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'Oharu' (1952)


Watched the Criterion disc of the Mizoguchi classic about the sad life of an unlucky woman. Brutal in it's tragedy. Steeped with heartbreak and devastation. Mizoguchi apparently had a hard life and was brought up by his sister who was treated badly in a patriarchal society too. He used to frequent brothels and get the prostitutes to tell him their life stories to inspire him. This must have been a deeply personal piece of work for him



'Poison for the Fairies' (1984)


Very dark Mexican tale about young girls, jealousy, being spoiled and believing in witches. I think there are just 3 times when an adult's face is on screen, which as a technique, draws the viewer into the world of the young girls. There is some creepyness and the ending is very sinister.




Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I watch a lot of movies that have a similar story as this, but most are horror or exploitation.
Gimme them names!
It's a big problem for young women. I don't know how it is now but in my wild days this could and would happen to anyone.
Anyone or just women? If anyone, then not just women. Hahaha. Nyah nyah! Nitpicking aside, a big problem like that deserves worthy handling. Either go 100% into the realistic harshness of it or go full-on men-murdering exploitation. Promising Young Woman didn't deliver in either of these areas, proving to be quite a half-assed attempt at the theme.
I believe there's a saying about a nice guy vs a good man. I found this on one site-
Would you mind elaborating how this corresponds to the film?
do the avenging women have to die at the end
She dies the death of a hip martyr but in the end her win is questionable and the ending short-sighted. The entire film is quite cynical, so I can easily see the epilogue, in which the rich and powerful guy gets absolved of all his sins, which would also play well into the powerful patriarchy trait.

Promising Young Woman is a pop-feminism film, so it tries to cater to the less demanding pop audience. Hollywood does not care. Hollywood just pretends. So you get these half-assed films that go halfway the track, then lie down and try to spit to hit the finish line, but the spit is never reaching its goal. Instead, it's covering the audience. Some like it. It's fine if they're into salirophilia. But most people are not and just pretend they are. When I look at the ratings of my fellow cinephiles, the film is usually hated by the right for trying and by the left for not trying hard enough, so by not catering to either of the sides too much, the film pretty much found its enemy in both. And then you have apolitical people finding it sententious.

And in general, people expecting the girl to wreak vengeance on all men, torture them, destroy them, freakin' smash their faces in, and then getting a film, in which the only violence is aimed at a woman.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



I actually have you to thank for making me aware of this movie. Again, thanks!

I give the edge to The French Connection because I love Friedkin's direction in it and Hackman's performance. Don't get me wrong, D'Antoni's direction is very good and so is Roy Scheider, but they're just not on the same level. Still, great stuff.

Also what is it about the grittiness that is so satisfying? Those locations by the docks and the trainyards are so compelling and satisfying to look at even though they're essentially dumps. I guess it's because they're so real and unaffected.
No probs Torgo - glad you enjoyed!!!!





The Silencing, 2020

Rayburn (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a former fur trapper who now runs an animal sanctuary. Living a life of muted alcoholism and busting local poachers, his world is shaken when the body of a dead young woman is found and Rayburn realizes the man who hunted her is using the sanctuary as hunting grounds. But what is the connection to the disappearance of Rayburn's own daughter years earlier?

For better or for worse, this is mostly an action/thriller set to cruise control, albeit with a few scenes and dynamics that lift it above average.

Coster-Waldau, in the films where I have seen him, always feels pretty "real" to me, and there's something relatable about his character despite being a total cliche from head to toe. The supporting cast is also pretty good, including Annabelle Wallis as the new sheriff who may have a personal connection to the case.

Plot wise, the film is decent. There are some nice scares along the way from the mysterious hunter figure, who prowls the woods in a ghillie suit. Interestingly, there is one point in which the film seems poised to go in a very dark and unexpected direction, only for it to pull back on the reins at the last moment and instead trundle down a much more predictable route.

The writing is fine, though you could probably mouth the dialogue before the characters speak it half the time. Why yes, there is a scene where Rayburn finds a victim in the woods and has to gravely tell her "I'm not going to hurt you." Why yes, there is a scene where one character tells another character with a shared past "I should have been there for you."

The answer to who the killer is, once resolved, is quite silly and honestly doesn't make a ton of sense. It sits uncomfortably between the motivation of "just because" and actually wanting to add in a psychological element. The problem is that the (absurd) nature of how the women are killed totally flies in the face of the explanation we are given.

If you are a fan of action/thriller/mystery type films, this one is plenty solid. If it's not your preferred genre, no reason to seek it out in particular.

Agree with all your points TAcoma11, I thought it a solid but unspectacular thriller with a strong lead player.



Would you mind elaborating how this corresponds to the film?
The men she meets consider themselves to be nice guys, and that's how they'd be looked at from the outside. They're friendly and social, but of course that doesn't make them good men.



I watched Playing Cupid (2021), a Hallmark made for tv romantic comedy. Directed by David Weaver, the film stars Laura Vandervoort, Nicholas Gonzalez, and Mia Quaranta de la Rosa. It's about a middle school student who starts a matchmaking business for a class project and tries to match her newly single teacher with her divorced dad. I thought it was enjoyable and pleasant, a typical Hallmark romance. Vandervoort and Gonzalez are likeable and have nice chemistry. Young Mia Quaranta de la Rosa is adorable and charming as the young girl with a eye for romance. The film is fairly predictable, but is light and fluffy and should satisfy Hallmark fans. My rating is a
.



[Mank] ...
David Fincher's latest film follows Mankiewicz as he deals with the struggles to write Kane, how he navigated the perilous waters of Hollywood life in the years prior, and his clashes with Orson Welles, while also dealing with his own alcoholism. In a script written by his late father, Fincher chooses to focus on roughly the 10-year period prior to the release of the film.

Grade:


Full review on my Movie Loot
Nice review on Movie Loot. I liked the picture a little more than did you. Here's my review: https://www.movieforums.com/communit...highlight=mank





Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970)
8/10

Great honesty, performances, dialogue, cinematography, creative restaurant ordering, etc. in an iconic film.

The Father (Florian Zeller, 2020)
7/10 Second Viewing

Understanding daughter Olivia Colman tries to help her father (Anthony Hopkins) through his dementia.

Both thumbs way up for Five Easy Pieces, and The Father !



Nice review on Movie Loot. I liked the picture a little more than did you. Here's my review: https://www.movieforums.com/communit...highlight=mank
Thanks! Nice review from you as well. I think I agree with most of your points, but just lean more to the other side. Most of the technical aspects were top-notch, but the script wasn't.

The way you describe the dialogue, or how you perceived it, is spot on. But my main issue is how... scattered everything seems.
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Dorothy Mills (2008)

Pretty average thriller about an isolated community with a dark secret. Acting is good, and writing isn't bad either, but far too predictable. Thumbs up for very cinematic locations. I wonder who picked the taglines for the posters, though.



Registered User
Blacula (1972)



There are certainly better blaxploitation movies, but this one has aged fairly well. I'm not sure, but I think Coppola stole the idea of black drac finding his long-dead reincarnated wife a century later.


It does bog down at times, but the clothes, the music, and cool to be black vibe of the 70s is all there.



Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2020)


I don't want to waste too much time commenting on this, because it's so random, yet cheery, but stupid. It reminds me of movies like Zoolander or Undercover Brother where some scenes had me laughing out loud, while others made me want to shut it off completely.



Thanks! Nice review from you as well. I think I agree with most of your points, but just lean more to the other side. Most of the technical aspects were top-notch, but the script wasn't.

The way you describe the dialogue, or how you perceived it, is spot on. But my main issue is how... scattered everything seems.
Yeah, I would have liked to have seen Mankiewicz's dialogue with a little more breathing room-- slightly more true to life. Yet Goldman's performance was award worthy, along with the film's direction and editing... not to mention the photography..