Last Movie you Watched?

colly wrote:

Theres only one problem I have with RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP - and its that Gable insisted that he had to be injured before Burt took over the sub. A scene of straight mutiny on no other grounds than incompetence wouldve made the film an absolute cracker.

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if Crimson Tide (admittedly many years later) was any indication, a mutiny would have ruled out US Navy help on the film. Still it would have been more exciting as you say. Gable sort of rising from the dead to sink the Jap sub then finally dying sometimes feels off but not enough to detract from the film.

Seve wrote:

True Romance
probably the high point of Christian Slater's and Patricia Arquette's careers?
a crime fiction movie with a script by Tarantino and a incredible line up of cameo appearances by people who went on to become more well known than they were here
you probably won't recognise Val Kilmer as the spirit of Elvis, as he his face is never shown clearly
Samuel L Jackson manages about 60 seconds of archetypal patter before being blown away by...
Gary Oldman, who does a great "evil Ali G" impression (white man with dreadlocks and African American patter) before Slater deals with him
Dennis Hopper puts in a memorable stint, as Slater's father, before being blown away by...
Christopher Walken, in vintage form in Mafia mode (and he survives the carnage)
as does Brad Pitt, at least as far as we know, who plays a laid back doper dude
James Gandolfini gets to play the prototype of Mr Blond, and audition for his career defining role in the Sopranos, before Arquette manages to despatch him
Bronson Pinchot gets to play it straight for a change, but that still doesn't save him
and Tom Sizemore and Nice Guy Eddie, I mean Chris Penn, turn up as colourful cops, who also bite the dust in the Mexican stand-off gone wrong finale
very good

Don't forget Saul Rubinek's performance as the Hollywood Asshole Producer Lee Donowitz. I wish a TV series spin-off was made about him.

Love Crazy (1941) Dir. Jack Conway

You can never go wrong with Powell and Loy - and this, their 10th film together, is another delight. Powell and Loy are a married couple celebrating their 4th anniversary, but all goes pear-shaped. The mother-in-law turns up, sprains her ankle, meaning Loy has to go to the train station, and by chance Powell meets up with an old flame, whom he uses to escape the mother-in-law, in order to go out. Loy gets jealous and mad an the next morning demands a divorce. By way of it, the only way Powell and his lawyer conceive to get out of it is to convince the judge that he's crazy, thereby putting him in Loy's custody. Of course it all goes pear-shaped when she instead has him committed to a sanitarium.

There's all kinds of hilarious set-pieces and Powell takes all kinds of beating in the name of hilarity, culminating in a rather overlong cross-dressing section to escape the police and win back Loy. No classic, but its got plenty of laughs. For one thing it made Loy the first actress in which I've seen 20 films. And its convinced me to go hunting for more Powell films again - like the THIN MAN knockoffs in STAR OF MIDNIGHT (with Ginger Rogers) and THE EX-MRS BRADFORD (with Jean Arthur). They sound like fun. :)

The Human Stain (2003) Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. Interesting central idea plus Jacinda Barrett does full frontal. Not sure we've heard from her since.

Jesinda Barret's an Aussie actress who pops up fairly often - just last year she was the lead in a rather high-pofile Aussie film (I'm pretty sure it still bombed at the BO like all our films do) called MATCHING JACK. I got to read the script a year out because I know the son of the film-makers, but I never got around to seeing the film. :oops:



Mister Roberts (1955) Dir. John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy

As if that isnt the coolest publicity still ever. Fonda, Powell, Lemmon and Ward Bond listening to James Cagney play the guitar. I wish I was there. 8)

As for the film itself, it was one of my favourite first-watches to come out of last year, and it was great to revisit it. One of those 50s films taking a rose-tinted-it-really-was-the-best-years-of-our-lives view of WW2, its a film thats just so great to watch. Everyone involved is on top form, the story's great, the scope looks mostly great on location in the Pacific - everything just works. Even Ward Bond. And even Harry Carey Jr. Thats how good the film is.

The Boys From Brazil (1978)
Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner

A deeply disturbing but brilliant work. This had been on my want-to-watch list for ages, mainly for the ensemble made up of Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Denholm Elliott, Bruno Ganz, Walter Gotell, Rosemary Harris, Michael Gough and Steve Guttenberg. What a cast! And I wasn't disappointed; Peck and Olivier are phenomenal in this film. Olivier plays a Nazi-hunter, tracking down war criminals all over the world including Peck’s Josef Mengele who has organised the mysterious assassinations of 94 civil servants in Europe and North America and to resurrect Hitler himself through cloning. Naturally, it's up to Olivier and his associates to stop him. It's all a bit over the top and occasionally becomes more silly than sinister, particularly the Nazi convention ballroom scene ("Shut up you ugly bitch!") and throughout the film I couldn't understand why the film had an 18 certificate in the UK - until all was revealed in the finale with one of the most realistic, bloody and brutal fight-scenes I've ever seen. Oh, and there's vicious dogs. Peck and Olivier's performances carry the film (Mason's role is comparatively small but he does a good job and Gotell is a laugh as a burnt-out SS commander (or somesuch) who couldn't really care less about Mengele's plan). The film also continues my recent run of movies that contain annoying kids (after Bigger Than Life and 1980's The Island). Furthermore, the scientific explanations are a tad patronising to a modern audience but to a 70's audience the idea of cloning was mind-blowing I guess (and confusing). Peck utterly owns the film (I'm not fond of that expression but that's the only way I can put it). He's brilliant. Have I said that already?

4/5

It is a fairly decent film indeed. I'd say Peck edges Olivier somewhat. I seem to recall reading in Peck's bio that Olivier was only doing it for the paycheck whereas Peck, well, wasn't. I don't know if you saw the Conversation with Gregory Peck but he was asked about the dogs and supposedly they were quite tame, just these dogs that were vicious on command (still, they look bloody fearsome).

The A Team

The end of Donat's Thirty-Nine Steps - reminded me what a beautiful voice he had. And he definitely deserved the Oscar for Goodbye Mr. Chips.

Pillow Talk - get rather fed up of watching Doris Day in soft focus through gauze, but Rock Hudson was brilliant.

The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) Dir. Richard Thorpe

This film came at a rather opportune time for me - in the past few days by chance I've been reading on IMDB about Jim Hutton, leading man of the 60s who was becoming regarded as the new Jimmy Stewart until his John Wayne double of HELLFIGHTERS and THE GREEN BERETS seemingly derailed his career. However at the beginning of the decade he was hotter property, and was paired up with Paula Prentiss in 4 films: WHERE THE BOYS ARE, BACHELOR IN PARADISE, THE HONEYMOON MACHINE and THE HORIZONTAL LIEUTENANT. Luckily enough, TCM today is having a Jim Hutton day, and are playing all 4 films, so I recorded this and THE HONEYMOON MACHINE (which also has Steve McQueen) - BACHELOR IN PARADISE was in an awful pan-and-scan. As an added coincidence, I've also been reading recently about the run of non-combat WW2 comedies that spurted in the wake of MISTER ROBERTS (partly why I decided to watch it today). It mentioned films like THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (which I watched recently), DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER (which I want to get), and indeed, THE HORIZONTAL LIEUTENANT. So everything worked out extremely nicely.

The film itself? Its a rather silly but funny lark in which Hutton's a rather useless intelligence operative who is sent to a US held island in the pacific for a rather tame reason - he can't play baseball. And for another rather tame reason, he has to catch a thief who has been stealing from the American supply hole. Not exactly the sort of glamorous job Hutton wouldve hoped for, naturally. There's some hilarious moments for all involved, its got Jim Backus and Charles McGraw as his two superiors (who never meet, funnily enough), its got Oscar winner Miyoshi Umeki and Bond alumni Teru Shimada makes an appearance. And of course, Paula Prentiss as well. Funnily enough, the reason they were paired together is because they were the tallest actor and actress going round at the time. Which Im sure also helped in getting her cast in MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT? alongside the also-tall Rock Hudson.

Hilly wrote:

I don't know if you saw the Conversation with Gregory Peck but he was asked about the dogs and supposedly they were quite tame, just these dogs that were vicious on command (still, they look bloody fearsome).

Is that a DVD extra? I only recorded the film off the box. :)

Did Peck give a reason for wanting to play Mengele?

G section wrote:

Hilly wrote:

I don't know if you saw the Conversation with Gregory Peck but he was asked about the dogs and supposedly they were quite tame, just these dogs that were vicious on command (still, they look bloody fearsome).

Is that a DVD extra? I only recorded the film off the box. :)

Did Peck give a reason for wanting to play Mengele?

unfortunately not (I have the DVD and it's plain, just the trailer). It was a film shown on the Beeb about a month ago. Was on iplayer. He didn't say anything about Mengele, arguably one of those most evil men in the Reich. Maybe he felt the character had depth or some meat to do something with.

The Conversation... film is worth looking at if not for his moment after he has invited a fan backstage to talk (she came over from England to see him) and when she says she's speechless he encourages her to speak in this gentle tone ("Say what you are thinking") and she does, though he's likely heard it a 1000 times he makes her feel quite special. Very decent man I think. It must be on DVD someplace :) Or available through other, shall we say, means.

A quick Google search reveals it is on YouTube in 11 parts. Think I've got my evening sorted or an evening sorted this week . :bounce:

Cheers, Hilly. :)

G section wrote:

A quick Google search reveals it is on YouTube in 11 parts. Think I've got my evening sorted or an evening sorted this week . :bounce:

Cheers, Hilly. :)

excellent. Happy to help :)

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

is it wrong that though being moved at the end I can but say... It was alright?

Time for more Summer.

The Hangover Part II and The Hangover

I actually never saw the first one in theaters or on DVD until last night. It joins the exclusive pantheon of movies where I saw the sequel first, as I caught the second one on Saturday night.

They're funny. The movies are largely throwaway fare because the jokes and situations lose their appeal on a second viewing. I wouldn't own either of them. Pirate, maybe. Catch on TV every so often, certainly. Absolutely recommend watching the second while it's still in theaters, just because comedies as a whole are better in a packed theater.

Summer-athon
1. Thor
2. The Hangover Part II
3. Fast Five
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

colly wrote:

Jesinda Barret's an Aussie actress who pops up fairly often - just last year she was the lead in a rather high-pofile Aussie film (I'm pretty sure it still bombed at the BO like all our films do) called MATCHING JACK. I got to read the script a year out because I know the son of the film-makers, but I never got around to seeing the film. :oops:

Yes, checked her Imdb. She's bounced around doing smaller support roles. She does have a nice look.

The Dark Knight (2008; dir. Christopher Nolan)

Superior blockbuster filmmaking. Even if I prefer a film that can stop and smell the roses, I think this is a thrilling superhero adventure with much more going on than the usual filler. The story is great, but the dialogue still bothers me in places.

I felt like I needed an action movie after the stuff I've been watching. Something to break up the pace.

I just wish THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was coming out this July. :x

Angels One Five (1952)
Dir. George More O'Ferrall

Director George More O'Ferrall uses his own experiences from "The Hole", a radio control room, to craft this tribute to the few. John Gresgon is a young, shy but intrepid pilot who, after a series of mishaps, is aching to prove to his counterparts in "Pimpernel" Squadron, Michael Denison's Squadron leader and Jack Hawkins' group captain that he is ready to take part in the Battle Of Britain. Veronica Hurst is the young woman who takes an interest in him and Cyril Raymond and Dulcie Gray are the married couple who take him under their wing. There are better "Tally Ho!" films around but this one provides relatable characters that aren't portrayed as too heroic by the young cast but as ordinary, hard-working people doing their bit. The final scenes are touching, moving and memorable in equal measure.

3/5

MINISTRY OF FEAR Fritz Lang, 1944

It's a very effective thriller in places. The first twenty or so minutes are excellent, with a very dodgy carnival and a superb, dreamlike chase through a misty patch of land being assaulted with bombs. Stylistically, it's much more like Lang's German films than pretty much any of the American films I've seen thus far. It's very satisfying in that respect. Unfortunately, the plot does carry a little slack around the halfway point. Sequence by sequence it performs very well, but the sequences are threaded together by a very wacky, uneven plot. The central character is interesting enough, but I don't know how well I like Ray Milland for this role. I love him in The Lost Weekend, I think he's just about perfect, but here he seemed a little off. Not so much his performance, I just don't think he's right for a Hitchcockian 'wrong man' sort of role. I loved Dan Duryea though. The bloke is brilliant in these Lang movies. Well worth the watch.

Lang-O-Meter:

1. Scarlet Street
2. M
3. The Woman in the Window
4. Frau im Mond
5. Spione
6. Ministry of Fear
7. Human Desire
8. The Big Heat
9. While the City Sleeps
10. Rancho Notorious
11. Metropolis
12. Western Union

Duryea's always top notch. :)

Lang's war films interest me greatly, though to be honest i've currently got a much bigger desire to see both MAN HUNT and HANGMEN ALSO DIE!, especially the former.

And as for THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL...



From 2:00 to 2:55 is probably still the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Yeah, that's what I was alluding to when I said it got silly and over the top - lots of laughs though.

"YOU ARE BETRAYING THE ARYAAAAAN RAAACEEE!"

Kung Fu Panda 2 - The first one was a departure from the norm of DreamWorks' cartoons, in that it had less questionable pop culture references and actually focused more on the story. The sequel is even less obnoxious and with less laughs, but the storytelling and cinematography are greater. I even forgot that Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, James Hong, and Seth Rogen were doing the voice work. Even JCVD and Michelle Yeoh figure in there. Oldman is especially good as the peacock villain. Unlike with the vast majority of summer blockbusters and especially the animated ones, I rarely felt like sighing or rolling my eyes with this one. The weak link is the 3D of course - way too dark. I can't believe they still haven't come up with something about that in all these years!

Dirty Harry

As good today as it was the day it was released. Absolute classic. Quite enjoyed the new HD transfer. Crisp, filmic feeling. The guys at WB do a helluva job.

10/10

I refuse to rate it among the others in the series because all the sequels suck IMO.

Singin' In The Rain (1952) Dir. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly

A fantasia of singin', dancin' and glorious technicolour filled with a fantastic cast - it gets a little over expansive at times but every number works (rare stuff for a muscial). But what I loved about it most is that its just the ultimate studio musical. The musical was about to move outdoors with films like OKLAHOMA and all, but here is a musical in the most classic sense - all around the soundstage. Its even set for the most part, in the soundstage in the most studio bound era of all - the talkie era. Its just a wonderful tribute to classic Hollywood. And everything else is pretty good too. ;)

colly wrote:

A fantasia of singin', dancin' and glorious technicolour filled with a fantastic cast - it gets a little over expansive at times but every number works (rare stuff for a muscial). But what I loved about it most is that its just the ultimate studio musical. The musical was about to move outdoors with films like OKLAHOMA and all, but here is a musical in the most classic sense - all around the soundstage. Its even set for the most part, in the soundstage in the most studio bound era of all - the talkie era. Its just a wonderful tribute to classic Hollywood. And everything else is pretty good too. ;)

I think the only problem is the overly extended "here's how the movie should open" dream sequence or whatever that goes on for about half an hour. I always lose the movie in there somewhere.

Kelly liked those sort of sequences - apparently theres a massive one in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and there's the one in ANCHORS AWEIGH where he dances with Jerry the mouse - and I do agree, those bits are usually a bit too long and extravagant. That whole bit where he and Charisse dance with his massive windswept dress really belongs in another film...

It was interesting to rewatch it as well - the only previous time I'd watched it was back in 2005 in that fateful film-studies class that got the wheels turning on my interest in classic cinema. So I'll always be thankful for that.

Following SINGIN', I was thinkin doing another slice of 20s retrospective with MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES or the genuine article by finally watching THE JAZZ SINGER, but I ditched the idea because an ioffer package finally arrived. So I watched...



The Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956) Dir. Frank Tashlin

Its a film thats been forgotten by many (its only been rated by 65 people on IMDB), I'm guessing because the only cards its really got are Tashlin as director and Tom Ewell as star, who unfortunately still arent too famous on their own - films like THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, ARTISTS AND MODELS, THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT and WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? all have the more famous drawcards it people like Wilder, Monroe, Martin & Lewis and Jayen Mansfield to sell their DVDs, while this has fallen through the cracks. And as usual, ioffer had someone selling a copy. :cheers:

And for the most part - this film is hilarious. There's just as many gals and their legs as ARTISTS AND MODELS, theres some none-too-subtle breast imagery (melons and milk bottles, naturally), Ewell is bloody terrific and everyone else pulls through too. And it also doubles as another non-combat service comedy! Ewell's a hero of the Second World War who's married to superhot young 'un Sheree North (herself a vet of Korea), of course they're living the good mid-50s life in Beverley Hills among the stars, but a spanner has been thrown in the works: the airforce want Ewell back. Thankfully, he gets rejected on account of his bad knee, but there's a catch - the same day, as a surprise, North signs up as well. And instead of returning to their happy lives, Ewell sets about getting his wife out of the airforce, by any nutty way possible. This leads to all sorts of hilarious hijinks until he goes to far by trying to convice the airforce she's crazy - of course he gets busted (by Ed Platt, no less) and all our fun is spoiled. boo.

I'd love to see this get a good DVD transfer one day (hopefully Twilight Time's got a print of it), not that I'll hold my breath. In the mean time I'll have to wait for THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT and hopefully find a copy of THE GREAT AMERICAN PASTIME - because thats pretty much it for Ewell films in his golden period.