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Post by kijii on Jun 14, 2020 14:17:54 GMT
Bandits (2001) /Barry Levinson
Great comedy filled with new ideas* and actors playing against type. The first half was amazingly good..the second half fell off a bit. Joe(Bruce Willis): What'd you bring her here for? Terry (Billy Bob Thorton) : One, I had no choice, two, I may have suffered a slight concussion and three, she is mentally imbalanced to a spectacular degree. Kate (Cate Blancett) : I can hear you!
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 15, 2020 14:16:25 GMT
Atomic Blonde (2017).
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Post by kijii on Jun 15, 2020 16:43:22 GMT
Peterloo (2018) / Mike Leigh This is Mike Leigh's latest and largest project to date. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime, this film seems like it was a huge project to undertake. I'm quite sure that it may not have sold in theaters. However, once you get into it, it can be very rewarding, especially for those of us how are not familiar with British cultural history. The film presents the issues and problems of England at the beginning of the 19th Century, not long after Lord Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. This is near the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the people of Manchester, feeling that they were not represented in parliament, begin to think about a peaceful revolt. But, this was no easy matter to organize. For a complete picture of the times, this might be a good place to begin: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre. Not only does the film present the massacre itself, it also presents the arguments for (and against) the revolt and/or demonstration from all sides. I'm not sure if the speeches presented in the film were taken from actual texts, but one gets the feeling that they were. The speeches, alone, seem like poetry to the modern ear. I'm glad that this film is available on Amazon Prime to see over and over. One viewing may be too much for some and not enough for others. Nevertheless, it is an historic event brought to life on film.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 16, 2020 6:42:35 GMT
ZEPPELIN 1971 -- Pretty much a foot note in WW 1 movies--Michael York is a spy who goes to Germany to get info on a new airship. Elke Sommer suspects he is up to no good. Good fx for the airship on the cheap, although the story is kind of pedestrian war commando stuff ultimately. Interesting fact is that at this time there was discussion to make a Hammer film called Pterodactyls vs Zeppelins which was to be a Warner Bros film--and this other Zeppelin film comes along and also has a couple of Hammer regulars (Anton Diffring and Andrew Keir). It's funny how you can see someone in a part and they seem so familiar but turns out you have either never seen them in anything else or if you have, didn't notice them. Case in point, supporting player Alexandra Stewart who I assumed was married to Rod Stewart--no apparently. Had a long career stretching back to the 50s but only noticed her in this film. She should probably be grateful she wasn't married to Rod Stewart based on stuff I read about his personal life in confirming his marriages.
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Post by hi224 on Jun 16, 2020 6:59:01 GMT
ZEPPELIN 1971 -- Pretty much a foot note in WW 1 movies--Michael York is a spy who goes to Germany to get info on a new airship. Elke Sommer suspects he is up to no good. Good fx for the airship on the cheap, although the story is kind of pedestrian war commando stuff ultimately. Interesting fact is that at this time there was discussion to make a Hammer film called Pterodactyls vs Zeppelins which was to be a Warner Bros film--and this other Zeppelin film comes along and also has a couple of Hammer regulars (Anton Diffring and Andrew Keir). It's funny how you can see someone in a part and they seem so familiar but turns out you have either never seen them in anything else or if you have, didn't notice them. Case in point, supporting player Alexandra Stewart who I assumed was married to Rod Stewart--no apparently. Had a long career stretching back to the 50s but only noticed her in this film. She should probably be grateful she wasn't married to Rod Stewart based on stuff I read about his personal life in confirming his marriages. sounds yucky.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 16, 2020 7:12:09 GMT
The film or Rod Stewart's marriages?
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Post by hi224 on Jun 16, 2020 8:13:11 GMT
The film or Rod Stewart's marriages? both really.
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Post by kijii on Jun 16, 2020 19:14:49 GMT
Linklater's Before Trilogy reminds one a little of My Dinner with Andre (1981) in that it is a (series of) conversation(s) between two people (over several years). Like Linklater's Boyhood (2014), it is a bit too self-absorbing to be too meaningful. Yet, one is still draw into the conversations which involve three dialogues between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Delia (Julie Delpy) over 18 years. People in real life don't really have such prolonged conversations about themselves, but the structure of the long-term relationship allows the two people to reflect about relationships, love, and the meaning of live and death at different stages of life. Both Hawke and Delpy were involved with the writing of these three movies. Before Sunrise (1995) / Richard Linklater Celine : You know, I've been wondering lately. Do you know anyone who's in a happy relationship? Jesse : Uh, yeah, sure. I know happy couples. But I think they lie to each other. Celine : Hmf. Yeah. People can lead their life as a lie. My grandmother, she was married to this man, and I always thought she had a very simple, uncomplicated love life. But she just confessed to me that she spent her whole life dreaming about another man she was always in love with. She just accepted her fate. It's so sad. Jesse : I guarantee you, it was better that way. If she'd ever got to know him, I'm sure he would have disappointed her eventually. Celine : How do you know? You don't know them. Jesse : Yeah, I know, I know. It's just, people have these romantic projections they put on everything. That's not based on any kind of reality.
Before Sunset (2004) / Richard Linklater Before Midnight (2013) / Richard Linklater
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Post by kijii on Jun 17, 2020 2:56:20 GMT
The October Man (1947) / Roy Ward Baker I accidentally ran across this movie on YouTube and was attracted by the cast. It is one of those "old English movies" that really surprised me. What starts out to be an average melodrama turns in to more and more of a thriller as it builds.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 17, 2020 7:32:54 GMT
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON 1958 -- Never seen this Jules Verne movie (sure I would remember if I had, Debra Paget is blonde!). George Sanders and Joseph Cotten are rivals and embark upon a trip to the moon after fussing about some explosive called Power X. I love the quaintness of space travel in the 1860s--they have space suits as well as a dining room with quilted sofa. There's a lot of techno-babble in this but also some zinger lines like George Sanders saying:
"We shall soon begin to feel the heat, the terrible heat of friction."
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Post by kijii on Jun 18, 2020 4:13:52 GMT
Meantime (1983) / Mike Leigh This is a TV movie of a poor "unemployed family" in the tenements of London during the Thatcher era. As I read User reviews on the IMDb about this movie, the fact that it depicts the UK under Thatcher is brought up over and over again. So, this film just adds another nail into the coffin about how workers were affected during this period. Other British films that depict the Thatcher era in a negative light include: Brassed Off (1996), and My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) as well as Mike Leigh's High Hopes (1988) and Ken Loach's Looks and Smiles (1981). Mike Leigh directed this movie but he evidently didn't write a script for it. Rather he is listed as devising it with a pretty impressive cast. Gary Oldman and Tim Roth
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Post by kijii on Jun 19, 2020 4:16:46 GMT
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 19, 2020 8:20:42 GMT
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Post by teleadm on Jun 19, 2020 22:19:13 GMT
Charley Varrick 1973, directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau in a dramatic role. A simple little small town bank robbery turns wry, since the money turns out to belong to the mob.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 22, 2020 9:02:16 GMT
Bandits (2001) /Barry Levinson
Great comedy filled with new ideas* and actors playing against type. The first half was amazingly good..the second half fell off a bit. Joe(Bruce Willis): What'd you bring her here for? Terry (Billy Bob Thorton) : One, I had no choice, two, I may have suffered a slight concussion and three, she is mentally imbalanced to a spectacular degree. Kate (Cate Blancett) : I can hear you!
I actually quite like that movie. I used to watch it whenever it was on TV here (it hasn't been on in a while, though). One of my favourite parts is when Cate Blanchett’s character is singing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ whilst driving and emotional (a dangerous mix).
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 22, 2020 9:11:34 GMT
Avengers: Endgame (2019).
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Post by kijii on Jun 23, 2020 17:15:22 GMT
Sorry We Missed You (2019) / Ken Loach If you see this movie, you will fall in love with the family. This film--Ken Loach's latest--centers around a young British family living in the English suburbs. Just as in America, many British families have been hit with a sudden economic crisis that is not necessarily their fault.The family's financial crisis could be the result of a national banking crisis or Covid-19. However, when the father and mother, both have to start working 14-hour days, and rarely get to meet together as a family unit, the children are forced to fill some of the gaps while still attending school. Sometimes, they are forced into doing unusual things in order to keep the family together. In addition, the married couple has problems with each other when their jobs start to interfere with each other and their totally necessary work. There is work overload and something's got to give. But, how will this totally-loving family deal with all this when there is no longer any time slack in their together time? Abbie Turner : This is my family, and I'm telling you now, nobody messes with my family.
Wikipeida plot summary with SPOILERS:Ricky (Kris Hitchen) and his family have been fighting an uphill struggle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. Ricky, who has no education or professional training, is given an opportunity when he is hired to run a franchise as a self-employed delivery driver under the supervision of the tough Maloney. In order to afford a van for the job, Ricky convinces his wife Abbie (who uses the car in her work as a home care nurse) to sell the family car. The stress of the new job proves too be great for Ricky. He is always under pressure to make his deliveries in time and is fined if he is late or makes mistakes. Abbie also finds her work much more demanding without a car and frequently feels upset by the lack of time she is allowed to spend with her patients due to her demanding schedule.
The stress of both Ricky and Abbie is greatly increased by their son Seb (Rhys Stone) who both skips school and often gets into trouble with graffiti. After an argument, Seb tags over the family portraits during the night. The next morning Ricky can't find the keys to his van and blames Seb. Seb denies any wrongdoing and in the ensuing argument, Ricky hits Seb. His daughter Liza Jane (Katie Proctor) later tearfully admits that she hid the keys as she blames Ricky's new job for the family's problems.
Back at work, Ricky is robbed and brutally assaulted while making his deliveries. While Ricky is in the waiting room at hospital, Maloney phones him and explains that he is facing fines of over £1,000 as his scanner was destroyed during the robbery. After the assault, Seb finally warms up and re-joins the family. The film ends as Ricky drives off to work, still greatly injured and in tears as his family beg him to not leave.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jun 23, 2020 21:03:32 GMT
Atonement (2007).
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 24, 2020 7:32:05 GMT
THE MAN WHO WAS NOBODY 1960 Edgar Wallace mystery (gee that guy was popular) starring Hazel Court as reporter turned private detective. John Crawford during his leading man phase. The name Crawford was on my mind as I watched:
MIRAGE 1965 - Never seen this before. I think TOTAL RECALL most certainly took inspiration from this--I suspect the REKALL stuff with the "your suffering from a schizoid embolism" guy was influenced by the scenes with the psychiatrist. Interesting remark by Jack Weston when he is watching wrestling, saying westerns had gone "psycho," and at least with wrestling you still knew who the bad guys were.
You don't want to be on the receiving end when George Kennedy says: "I owe you some pain."
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Post by teleadm on Jun 24, 2020 17:16:37 GMT
At last, got around to watch Vittorio de Sica's Umberto D 1952. It's a very sad slice of life story, though not without some humor. It was very easy to follow in Italian with English subtitles.
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