.com/communit...54#post1663954



I've been bombarded with life lately even though I still literally pop my head in here on breaks and idle thumb time, which is very broken up. I've decided to write 3 quick reviews for my remaining films...
Thanks Joel for posting those reviews short and sweet, nothing wrong with that. Sounds like you real busy these days, I understand that, I haven't had much time lately either.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Out of the Blue

. . . and into the Black

Which, in it's self is an excellent synopsis of the journey and end destination of this film.

Now, I'm not sure if I'm growing a tougher skin, and thereby, able to see beneath the harsh grit to the depth of the film itself, or simply have become familiar with the ride and the hard stop, so that I can relax from the unrelenting cringe at what will most likely be the outcome and simply explore the journey.

It's hard to not go back to other films with similar endings that I've had the intense and harsh honor of witnessing when viewing a Cricket nomination. Much like the ending to Joe, Out of the Blue yanks away the naive veil to the truly horrendous gutter and what becomes of those that slew their way through it. The Reaity beneath the Glamorized Lie.
While Joe makes a fatal mistake at the end of that movie and in that very moment we witness the spiraling crash of loss; with this, we see a kind of Kamikaze, regain of power, where Cebe decides: f@ckit, I'm taking us ALL out.

I must say, I applauded this ending. The burning down of a diseased forest, as it were. The addict mother, the drunkard father and the daughter so full of rage and inner pain; the decimation of all of them was THE way to go.
Now, I'm not saying that out of some lofty, snobbish arrogance. That they are trash and trash NEEDS to be thrown aside. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I applaud is that Cebe, instead of becoming another victim on the sordid merry-go-around, instead, garnered the courage through the anger and took an axe that merry-go-round.

Atta Girl.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Aguirre; The Wrath of God

Without having any real reason, I was in no rush to see this; thinking it wasn't going to be anything I'd be interested in.

I was wrong.

Though a few scenes were a little disturbing, others were quite amusing and Kinski, of course, did a compelling job as the brooding usurper chasing after an illusion in pursuit of fame and glory.

Much like the opening scene, there were countless "shots" that catches the eye, including giving a sense of intimate dread on the rafts on the Amazon.
I did find myself cheering for the natives as they picked off the Spaniards one after the other. Appreciating the foreboding of rarely seeing the arrows or darts, only the end result of them sticking out of their victim. Adding another unattainable force to the mix: the elusive enemy.

I must say I was expecting something more grandiose of an ending when it came to his final spiral into madness. Not that I thought what occurred wasn't effective, it was. It retained the slow brooding of previously and I did enjoyed it. I think I merely read more into the reviews I had previously read.

I will be revisiting this movie and, most likely, appreciating it even more.



JJ, just sent in his voting list If all goes well I'll wrap this up and do the reveal this weekend, heck maybe even on Friday night, depending on when Siddon get's his list in.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
JJ, just sent in his voting list If all goes well I'll wrap this up and do the reveal this weekend, heck maybe even on Friday night, depending on when Siddon get's his list in.
Sounds wonderful, CR!!
Thanks again for, as always, being such an excellent host!!






Hitchcock's visually most impressive film which I don't know if it was him or the studio but this gothic murder mystery character study romance is a treasure to watch. Laurence Olivier plays an old widower who seduces a naive companion in Monte Carlo. He brings her back to his estate where she meets a collection of characters including a house keeper named Mrs Danvers who is the lady/butler of the house and a strange neighbor names Jack.Rebbeca is the name of the Olivier's widow and she looms large over the gothic estate, we slowly hear more and more about her.

The twists and turns are more character focused and the horrors are more implied than shown but it's still an amazing film. The sexual elements are handled fairly well for the time period (though I would love to see a more gritty remake). George Sanders is really good as Jack who is just a loathsome human being, he went on after this film to play "The Falcon" in a series of Murder Mysterys where he's basically the same over sexed creep.

My biggest complaint with the film...and really it's a quibble is Olivier should have been much older for the character to really work. They give him a slight gray hair but he's still in his early thirties and that doesn't work for the character. You're supposed to cringe at the age difference and the fatherly way Max dominates the second Mrs. De Winter but they feel too much like contemporaries for me.

Still loved the movie



I just heard from Vamp. She asked for an extension until this Sunday evening, so she can get the last movie watched. So I'll do that of course. I had already told someone else I could extend the deadline for them if necessary.

The new deadline is Sunday 8th, midnight PST.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I just heard from Vamp. She asked for an extension until this Sunday evening, so she can get the last movie watched. So I'll do that of course. I had already told someone else I could extend the deadline for them if necessary.

The new deadline is Sunday 8th, midnight PST.
nah, screw her



sounds great, CR, let us know if she, or anyone else needs a little more time



nah, screw her



sounds great, CR, let us know if she, or anyone else needs a little more time
Everyone else has sent in a list. I can't wait to find out who won! I don't know yet myself. Though a few movies seem to be pretty popular.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Everyone else has sent in a list. I can't wait to find out who won! I don't know yet myself. Though a few movies seem to be pretty popular.
cool, didn't look today, so I wasn't sure.
This is the second HoF in a row where I enjoyed all of them and couldn't pick an easy last place and feel terrible about having one. I almost did a tie for 10th, which I know is a no-no lol