The 29th Hall of Fame

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The Promise



I paused this a few minutes into it because I thought I recognized the boy. Sure enough, he was the same actor I had seen in 2005's L'Enfant, which also had the same director. That was a good film as well.

This movie reminded me of the neorealist films of the 50's and 60's. I was affected just by watching the way that some people in the world have to live, and much of its power came just from that. Of course there's a strong yet simplistic narrative as well, to go along with some interesting relationships.

I love the look of the movie and the acting, it's all extremely authentic. At only 90 minutes it's an easy watch. Great nomination.




The Promise



I paused this a few minutes into it because I thought I recognized the boy. Sure enough, he was the same actor I had seen in 2005's L'Enfant, which also had the same director. That was a good film as well.

This movie reminded me of the neorealist films of the 50's and 60's. I was affected just by watching the way that some people in the world have to live, and much of its power came just from that. Of course there's a strong yet simplistic narrative as well, to go along with some interesting relationships.

I love the look of the movie and the acting, it's all extremely authentic. At only 90 minutes it's an easy watch. Great nomination.

Jeremie' Renier?

Yes he's in The Child, which is a great film. I believe he's in quite a few Dardenne fulms.



I forgot the opening line.
I'm gonna go with Barbara Hershey.


Pretty good guess, and Barbara Hershey was born just one year earlier, but my super secret crush (it's not really super secret, but I enjoyed using the term just then) is Jessica Harper, who from 1974 to 1982 starred in many cult classics and great movies. After that her star waned, and she appeared in increasingly smaller roles in less quality films - most of which I've seen, because from 1993 onwards I became her biggest fan.

She appeared in the Brian DePalma film Phantom of the Paradise as Phoenix, which character Winslow Leach (the Phantom) screams into a distorting microphone over and over again at one stage - thus my username, and it's capitalization, is explained.

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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)



Jessica Harper...I'm positive I just seen her in something in the last couple weeks but I didn't know her name until just now. She's cute!
She appeared in the Brian DePalma film Phantom of the Paradise as Phoenix
Is that why your ID is PHOENIX74?



I forgot the opening line.
Jessica Harper...I'm positive I just seen her in something in the last couple weeks but I didn't know her name until just now. She's cute!
Is that why your ID is PHOENIX74?
Yep - and capitalized because of a scene where the Phantom screams her name into a distorting microphone, so it originated with that specific scene. The film was released in 1974.

It's a superb film!
I haven't seen that - I've put it straight up the order in my watchlist.



Yep - and capitalized because of a scene where the Phantom screams her name into a distorting microphone, so it originated with that specific scene. The film was released in 1974..

That... was an oblique cut.
I've seen (and own) Suspiria and Phantom of the Paradise. Haven't seen nor own Shock Treatment. I feel like there should be one or two more prominent roles, but I'm drawing a blank. I've seen Minority Report, but I saw that so long ago, I wouldn't have known who she was at the time.


I haven't seen that - I've put it straight up the order in my watchlist.

I think Phoenix and Transit are both great movies. I have not seen Undine. I think the few people I've heard mention it, say it was a bit of a disappointment after its two predecessors.



I forgot the opening line.
That... was an oblique cut.
I've seen (and own) Suspiria and Phantom of the Paradise. Haven't seen nor own Shock Treatment. I feel like there should be one or two more prominent roles, but I'm drawing a blank. I've seen Minority Report, but I saw that so long ago, I wouldn't have known who she was at the time.
Stardust Memories, where she appears as Woody's girlfriend, I always enjoy. Pennies from Heaven I love, and has undergone something of a critical reevaluation over time - I think the Dennis Potter mini-series/teleplay was one of the greatest television pieces in history, and so my love for that spills over into the Steve Martin/Jessica Harper starring film.





Robot (2010)

Robot is the story of a robot that goes out of control and wacky incidents occur. The movie runs for three hours it has musical numbers, slapstick comedy, and middling special effects. I'm not sure if this was a film nominated in good faith it's basically unwatchable and annoying. Complete waste of time.

This is yet another nomination where you have to question if the person was serious in nominating this film or if they were just trolling. If you've ever watched a Nickelodeon kids show that's what you are getting. A lot of we can do with effect to get a cheap gag so we're going to pad out the runtime. I'm going to be very suspicious who says they enjoyed this.



movies can be okay...
Jeremie' Renier?

Yes he's in The Child, which is a great film. I believe he's in quite a few Dardenne fulms.
Yeah, they overall re-use a lot of their actors.
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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke



movies can be okay...
At last, I'm going to be starting off not only this HoF, but watching movies in general. I haven't seen a single movie in almost 2 months, partly because of a hectic and stressful semester that is finally over, but also because I kind of lost that interest and crave that I used to have for film. But now we're back baby! The Year My Voice Broke and A Moment of Innocence are first on my list.



A Moment of Innocence


This Cop and a Half remake is awesome!

This innovative yet not always easy to watch docudrama deserves credit for managing to combine concepts found in two other movies that were also innovative for their times that, on paper, you think would be difficult if not impossible to put together. Those movies are Rashomon, which asks if multiple perspectives can reveal what really happened during a tragic event, i.e., the police officer stabbing that sent director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to jail and that made him lose touch with his betrothed. The other one is Synecdoche, New York for how the then present-day director and police officer's staging of the crime asks that movie's question of whether doing so can make life more easily understood. While neither man receives definitive answers to these questions, it is interesting to watch them learn about themselves in their pursuit. To me, the movie is at its best in the moments when Mohsen and Mirhadi coach the actors who play their younger and more idealistic selves. Besides the way the scenes made me wish I could do the same with my teenage self and wonder what I would say, their dynamics recall and are as amusing as the one between Gustave and Zero in The Grand Budapest Hotel. As is typical of movies that combine documentary and drama like this one, one of their appeals is how naturalistic the performances are - so much so that they make you wonder if they're acting at all - and this one is no exception. The moments in which the young stand-in for the director questions if there's a better way to "save mankind" than reenacting the knife attack and his hesitancy to do so are so natural, it hurts. As for the conclusion, it's easy to understand why the original title translates to Bread and Flower. For the way it proves that truth is in the eye of the beholder with a single image, I can't imagine a better way the movie could have ended.

While I've described the movie as innovative and interesting, "enjoyable" is not a word I would always use. For one, it's not the most visually appealing movie I've ever seen. Besides the final shot, which lingers in my mind more for how meaningful it is than for its aesthetics, it is, again, hard to look at more often than not. Editing and pacing are not the best for how many scenes, such as the one where one of the auditioning actors walks down the snowy path, last past their sell-by dates. They make this 74-minute movie seem like a two hour one at times, which is about how long it took me to finish the movie since I nodded off a couple times. Again, I admire the movie's ambition, appreciate how it made me think about youthful idealism and the nature of truth and I believe it's a good Hall of Fame nomination, especially since I haven't seen that many Iranian movies. I just wish I got as much satisfaction from watching it as I get from picking it apart.




I rewatched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) today. Directed by Don Siegel, this classic sci-fi thriller is about a doctor in a small town who discovers people are being replaced with emotionless alien duplicates. I think this is a well written and entertaining film. The performances are enjoyable and the actors do a fine job with the story. The score is effective and helps enhance the atmosphere. I found the film to be suspenseful and eerie and it did a good job building tension. I think this film is better than the 1978 and 2007 versions. Don Siegel was a good director and he seems to be underrated by audiences today. Out of the films I have seen by him, I think Invasion of the Body Snatchers is his best. A worthy nomination.



I rewatched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) today. Directed by Don Siegel, this classic sci-fi thriller is about a doctor in a small town who discovers people are being replaced with emotionless alien duplicates. I think this is a well written and entertaining film. The performances are enjoyable and the actors do a fine job with the story. The score is effective and helps enhance the atmosphere. I found the film to be suspenseful and eerie and it did a good job building tension. I think this film is better than the 1978 and 2007 versions. Don Siegel was a good director and he seems to be underrated by audiences today. Out of the films I have seen by him, I think Invasion of the Body Snatchers is his best. A worthy nomination.
One of my favorite directors, though mostly for his 70's output.



One of my favorite directors, though mostly for his 70's output.
From his 70's films, I've seen Dirty Harry and Escape From Alcatraz, both of which are really good.