Last Movie You Watched

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Godzilla Minus One: Behind the Scenes.

I haven't seen Behind the Scenes. Do you like it? Plus, did you like the movie? I thought it was vg.

[Karl Henning]

I haven't seen Behind the Scenes. Do you like it? Plus, did you like the movie? I thought it was vg.

Aye, the blu-ray was a recent impulse purchase. I remembered enjoying it so well, checking it out from the Library. There's a second disc with bonus materials. 

[Madiel]

Castle in the Sky (Laputa)



Not the first Miyazaki film, but the first Studio Ghibli film. Much more of an action-adventure story than the others I've revisited recently (shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark). It starts off with a young girl being pursued by multiple groups, only she doesn't quite know why. It might have something to do with that rather pretty necklace she has...

Pretty entertaining. Possibly more explosion than I'd normally like in a film, but hey, they were all animated ones.

[Kalevala]

Lean was able to use three phenomenal screenwriters for his films "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai":  Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman.  The writing for "Lawrence" was often poetic;  certainly deeply moving.
I regard Robert Bolt as the greatest screenwriter of the post 'golden era' of cinema in the US and UK.

@Cato (and others here):

Great movie!  A classic and for a good reason!

K

[Belle]

@Cato (and others here):

Great movie!  A classic and for a good reason!

K

For me there are 3 things which make a film 'great':  Screenwriting, Acting and Cinematography.  "Lawrence of Arabia" filled that bill and more (direction)!!  I love LISTENING to the words:  "I think you're one of those desert-loving English"!! 

[Kalevala]

For me there are 3 things which make a film 'great':  Screenwriting, Acting and Cinematography.  "Lawrence of Arabia" filled that bill and more (direction)!!  I love LISTENING to the words:  "I think you're one of those desert-loving English"!! 

My goof!  I was just referring to "The Bridge...".   

I have caught parts of LOA, but haven't watched it from beginning to end.  Will have to see whether or not I can get it through my library.

And yes, I think that those are probably the most important, but other factors also weigh in for me like soundtrack.

K

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Aye, the blu-ray was a recent impulse purchase. I remembered enjoying it so well, checking it out from the Library. There's a second disc with bonus materials.

When you have a chance, please check out Rental Family.

[Cato]

For me there are 3 things which make a film 'great':  Screenwriting, Acting and Cinematography.  "Lawrence of Arabia" filled that bill and more (direction)!!  I love LISTENING to the words:  "I think you're one of those desert-loving English"!! 

While doing research for a novel set in 1920's Ethiopia, I discovered several British explorers, including an intrepid woman, who traversed Ethiopia and other areas of Africa, and whose names are no longer known, or no longer well-known, today.

The British used to crank out characters like T.E. Lawrence, General Charles Gordon, Mungo Park, Sir Richard Burton (NOT the actor),Sylvia Pankhurst, Rosita Forbes, et al. with regularity, men and women who were multi-lingual, sensitive to the foreign cultures, and constantly curious.

Anyway, Claude Raines is not to be missed in Lawrence of Arabia! 

My goof!  I was just referring to "The Bridge...". 

I have caught parts of LOA, but haven't watched it from beginning to end.  Will have to see whether or not I can get it through my library.

And yes, I think that those are probably the most important, but other factors also weigh in for me like soundtrack.

K

You will ( I believe) enjoy the soundtrack and everything else about Lawrence of Arabia!


Recently, going alphabetically through our movies (skipping some, depending on what Mrs. Cato might like at the moment)...

Catch Me If You Can - Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks Directed by Steven Spielberg.

"Based on a True Story", but, as it turns out, not much at all!

The books written by the main character, Frank Abagnale, who supposedly confesses his con-man crimes in them and claims to be an advisor to the F.B.I. on fraud crimes, are mostly "con jobs" themselves, containing very little truth about his crimes, which he often invented or exaggerated.

Despite that, it is a very good movie!

And...

Chocolat with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Ann Moss, Alfred Molina, and toward the end, Johnny Depp shows up as an Irish "river rat."



Very enjoyable: great score by Rachel Portman.

[Philo]

A film that has only grown in my estimation: The 400 Blows



I've now seen this film at very different stages of my life, and my opinion of it has changed radically, in fact, my original opinion of it is diametric to the one that I hold now - the primary actor is stunning, and the ending is nearing sublimity aka divinity, which is a term I used to avoid, but I think Corso's system of classification makes sense, at least for art: talent, genius, divine, and that ending is as close as I've seen to reaching that top level appellation. 

[Belle]

While doing research for a novel set in 1920's Ethiopia, I discovered several British explorers, including an intrepid woman, who traversed Ethiopia and other areas of Africa, and whose names are no longer known, or no longer well-known, today.

The British used to crank out characters like T.E. Lawrence, General Charles Gordon, Mungo Park, Sir Richard Burton (NOT the actor),Sylvia Pankhurst, Rosita Forbes, et al. with regularity, men and women who were multi-lingual, sensitive to the foreign cultures, and constantly curious.

Anyway, Claude Raines is not to be missed in Lawrence of Arabia! 

You will ( I believe) enjoy the soundtrack and everything else about Lawrence of Arabia!


Recently, going alphabetically through our movies (skipping some, depending on what Mrs. Cato might like at the moment)...

Catch Me If You Can - Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks Directed by Steven Spielberg.

"Based on a True Story", but, as it turns out, not much at all!

The books written by the main character, Frank Abagnale, who supposedly confesses his con-man crimes in them and claims to be an advisor to the F.B.I. on fraud crimes, are mostly "con jobs" themselves, containing very little truth about his crimes, which he often invented or exaggerated.

Despite that, it is a very good movie!

And...

Chocolat with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Ann Moss, Alfred Molina, and toward the end, Johnny Depp shows up as an Irish "river rat."



Very enjoyable: great score by Rachel Portman.

I loved Johnny Depp back then and enjoyed his appearance in "Chocolat".  In fact, I have an anecdote about the film.  At the end of Year 12, just before the matriculation exams, my Advanced English class left some chocolates on my desk and said there was a surprise!  Sure enough they'd wheeled the video (as it was back then) and TV and said we were going to watch the film as they knew I loved Johnny Depp (not the modern JD!).  I loved it when Alfred Molina threw himself onto a bed of chocolate.  I've had that instinct myself at times, even though unexpressed!!

[Karl Henning]

Godzilla - 1.0 Even better each time.

[AnotherSpin]

Pale Flower is a luminous gem of Japanese New Wave cinema. Masahiro Shinoda blends a shadowed noir mood with quiet existential poetry. Toru Takemitsu's evocative score deepens the sense of fragile desire and inevitable decay, while the mesmerizing performances of Ryō Ikebe and Mariko Kaga give the film its lasting resonance.

[71 dB]

I have been watching these on Blu-ray this week:


CONJURING 4: THE LAST RITES (Michael Chaves, 2025)
Better than the third Conjuring movie, but not as good as the first two. 3.5 / 5


WEAPONS (Zach Cregger, 2025)
Hyped as one of the best horror movies of last year. It is good. 4 / 5


TRON (Steven Lisberger, 1982)
Only now did I see this movie. I love the visual look of it. 4 / 5


JEANNE DIELMAN, 23, QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
Great European slow ultrarealistic cinema. Voted the best movie in the World in the Sight & Sound 2022 ranking. 4.5 / 5

[AnotherSpin]

Only on Mondays, another film with mesmerizing Mariko Kaga.

Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi

[Karl Henning]

I have been watching these on Blu-ray this week:


CONJURING 4: THE LAST RITES (Michael Chaves, 2025)
Better than the third Conjuring movie, but not as good as the first two. 3.5 / 5


WEAPONS (Zach Cregger, 2025)
Hyped as one of the best horror movies of last year. It is good. 4 / 5


TRON (Steven Lisberger, 1982)
Only now did I see this movie. I love the visual look of it. 4 / 5


JEANNE DIELMAN, 23, QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
Great European slow ultrarealistic cinema. Voted the best movie in the World in the Sight & Sound 2022 ranking. 4.5 / 5

I had seen Tron in the movie house when it was released, and I've greatly enjoyed revisiting it.

[brewski]

Needed a silly distraction over the weekend, so had some friends over to watch The Gang's All Here (1943), a Busby Berkeley classic. The excellent cast includes Alice Faye, Charlotte Greenwood, and Everett Edward Horton, but for most people, the main draw is Carmen Miranda. Among the musical interludes, "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat" apparently caused the film to be banned in Brazil at the time (I won't give away why), and the finale, "The Polka-Dot Polka," is Berkeley surrealism at its best.

It's available on YouTube, free and in excellent audio and video here. 

[Karl Henning]

The Big Boss (1971) Bruce Lee's first major lead. Amusing story: Jas Tien was already cast as the lead male (playing Brother Hsu) it was decided to give Lee a crack at it. They started shooting and it was decided that whichever of the two was less charismatic, that character would be killed off early in the picture. Hard cheese on Tien. Warts and all, fun to watch. 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Godzilla - 1.0 Even better each time.

Do you see a partial (significant?) influence of Jaws on the movie?

[Fëanor]

I watched Sinners a couple of days ago ...



It's a much better that average zombie movie featuring some nice Blues music and racial issues dealt with very well -- but all said & do, it's still a zombie movie.  I rate it 7.5/10 on the IMBD scale

[Karl Henning]

Do you see a partial (significant?) influence of Jaws on the movie?

Not sure. What do you think?

TD: Fist of Fury (1972)