thanks for reply and you watching the film - for me it grew on me for first viewing (like The Rapture - which i hated in the theater - then via VHS and later DVD viewings 10-20 yrs later realized it too was a top 20 rather than bottom 20 which was my first opinion on The Rapture).attofishpi wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 12:57 pmI watched it in 3 stages - because I got tired while watching quite late at night.gaffo wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:36 amso, what did you think of the movie - via torrentattofishpi wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:09 am
Yes, I really enjoyed Falling Down too. I've just looked up The Pledge on WIKI and like you stated - it was poor at the box office, but the critical response was very positive (downloading it now!)?
I thought The Pledge was in the top 20 or so of all time.
why? - many reasons:
1. main character - Jack Nickolson's character - name forget - is a good guy, ended up taking one last case prior to retire.................this movie is subtle (all about Gray - Nickolson is a nice guy, but he makes 2 mistakes (as all good guys like you a me - unless they are wiser to not fk themselves).
mistake #1 of Jack's character (who i like at first - not so much later (again this is a "smart movie" about "Character decay" if one lets themselves degrade over obsessions.)) is he makes a promise he cannot keep (he feels for the mother of the killed kid - i understand (as the audience) - but it was a promise anyone forcing reason over emotion, would know one that cannot be made and should not be made.
He making that promise, forced the obsession to solve crime/fullfill promise - to put his girlfriend's kid (Robin Wright) in danger!
for this IMO though have sympathy - lost some of it (as I did in No Country for Old Men) - where Josh Brolin stumbles upon a bag of money/and a gut shot mexican..........takes the money (does not call an ambulance..lamely returns with water for a now dead mex - ok Josh showed his colors (like Nicholson in his role/film) - ignoring "right thing to do" at the time.
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otherthing about "the Pledge" (BTW "Oliver" is the Pedokiller - you will have a paned short clip of him - 50 something - when he is called by retarded niece/sister).
No, not "justice by man"......is done.
instead.
"Oliver" dies loved, no-one knew (outside of Oliver of course)
"Oliver" was killed by Logging Truck/God? too ------- no matter which HE IS KILLED - and HE WAS A FEDOKILLER - AND HE IS NEVER EXPOSED (to men - to God? - yes if He Exists).
Jack Nickelson is fucked! - because Oliver is killed (via traffic accident - and "no-one ever knew (nor ever will!!!!!!!!! (i love this movie's mindset here - it all there! (anti-"virtue signaling" - God/fate takes out a monster and none notice! - and can no longer vendicate Jack in this stance of putting a girl in danger to catch a killer.
God/fate killed the killer via the logging truck.........Jack is discraced and goes insane and never knows the monsters died.................but he allowed his obcession to endanger the girl.
so forfieted the right to a good end personally (as in the case of No Country for Old Men).
another excellent movie - with similar characters, likeable, but make choices that forfeit their moral high ground.
It certainly wouldn't enter my top 20 list, I did like it, and the non-typical Hollywood ending. Sad thing was that Nickelson ended up ruining his reputation when he should have retired as an excellent cop - and he appeared to turn into a crazy drunk over the whole affair.
Correct me if i'm wrong, but Nickelson did know toward the end, the son of that fat woman, that he was the perp? But he needed to catch the perp in the act? It was obvious the son would have been top of the list - since the chocolate porcupines, but he couldn't have the scum arrested, since he needed to prove it to the law -especially since the arrested dude that had admitted to it at the outset was dead.
No Country for Oldmen - really enjoyed that film.
Two Australian movies worth watching - Two Hands - Oz gangster film with Heath Ledger (for me his best film and the one that kicked off his career) and Bad Boy Bubby (not one to watch with the kids) - very confronting film, but I watched again recently and realised just how clever had been done - filmed not too far from where I currently live in fact.
I did mention those two ealier in this thread, but I do recommend them to anyone interested in ozzy films.
BTW - this is rare for me - only a handful of movies - 5 oat most - did i think "it sucked" to reverse upon latter viewings.
for me I did not think The Pledge sucked, but that it improved from good to great - for me after viewing and thinking about "Stuff" - characters/details/events/motives/etc.............
glad for your reply and like discussing movies/characters of and their motives (in good movies - not schlock) - so thank you Sir.
Sad thing was that Nickelson ended up ruining his reputation when he should have retired as an excellent cop - and he appeared to turn into a crazy drunk over the whole affair.
yes - i found it sad- and had pity for the man, but no sympathy. I knew right from wrong, he choose to "catch the guy" over the safety of his girlfriend's daughter (sure in his mind he thought "I'll catch him when he shows up to see her") - but he is a dick for placing catching the creep over the safety of his girlfriend's kid) - so no sympathy (Robin Wright did right! in leaving the jerk for placing her kid as a lour(dislexic - you know what i mean)) to catch the creep.
if Nickelson was a better guy (he's a good guy, but not as good as he should have been (and their is much "moby dick - OBSESSION - here (and know that 2/3 of that points to the mind of the fixated self failings rather than the whale (child killer in this movies case)) - he would never have allowed the kid of his girl to "See the Wissard" - even if it meant the capture of the killer.
but he chose his obsession to catch the killer over the his gf kids safety (thing "i will not put here in danger") - well by default as using her is pawn does/did so, and so I will give Nichloson my pity but not my sympothy(fk i hate dyslexia).
same for Josh Brolen in "no country for" - and he had 2 CHANCES TO DO RIGHT AND FAILED BOTH TIMES.
1. time one - finding a mexican dude dying, instead of leaving and going to sleep and then returning later - 10 yurs or so - to give water to the now dead man - the moral thing thing is to call the cops/first aiders - they might have arrived early enough to provide water and live to the still alive mexican man in the truck (Josh did not do that and so from that point onward, i lost interest in his survival - he did the wrong thing, so if he is killed, fine my me).
2. Hired hitman give's him repreive: lay down your life, and I'll spare your wife. Josh rejects offer and he and his wife are killed.
I had no regret for Josh dying (he chose his greed first time and pride second time) - but his wife was kewl, sad that her husband was an asshole and to blame for her death - via the assasine jerk.
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boy that "sheriff" or whatever the fk he was (*weightlifter" with all the picts of the cut up kids....getting off over it).................the Pledge is a smart movie, for sadly there are some that collect toward law enforcement via fedo/sexual power dynamics.............etc)................where some can live that inner mental fantacy legally as "a cop" others via illegal "creepy citizen".
The Pledge notes this - as i did upon first viewing (its sick - though true sadly) - ;-(.
