Last Movie You Watched

[SonicMan46]

For Thanksgiving, we drove to Greensboro (about 40 minutes) for an overnight at the O.Henry Hotel and ate at their Green Valley Grill - for dessert, we shared a favorite, i.e. their frozen Nutty Irishman (shown below, last image - frozen Nutty Irishman, chocolate cake layered with Irish cream mousse and crushed English toffee, finished with crème anglaise and chocolate sauce ).

In the hotel room, we decided to watch a film and picked a short one that was on my 'to see' list (really!) - Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) - synopsis as quoted - excellent stop action film (based on the TV series) w/ plenty of adult humor (see the 2nd image below w/ quotes from Rotten Tomatoes); ratings: 7.4/10, IMDB; 99%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.5*/5*, Amazon - check HERE for a 12-minute video on making of the animated film - bottom line for me - recommended, and I'd certainly do 4* on Amazon.  Dave

All is well at Mossy Bottom Farm, except for the fact that the animals will do anything to get out of work. So, Shaun the sheep and his scheming friends devise a plan to put their master to sleep. However, the ruse backfires when the poor farmer finds himself transported to the big city, having lost his memory. Now, it's up to Sean, Timmy the lamb, Shirley the ewe and the rest of the gang to travel to the metropolis and get him back, while not landing in even more trouble themselves.

[mc ukrneal]

For Thanksgiving, we drove to Greensboro (about 40 minutes) for an overnight at the O.Henry Hotel and ate at their Green Valley Grill - for dessert, we shared a favorite, i.e. their frozen Nutty Irishman (shown below, last image - frozen Nutty Irishman, chocolate cake layered with Irish cream mousse and crushed English toffee, finished with crème anglaise and chocolate sauce ).

In the hotel room, we decided to watch a film and picked a short one that was on my 'to see' list (really!) - Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) - synopsis as quoted - excellent stop action film (based on the TV series) w/ plenty of adult humor (see the 2nd image below w/ quotes from Rotten Tomatoes); ratings: 7.4/10, IMDB; 99%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.5*/5*, Amazon - check HERE for a 12-minute video on making of the animated film - bottom line for me - recommended, and I'd certainly do 4* on Amazon.  Dave

It is unexpectedly fun. Definitely diverting.

[Bogey]

http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/06/chapter-38-saul-bass-and-art-of-film.html

Nice Saul Bass snippet, though the entire site looks interesting.

[Todd]

Beasts of No Nation.  A brutal film covering the journey of a child soldier in an unnamed African country.  Well shot, conveying a sense of chaos and often leaving out the worst of the violence.  (I was expecting worse, more along the lines of atrocities covered in non-fiction works like the book Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, but fortunately the movie doesn't get that graphic.)  Idris Elba is superb as a charismatic and frightful but ultimately small-time warlord, and young Abraham Attah does extremely high grade work as the boy whose horrific journey is chronicled.  A few of his scenes are as sad as they are striking and intense, as when he and his fellow soldiers find two females hiding in a building.  Adding to the quality and realism is the all-African setting.  Truth to tell, the journey of a hapless boy through the horror that is war couldn't help but make me think of Come and See, and if this movie does not achieve the same effect as that masterpiece, this is good for at least one viewing to offer a glimpse of some contemporary warfare.

[André]

Last movies I bought (viewing will come in due time  ). Purchased at half price in the Criterion sale of November.







The latter is Onibaba, a horror movie with lots of muted and not so muted eroticism from Kaneto Shindo (1964)

[SonicMan46]

Last few nights, a couple of new BD replacements for older DVDs:

Hurricane (1937) w/ Jon Hall & Dorothy Lamour and a bunch of other great character actors - recognized for its special effects - nominated for 3 Oscars (won for sound) - I like this film and was hoping for a spectacular blu-ray restoration, but not to be - received 3.5/5 ratings for both video and audio HERE - worth a watch, though.

Notting Hill (1999) w/ Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and a bunch of quirky characters, especially Grant's 'flat mate' - I enjoy this film, mainly for Hugh's character - the blu-ray ratings are only average (3.4/5 video; 3.8/5 audio - same link as above), so if you already own the DVD, probably will not be impressed w/ the blu-ray rendition - but, still recommended if a fan of the two main stars and for a light but fun romantic comedy in my mind (now, Susan refuses to watch this film w/ me, so may not appeal to all - just saying) -   Dave

 

[Bogey]

Last few nights, a couple of new BD replacements for older DVDs:



Notting Hill (1999) w/ Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and a bunch of quirky characters, especially Grant's 'flat mate' - I enjoy this film, mainly for Hugh's character - the blu-ray ratings are only average (3.4/5 video; 3.8/5 audio - same link as above), so if you already own the DVD, probably will not be impressed w/ the blu-ray rendition - but, still recommended if a fan of the two main stars and for a light but fun romantic comedy in my mind (now, Susan refuses to watch this film w/ me, so may not appeal to all - just saying) -   Dave

 

Dave, let "Harpo" know that she is missing one that I truly enjoy.  I do not care much for either of the main actors, but they work great here for me.  Thanks for the blu-ray tip as I was also going to upgrade, but will now skip.

[SimonNZ]

Closer to Michael Palin than Simon Schama, with more travelogue than I was expecting, but still an interesting watch, if only a quick (three-hour) once-over.

His on-camera refusal to treat the Sagrada Familia as the case study for Gaudi - bemoaning the posthumous Disneyfication and kitchification of the continued construction - was a welcome and amusing moment of pointed candour (chosing to focus on the Casa Mila apartment building instead)

[Karl Henning]

Last night, again:

A Night at the Opera
Grosse Pointe Blank

[SimonNZ]

Last night, again:

A Night at the Opera
Grosse Pointe Blank

The contract negotiation scene is probably my favorite moment from any Marx Brother film.

Have you seen the unofficial/unauthorised remake called Brain Donors with John Tuturro?

[listener]

for this evening  OF FREAKS AND MEN   USSR 199
some nice old cameras are shown in this story of a turn-of-the-century  St. Petersburg pornographer specializing in bare-bottom floggings who with his assistant worms his way into a wealthy family with a photogenic daughter and a pair of adopted Siamese twins.

[SonicMan46]

Dave, let "Harpo" know that she is missing one that I truly enjoy.  I do not care much for either of the main actors, but they work great here for me.  Thanks for the blu-ray tip as I was also going to upgrade, but will now skip.

Hi Bill - I actually like both of those actors, but Susan does not and don't think that she cared for the story (we saw the film on release) - BUT, I'm the main movie fan in the house and love to re-watch my favorites.

As to The Hurricane, if you have a good DVD, then probably not worth the effort to go to BD - however, I had a pretty poor DVD-R (off the TCM channel a while back), so my choice would have been the commercial DVD or BD - I do like the film (although Jon Hall was pretty stupid getting his 6-month sentence extended to 16 years - he was lucky a hurricane came along -  )  Dave

[SimonNZ]

^^ +1 for "Of Freaks And Men", a remarkable one of a kind film.

watched yesterday:



Fascinating four-hour doco - much less narrow or parochial in focus than I was expected, and highlighting many issues characters and historical connections that I hadn't thought of. Very Ken Burns-like in its approach which, imo, is always a good thing.

[SonicMan46]

Well, my 'to see' list of movies has gotten too long, so watched a few last night via Amazon streaming:

Southpaw (2015) w/ Jake Gyllenhaal & Forest Whitaker - first synopsis below; ratings:  7.5/10, IMDB; 59%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.3*/5*, Amazon - yet another boxing film (how many have been made?) - not bad, held my interest, and like the early boxing scenes, but don't plan to re-watch and likely would do a 3 1/2* rating on Amazon - if you're a fan of the actors and like boxing movies, then recommended.

Ricki and the Flash (2015) w/ Meryl Streep & Kevin Kline - second synopsis below; ratings: 6/10, IMDB; 64%, Rotten Tomatoes; 3.5*/5*, Amazon - Susan & I watched together being Meryl fans, BUT a 66 y/o woman still performing as a singing rock guitarist was TOO much for us (though she looked a lot younger) - we turned it off - the only facet of the film I enjoyed was Kevin Kline's beautiful house -   Since I did not watch to the end, cannot real give a rating but would have been 3* or less for me - obviously I cannot recommend the movie, so read the reviews and decide.  Dave

Billy "The Great" Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a former fighter who trains the city's toughest amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for Ricki Rendazzo (Meryl Streep), a one-time wife and mother of three who left her family behind to follow her dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom in California. Now, the singer and guitarist must face the music when she returns home to Indiana to reconnect with ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline), troubled daughter Julie, engaged son Josh and younger son Adam. Filled with regret, Ricki hopes to find redemption for all of the bad choices that she made in the past.

 

[Karl Henning]

The contract negotiation scene is probably my favorite moment from any Marx Brother film.

Have you seen the unofficial/unauthorised remake called Brain Donors with John Tuturro?

I have not!

[SimonNZ]

I have not!

Its more of a curiosity than must-see viewing, but the long final sequence where they ruin a ballet performance is hilarious and worthy of being compared with the original's finale.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Strongly recommended (as is director's accompanying commentary).

[asin]B00UHAJ0MW[/asin]

[Sergeant Rock]

Susan & I watched together being Meryl fans, BUT a 66 y/o woman still performing as a singing rock guitarist was TOO much for us

Deborah Harry (Blondie) is still performing, age 70. Patti Smith, 68. Emmylou Harris, 68. Lucinda Williams, 62. Heart's Ann Wilson (65) and Nancy Wilson (61) are still rocking. Don't be an ageist, Dave 

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Deborah Harry (Blondie) is still performing, age 70. Patti Smith, 68. Emmylou Harris, 68. Lucinda Williams, 62. Heart's Ann Wilson (65) and Nancy Wilson (61) are still rocking. Don't be an ageist, Dave 

Hey Sarge - I know that you're right!    Tony Bennett is 89 y/o and still making albums!  In October while visiting our son in Indianapolis, we saw Frank Sinatra Jr. (71 y/o) in a show - he was in great voice and we enjoyed!  Dave