Topic: Off Day Alphabet Marathon

[DSig]

Agreed! A great film. Ruth Gordon is superb. Now that I've been reminded of it, it goes into my must-rewatch list.

I hate that about this group .. on the list it goes

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Agreed! A great film. Ruth Gordon is superb. Now that I've been reminded of it, it goes into my must-rewatch list.

I hate that about this group .. on the list it goes

You must like me then, I don't have a list ... I have a pile 

[Danae Cassandra]

Good to know so many people appreciate that great film.   

[DSig]

Agreed! A great film. Ruth Gordon is superb. Now that I've been reminded of it, it goes into my must-rewatch list.

I hate that about this group .. on the list it goes

You must like me then, I don't have a list ... I have a pile 

[Danae Cassandra]

Now that October is over, time to get back to this!

[Danae Cassandra]

Identity
Year of Release: 2003
Directed By: James Mangold
Starring: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Overview:
What if there really were no coincidences in life and our destinies were already predetermined?

Ten strangers with secrets are brought together in a savage rainstorm: A limo driver (John Cusack), an '80s TV star (Rebecca DeMornay), a cop (Ray Liotta) who is transporting a killer (Jake Busey), a call girl (Amanda Peet), a pair of newlyweds (Clea DuVall and William Lee Scott) and a family in crisis (John C. McGinley, Leila Kenzle, Bret Loehr), all take shelter at a desolate motel run by a nervous night manager (John Hawkes). Relief in finding shelter is quickly replaced with fear as the ten travelers begin to die, one by one. They soon realize that, if they are to survive, they'll have to uncover the secret that has brought them all together.

My Thoughts:
I found this to be a really entertaining, suspenseful film.  Looking at things from the end, I can see how clues were set up, but watching the film I didn't have it fully figured out until the reveal.  Yes, early on the film does let you know that there is more to this than the obvious (escape from the motel only bringing one character back to the motel) and it gives it this Twilight Zone-esque feel at that point, but I was still wondering exactly what was going on and exactly who was the culprit.  Yes, I did have suspicions towards the correct answer, but I also thought the film did a good job misdirecting the viewer.  The performances are all good, though Cusack was the standout for me.  All in all, very good film, solid recommendation for just about anyone.

Bechdel Test:

Overall: 4/5

[Danae Cassandra]

La jetée
Year of Release: 1963
Directed By: Chris Marker
Starring: Jean Negroni, Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux
Genre: Science-Fiction

Overview:
One of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made and a mind-bending freeform travelogue, La Jetée and Sans Soleil couldn't seem more different—yet they're the twin pillars of one of the most daring and uncompromising careers in cinema's history. Chris Marker, filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor, and now videographer and digital multimedia artist, has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet, and these two films—a tale of time travel told in still images and a journey to Africa and Japan—remain his best-loved and most widely seen.

My Thoughts:
This is a beautiful, poetic short film, a true work of art.  It's unlike any film I've seen before, constructed as it is entirely from still photographs that blend together to tell the story of a time traveler sent into the past because of his strong connection to a childhood memory.  It's a great piece of science-fiction - enough of the world is given to allow the viewer to fill in the rest.  It's also a film that will make you think: what is memory, what is time, what is our place in those things, and if some thing, or some time, is lost, can it ever be found?  It's a profound little film that will stay with you; recommended for any lover of serious art film.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

[Danae Cassandra]

A Study In Terror
Year of Release: 1965
Directed By: James Hill
Starring: John Neville, Donald Houston, John Fraser, Anthony Quayle, Barbara Windsor
Genre: Suspense/Thriller, Crime

Overview:
Three of 19th Century England's most famous characters come together for the first time in this sumptuous, exciting mystery, as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson set out to bring down history's most notorious serial killer: Jack The Ripper! When a suspicious package arrives at the master sleuth's Baker Street home, he and his old friend must join the hunt before more murders are committed... even though the trail may lead to places they'd rather not go. John Neville is one of the most authentic Holmes portrayers ever, and he's ably supported by Donald Houston as Watson, as well as such British acting royalty as Anthony Quayle, Robert Morley, Frank Finlay, Barbara Windsor, Cecil Parker and, in one of her earliest screen roles, Academy Award® winner Dame Judi Dench (1998, Best Supporting Actress, Shakespeare in Love). If you like your Holmes straight up and unadulterated, then adding this thrilling, sexy, witty, colorful adventure to your collection is... oh, come now, do we really need to say it?

My Thoughts:
This is an entertaining Sherlock Holmes pastiche, even if I find it to be only slightly above average for a Holmes film in general.  It has a decent plot, and there's enough put in that you can figure out the killer while suspecting different people before everything is revealed.  The cast is solid, with quite a few recognizable names.  I liked Neville's Holmes, he does a reasonably good job with the character, though I've seen better.  His Holmes is a lot better than Houston's Watson, who bears more resemblance to Nigel Bruce's characterization than Conan Doyle's.  At least Holmes treats Watson better here than in the Rathbone/Bruce pictures, and he isn't quite as much the bumbler here.  The rest of the film is quite reasonably well done.  It reminds me strongly of a Hammer film, with the sexy girls & cleavage, the rich colors, and the thick fog.  Recommended for fans of Holmes - it's much more a Holmes picture than a Ripper picture, so those with interest in that side of it should know what to expect. 

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3/5

[Danae Cassandra]

In an effort to get some of these finished, I'm counting films for more than one marathon.  Yes, I'm cheating.   

So, for L I'm counting The Last Wave whose review is posted over in the around-the-world marathon.

[Danae Cassandra]

I'm counting P for Picnic at Hanging Rock, the review for which is posted over in the Lifetime Marathon.

[Danae Cassandra]

I'm counting U for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the review for which is posted over in the around-the-world marathon.  

Yep, still cheating.

[Danae Cassandra]

The Rabbi's Cat  (Le chat du rabbin)
Year of Release: 2012
Directed By: Antoine Delesvaux, Joann Sfar
Starring: François Morel, Maurice Bénichou, Hafsia Herzi, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Daniel Cohen, François Damiens
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Animation

Overview:
Based on the bestselling graphic novel by Joann Sfar, award-winning filmmaker (Gainsbourg) and one of France's most celebrated comic artists, THE RABBI'S CAT tells the story of a sharp-tongued feline philosopher brimming with scathing humor.

Algeria in the 1930s is an intersection of Jewish, Arab and French culture. A cat belonging to a widowed rabbi and his beautiful daughter eats the family parrot and miraculously gains the ability to speak. Along with the power of speech comes unparalleled sardonic wit, and the cat spares no group or individual as it skewers faith, tradition and authority in a provocative exploration of God, death, lust and the search for truth. Rich with the colors, textures, flavors and music of Mediterranean Africa, the film embarks on a cross-continent comedic adventure through colonial Algiers and under vast Saharan skies in search of a lost Ethiopian city.

My Thoughts:
This is a charming, unique film, following a cat who gains the power to speak after eating a parrot. Yum yum. Rabbi Sfar, his master, seeks to keep the cat from the company of his daughter, whom the cat loves, so the cat resolves to learn to be a good Jew so that he will be allowed to stay in her company. Yet the cat cannot reconcile his own knowledge with strict Judaism, leading to conflict with the senior rabbi and very humorous conversations with Sfar.

The film skewers the blind obedience to religion and tradition, condemns fundamentalism, while still showing the tolerance and understanding of Sfar and his Muslim best friend to be unusual, and the search for a utopia of peace and acceptance futile in the face of human nature. Yet we are still shown that humans must not be filled with violence and hate and xenophobia, even when most are.

If the two halves of the film do not exactly seem to blend well, and the first is distinctly better, it's still quite a good film and well worth watching. The warning here comes that, despite its rather funny trailer, and the humor of the film, it delves into some pretty serious critique. Don't take the animated medium to mean this is a film for kids - they won't get the jokes and a lot of the message will go over their heads. Aim for a teens and up, and it's better if you know a bit about Judaism and Jewish culture and history to get the most out of the film. With that said, I found it to be a fun film but it needs the right audience.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3.5/5