Last Movie You Watched

[Papy Oli]

in the last couple of days:

Beverly Hills Cop I - For the first time seeing it in English (only ever saw it dubbed in French way back when)



SAW I



Both entertaining...in their own way 

[relm1]

Yesterday I watched "The Old Man and the Sea" with Spencer Tracey.  Kind of cute but not great.

[LKB]

Yesterday I watched "The Old Man and the Sea" with Spencer Tracey.  Kind of cute but not great.

One of the two Hemingway books l can remember reading, decades ago. I've seen the film as well, the book is much, much better.

[aligreto]

I've seen the film as well, the book is much, much better.

I would definitely agree with that comment.

[SimonNZ]

[Daverz]

One of the two Hemingway books l can remember reading, decades ago. I've seen the film as well, the book is much, much better.

I think that is commonly assigned in schools because it is short and it's Hemingway.  I haven't read it since school, but I remember something about an allegory with Old Man = Hemingway, sharks = his critics.  That may have been the instructor's take, I'm not sure I would have gotten that as a kid.

Last films watched:

The Truman Show.  This is an old favorite.  I'd forgotten that it's a Peter Weir film, and he also directed another big favorite: Master and Commander.

Bad Day at Black Rock.  This was filmed in Lone Pine, California, a very striking location that Hollywood used a lot.  Perhaps not coincidentally, the Manzanar concentration camp was just north of Lone Pine. 

[VonStupp]

Robin Hood (1973)
Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Phil Harris

A darker story with grittier 70's Disney animation. An odd mix of British and Southern US accents too.

The sped-up 90's Hamster Dance came from this film's 'Whistle Stop' from Roger Miller.

VS

[VonStupp]

I wonder if the tagline -

Older. Wiser. More Talented.

was a swipe at 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon and Jude Law?

[Karl Henning]

Robin Hood (1973)
Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Phil Harris

A darker story with grittier 70's animation. An odd mix of British and Southern US accents too.

The sped-up 90's Hamster Dance came from this film's 'Whistle Stop' from Roger Miller.

VS

That sounds a most interesting version, indeed.

[SonicMan46]

More video upgrades this week - Westerner, DVD-R > Amazon HD; Hell..., DVD > BD:

The Westerner (1940) - short synopsis below (much more at the link) - Brennan's memorable role as the true life Judge Roy Bean although the ending is fictitious - third Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Walter B. - recommended.

To Hell and Back (1955) - docudrama of the most decorated US soldier in WW II, Audie Murphy (1924-1971) - short summary below - mixed reviews discussed in the link, but I'd do a 4*/5* - he did a great job playing himself (of course he had acted in over a dozen films by then) - he was killed in a plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia (a couple of hours drive from my home).  Dave

The Westerner is an American Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. Written by Niven Busch et al, the film concerns a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegaroon, Texas, who befriends a saddle tramp who opposes the judge's policy against homesteaders. The film is remembered for Walter Brennan's performance as Judge Roy Bean, for which he won his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. (Source)

To Hell and Back is a Technicolor and CinemaScope war film released in 1955. It was directed by Jesse Hibbs and stars Audie Murphy as himself. It is based on the 1949 autobiography of the same name and is an account of Murphy's World War II experiences as a soldier in the U.S. Army. The book was ghostwritten by his friend, David "Spec" McClure, who served in the U.S. Army's Signal Corps during World War II. (Source)

   

[aligreto]

The Banshees of Inisherin:





This is not, in truth, a very recent watch. There is quite the amount of hyperbole surrounding the release of this Irish film. It is very well made and acted and much has been said and written about the performances of both of the male actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
However, for me, the star performance in terms of acting was undoubtedly Kerry Condon in the role of the sister. She delivered an excellent performance throughout the film. She typifies the strong Irish woman character. For me, she is the glue that binds everything together, just as Irish women tend to do.
I do not, however, understand how well the cultural subtleties of the psyche and intricacies of the plot of the film will travel or even be understood by any foreign audience.

[relm1]

The Battle of Britain.  Practically every great British actor.  Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Christopher Plummer (yes I know he's not English, but Canadian) etc.  Crazy that all the aerial combat scenes were real.  All directed by famous '60's bond director, Guy Hamilton, who directed Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, and many other great bond films. 

[Papy Oli]

The Banshees of Inisherin:





This is not, in truth, a very recent watch. There is quite the amount of hyperbole surrounding the release of this Irish film. It is very well made and acted and much has been said and written about the performances of both of the male actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
However, for me, the star performance in terms of acting was undoubtedly Kerry Condon in the role of the sister. She delivered an excellent performance throughout the film. She typifies the strong Irish woman character. For me, she is the glue that binds everything together, just as Irish women tend to do.
I do not, however, understand how well the cultural subtleties of the psyche and intricacies of the plot of the film will travel or even be understood by any foreign audience.

Interesting perspective.

Added to @Madiel 's and @absolutelybaching 's earlier comments about the sheer bleakness of the movie, that will need to be a viewing while being in the right mood and attention.

Personally, I hope Amazon Prime supplies subtitles for this one, otherwise, if the titbits I have seen are anything to go by, it will be like spending 2 hours in a dark room alone with those rowing brothers of Skibbereen.

I'd be feck'd...   

[aligreto]

Interesting perspective.

Added to @Madiel 's and @absolutelybaching 's earlier comments about the sheer bleakness of the movie, that will need to be a viewing while being in the right mood and attention.

Personally, I hope Amazon Prime supplies subtitles for this one, otherwise, if the titbits I have seen are anything to go by, it will be like spending 2 hours in a dark room alone with those rowing brothers of Skibbereen.

I'd be feck'd...   

Yes, definitely a mood film, Olivier. Approaching it in the right frame of mind will certainly help with one's appreciation of it. It is enjoyable though.

[Madiel]

Enjoyable is a strong word...

I think it's a very good film. I just wouldn't use that word for the emotional responses it triggered.

[aligreto]

I just wouldn't use that word for the emotional responses it triggered.

...for you.
I enjoyed it.
Cultural differences obviously.

[pjme]

The Banshees of Inisherin:
 
I do not, however, understand how well the cultural subtleties of the psyche and intricacies of the plot of the film will travel or even be understood by any foreign audience.

The Banshees of Inisherin isn't an "easy" film, but the story told I found neither impenetrable or cryptic. The film is doing quite well in the Low Countries.
Without sinking into melancholy, this wry comedy talks about what can make everyday life worth living. The film is about lingering routine and how friendships can be subject to "wear".
All actors are very good, but Barry Keoghan, who broke through next to Farrell in The killing of a sacred deer, is exquisite in the role of an (all too honest) simpleton.
As mentioned earlier, I liked the subtle musical score (almost fairy tale, childish "tintinabuling") a lot.

[absolutelybaching]

The Banshees of Inisherin isn't an "easy" film, but the story told I found neither impenetrable or cryptic. The film is doing quite well in the Low Countries.
Without sinking into melancholy, this wry comedy talks about what can make everyday life worth living. The film is about lingering routine and how friendships can be subject to "wear".
All actors are very good, but Barry Keoghan, who broke through next to Farrell in The killing of a sacred deer, is exquisite in the role of an (all too honest) simpleton.
As mentioned earlier, I liked the subtle musical score (almost fairy tale, childish "tintinabuling") a lot.

Funny: I didn't think it was about 'what can make everyday life worth living', myself, though I am sure others can detect that element in it. Nor, except incidentally, about friendships that 'wear'.

I recognised myself as the man with zero musical talent and limitless ambition for musical greatness who thus finds himself incapable of making an actual 'go' of life without all his body parts coming off! I found it a film about that line of Salieri from Amadeus: "If you were going to give me the desire, why didn't you give me the talents?" (I paraphrase). The juxtaposition poisoned Salieri's moral character in that film; in this one, it wrecks the would-be artist physically. On the other hand, the sister has more down-to-earth ambitions which aren't such an impediment to making life function properly. The two fools puncture the twin ambition-narratives quite nicely, too.

I think I already said: Barry Keoghan gets my personal Oscar nomination. I thought he was poignantly wonderful here. I think it a fine film.

[ritter]

Another Italian film from the 50s, Alberto Lattuada's La Spiaggia ("The Beach"). This was included among the "100 Italian films to be saved" list compiled in 2008 by the Venice Festival.



A lachrymose melodrama about a prostitute who vacations with her daughter in a luxury resort, only to face hostility when she is found out. The film tries to give an acerbic view on social hypocrisy, and the bittersweet denouement is a bit abrupt.

What it really resembles is the lush melodramas of Douglas Sirk (also in terms of "look and feel"), but it is worth noting that it is from 1954, when Sirk was only starting his string of movies of that sort, and also long before the German-American director's work was being critically reappraised —initially by Cahiers du Cinéma in 1967–.

Not sure this film really deserves to be among the "100 to be saved"...

[aligreto]

The Banshees of Inisherin isn't an "easy" film, but the story told I found neither impenetrable or cryptic. The film is doing quite well in the Low Countries.
Without sinking into melancholy, this wry comedy talks about what can make everyday life worth living. The film is about lingering routine and how friendships can be subject to "wear".
All actors are very good, but Barry Keoghan, who broke through next to Farrell in The killing of a sacred deer, is exquisite in the role of an (all too honest) simpleton.
As mentioned earlier, I liked the subtle musical score (almost fairy tale, childish "tintinabuling") a lot.

I very much agree with your assessment of the film with regard to "how friendships can be subject to "wear".  Some friendships can even eventually become toxic.
I also agree with your assessment of Barry Keoghan in his "exquisite in the role of an (all too honest) simpleton". His was also a very fine performance amongst all of the others'.