WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[RedRiver]

Well, they don't make many good movies today. But I scored two of the winners. BLUE JASMINE is not a work of brilliance. A lot of stuff I've seen before. But Woody Allen can make almost anything fascinating. Every word is co carefully chosen. If nothing else, it's fun to listen to his characters talk! I like the way trouble is contagious. When one person is miserable, those around them suffer as well. Whatever the shortcomings of Woody's latest, I was intrigued from start to finish.

FRUITVALE STATION has few, if any, shortcomings. The best movie I've seen in years, it's thoughtful, creative and intense. Exceptionally well written, with seemingly innocent things happening early in the story that acquire greater significance later. Sharply and bluntly edited, there's a sense of desperation that accelerates throughout the movie. A movie for young people, cell phones play a prominent role in the story. This is depicted in an imaginative, and surprisingly visual, fashion. Youthful or not, a good movie is a good movie. This "not so young" viewer was very impressed!

[CineMaven]

Hey Red...I saw those two films myself. Enjoyed 'em both. West Coast people probably have a real bone to pick with Woody for his representation of the west coast. But Cate Blanchett did a helluva job of playing a hot mess of a woman. ( She'd be my pick for the Best Actress Oscar. ) Fruitvale Station was painful and wonderful. Hollywood has a short memory. The movie was released too early in the year for Hollywood to remember it during Oscar-nomination time. I think it should have been nominated for Best Picture. A true painful story, unfolded in an inventive way. A true painful story that sadly continues in America.

[RedRiver]

West Coast people probably have a real bone to pick with Woody for his representation of the west coast

Maybe. I didn't get a negative theme directed at the region. Just those people. That could be anywhere!

Fruitvale Station was painful and wonderful

I can't think of two better words to describe this work.

it should have been nominated for Best Picture

Um...It wasn't? There were ten movies BETTER than this masterpiece? Sure there were!

[CineMaven]

West Coast people probably have a real bone to pick with Woody for his representation of the west coast.

Maybe. I didn't get a negative theme directed at the region. Just those people. That could be anywhere!

I've read that West Coast folks didn't think Woody really captured their persona. It's like he took East Coast-types and transplanted in the land of Sunshine. I kind of know what they mean because the boyfriend of Blanchett's sister in the movie totally belonged in New York's Lower East Side or Little Italy gettin' smacked by Cher ( "Snap out of it!!!" ) Still, I found Blanchett's character worthy of an Oscar.

* * * * * * *

I’m in the midst of watching “THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI” intrigued by King Rat putting it on his list of favorite films for 1947, when my train of thought was broken:



Seeing Angela Lansbury at first have the upper hand only to lose it by falling hopelessly in love, she brought to mind Helen Walker in “Nightmare Alley.” I had a warmly shivering thought. When they’re both in their Blonde Ice mode, I wonder who could out wit whom. In other words, who could scratch whose eyes out in a cat fight?
_____

Uh-oh...I must say that Lansbury is breaking my heart here. She’s let down her defenses, she’s in tears. Sanders is leading her on. Ack!! Katherine Emery reminds me of Mercedes McCambridge. ( Emery was buried alive in "Isle of the Dead." ) Well...as long as Sander leaves Frances Dee alone, everything’ll be a’ight!

[MikeBSG]

Today I watched "Captain from Castile" (1947) directed by Henry King.

It started out with promise, but the longer this one went on, and it went on for two hours and twenty minutes, the less I liked "Captain from Castile."

I found Tyrone Power's character oddly passive in this film. He kept getting wounded and taken out of the action. Also, he was overshadowed by Cortes, which makes sense historically but dramatically is rather flat. I did like Cesar Romero as Cortes, and Jean Peters was wonderful as the heroine, but the film itself seemed oddly without action. People talked of battles, but we never saw them. The movie ends with Cortes' army marching off into battle, but we never see it.

I have to say that of Spanish-themed post-war swashbucklers/adventure films, "The Adventures of Don Juan" beats the heck out of this one.

[RedRiver]

This was my reaction to "Castile" too. Looked forward to it because I like Henry King. Found it less than exciting. I feel the same for THE BLACK SWAN, another King adventure. More than many filmmakers, I have a mixed relationship with Henry King. Love THE GUNFIGHTER, TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH, THE BRAVADOS. Some of the others just don't seem to get off the ground. And I continue to suggest that political prisoners be forced to endure ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND over and over until they tell all they know!

[movieman1957]

Interesting that the three you mention all star Gregory Peck. Maybe the trick was drama more than action. I like "Remember The Day" and "Jesse James" but looking at the rest of his catalog there isn't a great deal of distinction.

He did have a long list as an actor.

[RedRiver]

REMEMBER THE DAY...Sounds vaguely familiar. But I don't think I've seen it. What is that about?

[RedRiver]

Interesting that the three you mention all star Gregory Peck

As it happens, I prefer "Kilimanjaro" to THE SUN ALSO RISES! But I also like JESSE JAMES and WILSON. And Peck is nowhere in sight!

[moira finnie]

King, I thought that The Mark was more disturbing than I expected, even if it was a bit simple-minded. I have the feeling that the filmmakers may have been trying to address child molestation but may have run into more censorship than expected--hence the restraint and rather pat ending. That being said, at least the film conveyed the inner torment of the man played by Stuart Whitman rather well. I agree about Maria Schell's good, mature performance as Whitman's kind co-worker and understanding "sexual liberator."

The Freudian approach of the Irish shrink now seems hopelessly lame, but I kept daydreaming during his scenes that Rod Steiger was trying to channel a combo of Dylan Thomas & Brendan Behan and planning on a one-man show about one of them for the stage in the back of his mind. The Freudian air got really thick when the explanation that Mother Made You What You Are stuff was trotted out, but the scene between Whitman and the maternally seductive landlady (Brenda Banzie) when she awoke him from his nightmare was really squirm-worthy. A more recent film that dealt with this same taboo subject intelligently was very well acted and thought provoking: The Woodman (2004) with Kevin Bacon in the lead. It deserves to be seen since it also portrayed an individual struggling with overwhelming feelings without demonizing the character or making easy excuses for him.

[MikeBSG]

As for Henry King, I really liked "The Black Swan." It had a wittiness about it, particularly the battle of the sexes part, that I didn't really expect to find in a swashbuckler. (Now the first time I tried to watch "The Black Swan," I hated it, because the TV station cut the first fifteen minutes off the movie.)

Also, did Henry King direct "Tol'able David"? That is one great silent film that really packs a punch. Heck, I'd almost call it the "Straw Dogs" of silent film.

I love "The Gunfighter" and "Twelve O'Clock High." And I think "Jesse James" is very good too. But as you said, he seems to have had an uneven career.

[RedRiver]

I don't know about TOL'ABLE DAVID. I'll have to look it up! King Rat, I agree with all you said about WILSON, but I like it anyway. With so much of today's fare concerning zombies, teenagers and Incredible Hulks, I'll watch Woodrow Wilson anytime!

[Rita Hayworth]

MONUMENTS MEN - 2014 Movie


Directed and Starred: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and host of others great actors too and this is very good movie and I thoroughly enjoyed the direction, the drama, and the intensity of this fine movie featuring Men in retrieving stolen artwork and valuables from the Nazis in World War Two. I was very pleased with the accuracy, the retrieval of goods, and most of all the tension that made this movie good. I know that some critics don't care for it and some do. But, as a student of history - I was impressed by the general makeup of this fine movie and I applauded George Clooney's efforts to make it very realistic as possible and have many fine human elements built into it.

I loved the exchange of Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett in this movie and there enduring quest for the safe arrival of stolen goods. It was heartwarming, sincere, and very much full of realism and genuine concerns of such artifacts to be returned to its rightful owners.

I just wanted to share what I just saw today and I for one would recommend this movie to anyone who is a lover of World War Two.