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Post by delon on Apr 20, 2019 14:58:22 GMT
Comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated.
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Post by politicidal on Apr 20, 2019 15:41:08 GMT
Analyze This (1999) 6/10
The Game (1997) 5/10
London Fields (2018) 2/10
Assassination (2015) 7/10
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) 5/10
A Star is Born (2018) 7/10
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 20, 2019 18:14:37 GMT
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Post by teleadm on Apr 20, 2019 20:30:18 GMT
Thanks delon for returning! I'm old enough to remember the real Eddie, The movie hits the right tone to make it entertaining, but misses the edge to make it memorable. Liam Neeson in an action movie, one knows what's in store. Thrilling enought for a lazy Sunday evening, and Julianna Morre was a good counter part, to keep guessing going Trying something out of the box, a Thai-Hong Kong horror fantasy. To my surprise I was entertained. The premise is that whatever you write, and throw in a wastebasket, a letter a book or whatever, it has been created and lives in a wasteland among many other broken ideas. The last of the old Bond's, done in the old style. Lee is a great villain, he likes money, and has no clue about technology of solar power, and doesn't care. Ekland must be one of the most annoying Bond Brides ever! Generally it feels a bit tired when seeing it again. With stars like Jean Gabin, Gert Fröbe and George Raft, this French gangster movie should have been so much better. Cool soundtrack tough Fröbe puts in a good performace, while Gabin and Raft is on routine spare, for next movie maybe.. Hitchcock's ride on the dark side, Henry Fonda is the right one for this, innocence is not always an advantage, it can break people down even if it's pure It's in public domain so it's not that difficullt to find, the copy I watched was very crisp and sharp, The thing I like most is Edward G. Robinson's underplaying, and how Ihe figueres things out, with pipe and all, reminded me of 1970s TV Colombo, he knew the villain from the start, he just have to figure out how it was done. Well that was my week!
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Post by petrolino on Apr 20, 2019 21:50:03 GMT
My viewings :
'The Proud Princess' (1952 - Borivoj Zeman)
Fairy tale fantasy.
'The Prime Of Life' (1967 - Juraj Jakubisco)
Character study.
'The Sweet Time Of Kalimagdora' (1968 - Leopold Lahola)
Mindbending fantasy.
'The Feather Fairy' (1985 - Juraj Jakubisco)
Fairy tale fantasy.
'Sitting On A Branch I Am Fine' (1989 - Juraj Jakubisco)
Epic wartime drama.
'The Housewife Slasher' (2012 - Christopher Leto)
Suburban slasher with designing women.
'Toni Erdmann' (2016 - Maren Ade)
Absurdist comedy.
'Killer Campout' (2017 - Brad Twigg)
Backwoods cannibal slasher.
'Party Night' (2017 - Troy Escamilla)
Prom party slasher.
'Curse Of The Witch's Doll' (2018 - Lawrence Fowler)
Supernatural shocker.
Thanks.
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 20, 2019 21:51:55 GMT
The Tunnel (aka Transatlantic Tunnel) / Maurice Elvey (1935). Gaumont British Picture Corporation. A futuristic tale of an attempt to build a 2,000 tunnel from England to America. One person, looking back, says that an English Channel Tunnel had been finished in 1940 (five years in the future of this movie; the movie was only off by 59 years-the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994). It also pictures transatlantic non-stop passenger air travel – a relatively new advance – as routine. The story: Driven engineer Richard McAllan (Richard Dix) pitches his tunnel idea to some rich speculative financiers. For various reasons, they invest in the project. The first third of the film is pretty soapy. McAllen, obsessed with the tunnel construction, neglects his wife and child. When his wife is blinded by “Tunnel Sickness” (a mysterious illness) and McAllen goes on a PR tour accompanied by a slinky flapper-type, she leaves him. The action begins (and turns near tragic) when the worker his an undersea volcano. Special effects well done. Some of the scenes of the workmen remind me of “Metropolis.” Also with Leslie Banks, Madge Evans, Helen Vinson, and C. Aubrey Smith. George Arless and Walter Huston make brief cameos as the British Prime Minister and American President. One of the three credited writers is sci-fi novelist Curt Siodmak, brother to director Robert. An interesting curio that maybe should have a larger audience. DVR’d from the Comet cable channel. The Detective (Father Brown) / Robert Hamer (1954). Columbia Pictures UK. Adapted from the Father Brown stories by G. K. Chesterton, in particular the first Father Brown story, “The Blue Cross.” Alec Guinness stars as Chesterton’s clerical sleuth who takes on the task of not only foiling the plans of the international thief known only as Flambeau (Peter Finch), but saving the man’s soul in the process. This movie’s Father Brown does not really do a lot of detection, solving “impossible crimes,” so may not entirely please die-hard Father Brown fans. Yet he has the attitude and smarts to go toe-to-toe with Finch’s confident criminal. Finch is very good as the master of disguise and the unmatchable Joan Greenwood is one of Brown’s parishoners who helps the Priest in one of his traps for Flambeau. A bit of a puff piece but very enjoyable just watching some top British actors play off one another. Peter Finch and Alec Guiness The Metropolitan Opera HD Live: Verdi: La Traviata. (2018). The Met Opera Saturday matinee which was broadcast live to theaters on December 15, 2018 was given an encore on PBS Great Performances, April 5, 2019 – where I caught it. Verdi was already a popular composer of opera and rising fast in 1853 when this opus, based on the novel “The Lady of the Camilles” by Alexander Dumas fils was first given. Its premiere is one of theater’s most famous opening night failures. The soprano singing the lead role of a young beautiful courtesan dying of tuberculosis was aging and a little on the heavy side. Today we would be offended by the “fat shaming” but the first night audience thought it was hilarious every time she gave a little cough to signify her illness. Verdi himself described the night as “a fiasco” but was confident in the music’s quality. Of course, there will be dozens if not hundreds of performances of “La Traviata” worldwide in 2019, 166 years after the fiasco. Beoning (Burning) / Chang-dong Lee (2018). South Korea. This film, well-received by critics last year, seems right in my wheelhouse – “deliberately paced,” a slow burn building to a revelation – yet for the first half of this 150 minute drama nearly tempted me to turn it off for good and go to sleep. Jong-su Lee (Ah-in Yoo) is a minimally employed college grad. He meets Hae-mi Shin (Jong-seo Jun) who takes him back to her apartment where they have sex. After, she tells him she is leaving on a vacation to Africa and will he feed her cat. Even though Jong-su is not even sure that she has a cat agrees. When he goes to pick her up at the airport upon her return, she de-planes with Ben (Steven Yeun, The Walking Dead) who she met in Africa. Jong-su then has to sit back and watch Ben dominate her attention – which goes on for a long time. There is a turning point when Hae-mi vanishes along with her possibly imaginary cat. Jumping to the ending which is such an amazing, jaw-dropping, WTF experience that I have been thinking for almost a week whether the last 4 or 5 minutes saves the rest of the film. I have decided “no” but it comes close.
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Post by OldAussie on Apr 20, 2019 22:27:42 GMT
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Apr 21, 2019 20:03:50 GMT
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Post by claudius on Apr 21, 2019 20:25:51 GMT
DARK SHADOWS (1969) "Episodes 731-735" 50TH ANNIVERSARY MPI Video DVD.
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) 60TH ANNIVERSARY & UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. MGM/UA DVD.
BART OF THE JUNGLE (1989) 30TH ANNIVERSARY this week. Short Subject, included in the...
SAY ANYTHING (1989) 30TH ANNIVERSARY. CBS FoxVideo VHS.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1989) 30TH ANNIVERSARY. Entertainment One DVD.
THE DAY CHRIST DIED (1980) Easter Perennial. FoxMovieChannel VHS Broadcast.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN: THE LITTLE TRAMP (1980) Bootleg DVD.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1967) "Duplicity" 3M 175TH ANNIVERSARY Koch Video DVD.
ZORRO (1958) "Zorro Lights the Fuse" & "The Man With the Whip" Disney DVD.
APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY (1972) "The Crucifixion of Jesus" Easter Perennial. TBN VHS Broadcast.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2004) "One Is All. All Is One." 15TH ANNIVERSARY. Funimation DVD.
BUSTER KEATON: A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW (1987) "Episode 1" & "Episode 2" Network PAL DVD.
DRAGON BALL Z KAI: THE FINAL CHAPTERS (2014) "Seven Years Later. Gohan's First Day at High School" Re-edited, Re-scored version of the DBZ Episode. Funimation BluRay.
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. FoxVideo BluRay
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN (2012) "The Orange Spark" Viz Media DVD.
DRAGON BALL (1989) "Mt. Frypan is Burning! The Do-Or-Die Mission!" 30TH ANNIVERSARY. The Last Episode of 1st DB Anime series (DBZ premiered the next week), ending with Goku and Chichi's Wedding. Funimation DVD.
THE FOUR FEATHERS (1939) 80TH ANNIVERSARY & UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. Criterion DVD.
CLEOPATRA: THE FILM THAT CHANGED HOLLYWOOD (2001) FoxVideo DVD.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) Easter Perennial. ABC Broadcast.
DRAGON BALL SUPER (2017) "Revenge F! A Cunning Trap is Set?" Cartoon Network Broadcast.
I also watched ALICE ("Alice Gets a Pass" & "A Piece of the Rock"), FAMILY TIES ("The Philadelphia Story"), THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW (The Supremes, The Byrds, Glenn Yabrough, etc.), FLYING HOUSE ("What If"), A DIFFERENT WORLD ("Homie, Don't Ya Know Me?") on the TV Stations in Orlando.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Apr 21, 2019 21:17:50 GMT
Hi all,I hope everyone is having a good Easter,and on Saturday, (which is fitting since that used to be the day he usually visited) I got a letter from Chester Zoo saying a memorial plaque to Guy Morgan will be put by the African Painted Dog area. I also watched: Brit Noir: The Franchise Affair (1951) 7 Similar to what they did for another film of his called Warn That Man (1943-also reviewed) Network present an outstanding transfer, with the picture quality being incredibly pin-sharp, and the soundtrack being clean and crisp. Whilst giving this adaptation of Josephine Tey's novel a refined appearance, the screenplay by co-writer/(with Robert Hall) director Lawrence Huntington keeps the mould-breaking style of Tey sharp at the edges, via the secret affairs of British Film Noir at a lake house, Chinese Whispers spread across the town, and the sordid details of a woman picking up a man to be her encounter of the night. Based around not a murder, but a kidnapping, the writers closely follow gentlemanly Robert Blair's sharp sightedness in untangling the fake threads in the kidnapping claims. Surrounded by a great supporting cast of Kenneth More,Peter Jones and Patrick Troughton, Michael Denison gives a polished turn as Blair,who Denison keeps cool under the pressure over his clients being guilty, whilst Ann Stephens gives the accusing Kane a cheeky butter wouldn't melt in her mouth fake innocent grin. Breaking the franchise in a courtroom final, director Lawrence Huntington & cinematographer Günther Krampf (his last film) give the hearing an elegant style of panning shots down the dusty corridors of the Franchise household, and an easy-going light Film Noir/Gris atmosphere over following Blair end the franchise affair. The Old Dark House (1932) 10 Going from a lost film for decades after Universal sold the rights to Columbia for their remake,to film-maker Curtis Harrington making it a personal mission to get a print found, (which led to Universal finding a poor quality print in their archive) Master of Cinema's breath-taking restoration finally sets all the candles alight, in the image quality retaining the film grain,but being spotless of any dirt,and a soundtrack which crisply captures the layers of audio. Running round the old dark house in a Pre-Code pale pink satin dinner dress the director had chosen to make her "Look like a beautiful flame" Gloria Stuart gives an enticing turn as Waverton,with Stuart feeding in her own state as being one of the few non-British people in the cast/crew into Waverton being at a distance from the other guests, with Stuart having Waverton ignite as she gets closer to the secrets of the house. Stamping into the place with his thick Yorkshire accent filling the rooms, Charles Laughton as Porterhouse initially has him be a ball of energy bouncing off each fellow guests, until Laughton begins peeling into Porterhouse's need of companionship from DuCane. Saying no lines of dialogue and making only grows and heavy breathing,Boris Karloff impressively creates an imposing impression as Morgan, whose bulky body movements from Karloff gives him a Universal Monster menace, balanced with an unexpected Pre-Code edge of Morgan trying to look down Waverton's dress. Reuniting with James Whale after the magnificent Waterloo Bridge (1931-also reviewed) and teaming up with R.C. Sherriff (who wrote the play Journey's End,which became Whale's debut film) for an adaptation of J.B. Priestley's (wrongly spelt "Priestly" in the credits) novel, Sherriff and Benn W. Levy continue to peel the themes which span across Whale's work,in splendid dialogue subtly touching on the "shaken" state of those who returned from the battlefields of WWI. Gathering round the table for dinner, the writers make this stormy night a horror of darkly comedic comments on class, in the spike-driven exchanges between Horace and Rebecca Femm,and the on opposing sides of gruff Yorkshire man Porterhouse (who attempts to give his relationship with DuCane the appearance of something it is not) and refine starlet Margaret Waverton. Inspired by Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary (1927), directing auteur James Whale is joined by regular cinematographer Arthur Edeson in bringing the shadow of German Expressionism into the house, via startling splintered shots giving the Femm's a monstrous reflection and the flickering flame appearance of Margaret's dress being threaded into a stylish motif of flickering shadows lining the walls of the old dark house, igniting the Gothic Horrors laying within the heart of the building. Panning down the dinner table, Whale and Edeson continue expanding on their ultra-stylised use of tracking and panning shots,with Whale making the meals served look grotesque whilst panning across the faces filled with disgust from the guests, and tracking shots following the guests uncover the darkest corridors in the old dark house.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Apr 21, 2019 23:24:35 GMT
Hi Lebowskidoo ,how did you find The First Purge to be? Out of the 4,I found this one to be the worst,with this being what I wrote on the flick: 5 Stepping away from directing but continuing to script the franchise, the screenplay by James DeMonaco trims a majority of the thinly-veiled allegories of the first 3,to make this the most politically open of the series, via the Purgers being Neo-Nazis and the people trying to survive the night being Latino and African-Americans from the poverty-ridden "Hood." Aiming to make a statement on the state of the nation, the need to link it to the series makes the Horror elements stick out of place to the unfolding drama. Going for a scatter-shot of the first Purge night, the flick loses the "survive the night" group dynamic which holds the 2nd and 3rd film together, and instead goes for plodding 90's Gangsta Rap stereotypes, (without even a G-Funk score) and muddled nods to the Crips and the Bloods, which leaves the characters looking flat. Staging the first Purge, director Gerard McMurray & cinematographer Anastas N. Michos oddly have the machinery be more advanced than shown in the later films, (and an unexplained gap in no social media) which gives the action some crunch, but due to the toning down of horror elements, leads to little in a threatening mood being created, as the first purge is unleashed.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Apr 22, 2019 0:01:37 GMT
Hi Lebowskidoo ,how did you find The First Purge to be? Out of the 4,I found this one to be the worst,with this being what I wrote on the flick: 5 Stepping away from directing but continuing to script the franchise, the screenplay by James DeMonaco trims a majority of the thinly-veiled allegories of the first 3,to make this the most politically open of the series, via the Purgers being Neo-Nazis and the people trying to survive the night being Latino and African-Americans from the poverty-ridden "Hood." Aiming to make a statement on the state of the nation, the need to link it to the series makes the Horror elements stick out of place to the unfolding drama. Going for a scatter-shot of the first Purge night, the flick loses the "survive the night" group dynamic which holds the 2nd and 3rd film together, and instead goes for plodding 90's Gangsta Rap stereotypes, (without even a G-Funk score) and muddled nods to the Crips and the Bloods, which leaves the characters looking flat. Staging the first Purge, director Gerard McMurray & cinematographer Anastas N. Michos oddly have the machinery be more advanced than shown in the later films, (and an unexplained gap in no social media) which gives the action some crunch, but due to the toning down of horror elements, leads to little in a threatening mood being created, as the first purge is unleashed. I liked it, the more realistic approach made me appreciate the fates of everyone a little more. Was surprised to see Oscar winner, Marisa Tomei in there, and with so little to do.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Apr 22, 2019 15:57:40 GMT
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0037988/reference It's only shallow people who require years to get rid of an emotion. The Picture of Dorian Gray is directed by Albert Lewin, and he also adapts the screenplay from the novel written by Oscar Wilde. It stars Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Donna Reed, Peter Lawford, Lowell Gilmore, Richard Fraser and Douglas Walton. Music is by Herbert Stothart and cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr. Dorian Gray of Mayfair and Selby. Oscar Wilde's Faustian tale about a young Victorian gentleman who sells his soul to retain his youth is given a magnificent make-over by MGM. Pumping into it a budget reputedly of $2 million, the look and feel is perfect for this macabre observation of vanity, greed and self destruction. In many ways it's still an under valued movie, mainly because there will always be Wilde purists who think it lacks the writer's poetic spikiness, while horror fans quite often venture into the picture expecting some sort of violent classic ripe with sex, drugs and debauchery unbound. Lewin crafts his film in understated manner, never allowing the themes in the source material to become overblown just for dramatic purpose. He cloaks it all with an atmosphere of eeriness, thus keeping the debasing nature of Dorian Gray subdued. The horror aspects here mostly are implied or discussed in elegantly stated conversations, where the horror in fact is purely in the characterisation of Dorian himself. We really don't need to see actual things on screen, we are urged to be chilled to the marrow by his mere presence, and this works because Lewin has personalised us into this man's sinful descent by way of careful pacing and character formation. There are some jolt moments of course, notably the famous inserts of Technicolor into the black and white film, the impact of such bringing the portrait of the title thundering into our conscious. However, this is not about thrill rides and titillation, because the film, like its source, is intellectual. Lewin is aided considerably by Stradling's beautiful photography, which in turn either vividly realises the opulent abodes or darkens the dens of iniquities, so just like Lewin, Stradling and the art department work wonders and prove to be fine purveyors of their craft. Hatfield is wonderful, it's an inspired piece of casting, with his angular features and cold dead eyes, he effortlessly suggests the black heart now beating where once there was a soul. Yet even he, and the rest of the impressive cast, are trumped by Sanders as Lord Henry. Cynical, brutal yet rich with witticisms, in Sanders' excellent hands Lord Henry becomes the smiling devil like mentor perched on Dorian's shoulder. Dorian and Lord Henry are movie monsters, proof positive that not all monsters need to be seen hacking off limbs or drinking blood. In this case, the decaying of the soul is a far more terrifying experience. Fascinating, eloquent, intelligent and frightening. 9/10 North by Northwest (1959) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/referenceSometimes the truth does taste like a mouthful of worms.Roger O Thornhill is a harmless and amiable advertising executive who is absurdly mistaken for a government agent by a gang of ruthless spies. Forced to go out on the lam, Thornhill lurches from one perilous scenario to another. Can he survive to prove his innocence? Is the gorgeous blonde who is helping him really a friend? All will be revealed in Alfred Hitchcock's majestic thriller. If deconstructing it you find that this isn't a perfect Hitchcock movie, for it under uses James Mason's coolly vile Phillip Vandamm (which is a crime), and it also doesn't have a female lead acting with any great urgency since Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall fails to fully fulfil the promise of Kendall's arrival in the movie. Yet this film rightly earns the right to be on any critics top 100 list, to be a favourite amongst the legion of Hitchcock fans (of which I'm one of that number), for it is escapist entertainment in its purest form, Hitchcock's most accessible popcorn entertainment piece. From the moment at the film's opening when you hear Bernard Herrmann's wonderful music, it's enough to send goose pimples all over the body. For it is a musical portent that signifies we are about to get a fusion of thrills, mystery, and some cheeky Hitchcock humour, accompanied by heroes and villains all condensed purely for our enjoyment. Fronted by a diamond Cary Grant performance as the man wrongly mistaken for another that leads to him being pursued frighteningly across the states, the pic is never found wanting for genre high points. Coming as it did after the darkly brilliant and soul sapping Vertigo, Hitchcock clearly wanted to hang loose and enjoy himself. Working from a fabulous script by Ernest Lehman, North By Northwest's very reason for being is purely to entertain those wanting to invest a frame of mind with it, with Hitchcock cunningly putting us on side with what is ultimately a shallow character in Grant's Roger O (the O doesn't stand for anything) Thornhill. It's a neat trick from the master of trickery and devilment. Some of the scenes on show are now almost folk lore such is the esteem in which they are held by movie fans and makers alike. A crop dusting aeroplane attack (the prelude to which has those goose pimples popping up in anticipation), a pursuit on Mount Rushmore and the often forgotten drunk car on a cliff sequence, these are all trade mark pieces of work from Hitchcock. North By Northwest is my humble opinion one of the true greats of cinema history, where as bleak and as unnervingly brilliant as Vertigo was the previous year, this is the polar opposite in structure and fable, but the result is most definitely equally as great. One of the reasons I fell in love with cinema in fact. 10/10 Hell Up in Harlem (1973) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0070169/referenceSerious side-burns is back! After the success of Black Caesar earlier in the year, this sequel was rushed into production to hopefully cash in on the clamour for Blaxploitation shenanigans. Sadly it's a rush job that is all too evidently half baked. Plot has Fred Wiliamson return as Tommy Gibbs (resurrected from the dead apparently!), who takes on corrupt D.A. Diangelo (Gerald Gordon) whilst dealing with matters of the heart. Directed by Larry Cohen, it's with Cohen's frank honest views on the film that critique should start. He would say that Hell Up In Harlem is a 90 minutes montage movie, and he is absolutely right. This is jerkily episodic as it runs a course of people talking then cutting to boisterous action, then some talking and cut again to some more boisterous action, and on it goes for the complete run time. That the action is so gripping - and some choice dialogue zingers in the mix as well - keeps this from being an unwatchable mess. You also have to have respect for this type of guerrilla film making, it literally is filmed on the fly. Regardless of the unbelievable aspects of it all, the oodles of bright red fake blood, and poorly executed stunt work, the rawness of the violence keeps things above average. In fact there's a bit of bad taste simmering away in the violent dynamics, with no legal consequences of lead character's actions, which of course is a blaxploitation trait. It's messy, but it's entertaining mess within the genre it sits in. 6/10 The Hardcore Life (1979) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0079271/referenceNobody makes it. Nobody shows it. Nobody sees it. It's like it doesn't even exist.Hardcore is written and directed by Paul Schrader and stars George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent and Leonard Gaines. Music is by Jack Nitzsche and cinematography by Michael Chapman. Plot has Scott as a Michigan businessman whose daughter disappears after a church group trip to California. Venturing out to California in search of her, he hires a sleazy private investigator (Boyle) and quickly finds that his daughter has fallen into the seedy X-Rated world of pornography. It's a very mixed bag, one minute it's over the top with unbelievable scenarios, the next it's potent, impressive and heart breaking. The battle between religious faith and the sins of the flesh is loud and broad, which does however give the pic its intellectual stimulation, something which one feels fights off the charges of this being exploitation trash. There's also the noir angles to savour for the so inclined, the trawl through a seedy underworld inhabited by deviants and damaged waifs is riveting by way of the portrayals. Scott's character also has classic noir tendencies, he goes from homely religious business man to the point where he has to become one of the venal to find the answers he so desperately needs. Behind the scenes thigs were not the best, with the usual artistic differences bubbling away, and this is never more evident then with the weak finale. It reeks of a compromise, a failure to really drive a stake through the hearts of the viewers. The promised horror never arrives, a true classic noir finale jettisoned in favour of candy coated heroics. Shame that, but this is still a fascinating and powerful pic. 7/10 48 Hrs. (1982) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0083511/referenceYou switch from an armed robber to a pimp, you're all set.A hard as nails cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down an escaped convict cop killer. The mismatched buddy buddy formula exploded onto the screen here in a ball of violence, profanity and pin sharp one liners. It also launched Eddie Murphy into 1980s stardom. Directed by Walter Hill and starring Nick Nolte alongside Murphy as part of an electrifying black and white double act, it's unrelenting in pace and bad attitude. It could have been so different though, with the likes of Stallone, Reynolds, Pryor and Hines attached at various times for lead parts, it now is written in folklore that Murphy got the break and grasped it with both hands (he was actually fired at one point mind!). Thankfully the problems behind the scenes were resolved to give us a classic of its type. A big success for Paramount it paved the way for more choice same formula pictures in the decade, but few were able to be so coarse and daring with the racial divide explosions. Murphy is outstanding, quick as an A.K. 47 in vocal delivery and with visual comedic ticks in full effect, he plays off of the also excellent gruff rough and tough Nolte superbly. Unsurprisingly the plot trajectory is simple enough, but such is the writing and performances (James Remar, Sonny Landham and David Patrick Kelly in support) it's one hell of a live wire ride from start to finish. In amongst the verbal and action carnage you find plenty of 80s pop culture, with a blunderbuss sound track and a score from James Horner that pings around the Los Angeles locales (he would rework it for Arnie starrer Commando in 1985). This points to a time where now it is perceived as being tactless and a relic, and yet it instils realism as it captures the zeitgeist of the era. So not one for the easily offended then, but for nostalgics and those interested in the expansion of the action comedy formula, then this is a must see that still delivers high octane entertainment. 8/10 Heartbreak Ridge (1986) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0091187/referenceCrusty Clint is still not to be messed with.One of Clint Eastwood's most accessible 80s movies, Heartbreak Ridge sees the gruff actor on very fine form, this even though the "war is hell" core that fills out the last quarter via a rather silly gun toting rescue mission in Grenada does lack conviction. The film wins its stripes courtesy of James Carabatsos' razor witty script and the sub plot involving ex wife Aggie (Marsha Mason). For all its macho posturing and training routine shenanigans (you will wish we could have stayed at boot camp once Grenada arrives), at its heart is a very tender movie about a man who can't let the career go, and simultaneously the wife (ex) who simply lived hell each day as her man was off at war (Korea/Vietnam et al). That said, it's the comedy that has made the film one of the most quoted film's of big Clint's career. Be it Eastwood himself tossing off witty put downs to his rag tag band of men, or the likes of Mario Van Peebles hilariously looking like some punk version of Michael Jackson, there's a lot of fun to be had in every other frame. There's even a guy here whose thighs are bigger than Sly Stallone! So yes there's many stereotypes here, none more so than Everett McGill's fresh out of school prig Major Powers, and for sure the ending is never in any doubt what so ever. But get in line and enjoy the fun whilst noticing that it does have under the surface themes well worth time investment as well. 7/10 Tango & Cash (1989) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0098439/referenceIf you really wanted to stare death in the eye, you shoulda gotten married.Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell play polar opposite Los Angeles cops who are framed by an arch nemesis and forced to team up in order to clear their name. Unashamedly macho and very much of its time, this is daft energetic fun that's full of octane inventive action and ever quotable one liners. Stallone is Tango, the smart dressed sophisticated policeman, Russel is Cash, the slobbish act first - ask questions later copper, both men very different but both excellent at their jobs. Pic gets by mostly on the chemistry between Stallone and Russell, who put much zest into their respective characters bickering and bantering. Action is well put together by director Andrey Konchalovskiy, but unfortunately the final third of the piece starts to sag as our mismatched cops start to respect and befriend each other and the plot reaches the inevitable conclusion. It doesn't help matters that Jack Palance's main villain is only a bit part player, or that his head henchman Requin (the usually ace Brion James) gives us a quite appalling British accent. Add in Teri Hatcher who is in it purely for dressage and as a cypher between the two boys, then it's a picture not without problems. Yet the script and star turns from the leading duo ensure this remains a favourite of many whom lapped it up back in the backend of the 1980s. 7/10
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Post by marianne48 on Apr 23, 2019 2:36:06 GMT
Green Book (2018)--aka "Driving Dr. Shirley," this is a rather bland feel-good drama that was okay, but not particularly outstanding. I happened to see the last half-hour of BlacKkKlansman again after seeing this, and that was more affecting than this movie. Good movie, but that's it.
What They Had (2018)--Decent drama about a family dealing with Alzheimer's. Robert Forster is touching as the loyal husband of his ailing wife, while Michael Shannon is a standout in the movie.
You and Me (1938)--Fritz Lang's strange mix of crime and goofy comedy, with George Raft and Sylvia Sidney playing co-workers in a department store who marry while hiding from each other the fact that they're parolees (many of the other store employees are also ex-cons). Watchable, if a bit odd.
He Was Her Man (1934)--James Cagney and Joan Blondell in their last pairing together; Blondell plays a prostitute trying to reform by moving to a small fishing village to marry a sweet, very forgiving fisherman, played by Victor Jory; Cagney offers to escort her to the village after she sleeps with him. They don't actually show and talk about this in the movie, but they had to be clever to get past the Hays Code in those days. Cagney makes himself fun to watch, as usual; just the way he pulls a small wad of cash out of his pocket is done with flair; Blondell is a good match for him. There's not such a happy ending for Jimmy, but he goes out with a lot of style. The ending does leave one question, however--did they bring back the ice cream?
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Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 23, 2019 23:06:34 GMT
A belated hi & catch-up from OZ , last weeks nightly views were a highly entertaining mix of Soviet era classics, Outstanding films drawn from some impressive literary sources... Po Zakonu , By the Law (1926) Lev Kuleshov. Adapted from the Jack Londonshort story "The Unexpected", the thrilling silent drama tells the tale of five gold miners from Western Europe who have travelled to the remote Yukon in the hope of finding their fortune in gold. As the stress and abuse mounts, in a moment of madness one of the group shoots two of his comrades. Once disarmed the surviving members face a serious moral dilemma, do they administer justice themselves or will they risk waiting for the thaw for a return to civilization so that the prisoner can face the Law... Lev Kuleshov decided with this his third feature project to make a film using minimal resources and just a small number of actors. With an extraordinary visual style Kuleshov maintains dynamic tension throughout with a seamless editing rhythm of quick cuts. There is no respite, an atmosphere of apprehension & restlessness grips to the thrilling very last moments... Excellent !! Vooruzhyon i ochen opasen , Armed and Dangerous (1977) Vladimir Vajnshtok . Adapted from the writings of Bret Harte who featured in some of his writings the miners & gamblers the romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. This action packed gritty western is an unusual Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Romanian co-production with the non Russian actors dubbed, it was filmed in some spectacular central European landscapes, and is accompanied with a wonderful soundtrack which at times sounds almost reggae ! The setting is late 19th century in the Wild West of America where greed, blackmail and passion erupt on the wild frontier.. While I am no gun enthusiast, of interest also is the attention to detail, the film is listed on a site ifmdb, having a unique collection of antique firearms used throughout... Excellent !! Begushchaya po volnam , The Wave Runner (1967) Pavel Lyubimov Adapted from Alexander Grin the Soviet writer best rembered for his romantic novels and short stories, mostly set in an unnamed fantasy land. Begushchaya po volnam is a Soviet, Bulgarian co-production beautifully filmed tale with a terrific soundtrack. The story tells of of a burnt out young concert pianist who disembarks from his train and heavily booked schedule, at a mysterious seaside town... Also of note and recommended , the Science fiction film Chelovek-Amfibiya , Amphibian Man (1963) and the excellent satirical film Lyоgkaya zhizn , An Easy Life (1964) A chemist by training struggles to manage a Moscow dry-cleaning operation, but he does live a very comfortable life by taking orders on the side for his speculative "private enterprise," However after a series of lies he is drawn further and further into complicated troubles... Starring Yury Yakovlev who has a unique and original comic style, I suspect John Cleese may have seen this one !....
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Post by rudeboy on Apr 24, 2019 0:28:59 GMT
7
The Gleaners and I (2000) Agnès Varda Yeelen (1987) Souleymane Cissé Disconnect (2012) Henry Alex Rubin
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Darwin's Nightmare (2004) Hubert Sauper She's Gotta Have It (1986) Spike Lee
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Lorenzo's Oil (1992) George Miller THX 1138 (1971) George Lucas Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000) François Ozon The Normal Heart (2014) Ryan Murphy The Fan (1949) Otto Preminger
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Dick (1999) Andrew Fleming Noah (2014) Darren Aronofsky
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Apr 24, 2019 11:57:11 GMT
The Glass Key. I have it at 7/10, fine film noir but the ending is unforgivable to me. It has been over 8 years since I last watched it so it's due a re-evaluation and review rewrite. The Mask of Zorro. I love it > www.imdb.com/review/rw2073996/?ref_=tt_urv
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Apr 24, 2019 12:07:13 GMT
Thanks delon for returning! I'm old enough to remember the real Eddie, The movie hits the right tone to make it entertaining, but misses the edge to make it memorable. Liam Neeson in an action movie, one knows what's in store. Thrilling enought for a lazy Sunday evening, and Julianna Morre was a good counter part, to keep guessing going Trying something out of the box, a Thai-Hong Kong horror fantasy. To my surprise I was entertained. The premise is that whatever you write, and throw in a wastebasket, a letter a book or whatever, it has been created and lives in a wasteland among many other broken ideas. The last of the old Bond's, done in the old style. Lee is a great villain, he likes money, and has no clue about technology of solar power, and doesn't care. Ekland must be one of the most annoying Bond Brides ever! Generally it feels a bit tired when seeing it again. With stars like Jean Gabin, Gert Fröbe and George Raft, this French gangster movie should have been so much better. Cool soundtrack tough Fröbe puts in a good performace, while Gabin and Raft is on routine spare, for next movie maybe.. Hitchcock's ride on the dark side, Henry Fonda is the right one for this, innocence is not always an advantage, it can break people down even if it's pure It's in public domain so it's not that difficullt to find, the copy I watched was very crisp and sharp, The thing I like most is Edward G. Robinson's underplaying, and how Ihe figueres things out, with pipe and all, reminded me of 1970s TV Colombo, he knew the villain from the start, he just have to figure out how it was done. Well that was my week! The Man With the Golden Gun. A lesser Bond in my book, allow me to expand > You get as much pleasure out of killing as I do, so why don't you admit it? The Man with the Golden Gun is directed by Guy Hamilton and adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz from the Ian Fleming novel. It stars Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize, Soon-Taik-Oh, Richard Loo and Clifton James. Music is scored by John Barry and cinematography by Ted Moore & Oswald Morris. Bond 9 and 007 is distracted from his pursuit of the Solex Agitator when it appears he has been targeted for death by famous assassin Francisco Scaramanga. This would be the last Bond movie to be produced by the partnership of Broccoli and Saltzman, the latter of which was the one to leave. Perhaps they fought about what direction Moore's Bond should be taking? Because The Man with the Golden Gun is not a fitting film for them to part on, their fall out most likely impacting on why this is a pretty unadventurous entry in the James Bond franchise. The film plays more as a slapstick comedy than an action adventure. The script is uninspired, with the characters of Mary Goodnight (Ekland) and Sheriff Pepper (James) reaching new lows for Bond allies, while some of the situations that arise are just bizarre and lazy. The latter statement of which applies big time to the weak finale. However, even average Bond films have value somewhere in the mix. Here there's some grit in Moore's performance and Lee's Scaramanga is one of the series' most interesting villains. Maud Adams is given a good character to work from, her Andrea Anders is intriguing and very much a live wire in the plot, it's a good performance that would see Adams rewarded with the lead lady role in Octopussy (1983). Villechaize's Nick Nack, Scaramanga's right hand man/helper is a unique villain, though this is spoilt somewhat by a daft final confrontation with Bond. There's a brilliant car stunt performed by Bumps Willard, done in one take, it alone deserved to be in a better film. Elsewhere. Barry is back on musical score duties, providing an Oriental tinted arrangement. Sadly Lulu's title theme song is instantly forgettable and lyrically feels like it was written in 5 minutes. Locations are sumptuous, with Macau, Hong Kong and Thailand put to great use by the team, and the gadgetry is kept to minimum which allows us to enjoy the one or two inventive modes of transport used within the piece. The box office was $98 million, a considerable take for sure but still some $63 million down on the previous Bond adventure. With critics and fans considering the film a let down, questions were again raised as to if Bond was loosing his appeal? With Saltzman, Hamilton and Mankiewicz bowing out of the franchise, would there be a turnaround in Bond's fortunes? Would Moore finally get a script and film to test him? 6.5/10 I will get to reviewing The Wrong Man this year... The Stranger. 9/10 > www.imdb.com/review/rw2001675/?ref_=tt_urv
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 24, 2019 12:12:24 GMT
August 9 will be the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of Zorro in print. Mark your calendar! We'll have a thread.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Apr 24, 2019 12:15:48 GMT
Field of Dreams is just magical, a film even the most macho of macho types should let into their lives Capra meets Serling for 1980's joyously multi genre hankie wetter. Coming back to Field Of Dreams over 20 years after its release finds this particular viewer beaming with happiness that the warmth I felt way back when still washes over me in the same way. Director Phil Alden Robinson (All of Me/Fletch) manages to turn W.P. Kinsella's novel, Shoeless Joe, into a multi genre film with deep emotional heart for both sexes to latch on to. It has a beautiful mix of mythology and family values that come together to realise a dream that ultimately rewards those viewers who are prepared to open themselves up to pure fantasy with a deep emotional core. It was nominated for best picture in 1989 because it struck a cord with so many people, it's not just the thematic heart of the film that delivers, it's also the actors on show who perfectly realise this delightful tale. Kevin Costner is surrounded by great workers in Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan and Burt Lancaster, and he wisely lets these actors dominate the scenes that he shares with them, it's something that is an often forgotten good point of Costner's performances; that he is comfortable to let his co-stars dominate important narrative snatches. However, he is the glue that binds the whole film together, it's quite a naturally engaging performance that rightly gave him the star status he would achieve post release of the film. As a born and bred Englishman I don't profess to appreciate just how much a way of life Baseball is to Americans, but I do have my own sports in England that I'm happy to dream the dream with in equal measure, and with that I understand all the themes in Field Of Dreams big time. Most of all, though, I can involve myself with its family values, the dream of dreams, and because it's undeniably pure escapist cinema for those who aren't afraid to let their respective guards down for a wee short while, the rewards are many. With a lush James Horner score evocatively layered over the top of it and John Lindley's photography almost ethereal at times, production is suitably in the fantasy realm. Never twee or over sweet, Field of Dreams is a magical movie in more ways than one. A film that manages to have its cake and eat it and then closes down with one of the most beautiful endings of the 80's. Field of Dreams, still hitting Home Runs after all these years. 9/10
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