What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[BlueTrain]

Although I've met a few significant, if not exactly famous, people, I'd be out of my element actually meeting a real celebrity. Still, I think I'd get something out of meeting Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. Chris attended both high school and college with one of my wife's cousins and Chris even flew overseas to Serbia for my wife's cousin's wedding. He may have even been his best man. And that isn't even seven degrees of separation.

I enjoyed everything Dean Martin ever did. He was a family man and he was devastated by the death of his son in an Air Force training accident.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

'Hunt For The Wilderpeople' (2016)....nothing original but good acting, good dialogue, corrosive humor & to top it all, we get to see some Kiwi bush. Over all good fun & a happy ending which just about manages to avoid the syrupy sentimentalism that usually spoils this genre of movie.

 

[green papaya]

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS with Spencer Tracy , Freddie Bartholomew , Mickey Rooney

A wealthy spoiled brat falls off an ocean liner and is rescued by a Portuguese fisherman. Forced to endure a three month voyage, he learns to love the sea and earns his place among the crew. Based on the Rudyard Kipling story, this is a timeless family adventure classic.

 

[Zombie_61]

Of the Road pictures, I think "Road to Morocco" is probably the best...

That seems to be the general consensus among the "Road Picture" fans. When I told my friend, who is one of those fans, that I was going to give the Road pictures another chance, his advice was, "Don't bother with The Road to Hong Kong. It was made 10 years after their last Road picture, and by then they were getting too old to play those characters. It's like watching one of the Three Stooges movies with Joe DeRita."

 

[LizzieMaine]

There were plans, in the mid-'70s, to do one more -- "The Road To The Fountain of Youth" -- but Crosby had the good sense to pass away before it could be made.

 

[ChiTownScion]

"...... It's like watching one of the Three Stooges movies with Joe DeRita."

By that point, they were more like...

 

[AmateisGal]

Penny Serenade. Goodness. Not exactly the film you want to watch when you've had a crappy day. That's not to say it wasn't good because it was - I enjoy Irene Dunn and Cary Grant together. But it's most certainly not like My Favorite Wife.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

' Risen' (2016).....A very low budget Maximus Meridius goes looking for the plump resurrected Christ. Biblical movies are dire at the best of times but this film is beyond bad.. Difficult to believe that Kevin Reynolds was behind the camera.

 

[BlueTrain]

I enjoyed the Three Stooges with Joe DeRita, not every single part and yes, they were getting on in years, too. But plenty of people didn't like them when they were younger, either. Part of the reason I like them now, to be honest about it, is because I saw them when they were new. There are other things that make them enjoyable for me, too, besides the Stooges themselves. There are lots of old movies I enjoy watching that wouldn't even have been reviewed by a movie critic back then.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I enjoyed the Three Stooges with Joe DeRita, not every single part and yes, they were getting on in years, too. But plenty of people didn't like them when they were younger, either. Part of the reason I like them now, to be honest about it, is because I saw them when they were new. There are other things that make them enjoyable for me, too, besides the Stooges themselves. There are lots of old movies I enjoy watching that wouldn't even have been reviewed by a movie critic back then.

So much of their brand of comedy in their prime was purely physical, and of course even with the verbal give & take, timing is everything in comedy. As they aged, the Stooges- and the Marx Brothers- could never retain that outrageous edge that marked them in their prime. It was always kind of sad to watch- like watching a former champ boxer take the ring only to get pummeled by a third tier newcomer.

And the Stooges always had to deal with the fact that anyone who came later was always compared to Curly .... and that really wasn't fair. Jerome Lester Horwitz was one of the definitive comic geniuses of the 20th Century: he reigned in his own manchild universe and the rest of us- the other Stooges, the cast members, and even we in the audience- were mere invitees. When he suffered his stroke, a great light was extinguished: the act would never be the same. Shemp was a successful artist in his own right: the original third stooge who came back from a successful solo career yet always had to live in Curly's shadow. That isn't fair, obviously, and it gave both Besser and DeRita two strikes before even stepping up to the plate.

You're right in saying that even in their prime many disliked them. The old joke is that the main difference between men and women is that the former are more likely to appreciate the Three Stooges. A lot of exceptions to that stereotype, as we know, but their brand of slapstick was too manic for many.

 

[Fading Fast]

Penny Serenade. Goodness. Not exactly the film you want to watch when you've had a crappy day. That's not to say it wasn't good because it was - I enjoy Irene Dunn and Cary Grant together. But it's most certainly not like My Favorite Wife.

It's not a light movie, for sure. Grant and Dunn, as you said, are the key. They are such pros that they just pull everything along and raise this sad soaper up a few notches. Good movie, but I tend not to watch it as I don't need movies to help make me sad.

 

[BlueTrain]

Well, I enjoyed Shemp more than Curly but I try not to be dogmatic about it and I try not to make comparisons when watching movies. One comparison I can't really avoid making, however, is comparing a old movie that I've just seen with what I remember from the first time seeing the film. Usually they hold up pretty well but television shows often do not. Maybe it's lack of patience on my part.

There are lots of movies I'd like to see again and maybe after I retire, if I ever do, and I have more time, if I do, perhaps I can watch some. Sometimes I'll run down something on YouTube or even buy a DVD and make a point of watching it and always enjoy it. Old mysteries like Mr. Moto are now so offbeat that they're fun to see, likewise old B-westerns with interesting sidekicks. I will admit, though, that you have to have a taste for such things to get the most out of them.

My son lives in L.A. and actually works in the movie business and I keep telling myself that I'd like to visit some of the shooting locations up around Simi Valley but one writer said, referring to Corriganville Movie Ranch, now a park, visiting there was like visiting a cemetery, so maybe it's not such a good idea. I did, however, manage to visit one location near Big Bear on one trip out there. I recall noticing a couple of things that I had missed in seeing the movie but on watching it again, sure enough, they were there.

No doubt in the previous 1137 pages of this thread, someone has mentioned Cary Grant. His movies were wonderful, mostly, and it is interesting to see changes in movie making over his career. Some of the old ones had a lot of fast dialogue.

 

[Doctor Strange]

' Risen' (2016).....A very low budget Maximus Meridius goes looking for the plump resurrected Christ. Biblical movies are dire at the best of times but this film is beyond bad.. Difficult to believe that Kevin Reynolds was behind the camera.

I'm no Believer, but I recently watched this... in disbelief. It comes off like CSI: Judea!

Re Kevin Reynolds, I'm not sure why you're surprised. His filmography includes plenty of dreck.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Penny Serenade. Goodness. Not exactly the film you want to watch when you've had a crappy day. That's not to say it wasn't good because it was - I enjoy Irene Dunn and Cary Grant together. But it's most certainly not like My Favorite Wife.

Penny Serenade showcases Grant in (to me) the best dramatic performance he ever gave, and he was never bad. That scene fairly late in the film where he's talking to the judge . . . that's a soul-wringer.

 

[LizzieMaine]

So much of their brand of comedy in their prime was purely physical, and of course even with the verbal give & take, timing is everything in comedy. As they aged, the Stooges- and the Marx Brothers- could never retain that outrageous edge that marked them in their prime. It was always kind of sad to watch- like watching a former champ boxer take the ring only to get pummeled by a third tier newcomer.

And the Stooges always had to deal with the fact that anyone who came later was always compared to Curly .... and that really wasn't fair. Jerome Lester Horwitz was one of the definitive comic geniuses of the 20th Century: he reigned in his own manchild universe and the rest of us- the other Stooges, the cast members, and even we in the audience- were mere invitees. When he suffered his stroke, a great light was extinguished: the act would never be the same. Shemp was a successful artist in his own right: the original third stooge who came back from a successful solo career yet always had to live in Curly's shadow. That isn't fair, obviously, and it gave both Besser and DeRita two strikes before even stepping up to the plate.

You're right in saying that even in their prime many disliked them. The old joke is that the main difference between men and women is that the former are more likely to appreciate the Three Stooges. A lot of exceptions to that stereotype, as we know, but their brand of slapstick was too manic for many.

If I'm watching TV and the Stooges come on, I wait for the director credit. If Del Lord or, even better, Charley Chase, is the director, I might stick around and watch. But if the name "Jules White" appears, I immediately change the channel.

If Curly had been fifteen or twenty years older, he'd have been a successful solo star in silent two-reelers, doing the same kind of stuff Lloyd Hamilton did.

 

[BlueTrain]

I watched an old Roscoe Arbuckle short the other day and it came off as a little lame, contrary to what I've read about him. Shemp Howard happened to be in it, too, and there were some funny gags, but it was basically one long joke.

But on the other hand, it's hard not to watch something like that and remember that at one time, it was new and fresh. Everything was new once. That particular short had some wonderful accents, by the way.

 

[AmateisGal]

Penny Serenade showcases Grant in (to me) the best dramatic performance he ever gave, and he was never bad. That scene fairly late in the film where he's talking to the judge . . . that's a soul-wringer.

Totally agree. I wasn't surprised to learn he was nominated for an Academy Award for that peformance. I was near tears when he finished that scene. It's one of the few times you see Grant so emotional.

 

[Fading Fast]

Totally agree. I wasn't surprised to learn he was nominated for an Academy Award for that peformance. I was near tears when he finished that scene. It's one of the few times you see Grant so emotional.

You and Benzadmiral are so right. He didn't have a nearly four decade career by chance or because of his looks alone (they didn't hurt though). He was a huge talent.

I don't think he gets the credit he is due as an actor because of his looks, because he acted within the style of his times and because "Cary Grant" has become an icon unto itself.

In "The Bishop's Wife" he manages to play an angel believably without it being mawkish or fake. The scene where he tells the little girl the story of the birth of Jesus is mesmerizing acting at its understated best (another moment like the speech to the judge in "Penny Serenade" that you referenced where he lifts you out of your world and into his). I always wish he had gone on telling the story in "The Bishop's Wife" and not been interrupted.

And it is that understated quality that, IMHO, is part of why he doesn't get the credit he deserves. He does it so well, so understated and he makes it looks so easy - he's not physically writhing in agony because his father doesn't love him like Dean in "East of Eden -" that his acting talent is overlooked.

In "People Will Talk" he carries a movie and a character that in any lesser hands would collapse from the weight of its all-but incoherent script and bumpy-at-best plot, but you just ride along with Grant because he pulls you in and keeps you there. I could go on, but could not agree more with both of you -he's one of the few truly major talents we've had.

 

[BlueTrain]

Cary Grant was also very much an action figure in some of his earlier movies, too, but he was also somewhat miscast in a couple, too.

 

[Fading Fast]

Cary Grant was also very much an action figure in some of his earlier movies, too, but he was also somewhat miscast in a couple, too.

No question. Those actors made so many movies in the studio-system days (and the studios tried their stars in so many types of movies and roles) that some clunkers and miscasting had to happen. But what the heck, today's stars, choosing for themselves, don't always do much better.