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Post by wmcclain on Jul 2, 2022 13:32:41 GMT
Your comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated! The title says "classics" but we are always interested to know what classic film lovers have been watching, whatever the material.  |
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spiderwort
Junior Member
@spiderwort
Posts: 2,099
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Post by spiderwort on Jul 2, 2022 14:02:08 GMT
First viewings:Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête) (1946):A Jean Cocteau masterpiece that’s a must-see for those interested in the genre and/or film history. Generally not my cup of tea, but even I was impressed.  Persona (1966):A disturbing, thematically challenging story, with outstanding performances by Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman. Some images are haunting. Not a Bergman favorite for me, but I think it’s a must-see for all his fans.  Distance Voices, Still Lives (1988):The story of a working-class English family during the 1940s and early 1950s with a narrative told out of order in a free-associative manner, bound together by the family singing popular songs throughout. Wonderful use of the camera and great performances by everyone, especially Pete Postlewaithe. This is my second Terence Davies’ film — after A Quiet Passion (2016) — and I’m convinced that he is a unique voice and true artist of the medium.  Breathless (1960):Finally saw this French New Wave classic. Enjoyed Belmondo and Seberg, but have to say that I wasn’t impressed with the film, with its chronic jump cuts and shaky cam, to say nothing of a story that didn't seem to be going anywhere. (I’m sure I’m in the minority in that assessment, but that’s how it was for me).  Wish You Well (2013): A deeply moving film with wonderful performances by all the cast and exceptional direction by Darnell Martin. Based upon David Baldacci’s semi-autobiographical novel, it’s definitely worth a view for those interested in the meaning and value of family.  Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939):Ingrid Bergman’s American film debut. Worth seeing for that alone, but also for Gregory Ratoff’s direction and Gregg Toland’s cinematography.  Rewatches:David and Lisa (1962):A haunting cinematic work about mental illness with images and moments that will linger forever. As good today as it was in 1962 (and I’ve watched it more than once since). Director Frank Perry’s first film, for which he received an Oscar nomination, and his wife, Eleanor, received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin give powerful, deeply moving, memorable performances. Highly recommended. Available free on Tubi TV.  Heartland (1979):A beautiful film, exceptionally well directed by Richard Pearce, with wonderful performances by Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell as a widow with a young daughter who travels to a ranch in Wyoming to manage the household of a rancher. It’s a stark, deeply moving depiction of early homestead life in the American West, based upon a memoir of the woman who lived it. Haven’t seen this since it was first released, but it made a strong impression on me then, and it did not disappoint me now. If anything, I was even more moved by it this time. Highly recommended. Available free on Tubi TV.  No Other Love (1979, TV movie):Another very effective film directed by the talented Richard Pearce. Thoughtful, well-written script about two mentally challenge young people who fall in love and want to marry. Excellent performances by all, especially Richard Thomas and Julie Kavner. Very much worth a view for those interested. Available free on Tubi TV.  The Live By Night (1948):My favorite Nicholas Ray film, his first, and I believe his best. Also my favorite Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell performances — tender, sensitive, beautiful. The script is terrific and uncompromising. Highly recommended.  To Be or Not to Be (1942):A wonderful Ernst Lubitsch film about a troupe of actors in Poland in the Nazi era who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. Funny, at times farcical, at times poignant. Carole Lombard’s final film. She died a month after the film’s release in a plane crash returning home from a war bond rally. Highly recommended and a must-see for Lubitsch fans. 
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Post by timshelboy on Jul 2, 2022 14:19:41 GMT
Distance Voices, Still Lives (1988):The story of a working-class English family during the 1940s and early 1950s with a narrative told out of order in a free-associative manner, bound together by the family singing popular songs throughout. Wonderful use of the camera and great performances by everyone, especially Pete Postlewaithe. This is my second Terence Davies’ film — after A Quiet Passion (2016) — and I’m convinced that he is a unique voice and true artist of the medium. A wonderful movie Spider - I love the scene in the cinema with all the women weeping over LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING  .
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Post by wmcclain on Jul 2, 2022 14:29:07 GMT
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Post by timshelboy on Jul 2, 2022 15:00:16 GMT
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Post by politicidal on Jul 2, 2022 15:52:24 GMT
First Viewings:
Yellowstone Kelly (1959) 6/10
Lila & Eve (2015) 5/10
Border Incident (1949) 7/10
‘G’ Men (1935) 5/10
Repeat Viewings:
The Far Country (1954)
The Naked Spur (1953) 7/10
4 for Texas (1963) 7/10
Mackenna’s Gold (1969) 7/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jul 2, 2022 17:09:47 GMT
 Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) 8/10   Hitchcock (2012) 8/10   Outpost III (2013) 6/10  Outpost II: Black Sun (2012) repeat 5/10  Deadly Eyes (1982) repeat 5/10 |
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Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 2, 2022 17:14:00 GMT
Your comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated! The title says "classics" but we are always interested to know what classic film lovers have been watching, whatever the material. You must be searching All Through the Night to find the wonderful frame grabs for your weekly threads.
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Post by wmcclain on Jul 2, 2022 17:47:22 GMT
Your comments/ratings/recommendations/film posters are welcome and much appreciated! The title says "classics" but we are always interested to know what classic film lovers have been watching, whatever the material. You must be searching All Through the Night to find the wonderful frame grabs for your weekly threads. A bit lazier than that: I keep archives of the snaps I make for my film reviews and go trolling through those for the weekly reports.  -Bill
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 2, 2022 21:43:25 GMT
My movie-watching was bookended with Bryce Dallas Howard movies, which was a nice way to begin and end the week, as she’s been one of my favourite actresses ever since… The Village (2004). When you’re desperate for medical supplies and your village is in the middle of a forest far away from civilization...send the blind girl for help. I was SO glad that I took a chance, and saw this film at the theatre. Not only was I pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, but it also introduced me to Bryce Dallas Howard - for which I'm forever grateful. She left a lasting impression with her role in this movie, playing Ivy Walker - a blind girl who "sees" (but just not as we see), Bryce is quite a wonder to behold. People will complain how, for a supposedly "blind" person, she manages to get around pretty easily/know where she's going and seems fairly familiar with her surroundings. If you actually pay attention, you will hear that she was not born blind. She obviously got to know the place where she grew up and familiarized herself with her surroundings/how to get places before she lost her sight. Even after that, she still "sees" people's "colours". So there's actually an explanation for the way she gets around, you just have to listen. At its heart, this movie is a tale of romance (in its purest form). What holds the movie together is the love story between Bryce's Ivy Walker and Lucius Hunt (portrayed perfectly by Joaquin Phoenix. No wonder he's a perfect fit - as the role was apparently written for him). It's also no wonder that Shyamalan cast Bryce without an audition from her and after only having seen her on stage. She's quite the find. Her chemistry with Phoenix is a large part of what makes the film work. There's a purity and innocence to their love for each other. Their interaction/dialogue really gets to the heart of what love is/should be about. I especially liked her trust in him and his faithfulness and loyalty to her. The rest of the cast also does well. William Hurt is excellent as Ivy's father, Sigourney Weaver is quite good as Lucius's mother, and Brendan Gleeson is great as always (though a little underused). Meanwhile, Adrien Brody has a tough role, playing Noah Percy (who is literally "the village idiot"). He'll probably get on some people's nerves, while some might just find him unintentionally amusing. I thought he played the role well, and I even felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Judy Greer is also good as Ivy's sister, Kitty (and she shares one especially amusing scene with Lucius. Both she and Phoenix are excellent in the scene where she makes her feelings known to him). Apart from the wonderful relationships of lovers, father and daughter and mother and son, there's also the love/relationship between two sisters on display. The film itself looks great. Very moody and atmospheric, nicely gloomy and cast-over. The night scenes are brilliantly done, taking full advantage of shadows and the only light source being candles. I just cannot say enough about how good this film looks. It creates the sort of place one would almost want to step into, walk around in and be a part of. It has a mystical sort of quality to it, yet everything is grounded in a 'reality' of sorts. Speaking of, the elements to this film that may feel 'supernatural' in nature are actually handled really well. There is an explanation for everything that happens in the film, but like with all good movies, you can't expect answers straight away. You have to pay attention and be willing to go along for the ride all the way. Obviously, after Shyamalan's other movies, people are expecting a 'twist'. Thing is, if you go into this movie for the sole purpose of looking for what the twist might be, then chances are you may figure it out. I myself went into the film not actively seeking out the twist, and was able to sit back and just enjoy the movie for the story it had to tell. The 'twist ending' is not the main thing you should be worrying about here. It's the story that matters...and it was a story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Some may possibly feel that the film just sort of ends abruptly, but I think that if you've been paying close enough attention to the journey that the character of Ivy Walker goes through, you'll realise that the somewhat open-ended final scene can only have one natural resolution. It's really left up to you to decide, but I know that I was happy with how I thought the film ended. It's one of those cases where you either 'get' the film or you don't. And I absolutely 'got' it. It addresses issues about today's society and makes you really think about what the world has come to. What are people, as a whole, like nowadays? Not exactly the best examples of human nature are on display in today's day and age. People, in general, are deeply flawed, and The Village ponders what could be done about that to escape the unpleasantness. I very much appreciated this film and, after having recently re-watched it yet again on DVD, I love it just as much as I did the first time I saw it at the theatre (maybe even a little more). Out of all of Shyamalan's films that he's done, this one is easily my favourite. It's a truly under-appreciated gem of a film. (2008). Blast from the Past (1999). Batman & Robin (1997). Jurassic World (2015). |
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Post by teleadm on Jul 2, 2022 23:56:01 GMT
Here are the movies that Tele has seen lately.  Waterworld 1995 directed by Kevin Reynolds. One of those mega movies that is also mega long. Set in the future when there is no more dry land. We follow a loner (Kevin Kostner) who seems to have some connections with a dry land somewhere, and he also have gills behind his ears. The world of only water is ruled by the survival of the fittest and wheeler dealers, or the one with the most power (Dennis Hopper). I wasn't very keen on watching this movie, but once I started watching it actually became more interesting as it went along. An early warning of climate change? While a flop on the American domestic markets it was a hit on the "foreign" markets covering all expenses. While not embracing it, it was much better than I thought it would be, to my surprise.  The Belstone Fox 1973 directed by James Hill and based on David Rook's novel "Ballad of the Belstone Fox". A fair warning, this is not a cuddly Disney-like movie, even if the story could remind of their The Fox and the Hound 1981. A fox cub is saved by a game warden (Bill Travers) and is brought to grow up by a dog mother who just had cubs herself, at a house were they breed dogs that are "whipped" into hunting foxes. As the fox grows up with a doggie friend, it also learns how doggies work and manages elude the fox-hunting dogs during fox hunting seasons, including luring the dogs upon a railroad track, with horrible results of the dogs when a train arrives. Foxes are actually good at killing rodents, if we let them be foxes. Why the British makes/made such a fuss about Fox hunts is beyond me. Build better fences and they could do good. It's nice to see actors like Eric Porter and Rachel Roberts playing all-daily country characters.  Mon oncle Antoine 1971 directed by Claude Jutra. Rural Quebec in the forties, in a village that grew up thanks to mining, in this story the mining was asbestos (!!) and they all spoke French., The short time we follow the citizens is around Christmas time, but it's not a cuddle up Christmas story since "oncle Antione" is a caretaker and drunkard, always with a bottle of "Bolls". It started a bit confusing as of who belongs to who, but once I got the hung of it, it grow'd on me. Maybe not THAT big, but an interesting experience to say the least.  Ôgon batto aka The Golden Bat 1966 and directed by Hajime Satô. I stumbled over this one. From the depths of Atlantis, 10.000 years of slumber, with a bit of water, he will fight for justice on earth, or in this case an approaching planet named Icarus. The movie is very much camp and ridiculous with awful special effects miniatures, and yet entertaining in some ways. Ôgon batto is actually a rather cool character, with a skull and bat ears, a reptile like body, a silver bulb cane, laughs like a crazy man hysterically before he does good deeds. The stories of Ôgon batto first started in 1931 as a kamishibai (paper theater) or comics. Was Ôgon batto the first comics superhero? Since he appeared long before Superman and Batman? Something for the academics to twist about.  Highway Dragnet 1954 directed by Nathan Juran. A rather OK noir that benefits from mostly outdoors action. After having a drink with a broad, an ex-Korean War vet is accused of murdering that broad, and a manhunt starts all over Nevada and California. Richard Conte is always interesting, as the ex-war soldier, plus Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix as a photographer and her object, makes an interesting threesome that too easy eludes getting captured.  King of the Khyber Rifles 1953 directed by Henry King and based on a novel by Talbot Mundy, filmed before by John Ford ( The Black Watch 1929). This was officially the Fourth Cinemascope movie. King is played by Tyrone Power, King is his name, but he is no royalty as the title might suggest. It doesn't really work as a regular matinee movie, since there are some seriousness to it's story and "the night of the long knives". It also incorporates a real story of cartridges wrapping paper that was spread by fanatics that wasn't true, by biting off the end of the cartridge, Muslims would be tasting pork, forbidden by their religion, and the Hindus would be tasting beef, where in India cows are sacred. Power plays a half-caste, who in one way is rejected by snobs and Officers Mess, but on the other hand knows how to beat rebellions since he has that blood too. It's not a bad movie, but there was something that bothered me and I couldn't figure it out, until later, it nearly lacks close-ups footage, to see the actors act or react, maybe not thought about but they are needed at some points to enhance dramatic effects. While the movie looks like it was made in India, Alabama Hills played Khyber Pass and Sierra Nevada Mountains played the Himalayas.  State Secret aka The Great Manhunt 1950 directed by Sidney Gilliat and based on a novel by Roy Higgins. Said to have storywise some similarities to Cary Grant movie Crises 1950, but since I never seen that movie I can't judge. A Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat Production, well they where both involved with The Lady Vanishes 1938 and Night Train to Munich 1940. So we are in that territory that someone knows something and has to flee. Douglas Fairbanks Jr plays a renowned and prized American doctor, who by flattering is lured to a small European nation to make a small operation, that turns out to be that nations allmighty dictator, in this movie it's called Vosnia, but it's rather clear what nation it is. Since the dictator is allmighty, no secrets can leave the country, so the American doctor is meant to be shot by rebels or by accident or take your pick, but instead he manages to flee... Feels like an overlooked and forgotten movie but I actually liked and enjoyed watching it. Fairbanks Jr plays a bit of older and experienced character here shaking off his father's image, helped by a young Glynis Jones and an equally young Herbert Lom, funny as a slimy black marketeer. The Country of Vosnia, the producers went to that length, to create a fake languige. Fairbanks Jr only made one more movie after this until Ghost Story 1981.  Leonard Sachs (1909–1990)
He was a staple of early Swedish Television, the chairman with a hammer on " The Good Old Days" on BBC between 1953 and 1983. He did actually have a long acting career too in theatre and Music Hall and stretched well into the era of Doctor Who as Lord President Borusa 1983. The reason I mention him is as he played a doctor in the last mentioned movie, I recognized his face but could't place it.
Are we caring less about Ukraine since the invasion goes on and on, that's what Tzar Putin wants. Nearly 8 millions have fled, 8.000.000 millions!
Sweden and Finland is on the road to join Nato, so now I guess we can roll our thumbs and relax and Americans, Canadians , British and French will save us.
Слава Україні!
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Post by claudius on Jul 3, 2022 0:15:17 GMT
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GAY PURREE (1962) JUDY 100TH ANNIVERSARY UPA Animated feature that was Judy’s only cartoon (with songs by OZ team Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg). Also starring the voices of Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Paul Frees, and Hermoine Gingold. First read of the film in Aljean Harmetz’s book THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ. Saw it on the Movie Channels in late November 1991. Warner DVD.
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THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987) 35TH ANNIVERSARY The Order Changeth again as Timothy Dalton steps into 007 taking a darker persona after a mostly 12 years of camp. This also marks the Bond swan songs for Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, and, of course, John Barry’s instrumental music contribution. This was the first Bond movie I remember being in theaters back in 87. However, seeing the film took a lot longer than the previous films. It wouldn’t be until the turn of the century before I had a full watch of the film. MGM/UA DVD.
30TH ANNIVERSARY:
-PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON (1992) “A Girl’s Dream! Usagi Becomes A Bride” Japanese with English Subtitles ADV DVD.
-MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (1992) “Teenagers from Outer Space” 30TH ANNIVERSARY Joel and the bots handle this cheapie about a space adolescent fugitive. First saw this on its premiere. The highlights were a sketch where the gang exemplify “Reel to Real” (demonstrating the difference between certain plot points and the reality) and a recreation of the General Cinema trailer ad (the one with candy and popcorn fill space and an empty cup floats into a garbage pail). I couldn’t find a YouTube presentation of the original broadcast, so I found one of a Comedy Central Broadcast during the show’s second Turkey Day marathon in Thanksgiving 1992.
THE SLAYERS TRY (1997) “Instant Explosion! The One Who Holds the Key” 25TH ANNIVERSARY Fillia is shocked to learn Xellos would try to bargain with Valgaav into joining his Monster side with the deal to kill Lina Inverse (turns out Lina is okay about Xellos’ potential to turncoat, feeling she would do the same to him). Zelgaldis and Amelia reclaim the Sword of Light from Jillas, but Valgaav steals it, combining it with the Lance he stole from Almayce. He uses both weapons to summon the Dark Star to this reality to destroy it. Japanese with English Subtitles. Software Sculptor DVD.
PERILS OF NYOKA (1942) “Chapter 1 Desert Intrigue“ 80TH ANNIVERSARY Republic Serial (a sequel to JUNGLE GIRL based on a character by Edgar Rice Burroughs) about the search for lost tablets involving several interested parties: one Nyoka an explorer, the other Queen Vulcura. YouTube.
SCARAMOUCHE (1952) 70TH ANNIVERSARY MGM Swashbuckler (based on a novel by Sabatini) of a rascal learning sword play to avenge against an Aristocrat in Pre-Revolutionary France. Starring Stewart Granger, Mel Ferrer, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh and Lewis Stone (who played in the 1923 version). Most notable for its climactic sword fight, one of the longest duels on film. Got it as an Easter present (alongside AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT) in 1993. Although I liked the duel, I was confused by the ending. The film focuses on the coming Revolution, getting to the Estates General, but after the climax and plot revelations, any rebellion is skipped for the happy ending. Later I learned there was going to be a battle scene with revolutionaries (with a certain plot resolution) but the scene was deleted. Warner DVD.
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MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (1944) JUDY 100TH ANNIVERSARY Warner BluRay
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JUDY AND LIZA AT THE PALLADIUM (1964) JUDY 100TH ANNIVERSARY YouTube.
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) JUDY 100TH ANNIVERSARY I certainly couldn’t have this Anniversary viewing without watching the film that introduced me to the Star. Warner DVD.
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DARIA (1997) “The Big House” 25TH ANNIVERSARY Bootleg DVD.
JUDY GARLAND’S LAST CONCERT (1969) JUDY 100TH ANNIVERSARY Footage made for what was supposed to be a documentary film on a March 1969 performance in Copenhagen became footage of Judy’s final concert & film appearance before her death from a drug overdose three months later. YouTube.
URESEI YATSURA (1982) “Goblin in Distress- Wonderful People” 40TH ANNIVERSARY Japanese with Spanish Subtitles. YouTube.
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40TH ANNIVERSARY
-POLICE SQUAD! (1982) “Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)” 40TH ANNIVERSARY Low ratings on the Abrahams/Zucker Brothers spoof series pushed its final episodes to the summer. This episode, with Drebin posing as a Locksmith to stop a blackmail racket- is probably my favorite of the six episodes. First saw this on a Comedy Central marathon in summer 1991. Paramount BluRay.
-THE WIZARD OF OZ (1982) 40TH ANNIVERSARY Japanese Anime film of the L. Frank Baum story, incorporating elements from the source (The separate Witch of the North and Glinda, Kalidahs, the gang meeting different versions of the Wizard, the Witch sending wolves and crows before the Monkeys) and 1939 (the magic slippers being Ruby instead of silver). This as well as the 1939 film and JOURNEY BACK TO OZ were the Oz films in my childhood. I probably saw this on one of the Movie channels in the early 80s; I was already familiar with it when my parents rented it alongside my first viewing of ROBIN HOOD (1973) in 1985. My viewings source was a YouTube presentation that was a mixture of Japanese with Arabic. I also viewed the 1983 English dub with Aileen Quinn, Billy Van, John Stocker, and Lorne Green which gave different lyrics (by Sammy Cahn) to the original Japanese songs and edited out the scene of the Scarecrow killing crows. YouTube.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992) 30TH ANNIVERSARY Historical Comedy-drama about female Baseball players In WW2. Starring Tom Hanks, Genna Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O Donnell, David Strathirn, and Jon Lovitz. Remember the trailers back in Summer 1992 (“There’s no crying in Baseball!”); saw parts of the film on VHS in winter 1993 and subsequent TV airings (which used a lot of Pan & Scan). The reunion sequence gets me misty. Amazon Prime.
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THE SECRET OF NIMH (1982) 40TH ANNIVERSARY After leaving Disney, Don Bluth and several animators pooled their resources to make a more mature animated feature. This was their first result, based on MRS FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH with the voices of Elizabeth Hartmann, Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Hermoine Baddely, Peter Strauss, Arthur Malet, and John Carradine (with early starts by Wil Wheaton and Shannon Doherty) and music by Jerry Goldsmith. I might have seen this in theaters. I certainly remember the countless HBO broadcasts. Whenever I see the 1982 United Artists Logo (A Line revolving to the UA, with piano keys turning to orchestrations), I think of this film. It’s a favorite of mine. MGM BluRay. However, I also watched the first sequence from a 1983 MGM/UA Silver bookcase VHS (I would always note what looks like a film stock burn hole at the end of said sequence, a flaw that has been removed in later remasters).
RUROUNI KENSHIN (1997) “Hiten VS Shukuchi” 25TH ANNIVERSARY Kenshin’s rematch with Sojiro begins, but the emotionless affable swordsman seems to be off. Turns out he killed Senkaku (the mercenary whose tyranny of a village led to Kenshin’s first encounter with Shishio and Sojiro) but not before learning the man’s newfound respect for Kenshin and his strength through mercy, something that is troubling Sojiro’s ideology, releasing repressed memories. Japanese with English Subtitles. Media Blasters AnimeWorks DVD.
Saw Parts Of:
A CHILD IS WAITING (1962) YouTube
The ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Judy Footage of “Doin What Comes Naturally” and “I’m an Indian” Warner VHS.
JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961) Kino Lorber BluRay.
I watched the Rudy Belhmer commentary of SCARAMOUCHE (1952) The commentary made me the connection between MGM actor Robert Coote and the Robert Coote who originated the role of Colonel Pickering for MY FAIR LADY (whom I knew back in 1993). Criterion Laserdisc.
Earliest film: BUBBLES (1930)
Latest film: SID AND JUDY (2019)
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Post by mikef6 on Jul 3, 2022 1:16:48 GMT
The Girl In Black Stockings / Howard W. Koch (1957). My Lovely Wife and I are leaving on a road trip in a week that will take us through the southern Utah town of Kanab so were interested in seeing this film, set in that town. Kanab is “steeped in Hollywood lore” according to the town’s publicity and I am inclined to agree. Kanab and environs have been a site for hundreds of movies and TV shows, mainly westerns, since the silent era. The Parry Lodge, which figures prominently in this film was built in the 1930s mainly to house movie people. It is open to this day and not noticeably changed since 1957. “Black Stockings” is an enjoyable murder mystery. The fictional Edmund Parry (Canadian actor Ron Randell) owns the Parry Lodge but is paralyzed from the neck down. Managing the lodge and acting as his caregiver is his sister Julia (Maria Windsor). Also helping is desk and switchboard clerk Beth Dixon (Anne Bancroft). Los Angeles lawyer David Hawson (Lex Barker) is visiting to unwind. He has also fallen in love with Beth. David and Beth are snogging at the lakeside when they discover the mutilated corpse of the town flirt. All the guests of the lodge are suspects so are held there by the Sheriff (John Dehner). There are further murders and suspicion bounces from one character to another. The Marilyn Monroe wanna-be Mamie Van Doren is part of the cast playing a tipsy bottle blonde loudmouthed floozy. She’s terrible (but she gets featured on the poster). Also in small roles are pre-famous Stuart Whitman and Dan Blocker.   
Captain Newman, M.D. / David Miller (1963). Nine years before “M*A*S*H” there was “Captain Newman M.D.”, the original war time military medical comedy/drama.The title Captain Josiah Newman (Gregory Peck), is a psychiatrist in charge of the mental health ward at a WWII military hospital in Arizona. Short on staff, he has his Sergeant steal a new orderly reporting to another ward and recruits a nurse, Lt. Francie Corum (Angie Dickenson) from the same ward. The new orderly is Cpl. Jackson Leibowitz (Tony Curtis), a motormouth who, when not constantly complaining, is correcting Capt. Newman on psychiatric issues. Nevertheless, he is a firecracker who the patients in the ward immediately take to. The movie focuses on three patients. Capt. Paul Winston (Robert Duvall) a man who has completely withdrawn inside himself; Col. Bliss (Eddie Albert) who has delusions that he is a man called Mr. Future; Cpl. Jim Thompson (Bobby Darin) who will not admit, even to himself, what is tormenting him. Darin was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Well worth seeing. There is a DVD in print and it is also available on YouTube. .jpg)   V For Vendetta / James McTeigue (2005). For reasons that I myself cannot articulate, the idea of watching this movie just didn’t appeal to me. So, now that the film is entering its 17th year of existence, I finally got around to it and…what the hell took me so long. I just loved every frame of it and my appreciation and affection grew with every scene. In a future fascist England, Evey (Natalie Portman) just wants to keep her head down but one evening, out after curfew, she gets accosted by two police who threaten her with rape. She is rescued by a man in a Guy Fawkes mask who calls himself just V. Evey continues to run into him and finally lands in trouble. Stephen Fry plays a famous TV host and Evey’s employer, Stephen Rae is a dogged policemen trying to track down V and slowly begins to agree with him. John Hurt is the Big Brother-type dictator of the U.K.    Kaze No Tani No Naushika (Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind) / Hayao Miyazaki (1984). This early Miyazaki (only his third as director but his first masterpiece) is the first to express Miyazaki’s environmental concerns. Set far into the future, humankind is separated into virtual city-states as a swampy jungle filled with giant insects known as the Toxic Sea slowly covers all the land. Nausicaä (pronounced something like NOW-see-ka) is Princess of The Valley Of The Wind and has some powers over and attack of Toxic Sea insects. The Valley is invaded by the neighboring kingdom of Tolmekia to force them into an alliance with a plan to stop the Toxic Sea but Nausicaä believes the plan will backfire and destroy them all. Plenty of imaginative action and places. Striking visuals. A nail-biting climax.   Metropolitan Opera In HD Live. “Verdi: Rigoletto” Season 15, Episode 5. Videoed live on January 29, 2022. A new production set in Weimar Germany just before fascism. Based on the Victor Hugo novel “Le Roi S’amuse” (The King’s Jeser), Verdi’s opera premiered in Venice in 1981. It has become one of the most loved and produced of operas. Up until not too long ago, even people who never heard of the work would still be familiar with the tune of “La Donna Mobile” sung in the last act. In today’s pop culture saturated world, I’m not sure that’s true anymore. Pity. The story of the hated deformed court jester and the “father’s curse” put on him is melodious and, especially in the last act, very fast moving, compelling, and dramatic with no pretentious airs whatsoever. Seen on PBS Great Performances At The Met series. Great for first time opera watchers.  
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Post by Rufus-T on Jul 3, 2022 6:06:14 GMT
Ricky Gervais: SuperNature (2022)  The World's Fastest Indian (2005)  An Angel at My Table (1990)  C'mon C'mon (2021)  Mass (2021)  Passing (2021)  |
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Post by marianne48 on Jul 4, 2022 2:21:16 GMT
Two old movies that deserve to be remembered as near-classics, and two new movies that deserve to be forgotten:
Spencer (2021)-This film manages to achieve the near-impossible: It can make a viewer sympathetic toward the royal family for putting up with Princess Diana. Kristen Stewart portrays the late Diana Spencer, thirty at the time of the events in the movie, as a sulky teenager going through a phase in which she has to be rude to her stepparents (or in this case, the in-laws) by whining, complaining, locking herself in a room while her children plead for her to emerge, and refusing to show up on time for dinner--when confronted about this, she makes a childishly vulgar remark. She pukes a lot, of course, and later eats a necklace or something in some artistic representation of her inner turmoil. Annoyingly pretentious; stick with the fourth season of The Crown instead for a sympathetic depiction of Diana Spencer's travails.
Death on the Nile (2022)--As an Agatha Christie fan for more than 45 years, I try to see as many of the film/TV depictions of her works as I can. This would be at the bottom of the barrel, perhaps underneath even the execrable The Alphabet Murders, with Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot (at least that one was intended to be goofy). I was never a fan of Peter Ustinov as Poirot, but compared to this
completely unnecessary version of her novel, I can understand the appeal for his portrayal in comparison. Branagh insists on portraying Poirot as a Deeply Tormented Soul with a lost love and a traumatic war experience--the first scene of the film provides a back story for his moustache, complete with a battlefield scene. Poirot, as his fans know,was never a WWI soldier, and if he had been, he would have been smart enough to wear a helmet in battle, which he neglects to do here. Also, as all Christie fans know, he had one romantic interest in his life and he meets up with her later--the "Countess" Vera Rossakoff--it's rumored that they even had a love child together, Hercule Rossakoff-Poirot, who at the end of Christie's The Labors of Hercules is sent off to America, where he winds up living in Texas, Americanizing his name to H. Ross Perot, and running for President in 1992. But that's another story, and maybe it would have made a more entertaining one than this borefest.
The murder doesn't even occur until the second hour of the film; several of the characters from the novel are consolidated, in order to reduce the number of suspects-- mystery fans can handle a large number of suspects, thank you, and they don't need this kind of dumbing-down; the performances are so-so; and for those expecting at the very least some travelogue-type scenes of Egypt, forget it--most of the
landscapes are laughably cheap-looking CGI effects. Branagh's Poirot is a complete miss--either he's suffering mightily from his tragic past, or he's chasing after the murderer with a gun and at one point chucking a meat cleaver at them. This is the second Branagh installment of a Christie work; I hope he doesn't continue, because both of them stink. Not for Christie fans at all, unless one is a hardcore completist.
Let's Dance (1950)-Considered a "lesser" Fred Astaire film, I only learned about it after seeing a short, low-quality clip from the film on The Dick Cavett Show's installment with Fred Astaire as the guest. I had to crank up the VCR for this one, as it apparently is so overlooked that it was never released on DVD. That's too bad, because it has some good moments. It has a great beginning, with a WWII air-raid siren morphing into Betty Hutton singing for an audience of soldiers; she performs a number that's incredibly manic, even for Hutton. While the film slows down considerably after that, with a long, drawn-out resolution, it has some good numbers along the way. Astaire manages to look dapper even while dancing in baggy dungarees, and while his performances with Hutton are a little lacking in chemistry, his more memorable dance partner in the film is a piano. After his dance with that instrument, he switches to a different piano and performs some decent boogie-woogie (apparently it was Astaire's real playing on the soundtrack, too). The family drama doesn't allow for too many more musical moments than that, but it's a pretty decent film.
His Kind of Woman (1951)--Watching this convoluted film noir/comedy, I got the impression that they kind of made it up as they went along. According to the IMDb trivia section, Robert Mitchum claimed that they did, so I guess it shows. Mitchum is some kind of shady gambler who accepts an offer to go to Mexico and get involved with criminal Raymond Burr. Along the way, he meets and flirts with Jane Russell, who sings a song or two. He also meets her other romantic interest, an unashamedly hammy actor played by Vincent Price, who enjoys hunting when not striking Shakespearean poses and quoting from his greatest stage roles. Burr terrorizes Mitchum and wants to surgically steal his face or something like that; Mitchum tries to escape from Burr's mob; there's a lot of beating and gunplay and whatnot. It doesn't really matter, though, as the best part of this film is Vincent Price; he manages to steal the whole movie with his delightfully funny overacting as the ham actor, and he also turns out to be the hero, too. See it mainly for Mr. Price.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 4, 2022 2:42:20 GMT
You must be searching All Through the Night to find the wonderful frame grabs for your weekly threads. A bit lazier than that: I keep archives of the snaps I make for my film reviews and go trolling through those for the weekly reports. -Bill In my book, there's nothing lazy about maintaining and consulting archives. But then, modesty's always been a characteristic of the most accomplished people I've known.
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A rather charming documentary about the stray cats of Istanbul. A cat's eye view of the city. I'm imagining being a cat lover (as I am) helps, but highly recommended to all nonetheless.
Well mounted period romantic drama, with journalist/spy John Cusack in Shanghai just before Pearl Harbour, and becoming involved with a married Chinese woman working for the resistance. 
Sienna Miller gets juicy role as single parent who raises her grandchild after the daughter vanishes. Downbeat but absorbing.
Never mind the script - smell the testosterone. In truth a disappointment but it looked good.
Huppert abandons her old life and starts anew....
