Author Topic: Top 100 Club: Sandy  (Read 56542 times)

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #240 on: May 28, 2020, 10:23:42 PM »
Truly, Madly, Deeply

"After you died I found stuff in my trunk I'd put there because you disapproved"

A lot of things get unpacked over the course of the film by Nina's character. The film is a thoughtful and patient and poignant look at its subject. At times the film tries to spin a few too many plates with the goal of injecting some levity into the story. I wasn't ever charmed by it's whimsy, but it didn't put me off either.

This is a unique and unexpected film. Less lighthearted than the cover art had me expecting. There's a quality to Juliet Stevenson's performance that makes it hard to decide if she's a super high level professional actor or a really earnest amateur. She's raw, unconventional, unpolished. It's a asset to the film, as it makes her character interesting to observe. She's somewhat unpredictable in how she reacts to things. Her organic performance kept me watching.

It's a film that really does a good job with serveral key scenes, including the ending, which I thought was terrific and probably Rickman's best moment.

This was a really fresh experience, thanks Sandy!

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #241 on: May 29, 2020, 01:07:19 AM »
All That Heaven Allows A melodrama that easily captured my sentiment and raises up the genre higher than its reputation. Sirk creates an almost other worldly aesthetic with rich colors and immaculately staged sets and costumes. Wyman and Hudson are great together and sell this relationship effortlessly. Wyman in particular captures an inner struggle that is ripping her apart as she tries juggle what truly matters in her life. The movie tears away at societal conventions and elevates human connection. It's done with just the right amount of sentimentality and it never feels cheap. It's a captivating movie.

8/10

This was another classic melodrama that I held off seeing since I thought it wouldn't be for me. I loved it! Thanks!

I love hearing this! I'm so glad it worked for you. You describe it so well in just a few sentences. Very economically creative of you. :) All That Heaven Allows took me by surprise and continued to as it lingered with me. This Waldenesque type of journey seems to be a running theme in a lot of movies I love. The stripping away of pretense and posturing, looking for a simpler, more authentic life really speaks to me.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #242 on: May 29, 2020, 01:20:58 AM »
Summer Stock

I always look forward to movies that star two of the great "triple threats" of cinema.  I loved this particular duo in "The Pirate" and I expected a similar chemistry here.  Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me.

It feels as if the two main characters weren't fleshed out enough, or made consistent enough.  Is Garland the milquetoast, quiet woman, submitted to her community or the bold owner of a farm?  Is Kelly the brash young man ready to take over a barn for a rehearsal, or the one who steps back when receiving criticism on how to treat his star?  The love foursome is confusing at best and it seems everyone is a little too ready to switch partners in a moment, no matter how unfit the original couples were, because there wasn't enough buildup to the various kisses that happen.

Where the film shines is when each player gets to do what they are best at: singing and dancing.  Garland's opening number is bold and powerful.  I was losing my way in the film until Kelly softshoes his way into my heart with a bare stage and some newspaper.  The mix of scenes of the main musical are all fantastic... until we get to the "redneck comedy".

I guess I am of two minds about this film, where the highlights are great and much of the rest didn't work for me.  Still, I'm happy to see these great stars do what they do best.

3/5

Ah yes, the film that sits at the outermost edges of my top 100. I can't quite gather it in, yet I can't let it go either. That unevenness you write about is jarring and regrettable. It's a messy mistake riddled film. But, there are three songs that I cannot deny and the newspaper dance is one of them. Kelly can make the most mundane things magical. I can hear him say something like, "Give me some newspaper and a squeaky board and I'll show you what I can do!" The other song is "Friendly Star" It's one of my favorite songs Garland sings. She carries all the wistfulness in the word in it and I cry every time I watch that scene. The last one is the ending song, which I think is one of the greatest performances Garland has done. She came back from illness and a downward period of time and blew the song out of the water. She inspires me. :)

Thanks for watching it and wading through all the nonsense to see the good stuff that's in it.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2020, 01:48:00 AM by Sandy »

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #243 on: May 29, 2020, 01:34:05 AM »
Truly, Madly, Deeply

"After you died I found stuff in my trunk I'd put there because you disapproved"

A lot of things get unpacked over the course of the film by Nina's character. The film is a thoughtful and patient and poignant look at its subject. At times the film tries to spin a few too many plates with the goal of injecting some levity into the story. I wasn't ever charmed by it's whimsy, but it didn't put me off either.

This is a unique and unexpected film. Less lighthearted than the cover art had me expecting. There's a quality to Juliet Stevenson's performance that makes it hard to decide if she's a super high level professional actor or a really earnest amateur. She's raw, unconventional, unpolished. It's a asset to the film, as it makes her character interesting to observe. She's somewhat unpredictable in how she reacts to things. Her organic performance kept me watching.

It's a film that really does a good job with serveral key scenes, including the ending, which I thought was terrific and probably Rickman's best moment.

This was a really fresh experience, thanks Sandy!

Oh wow. I haven't seen this since Rickman's passing. It would add on a whole new layer of grief processing I think. I totally hear you when you write about Stevenson. I don't have an answer either. She's all over the place and I don't know if it's her, or her character's persona.

I'm thrilled you found it to be a "fresh experience." Those don't come around very often. Thanks for watching it!

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #244 on: May 31, 2020, 11:16:54 PM »
Definitely my pleasure. It seems like a film could really strike a chord with someone if they came across is in the right mood, or the right moment in their life. Do you believe this was the case with you? Is it the sort of film that feels better to preserve the experience you had than risk exposing it to a second viewing and possibly not connecting in that same way?

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #245 on: June 01, 2020, 02:05:03 PM »
Definitely my pleasure. It seems like a film could really strike a chord with someone if they came across is in the right mood, or the right moment in their life. Do you believe this was the case with you?

Yes, for sure. I think I saw this some time after watching Sense and Sensibility (my introduction to Alan Rickman), so it wasn't a big theater experience; just a quiet VHS experience. :) I knew nothing really about genuine relationship love, so was thrown by how honest it was with all the messiness and depths of emotions. Getting a powerful tutorial in grief and closure was another reason it went into my top 100.

Quote
Is it the sort of film that feels better to preserve the experience you had than risk exposing it to a second viewing and possibly not connecting in that same way?

I have concerns about a handful of movies in my top 100 regarding this. Leave well enough alone! :))

This one I saw again about 10 years ago and it still addressed things in a way, I didn't see elsewhere, so it went into my initial list here in 2011 and has remained.

« Last Edit: May 01, 2021, 08:18:21 AM by Sandy »

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #246 on: May 01, 2021, 09:02:17 AM »
Happy May Day!




Here is my top 100 list for Movie Club this month. Letterboxd



Since it's also Merry, Merry Musicals of May!, here are the musicals from my list, in case you want to consolidate.

Singin' in the Rain
West Side Story
Fiddler on the Roof
White Christmas
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Yentl
Les Misérables
Amadeus
The Wiz
Funny Girl
Moulin Rouge!
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Oliver
Robin Hood
Across the Universe
Daddy Long Legs
Funny Face
Summer Stock
Strictly Ballroom


                           

MartinTeller

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #247 on: May 01, 2021, 09:40:51 AM »
Gonna be Strictly Ballroom for me.

Bondo

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #248 on: May 01, 2021, 10:12:05 AM »
I'm looking to get to The Poseidon Adventure and Summer Stock this month (leaving Shadowlands and Great Expectations as the only unseen on the list).

jdc

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #249 on: May 01, 2021, 11:33:28 AM »
There is so much goodness in Sandy’s top 100 that I problem skip it.  But I am going to find something this month to watch...

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