Last Movie You Watched.

Haven't seen either of those for a long time, but The Big Sleep is certainly my favourite of Bogie's too! Should give them a rewatch, and To Have and Have Not too.

Watched A Fish Called Wanda last night

featuring an Oscar winning turn by Kevin Kline as the nutty Otto who does tend to have the best of the lines, this remains a funny film (he states aimlessly). Everyone has a star turn really: Cleese, Curtis and Palin as the feckless Ken trying to kill an old lady who's witnessed the crims escaping the scene but ends up bumping her dogs off instead. A high point of the film is Otto's interrogation of Ken and subsequently Python's reunited as Cleese questions Ken. There always this thought as I watch the film that you expect them to know each other in the film being Pythons but of course, they're kept apart until the very end.

An impossibly young Stephen Fry features towards the end and throughout London and her locales shown off.
The last film directed by Charles Crichton (twice Oscar nom'd for this film, Direction & Screenplay). Some way from his Ealing comedies whom he worked on with the late Douglas Slocombe.

A Britcom classic. Shame about the misfiring sort-of sequel, Fierce Creatures.

Yes, Fierce Creatures never really gets anyway fast. Sort of boiled down to a joke about Wanda at the very end. I remember as my family were members of London Zoo we got an offer of tickets to see the premiere (or a showing) at the Zoo. Never went which might've been just as well.

The Eagle Has Landed


"Remember, don't drive too slowly and
always drive on the left!."

a long-standing favourite since I had this butchered version on VHS (Carlton/ITV being the folk who do such things to their releases apparently) but this now is the expanded DVD. It's as good an adaptation of the book as you could get with some noticeable changes (character names change such as Treat Williams' character in the book being Harry Kane -now more famous as a Tottenham striker, or the lack of the British Free Corps traitor and other such moments). What has endured all this time is probably a combination of the script, music and action sequences. With the first it's a typical Tom Mankiewicz script, humourous in parts as well as taking a fair bit of the notable quotes from the book ("I find that I no longer control events, that events control me.", other good lines or at least humourous involve Laker Armsby declaring "More bloody foreigners" after the revelation of the Germans' true identity (a favourite scene to boot). Schifrin's score is seared into memory with this film's scene, listening to the album the other day "The Eagle Grows Part One" conjured that desolate landscape meant to be Alderney or when all hell breaks loose as the Germans retreat to the church. And the action is well confined to the village in scenes almost reminiscent of the war film Went the Day Well?
Caine is on top form though initially his German accent comes and goes. Indeed, his Steiner is close to the book I think and there's that sense of honour, of going out like soldiers that the Germans in the book had.
(Plaudits to Sutherland, Hagman as the idiot Colonel Pitts, Sven Bertil-Traube, Duvall and Jeff Conaway as an increasingly irate GI).

EDIT- clean forgot Donald Pleasance's Himmler. Probably one of the films better performances.

--that was this week, as for tonight

Unidentified Flying Oddball

a film I knew as A Spaceman and King Arthur when I first saw it as a boy and a film that helped cement my Kenneth More fandom. Who cares right? This was purely nostalgia and like some trips down memory lane it was forgettable in a way. I didn't remember More having so much screen time (a very unlikely King Arthur I suppose) considering that within a year he would have to quit acting as his rare form of Parkinson's took hold (ultimately killing him in 1982, three years after this film). More's on typical form, it's not his best role, it's not his best acting insomuch as you can act in a Disney film. His relationship with John Le Mesurier's Sir Gwen is quite touching, maybe for the reason both actors are in their twilight (with Le Mesurier passing in 1983) but also as they appear great, old friends.

Dennis Dugan is strangely forgettable perhaps swallowed by the hammy talents that were the late Ron Moody and Jim Dale who virtually steals the film such as it is. Ron Goodwin's score is oddly low-key perhaps you get used to big sounding scores such as Where Eagles Dare, Force 10 and Battle of Britain.

And we topped out the evening with a welcome rewatch of Robocop.

Dennis Dugan - from forgettable performances to directing godawful Adam Sandler 'comedies' people would rather forget.

What a career!

That kind of career that starts off low and skids above the ground with four spluttering engines.

The Martian (2015)

Not as funny as expected (wasn't it nominated for a comedy award?), nor as tense (as there wasn't any tension), nor as smart (gaffa tape and polythene or tarp don't really work in every scenario for me...unless that was the comedy element ^^). However it looked great in places and has enough of a heart to get by. Worth watching but yet another sign that Ridley is really a far cry from being the Director he once was.

It's amusing and the effects are impeccable, but there's no tension - Damon's rescue is never in doubt, or at least it wasn't to me.

BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

I liked it but it's got a lot of problems. The title is misleading — fighting is replaced with a lot of talk — and it's a bit more serious than it should be, but it still feels a bit more like a comic book project than any of Nolan's Batfilms. It's certainly more of a "Man of Steel" sequel than anything. Almost feels like its cousin.

Gal Gadot steals the show, though. I'm pretty interested in checking out whatever Wonder Woman project comes next.

Fall of the Roman Empire

at nearly three hours this is an epic to nearly end all epics and this is said after watching King of Kings (proof watching a film for its score can be a fruitless task). Whereas KoK started promisingly and tailed off with ill-fated Jeffrey Hunter some kind of Davy Jones Jesus, this film started well and managed to keep going to the end. After a sweeping Tiomkin main titles, there's this brilliantly staged opening at Julius Caesar's pad (Sir Alec Guinness), you can see how cold it is by the breath alone and it's pre-dawn light adds much. From then on it's good, the set pieces are quite something giving off the grandeur of Rome and its empire.

A few familiar faces such as George Murcell, Eric Porter and Douglas Wilmer accompany the more well known faces. Guinness is superb as is James Mason. Christopher Plummer was my main drawer, hammy yes at times, he showcases' Commodus' descent into delusion quite well. Seeing off his trusted ally Anthony Quayle (criminally underused) and sealing his own downfall.
Personally, the weak link is Sophia Loren and Stephen Boyd's partnership (as well as individually). Though she is Guinness' daughter and Plummer's sister in the film, Loren isn't needed. A role buffered for her stardom I imagine, the character could've been played by someone 'lesser' and Boyd...pfft, just feels a waste. Not the type to defeat Plummer in combat though.

Four stars.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Hanks turns in a reliable performance and the visual recreation of the period is spot on. However after a promising start the story loses traction in the middle turning its second half into a very routine and bizarrely (for anything Cold War) linear path. Spielberg really seems off the boil here, with neither tension, bite nor edge to anything, even an ostensibly horrific image that clearly should carry weight (as it is referenced later in the film) is oddly lacking.

Not awful but nevertheless disappointing given the talent involved. 6/10

Solid but unspectacular Spielberg was what I thought. Nice turn from Mark Rylance, though (the Academy clearly agreed).

I like Hanks, but the 'thoroughly decent Everyman' thing is wearing thin. Doesn't he get sent any scripts where they want him for the bad guy?

I was told my scripts weren't good enough for Mr Hanks. So no.

My last three were High-Rise, 10 Cloverfield Lane and a rewatch of Ant-Man over the Easter weekend.

High-Rise is brilliantly bonkers, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a claustrophobic suspense thriller with a dose of sci-fi towards the end and Ant-Man felt like a middle-finger raised in defiance of Batman vs Superman's gloominess.

The Big Sleep (1946)

Got the Blu-ray in the mail earlier today. The presentation was fairly strong with some nice inky blacks and the rainstorms looked particularly great (as well as the usual Blu-ray upgrade in sound quality) but I still have to overall agree with lachesis post a while back that the transfer isn't exactly spectacular. Given the shape of the 1945 cut which was only relegated to a standard-def version due to print damage I wouldn't be surprised if this is the best Warner could do with the 1946 print though. Still a long-awaited and welcome release and I sure am glad Warner Archive is kicking into high-gear and releasing these classics on Blu-ray at long last. Hopefully To Have and Have Not and if the Blu-ray gods are willing, The Asphalt Jungle, aren't that far off.

STAR WARS

Bought the Star Wars collection on Blu-ray. Never really paid attention to these — had them on in the background before and decided that was good enough. I watched The Force Awakens just to see it and loved it so I decided to take the plunge.

7. The Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones
5. Revenge of the Sith

What a mess these were. Totally directionless and soulless. Plastic nightmares with even more plastic and forgettable characters. None of the magic of the original trilogy. The Phantom Menace was unbearably bad.

4. Return of the Jedi
3. The Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope

I actually like A New Hope more than The Empire Strikes Back. It's Star Wars at its most basic and charming. It's what I think are the roots of Star Wars.

1. The Force Awakens

This one has what I want in a blockbuster. It captures much of the heart of the original trilogy and is never as faux-serious and as the prequels. The characters carry this one, both new and old.

I wouldn't say I love Star Wars now but I'm definitely excited to see where Episode VIII goes.

Sherlock Holmes : A Game Of Shadows - some of Ritchie's slightly annoying directorial flourishes aside, a rollicking action-adventure shot through with the spirit of Indy and Bond but probably camper than both. Certainly more fun than The Abominable Bride.

Wayne's World - special 'Wayne's World Night' screening (first film preceded by the Saturday Night Live sketches) as part of the Belfast Film Festival. Still a rather funny film ... SCHWING!

Hardcore Henry - the first of its kind, a sci-fi tinged actioner shot entirely from the first-person POV of the title character. I rather enjoyed it.

Deadpool.

for something different with the heroes.

The Piano (Dir. Jane Campion)

Interesting. Beautiful score too!

Argo (2012)

Taut and well realised dramatisation of real life events, tense when it needs to be, sometimes harrowing in its familiarity but also with a surprising turn of humour - the link to the Planet of the Apes series and the likely influence for its latter storylines is fascinating. The final act borderline overplays its hand or poetic license but all in all a solid watch.

lachesis wrote:

Argo (2012)

Taut and well realised dramatisation of real life events, tense when it needs to be, sometimes harrowing in its familiarity but also with a surprising turn of humour - the link to the Planet of the Apes series and the likely influence for its latter storylines is fascinating. The final act borderline overplays its hand or poetic license but all in all a solid watch.

It gave Ben some much needed respect again.

Eye In The Sky - tense drama with Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and (in his final role) Alan Rickman which examines the moral and political complexities involved in the use of drone strikes in modern warfare.

A Million Ways To Die In The West - there's probably a pretty funny 90-minute comedy Western struggling to escape from this mediocre 115-minute one. Meh.

Captain America : Civil War - drags a little in places, but good overall. On balance I think I preferred The Winter Soldier, though.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Eye In The Sky - tense drama with Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and (in his final role) Alan Rickman which examines the moral and political complexities involved in the use of drone strikes in modern warfare.

Been aching to see this! Will hopefully catch it at the cinema on Friday. I'm assuming you enjoyed it?