Last Movie You Watched

Started by Drasko, April 06, 2007, 07:51:03 AM

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Karl Henning

Quote from: George on December 08, 2022, 05:44:25 AMDid you see The Kominsky Method, Karl? Arkin was hilarious in that!
I don't believe I have.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: SonicMan46 on December 08, 2022, 07:31:47 AMSomebody Up There Likes Me (1956) based on Rocky Graziano's autobiography - Newman does well (maybe a bit too handsome for the role, according to my wife?) in this excellent boxing film - short synopsis below w/ cast. Recommended to those into movies about boxing.


She's complaining about that?!  :o I'd be o.k. with it...if forced to watch.  :)

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

SonicMan46

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on December 08, 2022, 09:13:14 AMShe's complaining about that?!  :o I'd be o.k. with it...if forced to watch.  :)

PD

LOL -  :D  We're both big Paul Newman fans - now if the film had been made in color and his 'blue eyes' were visible?  She's is no fan of boxing movies so surprised that she like this one - now Sal Mineo was another cutie in the film, just 17 y/o.

 

George

"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

71 dB

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards, 1961)

I had never seen this one, but since it is a classic I checked it out. I found this to be a weird movie. Too crazy to be taken seriously, but not funny enough to be a real comedy. Not a bad movie nevertheless.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

SonicMan46

Quote from: 71 dB on December 08, 2022, 12:34:03 PMBreakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards, 1961)

I had never seen this one, but since it is a classic I checked it out. I found this to be a weird movie. Too crazy to be taken seriously, but not funny enough to be a real comedy. Not a bad movie nevertheless.

Hi Poju - I've owned that film for ages but have not watched in years - maybe if the Mickey Rooney character could be deleted -  8)

BUT, the music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, especially Moon River is still memorable to me (use to play the song on my accordion as a teen -  :) )  Dave


71 dB

Quote from: SonicMan46 on December 08, 2022, 12:47:22 PMHi Poju - I've owned that film for ages but have not watched in years - maybe if the Mickey Rooney character could be deleted -  8)

BUT, the music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, especially Moon River is still memorable to me (use to play the song on my accordion as a teen -  :) )  Dave



Mickey Rooney's character is indeed weird, even prejudiced, and feels like a lacklustre effort of comic relief.

The music is nice and the song "Moon River" very familiar to me even if I had no clue it is from this movie.

Perhaps the most impressive shot of the movie is when Holly has thrown her cat out of the Taxi in the end of the movie and the cat, now totally wet from the rain looks the Taxi driving away with sad eyes. I have never seen that great acting by a cat before.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Karl Henning

Quote from: 71 dB on December 08, 2022, 12:34:03 PMBreakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards, 1961)

I had never seen this one, but since it is a classic I checked it out. I found this to be a weird movie. Too crazy to be taken seriously, but not funny enough to be a real comedy. Not a bad movie nevertheless.
I can't get past Mickey Rooney's profoundly cringe-worthy caricature. 
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Cato

Because of all the hype about the sequel to Avatar coming out, we thought we would rewatch the original (2009), a movie of which we had very little memory, except for the reaction: "It was blue."

In other words, we must not have been very impressed.

And so we remained unimpressed: marvelous designs, special effects, and animation!  Otherwise, it was okay.

But I kept a list of movies it used for its pastiche of a plot: The Matrix with a sprinkling of Star Wars mysticism mixed with assorted Westerns, The Last of the Dogmen, Little Big Man, Dances with Wolves,
and a little bit of Braveheart, True Lies, and Terminator.
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

JBS

Quote from: George on December 08, 2022, 05:44:25 AMDid you see The Kominsky Method (A TV show, not a movie), Karl? Arkin was hilarious in that!

I've always thought of Arkin as being a comic actor, mostly because of seeing him in The Russians Are Coming when I was a kid.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Brian

Quote from: JBS on December 08, 2022, 06:32:21 PMI've always thought of Arkin as being a comic actor, mostly because of seeing him in The Russians Are Coming when I was a kid.
That was a fun one! And The In-Laws is a classic.

Karl Henning

@JBS & @Brian ... Wait Until Dark was an atypical case of Arkin playing the heavy in an intense drama.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Cato on December 08, 2022, 06:19:47 PMBecause of all the hype about the sequel to Avatar coming out, we thought we would rewatch the original (2009), a movie of which we had very little memory, except for the reaction: "It was blue."

In other words, we must not have been very impressed.

And so we remained unimpressed: marvelous designs, special effects, and animation!  Otherwise, it was okay.

But I kept a list of movies it used for its pastiche of a plot: The Matrix with a sprinkling of Star Wars mysticism mixed with assorted Westerns, The Last of the Dogmen, Little Big Man, Dances with Wolves,
and a little bit of Braveheart, True Lies, and Terminator.

I share your reaction exactly - given its (the original Avatar) apparently the highest-grossing film of all time, I couldn't have been more underwhelmed.  I have no intention of watching the new one until it turns up free inside a breakfast cereal.  I think "it was blue" should be a new critical shorthand.  What other films could/should be described by a single colour?!


71 dB

Quote from: Cato on December 08, 2022, 06:19:47 PMBecause of all the hype about the sequel to Avatar coming out, we thought we would rewatch the original (2009), a movie of which we had very little memory, except for the reaction: "It was blue."

In other words, we must not have been very impressed.

And so we remained unimpressed: marvelous designs, special effects, and animation!  Otherwise, it was okay.

But I kept a list of movies it used for its pastiche of a plot: The Matrix with a sprinkling of Star Wars mysticism mixed with assorted Westerns, The Last of the Dogmen, Little Big Man, Dances with Wolves,
and a little bit of Braveheart, True Lies, and Terminator.

I never understood the hype around Avatar. It is a visually beautiful movie, but otherwise I found it uninteresting and boring. I have zero interest in the new one. Modern big budget movies are rarely interesting. They are for the most part attempts (calculated financial risks) to lure people into the theatres with LOUD trailers and well-known classic titles.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Karl Henning

Maybe It was blue is all there ever really was ....
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

I liked the interconnectedness of creatures/life forces/the tree, etc., myself.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Brian

Quote from: 71 dB on December 09, 2022, 01:18:45 AMI never understood the hype around Avatar. It is a visually beautiful movie, but otherwise I found it uninteresting and boring. I have zero interest in the new one. Modern big budget movies are rarely interesting. They are for the most part attempts (calculated financial risks) to lure people into the theatres with LOUD trailers and well-known classic titles.
When my friends and I watched it in university, we divided it over two nights because it was so boring we got sleepy.

SonicMan46

Last night, several more DVD-Rs upgraded to HD streamers on Amazon:

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) - short synopsis below; attractive stars in the young Gibson and Weaver; Linda Hunt's Oscar winning performance is special - 4*/4* review by Roger Ebert HERE for those interested.

Wagon Master (1950) - short summary and cast below - one of director John Ford's favorite films; great ensemble acting against a backdrop of western mountain beauty (can only imagine the film in color!) - a terse but excellent review HERE - great music w/ the Sons of the Pioneers, plus spurred the TV series Wagon Train which I watched as a boy (remember the Borax commercials -  :D )  Dave

QuoteThe Year of Living Dangerously is an Australian romantic drama film directed by Peter Weir and co-written by Weir and David Williamson. It was adapted from Christopher Koch's 1978 novel. The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno. It follows a group of foreign correspondents in Jakarta on the eve of an attempted coup in 1965. The film stars Mel Gibson as Australian journalist Guy Hamilton, and Sigourney Weaver as British Embassy officer Jill Bryant. It also stars Linda Hunt as a Chinese-Australian man with dwarfism, Billy Kwan, Hamilton's local photographer contact, a role for which Hunt won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was shot in both Australia and the Philippines. (Source)

QuoteWagon Master is an American Western film produced and directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond. The screenplay concerns a Mormon pioneer wagon train to the San Juan River in Utah. The film inspired the US television series Wagon Train (1957–1965), which starred Ward Bond until his death in 1960. The film was a personal favorite of Ford himself, who told Peter Bogdanovich in 1967 that "Along with The Fugitive and The Sun Shines Bright, Wagon Master came closest to being what I wanted to achieve. While the critical and audience response to Wagon Master was lukewarm on its release, over the years several critics have come to view it as one of Ford's masterpieces. (Source)

 

LKB

I've always considered Avatar to be James Cameron's attempt to convince the world that all you need is stunning visuals to produce memorable and significant cinema.

I saw it in its initial release, and was unconvinced...
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen...

SimonNZ

I had two massive problems with that film:

Firstly, they start by saying and showing how dangerous the planet is, only to then have it become Disney-nice,

Secondly, main guy should have graduated into the natives by being accepted as their lowest, most novice, member - and treating that status as the honor it would be. Not their White Savior, ffs.

I feel like I also had a long list of smaller issues, but they've thankfully faded from memory.