Last Movie You Watched

[kishnevi]

It's not historically accurate, which seems to have upset reviewers on IMDB, but are movies really supposed to be? It was a good and entertaining movie, which actually took the time to tell a story.

Went to look up in Wikipedia the book it was based on, which seems to
have problems with historical accuracy (e.g. a character named Allah Shah, as if Allah was a personal name) of its own...

[listener]

Another from the Shaw Brothers, SOUL OF THE SWORD
Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Lily Li      lots of swordplay, nudityviolent revenge and some nudity

[Ken B]

Second time for this wonderful little film.

[asin]B00067BCBI[/asin]

It has a few flaws, and could be trimmed, but I give it 8/10. Splendid performances from Rickman and Mos Def.

[James]

The Big Sleep
1946 ‧ Crime film/Thriller ‧ 1h 56m

Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.

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[James]

Out of the Past
1947 ‧ Crime film/Thriller ‧ 1h 37m

The quiet life of small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is interrupted when a figure from his shady past, small-time crook Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine), recognizes him. Stephanos' boss, crooked gambler Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), had hired Jeff to track down Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), a girlfriend who shot Whit and made off with $40,000 of his. Jeff and Kathie fell in love, but she left him to go back to Sterling, who now wants Jeff to settle a few old scores.

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[Ken B]

The Infiltrator

Recent Brian Cranston movie. Meandering, overlong. 5/10

[André]

These days I either watch movies with a friend of 40 years (he specialized in the genre and earned a PhD writing his thesis about transnational cinema - taïwanese, iranian, french or peruvian movies), or with my 33 year old son, watching the latest blockbuster. This Tuesday we're booked for the latest Star Trek  .

[Drasko]

[Todd]

The Big Short.  Adam McKay got to make his film exposing Wall Street shenanigans that were the proximate cause of the 2007-08 meltdown.  The hints of what he wanted to do in The Other Guys pays off.  The ensemble cast does generally good work, though the movie is not so much about them as it is about what happened.  The numerous fourth wall busting asides are entertaining, and the random stars inserted to explain certain topics are entertaining.  (How can Margot Robbie in a bubble bath not be entertaining?)  The film has a snappy pace, covers the financial stuff well for a film, and has an acid wit, never more so than when a couple of shorters visit Standard & Poor's and the woman they speak with is wearing sunglasses usually reserved for the blind.  I guess I could quibble – while the film mentions the invention of private MBS in the 70s, why no mention of changes to ERISA in the 70s changing what pensions could invest in?  Why could they not use a proper delinquency string in one of the spreadsheets that flash across the screen? Why no differentiation between ARMs and the nuclear product Option ARMs – but the film is excellent as-is. 

[Jaakko Keskinen]

[Karl Henning]

The Big Short.  Adam McKay got to make his film exposing Wall Street shenanigans that were the proximate cause of the 2007-08 meltdown.  The hints of what he wanted to do in The Other Guys pays off.  The ensemble cast does generally good work, though the movie is not so much about them as it is about what happened.  The numerous fourth wall busting asides are entertaining, and the random stars inserted to explain certain topics are entertaining.  (How can Margot Robbie in a bubble bath not be entertaining?)  The film has a snappy pace, covers the financial stuff well for a film, and has an acid wit, never more so than when a couple of shorters visit Standard & Poor’s and the woman they speak with is wearing sunglasses usually reserved for the blind.  I guess I could quibble – while the film mentions the invention of private MBS in the 70s, why no mention of changes to ERISA in the 70s changing what pensions could invest in?  Why could they not use a proper delinquency string in one of the spreadsheets that flash across the screen? Why no differentiation between ARMs and the nuclear product Option ARMs – but the film is excellent as-is. 

This has been repeatedly recommended to me, and I should find it at the BPL . . . .

[Karl Henning]

This is a enduring favorite.

Of course, it and Casablanca are heavily alluded to in the marvelous The Cheap Detective.

[James]

The Wrong Man
1956 ‧ Drama/Noir ‧ 1h 45m

Musician Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) needs money to pay for his wife Rose's (Vera Miles) dental procedure. When he tries to borrow money from their insurance policy, someone at the office mistakes him for a man who had robbed them twice at gunpoint. After Manny is arrested, his defense attorney, Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle), works to demonstrate that Manny has an alibi for the crimes. The stress of the case, however, threatens to destroy Manny's family before his name can be cleared.

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[Ken B]

Robert Cummings plays Robert Donat

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I actually watched the Blu Ray, which looks very good.

This is a truly weird movie, but it has some fine parts. Otto Kruger, and the amazing Statue sequence especially. 7/10

[listener]

from Germany, 1920
Bela Lugosi in THE DEERSLAYER

[Drasko]

Poor. Middle-aged lawyer shows out of the blue on the doorstep of his ex-mistress (ex by four years) saying that he left his wife and wants to re-kindle their affair. She is obviously reluctant, lots of awkward silences and half finished sentences ensue leading into quite predictable violence but ends with this surprise twist that's supposed to be oh so smart, but it isn't. And as the height of pretentiousness at the end LaBute dedicates the film to Strindberg, wow now I can dedicate every stickman I doodle to Miro or Klee.

The other LaBute film I watched recently (Dirty Weekend) was at least mildly funny, occasionally.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

This is a enduring favorite.

I hear ya. I love John Huston. And to think that this was only the very first film he directed yet it is a masterpiece. One of the most convincing starts ever for a director, although I still prefer one of Huston's later Bogey films, Treasure of Sierra Madre.

[Ken B]

I hear ya. I love John Huston. And to think that this was only the very first film he directed yet it is a masterpiece. One of the most convincing starts ever for a director, although I still prefer one of Huston's later Bogey films, Treasure of Sierra Madre.

+1

[Karl Henning]

Last night I watched The Lady Vanishes whilst listening to the commentary. Very worthwhile, but then (of course), I don't already know it all 

[SonicMan46]

Last night, several new BD arrivals (DVD-R & DVD replacements, respectively):

Rope (1948) w/ James Stewart, John Dall,  & Farley Granger - a film oft discussed in this thread; just had a mediocre DVD-R copy - the blu-ray restoration could have been better - rated 3.5/5 for both video & audio HERE, but a worthwhile production - enjoyed.

Victor/Victoria (1982) w/ Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, & Alex Karras; Blake Edwards, director; Henry Mancini, music - I've always enjoyed this film, especially Preston & Karras in their roles - outstanding blu-ray restoration, rated 4.5/5 for visual, audio, & extras (HERE), which I've not looked at yet.  If you're a fan of this movie, then the BD is highly recommended.  Dave