Last Movie You Watched

[Madiel]

Now, a film that has aged well - No Country for Old Men - Bardem and Brolin are perfect leads, and Tommy Lee Jones is perfect in supporting, and the best scene with the best lines, in my opinion, stars Barry Corbin as Uncle Ellis - out of this world casting and line delivery - "That's vanity." Now, this is not a film without flaws - the Woody Harrelson subplot being the most glaring.



Sadly, some of the scenes have lost their power because of their memetic quality, but this is a film I'd suggest watching. There are a few scenes of brutality, so it isn't a film I'd recommend watching without a little prep.

Never has a doorknob been so terrifying.

[SonicMan46]

Any Mel Brooks fans in the audience -  ?

Young Frankenstein (1974) - Susan's choice last night - next year will be its 50th anniversary - WOW! I'm sure those who know the film, love it!  But if never seen then highly recommended - Teri Garr still 'stirs my innards' -       Dave

Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Peter Boyle portrayed the monster. The film co-stars Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman. The film is a parody of the classic horror film genre, in particular the various film adaptations of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein. Much of the lab equipment used as props was created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 film Frankenstein. To help evoke the atmosphere of the earlier films, Brooks shot the picture entirely in black and white, and employed 1930s-style opening credits and scene transitions. The film also features a period score by Brooks' longtime composer John Morris. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Any Mel Brooks fans in the audience -  ?

Young Frankenstein (1974) - Susan's choice last night - next year will be its 50th anniversary - WOW! I'm sure those who know the film, love it!  But if never seen then highly recommended - Teri Garr still 'stirs my innards' -      Dave

 

Big fan of that 'un, but you knew that!

[Irons]

David Fincher's latest, The Killer, in which Michael Fassbender plays an assassin who has to navigate the pitfalls of his career choice.  As storytelling, it pretty much falls flat, and feels longer than its timing.  It succeeds fabulously in the visual and sonic realms.  Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deliver a perfectly moody, cold, and detached original soundtrack, and The Smiths get plenty of screentime, too.  Sound production overall is fantastic.  But as usual with Fincher, the visuals dazzle.  While he can and does use some short takes, some takes are much longer, some static and some tracking.  While Panavision cameras and lenses are obviously used extensively, with some visual artifacts clearly and expertly employed, some other scenes have an Arri look.  That could just be editing, but whatever, it works.  The use of color also dazzles.  Many scenes are slightly desaturated, some subtly shaded yellow (when looking at whites), but beyond the white balance and saturation levels, the precise placement of contrasting color objects (eg, taxis) is just fun to watch.  The compositions are so exacting that just taking them in becomes the best thing about the film.  Erik Messerschmidt does superb work here.  There are also some nice little touches.  Fincher includes some text messages onscreen, a device I dislike, but one ties to the first effective plot use of Amazon lockers I have seen, which was pretty cool given that this is a Netflix movie.  So, a forgettable story expertly delivered.

You sum it up better then I could. I enjoyed the watch but it didn't linger in my memory afterwards, good films do. Excellent lead, who came over well as a cold-eyed assassin. Inspired choice of The Smiths for backing track, made me want to listen to their music.

[DavidW]

I rewatched Falling Down which I haven't seen since the 90s.

[Papy Oli]

Alien

A first watch.
Bit tense, innit...

Not a big fan of Sci-Fi or horror genre or both...but glad I gave this one a go.

[Karl Henning]

The '83 movie (with Dan Aykroyd & Albert Brooks in the intro is the only one I know. I actually saw it in the movie house back when it opened. Arguably a mixed bag, but I'm fond of it. The remake of "It's a Good Life" is delightfully jarring.

Thought I might watch this again. When I first saw this, I had not yet seen the original episodes of "Kick the Can," "It's a Good Life," or "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." I saw this as a 20-something and at the time I felt that Spielberg's "Can" was too sentimental by half. Now that I'm no longer a punk, I rather like it as is. The other segment which critics at the time of release derided was the first, with the bigot who gets his comeuppance. This one, too, I am not harsh towards. Not sure I noticed before (I mean, it definitely flew over my head in '83, so I mean at the time of my first revisitation) but in "Good Life," the conversation between Helen and the guy in the diner includes three notable Zone place names: Cliffordville, Homewood ("Walking Distance") and Willoughby. It's a cute touch. I need to watch that scene again .... the closing credits list Bill Mumy (Anthony in the original "It's a Good Life") as "Tim." I missed him, but I think I know where to look, now. Also, only realized last night that the uncle who is compelled to do the "magic trick" is Kevin McCarthy (had to do a double-take, thanks to recent political activity) of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and "Long Live Walter Jameson." One way in which the remake of "Nightmare" is arguably better: In the original episode, we learn of Wm Shatner's condition by words, where we see Jn Lithgow's trouble. I'll consider the SFX upgrade of the gremlin as basically a wash, since Richard Matheson expressed a degree of dissatisfaction with the presentation of the gremlin back when. The movie had a strike and a half against it simply in "competing" with the original, whose reputation has certainly only gotten better over time, but overall, I think it's good.

[SimonNZ]

I rewatched Falling Down which I haven't seen since the 90s.

One of the best episodes of the Nostalgia Trap podcast was on Falling Down, if you're interested:

Nostalgia Trap - Episode 216: I'm the Bad Guy? w/ Danny Bessner

"The 1993 film Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas and directed by Joel Schumacher, divided audiences and critics with a story of a man's descent into vigilante violence on a hot Los Angeles day. Viewed from 2020, the film shows us something deep and dark about American social reality in the years immediately following the end of the Cold War. Danny Bessner joins us for a detailed analysis of an important piece of 90s pop culture, connecting the history of Los Angeles as the rising center of American empire to the emotional disintegration of Douglas' character. "


TD: a first viewing of 12 Years A Slave

[Karl Henning]

Alien

A first watch.
Bit tense, innit...

Not a big fan of Sci-Fi or horror genre or both...but glad I gave this one a go.

Brilliantly stylish, too. I still remember the night I saw this in the movie house and I near jumped out of my skin.

[LKB]

Brilliantly stylish, too. I still remember the night I saw this in the movie house and I near jumped out of my skin.

Here's one of those stories...

I saw Alien in its initial release, in the company of my older brother, who had recently separated ( quite honorably ) from the USMC as a fairly salty Staff Sergeant.

I had already read Alan Dean Foster's novelization, so when that first big jump scare was imminent l was ready, and stealthily positioned my hand behind the nape of my favorite Sergeant 's neck.

With perfect timing at the crucial instant, l applied only the lightest pressure.

To his credit, he 1) only levitated an inch or so, and 2) allowed me to continue living after the movie. 

[DavidW]

I watched The Killer. I'm amused that the premise of him being patient, cold and calculating is violated in the very beginning of the movie!  If he was more patient the plot wouldn't have happened.  I can't imagine waiting for days and then when someone is walking around and frequently breaking the shot, taking it anyway.  An actual professional would have waited even if it meant needing another opportunity at a different time.

And then the rest of the movie the assassinations are done in the sloppiest manner possible with one being an invitation to be remembered by literally dozens of people.  And I have no sympathy for the main character because he doesn't have the moral high ground.  He is going after people for doing exactly what he does.  But I guess it is not about that anyway, it is about tribe.

Whatever.  This movie is no Zodiac, but as Todd said it is beautifully shot.

Movie is okay.  I think that was the last thing I wanted to watch on Netflix, time to cancel for now.

[relm1]

Yesterday, I saw Godzilla Minus One.  It was very good.  I'm not a Godzilla expert, maybe only seen one or two of the 30+ Japanese entries but found this to be just a very solid and personal film about post war Japan with a giant monster.  The big reason why this is a good film is if Godzilla wasn't even in it, it would still have been a good film with strong characters you care about and their post war plight.  Some of the imagery is stunning in its terror.  It is sort of a reboot of the classic first film from 1954 and takes place immediately after WW2.  No one really knows what Godzilla is other than some legends by islanders.  The cast and acting is very good and the film is in Japanese with subtitles. 

[LKB]

Yesterday, I saw Godzilla Minus One.  It was very good.  I'm not a Godzilla expert, maybe only seen one or two of the 30+ Japanese entries but found this to be just a very solid and personal film about post war Japan with a giant monster.  The big reason why this is a good film is if Godzilla wasn't even in it, it would still have been a good film with strong characters you care about and their post war plight.  Some of the imagery is stunning in its terror.  It is sort of a reboot of the classic first film from 1954 and takes place immediately after WW2.  No one really knows what Godzilla is other than some legends by islanders.  The cast and acting is very good and the film is in Japanese with subtitles. 

The earliest movie experience l can remember is seeing Godzilla vs. The Thing back in 1965 or '66. I don't think l saw another one until the 2014 reboot.

I'm looking forward to Godzilla Minus One, l might even see it tomorrow.

[DavidW]

I've seen all the Godzilla movies.  Even the ones with junior! I want to see this one in the theater.

[Brian]

I think that was the last thing I wanted to watch on Netflix, time to cancel for now.

Right now on Netflix we only watch Great British Bake Off and Better Call Saul. I could imagine finishing those off by the end of the year and canceling.

[LKB]

I've seen all the Godzilla movies.  Even the ones with junior! I want to see this one in the theater.

I encountered Junior during that unfortunate adolescent phase when nearly everything and everyone else seemed stupid and irrelevant ( except, of course, the music and people I decided were " worthy " ). So he didn't get much attention from me, although the bits and pieces of footage I've seen of his scenes would suggest that he was more about marketing than story.

Maybe Legendary or Toho will resurrect him for Trump, since he'll need a running mate. 

[SonicMan46]

Winged Migration (2001) - well, a documentary that won the Oscar in 2002 - the scenes of New York City still show the Twin Towers which went down later in the year. Some info below - remarkable filming of birds and spectacular scenery - upgraded my DVD to a streaming HD which looked great on my 4K HDTV - if you're into 'birds' a must see - note quite limited narration so the visuals are the essence of the film.  Dave

The movie was shot over the course of three years on all seven continents. Filming began in July 1998 and ended in spring 2001. It was shot using in-flight cameras, most of the footage is aerial, and the viewer appears to be flying alongside birds of successive species, especially Canada geese. They traverse every kind of weather and landscape, covering vast distances in a flight for survival. The filmmakers exposed over 590 miles of film to create an 89-minute piece. In one case, two months of filming in one location was edited down to less than one minute in the final film. (Source)

 

[Cato]

Recently we watched: The Big Trail 1930 with John Wayne (c. age 25): directed by Raoul Walsh.

It was rather experimental: photographed with widescreen 70mm cameras * and a huge cast (and thousands of animals) across many Western states.

The movie tells of a wagon train heading West and all of the dangers involved: of interest is that it shows a sympathetic attitude toward the Native Americans.  It is also interesting to realize that older people in the audience in 1930 might have experienced a wagon train in their earlier years!

The filth and unkempt nature of such an undertaking makes the movie very authentic: people's teeth are often in terrible shape and nobody is constantly freshly scrubbed!

The restored Blu-Ray/DVD looks great, although apparently not much could be done with the soundtrack.



Unfortunately, because of The Depression, theaters did not want to invest in new screens and projectors for the 70mm process, and of course ticket sales were down.  So the movie did not do as well as had been hoped.

* A movie called Danger Lights in 65mm widescreen came out around the same time (1929)  It starred Jean Arthur and Robert Armstrong in a story about railroads in the West: one great scene featured a locomotive tug of war!

It suffered the same fate as The Big Trail.



No copy of the 65mm version or a negative seems to have survived: a 35mm version at barely over an hour, butchered from the original, is available.

[steve ridgway]

Right now on Netflix we only watch Great British Bake Off and Better Call Saul. I could imagine finishing those off by the end of the year and canceling.

We can watch Great British Bake Off for free and cancelled a couple of months ago.

[drogulus]

Alien

A first watch.
Bit tense, innit...

Not a big fan of Sci-Fi or horror genre or both...but glad I gave this one a go.

    Many people must have gone to see this film because of the original preview.