Last Movie You Watched

[Cato]

Rosalind Russell as a droll and gently sarcastic Mother Superior, and Hayley Mills as an impulsive imp who gets "scathingly brilliant ideas" at a Catholic boarding school for girls.

Directed by Ida Lupino!  Fun musical score by Jerry Goldsmith !







Of interest for trivia buffs: Jim Hutton stops by in an uncredited role.  One can see why he was considered the new Jimmy Stewart.

I recall both him and Robert Morse being absolutely squandered in assorted mediocre movies from M-G-M and other studios.  Both put much sweat into mediocre scripts and one tended to laugh out of sympathy rather than because a scene was truly funny.

Hollywood studios in the 1960's had a love affair for a short time with V E R R R R R R Y  lengthy movie titles: Robert Morse was in a fairly unfunny movie with Rosalind Russell called...

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. 

The title was long, but the movie was short on comedy! 

Jim Hutton was often paired with singers or up and coming actresses in "romantic comedies."  He was under contract at M-G-M, which was trying to revitalize itself by giving contracts to young actors and actresses (e.g. Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss), but the scripts were never very good.

Anyway, enough trivia! 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Excellent movie about town politics, public administration, etc.. Nice camera works. Jaws 2 is good too, I think.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Excellent movie about town politics, public administration, etc.. Nice camera works. Jaws 2 is good too, I think.

I remember watching that in the theater with a female friend; we were grabbing each other's hands, holding our breaths, screaming out loud, and almost jumping into each other's laps!

PD

[JBS]

I remember watching that in the theater with a female friend; we were grabbing each other's hands, holding our breaths, screaming out loud, and almost jumping into each other's laps!

PD

I saw it in theater with a friend. At one sudden appearance of the Shark, he was so startled he sent an entire large bucket of popcorn flying into the rows behind behind us. Fortunately there weren't many people at thar showing so no one was sitting behind us. But we did have to stifle our laughter so people wouldn't wonder what we found funny.

[Karl Henning]

Excellent movie about town politics, public administration, etc.. Nice camera works. Jaws 2 is good too, I think.

Agreed!

[Karl Henning]

I remember watching that in the theater with a female friend; we were grabbing each other's hands, holding our breaths, screaming out loud, and almost jumping into each other's laps!

PD

And the slogan Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water was brilliant. 

[Karl Henning]

Spielberg had such a bad experience shooting the original (largely, all the logistical annoyances of shooting on water) he would have nothing to do with Jaws 2. I forget who the first director was, but he and the studio didn't get on, Jeannot Szwarc (who shot a number of the best episodes of Rod Serling's Night Gallery and the cult classic romantic fantasy Somewhere in Time) was brought in, and to his great credit, Jaws 2 does really work. I think I've already shared this, but Jaws was released in France as Dents de Mer. They had to modify the title for the sequel, since Dents de Mer Deux, courted suggesting the word merde.

[Karl Henning]

Rosalind Russell as a droll and gently sarcastic Mother Superior, and Hayley Mills as an impulsive imp who gets "scathingly brilliant ideas" at a Catholic boarding school for girls.

Directed by Ida Lupino!  Fun musical score by Jerry Goldsmith !







Of interest for trivia buffs: Jim Hutton stops by in an uncredited role.  One can see why he was considered the new Jimmy Stewart.

I recall both him and Robert Morse being absolutely squandered in assorted mediocre movies from M-G-M and other studios.  Both put much sweat into mediocre scripts and one tended to laugh out of sympathy rather than because a scene was truly funny.

Hollywood studios in the 1960's had a love affair for a short time with V E R R R R R R Y  lengthy movie titles: Robert Morse was in a fairly unfunny movie with Rosalind Russell called...

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. 

The title was long, but the movie was short on comedy! 

Jim Hutton was often paired with singers or up and coming actresses in "romantic comedies."  He was under contract at M-G-M, which was trying to revitalize itself by giving contracts to young actors and actresses (e.g. Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss), but the scripts were never very good.

Anyway, enough trivia! 

Well, some more trivia, though personal to me. I knew the name Hayley Mills from a record with music from the Disney movie The Parent Trap. I never saw the movie, and the music was forgettable, but in hindsight it was a shade daring at the time, on the Disney studios' part to make a movie with a family suffering from a shaky marriage. Haley Mills played twin daughters scheming to get the parents back together.

[Cato]

Well, some more trivia, though personal to me. I knew the name Hayley Mills from a record with music from the Disney movie The Parent Trap. I never saw the movie, and the music was forgettable, but in hindsight it was a shade daring at the time, on the Disney studios' part to make a movie with a family suffering from a shaky marriage. Hayley Mills played twin daughters scheming to get the parents back together.

Yes, that movie was a big hit!  The special effects for doubling Hayley Mills were quite creative and convincing.

Her father was actor John Mills, and her performance with him in a movie called Tiger Bay was a fascinating debut.

Walt Disney saw the movie, and quickly offered her the role for his movie of Pollyanna, a huge hit, which we (Mrs. Cato and I) think holds up quite well over 60 years later.

For Tiger Bay see:

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/492613/index.html

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Spielberg had such a bad experience shooting the original (largely, all the logistical annoyances of shooting on water) he would have nothing to do with Jaws 2. I forget who the first director was, but he and the studio didn't get on, Jeannot Szwarc (who shot a number of the best episodes of Rod Serling's Night Gallery and the cult classic romantic fantasy Somewhere in Time) was brought in, and to his great credit, Jaws 2 does really work. I think I've already shared this, but Jaws was released in France as Dents de Mer. They had to modify the title for the sequel, since Dents de Mer Deux, courted suggesting the word merde.

I read that Godzilla inspired Spielberg to make Jaws and Jurassic Park. In turn, Godzilla Minus One, released last year, was influenced by Jaws. Spielberg liked Godzilla Minus One.


https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/2/13/7jpd3ts8bs3ieh2g8xm50o651tl9c8

[Karl Henning]

A fun and informative featurette:
In the Beginning: Quo Vadis and the Genesis of the Biblical Epic.

[71 dB]

Battle Beyond the Stars (Jimmy T. Murakami, 1980)

Small budget, clumsy editing, simple plot, shameless copying of Star Wars and of course Nestor tasting sausage. What's not to like? It's not masterful cinema, but it is entertaining and nostalgic. As a movie this is 1/5 on a bad day and 2/5 on good one, but for my nostalgia-hungry taste it is 4/5 and it can turn my bad day into something better. I watched this on German Blu-ray (Sador - Herrscher Im Weltraum).

[relm1]

Battle Beyond the Stars (Jimmy T. Murakami, 1980)

Small budget, clumsy editing, simple plot, shameless copying of Star Wars and of course Nestor tasting sausage. What's not to like? It's not masterful cinema, but it is entertaining and nostalgic. As a movie this is 1/5 on a bad day and 2/5 on good one, but for my nostalgia-hungry taste it is 4/5 and it can turn my bad day into something better. I watched this on German Blu-ray (Sador - Herrscher Im Weltraum).

I haven't seen that film in a long, long time.  Some interesting trivia.  This film's music was one of the very first film scores by 27 year old James Horner and Art Direction/special effects by James Cameron.  Cameron would later direct Aliens (1986) and eventually massive oscar winning blockbusters Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), all scored by Horner.  James Horner grew up in Los Angeles and was friends (dated a few times) Jerry Goldsmith's daughter while in high school.  He visited the scoring session of that major film maestro's Star Trek The Motion Picture sessions and even was a page turner in that score for the blaster beam performer, Craig Huxley.  Craig Huxley played the very same instrument on Horner's score for Battle Beyond the Stars. 

[NumberSix]

But I'm a Cheerleader
8/10

Saw this earlier this week at Alamo Drafthouse with a nearly full auditorium. Great fun and a good reminder of the value of seeing a movie with a crowd. Outstanding film, as it is every time. Very funny and OTT but even 25 years later with some as-poignant-as-ever things to say about gender roles and conversion therapy. Natasha Lyonne, as always, is superb. It would make an interesting twofer with The Miseducation of Cameron Post, another film set within a conversion camp for teens but with a far more serious tone.

I Saw the TV Glow
8/10

Second viewing. I forget what I rated it the first time, but this is a superb picture.

[SonicMan46]

Battle Beyond the Stars (Jimmy T. Murakami, 1980)

Small budget, clumsy editing, simple plot, shameless copying of Star Wars and of course Nestor tasting sausage. What's not to like? It's not masterful cinema, but it is entertaining and nostalgic. As a movie this is 1/5 on a bad day and 2/5 on good one, but for my nostalgia-hungry taste it is 4/5 and it can turn my bad day into something better. I watched this on German Blu-ray (Sador - Herrscher Im Weltraum).

Hey Poju - saw that film with my 7 y/o son (turns 51 this year!) on release - one of our many Saturday outings back then at his age - first a trip to Wendy's for a burger, fries and shared frosty, then a B-rated usually double feature at the local mall. He even bought the DVD years later and we watched again in his house in Indianapolis on a visit - enjoyed!  Dave

[Cato]

Hey Poju - saw that film with my 7 y/o son (turns 51 this year!) on release - one of our many Saturday outings back then at his age - first a trip to Wendy's for a burger, fries and shared frosty, then a B-rated usually double feature at the local mall. He even bought the DVD years later and we watched again in his house in Indianapolis on a visit - enjoyed!  Dave

George Peppard had been a major star (Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Blue Max, How the West Was Won ) in the early 1960's).

But...whatever pays the bills!  He later ended up on The A-Team T.V. show.

One of his best performances was as accused murderer Dr. Sam Shepperd, who eventually was exonerated after years in prison:

Guilty or Innocent

[Karl Henning]

Revisiting Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. A little sad to think that if Admiral Kirk had been more cautious (i.e. had followed the regulations which Mister Saavik was about to quote to him) Scotty's nephew might have been spared. OTOH, he was a "red shirt" with whom a crew member was related. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

But I'm a Cheerleader
8/10

Saw this earlier this week at Alamo Drafthouse with a nearly full auditorium. Great fun and a good reminder of the value of seeing a movie with a crowd. Outstanding film, as it is every time. Very funny and OTT but even 25 years later with some as-poignant-as-ever things to say about gender roles and conversion therapy. Natasha Lyonne, as always, is superb. It would make an interesting twofer with The Miseducation of Cameron Post, another film set within a conversion camp for teens but with a far more serious tone.

I Saw the TV Glow
8/10

Second viewing. I forget what I rated it the first time, but this is a superb picture.

Natasha Lyonne is a very good actress.  I ran across her after hearing (for some time) a lot of hype about "Orange is the New Black".  She's now also into directing and producing. 

PD

[Karl Henning]

For just the second time: Quo Vadis

[Cato]

For just the second time: Quo Vadis

Watching Robert Taylor break a cross was quite a shock!  Peter Ustinov as Nero was, of course, fun to watch.

I find this movie better than The Robe, which came out about the same time.