Last Movie You Watched

[SonicMan46]

My wife and I watched this a few months back and we were kind of disappointed by it. I think it starts off well but sort of goes off the rails at some point. It's hard to understand why the tone is the way it is. I like the stalking part but when they go off to South America is starts to seem ridiculous. Anyway, it's definitely still worth watching.

The 'Butch & Sundance' film received mixed reviews on release, e.g. Roger Ebert's comments from 1969 HERE discusses the same issues you stated - he gave the picture just 2 1/2*/4*; and for me the ending is a let down, as if 'we've done enough acting, let's end this quickly' - but a reassessment below from the film's Wiki article - so, probably could have been better?  I'd likely do a 3 1/2 to 4*/5* on Amazon.  Dave

Over time, major American movie reviewers have been widely favorable. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 88% approval rating based on 52 reviews and an average score of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With its iconic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, jaunty screenplay and Burt Bacharach score, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has gone down as among the defining moments in late-'60s American cinema." The Writers Guild of America ranked the screenplay #11 on its list of 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written. (Source)

[SonicMan46]

Captain Blood (1935) w/ Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (at 19 years old), plus the others quoted below; music score by Erich Korngold (his second) - the 'break through' role for Flynn which catapulted him into his swashbuckling career.  Although I own the DVD, Amazon Prime Video is offering a lot of these older films in HD, i.e. 1080p resolution and improved sound, so decided to make a $7 purchase; as usual, I'll donate the DVD to a local charity.  Dave

Captain Blood is a 1935 American black-and-white swashbuckling pirate film from First National Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead (with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer), directed by Michael Curtiz, that stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Ross Alexander. (Source)

 

[aligreto]

Annihilation:





An unusual physical phenomenon appears around a National Park. The Military begin to investigate but those who are sent into this zone do not come back. Finally a team of five scientists are sent in to determine the nature of the phenomenon. There is, of course, a personal backstory involved with one of the characters and it runs through the film. There are minimal special effects and they are suitable and necessary to the storyline. It was an OK film and not a waste of my time.

[SonicMan46]

Good Earth, The (1937) w/ Paul Muni & Luise Rainer in heavy makeup as Chinese peasant farmers - had on a poor DVD, so decided to buy the Amazon HD streamer which looked excellent except for occasional vertical scratches and minimal dust artifacts - hope that when Amazon obtains a better version, I'll have access since I now own the film on Prime Video - just $7 USD.  Short start of its Wiki article - I remember the Pearl S. Buck novel being better but read as a teenager?  Best Actress Oscar to Rainer, her second in a row that likely stymied her Hollywood film career?

Donovan's Reef (1963) w/ John Wayne & Lee Marvin, plus others listed in the second quote below - again owned on an OK DVD, but streaming in HD on Amazon Prime, free to me - looked great on my HDTV and the scenery (filmed in Hawaii) was magnificent - my other Wayne comedy favorite is McLintock!, already owned on a BD.  Dave

The Good Earth is a 1937 American drama film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted from the 1932 play by Owen Davis and Donald Davis, which was based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin and others. The film stars Paul Muni as Wang Lung and Luise Rainer as his wife O-Lan. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Karl Freund. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture. (edited, Source)

Donovan's Reef is a 1963 American adventure comedy film starring John Wayne and Lee Marvin. The picture was directed by John Ford, and filmed in Kauai, Hawaii, but is set in French Polynesia. The supporting cast features Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero, Dick Foran, and Dorothy Lamour. The film marked the last time Ford and Wayne collaborated. (Source)

 

 

[Daverz]

Finch

https://www.youtube.com/v/-0bYWnP3jH4

Seems to be aimed at families, but it's a bit too long and slow for kids.  I found the writing cloying.  They missed an opportunity to name the robot Wilson.

[greg]

SPOILER WARNING:

I feel like this could be the prelude to the "Space Jews" concept Dave Chapelle was talking about. Potential movie trilogy. Second movie is humanity's (the Space Jews') perspective. Third movie the final war.




HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I didn't expect much tbh, but that's because I didn't know it was based off of Dragon Quest 5, which was known to have a great story (never played, only DQ 1, 9, and 11 so far). With a great twist at the end.
Visually looks great, very engaging and fun movie.

[SonicMan46]

The Long, Hot Summer (1958) w/ Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward (the two married that year), Orson Welles, and others.  Purchased in HD on Amazon Prime Video to replace my old DVD. Location filming in Louisiana quite atmospheric; Welles still a powerful character on screen (similar to Burl Ives in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, another Newman staring role) - Newman won 'Best Actor' at the Cannes Film Festival.  Remade in 1985 for television w/ Don Johnson in the Ben Quick role - poor reviews but I've not seen that version.  Dave

The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 American comedy-drama film directed by Martin Ritt. The screenplay was written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., based in part on three works by William Faulkner. Some characters were inspired by Tennessee Williams' 1955 play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a film adaptation of which – also starring Paul Newman – was released five months later. The plot follows the conflicts of the Varner family after ambitious drifter Ben Quick (Newman) arrives in their small Mississippi town. Will Varner (Orson Welles), the patriarch, has doubts about his son, Jody (Anthony Franciosa) and sees Ben as a better choice to inherit his position. Will tries to push Ben and his daughter Clara (Joanne Woodward) into marriage. Filmed in Clinton, Louisiana, the cast was composed mostly of former Actors Studio students, whom Ritt met while he was an assistant teacher to Elia Kazan. (Source)

 

[Madiel]

A couple of nights ago, A Prophet



French prison film that I've meant to see for a while due to the critical acclaim. And it's very good. Charts how a young inmate with no friends or connections gradually becomes very well connected. The central performance is absolutely excellent. You see him go from a terrified kid to a shrewd and confident young man. The film is quite violent at times but it's justified by the story.

[SonicMan46]

Well, still going through my old DVDs and upgrading to Amazon HD streamers, if available, and at  < $10 USD - bought the one below last night:

Captains Courageous (1937) w/ Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, and others. Short synopsis below of a 'coming of age' story.  Tracy w/ a Portuguese accent that sounds fine to me?  He was nominated for 9 Best Actor Oscars in his long career, winning twice - first in 1937 for this film, and the next year for Boys Town - spectacular scenes at sea (quote from link below: "The film is considered a classic semi-documentary record of Grand Banks Schooners fishing under sail. The back projection shots of the period fishing schooners under sail are frequently watched by members of the American Sail Training Community for the sailing shots - rather than for the human plot.")

Captains Courageous is a 1937 adventure film based on the 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling. Backgrounds and exteriors for the film, which updated the story's setting to the mid-1920s, were shot on location in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Shelburne, Nova Scotia in Canada, and Gloucester, Massachusetts. Harvey Cheyne (Bartholomew) is the spoiled son of American business tycoon Frank Burton Cheyne (Douglas). Harvey is shunned by his classmates at a private boarding school, and eventually suspended for bad behavior. His father therefore takes him on a business trip to Europe, travelling there by trans-Atlantic steamship. Mid-passage, Harvey falls overboard in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. He is rescued by a Portuguese-American fisherman, Manuel Fidello (Tracy), and taken aboard the fishing schooner "We're Here", out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow and others.  Wow!


An amazing combo of film noir/psychological drama and more.  Very thought-provoking and with a number of clever turns and twists and makes you think about how our minds work and what is really real.  And how we treat mental illness.

Great soundtrack too!

PD

Just watched. What a trip!

[Brahmsian]

Just watched. What a trip!

Indeed, Karl!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Just watched. What a trip!

I know!  Glad that you enjoyed it.  Did you catch any of the Penderecki music that was in it?  If so, what did you think of it?

PD

[Karl Henning]

I know!  Glad that you enjoyed it.  Did you catch any of the Penderecki music that was in it?  If so, what did you think of it?

PD

You know, I often thought how good the music was, and wondered who had scored the movie. I am too little familiar with most of Penderecki's work, so I basically looked with hungry interest as the music credits rolled.

Strange to say, perhaps, the clearest aural recognition I had was when Dinah Washington began singing, as her voice has featured in my late listening to "Theme for the Eulipions" on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve.

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/avAQrOydurQ

[Pohjolas Daughter]

You know, I often thought how good the music was, and wondered who had scored the movie. I am too little familiar with most of Penderecki's work, so I basically looked with hungry interest as the music credits rolled.

Strange to say, perhaps, the clearest aural recognition I had was when Dinah Shore began singing, as her voice has featured in my late listening to "Theme for the Eulipions" on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve.

Robbie Robertson (as in The Band) was the music supervisor for that movie.  Apparently, he's worked on a number of Scorcese movies.  I've slowly been checking out some of the other works used in that movie like Fog Tropes (Ingram Marshall) and Lontano (John Adams) today.  Must be feeling adventurous! 

Thank you for that link.  I hadn't heard of Rahsaan Roland Kirk before....cool recording!

PD

[Karl Henning]

Robbie Robertson (as in The Band) was the music supervisor for that movie.  Apparently, he's worked on a number of Scorcese movies.  I've slowly been checking out some of the other works used in that movie like Fog Tropes (Ingram Marshall) and Lontano (John Adams) today.  Must be feeling adventurous! 

Thank you for that link.  I hadn't heard of Rahsaan Roland Kirk before....cool recording!

PD

Thought the name Robbie Robertson rang familiar!

[SonicMan46]

Last few days, I've looked at my movie database - most are now BD, but there were nearly 60 old DVDs that Amazon was offering as streaming HDs (pricing varied from $5 to $20) - thus, some new additions to my Amazon Prime Time film collection:

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) w/ Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Edna May Oliver, John Carradine and others; John Ford, director (his first film shot in Technicolor); short synopsis below; the colors on this HD version are superb, a vast improvement over the DVD, which will be heaped in my 'local charity donation' box.

High Society (1956) w/ Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and others, including Louis Armstrong and his band at the time.  Last film for Kelly before becoming a 'real life' princess.  I've loved this film for years mainly because of the music, combo of Bing & Frank, and of course a decent role for the great Louis Armstrong; short synopsis below.  The HD version looked and sounded great!

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) w/ Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, and Diane Baker - brief summary quoted - I was a BIG Jules Verne fan as a boy and this was one of many sci-fi favorites - had on VHS > DVD; a BD (i.e. region A) not available, so decided on Amazon's HD streamer and not disappointed; specials are good for the times and I still enjoy more than the many remakes of recent years; and also enjoy looking at Miss Dahl as she loses more clothes in the trek to earth's center -    Dave

Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the American Revolution. The couple suffers British, Tory, and Indian attacks on their farm before the Revolution ends and peace is restored. (Source)

High Society is a 1956 American romantic musical comedy film; shot in VistaVision and Technicolor, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The film is a musical remake of the The Philadelphia Story (1940). The story involves a successful popular jazz musician (Crosby) who tries to win back the affections of his ex-wife (Kelly), who is preparing to marry another man. The cast also features Celeste Holm, John Lund and Louis Calhern, in his final film, with a musical contribution by Louis Armstrong. The film was Kelly's last professional appearance before she married Prince Rainier III and became Princess consort of Monaco. (edited, Source)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (also called Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth) is a 1959 American science fiction adventure film in color by De Luxe, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Henry Levin, stars James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl. Bernard Herrmann wrote the film score, and the film's storyline was adapted by Charles Brackett from the 1864 novel of the same name by Jules Verne. (Source)

   

[Karl Henning]

Just watched. What a trip!

Had to watch again tonight.

[SimonNZ]

I don't remember much about the film, but do remember thinking Ted Levine conveyed a deeply convincing menace just in a single stare.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Had to watch again tonight.

You know, I was sorely tempted to do the same thing as you.    After chatting with you about it again, I'm thinking of borrowing it--soon.

I don't remember much about the film, but do remember thinking Ted Levine conveyed a deeply convincing menace just in a single stare.

Yes, I felt very uneasy whenever his character came on the screen. 

PD