Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

Great to see some love for the Fifth Element.

Great fun!

TD: Also great fun ...

Woody Allen's Bananas

[aligreto]

I intend to revisit Kieslowski's Dekalog. I started last night with No. 5 because I have a stand alone DVD of A Short Film About Killing.


   

[VonStupp]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Simu Liu & Awkwafina
Michelle Yeoh & Ben Kingsley

VS

[Karl Henning]

Woody Allen, Sleeper

[Todd]

Dune.  Well, the first part anyway.  Denis Villeneuve delivers the big-budget sci-fi goods.  The movie looks absolutely fantastic.  One can see influences aplenty, but that doesn't matter when CGI morphs into an art form as it does here.  The movie sounds fantastic, too, with perfect music, foley effects, and low frequencies that set the entire house rumbling.  It is a treat for the senses.  The story is the same as the maligned David Lynch version, which I saw way back when, and presumably the book, which I have not read, and while the actors all seem to do good enough work, and while Villeneuve delivers a more coherent telling of the tale, the overall storyline revolving around galactic imperialism and exploitation and religion and power and such is old hat nowadays.  Still, from a purely visual and aural standpoint, this film is well worth watching. 

[LKB]

Woody Allen, Sleeper

Probably my favorite of his, followed closely by What's Up, Tiger Lily?

[Fëanor]

Dune.  Well, the first part anyway.  Denis Villeneuve delivers the big-budget sci-fi goods.  The movie looks absolutely fantastic.  One can see influences aplenty, but that doesn't matter when CGI morphs into an art form as it does here.  The movie sounds fantastic, too, with perfect music, foley effects, and low frequencies that set the entire house rumbling.  It is a treat for the senses.  The story is the same as the maligned David Lynch version, which I saw way back when, and presumably the book, which I have not read, and while the actors all seem to do good enough work, and while Villeneuve delivers a more coherent telling of the tale, the overall storyline revolving around galactic imperialism and exploitation and religion and power and such is old hat nowadays.  Still, from a purely visual and aural standpoint, this film is well worth watching.

Well I've read the book 3-4 times and I'd say Villeneuve's Dune adaptation is a respectable as they go, despite that I tend to be very critical of movie adaptations in general;  (perhaps none more so that Jackson's Lord of the Rings).  I will be going to see the next films in the series.

I enjoyed the Lynch version too.  Perhaps my favorite, however, is the John Harrison TV miniseries of 2000 which, for me, was most evocative of the Book, (pending Villeneuve's completion of his series).

[Karl Henning]

Probably my favorite of his, followed closely by What's Up, Tiger Lily?

This one's growing on me! While I have been immediately and lastingly enthusiastic over, e.g. Manhattan, Stardust Memories, This 'un and Bananas have been for me comparative sleepers: I liked them on first viewing, sure, but the enthusiasm has been a slow burn.

[JBS]

This one's growing on me! While I have been immediately and lastingly enthusiastic over, e.g. Manhattan, Stardust Memories, This 'un and Bananas have been for me comparative sleepers: I liked them on first viewing, sure, but the enthusiasm has been a slow burn.

Very punny.

[Karl Henning]

Very punny.

Couldn't help myself.

[Karl Henning]

Woody Allen, Love and Death

h/t to Jeffrey, as this was off my radar for decades.

[aligreto]

The Weekend Away:





This is an interesting thriller. Two female friends from different circumstances meet up for a get together holiday weekend. One of the pair is a dominant personality and basically dictates the plan for the holiday. However, things quickly spiral out of control and the film tracks the consequences of the first night of the weekend away. It is well paced and interesting with a twist at the end. I enjoyed it.

[VonStupp]

HP and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

My daughter plowed through this much larger tome faster than the shorter previous ones, so we are watching again already.

VS

[André]

Metropolis has always had a mixed reception, mainly on account of its silly plot and hard to follow narrative. No surprise there, as it was butchered for american release in 1927, losing about a third of its length in the process, as well as the extensive orchestral score composed by Gottfried Huppertz. Having taken over control over the film (it nearly bankrupted its production company), the american distributors threw away the excised material. That's how I first saw it sometime in the mid seventies - shortened and silent.

Since then restorations and inclusion of extra footage found in Paris, Melbourne and London helped give it more substance. The big turnaround however was the discovery of 25 minutes of additional material found in Buenos Aires in 2010. Since it was hard to determine exactly where to splice in the new material the film editors decided to fish out Gottfried Huppertz' complete score where exact indications of scenes and shots were found. They then decided to have a full orchestra play the score along with the practically complete film (a few seconds of missing connecting material here and there notwithstanding).

What a huge difference ! The full film is a gigantic enterprise (thousands of extras hired for the crowd scenes) and much of it is eerily prophetic, both in terms of technology taking over the course of mankind/society and in the political future of the next century (it'll be 100 years old in 2026). The camera work of the great Karl Freund is still eye-popping. Despite the sometimes silly plot and crude acting, it's a masterpiece.

Doesn't she remind you of another famous cyborg ?

[aligreto]

Kieslowski: Dekalog Part 1





A father and his young son place their trust and belief in their computer and the outcome is not what was expected by them. The young boy gives a terrific performance.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

King Richard (2021) - bought the Amazon BD streamer last night for $10 (rental was $6) - we will likely watch again.  Edited beginning Wiki article below - portrayals by the main stars excellent; the two young stars playing the tennis phenom sisters were outstanding (more HERE).  Reviews: 7.5/10, IMDB; 90% Rotten Tomatoes; 4.8*/5* Amazon - I would certainly do a 4* rating and possibly go up half a star for the excellence of the acting - recommended.

 

Would love to see that movie as I'm a big tennis fan and what the two sisters have managed to accomplish with the help, support, and guidance by their father is amazing!

Question for you:  I've yet to watch any movies via Amazon.  When you say that you bought the Amazon BD streamer, does that mean that you own that movie?  Are you able to physically download it and keep it or is it only yours so long as you belong to their service?  Just curious as to how it works. 

PD

[Karl Henning]

Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam.

[SonicMan46]

Would love to see that movie as I'm a big tennis fan and what the two sisters have managed to accomplish with the help, support, and guidance by their father is amazing!

Question for you:  I've yet to watch any movies via Amazon.  When you say that you bought the Amazon BD streamer, does that mean that you own that movie?  Are you able to physically download it and keep it or is it only yours so long as you belong to their service?  Just curious as to how it works. 

Hi PD - On Amazon (of course, Apple TV and other streaming services exist), I've used their 'Prime Video' service, available movies can be rented or purchased, often in different formats (e.g. I've been donating a lot of physical optical media lately by upgrading to a higher resolution streaming format, e.g. DVD > HD or BD > 4K UHD); if a movie is purchased then you basically own it and can watch any time (of course w/ an internet connection); however, if you have the Prime Video (PV) app then films can be downloaded for offline viewing - below is the PV app opened on my iPad Pro showing King Richard - noticed the DL option; thus, I could DL the film onto my iPad, watch on that device or AirPlay to my HDTV - I've not done this yet and I presume it is stored in a special site related to the app and cannot be 'given' to a friend or family member.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Horse Whisperer, The (1998) w/ Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest and Chris Cooper - Buck Brannaman (a real horse whisperer served as a consultant and occasional stand in for Redford - a 2011 documentary about him called Buck is highly recommended).  Dave

The Horse Whisperer is an American Western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager (played by Scarlett Johansson) and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

 

[aligreto]

Horse Whisperer, The (1998) w/ Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest and Chris Cooper - Buck Brannaman (a real horse whisperer served as a consultant and occasional stand in for Redford - a 2011 documentary about him called Buck is highly recommended).  Dave

 

I remember thoroughly enjoying that film twice, Dave.