Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

It's been maybe ten years since l watched STFC, but l remember enjoying Ben Cross. I also got a chuckle out of tipsy Troi, unless I'm remembering incorrectly.

I'm a sucker for just about anything with the Borg, tbh. I wish l could produce a film featuring the Borg returning to Earth during the Renaissance. I can see the king/queen of < insert country of preference here > now, rallying their troops:

" Resistance is feudal! "

,

LKB

You remember aright; Troi was knackered. No synthohol in the 21st c.!

[Karl Henning]

These days, he would have been a shoo-in because of it. He was ahead of his time. Give him points for that.

TD: My lighter fare last night was Star Trek III, The Search for Spock. I am very fond of II - IV. I find myself shying away from V & VI, but game for VII. Don't think I'm interested in the "reboot" movies.

I miscounted and erred, both.  That should read "game for VIII, i.e. First Contact." I've also since learnt that it is V I've been shying away from — Ebert: "Star Trek V" is pretty much of a mess - a movie that betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest. There is no clear line from the beginning of the movie to the end, not much danger, no characters to really care about, little suspense, uninteresting or incomprehensible villains, and a great deal of small talk and pointless dead ends. Of all of the "Star Trek" movies, this is the worst.

The good news being, it seems to me that I have unfairly neglected VI ....

[VonStupp]

I miscounted and erred, both.  That should read "game for VIII, i.e. First Contact." I've also since learnt that it is V I've been shying away from — Ebert: "Star Trek V" is pretty much of a mess - a movie that betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest. There is no clear line from the beginning of the movie to the end, not much danger, no characters to really care about, little suspense, uninteresting or incomprehensible villains, and a great deal of small talk and pointless dead ends. Of all of the "Star Trek" movies, this is the worst.

The good news being, it seems to me that I have unfairly neglected VI ....

If you like the original Trek cast, V has lots of small moments for the secondary cast. You just have to shut off the main story.

As I understand it, a Writer's Strike and Teamsters Strike caused production problems for Shatner as director.

I do like VI. 

VS

[Karl Henning]

Concerning the two versions of The Exorcist III/Legion ...

For the Director's Cut, the original version had to be culled from videotapes, rather than the original footage on film.  As a result, according to the reviews, the quality of those sections is sub-par, since the tapes had deteriorated during the 25 years before their discovery.

Apparently no real restoration of the tapes was done.

While I did 'watch' the restoration the other day with the commentary, the commentary was a distraction. An informative and worthwhile distraction, though. Watched it properly tonight. The Br. Fane subplot is now clear. The movie does not suffer from losing the exorcism &c. I don't know that we understand why Kinderman is simply able to plug Venamun at the end. It seems easy and/or just a rebound from the incident chez Kinderman.

So: flawed, but highly worthwhile.

If you like the original Trek cast, V has lots of small moments for the secondary cast. You just have to shut off the main story.

As I understand it, a Writer's Strike and Teamsters Strike caused production problems for Shatner as director.

I do like VI. 

VS

Too bad for Shatner, tough break. In their shared commentary upon IV, Nimoy lauded Shatner for V, but that was perhaps the part of a friend.

[Karl Henning]

Fascinating — Death Be Not Proud: The Making of Exorcist III.

Found the whole thing of interest, but especially the interviews with Brad Dourif.

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



This is just the start. Chapter 5, All This Bleeding (not part of this YouTube vid) spells out the process of the studio's tacking on the exorcism.

[aligreto]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:





After about two and a half hours of watching this film I asked myself at its conclusion "What was that all about?!?!"

[aligreto]

I'm not particularly a Tarantino fan, but I did enjoy that one.  My take was that he was evoking a particular time and place while constructing an alternative what-if narrative, in which the defining event that was the Sharon Tate murders was thwarted not by less craziness but more and different craziness.  It being a crazy time (seemed to be the idea.)

Interestingly, I am a fan of Tarantino but I just found the general body of the film to be rambling, disjointed and incoherent even if I do readily accept your interpretation. That one was just not for me.

[Karl Henning]

Star Trek: First Contact. Tickled at the thought of how highly illogical the Vulcans will find Cochrane. I enjoyed this thoroughly. Glad that Troi was in the cast, though she was of necessity underutilized. Bemused, too, that two things I've missed by skipping to this 'un were: Laforge no longer requires a visor and Data has an emotion chip.

And Picard relaxes by listening to Les Troyens. What's not to like?

[Karl Henning]

8½ ... It's a funny thing (or is it?) As the film runs a bit more than two hours, I seldom reach for it. But whenever I watch it I am charmed and drawn to watch the whole. I do love it.

[SonicMan46]

8½ ... It's a funny thing (or is it?) As the film runs a bit more than two hours, I seldom reach for it. But whenever I watch it I am charmed and drawn to watch the whole. I do love it.

Hi Karl - probably saw that film around 1970 - Susan and I dated in Ann Arbor in the late '60s, married in 1970, left in 1971 after my graduation, BUT there was a foreign movie theater that we frequented and saw probably over several dozen sub-titled films during that time - now I rarely watch movies w/ sub-titles (just don't have the 'concentration span' anymore) - believe that the last one we streamed was Roma - thanks for the reminder, brings back school day memories!  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Another DVD replacement for a HD Amazon streamer:

Mogambo (1953) w/ Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly; John Ford, director (see quote below); filming was done on location (see second quote, same source); Gable with a little grey hair on the sides was still only in his early 50s - Gardner and Kelly beautiful as ever (one of Grace's early films) - I love these early location films in places like Africa were the animals were still real and interactions w/ the actors still allowed, e.g. Gardner playing w/ a baby elephant and rhino (Hatari is another film from the era I enjoy).  Dave

Mogambo is a 1953 Technicolor adventure/romantic drama film directed by John Ford and starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and featuring Donald Sinden. Shot on location in Equatorial Africa, with a musical soundtrack entirely of actual African tribal music recorded in the Congo, the film was adapted by John Lee Mahin from the play Red Dust by Wilson Collison. The picture is a remake of Red Dust (1932), which was set in Vietnam and also starred Gable in the same role. (Source)

Filming was done on location in Okalataka, French Congo; Mount Kenya, Thika, Kenya — Mt Longonot, and Lake Naivasha, both in the Kenyan Rift Valley and Fourteen Falls near Thika are seen as backdrops — Kagera River, Tanganyika; Isoila, Uganda, and interiors were shot at the MGM-British Studios, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Hi Karl - probably saw that film around 1970 - Susan and I dated in Ann Arbor in the late '60s, married in 1970, left in 1971 after my graduation, BUT there was a foreign movie theater that we frequented and saw probably over several dozen sub-titled films during that time - now I rarely watch movies w/ sub-titles (just don't have the 'concentration span' anymore) - believe that the last one we streamed was Roma - thanks for the reminder, brings back school day memories!  Dave

Cheers, Dave! I like the Fellini subtitles, because my ear picks up some of the Italian ... so I learn more all the time.

[Karl Henning]

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I can still say that I enjoyed this thoroughly even while I think the screenwriters beat the "this Klingon loves Shakespeare" wheeze into the damned ground, right? Nimoy headed the story credits, I think I recall, and it's a great story.

[JBS]

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I can still say that I enjoyed this thoroughly even while I think the screenwriters beat the "this Klingon loves Shakespeare" wheeze into the damned ground, right? Nimoy headed the story credits, I think I recall, and it's a great story.

My chief memory of that was Ms. Nichols's unexpected talent for belly dancing.

[Karl Henning]

My chief memory of that was Ms. Nichols's unexpected talent for belly dancing.

Quite understandable!

[SonicMan46]

Die Hard (1988) w/ Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, and others - new 4K acquisition; probably saw this the first time in the theater w/ my teenage son, now have gone from DVD > BD > 4K.  Short synopsis below plus review of the 4k film (from HERE) - purchased prompted by Amazon discount to $10, a no-brainer for me - wore headphones (vs. my den's standard stereo) which simulated the surround sound effects (highly recommended).  Now I've seen most of the sequels over the years, but the original is the only one in my collection.  Dave

Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, and it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia. Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Die Hard (1988) w/ Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, and others - new 4K acquisition; probably saw this the first time in the theater w/ my teenage son, now have gone from DVD > BD > 4K.  Short synopsis below plus review of the 4k film (from HERE) - purchased prompted by Amazon discount to $10, a no-brainer for me - wore headphones (vs. my den's standard stereo) which simulated the surround sound effects (highly recommended).  Now I've seen most of the sequels over the years, but the original is the only one in my collection.  Dave

 

Benefits of a classical education....

[Artem]

8½ ... It's a funny thing (or is it?) As the film runs a bit more than two hours, I seldom reach for it. But whenever I watch it I am charmed and drawn to watch the whole. I do love it.

I love 8½. I watched it a few times, but I never had a sense that it was more than two hours long. I need to rewatch it again.

[SimonNZ]

[SonicMan46]

Guns of Navarone, The (1961) w/ Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, and many others - just bought the 4K version shown below (outstanding review HERE) - the film (video and sound) look spectacular in this new restoration; nominated for 7 Oscars, just won one for 'Special Effects' (which were great!).  Dave

The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 epic adventure war film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, based on Alistair MacLean's 1957 novel of the same name. The film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren and Richard Harris. The book and the film share the same plot: the efforts of an Allied commando unit to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress that threatens Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea. (Source)