23rd MoFo Hall of Fame

I do not want to see Scorsese tackle romance ever again. All of the Scorsese films that I love (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, The King of Comedy) are not films with a traditional romantic angle, and they are all better for it. The relationship between DiCaprio and Diaz seemed so by the numbers and boring and a big nothing. It was old hat, like I had seen it a million times. I didn't care at all for DiCaprio or Diaz's performances in the film anyway, so maybe those two things influenced my opinion of the other. I had a thought that I never had before during my viewing of this film: "Do I hate Leonardo DiCaprio now?". I don't mean the person of course, but the actor. The answer was no, after some thought, but this film and his performance makes me want to revisit some of his other films to try to evaluate him to see if I actually like him or not. Cameron Diaz has never felt like an actress to me, but Leo at least has some cred with me for his performances in Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall Street. It comes off that he could be these characters, and even though I don't think I'd care to rewatch Titanic, he at least seems like a character and not just Leonardo DiCaprio in that film. His accent in Gangs actually brought more attention to the fact that I was watching this dude instead of immersing me.

I feel that way about the whole film really. I kept waiting for it to feel like I was watching something different, but beat by beat and pace by pace it feels like a million other things and never once does it feel like it is its own thing. Daniel Day Lewis did a fine job, but his character wound up being a paint by the numbers bad guy. He is a great actor for sure, because he gave that character a menacing presence despite there not being much original about him. The story of revenge and getting close to villain to take him out only to be thwarted and punished in some way is something I've seen before. The riots made it seem like they could be leading to something that could change the outcome of the film and maybe give us a curveball, but ultimately Leo does what he would have done without them.

Gangs of New York has an interesting setting and interesting costume design with a somewhat interesting villain, but the film almost never does anything interesting.

108 minutes down. 58 left!

Where are you watching this movie at? It seems like your watching only a few minutes at a time. You're not can-watching are ya

Online. I've seen it before as well. It's a rewatch.

I don't want to split it up like I have been. But I've been super busy. I've only seen 1 film in November so far.

I hear ya, I almost have no free movie time these days, work, ugh!

Jojo Rabbit (2019) is the story of a 10-year old boy in Germany during the end of the War. The film is filled with a litany of colorful characters from an early feminist mother (Scarlett Johanssen) to a disgraced Nazi soldier (Sam Rockwell) to an imaginary friend Hitler (Taika Waititi). Those colorful adult characters are balanced with three stellar child actors Jojo, Elsa, and Yorki who provide three very different perspectives of the war.



Elsa is hidden away in Jojo's house and helps with his growth from indoctrinated boy to lovestruck one. Yorki is amusingly a pal who is likely going through the worst of the war yet he's constantly used to break the tension. We the adults get whats happening... Klenzendorf and Dorf's relationship is fairly obvious though not to the children.


I think this film gets better on repeat viewing the first time you watch it you admire the script the second time I think you admire the filming. I think it's biggest strength is the way it changes tones...the humor is solid but you get these heartwrenching scenes every once and while. Everyone in this film is disillusioned and snarky at points...until something serious happens and that shakes you.


Really good nom.

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I'm done. Last review soon here. Ballot sending tonight too.

Gangs of New York



The biggest problem this film has is one that really it should be at no fault for. It's hard to compare this among Scorsese's other great works because, well, it really isn't at that type of level at all. Bit like many have said there is a lot of good in it. I think the film is shot rather tremendously, as with all Scorsese but I'd even say this one is maybe upper echelon type for that.

The acting is quite what we expected, with Day-Lewis and DiCaprio among the more consistent in the business. But you can't really say this is much more than a footnote for either of them in their acting characters. Not a slight, but often I'd say I really am enamored with their sorts of performances. Part of thisbwas killed by the fact that I really didn't care for their characters anyways. Diaz really killed it for me on the first view and I wouldn't say I thought she was that bad after seeing it twice but nothing of major note either.

Biggest thing I got a kick out of this time around was when they were talking about voting ballots. "The ballots don't decide the results, the counters decide the results. And the counters keep counting. Oh how relatable for this week.

Overall a decent film that doesn't wow me though.

Christiane F. aka Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo


In '77 I was in 7th grade going into 8th grade and already enjoying smoking pot with a curiosity for acid and the mind-meandering trips that it would bring.
The kids in this film reminded me so much of people I partied with to the point of drifting back to those early daze, up into high school. Wondering about some of them and where they may be now.
I did know one or two in the next few years in high school who did try the needle. And, much like the kids in the film, had the same warning: "You don't want any of this."
To which a lot of the crowd I ran with pretty much fully agreed. Just the idea of using a needle when there were so many other, happier ways to get high seemed a little f@cked up and all sorts of scary. Without even knowing the full story of addiction and the evitable death for those unable to get clean.

As I watched this I wondered how I would have reacted to this film back in '81 when I was a Junior in High School.
I think it would've scared the sh#t out of me. Not so for myself, having stayed cleared of such things, but for them. I would have wept for. . . well, all of them. It would have been FAR more effective than the glossy propaganda that seemed to continually miss the mark about any and all of the partying that we were all enjoying at that time via After-School Specials and the like.

Using, not only the actual Zoo Station, but quite a few of the addicts that tricked themselves out for that next fix; this film skipped all the "whys" of kids trying heroin and the unknowledgeable views of everyone outside that life. Placing you dead center of it all. No glamourous "trips" but the slow degeneration of body and mind and the scabs from the needle that dragged half-alive people further and further down the spiraling drain.

A powerful and authentic film based on the dismal facts sans idealisms or poetic conjecture.
Bravo @cricket.

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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

Tomorrow or Monday I'll have a write up of The Reflecting Skin if I am unable to get to it tonight at work.

I watched half of Gangs of New York today and will hopefully finish that tomorrow.

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Just gathering my thoughts on Christiane F. Will have a review up later

For Ed's a jolly good fellow, for Ed's a jolly good fellow,
For Ed's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!

I have to say, while I did like the film, I wasn't nearly as hooked as a lot of people here seem to be. I've seen the story of a person's slow descent into drugs many different times, so I finished this film feeling like I wanted more. I feel I'd like it way more if it was one of the first drug movies I'd seen.

I will say though, the film does have many aspects that that make it stand out from the average drug movie: The scenes in which characters swear they will not get hooked/relapse, yet they sadly do: All these scenes were really successful portrayals of how futile it is to quit something once you're addicted. I feel a lot of drug movies don't pay enough attention to this aspect.
Another thing I also really liked is that there is no glorification of the drug. While films like Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting take an anti-drug stance, they still have montages and scenes that glorify the high, almost contradicting their message. Christiane F. doesn't do this whatsoever; we simply just see the characters reaction after they take the shot.
Filmmaking wise it's very good: The dark blue tint combined with the handheld camera reminded me an awful lot of other Western European films from the time like Possession and Angst. All of the acting is spot on. The film's attempts to disturb the viewer may not have disturbed me as much as they were supposed to, but they are still very effective.

Good film @cricket.

(I have to ask though, what's up with the scene where they go into the cinema? When Christiane goes into the cinema she's watching a scene near the end of 'Night of the Living Dead'. But when she leaves the cinema, a scene from near the beginning of the film is playing. I know there's probably a simple answer to this but I'm genuinely curious)

I didn't feel shock exactly either, more like pain.

I already forget the cinema scene lol

Watched them all just need to write them up!

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"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)

Film: Le Samourai
Year of release: 1967
Directed by: Jean Pierre Melville
Run time: 1hr 45mins
Starring: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon

I had never heard of this film before and after seeing some of the reviews come in on here I was quite excited to watch it.
I guess that I should come out and say off the bat, that I was quite disappointed.
Yes, it looked good, with some exceptional shots and a beautiful colour palette, it really was a beautifully made film.
Beyond that, I struggle to find anything that I really appreciate about the film. It was ok and there was a strong plot but it just didn't seem to get out of second gear.
The music was a real mixed bag, the contextual parts were excellent - mostly nice Jazz played in Marteys club, the 'mood music' was largely irritating, with someone seeming to just smash keys on a piano at random intervals.
The characters were very one dimensional and none more so than Jef who just seemed to endlessly walk about getting on an off trains looking like he had lost his lunch money.
The action was all a bit cliche, and ultimately it was a story about a man that wan't very good at his job.
It just really didn't grip me at all.
It was stylish and slick but ultimately underwhelming.

Christiane F.

Oooff! This one is hard to digest.

First of all, the best representation I've ever seen of Berlin in film, period. Yeah, Berlin can be many things because the city is ******* huge but there's this weird energy to the city that really freaked me out the last time I was there and it's exactly this!

Now, I never did drugs and I haven't dealed with any heavy drug user. However I'm told one of my best friends from 8th grade is now an heroin addict though I don't see her since I was like 15. But I could see her in Christiane before the first shot. Even physically. And it ****ing hurt to think about her so many years later. Oh, and btw, my friend lives now in... Berlin.

I love how this story just chooses to go a different way than any other famous anti-drug films, by never glorifying the trips. And I loved we are shown a more and more decadent cinematography as the addiction grows stronger. It's a painfully real story, so all that can be asked to a film is to be faithful to that. And this film just goes all the way in that regard.

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The Reflecting Skin

Cameron Dove: Why don't you go play with your friends?
Seth Dove: They're all dead.

Opening my review with my enjoyment of the "curveball" this film threw me in regards to the emotional shift that it instantly knocks you - not entirely off-balance, but just enough to keep you in a subtle unease thorough out all of it.
I had forgotten it was a @pahaK until just now when I looked to thank whoever nominated this and the realization caused me to smile at how apropos it is to be from pahaK.
The man has a knack for some d@mn fine films that cause you to pause and wonder about what truly is going on. Not once being a frustration but more of a beckoning to proceed further into this dark film beneath a harshly bright sun.

Reflecting Skin does a very splendid job creating an undecipherable unease as if there is something even more dire beneath what is on the tension-filled murky surface.
One of so many such scenes is the first time Dolphin invites our little frog demolition expert into her home and shares her morbid backstory with such a captivating and unsettling eloquence and delivery.
This film is full of these and while such an unrelenting course could become cumbersome, they are not. From the opening scene to the very end. Leaving you a little unhinged, a little unsure, and a bit speechless from it all. And quite frankly, pretty d@mn happy about it.

Another BRAVO for yet another film in this Hall of Fame.
Really enjoyed this, @pahaK, thank you!