The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame

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A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
My guess: Frightened inmate no. 2


A Woman Under the Influence presents a very fascinating, and realistic, look into mental illness issues, and how we as a society, and as people, deal with differences. It's profound and affecting, much more so than other attempts I have seen such as 2019's Joker.

The two acting leads in this movie were marvelous, truly a sight to behold - it's like watching a documentary on their lives, you forget you're watching a movie. It almost gave me an uncomfortable sensation, creeping in on this viewer's lives. I wanted them to turn the camera and block us out, I wanted them to work out their issues by themselves.

And that's what makes this a masterpiece. A Woman Under the Influence, with it's incredible actors, fluid and non-stationary camerawork, and extended, dialogue-heavy, scenes, we get this sense of real life that has not been imitated as well in anything I've seen since.

While it's not something that I can say I personally "enjoyed" as much as other films here, it's important, it's special, truly one of a kind. I wouldn't hesitate to call it a masterpiece, no matter what subjective rating it receives from silly me.

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Not quite a favorite for me either but like you said it's a great movie with incredible performances. John Cassavetes is such a unique director and I love his style.



My Best Friend (1999)



I don't think of documentaries the same way as I do other movies. I certainly like them but I don't get as involved. It might partially be because I watch a lot of documentary style TV. I was very happy to see one nominated for me since I rarely watch them on my own.

This is from director Werner Herzog and it chronicles his relationship with Klaus Kinski. Fortunately I'm already a fan of their work so I had a natural interest. It starts off a little slow but really gets interesting as we get a behind the scenes look at their collaborations. Their relationship was certainly an unusual and volatile one, and it's a subject worthy of it's own film. Kinski is portrayed as an absolute maniac who's lucky he didn't find himself in a jail somewhere, and Herzog doesn't seem that far behind. It's a very good documentary that would have made my top 25 had I seen it back when we had that countdown, and it was an excellent nomination by .......

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The trick is not minding
My Best Friend (1999)



I don't think of documentaries the same way as I do other movies. I certainly like them but I don't get as involved. It might partially be because I watch a lot of documentary style TV. I was very happy to see one nominated for me since I rarely watch them on my own.

This is from director Werner Herzog and it chronicles his relationship with Klaus Kinski. Fortunately I'm already a fan of their work so I had a natural interest. It starts off a little slow but really gets interesting as we get a behind the scenes look at their collaborations. Their relationship was certainly an unusual and volatile one, and it's a subject worthy of it's own film. Kinski is portrayed as an absolute maniac who's lucky he didn't find himself in a jail somewhere, and Herzog doesn't seem that far behind. It's a very good documentary that would have made my top 25 had I seen it back when we had that countdown, and it was an excellent nomination by .......

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There are definitely some. Great documentaries out there. They’re just as moving as any other movie I’ve seen.
Herzog seems to be a natural story teller.


*Edited multiple times btw, because I misread your initial review



There are definitely some. Great documentaries out there. They’re just as moving as any other movie I’ve seen
Yep this puts my list percentage at 57%, only above Cannes' at 55%.



The trick is not minding
Yep this puts my list percentage at 57%, only above Cannes' at 55%.
Yeah, I only got into docs a few years ago, but I’ve seen some really good ones that didn’t make the mofo list that I felt were deserving. Can’t say for sure until I’ve seen more of the list, obviously, but Genocide was a sad tale about that holocaust, as well as The Invisible War, Waco: Rules of Engagement, 4 Little Girls and Life Animated as also moving.





Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/27/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame, No clue who chose it, but thanks!
Rewatch: No.


I'd seen part of this film well over a decade ago but never finished it and never felt the urge to try again. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. It has a strong cast - Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney - and although I don't like Clint Eastwood as an actor, I do respect him as a director.

But I guess it's better late than never and Mystic River is just the kind of movie I was hoping to be exposed to in this Hall of Fame. Characters don't get a whole lot more complicated than this and the cast - Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in particular - turn in exceptionally strong performances.

The film features two stories - the first is the story of a man with a violent past (Penn) reeling from the murder of his oldest daughter and the other is the story of a shell of a man (Robbins) struggling with a lifetime of personal demons stemming from trauma he suffered when he was abducted as a child. Their lives and stories intersect and collide in some pretty shocking and heartbreaking ways.

And if the film had kept its sight focused on those two stories, I would've rated it higher. But there's a third, much weaker story in the film as well - that of a state police officer who is investigating the murder of the girl. Kevin Bacon does a fine job of portraying a man struggling with professional burnout, a personal life that's in shambles, and with the pressure of trying to keep his personal connection to the case (he and the other two men were all childhood friends) from clouding his judgement. The fault here is not in Bacon's hands, but the whole subplot of his absent wife was annoying, time-wasting, and unnecessary and it really dragged down my enjoyment of this otherwise fine film.

Still, I'm glad to have watched it. While its flaws will probably keep it from being a big personal favorite, it's a strong contender for #1 on my Hall of Fame ballot.

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The trick is not minding
I really liked Mystic River, but Penn would occasionally overact some scenes.
Doesn’t detract from the overall product, however.
Bacon is underrated in this.





Guess Who's Coming to Dinner


Well that was problematic...geez this is one of those films that you have to remove the sensibilities of modern times to appreciate the work of 50 years ago. It's kind of crazy how this was mostly a family affair with Hepburn, Tracey, and their niece in starring roles. I did appreciate that they looked like a family, good casting is rare in earlier films.



I think the great part about this film is that it's a time capsule, you have a character like Tillie who you couldn't write today. I love the patronizing "oh she's part of the family" aspect to her character and yet all she does is serve on these people. I also love one of the great racial qoutes is that African American's have to be twice as better to get half as much. So naturally Kramer goes over the top essentially making Poitier's character a man with no flaws close to saint like...who could possibly have an issue with him.


The film ends with a Spencer Tracy monologue that once again could not exist in today's cinema. The whole scene just drips with contempt and is completely tone def for modern audiences.


And yet...I liked it for what it was. Hepburn on the verge of tears, she's very strong in this and she's almost playing against type. The movie excels when you get into the weirdness of 60's San Francisco...Tillie's daughter just randomly dancing with the meat boy....it was a more innocent time.






The trick is not minding
That’s a good movie, one I actually enjoyed but not necessarily a film I’d rank among my favorites. I’d have to rewatch it sometime to see how my opinion still holds.



It's been a long while since I watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, but I remember also being irritated by how saintly Poitier's character was. He didn't feel real at all.



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Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/27/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame, No clue who chose it, but thanks!
Rewatch: No.


I'd seen part of this film well over a decade ago but never finished it and never felt the urge to try again. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. It has a strong cast - Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney - and although I don't like Clint Eastwood as an actor, I do respect him as a director.

But I guess it's better late than never and Mystic River is just the kind of movie I was hoping to be exposed to in this Hall of Fame. Characters don't get a whole lot more complicated than this and the cast - Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in particular - turn in exceptionally strong performances.

The film features two stories - the first is the story of a man with a violent past (Penn) reeling from the murder of his oldest daughter and the other is the story of a shell of a man (Robbins) struggling with a lifetime of personal demons stemming from trauma he suffered when he was abducted as a child. Their lives and stories intersect and collide in some pretty shocking and heartbreaking ways.

And if the film had kept its sight focused on those two stories, I would've rated it higher. But there's a third, much weaker story in the film as well - that of a state police officer who is investigating the murder of the girl. Kevin Bacon does a fine job of portraying a man struggling with professional burnout, a personal life that's in shambles, and with the pressure of trying to keep his personal connection to the case (he and the other two men were all childhood friends) from clouding his judgement. The fault here is not in Bacon's hands, but the whole subplot of his absent wife was annoying, time-wasting, and unnecessary and it really dragged down my enjoyment of this otherwise fine film.

Still, I'm glad to have watched it. While its flaws will probably keep it from being a big personal favorite, it's a strong contender for #1 on my Hall of Fame ballot.

+
Holy buckets!




Diabolique (
H.G. Clouzot, 1955)

Genre: Suspense Drama
Who do I think nominated it: @Siddon
My reaction: Cool nom

This has got to be Siddon's choice for me. And it's a good one too. I was interested in the premise and the tight focusing on the two women who are employed at a boys school in France. I liked the old run down school setting, very effective for this kind of film. Both women are romantically linked to the abusive head school master and you can guess what happens to him!

I like films that spend time on character development and where the characters then determine the story line. And Diabolique did that. I liked the casting choice of the two women as they were diametrical diverse with the blonde being physical larger and more aggressive (I guess that's why she smoked all the time), and the brunette who was petite, quiet, more passive...and had a fragile heart (it's probably a good thing she didn't smoke). And her weak heart is one of the aspects that contribute to the story.

I sometimes have a harder time with foreign films if there's too many characters, speaking a lot of quick dialogue. But this film was real easy to follow. I'm not sure why it's tagged horror and I thought it might be like The Univited or The Haunting but it wasn't, it's more like a Hitchcock film. That's why I tagged it as suspense drama.


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Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003)
Imdb

Date Watched: 03/27/2020
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame, No clue who chose it, but thanks!
Rewatch: No.


I'd seen part of this film well over a decade ago but never finished it and never felt the urge to try again. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. It has a strong cast - Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney - and although I don't like Clint Eastwood as an actor, I do respect him as a director.

But I guess it's better late than never and Mystic River is just the kind of movie I was hoping to be exposed to in this Hall of Fame. Characters don't get a whole lot more complicated than this and the cast - Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in particular - turn in exceptionally strong performances.

The film features two stories - the first is the story of a man with a violent past (Penn) reeling from the murder of his oldest daughter and the other is the story of a shell of a man (Robbins) struggling with a lifetime of personal demons stemming from trauma he suffered when he was abducted as a child. Their lives and stories intersect and collide in some pretty shocking and heartbreaking ways.

And if the film had kept its sight focused on those two stories, I would've rated it higher. But there's a third, much weaker story in the film as well - that of a state police officer who is investigating the murder of the girl. Kevin Bacon does a fine job of portraying a man struggling with professional burnout, a personal life that's in shambles, and with the pressure of trying to keep his personal connection to the case (he and the other two men were all childhood friends) from clouding his judgement. The fault here is not in Bacon's hands, but the whole subplot of his absent wife was annoying, time-wasting, and unnecessary and it really dragged down my enjoyment of this otherwise fine film.

Still, I'm glad to have watched it. While its flaws will probably keep it from being a big personal favorite, it's a strong contender for #1 on my Hall of Fame ballot.

+
When I saw this on your list, I had my fingers crossed it would be something you'd enjoy.
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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner


This was Spencer Tracy's last film. He died shorty after filming was completed, and Katharine Hepburn never saw the movie because she said it was too painful.

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Mystic River seems to be one of those movies that people who don't like it love to slam. I don't get it, I thought it was very good. Also considered it for Miss Vicky along with Fatal Attraction but in the end went with something else.