Last Movie you Watched?

The First Of The Few (1942)
entertaining biopic about the design genius who gave us the Spitfire and before that a series of record breaking, trophy winning aeroplanes during the pioneering, golden age of flight
Lesly Howard is excellent as RJ Mitchell, the driven designer and David Niven suitably dashing and debonair as the test pilot
tragically Mitchell's life was cut short by cancer, but not before he had delivered one last great gift, to help save his nation from the Nazi menace
eerily Howard's life too came to an abrupt end shortly after this film was completed, shot down in a civilian airplane that the Germans suspected was carrying Winston Churchill

Santa wrote:

Tom Cruise Cocktail?

Yes.

Harmsway wrote:

Practically perfect.

It's pretty much the most hilarious film ever. Must rewatch it again soon. Rarely a day goes by when I don't find myself recalling one of its many wonderful lines and moments.

Loomis wrote:

It's pretty much the most hilarious film ever.

I've loved BIG LEBOWSKI for some time, but I'm beginning to think that, yes, this is in fact true.

Loomis wrote:

Rarely a day goes by when I don't find myself recalling one of its many wonderful lines and moments.

I've had this one on the brain since watching it: "Nihilists! F___ me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos."

V.I. Lenin! Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!

Loomis wrote:

Santa wrote:

Tom Cruise Cocktail?

Yes.

Harmsway wrote:

Practically perfect.

It's pretty much the most hilarious film ever. Must rewatch it again soon. Rarely a day goes by when I don't find myself recalling one of its many wonderful lines and moments.

I thought you were talking about "Cocktail" for a few moments there... scary


a tale about a cock, the perfect Tom Crude vehicle
8)

Le magnifique - Great action comedy with Belmondo and Jacqueline Bisset. The plot, which is about a lonely author inserting people he encounters in real life into his secret agent fantasy stories, is clearly influenced by Ian Fleming and his creation. Some of the fantasy sequences are among the funniest Bond satires I've seen.

Frida - Not bad for a chick-flick. Even with a unibrau, Salma Hayek is sex on legs. Ashley Judd is also stunning in her brief scenes, especially in her tango with Hayek. The story doesn't seem to go anywhere in many parts, but the film is full of humour and life. The score's great too.

GATTACA (1997)

Always one of my favourites.

Star Wars (1977; Theatrical Version)

The so called "death of cinema". For awhile I went through a sort of burn out concerning Star Wars. I would talk about it but didn't have the nerve to sit through either except watching bits and pieces. I watched these flicks too many times as a kid to ever enjoy them as an adult. With all the nonsense going on with the blu-ray editions, the 3D conversion and listening to Williams' scores, I decided to pop in the original flick. And hey, I enjoyed it. It's a nicely made space adventure throwback to the old serials. The old serial feel is what separates this film from the sequels/prequels which all treated Star Wars as one big saga. Those pretensions don't really exist here and so it works well on its own. Did it kill cinema? Nah, I think that's too harsh as a film on its own it's pretty damn good, but it did inadvertently encourage the studios to make product over art. I don't hold that against the film much like how I don't hold Golfinger's influence on the series against itself.

j7wild wrote:

"If I pretend to act, maybe I will win another Best Actor Oscar Doofus Washington, not that I'd deserve the first Oscar I'd won in 2002 anyway"!!

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

2.5/5

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

3/5

My first time watching these 2 films and they had a few funny parts but that's about it.

No one could go through so much trouble for White Castle burgers - those burgers couldn't be that great!!

Santa wrote:

Tom Cruise Cocktail?

Take 1 part of Scientology nonsense, 1 part of gay rumours that just won't go away, 1 part very nice teeth.

Shake well and serve over ice in a short glass in multiplexes 2 -3 times a year.

Seve wrote:

The Tourist
disappointing comedy / romance / thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie

watch the original French movie, ANTHONY ZIMMER, with Sophie Marceau;

it's much much better!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411118/

j7wild wrote:

Seve wrote:

The Tourist
disappointing comedy / romance / thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie

watch the original French movie, ANTHONY ZIMMER, with Sophie Marceau;

it's much much better!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411118/

yes, now that I'm aware of that, I will look out for it, because the concept had plenty of potential
:o

It wasnt what I was planning to watch, but I had a song or two in my head so I eventually popped in...



West Side Story (1961) Dir. Robert Wise

To start with, they cast Richard Beymer, creating what I now call Richard Beymer syndrome, in which a film somehow survives a terrible lead to be a fantastic film. That said, he's not helped that his songs mostly involve him singing to the screen, which further accentuate his goofiness in front of the camera. And he's being dubbed too, by someone who's got a fantastic voice. Which makes me long to just listen to the soundtrack. Obligatory Beymer rant over.

That said, he becomes surpringly likeable towards the end of the film.

Despite flaws here and there of course - Tony and Maria sitting there singing to each other isn't all that cinematic, some of the new fangled effects dont always work, Richard Beymer - its a superbly unique experience. For starters, the rest of the talent is immense. Natalie Wood's good, but she's surpassed by Chakiris (still the coolest man alive), Tamblyn (always awesome) and Moreno (a pocket rocket) who lead the line for the stellar support cast - Simon Oakland makes for a good bigot, Ned Glass is always quality, and surprisingly, all the gang members are awesome. Especially Tucker Smith as Ice. And the technicolour panavision photography rules.

And of course, the music. The songs. The dancing. Personally for me the film always starts a bit too slowly, but once we get to the dance at the gym the film kicks up a notch and a half and we really get moving. Marvellous.

HJackson wrote:

May be because I haven't watched a film in a month and a half, but I watched WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS last night and loved it. The first thirty minutes is the strongest, since the procedural stuff afterwards has a much weaker pulse, but as a whole it was entertaining. Dana Andrews plays a nutter quite well.

I thought it was a solid noir, and I quite like Dana Andrews now after seeing THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. I need to check out LAURA again.

Harmsway wrote:

Loomis wrote:

It's pretty much the most hilarious film ever.

I've loved BIG LEBOWSKI for some time, but I'm beginning to think that, yes, this is in fact true.

I've long held it as the most quotable film I've ever seen. It's my kind of comedy film, unlike that Jennifer Aniston/Kate Hudson-and-neutered-male-costar crap.

Love that bit in BURN AFTER READING, with the romantic comedy.

Back to LEBOWSKI, people that weird actually exist. And weirder people. Some of the nuts who come into my crapass job could have movies built around them. I've always had an eye out for the misfits. I love them, they make the world more interesting.

I've been busy as hell, but watched a few things. THE PINK PANTHER (original), which I just enjoy as an experience. I don't laugh at much of anything in it, I just dig the atmosphere.

I tried watching THE BLACK DAHLIA having recently plowed through the book again. I'd kill to see the three-hour version. I made it as far when they discover Elizabeth Short. Knowing the novel so well, I can't imagine how the film is very coherent to anyone who hasn't read it.

I'll be honest, I think it has nice style, but it needed a better screenplay - one that really captures the spirit of the book beyond cliff notes. LA CONFIDENTIAL really nailed the spirit of it's novel counterpart, even if it sanitized things a bit. TBD does have the depravity of Ellroy.

It's just not very involving to me, and the book is quite involving with Bucky's story. Minor point, I'm annoyed that they knock his buck teeth out. I do like Hartnett. Whatever else, the guy has the internal quality of the character. A little withdrawn, intelligent, and sensitive, even if he's a boxer-cop. Eckhart is perfect casting.

Johansson blows chunks in her role, well from what I saw tonight. But I always thought so anyway. If she were ten years older she could probably do it. But she lacks the life experience of the character and it's blatantly obvious that she's just trying too hard.

I think TBD would make a great miniseries in the right hands. I will give it another go this week. I enjoyed it last year as it's own thing. I simply made the mistake of watching it so soon after reading the book. I did that the first time I saw it, and I hated it then.

So I watched BLOW OUT again. Making it's way into my favorites. It's a scream. It really hooks me, especially the first parts. The chase through the Liberty Day parade I'm not as sure about, but it was reshot, so... The whole fireworks sequence is great. I do wish Nancy Allen hadn't dumbed down her character, but I can see that she didn't want play basically the same role as in DRESSED TO KILL.

I guess it was written for different kinds of leads, like a James Woods type in the Travolta role. Could have been interesting, though I like Travolta and what he brings to it.

Reading up on the film, the hooker is played by Deborah Everton, costume designer for STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT and the BSG miniseries. Weird.

Friends with Benefits (2011)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632708/

It was better than I expected.

3.5/5

THE ROMANTIC ENGLISHWOMAN. Fascinating and frustrating in equal measure, this Joseph Losey flick (co-scripted by Tom Stoppard) plays like a similar blend of arthouse and thriller from 1975, THE PASSENGER, mixed with LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD and SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, the resulting celluloid stew being populated by a scenery-chewing Michael Caine (who's as enjoyable as always), a badly miscast Glenda Jackson and a wooden Helmut Berger.

It's an ambitious, pretentious, ridiculous and strangely endearing piece of work that occasionally touches on a sort of demented brilliance as it combines surrealism, sex comedy, high art satire on the British suburban bourgeoisie and globetrotting (well, parts of Europe) Bondian intrigue, and does so in a way that's so po-faced that it has to be tongue-in-cheek - one assumes so, anyway.

Loomis wrote:

Helmut Berger

Sure you don't mean Helmet Burger?

Immortals in 3d.

Good news. The 3d doesn't suck. It doesn't blow one away either, except for oddly enough, the final scene of the film, when it is used to impactful effect. Otherwise I hardly noticed and when I did, it kinda worked.

Henry Cavill would have made a great James Bond IMO. He definitely has the classic look and he acts well enough too. Such a waste.

Good nicely paced battle flick.

Frieda Pinto displays her perfectly formed tush and in glorious 3d.

I thought it was sitting in my lap. I almost grabbed it.8)

The White Tuxedo wrote:

So I watched BLOW OUT again. Making it's way into my favorites. It's a scream. It really hooks me, especially the first parts. The chase through the Liberty Day parade I'm not as sure about, but it was reshot, so... The whole fireworks sequence is great. I do wish Nancy Allen hadn't dumbed down her character, but I can see that she didn't want play basically the same role as in DRESSED TO KILL.

I guess it was written for different kinds of leads, like a James Woods type in the Travolta role. Could have been interesting, though I like Travolta and what he brings to it.

Reading up on the film, the hooker is played by Deborah Everton, costume designer for STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT and the BSG miniseries. Weird.

I reckon BLOW OUT is probably De Palma's best film of those I've seen, all things considered - although I'm starting to acquire a taste for DRESSED TO KILL, and I get a thrill out of SISTERS every time I watch it. I must to get around to BODY DOUBLE and FEMME FATALE one of these days.

Watched NIGHT AND THE CITY last night. Another top-tier Dassin noir - seen four of his films now and all of them have been absolute perfection. Given that I haven't seen his supposed magnum opus, RIFIFI, yet, I'm left stuggling trying to think of a reason that this guy isn't held in much higher esteem. I dig Widmark here, having already grown quite fond in PANIC IN THE STREETS and PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (KISS OF DEATH is next on my hitlist), because he's at the absolute scummiest that I've seen him, but also paradoxically the most charasmatic. Dunno about everyone else, but I can't help but root for the guy even though he's a total piece of shit.

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL. Hampered by some dated and unconvincing elements, notably the casting of actors with plummy English accents in French roles, Fred Zinnemann's thriller still holds up as terrific entertainment.

HJackson wrote:

Watched NIGHT AND THE CITY last night. Another top-tier Dassin noir - seen four of his films now and all of them have been absolute perfection. Given that I haven't seen his supposed magnum opus, RIFIFI, yet, I'm left stuggling trying to think of a reason that this guy isn't held in much higher esteem. I dig Widmark here, having already grown quite fond in PANIC IN THE STREETS and PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (KISS OF DEATH is next on my hitlist), because he's at the absolute scummiest that I've seen him, but also paradoxically the most charasmatic. Dunno about everyone else, but I can't help but root for the guy even though he's a total piece of shit.

IMO Refifi is a bit more "down to earth" than those hollywood ones, the characters are less "amplified" or larger than life

Widmarks performance as a villain in "Kiss Of Death" is a revelation, but unlike "NATC" he's too unhinged to draw any sympathy at all

HJackson wrote:

I must to get around to BODY DOUBLE and FEMME FATALE one of these days.

FEMME FATALE, yes. BODY DOUBLE... meh.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Intriguing.

Loomis wrote:

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Intriguing.

I haven't seen it, but I'll add it to the list, alongside DAY OF THE LOCUST.