WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[feaito]

Wow, Fernando---lucky you!!! I envy you being able to chill for 5 days and catch up on film-viewing! I'm doing a little of that this weekend, but 2 days is usually not enough for me to relax and chill out to get some serous viewing in---I did that over our Labor Day weekend though, a few weeks ago!

I must have taped that same day on TCM a few years ago, as I also had all of those LaCava films on tape, which I've transferred to DVD since. They are all great!

Tonight I'll be riveted to my TV set as TCM honors the lovely Fay Wray--KING KONG, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, DIRIGIBLE, BELOW THE SEA, DOCTOR X, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Will be a GREAT night!

And today I got some great DVDs (and books too) that I bought through Amazon.com and were brought to me by my mother-in-law who was visiting my sister-in-law who lives in Raleigh, as well as "Beyond the Rocks" which the latter sent to me as a gift. Among the goodies I bought are the "Loy-Powell Collection", "House of Strangers", "The Big Clock", "Queen Kelly", "The Black Pirate", "Good News", "Satan Met a Lady", the 1931 version of "The Maltese Falcon", "No Man of Her Own", "Les Miserables" (1935 & 1952 versions), "Unfaithfully Yours", "Without Reservations", ...so I have lot of viewing ahead of me!!

And I still have to watch "What Every Woman Knows" from the La Cava tape.

Today I watched the documentary "Astaire & Rogers-Partners in Rhythm" included in their DVD Set. Very good.

The Fay Wray tribute sounds great! "The Most Dangerous Game" is my favorite of that bunch, although they're all good. I haven't seen "Below the Sea" & "Dirigible".

[traceyk]

I saw the Nanny Diaries tonight. What a disappointment. Laura Linney and Scarlett Johannson head an excellent cast with a preposterous script. Johannson's character is nonsensically submissive. Paul Giamatti plays a two-dimensional character as Linney's husband. A nice surprise was the gorgeous Alicia Keyes. I hadn't realized she wanted to act, and this was a nice first step for her. I liked the anthropologist point of view, and the idea of the Mary Poppins allusions, but overall it just didn't gel. Want to see it? Save it for DVD...

I haven't seen the movie, but the book was hilarious. Except for the ending, which was heart-wrenching, the nanny having to leave that darling little boy with those two self-absorbed monsters.

[traceyk]

I have several movies sitting on the DVR and the shelf waiting for a weekend alone in which to watch them. It's ironic--when I have nothing better to do, my family is GONE, but when I'd like to have some time alone, I can't get rid of them! Oh well. Waiting to watch "The Story of Temple Drake," "Girls About Town," "M," "Ecstasy," and "Dementia 13."

[feaito]

Last night I watched a wonderful 1934 MGM film directed by Gregory La Cava titled "What Every Woman Knows" (based upon a play by J.M. Barrie) starring the very gifted theatrical and cinematic actress Helen Hayes. I always thought she was so similar in many aspects to dear Lillian Gish; both were so ladylike, elegant, etc. It did not surprise when I knew that they were best friends and that Ms. Gish left part of her estate to Ms. Hayes.

She plays a Scottish lass who marries a good looking man who's younger than she is (perfectly played by a very youthful Brian Aherne), thus becoming the "brains" behind her politician husband. Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp and David Torrence are fantastic as her siblings and father, respectively. Lucile Watson is superb as a sophisticated Countess. Madge Evans and Henry Stephenson are also in it. An intelligent performance by the First Lady of the American Theater. An entertaining, contemporary story.

It's kind of uncanny that the day before I had watched a MGM movie made 22 years later this one with Brian Aherne (in his 50s) also in the cast ("The Swan").

Today in the morning I watched "Good News". I love the score of this De Sylva, Brown & Henderson Musical and the dances are awesome, especially "The Varsity Drag" finale. IMO June Allyson looks much prettier than Pat Marshall, so for me all the fuzz about the latter (being "la belle" vamp) does not work really. She's cute but nothing more. Mel Torme's voice is such an instrument and Joan McCracken rocks!!!

[Moraldo Rubini]

I haven't seen the movie, but the book was hilarious. Except for the ending, which was heart-wrenching, the nanny having to leave that darling little boy with those two self-absorbed monsters.

I have the book next in my to-read queue, and have been assured by friends that it's better than the movie. I had the opposite experience with last year's The Devil Wears Prada, a book that I thought was poorly written, but transferred to the screen nicely (thank you, Meryl Streep). I'll be interested to see if the book was written from the anthropology point of view. During the movie, the audience is left wondering why the heroine doesn't just find another job. The cast was swell though. Great to see Broadway's Donna Murphy on the screen; and I love Laura Linney (and Scarlett Johansson).

Today in the morning I watched Good News. I love the score of this De Sylva, Brown & Henderson Musical and the dances are awesome, especially "The Varsity Drag" finale. IMO June Allyson looks much prettier than Pat Marshall, so for me all the fuzz about the latter (being "la belle" vamp) does not work really. She's cute but nothing more. Mel Torme's voice is such an instrument and Joan McCracken rocks!!!

Fernando, whenever that movie comes on, I patiently await Joan McCracken's scene. For me, it's all about the energenic "Pass That Peacepipe" number.

[jdb1]

Hello, everyone. Chris/cinemalover has already talked about "Hollywoodland," but I saw it for the first time over the weekend, and I liked it a lot.

Before that I had not really seen much of Adrien Brody, except for "The Village," and based on his rather unprepossessing apperance, I wasn't expecting much, Academy Award notwithstanding. However, I thought he was excellent in this movie, playing a rather seedy private investigator looking into the supposed suicide of George Reeves, TV's Superman. Brody seemed to me to be a sort of combination of John Turturro and Peter Falk, neither of which is a bad thing. Ben Affleck, as Reeves, was a real revelation - he was really good, did a credible turn as Reeves, and was a truly sympathetic, all too human, character.

The movie itself was a bit leisurely in developing the plot, but aside from a rather fanciful side plot, it did a good job of showing that there are sometimes so many different sides to a story that the truth can never really be established. For those of us who were fans of "Superman" in the 1950s, this movie has special resonance. And especially since seeing the story of Reeve's life on "Biography" (apparently he was something of a Golden Boy in his youth, and coulda been a contender, so to speak), "Hollywoodland" seemed very sad.

[Bogie]

Well I recently got a FTA dish (yeah kinda shady I know but oh well) The model I have doesn't have DVR capability tho there's a receiver that does. I'm gonna give the current dish/receiver set up a few months to see if it works out well and see if I can upgrade. My movie watching might be curbed as a result but at least I have greater choices.

I hope tv movies count for you guys as I watched Margin for Murder on FMC today. it's a 1981 pilot for a Mike Hammer series. Obviously it never got turned into a series but it was an interesting take on the character. The movie is based loosely on the book I, The Jury.

The guy who plays Mike Hammer (Kevin Dobson who's best known for being on Knot's Landing) gave an interesting portrayal to say the least. His Hammer had an obvious New York accent and a bit of the Italian accent thing going on as well. Hammer was a young hothead in this movie who was avenging his friend's murder.

Dobson also didn't have quite the physical prescense that I imagine Mike Hammer to have. Now bear in mind that people my age and a little older think of Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer so needless to say Dobson was pretty slender and didn't command attention. At least this movie didn't make Hammer out to be a TOTAL womanizer so that was good.

The movie had a very gritty feel to it, almost too gritty IMO. I think Mike Hammer works best when done in a gritty but glossy style. This picture showed off the seamy underbelly of New York and was helped along by a (rather limp by his standards) score by the great Nelson Riddle.

All in all, I found it to be entertaining. I didn't get bored at any point but I can clearly see why it didn't pass muster and become a full fledged series.

[feaito]

Today in the morning I watched "House of Strangers". It has a very potent Edward G. Robinson performance and Michael Douglas' mother Diana Dill Douglas appears in a small role as G. Robinson's daughter-in-law. I don't know what happened to me with Susan Hayward in this film (I like her), but her character seemed somewhat out of place (IMO) here and her acting a little bit "forced" or maybe not so credible. Richard Conte is good, and so are Esther Minciotti, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and especially Luther Adler. Debra Paget appears in a supporting role. My favorite characterization besides that of E. G. Robinson was Hope Emerson's as his prospective in-law. Priceless. I'd like to see her in "Caged". I've heard it is riveting.

[feaito]

I have just finished watching the first film I chose from the Loy-Powell set, "Love Crazy". What a brilliant comedy. It's just perfect. Everything is in its place. I think this one is more Bill Powell's film than Myrna's. I feel he carries most of the film and what a tremendous comedic performance he gives. Such a tour-de-force! Jack Conway's direction is deft. the MGM factory at its best. And what a supporting cast! Gail Patrick is divinely vivacious and sexy as Powell's old flame (so different from her usually cold, haughty characters like e.g. Cornelia in "My Man Godfrey"). Florence Bates is fantastic as his mother-in-law and Jack Carson just in his element. Donald MacBride, Sig Rumann, Sidney Blackmer and even Elisha Cook Jr. in a small role as an elevator boy. What a joy! Non-stop laughs!! I'll recommend this one to everybody. I think it's a good choice of a film to introduce non-classic film buffs to B&W vintage comedies. Don't you agree?

[Sue Sue Applegate]

It's been a few years since I've seen this one, but I remember it was great fun, and it would be a good choice for a "newbie."

And, as I remember, Powell does carry a bit more of the plot on his well-tailored shoulders. But Myrna was charming in this one, too.

[mrsl]

jdb1:

I'm with you completely on Hollywoodland. I also liked it, and Ben Affleck proved he could be more than a pretty face. I was introduced to Adrien Brody in his oscar winning The Pianist, a gruesome story of a Jew ( a very gifted pianist) hiding from the Germans during WWII. H'wood is his biggest part since that movie I think, but I do think he's a winner. I can't figure why he did that Coke commercial though, unless the scripts weren't coming in just then.

Anne

[Moraldo Rubini]

I'm with you completely on Hollywoodland. I also liked it, and Ben Affleck proved he could be more than a pretty face. I was introduced to Adrien Brody in his oscar winning The Pianist, a gruesome story of a Jew ( a very gifted pianist) hiding from the Germans during WWII. H'wood is his biggest part since that movie I think, but I do think he's a winner. I can't figure why he did that Coke commercial though, unless the scripts weren't coming in just then.

I first noticed Adrien Brody when he was featured in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam. In this he plays a mohawked denizen of New York's underworld. He was great in it, and continues to give us strong performances. Anne, did you know he was only 29 when he won the Oscar for The Pianist!? This guy has a strong career ahead of him...

[Lzcutter]

Moraldo,

I saw Zodiac a few nights ago. Really liked it. Have followed the case since I was a teenager. Thought they did a great job of shooting in the City by the Bay.

Robert Downey, Jr (despite all his problems is a great actor).

Would love to hear your thoughts about the film.

[jdb1]

Moraldo,

I saw Zodiac a few nights ago. Really liked it. Have followed the case since I was a teenager. Thought they did a great job of shooting in the City by the Bay.

Robert Downey, Jr (despite all his problems is a great actor).

Would love to hear your thoughts about the film.

I haven't seen Zodiac yet, Lynn, but I heartily agree with you that Downey is one of our greats. He never ceases to amaze me, and he always rises above his material.

[feaito]

Last night I watched "Number 23". I was kind of sleepy so I can't say if really liked it. The plot was rather complicated, but Carrey's acting is good. That's why I prefer watching films early in the morning (when I can).