What classics did you see last week ? (27 Oct - 02 Nov 2019)
Nov 5, 2019 1:53:29 GMT
teleadm, wmcclain, and 3 more like this
Post by marianne48 on Nov 5, 2019 1:53:29 GMT
Two oldies:
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)--overlong soap opera about young woman from a middle-class Jewish family who is expected to marry "well" (mission: find dull rich guy, and he'd better be Jewish, too) who falls for an enigmatic, moody summer theater director who sneers at her family's ambitions and is also a non-observant Jew. Natalie Wood is okay as the daughter who rebels against her family's wishes to pursue the director, played by--Gene Kelly? The studio reportedly tried to get Paul Newman for the part, who probably would have been terrific as the smoldering would-be artist who lashes out at crowd-pleasing producers who don't understand him. Kelly, unfortunately, just can't manage smoldering in this role, and instead comes off as peevish and dull. The result is a sad lack of chemistry between the two stars, and the movie just drags on and on. The most interesting thing about the movie is the end credits--instead of a list of the cast, it's just a list of "Dresses by....," "Shoes by...", "Gene Kelly's shirts by....", and the weirdest of all, "Perfumes by...", as if the movie audiences could appreciate the perfumes worn by the actresses. Maybe the producers were anticipating a possible release of the film in "smellovision"?
The Cyclops (1957)--the 1950s produced many horror movies about giant monsters, some with decent special effects, and some with execrable ones. This
one is definitely in the latter category. Gloria Talbott stars as the loyal wife who insists on leading a search party for her husband, who crash-landed in a deserted valley full of radioactive material which causes unrestrained growth in all sorts of creatures. These creatures show up to terrorize the search party--a giant tarantula, a snake, and a couple of giant lizards who fight with each other (picture two little kids play-fighting with their rubber toy lizards to visualize how real this appears in the film). Talbott finds her husband, played by actor Duncan Parkin, who appeared in two films, this one and War of the Colossal Beast). In both, he appears as a grossly disfigured, violent bald giant--after which he was hopelessly typecast, I guess, so no romantic leads or sitcom dad roles were in his future. The makeup job on the giant would be nightmare-inducing for small children, but the weird giant eye in the deformed face looks hokey. The giant is badly projected on the background so that he looks translucent, and his "lines" consist only of him constantly growling "RAWWWWRRR!!" (his voice is provided by voiceover artist Paul Frees) over and over again. James Craig is Talbott's companion and probable love interest; Tom ("I left MGM for this?!")Drake plays a guide, and Lon Chaney, Jr. hams it up as a hysterical pilot. Watch if you have a high tolerance for Ed Wood-type horror films.
Two recent films:
The Mustang (2019)--a convict with a violent past enters a rehabilitation program at his prison which involves taming and training wild mustangs. He works with one horse in particular, a mustang with a similarly violent nature. Bruce Dern co-stars as a crusty old trainer who mentors the convicts. This
might sound like a typical sentimental family film--the convict reforms, the horse is turned into a pet, and the convict and his adult daughter reconcile and she forgives him for everything. Not quite--this isn't a Hallmark movie, and it refuses to take the easy way out. While the story ends on a somewhat positive conclusion, there are some disturbing, violent events, and this isn't for kids or for anyone expecting a tacked-on happy ending. A tough watch, but worth a look.
Yesterday (2019)--a massive worldwide power failure knocks the Earth into an alternate reality in which all existence of the Beatles has been erased--except for one struggling musician who still recalls their music and decides to pass it off as his own. Enjoyable "what if" fantasy/romantic comedy with some decent music.
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)--overlong soap opera about young woman from a middle-class Jewish family who is expected to marry "well" (mission: find dull rich guy, and he'd better be Jewish, too) who falls for an enigmatic, moody summer theater director who sneers at her family's ambitions and is also a non-observant Jew. Natalie Wood is okay as the daughter who rebels against her family's wishes to pursue the director, played by--Gene Kelly? The studio reportedly tried to get Paul Newman for the part, who probably would have been terrific as the smoldering would-be artist who lashes out at crowd-pleasing producers who don't understand him. Kelly, unfortunately, just can't manage smoldering in this role, and instead comes off as peevish and dull. The result is a sad lack of chemistry between the two stars, and the movie just drags on and on. The most interesting thing about the movie is the end credits--instead of a list of the cast, it's just a list of "Dresses by....," "Shoes by...", "Gene Kelly's shirts by....", and the weirdest of all, "Perfumes by...", as if the movie audiences could appreciate the perfumes worn by the actresses. Maybe the producers were anticipating a possible release of the film in "smellovision"?
The Cyclops (1957)--the 1950s produced many horror movies about giant monsters, some with decent special effects, and some with execrable ones. This
one is definitely in the latter category. Gloria Talbott stars as the loyal wife who insists on leading a search party for her husband, who crash-landed in a deserted valley full of radioactive material which causes unrestrained growth in all sorts of creatures. These creatures show up to terrorize the search party--a giant tarantula, a snake, and a couple of giant lizards who fight with each other (picture two little kids play-fighting with their rubber toy lizards to visualize how real this appears in the film). Talbott finds her husband, played by actor Duncan Parkin, who appeared in two films, this one and War of the Colossal Beast). In both, he appears as a grossly disfigured, violent bald giant--after which he was hopelessly typecast, I guess, so no romantic leads or sitcom dad roles were in his future. The makeup job on the giant would be nightmare-inducing for small children, but the weird giant eye in the deformed face looks hokey. The giant is badly projected on the background so that he looks translucent, and his "lines" consist only of him constantly growling "RAWWWWRRR!!" (his voice is provided by voiceover artist Paul Frees) over and over again. James Craig is Talbott's companion and probable love interest; Tom ("I left MGM for this?!")Drake plays a guide, and Lon Chaney, Jr. hams it up as a hysterical pilot. Watch if you have a high tolerance for Ed Wood-type horror films.
Two recent films:
The Mustang (2019)--a convict with a violent past enters a rehabilitation program at his prison which involves taming and training wild mustangs. He works with one horse in particular, a mustang with a similarly violent nature. Bruce Dern co-stars as a crusty old trainer who mentors the convicts. This
might sound like a typical sentimental family film--the convict reforms, the horse is turned into a pet, and the convict and his adult daughter reconcile and she forgives him for everything. Not quite--this isn't a Hallmark movie, and it refuses to take the easy way out. While the story ends on a somewhat positive conclusion, there are some disturbing, violent events, and this isn't for kids or for anyone expecting a tacked-on happy ending. A tough watch, but worth a look.
Yesterday (2019)--a massive worldwide power failure knocks the Earth into an alternate reality in which all existence of the Beatles has been erased--except for one struggling musician who still recalls their music and decides to pass it off as his own. Enjoyable "what if" fantasy/romantic comedy with some decent music.