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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 14, 2015 15:19:42 GMT -5
Seen Stray Dog and as you said, a great crime thriller
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 14, 2015 15:38:52 GMT -5
I'm starting to think of Donald Trump as a Frank Capra hero. And we are all lucky enough to be living in Frank Capra's worst movie as it turns into reality.
Gary Cooper as Donald Trump Jean Arthur as Megyn Kelly Claudette Colbert as Carly Fiorina Lionel Stander as Jeb Bush Barbara Stanwyck as Hillary Clinton Claude Rains as Bernie Sanders Thomas Mitchell as Rand Paul Clark Gable as Rick Perry Edward Arnold as Chris Christie Rex Ingram as Ben Carson Walter Brennan as John Kasich Nat Pendleton as Ted Cruz Jimmy Cagney as Marco Rubio
Admit it. You want to see this movie so bad.
BUT YOU'RE LIVING IT!
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 14, 2015 16:12:22 GMT -5
Methinks too much Ted Cruz bad voodoo has rubbed off on Hoosier, tainting his heart for the love of Capra. Yes, an exorcism is in order Did I hear Hoosier just ask for "a quartah fer an old altah boy, Fadah?"
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 14, 2015 16:21:22 GMT -5
Methinks too much Ted Cruz bad voodoo has rubbed off on Hoosier, tainting his heart for the love of Capra. Yes, an exorcism is in order Did I hear Hoosier just ask for "a quartah fer an old altah boy, Fadah?" You're gonna die up there.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 14, 2015 16:34:13 GMT -5
I'm starting to think of Donald Trump as a Frank Capra hero. And we are all lucky enough to be living in Frank Capra's worst movie as it turns into reality. Gary Cooper as Donald Trump Jean Arthur as Megyn Kelly Claudette Colbert as Carly Fiorina Lionel Stander as Jeb Bush Barbara Stanwyck as Hillary Clinton Claude Rains as Bernie Sanders Thomas Mitchell as Rand Paul Clark Gable as Rick Perry Edward Arnold as Chris Christie Rex Ingram as Ben Carson Walter Brennan as John Kasich Nat Pendleton as Ted Cruz Jimmy Cagney as Marco Rubio Admit it. You want to see this movie so bad. BUT YOU'RE LIVING IT! Oh, God, no! Edward Arnold as Cheney or Ailes, maybe, but otherwise you're doing an injustice to every one of these actors. Ben Carson is Harold Reynolds from the MLB Network: same voice, same facial tics, everything. Patti Lupone or Ron Reagan, Jr. as Fiorina Gary Oldman (as he looked when he played Lee Harvey Oswald as Rand Paul Joe McCarthy (of Red-baiting fame) as Cruz: same whiney voice, same beady eyes, same malevolent mentality. George W. Bush as Rick Perry Ed Helms as Jeb Bush Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm or Bobby Bacala of The Sopranos as Christie Larry David as Bernie Sanders Amy Pohler as Hilary Jim Nabors or Neil Sedaka as Huckabee
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 14, 2015 19:09:33 GMT -5
I'm starting to think of Donald Trump as a Frank Capra hero. And we are all lucky enough to be living in Frank Capra's worst movie as it turns into reality. Gary Cooper as Donald Trump Jean Arthur as Megyn Kelly Claudette Colbert as Carly Fiorina Lionel Stander as Jeb Bush Barbara Stanwyck as Hillary Clinton Claude Rains as Bernie Sanders Thomas Mitchell as Rand Paul Clark Gable as Rick Perry Edward Arnold as Chris Christie Rex Ingram as Ben Carson Walter Brennan as John Kasich Nat Pendleton as Ted Cruz Jimmy Cagney as Marco Rubio Admit it. You want to see this movie so bad. BUT YOU'RE LIVING IT! Oh, God, no! Edward Arnold as Cheney or Ailes, maybe, but otherwise you're doing an injustice to every one of these actors. Ben Carson is Harold Reynolds from the MLB Network: same voice, same facial tics, everything. Patti Lupone or Ron Reagan, Jr. as Fiorina Gary Oldman (as he looked when he played Lee Harvey Oswald as Rand Paul Joe McCarthy (of Red-baiting fame) as Cruz: same whiney voice, same beady eyes, same malevolent mentality. George W. Bush as Rick Perry Ed Helms as Jeb Bush Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm or Bobby Bacala of The Sopranos as Christie Larry David as Bernie Sanders Amy Pohler as Hilary Jim Nabors or Neil Sedaka as Huckabee The both of you-you're making choke on my dinner
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 14, 2015 22:48:51 GMT -5
Another super-classic that I don't like at all is Vertigo. And I'm a yuge fan of Alfred Hitchcock. My favorite Hitchcock is either Suspicion or The Birds. My other favorites are Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt, Psycho and Rebecca. He made so many great films! I've seen all his sound films except Waltzes from Vienna. (I think. There might be something I've missed.) And I've seen a bunch of his silent films, like The Lodger, The Manxman and The Ring. But I just don't get Vertigo. I've seen it three or four times, trying to get it. This isn't nearly as controversial as not liking Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. There's a number of cinephiles who are rather lukewarm when it comes to Vertigo. And Vertigo fans are very understanding. (Except on IMDB.)
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 14, 2015 23:28:12 GMT -5
Vertigo was not particularly well received when it came out, especially as compare to other Hitchcock films. However, and I'm going off the top of my head here, it was "rediscovered" in the 60s or thereabouts and was the darling of many critics, to the point that it was seen as superior to Citizen Kane, the reigning champ as #1 film of all time.
I first saw it when I was a little kid, as I first saw Rear Window, on Saturday Night at the Movies, back in the early 60s. I was never bored by it, despite its lack of physical action; in fact I recall being mesmerized by it because it was so different, and I think also because of the eerie Bernard Hermann score. I also remember the fear I felt in the final scene, to be rivaled only by the appearance of Mrs. Bates in Psycho, which scared me so much that I fell out of bed.
I think the performances are excellent, especially Stewart's. It's as if Stewart takes George Bailey's mask of sheer terror from that great close-up in It's...Life when he realizes that his world is irrevocably changed and lets it surface throughout Vertigo as the emblem of Scotty's fears and dark secrets. The story and the movie itself are as dreamlike as any film can be, full of contradictions and paradoxes. (It takes place in San Francisco, a big city, but it always seems as if Scotty is the only one walking or driving around, for instance.) The parallels between Scotty and Hitchcock, the controlling director obsessed by his blonde leading ladies, are just as creepy as Scotty's desire not just to resurrect the dead, but to turn her into his lover.
If you ever do watch Vertigo again, perhaps thinking of it as a dream, or better, as a nightmare, will help. Though it has a linear structure, it is like an iceberg, and surrendering to it, as you would to a dream, might help to show you the bulk beneath the surface.
BTW, I'm with you on those other Hitchcock talkies. (The only silent of his I've seen is The Lodger, which I also enjoyed.)
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 15, 2015 14:27:16 GMT -5
I watched Talk of the Town last night.
This is a 1942 movie with Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman and Edgar Buchanan (who us old folks will remember as Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction).
I DVRed it because Cary Grant is one of the actors that I find so reliable at providing a good movie that I keep an eye out for his films. I know a few people who really love Talk of the Town, so I thought I would give it a try.
I didn't like it too much. Cary Grant is accused of arson and murder, but he escapes during the trial. He claims that he had nothing to do with the fire. He is an activist who speaks up about the rights of the working man and he has been considered a trouble-maker by the town elites for many years. He claims the factory owner is out to get him and that the town elites control the police and the judiciary and he can't get a fair trial.
So he's a fugitive and he meets up with Jean Arthur, who is fixing up a house that she is renting. They know each other in the way that everybody knows each other in small towns, but she doesn't seem to be a friend in particular. She doesn't necessarily believe he's innocent, but she also can't quite bring herself to turn him in. So she hides him in the attic.
In a weird coincidence (you better get used to stuff like this if you ever watch this movie), the new tenant is Ronald Colman, an expert in the law, but he's a law professor, interested in the philosophy of law and has never practiced. It's all just theory to him. He's working on a book that sounds like the most boring book that was ever written by a movie character.
During the course of the film, the local senator stops by and tells Ronald Colman that the president wants him for the Supreme Court. So he'd better stay free from controversy for a few months until the selection can be announced.
So Cary Grant pretends he's the gardener. And Edgar Buchanan (as Cary Grant's lawyer) shows up, and it turns out he's friends with Ronald Colman. So Cary Grant, Edgar Buchanan and Jean Arthur all try to get Ronald Colman to get involved with this local case because the arsonist can't get a fair trial. But Colman (who doesn't know the gardener is the accused) resists because of his cold faith in justice and the law.
Yeah, I don't think I need to go into any more detail than that. He changes his mind little by little. The police find out where Cary Grant is because he likes an egg in his borscht. A love triangle develops between Grant, Arthur and Colman. Ronald Colman begins to suspect many aspects of the prosecution's story and he eventually finds out that the man who died in the fire is still alive. So they go to Boston and get the "murdered" man and Colman bursts into the courtroom during the trial and produces the "murder" victim at gunpoint!
Oh, brother! I do like lots of silly stuff in movies, but I do have little patience for preachy stuff like this where it's so black and white and there's no subtlety and everyone is so stupid and stubborn.
And it's too long. Just short of two hours.
Cary Grant has a tough time being convincing with such thin, self-important material, but I thought Jean Arthur was really good.
Poor Jean Arthur! I like her a lot, but she's in quite a few movies that are supposed to be classics that I don't like too much. The More the Merrier is OK.
The one I really love (where she stars with Cary Grant) is Only Angels Have Wings. That's a great movie.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 15, 2015 15:33:47 GMT -5
I'm watching The Train Robbers (1973).
It's a little on the slow side. But I love this cast! John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson. And there's Christopher George from The Rat Patrol! (The Rat Patrol is one of my favorite shows ever! Yeah, I know it's stupid. I love it anyway.)
And Ricardo Montalban, but he hasn't been in it very much yet. I know I'm supposed to think of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan when I think of Ricardo Montalban, but I always think of Fiesta. That's the one where Esther Williams is Ricardo Montalban's sister. They come from a famous family of bullfighters! But when Ricardo abandons bullfighting to take off and become a poet (or maybe he wants to be a songwriter or a musician?), Esther Williams takes his place, dresses as a matador and pretends to be him in the ring! It's hilarious! Esther Williams walking around in the ring, killing the bull in her matador outfit and smiling so pleasantly as if she just finished another water ballet number!
If you ever get a chance to see Fiesta, don't miss it!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 15, 2015 15:54:04 GMT -5
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) D-Climt Eastwood
A bit of a cheat but it will officially be a 10 year classic in a few months. It is undeniably a very good war movie. Seen from the Japanese perspective, it tells of the preparations and battle of Iwo Jima in 1944. There is a sense of defeat through out the movie since it is known by the officers that Japan cannot hold off the Americans if they land on Iwo Jima. Their battleships and air power has already been decimated during previous battles. This sense of futility slowly permeates to the troops but their sense of national honor calls for them to fight to the death. Scenes of Allied air bombing and cave fighting are realistic and powerful.
A companion piece to Eastwood's Flags Of Our Fathers.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 15, 2015 20:05:50 GMT -5
The Train Robbers was OK. A minimalist western. Not much happened. A lot of scenery as they rode into Mexico to get the gold. I liked it. I'm glad it wasn't ten minutes longer though.
I changed my plans this afternoon. I had some errands, but as I walk everywhere or take the bus, I did about half my errands and then decided to save the rest for another day. We're having a heat wave and I've been walking around in 100-degree heat, and I'm kind of used to it. But my brother tells me it was 110 today. Whew! That's too hot!
So I decided to watch Rooster Cogburn, the sequel to True Grit. I hope it's interesting. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn, that's pretty safe for mere entertainment, right? (I heard a rumor that the Coen brothers were going to make a version with Jeff Bridges as Rooster and Cate Blanchett in the Hepburn role. Has anybody else heard that one or is it just IMDB gibberish?)
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Post by berkley on Aug 15, 2015 22:28:34 GMT -5
The Train Robbers was OK. A minimalist western. Not much happened. A lot of scenery as they rode into Mexico to get the gold. I liked it. I'm glad it wasn't ten minutes longer though. I changed my plans this afternoon. I had some errands, but as I walk everywhere or take the bus, I did about half my errands and then decided to save the rest for another day. We're having a heat wave and I've been walking around in 100-degree heat, and I'm kind of used to it. But my brother tells me it was 110 today. Whew! That's too hot! So I decided to watch Rooster Cogburn, the sequel to True Grit. I hope it's interesting. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn, that's pretty safe for mere entertainment, right? (I heard a rumor that the Coen brothers were going to make a version with Jeff Bridges as Rooster and Cate Blanchett in the Hepburn role. Has anybody else heard that one or is it just IMDB gibberish?) Yeah, I remember seeing a scene from from it on tv quite a while ago so it must have come out already. It looked like it had potential from the previewed scene with Bridges in a courthouse, on trial for using excessive force, i.e. shooting a guy, in the course of his work, presumably as a bounty hunter or something. I didn't know Blanchett was in it.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 15, 2015 22:38:11 GMT -5
The Train Robbers was OK. A minimalist western. Not much happened. A lot of scenery as they rode into Mexico to get the gold. I liked it. I'm glad it wasn't ten minutes longer though. I changed my plans this afternoon. I had some errands, but as I walk everywhere or take the bus, I did about half my errands and then decided to save the rest for another day. We're having a heat wave and I've been walking around in 100-degree heat, and I'm kind of used to it. But my brother tells me it was 110 today. Whew! That's too hot! So I decided to watch Rooster Cogburn, the sequel to True Grit. I hope it's interesting. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn, that's pretty safe for mere entertainment, right? (I heard a rumor that the Coen brothers were going to make a version with Jeff Bridges as Rooster and Cate Blanchett in the Hepburn role. Has anybody else heard that one or is it just IMDB gibberish?) Yeah, I remember seeing a scene from from it on tv quite a while ago so it must have come out already. It looked like it had potential from the previewed scene with Bridges in a courthouse, on trial for using excessive force, i.e. shooting a guy, in the course of his work, presumably as a bounty hunter or something. I didn't know Blanchett was in it. I know the Coen Brothers made a version of True Grit with Jeff Bridges in 2010. (Great great great movie!) The rumor I'm talking about is a Coen brothers version of Rooster Cogburn. Cate Blanchett is definitely not in the 2010 True Grit.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 16, 2015 13:25:59 GMT -5
Rooster Cogburn was pretty good! I liked it a lot!
It's a lot like True Grit except you have Katharine Hepburn accompanying John Wayne into Indian Territory instead of Mattie Ross. (Katharine Hepburn's father was killed by nitroglycerine thieves, you see.) It's also a little bit like The African Queen. And because nitroglycerine is involved, it also feels a lot like The Wages of Fear.
There's also a Gatling gun! The scene where Katharine Hepburn holds off the bad guys with the Gatling gun should be one of the defining images of the cinema of the 1970s, right up there with Butch and Sundance jumping off the cliff and Al Pacino leading the "Attica! Attica!" chant.
At the end, all these disparate elements - John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, the nitroglycerine and the Gatling gun - are placed on a raft shooting down the river while the bad guys are firing on them from the cliffs. There's also an Indian boy.
I've never heard anybody talk about Rooster Cogburn like it's some kind of John Wayne action classic, but I enjoyed it immensely.
And I couldn't help but laugh when Rooster and Katharine were discussing "duty." They both kept saying "duty," and it made me think of a scene from "Wreck-It Ralph" and I was much amused. Did you know that Robert E. Lee's favorite word was "duty"?
It's Sarah Silverman's favorite word too!
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