Last Movie You Watched

[relm1]

Last night, Susan looked at my movies 'in the cloud' and for some reason choose the one below:

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) w/ Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, and Andie MacDowell (see quote) - I've been a Tarzan fan since boyhood and likely have seen most of the films made (including Elmo Lincoln) - just own a few but not one of my favs, Tarzan and His Mate (1934) (not offered on Amazon Prime as an HD purchase or even view) - Lambert plays a different kind of 'Ape Man' (the name 'Tarzan' is not used in the film) and the ape makeup was nominated for an Oscar - reviews generally good but not stellar - but probably a 'must see' for Tarzan fans.

Quoted below is a ranking of 10 Tarzan movies w/ link - looked at several more listings which were quite divergent, but Greystoke is occasionally in the top ten as in the ranking below. I was somewhat surprised to see two Gordon Scott films in the list - must revisit those features.  Dave


 

I really liked the soundtrack of this film. 

[LKB]

Rocketship X-M (1950)

A rather silly but significant vintage sci-fi film about astronauts heading to the moon.  Enroute, they are hit by meteors and go off course waking to consciousness at Mars where they discover the ruins of an advanced civilization killed and mutated by nuclear war!  This film was a low budget rush to compete with Destination Moon (1950) which was considered more groundbreaking and introduced the ideas of the space age to the innocent audiences of that time by none other than a Woody Woodpecker cartoon!  Also noteworthy is Rocketship X-M was scored by Grand Canyon Suite composer, Ferde Grofé.

The best way to experience Rocketship X-M is as ammo for the MST3K treatment:

https://youtu.be/4AmJiVTBZNM?si=PtKPRe4gr6YczUbH

[Karl Henning]

The best way to experience Rocketship X-M is as ammo for the MST3K treatment:

https://youtu.be/4AmJiVTBZNM?si=PtKPRe4gr6YczUbH

(* chortle *)

[DavidW]

I watched the new Mission Impossible movie.  Meh.  Stretched way too thin.  Massively long, and it is only part 1 but the story is really simple.  There is only enough plot for less than two hours, and they're dragging it out to five.  First time in a long time that I just say thumbs down on an MI movie.  And now I'm also action'd out so I won't be watching Godzilla.

[Karl Henning]

I watched the new Mission Impossible movie.  Meh.  Stretched way too thin.  Massively long, and it is only part 1 but the story is really simple.  There is only enough plot for less than two hours, and they're dragging it out to five.  First time in a long time that I just say thumbs down on an MI movie.  And now I'm also action'd out so I won't be watching Godzilla.

Sorry to hear it, and thanks for taking one for the team!

[Karl Henning]

Rod Serling's Carol for Another Christmas.

Apologies for the (now aggravated) redundancy!

TD: from the "Had no interest in it back when, but now I'm curious" file, I've just checked out Rocky from the library. 

[VonStupp]

TD: from the "Had no interest in it back when, but now I'm curious" file, I've just checked out Rocky from the library.

Went through all of the Rocky and Creed movies a few years back. Boxing isn't my thing, but I enjoyed many of films, especially its portrayal of 70's NY.
VS

[Opus131]

Rocky 1 is actually a genuinely good movie. I was actually kinda surprised by it. I loved most Stallone films as a kid and there's many i often rewatch so i don't necessarily dislike the guy but i certainly didn't expect him to write such a solid script which i could only appreciate once i saw the movie as an adult the first time. Probably a one hit wonder but still.

Mind you it's no great masterpiece but compared to his later movies it felt so earnest and sincere (probably helped that Stallone's entire career hanged on it). Despite it's supposed "gritty" setting there's still a bit of a fairy tale quality to it but i'm ok with that.

I was also shocked at how much of a slow burn it is (i mean, it's Stallone). Even the score after the famous opening fanfare it's completely absent until almost the end, where it finally explodes both in the training montage and finale especially which is also justly famous:

I was actually kinda of mad when they butchered this in Rocky II.

I only watched this series up to Rocky V and i must say it was pretty jarring to see Stallone's initial innocence get replaced by his ego as his commercial fame rose higher and higher. He still has some good moments but none of the sequels are as good as the first.

I never saw Creed but i did see Rambo up until the last one and i steered cleared of modern Stallone ever since. It appears in his old age he turned into a rather depressing character and to be honest i'm miserable enough as it is that i don't need to watch movies that make me feel even worse. I also didn't appreciate him scamming his fans with the Expendables, all of which are clearly cons (it even has a name now, "geezer teaser").

[Opus131]

I watched the new Mission Impossible movie.  Meh.  Stretched way too thin.  Massively long, and it is only part 1 but the story is really simple.  There is only enough plot for less than two hours, and they're dragging it out to five.  First time in a long time that I just say thumbs down on an MI movie.  And now I'm also action'd out so I won't be watching Godzilla.

I watched the first two... and they are not that great either.

First one i thought was relatively mediocre and i found the script irritating. The second one was just the worst. Every single scene was obnoxious and the stunts defied reality to the point of absurdity. It's like John Woo wanted to make a Jackie Chan movie or something (note: Jackie Chan movies are way better than this despite the childish plotlines and his actions scenes are actually exhilarating to watch).

[71 dB]

See No Evil (Richard Fleischer, 1971) TV

I saw this on TV about 5 years ago and liked it. Now I watched it again. This is a smartly done small horror movie. Especially the first hour works like a clockwork. In my opinion when the killer starts to chase Sarah played by Mia Farrow, the movie loses some of the tension hold up to that point (the movie becomes muddy  ), but the end is not bad at all.

[Karl Henning]

First one i thought was relatively mediocre and i found the script irritating. The second one was just the worst.

I wouldn't call the first the best of the franchise, but I like it all right. The element I disliked most about the first was that they had Jim Phelps turning. Without it, there's no movie, I guess, but I feel that this was a fundamental treachery against the show. The second is certainly the weakest [of the movies in the franchise I have seen] for all the reasons everyone cites, yet I find myself unable genuinely to hate it.

(* edit *)

[DavidW]

The second is certainly the weakest [of the movies in the franchise I have seen] for all the reasons everyone cites, yet I find myself unable genuinely to hate it.

Oh that is interesting because for me it is the third that I think is the weakest.

[Madiel]

Mission Impossible 2 is set in Sydney. Therefore I'm hopelessly biased, playing "spot the landmark" distracts me from any problems with the plot.

[Karl Henning]

Mission Impossible 2 is set in Sydney. Therefore I'm hopelessly biased, playing "spot the landmark" distracts me from any problems with the plot.

Nice!

[Karl Henning]

Today's instalment of I had no interest in this back when, but now I'm rather curious is: Rocky. Won't lie, though: the first thing I watched was one of the extras, A Tribute to Burgess Meredith. The main feature I found enjoyable overall. I don't expect I'll need to watch it again, nor do I find myself inclined to watch sequels.

[SimonNZ]

Watched the recent Mission Impossible, which I seem to have enjoyed more than some others, though I can't deny it was indulgent and could easily have been shorter. I'm getting annoyed with Simon Pegg and Ving Rhemes still being around when all the interesting women in the series are routinely killed off.

Also went and rewatched the two films before it and enjoyed it in a much similar way. Noticible that Cruise didn't give himself two or three shirt-off scenes in the latest one, in fact this was the first one where I was constantly aware of his age.

Looking into a scene from the earliest of those three I came across this interesting video:

[DavidW]

For me, I find the newest one to be the weakest, and that they split it into two - what a snooze fest.

Glad I'm not the only one that was disappointed!

[SonicMan46]

Maybe the perfect adventure film: Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.



Seriously, go look at that cast. Every time is perfectly selected, and it has one of the greatest endings ever. This is peak movie making - one of the shining pinnacles. It quite literally has it all. I put this into the most own category.

My favorite of the series, own that one and the first now as UHD streamers on Amazon.  In fact, I've not watched in a while - maybe about time -    Dave

[Brian]

I just had an enjoyable time reading the Wiki page for Indy and the Last Crusade and learning all the horrible ideas they had for the plot before reaching the idea they actually made! They thought of doing it as a "haunted house movie," then an adventure among African pygmies, among other things. There was going to be a "monkey king" with a magic rod. Thank goodness they changed their minds 

[relm1]

Rocky 1 is actually a genuinely good movie. I was actually kinda surprised by it. I loved most Stallone films as a kid and there's many i often rewatch so i don't necessarily dislike the guy but i certainly didn't expect him to write such a solid script which i could only appreciate once i saw the movie as an adult the first time. Probably a one hit wonder but still.

Mind you it's no great masterpiece but compared to his later movies it felt so earnest and sincere (probably helped that Stallone's entire career hanged on it). Despite it's supposed "gritty" setting there's still a bit of a fairy tale quality to it but i'm ok with that.

I was also shocked at how much of a slow burn it is (i mean, it's Stallone). Even the score after the famous opening fanfare it's completely absent until almost the end, where it finally explodes both in the training montage and finale especially which is also justly famous:

I was actually kinda of mad when they butchered this in Rocky II.

I only watched this series up to Rocky V and i must say it was pretty jarring to see Stallone's initial innocence get replaced by his ego as his commercial fame rose higher and higher. He still has some good moments but none of the sequels are as good as the first.

I never saw Creed but i did see Rambo up until the last one and i steered cleared of modern Stallone ever since. It appears in his old age he turned into a rather depressing character and to be honest i'm miserable enough as it is that i don't need to watch movies that make me feel even worse. I also didn't appreciate him scamming his fans with the Expendables, all of which are clearly cons (it even has a name now, "geezer teaser").

Totally agree.  You know what else is a shockingly good movie?  Saturday Night Fever.  I saw it for the first time recently and found it very endearing and engaging.  I guess the 1970's was firing on all cylinders. 

The Rocky I and II soundtrack is fantastic.  Bill Conti is a very good composer.  The Right Stuff too!  I love the film and score's slow burn and how that helps give it this emotional wallop.  I bet the fact that there is practically no score but the reused solo piano motif until the training montage is most likely a budget issue but it happened to work beautifully in the film.  I have some friends who played that opening fanfare and had some very interesting stories.  It was scored for huge trumpet group, maybe 9 trumpets if memory serves me.  In the latest Rocky movie which was pretty recent, they re-recorded the fanfare.  Stallone kept asking for it to be louder on every take.  He then left the control room to enter the scoring stage, approaching them and asked the players directly to play it louder, they screamed their trumpets at him and he kept asking for it louder.  It was only then they realized this tough guy has become pretty deaf.