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LawrenceA
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Posts posted by LawrenceA
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I'm still curious what will be shown during Silent Sundays on the 27th. The Haunted Hotel (1907) is scheduled for 12:00AM ET, but it's only 7 minutes long. The time slot, though, is a full two hours, with the next scheduled film being the TCM Imports showing of The Living Skeleton (1968) at 2:00AM ET. If I don't have TCM beck by then, which is a strong likelihood, I hope someone will post about what else was shown during that 2 hours.
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2 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:
For the 1938 best picture Oscar, for me the real battle is between “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” and the “The Lady Vanishes,” with the edge going to ‘Robin Hood,’ because of my love for Errol.
Yeah, for me The Adventures of Robin Hood is the best movie of 1938.
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5 minutes ago, TomJH said:
Well, outside of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Angels With Dirty Faces, Pygmalion, The Dawn Patrol, The Citadel, Jezebel, Marie Antoinette, Test Pilot, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, Four Daughters, and The Lady Vanishes, it probably was the best film of the year.
I like You Can't Take It With You more than The Citadel, Marie Antoinette, Test Pilot, and Holiday, but your point remains valid. I would add another nominee from that year, Grand Illusion, to the list of those better than the winner.
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Faust is a great silent movie. One of Murnau's best, as well as Jannings. There's nothing "woke" or "film school" about it. Plus, it fits in with October, and the other Halloween-style programming. In fact, I don't see any other films scheduled for Silent Sunday for the rest of the year that suggest the idea that the programming is being changed substantially from what it has been previously
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I'd buy a Fred Mertz action figure. And display it prominently in my home for others to enjoy.
Edit: I was joking, but wouldn't you know it, there is such a thing. What child's face wouldn't light up at the sight of such a treasure under the tree on Christmas morn? -
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I enjoy the complimentary soup, salad and breadsticks.
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The Warriors (1979) - All over the city: Riverside Park, Coney Island, Central Park, 96th St IRT station, etc.
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January Criterion Titles Announced
Holiday (1938) January 7
SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Holiday (1930), a previous adaptation of Philip Barry’s play, directed by Edward H. Griffith
- New conversation between filmmaker and distributor Michael Schlesinger and film critic Michael Sragow
- Audio excerpts from an American Film Institute oral history with director George Cukor, recorded in 1970 and ’71
- Costume gallery
- PLUS: An essay by critic Dana Stevens
Le Petit Soldat (1963) January 21
SPECIAL FEATURES
- High-definition digital restoration, approved by cinematographer Raoul Coutard, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Interview with director Jean-Luc Godard from 1965
- Interview with actor Michel Subor from 1963
- Audio interview with Godard from 1961
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by critic Nicholas Elliott
All About My Mother (1999) January 28
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 2K digital restoration, supervised by executive producer Agustín Almodóvar and approved by director Pedro Almodóvar, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Fifty-two-minute documentary from 2012 on the making of the film, featuring interviews with Pedro Almodóvar; Agustín Almodóvar; actors Penélope Cruz, Marisa Paredes, Cecilia Roth, and Antonia San Juan; production manager Esther García; and author Didier Eribon
- Television program from 1999 featuring Pedro Almodóvar and his mother, Francisca Caballero, along with Cruz, San Juan, Paredes, and Roth
- Forty-eight-minute post-screening Q&A in Madrid from 2019, featuring Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, and Paredes
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film scholar Emma Wilson, along with (Blu-ray only) an interview with Pedro Almodóvar and a tribute he wrote to his mother, both from 1999
Fail Safe (1964) January 28
SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2000 featuring director Sidney Lumet
- New interview with film critic J. Hoberman on 1960s nuclear paranoia and Cold War films
- “Fail-Safe” Revisited, a short documentary from 2000 including interviews with Lumet, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and actor Dan O’Herlihy
- PLUS: An essay by critic Bilge Ebiri
Plus a Blu-ray upgrade for:
The Fugitive Kind (1960) January 14
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- High-definition digital restoration, approved by director Sidney Lumet, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Interview from 2009 with Lumet
- Three Plays by Tennessee Williams, an hour-long 1958 television presentation of one-act plays, directed by Lumet and starring Ben Gazzara and Lee Grant, among others
- Program from 2010 discussing Williams’s work in Hollywood and The Fugitive Kind
- PLUS: An essay by film critic David Thomson
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5 hours ago, Bogie56 said:
9. Inside (2007) Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury, France
Thanks for the tip to watch this one. Was that you, Lawrence?
A really well done thriller about a pregnant woman who must fend off a very intent home invader.
Yeah, that was my recommendation. One of my favorites of the 00's. I recall renting the DVD and not expecting anything, as I hadn't heard of it, and it was released here under the "Dimension Extreme" label, which tended to be trashy low-rent stuff. Instead, I was blown away by it, and was stunned when I realized that the intruder was Beatrice Dalle from Betty Blue.
It was remade in 2016 with Rachel Nichols and Laura Harring in the leads, but I haven't watched it. Much like the American remake of Martyrs (2008/2015), I'm not sure if I want to see it.
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I think you "stan" Lucille Ball. Just a little bit.
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1 hour ago, laffite said:
We'll let you off the hook. But if you ever go that long without seeing a movie, you're in trouble.
BTW, is your current avatar that Denmarkian "gangster looking" actor I so lately named?
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Yes, it is Mads Mikkelsen. I was switching the avatars around to feature my favorite foreign-film actors of the decade, while I was watching films from said decade. So, 90's = Takeshi Kitano, 00's = Choi Min-sik, and 10's = Mads Mikkelsen.
I finished up all of my discs Monday, though, so I should change it again, although I plan on watching several more from 2017-2019 via streaming in the next week. I haven't decided where to go next with the avatar. Maybe my favorite key grips from the classic film era. Or maybe Best Boys through the ages. Or maybe multiple Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominees who never won.
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As of a week ago, it has been a decade since I've read a work of fiction. I remember the date due to other life events that coincided with the last novel I read. It's been nothing but non-fiction since then.
I feel like I should be sadder about that than I am.
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55 minutes ago, Gershwin fan said:
Also the bits on reality TV and mass media I really connected to Donald Trump and Boris Johnson and AFD and the way those groups try to use those forms of media to their advantage. Especially the part where Hitler rants about "foolish" forms of entertainment being used to distract the people. That's how I saw it. I think the movie has a very good message about politics and media in our current age.
I think my problems with the film came from heightened expectations. The film (and book's) chief point was the ease at which a Hitler-type could come to power in the current German political climate, with heightened nationalism and the immigration crises. In that respect, one couldn't be more on-the-nose than to depict such a leader as literally Hitler himself. The funny thing is, like in many satires of this sort, there is a portion of the audience who actually agrees with Hitler, and for whom the point is lost, twisted or ignored.
It's gutsy that the movie was even made. I wonder how big a release it was in Germany?
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1 minute ago, Gershwin fan said:
My OP post was just a link to the article on what Scorsese said. Also no, I was not trying to imply Marvel or "superhero movies" should be banned or anything. I really like Watchmen for example.
Your OP was only part of what Speedy was responding to (the Scorsese bit). She was also responding to the Bill Maher comments, which were brought up again, as well as someone's comments about how people dress/groom themselves.
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Look Who's Back, David Wnendt, Germany (2015) - 6/10
Muddled, obvious satire based on a best-selling novel, with Adolf Hitler (Oliver Masucci) miraculously transported through time from 1945 Germany to 2014 Germany. He quickly acclimates to the massive changes that have taken place in the world, and soon finds himself a major TV celebrity, playing on anti-immigrant sentiments among the populace.
The film starts out as a clumsy Borat-style goof, with Masucci in his Hitler guise interacting with real Germans who provide many cringe-worthy comments. However, the obvious editing used, and Masucci's apparent lack of improv skills, undercut much of this. It also switches over to scripted bits with obvious professionals playing "real people" quite frequently, casting even the genuine guerrilla-style interviews in a dubious light.
The second half is a slog, with Hitler becoming an unlikely TV star (shades of Howard Beale in Network), and tedious scenes of the various network staff and their uninspired romances and machinations. The satire here is stale, as well (calling out ubiquitous reality TV programming as vacuous garbage isn't exactly daring commentary). The film also relies on a lot of German cultural in-jokes, with real TV celebs playing themselves having awkward interactions with Hitler, much of which falls flat for anyone unaware of who these people are. There's also a lot of then-current political skewering, but beyond Angela Merkel, I was unaware of who these people were, so for me it didn't work. And of course I wasn't crazy about the scene where Hitler kicks and then shoots a small dog. However, that bit was mitigated by it being poorly-done CGI.
The filmmaking itself isn't interesting, with flat, digital-video cinematography which often (purposely?) looks amateurish. The score is mainly sourced classical snippets, with some oddities thrown in ("The Gonk", most famously used in the mall in the original Dawn of the Dead, is heard at one point").
All that being said, I still laughed a little at some bits.
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2 minutes ago, Gershwin fan said:
Scorsese was asked what he thought of those movies and he gave the honest answer that he thought they're dumb and childish and the equivalent of a "rollercoaster ride." He was asked for his opinion and gave it. He can't criticize something you like ever now? Nowhere did he say people can't enjoy Marvel films or that Marvel films should be mass burned and their fans shamed. All he said they were not serious films and were degrading the art of movie making, an opinion shared by many film makers in his same craft.
Scorsese didn't, but some posters said as much. Speedy was responding to them, as well as the OP, or at least that's how I took it.
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2 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:
if you will forgive me for taking an aside here, the biggest thing that bugs me about WAXWORK is we are told that there are 16 exhibits representing "the sixteen most evil men of all time" who are brought back to life thru sacrifices (fine), but one of the exhibits is of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA who, I mean, wasn't nice or anything, but "one of the most evil men of all time"? Like, seriously, you're telling me The guy who had an issue with Carlotta performing FAUST and took it out the wrong way one night was worse than Hitler or Stalin? And also the SPACE ALIEN, how exactly does he fit in to the "most evil" was he the most evil on his own planet? And the COBRA MAN? I mean, worse than Ba'Al and the Hindu gods of destruction?...and also, I suppose, the collective zombies in the NIGHT OF THE LIVIng DEAD EXHIBIT represent (collectively) ONE of the EVIL GUYs... or do they assemble to form ZOMBIE VOLTRON or what?
i know i'm overthinking it, but it still bugs me
edit- it could use a second draft is all i'm saying
No, you're absolutely right. Waxwork is pretty dumb if you try to break it down and really examine it. I learned to just enjoy the bits I like and try to ignore the rest. And it's not like I, or anyone else that I'm aware of, think it's one of the best movies of its type, even as far as cheap 80's horror goes.
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7 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:
I also watched WAXWORK (1988) on AMAZON PRIME.
I saw this movie as a kid and liked it very, very much...re-watching it as an adult always disappoints- it desperately needed a rewrite to gap some holes in the plot and there are definite shortcomings with the budget and the logic and the narrative...
and yet....
The scenes that work- The Werewolf, Dracula (played surprisingly well by MILES O'KEEFE), and (most especially!) The Mummy (which uses Swan Lake!)- work really, really well, but the rest is a very, very, very mixed bag.
Did DAVID WARNER **** someone off LEE TRACY style? He is a good actor, but DAMNED if he doesn't say "yes" to ANY and EVERYTthing he is offered.
ZACH GALLIGAN was SO ADORABLE. I think there is a dark story there, not long after this, he lost his looks and was arrested for shoplifting ca. 2004 on The Sunset Strip.
I have that on disc with the sequel. I was thinking about watching part 2 again soon, as I don't recall much from it, other than take-offs on The Haunting and Night of the Living Dead.
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The New Land, Jan Troell, Sweden (1972) - 7/10
I think everyone else said that they've already seen this, but I finally caught up to this follow-up to The Emigrants, with Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann as Swedish settlers in Minnesota circa the mid-19th century. It was good, but very long (203 minutes, although for some reason IMDb lists it with a 102 minute runtime). Ullman, Von Sydow, and Troell regular Eddie Axberg are all very good. Some of the cinematic techniques haven't aged well, and the massacre scene is fairly over-the-top, but I enjoyed the film overall.
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The Criterion site is working now. I ended up ordering 4:
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3 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:
Oh man. Why did I have to read about the flash sale?
I was shopping with my mom this past weekend and she had to remind me "now is the time to stop buying anything and wait for Christmas."
But...50% off....
Maybe if I just don't buy any film that I pointed out to her...
Lol.
The site still appears to be down. That's 90 minutes of the sale gone!
I also still have a $10 digital giftcard from Criterion for being a charter member of the Criterion Channel. I've been saving it to use with the next flash sale. I have 3 or 4 I'm interested in.
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1 minute ago, speedracer5 said:
Re: adults are children for liking [insert whatever here]. Thank you. Lately the thing to do online (well in Reddit anyway) is for people to call people "stans" for defending a particular comment/behavior/etc. of a particular individual. A "stan" is apparently someone who is obsessive about a particular entity and will go to whatever length to defend and "protect" them/it. I was called a "stan" for defending the pairing of two fictional characters in '90210.' Which is completely asinine, imo. I guess my point here is that in society there are all these extremes in being a fan or opponent of something. At one end of the spectrum, you have someone who dislikes something so much to the point of belittling all fans of it and at the other end of the spectrum, you have people being called "stans" for seemingly supporting/liking something too much.
Feel free to call me a "stan" for defending the freedom to like and do what you want (as long as it doesn't hurt yourself or anyone else). This is why I also don't believe in the idea of "guilty pleasures." Why should I feel guilty about liking what I like?
I've noticed the "stan" term being bandied about more frequently, too. I think it comes from the Eminem song "Stan" about an obsessed, fan/stalker. People use it to mean "super-fan", and it can be derogatory or not, depending on the usage. It's like "fanboy/fangirl" with less nerd/geek overtones.
And i'm completely with you on the notion that "maturity" should be based on managing the essentials in one's life rather than the entertainment they enjoy. I live in a house that I own outright, on land that I own, and drive a 2017 vehicle that's paid for. My bills are never in arrears, and maintain my property's appearance, as well as personal grooming habits. Now if I choose to wear clothes that are comfortable for me, in styles that I like, and with hair styled in the fashion I prefer, I don't give a **** what someone else thinks about my appearance. I don't have any of the fashion peccadilloes mentioned in posts above, but I do have facial hair, which many frown upon. And who is the arbiter of what's acceptable to wear? Why aren't we sticking to the old "rules" where women always wore dresses, and lacy gloves, and wore silly hats, and men always wore a suit with a necktie, even to go to the grocery store?
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17 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:
I don't appreciate this idea that adults who enjoy comic books and the like are not "grown up." My husband reads comic books, or graphic novels as they're known, and is also an avid gamer. He's every bit of a grown up as anyone else. He owns his own vehicle. He owns his own home. He's held a steady job since high school. He was working as sous chef and now as a kitchen supervisor. He's in line to become a regional kitchen manager in the Portland Metro Area. He's also an avid reader and has read everything from Alexandre Dumas' four novels about the Three Musketeers to Desi Arnaz' autobiography (which I recommended to him) to Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries.
I enjoy watching animated films and shows. I've had the same pair of Chucks since the seventh grade and they are very comfortable. I wear flip flops in the summer, though I do not buy the $2 Old Navy ones as they hurt my feet. I also don't buy the ones that make the flip flop noise as you walk, because those are annoying. I don't think liking these things makes me any less of an adult than anyone else. I have some graphic tees, but none with Looney Tunes. I also don't wear slogan shirts unless you count my hilarious Golden Girls shirt with the "I'm Ready! Take me hurricane '91" statement. I also don't have any tats or body piercings either.
I think an adult is someone who is self-sufficient and can make their own decisions about what they do and do not like. If their love of comic books isn't hurting themselves or anyone else, why does it matter?
If someone doesn't like superheroes, Marvel, and anything else of that ilk, don't watch them. Who cares?
I'm honestly just tired of this trend of everyone trying to police what everyone else enjoys and does. As long as they're not promoting free-basing cocaine or animal abuse, or anything else horrific and dangerous, why does it matter to you what people enjoy doing in their free time?
Scorsese just needs to stick to making the same old gangster movie featuring Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and let everyone else do what they want.
Thank you. You've stated my position on this quite well. I think Maher and others who agree with his sentiment come across as out of touch and foolish in the same way that their predecessors did when they complained about the useless long-hairs and hippies listening to "noise music" and watching film and TV that they regarded as vulgar and infantile. All Maher and his ilk are doing is showing themselves as the same kind of shallow, judgmental fogies that he claims to rebel against.
I've posted many times about how I dislike this trend for some people to judge other people as inferior based on the films/TV/music/books that they enjoy. It's not enough to say that they don't share the same tastes, or that something just isn't for them, but they have to declare that anyone who would dare to like something they don't must be lacking in mental capacity, maturity, or proper artistic merit. It's a particularly loathsome habit of some people.
As for Scorsese, since he is my favorite living filmmaker, I do feel I have to defend him a little by pointing out that he's made 25 features, and only 6 were crime dramas, although Raging Bull is mob-adjacent.
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13 minutes ago, BingFan said:
Criterion just announced a 50%-off "flash sale" that runs from 12:00 noon EST Oct. 15 to 12:00 noon EST Oct. 16:
And their site is down...
Martin Scorsese says Marvel movies are 'not cinema'
in General Discussions
Posted
I know what you meant. Just as comedies, romances and genre films (action/horror/sci-fi/etc.) are often said not to be "Oscar material".