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Post by Jesse on May 2, 2015 22:50:46 GMT -5
Man Made Monster (1941)  Just caught this on Svengoolie and loved it. Lon Chaney Jr gives a great performance. It's one of those classic stories about a monster whose not really the bad guy so the ending is always tragic. It plays out pretty formulaic here but it's done well enough that it's definitely worth seeing. The pseudo science is silly fun plus Lon Chaney glows through half the movie what's not to like.
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Post by wickedmountain on May 3, 2015 0:19:06 GMT -5
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Post by wickedmountain on May 3, 2015 0:23:28 GMT -5
Adventures In Babysitting (1987)- I forgot all about the numerous references to Marvel Comics' Thor Good Film  |
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Post by Prince Hal on May 3, 2015 6:29:49 GMT -5
Rocky (1976)
Unbelievable for me to know we're just months away from the 40th anniversary of Rocky Balboa's first fight with Apollo Creed. Having seen this in the theaters when it was first released, I'm still caught up with the great character play of this film. There's really a minimum of actual boxing going on here- a few minutes at the opening with Rocky and some pug in a small gym and then the final 10 minutes versus Apollo. The rest of the 2 hours belongs to Stallone's iconic portrayal, Talia Shire's nerdy persona, Burt Freed as Paulie the fat bum and Burgess Meredith in his final of many classic roles.
This includes a classic theme song (Gonna Fly Now) and numerous tie-ins to the American Bicentennial celebration.
I had forgotten that Rocky had a side job as a debt collector for a local mobster. Also the final verdict of the fight was hard to hear. The referee clearly calls it a split decision but the details were drowned out by Rocky and Adrian calling each other's name out.
A great, great movie
I know I'm in the minority, and I don't fully know why I feel this way, but to be honest I wasn't that big of a fan of Rocky. Iconic film to be sure, and I liked elements of it, but I don't know. It just didn't click with me. I'm not in any way saying it's bad. Just didn't wow me like I thought it would. I haven't watched much on the NFR list lately because of school but once school is out (9 days), I will have some more time. Agreed. One viewing was enough. I like my cliches lightly sprinkled, not slathered on with a trowel. On another note, what's your last day of school? We only lost 6 days (three delayed openings saved us a bit) and we're in till the 26th. |
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Post by Prince Hal on May 3, 2015 9:29:34 GMT -5
Agreed. One viewing was enough. I like my cliches lightly sprinkled, not slathered on with a trowel. On another note, what's your last day of school? We only lost 6 days (three delayed openings saved us a bit) and we're in till the 26th. Well my last class was this past Friday, and my last final exam is Monday the 11th. And we go back late this year, September 8th (day before my birthday, drat) so we get almost four full months off. Benefits of college I suppose, haha. The 26th isn't bad at all! We missed four days to snow and only one professor made us make up one missed class. Ah, the college life... Enjoy! |
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Post by Jasoomian on May 3, 2015 22:46:54 GMT -5
I watched Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) recently when I had a free month of Amazon Prime. Thumbs up.
More recently screened David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) via Netflix stream. The performances alone guarantee a thumbs up.
MSTed: A couple months ago on Hulu+plus I watched the RiffTrax versions of House on Haunted Hill (1959), which had been colorized (by IIRC an outfit associated with Harryhausen before his death), and Night of the Living Dead (1968). Both good-enough films in their own right, but also films I'd seen before and they weren't so "busy" that the riff track couldn't add anything, which they did.
Another fun rewatch -- as an ordained Dudeist priest, I naturally celebrated The High Holiday rewatching The Big Lebowski (1998) via Netflix stream. It is still every bit the great film it was when I first saw it in a theater during a special advance scrennign a week before the official release in 1998. Two thumbs up.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 4, 2015 8:13:04 GMT -5
I know I'm in the minority, and I don't fully know why I feel this way, but to be honest I wasn't that big of a fan of Rocky. Iconic film to be sure, and I liked elements of it, but I don't know. It just didn't click with me. I'm not in any way saying it's bad. Just didn't wow me like I thought it would. I haven't watched much on the NFR list lately because of school but once school is out (9 days), I will have some more time. Agreed. One viewing was enough. I like my cliches lightly sprinkled, not slathered on with a trowel. On another note, what's your last day of school? We only lost 6 days (three delayed openings saved us a bit) and we're in till the 26th. I watched the first three of these movies on Netflix, a year or less back for the first time ever. Like Rambo, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, 24 Hours, etc., I knew of these iconic movies (that never would have been allowed to see living at home) but Rocky never seemed like a fit for me. I've never watched boxing as a sport, and don't too much care to ever, so a fictional movie about it seemed dull. Anyway I finally decided to watch them. For Mr T, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, and every other actor/actress I might have known, and still they were pretty dull. Sports movies have never really worked for me, even if the sport itself isn't always front and center, with less than a handful of exceptions. Like Varsity Blues. |
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Post by Jasoomian on May 4, 2015 15:02:07 GMT -5
You missed the best one. Rocky IV is a tour de force!
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 4, 2015 15:21:54 GMT -5
You missed the best one. Rocky IV is a tour de force!  |
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Post by Jasoomian on May 4, 2015 15:54:09 GMT -5
You should really see Rocky IV if you haven't. It is so so much more entertaining than the exceedingly dull II and III films. Maybe the last great Cold War film. You have Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen as evil Russians! Apollo Creed dies in the ring!! That's hardcore. There's a great James Brown number. Even a robot. C'mon what's not to like?
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 4, 2015 17:13:08 GMT -5
You should really see Rocky IV if you haven't. It is so so much more entertaining than the exceedingly dull II and III films. Maybe the last great Cold War film. You have Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen as evil Russians! Apollo Creed dies in the ring!! That's hardcore. There's a great James Brown number. Even a robot. C'mon what's not to like? Oh yeah I've seen that one too. There must be another one, cause I saw all of them but the last one, well besides the Balboa movie, the newer one? Yeah that one was probably the best of the three. I dunno why I forgot about that one, especially since it's the most recent one I watched. Old age I guess lol. Robot? That part I don't remember. I guess V is the one I haven't seen. |
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Post by dupersuper on May 4, 2015 18:54:27 GMT -5
You missed the best one. Rocky IV is a tour de force! I'll almost surely marathon all 6 some day. That'd be a fun 12 hours or so. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 5, 2015 15:37:36 GMT -5
Sometimes you start to watch a film for the first time, not really knowing what to expect, and your jaw begins to drop by the over-the-top, extreme drama that is unfolding before your eyes. I'm talking about a movie regarding the dangers of sexual abstinence, both physical and mental. I'm talking about 1961's Splendor In The Grass starring Natalie Wood and introducing on the big screen, Warren Beatty.
Its 1928 in Smallville, Kansas. Bud and Deanie are high school sweethearts, the best looking couple in town. And they have the hots for each other. Movie opens with them in the back seat of a car making out when Deanie says she can't go all the way. Bud leaves the car, filled with pain and anguish, pigeon- toed and pulling his hair. He's too much of a gentleman to force her and Deanie has been brainwashed by her Mom that she must be a good girl until marriage. They both yearn to do the nasty but can't quite pull the trigger. Meanwhile Bud's sister is the town slut and its Bud's job to keep her out of trouble. Deanie lies in bed hugging her teddy bears and gets jealous of any girl Bud might look out. Bud passes out during a basketball game partly from the pressure building up inside him. He asks the doctor if there's anything that can calm the surges of urges that's tearing him apart but the doc has no advice. Bud's dad suggests a hooker might be the answer. But no-Bud truly wants Deanie only.
Deanie meanwhile is becoming unhinged. Bud will soon go away to college and his rich dad won't let him marry Deanie until he's finished with schooling. The thought of losing Bud's pud causes Deanie to attempt suicide by going over a waterfall and gets her thrown into an asylum
My god-I'm watching this masterpiece of melodrama and I know one good schtup would solve everyone's problem.
Natalie Wood gives a great performance and I've heard Warren Beatty went on to do other things too.
A 4 star of sexual repression
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Post by Jasoomian on May 5, 2015 15:41:52 GMT -5
You should really see Rocky IV if you haven't. It is so so much more entertaining than the exceedingly dull II and III films. Maybe the last great Cold War film. You have Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen as evil Russians! Apollo Creed dies in the ring!! That's hardcore. There's a great James Brown number. Even a robot. C'mon what's not to like? Oh yeah I've seen that one too. There must be another one, cause I saw all of them but the last one, well besides the Balboa movie, the newer one? Yeah that one was probably the best of the three. I dunno why I forgot about that one, especially since it's the most recent one I watched. Old age I guess lol. Robot? That part I don't remember. I guess V is the one I haven't seen. The robot is kind of forgetable after 30 years I guess, but it was there.  |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 5, 2015 19:23:09 GMT -5
Oh that robot. I remember now. Man if I had one I'd never have to get up for a beer. :thumb:
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