Board 8 > Tangy Watches, Reviews and Ranks One Movie for Every Year

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BetrayedTangy
02/22/22 10:02:14 PM
#1:


Hey y'all. Recently I've been wanting to pick up writing and watching more movies. So what better way to motivate me than making a topic out of it?

For the sake of trying to complete this, I'll be starting in 1948. I know it's a weird year to start with, but I did my best to choose movies I'm already interested in and I couldn't find enough prior to '48 to justify going further back. However if this topic is fun enough, I may consider doing a sequel where I go further back (maybe with user nominated movies?)

Anyway, the first movie I've chosen is...

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - 1948

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Snake5555555555
02/23/22 1:45:49 AM
#2:


Tag

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I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
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MZero
02/23/22 5:51:13 AM
#3:


Cool idea! I want to steal it but with games

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I never saw azuarc coming, but he won the Guru!
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Raka_Putra
02/23/22 7:48:12 AM
#4:


Tag

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"So much love in his words."
- RIP Stephen Sondheim, 1930-2021
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BetrayedTangy
02/23/22 10:36:59 AM
#5:


MZero posted...
Cool idea! I want to steal it but with games

Oh yeah by all means go for it! I'll make sure to keep an eye out for it.

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Anagram
02/23/22 10:45:06 AM
#6:


Tag

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Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005
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Jesse_Custer
02/23/22 11:45:54 AM
#7:


Snake5555555555 posted...
Tag

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BetrayedTangy
02/23/22 5:40:00 PM
#8:


The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - 1948
Starring - Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt

I don't often have fun watching some of these older films. I can usually appreciate them well enough, but I often find myself needing to take a break halfway through.

Thankfully, Sierra Madre was a huge exception to this rule. It was a pretty easy watch and was genuinely fun! The biggest reason for this is the performances. Humphrey Bogart, whom I didn't think much of after Casablanca, really impressed me here. You can tell pretty early on that he's going to be a problem on this expedition and his gradual descent into paranoia is both hilarious and terrifying. Sorry for doubting you Humphrey! Walter Huston as the old prospector has to be my favorite though, he creates the perfect balance between goofy and endearing. He's definitely the glue that holds both the characters and the film together.

Even putting aside the preformances, I found the entire plot engaging. There's a surprisingly wide variety of set pieces and side plots, all of which hold actual significance to the movie as a whole. The story of Mr. Cody was a particularly interesting detour that really left me thinking.

Finally, I want to talk about the ending as I'm kinda torn on how it was handled. I really like the idea that sometimes life is gonna screw you over and you've just gotta take your lumps and move forward. That said, if I spent 10 months slaving away on a mountain I certainly wouldn't look around for 5 minutes then start laughing about how it's gone. Maybe it's just the Dobbs in me, but even a single bag of that gold is worth a lot of money.

Either way I had a great time watching it and I'm really happy this little project is off to a great start!

4.5/5

COMING SOON: The Third Man

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BetrayedTangy
02/25/22 1:25:02 AM
#9:


The Third Man - 1949
Starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles

I really wish I enjoyed this one more. I've always loved the noir style and want to watch more of them, but after this I just don't know if these older ones are for me! I'll start with the positives though, because there were quite a few things I liked.

First and foremost I really enjoyed the setting. A post war Vienna with a variety of people all speaking different languages definitely adds to the tension and makes not only the protagonist feel unwelcome, but the viewer too. The night scenes added to this feel even more, the empty, dimly lit streets mixed with the clever use of shadows was really fun. I also really enjoyed the entirety of the third act. Orson Welles as Harry Lime is actually fantastic, he just carries this smug confidence that almost makes me want to root for him. The entirety of the Ferris Wheel scene is just great and we get a top tier villain speech. The ending was also top notch, sure killing kids with watered down penicillin is evil, but so is trying to bang your childhood friend's girlfriend after you sold him out and killed him. So yeah Holly got was coming to him too.

Speaking of which, Holly sucks. Yeah I think he's supposed to, but to me there just isn't anything endearing about him. I enjoy a flawed protagonist and all, but you still need that one thing to keep us invested in him and it just wasn't there for me. My other main issue was the mystery just wasn't engaging enough. Maybe I'm just spoiled by things like Ace Attorney or Knives Out. I'm used convoluted murders and absurdly unique characters, but here it's just hearing a bunch of people give the same account until someone mentions The Third Man, (ooooooohhhhh). So its admittedly kinda hard just watching that happen for an hour and a half with a dull protagonist. Honestly though it doesn't even matter because Harry just reveals himself shortly afterwards anyway. So uh yeah there really wasn't much that surprised me or left me thinking. It just kind of all happened. Oh yeah and what was up with that score? It was definitely unique that's for sure, but it was completely distracting and I really wonder what their intention was with that.

Maybe I'll watch it again someday when I'm more educated on film techniques or something, but at this current moment I just thought it was alright. Some things were cool, but it just didn't hook me like I hoped it would.

3/5

COMING SOON - Sunset Boulevard

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BetrayedTangy
03/02/22 1:48:26 PM
#10:


Sunset Boulevard - 1950
Directed by Billy Wilder
Starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

So I wouldn't say I enjoyed this one as much as Sierra Madre, but I was really impressed Sunset Boulevard. First and foremost is the true star herself, Norma Desmond. Usually overacting just comes off as funny and only really takes you out of the movie, but here Gloria Swanson plays it perfectly. Not only does it create a great contrast between her and the rest of the cast, but it also ties into both her and the character's history as a silent film actress. It has to be one of the best performances in film history as it must've paved the way for unique actors like Nic Cage and Jim Carrey

Honestly the rest is pretty good too! William Holden as Joe Gillis is a pretty refreshing take for this kind of protagonist. Sure he's still a bit of a sleaze at times when it comes to Betty, but when you put him next to Norma you really begin to root for him and is a good example of how your protagonist doesn't have to be a moral compass.

The side characters of Max and Betty are also pretty strong here too. Max is incredibly well fleshed out and realistic as Norma's enabler. He doesn't feed into her delusions for kicks or monet. He genuinely cares about her and just wants to see her happy, he's just going about it completely the wrong way and you almost start to feel bad for him as well. Now as for Betty I think her role in the story is far more fascinating than the character herself. The whole budding romance thing is so played out and it just becomes boring and predictable. That said this romance actually serves a purpose here. Betty represents Joe's escape from a toxic relationship, but that scene where he has to push her away is especially tragic as he has to choose Betty's safety over his own happiness and its something that just really hits hard.

Despite all the praise I just threw on the movie, it's still hurt by its slow pace and some of the cliches. I know it's not the movie's fault and is more on me for being uncultured, but it did still affect my enjoyment a bit.

4.5/5

COMING SOON: Strangers on a Train

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BetrayedTangy
03/03/22 10:29:57 AM
#11:


Strangers on a Train - 1951
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker

Prior to this I've seen three Hitchcock movies and to be honest none of them really blew me away in terms of suspense. Sure Psycho was an all around good movie and Northwest had the whole crop duster scene, but none of them actually had me on the edge of my seat. Strangers truly showed me what Hitchcock was capable of and man am I glad I finally watched it.

Both Granger and Walker put in some great performances here. I really liked Granger as Guy Haines here. He might be all in all a good guy, but he has this slight darkness to him that makes him all the more relatable. Which is where Walker comes in as Bruno Antony. Bruno represents that darkness and gives it human form. It's constantly lingering over us, reminding us of our faults and mistakes, never going away until we face it head on. It also helps that the performance itself and the camerawork just make him unnerving everytime he's on screen.

I really don't want to talk about any of the plot though. This really is a movie best enjoyed with as few spoilers as possible, but it really is a good time and I recommend it to anyone who's a fan of thrillers.

5/5

COMING SOON: Ikiru


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BetrayedTangy
03/03/22 10:31:01 AM
#12:


The Rankings So Far:

Strangers on a Train
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Sunset Boulevard
The Third Man

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