17th MoFo Hall of Fame

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Pier Paolo Pasolini is one of my favorite Italian directors I actually own about half of his oeuvre, unfortunately this was not a good Pasolini film. Hawks and Sparrows attempts to tell a neorealist story but with massive budgetary restraints Pasolini missed the mark not his fault persay. Mama Roma works very well because the story is so tightly put together. This film tells two different stories and attempts to parlay two different opinions of Pasolini's politics.



I don't mind if a director has something to say politically, in a number of way I appreciate a distinct view this story just felt flat to me. When I watch a Pasolini film I want the sex, violence and huge set pieces this just felt like a boring conversation at a bar.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
I know the feeling, I think I'm going to try and get 10 reviews for the 4 hall's I'm in this weekend to catch up
Yes me too!! I know there's still a good amount of time left till the deadline but I see almost everybody at or nearing double digits and now I feel like I have to step it up lol!



The Aviator

You can't go wrong with Leo and Scorsese. I didn't know anything about Hughes so I was expecting this to focus alot more on the film-making aspect, when that wasn't the case. Leo and Blanchett's performances were on-point (Was Hepburn really that sassy in real life? I hope so!).

It is quite the interesting story. Nowadays celebrities are very open about their mental issues, but less than 80 years ago a person like Howard Hughes could get lobotomized if he was in the wrong place/said the wrong thing at the wrong time. I like the way in which the film portrays Hughes, he isn't necessarily a s*itty person, he just has alot of problems. At first I thought he had Autism, due to the dinner scene. As a man with mild autism, I thought the dinner scene was fantastic: It perfectly shows how awkward Hughes feels around this quick, careless chatter and doesn't pick up on the social cues very well.

The film's also very well shot. The scene where Leo locks himself in the theatre and is talking to Hepburn on the other side looks gorgeous. Also that final scene is great too.

Really good film @rauldc14




But the CGI sucked major balls, sorry guys but it had to be said.



The Aviator
(Was Hepburn really that sassy in real life? I hope so!).
She was! I use to see her on Late Night with David Letterman and she was extra sassy and colorful. I'd say the movie got her right.



Let the Right One In



I watched this once several years ago, and while I liked it, I was disappointed. I remember I went in looking for a pure horror film and it turned out to be a little more than that. The only thing was at the time all I wanted was horror. After reading opinions over the years, I went in this time focusing on the relationship with no expectation on horror. It worked out very well.

So this time the horror worked much better for me as I was able to allow that aspect to sort of sneak up on me. I was mainly concentrating on the relationship of the two kids so the rest of it seemed to develop naturally. I don't even think the horror feels like standard horror. It has more of a serial killer movie vibe to me. That's fine as I love those movies too, and there are some effective startling scenes. It's all very well done although I was trying to figure out why the boy didn't have blood on his face after they kissed. Just a small oversight I suppose. The relationship is believable and realistic except I was wondering why she picked him out and what her long term plans were for him. I think the only thing that prevents this from being a favorite is the fact that it is children who are the center of the relationship. I just don't love many movies with children as the leads, even if I have no actual complaints. It's just taste. It's ok because for the most part I thought it was great.

+



@Miss Vicky



Weird is relative.
Incendies (2010)



I was surprised that I had forgotten a fair bit of this since my last viewing when it was first in cinemas. Of course I knew the basic plot, but I "remembered" things that didn't actually happen. Maybe I combined it with something else in my memory.

I found it to be just as powerful a story as the first time, however. It reminds me that when I see immigrants in my country, I can never know what kind of horrors they witnessed or were a part of before they came here. It's good that they're given the chance to start over. (The scary thing is that our government probably wouldn't find out if they had had a criminal background if they managed to change their name.)

I suppose the Radiohead music was there to reflect the twins' culture. They grew up in a first world country and would only be able to delve into their mother's past with an outsider's perspective. They would get a glimpse of the pain and trauma she had endured, but there would still be a vast disconnect. I think that's why she wanted them to physically go visit where she grew up, so that her explanations would be more meaningful than simply reading it all through letters.

The Dressmaker (2015)



I wanted to give this one a re-watch as well.

The second time around, I realized that pretty much everyone in this film, except for a couple exceptions like Teddy and the cross-dressing police officer, are toxic. The town's people are snobbish and gossipy and quick to form mob mindsets, and Tilly is bitter and spiteful. That's no surprise, but the cycle simply seems to perpetuate itself. It doesn't appear that anyone learns a lesson. Nonetheless, I appreciate the "black humor" vibe.

I wish we knew more about Tilly. If she was in Europe, what did she do during the war? Why didn't she return home sooner? She said she lost a child. Was she married? Did she get divorced, then go back to her birthplace because she had nothing left?

I could nitpick over how the people who are meant to be around the same age as Tilly look like they're in their 20s when according to the storyline, she is 35 years old... but I'll suspend disbelief, this one time.

I do love the dresses she made, and how she would also inspire the ladies to change their hairstyles and wear makeup. I know it's supposed to be a self-contained narrative (which was based on a novel), but I would gladly watch a sequel of her in Paris in the 1950s, creating more beautiful fashion.

@Miss Vicky



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
The Aviator




This is one ambitious film. The amount of craziness that has happened to Howard Hughes is insane. You would think that someone would try to adapt one aspect of this man's life. Heck, any portion of his life could be it's own movie, yet Scorsese dives head first into the whole thing. We get his film-making years, his crazy years, his building giant plane years, everything seems very ambitious and could have fumbled in any other filmmakers hands.

Absolutely rich with detail to the time periods, The Aviator doesn't come off as a lazy film in any regard. The 2nd of 4 movies DiCaprio has done with Scorsese, each one is good in their own ways, I can't really pick the best one. This one asks for the most heavy lifting from DiCaprio though and rightfully so. He does a decent job bringing Hughes to life and Cate Blanchett shines as Hepburn. Scorsese has a knack for getting Award worthy performances out of his female cast.

I think Scorsese could direct some action sequence a bit better. Hughes initial crash is indeed spectacular, but part of it 'feels' fake to me. That could be Scorsese's style where the "movie-making" aspect starts to shine through, but for the most part it's a success.

A little long, no doubt about that. Scorsese could have trimmed a lot of scenes here and there to get the film a learner runtime, even for a life like Hughes, this felt long. Visually Scorsese is in top form. The cinematography blends well with the colour palette. A good nomination.
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Suspect's Reviews



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Ghostwatch



The very surface of the concept is cool. After watching I thought to myself this would have been cool to see the day it was actually broadcast, but however this film is incredibly dated and it feels pretty stale now. I didn't think the acting brought much to the table, but then again it wasn't really featured either. The screenplay and the story could have been much much better and then it could have made the film much more interesting. It just needed some pop, some jumpscares, some more tension, a tad more mystery or a combination of the three. It really didn't have a whole lot of those as it seemed rather too straightforward. Even providing some sort of weird twist may have helped. Not for me. Kind of puzzled with this as a HOF nomination if I'm being honest.




The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
@pahaK has not posted in 10 days. I will send a PM to him today.

@edarsenal and @neiba have not posted in 9 days. PMs will be sent tomorrow.
Still in. Just a bit busy. But have 2 more write ups to put here! Will try to finish this HoF before the end of November!



@pahaK has not posted in 10 days. I will send a PM to him today.

@edarsenal and @neiba have not posted in 9 days. PMs will be sent tomorrow.
Oh, is it that long already? Still in and I already have all three films I still need to see.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@pahaK has not posted in 10 days. I will send a PM to him today.

@edarsenal and @neiba have not posted in 9 days. PMs will be sent tomorrow.
Did not realize I was THAT vacant here. YIKES
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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Started The Dressmaker, but passed out watching it. This might be a common theme as I get home late and watch movies late. Nothing against the films guys, I enjoyed what I saw so far.



Keep your station clean - OR I WILL KILL YOU
5/14 Ghostwatch (1992)

Director: Lesley Manning

I enjoyed this for what it was. When I caught on to what the filmmakers were doing I was very interested in the approach to the ghost story in this narrative. It immediately reminded me a lot of The Conjuring 2, and then I realized this was inspired by the same case, it was kinda cool. I like the blending of genres and the execution of such, the horror mixed with the mockumentary style with the discussion undertones really made this feel unique. I also really appreciated how this film took that extra step to juggle the conversation of the event being a genuine thing or if it's just a twisted game created by the mind of a playful child. So all in all, I definitely appreciated the different approach to this ghost story and I think that specific thing is what I took away from the film. However, I didn't particularly latch on to any of the characters, the ghost story itself was very simplistic, and I found some of it to be quite uneventful. I still appreciate the film, although I don't know if this would be one that I would think about outside the HoF.

SCORE - 65/100


@Miss Vicky



Just checking in as I think I'm close to 10 days.

I'm watching The Libertine later and should have some thoughts up tonight or tomorrow.



@MissVicky


Just checking in, I'm going to be finishing the other Hall of Fame and then moving back into this one. That race is really tight and I'm not sure how I'm going to order them