Author Topic: Top 100 Club: Sandy  (Read 56478 times)

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #110 on: February 04, 2019, 07:35:00 PM »
Another Year (Mike Leigh, 2010)

Crazy good. I got up to make myself some tea midway through and just shook my head and kept saying things like "my god". I felt the need to take a breath after some of these scenes... they are profoundly sad. The film itself seems conscious of the need for it too. The scenes that follow these bleak and uncomfortable interactions are such a relief.  Tom and Gerry in bed, or on the couch, or at their allotment garden, reflecting on the strain of last night's dinner. Their companionship makes them resilient, and in turn I am restored and able to keep watching.

Of course the flip side of that are the characters who are desperate for companionship and don't have it, and you never stop thinking about them. Their relief only comes during these moments in which they strain those around them. It's a difficult film to comment on specifically, because the issues branch off in so many ways. Beyond the scope the of the film even. The one years time captured here is not enough to resolve anything... a quality that feels all too true. It reflects how life can stagnate. How an inevitable reckoning can arrive at a glacial pace.

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #111 on: February 04, 2019, 09:16:02 PM »
Does anyone else have a problem with the shift to Tom's brother Ronnie? I like the film tremendously up until that point and while it comes back around by the end, that detour pulls me away from everything I'm loving.

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #112 on: February 04, 2019, 09:49:23 PM »
All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955)


"Who put the sticks up their butts?" - Gamora, GotG

This is the reality of the character's world, and eventually I just accepted it however impossibly uptight it might seem to an outsider like me. Cary Scott has few allies, not even her children have her back. The doctor is the only member of the upper crust who she seems able to turn to for support, and I'm not sure he counts.



Then there's the humble Rock Hudson with his picturesque tree farm, private acreage, and 5000 sq foot mill turned house. Oh what a quaint little life. Who could bear it? ;)

In spite of my feelings, the film does make the central dilemma into a compelling movie. It puts you in Cary Scotts shoes and forces you to operate within the confines of her life. And under those conditions there was nothing easy about it.

Better than expected. :)



smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #113 on: February 04, 2019, 10:04:59 PM »
Does anyone else have a problem with the shift to Tom's brother Ronnie? I like the film tremendously up until that point and while it comes back around by the end, that detour pulls me away from everything I'm loving.

No problem with it here. I liked spending the additional time with Tom and Gerry, and seeing them in a different capacity than we have up that point. Especially Tom, who has some of his best moments during those scenes.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #114 on: February 05, 2019, 06:47:30 PM »
Another Year (Mike Leigh, 2010)

Crazy good. I got up to make myself some tea midway through and just shook my head and kept saying things like "my god". I felt the need to take a breath after some of these scenes... they are profoundly sad. The film itself seems conscious of the need for it too. The scenes that follow these bleak and uncomfortable interactions are such a relief.  Tom and Gerry in bed, or on the couch, or at their allotment garden, reflecting on the strain of last night's dinner. Their companionship makes them resilient, and in turn I am restored and able to keep watching.

Of course the flip side of that are the characters who are desperate for companionship and don't have it, and you never stop thinking about them. Their relief only comes during these moments in which they strain those around them. It's a difficult film to comment on specifically, because the issues branch off in so many ways. Beyond the scope the of the film even. The one years time captured here is not enough to resolve anything... a quality that feels all too true. It reflects how life can stagnate. How an inevitable reckoning can arrive at a glacial pace.

You bring it all flooding back. Since the movie affects you too, there is probably no question in your mind why it is in my top 100. :)

It's contentment like I've never know, as well as misery I hope never to experience. Because of that, the film makes me simultaneously wistful and relieved. It's the "haves and the have nots", but instead of affluence, it's wealth of connection and wisdom hewn from life experiences; something that cannot be given to their friends, only shown as a template for living. Neither of their friends are willing or able to comprehend what it really takes to be happy and content. This is the tragedy, underneath an overall hopeful film.

(I would make it a point to watch Pride & Prejudice after this film, because Peter Wight [Ken] plays a very happy, contented character. :) )


Does anyone else have a problem with the shift to Tom's brother Ronnie? I like the film tremendously up until that point and while it comes back around by the end, that detour pulls me away from everything I'm loving.

To me it was just one more bump in the road for them to work through. I learned a lot from each of their encounters.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #115 on: February 05, 2019, 07:04:35 PM »
All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955)


"Who put the sticks up their butts?" - Gamora, GotG

:))

Quote
This is the reality of the character's world, and eventually I just accepted it however impossibly uptight it might seem to an outsider like me. Cary Scott has few allies, not even her children have her back. The doctor is the only member of the upper crust who she seems able to turn to for support, and I'm not sure he counts.

"I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." Gamora, (GotG) ;) Honestly, she was being buried in this stupid, stupid world. I think I wrote about it, but I had to stop the movie and go outside to sit on my porch. I was suffocating.

Quote


Then there's the humble Rock Hudson with his picturesque tree farm, private acreage, and 5000 sq foot mill turned house. Oh what a quaint little life. Who could bear it? ;)

:))

Don't burst my bubble, smirnoff!!!

I believe he inherited this farm and the business from his landscaper father, who's father was a miller for the county. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Quote
In spite of my feelings, the film does make the central dilemma into a compelling movie. It puts you in Cary Scotts shoes and forces you to operate within the confines of her life. And under those conditions there was nothing easy about it.

Better than expected. :)

I'm just so glad it was in color, so you'd give it a shot! Pretty color too, yes? :)

Thanks for watching it! It's my fable for "simple" living and it reminds me to keep grounded.

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #116 on: February 06, 2019, 05:20:05 PM »
You bring it all flooding back. Since the movie affects you too, there is probably no question in your mind why it is in my top 100. :)

None. The only question is why it wasn't in mine! :)

Quote
I'm just so glad it was in color, so you'd give it a shot! Pretty color too, yes? :)

Sometimes it's like a Bob Ross painting, other times it's Norman Rockwell. :) It's a good film. It means business.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #117 on: February 06, 2019, 11:26:26 PM »
  “There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.” - Bob Ross :)

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #118 on: February 09, 2019, 08:46:37 PM »
The Village (M. Night Shyamalan, 2004)


This is one I've put off revisiting since it came out. At the time I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, and literally surprised by the story itself. I was less engaged this go around, particularly when it got past the point of mystery and it became about seeing things through. I guess it's the kind of thing you only react strongly to the first time.

That said, it still has many good qualities. William Hurt has some scenes I really like. The look of the film is still a great asset. The score, featuring Hilary Hahn, provides great atmosphere (take that fwiw, I've known who Hilary Hahn is for all of 2 months, lol).

So it was an okay viewing, probably as good as can be hoped for. Mostly I still respect the film for that brain-melting first viewing though. Is there anyone here on the boards who hasn't seen it and isn't familiar with it?

MartinTeller

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #119 on: February 09, 2019, 10:28:29 PM »
Robin Hood - After watching two more modern Disneys, it's startling how slow this movie is. No one would ever make a kid's movie these days with such leisurely opening credits (hampsterdance!). But while some sequences are sluggish by today's manic standards, it was refreshing to take a little time to breathe. It's a film with a lot of character, it's just got its own thing going on. There are some delightful slapstick zings, and lots of charming oddball asides. I really cottoned to Brian Bedford's easygoing portrayal of Robin Hood, I'd even say I prefer it to Errol Flynn's. Ustinov has a lot of fun with Prince John, laying the frustrated, effete "oooh!"s on with wonderful hammy thickness. Still, I must say I did start getting a bit bored near the end. And I would charitably call the animation work "uninspired". It looked little better than the Saturday morning cartoons of my youth. As for the songs, it was weird to have most of them chunked together about 2/3rds of the way through, but they were all pretty decent except "Phony King of England".

Overall, flawed but still entertaining. Rating: Good (77)

 

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