Last Movie you Watched?

Darn Colly, earlier today I was gonna compliment you and your badass avatar of Lemmon only to see it gone now. Ah well.

As much as I love that Lemmon avatar (and I do), seeing that piccie of Ewell was just to cool for school. Don't worry, the Lemmon pic will re-appear. :)

And here I was thinking your Jimmy avatar meant you'd finally watched ANATOMY OF A MURDER. ;)

Makeshift Python wrote:

I really couldn't stand that film based on the camera framing/editing alone. I found it too distracting and nauseating to really get into the flick.

I remember finding it ploddingly slow and wayyyy overlong for something billed as an action thriller. And doesn't Creasy finding out that the kidnap victim is actually still alive negate the whole 'revenge' angle somewhat?

Darkman - Sam Raimi-directed sort-of cross between Batman and The Phantom Of The Opera with Liam Neeson as Dr Peyton Westlake, a scientist researching 'synthetic skin' who is left horribly scarred after his lab/apartment is torched by hoods searching for a memo that contains details of corrupt property development dealings that his girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand) has come into possession of. 'Breaking out' of hospital, Westlake salvages what he can of his lab equipment and sets up in a condemned building, determined to perfect the 'skin' and exact revenge on the bad guys. Tremendously fun comic-book style stuff, which still has plenty of Raimi's 'Evil Dead'-era crazy directorial flourishes and some quite impressive stunt/action sequences along with some of the most endearingly rubbish back projection since 'vintage'-era Bond.

War double this evening:



To Hell and Back (1955) Dir. Jesse Hibbs

Consider Audie Murphy. A kid around 5 foot 5 inches, barely any education, barely 18 years old - yet he became to most decorated American solider of World War 2. He received 33 US medals, including the medal of honour - for one of the most extraordinary things you could ever imagine:

Quote :

Medal of Honor citation
The official U.S. Army citation for Murphy's Medal of Honor reads:

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Holtzwihr France, January 26, 1945.
Entered service at: Dallas, Texas. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Texas, G.O. No. 65, August 9, 1944.
Citation: Second Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.

I believe its important infor to know before watching the film (I read it a few days previously), of course post-war Murphy entered the Hollywood arena, and in '55 his book was turned into a film by Universal. As the guy on IMDB said - if you saw The Duke or some other superman playing this guy, you'd think it was all some great fun. But its Murphy playing himself, and as such there's no bullshit - its an extremely rare occasion in film-making and its amazing to think this kid was the one. Its something to think about.

As for the film itself - theres the SERGEANT YORK similarities for sure, and although its a cast of no-names (I recognized Jack Kelly and I thought I'd seen Charles Drake somewhere before, but thats it), its a beautiful cinemascope combat pic thats full of terrific action, unlike BATTLE CRY of the same year which has barely any action at all. This has plenty of action with the highest production values. And its a worthy pic for a worthy hero. And you get to see his medal of honour deed.



Hell Is For Heroes (1962) Dir. Don Siegel

A smaller, harsher, tough-as-nails little war film - like in THE WAR LOVER of the same year, McQueen's playing an intense battle-hardened loner again, whose both the best and most dangerous soldier of the outfit. Assisted by familiar names in Harry Guardino, Fess Parker, James Coburn, Bob Newhart and Bobby Darin (not to mention REBEL alumnus Nick Adams), they're a tiny crew assigned to hold off a possible German advance due to the forces being stretched. Both a tribute to the bravery of such men and the futility of such efforts (the film just says "the end" with the battle raging on in the background), I'd recommend it for a watch.

Continued onto a different pace - back to the comedies...



Never Say Goodbye (1946) Dir. James V. Kern

Its a cousin of those early-60s broken home family comedies, though made in the post-war era, and mommy and daddy are both still alive - in fact instead of finding someone new, they're finding old is new again. A rather funny Errol Flynn and the sublime Eleanor Parker (they dont make dames with this much class, beauty and talent anymore) are divorcees still linked by their 8 year old daughter, who's an extremely grown up little 8 year old in the worst Hollywood fashion. She wants them back together and they want to be back together, but all kinds of hijinks (and a mother in law) strive to keep them apart in a hugely satisfying battle-of-the-sexes and wits. That is until Parker decides to get her own back on Flynn which introduces a subplot with a marine which branches into some lamer comedy than was previously present. So it cant quite keep the pace but the opening hour's very fun. Plus it's got the incomparable "cuddles" Sakall!

Desperado (1995)



Shamefully (to say) I haven't seen El Mariachi yet (:oops:) , but after seeing this I'm sure as hell going to. Although the story and the whole premise of the film sounds more appropriate to an arcade shoot 'em up game, it's still impressively made, even if it is most of the time non-stop balls-to-the-walls action. But that's the beauty part: the action. It's brilliantly well made, it's fun and awesome to watch and it has a campy sense of humour, which is acceptable, after all it's Robert Rodriguez. And I probably don't need to mention, that Salma Hayek is HOOOOOOOOT! :bom:
Overall brilliant non-brainer boom-boom fun in impressive style.

8.5/10

Sunset Boulevard (1950; dir. Billy Wilder)

Spellbinding. One of the greatest films I've ever seen. This viewing really exposed for me the true richness of this film. It's one of my favorite films from a writing standpoint, and everyone gives incredible performances. Bill Holden is basically my favorite actor now. Not sure what it is about him. Maybe it's that sense that something is going on beneath his charming exterior.

Just about any actress over 45 would probably kill to play Norma Desmond. There have been a lot of great roles for men in cinema, but not nearly as many for women. This has to be one of the very best. Shit, I got a dick and I'd want to play Norma Desmond.

Erich von Stroheim doesn't get as much attention, but Max is one of my favorite movie characters. He's so eerie it's crazy.

I love everything about this film. Watching Joe Gillis go through this whacked (no pun intended) journey is quite affecting to me. This may be a Top 10 film for me.

Billy Wilder

1. SUNSET BOULEVARD
2. THE APARTMENT
3. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
4. STALAG 17
5. SOME LIKE IT HOT
6. THE LOST WEEKEND

I really need to see that again, it's been way too long.

Atteneded local book and movie club gathering. We watched Kuroasawa's 1950 classic Rashomon.

Lucky the moderator was present with his source book to break it down for us.
Fascinating film. It works very well as a representation of post war Japan with the characters representing various interpretations of the implications of traditional Japanese society colliding with the incursion of post-war western values.
Fascinating. This explanation helps explain why the film resonated so well with American audiences even though it was only ever intended for a Japaness audience.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Just about any actress over 45 would probably kill to play Norma Desmond. There have been a lot of great roles for men in cinema, but not nearly as many for women. This has to be one of the very best. Shit, I got a dick and I'd want to play Norma Desmond.

Wkipedia's got interesting stuff on the casting:

Quote :

According to Brackett, he and Wilder never considered anyone except Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond. Wilder, however, had a different recollection. He recalled first wanting Mae West and Marlon Brando for the leads, but never approached either with an offer. He contacted Pola Negri by telephone, but had too much difficulty understanding her heavy Polish accent. They also asked Norma Shearer if she would portray Norma Desmond, but she rejected the role due to both her retirement and distaste. They had considered having Shearer play Miss Desmond with Fred MacMurray as her Joe. They approached Greta Garbo with the role, but she had no interest whatsoever. Wilder and Brackett then visited Mary Pickford, but before they even discussed the plot with her, Wilder realized she would consider their proposal of a role in which she would have an affair with a man half her age an insult, and they graciously departed. They had considered pairing Mary Pickford and Montgomery Clift together to play Norma and Joe.

....

Montgomery Clift was signed to play Joe Gillis for $5,000 per week for a guaranteed twelve weeks, but just prior to the start of filming he withdrew from the project. As an excuse, he claimed his role of a young man involved with an older woman as too similar to the one he had played in The Heiress, in which he felt he had been unconvincing. An infuriated Wilder responded, "If he's any kind of actor, he could be convincing making love to any woman."[7] It has been suggested that the fact that Clift was himself having an affair with a much older woman (the singer Libby Holman) was his real motivation for withdrawing from the film.

Dare I say they got it right - I dont think either Clift or brando wouldve been that suitable. MacMurray might have been okay - the smarminess wouldve worked nicely. And I shudder to think at what some other actresses wouldve done with Norma Desmond (particularly Bette Davis) - though I have a perverse imagining of Joan Crawford playing her. It wouldve been gold or absolutely hilariously camp. And I'm plumping for the latter.

Knew about Clift, but not Brando. Neither would have been suited to the narration. Clift would have made it tragic. I mean, I'm a big Clift fan, but the guy didn't have a funny bone in his entire body that I've ever seen. MacMurray would have been wrong for it too. A bit too old, and not likable enough.

It struck me that in every Wilder film I've seen thus far, the main character becomes or has become corrupted or compromised in some way. SOME LIKE IT HOT involves deception, so I count it. I've watched the first half of KISS ME, STUPID (gonna get back to it today) and Ray Walston (why couldn't it have been Jack Lemmon!?) is really the main character of the film. He too has to sell out.

Back on track on SUNSET, I don't think anybody but Holden could have done the part. We see him sell out, but at least I still root for him to get out of there. He realizes what has happened and sends Nancy Olson on her way to Joe Friday. Clift would have been too dramatic. MacMurray would have been too oily. Holden was perfect for it.

Kiss Me, Stupid (1964; dir. Billy Wilder)

More good than bad. The script is subpar. It's got a good premise, but it could have been sharper. And it needed Jack Lemmon instead of Ray Walston. Not even Peter Sellers would have been right for it, I think. It needed Lemmon. His presense in the role of Orville would have elevated this film quite a lot, and it would probably enjoy a pretty good reputation. Dean Martin and Kim Novak are both excellent, but Walston just doesn't ring true. There's not a lot of feeling behind his performance that I can tell. It's a "comedy" performance- more on the surface. Lemmon would have delivered the underlying emotion that makes his comedic acting so genius.

There is a bit of Wilder magic to be found. The satirical view of things. The melancholy of Kim Novak's character. The ending.

It's well plotted and paced, but it needed to be sharper. And it needed The Lemmon. Otherwise, I think it's a pretty worthwhile film. I actually got more laughs out of it than SOME LIKE IT HOT, even if it's nowhere near as good a film.

Billy Wilder

1. SUNSET BOULEVARD
2. THE APARTMENT
3. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
4. STALAG 17
5. SOME LIKE IT HOT
6. THE LOST WEEKEND
7. KISS ME, STUPID

To Be or Not to Be (1942; dir. Ernst Lubitsch)

My first Lubitsch film, and I really liked it. An excellent comedy/thriller. In a strange way it's the most affecting film about the Nazis that I've ever seen. There is zany comedy of course, but something poignant about it all. The Shylock speech near the end is quite powerful.

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

The Frogmen

Richard Widmark was the swaying factor for me to watch it. Or for I to watch it. *Don Rickles shrug* . Considering for years the only films I had seen in him were the Swam and Who Dares Wins I had some maklng up to do. Film's about a bunch of navy divers including Jeffrey Hunter who go ahead of the troops to mess up the Japs. It's a so-so film though I got to the end realising I hadn't recognised Robert Wagner in it.

Earlier in the week I checked out Crossfire with the three Roberts: Mitchum, Young and Ryan. I see the Beeb have The Locket and The Racket on iplayer so maybe I'll check them out. Broaden beyond the usual suspects.

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 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

It looks like the highlight of Tony Scott's career too. The cast is really something, isn't it? And I'd easily watch True Romance again over Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

THE HANGOVER, PART II

Enjoyable but like GHOSTBUSTERS II it was way too reliant on the formula of the first movie. Given its outrageous nature of it it really should have been more different.

I too watched THE HANGOVER PART II. Enjoyed it, and there are a few laughs bigger than anything in the first, but overall I'd say it's a slightly weaker picture. I think the negativity of the reviews thus far is quite unfair though.

I hope Tux watches A Foreign Affair and One, Two, Three during his Wilderathon.

I'll have to find A FOREIGN AFFAIR. I was gonna watch ONE, TWO, THREE as it's on Netflix Instant but I went with a Lubitsch picture to break things up a bit.

Netflix does not have EMPEROR WALTZ (hear it's not that great), IRMA LA DOUCE, THE FORTUNE COOKIE, and FEDORA. Probably the discs became scarce on the market and they're worried people will keep the discs and report them as lost. Netflix doesn't charge you for discs lost in the mail and has no way to prove if anyone kept them. I'll have to check with my local rental shop that has a LOT of stuff actually. http://www.wandwvideo.com/ That place is an oasis.

GeneralGogol wrote:

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 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

It looks like the highlight of Tony Scott's career too. The cast is really something, isn't it? And I'd easily watch True Romance again over Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

True Romance is a very smart film. Very entertaining. Definitely a high point of Slater's career. Slater's career IMO is largely undistinguished, however he does shine in both TR and I thought Heathers as well - the black-comedy teen drama which was also I thought a coming out for Winona Ryder.

ONE, TWO, THREE (1961; dir. Billy Wilder)

A bit light for my tastes, I admire Wilder's skill and Cagney's being a force of nature. That last half hour is brilliantly executed madcap hysteria even if the whole thing just doesn't tickle my funny bone.

Billy Wilder

1. SUNSET BOULEVARD
2. THE APARTMENT
3. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
4. STALAG 17
5. SOME LIKE IT HOT
6. THE LOST WEEKEND
7. KISS ME, STUPID
8. ONE, TWO, THREE

It's a better flick than KISS ME, STUPID, but I enjoy that one more. Bonus points for brilliant use of the brilliant Sabre Dance.

Journey For Margaret (1942) Dir. W.S. Van Dyke

Both a very sweet and very sorrowful mid-war film that focuses on the real victims of war - its not the men, its not the women; its the children. It stars Robert Young (his rather bland charm put to good use) as an American war correspondent, who after being forced out of Rotterdam and France, is now in England with his wife Laraine Day. Its 1940, Day's about to have a child, but Young's already being worn down by the destruction. A problem made worse when his wife loses her baby in a bombing raid - a loss that sends her round the bend and she jets off for America.

Where's his redemption? An assignment to the orphange of Fay Bainter provides his reason to live - in tiny William Severn and (on debut) Margaret O'Brien as 2 damaged little orphans. He gives them hope, and they give him back his spark, and of course towards the end he adopts them both and gets them back to America. Along the way theres some good old MGM contrivance and some hamfisted Nazi bashing (though there's a respectful Japanese character strangely enough - because the film I'm pretty sure was made after Pearl Harbor), but for the most part its done very well and quite solemnly. Though I laughed at Young's attempt at a stirring final line.

Boomerang! (1947)
Dir. Elia Kazan

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wade."
"I know."

Cracking noir from Elia Kazan that not only offers up a compelling story (a true one at that) but thoughtful social commentary. Mirroring the Metropolitan Police in London, during the time of the Ripper murders, is the diminished, incompetent and ridiculed police force of Bridgeport, Connecticut, led by none other than Lee J.Cobb. Dana Andrews is the highly-rated detective in charge of an investigation into the death of a local priest, a much-loved father-figure to everyone who knew him. The script is ingenious and there are some great moments of tension (most notably where Andrews is willing to to be the guinea pig in the effort to prove that a gun cannot be fired at a certain angle.) but the film is really all about the cast. Arthur Kennedy turns in the best performance as the accused war veteran, Cara Williams is wonderfully full of herself (not to mention a total bitch!) and Ed Begley, in his cinematic debut, steals every damn scene he's in. There's a small part for Karl Malden too, although he's bizzarely left uncredited. Sam Levene deserves a mention too due to his part in the killer ending.
Great stuff.

4/5

Run Silent, Run Deep

a blindingly brilliant film rich in naval detail, helped by Edward L. Beach Jnr, action, tension and yes, Don Rickles. Like a few subsequent films it has the Captain Ahab element in the form of Clark Gable's captain, if not fantasically so. Gable absolutely determined to get the ship that sunk his boat regardless of what the crew thinks (amongst them the 'forgotten man' of the Magnificent Seven, Brad Dexter). Key to the film is the relationship between Gable and Lancaster's characters that rub awkwardly until that clincher at the end where they gain victory. I think it's well made, with a decent twist towards the end concerning the true destructor of the four submarines in the...Bungo Straits...

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.

And as for BOOMERANG - I was a fan to a point, though I thought most of the cast were only serviceable than great; particularly Cobb and Kennedy have done much better work.