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Post by Prime etc. on May 27, 2020 5:38:48 GMT
WAR GODS OF THE DEEP 1965 - Here's an example of a Vincent Price performance that is mostly unhammy.I really don't see what the difference is between this and Witchfinder General except he seemed more depressed in the latter. Why is it that a number of films with some kind of underground or underwater theme has to have a little cute animal in it? I'm not complaining, I like Herbert, but it's an odd thing. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Captain Nemo and his Underwater City had a kitten, so did Warlords of Atlantis. Like Thunderball, this has an underwater sequence that goes a long time.
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Post by kijii on May 27, 2020 18:34:35 GMT
Diner (1982) / Barry Levinson Question: Could Does Diner (1982); Liberty Heights (1999); and Avalon (1990) make up something we might call Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy? All take place in the Baltimore area and all reflect aspects of Levinson's life... Eddie (Steve Guttenberg) : Shrev, you happy with your marriage or what? Shrevie (Daniel Stern): I don't know. Eddie : What do you mean, you don't know? You don't know? Shrevie : What? Eddie : How could you not? You don't know? How could you not know? Shrevie : I don't know! Beth is terrific and everything, but, just, I don't know. I tell you a big part of the problem, though, when you get married. You know, when you're dating, everything is talking about sex. Right? Where can we do it? You know, why can't we do it? Are your parents gonna be out so - so we can do it, you know? Trying to get a weekend, just so we can do it. Eddie : So they can do it, right. Shrevie : Everything is always talkin' about gettin' sex, and then planning the wedding, all the details. Eddie : Details, shit. Shrevie : But then, when you get married - it's crazy, i dunno. I mean, you can get it whenever you want it! You wake up in the morning and she's there. You come home from work and she's there. And so all that sex planning talk is over with. And so is the wedding planning talk cause you're already married. Eddie : Right. Shrevie : So - you know, I can come down here and we can bullshit the whole night away but I cannot hold a five minute conversation with Beth. I mean, it's not her fault, I'm not blaming her, she's great. It's... Eddie : Nah, of course not. Shrevie : It's just, we got nothin' to talk about. But, it's good. It's good. Eddie : It's good. It's nice, right. Shrevie : Yeah, it's nice. Eddie : Well, we always got the Diner. Shrevie : Yeah, we always got the Diner.
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Post by politicidal on May 27, 2020 21:30:58 GMT
Congo Crossing (1956). Safari adventure film with crime noir elements. With a dash of Casablanca intrigue for good measure.
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Post by kijii on May 28, 2020 16:14:45 GMT
California Split (1974) / Robert Altman It's hard for me to know what this movie is about. It is a buddy movie that takes into the buddy's relationship around gambling. But, there is really no underlying story or plot, to me.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on May 28, 2020 23:46:01 GMT
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019).
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Post by kijii on May 29, 2020 4:29:34 GMT
My first impression of this movie was "This can't be true." Who is this Molly Bloom who grew up about 30 miles from where I grew up? Did her father really teach at my Alma Mater (LONG after I had graduated)? Did she REALLY do all the things portrayed in this movie, so masterfully played by Jessica Chastain? Well, the answer is yes but..what really makes the movie so riveting is the way Aaron Sorkin wrote his Oscar-nominated script. The movie constantly moves from one past episode to another past episode to another and finally to present, with a sharp and sophisticate dialogue. Much of what we seen on the screen is actually narrated by Jessica Chastain as we see her describe what is acted out on the screen. No real people can talk this way that is what captures us as an audience. We can't and don't, But with a movie, one can capture a story that takes place over 20 years and compress it into a movie script that plays for us in ~2 hours. The dialogue is all created by the script writer and the actions are all created and molded by the same person who wrote the screenplay, Aaron Sorkin!!! This movie is worth seeing twice in a short time span. Then, read the wikipedia quote from above which identifies some of the celebs who played in "Molly's Game" but were not named in the movie. I only wish I knew something--anything--about the game of Poker. But, even without any knowledge about Poker..the movie is pretty clear.
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Post by kijii on May 29, 2020 19:14:51 GMT
Tin Men (1987) / Barry Levinson Bill Babowsky (Richard Dreyfuss) : [into the phone] Hey, asshole! This is the ultimate "fuck you"! I just poked your wife! Ernest Tilley (Danny DeVito) : [into the phone] What are you talking about? Bill Babowsky : [into the phone] Yeah, she's in my bed right now with a very big smile on her face. Ernest Tilley : [into the phone] Well, that's just fine by me. She's a pain in the ass! An albatross around my neck! You're welcome to her. Keep her, and may you both rot in Hell! [hangs up]
This comedy with two classic comedy actors. playing rivals in the home improvement business (aluminum siding) having a feud in Baltimore, seemed like a perfect vehicle for Barry Levinson, yet it still doesn't quite come together.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on May 30, 2020 5:43:17 GMT
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Post by kijii on May 30, 2020 13:48:04 GMT
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Robert Altman
Re-viewed. I came back to this movie to see if there is something to this movie that I missed the first time. I don't think there is. The photography is dark and damp as if the whole movie had been taken photographed a black stocking..Maybe that adds some atmosphere to an otherwise uneventful movie...I don't know..There is little dialogue or story to this movie and this 2-hour movie seems like a 5-hour movie...which made me think: "Are we there yet." Perhaps this is a different kind of movie---a moving portrait...I don't know.
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Post by Prime etc. on May 30, 2020 19:31:52 GMT
MOBY DICK 1956
Might be the first "classic book" I saw adapted into a movie and one that I liked watching. The cinematography gives it the look of an oil painting, and despite the low tech nature of the whale fx I think it still works very well. Though I think Gregory Peck was a little young for it, I don't think it harmed the film--his arched eyebrows and voice made up for the initial shock of his youthful appearance. He provided a romanticism hero portrayal which makes sense for a mainstream production. Richard Basehart on the other hand seemed a little too old but then again the hard-living back then is going to age you fast.
Add to that the exciting score by Philip Sainton:
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Post by BATouttaheck on May 31, 2020 2:50:38 GMT
Probably not the best time to experience a first time viewing of this futuristic film that takes place in 2022 what with masks and riots and rogue policemen but ... Am sure that not knowing the twist would have helped ! Heston more tolerable than usual and a great supporting cast including Brock Peters and Edward G Robinson.
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Post by Prime etc. on May 31, 2020 6:48:25 GMT
Speaking of Heston BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES 1970 -- released on my birthday in 1970. Well, I think it tends to get forgotten in the Ape series, possibly because no Roddy McDowall as he was directing a movie--his replacement does a pretty good RM impression now and then. James Franciscus is given the unenviable task of being the human astronaut stand in for Heston and has a lot to do--not only does he have to go through the paces of the first movie in fast forward, but then deal with mind control attacks on top of it. As one would expect from a sequel, we get more glimpses of Ape city, and even have James Gregory and Maurice Evans in the ape nude doing a steam bath scene reminiscent of Spartacus (which I assume was the inspiration, with Dr Zaius as a simian Charles Laughton). I prefer the approach in the first movie where the apes are set up in their appropriate occupations---the sequels set the gorillas up as antagonists--not the case in the book or the original movie.
The idea of a mutant civilization was a neat one, and there is some really impressive special effects like the bleeding statue toppling over in a fire storm. Although ultimately the film ends on such a downer, it feels a little too forced with a hasty voice over (provided by the voice of World Control, Paul Frees? A crossover between Colossus the Forbin Project and Planet of the Apes could have been another sequel idea.
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Post by hi224 on May 31, 2020 6:59:40 GMT
Murder on the Orient Express(1974).
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on May 31, 2020 9:03:38 GMT
Stardust (2007).
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Post by kijii on Jun 1, 2020 18:53:12 GMT
Bugsy (1991) / Barry Levinson The IMDb users gave this movie a 6.8. I would give it a 10 without hesitation. I think it is an overlooked masterpiece!! It has beautiful and imaginative images; great cinematography; perfect timing; and great acting by both principal actors (Warren Beatty and Annette Bening) as well as all the great character actors who help to give the movie so much color (Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, and Joe Mantegna). The chemistry between Warren Beatty (as Bugsy Siegel) and Annette Bening (as Virginia Hill) is always ready to explode, and we never know when, why, or how it will explode. But, it does, over and over... but, the real genius of the movie to Barry Levinson for bringing all these elements together so perfectly!!! After watching this movie once, I wanted to watch it yet another time. What I noticed is that the movie tells the story of Bugsy Siegel in 10-15+ scenes (or vignettes) any of which is entertaining in it own right. However, when they are woven together they form a seamless tapestry of Bugsy's life from the time he is sent to Hollywood, til his death. Meyer Lansky sends Bugsy to take over the mob there and quietly quietly. In Southern California (and Las Vegas), Bugsy is almost always accompanied by Mickey Cohen (Harvey Keitel) who serves as Bugsy's constant companion and witnesses his multiple eruptions. Bugsy's biggest "beefs" occur when someone either steals money from him or rats on him. He is so simple and direct that many of the vignettes of he movie end up with either violence or comedy---sometimes both. He finds his purpose in life when he comes up with the "vision" of making the little dirt town of Las Vegas, NV into a showplace of the world by building The Flamingo Hotel: "Bugsy" Siegel : We are gonna build a garden of Eden in the desert! A hotel! But not a hotel! You know what it is? It's an oasis. It's an oasis with a casino. It's legal, it's Nevada. We're gonna have palm trees and pools, we'll have rose gardens more beautiful than Versailles, and we're gonna design them all ourselves! Virginia : Get away from me! "Bugsy" Siegel : We're gonna have the greatest entertainers in the world! We'll have Jolson, Kantor, and Durante, we'll have Gary Cooper, Victor Mature, all of 'em, honey, we'll have Dana Andrews, honey, and they're all just hanging around, because it'll be the most beautiful, most spectacular place they'll have ever been invited to, and you are gonna own five and three quarters percent of the whole thing! And that's gross, not net!
The movie received 2 Oscars (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design). However, it was nominated for 10 total including --Best Picture; Best Leading Actor (Warren Beatty); 2 Best Supporting Actors (Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley); Best Director (Barry Levinson); Best Screenplay (James Toback); Best Cinematography (Allen Daviau); and Best Music, Original Score (Ennio Morricone). I really think Annette Bening was every bit as good as Warren Beatty as she gave as good as got. " Bugsy" Siegel : Got a light? Virginia : The way you were looking at me, I thought you were going to ask for something more interesting. "Bugsy" Siegel : Like what? Virginia : Use your imagination. "Bugsy" Siegel : I'm using it. Virginia : ...Let me know when you're finished.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 1, 2020 22:11:12 GMT
Charlie’s Angels (2019).
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jun 1, 2020 23:10:20 GMT
Trouble with the CurveClint Eastwood in grouchy old man mode / mood. A way to pass a rainy afternoon. Nothing great but watchable. Good supporting cast including Scott Eastwood, one of his children, as a baseball player
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 2, 2020 6:25:33 GMT
THE LONG SHIPS 1964 Co-written by Beverly Cross who did scripts for Harryhausen films, while Richard Widmark seems a little odd for a viking it is nevertheless a memorable exotic adventure with an interesting plot and characters. One certainly doesn't forget the execution instrument where one has to ride down a giant sword blade!
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Post by kijii on Jun 2, 2020 18:15:47 GMT
Disclosure (1994) / Barry Levinson While further filling my Levinson gaps, I discovered this little gem.. Here, an established employee of a Seattle computer company (Michael Douglas) is passed over for what seemed like an obvious advancement in the upper echelon of the company. The President of the company (Donald Sutherland), instead, gives the position to a woman (Demi Moore) in order to shatter the company's glass ceiling. However, Moore uses her new-found corporate power with Douglas to sexually molest him in sort of a reverse-roles version of the powerful man abusing women under their them in a work/power situation. When Douglas tries to fight the case of sexual harassment, he finds out how difficult it is to fight power with truth. Dylan Baker plays Moore's assistant and personal toad. Roma Maffia is great, too, as Douglas' lawyer trying to fight this legal battle while knowing all the possible obstacles he will be facing to prove that what he is saying is true: Catherine Alvarez (Roma Maffia): No means no. Isn't that what we tell women? Do men deserve less? Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore): Well, when he really wanted to stop, he didn't seem to have any problems doing it, did he? Catherine Alvarez : And that's when you got angry. Meredith Johnson : Of course I got angry. So would anyone. Catherine Alvarez : Don't we tell women that they can stop at any point? Meredith Johnson : Haven't you ever said no and meant yes, Mrs. Alvarez? Catherine Alvarez : Up until the moment of actual penetration... Meredith Johnson : [interrupting] The point is he was willing. That tape doesn't change anything. Catherine Alvarez : The point is you controlled the meeting. You set the time. You ordered the wine. You locked the door. You demanded service and then got angry when he didn't provide it. So you decided to get even, to get rid of him with this trumped up charge. Ms. Johnson, the only thing you have proven is that a woman in power can be every bit as abusive as a man! Meredith Johnson : You wanna put me on trial here? Let's at least be honest about what it's for! I am a sexually aggressive woman. I like it. Tom knew it, and you can't handle it. It is the same damn thing since the beginning of time. Veil it, hide it, lock it up and throw away the key. We expect a woman to do a man's job, make a man's money, and then walk around with a parasol and lie down for a man to fuck her like it was still a hundred years ago? Well, no thank you!
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 2, 2020 21:06:51 GMT
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017).
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