Last Movie You Watched

[Brian]

Michael Jai White needs to be in more things. His starring turn in Black Dynamite is a classic performance.

[SonicMan46]

Criterion Releases Just Arrived! - offerings newly out!  The restorations are spectacular, especially on War of the Worlds w/ plenty of supplements and the usual excellent booklets.  I'm a BIG fan of 50s Sci-Fi films (my boyhood years) and this one is a favorite.  Both highly recommended!  Dave

Lady Eve, The (1941) w/ Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Coburn, and others; written and directed by Preston Sturges - synopsis below - check link for more technical details about the restoration.

War of the Worlds, The (1953) w/ Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, et al - synopsis below, also from Criterion - check link for details - watched two of the many supplements about restoration of the film - amazingly done! 

Barbara Stanwyck sizzles, Henry Fonda bumbles, and Preston Sturges runs riot in one of the all-time great screwballs, a pitch-perfect blend of comic zing and swoonworthy romance. Aboard a cruise liner sailing up the coast of South America, Stanwyck's conniving card sharp sets her sights on Fonda's nerdy snake researcher, who happens to be the heir to a brewery fortune. But when the con artist falls for her mark, her grift becomes a game of hearts—and she is determined to win it all. One in a string of matchless comedic marvels that Sturges wrote, directed, and produced as part of a dazzling 1940s run. (Source)

A mysterious, meteorlike object has landed in a small California town. All clocks have stopped. A fleet of glowing green UFOs hovers menacingly over the entire globe. The Martian invasion of Earth has begun, and it seems that nothing—neither military might nor the scientific know-how of nuclear physicist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry)—can stop it. In the expert hands of genre specialists George Pal and Byron Haskin, H. G. Wells's end-of-civilization classic receives a chilling Cold War–era update, complete with hallucinatory Technicolor and visionary, Oscar-winning special effects. Emblazoned with iconographic images of 1950s science fiction, The War of the Worlds is both an influential triumph of visual imagination and a still-disquieting document of the wonder and terror of the atomic age. (Source)

 

[aligreto]

War of the Worlds, The (1953) w/ Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, et al - synopsis below, also from Criterion - check link for details - watched two of the many supplements about restoration of the film - amazingly done! 

Interesting, I have not seen that version.

[SonicMan46]

Interesting, I have not seen that version.

Well, the remake in 2005 w/ Tom Cruise - streamed the film then off Amazon - directed by Spielberg and not bad, especially the CGI - BUT, the 1953 version is special now that Criterion has done a super AV restoration - the technicolor primary colors are vibrant and the sound superb - AND no CGI - the Martian space crafts hovering were done w/ wires (not seen at all) - if you plan to watch the older film, then try the Criterion version, if available.  Dave

P.S. Barnes & Noble HERE is currently having their 'half off' Criterion BDs, i.e. available for $20 USD, for those interested.

 

[Christo]

+1 - saw back in the fall of 2015 when released - on a visit to our son in Carmel, Indiana - was in a big screen theater that had its own brewery and served food - quite an experience! More HERE - a number of posts around April 2016 on the film also - bought on an excellent BD and have watched a few times since.  Dave

I can imagine you did, really liked it very much. Over the last few years, Spielberg made a series of really special films IMO. 

[Madiel]

There's also a new television version of The War of the Worlds, which I haven't started watching yet. But with a very promising cast list.

[Daverz]

Greyhound with Tom Hanks, set in the Battle of the Atlantic and based on The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester.  I quite enjoyed this one, and it's short.  (I couldn't find a video cover.)

[aligreto]

The Soloist





A truly wonderful film where the intensity is palpable throughout. There are really good performances from both of the main protagonists.

[aligreto]

Well, the remake in 2005 w/ Tom Cruise - streamed the film then off Amazon - directed by Spielberg and not bad, especially the CGI - BUT, the 1953 version is special now that Criterion has done a super AV restoration - the technicolor primary colors are vibrant and the sound superb - AND no CGI - the Martian space crafts hovering were done w/ wires (not seen at all) - if you plan to watch the older film, then try the Criterion version, if available.  Dave

P.S. Barnes & Noble HERE is currently having their 'half off' Criterion BDs, i.e. available for $20 USD, for those interested.

 

Cheers, Dave. I have seen the Tom Cruise version but I will certainly look out for that Criterion version.

[vers la flamme]

Howl's Moving Castle by Miyazaki. Not as enchanting as Spirited Away, with strong characters but a rather loose storyline. Superb animation. Miyazaki's special touch is immediately recognizable.

Love it. I've seen this about 50 times, and Spirited Away well over 100. 

Last movie I watched was The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty funny.

[Christo]

Greyhound with Tom Hanks, set in the Battle of the Atlantic and based on The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester.  I quite enjoyed this one, and it's short.  (I couldn't find a video cover.)

Will see it tonight with our 14 year old son, a WWI & WWII specialist.

[drogulus]

Will see it tonight with our 14 year old son, a WWI & WWII specialist.

     The movie should appeal to a specialist a little more than a general audience. If I put on my general audience hat, I'm not sure I could give the film a strong recommendation.

[SonicMan46]

There's also a new television version of The War of the Worlds, which I haven't started watching yet. But with a very promising cast list.

Hi Madiel - looked on Amazon and found a series on Epix (seems like 8 episodes have been made) - is that your reference?  Thanks - Dave

[André]

Love it. I've seen this about 50 times, and Spirited Away well over 100. 

Last movie I watched was The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty funny.

That must be some kind of record  . I have a few other Miyazakis lined up, all on Netflix. 

[SonicMan46]

Hamilton w/ Lin-Manuel Miranda et al - the 2015 Broadway musical on film which premiered on DisneyPlus (we're not subscribers but our son setup a profile for me under his subscription, so we were able to stream the musical) - the production was excellent as was the filming and sound - synopsis quoted below from Wiki link.  The show was fast paced, the language cadence not always easily understood (apparently some watch w/ subtitles), and the musical styles popular at present.  I know the history but did not read Chernow's book on which the musical is based - my wife enjoyed the show more than me although she had a tough time keeping track of the characters and their vocalizations.  She wants to watch the show again, but not sure that I do?  Because of its popularity, novelty of the writing/music (Miranda is indeed a genius, kind of like a George M. Cohan!), and the outrageous cost of 'live production' tickets, a strong recommendation for streaming if interested in this musical film.  Dave

Hamilton: An American Musical, simply known as Hamilton, is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the show draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes; and it casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".

From its opening, Hamilton received critical acclaim. It premiered Off-Broadway on February 17, 2015, at the Public Theater, where its several-month engagement was sold out; it won eight Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical. It then transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening on August 6, 2015, where it received uniformly positive reviews and high box office sales. At the 2016 Tony Awards, Hamilton received a record 16 nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Source)

 

[Madiel]

Hi Madiel - looked on Amazon and found a series on Epix (seems like 8 episodes have been made) - is that your reference?  Thanks - Dave

That is the show I'm referring to, yes.

[SimonNZ]

Two distinct Winston Churchill films. Th e first covering the wilderness years and his alarmist stance at the rise of Hitler. The second covering the days leading up to D-Day..

Both superficially excellent, but on closer examination the second let down by playing fast and loose with the historical record.

[aligreto]

The Take





Gritty action thriller set in Paris. It contains something of an interesting lesson in how easy it can be to rouse a rabble via social media.

[Christo]

     The movie should appeal to a specialist a little more than a general audience. If I put on my general audience hat, I'm not sure I could give the film a strong recommendation.

I don't believe in a 'general audience', people are always more & more individual than just general.

[vers la flamme]

That must be some kind of record  . I have a few other Miyazakis lined up, all on Netflix. 

Nah, Miyazaki worship is quite common in my generation. Most of those numbers are from childhood when those were two of the only DVDs we had.