October 2023: Wolfwalkers and Searching for Bobby Fischer

Our October session was held at Beck’s house and for the first time in a very long time, Club Moofie watched one of our films together – and on the very day of our meeting, which is a CM first! Thanks must go to Beck and family for hosting, streaming Wolfwalkers and for the amazing Mexican feast we all gorged on. Thanks also to those who provided snacks and sweet treats (the popcorn seemed to be particularly popular – no pun intended – with a certain young member of CM). It was great to see everyone again and to spend some time chatting about movies, family and life in general.

Wolfwalkers (2020)

This gorgeous film was Renny’s choice, a choice made because it captured her imagination. She mentioned that some years ago, she had enjoyed the animated film Flight of Dragons (1982) and thought this might have a similar feel. Wolfwalkers is part of the animated Irish Folklore Trilogy by Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny, which includes the Secret Book of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). With a complex story, striking images, a glorious palette of colours and evocative music to boot, Wolfwalkers was almost universally liked by the club, and well it should be because it is fabulous. Many of us thought it was beautifully animated and the story sensitively realised, with an environmental theme explored well and no single side (good or evil) smashed into oblivion. Win win, I say! Here’s what the members said:

Renny: It had original and unique visuals. As you’re growing up, visuals can be quite powerful.

Andy: A triumph!

Sylv: Gorgeous!

Renny: It wasn’t so much fairytale, but more like an exploration of a part of someone’s culture. I loved the forest scenes, all the shapes and curves, how the imagery flowed and the contrast of these to the grid of the city. And wolves have that magic that make you believe in them.

Beck: About the [Game of Thrones-style grey fur] couch throw on our lounge – just so you know, it’s totally synthetic … it’s not wolf.

Renny: It offered other solutions – both sides survived. One didn’t have to defeat the other. Different studio, different story, different take on the images.

CJ (who first viewed it on a laptop): The second viewing was better, I got much more of the detail.

CJ: The imagery! The music! The hugging!

CJ: The best bit was the sequence where she’s learning to be a wolf. The depiction of the scents she smells, and the visualisation based on sound – it’s very sensory. Not something you see in the big studio films. It also had a slower pace. I really loved it. First time around, I looked at Renny and said, ‘I love it.’

Beck: So immersive. So gorgeous.

Beck: The flat town perspective …
Andy: That blew my mind! Combining the different views, a world with perspective and art.

CJ: Three split screens. This movie shows that 3D CGI is not needed to tell a story.

Andy: The people in the town are done in rigid lines, the wolves are more sketchy. There’s a delineation in the animation.

CJ: The visuals – some of it’s just like artwork. I was very impressed even on the second viewing.

Seb: When she became a wolf and was following the air line thing, that was so cool!

Ray: Oh, yeah … not my sort of movie. Seb liked it, he can vote for me when it comes time to vote.

Wendy: I loved it! The main girl is quite a cheeky thing, isn’t she? I loved all of it.

Beck: I loved her hair.

Andy: I think the Lord Protector character is supposed to be Oliver Cromwell.

Beck: That was quite weird, that guy’s religious bits. He really went there.

Beck: I wonder why it was so serious?

Andy: Because the Irish hated the English.

Beck: Loved it. Absolutely loved it. I’ve not seen animation like that before. I loved the little wolf girl.

Flossie: Love the animation style.

Billy: (two thumbs up)

Scores:

Beck: 5

Wendy: 4

Renny: 5

CJ: 5

Andy: 5

Sylvia: 5

Seb/Ray: 5

Billy (cameo): 5

Flossie (cameo): 5

Jon: 3 (didn’t watch it*)

* Sorry Jon, that disqualifies your score.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

This one was nominated by Renny because Seb is into chess. Wendy suggested it. (Seb’s teacher also recommended a chess film, Queen of Katwe (2016), set in Uganda about a young female player, SFBF got the nomination). While a few of us were a bit underwhelmed by this film (some members also felt that more of the chess moves could have been better explained), I must say it does make what could be a dry subject quite interesting, especially for people who don’t know much about chess. For me, the movie was more about the emotional journey that the father and son experience. I felt there was quite a lot of depth to this element of the narrative, much of which was beautifully conveyed through the subtle yet evocative facial expressions of the astonishing Max Pomeranc, who plays the child chess prodigy Josh Waitzin. I also loved the speed chess scenes in the park where Josh holds his own against a streetwise chess wiz played by Laurence Fishbourne. Here’s what the the club said:

Wendy: What do chess players make?

Sylv: Can be a few million …

Wendy: Renny! Get Seb into comps!

Renny: I enjoyed the movie. It was a good movie about tournaments. We can see the pressure parents put on the kids.

CJ: Terminator kids.

Renny: Yeah, like one of Seb’s friends … he’s not happy, very stern. Doesn’t talk a lot.

Beck: When is he being a kid?

Renny: Seb watched it with us. We were inspired to take him to a park to play [chess].

Seb: We didn’t really get to see the moves much.

Wendy: The film is predominantly made for people who don’t know chess.

CJ: Because we’ve been exposed to more chess, I was a little disappointed there were not as many moves.

CJ: The film was topical for us right now.

Renny: Max Pomeranc was the standout natural. He was observing rather than playing a role.

Andy: Not my type of movie. It’s an elite world and there’s people like Ben Kingsley … It made me angry. There is a myth of what it is like to be ‘elite’.

Andy: I said to Sylv, ‘Does no one in this film own an umbrella?’ No one really does that! No one speaks to their child in the rain when there is shelter around.

Andy: The little kid reminded me of Jim Morrison.

Beck: abstain

Wendy: 4

Renny: 3.5

CJ: 3.5

Andy: 2

Sylvia: 3.5

Ray: 3

Seb: 5

August 2023: Beast of No Nation and Tampopo

This moofie session took place and Sylvia and Andy’s. Our two films for review this time are Beasts of No Nation (2015) and Tampopo (1985).

Beast of No Nation (2015)

This was pretty gruesome and depressing. It was very well done, very powerful, had some unforgettable story details and scenes. We appreciated the qualities and yet it is a film I’d never like to see again. When it came time to talk about it, all we could speak about with any kind of enthusiasm on was about the technicalities of film making, the script and acting. The central trauma that the child soldiers endured is almost unspeakable. These are stories which reflect real life happenings. All you can do is take it in and endure it. After that I think we’d rather not speak or think about it again.

Quotes:

Beck (on nominating it): I apologise for the extreme violence. An excuse to get Idris Elba in there.
Beck: It was a journey of misery and heartbreak. Idris Elba was super creepy. Quite graphic, enlightening
Ray: Beck, you were also responsible for nominating “Nightingale”

Ray: (on other films..) its easy to pick who are the good guys, who are bad, but in this one its hard to know. Everyone was bad. It was very depressing. Thanks for that Beck.

Ray: I appreciate the realism but on the other hand, can’t say it had a fantastic script.
Ray: quoting, “make sure you kill the farmers, because the farmers are feeding the enemy“

Beck: Agu was 8-10 yrs old?
Sylvia: the actor was 9 years old
Sylvia quoting: “I might be a child, but I’m an old man inside“

CJ: How real is it though? The real version is Uganda, Joseph Kony, LRA and the child soldiers. but this film isn’t quite that.

Renny: I couldn’t watch most of this. It was too much for me. Like “12 years a slave”. This is not the movie I want to watch.

Scores:

Beck: 4.0 (profound powerful movie, but can’t love it)
Andy: NA
Aylvia: NA
Renny: 2.0
CJ 3.0
Ray 4.0
Wendy 3.0

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Tampopo (1985)

This film is supremely weird in that most distinctly Japanese way. It is all about ramen soup, but through the soup comes an insight into Japanese views of sex, fetishism, food and its role in culture, and obsessive pedantic food appreciation. Who would have imagined you could depict a culture and world view in such a way. It is also funny. I love that they can see how bizarre and funny they must look being the way they are. Its quite disarming in the end. Very much enjoyed the film.

Quotes:

Wendy: It made me hungry. It was a bit weird!
Wendy: I liked that its all about food.

Wendy: We watched a censored version.
Sylvia: There is a scheme that’s missing! The Prawn scene. In the closing credits. It has a zoom in of a woman breast feeding

Ray: Wendy was horrified by the passing of the egg yolk
Andy: it appears sexier than in real life. The director went “Just trust me, it will look great“
Wendy: I was quite weirded-out by it
Andy: I saw it in the 80’s. All I could remember was the egg

Renny: lots of hours were put into making the soup.

Ray: its quite a simple soup…
Sylvia and Andy together …What?!!

Beck: There are some weird bit in it. Its kind of likeable and weirded you out at the same time

Beck: It’s a bit like a western. 7 Samurai, where the loner comes in and saves the town.

Scores:

Ray 3.5
Wendy 4.0
Beck: food 2 / film 3.5
Andy 3.5
Sylvia 4.5 (it introduced me to japanese food and culture)
Renny 3.0
CJ 4.0

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Happy viewing and see you next time!
CJ

March 2023: RRR and Everything everywhere all at once

Hello everyone, this session took place at Lindfield at Renny and yours truly’s place on the 4th March 2023. The two movies for review are RRR (2022) and Everything everywhere all at once (2022).

RRR (2022)

This is the butter-chicken of Bollywood films. Apparently it isn’t real Bollywood but something sort-of modified glammed-up version for the western palate. Whetever the case, it was super tasty and a great deal of fun, albeit quite indulgent, and pretty fast junk food.

Who am I to look down at a film like this. It did the job – its action packed, visually interesting and good fun. What more can you ask for?

Quotes

Andy: It was a rolicking time

Sylvia: It was definitely anti-english

Sylvia: We stayed up the whole night watching it. It was so entertaining.
Sylvia: It was just relentless

CJ: It was not my style

Renny (re: the bridge scene): I enjoyed the connection between the two guys, but how did they figure out they were going to do that bridge maneuver with just a few hand gestures?!

Renny (on Ram): oh my god, he’s like the terminator

Renny: The visuals stay with you

Wendy (on Ram): his hair is perfectly placed
Andy: Are you on team Ram?

Wendy: If you view it like a superhero movie, its ok.

Wendy: I think that movie doesn’t agree with me. Yeah, I was over this
Andy: ..Statistics show that 2 out of 2 koreans don’t like RRR

Ray: It was great on a big screen. The action and cinematography was fantastic. If you cut out the overacting, it would be a better movie

Beck: It was an absolute riot. A bit schlocky. Great fun. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It made watching a bit easy due to the eye candy. Great fun.

Scores:

Andy: 5.0
Renny: 3.5
Ray 2.5
Wendy 2.5
Beck 4.5
Sylvia 5.0
CJ 3.5

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Everything Everywhere all at once (2022)

Some friendly advice – it might help to be prepared and do a bit of research of what this film is about. Don’t go into this cold turkey and tired, the way I did. I have vague recollections of kung-fu fighters fighting each other to ram dildos up their asses?? What the..? … and hot dog hands…

I got concussion watching this film. The others in the Moofie club seemed to like it a lot. I think I need to rewatch this. I have no idea what happened!

Quotes

Sylvia: the husband was “Short Round” in the Indiana Jones movies

Sylvia: you need to suspend your disbelief

Wendy: I really liked it. Michelle Yeoh, shes a fit lady. Jamie Lee Curtis was a good sport.
Sylvia: Michelle Yeoh was fantastic

Renny: there was too much repeating. Same thing keeps happening

Andy: Loved it. Completely on board.

Beck: I feel like I would have loved it if I remembered it.

Renny: It sounds way better when you’re explaining it compared to actually watching it.

Scores

Andy: 5.0
Renny: 1.0
Sebastian: 3.0
Ray: 3.5
Wendy: 4.0
Beck: 4.5
Sylvia 4.0
CJ 2.0

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Thats it!
until next time,
CJ

August 2023: Once Upon a Time in America and Knives Out

Once upon a time in America

Well, it’s hard to know what to say about this one. We wanted to like it but we couldn’t. Serge Leone has a particular style of directing and it seems a peculiar view on women which a lot of viewers found hard to watch. The rape scene in particular was hard to deal with and totally unnecessary, as was the violence, the long camera shots of faces, of female body parts, the weird sequences, the convoluted storyline, the mismatched music …. And as it turns out, it was all a dream… yeah, right. Anyway, enough said. I’ll let the quotes sum up what Club Moofie thought.

Quotes

Ray: [on why he chose it] Well, I saw some shorts on Youtube…

Beck: Sorry, there was a short version??

Ray: [on explaining the two releases, one was a dog’s breakfast…]

Beck: …and that’s the version I saw.

Beck: How did you think about it now?

Ray: I’m thinking it was an awfully long movie.

Ray: There were so many parts that were so unnecessary.

Ray: [on the ending] It was all a dream.

Beck: No!

Ray: That’s what the director said.

Beck: What does he know.

Ray: I liked the scenes in the Jewish quarter.

Ray: It was not a great movie. It had some good bits, some bad bits. Mostly a rambling mess.

Sylvia: I’m so glad you didn’t like it because we couldn’t watch it.

Ray: It was considered one of the classics.

Andy: …by men.

Sylvia: Serge let the stock boil too far.

CJ: [on watched it over 3 nights] The Jewish quarter was interesting but it was a rambling and went on and on.

Renny: It got less desirable as it went on. The scenes went on and on. Waiting, waiting…

Beck: I did blitz this in one sitting in the kitchen.

Ray: It was the director’s style. Lots of close ups. Nothing happens. It’s a strange style.

Ray: It’s almost corny.

Sylvia: It was definitely corny.

CJ: [On why they used the same music from a romantic scene in other scenes]: Is this how they cut the budget?

Ray: It was like a long confused episode of The Sopranos.

Beck: [On the phone ringing at the start] It went on and on…

Ray: We couldn’t relate to them. In the end they’re sociopaths.

Scores

Andy:               Abstain

Beck:               2 [that’s being generous]

CJ:                  2.5

Ray:                 3

Renny:             1

Sylvia:              Abstain

Wendy:            2

Knives Out

I loved this film. Written in three acts, the first sets up a typical whodunnit, which turns out to be a surprise twist as we soon learn whodunnit. The second act is about how and whether Marta will get away with it and in the third act, Benoit explains what happened. It has the three ingredients of a great story – suspense, empathy and humour. The ensemble cast is wonderful but the standout was Ana de Armas who was so convincing as Marta. And the ending, so simple, so satisfying and so cleverly tied together.

Quotes

Beck: I absolutely loved it. It was hilarious. I didn’t like the second one quite as much. A lot of fun. My favourite scene was when they were interrogating the woman who can’t lie. Compared to the other films tonight, this was a rom-com.

Ray: The only blemish is that Daniel Craig’s character didn’t work for me.

Andy: The first third is a homage to ‘Sleuth’.

CJ: When it was revealed who did it, it was too early. I liked how it kept going. There is more to this. I just loved the cleverness of this. It was taunt, perfectly done, sharp, well crafted.

Renny: I enjoyed it. It kept you on it and tied together neatly.

Scores:

Andy:               4.5

Beck:               4.5

CJ:                    5

Ray:                 4

Renny:             4.5

Sylvia:              5

Wendy:            5

May 2023: Casablanca and Escape from Mogadishu

Casablanca (1942)

This film was chosen by Ray. An accidental classic, set in 1941 before Pearl Harbour, made in 1942, and the Academy best picture winner in 1943. The song, the lines, the actors have all become part of modern culture but it almost didn’t happen, as Ray explained. There was no finished script, no ending, the cast didn’t know the script nor the ending, the last line of the movie, they had a different line. They didn’t want the song, there was a musician’s strike, Dooley couldn’t play piano, there was no chemistry on set, Bogart didn’t speak to Bergman, he was cranky, it almost went into obscurity. An accidental classic. So why did it become a classic? It was a testimony of the acting and craftmanship of film making, from the script to filming, to lighting and the excellent cast.

Quotes

Ray: The second-tier actors were excellent.

Ray: It was the most complicated song I’ve played in terms of the chords.

Sylvia: It was so cleverly done, particularly the Claude Rains character. I really, really enjoyed it. Her dilemma. She was so luminous, such a pleasure to watch, her clothes, how they worked to light her, the camera work.

Andy: I have to make a disclaimer that I’ve had a crush on Ingrid Bergman for 40 years. There were two films, the scenes where she’s in the scene and scenes where she is not.

Ray: [on the set] It’s not like Casablanca. It’s not a pleasant place.

CJ: I saw it when I was younger. I wouldn’t have gotten the nuances then. I was impressed. I liked it a lot. Humphrey Bogart is such a great actor.

Renny: It was good.  I liked the way it ended. It wasn’t predictable. She played it very well.

Sylvia: [on when Rick intervenes and helps the woman]: It says a lot about his moral compass.

Beck: [when Ingrid Bergman says ‘Kiss me like it’s the last time’]: It has to be the most un-passionate kiss

Beck: The fashion was beautiful.

Beck: I don’t think it resonated for me. Maybe because it was 6:30 in the morning? Actually, I think it was Humphrey Bogart.

Sylvia: The lip?

Beck: The lip

Scores

Andy:               4.5

Beck:               2.5

CJ:                    4

Ray:                 4.5

Renny:             3

Sylvia:              5

Wendy:            4.5

Escape from Mogadishu (2021)

A Korean action film, set in Mogadishu (though actually filmed in Morocco), Club Moofie thought it was a good action film with a Korean flavour. Club Moofie was happy to see Korean films out there.

Quotes

CJ: [on why he chose it]: Renny pointed out a review in the paper. I was looking for parallels with Black Hawk Down. It wasn’t quite like it. The ending was interesting where they couldn’t acknowledge each other. I enjoyed it.

Sylvia: I thought it was very, very good. Loved the characters. It was interesting. I was ignorant of the wars. The child soldiers were sad. The car scenes were very Mad Max. The ending was sad.

Beck: I thought it was really interesting. I didn’t realise it was a Korean film. It had a slow build up then, OMG, OMG, OMG! What a terrifying situation to be in.

Ray: I thought it was a really good perspective. It was a bit of a stretch – using books to protect the cars.

Andy: One of them was a Volvo. They’re pretty good, Volvos.

Andy: I loved the car chase. Very thrilling. I didn’t know what I was expecting.

Wendy: I watched it on my iPad camped out in the front room during isolation.

Scores

Andy:               3.5

Beck:               4

CJ:                   4.5

Ray:                 3.5

Renny:             4.5

Sylvia:              5

Wendy:            4

The 2022 15th Annual Moscar Awards

Hello folks! And welcome to 2023! We kicked off the year with a splendid day at Clive Park – we finally got there, yay! After a whirlwind speed-dating style selection of our movies for 2023 (see Wendy’s post), we had our Moscar Awards ceremony. After missing 2021 (for the first time ever and due to unforeseen circumstances), we skipped year 14 and went straight to presenting our 15th annual Moscars. Please see details of the winning actors/actresses and films below.

This year, the best-film nominator, and therefore the Moscar recipient (by default) was Ray, who was delighted to take home the much-travelled statuette. He shall be admiring it for a year until our next Moscars.

Thanks must go to everyone who has been part of Club Moofie during pandemic times, including members present and those on hiatus; to Wendy for the tasty lolly bags; to everyone who attended yesterday for the delicious food and great company; to Grandma H for an unexpected but very welcome cameo; to SJ for helping with the movie selection; to CJ and Renny for attending despite the odds (thanks, roadworks – not!) and to Mother Nature for the beautiful location, fantastic weather and cooling breeze.

One quick aside before I list the winners, we did take a vote for Best Film of 2021, and that vote went to Rocketman. Renny, we owe you some time with Moscar!!

Our first films for 2023 will be RRR and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. See you in March, folks!

CLUB MOOFIE IS PROUD TO PRESENT:

THE 2022, 15^th Annual MOSCAR AWARDS

Note that we have only one special award this year, which will be presented at the end of this session.

1. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for BEST ACTOR goes to:

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)

Voted for by: CJ, Andy and Renny.

Also nominated were:

Alan Kim (Minari), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Jean Reno (The Professional), Will Patton (Minari), Paul Giamatti (The Ides of March), Gary Oldman (The Professional), George Clooney (The Ides of March), Ali-Asghar Shahbazi (grandfather, A Separation) and The Pig (Pig)

2. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for BEST ACTRESS goes to:

Natalie Portman (The Professional)

Voted for by: Ray, Sylv, Wendy, Beck, Paul and Jodi.

Also nominated were:

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood – close second!)), Youn Yuh-jung (grandmother in Minari), Han Ye-ri (mother in Minari), Noel Cho (daughter in Minari), and Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog).

3. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for WORST ACTOR/ACTRESS goes to:

Dom Deluise (voice of the crow in The Secret of NIMH)

Voted for by: Renny and Wendy

Also nominated were:

Nicholas Cage (Pig), Timothee Chalamet (Dune), Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), Jennifer Ehle (The Ides of March), Dave Bautista (Dune), Oscar Isaacs (Dune), Gary Oldman (The Professional), Guy who ran the underground chef fight club (Pig), Adam Arkin (Pig) and The Pig (Pig).

4. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for BEST SCRIPT/DIALOGUE goes to:

Coco

Voted for by: Ray, Sylv, Wendy, Beck, Andy and Jodi.

Also nominated were:

A Separation (close second), Minari, The Professional, The Ides of March, Pig, Dune and Boyhood.

5. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY goes to:

Dune

Voted for by: Ray, CJ, Wendy, Beck, Andy, Paul and Jodi.

Also nominated were:

The Power of the Dog, Coco, Minari, The Secret of NIMH.

6. The ‘Dune’ Award for the Actor/Actress you would most like to see sent to a distant planet in another universe:

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Voted for by Wendy and Beck

Also nominated were:

Nicholas Cage from Pig (Ray), Ellar Coltrane from Boyhood (CJ), Marco Perella from Boyhood (Patricia Arquette’s violent husband – Sylv), Will Patton from Minari (Andy), Zendaya from Dune (‘Isn’t she a bit overrated?’ – Jodi), Jesse Plemons from The Power of the Dog (Renny) and Dave Bautista from Dune (Paul).

7.  The ‘Bronco Henry’ Award for The Actor/Actress you have a secret passion for:

And it’s a tie, folks! The award goes to:

Natalie Portman (‘But when older.’ – Ray; ‘But at the time of the Star Wars prequels’ – Andy)

and

Ryan Gosling (voted for by both Paul and Jodi)

Also nominated were:

Kirsten Dunst (CJ), Peter Strauss (playing Justin, the guard rat from The Secret of NIMH) (Renny), Nicholas Cage (Beck), Benedict Cumberbatch (Wendy) and The Pig (Sylv).

8. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for WORST FILM goes to:

The Ides of March

Voted for by: CJ, Renny, Sylv, Wendy and Andy

Also nominated were:

The Power of the Dog, The Professional, Pig and The Secret of NIMH.

10. Extra Special Award:

This year, folks, there is only one special award, and it goes to each and every one of you!

The 2022 Club Moofie Cliffhanger award for hanging in there despite challenging circumstances is awarded to:

Wendy, Ray, CJ, Renny, Paul, Jodi, Beck, Andy and Sylv.

Well done everyone!

AND DRUM ROLLLLLLLLL …………

11. The 2022 Club Moofie Award for BEST FILM goes to:

Coco

Voted for by: Wendy, Beck, Andy Ray, Paul and Jodi

Also nominate were:

The Professional, Boyhood, Minari, Dune, Pig, A Separation, The Ides of March

The BEST FILM award should have been accepted by Paul as he nominated Coco, however, as he is taking a break from Club Moofie, the Moscar will reside with the person who nominated the second-best film for the year, which is The Professional. Ray, that means the much-coveted statuette is going home to roost with you!

And finally, as a comparison to our Moscar results, below are the averages from our scoring throughout the year.

Highest Scoring Film for 2022 is:

Coco                                                   3.8

A Separation                                       3.7

The Professional                                 3.7

Minari                                                  3.6

Dune                                                   3.4

Boyhood                                              3.1

Pig                                                       3.1

The Power of the Dog                        3

The Secret of NIMH                            2.9

The Ides of March                              2.3

Good work, folks!

October 2022 A Separation & Ides of March

This moofie club took place over that hateful app Zoom on the 22nd October 2022. The films reviewed were A Separation and Ides of March. Without further ado!…

A Separation (2011, Asghar Farhadi director; Language Persian)

A separation focuses on the tribulations of a family undergoing great pressure. A marriage breakdown, the impact on their daughter who is divided between both parents and also the fall out from a series of incidents with a hired caregiver for the grandfather who is houseridden with Alzheimers disease and needs constant care.

The trajectory of each of the characters is intricately interwoven. The writer/director Asghar Farhadi clearly took great care to ensure the story line was water tight and the motivations and actions of each character is self consistent and true. Character development is paramount in this type of film and we the audience are made to understand each of the protagonists well thanks to the meticulous work of the director. While this story could take place in any family, in any country, it is all the more fascinating with the cultural overlay of modern Iranian society, with its unique attitude and culture colouring all facets of life. This is something we in the west hardly ever see of Iran on screen.

While fascinating, the movie is also high draining. By the end I had witnessed numerous arguments, anguish of parents losing a baby, a divorce and family tearing itself apart, the helplessness of being unable to help your parent suffering in old age, hurt pride, loss on all sides, fearful tiptoeing around the religious overwatchers, as well as a tedious courthouse bureaucracy which helps no one.

This movie won numerous awards and deservedly so. It was well constructed and skillfully acted.

It was also an utter misery.

Quotes:

Wendy: I hadn’t seen it before. High ratings… but oh my god, I didn’t realise it was such an uncomfortable film… Can’t say I really enjoyed it.

Ray on the fathers dementia: It was the urination in the pants that got to you

Wendy: The emotional ransoms. It was very unfair

Wendy: It was an interesting insight into Iranian culture. e.g. you have to ask permission from the religious police to change pants?
Renny: Its the moral dilemmas in a place like Iran which makes it more interesting than an American movie.

Andy: There were some nice things, eg. how the father wanted his daughter to be strong

Ray on the daughters decision at the end: Who do you think she chose?
Sylvia: If I was the child I wouldn’t want to live with either of them (the parents)
Andy: Do you remember the film “Hidden”? There was a clue in the final scene. The clue to the film was hidden in the credits…
Sylvia: No there’s no clues in this one.

Sylvia on the actors: .. The father was good
Ray: the Judge won an award?! (Actor Babak Karimi won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film festival, alongside Payman Maadi (Nader); Shahab Hosseini (Hodjat) and Ali-Asghar-Shahbazi (Naders father) who also happens to be the directors father)
Renny: the one who played the daughter is the daughter of the director

Andy: It was quite taxing… I was surprised all the topics that were in it. Pleasantly surprised.

CJ: The director liked to create stalemated scenarios which were impossible to resolve. Look at the DVD extras, he seemed to relish in it.

CJ: Interesting insights into Iranian Culture.

Wendy: Had I watched it (before the nomination) I don’t know if I would have nominated it

Sylvia: I didn’t enjoy it.

Scores:

Wendy 3.5
Ray 3.5
Andy 4.0
Sylvia 4.0
Renny 3.5
CJ 3.5
Moomoo 5.0
Paul Abstain
Jodi Abstain
Beck Abstain

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Ides of March (2011, George Clooney Director)

This movie was quite disappointing. As the quotes below will repeat, the main fault is that this story is driven by the personal dramas, rather than any interesting politics. i.e. There are powerful people who abuse their power; there is an affair; someone gets pregnant; someone backstabs someone else; someone dies; etc etc. In this case the barbs and jousts are with words and polling numbers, but with a bit of tweaking it could fairly easily have been rewritten to take place on eg. an oil rig, or in deep space, and still worked roughly the same way, i.e. It’s rather formulaic.

The characters didn’t seem particularly well developed. The Evan Rachel Wood characters actions were baffling, “underdeveloped” as the quote says below. Women are poorly represented generally, being are at best love interests and side players only. George Clooney’s character is a pretty conventional two faced politician. Ryan Gosling is the most complex character but ultimately unlikeable and hard to engage with. Paul Giamatti perhaps did the best with what he had to make his character interesting.

I was expecting a fast paced, sharp witted Aaron Sorkin-style piece. This missed the mark.

Quotes:

CJ: this was disappointing as it was more of a personal drama, not a political drama.

CJ: it was underwhelming.

Sylvia: It was not terribly good. Personal dramas were the basis of it (the film).

Sylvia on the Evan Rachel Wood character Molly Stearns: She wasn’t a convincing victim. She was another underdeveloped female character. Not very convincing.
Renny: Its just men trying to get other men into power. Its pretty revolting.

Sylvia: Most characters were unlikeable. I couldn’t care less if (Ryan Gosling) lost his faith in politics by the end.

Andy: (by the end) .. it all started again. A new intern, but the system doesn’t change.

Ray: They are just playing the game. It was pretty predictable

Ray: They didn’t get the most out of the characters

Wendy: I didn’t mind it at the time.

Scores:

Ray 3.0
Renny 2.0
Wendy 3.0
Sylvia 2.5
Andy 2.0
CJ 1.5
Moomoo 4.0
Paul Abstain
Jodi Abstain
Beck Abstain

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Thats it for now!
All the best and see you next time!

CJ

March 2022: Boyhood & Leon The Professional

This Moofie club took place over zoom (arghh!!…the bane of social groups!!) on the 5th March 2022. The films reviewed were Boyhood (nominated by myself) and Leon, the Professional (nominated by Ray). Without further ado!…

Boyhood (2014, Richard Linklater director)

An interesting premise of a film. Almost a 7-Up style experiment done on film. I like Richard Linklater for his experimental approach. It was not exactly clear whether the Moofie Club thought the end result met all expectations but from the comments below, it seemed it was reasonably well received overall.

Nice try Richard Linklater… nice try…

Quotes:

CJ: I’ve heard the premise that it was gonna be filmed over 12 years. I thought that was really interesting. I wanted to see how that worked. I thought this is another one of his (Linklaters) interesting film experiments. I did quite like it.

CJ:I thought that it was more interesting in the maybe the first half when the boy was younger. I think it got a little bit longish. and I was wondering if it would actually get anywhere in the end. As it turns out, No, not really. Things just happen to him throughout his life.

CJ: At least you had that nice ending where his dad started that “circle”. I mean, the point where the film stopped was close to when he (the boy) reaches a similar age as when his father starts the movie. there’s something a little bit cyclic about that.

CJ: The most interesting thing for me was seeing how people, the actual actors aged….

CJ: It wasn’t like a standard movie where huge significant things happen. It’s just a snippet out of their lives. But it was wholesome and nice. It reminds me of all our lives, our simple lives. I quite liked that.

Beck about the aging: I think everyone aged, but is Ethan Hawke Dorian Gray? I think in the end they had to put a mustache on him. They couldn’t work out how else to make him look older. He just doesn’t age that man. He looks the same as he did at the beginning of the film.

CJ: I thought that Ethan Hawke started looking like, Tom Skerritt.
Beck: Who’s Tom Skerritt? I’ll google him…
CJ: with an r i t t at the end..
Beck:.. rhymes with ferret…
Sylvia: Top Gun!

Wendy: He has the ratty kind of look. Same for the other Richard Linklater films, Sunrise, Sunset. Whereas with Patricia Arquette, her body changes and it’s not just different haircuts, you can tell shes a different age

Andy: I really enjoyed it. Part of the reason, it really is about our lives… They’re just little snippets of exchanges you have with people. It really felt like how my memories feel to me. Just snippets of things that happened between you and other people when you remember them.

Andy: You are so used to watching (other types of) films now – I can’t watch a film now where someone’s in a car driving. I always expect a freaking truck or a bus to come and kill them. This is not that sort of film. Even at the end I thought, is something gonna happen to him? But, no, it’s not that sort of film.

Sylvia: I did think it was really very fascinating how the characters age, just seeing that physical aging; but also in such a compressed amount of time. And it just makes you feel quite strange because you see these people and that’s 12 years of their life over two hours. It was quite challenging in a way to see that. Obviously everybody ages, but you don’t usually see it that way.

Sylvia: I think I enjoyed it, I’m not entirely sure. Maybe I’m just completely naive but I was quite horrified at some of the language of the teenage boys. Andy said, all teenage boys talk like that. And I thought, oh my God.

Sylvia: It’s a little bit like the seven up series.
Wendy: It’s a bit like watching a documentary. The most interesting character for me was the mother. She did make some poor choices in her life.

Ray: I was wondering whether I’d make it to the end because it was quite a slow pace. I’m not sure I would wanna sit through it again, but I did like the idea of a movie where it traces the actors through 11 years. That was interesting.

Ray: It has a purpose – whats the point of life. I’m not sure that it made a strong statement. Things happen to you and uh, life is a series of events, in this case captured on film.

Paul on the movie writing: It was only written year to year, with only the end points.
Beck: they only filmed about 44 days worth of footage over 12 years. It was a short amount of shooting that they did.

Paul: I’d never seen anything like it… Jodi and I, we actually didn’t think we were gonna get to see it. When I saw the running time, I knew we weren’t gonna finish it but we got closer than I thought.

Renny: I find it really fascinating. The aging of the actors. I thought it was really special.

Renny: I was glad to see that the movie wasn’t just focused on the boy. I mean, he was the main focus, but I enjoyed the sister and the changes in her. Overall, yeah, I enjoyed it.

Beck: it was too long. Some parts I was super engaged. Others I was like, Lets just move it along

Beck On linklaters film project: An interesting project for someone to wake up one morning and go, “I know what I’m gonna do (for a film). I’m not gonna do a blockbuster, I’m gonna film people over 12 years“. Interesting. Very interesting.
Andy: I was thinking about another example of where there’s something like this. It was the Harry Potter films where we saw them grow up onscreen. No one knew that Malfoy was gonna go really tall and Harry was gonna be short!

Beck on Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater: Are they friends? I mean, they’ve done a few films together now. I think that’d be the only reason he would let Ethan Hawke sing so much… (sorry!.. cut that out!)

Ray: So do you think they’ll make a sequel?
Beck: No, please no!
Ray: the sequel will 4 hours long
Beck: it would be quite interesting. Another 12 years.
Sylvia:.. and Ethan Hawke will still look the same.
Beck: It’s just weird! (on Ethan)
Sylvia: … I DO think he looked older. He looks gaunter, and somehow his teeth look worse.

Sylvia: I have one question for those people who have younger children, does this film make you wonder what your children are gonna be like at the various stages of life? Do you look at this film differently because of that, because you have children?
Paul: I should really watch what I say sometimes (in front of the kids).
Paul: I often just stare at my kid’s faces and try to imagine them as bigger. I can’t quite do it. When I look at my niece’s face, I can see the little girl – the three year old, but I can’t scale up
CJ: Sebastian’s right at the same age (like Mason) at the beginning of this movie. Most definitely, I thought of Sebastian when start this film.

CJ: I can’t imagine Sebastian talking like those boys in that old beaten up house.
Beck: I think it put the “Me Too” movement back by about 6,000 years
Sylvia: Yeah. Yeah. That was quite shocking. Yeah.
CJ: If I ever hear Sebastian talking like that, he’ll be in big trouble!

Beck: what I loved was seeing the kids – little cuz for me that’s really becoming quite a distant memory for me now.

Scores:

Renny 3.5
CJ 4.0
Wendy 4.0
Ray 3.0
Andy 3.5
Sylvia 3.0
Beck 2.5
Paul 4.0
Jodi 3.0

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Leon: The Professional (1994, Luc Besson director)

A well thought out action movie with an interesting twist. The emotional bond between the unlikely pair of Matilda and Leon is the main highlight of this film, albeit with a somewhat questionable choice to make Matilda such a young child.

Overall very well done … but with a strange after taste.

Quotes:

Ray: I think it’s a great action movie. Jean Reno is always a reliable actor. And of course it was Natalie Portman’s first movie and still I think the best thing I’ve seen her in. She’s just fantastic in this. She’s so precocious, so talented. I guess she was around 12 years of age. It’s quite a interesting odd couple movie of two misfits thrown together.

Ray: I’ve forgotten the lolita element. I guess that adds to the strange bizarre feeling of it.
Wendy: It made me a bit uncomfortable
Sylvia: I have to say, I also felt a great deal of discomfort about that… I understand from a logical perspective why that (Lolita stuff) was all there, but it’s the way that the director actually viewed her as well. There’s a very lingering gaze on her. You know – the little neck thing, it just makes me uncomfortable to see that he thought that it was okay to put that into the movie. There’s so many people out there who would just think this is the best fantasy ever. Really was concerning for me.

(not sure if this was Sylvia?): I think Gary Oldman was quite funny actually. He was totally over the top with his performance.

Beck: I had forgotten all the scenes where there was that sexual nature of her trying to get him to kiss her and touch her.

Wendy: You know, the Gary Oldman character, he takes out these little, little pills. Wanna know what that is?
Paul: The internet doesn’t know either
Sylvia: did you look it up?
Paul: I did. What was he taking? No one knows
Ray: Very fast acting tablets. I’m not sure. whatever it is, would act that quickly

Andy: I didn’t really get into it, sorry.

Paul: I think that Natalie Portman has gone on the record about how that film did sexualize her. She did become a bit of a poster girl for men who were interested in much younger girls. She would get letters, like fan mail from males for years.

Jodi: this is gonna probably sound very controversial, but it almost turns that “uncomfortableness” into kind of a wholesome love towards the end. Without anything sinister behind it

CJ: my reaction was a lot like yours, Sylvia. I did react badly to the sexualization of Natalie Portman. You said is exactly it – this “gaze” on Natalie Portman. The action, it was exciting and all that stuff, but the Lolita part of it, it disturbs me too.

Renny: definitely a memorable movie. Out of the two movies that we watched, which one will I remember? It’s the Professional. If you ask me about Boyhood, I’ll be like, “Oh… I think I watched that? I’m not sure“

Scores:

Renny 2.5
Wendy 4.0
Ray 4.0
Andy 2.0
Sylvia 4.0
Paul 5.0
Jodi 4.0
Beck 4.5
CJ 3.5

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Thats it! until next time.. see ‘youse’ all next time 🙂

CJ

AUGUST 2022: Minari and Dune

Well, it’s been a while since we talked about Minari and Dune, although we did manage to have this meeting in person – yay! It was sooo good to see folks live, as opposed to on screen. Let’s hope that becomes a more frequent occurance going forward!

Minari (2020)

There were some really heart-felt moments in this beautifully shot drama, along with some odd ones, moving ones and some very funny ones. A few of our members could relate to the cultural differences expat Koreans experience the world over, and the majority of Club Moofie thought that the grandma/grandson relationship made the film. (The poor sister didn’t get much of a look in, though.) A couple of members also agreed that there was a distinct Terrence Malick look to the cinematography, which really was quite stunning in parts. There was some debate about the title, but it seems that minari is a herb that takes root where ever it is planted – perhaps a symbol of these resilient people making a new life for themselves, come hell or high water.

QUOTES:

CJ: Lots of jokes with Sebastian, especially about the swearing grandma.

Ray: That was bad grandma.

Renny (on the grandma): She’s never baked a cookie. She watches wrestling.

CJ and Wendy: The card game – we played that as a kid.

CJ (on the dried anchovies): Not a good smell. Not a bad smell, either – but there is a smell.

CJ and Wendy (on the expat Koreans in the film): They’re not like our family, but we knew families like them.

CJ (?): I didn’t see racism but it could’ve gone either way – glad that it didn’t go down that road.

Ray (?): I prefer the ending rather than having a Hollywood ending.

Andy (?): Yes I like the ambiguity.

Beck (on Andy and Ray): You two just agreed.

Ray: Let’s not make a habit of it.

Ray (on the fire): If he had walked out with a pumpkin …

Andy: That would have been touch and go …

Ray (on the relationship between the grandma and the son): Most interesting relationship in the movie.

CJ and Wendy: Koreans have a cure for everything.

Andy: I thought there was going to be a big confrontation with the religions but they had other fish to fry … I mean, other anchovies to fry.

Beck (on CJ’s and Sylv’s comments on the Terrence Malick-style shots): I wish you hadn’t told me that.

Scores:

Ray: 3

Andy: 3

Beck: 3.5

Wendy: 4

Renny: 4

CJ: 4

Sylvia: 4

Dune (2021)

There was much excitement from certain quarters about this movie, and for some, it really delivered. For others, it was a touch too slow and confusing. All agreed that the visuals were exceptional and the cast was fabulous. I personally was frustrated that this is only the first part (Didn’t realise this until just before the end! Argg! The next installment better come soon!!), but others were better prepared. After some discussion of the book, it seems there will need to be at least one or two more movies to cover everything, so stay tuned …

QUOTES:

Andy: I knew it would be visually stunning.

Ray: You like deserts.

Ray: Feels like I’m watching a Netflix series rather than a movie.

Andy: But who cares because you’ve got ORNITHOPTERS!  

Beck: The visuals in this new version are much better.

CJ: It was visually stunning, but the storyline …

Renny: It’s like you’re supposed to just know! Like –  what? Then what? And whaaaat?

Wendy: Pretty to look at, although a bit confusing. But I didn’t mind that it’s building up the story – they’re giving hints, there’s the prophecy.

Ray: That’s the hippy originals origins of the novel.

CJ (or Ray?): When I was a kid and watched the film I really wanted to understand it. Then I thought as an adult, here is my chance! But here I am, still confused.

Ray: The story is limited by some hippy who wrote it in the 60s, but the special effects did their part. Less hippy, more special effects. (This comment caused much laughter.)

Andy: Laughing doesn’t donote agreement, Ray.

Ray: We’ll take you to the moon, man.

The Club mentioned that the same director also did Arrival and the recent Blade Runner, and that Dune had a similar soundtrack with long scenes.

Ray: Arrival never arrived.

Scores:

Ray: 3.5

Andy: 3.5

Beck: 3.5

Wendy: 3.5

Renny: 4

CJ: 3

Sylvia: 3

June 2022: Coco and The Secret of NIMH

An animation double for the June meeting which was a virtual meeting. Here’s what Club Moofie thought of Coco and The Secret of NIMH.

Coco (2017)

What a joyful movie this was, with music, colour and amazing animation. Paul chose this film as the towns and scenery reminded him of his travels to South America. As you can see by the comments and the score, we all loved it. Big applause. Well done, Pixar!

Quotes

Paul: I prefer animation when I can’t put an actor to it.

Jodi: Olive was pretty cool about it. The skeletons were pretty friendly.

Sylvia: It was so clever. Loved the idea. The music was good. Loved the spirit creatures. I was moved by the sequence of the father and daughter singing together. The old woman – it triggered her memory hearing the song. Although there were a few inconsistencies, I really liked it. I thought the animation was beautiful.

Andy: It was beautiful to look at. But I didn’t like the dog. It annoyed me.

Andy: In the afterlife, the characters are just fantastic. The characters, the businesses, the detail in the background, the skulls. Beautifully designed and I enjoyed it.

CJ: Pixar films seem the same these days. I was feeling the same as Paul. A bit hyper, a bit much. The bit with Coco / Grandma – that moved me. Remembering your family – it was very moving. It had emotional content. Quite positive. I liked it a lot. The CGI was exceedingly good.

Renny: I was excited about the world of the dead. So vivid and colourful. Mexicans celebrate it – they have parties and concerts. We made alebrije with puppy.

There was a mystery – finding the great grandfather. Ray picked the ending, who the great grandfather was. I didn’t pick it. The music and musicians. The last third, that got to me and then I was hooked. It was sweet, definitely not dark. It was nice to watch.

Jodi: Loved the music. Olive didn’t get the whole concept but it was colourful and family friendly. What I liked about it – it’s never too late to resolve family challenges. I liked learning a bit more about Mexican culture.

Jodi: Will doesn’t like it. He wanted us to switch it off.

Ray: Very strong visually. Pixar is changing. Earlier movies were more edgy and had more edgy scripts. I liked the twist at the end. Pretty solid performance.

Beck: Seen it twice. Wonderful. Fun. It was a good production by Pixar.

Andy:               4

Beck:               4

CJ:                   3.5

Jodi:                4.5

Paul:                4

Ray:                 3

Renny:             3

Sylvia:             4

Wendy:           4

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

This film was nominated by Renny, who read the book at school. There were some disturbing elements, apparently based on a real life place where animals were experimented on. With an all star cast of voices, this film generated a lot of discussion, for its animation style, which was innovative for its time, unusual storyline and dark themes.

Quotes

Renny: I don’t remember much [from the book]. I remember the super intelligent rats. I liked the story and was curious to see the movie. Watching it, I was blown away. It had a different way of animating. The animations stood up. The colours were interesting. I enjoyed the different look. A bit dark. I liked the main character, Mrs Brisby. The crow was a bit annoying. I wanted to see more about the rats. Fascinating.

CJ: It was darker than I expected. For its time, the quality of the animation was good. It stood up over time.

CJ: The most interesting bit was the rat society.

CJ: When Mrs Brisby used her amulet to lift the house, it reminded me of Yoda lifting the plane out of the Dagobah system, using the Force.

Beck: I thought it was going to be more psychedelic than it was going to be. It made me nostalgic for old-school animation. I really quite enjoyed it. It was a trip down memory lane.

Sylvia: It was intense to think about for children. It was also very different to what I expected. Quite dark. I enjoyed the older style of film.

Andy: I enjoyed it. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the rat villain.

Scores

Renny:            4

CJ:                  3.5

Beck:              3

Andy:             3

Sylvia:            3.5

Wendy:           2

Mrs J:             1.5 (although she admitted having a snooze in the middle of it)

Paul, Jodi, Ray: absentees