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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 1, 2017 16:36:51 GMT -5
I saw a lot of films from the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" list in October. This doesn't include a few movies from the List that I've seen before, like Dracula and Eyes Without a Face. Daybreak (le jour se leve) (1939) - Jean Gabin is a guy who killed his rival and then sits in his apartment and waits for the gendarmes, reminiscing about the events that led up to the murder. Fires Were Started (1943) - An interesting (and short) wartime documentary about the firefighters who rode around London, putting out fires caused by Nazi bombs during the Blitz. Force of Evil (1948) - John Garfield is a crooked lawyer running a huge scam on the New York numbers racket. Marie Windsor makes the most of her small part (as always) and Thomas Gomez does an awesome job as Garfield's brother. High Society (1956) - I liked this a lot better than I thought I would. Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly are wonderful! And Sinatra has a great number with Celeste Holm about how much it must suck to be rich. Mondo Cane (1962) - I still can't get over the fish living in trees! But the most stunning thing about this movie is not skinned dogs in pots. It's the blatant racism and sexism in the narration. Black God, White Devil (1964) - Brazilian movies are awesome! I think. I wasn't always certain what was going on. The Spider's Stratagem (1970) - The List has a lot of the films of Bernardo Bertolucci. The Heartbreak Kid (1972) - Charles Grodin and Cybil Sheppard rock this film. Directed by Elaine May. Nashville (1975) - I've been wanting to see this for decades, quite independently of the List. It was worth the wait. All the star wrote their own country songs, so there's a bit of a weird This Is Spinal Tap or A Mighty Wind vibe to some of the performances. Henry Gibson's hyper-nationalist song about America's awesomeness is genius in its lameness. It sounds like a real country song that I would hear on the radio that would make me roll my eyes. Grease (1978) - I've seen parts of this, going all the way back to the late 1970s when it was on cable all the time. And I still have a huge crush on Didi Conn! But I'd never seen the whole thing until a few weeks ago. It's pretty awesome. And now I have a new crush on Dinah Manoff! Bull Durham (1988) - I should have seen this a long time ago! I loved it that Susan Sarandon was listening to Edith Piaf. The Asthenic Syndrome (1989) - A Russian film about ... I don't know exactly. If I was going to single out one movie every month as being the least likely to interest most film buffs, I would pick this one for October. I liked it though. I think I've just seen so many experimental, avant-garde films at this point that I've learned to appreciate them a lot more than I used to. Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992) - The editors of the List sure do love documentaries about Aileen Wuronos. The Pillow Book (1996) - The greatest movie ever made about how to get revenge on the depraved publisher who ruined your father. Write books on peoples' naked bodies and have them go to his house until he kills himself. So weird! Peter Greenaway is a FREAK! Good Bye Lenin! (2003) - A German comedy about the fall of Communism in East Berlin. It stars Daniel Bruhl, the guy who killed all the Allied soldiers from the church tower in the movie-within-the-movie in Inglourious Basterds. Saw Bull Durham in theaters a couple of times; loved it more the second. then, I ended up stationed in Charleston, SC and found myself, soon after, driving through the real Durham, NC, right past the field. The dvd has a fun commentary track, with Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner. Robbins, early on, during the lockerroom sex scene, with Millie, says they don't show the film to his kids, as he didn't want to have to explain why daddy is with another woman. Later, we see the sex scenes with Costner and Susan Sarandon and Robbins gets uncomfortably quiet and Costner tries to cover for it, rather awkwardly. Only in Hollywood!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 9:00:03 GMT -5
I watched After the Thin Man (1936) & Vivacious Lady (1938) late last night on TCM and I had to take a nap so that I just couldn't use my DVR because I have movies that I haven't watched yet. It was fun watching these two movies and I just loved the witty exchange of William Powell and Myrna Loy and that cute lovable dog Asta. James Stewart is in both movies and he was great in Vivacious Lady with Ginger Rogers. She sure looks so lovely and beautiful in that gown that she wore in this movie. She's one of the loveliest lady ever grace on the silver screen. Ginger Rogers in Vivacious Lady
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Post by Jesse on Nov 2, 2017 13:50:04 GMT -5
I binged the Thin Man sequels on TCM in the last few years and think they are all pretty interesting. William Powell and Myrna Loy do such a great job as the characters Nick and Nora Charles. They really feel like an endearing couple that genuinely love each other despite their quirks. Plus they have a cute dog and solve murder mysteries. What's not to like?
Not a movie but a TV show has anyone checked out the Thin Man TV series than ran for 2 season in the late 50s?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 14:16:21 GMT -5
I binged the Thin Man sequels on TCM in the last few years and think they are all pretty interesting. William Powell and Myrna Loy do such a great job as the characters Nick and Nora Charles. They really feel like an endearing couple that genuinely love each other despite their quirks. Plus they have a cute dog and solve murder mysteries. What's not to like? Not a movie but a TV show has anyone checked out the Thin Man TV series than ran for 2 season in the late 50s? I've did not know that there was a Thin Man TV show in the 50's ... was it any good?
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Post by Jesse on Nov 2, 2017 14:47:55 GMT -5
@mechagodzilla I have no idea I haven't had a chance to watch it but I noticed one of the retro channels was playing the series and thought I'd ask about it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 15:57:07 GMT -5
@mechagodzilla I have no idea I haven't had a chance to watch it but I noticed one of the retro channels was playing the series and thought I'd ask about it. Understood and thanks.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 3, 2017 11:25:17 GMT -5
TCM showed a 1938 film called Dramatic School and I saw the cast list and I had to see it! In the middle of the photo above, that's Paulette Goddard, Lana Turner and Luise Rainer. And I think that's Ann Rutherford on the far right. Also in this film, Gale Sondergard, Henry Stephenson and Melville Cooper. And Margaret Dumont is one of the teachers at the school! And also Snively Whiplash himself - Hans Conried - is one of the male students! The film is about a school for acting in Paris, hence the title, but it could just as well be called "Dramatic School because everyone and everything is so dramatic! It was a lot of fun and easy to take because it's only about 80 minutes long and jam-packed with a lot of actors I love. One of the highlights is seeing Luise Rainer in class performing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with a male student. And the big finale is Luise Rainer getting her big break in a play about Joan of Arc and you get to see her running around on stage dressed like Joan of Arc and looking like Hamlet. Your mileage may vary but I'm a sucker for stuff like this. If you ever wonder why I watch so many random movies from the 1930s, it's because I'm hoping to come across something as wonderful as Dramatic School.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2017 12:12:36 GMT -5
I love Dramatic School for the nostalgic reasons and the cast is simply divine and it's a fun drama and excitement of seeing Luise Rainer is a role that made for her. It's a spirited movie with flair for the dramatic and seeing Paulette Goddard and Lana Turner made me smile seeing them in their young age. I loved Margaret Dumont and she was wonderful. I haven't seen it yet and I do remembered it vividly and planning on watching tomorrow Hoosier X off of my DVR.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 3, 2017 12:21:58 GMT -5
I'm very happy that, in November, TCM is showing three movies from the "1001 Movies You Must See Before Die" list that I haven't seen.
Salt of the Earth (1954) Rocco and his Brothers (1960) Marketa Lazarov (1967)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2017 11:44:00 GMT -5
I watched the Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams off of my DVR today and I was recording yesterday and just finished watching this delightfully colorful and entertaining movie. I seen this movie so many times and never, ever gotten tired of it.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 4, 2017 13:23:37 GMT -5
I watched the Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams off of my DVR today and I was recording yesterday and just finished watching this delightfully colorful and entertaining movie. I seen this movie so many times and never, ever gotten tired of it. Million Dollar Mermaid is one of my favorites!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2017 16:21:18 GMT -5
I just checked and it's not there on my TCM on Demand yet, but I have a friend who is a Tuesday Weld fan and he might loan me his DVD and I've haven't heard from him - via e-mail yet. Thanks for the tip. Sometimes, if a movie's going to appear there, it's usually not the next day, but two days after, so check again tomorrow, cc. It's not on my TCM on DEMAND (Pretty Poison) and I have been checking everyday since October 28th. My friend contacted me and gave it away to another friend and I'm out of luck.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2017 10:05:31 GMT -5
On Decades Cable Channel
The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979)
West and Gordon brought out of retirement to face Doctor Miguelito Loveless, Jr. (Paul Williams) and his Alan & Sonia ($600 Bionic Man and Bionic Woman) in a pretty darn good fun movie to watch. It was action-filled and it has Harry (Dragnet, MASH) Morgan, Jeff (Black Sheep Squadron) MacKay, Rene Auberjonois, Trisha Noble, and Wilford Brimley as President Grover Cleveland in a setting back in 1885. I haven't seen this movie since 1985 and it was a blast seeing after all these years. Brought lots of memories and Paul Williams was excellent as the son of Dr. (Michael Dunn) Loveless and that scene of where he took them to their gravesite and that massive headstone marked Loveless looking down on them was priceless. Everyone in that movie was good to excellent in this rousing Western/Drama/Secret Agent movie that has everything that made Wild, Wild West great in the 60's.
Grade B+
More Wild Wild West (1980)
A year later, they came back to another TV Movie and this time they faced Albert Paradine II played by Jonathan Winters who can make himself invisible in his attempt to take over the world. This movie is even more goofier than the one came out a year before and I felt it's was a little more lackluster and the talents of Rene Auberjonois, Victor Buono, and Harry Morgan did not live up to the original. After this movie was made, there were talks about making one more in 1981 and unfortunately Ross Martin died on July 3rd, 1981 and Robert Conrad told the producers of the proposed 3rd movie that I just can't do another one with Ross Martin. So, that project died on the spot. What I just told you is pure speculation but someone told me so. Randi and Candi Brough were the eye candy on this movie assisting Albert (Jonathan Winters) Paradine II and they didn't do much in terms of speaking. I was very disappointed in Victor Buono and he didn't take it very seriously at all. It was basically all West, Gordon, and Paradine Ii movie and they stole the movie. That's alone did not hold my interest and I was kind of lukewarm about it after watching for the first time since 1985 of where my local channel decided to do a Wild Wild West Marathon.
Grade D
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 6, 2017 17:33:05 GMT -5
I'm mentioning this for the Shakespeare fans, notably shaxper and Prince Hal, but it's also a very interesting movie. If I Were You (2012) - Marcia Gay Harden finds out her husband is cheating and then, mostly accidentally, makes the acquaintance of and becomes friends with her husband's girlfriend. The girlfriend is Leonor Watling, who Almodovar fans will remember from Talk to Her. Watling is pretty funny in If I Were You! And she doesn't know Marcia Gay Harden is her boyfriend's wife. Harden and Watling decide to make each other's decisions for them. And later in the film, Harden forces Watling - an aspiring actress - to try out for a production of "King Lear." The movie is already pretty damn good anyway, but the King Lear" material sort of lifts it up to another level. Harden ends up getting the part of Lear and the director likes the idea of a female Lear and a modern corporate setting for the play. And Leonor Watling gets the part of the Fool. My favorite scenes are Watling and Harden working together and Watling - whose character is a bit of a ding-dong - trying to make head or tail of the Fool's dialogue. And then the last few minutes of the movie is select scenes from this odd production of "King Lear." I'm really not sure if this film will work for people who don't like Shakespeare. But I liked it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2017 11:42:27 GMT -5
I just watched Supercop starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh and it's a blast watching it this morning. I just loved the action at the end of the movie with the train and helicopter. Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan are incredible together and they worked together in unison and this movie one of my favorites along with Mr. Nice Guy and the Drunken Master.
I'm a huge Jackie Chan Fan and I'm glad that I was able to watch this movie this morning.
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