Last Movie You Watched

[relm1]

Last few days, I've been in a post-apocalyptic mood so enjoyed these two retro-gems.



Mad Max: The Road Warrior (1981) was a good ride full of outrageous characters with blood lust.  An absolutely great time with a simple story but quite effective and engrossing.  Don't really know where the pacifist group are trying to go but you sure hope at least some of them will make it.  Mel Gibson was great in this role, sort of reminded me of Clint Eastwood's The Man with No Name character from the 1960's in that he is an outsider with very few words who isn't really interested in doing the right thing, just happens to do what he must to live another day then slips away.



Once you get over the campiness (very 1970's film almost felt like a TV show at the start), it develops into a real interesting story.  Basically the future is idealic, no stress, no concerns, drugs and sex whenever you want.  The only problem is society has determined you will die at 30 years old.

[Karl Henning]

@relm1 it had been so long since I'd watched Logan's Run, I had clean forgot Ustinov, and he's magnificent!

[LKB]

I'm currently alternating between two filmic versions of A Christmas Carol, 1984's with George C. Scott and 1999's with Sir Patrick Stewart.

( This in conjunction with reading a digital facsimile of the first edition of Dickens' novel, an attempt to better  understand and evaluate the actors' respective renderings of Scrooge. )

[Karl Henning]

I was going to reply that that Burt Young film where he plays a deeply depressed trumpeter with lots of time-capsule run-down 1978 New York locations deserves to be much better known.

But now I see that's Uncle Joe Shannon.

Not rigorously, but I avoided Uncle Buck for years, supposing that John Hughes would just riff on his customary motifs. And maybe this is more or less true, but the result is still good, and this has aged a good deal better than Sixteen Candles, e.g. 

[André]

A masterpiece by Kore-Eda, Best Screenplay award and Queer Palm at Cannes (2023).




And a dud, but who knows ? Could be premonitory (let's hope not).

[Karl Henning]

Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings.

[LKB]

Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings.

Peter Jackson acknowledged Bakshi's effort, with a quick shot of the elder Proudfoot's feet on the table during Bilbo's birthday party speech.

[AnotherSpin]

A classic François Truffaut film from the early 1970s.

[JBS]

Peter Jackson acknowledged Bakshi's effort, with a quick shot of the elder Proudfoot's feet on the table during Bilbo's birthday party speech.

That may not be Bakshi related; it's a detail Tolkien wrote into the book to make a pun on the Proudfoot name.

[Mookalafalas]

My friends took me out to a local movie house last night: Red One. I wouldn't have selected it, myself, but I enjoyed it better than I might have expected.

   I just watched it for free, with the kids. It must have cost a fortune for that cast. None of the expensive "exciting" scenes were actually exciting, but it was plenty watchable.

[relm1]

@relm1 it had been so long since I'd watched Logan's Run, I had clean forgot Ustinov, and he's magnificent!

Yes, it is a wonderful character.  Also wonderful score by Jerry Goldsmith.  I like the first half synth music very much too!

[Karl Henning]

That may not be Bakshi related; it's a detail Tolkien wrote into the book to make a pun on the Proudfoot name.

Exactly.

[Karl Henning]

That may not be Bakshi related; it's a detail Tolkien wrote into the book to make a pun on the Proudfoot name.

Let us rejoice in an instance where Team Jackson hewed true to the source. The oddest thing so far about the screenplay for Bakshi is two occasions when the first letter is dropped from Saruman. Once each by Gandalf and Boromir 

[Karl Henning]

I'm currently alternating between two filmic versions of A Christmas Carol, 1984's with George C. Scott and 1999's with Sir Patrick Stewart.

( This in conjunction with reading a digital facsimile of the first edition of Dickens' novel, an attempt to better  understand and evaluate the actors' respective renderings of Scrooge. )

I've been a fan of the 1951 Scrooge with Alistair Sim, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Peter Bull and Patrick MacNee for so long, I didn't even watch any other. In 2023, I think, I finally gave the Geo. C Scott and Patrick Stewart versions a shot, and while I still consider the 1951 classic hors de concours, I gladly endorse both of the latter versions.

[relm1]

A few days ago I watched "Father of the Bride" (1950) with Spencer Tracy and a radiant Elizabeth Taylor.  This film was laugh out loud funny, very charming, and so sweet.  I loved Spencer Tracy's inner monologues.  Just a wonderful film and you can see why Liz Taylor became such a sensation - she was only 17 years old at the time too!

[SonicMan46]

A few days ago I watched "Father of the Bride" (1950) with Spencer Tracy and a radiant Elizabeth Taylor.  This film was laugh out loud funny, very charming, and so sweet.  I loved Spencer Tracy's inner monologues.  Just a wonderful film and you can see why Liz Taylor became such a sensation - she was only 17 years old at the time too!

As you likely know, there was a follow-up (shown below) in 1951 - also entertaining!  I've not seen these films in years and much prefer them to the Steve Martin remakes.  Dave

[Karl Henning]

Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings.

I enjoyed this when I saw it in the cinema. (Might have been a midnight show in Rockaway, New Jersey) and it has aged very well. If I were in the mood to cavil (I'm not) they substituted Legolas for Glorfindel as the Elf Elrond sends to help bring Frodo to Rivendell. The Nazgûl are impressively menacing. The audience sees the spear thrown at Frodo in the Chamber of Mazarbul from Frodo's POV, an exceptionally imaginative bit of animation. Well, and in Lórien Frodo says "Aruman." Galadriel, and Boromir losing his temper are delicious. Gollum's appearance, tailing Frodo and Sam in the boat, is exquisite. There was the subtlest suggestion of Gollum in Moria, glowing eyes. The bottom line: my only serious quarrel with the endeavor is the obvious one, that it's incomplete. Is that Bakshi's fault? Not in any sense of his supposedly somehow not being up to the task. In the sense that the producer couldn't raise the money to complete the story as Bakshi would have wished, yes.

[Karl Henning]

Last night: A Christmas Carol (Geo. C. Scott, David Warner, & al.) When @SonicMan46 wrote that he prefers this to the 1951 version, part of me wanted to decry it as heresy. But we remain friends. So much to enjoy in this one. On this viewing I exulted especially in the superb sound design.

[SonicMan46]

Last night: A Christmas Carol (Geo. C. Scott, David Warner, & al.) When @SonicMan46 wrote that he prefers this to the 1951 version, part of me wanted to decry it as heresy. But we remain friends. So much to enjoy in this one. On this viewing I exulted especially in the superb sound design.

Hey Karl - Happy Holidays - the '51 version was her first watch (she loves George C. and still her favorite) - she commented and I agree that Alistair Sim had a darker and more sinister character, especially at the beginning (of course becoming joyous at the end) - the next time we decide to watch the story, we'll see which one she picks (BUT we've been 'stuck on ' the 'Man Who Invented Christmas' the last few years - recommended if you haven't seen it!).  Dave

[Karl Henning]

Hey Karl - Happy Holidays - the '51 version was her first watch (she loves George C. and still her favorite) - she commented and I agree that Alistair Sim had a darker and more sinister character, especially at the beginning (of course becoming joyous at the end) - the next time we decide to watch the story, we'll see which one she picks (BUT we've been 'stuck on ' the 'Man Who Invented Christmas' the last few years - recommended if you haven't seen it!).  Dave

Thanks for the reminder!