That’s an interesting choice, and one of the very few Coen Brothers movies that I don’t really much care for.
Once again we have diametrically opposed tastes. It’s my second favourite after Lebowski.
This month is a real “boutique” month for nominations. Nothing really mainstream-ish yet. The Coen title is as close as it gets, I think.
Ok, then I will nominate a comic book movie. Specifically, Takashi Miike’s adaptation of the classic manga, Blade of the Immortal:
Blade of the Immortal was the first manga I ever read and it remains a favorite of mine. I’ve been really looking forward to checking out Miike’s take on it, especially as it’s gotten rave reviews and was high on a number of top ten lists for 2017. Note that while Miike has a certain reputation for over the top violence and crazed gonzo sensibilities, unlike the director of my earlier pick Tokyo Tribe, Miike also has made plenty of more mainstream fare (he has directed well over a hundred movies across all sorts of genres and sensibilities) - e.g. The Bird People of Ancient China. I’m not actually sure where on the Miike-meter Blade of the Immortal falls. I’m guessing probably somewhere in-between, since there will be swordfights and the main character regenerates like Wolverine, but it’s also a samurai story.
(I was tempted to nominate Yakuza Apocalypse, the other Miike I really want to see, where the apocalypse is people turning into yakuza, which is definitely gonzo as fuck. But no. I’ll spare you. This time.)
The Polls are open!
Film 005- First Round Poll
This Poll will be closed THU FEB 7 at 2359 EST. At that time, if no film has secured an absolute majority of votes the top two films will advance for a final run-off. If there is a tie, and more than two films are the “top two” all tied selections will be advanced.
- Blade of the Immortal (2017)
- Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
- Dodsworth (1936)
- Stroszek (1977)
- The Day Of The Jackal (1973)
- The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
0 voters
Click here to see a selection of links for all films in the below poll.
Your Movie Club Voter Information Sheet
February 2019 Movie Club Nominations:
Blade of the Immortal ( 2017 ) – Malkav11
Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) – Rock8man
Dodsworth ( 1936 ) – Cornchip
Stroszek ( 1977 ) – Anonymgeist
The Day Of The Jackal ( 1973 ) – Navaronegun
The Man Who Wasn’t There ( 2001 ) – Ginger_Yellow
It’s pretty low on the Miike scale, for the most part, though it is very violent. More 13 Assassins than Ichi the Killer. I’d vote for it, but I watched it about 6 months ago, so too recently to want to watch again but long ago enough I don’t really have much to say about it.
Ouch.
Not saying it’s bad. Just that it’s not particularly extreme by his standards.
Btw, technically Blade of the Immortal breaks rule number 2 until April 29th, but I’m sure we can slide on that rule a bit since the purpose was to prevent overlap with Qt3 movie podcasts, and this movie ain’t gonna be seen by the movie podcast gang.
Unless we make them watch it.
The Run-off is now Open!
The Navaronegun News Network has called the first round poll for the two winners, The Man Who Wasn’t There and Blade of the Immortal.
Run-Off Voting for Qt3 Movie Club Film 005, February 2019 will now commence.
First Round Voting is now closed (the poll cannot be modified at this time). The below Poll will be closed SUN FEB 10 at 2359 EST. At that time, if no film has secured a the most votes, the winner will be chosen at random from among those tied for first place.
Click here to see a selection of links for all films in the below poll.
- Blade of the Immortal
- The Man Who Wasn’t There
0 voters
Your Movie Club Voter Information Sheet
February 2019 Movie Club Run-Off Candidates:
Blade of the Immortal ( 2017 ) – Malkav11
The Man Who Wasn’t There ( 2001 ) – Ginger_Yellow
The Polls have closed. Navaronegun News Network was delayed by reports of Russian Interference in the election and claims of Voter Fraud, all which proved spurious. The Man Who Wasn’t There is the winner with 75% of the vote in a landslide that has swept Qt3 Nation.
The Winner!
The Man Who Wasn’t There ( 2001 ) – Ginger_Yellow
https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/The-Man-Who-Wasnt-There/5205
The Thread will now stay spoiler-free until Wednesday 20 February, 2019 at 2359 EST. This gives everyone 9 days to watch the film. After that time discussion to include spoilers will begin. As well, the Stooges will submit impressions/comments/reviews after that date.
Made it Ma, top of the world!
I feel like you guys aren’t willing to give Chupacabra Terror a chance.
-Tom
You didn’t nominate it this month, Thomas Rhys Chick.
Reminder: You should change the thread title to have the name of the movie.
Probably a good move, yes.
Spoilers ahead.
There’s a scene in The Man Who Wasn’t There where Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is sitting opposite his social acquaintance Big Dave (James Gandolfini). Big Dave has just asked Ed what kind of man he is. Ed has been secretly blackmailing Dave since he knows Dave has been sleeping with his wife. He’s not malicious about it, he doesn’t really mind the affair, he just needs the money so he can get out of being stuck as a barber all his life. So when a customer told him about an opportunity to setup dry-cleaning stores, he really wants in. And blackmailing his wife’s lover is the only way he knows how to get that money fast.
Only now Dave has called him in the middle of the night to his office, and just asked him what kind of man he is. The camera now rotates around Dave, as a stray ray of light falls just so across his eyes and makes him look evil as fuck and scares the bejeezes out of me. That’s when I know that Dave knows. He knows Ed has been the one blackmailing him, and he’s asking what kind of a man would do that.
I have to confess that I recently saw an Indian movie with a similar plot that came out in 2018, called Blackmail. Only that movie is a comedy. The husband finds out his wife is cheating on him and he blackmails the person who is sleeping with his wife. But the thought that Blackmail is a copy of The Man Who Wasn’t There dies in the next scene, and weirdly the second half of the movie doesn’t really go anywhere interesting. Instead, it’s a series of events that happen, and I guess we get to watch those events play out. And then we get to see Ed call them a series of things that happened to him. Which is kind of meta, I guess. Or an indication that the writers are trying to be too clever. Or that they’re throwing their hands up and saying “well, we don’t know, maybe you can make sense of it”.
Now, with all that said, I can’t deny that I enjoyed the first half of the movie quite a bit. And despite the second half being some stuff that happens, it’s never boring or not told in an interesting way. So I enjoyed being along for the ride.