Last Movie You Watched

[Kalevala]

"Composed by" is a contractual label.  There are many reasons why this happens.  It is not unusual for scores to have multiple composers for no fault of those hired.  Several examples, they hire a composer and temp tracked the score with existing pieces.  Possible the director/producers decide the original score for a scene doesn't do exactly what the temp is doing so they stay with the temp and license it.  That is what happened with 2001: A Space Odyssey for the entire score.  There is a full original score that wasn't used.  In other examples, sometimes the director doesn't fully agree with the original score and might ask two or three other composer's to provide an alternate cue for that scene and pick the best.  The hired composer might not even know about this till the film premiere when they hear what they composed wasn't used but another composer was used for that scene.  The alternate composer would be credited in the cue sheets to receive royalties but not the film because either they didn't compose enough to warrant it or the credits were done at the same time the score was being composed.  There are many reasons this happens and it happens a lot with Malick.

Thanks for that info!

K

[Brian]

The soundtrack "borrowing" that angers me the most was that The Artist won the Oscar for best original score about a decade ago, when its climactic scene used the score from Vertigo instead.

By the way, for any US-based fans of the Criterion Collection: everything will be 50% off in a one-day flash sale tomorrow (the 18th).

[Cato]

Showed this to a friend who had never heard of Terrence Malick. Will be showing him either Tree Of Life or The New World (my personal favorite of Malicks) next week.

You might also try the absolutely shattering story of Catholic martyr and anti-Nazi Franz Jägerstätter in A Hidden Life.

That is my favorite movie from Terrence Malick.

(That it was not even nominated for Best Picture for the Oscars says much about Hollywood!)

[ChamberNut]

You might also try the absolutely shattering story of Catholic martyr and anti-Nazi Franz Jägerstätter in A Hidden Life.

That is my favorite movie from Terrence Malick.

(That it was not even nominated for Best Picture for the Oscars says much about Hollywood!)

An absolutely wonderful film.

[Madiel]

The soundtrack "borrowing" that angers me the most was that The Artist won the Oscar for best original score about a decade ago, when its climactic scene used the score from Vertigo instead.

I'm not aware of any rule that bans an original score contender from ALSO using other music.

[Brian]

I'm not aware of any rule that bans an original score contender from ALSO using other music.

There is no such rule. Of course, it's more common for a pop song to be played or something. This was throughcomposed as The Artist was a silent movie: the orchestration of the original score fully incorporated 2-3 minutes of Vertigo in the same performance.

My reaction was not a legalistic one but an emotional one. The emotional core, the high point of both the score and the movie, was not original, so they were awarding an Oscar to the lesser parts. Come to think of it, Andre Previn also won an Oscar for scoring Porgy and Bess, which is an even stranger situation.

[SonicMan46]

In the last week or so, the three films below - all purchased HD streamers from Amazon or iTunes:

Tender Mercies (1983) with Duvall doing his own singing - won the Best Acting Oscar - a favorite of mine (and enjoyed by Susan, too!) that I've watched nearly a dozen times.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - remake of Bedtime Story with Marlon Brando and David Niven which I've enjoyed in the past but this 'newer' update is a lot of fun, and Glenne Headly (1955-2017) is adorably the champ con person!

The Train (1964) - loosely based on the WWW II German attempt to steal French art works - rated 4* by Maltin & 4 Bones in Video Hound; 94% Rotten Tomatoes - highly recommended.  Brief summaries of each film below - check links if interested.  Dave 

Tender Mercies is an American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Horton Foote. It stars Robert Duvall as singer-songwriter Mac Sledge, a former country music star whose career and relationship with his ex-wife and daughter were wrecked by alcoholism. Recovering from his affliction, Sledge seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young widow and her son in rural Texas. The supporting cast includes Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin and Allan Hubbard. (Source)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is an American comedy film directed by Frank Oz and produced by Bernard Williams. It is a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story, whose co-writers Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning received screen credit for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, along with writer Dale Launer. Set on the French Riviera, the film stars Steve Martin and Michael Caine as two con men competing to swindle a wealthy tourist (Glenne Headly) out of $50,000. (Source)

The Train is a 1964 war film directed by John Frankenheimer[1] and starring Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield and Jeanne Moreau. The picture's screenplay—written by Franklin Coen, Frank Davis, and Walter Bernstein—is loosely based on the non-fiction book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland, who documented the works of art placed in storage that had been looted by Nazi Germany from museums and private art collections. (Source)

   

[relm1]

In the last week or so, the three films below - all purchased HD streamers from Amazon or iTunes:

Tender Mercies (1983) with Duvall doing his own singing - won the Best Acting Oscar - a favorite of mine (and enjoyed by Susan, too!) that I've watched nearly a dozen times.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - remake of Bedtime Story with Marlon Brando and David Niven which I've enjoyed in the past but this 'newer' update is a lot of fun, and Glenne Headly (1955-2017) is adorably the champ con person!

The Train (1964) - loosely based on the WWW II German attempt to steal French art works - rated 4* by Maltin & 4 Bones in Video Hound; 94% Rotten Tomatoes - highly recommended.  Brief summaries of each film below - check links if interested.  Dave 

   

Dirty Rotten scoundrels is so damn funny!  Loved that film.

[T. D.]

New release that I saw on a whim but liked a lot.
Visually dark and rather theatrical/stylized/cerebral, so some reviewers might find it slow. But IMO does a great job portraying the insanely duplicitous espionage racket. Vaguely reminded me of some of David Mamet's better efforts.

[Gratuitous and possible poor taste add-on] I hadn't seen a Cate Blanchett film in a long time. Definitely a fine actress, but I found her appearance striking. Either she has perfect facial structure and could be a model for cosmetic surgery, or has had some big time procedures done. Don't know and it really doesn't matter. Both she and Michael Fassbender are very good here, though perhaps their characters are more than a little creepy.

[LKB]

Dirty Rotten scoundrels is so damn funny!  Loved that film.

Yup, l watched that on release in the theater. Steve Martin's, " May l go to the bathroom? " ... priceless. 

[Madiel]

Either she has perfect facial structure

This. Cate Blanchett has been incredibly striking since the first time she ever appeared on screen.

[VonStupp]

Yup, l watched that on release in the theater. Steve Martin's, " May l go to the bathroom? " ... priceless. 

I used that line (plus what follows) on my daughter a month ago or so. She was appalled.
VS

[Roasted Swan]

Saw Mickey 17 in the cinema this week.  The critical reception seemed generally very positive but I must admit I was very disappointed.  It just couldn't decide if it was serious sci-fi, wacky comedy, political satire or what.  Just felt clumsy and messy.  A couple of nice lines/scenarios but basically it outstayed its welcome quite early on.  Mark Ruffalo is cornering the market in bizarre/exaggerated characters and in fact most of the best scenes in the movie feature him.  Other than that very much a damp squib.

[Cato]

In the last week or so, the three films below - all purchased HD streamers from Amazon or iTunes:

Tender Mercies (1983) with Duvall doing his own singing - won the Best Acting Oscar - a favorite of mine (and enjoyed by Susan, too!) that I've watched nearly a dozen times.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - remake of Bedtime Story with Marlon Brando and David Niven which I've enjoyed in the past but this 'newer' update is a lot of fun, and Glenne Headly (1955-2017) is adorably the champ con person!

The Train (1964) - loosely based on the WWW II German attempt to steal French art works - rated 4* by Maltin & 4 Bones in Video Hound; 94% Rotten Tomatoes - highly recommended.  Brief summaries of each film below - check links if interested.  Dave 

 

Yes, all three are wonderful, but Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is one of Steve Martin's best "wild and crazy" performances!

And yet, Glenne Headly is just as good, but in a different way!

She also stars with Steve Martin in one of our favorites, Sergeant Bilko, which, I know, some people dislike, but we love it.

Sergeant Bilko has several lines which we quote now and then, one of them involves running a day-care center on an Army base!        (I will not quote it to avoid ruining the joke.)


I will confess to watching what Hollywood said was its Best Picture, Anora.

Mrs. Cato was interested in it because the star, Mikey Madison, we had first seen in the T.V. show Better Things, which featured what one critic called "the worst children in television history."

He was right!  Better Things was written (most of the time) by Pamela Adlon *, a comedienne and voice actor for numerous cartoons.  At times it was hysterical, at other times it fell flat, especially in its later years.

Anyway, Mikey Madison played the oldest daughter in the series.

Anora, however, is an oppressive barrage of bad behavior, with e.g. party scenes, drug scenes, sex scenes, anger scenes, etc. which keep going long after we understood the point, and long after we stopped caring about what was happening.

The premise is taken from Pretty Woman, but... 

Nothing else seemed very interesting: much too long, not much to laugh about, and the last twenty minutes or so seem like another hour with an attempt at a surprise ending of drama.


* Pamela Adlon had a small role in Sergeant Bilko.

[Madiel]

Half the point of a film like Anora is to dispel the myths of a film like Pretty Woman.

[T. D.]

I saw Anora at a film festival last October and disliked it. Stunned that it even got nominated for any awards. But at least an indie film cleaned up rather than corporate commercial products.

My basic problem was that both principal characters (the young couple) were vapid ciphers with whom it was impossible to feel any empathy.

Some of the supporting cast, e.g. the young man's minder and staff and the young man's mother, provided comic relief, but the end product remained distinctly unappealing.

[Added] Never saw or had any interest in Pretty Woman. Good point, though.

[T. D.]

Saw Mickey 17 in the cinema this week.  The critical reception seemed generally very positive but I must admit I was very disappointed.  It just couldn't decide if it was serious sci-fi, wacky comedy, political satire or what.  Just felt clumsy and messy.  A couple of nice lines/scenarios but basically it outstayed its welcome quite early on.  Mark Ruffalo is cornering the market in bizarre/exaggerated characters and in fact most of the best scenes in the movie feature him.  Other than that very much a damp squib.

Wednesday is half-price day ($5) at a semi-local cinema. I considered seeing this but the blurb did not appeal, so passed. Saw Black Bag instead, good decision.

[SonicMan46]

The In-Laws (1979) - synopsis below - wife's choice being in the mood for a comedy (in color!) - don't know how many times I've watched this film but still a blast!  A MUST if you've never seen the movie.  Dave 

The In-Laws is an American action comedy film starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, written by Andrew Bergman and directed by Arthur Hiller. It was filmed on various locations, including Mexico, which served as the film's representation of the fictional Central American setting. The film focuses on the fathers of a young couple. One of the fathers is a mild-mannered dentist, the other is a renegade agent of the CIA.

 

[Cato]

I saw Anora at a film festival last October and disliked it. Stunned that it even got nominated for any awards. But at least an indie film cleaned up rather than corporate commercial products.

My basic problem was that both principal characters (the young couple) were vapid ciphers with whom it was impossible to feel any empathy.

Some of the supporting cast, e.g. the young man's minder and staff and the young man's mother, provided comic relief, but the end product remained distinctly unappealing.

[Added] Never saw or had any interest in Pretty Woman. Good point, though.

Double Amen! 😇😇

Tomorrow we will be watching The Day the Earth Blew Up: a Looney Tunes-Porky Pig-Daffy-Duck cartoon movie.

Reports said that the movie is several years old, along with another movie called Coyote vs. Acme, a mixed live-action-animation movie with the hilarious premise that Wile E. Coyote takes Acme Incorporated to court and sues them for the terrible quality of their products!

Both were shelved by the "geniuses" at Warner Brothers, who suddenly did not know how to market the movies!  Instead, they took a "tax break" of $30 million dollars from not showing the movies!

(Yes, there are calls to eliminate such "tax breaks" in the law code!)

Anyway, another company bought The Day the Earth Blew Up * and it is now in theaters.  The same company is now close to a deal to buy Coyote vs. Acme.

*Note the reference to the famous movie The Day the Earth Stood Still !   

[SonicMan46]

The Princess Bride (1987) - another blast from the past - short summary below; directed by Rob Reiner - attracts kids and adults in different ways - see Roger Ebert's 3+/4 star review HERE - highly recommended.  Dave

The Princess Bride is an American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Robin Wright. Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film preserves the novel's metafictional narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson. (Source)