WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

I just watched the 1982 "Evil Under the Sun," which starred Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.

It was fun. The movie had a soundtrack adapted from a number of Cole Porter songs that really worked quite well. What surprised me was that this film went for a far more humorous tone than the David Suchet Poirot adaptations, with a lot of catty banter between Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith, among others.

However, what really struck me was this one scene in which a father was playing the piano ("You're the Top") with his daughter. Diana Rigg came over, chased the girl away and then sang a torchy version of "You're the Top" that illuminated all the tensions between the people in the room. It reminded me very much of the Ivor Norvello performance scene in Altman's "Gosford Park." I never expected this film to remind me of Altman.
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

Yesterday, I saw on a big screen Monsieur Ripois (The Knave of Hearts, 1953) a brilliant picture by René Clément with Gérard Philipe, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson, Natasha Parry. This superb picture was shot entirely in London, sometimes with a hidden camera.
André Ripois (G. Philipe) is a Frenchman working in a menial job in London. He is dreaming of a better life and seduces his boss (M. Johnston) who takes him as her lover. Rapidly fed up with her, he leaves her. Then he meets sweet girlish Nora (J. Greenwood) whom he seduces and drops like a stone. Life becomes more promising when he meets the wealthy Catherine (Valerie Hobson)....
Ripois is totally unscrupulous and amoral. Philipe gives a superb performance in the title role. He is a total anti-hero, but nevertheless lovable because of his charm and humour. A string of brilliant English actresses share credits and show their skills in French. The dialogue is absolutely sparkling. I had forgotten how good it was! :lol: The use of locations is brilliant. Alas, this fabulous picture is not on DVD and hasn't been shown in cinemas or on TV for years.... :( I am so glad I was able to see it again at the Cinémathèque. :D Let's hope that whatever problem prevents it from being put on DVD will be lifted at some point! :wink:
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inglis
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a bond moment

Post by inglis »

We rented 88 Minutes the other night and I am a Pachino fan but I felt it was a little long in the tooth .Good sub plots but I just felt the magic was missing abit.I sure liked the porshe he drove though.I would like to have a spin in one of those. Which brings me to a story of a great ride in the country years ago when I was in England .My cousin who had a beautiful BMW asked me if I would like to go for a drive .I was of course delighted as I had never been in a sports car like that before . So off we went and it was great .I felt like I was in Bond scene .If any of you do rent 88 Minutes it does have you asking questions and it does have some good suspense but I felt it dragged abit.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

I watched "The Browning Version" with Michael Redgrave. It's a sad story of a sad man. Caught in a situation that seems beyond his ability to do anything about.

He is a teacher in a boy's school for 18 years. No one likes him. His wife has an ongoing affair with another teacher. All of it beyond him to change. His greatest ally, it turns out, is his wife's lover. Not much story as it takes place over a short time but doesn't drag in its roughly 90 minute running time.

The cast is ok. Everything is done in a very polite way, maybe too much so. Redgrave gives a quiet reading to his part. THe only drawback was that he sounds so much like Mr. Peabody from the "Rocky & Bullwinkle Show" that it was distracting but that is completely my fault.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

I took my children to see "Igor" (the new animated film) the other night, and all of us loved it.

The movie is about a mad scientist's hunchbacked assistant, Igor, who wants to be a mad scientist in his own right. He ends up creating a monster who wants to be an actress and play the lead role in "Annie."

It is very funny. The film looks very good. Clearly, they thought about "The Nightmare Before Christmas," but they also made me think of German expressionism. One of the villains, Dr. Schadenfreude, looked a bit like the master of "Metropolis."
feaito

Post by feaito »

Today I watched two contemporary films:

- The strong Argentinian drama "XXY" (2007), about the coming of age of the hermaphrodite/intersexual offspring of a middleaged couple, who up to then has been raised as a girl.

- The independent American film "The Station Agent" (2003). An excellent film with very solid performances by Peter Dinklage (who already had caught my attention favorably both in "Death at a Funeral" (2007)and "Penelope" (2006), Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale. An endearing, sensitive film; full of truthness. It touched me quite deeply.
klondike

Post by klondike »

MikeBSG wrote: One of the villains, Dr. Schadenfreude, looked a bit like the master of "Metropolis."
"Dr. Schadenfreude" . . hilarious! :lol:
Are there other character names that are puns?
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inglis
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Sunshine

Post by inglis »

We just rented Little Miss Sunshine on Saturday night .We just howled.Great movie I loved Alan Arkin in it . Iam surprised it took me this long to see it .Larry had given a review of it some time ago and he was bang on about it .
feaito

Post by feaito »

Today I watched two films starring Mark Wahlberg: "The Happening" (2008) and "Boogie Nights" (1997). The former wasn't as bad as I had read. The central idea of the plot is interesting and it certainly has its moments, although there are some quite bad performances, especially Zooey Deschanel, whom I do not know if she simply was miscast or else, because I've seen her perform much better in other films. The latter, I had seen many years ago and although it's a good film, it's not the kind of film I'll revisit again: too depressive and sad.

After these dramas I needed a vintage comedy, so I played Mae West's "Goin' To Town" (1935), which I thought I hadn't seen before, but after a while I realized I had. Nonetheless I laughed a lot and had a fine time re-watching Mae do her thing. Even in her post-code films, she's priceless! I love that lady!
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traceyk
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Post by traceyk »

Saw two modern movies recently-- The Other Bolelyn Girl and The Women. Natalie Portman gives a very intense performance (and surprisingly good) as Anne Bolelyn in a movie that's basically about sex. And power. And really nice dresses. Not sure how historically accurate it was--but it was pretty entertaining, if shallow. They could have done much more with it than they did, I think. One thing that made me go "OY", though-were the Bolelyn girls really that young? I had gotten the impression that they were both late teens/early 20's during this timeframe, but the movie begins with Mary only 13 and Anne 15. I realize that women were often married off at very young ages, but to push your 14-year-old niece/daughter into bed with a much older man to advance your family fortunes seems pretty cold to me.

The Women, surprisingly, was not as bad as I'd been led to believe. It was a much nicer movie than the original--the only truly b-tchy character in this version is Crystal Allen. Taken as a movie about rich women and their friendships, it's not bad, I guess. Some pretty good performances, especially in the supporting roles (Cloris Leachman, Debbi Mazar). Lacks the sting of the original, though. Where the original was a slap in the face to rich women with empty lives, this version was sort of a pat on the back to rich women with empty lives. And what was the point of the black lesbian character?
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. "~~Wilde
MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

Yesterday, I watched "The Enforcer" (1951) on DVD. I had heard mixed things about it, but I ended up liking it a lot. Bogart wasn't really central to my enjoyment of the film. I really liked the atmosphere of sweaty paranoia the film built up with its many flashbacks. (It was a kick seeing Zero Mostel and Bogie in the same scene. That was something I couldn't imagine on my own.) I guess the credit for this one should go to Raoul Walsh, who supposedly did an uncredited salvage job.

Today I watched Robert Altman's "Kansas City." It was better than I had heard, but it is far from being my favorite Altman. Maybe if I liked jazz more, or if there were more subplots. It seemed like the movie's plot didn't completely fill its running time, and that a lot of characters were left hanging. I love Altman's "Thieves Like Us," and this one didn't come close. Still, it wasn't bad. (I never could finish "Vicent and Theo.")
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knitwit45
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Post by knitwit45 »

Mike, was "Kansas City" about a wealthy woman who is kidnapped, and found alive and unhurt? She was actually found by GANGSTERS, who had been sent out to look for her by the crime boss of KC.

I never saw the movie, but a friend loaned me a DVD of "Nelly Don, A Stitch In Time". A true story about one of the women's clothing industry leaders. She was a fascinating woman, so far ahead of her time in caring about her employees. She had a clinic, a daycare center, a (free) snack cart that went down the lines. All this in the late 20's thru the WWII years. Her story is an incredible one, I will try to post the link to her website.

http://www.nellydon.com
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The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
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MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

"Kansas City" might have been inspired by the story you mention, but I think Altman changed things around.

The kidnapped woman is the wife of a big Democrat politician, and while there is an attempt by gangsters to free her, the movie doesn't really do much with that. The woman ends up freeing herself.

"Kansas City" isn't a bad movie, but I just felt there was more that could have been done with it. On the other hand, it certainly beat the pants off "The Cotton Club" when it comes to a mix of gangster movie and jazz movie.

Today I watched "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" on DVD. I really enjoyed this one. It felt different from most other Westerns I've seen in that director John Huston seemed to be striving for a "tall tale" style. Paul Newman was terrific as Bean, and the supporting cast had a lot of good players in it. Ava Gardner showed up at the end as Lily Langtry.
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

Yesterday I watched Sidney Franklin's The Dark Angel (1935) with Merle Oberon, Fredric March & Herbert Marshall.
This Goldwyn production happens to be the remake of a silent film called The Dark Angel (1925) by George Fitzmaurice with Vilma Banky & Ronald Colman. Alas, thanks to evil Frances Goldwyn, we'll never know what it looks like as it was destroyed in the 70s... :cry: (but all the vintage reviews I read were ecstatic!)
This 1935 version looks extremely beautiful thanks to a top cinematographer: Gregg Toland. We'll never know if he was inspired by the original cinematography of the silent version which was by his mentor George Barnes. But it's quite possible. This melodrama contains quite a lot of situations already used in various others: the lovers separated by WWI and the return of the hero who has gone blind. The acting throughout is top-notch with the two Britishers Marshall & Oberon plus a very effective March. It's quite funny that Franklin who made some stunning silent comedies became specialised in melodramas during the talkie period! His handling of the story is sweet but not saccharine. I somehow prefered this film to Smilin' Through (1932) also by Franklin which has a lot in common. Probably because I prefer Oberon's acting to Shearer's! A very nice melodrama. :)
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

This morning I watched Godard's "A Woman Is A Woman." I must have missed something because I didn't like it much. There were some fun side bits in it but I found it strange. (Of course, that is me trying to understand a French comedy.) The music was especially annoying. Not that it was all bad but it was recorded rather loudly and would cut in and out for the dialogue. I know that was by design but I found it distracting.

The storyline is a good enough basis but the whole relationship between the two main characters and the way they deal with her desire for a baby is odd. Her job is odd. She is a tripper who goes to work, does one dance and goes home. Nice work if you can get it.

A friend loaned me two other Godard films so I'll give it another try.

Someone tell me what I am missing.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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