I am glad that you enjoyed "This Above All" (1942) Christine.
Yesterday I watched the visually sumptuous and stunning 1949 "Madame Bovary" (1949) directed by Vincente Minnelli. Save for "Duel in the Sun" (1946), Jennifer Jones has never looked more beautiful, alluring, sensuous and ambivalent. She's great as Emma Bovary and in spite of censorship concessions the film adaptation of Flaubert's work is very good. The costumes, the period detail, the cinematography, the camera angles, the B&W photography are all first rate. I think Ms. Jones did her best to capture the title character's essence of a selfish, self-centered woman, who lives a parallel reality; in constant make-believe state of mind. Van Heflin is excellent as usual and Louis Jordan's role reminded me, in a way, of the one he played in "Letter From an Unknown Woman" (1948). The ball sequence is simply one of the most amazing pieces of film in Hollywood story.
WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
My family and I also watched this one over the Thanksgiving holiday. Rather than take in another beloved classic Christmas movie we'd seen 1,000 times already, I let Mom and Dad see this one for the first time and they loved it.movieman1957 wrote:I enjoyed "The Shop Around The Corner" tonight. It's a lovely Lubitsch picture with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. (But then I guess you already know that.)
Actually, we did quite a bit of movie watching over the rainy weekend (noone was getting us out on Black Friday, and it was a mess outside anyway). We saw quite a hodgepodge: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Sword in the Stone, McLintock!, Play Misty for Me, The Man on the Flying Trapeze ('35), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Forbidden Planet, Hold that Ghost (UGH!). What an analyst would make of that selection I'm sure I don't know.
-Stephen
Last edited by srowley75 on December 2nd, 2008, 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
I adored this movie as a kid, and after recently revisiting it was shocked at the number of "adult" jokes that I'd totally missed or blocked out. My favorite scene was when Harry wound up trapped on a ceiling fan.Bogie wrote:Well I watched a couple of movies the other day. I'll go chronological
Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)
This is a John Candy detective comedy film. It's garnered a bad reputation as one of Candy's lesser efforts on film. I'd agree this isn't one of his best works but it's enjoyable if you're in the right mood for it. Candy plays Harry Crumb the last in the line of great detectives in his family. Harry is by far the dumbest and most clumsy of all of them and is pretty much pushed to the side. He gets called in to solve a big kidnapping/ransom case by his boss who is secretly the mastermind of the whole kidnapping. Reason being is that no one expects Harry to be able to solve it.
Hilarity ensues with tons of misunderstandings and Candy dressing up in different disguises. The jokes are pretty juvenile and for about half of the movie I kept thinking this could've been a Closeau movie if the script was adjusted a bit. The film does acquire its own personality though and it's good for a few giggles.
2/5 stars
I liked the Clouseau comparison. I could easily see Peter Sellers doing the scene where Crumb stands directly over the sprinklers on the lawn as they switch on.
I watched "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" and didn't really like it apart from the anti-TV bits. I put more comments under "Frank Tashlin" on the Comedy section.
I finally saw the 1939 "The Four Feathers" and liked it very much. Interestingly, the hero of the film was rather boring, but Ralph Richardson was terrific as his rival. The film looked great, and C. Aubrey Smith sent up the stuffy Colonel Blimp type perfectly. This one lived up to its reputation.
Then I watched "We Were Strangers," a John Huston film from 1949 about revolutionaries in Cuba. It had interesting parts and a lot of sludge. The interesting parts mostly concerned the supporting cast. John Garfield and Jennifer Jones did nothing for me. In some ways, this might have been better if Huston had made it at Warners in the war years with Bogart in the Garfield role. There was a "Casablanca" ish feel to some parts of this, but on the whole this is a minor work by Huston.
I finally saw the 1939 "The Four Feathers" and liked it very much. Interestingly, the hero of the film was rather boring, but Ralph Richardson was terrific as his rival. The film looked great, and C. Aubrey Smith sent up the stuffy Colonel Blimp type perfectly. This one lived up to its reputation.
Then I watched "We Were Strangers," a John Huston film from 1949 about revolutionaries in Cuba. It had interesting parts and a lot of sludge. The interesting parts mostly concerned the supporting cast. John Garfield and Jennifer Jones did nothing for me. In some ways, this might have been better if Huston had made it at Warners in the war years with Bogart in the Garfield role. There was a "Casablanca" ish feel to some parts of this, but on the whole this is a minor work by Huston.
This morning I watched Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) starring Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson. This movie is far from classic but it was an okay time waster. The movie is essentially about two long lost friends who happen to be bikers on the side. They along with a few other of their friends try to save their hangout by robbing a bank truck. Only problem is the bank is corrupt and what they find instead are illegal drugs.
The rest of the movie has Harley and Marlboro trying to get the money, getting sad money and then being ambushed and having to avenge their friends who were killed. The movie is essentially a macho, testosterone filled modern western. It isn't too bad and there's a couple comical moments but overall it's pretty forgettable stuff.
1.5/5 stars
The rest of the movie has Harley and Marlboro trying to get the money, getting sad money and then being ambushed and having to avenge their friends who were killed. The movie is essentially a macho, testosterone filled modern western. It isn't too bad and there's a couple comical moments but overall it's pretty forgettable stuff.
1.5/5 stars
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feaito
Watched a couple B type movies this morning
Rockin' The Rockies (1945) Hmm....long form productions were not up the Stooges alley eh? It was little more then an excuse for the musical acts in the movie. The best bit with the Stooges was probably the whole part where they get the Broadway producer out of his hotel and into their ranch so he can hear and sign a band that they know.
Blazin' the Western Trail (1945) I'd heard of the Durango Kid and so I watched this. It was a bit better then the Stooges movie and had some good scenes but again the music was what carried the film. I really liked the songs sung in this one.
All in all both are about 2 stars at most.
Rockin' The Rockies (1945) Hmm....long form productions were not up the Stooges alley eh? It was little more then an excuse for the musical acts in the movie. The best bit with the Stooges was probably the whole part where they get the Broadway producer out of his hotel and into their ranch so he can hear and sign a band that they know.
Blazin' the Western Trail (1945) I'd heard of the Durango Kid and so I watched this. It was a bit better then the Stooges movie and had some good scenes but again the music was what carried the film. I really liked the songs sung in this one.
All in all both are about 2 stars at most.
I've watched three movies so far this weekend. The new Get Smart and the first two Crime Doctor. I rather enjoyed the Get Smart movie and will have a full review of it up by Tuesday. The Crime Doctor movies were a bit of a snooze to me but man Warner Baxter was in really rough shape when he did those movies. The guy looked like he was at Death's doorstep! I did enjoy seeing a really young Lloyd Bridges in the 2nd movie though.
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feaito
I received as a gift the Two Disc De Luxe DVD Edition of "She" (1935), featuring the restored and complete version of this wonderful adventure film in both B&W and the Colorized version (supervised by Ray Harryhausen) and had a field day! I liked the colorized version, especially since Merian C. Cooper wanted to shoot it originally in Technicolor. I set the TV with the colors quite saturated on purpose, to appreciate the impact better. I watched it twice, with and without the audio commentary (I seldom listen to audio commentaries....in fact, almost never). I enjoyed the extras and bonuses and I liked much more this time Ms. Gahagan's performance as the sad, mysterious, melancholic, embittered, cruel, cold, selfish, doomed Queen; a character with many contradictions. Very interesting an enjoyable. The sets and music are awesome.
Last night I watched "Mamma Mia!" (2008) and I must say that I enjoyed this piece of fluff very much. Besides I like ABBA's music. Meryl Streep is great as usual.
Last night I watched "Mamma Mia!" (2008) and I must say that I enjoyed this piece of fluff very much. Besides I like ABBA's music. Meryl Streep is great as usual.
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Fernando, I love Mamma Mia I saw it twice on the big screen and I have the DVD. My daughter has favorite songs and she insists we watch them with the titles on so we can sing. Her favorite is DANCING QUEEN and MAMMA MIA, you have to imagine it being sung quite badly and very loudly by a six year old.
She also likes to listen to the song that Donna sings to Sophie as she's getting her ready for her wedding. She's made me promise that I'll sing it to her when she gets married. Bless her heart
She also likes to listen to the song that Donna sings to Sophie as she's getting her ready for her wedding. She's made me promise that I'll sing it to her when she gets married. Bless her heart
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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feaito
Over the weekend I picked up the Warner Brothers Film Noir Vol. 4 box set, which includes 10-noirs, all of which are new to me. It’s hard to imagine the other nine holding up to the first one, Act of Violence, which is a spectacular film noir. The first 25-minutes kept me on the edge of my seat, and the rest of the film is satisfying noir at its best. Starring Van Heflin and the incomparable Robert Ryan (at his ominous best), the real surprise for me was Mary Astor, giving an amazing performance as an aging prostitute. An impossible young Janet Leigh is also terrific.
Great film.
Great film.
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS
MichiganJ wrote:
It is a great one. And my #2 in the set. If anything can beat Robert Ryan in a noir, it's Sterling Hayden and Timothy Carey, with a young Charles Bronson, directed by Andre De Toth. Be prepared for the CRIME WAVE.It’s hard to imagine the other nine holding up to the first one, Act of Violence, which is a spectacular film noir. The first 25-minutes kept me on the edge of my seat, and the rest of the film is satisfying noir at its best. Starring Van Heflin and the incomparable Robert Ryan (at his ominous best), the real surprise for me was Mary Astor, giving an amazing performance as an aging prostitute. An impossible young Janet Leigh is also terrific.
Great film.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Not like Abba music! that's my husband and he won't watch the second half of the movie because he is allergic to films with Colin Firth in, can't imagine whyfeaito wrote:"Mamma Mia!" is an uplifting, happy movie and even my wife who cannot stand ABBA's music, ended up watching the second part of the movie.
The second time I watched it in the cinema I took my mother and daughter. Only my mother could miss the inference about Colin Firth's character sexual inclination. My daughter took it all in but askedthe inevitable questions about why Sophie didn't know who her father was and no, I didn't give it to her straight. I played it safe and said that her mother had kissed too many men. I'm sure this little white lie will come back to haunt me
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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feaito
Today I went with my wife to the Projection Room of my Building to show her a very enjoyable, bittersweet contemporary film I'd seen all alone some years ago: "Love Actually" (2003), and in spite that it may seem formulaic at first it's really an engaging movie. She liked it very, very much. I think that this film is quite an achievement, because usually films with huge casts of very well-known actors and with a a variety of nationalities may be really flawed (like "Love in the Time of Cholera" (2007)). There are some very good performances and it has fine vignettes.