I Just Watched...

[CinemaInternational]

Paper Lion (1968) TCM- 6/10

Writer George Plimpton (Alan Alda) wants to write about football by trying out as quarterback in the Detroit Lions training camp.

I had seen this before, but not in many years. It was a fairly entertaining film though it helps if you are a football fan (which I am, Go Giants!) Alda gives a good performance and his interactions with the real life players are some of the best moments. The final scene where Plimpton gets to run a few plays in a pre season game goes on a bit long but when Plimpton joins in, it is amusing and pretty realistic.

Some interesting trivia on this- In an interview many years later, Alda said he learned to throw the ball 50 yards and connect with a receiver, however he could only do it once and would spend all night with his arm being iced. Alda become friends with Alex Karras, one of the real life Detroit Lions in the film. Karras would later reunite with Alda with a guest role on M*A*S*H.
As for the real life Plimpton, he would later do a TV special where he played quarterback for the Baltimore Colts in a pre season game for a couple of plays. The opponent was the Detroit Lions and Alex Karras was playing defense. In one play Karras smacked Plimpton on the side of his helmet. He was penalized 15 yards so Plimpton was actually able to gain yardage for the only time.
EDIT- I just watched that Plimpton special on Youtube again and my memory was off (52 years since I have seen it!) it was another player who committed the foul, not Karras.

This reminds me, I saw all three of the three latter-day football films that were on the other night (I had already seen Knute and Jim Thorpe). I thought this one, Paper Lion, was the most enjoyable. North Dallas Forty went off the boil the longer it went on, although Nolte was good. Semi-Tough veered around too much, with too much blah satire of 70s New Age movements, but the charm of Reynolds, Clayburgh, Kristofferson, and Preston made up for some of its shortfalls.

[TikiSoo]

I just watched WINTER KILLS '79 after DetectiveJim reviewed it some pages back:

"A black comedy/thriller obviously based on the JFK assassination with different names. There is a once in a lifetime cast- John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Ralph Meeker, Dorothy Malone, Toshiro Mifune, Richard Boone, Sterling Hayden and an unbilled cameo by Elizabeth Taylor."

Wow what a cast! Everyone was hilarious & loony except for Jeff Bridges' charactor as Jim had said earlier. I found the plot little muddled with "twists & turns" but it mattered not. Each scene was funny & entertaining enough to carry my interest.

One funny bit was the sex scene between Bridges & the "beautiful foreign spy". I usually dislike sex scenes but this one actually made me LOL: Bridges is trying to be emotional & romantic while the girl is loud & screaming (obviously faking)
He keeps telling her to "quiet down, shhhh!" but she doesn't stop. Then he throws a pillow over her face! He removes it for a second and she's still yelling. Rather than being horrified at possible asphyxiation, it's hilarious!

I also really liked Tony Perkins' little cameo bit. I never would have thought he'd be so good in comedy, but his performance was a standout.

I love the absurdness of black comedies & this one did not disappoint. But I do see the parallels with the Kennedy assassination and agree with Jim that audiences of the day would reject this movie.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

I love the absurdness of black comedies & this one did not disappoint. But I do see the parallels with the Kennedy assassination and agree with Jim that audiences of the day would reject this movie.

Glad you liked it. I think this may be one of those "love it or hate it" type movies so I was not sure how others would react to it.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

I Could Go On Singing (1963) TCM On Demand-5/10

A famous singer (Judy Garland) performing in London meets up with an old lover (Dirk Bogarde).

A first time viewing for me and while it is not great, Garland gives an excellent performance, especially in the musical moments, she belts out a heart tugging version of "By Myself". The story veers into soap opera territory with the plot about an illegitimate child. Some good but brief supporting performances by Jack Klugman as Garland's manager and Aline MacMahon as her loyal dresser. MacMahon, 30 years after Gold diggers Of 1933 can still toss off a good wisecrack.

This would be Garland's final film and it is OK send off for her. In 1967, she was supposed to appear in Valley Of The Dolls in the part later played by Susan Hayward. I'm glad now she did not do it since the movie was trashy and the role would have be humiliating for her.

[Fedya]

This would be Garland's final film and it is OK send off for her. In 1967, she was supposed to appear in Valley Of The Dolls in the part later played by Susan Hayward. I'm glad now she did not do it since the movie was trashy and the role would have be humiliating for her.

I think the Helen Lawson role also calls for an actress who can do the potboiler stuff well. Hayward definitely could do that; I'm not so certain about Judy Garland.

[txfilmfan]

This would be Garland's final film and it is OK send off for her. In 1967, she was supposed to appear in Valley Of The Dolls in the part later played by Susan Hayward. I'm glad now she did not do it since the movie was trashy and the role would have be humiliating for her.

I think the Helen Lawson role also calls for an actress who can do the potboiler stuff well. Hayward definitely could do that; I'm not so certain about Judy Garland.

But Fedya, Judy could have been the one to introduce "I Plant My Own Tree"! Oh, yeah, maybe not the way we want to remember her.

Judy probably would've told the director to get rid of those damned cheap plastic amoeba mobile thingies. Our neighbor had a smaller version of those hanging in their living room back in the day...

[jamesjazzguitar]

I think the Helen Lawson role also calls for an actress who can do the potboiler stuff well. Hayward definitely could do that; I'm not so certain about Judy Garland.

But Fedya, Judy could have been the one to introduce "I Plant My Own Tree"! Oh, yeah, maybe not the way we want to remember her.

Judy probably would've told the director to get rid of those damned cheap plastic amoeba mobile thingies. Our neighbor had a smaller version of those hanging in their living room back in the day...

If Garland tried to do that at this stage of her career she would have been fired.

[txfilmfan]

But Fedya, Judy could have been the one to introduce "I Plant My Own Tree"! Oh, yeah, maybe not the way we want to remember her.

Judy probably would've told the director to get rid of those damned cheap plastic amoeba mobile thingies. Our neighbor had a smaller version of those hanging in their living room back in the day...

If Garland tried to do that at this stage of her career she would have been fired.

Well, she was fired, so there's that...

[jamesjazzguitar]

Judy probably would've told the director to get rid of those damned cheap plastic amoeba mobile thingies. Our neighbor had a smaller version of those hanging in their living room back in the day...

If Garland tried to do that at this stage of her career she would have been fired.

Well, she was fired, so there's that...

Susan Hayward was the right actor for the role: no one could play a 'b', better than Hayward.

[Allhallowsday]

THE BOYS IN THE BAND (1970) It must be the 2nd time this year. Still remarkably powerful and engrossing, TCM was celebrating WILLIAM FRIEDKIN last night. His directing job was superb. I've come to understand the characters better, because of all the great performances. Harold says to Michael just as he exits, "...Call you tomorrow..." LEONARD FREY breaks my heart. He has all the best lines. "Give me Librium or give me Meth."




CLIFF GORMAN, who played the most overt Emory, was married until his death in 2002, a remarkable actor and I think a wonderful person, with his wife, cared for ROBERT La TOURNEAUX at the end of his life (in 1986!).

[Allhallowsday]

I Could Go On Singing (1963) TCM On Demand-5/10
... This would be Garland's final film and it is OK send off for her. In 1967, she was supposed to appear in Valley Of The Dolls in the part later played by Susan Hayward. I'm glad now she did not do it since the movie was trashy and the role would have be humiliating for her.

Good review. DIRK BOGARDE in a later interview TCM must have shown, called her "a schizophrenic" As far as VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, at least she wore the wardrobe! It was a good enough part for SUSAN HAYWARD to grab.

[laffite]

About Elly (2009) Iranian One of the most exhilarating movie experiences. A party of about 10 people, all who know each other, comprising of married couples and some children and one single person, decide to have a seaside weekend at a somewhat run downed villa. The are having a great time, all happy and singing, on and on and on. A movie where one might ask, when is something going to happen. There is a full 45 minutes of exposition. I was not bored because I trusted the movie well enough to know something was up and that it would be good and not to be missed. I had no idea what the movie was about so I knew nothing)**

And yes, something happened.

What followed was a frantic discussion among the players about what happened which entailed repeated references to what had occurred in those first 45 minutes. Some of that I remembered and some perhaps only half-remembered. There was a lot going on, nuances of behaviors and conversation, little snippets that seemed not to mean anything at the time. Building blocks of information that all the characters struggled with. The story take another turn near the end.

Nothing here about the story or about themes, etc. Hopefully there is enough to pique interest. Know that this is considered a Masterpiece. If you decide it's a go, pay attention to that first 45 minutes! (and know, if you want to go back and check the snippets while the characters are talking, okay to do that, you will spoil nothing.)

--

**I try not to know anything at all before a movie. It's hard but I am diligent. If I am puzzled or lost after about 30 minutes, I will try to find something to read about the film to get me centered. I like the idea of what it was like in time of yore, where information was scarce (I wouldn't check out a movie in a newspaper). Just walk into the theater and let it all unfold before my eyes. ...

Our friend at the other place once wrote on the TCM forum that before watching a movie he would read several reviews and synopses first because he didn't want to "miss anything."

Oy.

//

[TikiSoo]

Just requested About Elly from the library-so glad we have it! Looking forward to seeing a good movie for a change...

Because I just watched Showgirls 1995 after hearing an NPR story about cult films. Apparently, this is a cult film that people throw "viewing parties" and yell at the screen a la MST3K. OK, ridiculing bad movies is something I can get into so made a list of movies they discussed (Staying' Alive, The Room)

The story is of a young drifter who hitchhikes to Las Vegas to become a dancer. This is the early '90's when dancing styles are jerky & mechanical, influenced by street break-dancing. The girl immediately gets a job at a strip club where we see explicit nudity & sordid sexual acts. She dreams of the day when she can become a big Las Vegas showgirl (!) and gets her chance after enduring a humiliating audition.

I watched this with MrTiki & at this point said, "this movie seems like soft porn" to which he retorted, "no this is just porn".
She finally gets hired in the big show, but wants the highest position as "star attraction".

MrTiki had asked if Las Vegas shows were really "like this" meaning crazy staging & full nudity shown.
No, in reality the costumes suggested nudity using flesh colored netting not unlike Cher's costumes of the era. But not a stage orgy as shown here....every time a male dancer interacted with a female dancer I said, "Ew I touched an icky woman!" or "hand sanitizer!"

The drifter ruthlessly & literally pushes her way to the top, only to expose herself & her friends to exploitation of those running the show. No ladder climbing, it's just the same exploitation as the strip club with just more money as compensation.

The price for fame is too high and the drifter leaves hitchhiking her way to LA where we can presume she will face more exploitation. The End.

A truly horrible movie but a top notch production, obviously a decent budget. There were a few real pros like Kyle MacLachlan & Gina Gershon that elevated some of the more ridiculous scenes but there were still plenty of dialogue that made us LOL.

Most notable was a (not sexy) sex scene in a pool that made more waves than the beach. It was so over-the-top both of us laughed through it, "if a girl acted like that, I'd think she was CRAZY & downright dangerous- get as far away from her as possible!" (should I believe him?)

Anyway, I'm glad I saw it. I kept waiting for Demi Moore to show up, but apparently that's a different sleazy movie.