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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2021 22:56:32 GMT -5
Watched all previous 24 James Bond films over the past couple weeks.
I really enjoyed the Craig era, which ends with No Time To Die.
I got to attend a private (charity) screening of NTTD and will be going back when it officially opens locally in a couple of days. I've seen the past 4 Craig films at least 3 times each in the cinema.
Expecting this weekend to be a blast, CNBC is reporting it will open to around $100m in the US, which, in this pandemic era, will be amazing.
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Post by berkley on Oct 5, 2021 2:18:14 GMT -5
I've never seen it either, though I do like Cheech and Chong. I have fond memories of me and my school friend listening to their comedy records at his house, which we thought were great, even though we were just 10 or 11 year old kids, so the drug references were totally outside our experience.
Yep, pretty much the same for me: my older brother had (or borrowed) some of their comedy albums on cassette and we'd listen to them. He was also older enough to actually go to the theater and see their movies, and would then tell me all about them. Then later, when I was a teen, my buddies and I also listened to their recorded material on cassette (along with Eddie Murphy's comedy albums) and laughed our a**es off. I've listened some of it more recently (I think a bunch of it is still up on YouTube) and I think a lot of it still holds up pretty well.
For us, this would have been around 1972-73, if I remember - at any rate, a few years before the movies came out. We were so young that obviously much of the innuendo went over our heads, but we had a good laugh anyway and I can still remember routines like "Dave's not here" even though I don't think I've heard them since the 70s. Looking at their discography, I recognise the covers and some of the track titles to the first three albums, so I think it was those we were listening to - and repeatedly!
I don't remember where the records came from, now I think of it: my friend would have been way too young to buy them himself and though he had an older sister, she was only a couple of years older than us - and besides, she was a Donny Osmond fan, much to our 11-year-old boys' scorn! But records used to get passed around our little neighbourhood, so I'm guessing it was something like that, or perhaps one of his grown-up cousins.
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Post by berkley on Oct 5, 2021 2:43:38 GMT -5
I saw at least parts of it and all of Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (on Cinemax, in high school). As I recall, they were staples of the Midnight Movie Circuit, which involved a lot of smoking inside the theater. Also stuff like Flesh Gordon, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Tommy, Heavy Metal, and similar. Their albums and stage stuff were always better, because they were more spontaneous and the live stuff fed off the crowd. The movies tended towards just dumb, with the odd funny bit, here and there.
I did see one of their later movies, Still Smokin': checking the dates, it came out in 1983, so around ten years after my childhood record-listening experiences. I don't remember much about the movie other than that it felt like something they had thrown together at the last minute out of a bunch of unused film clips - there was barely even a pretense of a story.
Looking it up now, it's rated pretty badly, and I can see why. But I was happy enough to watch it - I think at that point there was some nostalgia involved for me, seeing it in my early-20s and remembering the long-lost past - as 10 years felt to me then! But of course the ten years between pre-teen childhood and young adulthood (as it's called these days) are much longer subjectively than the ten years between, say 40 and 50.
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Post by berkley on Oct 25, 2021 0:35:18 GMT -5
At the local theatre this evening I saw La Piscine (The Swimming Pool), a 1969 movie I knew nothing about but is actually quite famous, as it turns out, for several reasons - relaunched Romy Schneider's career; her co-star was Alain Delon, with whom she had had a serious relationship several years previously; it was a box-office success in France; and most importantly, it's simply a great piece of film-making.
Schneider and Delon are incredible - I don't know if there have ever been two more beautiful co-stars in a movie - Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious is the only thing that comes to mind right now - and director Jacques Deray knew what he was dealing with as the camera lingers on them for long moments right from the opening scene. But it also lingers on them for other reasons - to do with the psychological drama that unfolds over the course of the movie.
Anyway, this was really something. The main reason I went to see it was because of Romy Schneider, who I've liked ever since I was a youngster, seeing her on tv in movies like What's New Pussycat? and Good Neighbour Sam, but it turned out to be a great movie all-round - though I don't think it could have been as great without her.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 14, 2021 6:43:43 GMT -5
Finally got around to watching Hud recently...
The initial 15 or so minutes seemed pretty familiar to me - I'm pretty sure I started to watch it on TV a long time ago, maybe when I was a teenager, got bored and switched the channel. Whatever the matter, I really liked it this time around - not really much I can say that hasn't already been said by tons of film critics/historians over the years. It's a damn good movie with top-notch performances by the main cast, esp. Paul Newman as the title character, Melvyn Douglas as his father, and Patricia Neal as the housekeeper, Alma. There's one line delivered by Douglas that really struck me, to the point that I had to replay it several times and then pause it to mull it over: "Little by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire." Also - not to give anything away in case anybody hasn't seen it, but man, that scene with the cattle near the end really stuck with me, too...
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2021 21:23:13 GMT -5
Finally got around to watching Hud recently... The initial 15 or so minutes seemed pretty familiar to me - I'm pretty sure I started to watch it on TV a long time ago, maybe when I was a teenager, got bored and switched the channel. Whatever the matter, I really liked it this time around - not really much I can say that hasn't already been said by tons of film critics/historians over the years. It's a damn good movie with top-notch performances by the main cast, esp. Paul Newman as the title character, Melvyn Douglas as his father, and Patricia Neal as the housekeeper, Alma. There's one line delivered by Douglas that really struck me, to the point that I had to replay it several times and then pause it to mull it over: "Little by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire." Also - not to give anything away in case anybody hasn't seen it, but man, that scene with the cattle near the end really stuck with me, too... Even when I was young, I could always watch a Paul Newman movie. I forget how old I was when I saw Cool Hand Luke, on a Saturday afternoon movie, on local tv. Before my teen years, I know that. I could not understand why he was cutting the heads off of parking meters nor half of what was going on with the prison work or some of their interactions; but, it was so mesmerizing, I didn't care. When I was older, I understood it and serving in the military really kind of cleared up where he was coming from, in that film. he was a guy who didn't like people putting a lot of rules on him, trying to force him to confirm to narrow ideas and the military is that, in spades. Plus, he's a combat veteran and you get the feeling that he saw enough death to not buy into ideas like glory or noble causes. By the time the movie was done, you could see him as a Korean War vet, who saw death and little good came out of it and he had had enough with the society that put him in a situation like that. I really miss the days when you could turn the tv on, on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon and catch a really good movie, out of the blue. The movie channels weren't the same as when you had syndicated movie packages. I discovered so many great little comedies or war pictures or adventure films that way. Stuff like The Great Race or Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines, or movies like The IPCRESS File, Dark of the Sun, or a nice caper, like How To Steal A Million. I saw all of those on weekend movie showings, on local tv.
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Nov 14, 2021 21:41:25 GMT -5
I really miss the days when you could turn the tv on, on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon and catch a really good movie, out of the blue. The movie channels weren't the same as when you had syndicated movie packages. I discovered so many great little comedies or war pictures or adventure films that way. Stuff like The Great Race or Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines, or movies like The IPCRESS File, Dark of the Sun, or a nice caper, like How To Steal A Million. I saw all of those on weekend movie showings, on local tv. Yep, those were great times to stumble across some really cool movies. I greatly enjoy my DVD and Blu-ray collection but there's nothing quite like the happenstance discovery of a film being broadcast in the moment. I recall a particularly memorable afternoon viewing of Leave Her to Heaven. The drowning scene chilled me to the bone (heck, it still does!).
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Post by brutalis on Nov 15, 2021 5:57:46 GMT -5
I really miss the days when you could turn the tv on, on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon and catch a really good movie, out of the blue. The movie channels weren't the same as when you had syndicated movie packages. I discovered so many great little comedies or war pictures or adventure films that way. Stuff like The Great Race or Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines, or movies like The IPCRESS File, Dark of the Sun, or a nice caper, like How To Steal A Million. I saw all of those on weekend movie showings, on local tv. Yep, those were great times to stumble across some really cool movies. I greatly enjoy my DVD and Blu-ray collection but there's nothing quite like the happenstance discovery of a film being broadcast in the moment. I recall a particularly memorable afternoon viewing of Leave Her to Heaven. The drowning scene chilled me to the bone (heck, it still does!). I kind of have this fun of flipping channels and finding a movie not seen with the MoviesTv channel or ThisTv and GritTv on over the air digital. If I don't check their schedule on the internet I find nice surprises even with their heavy repeat rotation. All 3 channels will run repeat showings so they hit in the morning one week, then afternoon another week and primetime then late night/early morning. Good odds of seeing something not seen before. Friday morning at breakfast timeish around 8am MoviesTv ran My Favorite Wife, which I know I had seen in my youth on television since I remembered the swimming pool scene where Cary Grant "finds" Randolph Scott who was stranded on an island with Grant's presumed dead wife for 7 years. Then the week before on a Monday they ran a pair of late morning/early afternoon Michael Caine movies: Get Carter and Deadfall. Grit every weekend is ALL movies so if I'm just flipping channels I can come across a Western (usually seen before cuz I watch so many of them) at any time and choose if to leave it on for watching. Same bit of odd and surreal occurrence when seeing movies in Espanol on the Spanish networks. Will sometimes watch for the curiosity factor.
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 15, 2021 11:52:22 GMT -5
I really miss the days when you could turn the tv on, on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon and catch a really good movie, out of the blue. The movie channels weren't the same as when you had syndicated movie packages. I discovered so many great little comedies or war pictures or adventure films that way. Stuff like The Great Race or Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines, or movies like The IPCRESS File, Dark of the Sun, or a nice caper, like How To Steal A Million. I saw all of those on weekend movie showings, on local tv. Yep, those were great times to stumble across some really cool movies. I greatly enjoy my DVD and Blu-ray collection but there's nothing quite like the happenstance discovery of a film being broadcast in the moment. I recall a particularly memorable afternoon viewing of Leave Her to Heaven. The drowning scene chilled me to the bone (heck, it still does!). Without a doubt one of the most chilling scenes you'll ever see. Pure sadism in stunning near-surrealistic Technicolor.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 16, 2021 13:28:57 GMT -5
Caught two more 'classics' over the weekend...
First up was HBO's 1991 production Cast a Deadly Spell:
Basically, it's hard-boiled detective meets dark magic. It's set in LA in the late 1940s, and magic not only exists but it's used quite commonly by most people for the most mundane things, but there's also practitioners who can cast far more powerful spells. The main chadacter is a private detective named H. Philip Lovecraft (yep) who, ironically I guess, refuses to use magic. He's hired by some snobby rich guy to find his stolen copy of the Necronomicon. Magical, madcap hijinks ensue. I really wanted to like this, and on paper it seems like it should be good. HBO spent a lot of money on the production, and the sets and costumes are outstanding and the special effects are passably good, and I like the idea of mixing a private dick story with the supernatural while maintaining a humorous tone. And the cast is top-notch - Fred Ward in the lead role, Julianne Moore as the female lead, plus David Warner and Clancy Brown as the two main baddies and a really strong supporting cast. But altogether it just doesn't work. It's too bad, because I think with a few tweaks this could have been a really good one.
And in 1994, HBO made a sequel, Witch Hunt:
Here the lead role was recast, so Dennis Hopper plays Lovecraft. The only other returning character, Hypolita Kropotkin, Lovecraft's landlord who's also a witch, was also recast and is played by Sheryl Lee Ralph. In this one, Lovecraft is hired by a big movie star to find evidence of infidelity by her husband, a big-time Hollywood producer. When he gets murdered by magical foul play, all hell breaks loose, as everything happens against the backdrop of an anti-magic campaign by a crusading (and rather sleazy) US senator (played ably enough by Eric Bogosian). I liked this one even less - the first one is at least watchable, but this one barely is. First, Hopper is really miscast in the lead role; he just couldn't convincingly pull off a low-key private detective. Second, it also failed as a sort of political satire of the 1950s anti-communist witch hunts, even though it was trying desperately to be that.
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Post by berkley on Nov 16, 2021 14:48:48 GMT -5
Caught two more 'classics' over the weekend... First up was HBO's 1991 production Cast a Deadly Spell: Basically, it's hard-boiled detective meets dark magic. It's set in LA in the late 1940s, and magic not only exists but it's used quite commonly by most people for the most mundane things, but there's also practitioners who can cast far more powerful spells. The main chadacter is a private detective named H. Philip Lovecraft (yep) who, ironically I guess, refuses to use magic. He's hired by some snobby rich guy to find his stolen copy of the Necronomicon. Magical, madcap hijinks ensue. I really wanted to like this, and on paper it seems like it should be good. HBO spent a lot of money on the production, and the sets and costumes are outstanding and the special effects are passably good, and I like the idea of mixing a private dick story with the supernatural while maintaining a humorous tone. And the cast is top-notch - Fred Ward in the lead role, Julianne Moore as the female lead, plus David Warner and Clancy Brown as the two main baddies and a really strong supporting cast. But altogether it just doesn't work. It's too bad, because I think with a few tweaks this could have been a really good one. And in 1994, HBO made sequel, Witch Hunt: Here the lead role was recast, so Dennis Hopper plays Lovecraft. The only other returning character, Hypolita Kropotkin, Lovecraft's landlord who's also a witch, was also recast and is played by Sheryl Lee Ralph. In this one, Lovecraft is hired by a big movie star to find evidence of infidelity by her husband, a big-time Hollywood producer. When he gets murdered by magical foul play, all hell breaks loose, as everything happens against the backdrop of an anti-magic campaign by a crusading (and rather sleazy) US senator (played ably enough by Eric Bogosian). I liked this one even less - the first one is at least watchable, but this one barely is. First, Hopper is really miscast in the lead role; he just couldn't convincingly pull off a low-key private detective. Second, it also failed as a sort of political satire of the 1950s anti-communist witch hunts, even though it was trying desperately to be that.
First I've heard of either movie. Too bad they didn't work out, but I agree, the idea sounds great and I like the cast. I might have to check it out anyway now, just out of curiosity.
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Post by brutalis on Nov 20, 2021 15:22:32 GMT -5
Enjoyed this morning with watching 1942's You Were Never Lovelier. Fred Astaire, down on his luck struggles in a scheme of romance constructed by a concerned father for his worrisome daughter Rita Hayworth. Eventually love wins out (as it always must in classic musicals) in the ensuing escapades. All delivered with beautiful songs, dances and stunning sets in glorious black and white.
Wonderful dance choreography spotlighting the exuberant chemistry on the floor and screen between Astaire and Hayworth. Such a shame they were only paired together for 2 films.
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Post by Batflunkie on Nov 20, 2021 16:00:20 GMT -5
Re-watched Hackers the other day during our move-in. Very simple espionage story with tons of style that makes it that much more interesting every time I watch it. I think Matthew Lillard as Cereal Killer is probably one of my favorite characters in any film I've seen. His second appearance in the movie(?), after quoting Ozzy Osbourne in what he thought was Woodshop class, he's seen hawking his own compilation tape outside the teen hacker hang-out Cyberdelia that he dubs "The Greatest Zukes Album"
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 5, 2021 8:09:09 GMT -5
Watched The Last Man on Earth last night...
For those who may not know, it's an adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic SF/horror novel I Am Legend. As I understand it, Matheson was in fact initially involved in writing the screenplay, but he was unhappy with the results and asked that a pseudonym be used in the credits. There are some significant differences from the original novel - most notably to me was the fact that the vampires in this one acted more like zombies, instead of the fast-moving, intelligent creatures in the original story. Despite Matheson's misgivings, I rather liked this movie. The photography in particular is quite effective, really conveying the desolation and severe loneliness of the world in which its protagonist (played quite well by Vincent Price) exists. It's slow-moving at places, but all in all it's a solid low-key post-apocalyptic horror story.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 5, 2021 20:12:22 GMT -5
Watched The Last Man on Earth last night... For those who may not know, it's an adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic SF/horror novel I Am Legend. As I understand it, Matheson was in fact initially involved in writing the screenplay, but he was unhappy with the results and asked that a pseudonym be used in the credits. There are some significant differences from the original novel - most notably to me was the fact that the vampires in this one acted more like zombies, instead of the fast-moving, intelligent creatures in the original story. Despite Matheson's misgivings, I rather liked this movie. The photography in particular is quite effective, really conveying the desolation and severe loneliness of the world in which its protagonist (played quite well by Vincent Price) exists. It's slow-moving at places, but all in all it's a solid low-key post-apocalyptic horror story. I've never seen it, nor the Will Smith one; but, I had always heard of this being the superior version, between it and Omega Man (and I like Omega Man, for the most part).
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