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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 8, 2014 14:20:30 GMT -5
Young Frankenstein (1974)  Great performance from Gene Wilder. Mel Brooks' direction is superb as he captures the mood and atmosphere of the horror films he's parodying perfectly. Teri Garr and Madeline Kahn both looked incredible. Peter Boyle is great especially during the "Puttin' On the Ritz" dance sequence. I'm not an unconditional fan of Mel Brooks and thought that Spaceballs in particular was a dismal pile of sophomoric dreck. But when he's good? He's damn good. Blazing saddles and Young Frankenstein are really neat movies, full of quotable lines; the latter was my erstwhile Italian roommate's favourite movie, if memory serves. I love the way a horse neighs in panic whenever Frau Blücher's name is uttered! I'm pretty well in agreement with you. Brooks hit his peak with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I think his stuff was still watchable through History of the World...but beyond that it's been pretty dire. |
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Daryl
Junior Member
Not NOT Brand Echh
Posts: 72 
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Post by Daryl on Sept 8, 2014 14:33:49 GMT -5
I'm in the middle of Female Vampire (1973) on netflix while I fold laundry. The story is pretty basic. But I'll say this so far less than 30 minutes into it ... in US 1973 you'd be in an adult theater if you were seeing this. Half the fun for me watching foreign films us realizing the negative influence US censorship has done to the art of film. The tracking shot of her vagina walking through the woods directly into the camera is...something. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 8, 2014 23:32:01 GMT -5
Firestarter (1984) Directed by Mark L. Lester. With Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Heather Locklear, Martin Sheen, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher and George C. Scott
I've been making more of an effort to see more movies from the 1980s. It's a bit of a neglected decade for me, mostly because I prefer older movies, but probably because I lived through the 1980s and I sometimes think if I didn't see it when it was new, why would I be so eager to watch it now?
But that's not the way to be. Look at how I raved about Runaway Train a few days ago. There's always something exciting out there you haven't seen, so it's good to take a chance.
So when I saw an ad for Firestarter a few days ago, I was kind of intrigued. What the heck is that? I asked myself. It's from the 1980s. I'm in the mood for some goofy 1980s thriller with Drew Barrymore. I'll give it a try. For one thing, look at that cast!
I was glad I watched it. It was fun for a late-night viewing before bedtime. Drew Barrymore is on the run from a clandestine U.S. government organization that specializes in psychic phenomenon. Her dad (David Keith) was experimented on and he has mind control powers. Drew was born with her powers. She makes things catch on fire. Shoes, oven mitts, people, rocks. Even water! She makes water catch on fire!
It's freaking insane! Maybe I'm easy to please, but I was very happy that I made the decision to watch this. Drew is a little uneven. Sometimes she's believable as the girl with the pyrokinesis who sometimes does bad things, but other times she seems a little lost about what to do with some of the ridiculous dialogue. (She's not alone. George C. Scott is frequently just as ridiculous.) But it's all part of the charm in this movie. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 8, 2014 23:47:33 GMT -5
National Velvet (1944) Directed by Clarence Brown. With Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury.
I was looking at the TCM schedule today to see if they were showing anything from my "must-see" list and I noticed that "National Velvet" was showing. I've never seen it, and it's not a film I've ever been dying to see, but it is an acclaimed film of the 1940s, and it is very important for Elizabeth Taylor's career and I really haven't seen very many of her films. (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of my favorites. And she's pretty good in Ivahoe. I've seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.)
I figured if it was boring, I could just stop watching it.
But it never got boring. It's a really well-made and entertaining film about a 12-year-old girl in Southern England who gets a horse and, with her friend Mickey Rooney, trains it to race in the Grand National. (Rooney is great, as usual. WORST IRISH ACCENT EVER! He accents about every tenth "r".)
It's not really my kind of movie, but it was fun to watch anyway. You can see Elizabeth Taylor's star power even though she's only 12. Angela Lansbury is her older sister, and she's very good as well.
The horse's name is "The Pie." That cracked me up every time anybody said it, especially when they were announcing the race.
Highly recommended, even for people who don't normally go for movies about girls and their pets. I sure wish I had seen it sooner instead of being an old grump about it. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 8, 2014 23:50:01 GMT -5
I also saw Devil, which is about five people trapped in an elevator and one of them is Satan! It's kind of like a long Twilight Zone episode, or an EC horror story. (I can see Johnny Craig drawing it.) I'll write it up in the morning.
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Post by Hoosier X on Sept 8, 2014 23:54:13 GMT -5
I'm not an unconditional fan of Mel Brooks and thought that Spaceballs in particular was a dismal pile of sophomoric dreck. But when he's good? He's damn good. Blazing saddles and Young Frankenstein are really neat movies, full of quotable lines; the latter was my erstwhile Italian roommate's favourite movie, if memory serves. I love the way a horse neighs in panic whenever Frau Blücher's name is uttered! I'm pretty well in agreement with you. Brooks hit his peak with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I think his stuff was still watchable through History of the World...but beyond that it's been pretty dire. I think he peaked with The Producers, but he was still great to pretty good until High Anxiety. History of the World put me off Brooks for a while and I didn't see his later films until fairly recently. Spaceballs and Dracula: Dead and Loving It both have their moments.
But I like Robin Hood: Men in Tights a lot. Not as much as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, but it's up there with Silent Movie or High Anxiety.
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Post by MDG on Sept 9, 2014 9:00:50 GMT -5
I'm pretty well in agreement with you. Brooks hit his peak with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I think his stuff was still watchable through History of the World...but beyond that it's been pretty dire. I think he peaked with The Producers, but he was still great to pretty good until High Anxiety. History of the World put me off Brooks for a while and I didn't see his later films until fairly recently. Spaceballs and Dracula: Dead and Loving It both have their moments. I pretty much agree. I've found an inverse correlation between the quality of a Mel Brooks movie and how long he's on the screen. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Sept 9, 2014 9:05:01 GMT -5
I'm in the middle of Female Vampire (1973) on netflix while I fold laundry. The story is pretty basic. But I'll say this so far less than 30 minutes into it ... in US 1973 you'd be in an adult theater if you were seeing this. Half the fun for me watching foreign films us realizing the negative influence US censorship has done to the art of film. The tracking shot of her vagina walking through the woods directly into the camera is...something. Yeah I was just waiting and wondering if one of my kids would walk in unannounced when I had my back turned in the closet, after watching the first 5 minutes of it, thinking, IS this an adult film? I closed my door and told them to knock. |
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Post by DubipR on Sept 9, 2014 9:27:09 GMT -5
I'm pretty well in agreement with you. Brooks hit his peak with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I think his stuff was still watchable through History of the World...but beyond that it's been pretty dire. I think he peaked with The Producers, but he was still great to pretty good until High Anxiety. History of the World put me off Brooks for a while and I didn't see his later films until fairly recently. Spaceballs and Dracula: Dead and Loving It both have their moments.
But I like Robin Hood: Men in Tights a lot. Not as much as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, but it's up there with Silent Movie or High Anxiety.
Brooks hit his apex in the 70s with a string of classics and brilliantly funny films and crossed the finish line with Spaceballs. He stayed too long with all of his films, post SB. |
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Post by Jesse on Sept 9, 2014 13:20:41 GMT -5
El Dorado (1966)  John Wayne had some great lines in this movie. He also had excellent on screen chemistry with Robert Mitchum and James Caan. I don't think I've ever seen James Caan so young. Michele Carey looked incredible as Joey. Nice to see Ed Asner show up as Bart Jason. A classic Western with tons of exciting action and some genuinely funny bits.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 9, 2014 13:48:43 GMT -5
El Dorado (1966) John Wayne had some great lines in this movie. He also had excellent on screen chemistry with Robert Mitchum and James Caan. I don't think I've ever seen James Caan so young. Michele Carey looked incredible as Joey. Nice to see Ed Asner show up as Bart Jason. A classic Western with tons of exciting action and some genuinely funny bits. Good film. But I like Rio Bravo better. And no Howard Hawks, I'm not going to buy that this isn't a remake. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 9, 2014 14:44:05 GMT -5
This message came in on one of my mailing lists yesterday, from a Massachusetts fan named Art "Buddy" Lortie:
Sorry, but the Holmes marathon was last night (Monday, the 8th). I tried to look up today's listings but my employer blocks the site.
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Post by Dizzy D on Sept 9, 2014 15:32:38 GMT -5
I'm pretty well in agreement with you. Brooks hit his peak with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I think his stuff was still watchable through History of the World...but beyond that it's been pretty dire. I think he peaked with The Producers, but he was still great to pretty good until High Anxiety. History of the World put me off Brooks for a while and I didn't see his later films until fairly recently. Spaceballs and Dracula: Dead and Loving It both have their moments.
But I like Robin Hood: Men in Tights a lot. Not as much as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, but it's up there with Silent Movie or High Anxiety.
I liked Men in Tights more than High Anxiety and Silent Movie. I like Spaceballs a lot too, mostly because of some great performances (probably the same reason why I like Men in Tights) and because the material sticks with me. Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and the Producers (the original one, not the remake.) are still far ahead of both of them. |
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Post by dupersuper on Sept 9, 2014 20:45:11 GMT -5
Also enjoyed the 2 Chevy Chase films: Fletch and Fletch Lives. Using the words enjoyed and Chevy Chase in the same sentence is a rarity Really? No love for Spies Like Us? European Vacation? Xmas Vacation? Zoom? Classic SNL? Community? |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 9, 2014 21:16:48 GMT -5
Also enjoyed the 2 Chevy Chase films: Fletch and Fletch Lives. Using the words enjoyed and Chevy Chase in the same sentence is a rarity Really? No love for Spies Like Us? European Vacation? Xmas Vacation? Zoom? Classic SNL? Community? I was referring to Chevy Chase movies. Those 2 Vacation films were fine but Spies Like Us, Three Amigos and so many more were too stupid in my opinion to be funny. But then again, I was recuperating with a broken leg and spent a week in bed with a VHS tape of Oh Heavenly Dog on a constant loop on the TV so maybe my feelings about this subject has been tainted |
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