17th MoFo Hall of Fame

I first watched this about 4 or 5 years ago back when we did the 70's countdown. I thought well of it then and liked it even more this time. I've seen 4 other movies from director Francois Truffaunt, probably his most well known, and thought highly of all of them. It's too bad he didn't make more.

I wouldn't quite call it a favorite since it doesn't offer what I generally seek out in a movie, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and think it's exceptional. It's more a showcase than a story, and a lesson without being smug. I'd call it a must see for true film buffs. Just all of the details about filmmaking are fascinating to watch. I've been present on the set of a couple of movies before and saw something that really cracked me up, the kind of thing I could have pictured being in this movie. So it all seemed very real to me, and coming from an ace director I'm sure it was. As an aside, it looked very dangerous for the cameramen on the crane. All of the little side stories were perfectly done, just giving us a taste of the offscreen drama. It was very realistic with the way it showed how people crave companionship, even if only for a little while. Going too far would have changed the focus of the movie and ruined it. All of the acting was very good, and even more impressive considering some were playing two roles. A great nomination that I was happy to revisit.


@Miss Vicky

It is moments like these that make me appreciate a Hall of Fame, as this is a film that came out just a little bit before I became a substantial film fan and I've heard about it ever since, yet never had the chance to see it. The film deals with a rivalry between two racers who both come from similar backgrounds and are both quintessential Formula 1 racing figures. It is in fact based on a true story that I know nothing about, so that is an attribute I'm going to have to disregard when talking about this film. I loved this film, it's engaging, exciting, cool, three-dimensional and highly dynamic both in terms of action and character exchanges.

I think the writing was excellent and the execution was appropriate in shedding some light in both negative and positive aspects of the characters; I was flipping back and forth between who I was rooting for till I ended up just preparing myself to be happy with whatever the result was. The film is also very intense, it does a commendable job at establishing this environment as chaotic and potentially fatal; what follows is 2 hours loaded with nail-biting action that completely kept me on edge the entire time through. I also like what the film has to say about obsession, and how our passion can also be our downfall; it was kinda like Whiplash for racing. I also appreciated the notion of enemies being your most enriching source, because it's true. Despite one section in the film that was kinda rushed and it was unclear with passage of time, and some indefinite editing in some of the race scenes, this is a great film.

SCORE - 85/100

@Miss Vicky

A tale of two movies as it went from an enormous surprise to a big disappointment. Up until the kid took off I was completely loving the movie. Then, it just went down the crapper. As soon as he took off, I just stopped buying into it. I know he liked it, but it didn't seem to me that the kid ever bonded with the horse in a way that would cause him to do that. He didn't even know how to ride. It seemed to me that he was bonding with his boss more, and perhaps even the jockey girl. As the movie would turn out, it didn't seem to me that they ever needed a horse in the story at all. I feel like the director was trying to squeeze too much in and the second half just became a mess, even if it had a few good moments. I thought the acting was fine except for Steve Buscemi who was terrific. Losing him in the second half was another major reason why the movie went downhill. The sound quality was excellent and it all looked pretty good. Perhaps I'm underrating it a touch but it ended up leaving me feeling sour.


@Miss Vicky

Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1980)

Of every movie that portraits the life of kids in the favelas of Brazil, this is perhaps the most realistic. I loved how it felt more like a documentary than a fiction film, and how obvious that every kid in here knew this reality well from personal experience.
Pixote: A Lei do Mais fraco takes you into different settings, introducing new characters constantly, and you kind of guess what happens the movie ends. The cycle continues till he eventually dies in a robbery that goes wrong, as all of his friends did.

I loved how every character here seemed lonely all the time and even if I know that every decision they make is wrong I can look at the situation through their eyes and realize how few alternatives they really have.

The acting is not exactly good, at some times it feels waaay too amateurish, but the script is mostly well writen. Being Portuguese, there were only a few times where I felt the text didn't feel real, and most of those times were mostly due to poor delivery from the actors.

A fine nom, and one I wouldn't have seen if it was not through here!

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Incendies (2010)

So, Villeneuve is one of the most trending directors of today, especially after that crime he comitted against Blade Runner, that some insist to call a good sequel.
It's interesting to see where he came from, since I only knew his filmography after Prisioners (2013).

There's definitely a lot I liked here, the story is really interesting, and the way it's told really helps grabbing the viewer. We get to know stuff sometimes at the moment they happen and sometimes only when the twins discover them. That creates a sense of curiosity and eagerness to know the rest of the story that is constant through out the whole film.
Also the acting is very very good though I didn't quite conect with the characters on this film, don't know why. And that's perhaps the thing that didn't make me love this film.

A good nom nevertheless that I expect it'll do well in here.

I still need to write my reviews on Rush and Let the Right One In, then watch 5 movies and rewatch one.

now that I've completed the B-Film HoF and the holidays have come and gone, I will be posting reviews for my final 5 films. I am highly considering Incendies for my next watch.

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I just have a rewatch of Rush left. Now that I see Neiba rolling, I'll get to it next weekend.

Damn Christmas is over all ready, that was fast!

@Miss Vicky


Pasolini is hit or miss for me. There's a couple of his films that I really like such as The Gospel According to Matthew and Accattone but he's also made stuff that I'm not so keen on; Arabian Nights and The Canterbury Tales spring to mind. Yet to experience Salo...

The theological metaphors and political discussion is generally something I'm going to find engaging in Pasolini's work even when I disagree with what he's trying to get across. The uniqueness of using birds as a lever here is quite a cool way of bridging his main topics and I especially liked the religious references.

I just prefer how Pasolini explores these themes in some of his other work. Framing it inside a comedy with Toto as one of the leads made it difficult for me to engage. I can't seem to connect with slapstick humour at all and I'm not well versed in it. I found it more irritating than funny but I had a bias there in fairness. Give me serious Pasolini. But maybe not Salo serious.

There's a lot being juggled in this film and I thought it was messy, directors can meander yet still hold an inherent focus but I don't think Pasolini has much of a focus here that can truly be understood by the modern viewer. It seemed to require more of an in depth knowledge of Italian class feeling at the time, particularly working class feeling. Still an interesting watch and I should check out the rest of his filmography.

they just pick up and zooooom right by, don't they? lol

I'm going to try to finish this over the next week and a half. Should have some free time later this week to get through another couple.

And then I'll jump over to Second Chance.

Dedication is the word I think of when I think of this film. Those two racers are dedicated to their craft to the point that they will risk their lives for the rush, which is what they essentially live for.

Probably the most visually impressive film Howard has done. Is it odd to say that when he's done a period piece, a Dr. Seuss Christmas tale and a film in space? I don't know, but this movie has a sleek shine to it which parallels with the sleekness of the racing stories it tells.

Two strong performances from the leads. I first saw Brühl in Inglorious Basterds and figured he's be someone to watch. He has both an innocence and intensity to his face that makes you look a little deeper. Hemsworth has been the pretty boy Thor in most movies and people will underestimate him. Probably his best performance to date and one that shows he can do more than throw hammers around.

Howard is an interesting director. He has some solid films under his belt, but most of them are just solid and nothing do far to me as stuck out as extraordinary. Rush might be another case of 'good' movie, but nothing more? Which is odd because everything seems to be working well here. The climax of the film where Brühl decides not to risk it due to limited visual ability and Hemsworth goes for broke is thrilling enough, but isn't really memorable. I could be nitpicking here, but even though this was a good movie, I don't think I'll remember much about it years from now.

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Suspect's Reviews

I'm thinking I might go with a car racing movie for my nomination in the 18th Hof...I wonder if you guys have seen it?

Please don't be Death Race 2000!

I probably haven't seen it.

I only saw Rush initially because my mom wanted to see it and she paid for the tickets and concessions. Besides that I've only seen the Pixar Cars movies (highly doubt you have any of those in mind ) and probably Days of Thunder - which I haven't seen in at least 20 years, if I've even seen the whole thing at all.

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Rush (2013)

HoFs are usually filled with heavy dramas, which is awesome, but I like when there's a lighter, more fun watch among all the drama, so this time I decided to go with a adrenaline fueled sports movie.

There's many things I liked about it: the acting from the two leads is pretty impressive, especially Daniel Bruhl who's becoming one of my favourite european actors (I just hope he can escape the "bad german guy" cliche that Hollywood insists on applying to every German actor). The direction by Howard is really tight, the movie has a very fast pace and some really exhilarating scenes, even if you don't know anything about F1 (I, for one, had never heard of Lauda or Hunt, but definitely got interested in their story after watching this filme).

In sum, it's a easy, fun watch that I like to revisit from time to time whenever I'm not in the mood for a heavy film but still want to watch something good. It's not supposed to be a masterpiece and I know it doesn't stand a chance in here, but I like to think it balances this HoF!

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Watched the first half of Pixote this evening, very grim with no restraints. Review of it tomorrow.

Hadn't thought about Days of Thunder, but Le Mans with Steve McQueen did pop in my mind when reading CR's post.

Just thought of another racing movie I've seen: Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.
Pretty sure CR wasn't referring to that, either.