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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 28, 2015 14:55:12 GMT -5
I can't remember if I've ever mentioned Ray Milland's Terrible Trilogy. Ray Milland - after a long career that included such spectacular films as The Lost Weekend and Dial M for Murder - made movies way into the 1970s. He was pretty busy at the end of his career, he made some studio films and he made some low-budget genre films.
By the time he was done, he made three genre film that sound like they could be petty bad, and yes the production values vary quite a bit in these movies. But I love them all! Even the worst of them (and it would be hard to pick between the bottom two) is highly entertaining, fun, hilarious in the best way that cult film classics can be a lot of fun.
They are X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes - I haven't seen this since I was a kid. I love it! And some people think it's quite a good movie that doesn't deserve to be categorized with the other two. Some day, I'll see it again. But for now, I'm leaving it in the Terrible Trilogy.
Frogs - I've seen this a few times over the years. The first time I saw it, I felt bad for Ray Milland, relegated to this at the end of his career. But I've seen it a few times since then and it's actually entertaining in spite of itself. There is never a dull moment! My favorite thing about the movie is Joan van Ark's big head! I don't know how I never noticed how big her head is until the second time I saw this movie.
The Thing with Two Heads - This is special. I remember wanting to see it when I was a kid because I saw it in Famous Monsters of Filmland. I was 8. I didn't see it until many many years later. Just WOW! You may have decided not to see it because it looks really awful. And I could hardly argue with somebody telling me it's awful. I would say that it doesn't matter how awful it is. This movie makes its own reality where your bourgeois notion of good and bad just do not apply. THEY DO NOT APPLY!
I have only seen it all the way through one time. And I noticed that it's showing on THIS TV this weekend. Either Friday or Saturday. So I set up the DVR in order to dive back into Ray Milland's Terrible Trilogy. You have been given notice. If you have THIS TV, you have no excuse for missing it except your own crippling Establishment blinders! Don't be a tool!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 28, 2015 19:04:26 GMT -5
I believe X-The Man With X-Ray Eyes is separated from Frogs and The Thing With Two Heads by about a decade and several levels of quality.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 29, 2015 11:39:05 GMT -5
The World According To Garp (1982) Robin Williams, Glenn Close, Mary Beth Hurt, John Lithgow
Adaptation of John Irving's best seller of T.S. Garp's life from a little boy to fatherhood dealing with violence, feminism, literary acclaim, adultry and plain weird stuff.
Enjoyed the hell out of reading this novel when released and was pleased with the filmed version. Still am. I don't want to spoiler anything about all the twists and turns that take place over the course of the story. Except this is the one with John Lithgow as the trans-gendered ex-football player. My favorite William's film that's not a full blown comedy
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 29, 2015 11:54:12 GMT -5
W.C. Fields-6 Short Films
A Criterion one disc collection of the following
The Pool Sharks-1915 The Golf Specialists 1930 The Dentist-1932 The Fatal Glass Of Beer-1933 The Pharmacist-1933 The Barber Shop-1933
Fields was a comic genius and also wrote most of these shorts. The Pool Sharks is an 11 minute silent, the weakest of the bunch, rudimentary slapstick. But the rest are comic gems, especially The Dentist. Elise Cavanna co-stars in a few of these and is an outstanding foil. No one ever was able to duplicate Field's style
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 29, 2015 15:07:27 GMT -5
W.C. Fields-6 Short FilmsA Criterion one disc collection of the following The Pool Sharks-1915 The Golf Specialists 1930 The Dentist-1932 The Fatal Glass Of Beer-1933 The Pharmacist-1933 The Barber Shop-1933 Fields was a comic genius and also wrote most of these shorts. The Pool Sharks is an 11 minute silent, the weakest of the bunch, rudimentary slapstick. But the rest are comic gems, especially The Dentist. Elise Cavanna co-stars in a few of these and is an outstanding foil. No one ever was able to duplicate Field's style The one I love is The Fatal Glass of Beer. Once a year or so, I watch it on YouTube and laugh my butt off. The Dentist is also hilarious but I haven't seen it in a while. Which one has the scene where the ice man is flirting with the daughter so Fields runs him off before he's put the ice in the ice box so Fields has to manage it by himself? Is it The Dentist or The Pharmacist? That's so funny!
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 29, 2015 15:16:05 GMT -5
Has anyone seen Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles? I've seen it on a few movie lists over the last few years and it was on TCM a few nights ago and I put it on the DVR. I'm a little wary. It's over three hours long. It's in French. It sounds avant-garde, but not like El Topo avant-garde.
But after a steady diet of stuff like Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Empire of the Ants and The Swarm, maybe I'm due to get out of my comfort zone a little. And I can always recover with The Thing with Two Heads over the weekend.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 29, 2015 18:43:26 GMT -5
W.C. Fields-6 Short FilmsA Criterion one disc collection of the following The Pool Sharks-1915 The Golf Specialists 1930 The Dentist-1932 The Fatal Glass Of Beer-1933 The Pharmacist-1933 The Barber Shop-1933 Which one has the scene where the ice man is flirting with the daughter so Fields runs him off before he's put the ice in the ice box so Fields has to manage it by himself? Is it The Dentist or The Pharmacist? That's so funny! That would be The Dentist. He places the 50 lb block of ice on the oven and then is surprised how easy it was to put in the icebox
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2015 10:17:10 GMT -5
Lots of good classic scary movies coming on Turner Classics today and tomorrow. Recording The Mummy, Dracula A.D. 1972, The Cat People, Homicidal, and several more!
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Oct 30, 2015 11:11:55 GMT -5
I just got The Brood (1979) a Cronenburg movie DVD in the mail from Netflix yestereday. I think I may watch it tonight after the children go to sleep. However, from the reviews/receptions I've read, in particular Ebert's on wikipedia, I don't think I'll be watching it sober. Not that it expect it to be bad. But when someone says this ....
Roger Ebert called it "a bore" and "disgusting in ways that are not entertaining", and even went as far as asking, "Are there really people who want to see reprehensible trash like this?"
... my eyes and brain may not want to remember.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 30, 2015 12:50:02 GMT -5
Soldier Of Fortune (1955) Clark Gable, Susan Haywood, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry
Once again, like recently viewed Garden Of Evil, Susan Haywood is seeking help for her missing man, this time a hubby (Gene Barry) held prisoner in Red China. She goes to Hong Kong to investigate some leads and convinces shady shipping magnate Clark Gable to assist her. Gary Cooper was busy unfortunately. Gable boards his Sloop John B to rescue Barry even though he's fallen in love with Haywood
2/3 of the movie is spent with Haywood trying to find out where her journalist husband might be and convincing Gable to help her. The actual breakout from a Red Chinese prison is easier than you would think. Michael Rennie plays a British naval cop in a superfluous role. Technicolor. Should have been better. Gable squints throughout the film. Get him some eyewash!
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 30, 2015 13:08:07 GMT -5
I watched Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai de Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles last night. (Well, I kept dozing off, so I stopped it and went to bed and watched the last hour this morning.) It's not for everyone. I rather enjoyed it as a unique cinema experience. I think watching guys like Tarkovsky, Antonioni and Ozu probably helped to prepare me to understand this movie well enough to appreciate and enjoy it. But I hesitate to recommend it. Even viewers who like arty films, foreign films, unique experiences in cinema, etc. will just have to take their chances if they decide to give this a try. Here's a link to the review at my favorite movie site, 1001Plus. He didn't like it too much. I wrote a lengthy response under the name "Tony" to counterbalance SJ's hit piece. Spoilers! I'm not sure whether it matters that much, but I watched it not knowing much about it except that it's infamously slow and a lot of people find it boring.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2015 14:46:48 GMT -5
Lots of good classic scary movies coming on Turner Classics today and tomorrow. Recording The Mummy, Dracula A.D. 1972, The Cat People, Homicidal, and several more! Love The Mummy...Dracula A.D. 1972 is unfortunately not one of the better Hammer Films but definitely worth seeing for Cushing and Lee. Plus Caroline Munroe...yum!!!
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Post by henrybrown on Oct 30, 2015 20:30:24 GMT -5
It's a classic! Guess you know that the director Chantal Akerman died recently. Very sad. It is slow, but that's the whole point. One of the greats - cinema would be a lot poorer without it. I'm really pleased that you review it in any case. Hmmm - haven't got the hang of the quote thang - anyhoo, here's another - The Lobster - nowNeeded a bit of judicious editing, but nice to see a bit of decent dystopia. Not as clever as it tried to be, but still a breath of fresh air. Probably the last film I'll ever see at a cinema (resolution).
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 30, 2015 20:36:30 GMT -5
It's a classic! Guess you know that the director Chantal Akerman died recently. Very sad. It is slow, but that's the whole point. One of the greats - cinema would be a lot poorer without it. I'm really pleased that you review it in any case. I looked her up on Wikipedia about an hour ago to find out a little more about her. It was the first I heard that she had died. It looks like it was just a few weeks ago and many sources are saying she committed suicide. A great loss!
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Post by henrybrown on Oct 30, 2015 20:39:46 GMT -5
I just got The Brood (1979) a Cronenburg movie DVD in the mail from Netflix yestereday. I think I may watch it tonight after the children go to sleep. However, from the reviews/receptions I've read, in particular Ebert's on wikipedia, I don't think I'll be watching it sober. Not that it expect it to be bad. But when someone says this .... Roger Ebert called it "a bore" and "disgusting in ways that are not entertaining", and even went as far as asking, "Are there really people who want to see reprehensible trash like this?" ... my eyes and brain may not want to remember. So you like Bukowski but don't like Cronenburg? Any negative review from Ebert is a positive. Can't believe he really wrote "reprehensible trash" - beyond lazy.
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