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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 8, 2016 2:38:49 GMT -5
A Forbidden Hollywood DVD
Miss Pinkerton (1932) Joan Blondell, George Brent
Blondell is a hospital nurse told to report to a creepy looking estate where a murder took place and the head of the family, an old lady, is quite ill after discovering the body. Inspector George Brent takes a liking to the plucky nurse and asks her to assist him in the investigation, giving her the nickname Miss Pinkerton
Not much to note for this quick 65 minute old house murder mystery. Its a bit convoluted but what makes it worth watching is the bubbly Joan Blondell and some nice shadow effects with the shrouded murderer. Blondell lets out 3 nice screams during the film. Nothing here that would be challenged by the censor board. Blondell worked on 10 movies in 1932, George Brent did 7.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 8, 2016 14:39:21 GMT -5
Just a heads-up on Captain America: Civil War.
I saw it this morning. It almost lives up to the hype.
So if you were on the fence about seeing it, consider this an endorsement.
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Post by spoon on May 8, 2016 16:20:22 GMT -5
Just a heads-up on Captain America: Civil War. I saw it this morning. It almost lives up to the hype. So if you were on the fence about seeing it, consider this an endorsement. So you've decided it's an instant classic.  |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 8, 2016 16:26:10 GMT -5
Holy crap it's 2026. I better check my mailbox. It must be overflowing.  |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 9, 2016 12:03:12 GMT -5
Was stimt? Mackie Messer und Polly Peachum en Die Dreigroschenoper. I saw several movies over the weekend and didn't make the time to write them up. So I've provided a few summaries and recommendations in chronological order. Some of them aren't old enough for the rules of this forum but I included them anyway. Guess who renounced her atheism before dying? The Godless Girl (1929) - If you've ever wondered what a 1929 movie about an atheist would look like if it were directed by Cecil B. De Mille, then you're in luck! That movie exists! It's called The Godless Girl and, despite being a little more than two hours long, it's very entertaining and watchable. It's not entirely hostile towards atheism either, just rather condescending and misleading. (So it's very progressive when compared to modern films like God's Not Dead.) The Godless Girl also depicts some of its christians as being very violent and intolerant. So score one for De Mille! It's about a high school where the atheist club and the christians are very hostile to each other. The christians attack the atheist club meeting with rotten eggs, and a huge brawl breaks out involving several hundred students! It's very exciting! They whack each other with chairs and punch each other and it spills into a stairwell where one of the atheist girls falls after the railing breaks and is killed when she plummets three stories! The male leader of the christians and the female leader of the atheists (who have a bit of a thing for each other despite their ideological differences) are sent to the reformatory after being charged for manslaughter! Then it becomes a prison movie for a while. I liked The Godless Girl a lot! I recommend it to anyone who loves how great silent films were by the end of the 1920s. KILL THEM NOW! The Threepenny Opera (1931) - "The Threepenny Opera" (which I love!) is probably most famous for the song "Mack the Knife," but it's becoming a little more well-known among comic book fans because of Alan Moore, who has referred to it more than once in his works. The pirate comic book "Tales of the Black Freighter" in Watchmen, for example, is named after the song "Pirate Jenny." In the 1931 movie of The Threepenny Opera, "Pirate Jenny" is performed by Lotte Lenya, who is most famous as Rosa Klebb, the SPECTRE agent trying to kill James Bond with a knife from her shoe in From Russia with Love. There are actually two versions of the 1931 Threepenny Opera film, one in German and one in French, both directed by G.W. Pabst. They are both great! I slightly prefer the German one, mostly for Lotte Lenya. Van Heflin tells Janet Leigh about the crazy times they had in Stalag 17. Act of Violence (1949) - Van Heflin is a World War II veteran with a very pretty wife (Janet Leigh), a baby and a successful construction company. And then scary Robert Ryan (with a limp and a gun) starts stalking Van and frightening the wife and the baby. It seems that Ryan has a bone to pick with Van over some of his conduct when they were prisoners together at a German POW camp. It ain't Hogan's Heroes! Emma Watson, after reading the script, runs back to the dressing rooms to warn the others before it's too late! Noah (2014) - We misplaced our Netflix videos for about six months but they turned up last week! I don't pick them. But I look and see what we got in case I see something interesting. And there was Noah! Poor little fella. Nobody likes it. I decided to give it a try before it got sent back. OMG! It's like Showgirls for the 21st century! It is hilarious! HILARIOUS! ALL CAPS! Between the lizard dog and the giant rock spiders, I was hooked! Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson were awesome, taking it all completely seriously! These two are amazing! And Russell Crowe is great, in his own cranky, sullen way. He's the 21st-century Victor Mature and he really needs to do more bible movies. I can totally see him in a remake of Samson and Delilah or The Big Fisherman, with Russell Brand as Herod. Captain America: Civil War (2016) - It's the opposite of Batman vs. Superman. For the most part, the motivations make sense! It's a bit contrived, but its contrivances are more like those in a good comic book and less like the tortured contrivances of a DC super-hero movie. Great fight scenes! Civil War almost lives up to its hype! |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2016 13:59:12 GMT -5
The Blair Witch Project (1999) Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
3 teens take their video cameras for a weekend out in the woods of Maryland to film a documentary of the local legend of the Blair Witch. The teens wind up missing and only this footage has been recovered
Significant film for a number of reasons. One of the first films that was a sensation due to it's viral promotion one year leading up to the movie's debut. One of the early films utilizing massive amounts of shaky-cam techniques that became popular during the new millennium. And mostly significant because
It's The Most Profitable Movie Ever Made
A budget of $60,000. A worldwide gross of close to $250 Million Dollars. That is freakin' insane
I knew a woman who worked in my office when this movie debuted. After seeing it she talked about how much she enjoyed it and actually believed it was real documentary footage found in the woods. Otherwise she was a fairly intelligent lady. Just didn't bother looking at all the credits at the end of the film.
I was caught up with it's technique when I first watched this. Now, on my second viewing, I'm glad it's only 80 minutes long because nothing really happens except being lost in the woods. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Nope.
That must be another record for a movie with non-stop in-action. Oh wait. I forgot. There's that Yoko Ono film of a fly landing and crawling on someone's body. And that Andy Warhol movie that lasts 6 hours and its just the Empire State Building and the sun's shifting shadows. Ok, The Blair Witch Project comes in third place
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2016 14:15:28 GMT -5
A Beautiful Mind (2001) Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris Director-Ron Howard
Close to the truth film of mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, nobel prize winner in economics, and his devastating schizophrenic delusions that haunted him his whole life
Russell Crowe delivers a fantastic performance and yet he didn't win the Oscar. The movie won it as well as the director, Ron Howard, the screenplay and Jennifer Connelly. How the hell did Russell Crowe not win it? He was the movie
The only thing I can quibble with the film is the fact it completely ignores his arrests on homosexual activities and his rampant anti-semiticism in speeches and writings. The movie just wants to keep Nash as sympathetic and lovable as possible of middle-America and not distract the story with shades of grey. Besides the history clean-up, the depiction of Nash's paranoid delusions work quite well with Ed Harris as a shadowy CIA agent. Dialogue is thought provoking too
The real John Nash and his wife died last year in an auto accident. R.I.P.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 9, 2016 18:39:57 GMT -5
I forgot to mention that I watched Svengoolie on Saturday night. He was showing Calling Dr. Death (1943). It's an Inner Sanctum movie, loosely based on the radio show. Universal Studios made several Inner Sanctum movies. Calling Dr. Death is the first one I've ever seen. You don't understand! I turn into a WOOF! Lon Chaney Jr. stars as a psychiatrist who uses hypnotism as part of the treatment. He doesn't get along with his wife. She's really awful, refusing to give him a divorce because she likes the money and the prestige that comes with being a psychiatrist's wife. Harsh words are exchanged. On Monday morning, Lon wakes up unshaven and disheveled in his office with no memory of anything since Saturday afternoon. And the cops show up asking questions about what he's been doing since Saturday about 6 p.m. Ulp. The head detective is J. Carrol Naish. He gives Lon a pretty hard time. Fortunately, Lon has a very supportive receptionist/assistant in Patricia Morison. I felt like everybody in this movie was somebody I recognized from somewhere, but the only one I could place (aside from Lon and Naish) was Morison, even though I couldn't remember her name. She was in Dressed to Kill, the Sherlock Holmes movie where everybody is killing each other over prison-made music boxes. Fortunately, somebody on the Svengoolie staff noticed that everybody in this movie was from another monster movie and they had a segment about where these people came from. It was people like David Bruce (the mad ghoul in The Mad Ghoul) and Ramsay Ames (the girl who gets chased around by the mummy in The Mummy's Ghost). And also Fay Helm, the woman who played Evelyn Ankers ill-fated friend in The Wolfman. I looked up Patricia Morison to see what else she was in and, according to IMDB, she's still alive at age 101. Wow! As for the movie, Calling Dr. Death is OK. Especially if you have a high tolerance for silly 1940s horror thrillers. And Chaney is pretty good in it! Sometimes, he looks a little lost in his roles, like he wasn't really sure what he was doing. But he does a good job in Calling Dr. Death. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2016 19:13:55 GMT -5
I forgot to mention that I watched Svengoolie on Saturday night. He was showing Calling Dr. Death (1943). I own the box set of Inner Sanctum films, 6 of them I believe, and reviewed them here some time last year or so. Enjoyed them all. Loved the opening of the films with the disembodied head in a glass container |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 9, 2016 22:03:44 GMT -5
I knew I'd heard of them somewhere. I was probably thinking of your reviews, Ish! But I don't usually read reviews for movies I haven't seen so that's probably why I didn't remember your reviews.
Did you ever review the Whistler movies? Richard Dix is so awesome! I'd love to see Dix, Chaney and Victor Mature all in the same movie to see who could give the best hammy, scowly, sullen performance.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2016 22:24:02 GMT -5
I knew I'd heard of them somewhere. I was probably thinking of your reviews, Ish! But I don't usually read reviews for movies I haven't seen so that's probably why I didn't remember your reviews. Did you ever review the Whistler movies? Richard Dix is so awesome! I'd love to see Dix, Chaney and Victor Mature all in the same movie to see who could give the best hammy, scowly, sullen performance. Darn it no. If it came out on DVD, it was after I stopped purchasing them. However I have the three movie set of Red Skelton's Whistling films: Whistling in the Dark
Whistling Dixie
Whistling in Brooklyn
Have not gotten to viewing them as of yet |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 10, 2016 10:45:19 GMT -5
I knew I'd heard of them somewhere. I was probably thinking of your reviews, Ish! But I don't usually read reviews for movies I haven't seen so that's probably why I didn't remember your reviews. Did you ever review the Whistler movies? Richard Dix is so awesome! I'd love to see Dix, Chaney and Victor Mature all in the same movie to see who could give the best hammy, scowly, sullen performance. Darn it no. If it came out on DVD, it was after I stopped purchasing them. However I have the three movie set of Red Skelton's Whistling films: Whistling in the Dark
Whistling Dixie
Whistling in Brooklyn
Have not gotten to viewing them as of yet I've seen Whistling in the Dark and I found it entertaining and amusing. Years ago, I saw a few scenes from the 1933 Whistling in the Dark and I thought it was HILAROUS! As I recall, it's pretty close to the same basic set-up as the one with Red Skelton (the hero is a mystery writer, not a radio host). The protagonist is Ernest Truex, whom Twilight Zone fans will remember as the salesman who gives you "What You Need" in the episode of the same name. His girlfriend is Una Merkel! I've been wanting to see the whole thing for 20 years! |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 10, 2016 11:11:02 GMT -5
Marjorie Main and Claire Trevor ask themselves "What's the matter with Kansas?" in Dark Command. I've never seen The Quiet Man. I've never seen The Sons of Katie Elder. I've never seen Three Godfathers or The Cowboys or The Alamo or Blood Alley. And yet, I've seen a lot of obscure John Wayne movies. One of my favorites is Lawless Frontier. I have a hard time taking "diehard John Wayne fans" seriously if they haven't seen Lawless Frontier. (Not really. But if you consider yourself a diehard John Wayne fan, you must see Lawless Frontier!) I've seen Flame of the Barbary Coast, Overland Stage Raiders, Blue Steel, Riders of Destiny, West of the Divide, Haunted Gold and many similar 1930s Westerns. John Wayne made so many movies that it's hard to keep track of them. And, for some reason, I find myself drawn to 1930s and 1940s John Wayne movies more often than not. (My favorite John Wayne movie is Stagecoach.) If I see a John Wayne movie on the TV schedule, I see who else is in it and I check out the premise and sometimes, I see something on the schedule that I just can't resist. Which is how I ended up watching Dark Command (1940) last night! In addition to John Wayne, you also get Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon, Gabby Hayes, Roy Rogers and Marjorie Main! And it's set in Lawrence, Kansas, in the period from 1859 to 1863! And Walter Pidgeon plays a character based on William Quantrill of Quantrill's Raiders! It's not quite as good as you might expect from the premise and the cast. And it's directed by Raoul Walsh! Who gave us They Died with Their Boots On! Compared to They Died with Their Boots On, Dark Command is more than a little disappointing. But it has its moments, and the cast is doing their best with some by-the-numbers material. I bet Dark Command was pretty awesome on the big screen! On a double feature with Virginia City! |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 10, 2016 13:55:30 GMT -5
A Beautiful Mind (2001) Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris Director-Ron Howard Close to the truth film of mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, nobel prize winner in economics, and his devastating schizophrenic delusions that haunted him his whole life Russell Crowe delivers a fantastic performance and yet he didn't win the Oscar. The movie won it as well as the director, Ron Howard, the screenplay and Jennifer Connelly. How the hell did Russell Crowe not win it? He was the movie The only thing I can quibble with the film is the fact it completely ignores his arrests on homosexual activities and his rampant anti-semiticism in speeches and writings. The movie just wants to keep Nash as sympathetic and lovable as possible of middle-America and not distract the story with shades of grey. Besides the history clean-up, the depiction of Nash's paranoid delusions work quite well with Ed Harris as a shadowy CIA agent. Dialogue is thought provoking too The real John Nash and his wife died last year in an auto accident. R.I.P. I'm not much of a Russell Crowe fan and A Beautiful Mind is not really my kind of movie, so I didn't see it until many years after it came out. Around 2008, I was using Netflix to see some of the Best Picture Oscar winners I had missed, like Crash and Million Dollar Baby. And I rented A Beautiful Mind with low expectations. (At least it had Jennifer Connelly!) It's really good! It's not the kind of movie that I would pick for Best Picture. (I just checked my IMDB list of Favorite Movies - Year-By-Year - and my pick for 2001 is ... The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera!) But it's an engrossing movie that I found entertaining and compelling. You can usually count on Ron Howard for solid storytelling. I make fun of Russell Crowe a lot! Unapologetically. Even when he's not particularly good in a role, he's an interesting actor to watch. But to give him credit, he is great in A Beautiful Mind. After seeing Noah and being reminded of A Beautiful Mind, I'm curious about Russell Crowe's Robin Hood movie. I avoided it like the plague because I love Robin Hood and I hated the Kevin Costner version (sooooo bad!). I was afraid the Russell Crowe version would be much the same. I noticed Master and Commander on the TV schedule last night and set up the DVR. That looks like it would be good - maybe even great - if Russell goes into Ultra Hambone Mode. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 10, 2016 14:14:26 GMT -5
Hoosier X's Top Five John Wayne Movies
1. Stagecoach (1939)
2. Fort Apache (1948)
3. Lawless Frontier (1934)
4. They Were Expendable (1945)
5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
It breaks my heart not to include The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)! Maybe I should just make a Top Six like I do with Humphrey Bogart?
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