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Post by delon on Nov 23, 2019 16:42:41 GMT
Comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated.
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Post by wmcclain on Nov 23, 2019 16:54:35 GMT
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Post by politicidal on Nov 23, 2019 17:03:25 GMT
Station West (1948) 5/10
The Pathfinder (1952) 6/10
Ford v. Ferrari (2019) 8/10
Pavarotti (2019) 7/10
Marked Woman (1937) 4/10
Deception (1946) 6/10
Jezebel (1939) 8/10
Dark Victory (1940) 7/10
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) 9/10
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biker1
Junior Member
@biker1
Posts: 1,804
Likes: 743
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Post by biker1 on Nov 23, 2019 20:14:03 GMT
murder by contract (1958) ☆☆☆ one-of-a-kind low budget crime thriller
the strange woman (1946) ☆☆☆ A shame this entertaining period melodrama doesn't deliver on the promise of the first 30 minutes, 'though Hedy Lamaar's 'wicked woman' performance remains compelling throughout.
shield for murder (1954) ☆☆1/2 serviceable 'dirty cop' crime drama with Edmond O'brien.
the come on (1956) ☆☆ Give Sterling Hayden the right role and he's fine. Put him in a scene with women and he's inclined to flounder and so it is in this romance noir. A luminous Anne Baxter and a slimey John Hoyt movie it along though, and a cheap and trashy b film becomes watchable.
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Post by OldAussie on Nov 23, 2019 21:44:00 GMT
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Nov 23, 2019 21:52:51 GMT
Just the one movie... Frozen (2013).
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Post by teleadm on Nov 24, 2019 0:16:20 GMT
Here comes the Teleadm week of wonders: Didn't think this would interest me at all, but it did somehow. It's beautifully made with great cinematography and so on, but what bugged was why a smart, independet young woman who seems to know what she want's in life, can somehow fall for a such a douchbag like Sergeant Troy, when she have other great options around her. I know that is how Thomas Hardy wrote it, but it bugged me, but not towards this beautiful production. I shouldn't but I did, like those likable characters of a hopefully never future. Just like Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence 2001 I had troubles feeling sorry for characters that is actually just software and machines that can show pre-programmed emotions but they are still not real. That aside this movie was entertaining, so I skipped my doubts, and enjoyed it as it is, WALL-E and EVE are charming as an odd loving couple, but my favorite was little MO, who angrily has to clean up everything contaminated. Sometimes it's nice to see a warm and romantic movie like this, romanticism doesn't die because of age, it can still be found. Nicholson is such a great joy in his awkwardness in real emotions, backed by a great cast. There is a tiny bit of sentimentality here, but overall it's an enjoyably bumpy ride with some genuinely funny scenes. Nice to see Fonda in a rare comedy role and he handles it well by not being comedic but letting the situation be comic instead of himself. Ball and Fonda makes a nice couple too. Much better that the horrible new version from 2005. Swedish title translated to English was See You Under the Bed. One of my favorite movies with some of my favorite actors. The pace might be a bit slow, but I liked that, as the diverse characters has a chance to develope their characters. Maybe Howard Hawks' last great movie. My Rifle, My Pony and Me... The good thing about those movies is you know what you gonna get, outdoors, gunplay and railroads in beautiful colour and Randy will eventually find a woman to kiss, and they seldom lasts over 80 minutes. What I like is that it doesn't pretend to be anything else, but action entertainment for a little while, and an escape from reality. Hollywood didn't have the absolut copyrights to make fictional biopics, as this expensive Austrian movie proved, about composer Carl Michael Ziehrer. I vaguely think I've heard of him, and some of the music sounded familiar. It's a no expenses spared production in colours and sets, with an actually entertaining orchestral duel during it's last 15 minutes or so, if a bit overdone. It's such a joy watching William Powell I can nearly excuse everything in this movie, a pale public domain version, that seems to have been very expensive once, considering the sets and streets, with rails and trolleys. The story in itself might be a bit thin and a bit too long drawn out, but I didn't care. For once I've actually read the book it's based on. I just liked the pic! Well that was it for me this week, and now I will read more what other members have seen...
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Post by mikef6 on Nov 24, 2019 1:51:21 GMT
I Wake Up Screaming / H. Bruce Humberstone (1941). Twentieth Century Fox. Cinematography by Edward Cronjager. Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is in the police station being grilled about a murder. He sits in a pool of light surrounded by shadowy figures. In the office outside the jail section, Jill Lynn (Betty Grable), sister to Vicky Lynn (Carol Landis) the murder victim, is being questioned by detectives about Frankie’s relationship to Vicky. The light here is not much better as shadows fall cross the faces. Thus begins a somewhat under the radar, underappreciated film that many believe to be one of the first authentic film noirs (as they came to be called) and therefore one of the most influential. In fact, three films that are often considered the beginnings of the sub-genre/style/whatever-you-want-to-call-it were: The Stranger on the Third Floor released in August 1940, The Maltese Falcon released October 8, 1941, and I Wake Up Screaming released October 31, 1941. (TRIVIA QUESTION: What actor appeared in all three of these movies? No peeking, now.) The first part of the story is told in flashback. Frankie, a well-to-do boxing promoter meets Vicky Lynn who he is attracted to. He decides he can make her a singing star so starts to build her career in a whirlwind of night clubs, hob-nobs with the smart set, and her name in society columns. But her ego grows too big so when she is found dead by her sister, Frankie is the obvious suspect. With no evidence to hold him, Frankie is released, but one of the detectives, Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), begins to trail him and harass him, all the time telling Frankie that he believes him to be the murderer. Frankie must do something on his own so, with Jill’s help begins his own investigation. An absolute film noir essential. Michael Shayne #7 of 7: Time To Kill / Herbert I. Leeds (1942). Twentieth Century Fox. The last of the Michael Shayne mysteries from Fox turns to a more serious tone. The earlier entries were mainly comic mystery romps differing only in the amount of humorous material. This title, however, based on a Raymond Chandler novel with Lloyd Nolan’s Shayne subbing for Philip Marlowe, follows both the story and the feel of an authentic American Private Eye novel. “Time To Kill” is adapted from what was at the time Chandler’s latest book, The High Window. Shayne/Marlowe is hired by the tyrannical rich woman Mrs. Murdock (Ethel Griffies), because a valuable rare coin, the Brasher Doubloon, has gone missing from her coin collection. Mrs. Murdock believes that her gold-digging daughter-in-law, Linda Conquest (Doris Merrick), took it when she left her husband and the Murdock household. In the Murdock office, Shayne has to comfort the old lady’s brow beaten secretary, Myrle (Heather Angel), who has burst into tears. As Shayne investigates (and the bodies start falling) he runs through a gamut of shady characters: a crooked rare coin dealer, a sketchy night club owner and his wife, and the wife’s “bodyguard.” Lloyd Nolan makes a good case for a shot at Marlowe himself while the script hues closely to Chandler’s plot. The brief runtime of 61 minutes, however, means that a lot of detail is lost and some revelations, especially at the end, seem to come out of nowhere. Still, for Chandler/Marlowe completists, watching this will be an easy, entertaining hour. NOTE: “Time To Kill” was the second movie adapted from a Chandler novel. The first, from 1941, taken from “Farewell My Lovely,” was also written to accommodate a series character, namely, George Sanders in “The Falcon Takes Over.” Lloyd Nolan, Heather Angel, Doris Merrick Mildred Pierce / Michael Curtiz (1945). Warner Bros. Cinematographer: Ernest Haller (Oscar win for Gone With The Wind, six other nominations. Also cinematographer for Plunder Road, see review below). From the opening shots (both gun and camera) the viewer is drawn into this drama of a mother/daughter relationship that leads to violence. After we see a man shot down in a house, we then follow Mildred (Joan Crawford, Oscar winner for this role) contemplating suicide. After being interrupted, she runs into old friend and business rival Wally Fay (Jack Carson). Taking Wally back to the murder house, she locks him in and flees. In a great scene, Wally runs from room to room looking for a way out as the rooms and staircase turn into a nightmare fun house with no way out. At the police station later Mildred tells her story in flashback beginning when as a housewife she kicks her husband (Bruce Bennett) out when she learns he is having an affair. She is left alone with her two daughters. The teenage Veda (Ann Blyth) is already a social climbing snob who wants new cars and clothes that Mildred cannot provide. She takes a job waiting tables and as she learns with the help of new friend Ida (Eve Arden) begins to dream about her own restaurant business. The middle section detailing Mildred’s rise to fortune, the men in her life, and the growing greed of Veda admittedly gets more than a little soapy. However, most of the shots are bathed in shadow (with some startling Deep Focus) and the final act returns to total noir sensibilities. The movie was nominated for Best Picture, Joan Crawford won Best Actress, and both Ann Blyth and Eve Arden got Supporting Actress noms. This may be an “A” picture, but is film noir to the roots. My second film noir essential of the week. Veda’s birthday present is a 1940 Buick Special Convertible Coupe. Mildred paid $1800 for it. The Argyle Secrets / Cy Enfield (1948). Eronel Productions/Film Classics. Cinematographer: Mack Stengler. Based on a radio drama written by director Cy Enfield. A rising reporter in Boston, Harry Mitchell (William Gargan), is on the trail of a book – an “album” - that allegedly contains names and evidence of international millionaires who, unsure who was going to win the war, also played for the Nazi side. There are many similarities (no doubt deliberate) to the plot of The Maltese Falcon including a woman working for herself who is looking for the album (Marjorie Lord, Make Room For Daddy), an obsessed criminal with companion thug, and a mysterious man of some physical weight. Barbara Billingsley (Leave It To Beaver) plays a small but key role. The YouTube print is not very good. Faces often are smudged. Whether you see this or not will never affect your life. Wicked Woman / Russell Rouse (1953). A Greene-Rouse Production/United Artists. An unknown gem for sure that is a light riff on James M. Cain and “Postman” with a gender switch. This time around the drifter is Billie Nash (Beverley Michaels), a hard-as-nails, been around the block a few times blond, who gets off the bus in a medium sized town. She takes a cheap furnished room and finds a job at a local tavern owned by Matt Bannister (Richard Egan) and his alcoholic wife Dora (Evelyn Scott). She then throws herself at Matt who is unhappy in his marriage but has to put up with his wife because she had inherited the bar, so Matt only owns half of it. Billie immediately starts working on Matt to sell the bar out from under Dora and take the money so the two of them could fly away to Mexico. Dora would never divorce Matt nor agree to sell the business so they concoct a risky scheme. The loose cannon in all this is Charlie Borg (Percy Helton), a lonely tailor who lives across the hall from Billie in the rooming house. When Billie first moves in she cadges free meals and money off him with vague promises of going dancing sometime later. When finally rejected, he begins to keep a close eye on Billie. Director slash co-writer Russell Rouse stages a couple of beads-of-sweat inducing scenes when as the scheme against Dora comes close to unraveling. Rouse also wrote the story and screenplay for one of the movies that made me a movie fanatic in the first place, D.O.A. (1950). He won an Oscar for Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen (Pillow Talk, 1959). The ending, which is almost comedic, is a let down but it’s fun until then. Beverly Michaels, Robert Osterloh, Richard Egan Percy Helton with Michaels Plunder Road / Hubert Cornfield (1957). Twentieth Century Fox. Cinematographer: Ernest Haller. Wait…what? Hubert Cornfield? Turkish-born Cornfield only directed seven films (co-directed uncredited an eighth) with one major well financed color film in his resume with Marlon Brando of all people: “The Night of the Following Day” (1969) which, if I remember correctly, was a critical and box office failure. “Plunder Road,” on the other hand, is a complete success for what it is, an almost non-stop heist-action-car chase movies. As two trucks drive though a pouring rain we hear a sentence or two of the thoughts of each of the men but for the first 13 minutes we don’t hear a word spoken as they carry out a complicated but precise gold robbery from a train. Disguising the extremely heavy gold shipment between three trucks and disguising its presence, the men begin a one thousand mile drive to a destination in Los Angeles trying to avoid road blocks or any kind of attention. The drive is harrowing for them all and great entertainment for the audience. The leader is Eddie Harris (Gene Raymond). Also in the cast is Wayne Morris, Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara in the 1960’s Batman TV Series), Elisha Cook (sans the “Jr.”), and Steven Ritch. Gene Raymond, Wayne Morris, Steven Ritch
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Nov 24, 2019 1:58:25 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Nov 24, 2019 2:51:19 GMT
Hi there. A couple of documentaries for me, and one vintage movie ...
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'Casablanca' (1942 - Michael Curtiz)
Atmospheric drama.
'The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumphs And Tragedy Of Gene Clark' (2013, Documentary - Jack Kendall & Paul Kendall)
The story of distant byrd Gene Clark and his psychedelic rides.
'Blue Note Records : Beyond The Notes' (2018, Documentary - Sophie Huber)
Reasonable overview of an important music label for jazz fans. Includes some nice footage from the archives and details some of the surrounding work processes.
Thanks.
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Post by claudius on Nov 24, 2019 12:04:43 GMT
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1979) “Beatrice Arthur/The Roches” 40TH ANNIVERSARY. Universal DVD.
SCOOBY DOO AND SCRAPPY DOO SHOW (1979) “Twenty-Thousand Screams Under the Sea” 40TH ANNIVERSARY. Warner DVD.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF FLASH GORDON (1979) “Monsters at the Glaciers” 40TH ANNIVERSARY. BCI Eclipse DVD.
THE TRANSFORMERS (1984) “The Ultimate Doom Part 3” 35TH ANNIVERSARY Shout DVD.
MUPPET BABIES (1984) “Gonzo’s Video Show” 35TH ANNIVERSARY Probably my most watched MB episode, as the gang use a borrowed camcorder to stage STAR WARS. First saw this on a prime time viewing back in 1984, possessing the video recording to this day. Bootleg DVD.
ZORRO (1992) “Conundrum” ZORRO 100TH ANNIVERSARY Bootleg DVD.
ER (1994) “ER Confidential” 25TH ANNIVERSARY The first Thanksgiving episode. Ironic that the episode deals with the ramifications of already-engaged Carol Hathaway's kiss with Doug Ross, when five Thanksgivings later she'll be giving birth to his twins. Also, the actor playing the suicidal crossdresser will return as Peter Benton's Daddy-rival. Warner DVD.
TOWER OF LONDON (1939) 80TH ANNIVERSARY Despite the horror trappings with Boris Karloff, this is more a costume drama akin to Warner Brothers’ Costume Epics, albeit in Black And White (with Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter, John Sutton and Harry Cordling from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD as well as Price and Sutton from ELIZABETH AND ESSEX). Dealing with Richard III’s murderous attempts to gain the crown, it avoids Shakespeare by making his brothers equally ambitious and duplicitous (while giving Richard a semblance of vulnerability). It was an unhappy shoot for Rathbone (John Carradine, filming THE GRAPES OF WRATH at the time, retitled the film "The Gripes of Rathbone"), dealing with a red wig that he felt resembled Harpo Marx, script rewrites, seeing his son Riordan act out an execution scene, and drinking lots and lots of Coca-Cola with Vincent Price (that’s what they were actually drinking in the winery sequence). I first saw parts of this on Arts & Entertainment in 1992, seeing the rest on American Movie Classics in 1994. MCA Universal VHS
THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) 30TH ANNIVERSARY Known as the film that started Disney’s Renaissance (although I feel THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE helped). I first saw a trailer to this film on my BAMBI VHS. I finally got to see it on video in Spring 1990, and then dealing with my baby sister watching it again and again and again (the first tape got damaged and we ad to get a new one). It is the second tape that I am celebrating the Anniversary viewing.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1979) “Episode 2” 40TH ANNIVERSARY This year. Koch DVD. face
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1998) “Episode Two” The Count reunites with the three that wronged him. Save for GANKUTUSOU I’m going to have to put my CoMC Anniversary viewing on hold until after Christmas. Fox Lorber DVD.
BEETLEJUICE (1989) “Prince of the Netherworld” 30TH ANNIVERSARY Shout DVD.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ZORRO (1981) “Framed”, “Turnabout” & “The Tyrant.” This finishes up my viewing of the Animated series. BCI Eclipse DVD.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE (1959) “Jet Fuel Formula 1 &2” 50TH ANNIVERSARY The cult favorite made its debut 50 years ago. Included is FRACTURED FAIRY TALES “Rapunzel” and the intro episode to MR. PEABODY’S HISTORY. I first saw this storyline on NBC back in the early 1990s. Classic Media DVD.
THE BLACK HOLE (1979) 40TH ANNIVERSARY. Disney’s failed attempt to make STAR WARS was always a film I had a fondness to. I like the Cygnus designs and John Barry’s score. First saw this in 1987 expecting the Black Hole trip to be the main story not the climax. Disney Plus.
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004) 15TH ANNIVERSARY. Hayao Miyazaka’s Mystic Anime first seen in 2007. Buena Vista BluRay.
THE BOX OF DELIGHTS (1984) “The Wolves Are Running” 35TH ANNIVERSARY A six-part BBC Serial based on John Masefield’s children’s fantasy book (which was itself a sequel to The Midnight Folk). Set in 1930s England, young schoolboy Kay Harker returns home for Christmas to his aunt Caroline Louisa and the additional guests of the Jones children. He encounters shady priests and befriends an old puppeteer Cole Hawling (Patrick Troughton) whose possession of a magic box makes him a target for the priests and their leader Abner (Robert Stephens). This all leads to Kay traveling through time to an ancient fort at war with wolves. A perennial since 2004 (although I had seen bits of it on Nickelodeon on Christmas Eve 1988), this viewing come from a BBC Video PAL DVD.
HOT WATER (1924) 95TH ANNIVERSARY this year. Harold Lloyd comedy, first seen on Cinemax back in 1994. NewLine DVD.
SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU? (1969) “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts” 50TH ANNIVERSARY The Mystery Inc. Gang face Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolf Man, with the apprehended introducing the signature line “If it wasn’t for you meddling kids and that Dog.” Warner DVD.
DRAGON BALL Z (1989) “Leave it to Me! Gohan’s Burst of Anger” 30TH ANNIVERSARY This episode, where Piccolo makes a character defining moment, was the first I ever saw of DBZ, back in Cartoon Network in 2000. Funimation DVD.
THE FIRST CHURCHILLS (1969) “Reconciliation” 50TH ANNIVERSARY Anne becomes Queen with a new confidante in Abigail. Acorn Media DVD
RAGING BULL (1980) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY Martin Scorsese’s Boxing Oscar Winner, probably United Artists’ last classic before HEAVEN’S GATE ended the studio. MGM/UA DVD
HENRY V (1944) 75TH ANNIVERSARY & UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY (UA only handled the American release, but I feel it counts) Often regarded as filmdom’s first successful foray into Shakespeare. First saw this back in 1992 as a birthday present (I also got Olivier’s HAMLET, the Howard-Shearer ROMEO AND JULIET and the Brando JULIUS CAESAR). Paramount VHS
HAROLD LLOYD THE THIRD GENIUS (1989) “Episode Two” 30TH ANNIVERSARY The conclusion to Brownlow and Gill’s docu as the comedian reaches heights of success than changing fortunes. This episode rather glosses over the problems of the Lloyd family (Alcoholism, infidelity, estrangements; Eldest daughter Gloria is interviewed talking positively about her family life, although the documentary comments about Harold bringing up her daughter, which says something). Unlike the first episode, I did not see it on its broadcast premiere; my first viewing was on a 1994 Cinemax broadcast alongside Photoplay versions of SAFETY LAST, SPEEDY, GIRL SHY, THE KID BROTHER, and HOT WATER. Criterion BluRay
WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT? (1965) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY Woody Allen’s first foray into film, writing the script and acting alongside Peter O’Toole and Peter Sellers. First saw this in 1995 quite accidentally. My brother was channel surfing and spotted the Richard Williams Intro. Knowing the film’s existence and the cast, I knew it in an instant, but waited until the titles hit (My mother had gotten a CD of Tom Jones hits for Christmas, so I wanted to show my brother the film that introduced “What’s New Pussycat?”). Always liked the Kart chase climax. Kino Lorber BluRay
ONCE AND AGAIN (1999) “Thanksgiving” 20TH ANNIVERSARY This will be my last O&A for two months (I’m skipping the December entries). Buena Vista DVD
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1999) “Pangs” 20TH ANNIVERSARY Another ANGEL crossover, as the character returns to Sunnydale to protect Buffy from avenging Native American Ghosts. A delightful episode of one-liners. Fox Video DVD
MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS (1969) “The BBC Entry into the Zinc Stoat at Budapest” 50TH ANNIVERSARY. Today’s episode introduces the Crunchy Frogs sketch as well as the Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticoleensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -ggutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönenddanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm where they highlight the Great Composer Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticoleensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -ggutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönenddanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm by interviewing his surviving nephew Karl Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticoleensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -ggutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönenddanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm. Paramount VHS.
GANKUTUSOU THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (2004) “A Night in Bolounge” My two CoMC viewings this week both deal with the Villa in Autueil and the dark secret involving Villefort and Baroness Danglars. Geneon Entertainment DVD.
THE WIND IN THE WILLOW (1984) “Wayfarers All” 35TH ANNIVERSARY. Ratty is mesmerized into almost leaving the Willows by a traveler (voice by Jack May, whom I recognized as Igor from Cosgrove Hall’s later COUNT DUCKULA) and his song. A & E DVD.
DUNE (1984) 35TH ANNIVERSARY next month. The first attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s Sci-Fi Epic may not have won fans or success, but I rather like it. Aside from 1980s memory of Baron Harkonnen’s fate, I didn’t see the film until December 1995 (the beginning and end of the Alan Smithee cut on SciFi Channel and the theatrical cut on VHS on Christmas Day). Sanctuary Video Entertainment PAL DVD.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Nov 24, 2019 16:15:08 GMT
Face to Face (1967) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0061636/referenceReasons of state, Wallace. You studied history, so you know what I mean. Not out of hate... but with compassion. Faccia a facia (Face to face) is directed by Sergio Sollima and Sollima co-writes the screenplay with Sergio Donati. It stars Gian Maria Volontè, Tomas Milian and William Berger. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Emilio Foriscot and Rafael Pacheco. Brad Fletcher (Volontè), a New England professor, is plagued by ill health and is advised to relocate to the West for better climate conditioning. Once in Texas he is unfortunately taken hostage by wounded outlaw Beauregard Bennet (Milian), the result of which begins a turning of the character based tables... Sergio Sollima followed his excellent La resa dei conti (The Big Gundown) with this similar, if more complex, classic piece of spag cinema. Often cited as a picture with deep political motives, which Sollima denied, it really is in simplified terms a story about a good man going bad and a bad man going good. There are of course political and social observations, coming as it does down in the South post the Civil War, while some of the literate philosophising rewards more on subsequent revisits to the pic. Very talky for sure, it does however contain some superb action sequences, particularly in the last quarter, which in turn is crowned by a very Leonesque finale of quality framing. The trio of lead actors, each a Spag Western legend, are on superb form, while Sollima and his cinematographers provide an epic location based scope to the piece. Be sure to not see any abridged or dubbed version, see it only in its full length with natural Italian accompanied by the various subtitle options. 8/10Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0067148/referenceThere's no place else to go and pretty soon we'll all be dead, so forget it! Enjoy yourself! Let's sing and dance while we can! Come on, blow your mind! The 11th of the Godzilla franchise is easily the most trippy, and most divisive. Hedorah (AKA: The Smog Monster) is spawned from pollution and begins to destroy Japan. It spews poison, shoots acidic mud, tokes on smoking chimney stacks and can shape shift into the bargain. Enter the atomic lizard, Godzilla, who takes up the challenge to hopefully rescue mankind, he can even fly in this one... There's some psychedelic animation inserted into proceedings, which couples up with the whole hippy vibe and LSD infused musical interludes. It's really a hard film to recommend with confidence, with director Yoshimitsu Banno doing an appalling job of staging action and pacing the narrative for cohesive viewing - a first line director he was not. However, it's just nutty enough to understand why some Zilla fans love it, kind of like it's a fun off-shoot of the more potent pics of the series. Certainly the eco message is worthy, but really I'd personally have to be under the influence of strong liquor to ever watch it again. 5/10Airport 1975 (1974) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0071110/reference Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw5263622/?ref_=tt_urv 5/10Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/referenceReview > www.imdb.com/review/rw3248407/?ref_=tt_urv 10/10Every Which Way but Loose (1978) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0077523/referenceReview > www.imdb.com/review/rw5263481/?ref_=tt_urv 7/10The Warriors (1979) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/referenceReview > www.imdb.com/review/rw1833249/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10The Wanderers (1979) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0080117/reference Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw2123726/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10Any Which Way You Can (1980) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0080377/referenceReview > www.imdb.com/review/rw5263573/?ref_=tt_urv 7/10Raw Deal (1986) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0091828/reference Because of you a lot of people are dead. And now it's your turn. Raw Deal is directed by John Irvin and written by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Donati, Gary DeVore and Norman Wexler. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar, Robert Davi and Ed Lauter. A former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff agrees to help the FBI chief infiltrate the Chicago mafia when the FBI chief's son is killed by them. Something of a forgotten Schwarzenegger vehicle, it's for sure one of his lesser lights from his 80s output, but there's enough brawn and bonkers machismo to make it a fun time viewing. Arnie has been scripted with some trade mark phrases and director John Irvin (Hamburger Hill) stages some exciting action set-pieces. In support it's unsurprising to find Davi yet again oozes vile scumbag charisma. There really isn't much to it, it's all very much dressage for Arnie to do his thang, so any expectation of credibility is preposterous in the extreme. So really just suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride. 6/10
Hiding Out (1987) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0093186/referenceReview > www.imdb.com/review/rw2113382/?ref_=tt_urv 7/10The Dream Team (1989) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0097235/reference Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw2476075/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
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Post by bravomailer on Nov 24, 2019 16:21:32 GMT
Testament of Youth (2014) 8/10 A dramatization of Vera Brittain’s renowned experiences during World War One. Wonderfully portrayed by Alicia Vikander, Vera is an independent young woman from a substantial family studying literature at Oxford, when World War One breaks out. Her fiancé, brother, and friends join the army and go off to fight. As the war drags on, most of them are killed and Vera becomes a volunteer nurse, first in England, later not far behind the front lines. Vera is profoundly affected by her experiences and speaks out against war after the Armistice of 1918. As someone who’s read dozens of WWI novels and memoirs, including Vera Brittain’s book, I found the film somewhat predictable. However, Alicia Vikander’s performance, which is usually rather understated and reliant on subtle facial expressions, is wonderful, conveying intelligence and decency and courage. The cinematography, costumes, and sets help make this an excellent film.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 24, 2019 17:52:02 GMT
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) Thank you, Vince Gilligan, for thinking of us Breaking Bad fans. This movie was all for us, and he obviously added plenty of touches for us to enjoy. Actually, who else would be watching this? If you're only tuning in now, you'd be lost and confused, and missing a lot of great television. Aaron Paul is perfect in his most perfect role. Jesse Pinkman had a rough final season and he deserved some good closure. He was always pushed into doing some of his worst deeds and he suffered for it. Great seeing Skinny Pete and Badger again. These three are some of the sweetest drug dealers you'll ever meet. Todd is back and even creepier than ever. Jesse Plemons plays him as a sweet guy who just happens to do evil, psychotic things on the side. Absolutely terrifying! We get flashback scenes of other characters important to Jesse, all recognizable to Breaking Bad fans. Robert Forster, in his final role, appears on screen and so soon after his passing that it infuses his scenes with even more emotion than what was there already. The movie was more of a slow-burn character study than an action-oriented movie. I appreciate that in so many ways, as a huge fan of the series. Joker (2019) "There is no punchline." Where do monsters come from, and why? This movie attempts to offer a backstory for The Joker, Batman's most nefarious and insane foe. It completely exists outside the current DC universe of movies. We at first feel empathy for him, and then watch in horror as he becomes more twisted and scary. Joaquin Phoenix is the ideal actor for this role, I even thought so when I learned of his casting. You just know Jared Leto was not amused by all of this, and who could blame him? Phoenix has given one great performance after another, leading him to ever higher echelons within the Hollywood hierarchy. Now that this role has drawn universal acclaim for him and has already made a billion dollars, he could soon be nudging DiCaprio out of the way for those prized roles. This is a life and career altering moment for Phoenix, he's just that good. Phoenix is phenomenal, but the movie has a hard time maintaining a superior level of quality for him to play in. It has some great moments though. One in particular that this DC Comics fanboy since childhood emitted a sound that could only be called "SQUEEEE!" when it was hinted at. I wasn't expecting this outsider of a movie to use much Batman mythology, let alone something that made me have convulsions of excitement. I may have scared a few other movie-goers, but it was worth it. Caché (2005) A unique thriller that forces the viewer to truly pay attention and almost decide for yourself what's happening. The average viewer will be frustrated by this movie since some answers are not made obvious and you have to piece it together yourself somewhat. Most definitely an intricately assembled film, and one that kept me invested from beginning to end. You might find yourself wondering about it all long afterwards, this movie sticks in your mind. Juliette Binoche is one of the great things about this movie, too bad her role is more supporting than lead. Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) It's a mash-up of The Hateful Eight and The Cabin in the Woods, but it's also a little more than just that. Takes a long leisurely route to where it's going, but it becomes more and more interesting as it goes on. Not as twisty as I initially assumed, but there are still surprises. It never reinvents the wheel, but it rolls along nicely. The cast is above board and ready to rumble, especially Chris Hemsworth as a dangerous cult leader and Lewis Pullman (son of Bill), who almost steals the movie! LOL (2012) I didn't LOL once, John Hughes this definitely is not! Still, it was an okay movie with a pretty cool cast (Marlo Thomas as the grandmother was awesome!) and a very good soundtrack. Operation Avalanche (2016) This got great reviews and it started off so strong, but I grew bored halfway through. Maybe because I watched a more fun version of a very similar story in Moonwalkers just last week. Boy Erased (2018) I'm glad this movie exists, it will only help further educate the masses as to the stupidity of gay conversion therapy. You might as well sign up for brown hair conversion therapy, you're simply born that way. An interesting topic for a film, for sure. I feel it missed out on really delivering in some aspects, and was a little quiet when I felt it should have been more noisy. Maybe that's my family, not theirs. We get loud and overly dramatic. However, it still draws you in. You get angry for this poor boy having to endure such dangerous stupidity. My queen Nicole, arriving at those doors to pick up her son in full-on Mama Bear mode, was a little charge of excitement and I loved it. Russell Crowe is pretty mild here - I was worried about his weight gain, but after seeing photos of the real person I assumed it was padding. Lucas Hedges is no longer the next great thing, he's just simply the great thing now. He carries us along in this story beautifully. What a career he's already had, and what a career he has yet to have. Directed by Joel Edgerton, who costars as the "conversion therapist." Hope everyone has a great movie watching week, see you next time!
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Nov 24, 2019 18:15:54 GMT
Hi all,I hope everyone is having a good weekend,and with the exception of one let down (of which I saw both cuts) I've had a great run of viewings: Mike Flanagan's final reflection in the mirror for the decade confirms him as my pick for top film maker of the 2010's. Note: I took care to avoid major spoilers for the latest big screen viewing. Doctor Sleep (2019) 10. Greeting an impending victim and the audience with "Hi there!" Rebecca Ferguson gives a chillingly mesmerising, layered performance as Rose, who when hanging out with her "family" has Ferguson bring out a acid hippy sting, where Rose's murderous streak is just under the skin of her free spirit appearance. In only her second credit, Kyliegh Curran's turn as Stone stands equal to those of the cast with far more credits, due to Curran capturing Stone's shock at becoming fully aware of her "Shining" skills,which she mixes with a seeping terror of Rose sniffing her out. Spending most of his adult life using any vice at hand to keep his childhood nightmares locked away, Ewan McGregor gives a terrific turn as Torrance,with McGregor bringing out the crustiness that has held him for years, which is shaved off by McGregor with a rush of blood to the head to keep Stone alive,along with a dread of confronting his past. Opening the shine following a child to her death at the hands of Rose and her family in a isolated countryside held with the same eerie silence as the remote locations of Hush and Gerald's Game (both also reviewed) editor/writer/directing auteur Mike Flanagan reunites with his regular cinematographer Michael Fimognari and shines a light on the motifs they have built across the decade. Reuniting with composers The Newton Brothers, Flanagan continues to masterfully use sparse sounds to twist the screws of the psychological chills, via the lone drumming sound of heartbeats pounding to the primal viciousness of Rose. Reflecting all Torrance has turned his back from, Flanagan superbly builds on his recurring mirrors motif with ultra-stylised whip-pans reaching out Rose's hands to Stone. Going back to where Torrance's childhood ended, Flanagan continues to build on his major theme of people facing the ghosts of their past, with a superb visualization of Torrance suppressing/ locking his traumas deep in the abyss. His second take on a Stephen King adaptation, Flanagan finely balances the fantastical of the "family" eating the "Shine" of kids, with the incredible brutality of child killers Rose and her gang. Bringing a fuller, psychologically unsettling side to Rose in her being a monster who actually makes mistakes,Flanagan brings everyone together for a excellent encounter in The Overlook Hotel, a location where Flanagan lights the major theme across his work, via Torrance becoming a whole person by opening the boxes to the suppressed ghostly nightmares from childhood horrors,which wake up Dr. Sleep. Auteurs in '07 viewings: Biggest let-down of the month: QT's Death Proof 4. Introduced in the Grindhouse cut with fake trailers far more inventive, funnier than the actual film, Writer/cinematographer/directing auteur Quentin Tarantino (QT) opens his segment with a foot waving in the air, a fitting image for the repetitive stamping on the same spot nature of the film. Attempting to pay tribute to the Grindhouse, the screenplay by QT completely misses the mark in being either a kitsch tribute or a actual Grindhouse flick, with each member of the girl gangs given little to distinguish themselves from each other, as each of them pour out QT's usual hip dialogue, which in this case comes out as clunky, due to a focus in the dialogue of forcing mention of the same two or three films over and over again, no matter how out of place it is. Utterly missing the leanness of real Grindhouse cinema, QT offers a glimpse of hope with the arrival of Stuntman Mike, but throws it all away, by having Mike not being the silent and deadly type in Grindhouse flicks, or the QT baddie with the winning one-liner, as Mike miss-timed stunts land him with the same colourless, bone-dry dialogue as the rest of the cast. The first time he has worked as a cinematographer on his own work, QT displays a shocking lack of attention to consistency on the aesthetic. Setting two girl gangs up against Stuntman Mike over a 14 month period, QT rubs the first gang down with a grating bag of tricks of fake spots, flickering lines and blobs on the print in a attempt to dig into the Grindhouse spirit, which get shoved aside for a modern, crisp digital sheen glossing between the cars in a enjoyable swift final battle with long crane shots that sure were not the type done in the Grindhouse era. The start of their collaboration, Kurt Russell steals the film as Stuntman Mike, thanks to Russell bringing out a laid-out coolness in Mike which tips at a psycho under the Death Proof hood. Wright's Hot Fuzz 10 Going from a zombie apocalypse to the mean streets of Sandford, co-writer/(with Simon Pegg) directing auteur Edgar Wright reunites with editor Chris Dickens and continues to build upon his distinctive fluid whip-pans/crash-zooms being pinned by rapid, razor-sharp edits stirring a Action-style atmosphere during the most mundane of tasks being done. Awakening the sleepy town with a awesome soundtrack, Wright continues to dual-weld genres, as Wright & cinematographer Jess Hall turn the small countryside location into a US Action movie backdrop, where Angel and fellow cop Danny Butterman chase shoplifters on the glossy running tracking shots and zoom-ins loading up a explosive atmosphere. Opening up the secrets of the town, Wright joyfully sends Angel and Danny into a breakneck Slasher Comedy, slashing Action movie whip-pans onto gloriously gory visual sight-gags chopping at the murders taking place. Reuniting together, the screenplay by Wright and Pegg inventively continues to expand on the themes of Shaun, with the strongly individual Angel uncomfortable over becoming a buddy to those in his newly joined force, having to face off against a zombie-like cult, who follow the group mantra that their murders are for "The Greater Good." Becoming buddies as they patrol the streets, the writers make the buddy cop friendship between Danny and Angel one which pays loving tribute to Action movies with a warm comedic steak, via Danny's fandom of cop films hilariously spilling over to him treating doing tasks with Angle such as searching for a missing goose as if it is a precursor to a Action set-piece. Hanging out on the big screen for a second time, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg give terrific turns as Danny and Angel, thanks to the dead-pan side Pegg gives Angel being matched by the eager enthusiasm Frost powers Danny's excitement over the hot fuzz becoming bad boys. Rollin's La nuit des horloges 7 Made on such a low budget that clips from his other creations had to be used, writer/directing auteur Jean Rollin & cinematographer Norbert Marfaing-Sintes display a real ambition in making the best of what they have, by stylishly bending the clips to give them a new context, as the archive footage melts into Rollin continuing his silky stylised dream-logic Horror motif, weaving long panning shots and zoom-ins on figures from Rollin's works frozen in time, tracking down grave yards filled with a lingering air of fading ghosts. Whilst he did make one more film after this, the screenplay by Rollin here breaks down the 4th wall to sketch a poetic impression of Rollin writing his own obituary on film, with Rollin thoughtfully touching on life and cinema, in a number of his most famous characters being frozen in time, cursed to repeat the same actions for eternity. Working with the very good "Ovidie" (whose walk captures the starry eyed dreamy gaze of Rollin's ladies) as a woman searching for "Michel Jean",Rollin opens the viewer to an enticing study of fading images and stars becoming the ghosts of film history, and half completed/remembered ideas/ scripts by "Michel Jean" being lost to the spinning clock of time. Chabrol's Chez Maupassant: La Parure 8. Made as part of a short film/ anthology TV series, the limitations of just 30 mins to tell the tale, give directing auteur Claude Chabrol & cinematographer Roberto Venturi a zest for life, where the heaviness of Chabrol's Costume Drama epic Madame Bovery (1991-also reviewed) is replaced here with a playfulness of stylish up-close tracking shots on Mathilde walking the streets poor from losing all societies riches. Serving up the Loisel's gourmet on a plate to the viewer, Chabrol deliciously cooks up his recurring themes and motifs which cover his credits, glittering in panning shots across a bourgeois ball with the facade of wealth,which closes in on a outstanding reflective close-up of Mathilde's face sinking into poverty. While keeping their excellent adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story in costume, the screenplay by Gerard Jourd'hui and Jacques Santamaria buttons up Chabrol's themes with the original outstanding twist ending of the short story, which is built up in the Loisel's seeing themselves as "honest bourgeois" a lifestyle which causes Charles (played by a great, contemplating Thomas Chabrol) to give up all his ambitions so his wife Mathilde (a terrific, brittle Cecile de France) can bring her socialite dreams to reality, which fall off at a ball, which unknown to the Loise's is filled with false bourgeois. Sono's Exte: Hair Extensions 10 A Comedy spoofing the long haired girl J-Horror. I suspect hitchcockthelegend & manfromplanetx would find this a merry delight. With Eng Subs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDOXyJanDzQGrowing from the hair-raising start,co-writer/(with Masaki Adachi and Makoto Sanada) co-composer/ (with Tomoki Hasegawa) directing auteur Sion Sono & cinematographer Hiro'o Yanagida ingeniously spoof traditional J-Horror with a jet black comedic streak in the hair, which curls in old school piratical effects of hair slithering across the ground, paired with creepy CGI effects of the possessed hair wrapping itself round victims from within. Selling the soon to be murderous hair to a salon for use on extensions, Sono masterfully uses ultra-stylised close-ups gripping tension of death being pinned to the head of a future victim. Running fingers of light between his distinctive bizarre black hair horrors, Sono continues to build on his recurring motif of bright, primary colours in dark situations, with the hair salon Yuko is training at being washed in glowing colours that Sono stylishly pans through to the concern of Yuko on protecting her abused older sister's daughter Mami. Going against the grain of J-Horror by keeping the black-haired girl chillingly silent, the writers brilliantly pull the real hairs of horror from the psychological, rather than the supernatural, thanks to Sono continuing his theme of exploring those with a struggling mental state, by Yuko (delicately played by Chiaki Kuriyama) horrified by the marks of abuse on Mami, whilst also having to try and cut the extending hair of death. Other '07 flicks: Elite Squad 9 For his first non-documentary title, co-writer/(with Braulio Mantovani and Rodrigo Pimentel) director Jose Padilha retains the rawness of documentary, by closely working with cinematographer Lula Carvalho to stylishly grind saturated colours over the blunt-force actions of BOPE and the gangs. Having to get the cops involved when a van with 90 firearms (30 real and 60 prop guns) were stolen from the set, the intensity off-screen feeds into the outstandingly ferocious atmosphere on screen. Tracking BOPE down each drug lord-run slum, Padilha weaves fluid, shaking camera moves up close and personal to each cop, with the lone times Padilha holds the camera from flinching being the ruthless action scenes, which are stripped of stylisation in exchange for horrific, short blunt shootings and beatings, burning with over saturated red. Basing BOPE members Matias & Nascimento on their own time in BOPE, Padilha,Pimentel & Mantovani's adaptation of the novel by Andre Batista,Pimentel and Soares, the writers dissect the layers of ritual and corruption around the gangs and BOPE with a matter of fact documentary manner, taking the idealized wide-eyes of the potential new recruits, and choking them out with the entangled balance of force and back handers balancing control of the slums held by BOPE and the gangs. Adding Nascimento's narration (a terrific, gruff Wagner Moura) at the last minute, the writers superbly use the narration to enter the group-think militarism of BOPE, where the humanity of each member turns into a dim light as they each become a killing machine for a elite squad. Film Noir's-The first one starring my avatar! Symphonie pour un massacre (1963) 10 The lone figure walking into the final shot, the beautiful Michele Mercier gives a outstanding, expressive turn as Madeleine, whose frustrations over her husband Clavet's continuing gamble in building closer ties in the underworld, are kicked by Mercier with a Femme Falale feisty edge. Getting the planned drug deal on track with the skill of pros who have been in this game for years, the ensemble cast give incredible hard-nose Noir loner turns, from co-writer Jose Giovanni's lingering air of mystery as Moreau, to Michel Auclair's enthusiastic youthfulness of Clavet. Breaking the rails which bonded them by smearing blood on the tracks, Jean Rochefort draws the complexities building in Jabeke's betrayal of his fellow gang members, with the wise move of giving him limited dialogue, allowing Rochefort to facial express the weight on Jabeke's shoulders over his silencing of those who get close to uncovering his betrayal. Displaying the same meticulous eye later appearing in his La piscine (1969-also reviewed) co-writer/(with Jose Giovanni and Claude Sautet) director Jacques Deray & cinematographer Claude "Nephew of Jean" Renoir compose this symphony of a Noir massacre with pristine stylisation, loading a atmosphere of dread in refine long-shots going down the carriages filled with Jabeke's betrayals. Punching out when Jabeke's backstabbing risks being found out, Deray hits with shards of whip-pans coming out of low shadows to the blunt, blast force of Jabeke's murders. Featuring not one, but three film makers, the adaptation of Alain Reynaud-Fourton's story Les Mystifies by Deray/Giovanni and Sautet thrillingly binds the bond of these five Noir thugs with superb, measured dialogue on the years of trust and friendship which leads to them doing the drug deal as a group. Shattering all trusts with Jabeke's betrayal, the writers magnificently sink Jabeke deeper into Noir waters each time he tries to widen the net by killing suspecting former friends, with each murder getting Jabeke closer to hearing the final notes of a massacre symphony. Second Chance (1947) 6. Arm-barring anyone who tries to take her down (!) Louise Currie gives the stand-out performance as Summers, thanks to Currie shaking Summers Caper glamour with the quick-wit of a Femme Fatale. One step behind Summers, Kent Taylor brings out a devilish cad flavour as Wolf, who finds his eye on the diamond prize being distracted from the sight of Summers. Shining for a trim 63 minutes, director James Tinling & cinematographer Benjamin H. Kline neatly pair the elegance of Summers and Wolf's thieving Caper with heavies in the underworld and the force waiting round to give neither of them a second chance. The Yellow Line (1960) 10 The first and only entry in the " Chitai" series to be shot in colour,writer/director Teruo Ishii & cinematographer Hiroshi Suzuki enter the murky side-streets assassin Amachi stays in hiding, with startling blemishes, via the crimson red and brown walls of the gangsters seedy apartment being broken by Ozuki's ruby red shoes marking her kidnapping, picked up on by her journalist boyfriend Mayama, who enters the underworld like a homing beacon in his pristine white trench coat. Unrolling a unique long zoom-in shot between the legs of a woman (!) Ishii superbly reels in a documentary rawness, spinning on the stylisation of Film Noir, where sawn-off tracking shots curl on Mayama just missing from catching the Gangster and Emi in his sights. Greasing palms so no questions are asked in the flat the Gangster holds Emi in, Ishii presents the Casbah as a maze of corruption built on a intense Film Noir atmosphere, weaving the camera in tightly held tracking shots dipping into each drug den/ brothel Mayama enters in the hope of reuniting Emi with her shoe. Left to fend for himself after the backers leave him high and dry once the target is killed, the screenplay by Ishii brilliantly taps into the high-wire anxiety just under the surface of the Gangster/hit-man brute confidence, whose simmering gun-point phone call hold-up with Ami, leads to IshII freeing Ami to come up with invented note write in a attempt to leave a paper trail. Keeping Ami on his knife edge over threats if his orders are not followed, Shigeru Amachi gives a mesmerising turn as the Gangster/ hit-man, whose to-the-point dialogue is delivered with a brittle relish by Amachi. Entering the Casbah as a outsider, Teruo Yoshida gives a terrific performance as Mayama, with Yoshida bending Mayama's fearfulness when confronted with the laid bare underworld, with a rush of blood to the head desire to free Ami from this Casbah. Taken at gun point to join the Gangster, the alluring Yoko Mihara gives a outstanding turn as Emi, via Mihara balancing Emi's burnt-edge raw nerves with a sharp slyness to fold the Gangster plans on him. Days of Hate (1954) 8 Appearing in every scene, the elegant Elisa Galve gives a magnetic turn as Zunz. Working on the site her murdered dad used to own, Galve displays a subtle touch in expressing the desire for revenge consuming her heart, pumped out in Zunz's withdrawn body language and her Noir loner downwards glances isolating Zunz from all other outside distractions from the revenge. Walking away from the factory with Zunz, co-writer/(with Jorge Luis Borges) director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson & cinematographer Enrique Wallfisch successfully map out the days of hatred with a combination of Film Noir and Neo- Realism, which draw a stark natural low-light on a crumbling backdrop matching Zunz's crumbled state from the deaths/ killing of her parents. Laying out the path to revenge with Zunz in dimly lit bars and countryside train tracks stamped with stylish tracking shots, Nilsson presents the fleeting few seconds where revenge is performed,being ones that don't leave Zunz feeling fulfilled, but utterly drained, walking into her hollowed ghostly life on a chilling wide final shot. Later stating that he was unhappy with how the adaptation of his "Emma Zunz" tale turned out, the screenplay by Borges & Nilsson meet Zunz with a thoughtful Film Noir character study, stripping the glamour of Femme Fatale in a narration which stabs at Zunz's growing obsession for revenge over the days of hate.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Nov 24, 2019 18:25:01 GMT
Face to Face (1967) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0061636/referenceReasons of state, Wallace. You studied history, so you know what I mean. Not out of hate... but with compassion. Faccia a facia (Face to face) is directed by Sergio Sollima and Sollima co-writes the screenplay with Sergio Donati. It stars Gian Maria Volontè, Tomas Milian and William Berger. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Emilio Foriscot and Rafael Pacheco. Brad Fletcher (Volontè), a New England professor, is plagued by ill health and is advised to relocate to the West for better climate conditioning. Once in Texas he is unfortunately taken hostage by wounded outlaw Beauregard Bennet (Milian), the result of which begins a turning of the character based tables... Sergio Sollima followed his excellent La resa dei conti (The Big Gundown) with this similar, if more complex, classic piece of spag cinema. Often cited as a picture with deep political motives, which Sollima denied, it really is in simplified terms a story about a good man going bad and a bad man going good. There are of course political and social observations, coming as it does down in the South post the Civil War, while some of the literate philosophising rewards more on subsequent revisits to the pic. Very talky for sure, it does however contain some superb action sequences, particularly in the last quarter, which in turn is crowned by a very Leonesque finale of quality framing. The trio of lead actors, each a Spag Western legend, are on superb form, while Sollima and his cinematographers provide an epic location based scope to the piece. Be sure to not see any abridged or dubbed version, see it only in its full length with natural Italian accompanied by the various subtitle options. 8/10 Terrific review of FtF,Spike. I've got the flick on disc,and your review is making me look forward to checking it out.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Nov 25, 2019 1:57:00 GMT
Testament of Youth (2014) 8/10 A dramatization of Vera Brittain’s renowned experiences during World War One. Wonderfully portrayed by Alicia Vikander, Vera is an independent young woman from a substantial family studying literature at Oxford, when World War One breaks out. Her fiancé, brother, and friends join the army and go off to fight. As the war drags on, most of them are killed and Vera becomes a volunteer nurse, first in England, later not far behind the front lines. Vera is profoundly affected by her experiences and speaks out against war after the Armistice of 1918. As someone who’s read dozens of WWI novels and memoirs, including Vera Brittain’s book, I found the film somewhat predictable. However, Alicia Vikander’s performance, which is usually rather understated and reliant on subtle facial expressions, is wonderful, conveying intelligence and decency and courage. The cinematography, costumes, and sets help make this an excellent film. A terrific summing up of this delight film Bravo. Vikander & "My Qween" Harington keeping their performances understated really worked for the movie.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Nov 25, 2019 2:49:58 GMT
Joker (2019) "There is no punchline." Where do monsters come from, and why? This movie attempts to offer a backstory for The Joker, Batman's most nefarious and insane foe. It completely exists outside the current DC universe of movies. We at first feel empathy for him, and then watch in horror as he becomes more twisted and scary. Joaquin Phoenix is the ideal actor for this role, I even thought so when I learned of his casting. You just know Jared Leto was not amused by all of this, and who could blame him? Phoenix has given one great performance after another, leading him to ever higher echelons within the Hollywood hierarchy. Now that this role has drawn universal acclaim for him and has already made a billion dollars, he could soon be nudging DiCaprio out of the way for those prized roles. This is a life and career altering moment for Phoenix, he's just that good. Phoenix is phenomenal, but the movie has a hard time maintaining a superior level of quality for him to play in. It has some great moments though. One in particular that this DC Comics fanboy since childhood emitted a sound that could only be called "SQUEEEE!" when it was hinted at. I wasn't expecting this outsider of a movie to use much Batman mythology, let alone something that made me have convulsions of excitement. I may have scared a few other movie-goers, but it was worth it. Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) It's a mash-up of The Hateful Eight and The Cabin in the Woods, but it's also a little more than just that. Takes a long leisurely route to where it's going, but it becomes more and more interesting as it goes on. Not as twisty as I initially assumed, but there are still surprises. It never reinvents the wheel, but it rolls along nicely. The cast is above board and ready to rumble, especially Chris Hemsworth as a dangerous cult leader and Lewis Pullman (son of Bill), who almost steals the movie! It looks like you had a great (Horror-free!) week of viewings Lebowski. When looking at the 7 films this year to make at least a billion (which includes two Disney remakes-yuck!) it is wonderful seeing Joker stand out from the glossy, family friendly others (and with no China box office.) On the Batman mythology,it's interesting that all other film versions have presented a idealized version of Thomas Wayne, a man who was loved by everyone in Gotham,which is clearly not the case in Joker. Choosing the flick randomly from some discs a friend gave me,El Royale caught me completely by surprise, with this Neo-Noir epic (a shame it flopped) being one of my top films of 2018. From when I caught it in early 2019: 9. Coming back to film making for the first time since The Cabin in the Woods (2011), writer/director Drew Goddard & cinematographer Seamus McGarve (who shot on film and in Panavision) blaze a 2 and a half hour explosive Neo-Noir epic. Set in the dying days of the 60's, Goddard and McGarve open the hotel up to the burning embers of the decade, via long panning shots along the corridors stepping into the dust covering the hotel whose better days are long gone, and the blissful Soul songs (along with Michael Giacchino's flickering score) given a soaring sound design, filling the place like a haunted mansion. Hanging a neon greeting sign at the entrance, Goddard sinks the location into a burning Neo-Noir atmosphere, sparked from whip-pans screwing in the anxiety knotted round each loner, and glistening slow-motion long-shots across the pits of fire within the El Royale hell, burning to the blistering shudder of neon red blood splattered across the floor. Greeting all the guests in a never-ending storm outside, the screenplay by Goddard keeps the big run time moving at an incredibly light on its feet pace, thanks to Goddard building each Neo-Noir loner in an episodic manner that unveils their hidden backgrounds and gives a depth to their current decisions. Gradually drawing everyone together with thrilling multiple perspective views on the fatal shot which gets them together,Goddard spins the wheel on each of them having to confront their pasts, with hard-boiled Dock O'Kelly having to find value in his soul for the crumbling Miles Miller, and Darlene Sweet fighting to find the value of her voice within the lonely echo of El Royale. Each booking a room for differing shady deals, the ensemble cast are united in giving absolutely outstanding turns, pouring from Jeff Bridges reflective O'Kelly and Lewis Pullman's jittering lone hotel staff member Miller, to Dakota Johnson gunning for Emily's conflicting family loyalties, and Cynthia Erivo having Sweet fill each room with a tragic soulfulness, before they all check out of the El Royale.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 25, 2019 14:04:02 GMT
morrisondylanfan Love your review of El Royale. It really was a neon-noir love letter. I will definitely have to rewatch it at some point, now knowing how it ends, to get a fuller understanding of it all. Goddard was a writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in the day, a show I was way too into, and I've watched him move on to Lost and feature films. Happy for his success and stunned by his talent. Joker, although a villain, seems relatable to people these days. He starts off with the best intentions and an ugly world pushes him in a darker direction. I guess that's why he has a billion dollars now. A billion dollars...whoa! Can't you hear Jack Warner freaking out from beyond the grave, or what?
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Nov 25, 2019 18:50:28 GMT
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