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Author Topic: The Top 100 Club (Sept 2015 - May 2017)  (Read 329308 times)

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2870 on: January 28, 2017, 07:47:33 PM »
Penelope (2006) 6/10
It's a cute movie with an effortless seeming charm, helped by the actors. I couldn't help but be annoyed by the premise, though, especially since while Ricci isn't beautiful with the pig nose she's not hideous enough to warrant the teeth gnashing around which the movie is centered. Similarly, while I appreciate how the film handles the resolution to the curse (it could have done much worse) it's still at its core a somewhat shallow resolution self acceptance is cool, but its not just a moment.  People's defects don't just disappear when they accept them. In a post Shrek world this resolution just isn't enough to me. Also, the ending where the film feels the need to spell out its moral is really clumsy. I did like the supposedly wrong answers to the moral, though. Rich people suck indeed. Which brings to me why, even though I was disappointed with the narrative, I enjoyed this anyway. It has a lot of humour, especially around the margins. The hysterical rich kid running to the cops, the newspaper sketch (actually all the newspaper headlines and bylines, the person in charge of that had a field day), the private eye, and more. It's a fun film to watch and while the narrative is lacking it's not bad, so I could still enjoy a nice little romance as a sideline to some good comedy. I'm still not sure if the weird mix of accents is intentional or not.

Sandy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2871 on: January 28, 2017, 09:36:32 PM »
PA! He's the dude. You, too! I also love it when I see the same movie as somebody else (what a great way of putting it), especially when it's on their Top 100. It's an experience I won't soon forget, and will advocate to others with equal enthusiasm. And thanks for the kind words!

:)

And so it goes... this is how great movies live on!

Sandy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2872 on: January 28, 2017, 09:51:46 PM »
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

This is a ridiculous film. It shouldn't work at all, with a tone that straddles the line between Terry Pratchett and David & Leigh Eddings. It uses the tropes of fantasy storytelling, sometimes to lovingly spoof them, sometimes to play them almost straight, if not seriously then at least sincerely. The framing device is key here, with Peter Falk embodying the film's approach : reading a story to a child, with some detachment and irony, but more importantly : warmth.

Robin Wright's performance is a bit of a miracle here, as she is the only one playing it almost completely straight, which provides just enough grounding to enable the wacky ensemble : some of them do really well (Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Billy Crystal), some of them don't work at all (Wallace Shawn, André the Giant), but she's always there to bring you back into the story. She's simply lovely, which I think is harder to pull off than it seems, especially in this context. The film can be hit-or-miss, but it works, and she and Falk are the key to that success.

7/10

You're so right! Wright is the only one who is playing it dead serious! Ha! I hadn't even thought about that before and I've seen the movie many times over the years. She is what gives this story heft and her poise makes me care. The movie is a bunch of silliness through and through, but silly alone doesn't make for the movie's staying power. So glad you pointed that out, Teproc. :)

I laughed when I read your words, "This is a ridiculous film. It shouldn't work at all..." Right again! Like oldkid, I saw this in college and it just kept showing up... good thing I like it so much! I'm happy you got a chance to see it, even if mostly to know what people are referencing from time to time.

Sandy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2873 on: January 28, 2017, 10:29:17 PM »
The Secret Garden (1993) 8/10
The leads in this film are quite obnoxious, but in a rather sympathetic wounded animal way rather than the more usual badly acted children's roles. There's a great sense of atmosphere, and as things progress we get to see these children open up a bit and so does the world around them, taking the film both figuratively and literally from darkness to lightness. It gets a little sappy towards the ending, but I felt it was earned so it didn't bother me. Despite some of the heady subject matter not much is done with it, but you get the sense that it's because of the film being mostly through a child's eyes and the level of depth and turmoil seems to match that perspective. It lacks complexity, but oozes humanity and that's enough to make a good movie.

This is one of my top 100 that I'd like to revisit again right away. It's been a while, yet I can still hear the music and see the visuals for certain music cues. "oozes humanity" I love that. It is sappy and the kids are obnoxious! It's a credit to them and the story that I find compassion for them over time. Obnoxious kids don't win me over very easily. :) The other string of words which really jumped out at me from your review is, "sympathetic wounded animal way." You found the core of it. These two have been hurt deeply and need the healing from each other and from cultivating a wounded garden to prune the decay and nurture growth. In the musical, Martha says to Mary, "I think you were just what our Colin needed." And he is just what she needed as well.

Speaking of the musical!! If ever you get a chance to see it, it's one of the most spiritual experiences I've had in a theater. That may sound weird, but the music was so powerful, I was quite overcome. Here's one of my favorite songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiJ7CLu3zDI



Anyway! It's a lovely children's film and I appreciate your review reflecting that perspective! Glad you saw it, PeacefulAnarchy.

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2874 on: January 29, 2017, 12:51:00 AM »
Music from Another Room (1998)
I like how everyone in this movie is fleshed out enough to feel like a real character (not real people, mind you, but it's something), even the ones who only have one or two lines and no names. It makes them all feel like they have their own reality and aren't just supporting roles in the main romance of the film. Unfortunately, this is a double edged sword as it means the whole thing has a really uneven quality because some of these characters are way more interesting than others, and they don't even all fit in the same movie. What is up with Jane Adams' character, for example? She's in a completely different universe and I don't even know why some of her scenes are in this movie the one where she shoots her husband is bizarre. Sure, it's set up with a prior scene, but it still feels completely detached from everything else, it's the kind of thing you expect in a deleted scene, not a finished movie. Plimpton's character is a tad more grounded, but also somewhat out of place. They both feel like half baked comedic relief ideas that got fleshed out but never fully humanized. The smaller characters are great, though, like the parents and the baker, would have enjoyed a movie with more of them. The center of the film is Jude Law and Gretchen Mol, and they are fine. The story went in exactly the directions I didn't want it to go and neither of them really sells their character arcs, so it's not at all my kind of romance story but they're ok. The big redeeming factor is Jennifer Tilly's arc. She's the real heart of the film and it'd be much better if the film was about her and not Jude Law. She has the most genuine moments and a lovely romantic arc that I would have loved to have seen developed more deeply. I saw a glimpse there of a great movie, and it made the one I was watching feel inferior. For example the scene with the bike riding is patently absurd, as far fetched as anything in the lead story, but it's sold so well by both actors that it works emotionally in a way the ending doesn't at all.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2875 on: January 29, 2017, 01:31:24 PM »
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

This is a ridiculous film. It shouldn't work at all, with a tone that straddles the line between Terry Pratchett and David & Leigh Eddings. It uses the tropes of fantasy storytelling, sometimes to lovingly spoof them, sometimes to play them almost straight, if not seriously then at least sincerely. The framing device is key here, with Peter Falk embodying the film's approach : reading a story to a child, with some detachment and irony, but more importantly : warmth.

Robin Wright's performance is a bit of a miracle here, as she is the only one playing it almost completely straight, which provides just enough grounding to enable the wacky ensemble : some of them do really well (Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Billy Crystal), some of them don't work at all (Wallace Shawn, André the Giant), but she's always there to bring you back into the story. She's simply lovely, which I think is harder to pull off than it seems, especially in this context. The film can be hit-or-miss, but it works, and she and Falk are the key to that success.

7/10

I will add to those who love it and only saw it as an adult. I will also say the Wallace and André work vey well for me. Wallace's inconceivable and his pater are wonderful. André's cautious lumbering works well also. Otherwise I agree with what you wrote.

Teproc

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2876 on: January 29, 2017, 01:39:51 PM »
"Inconceivable !" works pretty well, that's true, but I did not care for the patter at all.
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pixote

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2877 on: January 29, 2017, 01:41:04 PM »
Not to be off topic, but I was just wondering if anybody had a peanut...

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pixote

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2878 on: January 29, 2017, 02:09:58 PM »
Bright Star (two birds, one stone)

Sandy,  I apologize for my Quiz Show-like reaction! I'd been eager to see this film for so long, and it rather pains me not to have gotten more out of it. I think we can turn a negative into a positive, though, if you prioritize Sunset Song (streaming on Netflix) for your Filmspot catchup. Bright Star reminded me that if there's a Sandy-esque film among the nominees, it's most definitely that one!

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Sandy

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Re: The Top 100 Club
« Reply #2879 on: January 29, 2017, 03:22:02 PM »
Not to be off topic, but I was just wondering if anybody had a peanut...

pixote

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