Return of the Living SB Movie Experiment: Pontypool

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

The Usual Suspects

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

The Celebration (1998)

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

The Trouble With Harry

Suggested by Next Level was WRONG


Well that was a weird one. This is a dark comedy by Alfred Hitchcock (what other type of comedy would he ever make?) where a hunter, Capt. Albert Wiles, finds a dead body and figures he must the one who killed the man. As other characters find the body and meet the captain, they try to figure out what to do with the body.

Now, that's all well and good but what makes this movie rather strange to me is that most of the humour seems to rely on everyone being so nonplussed about a dead body turning up and being so casual about it. Absolutely nobody seems to be shocked by the discovery and everyone just kinds of goes along with the plan to hide it. The problem is, it's funny when one character is like that because he acts as a foil to the rest of the cast, but when all of them, it's just kind of... odd.

That's not to say the film isn't funny, mind you. I did laugh quite a few times, but even within the context of a comedy, it's just bizarre to see all characters be so unimpressed, and it does lose its impact when everyone acts like that. I know Hitchcock was English (although interestingly this film was made the year he became a US citizen) and of course the "stiff upper lip" brand of humour is very popular there, but that's taking to it's extreme conclusion.

I'm honestly not quite sure what to make of it. Like I said I did laugh many times, and it is an enjoyable film, well written, well acted, well directed, but it's all just so strange, honestly it's more a film you'd watch for the bizarre atmosphere than really for the humour or story.


Next we will take a look at something I just don't know what to expect from as I haven't really heard anything about it, it's 3 Women.

[Deleted]

Blood Simple.

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

American Psycho

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

The Maltese Falcon

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

3 Women

Suggested by @ricrocket


Once again I apologize for the delay. I promise I'll try to go back to a more constant rythm. Anyway, 3 women. That's the movie I just saw. Well... I guess it must be one of those acquired taste kind of movies, because it's the kind of films that makes me wonder why so many people seem to like them. I'm not trying to be a dick either, I'm genuinely asking, because it seems to me to be one of those films where the director confused lack of enthusiasm for subdued seriousness and so I would really like people who liked it to explain to me what they found in it that made them like it. I mean, I don't hate it either, so is there something I'm just not getting?

The big problem I have with this movie is the acting, which I feel may actually be due to the direction, as most of the actors sound like they'd rather be doing anything but be in this movie. Now I understand the characters are supposed to be rather... withdrawn, but it felt more to me like boredom than restraint on the part of the actresses. You know how in some films like for example The Fifth Element you can feel the actors' satisfaction and how much they're getting a kick out of their role? Here it's the exact opposite. And I hate to say it but Shelley Duvall was just plain bad in this, giving a very dull, very monotone performance with hardly any emotion in most scenes, and I know she can do better, which is why I feel the direction must be at least partially responsible for it.

Another aspect that makes me say this is, again, what looks to me like a complete lack of enthusiasm. The scenes drag on, the characters seem to have no emotion other than mild depression or unwarranted disdain. There is nothing that makes you invested in this story or its characters, no-one to really identify or sympathise with.

To this you have to add the fact that for the most part... nothing really happens. We have scenes but no real story. Just two women, Pinky and Millie, hanging around, with pinkie being somewhat awkward. Also there is little constancy between scenes. In one scene, Millie will be all smiles (well, script-wise, again, Duvall's face remains blank) to pinky and making pleasant small-talk with her, and in the next she'll snap at her and accuse her of always ruining everything even though there was no hint of animosity between the two, and then they'll go right back to being cool with one-another. It is only during the last quarter of the film that we really started getting into a proper plot, and even then it is completely nonsensical. I don't want to describe it too much to avoid spoilers, but for a film that takes its sweet-ass time getting there, there is absolutely nothing foreshadowing it, it has nothing to do with the rest of the film and really doesn't resolve anything. Also, there are supernatural elements now? Maybe? It's a complete non-sequitur.

Oh and yeah, I said "just two women", which is one of the strangest part of this film. It's called "3 women" and yet, until the very, very end it's really only about two of them. They almost never interact with the one who is supposed to be the third and in fact many other female characters have more screen time and interaction with them than the third woman, which makes the ending feel all the more abrupt as you wonder how they are supposed to be connected. I suppose some people would tell me that it's "open to interpretation" (a term I am growing to hate as it is frequently used as an excuse for lazy cop-outs), but I don't even know what I am supposed to interpret.


Next comes a film I have actually been wanting to see for a while now but never got the chance to, and it's the first animated feature of the thread too! Get ready for Persepolis.

[Deleted]

I gotta disagree with you here. I was so mesmerized by everything in this movie. The dreamlike haze that persist throughout, the performances(I really found Shelly Duvall incredible in this), and the look of it is great. It has this surreal vibe that I dig, but it's also dark in areas. How the plot unfolds and the shift that happens in the Millie/Pinky relationship, I found amazing. These women begin to merge into each other over the course of the film, from opposite ends of a spectrum to the other and back again. I know Altman described it as a dream and I understand that from watching it. There's recurrences, so you have some structure of reality, but then there's those moments that throw you outside of that. It kinda puts you in a trance. I'm not going to pretend that I understand the ending, because it's legitimately open for interpretation. Altman had said that even he didn't quite understand the meaning, but I guess that's what happens when you make a film from a dream you had. It's an acquired taste for sure, so I get where your review comes from. You really should be putting these on the main site, they're great reads.

I also suggest Stake Land.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Hm, like I said, I guess it's an acquired taste. I must admit I don't very much care for dramas (which doesn't mean you guys should stop suggesting them! I've said it before and I'll say it again, the main reason I started this is to watch stuff I probably wouldn't watch of my own volition).


Also, I'm adding two new rules:

The first one is more of an obvious thing that I never specified, but I feel needs to be addressed anyway so people don't feel chated should it happen: in case I am in a situation where I can view a film listed before it is supposed to be its turn (for example, it's on TV or a friend wants to watch it with me) I will of course not just ignore it. I will watch it and I will review it, then the film whose turn it actually was supposed to be will be viewed.

The second one will be a temporary one: the backlog is getting a bit long but I don't want to just tell people to stop sending suggestions as I feel it might kill the momentum and ruin the interaction with people I am going for, so the solution I came up with is that, for the time being, people must wait for another user to post a suggestion before posting a new one, the 24 hours rule is still in effect, of course. This will hopefully allow me to catch up a bit while getting a more diverse amount of sources for suggestions. Sorry Bob, I love you and you've suggested some pretty good stuff but the other guys gotta have a turn too, you know?


Anyway, thanks a lot for your fidelity, people. I am amazed whenever I post a review and I see over 50 people have read it. Of course, compared to Internet celebrities who get hundreds of thousands of views on a daily basis it's a grain of sand in some kind of super-beach, but for one thread in one forum, I already find it amazing. When I started this thread, I thought it could already call it a success if I could get about 10 regular viewers, so to see so much people check the thread each time I post is really incredible to me. The fact that this thread is so popular that I even HAVE to slow it down is incredible to me. I mean, imagine if this were in the real world, I would never have expected to have 50 people sitting just to listen to what I have to say about random movies.

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

I was leaning on doing that already because the backlog is insanely long

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Persepolis

Suggested by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps


Persepolis is the animated autobiographical tale of Marjane Satrapi, an Iran-born French woman. Based on a comic of the same name, it really pulls at every emotion you can think of. One moment it makes you want to cry, the next it makes you want to laugh, the next it makes you want to start a riot, the next it makes you want to make peace with your enemies... and every time it really works.

Being a first-person account of the changes Iran went through from the eighties to current days, it is of course also a fantastic historical document, a very important one as I believe this kind of works on world events are the most important ones. I don't know if it's being shown in schools these days but if it isn't, it should. You can read about the key dates and the statistics all you want but it won't teach you what it means for the people who lived them, who endured war and civil unrest and had to suffer the rule of oppressive regimes on a daily basis, the way people are brainwashed into believing they want the oppression (the scene where a female teacher explains that the veil is a sign of dignity and respect for a woman immediately followed by one where a man tells Marjane's mother that he "f***s women like [her] against the walls then throws them to the trash" for not wearing it as correctly as he would like speaks volume), the difference between the people who go along simply because they're afraid, if not for themselves, then for their families, and those who actually condone and support the oppression and hope to gain some illusion of power from it.

In many ways, it reminded me of the book The Kite Runner (which also was adapted into a film) in that it really shows what a waste a beautiful country full of hopes and potential has become because of the insanity of a pack of cowardly but heavily-armed paranoid nutjobs ready to die, but mostly kill, for a party or a religion which they claim to love above all else despite knowing little to nothing about it.

But it's also an important film in the sense that it really changes the way you see Iran, how in private, people are nothing like how you'd imagine them. It's really amazing to hear the stories about women who in public must wear a veil in fear of getting lashed if they get caught without it, but once they get home start talking about how they put flowers in their bra so they can smell nice, just like it's amazing to hear about illegal parties which are as much an act of rebellion as they are a social gathering, or about Western music being sold under-the-counter because the government decided that it is decadent.

And speaking of pop culture, considering this is an autobiography, there are of course more personal moments, mostly during her years in Europe which really shows the culture shock and how even when your country has gone to Hell and you are saddened by what it has become, you can still miss it and want to see it again.

It's also a very beautiful film. The fluid animation compliments the simplistic yet striking style and really helps communicating every emotion. I love the fact that it took advantage of the fact that it is a cartoon to display some really gorgeous visuals that wouldn't have worked as well (assuming they would be at all possible) with live action.

All I can say is watch it. Really. Everyone should watch it. And if you don't believe yet that it's an important work, keep in mind that the Iranian government issued protests against its showing at worldwide festivals. That's the power a cartoon can have: it scares the oppressors. So watch it and see how it will suddenly make your room dustier than it looks. In conclusion, I would like to end this review with a quote from the film and comic that sums up its message perfectly: one can forgive, but one should never forget.


And with the next film, we will continue with autobiographical films using animations to present difficult subject matters, it's Waltz With Bashir.

[Glitch]

Jul 5, 2014 13:41:32 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Persepolis

Suggested by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps


Persepolis is the animated autobiographical tale of Marjane Satrapi, an Iran-born French woman. Based on a comic of the same name, it really pulls at every emotion you can think of. One moment it makes you want to cry, the next it makes you want to laugh, the next it makes you want to start a riot, the next it makes you want to make peace with your enemies... and every time it really works.

Being a first-person account of the changes Iran went through from the eighties to current days, it is of course also a fantastic historical document, a very important one as I believe this kind of works on world events are the most important ones. I don't know if it's being shown in schools these days but if it isn't, it should. You can read about the key dates and the statistics all you want but it won't teach you what it means for the people who lived them, who endured war and civil unrest and had to suffer the rule of oppressive regimes on a daily basis, the way people are brainwashed into believing they want the oppression (the scene where a female teacher explain that the veil is a sign of dignity and respect for a woman immediately followed by one where a man tells Marjane's mother that he "f***s women like [her] against the walls then throws them to the trash" for not wearing it as correctly as he would like speaks volume), the difference between the people who go along simply because they're afraid, if not for themselves, then for their families, and those who actually condone and support the oppression and hope to gain some illusion of power from it.

In many ways, it reminded me of the book The Kite Runner (which also was adapted into a film) in that it really shows what a waste a beautiful country full of hopes and potential has become because of the insanity of a pack of cowardly but heavily-armed paranoid nutjobs ready to die, but mostly kill, for a party or a religion which they claim to love above all else despite knowing little to nothing about it.

But it's also an important film in the sense that it really changes the way you see Iran, how in private, people are nothing like how you'd imagine them. It's really amazing to hear the stories about women who in public must wear a veil in fear of getting lashed if they get caught without it, but once they get home start talking about how they put flowers in their bra so they can smell nice, just like it's amazing to hear about illegal parties which are as much an act of rebellion as they are a social gathering, or about Western music being sold under-the-counter because the government decided that it is decadent.

And speaking of pop culture, considering this is an autobiography, there are of course more personal moments, mostly during her years in Europe which really shows the culture shock and how even when your country has gone to Hell and you are saddened by what it has become, you can still miss it and want to see it again.

It's also a very beautiful film. The fluid animation compliments the simplistic yet striking style and really helps communicating every emotion. I love the fact that it took advantage of the fact that it is a cartoon to display some really gorgeous visuals that wouldn't have worked as well (assuming they would be at all possible) with live action.

All I can say is watch it. Really. Everyone should watch it. And if you don't believe yet that it's an important work, keep in mind that the Iranian government issued protests against its showing at worldwide festivals. That's the power a cartoon can have: it scares the oppressors. So watch it and see how it will suddenly make your room dustier than it looks. In conclusion, I would like to end this review with a quote from the film and comic that sums up its message perfectly: one can forgive, but one should never forget.


And with the next film, we will continue with autobiographical films using animations to present difficult subject matters, it's Waltz With Bashir.

I love this movie. It was among my earlier reviews on this site. Interesting seeing the difference that you focused on compared to me.
www.freakinawesomenetwork.net/2012/04/a-persepolis-review/

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Vals Im Bashir (Waltz With Bashir)

Suggested by ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul


God dammit this is another one of the "I need a hug" ones. Of course, this should come as no surprise as it tackles the very tough subject of the 1982 Lebanon War and more specifically the Sabra and Shatila massacres, during which at least 762 and up to 3500 civilians were murdered. Interestingly, this story is seen through the eyes of the film's director who can't remember his own involvement in the war and said massacres and interviews many veterans in the hope that he can piece together his memories.

Much like Persepolis, I very much appreciate the fact that it gives us a first-person account of these events. It tells stories you won't find in textbooks. It's not about statistics, it's about personal experiences. However, whereas Persepolis gave us an inside look into life in a dictatorial regime, this one gives an inside look into life as a soldier during wartime and all the horrors that comes with it, but also ll the strangely upbeat moments, as the soldiers are basically just... doing their job.

I don't know exactly how much of the movie is autobiographic (as it IS a documentary) and how much is fictionalized, but I feel this man's journey through his own history also symbolises the Israeli people's own struggles with the events and their duty of memory. There are several references to the holocaust during World War II and you really get the impression that this massacre, in which Israel played a role, made the Israeli people wonder "have we so easily forgotten that we are now doing to others what has been done to us?". It's really an amazing film on responsibility and I alluded to, the duty of memory. It really shows how important it is to never forget such atrocities happened, for individuals and for Humanity as a whole.


You know, after these two movies about horrible things happening to innocent people, I just want to shout "I am as mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this any more!", which is appropriate, because the next film is Network.

[ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul]

Jul 10, 2014 18:05:55 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Vals Im Bashir (Waltz With Bashir)

Suggested by ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul


God dammit this is another one of the "I need a hug" ones. Of course, this should come as no surprise as it tackles the very tough subject of the 1982 Lebanon War and more specifically the Sabra and Shatila massacres, during which at least 762 and up to 3500 civilians were murdered. Interestingly, this story is seen through the eyes of the film's director who can't remember his own involvement in the war and said massacres and interviews many veterans in the hope that he can piece together his memories.

Much like Persepolis, I very much appreciate the fact that it gives us a first-person account of these events. It tells stories you won't find in textbooks. It's not about statistics, it's about personal experiences. However, whereas Persepolis gave us an inside look into life in a dictatorial regime, this one gives an inside look into life as a soldier during wartime and all the horrors that comes with it, but also ll the strangely upbeat moments, as the soldiers are basically just... doing their job.

I don't know exactly how much of the movie is autobiographic (as it IS a documentary) and how much is fictionalized, but I feel this man's journey through his own history also symbolises the Israeli people's own struggles with the events and their duty of memory. There are several references to the holocaust during World War II and you really get the impression that this massacre, in which Israel played a role, made the Israeli people wonder "have we so easily forgotten that we are now doing to others what has been done to us?". It's really an amazing film on responsibility and I alluded to, the duty of memory. It really shows how important it is to never forget such atrocities happened, for individuals and for Humanity as a whole.


You know, after these two movies about horrible things happening to innocent people, I just want to shout "I am as mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this any more!", which is appropriate, because the next film is Network.

That was largely my take away. It is one of my favorite movies from that time period. I think the style it was done in helps as well. I think anything that offers a ground level perspective on historical events is an important thing to document, otherwise they are just anecdotes in history book.

That said, Network has one of the best villain speeches of all time. It's themes hold weight today, probably more now than then, so I am interested for your take on it.

So for my recommendation, I am going to go with my personal pick for what should have been the winner of the 1994 Oscars, Quiz Show.

[Ringmaster]

Sharknado

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

I think you'll reach this point in the back log around Halloween. That, along with the fact I don't see any horror films on the list is why I'm suggesting Rosemary's Baby.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Jul 12, 2014 14:02:17 GMT -5 Ringmaster said:

Sharknado

Already suggested and in fact, it should come fairly soon. Right after Metropolis too, which will make for the best double-feature ever (oh yes, I am totally watching those back-to-back).

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

I'm about to watch Network but before that, I would like to say that with Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir, I really enjoyed watching two non-English language films in a row for a change so if you guys have more, do not hesitate to suggest them as I feel it adds diversity to the thread and of course, it's always interesting to see films made with a different sensibility than Hollywood's.

Of course, don't take that to mean you should stop suggesting English-language films.

[Deleted]

Jul 13, 2014 12:04:15 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

I'm about to watch Network but before that, I would like to say that with Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir, I really enjoyed watching two non-English language films in a row for a change so if you guys have more, do not hesitate to suggest them as I feel it adds diversity to the thread and of course, it's always interesting to see films made with a different sensibility than Hollywood's.

Of course, don't take that to mean you should stop suggesting English-language films.

I keep suggesting Canadian films! They are much different then the usual American & UK production films

Like Porkys is the most successful Canadian film in the international box office!!!! That's how different we are!

Also Crash (1996)