Last Movie You Watched

[T. D.]

I saw Anora at a film festival last October and disliked it. Stunned that it even got nominated for any awards. But at least an indie film cleaned up rather than corporate commercial products.

My basic problem was that both principal characters (the young couple) were vapid ciphers with whom it was impossible to feel any empathy.

Some of the supporting cast, e.g. the young man's minder and staff and the young man's mother, provided comic relief, but the end product remained distinctly unappealing.

[Added] Never saw or had any interest in Pretty Woman. Good point, though.

[T. D.]

Saw Mickey 17 in the cinema this week.  The critical reception seemed generally very positive but I must admit I was very disappointed.  It just couldn't decide if it was serious sci-fi, wacky comedy, political satire or what.  Just felt clumsy and messy.  A couple of nice lines/scenarios but basically it outstayed its welcome quite early on.  Mark Ruffalo is cornering the market in bizarre/exaggerated characters and in fact most of the best scenes in the movie feature him.  Other than that very much a damp squib.

Wednesday is half-price day ($5) at a semi-local cinema. I considered seeing this but the blurb did not appeal, so passed. Saw Black Bag instead, good decision.

[SonicMan46]

The In-Laws (1979) - synopsis below - wife's choice being in the mood for a comedy (in color!) - don't know how many times I've watched this film but still a blast!  A MUST if you've never seen the movie.  Dave 

The In-Laws is an American action comedy film starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, written by Andrew Bergman and directed by Arthur Hiller. It was filmed on various locations, including Mexico, which served as the film's representation of the fictional Central American setting. The film focuses on the fathers of a young couple. One of the fathers is a mild-mannered dentist, the other is a renegade agent of the CIA.

 

[Cato]

I saw Anora at a film festival last October and disliked it. Stunned that it even got nominated for any awards. But at least an indie film cleaned up rather than corporate commercial products.

My basic problem was that both principal characters (the young couple) were vapid ciphers with whom it was impossible to feel any empathy.

Some of the supporting cast, e.g. the young man's minder and staff and the young man's mother, provided comic relief, but the end product remained distinctly unappealing.

[Added] Never saw or had any interest in Pretty Woman. Good point, though.

Double Amen! 😇😇

Tomorrow we will be watching The Day the Earth Blew Up: a Looney Tunes-Porky Pig-Daffy-Duck cartoon movie.

Reports said that the movie is several years old, along with another movie called Coyote vs. Acme, a mixed live-action-animation movie with the hilarious premise that Wile E. Coyote takes Acme Incorporated to court and sues them for the terrible quality of their products!

Both were shelved by the "geniuses" at Warner Brothers, who suddenly did not know how to market the movies!  Instead, they took a "tax break" of $30 million dollars from not showing the movies!

(Yes, there are calls to eliminate such "tax breaks" in the law code!)

Anyway, another company bought The Day the Earth Blew Up * and it is now in theaters.  The same company is now close to a deal to buy Coyote vs. Acme.

*Note the reference to the famous movie The Day the Earth Stood Still !   

[SonicMan46]

The Princess Bride (1987) - another blast from the past - short summary below; directed by Rob Reiner - attracts kids and adults in different ways - see Roger Ebert's 3+/4 star review HERE - highly recommended.  Dave

The Princess Bride is an American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Robin Wright. Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film preserves the novel's metafictional narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson. (Source)

 

[Cato]

Tomorrow we will be watching The Day the Earth Blew Up: a Looney Tunes-Porky Pig-Daffy-Duck cartoon movie.

Reports said that the movie is several years old, along with another movie called Coyote vs. Acme, a mixed live-action-animation movie with the hilarious premise that Wile E. Coyote takes Acme Incorporated to court and sues them for the terrible quality of their products!

Both were shelved by the "geniuses" at Warner Brothers, who suddenly did not know how to market the movies!  Instead, they took a "tax break" of $30 million dollars from not showing the movies!

(Yes, there are calls to eliminate such "tax breaks" in the law code!)

Anyway, another company bought The Day the Earth Blew Up * and it is now in theaters.  The same company is now close to a deal to buy Coyote vs. Acme.

*Note the reference to the famous movie The Day the Earth Stood Still ! 

The Day the Earth Blew Up is funny, wild, surprising, witty, and at times laugh-out-loud hilarious!

The new writers are obviously steeped in the cartoons of the 1930's and 1940's, but drop a good number of wink-wink nudges by referring visually to famous science fiction/horror movies e.g. Back to the Future, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (watch Daffy Duck imitate a mixture of Kevin McCarthy from that movie with Charlton Heston in Soylent Green      ), and E.T. and Night of the Living Dead.

[Madiel]

The Princess Bride (1987) - another blast from the past - short summary below; directed by Rob Reiner - attracts kids and adults in different ways - see Roger Ebert's 3+/4 star review HERE - highly recommended.  Dave

 

I am part of a very specific age group where this film is basically regarded as The Greatest Thing Ever.

[hopefullytrusting]

Who? What? Why? Where? When? How? These are the questions you will constantly be asking yourself if you decided to watch Secret of the Andes.



First, the highlight of the film, Camilla Belle is an adorable kid and she charms ever scene she is in (by the end you wish them all).

In short, the plot is Camilla Belle and a bunch of magical natives (who are always playing the recorder) steal an artifact, but you will not know that is the plot unless you are really paying attention, as everything is a mess.

for instance, why does Belle were a confederate flag t-shirt the entire film? Why is John Rhys-Davies in the film? What in the world is Jerry Stiller doing here? The children have been kidnapped? What? Someone is now imprisoned? When? She can possess a freaking condor? Just how powerful is that recorder?

I paired this with Lost Treasure (starring one of the Baldwin brothers):



This is classic b-movie fodder (just look at who directed it). All the blacks play hilarious, over-the-top comic relief characters - quite literally, they are just there to spurt hokey one-liners. No one knows how to emote either - if you've ever seen the "bomb" meme from Deus Ex - that is their range.

Both were great fun, but I love the treasure hunting (my favorite, actually) genre.

[Cato]

Who? What? Why? Where? When? How? These are the questions you will constantly be asking yourself if you decided to watch Secret of the Andes.



First, the highlight of the film, Camilla Belle is an adorable kid and she charms ever scene she is in (by the end you wish them all).

In short, the plot is Camilla Belle and a bunch of magical natives (who are always playing the recorder) steal an artifact, but you will not know that is the plot unless you are really paying attention, as everything is a mess.

for instance, why does Belle were a confederate flag t-shirt the entire film? Why is John Rhys-Davies in the film? What in the world is Jerry Stiller doing here? The children have been kidnapped? What? Someone is now imprisoned? When? She can possess a freaking condor? Just how powerful is that recorder?

What is Klaus Maria Brandauer doing on the poster...and his name is not there?  Is he in the movie?   That first image under "Alonso" sure looks like Brandauer!

[hopefullytrusting]

What is Klaus Maria Brandauer doing on the poster...and his name is not there?  Is he in the movie?   That first image under "Alonso" sure looks like Brandauer!

That's actually David Keith, which is how I came across the movie in the first place.

He's mainly a character actor who has played lead in b-movies. I primarily knew him from Major League II, and was then reintroduced to him on NCIS (Season 2, Episode 1 aka my favorite episode of NCIS).

[SonicMan46]

That's actually David Keith, which is how I came across the movie in the first place.

He's mainly a character actor who has played lead in b-movies. I primarily knew him from Major League II, and was then reintroduced to him on NCIS (Season 2, Episode 1 aka my favorite episode of NCIS).

Keith's 'breakthrough' role was in An Officer and a Gentleman back in 1982; he was nominated for a Golden Globe award - an excellent performance and probably one of his best.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Little Big Man (1970) - synopsis below - wow 55 years old! Faye Dunaway giving Hoffman a bath funny as ever - still a powerful film - Ebert 4* review HERE, if interested - highly recommended.  Dave

Little Big Man is an American revisionist Western film directed by Arthur Penn, adapted by Calder Willingham from Thomas Berger's 1964 novel of the same title. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Chief Dan George, Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam, et al. The film follows the life of a white man who was raised by members of the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century, and then attempts to reintegrate with American pioneer society. Although broadly categorized as a Western, or an epic, the film encompasses several literary/film genres, including comedy, drama and adventure. It parodies typical tropes of the Western genre, contrasting the lives of white settlers and Native Americans throughout the progression of the boy's life. (Source)

 

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Watched not too long ago:



Always an enjoyable film and certainly a bonafide classic in my book.

[T. D.]

What is Klaus Maria Brandauer doing on the poster...and his name is not there?  Is he in the movie?  That first image under "Alonso" sure looks like Brandauer!

Yeah, it does look like him!
I was a fan of Brandauer (esp. Mephisto), but his cinematic career seemed to drop off a cliff at some point.

[Kalevala]

Yeah, it does look like him!
I was a fan of Brandauer (esp. Mephisto), but his cinematic career seemed to drop off a cliff at some point.

I can't read the poster from that image, but it does say that it's with him ("mit").

K

[Cato]

Yeah, it does look like him!


I was a fan of Brandauer (esp. Mephisto), but his cinematic career seemed to drop off a cliff at some point.

Istvan Szabo and Klaus Maria Brandauer made two other movies: Hanussen and Oberst Redl.


Hanussen is especially interesting: I used to show most of it (some scenes were inappropriate for an all-boy Catholic high school) in my German IV classes.

[Karl Henning]

The In-Laws (1979) - synopsis below - wife's choice being in the mood for a comedy (in color!) - don't know how many times I've watched this film but still a blast!  A MUST if you've never seen the movie.  Dave 

 

Please, God, don't let me die on West 33rd Street!

[Karl Henning]

The Princess Bride (1987) - another blast from the past - short summary below; directed by Rob Reiner - attracts kids and adults in different ways - see Roger Ebert's 3+/4 star review HERE - highly recommended.  Dave

 

Never tire of this one, either!

[T. D.]

Istvan Szabo and Klaus Maria Brandauer made two other movies: Hanussen and Oberst Redl.


Hanussen is especially interesting: I used to show most of it (some scenes were inappropriate for an all-boy Catholic high school) in my German IV classes.

Many thanks! I must seek those out.

[Karl Henning]

Klaus Maria Brandauer

Do I remember that he played Largo in the remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again?