The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame

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It might not have been The Hunt since i did put it at #3 on my vote. It did anger me but then that was the nerve it was going for. A very good film and a very worthy win. As I said in my review, "A very hard watch."

Now, I do remember having a conversation with you about a film that irked the hell out of me. No idea what it was though.
It was The Hunt, I just read your review and that was the one I was thinking of. Which only proves I'm clueless When I originally read your review it seemed so negative that I guessed you also hated the film, but you didn't as you voted it 3rd....Perception, it's a tricky thing.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Sleuth




I suspect that the one main downside to a film like this is you can't really watch it more than once. I'm sure you could on some level, where you admire the impressive acting on display, the sheer fun these two thespians seem to be having is infectious. Also possibly because the film is indeed an entertaining movie when you really get down to it, but the twists and turns will no longer surprise, the is it or isn't it a game aspect no longer works and the complete mysterious of how will it end are apparent. This film relies heavily on an unsuspecting audience member. I was unsuspecting and I loved every minute of this 2 hour 15 minute film.

The film plays out like a stage play, where we get one location and two actors. This is possibly an actors dream, to be able to captivate an audience with no special effects, no exotic locations and exciting car chases, just two people in a room talking. Sleuth does this really well as Laurence Olivier is having an absolute blast playing the eccentric game player millionaire. His home is absurd with so many weird and interesting trinkets littering each room. He seems and feels bigger than life and feels as if he's in control of almost every conversation he is in. His utter confidence is admirable. Opposite him is a young Michael Cain who showcases a wide range of emotions as the younger man trying to steal away this man's wife. He does well to hold himself against Olivier and the two have really great chemistry.

You know from the start that something is wrong with this situation and as the film goes on the twisty plot reveals itself a little bit at a time. Once the first bit happens, I nodded my head as it seemed obvious, but as I looked at the time left on the film I was left somewhat confused as to how the hell the can fill the next hour and 15 minutes. The film takes a few detours in what one would expect a story like this to go, once the detective shows up I didn't know if this was suppose to be the same character or if it was a nod to the audience that this was simply a two man show no matter how many characters show up. It was fun to be a detective myself as the film went on.

Great nomination, one I would never think to myself of watching.
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Suspect's Reviews



Like TUS himself, Sleuth is a movie that I never would have thought of for him. Someone made a very savvy choice.

Meanwhile Ed did the right thing coming in with a very honest opinion. Sometimes it's good to get angry; it lets you know you're still alive.





A Scanner Darkly (2006)


Had half of this field not been animation I think I would have likely enjoyed this one a bit more, using rotoscoping (animating over the image) this tells the story of a narco hunt where the narcotics officer gets a bit to deep in. Adapted from a novel written in the 70's about the world today the extra technology is prescient and also a bit distracting and annoying. The problem with a film like this is you have to believe in the message but the twist is well pretty good and the subject matter is interesting though Linklater doesn't seem to understand noir.



The film is strongest when it diverts into the ennui of life, or Linklater has a clever idea for using the animation it bores when it moves into the philosphy of the addicts a redundant and trite genre end of the day I was mixed which is better than some of the other films I've watched in this hall.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Princess Mononoke




Watched this one with my son since it hit Netflix and we've been going through Studio Ghibli flicks. Much to my surprise, he's loved every single one of them. This one was the most violent, as people have their heads and limbs fly off at any give moment and gallons of blood spewing from mouths, but for the most part he seemed fine with it.

The animation fluid, the animals come alive in this piece about respecting and protecting nature. The themes are pretty in your face, but these movies make them work to their advantage. Miyazaki loves his evil force being this oil like sludge in his films and in this one it takes on a worm like evil.

At 2hrs and 15mins, the film could have been tightened a bit and the action, themes and beauty of the film still would have come across. I'd rank this above My Neighbor Totoro and behind Spirited Away.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Sleuth




Great nomination, one I would never think to myself of watching.

I watched Sleuth for the 1970s Countdown and I loved it so much that it ranked at #18 on my list.
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OPEN FLOOR.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Anyone hook me up with fantastic planet?
not sure if anyone sent you one, but I sent two in comments; one in English and the other in the original French with English Subtitles.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé



The Graduate

Room Clerk: Are you here for an affair, sir?
Benjamin: (Terrified he had been found out) What?
Room Clerk: The Singleman party, sir?
Benjamin: Ah, yes, the Singleman party.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was in for when I turned this film on - which in itself is an intriguing mindset when approaching any given first-time watch. Of course, there is that period of finding your footing that needs to occur before you can begin to follow along and truly delve in.
Lucky for me that was dealt with within the opening with a close-up of a very straight-faced Hoffman sitting in front of his aquarium before he is led out and passed around a house party hosted by his parents with their closest friends and neighbors. Not a single person is under forty.
The trapped animal expression that our lead character, Benjamin retains throughout the film would, at times, sound and appear like Dustin Hoffman's famous portrayal in Rain Man. So much in fact that I secretly waited for him to say "Definitely. Definitely." lol
This is not a critique, simply an amusing perception I had watching this film brimmed with symbiotic nuances set in an almost deadpan delivery. Illustrating just how "lost" everyone is in lives they never really wanted in the first place.
It's very easy to see why such films like this and the Musical Hair comes to mind, centering around someone trapped in the so-called Real World of being an adult and the inherent desire to just run away but without the slightest idea WHERE to run to. That dilemma being at the forefront of so many teenagers and young adults as they broke free of the reigns of normalcy and what was expected of them during that time.

Added to the nuances is the clever wit of Writer Buck Henry to those little moments of quirky uncertainty that Hoffman's Benjamin is trapped within like the proverbial deer in headlights. Offsetting the drama of the story quite wonderfully. The Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack adding a mixture of fancy and impending doom quite well. Giving this cerebral production of a visceral subject a well-rounded balance that kept me intrigued the entire time.

Along with Hoffman, the entire cast is excellent in their perspective roles that it is hard not to simply run down the entire cast to praise each of them in turn. Even as I write this they all seem to flash about like passing headlights on a darkened road. Instigating moments of excited panic that die out just as quickly.

Another iconic, Must See! movie that I would not have gotten around to see if not for this forum and these Hall of Fames.
F@CKIN YAY



For me that^^was the most shocking of what you hadn't already seen, and the most perfect and obvious nomination for you. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get the chance to pick it for you but that was not a surprise.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
For me that^^was the most shocking of what you hadn't already seen, and the most perfect and obvious nomination for you. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get the chance to pick it for you but that was not a surprise.
Yeah, I think the only film beating that for Need To See is The Apartment.



Yeah, I think the only film beating that for Need To See is The Apartment.
I definitely prefer The Apartment, but I've always thought of The Graduate as much more iconic.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I definitely prefer The Apartment, but I've always thought of The Graduate as much more iconic.
The Graduate is ok. I liked it but it wasn’t really great. The Apartment is much better imo
The Apartment was the film I secretly was hoping to get nominated for me.
Perhaps the next one of these.



koyaanisqatsi

was pretty excited to watch this but i wasn't really feeling this in the first 20 minutes. i decided it would probably be much more enjoyable while high, so i stepped outside for a bit to smoke and man, that made it so much cooler. it really helped me get into the films rhythms and understand it on an emotional level, appreciating it for the lovely tone poem it is rather than just "hey that looks cool." i don't know if the film itself is necessarily a great articulation of its supposed message of how technology/progress diminishes humanity by bringing us farther away from the natural state or whatever, mainly because most of the shots of modern society looked cool as hell too. if anything, it just got my high ass to reflect on how cities and technology are merely a construction of a habitat or an ecosystem no different from how some animals use tools to make their surroundings more hospitable. my trance began to fade towards the end as the high wore off, but i was still very into it. i usually don't like to watch movies high because it's impossible to take actors and dialogue seriously, but a film like this that's purely images with no narration is ideal. the only downside is that it's harder to recapture those same positive feelings towards the movie the next morning when the high is gone, meaning i just have to remember and trust how it made me feel in the moment because the actual sensation of watching it can't be approximated soberly.

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