The 10th Mofo Movie Hall of Fame

Impressive film! It's based on a legend and feels like it, that's probably what I liked the most about it!
I loved the supernatural side of this movie, and how the soundtrack and stunning cinematography played a part on this!
The acting was very good generally, I especially liked the old nurse. Everytime she talked it seemed like she was casting a spell, which turned out great, considering all that happened next!
It's my first Mizoguchi but I can easily put this work among the masterpieces of Kurosawa and Kobayashi!

Ugetsu

(spoilers)

I think I was paying attention but I have to admit I felt a bit lost sometimes with regards to the situations and motivations of the characters. It all became a bit clearer at the end, when it turned into not one but two ghost stories.

I liked the relationship between the main character and his wife and child at the beginning, when he gives her the kimono and is so happy that she is happy, that came across really well. Sometimes I felt that the acting got a bit melodramatic. There seemed to be a lot of people falling over with emotion at various points in the film, and the foolish character seemed very exaggerated. But at other times it was quite skilfully understated - the fate of his wife, for example.

I suppose if there is a moral to the story it is beware of greed. Or don’t trust men (both of the main characters behave foolishly and it is their wives who suffer). But then Genjuro and his family seem to suffer just as much from bad luck and Lady Wakasa (or her maid) putting a spell on him, which isn’t really his fault. (Or is it?)

One of the things that I didn't completely get was the passing of time in this film - how long had Genjuro and Tobei been away from home? It seems like a lot happens in the time but the little boy doesn't seem to get much older.

I think this was a perfectly good film but I didn't love it. I liked it better than Rashomon, which I've seen it compared to, but not as much as Throne of Blood or Onibaba (just to pick some other supernatural-themed Japanese movies).

Blade Runner was my last film, so I'm now done watching the nominations and I've sent a list in....to myself

BTW as of today we have 30 days left until the deadline.

So I can still join? Until Aug 31st? If so, I'm in. I'll send you the PM shortly. You have my word I won't drop out this time.

Beatle, the deadline to send in your list is August 31st for the members. It started a good while ago. Sorry i don't believe you can join. There'll be a new one starting soon most likely that you can join.

Silent Vamp is starting up the Silent HOF this weekend if you are interested in joining that - http://www.movieforums.com/community...=43149&page=14

Ah thanks, man. 11 is my lucky number anyway.

Beatle here's a link to the Hof schedule so you can see what's coming up in the future.

Hof schedule

Dead Man's Shoes

Quite honestly, I thought I would hate this. I’d started it before and hadn’t got very far, and I thought Shane Meadows’ This Is England was garbage. But Camo will be pleased to know I didn't hate it.

It’s clear they’ve gone out of their way to get at realism - maybe too far. There was something about the family photos and videos at the beginning that made me feel quite uncomfortable - presumably these were somebody’s real photos/home videos and there’s something a little creepy about using them in this way for this kind of story. The scummy homes, lives and habits of this gang of drug-dealing low-lifes were captured fairly convincingly, but it makes for depressing and at times disgusting viewing. I think it takes skill to make something like this look authentic, like you are there.

Somebody mentioned the dialogue not being well written - I think it was deliberately written to be naturalistic for characters like these, or probably partly improvised. The problem with this is that these characters are so repulsive, they haven’t got anything interesting to say.

As a revenge film I thought the structure was interesting. It’s not simply crime and then retribution. We only really discover what Richard is getting revenge for (and thus theoretically might be able to feel some sympathy for him) just as one of the people he’s taking revenge on exhibits some remorse, and doesn’t seem to deserve the extent of Richard’s retribution. But despicable as the gang members are, do any of them really deserve this blood-soaked retribution? It seems to simultaneously revel in and call into question the gory thrills of the revenge thriller.

I mentioned it being uncomfortable - I think this is the reaction it’s aiming to provoke. At the start, when you don’t know what has happened, who ‘Anthony’s brother’ is, or what he might do, there’s an uncomfortable mixture of dark humour and creeping dread. I think this part of the film is fairly successful, my problem with it is that it doesn’t really have anywhere to go in the end besides ‘isn’t everyone involved a monster?’ which falls a little flat.

I thought there were some interesting parallels between this film and some of the others in this HoF. In its depiction of a miserable kind of life there were similarities to Lilya 4-Ever, and in its very uncomfortableness it reminded me of Amour.

So glad you didn't hate it at least TN . I know it isn't an easy watch and there are problems to be found with it, but i love it and i think i've went with some pretty safe choices in the other hall of fames so i wanted to try something different. Also interesting what you pointed out in your spoiler, somehow i didn't even notice that and i've watched everything except East of Eden.

I don't like This Is England either. Weird because i liked the shows. Have you seen anything else from Meadows? I've seen them all and the only one i dislike is This Is England, A Room For Romeo Brass is also a favourite of mine.

Think i'm going to finish this with East of Eden tomorrow as i'm watching Hedwig tonight.

Blade Runner

This seems to be one of those movies that everyone has seen at least once during their lifetime. In a way, I am kind of surprised that I have managed to never have done so before now.

I wasn’t sure how I would like this one. From what I knew about it, I didn’t think it would be one that I would necessarily enjoy. And as I watched it, it did take me a little while to get into it. But once I did, the movie ended up much better than I expected it to.

I really liked the dark, gritty look to the film. The cinematography was great. I particularly liked the scene at the Tyrell Corporation. It is a modern film that seemed to capture the mood of an old film noir perfectly. And I have to admit that I absolutely loved Sean Young’s look in it. Very 1940s inspired.

Speaking of film noirs, I really liked Harrison Ford’s performance. It made me wish that he would’ve been around to play such a character as Deckard during the heyday of film noirs. I think he would’ve been able to compete with the best of the actors who are best known for that genre.

You want to know something? This film was kind of depressing. It is dark and moody. And the ending just made it even more so for me. While we don’t know exactly what will happen to them after we see them that last time, we still know nothing good can be ahead for one of them. Not overly uplifting at all.

All-in-all, I think it was a good movie. I think I will have to watch it another time, though. It is a movie that can get you to thinking about things – even just life itself. And I think to truly appreciate what the film is trying to tell, I will have to give it another go. I think a lot can be missed in a film that seems to be this complex. So it definitely needs more than one viewing.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

Dead Man’s Shoes

I didn’t really know what I should’ve expected with this one based on what everyone else was saying. For that reason this was the one that I was probably the most curious to watch.

My major complaint is the unsteady camera. I have never really been a big fan of it, but at times it was very noticeable in this movie, which kind of gets on my nerves. But that is my one complaint about the film.

I know the humor in it has been mentioned in this thread. I honestly didn’t see any at all. I saw where there were scenes that were supposed to have some humor in them. And I suppose it worked. Where the humor was applied seemed to be in the scenes where they were being taunted. To me, that was more for the purpose of playing games with their minds rather than to be funny. But I didn’t really find this to be a comedy in any sort of way. All it was, to me, was a drama. Maybe even a thriller. But I definitely would never classify any of it as any sort of comedy in any way.

I actually found this a hard film to watch. I can’t stand seeing unkindness and brutality towards a person who is mentally challenged. That is something that infuriates me. And I know this is just a movie, but I found that to be really upsetting. And it was very hard to watch.

The violence didn’t bother me too much. I’ve pretty much mastered the art of looking at a scene through squinty eyes when I don’t want to see the scene completely for what it is, but I still want to follow along. So I was able to deal with that. Most of it didn’t bother me, but there were a couple of moments where it called for me to squint my eyes.

I liked that the flashbacks were in black and white. That was a good way of telling that part of the story and to keep track of when it was that part of the story.

I know that Richard was out for revenge. I don’t necessarily agree with how he went about it. But, truth be told, I can completely understand how he could’ve been driven to that point.

I think all of the actors were good in here. Paddy Considine may have been the standout, but he was also the main focus of the story. So that may be what helps him to stand out, also. Some credit should be given to Toby Kebbell. His role may be minor, but he is good as the character he is playing. And if it weren’t for his role, this story wouldn’t need to be told. (But I have to admit that I have a hard time looking at Kebbell because all I think is “How on earth did they EVER decide on having him play John Wilkes Booth?! He looks NOTHING like him!” – just a bit of the nonsense that went through my mind while watching this that I thought I’d mention).

As I said before this was a very upsetting film for me to watch. Again, I don’t care to see the brutality towards the one character. I also wasn’t overly thrilled at the twist to the story. I found that to be so depressing. It was such a downer. At the same time, it was enough of a twist to where I still thought it was a clever twist. And it was clever because I was really thrown off by it.

The ending wasn’t really what I wanted either, but I will take it. I kind of have to, don’t I?!

I can’t say I enjoyed the movie because I thought it was terribly depressing. I don’t need a movie to be “perky” in order to enjoy it, but this was just so sad for me to watch. At the same time, I thought it was a good movie. It was a very interesting nomination and I appreciate that Camo nominated it because it was something that I probably never would’ve known about to watch otherwise.



I am telling you that the twist affected me so much that it affected the rating a little.

I've liked Blade Runner more every time I've watched it. I still don't love it though and I don't think I ever will.

I don't know if I would ever actually love Blade Runner either, but I think it might get better each time that I would watch it. That is why I think I would like to give it another try.

I think Blade Runner has got better for me every time I've watched it. I didn't love it the first time I saw it, but I appreciate it increasingly. I was never sure whether that was to do with some intrinsic quality of the film or whether having seen more films and knowing more about film i general, I was able to appreciate it more.

Definitely an interesting watch, I probably would have continued to avoid it if it hadn't been nominated.

Having seen Dead Man's Shoes I now see This is England as a failed attempt to recapture its success by using similar elements in a different context. Interesting that you liked the TV show though, I never watched it because I disliked the film so much. I haven't seen any of his other films, but I might try A Room For Romeo Brass.

Hope you enjoyed Hedwig!


I don't think it was a comedy either and I see what you mean about scenes that were supposed to have humour - I think it's as much to mess with the audience's heads as the gang's; it's unsettling, we don't know whether to laugh or be scared. The clown make-up though.

So glad you like it Vamp

Even though both of you found it difficult you two at least kind of liking makes this HOF seem like a success for me. Still got Neiba, Sean and Mushroom so hopefully someone else doesn't hate it

Hope you watch Romeo Brass, Thursday i think you would probably like that more and i'd be interested in your thoughts.

I think just CR and I hate it.

Yeah, i forgot Topsy quite liked it actually.