18th Mofo Hall of Fame

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What a double bill that was.
Hope you didn’t pay a single pill for it though!
So...... this was supposed to say bill, not pill.

Because I definitely would recommend a special pill for the full Split experience! But I hear it’s too late for you now, @Nathaniel I’m sorry for your loss... of cinephile dignity



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I'm kinda on the fence on this one.
Like others, this had all the makings of being a really great, emotionally impacting film. And yet, it seemed to miss the mark.
Not entirely though, by the time Sydow started getting screen time, I did find myself invested. Though not as much as I truly should have. This movie should have had me bawling quite often and the best that I got was a little choked up on a few scenes and some lovely heart warming bits at the very end.

I could simply blame it on the child character. NOT The actor, he did what was needed of him for the character, in spades.
But I think the director took the Asperger aspect into the filming as well so that a large portion of it seemed sort of off kilter or incorrectly paced. I'm not sure how to explain that.
Though I do imagine, should it ever occur, a secondary watch may smooth out those quirks and a better enjoyment of this film may come to play.
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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



The Florida Project

I am in bit of a dilemma.

I don't have much to say about this film.

I will state that everyone did a very good job at portraying their characters. The little girl playing Moonie was phenomenal. And of course Dafoe, for me, can do no wrong.

As for the characters within this film. . . it was like having to sit through a youtube reality video montage clips. Which is something I avoid and having lived in some dire areas in my lifetime, these were all folks I did my very best to steer clear of simply because of the constant drama. Which may be amusing watching from a safe distance on a screen, it it the worst kind of stress to be in the same neighborhood. And these were in an apartment complex. And that's a place where it is nearly impossible NOT to get dragged into the drama.


So. Hence the dilemma.

Do I go into a rant, or do I simply end this abruptly, much like they did with the two children disappearing at Walt Disney?
And how the hell did they get IN such a mega amusement park in the first place??? That's some SERIOUS ninja sh#t right there.






The Florida Project

these were all folks I did my very best to steer clear of simply because of the constant drama. Which may be amusing watching from a safe distance on a screen, it it the worst kind of stress to be in the same neighborhood. And these were in an apartment complex. And that's a place where it is nearly impossible NOT to get dragged into the drama.

I know the feeling. People like that are all about themselves. Very entitled and basically clueless on how to conduct themselves civilly. Totally understand not wanting to be in that world, especially when it's time to escape the stress you already may have in the civil world, haha.



The Square (2017)


I liked this quite a bit. Ambitious artistic satire that connected. I will admit that it is too long and packs too much for my liking but it's not totally off-putting. I thought it was going off the rails towards the end but there's more than enough there to carry it through. The cleverness of the script and the sharpness of the dialogue more than helps with that. An understated quality to it that suits the prod into the contemporary art patronage. I dug the humour and the opening discussion with Christian and Anne drew me into its comedic strengths right off the bat.

Its focus on contemporary thought certainly doesn't wane in the latter stages. That's kind of the one big takeaway because it does focus on so many different aspects of our society which is a big reason why you get many varying interpretations of this film. The press conference which dissolves into a question of free speech, poverty and ideals. The off centre way that Christian is filmed. You can see him visibly squirm his way through the entirety of it but it maintains its sense of satire as there's no winning with the press regardless of the decision he takes. You could perceive that scene differently than I have. Whether that's in the questions being posed or how Christian is being presented in that scene. Food for thought throughout.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I know the feeling. People like that are all about themselves. Very entitled and basically clueless on how to conduct themselves civilly. Totally understand not wanting to be in that world, especially when it's time to escape the stress you already may have in the civil world, haha.
oh so very true



Perfect Blue (1997)


Perfect Blue is a horror thriller that captures a wide range of topics in 80 minutes. Foremost it's cynically judging the Japanese ideal of fandom. When you think about it that can applied in a global context as well. It's one big dreamlike façade with certain obsessed people feeling like they own idols. These idols restricted and almost imprisoned by what a fanbase expects of them. Mima's supposed innocence is something that is believed and then the rage comes from the obsessed when she steps outside of that innocence. It's ahead of its time too for its look at how the internet can be used to tarnish someone or heighten the sense of obsession and judgement.

I love the animation of this film. It's creative when you consider that they had far from a Ghibli budget to work with. The hallucinations and frantic editing are past the point where Mima has given into the mental stress that she is under. I thought it worked well in putting the viewer in her shoes. Her past haunting her and stuck in her head like a parasite. I understand that it comes across as confusing but that adds to the experience for me rather than detriments it. Mima is portrayed as someone who is manipulated and influenced by the events and people around her. It's like she's entering the real world for the first time when she moves away from the J-Pop group. That makes me buy into her stressful descent all the more.



Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)




To be honest, I didn't particularly like this. I think my biggest issue was the fact that the main protagonist was just an incredibly insufferable and poorly-written and acted character to the point that it made the film quite difficult to watch. I also found the film to be just bland to the point where I didn't feel any emotional investment to the characters or the plot. The film was also trying way too hard to be sentimental to the point where just comes of as being ridiculous. I will say however I did think the acting from Hanks, Bullock and von Sydow was decent but they've delivered better performances elsewhere. Overall not a pleasent experience for me and will probably rank on the bottom end of my ballot.

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The King of Comedy (1982)



For me one of Scorsese's most underrated movies. An extremely dark satire of celebrity culture, Robert De Niro gives one of his best ever performances as the mentally unstable Rupert Pupkin. Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard are also terrific in their respective roles. Rupert in general is such an interesting character to watch and I often found myself cringing at his actions but at the same time I wanted him to suceed. My favourite part of the film by far is the ending in which Rupert suceeds in his goal and the audience is then left to decide whether or not the final scene is reality. Overall an extremely dark and disturbing satire that still feels oddly relevant, and an underrated work from one of the one of teh best actor-director teamups.
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Letterboxd

Originally Posted by Iroquois
To be fair, you have to have a fairly high IQ to understand MovieForums.com.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Just finished both movies I had left, I sent Siddon my list, will post the reviews in a few hours. Sorry for the extra days!



I'm submitting this review a little prematurely as I havent completely gotten to the end of Abandon Ship. That's a disclaimer, but I dont want to hold up this HoF, and I already know that this film will be solid on my list, unless the ending features a hermaphrodite dancing to gypsy music, which I doubt will happen, so - consider this my review.

Abandon Ship somehow, miraculously, fit perfectly into my nighttime routine of watching a film not too intense but still having enough adherent to keep my interest up, at least enough to fall asleep to without being offended or frustrated by complete and tedious boredom.

This is unique for its time I think in that it's kind of like Survivor. The morality on display seems minor by today's over dramatized standards as most modern films use a sick minded and meditative technique to disturb the viewer. This film doesn't have the capacity for that, so I was thankful on that.

Although the characters were kind of forgettable for the most part, I did find myself chuckling a few times, just in the way some of them talked and reacted. It wasn't a b movie badness, it was more of a naive way of carrying on. Yes, the high sea.

There have been some stinkers in this HoF, as well as real surprises. I file this under pleasant surprise. It agreed with me. Hey, CR - it's about time!