Last Movie you Watched?

j7wild wrote:

The War of the Worlds (1953)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046534/

4/5

I decided to look up the 2 main actor and actress, Gene Berry (Dr. Clayton Forrester) and Ann Robinson (Sylvia Van Buren), filmography to see what other movies they've been in;

did you know they played Grandparents to Tom Cruise's daughter in War of the Worlds?

Always enjoy the 1953 movie, though the acting is a bit stiff.

And yes I picked up on the cameo, it was quite a surprise to find the Spielberg film actually featured some characters I actually might have cared about, too bad it was only a minute from the end though ;)

Faster
The Rock finally gets back to what he should be doing, instead of awful children's movies and bit parts as the action star he hasn't quite managed to become
the movie starts out looking like a typical modern, morally bankrupt, shaky cam, should be straight to video, vigilante revenge movie but manages to surprise by slowly becoming more complex and interesting than these sort of movies generally are, which is no mean feat
the Rock starts out as the driver for a gang of skanky bank robbers who get double crossed by an even skankier bunch of crims afterwards
the Rocks "brother" is the leader of his gang and he gets his throat cut, even after the Rock reveals where the money is to try and save him
but why should I care? he's a bank robbing skank, good riddance I say (can you smell what Seve is cooking)
the Rock does some hard time, then when he gets out he picks up his muscle car, a gun, and a list that someone has prepared for him of the skanks and starts killing
which leads to the police putting Billy Bob Thornton on the case, a walking cliché of a movie police officer who is not only drug dependant, but ten days from retirement and of course, separated from his wife and young kid, who really still love him if only he'd give up the drugs and the job
meanwhile the skank leader hires some amoral psychotic "Mr & Mrs Smith" clones to kill the Rock
this couple are the part of the story that doesn't really seem necessary or relevant
they are physically beautiful but shallow, self involved skanks who live in a designer house with a spectacular view, drive super sports cars... and kill people as a "hobby".
they deserve no sympathy from the audience (and yet the director changed the ending of the movie partly because the audience had somehow grown to like them, a sad comment on the society we live in today)
all this seems very unpromising, but after the first couple of killings, there begin to be consequences of killing, which are revealed and dealt with in various ways by the Rock, rather than there being ignored, as might have been expected
many might say they were trying to have their cake and eat it to, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt
in the end I found it better than average

The Banger Sisters
an enhanced Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush combine here in a "old friends meeting up after 20 years" comedy
it's not "Thelma & Louise" but it's nice enough way to pass the time and a solid autumn outing for Hawn and co

ACCIDENT. This 1967 collaboration between Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter is a heartwrenching, hypnotic and haunting drama that seems to combine the best of the British cinematic, literary and theatrical traditions. Lyrical and ambiguous, it still appears dazzlingly original, particularly in terms of its virtuoso editing. Remarkable performances by Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker. An absolute must-see.

Cowboys & Aliens - Extended edition on Bluray. Unlike most people, I really dig this movie and will likely never fully understand the negative public reaction. Whatever, we all have our "guilty" pleasures. I won't review it for a second time, but I'll say that the extra 13-14 minutes of running time only slightly improve the film. Most of these added scenes pertain to Doc, the priest, and the ending.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)



A fun quirky action-comedy. Really like Cusack in this and it's always nice to see Dan Aykroyd in something good. I wish Alan Arkin was in it more, I really liked his bits.

Not sure what quote I like, but this stands out a bit.

"I'm gonna put a bullet hole in your F***IN' forehead, and I'm gonna fuck the brain hole!"

Hey, more fucking. I think j7wild can provide some insightful commentary.

Loomis wrote:

ACCIDENT. This 1967 collaboration between Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter is a heartwrenching, hypnotic and haunting drama that seems to combine the best of the British cinematic, literary and theatrical traditions. Lyrical and ambiguous, it still appears dazzlingly original, particularly in terms of its virtuoso editing. Remarkable performances by Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker. An absolute must-see.

Never heard of it, but I'll add it to the queue.

Harmsway wrote:

[ACCIDENT] Never heard of it, but I'll add it to the queue.

Tell me you're joking, Skullface. You know all about Batman, but have never heard of Pinter.

Hell on a handcart.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

I have this dvd in my collection since its release, I find it a brilliant and funny movie that does nothing wrong. It is a actioner/comedy/reunion-tale/romantic movie all in one. And all actors are really doing a great job.

And the soundtrack of the movie is very good and great fun.

This is in my humble opinion a must see movie . :cheers:

Makeshift Python wrote:

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)



A fun quirky action-comedy. Really like Cusack in this and it's always nice to see Dan Aykroyd in something good. I wish Alan Arkin was in it more, I really liked his bits.

Not sure what quote I like, but this stands out a bit.

"I'm gonna put a bullet hole in your F***IN' forehead, and I'm gonna fuck the brain hole!"

Hey, more fucking. I think j7wild can provide some insightful commentary.

Must see this again someday ... thoroughly enjoyed it first time round.

I always liked 'What am I gonna say at the reunion when someone asks what I've been doing? That I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork?' .

GROSSE POINTE BLANK is an appalling film. Smug, unfunny and tedious in the extreme.

Harmsway wrote:

Loomis wrote:

ACCIDENT. This 1967 collaboration between Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter is a heartwrenching, hypnotic and haunting drama that seems to combine the best of the British cinematic, literary and theatrical traditions. Lyrical and ambiguous, it still appears dazzlingly original, particularly in terms of its virtuoso editing. Remarkable performances by Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker. An absolute must-see.

Never heard of it, but I'll add it to the queue.

I'm on a bit of a Losey kick right now. Hope to see THE GO-BETWEEN or STEAMING next, although there are a few other flicks of his that seem interesting. Any ideas? I think you'd love ACCIDENT, but on the assumption that you haven't seen it I'd suggest that THE ROMANTIC ENGLISHWOMAN, which I saw the other day, would also be very much your cup of tea (it's absolutely bonkers, but in a good way.... I guess).

Erica Ambler wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

[ACCIDENT] Never heard of it, but I'll add it to the queue.

Tell me you're joking, Skullface. You know all about Batman, but have never heard of Pinter.

Hell on a handcart.

I'm sure Harmsway's heard of Pinter.

Loomis wrote:

I'm sure Harmsway's heard of Pinter.

He prefers spirits to ale.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Loomis wrote:

I'm sure Harmsway's heard of Pinter.

He prefers spirits to ale.

Quite true.

MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER (1971)

I love just about every aspect of this film. I can even tolerate Julie Christie. I've always found her as an actress who is just 'there' in most of her films and I don't think she has much of a screen presence. Pretty face, though.

Zsigmond's outdoor cinematography is fantastic, especially during the final scenes. I enjoy how Altman goes back to (cinematic) basics with the visual storytelling; while the film does include dialogue, it's inaudible in many areas, which allows the visuals and the actions of the actors to drive the story.

Then, we have Cohen's contribution:

Quote :

A loom of smoke and gold and breathing.

Lovely. Cohen is a great poet.

Julie Christie is good in Billy Liar, but I think her beauty was a distraction in most films.

Harms, watch THE CARETAKER. Spellbinding performance from Robert Shaw.

FRENZY. Hitchock's penultimate film is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's slow-starting, silly, predictable and overlong by about half an hour, not to mention excessively talky and very unpleasant in places. On the other, it certainly has its moments of visual virtuosity, black humour and suspense.

It's a film of two halves: during the first, one would mostly be very hard pushed to tell that it's the work of the same director who once brought the world such classics as THE 39 STEPS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and PSYCHO. The second half, though, is mostly terrific - it's here that Hitch's dark wit and visual flair explode into life, although even so one rarely feels that he's at the very top of his game.

Splendid supporting performances by Barry Foster and Alec McCowen compensate for a wooden lead performance by Jon Finch, and Covent Garden makes for a fascinating location. Highlights: the ride in the potato lorry and McCowen's meals at home.

Crime Wave (1954) Dir. Andre de Toth

Decently enjoyable and nicely stylish crime pic from Warners.

Begins with 3 crooks - Ted DeCorsia, Nedrick Young and a young Charles Bronson - holding up a gas station. They're sprung, the kill a cop but Young cops a bullet in the process. On his own, heturns up at the door of ex-con-gone-straight Gene Nelson and his wife, Phyllis Kirk, only to die in his chair. The cops dont completely believe Nelson's story, and his woes are confounded when DeCorsia and Bronson eventually turn up, take over his home, and force him into co-operating with their next big job. But thats only half the focus of the film.

The other half is on the cops themselves, and on big bad Sterling Hayden - a man who beleives "once a crook, always a crook" and crews toothpicks instead of cigs. And he's on the hunt. 8)

Decoy (1946) Dir. Jack Bernhard

A true B-classic that starts of rather slow, but builds masterfully to become a sinister gem. Starring a cast of nobodies (the only name I recognized was KING KONG alumnus Robert Armstrong), the real find is Jean Gillie in the lead, playing a psychotically seductive black widow who gets more and more insane as the film goes along. And she's absolutely brilliant. Such a shame she only made 1 more film before dying 3 years later.

Crime in the Streets (1956)
Dir. Donald Siegel

Is there some specific reason this isn't regarded as a classic of any stripe, or one of the great films of the 1950s? If so, I missed it.

Yep. It's by Don Siegel, the most underrated American director of them all.

Mr. Brown wrote:

I can even tolerate Julie Christie. I've always found her as an actress who is just 'there' in most of her films and I don't think she has much of a screen presence.

She's splendid in DON'T LOOK NOW, and she's one of the few in the lamentable NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU who comes off well, which counts for something.

Best performance I've seen from Christie: Heaven Can Wait.

...no, seriously.

Can't beat DEMON SEED.

FourDot wrote:

Crime in the Streets (1956)
Dir. Donald Siegel

Is there some specific reason this isn't regarded as a classic of any stripe, or one of the great films of the 1950s? If so, I missed it.

To my shame, I have not yet seen this, but it's added to the list. Thanks for the tip FourDot. :)

Quote :

Highlights: the ride in the potato lorry and McCowen's meals at home.

As much as I love the Alec McCowen/Vivien Merchant interplay, for me this will always be the highlight: