[I Just Watched...]

Just now, speedracer5 said:

 

I remember being more sad that Joan Fontaine had passed, because at the time, to me, she was one of the few pieces of Classic Hollywood left. I think too I had just seen The Women and was excited that she was still alive.  Oops. Sorry Joan 😢 I didn't mean to. 

I know what you mean. That's what made the passings of people like Shirley Temple, Doris Day, Maureen O'Hara, Lauren Bacall, mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, all the more painful. There really are very few left who started under the studio system which ended in the mid-1950s (and admittedly I'm a bit astonished that Kirk Douglas and Olivia De Havilland, but especially Kirk) are still with us. Aside from them, who else? These, I guess, but it's not a very long list in the grand scheme of things

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_actors_from_the_Golden_Age_of_Hollywood

[I Just Watched...]

Just now, speedracer5 said:

I also had that feeling about Debbie Reynolds.  I had already heard that she was having health issues and I knew that she wasn't long for the world after Carrie's passing. 

I'm nervous though. Someone big always dies right at the end of the year--right after all the annual memorial segments by various organizations have probably been completed. I think it is THEM who is jinxing the celebrities! If they'd wait until the beginning of the year to compile their previous year's memorial, then they wouldn't have to scramble to fit someone in because they decided that the year's passings are over--on December 20. 

i remember that TCM really went back and edited that one year (2013) because Peter O'Toole, Joan Fontaine, and Eleanor Parker all passed away within a week in December. I remember either thinking or heard somebody say something about Eleanor Parker's passing. She passed away mere days after NBC did a much-watched but much panned Live production of The Sound of Music, and it caused either me or somebody else to think, did the remake do her in?

[I Just Watched...]

Just now, speedracer5 said:

Oh man.

Stay away from me! 

Well, fortunately that period is over. I didn't see most of those deaths since coming, although I had this horrible sinking feeling that Debbie Reynolds would be broken after Carrie Fisher's passing. And she died only a day later.

[I Just Watched...]

2 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

I know.  Maybe I should stick to discussing persons who have already passed. I'm the Grim Reaper of the keyboard.

Look. Back in 2012, I thought that title belonged to me. Looked up Murder on the Orient Express in a book? Sidney Lumet dies. Think about buying Champagne for Caesar at the DVD store? Celeste Holm passes on. Look at the case for The Cheap Detective? Goodbye, Peter Falk. Hum some bars of a score by Marvin Hamlish? He checks out. 

[Have you seen these 10 classic films..?]

Saw #41, #42, #43, #46, #47, #49, and #50.

[The 100 Best Films of the 2010's?]

12 hours ago, EricJ said:

So, looks like I'm still the only one who saw Inside Out, then?  (Normally, we'd get all the Pixars, or at least just Wall-E, Ratatouille and Toy Story 3, if it'd been a snooty grownup-poseur "Best of the 00's-10's/21st century" list, but this was the only one that ever truly deserved the Best Picture nomination...And "thank" you very MUCH, Golden Globes, for making sure it didn't get one.  😈 )

I'll assume everybody's still just waiting to get around to renting Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, or "Eat It, Martin Scorsese" (yep, the snooty-poseurs were surprised by that one too, and wanted to push it into Every Award Ever Given), and given Sony's track record, I don't blame you; I only first saw it in the theater while waiting for another movie--But think of this one as "Sony's 'Wonder Woman'".  👍 

(Not to mention, "The film we WISHED Incredibles 2 could have been, when we left grumbling out of that mess.")

I saw both. As listed on the first page. Loved Inside Out. Spider-Man had a good story, good vocal performances, but it looked ugly to me.

[Sadly Neglected Performances by Children]

On 3/18/2019 at 4:11 PM, CinemaInternational said:

 

Alexandra Johnes in Zelly and Me (pictured with Isabella Rossellini)
 

Maybe its decalasse to quote oneself, but this neglected film is leaving Amazon Prime at the end of the month and heading once more into complete obscurity. Its a dark film emotionally, but I recommend it highly if you have the chance to see it.

['Beauty and the Beast': THR's 1991 Review]

Disney hasn't been able to create a film on its level since......

[Michael J. Pollard (1939-2019)]

Should have won that Oscar for Bonnie and Clyde..... RIP

[I Just Watched...]

Just now, Gershwin fan said:

Yeah but in one case, her death in Poseidon Adventure managed to be sad. Probably my favorite role of her's.

Her death scene made my cry. Best, most tragic scene in the film. And she did by far give the best performance in the film.

[I Just Watched...]

Once Upon a Miracle (19670. Super quirky Eurpoean fairy tale with Sophia Loren as a Cinderella type and Omar Sharif as the prince. Film keeps getting eccetric with flying monks, witches, and leaping nuns. Also despite the alternate title, Cinderella Italian Style, it takes a lot of liberties with the fairy tale. Dolores Del Rio shows up, still glamourous as Sharif's mother. Still fun though.

[Awards season 2019-2020]

Just now, jakeem said:

It would be her second. She was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1983 drama "Cross Creek," based on Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' 1942 memoir. Mary Steenburgen starred as the Florida-based author.

And she was really good there too. That whole lineup that year was top-notch.... even though it seems surprising in retrospect that only one person was nominated from The Big Chill.

[Awards season 2019-2020]

3 hours ago, jakeem said:

"Marriage Story" director Noah Baumbach and his stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and Alan Alda were not nominated in major categories Wednesday for the 35th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. But attention will be paid to them at the February awards show because the filmmaker and his cast will receive the Robert Altman Award.

The honor, which has been presented since 2007 for excellence by a film ensemble, also goes to casting directors -- in this case, Douglas Aibel and Francine Maisler. Other "Marriage Story" cast members eligible for the award: Julie Hagerty, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson and Merritt Wever.

"Marriage Story," a divorce tale that has been touted as a major awards season contender, also received Spirit Award nominations for Best Feature and Best Screenplay (Baumbach, pictured below with Alda, Dern and Driver).

The film will begin streaming on Netflix next month.

The most Spirit Award nominations -- five -- went to "The Lighthouse" and "Uncut Gems." Also receiving multiple nods: "Give Me Liberty" and "Honey Boy" (with four each). The movies "Clemency," "Hustlers," "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" and "Luce" all received three nominations.

Here are the nominations for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The event will be telecast live on IFC.

BEST FEATURE
A Hidden Life
Clemency
The Farewell
Marriage Story
Uncut Gems

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Booksmart
The Climb
Diane
The Last Black Man in San Francicso
The Mustang
See You Yesterday

BEST DIRECTOR
Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
Alma Har’el, Honey Boy
Julius Onah, Luce
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Karen Allen, Colewell
Hong Chau, Driveways
Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
Mary Kay Place, Diane
Alfre Woodard, Clemency
Renee Zellweger, Judy

BEST MALE LEAD
Chris Galust, Give Me Liberty
Kelvin Harrison Jr, Luce
Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Taylor Russell, Waves
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Give Me Liberty
Octavia Spencer, Luce

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
Shaif LeBeouf, Honey Boy
Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane

BEST SCREENPLAY
Marriage Story
To Dust
Uncut Gems
Clemency
High Flying Bird

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Yesterday
Driveways
Blow the Man Down
Greener Grass
The Vast of Night

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hustlers
The Lighthouse
Honey Boy
The Third Wife
Midsommar

BEST EDITING
The Third Wife
Uncut Gems
Sword of Trust
The Lighthouse
Give Me Liberty

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Burning Cane
Colewell
Give Me Liberty
Premature
Wild Nights with Emily

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Marriage Story

BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Factory
Apollo 11
For Sama
Honeyland
Island of the Hungry Ghosts

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Invisible Life
Les Miserables
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Retablo
The Souvenir

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Mollye Asher
Krista Parris
Ryan Zacarias

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD 
Rashaad Ernesto Green, Premature
Ash Mayfair, The Third Wife
Joe Talbot, The Last Black Man in San Francisco

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Khalik Allah, Black Mother
Davy Rothbart, 17 Blocks
Nadia Shihab, Jaddoland
Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, America

ANNUAL BONNIE AWARD
Marielle Heller
Kelly Reichhardt
LuLu Wang

Here's hoping that Alfre Woodard gets Oscar nominated this year.

[Have you seen these 10 classic films..?]

6/10. Have a DVd of Portrait in Black, but haven't seen it yet. Other three yet to see: The Brotherhood, Hitler's Madman, and Audrey Rose.

[Explain why you like/dislike 31 Days of Oscar programming]

1 hour ago, Dr. Somnambula said:

Mod 1 will be part of my reason to leave. My thread was pulled. I've been with TCM too long. Repeat City! No longer worth the money.

I don't usually complain about repeats, but I saw all the films that TCM had on yesterday and today before....

[Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman?]

Of course though, I'm als oreminded of something i saw on TV recently. The series Inside the Actor's Studio is back on the channel Ovation, and I watched the one with Alfre Woodard, an actress I have admired for years. Anyway, at one point in the interview, she said that her husband wrote several screenplays for her to star in as important women, bringing up one in particular about Sojourner Truth. Nobody bit on the idea at the time. 

[Bette's Best]

In terms of performances....

1 Now Voyager
2 A Stolen life
3 All This and Heaven Too
4 The Great Lie
5 Mr Skeffington
6 The Letter
7 The Corn is Green
8 The Sisters
9 Of Human Bondage
10 All About Eve

[The 100 Best Films of the 2010's?]

Just now, LawrenceA said:

For the record, I haven't seen:

 

• #43 - Marriage Story (2019)

 

I was kind of surprised when I saw this one on the list. Aside from film festivals, its only been in release for 2 weeks! It comes to Netflix December 6th.

[Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman?]

This is the most ridiculous thing I read since somebody put up the trivia "fact" (yeah, right) on IMDb that Whoopi Goldberg was considered for one of the leads in Single White Female.

[The 100 Best Films of the 2010's?]

11 hours ago, laffite said:

Here are two more that occur to me, apparently not on the list. The Seagull (2018) with Saoirse Ronan (Ladybird), based on Chekhov, with Annette Bening, who does a powerful good job as the old lady. She has a horrifically difficult scene that she does perfectly. Elizabeth Moss is a standout as well. I like this movie so much I watched it twice in one day. It has a 5.8 rating on IMDB, rather middling, but I'm not going to turn in my film lover card. I have good taste. that's all. 

The other is 45 Years (2015), which I have mentioned several times already. It is about an anniversary (guess which one) starring a couple of old pros, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. The husband had a prior marriage way back when. His first wife from long before died in a skiing accident and her dead body has been discovered preserved in the snows. The story begins right there and a strong drama ensues. The ending had a profound effect on me.

///

I saw both. The Seagull is one where I didn't like it as much as you, but its definitely better than the IMDb rating. Annette is definitely the standout, and I also recommend you see, if you haven't already, her marvelous work in 20th Century Women, a lovely, warm drama set in 1979.

45 Years on the other hand, now that's a keeper. I've seen over 300 films from the decade (I know, maybe should have watched more), but that's comfortably in the top 10 of the decade for me. An extraordinary film with career best work from Charlotte Rampling. When the videostore in town was getting rid of their copy and put it up for sale, I bought it because I could not turn that film down (especially for only $1.50).

[The 100 Best Films of the 2010's?]

Let's see, from the bottom up, I saw....

The Immigrant 
Creed
Carol
Hell or High Water
Paddington 2
Zero Dark Thirty
Mudbound
12 Years a Slave
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Eighth Grade
Inside Out
Inception
La La Land
Her
Amour
Paterson
Arrival
Moonrise Kingdom
Green Room
Elle
Whiplash
Get Out
Roma
Winter's Bone
Phoenix
Two Days, One Night
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inside Llewyn Davis
Boyhood
Manchester by the Sea
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
Frances Ha
The Florida Project
Moonlight
the Tree of Life
A Separation
The Social Network
The Master
Mad Max: Fury Road

And that makes 41, and I'm sorry to say it but over half of those films left me underwhelmed and a few I downright hated. That even goes for some in the top 10, although I will say the top pick, Mad Max: Fury Road is a thrilling film and one of the best action films in years, probably since Die Hard.

What so many in the list smack though of, is really being heavyhanded. So many message movies that make Stanley Kramer look like a light and airy director, instead of the mostly serious one he was.

What makes them so afraid of just having a good time at the movies, or to just sit down to a nice intimate drama analyzing human relationships?

Why does it feel like most of the time with many of these, you're being hit over the head repeatedly with the message that you understood well enough the first time, thank you very much.

I bolded the ones that I hated, and italicized the ones that didn't match expectations going in.

[Have you seen these 10 classic films..?]

All right! This is more like it! 9 out of 10! Only one missing is The Night Walker.....

[Have you seen these 10 classic films..?]

2 hours ago, TopBilled said:

Yes I would agree that THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN could have been better. Danny DeVito excels at playing miserable, unlikable characters. And he certainly gives a strong performance in this one. But I think the script's a bit lacking.

Not to mention that the revelation about the Kate Mulgrew character at the end comes a bit out of left field because you expected nothing else to be heard on that level. that said though the film has one great line from Anne Ramsey after the attemt to off her by blowing a trumpet into her ear while she was sleeping. "Louis Armstrong was trying to kill me!"

[Have you seen these 10 classic films..?]

Not so good on this round. 4 of them: of Human Bondage, I Remember Mama, 12 Angry Men, and Throw Momma from the Train. I saw the latter half of The Black Stallion on TCM a few years ago, but have yet to see the front half of it. 

[Robert Evans, ‘Chinatown’ Producer and Paramount Chief, Dies at 89]

In an example of curious timing, News just broke that Netflix is making a miniseries involving a younger JJ Gittes and who should be writing it but Robert Towne himself. So we're getting more of Chinatown, just right after Evan's passing.....