17th MoFo Hall of Fame

The Libertine (2004) *spoilers*

I'm middle of the road on this. I didn't hate it, but I had little emotional reaction to the film. I think the best part was the opening monologue where Depp speaks directly to the viewer. That worked and had depth of power. It set up in my mind that I'd be seeing him as this brutal-self indulgent, who's also an intellectual genius and artist. I've seen other movies based on 17th & 18th century poets & writers who did live large, drank, whored and behaved all together badly, whilst writing some of histories greatest literature and poetry. But that's not who the Earl of Rochester (Johnny Depp) was...I think I understand the message of the film? Which I believe was:

That he wasted his life, deluding himself that he was 'living life to the fullest' with his decadence, when in fact he was hiding from living...and when given the chance to do something great by writing a play worthy of his intellect, he chose instead to write a play that was bawdy lampooning. In the end he pays for his ways by catching syphilis and becoming a near invalid. Thus showing how hiding from life behind a mask brings nothing but an empty chalice. Though he does realize this at the end, when he rises to the occasion and saves the King's position in Parliament.

I wasn't a fan of the director's choice of look for the film. The graininess and the greenish cast with low color saturation made it look like a BBC TV broadcast from an old Masterpiece Theater. It would have been nice to have more period piece sets, and less close-ups. But the lack of sets and choice of close ups is probably a budget thing, so not a deal breaker.

My favorite scenes were with Samantha Morton. It was interesting how he coached her to find her inner truth and thus transformed her into London's greatest actress.

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@MijaFrost has not posted in 9 days. I will send her a PM tomorrow evening if she hasn't posted by then.

@neiba has not posted in 8 days and has not written up any of the nominations yet. I know you keep saying you're still in, but we're already 5 weeks into this HOF. You need to get started soon!

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Nice bit of insight there, and yes, the training scenes were quite enjoyable to see as well.


Also, I picked up Let the Right One In from the library, so that very well may be my next film.

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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

Amelie (2001)



This was my second viewing, the first having been almost a decade ago, which was long enough for me to have forgotten lots of little details about the film.

I noticed that Amelie's involvement in other peoples lives was likely due to the fact that she seemed bored, lonely, and probably depressed in her own mundane existence, so "meddling" with others gave her something to keep her occupied. I didn't like when she "broke in" to the shop keeper's apartment and made adjustments to everything, because I would be horrified if anyone entered my dwelling without my knowledge or permission, and I believe that everyone has the right to their own privacy. I don't think manipulating him into thinking he was going crazy was going to make him treat his assistant any more respectfully, though it was definitely troubling to witness his abuse of his employee.

I think most people would be creeped out if a potential love interest acted like Amelie and the guy she met, but it seemed to work for them. They were both such oddballs that they suited each other.

I liked the reclusive painter. It was funny how he spied on Amelie out of curiosity, in the same way she kept her eyes on him. She felt offended when HE would "meddle" in her life by offering advice she didn't want to hear, but after spending so much of her time on other people, often unwarranted, it was only fair that someone else take an interest in her.

When considering the technical aspects, the colors are beautiful, and I appreciate the old-fashioned feeling. I also quite enjoy quirky characters.

In conclusion, this is a film that I would like to re-watch every so often after enough time has passed. There's something comforting about it.

Anyone who likes this should check out The Double Life of Veronique, and Chungking Express.

@Miss Vicky

@Miss Vicky

I'm going to try to get to The Libertine tomorrow.

Hope to watch some black and white films soon.

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Interesting. I've only ever heard it referred to as "day for night", even by Americans. "Hollywood Night" has a nice ring to it though haha.

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Mostly I've heard it called that in older movies and film reels, like from the 40s and 50s. They probably don't call it Hollywood Night anymore. What's funny is sometimes old comedies will make a joking reference to the technique. It's easy to spot as you don't get hard shadows at night, unless there's a light source.

Some tech info on the technique.
http://vitascene.helpmax.net/en/user...llywood-night/

The Libertine



I've come to have grown pretty fond of period pieces (Amadeus withstanding). I thought that this film was really well executed. It's strongest point is in the acting particularly with Johnny Depp as the lead. Like Miss Vicky said, I thought it to be funny that at the beginning with the monologue of Depp's character he tells his audience that we will not like him. But I thoroughly did enjoy watching his character in this film. He is also strongly supported by great supporting acting. Really solid performances by Rosamund Pike, John Malkovich, Kelly Reilly, and Samantha Morton. I really enjoyed that first scene between Depp and Morton's character. The dialogue of that scene was great and it set the tone for the rest of the film to be really engaging for me. I thought the film overall was very technically sound. I enjoyed the sets used, and the costume design was really well on point. Miss Vicky may be surprised but really I definitely enjoyed this film. Good nomination that will be high on my list.

The Aviator (2004)

This is one of those films I heard about tons of times but didn't know anything about.

The material, that is, Howard Hughes' story is pretty impressive, even considering the usual exagerations a Hollywood movies gives to its biopics.

That being said, I'd say this movie is very very well done, though I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. Leo's acting is, of course, the best of it (as it is in every Scorcese movie he's in), and there are some very good aspects of the whole film, especially the pacing (a surprisingly easy watch considering its almost 3-hour runtime) and some of the cinematography.
I loved how Ava Gardner was portrayed and I have mixed feelings about Kate Hepburn, seemed a caricature in the first few scenes but I loved the way the character took from there.

Sometimes this felt kind of cheesy, with some colour filters I didn't like at all, and that may be my biggest issue with the whole film.

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Watching first half of The Aviator today and second half tomorrow!

@Miss Vicky


I got this as one of my two weekly DVDs which means my wife would try it. I usually reserve those for new releases, so when she asked, I just told her this was a Miss Vicky HOF nomination. She said, "the bitch"?

I liked the prologue, and my wife and I both liked the character right away. I was feeling very good about the movie at this point.

I sort of loved the look of the movie, especially at first. The fogginess lent itself well to the overall atmosphere. I did wonder if, like I sometimes think with modern black and white movies, this was due to budget or skill restraints. I thought this because all of the shots were limited in scope and background. Either way I did like the look, but I do think a little variety over the course of the movie would have been beneficial. The musical score, costumes, and all of the little details were very good.

It took about 10 minutes for my wife to jokingly call Miss Vicky a pervert, jokingly because it was the decadence and debauchery that we were very much enjoying. When Depp's character laid back to be, eh, serviced, my wife yelled "good pick Vicky"! I wish the movie would have stayed on this course because I was really having a good time with it. The story as it would come to be was a little slow and I didn't find it that interesting. I didn't actually have a problem with the story itself, so I wonder if it was the execution or pace.

Depp is a trick or treat actor for me. He's a performer I really like, but he often plays quirky characters in quirky movies that do not suit my taste. He was terrific in this; entertaining as a partying playboy who then undergoes a startling transformation. Samantha Morton was his equal, and I think it's very impressive that an actress can play both a good actress and a bad actress in the same movie. John Malkovich was strong as always, although I couldn't take my eyes off of that fake nose.

In short, this movie started out a lot of fun and ended up decent. It has some great steamy dialogue and I wish it just focused on being a shallow and fun entertainment piece.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the reactions The Libertine has gotten. I thought for sure @CitizenRules and @rauldc14 were going to hate it. I'm quite shocked really at how much raul enjoyed it.

@cricket I'm a little disappointed that you didn't like it more than you did, but overall pleased with your reaction. And your wife's comments crack me up. You can tell her that I am absolutely, unashamedly a perverted bitch.

Quills and Libertine, 2 of my favorite Miss Vicky nominations.

how CR would react was kind of 50/50, he could have gone either way and I figured would thoroughly enjoy the first half of the film.
I am pleasantly surprised at raul's enjoyment. Though I must say, for some reason or another I still have trouble gauging raul's likes or dislike of any given film.

I think the same thing whenever I see a film that has an actor playing a character who is also an actor. That can't be easy.

Yeah that was my nom for the Virgin Hall of Fame...My Favorite Year with Peter O'Toole

The Dressmaker (2015)

*spoilers ahead*

I have never heard of this movie so I knew nothing about it and I can say it was a very pleasant surprise.
It's one of the best dark comedies I've seen recently. The cinematography is superb, everything so well shot, and the soundtrack goes really well with the movie spirit.
The acting is good from everyone involved, though I didn't feel any chemistry between the lead couple, which eventually harmed the way I reacted to Teddy's death. I was shocked, because I though the movie was coming to its conclusion, but not as sad as I should be in a moment like that.
Overall, this has a strange feeling with the amount of random things always happening but surprising it works perfectly, mainly thanks to a spotless direction by Moorhouse.

Another great nom by CR

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