Last Movie You Watched

[André]

     What's Fact and What's Fiction in Dunkirk

     There are spoilers here.

Excellent, thanks !

The Slate article contains a link to a another writing piece that is very interesting as it sheds light on the fact that, as war movies go, Dunkirk (or, to give it its french title, Dunkerque) is as close to an anti-war movie as could be (even though he starts by saying it's not an anti-war movie !). The author rightly points out that it was civilians who carried the day, not soldiers.

Link: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/07/21/dunkirk_isn_t_anti_war_but_it_subverts_war_movies.html

I'm surprised that the line of Churchill's speech (in voice over in the last scenes) in which he obliquely hints at an eventual entry of the New World into WWII has not been commented on. I admire both Churchill's and Nolan's restraint here....

[aligreto]

Le Week-End....





Very entertaining and engaging.

[aligreto]

Well, and I cringe, I heard that they announced Tim Burton was to redo Dumbo.  Seeing I loved the original and that I do not care for his work, I just cannot see it.  Maybe he will surprise me, but until then I will continue to breathe normally.  As for Beauty and the Beast I thought the animated version and the Broadway play were both superior to this installment.

I did not see the Broadway play but I agree on the superiority of the original animation version over the live action one. More importantly, so does my daughter, who is the real critic when compared to me 

[Karl Henning]

Yeah, I've kept myself off the streets 

Is that Peter Weller?

[Karl Henning]

No matter where you go, there you are.

[Bogey]

One of my guilty pleasures.  Some have it as a cult movie.  I've had to had watched it more than a dozen times over the years:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i328ViSXL._SS500_.jpg

[Karl Henning]

One of my guilty pleasures.  Some have it as a cult movie.  I've had to had watched it more than a dozen times over the years:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i328ViSXL._SS500_.jpg

Is it a guilty pleasure?  I mean, I can be your cover, by pointing out that I like The Shining  0:)

I went to see that in the cinema back when it was released, and I remember that being a fun night at the movies.  What a cast, for goodness' sake:  Harry Dean Stanton as "Brain," Isaac Hayes as the Duke of New York, President Donald Pleasance, cabbie Ernest Borgnine . . . and of course, Adrienne Barbeau as "Brain's squeeze."

[Karl Henning]

All of which is to say . . . I suppose it is time I watch it again . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Escape from New York Blu-ray Review
The Big Apple is rotten.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, April 18, 2015

When one Rudolph Giuliani undertook a major scrubbing of Manhattan during his mayoralty, promising to make formerly (supposedly)  nefarious spots like Times Square family friendly, he perhaps helped to erase the last vestiges of a situation which informed the subtext of  John Carpenter's fondly remembered 1981 film Escape from New York.  Even during Giuliani's reign, when typically curmudgeonly New  Yorkers may have been perhaps a little surprised at the changes their urban environment was undergoing, there was at least a simmering  subcutaneous feeling of incipient chaos that might break out, despite the best efforts of a gentrification that by most accounts did  materially improve the look if not the actual feel of the Big Apple's mean streets.  But things were definitely tamped down under Giuliani's  aegis, at least in terms of rampant, in your face, crime, and memories perhaps soon faded as to how things had been before Giuliani  and his team took a figurative antiseptic wipe to the burg.  That adrenaline fueled, slightly scary ambience which had been part of New York's  stock in trade for untold decades before this turn of events may have provided at least the semblance of "reality" in the admittedly pretty  fanciful setup of Carpenter's film, where the entire island of Manhattan has been sequestered from the decent folks of law abiding society  and turned into a prison.  In the wild and wooly eighties it wasn't hard to imagine the already turbulent environment of New York City tipping  completely over into lawlessness, and the concept of simply transforming the isle into a fortress filled with criminals may not have seemed  that big of a stretch.  Carpenter is actually on record as stating it wasn't New York's then roiling atmosphere which inspired his original  screenplay (written in the 1970s) as much as a post-Watergate feeling of cynicism and perhaps even disgust with government, though  Carpenter also has basically stated that it didn't take a rocket scientist to look at the "jungle" of New York and imagine a scenario where the  inmates took control of whatever remained of the asylum.  This new Shout! Factory release touts a new 2K scan of the film's interpositive  struck from the original negative (more about that in the video section, below), while also porting over both previously released  (DVD) supplements and a bevy of new  material that were not part of the previous bare bones  release from MGM.

[Bogey]

Is it a guilty pleasure?  I mean, I can be your cover, by pointing out that I like The Shining  0:)

I went to see that in the cinema back when it was released, and I remember that being a fun night at the movies.  What a cast, for goodness' sake:  Harry Dean Stanton as "Brain," Isaac Hayes as the Duke of New York, President Donald Pleasance, cabbie Ernest Borgnine . . . and of course, Adrienne Barbeau as "Brain's squeeze."

Call me "Snake", Karl.

And I would throw gas mileage to the wind and readily trade in my Fit for The Duke's ride:

[Karl Henning]

That's definitely not moving at warp speed.

[Bogey]

That's definitely not moving at warp speed.

This enables folks to "soak in" the moment.

[zamyrabyrd]

Lawrence of Arabia

We watch that film periodically around here.
By chance I am reading "The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia" by Phillip Knightly and Colin Simpson (1969).

[Karl Henning]

We watch that film periodically around here.
By chance I am reading "The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia" by Phillip Knightly and Colin Simpson (1969).

I need to watch that 'un again.

[Cato]

Lawrence of Arabia



The epic in all of it's glory 

I need to watch that 'un again.

I have always thought that Claude Rains was simply outstanding as the droll, Realpolitikisch Dryden.  "Dry" is part of the joke, I would think!  0:)

[SonicMan46]

Lawrence of Arabia

 

The epic in all of it's glory 

For those who love Lawrence of Arabia and are into the blu-ray format, then I highly recommend the BD inserted above - partial quote of the opening video description quoted below - full review HERE - both visuals and sound are superb - a true 'demonstration' disc!  Dave

To be sure, no rose-colored glasses are required to see the greatness in the look back at Lawrence of Arabia, and now through the high scrutiny lens of Blu-ray comes an image that today requires only the gift of sight to see in all of its filmic glory. Sony's meticulous 4K restoration is not just a treat, it's a revelation and perhaps the definitive Blu-ray catalogue release, if not the format's finest presentation. It's a beautiful picture, to say the least, every frame lovingly cared for and displayed on Blu-ray with the sort of attention to detail and, indeed, flawlessness that a film of this magnitude commands. Sony's picture dazzles from the opening shots of Lawrence speeding down very well-defined pavement and past sharp and accurate foliage.

[SonicMan46]

Last night, an Amazon streamer that was on my 'to watch' list:

Kong: Skull Island (2017) w/ Tom Hiddleston, Samuel Jackson, Bree Larson, John Goodman, et al - short synopsis below.  Reviews: 6.8/10, IMDB; 76%, Rotten Tomatoes; and 3/4, Roger Ebert Site (review by Matt Zoller Seitz HERE - rather good for those interested).  I'm a BIG fan of monster movies since childhood and still enjoy watching - of the BIG APE films, I do own the original King Kong (1933), now well restored on blu-ray, and also bought the 'too long' Peter Jackson version on BD from 2005 and watched over two nights.

SO, how about this newest 'BIG APE' film?  Movie clocks in at 2 hours, the specials are quite good but overdone (at least for me), Kong the creature is impressive, and the other 'animals' on Skull Island impress - the 'love interest' w/ Bree Larson is only platonic (unlike the Fay Wray affair - ) - spoiler alert - Kong does survive and remains on the island.  Probably my favorite performance was by John C. Reilly, a WW II pilot stranded on the island for decades; in fact, I'd probably drop a star w/o him as the comic relief.  My rating would be 3+*/5* on Amazon - recommended if you're a monster movie fan who likes HUGE PRIMATES!  Dave

P.S. NOW - would I watch this film again - possibly?  Would I purchase the BD (2K) reviewed below?  Well not at the price asked but w/ a reduction and some Amazon credit, I might pick the movie up for ten bucks (streaming was $5) - will be interested in comments from others - 

Scientists, soldiers and adventurers unite to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean. Cut off from everything they know, they venture into the domain of the mighty Kong, igniting the ultimate battle between man and nature. As their mission of discovery soon becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape from a primal world where humanity does not belong.

[Bogey]

1947



A decent enough crime drama.  Like a number of films from this time, they use a narrator with an important sounding voice reminding you how real the movie is and telling you more than once that it was based on real events.  Classic film buffs will recognize numerous actors in supporting roles. 7/10 stars. 

[Bogey]

Huge sale at Kino.  Many more than half off.

https://www.klstudioclassics.com/

[Todd]

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  Visually imaginative and very well executed - it's the next step beyond Avatar in terms of visuals - the story and dialog are very poor, and the two leads are positively dreadful.  It's hard to decided who is worse, the dude, who sounds like a dimmer Keanu Reeves, or the lovely Cara Delevingne, who can't even convincingly play a statuesque beauty.  One can see homages to all manner of sci-fi films and see the influence this comic had on subsequent sci-fi, so there's that, I guess, and the first person one sees is Rutger Hauer, which almost serves as the highlight of the movie.  Too bad there's not a twentieth anniversary touring edition of The Fifth Element this year; that flick is several orders of magnitude better than this dud.