Last Movie You Watched

[Madiel]

I think this is perhaps the most extraordinary thing she's done so far (along with Blue Jasmine and Tàr). Oh, that funeral oration!
Did you have the chance to also see Julian Rosefeldt's original concept of the work as a multiple-screen video installation? The impression one is left with is markedly different from the (eventual) film; it hits you even harder.

Yes, I originally saw the installation, in Melbourne. Having it as a linear film isn't quite the same. There's no doubt the impact of having Cate Blanchett close-ups synchronised all over the room is something you can't replicate on a single screen, even though he kind of tries.

After I bought the DVD I realised he has the separate pieces on his website. I actually asked if he had any plans to release them more widely in that form and the answer was no.
https://www.julianrosefeldt.com/film-and-video-works/manifesto-_2014-2015/
 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Sleepily watched Centurion whilst trying not to hack away (My stupid cough is driving me bananas!  At least my hearing is getting better).  From Wiki:

Centurion is a 2010 British historical action-war film written and directed by Neil Marshall,[2] loosely based on the disappearance of the Roman Empire's Ninth Legion in Caledonia in the early second century CE. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko. It received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office, only earning half of its $12 million budget.

I found it to be quite unengaging (though I realize that I wasn't feeling my best).

PD

[relm1]

Anyone remember my saying that Peter Shaffer's Amadeus is a brilliant stage play, but the problem with the movie is that viewers mistake it for a documentary?

It's one of my favorite films though realizing it's fiction.  Similarly, I love Kaufman's The Right Stuff but it gets none of the history or characters right.  It's historical fiction but does a great job of engaging story telling and caricatures of some of the real people. 

[SonicMan46]

Despite being court room drama fans, a movie below that we missed - bought as a 4K UHD on Amazon:

Primal Fear (1996) w/ cast below and brief synopsis.  Astounding performance by the young Edward Norton in his debut performance - I'd go 4*/5* on Amazon - highly recommended especial for Norton's role.  Dave

Primal Fear is an American legal thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit, based on William Diehl's 1993 novel of the same name, and written by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman. It stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand and Edward Norton in his film debut. The film revolves around a Chicago defense attorney who believes that his altar boy client is not guilty of killing an influential Catholic archbishop. (Source)

 

[71 dB]

To be fair if DG are promoting a disc with a cover like this......

Elgar? Looks like the Cello Concerto, excepts mostly. I saw the trailer for this movie when I went to see The Fabelmans and I am 100 % sure there wasn't any Elgar playing in the trailer.

[DavidW]

Elgar? Looks like the Cello Concerto, excepts mostly. I saw the trailer for this movie when I went to see The Fabelmans and I am 100 % sure there wasn't any Elgar playing in the trailer.

It is the cello concerto.  In the movie, she allows one of the new members of the orchestra to perform the solo as a classic abuse of power.

[Karl Henning]

It's one of my favorite films though realizing it's fiction.  Similarly, I love Kaufman's The Right Stuff but it gets none of the history or characters right.  It's historical fiction but does a great job of engaging story telling and caricatures of some of the real people. 

Agreed that they're both good entertainment!

[SimonNZ]

Quite a lot of fiction, particularly in the last half hour, which is more fiction than fact. The sets and costumes are old school clumsy, as is Korngolds score. But Bette Davis performance is still remarkable all these years on.

Hadn't known this was in color, one of the initial big impact 1939 colors, along with Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind and Robin Hood.

[Karl Henning]

Quite a lot of fiction, particularly in the last half hour, which is more fiction than fact. The sets and costumes are old school clumsy, as is Korngolds score. But Bette Davis performance is still remarkable all these years on.

Hadn't known this was in color, one of the initial big impact 1939 colors, along with Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind and Robin Hood.

Fascinating!

[SonicMan46]

   

Quite a lot of fiction, particularly in the last half hour, which is more fiction than fact. The sets and costumes are old school clumsy, as is Korngolds score. But Bette Davis performance is still remarkable all these years on.

Hadn't known this was in color, one of the initial big impact 1939 colors, along with Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind and Robin Hood.

Recently, I upgraded this film to BD (inserted above - 5* rating for visual restoration HERE) - lot of interesting info at the link below including the quotation about Davis not wanting Flynn for the Essex role - Dave

Davis had lobbied for Laurence Olivier to play the part of Essex, but Warner Brothers, nervous at giving the part to an actor who was relatively unknown in the United States, instead cast Errol Flynn, who was at the height of his success. Davis felt he was not equal to the task, and also believed from past experience that his casual attitude to his work would be reflected in his performance. For her own part, she studied the life of Elizabeth, worked hard to adopt a passable accent, and shaved her hairline to achieve a greater resemblance. Many years later, however, Davis viewed the film with her friend, Olivia de Havilland. At the film's end, Davis turned to de Havilland and admitted, "I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Flynn was brilliant!" (Source)

[SonicMan46]

Amazon had this film for $5 USD as a 4K UHD streamer, so an easy decision:

Moneyball (2011) - synopsis below w/ cast - based on a true story about the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their manager Billy Beane (pic below, right) - ratings: 7.6, IMDB; 94%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.7/5* Amazon - I'd do a 4* vote on the latter site - recommended if you're into baseball movies. Dave

Moneyball is an American sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller with a script by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin from a story by Stan Chervin. The film is based on the 2003 nonfiction book by Michael Lewis, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant general manager Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise's limited budget, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players. Philip Seymour Hoffman also as Art Howe. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

At the film's end, Davis turned to de Havilland and admitted, "I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Flynn was brilliant!"

Wow! Gotta love people who are adult enough to own when they were mistaken. And darned if I ain't interested in this now. Dave!...

[SimonNZ]

Recently, I upgraded this film to BD (inserted above - 5* rating for visual restoration HERE) - lot of interesting info at the link below including the quotation about Davis not wanting Flynn for the Essex role - Dave

Heh. Well, the role of Essex requires a vain swashbuckler with an outsized view of his own talent and who knows how far his good looks can take him, rather than a Shakespearian gravitas, so, yeah its definitely more Flynn than Olivier.

I'm pleased to hear that Davis and de Havilland were good friends.

[Karl Henning]

Heh. Well, the role of Essex requires a vain swashbuckler with an outsized view of his own talent and who knows how far his good looks can take him, rather than a Shakespearian gravitas, so, yeah its definitely more Flynn than Olivier.

A good fit, then

[relm1]

I saw Tar today.  Interesting to see a film set around classical music conducting but that is really not what the film is about.  It just happens to be the setting.  Amazing performance by Cate Blanchet.  I've seen professional conductors way worse than she is.  One small thing that really blew me away was how she so subtly tried to cajole a different emotion in Mahler's Adagietto.  It just felt so real.  She really conveyed an idea and emotion the orchestra wasn't conveying as if she's had this piece in her mind for decades.  That's amazing acting!  BUT, important for people to understand, that is not what this film is about. 

[Karl Henning]

I saw Tar today.  Interesting to see a film set around classical music conducting but that is really not what the film is about.  It just happens to be the setting.  Amazing performance by Cate Blanchet.  I've seen professional conductors way worse than she is.  One small thing that really blew me away was how she so subtly tried to cajole a different emotion in Mahler's Adagietto.  It just felt so real.  She really conveyed an idea and emotion the orchestra wasn't conveying as if she's had this piece in her mind for decades.  That's amazing acting!  BUT, important for people to understand, that is not what this film is about. 

Interesting, thanks.

[Karl Henning]

Last night, SWAMBO's choice:

The In-Laws (1979) w/ Falk & Arkin in one of the funniest films of the era (synopsis below) - own the Criterion BD which is a superb restoration.  BTW, the scene below is where Arkin learns the so-called 'serpentine' movement to escape being shot -    Highly recommended - Dave

 

José Grecos de muertos ....

[SonicMan46]

Nothing Sacred (1937) - several quotes below w/ short synopsis and cast. An Amazon HD streamer restored by Kino Lorber w/ 4*/5* AV ratings HERE - well done for a film around 85 years old!  Carol Lombard (1908-1942; airplane crash) just beautiful in color and a great comedic role for her.  Ratings: 92% Rotten Tomatoes and 3 1/2*/4* both VideoHound and Maltin.  Dave

Nothing Sacred is an American Technicolor screwball comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March with a supporting cast featuring Charles Winninger and Walter Connolly. The lush, Gershwinesque music score was by Oscar Levant, with additional music by Alfred Newman and Max Steiner. The film's opening credits feature distinctive caricatures of the leading actors, as 3d-figurines. This was Lombard's only Technicolor film, and was one of her personal favorites. (Source)

Certain she was dying from radium poisoning, Hazel Flagg (Carole Lombard) is delighted to learn from her doctor that it was a false alarm. But when dapper and desperate New York City reporter Wally Cook (Fredric March) shows up looking for a story about a young girl braving terminal illness, Hazel decides that she's sick again. Wally whisks her off to Manhattan, where her supposed courage wins her many admirers. The toast of the town, she falls in love with Wally and dreads being discovered. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Certain she was dying from radium poisoning, Hazel Flagg (Carole Lombard) is delighted to learn from her doctor that it was a false alarm. But when dapper and desperate New York City reporter Wally Cook (Fredric March) shows up looking for a story about a young girl braving terminal illness, Hazel decides that she's sick again. Wally whisks her off to Manhattan, where her supposed courage wins her many admirers. The toast of the town, she falls in love with Wally and dreads being discovered.

I somehow read your post backwards, Dave, reading this first, and I was very surprised to find that it's after all a screwball comedy ; )

[SonicMan46]

I somehow read your post backwards, Dave, reading this first, and I was very surprised to find that it's after all a screwball comedy ; )

Hi Karl - well, I guess 'radium girls' were 'topical' at the time but a tragic occupational hazard as noted below (much more at the link for those interested) - BUT the movie is definitely a comedy - 

Radium dials were typically painted by young women, who used to 'point' their brushes by licking and shaping the bristles prior to painting the fine lines and numbers on the dials. This practice resulted in the ingestion of radium, which caused serious jaw-bone degeneration and malignancy and other dental diseases. The disease, radium-induced osteonecrosis, was recognized as an occupational disease in 1925 after a group of radium painters, known as the Radium Girls, from the United States Radium Corporation sued. By 1930, all dial painters stopped pointing their brushes by mouth. Stopping this practice drastically reduced the amount of radium ingested and therefore, the incidence of malignancy. (Source)