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Nomination #3
Paradise (1991, Mary Agnes Donoghue)
Nominated By Gbgoodies
Deadline to Watch It: January 12, 7:30 p.m. PST
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Nomination #3
Paradise (1991, Mary Agnes Donoghue)
Nominated By Gbgoodies
Deadline to Watch It: January 12, 7:30 p.m. PST
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I don't think I've ever heard of this one before, but I have a soft spot for Don Johnson so I'll try to check it out.
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I don't think I've ever heard of this one before, but I have a soft spot for Don Johnson so I'll try to check it out.
It's easily my favorite movie with Don Johnson, but I don't remember anyone ever talking about it on this site.
I hope you enjoy it.
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Nomination #3
Paradise (1991, Mary Agnes Donoghue)
Nominated By Gbgoodies
Deadline to Watch It: January 12, 7:30 p.m. PST
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I watched Paradise today. I thought this was interesting with good performances from the cast. It won't make my ballot, but I enjoyed it.
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I saw that for some reason eons ago. Not my type of movie but I liked it more than I thought I would.
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Paradise
(Mary Agnes Donoghue, 1991)
For a movie that is about what this movie is about, I was really expecting a much bigger emotional impact than what it had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I thought the performances were all fine and the basic story was good, but I really struggled to connect with its characters. In particular, I found Ben a difficult man to root for (which I was not expecting, given the casting). So I wasn't exactly pulling for him and Lily to work things out, which made it difficult to be invested in their story. The scene where a drunken Ben nearly rapes Lily didn't exactly help matters either.
Willard's story and his friendship with Billie was a little better, but I still felt mostly detached from what was going on. Which is a shame really, because the movie does have a good cast and a decent premise. Perhaps if I ever give it a rewatch it might grow on me, but as it stands there's no way this gets my vote.
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Paradise
(Mary Agnes Donoghue, 1991)
For a movie that is about what this movie is about, I was really expecting a much bigger emotional impact than what it had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I thought the performances were all fine and the basic story was good, but I really struggled to connect with its characters. In particular, I found Ben a difficult man to root for (which I was not expecting, given the casting). So I wasn't exactly pulling for him and Lily to work things out, which made it difficult to be invested in their story. The scene where a drunken Ben nearly rapes Lily didn't exactly help matters either.
Willard's story and his friendship with Billie was a little better, but I still felt mostly detached from what was going on. Which is a shame really, because the movie does have a good cast and a decent premise. Perhaps if I ever give it a rewatch it might grow on me, but as it stands there's no way this gets my vote.
I agree that at the beginning of the movie, Ben wasn't likable, but as he got closer to Willard, I found he became softer, which made him more and more likable. It seemed obvious that he wanted to work things out with Lily, but she was the one who was pulling away from him. (Although I agree that the drunken Ben scene didn't help much.)
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I watched Paradise yesterday.
Thought it was an interesting premise to set a coming of age/summer movie, & the issues were quite sensitive. To be fair it does a great job in first 3/4 quarters of the movies, & slightly derails in the end.
Still it was quite a good film.
Everyone did a good job, but shout out to little Thora Birch, who I thought was really good, especially in that skating rink scene.
Overall enjoyed watching that.
Thought it was an interesting premise to set a coming of age/summer movie, & the issues were quite sensitive. To be fair it does a great job in first 3/4 quarters of the movies, & slightly derails in the end.
Still it was quite a good film.
Everyone did a good job, but shout out to little Thora Birch, who I thought was really good, especially in that skating rink scene.
Overall enjoyed watching that.
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Paradise (1991)
Dir. Mary Agnes Donoghue
I liked this much more than I thought I would. I thought this might be like a Hallmark movie, sweet and sappy, but nope it wasn't. Paradise is a serious look at what happens to a married couple when their only child dies. When a couple loses a child it often destroys their relationship as the pain of their loss causes them to retreat in ways very much like what happened in the movie. When we meet Ben (Don Johnson) he's a jerk, he's full of anger and keeps people at bay by being bitter and in that way he has an 'anger shield' that protects him from future hurt.
When I seen this was written and directed by a woman I knew it had a good chance of being an intelligently told story that explored the inner psyche of people suffering from loss. I thought Don Johnson did a good job at playing a bitter man and at the same time reaching out to Willard (Elijah Wood) as he would've to his own son and in that way helping to heal himself and resolve his inner conflict. Melanie Griffith seemingly was the 'nice lady' but as the film progresses we see that she's frightened to feel anything, especially for her husband who she drives away as she's full of guilt believing that she was responsible for her son's death. She gives a good performance especially in the tense bedroom scene when she breaks down and tells her husband she's afraid to feel anything and needs to protect herself by feeling numb to the world, that was a strong scene and it rang true. The entire story arch of the couple to me is what powers the movie even though much of the scenes are focused on the two small kids.
The kids themselves are not just there to be cute, they're dealing with abandonment and self delusion with finally accepting the truth that their fathers are deadbeats and won't be in their lives. Thora Birch as the little girl was one heck of an actress. Solid acting by everyone in the movie.
I loved the shooting location in rural South Carolina. That's the reason I decided to watch this as I love movies set in out of the way places as the setting can add alot of character....Sorry this is so long, Paradise is one of the few movies that makes me think alot and hence I wrote a lot.
When I seen this was written and directed by a woman I knew it had a good chance of being an intelligently told story that explored the inner psyche of people suffering from loss. I thought Don Johnson did a good job at playing a bitter man and at the same time reaching out to Willard (Elijah Wood) as he would've to his own son and in that way helping to heal himself and resolve his inner conflict. Melanie Griffith seemingly was the 'nice lady' but as the film progresses we see that she's frightened to feel anything, especially for her husband who she drives away as she's full of guilt believing that she was responsible for her son's death. She gives a good performance especially in the tense bedroom scene when she breaks down and tells her husband she's afraid to feel anything and needs to protect herself by feeling numb to the world, that was a strong scene and it rang true. The entire story arch of the couple to me is what powers the movie even though much of the scenes are focused on the two small kids.
The kids themselves are not just there to be cute, they're dealing with abandonment and self delusion with finally accepting the truth that their fathers are deadbeats and won't be in their lives. Thora Birch as the little girl was one heck of an actress. Solid acting by everyone in the movie.
I loved the shooting location in rural South Carolina. That's the reason I decided to watch this as I love movies set in out of the way places as the setting can add alot of character....Sorry this is so long, Paradise is one of the few movies that makes me think alot and hence I wrote a lot.
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Nomination #4
Lawn Dogs (1997, John Duigan)
Nominated By Allaby
Deadline to Watch It: January 16, 7:30 p.m. PST
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I like Lawn Dogs. A lot. It was the second movie, after the previous year's Box of Moonlight, to start making me the rabid Sam Rockwell fan that I am. That being said, there is no way it would make anywhere close to a Top 25 pick for the decade. It is a quirky dark comedy, but it lacks the kind of energy or cinematic innovation that would make it a true stand-out. The Coen Brothers it ain't.
Anyway...enjoy Sam Rockwell's penis!
Anyway...enjoy Sam Rockwell's penis!
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
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71%
MF: Top Musicals
100%
MF: Top Noir Films
100%
MF: Top Films of 70s
100%
MF: Top Westerns
I watched Lawn Dogs earlier this month and really enjoyed it, so I knew when it was my turn to pick, I would nominate it. The two lead performances are what elevates the film. Mischa Barton is fantastic in a complex and engaging performance and Sam Rockwell is excellent too. It's a really well written and interesting film. I hope more people check it out and enjoy it as much as I did.
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I've never heard of Lawn Dogs, but it sounds interesting and it has a good cast.
I'll try to watch it tomorrow.
I'll try to watch it tomorrow.
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I like Lawn Dogs. A lot. It was the second movie, after the previous year's Box of Moonlight, to start making me the rabid Sam Rockwell fan that I am. That being said, there is no way it would make anywhere close to a Top 25 pick for the decade. It is a quirky dark comedy, but it lacks the kind of energy or cinematic innovation that would make it a true stand-out. The Coen Brothers it ain't.
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I'm probably going to be in the minority, but I didn't like Lawn Dogs. I didn't find any of the characters likable, and I just didn't care what happened to them. Trent (Sam Rockwell) got better as the movie went on, but it wasn't enough to save the movie for me.
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Lawn Dogs
(John Duigan, 1997)
I really don't have a lot to say about this one. I really strongly disliked Mischa Barton's character and was pretty apathetic to everyone else. I think movies about classism can be really engaging and well made, but I didn't feel much of anything watching this one and nothing about it stood out to me as anything special.
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