What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Touchofevil]

Sudden Impact and The Enforcer

 

[Bushman]

Jurassic World

 

[Stearmen]

The Horizontal Lieutenant. (1962)

 

[Worf]

Gunman's Walk, from 1958, with Van Heflin and Tab Hunter. Yes, I know, Tab Hunter, but listen: He plays a near-sociopath, the older son of Van Heflin's former Indian fighter turned rancher in the late 1800s of the Dakotas. Hunter's Ed is good-looking, charming when he wants to be, and yet utterly self-absorbed and ruthless. He kills one man, whom he calls a "half-breed," when they are racing to catch a mustang by forcing him (and his horse!) off a cliff. He shoots another, who has testified for him at his hearing, out of not much more than pique (and then grins to the crowd, "Drinks on me!"). He kills an unarmed deputy sheriff as he, Ed, escapes from jail. And at the climax, he squares off against his own father. At no point does he suffer a crisis of conscience or hint that he might learn something and change.

An okay film, but with a very strong performance from Mr. Hunter, who is usually thought of as merely "pretty boy" material.

I love that movie and by coincidence I saw a documentary on Mr. Hunter (or should I say Gilean) on the Flix 2 days ago. His history and backstory are fascinating. One fact in particular blew my mind, at the height of his career the head of "Dot Records" said "come on down... cut some wax". Tab did and knocked Elvis out of the No.1 spot for the first time in forever. Jack Warner, who OWNED Tab Hunter at the time had a hissy fit. When Tab responded that Warner's had no record label, Jack Warner responded "we'll make you one" and that's how the Warner Brother's label began. Who knew?

Worf

 

[Worf]

What Cairo said.

Near as I can remember "This is the second time you've laid hands on me!"

Worf

 

[Worf]

"The Gift" - Great film! Trailered and teased as your typical "mad stalker bedeviling White suburban family" film, it's anything but. The twists and revelations are believable. No one is killed, maimed or tortured (well not physically at least) and the pay off is substantial and real. I can't recommend it more highly!

Worf

 

[Stearmen]

Mosquito Squadron (1969)

 

[Formeruser012523]

Serenity. Can't believe they straight up murdered two of my favorite characters. Thanks Joss Whedon.

 

[Feraud]

"The Gift" - Great film! Trailered and teased as your typical "mad stalker bedeviling White suburban family" film, it's anything but. The twists and revelations are believable. No one is killed, maimed or tortured (well not physically at least) and the pay off is substantial and real. I can't recommend it more highly!

Worf

I strongly second that recommendation!! The wife and I really enjoyed this film. What appeared to be a typical "white couple in trouble in the 'burbs" routine matured into something much, much more. If you're a fan of the excellent Joel Edgerton like we are you have to check out Felony and Wish You Were Here. These are both excellent dramas with Edgerton.

 

[Stearmen]

On an Island with You (1948)

 

[Fading Fast]

"One More Tomorrow," a bland "playboy (Dennis Morgan) marries the gold digger (Alexis Smith) and not the girl he loves (Ann Sheridan)" movie that was aggressively politically liberal in its story line for 1946. For example:

- The good guys and gals run the unprofitable liberal magazine and won't take advertising dollars that in anyway could compromise their values or principals
- The good guys and gals don't care about money or their position in society and (and this is a meme to this day) have more fun at their informal social gatherings than the conservative swells do at their "societal" parties
- The bad guys and gals are old money capitalists who cheat on government contracts and use power and influence to cover it up
- The good guys and gals marry for love not positions or money (and they are the liberals / the conservatives marry for the bad reasons and don't really know how to love)

I know Warner studios was pretty liberal, but this one - for a kind of toss away movie - was not subtle in its liberalism and clearly would not have made Lizzie's Boys From Marketing happy.

 

[Denton]

Fading Fast, as I was reading your comments on "One More Tomorrow," I thought, "That sounds like a script by Philip Barry." I just looked it up, and, yes, the screenplay is based on a play by Barry.

I have written about my issues with Barry's masterpiece "The Philadelphia Story" in a different thread. There are a lot of weird ideas in his movies. One of his favorites is that marriage is a form of prostitution invented to benefit respectable women.

Now that could be the premise for a wonderful film comedy. (Imagine if Preston Sturges wrote a screenplay based on that premise.) And, in fact, Barry's weird ideas found their way into some very good movies. But what bugs me about all of the movies to which he contributed is the pious attitude toward nonconformity. His heroes are always preaching nonconformity as a virtue. Like you shouldn't conform to social pressures because nonconformity is better for you and better for society.

That doesn't really sound like nonconformity to me. And I suspect the marketing department could get behind his brand of social conditioning. Although, you're right, they probably wouldn't be able to support Barry's sermons on the evils of materialism.

 

[Fading Fast]

Denton, it's funny, but I absolutely remember the hard-core liberal ideas of Jimmy Stewart's and Ruth Hussey's characters (they were the reporters) in "The Philadelphia Story" and thought that their anti-rich comments wouldn't sound a bit out of place in today's political narratives.

That's part of what struck me in "One More Tomorrow," the ideas were not only similar to today's liberal ideas, but didn't even sound dated or in need of "time period" adjustment. Whatever one's politics, some of the ideas liberals promote today clearly have been around since the '40s as captured by the movies of that period.

 

[Doctor Strange]

While talking about Phillip Barry, let's not forget Holiday, a piece I actually prefer to The Philadelphia Story. Young Johnny Case (Cary Grant in the film) wants to take time off to LIVE first before a lifetime of hard work. This is a shocking, deal-breaking idea to the upper crust in that play/film... but it's essentially the modern "gap year" concept.

 

[Fading Fast]

While talking about Phillip Barry, let's not forget Holiday, a piece I actually prefer to The Philadelphia Story. Young Johnny Case (Cary Grant in the film) wants to take time off to LIVE first before a lifetime of hard work. This is a shocking, deal-breaking idea to the upper crust in that play/film... but it's essentially the modern "gap year" concept.

"Holiday" is one of my favorite "underrated" movies that, as you point out, has a modern feel and takes a very dour view of capitalism and business.

There's actually a scene in "Holiday" (I'm doing this from memory, but it's pretty close) up in the kids' old playroom where the "liberals" are having an informal party while the formal "stuffy" party is going on downstairs and they reference how much more fun their parties are. It is a theme repeated in too many movies to count, but basically it says that conservatives have boring, unenjoyable parties where people stay in accepted roles and make connections, but liberals have real parties where people can enjoy themselves.

"Holiday" and "People Will Talk" are two outstanding and less-well-known Cary Grant movies.

 

[Denton]

Holiday bugs me too, but like all of the Barry-based movies there are things in it that I love. Edward Everett Horton's role allows him to play against type. It's nice to see him playing a sweet, fun character rather than a pill.

 

[Denton]

Forgot to mention that I like People Will Talk. Another great performance from Cary Grant where he plays a hero as though he were a villain. I mean, clearly his character occupies the moral high ground throughout the movie, but there is something aggressive about his personal charisma. The way his character mesmerizes the others. You can see why the actual villain feels threatened.

Incidentally, I think People Will Talk has a more compelling argument for not conforming to social expectations than any Barry screenplay. But that isn't why I like it.

 

[MisterCairo]

Shaun of the Dead (though the spelling of Sean rankles me...).

 

[belfastboy]

Watched the British movie.."45 Years" starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. A master class of acting but the screenplay is flawed. I don't think it did justice to the original short story.

 

[Formeruser012523]

Shaun of the Dead (though the spelling of Sean rankles me...).

Same. And one of the only films with Zombies I can actually stand to watch.