Last Movie You Watched

[(poco) Sforzando]

Re: Bresson's A Man Escaped: One of the greatest films ever made.

Absolutely agreed, just watched this again the other night. And not least for its use of the Kyrie from Mozart's C-minor Mass.

[Ken B]

Gold Diggers of 1933 w/ Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, & Ginger Rogers - Busby Berkeley's usual presentations - now this is pre-code Hollywood and the girls are quite appealing (and revealing)!   Dave

 

Is that the one with Honeymoon Hotel? Primo censor bait.
Wait till you see 1935 -- that's the one with Lullaby.

Don't forget Una Merkel!

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Disagreed. (about 2. - 5. best Bond actor)

Don't you mean poppycock? 

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Gold Diggers of 1933 w/ Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, & Ginger Rogers - Busby Berkeley's usual presentations - now this is pre-code Hollywood and the girls are quite appealing (and revealing)!   Dave

 

"We're in the money" is irresistably catchy!

[Karl Henning]

"We're in the money" is irresistably catchy!

Always makes me think of the Looney Tunes, where it was a frequent musical reference!

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Always makes me think of the Looney Tunes, where it was a frequent musical reference!

I actually learned about the piece in the first place from Looney tunes. 

[SonicMan46]

Is that the one with Honeymoon Hotel? Primo censor bait.
Wait till you see 1935 -- that's the one with Lullaby.

Don't forget Una Merkel!

Hi Ken - no mention of a Honeymoon Hotel in the documentary but below a pic of him near one of his Maine homes - part of the interviews in the show were taken from this position (from an article in the NY Times - July 2014 - HERE, for those interested?) - just one short quip from the doc "A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere," - a fascinating character.  BTW, I've never used any of the products but might just try a few - there's a whole display at our local Harris-Teeter grocery store.

Who can forget Una Merkel, always entertaining - now, I've seen Gold Diggers of 1935 a number of times, but was surprised that I had not at least 'burned' the film to DVD - might just stream it tonight from Amazon - Dave

[TheGSMoeller]

A very nice behind the scenes look at Terrance Malick's To The Wonder. A 10 minute video that displays the technique and shooting style of Malick and how the actors respond...

http://www.youtube.com/v/in3-CQWEn4o

[SonicMan46]

Well, several more BD replacements the last few nights and more Alfred Hitchcock:

To Catch a Thief (1955) w/ Gary Grant & Grace Kelly, as beautiful as ever!

Strangers on a Train (1951) w/ Robert Walker & Farley Granger - Walker died the same year (alcohol + barbiturate overdose apparently) - he was only 32 years old - Dave

 

[Karl Henning]

Strangers on a Train (1951) w/ Robert Walker & Farley Granger - Walker died the same year (alcohol + barbiturate overdose apparently) - he was only 32 years old - Dave

That movie is great fun!  What a sad fate for "Bruno"!

[Brian]

FYI, Christopher Nolan says that his purpose with his new movie, Interstellar, was "to make a quest movie like Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

[kishnevi]

FYI, Christopher Nolan says that his purpose with his new movie, Interstellar, was "to make a quest movie like Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

On the whole,  that's good.   He could have said "a quest movie like The Hobbit."

[Jaakko Keskinen]

On the whole,  that's good.   He could have said "a quest movie like The Hobbit."

We don't need no stinking Hobbits!

[stingo]

We don't need no stinking Hobbits!

Hobbitses!

[mc ukrneal]

Recently saw Trouble with the Curve:
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On a scale of 1-5, a 3.5 from me, but with caveats. The plot is predictable and lame (though the idea is actually good). The writing is often too obvious with not enough subtlety. The characters (and actors) are a lot of fun. Justin Timberlake basically plays himself, and is his usual likeable self. Amy Adams is fun too, though they could have given her more depth. Clint Eastwood's character is a bit too one-dimensional and it would have been better if he wasn't quite so physically angry all the time. Still, the characters are fun and the actors are good, so I enjoyed it. Probably one to rent (not buy).

[Moonfish]

We usually camp out Halloween night with lots of chocolates and watch scary movies. This year:

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and

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[Bogey]

We rewatched for the 100th time:



Always a treat.

[Brian]

WHIPLASH



Yes, there are a couple of plot implausibilities and bits of luck.

But wow, what a movie.

It's a music thriller. What else to call it? Young Andrew Neiman wants to be the best jazz drummer around - the new Buddy Rich. At a thinly disguised Juilliard, he enters the elite jazz band, and then gets pushed to his very limits.

JK Simmons owns the movie as a teacher whose quest for perfectionism can destroy his students. But there's so much great stuff here: great writing, propulsive energy, obviously terrific music, all leading to a series of explosive climaxes, each one bigger than the last, and each one less predictable. This movie never does the expected thing, not when the unexpected will do.

The theatre audience whooped and hollered at the ending, and then we all staggered out mid-adrenaline rush, in amazement. Just plain awesome. 9/10, must-see for most GMGers. JK Simmons will be an Oscar nominee, and so will the phenomenal new director, Damien Chazelle, who can film a jazz performance exactly, precisely, thrillingly the way that jazz performances should be filmed.

I can't do better than AA Dowd's quote on the poster: "As thrillingly volatile as the music it celebrates."

[North Star]

HANNAH ARENDT (2012)

A look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

Director: Margarethe von Trotta
Writers: Pam Katz (screenplay), Margarethe von Trotta (screenplay)
Stars: Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg, Janet McTeer

Recommended.


Earlier, the documentary of the making of ROME, OPEN CITY (again)
Such a great movie, and one of the most interesting ones to have witnessed being made, definitely. That man trying to shoot the POW Germans forcing the actor playing the priest (Aldo Fabrizi) in a car, to whom Fabrizi shouted in utter terror to not shoot. They actually used the take and dubbed over it. Perhaps part of the reason they actually decided to use the take was that they had a limited amount of stock film (and no actual negative - they used the stock as a negative too..). Rossellini himself didn't like the film that much because it wasn't real enough for him - too much of what he calls seduction of the viewer, but dammit, I like to be seduced by a movie.

[SonicMan46]

We rewatched for the 100th time:



Always a treat.

Bill - now be serious, for an adult male film guru such as yourself, is this really worth watching 100+ times?    Dave