Last Movie You Watched

[pjme]

Excellent!

[aligreto]

Me too. The suspense element is kept simmering without overdoing the alien thing, with the focus turning back to the human element at the end.  It made me think of Pasolini's Teorema, where the character's lives are forever altered after the 'visitation' of the angel.

I do not know Pasolini's Teorema so I will have to check that one out André.

[TheGSMoeller]

Excellent!

I'm jealous! One that i'm greatly anticipating. Banderas just won best actor at Cannes a few days ago.

[SonicMan46]

Last few nights, selections from my video collection at the wife's approval:

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) w/ Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, & Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charles Wilson (1933-2010) was a Congressman from Texas instrumental in supporting the Afghan mujahideen (see short quote below) - directed by Mike Nichols - recommended.

Ace In The Hole (1951) w/ Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling et al; Billy Wilder, director - Ratings: 8.2/10, IMDB; 90%, Rotter Tomatoes; and 4/4, Roger Ebert (review HERE) - about a ROTTEN journalist - see second quote below for more.  Criterion restoration (package includes both a BD, DVD + extra disc of specials) is superb (review HERE) - highly recommended.  Dave

Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film, based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War.(Wiki)

With flaws that outweigh his talent, reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) has bounced across the country from job to job. Winding up in New Mexico, Tatum gets work from the local newspaper, but finds that there's not much in the way of pressing news. However, when Tatum catches wind of a treasure hunter (Richard Benedict) trapped in a mineshaft, he turns the story into a media sensation. Soon Tatum is using unscrupulous tactics to draw out the situation, an approach that comes back to haunt him.

 

[Mirror Image]

Watched this classic with my mom tonight (which she has never seen before --- surprisingly):

[SimonNZ]

^I've said it before. but damn Wes Studi was great in that.

a few nights ago:



the true-story-which-actually-isnt of Victorian era doctors specializing in curing women of "hysteria" through genital massage, and in dealing with hand cramps due to the popularity of their procedure inventing the vibrator.

I was skeptical going in, but liked the cast, and it turns out to be a really fun romp - and, somehow, safe viewing for even the prudish.

[pjme]

I'm jealous! One that i'm greatly anticipating. Banderas just won best actor at Cannes a few days ago.

It is a beautiful, slowish film that mixes childhood memories (Spain ca anno 1950-1960)  with the rather sad, lonely, (drug infused) daily life of a film director/writer. There's no melodrama at all. Here's an (ageing) artist who looks back at his life and Almodovar (helped by Banderas acting) allows us to share these subtle, very personal, melancholy insights.

[ritter]

It is a beautiful, slowish film that mixes childhood memories (Spain ca anno 1950-1960)  with the rather sad, lonely, (drug infused) daily life of a film director/writer. There's no melodrama at all. Here's an (ageing) artist who looks back at his life and Almodovar (helped by Banderas acting) allows us to share these subtle, very personal, melancholy insights.

I must watch this one...when Almodóvar is good, he's really good (e.g., All about my Mother, Volver, and many of the early films). On other occasions, he can be a bit self-complacent and cliché-ridden (IMHO, Talk to her falls in this category). But there's almost universal consensus that this new film is top-drawer Almodóvar.

[Mirror Image]

^I've said it before. but damn Wes Studi was great in that.

He sure was and, for me, he was one of the great movie villains. Some of the best villains are the ones that believe they're not a villain but doing what they feel is the right thing to do. I had some sympathy for Magua in that his family were killed by the English and the Huron tribe have endured much hardship, but the man simply had it coming to him, especially after killing Uncas. This last fight scene was incredible:

https://www.youtube.com/v/Dhrg6SH9yvE

[SonicMan46]

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) w/ James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, and others on the cover below; Otto Preminger, Director; Music by Duke Ellington who appears briefly in the film - short synopsis below; the young Remick beautiful as ever!  And, George C. Scott in one of his early roles. The Criterion AV restoration is superb, as expected (review HERE) - highly recommended.  Dave

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler (James Stewart) takes the case of Army Lt. Manion (Ben Gazzara), who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife (Lee Remick) claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick (Brooks West) and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott) to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner (Kathryn Grant), who's hiding a dark secret.

 

[TheGSMoeller]

It is a beautiful, slowish film that mixes childhood memories (Spain ca anno 1950-1960)  with the rather sad, lonely, (drug infused) daily life of a film director/writer. There's no melodrama at all. Here's an (ageing) artist who looks back at his life and Almodovar (helped by Banderas acting) allows us to share these subtle, very personal, melancholy insights.

Thank you for the reply, pjme!

I must watch this one...when Almodóvar is good, he's really good (e.g., All about my Mother, Volver, and many of the early films). On other occasions, he can be a bit self-complacent and cliché-ridden (IMHO, Talk to her falls in this category). But there's almost universal consensus that this new film is top-drawer Almodóvar.

All About My Mother is an all-timer for me.

[Ken B]

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) w/ James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, and others on the cover below; Otto Preminger, Director; Music by Duke Ellington who appears briefly in the film - short synopsis below; the young Remick beautiful as ever!  And, George C. Scott in one of his early roles. The Criterion AV restoration is superb, as expected (review HERE) - highly recommended.  Dave

 

Great movie (of a great book). The judge in that photo is Joseph Welch.

[SonicMan46]

Great movie (of a great book). The judge in that photo is Joseph Welch.

Hi Ken - Welch was excellent and showed great control of the court in the film - a good choice (and he was a substitute judge for an ailing one) - loved the scene were he and Stewart discuss a bull frog lure in the middle of the trial -   Dave

[SonicMan46]

Last night, my wife (to my surprise!) wanted to see a movie in honor of Memorial Day - well, I have plenty but suggested the one below which she enjoyed thoroughly:

Paths of Glory (1957) w/ Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, and Wayne Morris; Stanley Kubrick, Director; short synopsis below - glorious B&W restoration by Criterion w/ great sound (review HERE) - a MUST see for war buffs (and, of course, others such as my spouse!) - Dave

Paths of Glory is among the most powerful antiwar films ever made. A fiery Kirk Douglas stars as a World War I French colonel who goes head-to-head with the army's ruthless top brass when his men are accused of cowardice after being unable to carry out an impossible mission. This haunting, exquisitely photographed dissection of the military machine in all its absurdity and capacity for dehumanization (a theme Kubrick would continue to explore throughout his career) is assembled with its legendary director's customary precision, from its tense trench warfare sequences to its gripping courtroom climax to its ravaging final scene.

 

[Karl Henning]

The Big Lebowski

[Ken B]

Dude.

[Brian]

Dude.

Where's my car?

[aligreto]

Hampstead





This was a most enjoyable watch with a somewhat different story line than the norm. It is based on a true character and it is a story very well told and acted out.

[SonicMan46]

Well, my wife is still interested in my Memorial Day list of 'war films', so last night watched:

The Lost Battalion (2001) w/ Ricky Schroder et al - short synopsis below - led by a New York lawyer Major Charles Whittlesey; he was a pall bearer at the dedication of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery, along w/ Alvin York - shortly after was on a ship out of New York and disappeared, presumably jumped overboard - maybe PTSD of the time? 

Desert Fury (1947) w/ John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, Burt Lancaster, and Mary Astor; Miklós Rózsa, Music - a 'film noir' in beautiful Technicolor of southwestern scenery reminding me of Sedona Arizona - Scott and Astor amazingly attractive; early Lancaster role as a police officer.  Both of these films are recommended.  Dave

The Lost Battalion is the name given to the nine companies of the United States 77th Division, roughly 554 men, isolated by German forces during World War I after an American attack in the Argonne Forest in October 1918. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before the 194 remaining men were rescued. They were led by Major Charles White Whittlesey. (Source)

 

 

[aligreto]

The Last Days on Mars





This is a good enough sci-fi story; it is a sort of zombies on Mars with a little bit extra if you are interested in that type of thing.