Last Movie You Watched

[aligreto]

The Man Who Cried





This is the story of a small child who was left behind while her father immigrated to America. It is her story of pursuit and all that happened along the way. It had the making of being something good but it was ultimately too Hollywood for me.

[aligreto]

Winter People





This was a good human story. I enjoyed it.

[vandermolen]

Tonight I was watching 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' on TV. My wife walked through the living room and said 'what on earth are you watching?':

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Tonight I was watching 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' on TV. My wife walked through the living room and said 'what on earth are you watching?':

lol Don't believe that I've seen that one before.  When is it from Jeffrey?

Here, a nature program/dvd.

PD

[vandermolen]

lol Don't believe that I've seen that one before.  When is it from Jeffrey?

Here, a nature program/dvd.

PD

1970 PD. Not nearly as good as the marvelous 1968 original POTA (not to be confused with POTUS  ) but much better than the ones which followed.

I really disliked the modern re-make - thought it was terrible.

[André]

Revisiting an old favourite after a hiatus of many years.

It was to be a collaboration between Murmau and Flaherty (of Nanook of the North and Moana fame), both being credited as co-authors of the scenario. Flaherty eventually walked out, unsatisfied with the many changes Murnau had brought on the project, changing the camera work from colour to B&W, considerably expanding the story, etc.

Tabu is from 1931 and comes 4 years after Murnau's previous film, Sunrise. And yet the older film is much more modern. It deals with human issues in an extremely sophisticated and novel way. Tabu otoh deals with ancient, vanishing customs nobody really took seriously in 1931 (Flaherty would do the same in 1934 In Man of Aran with the basking shark fishing scene an anachronism from the previous century).

So, it really is a Murnau film, centering on the interactions and emotions of characters overcome by forces they cannot control (Der Letze Mann, Sunrise, Tabu). Flaherty had little interest in individuals, his forte was the ethnographic aspect of societies and the effect modernism had on them (Nanook, Man of Aran, Louisiana Story). So, a total mismatch that ended up with Flaherty's interest in the joint venture being bought back by Murnau.

The film garnered an oscar for its cinematography by Floyd Crosby (Zinnemann's High Noon and From Here to Eternity, Clouzot's Le Corbeau are among his other notable achievements). The intense luminosity and stark contrasts of bright light and shadows will be familiar to fans of these films, showing how tellingly great cinematography contributes to a film's aesthetic. The musical soundtrack is by Hugo Riesenfeld (The Ten Commandments, Beau Geste, Sunrise, Hell's Angels) who plugged in many themes of classical music by Smetana, Mendelssohn, Schubert and others - I couldn't identify them all.

So, a touching story, some fantastic shots and good acting for the period (non professionals). It has aged well, but is not as strikingly modern as Sunrise.

[Madiel]

A Ghost Story



Um... look, in some ways I get what this was trying to do. And some of it was effective. But some of it, especially in the first half, is incredibly slow and tedious.

[aligreto]

Gridlocked





This is one from the lots of shooting and violence genre. For those who know who Vinnie Jones is, he makes an appearance; so you know what to expect.

[steve ridgway]

Tonight I was watching 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' on TV. My wife walked through the living room and said 'what on earth are you watching?':

I was watching that too. Great fun and I liked the costumes .

[steve ridgway]

Push with Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning. Some good tips here for anyone fighting an enemy that can read their mind.

[Todd]

The Vast of Night.  A low-budget homage to The Twilight Zone and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with a nod to Gareth Edwards' Monsters, the film is set in 50s New Mexico and involves a switchboard operator and DJ who hear and try to untangle the meaning of a strange noise intercepted by the girl at the switchboard.  The movie consists of low budget sets and extensive dialogue and the cheapest possible effect of a blacked out screen for a few minutes of screen time, interspersed throughout the film.  Issues of racism and sexism are addressed for a political tinge, but ultimately the high concept falls flat and the film, despite less than ninety minutes of actual running time, seems to go on and on.  That's probably because the storyline is old and tired and the movie really has nothing fresh to say.  I guess it could have been worse.

[drogulus]

     Since I'm not a Brit, it's very OK for me to like the films of Stephen Poliakoff. Most recently I watched Capturing Mary.

     Stephen Poliakoff: why the baffling doe-eyed adoration?

     Ow, that'll teach me. Now that I'm taught, I like the film less by a tiny amount. I'm glad I watched the film first because I like liking films even if I'm not doing it right.

[SimonNZ]

First viewing. Found this much more charming and enjoyable than I expected to.

[milk]

Beautiful film.

[aligreto]

Black Butterfly





A twist too many at the very end spoiled an otherwise reasonably good film; ridiculous!

[Madiel]

Dallas Buyers Club



Pretty good. The acting is definitely the highlight.

[Christo]

Second time, after its premiere back in 1982. Ben Kingsly makes a not unconvincing Gandhi, but what I liked most are the landscapes, analogue & beautiful:

[aligreto]

Passengers 





I enjoyed this one.

[aligreto]

Second time, after its premiere back in 1982. Ben Kingsly makes a not unconvincing Gandhi, but what I liked most are the landscapes, analogue & beautiful:

I remember seeing that in the cinema when it came out and the landscape cinematography was stunning.

[SonicMan46]

Body and Soul (1947) w/ John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Robert Conrad, et al - film noir boxing film - more HERE - considered one of the BEST boxing films ever made in many ratings (No. 5 on the Rotten Tomatoes Ranking; higher elsewhere) - nominated for 3 Oscars, including John for 'Best Actor', won one for 'Film Editing'.  In 1952, Garfield died tragically at the age of 39 years from heart disease.  Dave

P.S. forgot to mention the two gorgeous ladies in this film - shown below!