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Post by Hoosier X on May 1, 2016 11:18:20 GMT -5
I DVRed The Bobo off TCM. Curious to here what you think of the film. Have not seen it and don't believe I heard anything particularly good about it, even as a Sellers fan such as myself, never tried to obtain a DVD of it. I do remember Sellers on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson pitching the movie and showing clips from it. God I'm ancient My brother and I watched The Bobo (1967) last night and we enjoyed it as a light 1960s comedy with a few laughs. We didn't regret watching it. But it's not going to make anybody rethink their list of Top Ten Movies of 1967. I found it watchable and at least mildly amusing most of the time. If nothing else, you get to look at Britt Ekland a lot as she is onscreen most of the time. Ish, if you're a big Peter Sellers fan and have seen a lot of his movies, the chances that you've seen something worse than The Bobo are pretty good. I'd rather watch The Bobo than The Millionairess! |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 1, 2016 12:08:46 GMT -5
It was reasonably early when The Bobo was over, so I watched Passport to Suez (1943) before I went to bed last night. This is from the Lone Wolf series, with Warren William as Michael "Lone Wolf" Lanyard. Warren William is one of my favorites, so I was surprised to hear about the "Lone Wolf" series a few months ago. I never heard of the series before then. My mom was talking about it. From viewing Passport to Suez, it seems like another rather generic adventure series like The Falcon or The Saint. TCM has been showing a lot of them lately for some reason. I DVRed Passport to Suez because Ann Savage is in it. Ann Savage is the femme fatale in Detour. And she's not just any femme fatale! She's among the most fatal of femme fatales, right up there with Lisbeth Scott in Too Late for Tears or Faith Domergue in Where Danger Lives. But you never see her in anything else. She had one great role and, other than that, doesn't seem to appear in movies that you're likely to see without looking really hard! So I saw her name in the cast list and DVRed Passport to Suez. I wouldn't have recognized her. In Detour, she's a scowly, dusty hitchhiker who hates everybody. In Passport to Suez, she's a blonde spy, posing as a reporter, very stylish and polite. She's more than adequate in Passport to Suez, but it's not such a great movie and she doesn't get much of a chance to distinguish herself. Passport to Suez is OK. Warren William is always fun to watch. Eric Blore plays the Lone Wolf's faithful valet Jameson, and he's another great actor who's always a pleasure for the viewer. (And, yes, I do think it's a bit odd that someone who runs around with a valet is known as the Lone Wolf.) It's worthwhile to see if you like dopey hourlong adventure movies and 1930s actors. But it's not must-see by anybody's peculiar standards, not even mine. |
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Post by Bronze Age Brian on May 1, 2016 12:29:45 GMT -5
 Watched It Came From Outer Space last night. Great mood to this film, love the desert setting. The way the movie begins was fantastic. In an era when the aliens usually looked hilariously awful, I think they pulled it off in this one, with a pretty convincing and scary alien: They used an effect where you get to see from the perspective of the alien, which may have been cool in it's time. The alien also leaves a trail of glistening space dust behind, similar to a snail trail which was neat. The first half of the movie was great, but unfortunately it fell into a different direction in the second half, with the aliens shape shifting into humans to carry out their deeds. I'm just never a fan of this aspect, although the actors did a pretty convincing job acting "controlled". |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 1, 2016 12:30:51 GMT -5
I was just looking at Ann Savage's filmography on IMDB and she made a bunch of movies that I want to see just from the titles! Pygmy Island! Jungle Flight! The Spider! Satan's Cradle! Renegade Girl! I have to see if any of these are on YouTube. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 1, 2016 22:39:24 GMT -5
Today on YouTube Theatre: Renegade Girl (1946)! Hour-long westerns don't get much better than this! OMG! It's awesome! It's Missouri in 1864! Union troops are mixing it up with Quantrill's Raiders. And one of Quantrill's best men is a woman! Ann Savage is Jean Shelby, who provides a lot of info to Quantrill. The Union commanders suspect her involvement but they can't prove anything. But Jean's brother is killed by a renegade Cherokee and REVENGE becomes her prime motive. However, she's badly wounded about halfway through the movie, and by the time she recovers, the war is over. But the guy who killed her brother is still on the loose and there's a bunch of Missouri bushwhackers who like killing Union soldiers and living like outlaws, so she joins up and becomes a Missouri bandit queen! Ann Savage is SO AWESOME in this! When the script gives Ann Savage something to do, SHE DELIVERS! Highly recommended for film fans who like hour-long westerns. And also for film fans who like something a little different even if it's basically just a really well-made goofy genre film. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 1, 2016 23:43:37 GMT -5
Porky's Revenge (1985) The same cast of youngsters as all the other Porky films because they still had no other job offers
It's now 1955 and graduation day for the high schoolers. Porky has reopened his establishment, this time as a riverboat casino. The kids try to prank him. they get caught, and Porky demands they lose their championship basketball game or else legs will break
Writer/director Bob Clark bailed out for this one. Actually, he was in the middle of working on another turd movie, Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone , and the producers didn't want to wait in case the Porky's franchise demand burned to a crisp. As a comparison, the 1st Porky's grossed $120 million in the U.S. This one generated $20. Still profitable but clearly the writing was on the wall that the fat pig lady has sung
Very uninspired, no shenanigans worthwhile to mention. My one favorite kid actor that I mentioned before and plays the roll of "Meat" certainly has bulked up and not in a good way.
Porky's ends with a bang-as in bomb
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 1, 2016 23:59:54 GMT -5
Damn Yankees (1958) Tab Hunter, Ray Walston. Gwen Verdon, Jean Stapleton
An ageing fan of the baseball last place Washington Senator's team sells his soul to the devil to become a young slugger and help them beat out the Yankees for the American League pennant. Ray Walston as the devil keeps power-hitter Tab Hunter in line by enticing him with chanteuse Gwen Verdon
I'm not the biggest fan of musicals but when it's combined with old time baseball I can't resist. Ray Walston hones his supernatural skills that will later come in handy when he becomes My Favorite Martian. Tab Hunter perfectly portrays that aw shucks All American blonde crewcut blue eyed slugger. Gwen Verdon shimmies and croons and forces me to say she's great because Whatever Lola Wants She Gets
Bob Fosse does the choreography on the dance numbers. Jean Stapleton made her movie debut and is already using her Edith Bunker voice.
The Broadway play had won a Tony back in 1955 and ran for close to 5 years.
Quite a few good songs that also includes You Got To Have Heart, Two Lost Souls and Shoeless Joe From Hannible Mo.
It's a movie musical for those not particularly fond of movie musicals. If only Derek Jeter was in it
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Post by Prince Hal on May 2, 2016 10:38:33 GMT -5
Damn Yankees (1958) Tab Hunter, Ray Walston. Gwen Verdon, Jean Stapleton Gwen Verdon shimmies and croons and forces me to say she's great because Whatever Lola Wants She Gets When I saw this movie as a kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old, on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies, and watched that number in particular, I felt certain warm stirrings that made me realize that there was more to life than army men, comics and baseball. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 2, 2016 16:45:38 GMT -5
I watched Rear Window (1954) last night. A long time ago, I was a little obsessed with Rear Window. About 1985 to 1990. It was my favorite Hitchcock film back when I had only seen four or five Hitchcock films. And I saw it four or five times in those years. I saw it one last time about 1990 and I haven't seen it since (until last night). I think part of the reason I haven't seen it since is that I've been obsessed with other Hitchcock films in the intervening years. I was obsessed with Psycho in the 1990s (and I still like to watch it every five years or so). I was obsessed with Shadow of a Doubt for a while (and I watched it again about four years ago; I think I could easily get obsessed again!). And I've been obsessed with Suspicion and The Birds for years! I'm still obsessed with both of them. Watching Rear Window last night reminded me of two things: First, the reasons why I used to be obsessed! Second, the little things that started bugging me after I'd seen it a few times. It's a great movie! That's for sure! I'm kind of sad that I watched it more than three times and started noticing that it's ... kind of dopey. I really wish I had just stopped at the second or third viewing. For one thing, I don't buy the romance between Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) and L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart). It's not just the age difference or the class difference. Lisa could be impressed with L.B.'s adventurous life as a news photographer and L.B. - well, OK, it's pretty easy to see why L.B. would be after Lisa. But I'm not convinced by what I see on the screen that this has happened. Kelly and Stewart are both such great actors that they do a great job of faking it, such a great job that I didn't really notice how off they were until I'd seen it a few times. And now when I watch it, it's all I can think about. Their bickering is rather absurd and annoying, and Jeffries comes off as a condescending jerk who's gotten pretty good at hiding what a male chauvinist he is. I don't see why Lisa puts up with it - unless she's (secretly, even to herself) just waiting for that moment when L.B. finds a murder mystery to solve! None of this really matters starting from that moment when Lisa notices that, yes, Lars Thorwald is indeed acting very strangely! If you've noticed anything amiss in the relationship by this point, you quickly forget it once Lisa gets interested. But for me, now that I've seen it a few times, I do notice it and I do remember it. (And I must admit, my favorite part of the movie is Grace Kelly running across the courtyard, jumping over the wall, digging up the garden, climbing up the fire escape ladder, breaking into Thorwald's apartment, confronting ol' Lars and getting the evidence. I also love her languid delivery in most of her dialogue and the way she glides across the room.) The other thing that bugs me (and I think this is at least a little more objective as a criticism) is that Lars Thorwald is kind of a ding-dong. A dangerous, murdering ding-dong, yes, but a ding-dong nonetheless. (And again, I never noticed any of this stuff until I'd seen it a few times.) He kills his wife, and he manages to pull that off rather discreetly. But then he leaves the blinds up and lets himself be seen doing a lot of suspicious things! Taking the sample case out of the house three times in a few hours in the dead of night, wrapping up the knives and the saw, cleaning out the sample case. (Yes. He was cleaning blood out of his sample case in the living room with the blinds up.) And let's not forget that he buried his wife's head in the garden without being seen! And then he killed the dog in the courtyard ... and nobody noticed! Apparently, he just broke its neck without a sound and then just left it here on the sidewalk. And then at the end, when he goes after Jeffries and throws him out of the window. Man, Thorwald should have just got his butt out of there! The jig was up! I think there's something wrong with Lars Thorwald. He's a high-functioning sociopath who has managed to learn how to appear as a mostly normal human being. Until he kills his wife. (And I think its brilliant how little we get in the way of background on Mr. Thorwald. I think Hitchcock knew that it barely worked, and he knew that any detail at all would bring down the whole house of cards.) When he makes that final step of killing his wife, he's really confused about how to act. Beyond a few obvious steps that involve cold logic, Thorwald has no model for his behavior, and he just starts acting very strangely. That's my two cents on Rear Window. I still love it. It gets so much right! From Miss Loneleyheart to Thelma Ritter to Ross Bagdasarian to Mr. Drucker sleeping on the fire escape. From the ballerina to Grace Kelly's outfits to that wonderful set. I'm just not obsessed with it anymore. (Or maybe I still am. I deleted it off the DVR last night when I was done ... and now I'm regretting it!) |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 2, 2016 16:51:35 GMT -5
The same channel that showed Rear Window also showed Vertigo. I watched Vertigo maybe three times between 1985 and 1995. And I never liked it. I find it terribly contrived. It's watchable. I'm not bored. But I've never been much impressed by it either. I kept seeing it to see if I could figure out what I was missing because I'm such a Hitchcock fan and everybody raves about Vertigo.
I've decided to give it another chance. A few years ago, I read an essay on Hitchcock written by Chuck Klosterman, and he said a few things about Vertigo that made me wonder if I might get it if I saw it one more time. So I DVRed it. I'll probably watch it in a few days.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 3, 2016 21:53:20 GMT -5
Hamlet (1948) Lawrence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Anthony Quayle, Peter Cushing Directed by Lawrence Olivier
Somewhat faithful but definitive Shakespearean adaptation. Even without Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Decorations and Costumes. The writing seems awfully familiar. So many lines come trippingly off my tongue. Alas, poor Yorick, get thee to a nunnery, whether tis nobler. Good night sweet prince, neither a borrower or lender be, for this above all to thine own self be true. The plays the thing, mine lady doth protest to much for brevity is the soul of wit
I saw the Mel Gibson version last year and was entertained. But it was more for the hoi polloi. This is for the seniors in high school and up
And, methinks it may be said that its a Criterion
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Post by berkley on May 3, 2016 21:57:25 GMT -5
That Shakespeare must have been a big fan of Stan Lee's Thor comics.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 3, 2016 22:15:30 GMT -5
Shocking Movie Review Of The Year
Lover Come Back (1961) Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, Edie Adams, Ann B. Davis, Joe Flynn, Jack Albertson, Donna Douglas
Doris and Rock work for competing ad agencies, locking horns with each other in recruiting clients. Doris does it through hard work, Rock takes the clients to strip clubs and orgies.
Never in my life would I guess I'd really, really enjoy a Doris Day/ Rock Hudson movie as much as I had. The first hour is a hilarious satire on Madison Avenue. Got a great supporting cast as well with so many familiar faces. At one point during the film, Rock shoots several commercials with Edie Adams for a product called VIP to keep her happy. By mistake, the commercials run on TV, capturing the audiences attention. Letters and offers inundate the ad agency all wanting to know more about VIP. The thing is- there is no product named VIP
The last half hour settles into a more routine situation with Doris and Rock dating each other but Doris is unaware who Rock really is. The similar thing occurred previously in Pillow Talk. But at least its entertaining
The movie is filled with double-entendres and wink-wink sex nods. Its as smutty as a 1961 Doris Day movie can get.But of course Doris is a prude and saves her virginity until she gets to the altar
BUT WAIT A MINUTE
DORIS DAY GETS KNOCKED UP AND IS AN UNWED MOTHER. I"M NOT FOOLIN'.
That should get you to watch the movie. Thank me later
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Post by Hoosier X on May 4, 2016 15:09:21 GMT -5
I watched A Stolen Life (1946) last night. Bette Davis plays twins! Kate is the good one. Pat is the bad one. Pat steals Glenn Ford away from Kate and marries him just because she can! But then, they take the boat out and a storm comes up unexpectedly and the bad one is killed. So the good one does a bad thing and takes her sister's place! Bette Davis is as great as you expect. Charles Ruggles and Walter Brennan are both pretty good. Glenn Ford plays Glenn Ford. Amazing special effects! I rewound some of the scenes where the two Bette Davises were together because I was amazed that they could create twin effects like this in 1946! But the ending ... Yeah ... very disappointing. They start to build up a pretty good plot about what it actually meant to take on the identity of someone as awful as Pat and I was eagerly awaiting the way that Kate would deal with the enmity of the people who had it in for Pat. And then they wrapped it up rather abruptly. So I enjoyed it for more than 90% of the running time. Bette Davis made another twin movie in the 1960s - Dead Ringer - where both the twins are evil and the really bad one gets done in very early on and the sister who takes her place has almost an hour and a half to cope with the consequences. Overall, A Stolen Life is better, but Dead Ringer has a better ending. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 4, 2016 21:36:27 GMT -5
Antwone Fisher (2002) Denzel Washington, Derek Luke
The true story of Antwone Fisher, a navyman with a short and violent temper ordered to undergo psychiatric sessions as part of his punishment for fighting with the other servicemen. Denzel plays the psychiatrist and we see the story of Fisher, born in a women;s penetentiary to a jailed mother, abandoned and brought up by abusive foster parents and a life in the streets
The movie is all about Derek Luke and his character. Derek hadn't done much acting before this role, subsequently he's done Friday Night Lights and played Gabe Jones on an Avengers movie among other things. He puts on a very convincing performance
The real Antwone Fisher worked as a security guard at Sony Studios and was told his life story would make a marvelous film. Antwone insisted on writing the screenplay himself and after many attempts succeeded to do so. An empowering story, sentimental too and a tearjerker ending. Denzel Washington agreed to work on the movie so as to ensure it would be made.
Denzel also used the movie as his first opportunity to direct. He does a credible job. Good film
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