Dargo Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Just now, LawrenceA said: Now I miss Kid Dabb... I know. I was thinkin' of him as I typed that too. (...sure would be nice to know what has happened to some of the people who used to grace us with their thoughts around here, wouldn't it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickAndNora34 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 34 minutes ago, EricJ said: What was the first? This's definitely got the Sardonic Kubrick touch, and was already billed as "Strangelove goes to Vietnam" when it opened. ...Can we throw any recommendations of The Killing, Paths of Glory or Barry Lyndon your way? Ermey had been doing some bit parts in addition to his military-consultant jobs, but this was the role that made him a star, long before he took Sgt. Hartman mainstream in Toy Story. My first Kubrick film was The Shining. And I always welcome recommendations. Barry Lyndon is actually already on my list. I also need to finish watching Lolita. The public library where I live, labeled Lolita as a "comedy..." Even putting this movie in the "horror" category would have been a better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Kiss of Death. Very gritty noir film by 20th Century Fox and the one that made Richard Widmark famous. While I view his performance as over the top and sometimes borderline silly, it was effective. Victor Mature gives a very good performance as a man in no wheres land, and Colleen Gray is an actress I have come to love (her natural beauty as well as acting style is perfect for the noirs she was in). MOVIES-TV is showing noir films all night for New Years. With the wife being in Italy, it looks like the only dame I'll have to snuggle with are gals like Gray, Lucy (The Dark Corner), Nina Foch (My Name is Julia Ross) and Gene Tierney (Night and the City). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Sea Devils (1953). Rock Hudson plays a smuggler in the Channel Islands in 1800 who is asked to transport a woman (Yvonne de Carlo) to France, a risky proposition since France and England are at war. The audience, but not Hudson, is told that de Carlo is going to France on a spy mission for England. Hudson sees de Carlo and gets the impression that she's a spy for France, and shanghais her back to the Channel Islands. All sorts of complications ensue. It's entertaining enough and competently made, but nothing special. 6/10. IMDb claims this is 91 minutes, but the TCM copy ran 87 minutes, for which I'm glad since the box guide had it in a two-hour slot but thanks to TCM's scheduling they had it in a 90-minute slot. I was worried I'd miss the last couple of minutes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Dargo said: I know. I was thinkin' of him as I typed that too. (...sure would be nice to know what has happened to some of the people who used to grace us with their thoughts around here, wouldn't it) Speaking of which, does anyone know if Filmlover is okay? I haven't seen him on the boards for a few weeks now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 9 minutes ago, TomJH said: Speaking of which, does anyone know if Filmlover is okay? I haven't seen him on the boards for a few weeks now. I sent him a PM to wish him Happy Holidays a week or so ago, but it says he hasn't seen it yet. He was having a lot troubles with the site ever since the "upgrade". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, LawrenceA said: I sent him a PM to wish him Happy Holidays a week or so ago, but it says he hasn't seen it yet. He was having a lot troubles with the site ever since the "upgrade". Well, hopefully he'll be back with us soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 3 hours ago, LawrenceA said: I sent him [Flimlover] a PM to wish him Happy Holidays a week or so ago, but it says he hasn't seen it yet. He was having a lot troubles with the site ever since the "upgrade". I believe this might also be the reason we haven't heard from LornaHansenForbes for a while. And, another guy who has always contributed so well to our enjoyment around these parts. (...although as I recall, DownGoesFrazier went missing a few months before the "upgrade") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Get Out (2017): Highly touted as one of the best films of the year, it's really no more than a fairly enjoyable horror film, along the lines of The Devil Rides Out. A cult operates (literally) in the countryside. The leader (a neurosurgeon) takes the brains of white people and implants them into the bodies of black people, who are basically kidnapped for the purpose. I guess it's the racial aspects of the film that is giving it its heightened publicity and interest, but it's really no more than a moderately well-done horror film, with a few interesting touches. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Swithin said: Get Out (2017): Highly touted as one of the best films of the year, it's really no more than a fairly enjoyable horror film, along the lines of The Devil Rides Out. A cult operates (literally) in the countryside. The leader (a neurosurgeon) takes the brains of white people and implants them into the bodies of black people, who are basically kidnapped for the purpose. I guess it's the racial aspects of the film that is giving it its heightened publicity and interest, but it's really no more than a moderately well-done horror film, with a few interesting touches. Pretty much my thoughts on the film, too. A moderately well-done, darkly comedic thriller with the most basic of sociological commentary, competently acted (again, for the most part...some of the supporting players were a bit off), but nothing to indicate the level of admiration it has garnered. For me, easily the most overrated film of 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Intolerance (1916). Four stories from various eras that all purport to show the disastrous consequences of intolerance. Didactic slog that only gets praised because it's not Birth of a Nation. With the exception of the oversized Babylon sets, everything Intolerance did technically, Birth of a Nation did better a year earlier. But Birth has the wrong views, so critics have become loathe to praise it while because Intolerance was the response, it gets praised to high heaven. Three Ages and even Noah's Ark did the multiple eras thing better in terms of story-telling. 5/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 The Black Cat (1941) Universal re-utilized the same title from one of their most successful horror chillers of seven years before for this amiable, though supremely silly, comedy mystery. The usual collection of greedy heirs are gathered at the old mansion of the rich old lady of the family who is seriously ill and may or may not kick off. You can usually count upon one of these heirs to help her along the way if she seems a little reluctant to go and, in that respect, this film doesn't disappoint. So who done it? The cast is impressive, especially for a "B" like this, albeit a slick looking one. Basil Rathbone gets top billing as one of the heirs to the estate. Other heirs include Gladys Cooper as his wife, Anne Gwynne, Claire Dodd and Alan Ladd, the year before he became a star at Paramount with This Gun For Hire. A scruffy looking Bela Lugosi (the only cast member from the 1934 Black Cat) has a rather useless part as a groundskeeper, along with Gale Sondergaard as the spooky house servant, essentially continuing her similar casting from The Cat and the Canary two years before. Bringing slapstick comedy to the proceedings are Hugh Herbert as an antique "expert" who spends a lot of the film inspecting the furniture, and Broderick Crawford as an eager, if slightly dim witted, real estate agent nephew. Crawford largely assumes the leading man duties of the film, as he tries to investigate the mysterious happenings, and it's also Crawford who has the best inside joke line of dialogue in the film. At one point an authoritative Rathbone makes a loud proclamation about a suspect, to which Crawford mutters as an aside, "He thinks he's Sherlock Holmes." It's the kind of film in which a hand appears from behind a curtain to drop some poison in a drink and a cloaked figure emerges from a secret panel to appear in the leading lady's bedroom. Cats slink throughout the house, of course, but, in particular, there's a black one (or two or three) that seem to pop up everywhere. Crawford has an allergy to cats and has frequent coughing fits whenever they appear (which is often), while Sondergaard, despite being long time housekeeper of the estate, has a morbid fear of the animals, providing her with a zoom in closeup in one scene as she has an hysterical scream. What also distinguishes this film, aside from its cast, is the impressive, atmospheric photography of Stanley Cortez (the year before working with Orson Welles on The Magnificent Ambersons). However lame the viewer may find the mystery contents of this film, the production remains consistenty pleasing to the eye due to the mastery of Cortez's work. 2.5 out of 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickAndNora34 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 My mom forced me to watch AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995) with her this afternoon. Alright, I'll admit that "forced" is rather a strong word for this situation; it wasn't an amazing movie. I was more impressed with the beginning before Annette Bening showed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 13 minutes ago, NickAndNora34 said: My mom forced me to watch AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995) with her this afternoon. Alright, I'll admit that "forced" is rather a strong word for this situation; it wasn't an amazing movie. I was more impressed with the beginning before Annette Bening showed up. Lol. I remember having to watch this movie in my 10th grade (1999-2000) American Government class. Haven’t seen it since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bethluvsfilms Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I actually quite enjoyed THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (and truth be told I am not really a huge fan of Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in general), found it quite charming and cute. Although I have to admit I thought some of the political issues brought up in the film were a little too biased and naïve, and quite frankly Michael J. Fox's political aide got on my nerves more often than not but that doesn't derive from my enjoyment of the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LsDoorMat Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 47 minutes ago, speedracer5 said: Lol. I remember having to watch this movie in my 10th grade (1999-2000) American Government class. Haven’t seen it since. What on earth has "The American President" got to do with American government class??? But then we had to watch the 1935 version of "Les Miserables" in first year high school French class (1972-1973) so I am one to talk. I can't remember what the reason was that the French teacher gave for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 7 hours ago, Fedya said: Intolerance (1916). Four stories from various eras that all purport to show the disastrous consequences of intolerance.Didactic slog that only gets praised because it's not Birth of a Nation. With the exception of the oversized Babylon sets, everything Intolerance did technically, Birth of a Nation did better a year earlier. But Birth has the wrong views, so critics have become loathe to praise it while because Intolerance was the response, it gets praised to high heaven. Story goes that Griffith just wanted to make "The Mother and the Law", a shocking statement from today's tragic headlines about poor lower-class mothers and uncaring charity bureaucracy. But, again, he was expected to live up to Birth of a Nation's hype, so the historical period was simply inserted at the last script-draft to emphasize a little extra push about how good our heroine is, and how nasty her antagonists are--See, the city charity people are self-righteous hypocrites, just like the Pharisees!... 5 hours ago, TomJH said: The Black Cat (1941) Universal re-utilized the same title from one of their most successful horror chillers of seven years before for this amiable, though supremely silly, comedy mystery. I went through a boxset of post-code Universal Horror (trying to find Captive Wild Woman), and noticed how, after that, ahem, earlier "Black Cat", most of Universal's horror in the early 40's had now been made toothless for the sake of the Code and public safety--And "horror" was now Scooby-Doo-like comedy-mysteries around old dark houses, with the "supernatural" element usually turning out to be some villainous character trying to get the inheritance. And with no monster jobs left for Bela Lugosi, he'd be reduced to playing sinister butlers and sinister groundkeepers as just red herrings to the general sinistra. I mean, Hugh freakin' Herbert...You wouldn't do that unless you were TRYING to wipe the earlier Edgar Ullmer film out of the history books, for the sake of studio image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess of Tap Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 9 minutes ago, calvinnme said: What on earth has "The American President" got to do with American government class??? But then we had to watch the 1935 version of "Les Miserables" in first year high school French class (1972-1973) so I am one to talk. I can't remember what the reason was that the French teacher gave for that one. Victor Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest writers, poets and playwrights in French Literature. As s first-year French student, you obviously could not read the novel in French, so what your instructor was trying to do was to introduce you to French literature on a level that you could comprehend. French is not taught separate from culture and literature. And the French view their language as part of their culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 22 minutes ago, calvinnme said: What on earth has "The American President" got to do with American government class??? But then we had to watch the 1935 version of "Les Miserables" in first year high school French class (1972-1973) so I am one to talk. I can't remember what the reason was that the French teacher gave for that one. Maybe she was hot for Fredric March?! (...doubt she had a thing for Charles Laughton, anyway) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 1 minute ago, Dargo said: Maybe she was hot for Ronald Colman?! (...doubt she had a thing for Charles Laughton, anyway) Wrong movie...that was Fredric March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 1 minute ago, LawrenceA said: Wrong movie...that was Fredric March. "Right. I'm doing all this heavy duty suffering and Colman gets credit for it?" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 1 minute ago, LawrenceA said: Wrong movie...that was Fredric March. DANG! I know, Lawrence! I just realized that and changed it right before you corrected me here! (...you guys are WAY too quick around here, ya know!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Just now, Dargo said: DANG! I know, Lawrence! I just realized that and changed it right before you corrected me here! (...you guys are WAY too quick around here, ya know!) Lol...sorry about that, but I picked up on it quickly since I just watched both Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities again in the last couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Just now, LawrenceA said: Lol...sorry about that, but I picked up on it quickly since I just watched both Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities again in the last couple of weeks. Yep, those Frenchy revolution movies are a lot alike sometimes, huh. (...however, I'll try to remember that it wasn't Fred who says that whole "Far far better thing" line in the one he's NOT in from now on TOO!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 4 minutes ago, LawrenceA said: Lol...sorry about that, but I picked up on it quickly since I just watched both Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities again in the last couple of weeks. "Listen to me, Javert, and listen to me good. Tis a far, far better thing I do than I have ever . . . Wait a minute! Now I'm getting confused. Which film am I in anyway?" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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