Last Movie You Watched

[Octave]

LONELY ARE THE BRAVE (George Miller, 1962)
An exceptional picture, and a coincidence: I read a PM from Geo Dude which referenced Edward Abbey, then immediately put on a movie that was based on an Abbey novel, THE BRAVE COWBOY.  The novel's title is both bland and suggestive; but the movie title is really unfortunate---Kirk Douglas called it his favorite film among those he acted in, and he himself hated the title---and the film is hipper, funnier, sadder, and more lightly touched than the title would make it sound.  It gets "prison" out of the way in its first half, the same way that GATE OF HELL (Kinugasa, 1953) gets "war" out of the way in its first several minutes....or not, or not.
A script by Dalton Trumbo; a memorable score by Jerry Goldsmith (about half of which I really liked a lot); a stunning young Gena Rowlands (I have always loved her, but here I barely recognized her until she cracked that cheshire grin) doing great work with a very small part; George Kennedy doing his threatening glowering sadist-simian George Kennedy thing; sardonic Walter Matthau (who I like more and more as I age); some great locations and photography.  I can't believe it took me so long to see this.  A great film of the American 1960s.

I felt sorriest for the horse.

A 2012 essay on this movie by Alex Cox (REPO MAN, WALKER, HIGHWAY PATROLMAN, SID & NANCY):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/movies/kirk-douglass-film-lonely-are-the-brave.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

And another brief appreciation by Alex Cox, from FILM COMMENT:
http://www.filmcomment.com/article/lonely-are-the-brave-david-miller

I was actually a bit annoyed by Cox's editorials; they're probably best read after seeing the film, not before.  (The NYT piece is much better and contains background on the production, including some anecdotes about the intimidating presence of Ed Abbey on/near the set, possibly spurious: "He looked and talked like Gary Cooper!") 

Cox calls LATB "a leftist American western", but it seems a lot more ambiguous/heterodox/cagey than that, a lot less doctrinaire or predictable, at least in its tone if not in its plot.  It doesn't read like a tract, even though the sense of fatedness, destiny, impossible weight, etc is all over the picture; the many moments of comedy (which I like a bit less, in spite of the doggedly impish Issur Danielovitch) actually just made the hurt hurt more.  The destiny angle is brought to bear by none other than Archie Bunker.  Which, by the by, reminds me that the supporting cast of bit players is just excellent....exceptional.  Ed Abbey supposedly had a walk-on, but it was cut from the final film.  I think it was in the bar-fight scene.

[CaughtintheGaze]

A film I've only recently begun to appreciate:

[asin]B000055Y0Y[/asin]

[ibanezmonster]

Finished Howl's Moving Castle yester evening.

Cool, that's one movie of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies.

[Todd]

My teenage son is a Star Wars kind of kid.  (As was I, for the most part.)  Star Trek has kind have been absent from his life.  So I determined that he should at least watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, clearly the best of the movies.  But before doing that, I decided that it would make sense to watch the original TV episode Space Seed.  (Netflix to the rescue.)  As I discovered when I caught a rerun on a local TV station last year, the remastered Star Trek episodes look snazzier now than ever, with bright colors, though the sets look cheap 'n' shoddy.  Now I know what I missed in my youth - I watched reruns mostly in black and white.

Anyway, the episode is good fun, and Ricardo Montalban is pretty hammy, and he looks rather bizarre in low-quality early spray tan, or whatever was used at the time. (There was no problem with this while watching in B&W.)  I haven't seen the episode in 30+ years, so I was somewhat surprised by one aspect of the ending: when Kirk drops Khan off on Ceti Alpha V, he does so partly to offer Khan the opportunity to conquer the natives.  Given the lefty, utopian angle of the show, that struck me as odd.  But it set up the movie, though not purposely, of course.  Time to queue up said movie.



SPOILER ALERT: Internet noise has revealed that the baddie in the newest Star Trek film is, indeed, Khan, though he's even whiter than Montalban.  That raises two items: 1.) I should stop perusing the net when new movies come out, so as not to spoil plot lines, and 2.) Was no Indian actor available?

[snyprrr]

It probably helps that I've not seen her other features. Visually it will stun you, and the use of a pastel color scheme was a stroke of genius. Dunst also really shines, as does the soundtrack.

Probably my favorite scene in the film:

https://www.youtube.com/v/Dbm5gIhcMjs

Plainsong

I'm not going to tell you what I did before listening to this song for 9 hours straight, but, this one song means more to me than a lot of things do.

"... and you smiled for a second..."

ooooo, sends chills down my spine,... oh, is anyone as obsessed by this song as I am?



btw- even using this song in THIS FILM? does not diminish its power and impact. GGGaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh .... drooling....

"I think it's cold and it looks like rain she said..."

                   "...blowin, it's the end of the world she said..."

                                         ..."as cold as..."

It's just SUNG better than 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', that's all!!!


              ..."living on the edge of the world"...

                            "it's just the way you smile you said you said"


breeahhh  breaah breeeeeah di-di-di-di-di-di

brrreeeeaah  breeah bbbreah di-di-di-di

            brrreeahh bbrreah.........


Now if Church sounded like this!!!!!!!!

[TheGSMoeller]

Plainsong

ooooo, sends chills down my spine,... oh, is anyone as obsessed by this song as I am?

I used to be obsessed with anything The Cure released. So I agree, great song.

[HIPster]

Last night (Friday): streamed The Big Sleep.  Hadn't seen this in years and loved it!

Today (Saturday): a matinee of the new Star Trek film.  Watched the re-boot a few days ago and pretty excited for this new one.

[George]

I used to be obsessed with anything The Cure released. So I agree, great song.

Indeed. GREAT album!!

[Bogey]

My teenage son is a Star Wars kind of kid.  (As was I, for the most part.)  Star Trek has kind have been absent from his life.  So I determined that he should at least watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, clearly the best of the movies.  But before doing that, I decided that it would make sense to watch the original TV episode Space Seed.  (Netflix to the rescue.)  As I discovered when I caught a rerun on a local TV station last year, the remastered Star Trek episodes look snazzier now than ever, with bright colors, though the sets look cheap 'n' shoddy.  Now I know what I missed in my youth - I watched reruns mostly in black and white.

Anyway, the episode is good fun, and Ricardo Montalban is pretty hammy, and he looks rather bizarre in low-quality early spray tan, or whatever was used at the time. (There was no problem with this while watching in B&W.)  I haven't seen the episode in 30+ years, so I was somewhat surprised by one aspect of the ending: when Kirk drops Khan off on Ceti Alpha V, he does so partly to offer Khan the opportunity to conquer the natives.  Given the lefty, utopian angle of the show, that struck me as odd.  But it set up the movie, though not purposely, of course.  Time to queue up said movie.



SPOILER ALERT: Internet noise has revealed that the baddie in the newest Star Trek film is, indeed, Khan, though he's even whiter than Montalban.  That raises two items: 1.) I should stop perusing the net when new movies come out, so as not to spoil plot lines, and 2.) Was no Indian actor available?

MORE  SPOILER

Todd, just got back from the new Star trek movie. Entertaining....but....well, let's wait until you see it.

[TheGSMoeller]

I visit GMG in hopes of not reading spoilers. 

[CaughtintheGaze]

I visit GMG in hopes of not reading spoilers. 

Vader is Luke's father, and Leia is his sister. Chewbacca is just a wookie.

[TheGSMoeller]

Vader is Luke's father, and Leia is his sister. Chewbacca is just a wookie.

Now hold on. I thought Chewbacca was an extra large Ewok.

And welcome back, Philo. Hadn't seen you in a while.

[Karl Henning]

Ewok be bop a-lula

[CaughtintheGaze]

Now hold on. I thought Chewbacca was an extra large Ewok.

And welcome back, Philo. Hadn't seen you in a while.

They at least share an evolutionary ancestor.

Good to be back. School and work were occupying my time.

[Todd]

Chewbacca is just a wookie.

It is spelled Wookiee. 

[CaughtintheGaze]

It is spelled Wookiee.

Whoops. As to Khan, per Hollywood racism: Bane, Aang, etc.

[TheGSMoeller]

It is spelled Wookiee.

Great, another spoiler from Todd. 

[Todd]

As to Khan, per Hollywood racism: Bane, Aang, etc.

Oh, I know, I just find it sillier than normal that a character named Khan Noonien Singh would be played by a white dude - and a pasty white dude, at that - in 2013. 

Well, here's to hoping Mr Cumberbatch does justice to Smaug later in the year.

[CaughtintheGaze]

Major disappointment in every facet:

[asin]B007REV4YI[/asin]

[snyprrr]

It is spelled Wookiee.

This has to stop!!!!