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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 25, 2016 17:52:34 GMT -5
Here's some round-up summaries of the notable movies I've seen in the last week or so: Dangerous (1935) - Bette Davis won her first Academy Award for this movie and I've been wanting to see it for awhile. I found it very entertaining. So I guess I'll recommend it to people who like dramas from the 1930s about broken-down, alcoholic actresses who jinxed everybody they ever loved and they get another chance - and screw that up too. It's only eighty minutes! And you get to see Bette Davis recite "Romeo and Juliet" before collapsing in a dive bar. Moontide (1942) - A fun drama that pretends to be film noir for a while before giving up. The selling point is the cast. Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains, Thomas Mitchell. Not only are they all great but the movie gets extra points for being so weird! Everybody seems to have walked in from a different movie. The Lost Weekend (1945) - This movie won the Oscar for Best Film in 1945. Ray Milland won Best Actor. Billy Wilder won Best Director. I saw it 25 years ago and I've been wanting to see it again for years. It may not be the best movie ever made about addiction but I think it's the most entertaining. The scene where Ray Milland gets the DTs is one of the most unnerving sights in 1940s cinema. All that shrieking! Father of the Bride (1950) - This was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture in 1950. I think 1950 is a pretty good year, what with Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Caged and Born Yesterday. So I've been curious about Father of the Bride for a while. It has its moments. Spencer Tracy is really good. But the film tries too hard to make the father look foolish. The daughter is the one that looks bad, kind of snotty and stuck-up and oh so dramatic. Not that Elizabeth Taylor isn't pretty awesome in the role. I wasn't impressed with the script at all. This was nominated for Best Picture but Caged wasn't? Z (1969) - I was in the mood for a political thriller and I was not disappointed by Z at all. I'm usually fairly indifferent to Yves Montand but he's good here and I liked seeing Jean-Louis Trintignant and Irene Papas. It wasn't at all what I expected it to be. It's not quite as good as Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. But what is? Of the films you listed: I don't believe I've seen Dangerous but always willing to watch anything Bette Davis is in Moontide I've seen many years ago but the brain cells that held the memory has all vanished The Lost Weekend was pretty good but I much prefer Jack Lemmon in The Days Of Wine And Roses. His portrayal of an alcoholic proved he was much, much more than a comedic actor . Z as I mentioned previously was great. I forgot, did you get to watch Missing yet? That guy Jack Lemmon snuck into that too
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 25, 2016 18:53:20 GMT -5
Of the films you listed: I don't believe I've seen Dangerous but always willing to watch anything Bette Davis is in Moontide I've seen many years ago but the brain cells that held the memory has all vanished The Lost Weekend was pretty good but I much prefer Jack Lemmon in The Days Of Wine And Roses. His portrayal of an alcoholic proved he was much, much more than a comedic actor . Z as I mentioned previously was great. I forgot, did you get to watch Missing yet? That guy Jack Lemmon snuck into that too I've not yet seen Missing but I'm now on the lookout for the next time it's on cable.
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 25, 2016 20:50:59 GMT -5
I was kind of blown over by Juarez (1939). It was a unique cinema experience, a phrase I use for movies that are one-of-a-kind, movies that give you a feeling that you have never had from any other movie. A few of the movies that work like that for me would include: Tod Browning's Freaks; Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels; John Huston's Beat the Devil; and Jodorowsky's El Topo.
Juarez should just be another Hollywood historical epic. But it's so much more than that. It's not a great movie, but it gets a lot of points for being so entertaining and also for being so WEIRD!
Much of the success resides with the talents gathered by the studio system, especially the actors. Bette Davis is the biggest star in this movie, and she's great as the Empress Carlota, slowly going mad. Claude Rains is very theatrical as Napoleon III, but he's not in it that much. (He's makes the most of his screen time; he's hilarious!) Paul Muni was a big star at the time even if he's kind of neglected today. He plays the title role, Benito Juarez, and he saves Mexico by staring solemnly into the distance a lot. They're all great, in their way, if a bit eccentric at times.
The real star of this movie is Brian Aherne as the Emperor Maximillian. I know his name and I know I've seen him in a few movies, but I can't specifically think of any at the moment. But he is amazing as the Emperor Maximillian, the Hapsburg prince convinced by the French to leave Austria and become the Emperor of Mexico. He's so "golly gee whiz, I'm going to help the Mexican people!" So sincere! So devoted! Such an unwitting tool! You can't help but be sympathetic at the same time you realize that he may be the protagonist but he's not the good guy!
And John Garfield is Porforio Diaz. Yup. John Garfield is Porfirio Diaz. (It's hilarious if you know who Porfirio Diaz is.)
This movie has one other thing going for it in making it so wacky: The bizarre historical events it's based on. In the 1860s, French emperor Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon, decided to take advantage of the US being caught up in a Civil War to exert more influence in the Americas. The French decided to set up an emperor for Mexico, so they looked around Europe to find some spare royalty and they happened upon Maximillian, the brother of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph (the same guy who was emperor when World War I started). The French sponsored a fake plebiscite and convinced Maximillian that the Mexicans wanted him for emperor. So he went to Mexico with his Belgian wife Carlota.
Things went bad. Maximilian found out he wasn't beloved by the people. And the republican government, led by President Benito Juarez, had not been completely destroyed by the French. The American Civil War ended and the US could once again enforce the Monroe Doctrine. The French eventually had to abandon Maximillian in Mexico (he had chances to leave, but he rather naively stayed behind because of his honor). Carlota traveled around Europe looking for help for Maximillian but the pressure drove her mad (She was mad from the 1860s to her death in 1927). Maximillian was eventually put to death for siding with the French against the people of Mexico.
Yeah, the movie couldn't help itself. It had to be crazy because the history is crazy. The whole incident looks to me like history designed by comic book editors, like something Mort Weisinger or Julius Schwartz would come up with.
"Let's see, what's on the cover ... Maximillian has been duped by Napoleon's nephew - also named Napoleon - and is now the Austrian emperor of Mexico. We'll have Benito Juarez himself holding the gun on him during the execution. Plus, Maximillian had a wife who goes insane!"
And when they finish the cover, they give it to Jerry Siegel to write a story about it.
Like I said, it's not a great movie. But I found it fascinating to watch and enjoyed the performances and the crazy historical background. Aherne gets most of the screen time and is quite charming. Claude Rains plays Napoleon III as a scheming clown. Bette Davis really lets go when she portrays Carlota's madness. And Muni - he's kind of transcendent as Juarez. Emotionless, dressed in black, barely moving.
Somehow, it all works. I bet it was irresistible on a big screen in 1939. It's not for everybody, but I recommend it for anybody who likes a unique cinema experience and enjoys 1930s films and stars like Bette Davis and Claude Rains.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 25, 2016 21:12:58 GMT -5
Great write up Hoosier. You put a great deal of effort into it, more than I ever could. I own and have seen Juarez some time ago, before I ever made comments here. Great cast
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 26, 2016 0:22:46 GMT -5
I DVRed The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean a few days ago. And this morning I DVRed McCabe and Mrs. Miller. I've never seen either of them. I'm thinking of having a 1970s Western double feature Saturday night.
I was flipping through the schedule and I saw a listing for The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing on FXM. I had no idea that Hollywood had filmed the Harry Thaw/Stanford White/Evelyn Nesbitt scandal in the mid-1950s! I checked out the cast to see if I was interested - Ray Milland is architect Stanford White. Farley Granger is Harry Thaw. And Evelyn Nesbitt is played by ... Joan Collins!
Geez Louise! I am so there!
I've watched a little bit of it and Ray Milland is good as usual. Joan Collins is very sweet and coquettish. (Elizabeth McGovern played Evelyn Nesbitt in the film Ragtime.) Farley Granger is playing Harry Thaw like a very cranky Victor Mature. It's very amusing.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 26, 2016 1:53:48 GMT -5
God Told Me To (1976) Tony Lo Bianco, Sandy Denny,Sylvia Sydney,A Very Special Surprise Appearance from ? Manhattan. A young man on top of a tall building with a telescopic lense rifle. The sniper kills 14 random people on the street until police detective Lo Bianco climbs up to reach him. "God told me to" says the young man before leaping off the building to his death. Several days later a man randomly stabs people on a crowded street with the same explanation. During the St. Patrick Day's parade, a police officer suddenly pulls out his revolver and shoots into the crowd also claiming God told him to. Writer/Director/Producer Larry Cohen's cult movie has a great premise and first half. To my consternation it veers off into surreal, science fiction territory. Ancient movie actress Sylvia Sydney plays the Virgin Mary. Cohen did not have a permit to shoot the Paddy's Day parade but did it anyway while dodging the cops The surprise guest appearance? Well it's his first role in front of the camera and he played the killer cop in the parade. He would go on to fix Danny DeVito's taxi cabs at the garage and then wrestle women. Tank you veddy much
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 1:12:39 GMT -5
I just watched Young Frankenstein tonight on TCM and it's one of my favorite movies and just amazed of how well this entire cast just played just perfectly each other in comedic delight. And one of the funniest scenes is when Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder did the Abby Normal scene, this really cracks me up!
Just watch this 81 seconds of hilarity for your own viewing pleasure!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 27, 2016 1:19:23 GMT -5
The Little Drummer Girl (1984) Diane Keaton, Klaus Kinski
Adaptation of the John LeCarre novel and directed by George Roy Hill. The Israeli Mosad spy organization recruits a pro-Palestinian American actress to infiltrate a Palestinian organization that delivers home-made bombs to it's targets in West Germany.
Its a pretty good spy story. Keaton and Kinski along with the other principles are quite fine. The character played by Keaton , however seems severely flawed. I don't understand why she would risk her life to help the Israelis according to her sympathies nor why the Israelis would trust her. But if you suspend your disbelief on her motives, its a decent movie on a, what seems to last forever, controversial subject
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 27, 2016 3:19:07 GMT -5
The Scorpion King (2002) Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu
The evil General Memnon with his female sorceress will conquer the world unless The Rock and his camel can stop him
I've seen this sitting in my unwatched DVD pile for many years and wondered why I bought it. Well, lets get this over with tonight and keep a finger on the eject button, But in its dumb action barbarian way its not too bad. Its got a good sense of humor, its not laughably low budget, it moves along quickly, MC Duncan is part of a good support cast and the camel busts a hump. Much better than I thought. Have no desire to see the sequels though unless someone here can convince me otherwise
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Post by berkley on Feb 27, 2016 4:49:54 GMT -5
Never saw the movie but Le Carré's book was excellent.
I liked The Scorpion King too, for what it was. I think Johnson has a lot of charisma and screen presence. And I think Kelly Hu is one of the most beautiful actresses of her time. She looked fantastic in this movie, though it's too bad, being the kind of movie it was, she didn't have much to do other than look fantastic. I wish she got more prominent roles.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 27, 2016 7:34:18 GMT -5
I DVRed The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean a few days ago. And this morning I DVRed McCabe and Mrs. Miller. I've never seen either of them. I'm thinking of having a 1970s Western double feature Saturday night. I was flipping through the schedule and I saw a listing for The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing on FXM. I had no idea that Hollywood had filmed the Harry Thaw/Stanford White/Evelyn Nesbitt scandal in the mid-1950s! I checked out the cast to see if I was interested - Ray Milland is architect Stanford White. Farley Granger is Harry Thaw. And Evelyn Nesbitt is played by ... Joan Collins! Geez Louise! I am so there! I've watched a little bit of it and Ray Milland is good as usual. Joan Collins is very sweet and coquettish. (Elizabeth McGovern played Evelyn Nesbitt in the film Ragtime.) Farley Granger is playing Harry Thaw like a very cranky Victor Mature. It's very amusing. John Huston is my favorite director of all time, there, I've said it Just beware, neither of those movies are westerns. They are set in a "western" context, but are much much mor than that. Roy Bean is one hell of a charming little movie. The Bear!!!
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 27, 2016 7:48:33 GMT -5
God Told Me To (1976) Tony Lo Bianco, Sandy Denny,Sylvia Sydney,A Very Special Surprise Appearance from ? Manhattan. A young man on top of a tall building with a telescopic lense rifle. The sniper kills 14 random people on the street until police detective Lo Bianco climbs up to reach him. "God told me to" says the young man before leaping off the building to his death. Several days later a man randomly stabs people on a crowded street with the same explanation. During the St. Patrick Day's parade, a police officer suddenly pulls out his revolver and shoots into the crowd also claiming God told him to. Writer/Director/Producer Larry Cohen's cult movie has a great premise and first half. To my consternation it veers off into surreal, science fiction territory. Ancient movie actress Sylvia Sydney plays the Virgin Mary. Cohen did not have a permit to shoot the Paddy's Day parade but did it anyway while dodging the cops The surprise guest appearance? Well it's his first role in front of the camera and he played the killer cop in the parade. He would go on to fix Danny DeVito's taxi cabs at the garage and then wrestle women. Tank you veddy much I love that movie to death! It's so wild and crazy! Many great concepts such as genderlessness of god. And when you said "special surprise appearance", I thought you refered to Richard Lynch in his once in a lifetime performance of glowing Jesus! One of those movies that constantly takes unexpected turns.
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 27, 2016 9:34:08 GMT -5
I DVRed The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean a few days ago. And this morning I DVRed McCabe and Mrs. Miller. I've never seen either of them. I'm thinking of having a 1970s Western double feature Saturday night. I was flipping through the schedule and I saw a listing for The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing on FXM. I had no idea that Hollywood had filmed the Harry Thaw/Stanford White/Evelyn Nesbitt scandal in the mid-1950s! I checked out the cast to see if I was interested - Ray Milland is architect Stanford White. Farley Granger is Harry Thaw. And Evelyn Nesbitt is played by ... Joan Collins! Geez Louise! I am so there! I've watched a little bit of it and Ray Milland is good as usual. Joan Collins is very sweet and coquettish. (Elizabeth McGovern played Evelyn Nesbitt in the film Ragtime.) Farley Granger is playing Harry Thaw like a very cranky Victor Mature. It's very amusing. John Huston is my favorite director of all time, there, I've said it Just beware, neither of those movies are westerns. They are set in a "western" context, but are much much mor than that. Roy Bean is one hell of a charming little movie. The Bear!!! John Huston is one of my favorites too. (Although my number one favorite director is Akira Kurosawa.) I didn't even know Huston directed The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean! Key Largo is my favorite John Huston film. The Maltese Falcon. Beat the Devil. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The African Queen. The Mad Who Would Be King. The Asphalt Jungle. The Night of the Iguana. The Misfits. Even when he wasn't quite firing on all cylinders, he made interesting movies. The Dead. Wise Blood. In This Our Life. The Red Badge of Courage. I'm not sure which category Moby Dick is in. I see Reflections of a Golden Eye is on the TCM schedule for March. I've heard it's not good. But I bet it's an interesting failure. The one I really want to see is Fat City. It seems to be very hard to see. It's never on television.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 27, 2016 9:43:38 GMT -5
Why don't you download movies that you can't find on TV? kat.cr/fat-city-1972-720p-brrip-x264-yify-t10113455.htmlNight of the Iguana is my all time favorite movie : each time I see it, I can chose if I want it to be a comedy, a drama, a tragedy, it all works! Tonight, I'm gonna show a girlfriend one of my top 5 : " There Was A Crooked Man" Mankiewicz' late western with Kirk Douglas, Warren Oates, Henry Fonda etc...
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 27, 2016 11:46:11 GMT -5
God Told Me To (1976) Tony Lo Bianco, Sandy Denny,Sylvia Sydney,A Very Special Surprise Appearance from ? I love that movie to death! It's so wild and crazy! Many great concepts such as genderlessness of god. And when you said "special surprise appearance", I thought you refered to Richard Lynch in his once in a lifetime performance of glowing Jesus! One of those movies that constantly takes unexpected turns. I'll admit that Richard Lynch with his Pre-Eraserhead David Lynch style Jesus with a vagina asking Tony Lo Bianco to mate with him was an unexpected turn
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