Media Psychos Psycho Challenge! NEW: CHALLENGE 38 IS NOW LIVE!

[Manticore4]

 

Great challenge, @Gary K @extantsrevenge@R1s1ngs0n, I hope I rise to the occasion!

 

Week 25

My first challenge! These were just some random things that I had pulled out to watch:

 

1. South Korea - Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy

2. Spain - trio of José Larraz films

 

3. Japan - the Ring films

4. Hong Kong - Tsui Hark Once Upon a Time in China I-V

 

5. Italy - Dario Argento and Mario Bava - take your pick!

 

BONUS POINTS (?) -

6. Deutschland - the collected films of Wim Wenders

 

7. France - Georges Lautner, *Wim Wenders, Gilles Grangier, Jacques Becker, and (*yes, yes, Wings of Desire is German, but there is a LOT of French, too!)

 

Thank you very much, I hope I passed the audition!

 

Brian

 

P.S. Here are some of the above films mixed in with others, all are recent acquisitions that were lined up to show on MP:

Edited March 18, 2023 by Manticore4

[sobmaster]

Challenge 25: The Multilingual Psycho

@extantsrevenge

@R1s1ngs0n Thanks for this challenge!

 

Waiting Alone (Mandarin)

Comrades: Almost a Love Story (Cantonese)

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (Portuguese)

The Raid (Indonesian)

Ostre Sledovane Vlaky (Czech)

 

 

[Steelbook Indy]

Thanks @R1s1ngs0n.  I’ve been looking forward to showing this one off.  Thanks @extantsrevenge for starting this thread.

Our next challenge is:

 

Challenge #25

"THE MULTILINGUAL PSYCHO"

I decided to get a bit creative regarding this.  What denotes a foreign language?  My first five entries will all be traditional.  I included four additional which I considered fun.

 

1. Amelie (2001) - French: this movie hit the Academy Awards rounds as the heavy favorite to win Best Foreign Film.  Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Foreign Film, was shockingly upset by No Man’s Land - which brings me to entry #2.  My copy is the KimChiDVD Steelbook.

 

2. No Man’s Land (2013) - Mandarin: this movie is no relation to the 2001 Oscar Winner.  It is, however, a good crime drama.  My copy is the Blufans digibook.

 

3. Let the Right One In (2008) - Swedish: this horror/romance/drama is a chilling tale of a 100+ year old vampire trapped in the body of a teenager.  It inspired an American version titled, Let Me In staring Chloë Grace Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Richard Jenkins.  Both are well done, but the original, Swedish version is superior and pulls no punches.  My copy is the KimChiDVD lenticular Steelbook.

 

4. Life is Beautiful (1997) - Italian: Roberto Benigni won the Best Actor Oscar and the film won Best Original Score, and Best Foreign Film.  It was nominated for Best Picture in the days when only five movies were nominated.  Benigni’s acceptance speech probably cost him future roles, but it doesn’t change how good and touching this story is. My copy is a Korean import with a Slipcase.

 

5. Unforgiven (2013) - Japanese: Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is my favorite Western ever.  This Sang-il Lee version is a strong remake.  In the way Leone styles his spaghetti Westerns off Yojimbo and Sanjuro, so does Lee use Japanese sensibility to craft his remake.  Fans of the Eastwood version should watch this.  My copy is a UK imported Steelbook.

 

And now for the fun entries…

 

6. 7. & 8. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) - Elvish & Dwarven: These are included, because Tolkien wrote these books solely to demonstrate he could create new languages.  Tolkien was a philologist by profession.  That means he studied dead languages to see how current day languages evolved.  It’s fascinating to me that a linguist wrote of such a rich world to birth languages.  The rest is a franchise of history.  My copy of this trilogy is the Zavvi set of Steelbooks.

 

9. Snatch (2000) - Pikey/Gypsy: Technically, it’s just a dialect of English/Irish.  However, Brad Pitt sinks so deeply into playing his Gypsy boxer, that his language is incomprehensible at times.  What translates to the screen is one of my top three favorite performances by Pitt (12 Monkeys and Fight Club, anyone?).  It really is special to watch.  You’ll find yourself laughing out loud at scenes that he’s in.  Guy Richie chose to include subtitles in early screenings of the film for most of Brad Pitt’s dialogue.  My copy is the Best Buy Project Pop Art Steelbook.

[javi]

Question regarding challenge 25:

Is a language only allowed once, or is it possible to show you three different Chinese movies and two different Italian movies?

[Gary K]

1 hour ago, javi said:

Question regarding challenge 25:

Is a language only allowed once, or is it possible to show you three different Chinese movies and two different Italian movies?

Five different languages.  

[javi]

challenge#25

 

1. Spanish - Sleep Tight

2. Chinese (Mandarin) - Flashpoint

3. Korean - The Host

4. French - Nikita

5. Indonesian - Merantau

6. Mayan - Apocalypto

 

 

Nikita - I really would to see a Premium Edition for it, or movies like Dobermann, Merantau, The Raid 2 or Headshot etc.....

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by javi

[Blu Magic Ray]

@R1s1ngs0n @extantsrevenge Challenge#25

 

I'm in a bit of a rush, so just a summary: ... we have films here from: France, UK, Germany, Asia, Canada, Argentina... is just a small selection, I could have even more 😎

 

[Mrdugan]

Challenge 26: Women in Film

 

 

The month of March is Women’s History Month in the US and for this challenge we would like you to showcase 5 films that were either produced by a woman, directed by a woman, or featured a woman as the movie’s main character. All releases are eligible for this challenge. Additionally, we want to know your favorite woman in film and why she is your personal favorite. This can be your favorite actress, character that they played, director, etc. 

 

Point Break – directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Years before she became the first woman to win an Academy Award for Directing (The Hurt Locker), Kathryn Bigelow directed this absolute cult classic gem. She has also directed several other well known movies such as Strange Days and Zero Dark Thirty. Utah! Get me two!

 

 

Morvern Callar – directed by Lynne Ramsay. Ramsay makes some great movies including Ratcatcher, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and You Were Never Really Here. She also was the writer for all these films, though Morvern Callar was based on a novel, and was a producer for We Need to Talk About Kevin, and You Were Never Really Here.

 

 

The Slumber Party Massacre – directed by Amy Holden Jones. Editor, producer, writer, actor, director, Amy Holden Jones is an individual of many talents. She was slated to be the editor for ET but left the project to direct her own project. Slumber Party Massacre wasn’t a huge hit at the time but it lives on as a cult classic with this 4K release recently being put out by Shout Factory. The two sequels were also directed by women (Deborah Brock directed SPM 2 and Sally Mattison directed SPM 3).
 

 

The Babadook – directed by Jennifer Kent. I love this movie. Kent most recently directed The Knightingale, a film that I have not yet seen but will check out at some point in the future.
 

 

Titane – directed by Julia Ducournau. This feature won Ducournau the Palm d’Or at Cannes and was the second woman to win this award (Jane Campion for The Piano). With pictures like this and Raw under her belt, I am looking forward to her next movie.

 

 

My favorite woman in film probably needs to go to Sigourney Weaver. I grew up in the 80s watching the high-testosterone, action packed movies of Schwarzenegger and Stallone and Weaver was the first woman action-movie lead I remember watching. Plus she’s great in the Ghostbusters movies.  I do also have a soft spot for Meryl Streep as she is just an amazing actor. 

 

[extantsrevenge]

 Thank you @Mrdugan for our Challenge 26.

 

I decided to go with great female characters that headline their movies.

 

- We have Milla Jovovich as Alice in the Resident Evil Series. Great action heroine for 6 entertaining movies.

 

- Nausicaä from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, an absolute terrific character, one of my favories. Great creation from Miyazaki way before many tried to bring us more female main characters.

 

- Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Movies.

 

- Wonder Woman, the greatest female Comic Hero, brought to life to perfection from the lovely Gald Gadot. This Movie is also directed by a woman (Patty Jenkins). Sadly the Team completely botched WW84 😪, I still hope Gal will return as Wonder Woman.

 

-Also showing Alita, another great character coming out of the pages of a Manga, hopefully we will get another movie.

 

- And then I have included Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as my favorite action heroine of all time, without her we would most likely still only get Men in these kind of roles.

 

 

[Reagh]

Challenge 26: Women in Film

Great challenge @Mrdugan

 

Women Directors

 

Lost in Translation / Sophia Coppola 

 

American Psycho / Marry Harron

 

The Love Witch  / Anna Biller

 

 

RAW  /  Julia Duccournau 

 

Clueless  /  Amy Heckerling 

 

Favorite woman in Hollywood is a easy one for me, Laura Dern. She is a amazing talent. Producer, Writer, Director, Actor. She truly does it all & with more Grace than anyone in the business. 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Reagh

[Veum]

🥤 🤠 🎬 Thank you @Mrdugan for this wonderful challenge❣️

 

Challenge 26: Women in Film

 

I went with my strong, powerful female characters in great films 💪🎥 

 

- Lucy  Scarlett Johansson is a merciless warrior

- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Noomi Rapace/Rooney Mara are Lisbeth that gets her revenge 

- Anna Sasha Luss is a feared government assassin 

- Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence is an agent who can manipulate, seduce and kill

- SALT Angelina Jolie is a covert CIA operative on the run

- Atomic Blonde Charlize Theron the Agent in the crown jewel in Her Majesty’s Secret intelligence Service 

 

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth is my fav character in the films❣️😍 😘

 

[DParadigm]

Week 25.

not sure if it is supposed to be 5 different movies with 5 different languages. I only have Mandarin and Cantonese movies and Japanese Anime.

 

1 and 2: Saint Seiya Anime - Japanese

3. Shaolin - Mandarin and Cantonese 

4. The Sorcerer and the White Snake -  Mandarin and Cantonese 

5. Future Cops - Mandarin and Cantonese 

6. Flying Sword of Dragon Gate - Mandarin and Cantonese 

7. The Twins Effect - Mandarin and Cantonese 

 

 

[hal56]

Thanks for the new challenge, @Mrdugan

 

Here is a selection of my favourite movies by female directors:

 

A Girl Walks Home alone at Night by Ana Lily Amirpour:

 

 

Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold:

 

 

Winters´s Bone by Debra Granik:

 

 

Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade:

 

 

The Piano by Jane Campion:

 

 

Ellen Ripley is definitely my favourite female character. Iconic and groundbreaking.

 

 

[nerdist]

Challenge 26: Women in Film

Thank you @Mrdugan for this great challenge!

 

Here are five of my favourite films that feature a woman as the movie’s main character:

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once - Michelle Yeoh (I literally cried tears of joy witnessing EEAAO sweeping the 2023 Oscars!)

2. Gone Girl - Rosamund Pike

3. Mulholland Drive - Naomi Watts

4. The Handmaiden - Kim Min-hee

5. Black Swan - Natalie Portman

They absolutely nailed it when portraying their multi-faceted characters. Such stunning performances!

 

 

My favourite woman in film is Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. She stayed relatively under the radar until her Oscar-worthy performace in this film thrust her into the spotlight. The Cool Girl monologue is simply a showstopper.

[ethnosax]

CHALLENGE 26

 

I don't know if this is allowed for the challenge, but as a writer and book-lover, I was interested to find a selection of movies that are based on books by women.

 

 

1. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

2. Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier)

3. Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones)

4. A Silent Voice (Yoshitoki Oima)

5. Children of Men (P. D. James)

 

My favorite writer is George Elliot, whose novel Middlemarch is perfection. It was adapted into a great miniseries in 1994.

[HeightOfFolly]

Looks like I've missed some good challenges since the start of this year. I was in a car crash in January which resulted in my car being totaled. I haven't really been on here much since then but I'm excited to start doing these again. Thanks to @Mrdugan for this week's challenge: Women in Film

 

- Alien (Filmarena): Ellen Ripley is arguably one of the best characters in cinema. What would I even be doing if I didn't include her in this challenge?

 

- Kill Bill (Yes, I consider both of them to make up one film): Beatrix Kiddo is just a badass. Plain and simple.

 

- Okja (Criterion 4K): A great film with several strong, female characters.

 

- Atomic Blonde (Kimchidvd): One of my favorite Charlize Theron roles. I'm always impressed by the choreography in this. 

 

- Birds of Prey (Manta Lab): Sadly, the only one of my bunch to be directed by a woman. This was a very fun movie which surprised me given DC's output in recent years.

 

My favorite female character is Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill. I like that there's more to her than just being a killing machine. Her story is quite the journey.

 

[MikeH5856]

5 hours ago, Mrdugan said:

Challenge 26: Women in Film

 

 

The month of March is Women’s History Month in the US and for this challenge we would like you to showcase 5 films that were either produced by a woman, directed by a woman, or featured a woman as the movie’s main character. All releases are eligible for this challenge. Additionally, we want to know your favorite woman in film and why she is your personal favorite. This can be your favorite actress, character that they played, director, etc. 

Great challenge, @Mrdugan, and a great way to show a bit of respect and recognition here for Women’s History Month.

 

Here’s some from my collection!

 

1. Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson, chief of police, in FARGO, a role which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

 

2. Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ellen Ripley in ALIEN.

 

3. Jessica Chastain in Kathryn Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY.
 

4. BLACK WIDOW is a two-fer, and arguably more!, with Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh as sister assassins. Directed by Cate Shortland.

 

5. WONDER WOMAN, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot.

 

My favorite woman in film is Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, particularly her depiction as a tortured bad-ass warrior in T2. 

[mpmarcel]

Challenge 26

 

Taking the easy route here - female main character…

 

Favorite actress easily Jodie Foster who besides her acting chops has something je ne sais quoi.

[Rambo]

catching up on last week.

thank you to @R1s1ngs0n and @extantsrevenge for CHALLENGE 25 - "THE MULTILINGUAL PSYCHO"

 

1) the Wages of Fear (French)

2) the Killer Mafia (Italian)

3) Battle Royale (Japanese)

4) the Good the Bad the Weird (Korean)

5) Infernal Rapist (Spanish)

 

I would really like to see the Good the Bad the Weird get a release from WCL. Daydreaming I know, but one can wish. 

 

[mpmarcel]

5 hours ago, Veum said:

🥤 🤠 🎬 Thank you @Mrdugan for this wonderful challenge❣️

 

Challenge 26: Women in Film

 

I went with my strong, powerful female characters in great films 💪🎥 

 

- Lucy  Scarlett Johansson is a merciless warrior

- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Noomi Rapace/Rooney Mara are Lisbeth that gets her revenge 

- Anna Sasha Luss is a feared government assassin 

- Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence is an agent who can manipulate, seduce and kill

- SALT Angelina Jolie is a covert CIA operative on the run

- Atomic Blonde Charlize Theron the Agent in the crown jewel in Her Majesty’s Secret intelligence Service 

 

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth is my fav character in the films❣️😍 😘

 

@Veum Can’t believe without seeing your list first when I picked mine, they almost match especially had I picked Lucy instead of Ghost in the Shell!

[Steelbook Indy]

4 hours ago, nerdist said:

 

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once - Michelle Yeoh (I literally cried tears of joy witnessing EEAAO sweeping the 2023 Oscars!)

 

Where did you get that copy of EEA@O?  Is that the French or the Italian copy from Amazon?

[Pbsw23]

Challenge 26: Women in Film

 

Fantastic idea for this challenge @Mrdugan 👍🏼
 

This feels like it could be one of those challenges where we see the same titles over and over. I’ve already seen my obvious choices used more than once within the first few hours.

 

Also, Films that I would Certainly hail here for Female Directors I have previously owned but on a poor man’s format, and I am still lacking upgrade replacements. Those include The Matrix & Point Break and those two alone would be my top 2.

 

I could give the nod to Patty Jenkins & Cathy Yan, but again I feel like these will be called out a lot in this challenge. Therefore here is a selection of movies whereby the Leads are either Strong Female performances or actresses IMO, even if the movies weren’t necessarily the best… Cough Dark Phoenix Cough….

 

Special shout out to Chloe Zhao for Eternals. This movie gets a lot of negativity, most likely because it had to follow off of Infinity War & End Game successes. But I truly understand what Chloe was aiming for in Eternals. This is meant to be more than your standard Superhero movie, and with that in mind and not the MCU predecessors it is in fact a very good movie. I feel like we will see a lot more Greatness come from Chloe in the coming years.

 

 

Other Women in Film that I am particularly fond of right now include Danai Jekesai Gurira & Florence Pugh. Also like @extantsrevenge I am really hoping for a follow up for Rosa Salazar in the role of Alita. 
 

Goes without saying that the MCU is presenting a whole plethora of opportunities for leading ladies with Captain Marvel, Miss Marvel, She Hulk, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) Iron Heart, Black Panther (Shuri), Wasp, Guardians, Eternals…. The list goes on and on.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Pbsw23

[Reagh]

12 minutes ago, Pbsw23 said:

it is in fact a very good movie.

[Pbsw23]

2 minutes ago, Reagh said:

Let me guess, you’re scoring this against Mulholland Drive? 😂
 

It was a damn sight Better than Capt. Marvel or Black Widow that’s for sure 😄

[Reagh]

9 minutes ago, Pbsw23 said:

It was a damn sight Better than Capt. Marvel or Black Widow that’s for sure 😄