What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

I usually only go there once or twice a year or so, to see something we have no chance of getting at our place, and it never fails to annoy me in some way. They now have "luxury seating" in all screening rooms, which amounts to big, puffy high-backed living room-type chairs that look like recliners, except they don't recline. You sink down into these seats, which makes it difficult for those of us of advancing years to climb out of them without help, and the increased height of the backs means they've had to raise the screen higher to compensate. The result is always a sore back and a stiff neck after a three-hour picture.

I also noted that the smallest soda they sell now is 32 ounces. I didn't go in there wanting to drink a full quart of Orange Crush, so I only filled the cup half way at the self-service fountain. Bah.

 

[Trenchfriend]

They now have "luxury seating" in all screening rooms, which amounts to big, puffy high-backed living room-type chairs that look like recliners, except they don't recline. You sink down into these seats, which makes it difficult for those of us of advancing years to climb out of them without help, and the increased height of the backs means they've had to raise the screen higher to compensate. The result is always a sore back and a stiff neck after a three-hour picture.

It's for the smartphone-kiddies, lolling around in the seats and gambling on their touchscreens, while the movie is running, unnoticed.

 

[Fading Fast]

I usually only go there once or twice a year or so, to see something we have no chance of getting at our place, and it never fails to annoy me in some way. They now have "luxury seating" in all screening rooms, which amounts to big, puffy high-backed living room-type chairs that look like recliners, except they don't recline. You sink down into these seats, which makes it difficult for those of us of advancing years to climb out of them without help, and the increased height of the backs means they've had to raise the screen higher to compensate. The result is always a sore back and a stiff neck after a three-hour picture.

I also noted that the smallest soda they sell now is 32 ounces. I didn't go in there wanting to drink a full quart of Orange Crush, so I only filled the cup half way at the self-service fountain. Bah.

Yup, as I thought - my dad in the Gap. Hey, I'm no better - I walked out of an Abercrombie and Fitch once cause the music was so loud it set my tinnitus off. We've been to the movies only once in the last +/- 8 years (saw TCM's sponsored showing of "Breakfast at Tiffany's") as we invested in a decent TV and sound bar (not a super huge TV or "sound system" just a sound bar) and have "paid" for it by not going to movies (and incurring all the aggravation a modern movie-going experience entails).

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Two most recent viewings were In the Heat of the Night and Mogambo, both recorded from TCM. I had seen the former on television decades ago and remembered only bits and pieces. Mogambo was a first time watching, preceded by its reputation. Ava Gardner's character's lines felt as though they were lifted from a Maisie movie. Gable was still Gable, but hard-living was taking its toll.

 

[Zombie_61]

...mebbe I should have dropped a tab and tried it once...

Funny you should mention this. Years ago a good friend and I cooked up a joke theory that someone would have to be stoned to enjoy the Grateful Dead. We've mentioned this to a few Deadheads since then, and almost all of them thought about it for a moment and replied with something to the effect of, "You're probably not wrong."

By the way, I sincerely mean no offense to the Deadheads of the world; there have been countless "popular" bands over the years that I never "got", and most of the bands I like are despised by all but a select few. I'm just an odd creature.

 

[Worf]

Funny you should mention this. Years ago a good friend and I cooked up a joke theory that someone would have to be stoned to enjoy the Grateful Dead. We've mentioned this to a few Deadheads since then, and almost all of them thought about it for a moment and replied with something to the effect of, "You're probably not wrong."

By the way, I sincerely mean no offense to the Deadheads of the world; there have been countless "popular" bands over the years that I never "got", and most of the bands I like are despised by all but a select few. I'm just an odd creature.

I've found most Deadheads to be sweet, honest and nice folks... just a wee bit over zealous at times.... kinda like some of us here,...

Worf

 

[ChiTownScion]

Churchill. Released June 2. Saw it with some well read British friends who, over drinks after the film, filled us in regarding numerous facts regarding the lives of Sir Winston and other principal figures in the film. I have always regarded him as heroic but flawed, but had no idea that he was so subject to angry outbursts as result of bouts with depression. The weight of his memories while serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the failed Dardanelles Campaign 29 years prior to the impending D-Day invasion is the context of the film.

I was glad to see Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery get a fairer cinematic shake than he received as the clownish, prancing ass in the 1970 film, Patton. For all of his faults, he deserved that.

 

[AmateisGal]

Went with one of the kids from work to see "Wonder Woman" at the local multiplex. I'm not a big fan of the multiplex, or the current wave of superhero pictures, but this one was surprisingly good. Wonder Woman is a character who has not been well served outside of comics -- and really, not even by comics themselves, given how many times she's been "rebooted" and "reimagined." But this movie managed to capture the original comics' melange of oddball Greek mythology, female empowerment, and wartime intrigue without resorting to the cheesy, cloying camp of the '70s TV show or the "grim and grittiness" of some of the recent comics versions. Notably omitted from the film was any trace of creator William Moulton Marston's fixation on sexual kinks, a fixation which was all over the 1940s comics and is very much an embarrassment today. Wonder Woman herself is not sexualized in the least bit, which is very refreshing.

One decision that I had misgivings about before seeing the film was the idea of transferring the setting of Wonder Woman's origin from World War II to World War I. I had read about this before seeing the picture and was prepared to be annoyed by it, but I was surprised to see how well it worked, and upon seeing the film and thinking about it, I can understand why they *had to* do it given the way the story turned out. It simply couldn't have worked in a WWII setting given the revelation about the real identity of the villain. Notable too is the idea that Wonder Woman is less concerned with promoting the "American" side of the war, as she was in the WWII/Cold War comics, and more with the idea of promoting peace -- which is also a concept which would not have flown well in a WWII setting. Athough her uniform is still red, white, and blue, it's no longer garishly modeled after the American flag, which is a change I like. Star-spangled hot pants were ridiculous in 1942, and they'd be even more so in 1918 -- or today.

I note too that the kind of men who say they won't watch this movie because it's "too feminist" need not let their delicate sensibilities be bruised. Steve Trevor actually comes off as far less of a whiny inefficacious drip than he does in most other versions of the property.

Excellent assessment, Lizzie. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and while I'm not an uber feminist, I love that it was directed by a woman and featured woman in powerful roles. No damsel in distress here. It was incredibly well done.

 

[Fading Fast]

Two most recent viewings were In the Heat of the Night and Mogambo, both recorded from TCM. I had seen the former on television decades ago and remembered only bits and pieces. Mogambo was a first time watching, preceded by its reputation. Ava Gardner's character's lines felt as though they were lifted from a Maisie movie. Gable was still Gable, but hard-living was taking its toll.

If you want to see Gable at the top of his game, in perfect health and in, basically, the same movie, check out '32's "Red Dust" with him, Harlow and Astor - "Mogambo" is just a remake of "Red Dust."

What's funny about the casting in Mogambo is that probably the only woman on earth at the time who looked better than Gardner was Kelly (the woman where God got it completely right). Gardner had to be thinking "really, Kelly, you had to put me up next to Kelly!"

 

[Fading Fast]

Funny you should mention this. Years ago a good friend and I cooked up a joke theory that someone would have to be stoned to enjoy the Grateful Dead. We've mentioned this to a few Deadheads since then, and almost all of them thought about it for a moment and replied with something to the effect of, "You're probably not wrong."

By the way, I sincerely mean no offense to the Deadheads of the world; there have been countless "popular" bands over the years that I never "got", and most of the bands I like are despised by all but a select few. I'm just an odd creature.

I've found most Deadheads to be sweet, honest and nice folks... just a wee bit over zealous at times.... kinda like some of us here,...

Worf

All so true. My best friend (we've been friends since early high school) became a Dead Head and for years tried to get me to go to one of their concerts. After much cajoling (and way too many road trips listening to, his choice, bootlegged Dead albums alternating with, my choice, Rolling Stones albums), I finally agreed to go when I was in my 20s. I don't smoke dope - not a moral judgement at all on anyone who does - I'm a libertarian, smoke all of it you want - but the closest I ever came to smoking it was breathing in the air at that concert.

 

[Zombie_61]

I've found most Deadheads to be sweet, honest and nice folks... just a wee bit over zealous at times.... kinda like some of us here,...

My experience has been the same. In fact, I could say the same of any devout follower of almost any band or musical artist. Music has a way of getting under peoples' skin in a good way, and most consider it a joyful experience that they want to share with everyone they know.

All so true. My best friend (we've been friends since early high school) became a Dead Head and for years tried to get me to go to one of their concerts. After much cajoling (and way too many road trips listening to, his choice, bootlegged Dead albums alternating with, my choice, Rolling Stones albums), I finally agreed to go when I was in my 20s. I don't smoke dope - not a moral judgement at all on anyone who does - I'm a libertarian, smoke all of it you want - but the closest I ever came to smoking it was breathing in the air at that concert.

I'm not at all shy about the fact that I was known to indulge occasionally in my younger days, but it was always on someone else's dime (or dimebag, in this case ). The first time I ever bought any myself was four or five years ago after it became legal (sort of) here in California for medicinal purposes; long story short, I experience chronic pain in my lower back and legs. It did alleviate the pain greatly, far better than anything else my doctors had tried, but it only works while you're feeling the effects and I can't walk around stoned all of the time, so it wasn't a practical solution for me. That being said, I have no issues with people who smoke it regularly as long as they are responsible about it; I'm just not one of them.

 

[Worf]

My experience has been the same. In fact, I could say the same of any devout follower of almost any band or musical artist. Music has a way of getting under peoples' skin in a good way, and most consider it a joyful experience that they want to share with everyone they know.

I'm not at all shy about the fact that I was known to indulge occasionally in my younger days, but it was always on someone else's dime (or dimebag, in this case ). The first time I ever bought any myself was four or five years ago after it became legal (sort of) here in California for medicinal purposes; long story short, I experience chronic pain in my lower back and legs. It did alleviate the pain greatly, far better than anything else my doctors had tried, but it only works while you're feeling the effects and I can't walk around stoned all of the time, so it wasn't a practical solution for me. That being said, I have no issues with people who smoke it regularly as long as they are responsible about it; I'm just not one of them.

Errrr.... you live in SoCal???? Who say's you "can't walk around stoned all the time"? Hrmmm? Ehhhh? Hrmmm? (Says the man who does NO drugs cept a good seegar now and then).

Worf

 

[Zombie_61]

Errrr.... you live in SoCal???? Who say's you "can't walk around stoned all the time"? Hrmmm? Ehhhh? Hrmmm? (Says the man who does NO drugs cept a good seegar now and then).

Worf

Okay, I could walk around stoned all of the time; I just don't want to. Besides, it cost me $125 to get that "doctor's recommendation" letter which has to be renewed every year, and since I felt it wasn't practical for me I let it lapse. So, technically, without that letter it isn't legal for me to use cannabis in any form until January 2018 when the "recreational" use of cannabis becomes "legal" here.

 

[Formeruser012523]

While "You've Got Mail" is okay (I guess), it doesn't live up to the original which got almost every pitch perfect. But I can take YGM better than "In the Good Old Summer Time," a painful musical remake of "The Shop Around the Corner."

Ugh! I had a hard time watching "In the Good Old Summer Time." It was weird seeing Buster sitting next to Judy Garland in an MGM movie & knowing how poorly the BOTH of them were treated by Mayer, it just made me kind of sick. But then I realized Buster had been fired in 1933 & this movie was 1949. ??? Turns out he was the only one who could do the fall on the violin that was required after the musical number. Of course it was perfection, as was Garland. And this song is basically me:

 

[LizzieMaine]

Keaton went back on the payroll at MGM in 1937 as a gagwriter, assigned to work on the Marx Brothers pictures -- apparently the idea was that he could come up with material for Harpo. He and Groucho didn't particularly get along, but Buster did contribute bits to "Go West" and "At The Circus" before moving on to work with various other comics. By the mid-forties he was working regularly with Red Skelton, and at least two of Skelton's MGM features were blurry remakes of old Keaton silents, with new gags devised by Keaton himself. Keaton wanted to go off with Skelton and set up a seperate comedy unit under his own supervision, but MGM drew the line at giving him any kind of autonomy. He did stay there, though, until he was getting enough work from television in the early fifties to quit.

 

[Doctor Strange]

It's also worth mentioning that during Keaton's period as an M-G-M gagwriter, when Skelton was there with him inventing gags (for Skelton and other's films, and sometimes just for fun) there was often a third person present in this powerhouse comedy laboratory: Lucille Ball. So if you've ever wondered where the enormous pantomime and physical comedy skills Lucy exhibited in her TV series came from, she had perfected them in the forties with Keaton and Skelton!

 

[Fading Fast]

Ugh! I had a hard time watching "In the Good Old Summer Time." It was weird seeing Buster sitting next to Judy Garland in an MGM movie & knowing how poorly the BOTH of them were treated by Mayer, it just made me kind of sick. But then I realized Buster had been fired in 1933 & this movie was 1949. ??? Turns out he was the only one who could do the fall on the violin that was required after the musical number. Of course it was perfection, as was Garland. And this song is basically me:

Good lyrics no doubt and good for you for living by them.

In fairness, "ITGOST" isn't a bad movie, it just suffers from being a remake of a movie that does not need a remake, being a musical (with music that just didn't work for me), being set unnecessarily at the turn of the century with silly costumes and too much technicolor, and acting not up to the original. If "Shop Around the Corner" didn't exist, I might even half enjoy "ITGOST."

 

[Formeruser012523]

It's also worth mentioning that during Keaton's period as an M-G-M gagwriter, when Skelton was there with him inventing gags (for Skelton and other's films, and sometimes just for fun) there was often a third person present in this powerhouse comedy laboratory: Lucille Ball. So if you've ever wondered where the enormous pantomime and physical comedy skills Lucy exhibited in her TV series came from, she had perfected them in the forties with Keaton and Skelton!

Grew up watching TONS of I Love Lucy & didn't discover Buster until I woke up at 3am to a sleepless night in college. Turned on my tube tv to the opening titles of The Cameraman on PBS. Devoured everything the man ever did since & own an extensive collection of his films on DVD & blue ray.

When I went back to watching Lucy I used to think she was stealing his gags until I saw a picture of she and Desi with their arms around him on the set of the show...Felt pretty stupid after that.

 

[Fading Fast]

1945's "Week-End at the Waldorf"

The only really good thing
The scenes in the Waldorf are outstanding time travel to an iconic hotel still in its glamor heyday. I've been fortunate to stay in the hotel on several occasions (they have many small and reasonably priced rooms where none of the VIPs ever stay) and have gone to many business events there (they have a ridiculous number of meeting and event rooms). The hotel is Art Deco incredible on a gigantic scale and that is reasonably well captured in the movie. Also, the scenes from the switchboard, kitchen, etc. are a nice window into the "workings" of a hotel of this scale in that day

The okay
Ginger Rogers, Robert Benchley and Phyllis Thaxter (an under-rated and unknown actress) do a lot with the poor material they have to work with

The not good
Van Johnson (who I usually think is okay) and Lana Turner are the most unconvincing young people falling passionately in love ever filmed. They look bored with each other, themselves and the dialogue

The bad
All the story lines - every single one. Walter Pigeon's (who I usually like as an actor - wooden sometimes, but usually okay) confused role and performance as the sometimes bumbling, sometimes sharp foreign correspondent is painful to watch

To be fair
I think (hope, pray) that the intent was to make a lighthearted version of "Grand Hotel," which is fine, but lighthearted doesn't mean stupid and poorly written and (overall) poorly acted.

Watch it for
The only star in it that fully shines: The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

 

[Doctor Strange]

Grew up watching TONS of I Love Lucy & didn't discover Buster until I woke up at 3am to a sleepless night in college. Turned on my tube tv to the opening titles of The Cameraman on PBS. Devoured everything the man ever did since & own an extensive collection of his films on DVD & blue ray.

When I went back to watching Lucy I used to think she was stealing his gags until I saw a picture of she and Desi with their arms around him on the set of the show...Felt pretty stupid after that.

I've been a huge Keaton fan for over forty years!

I was a fascinated by silent comedy from early on, and had seen some Keaton on pre-PBS educational TV as a teen - The General, at least. When I was 20, my film collecting/making buddy and I went into NYC every Wednesday night over the summer for a Keaton retrospective (*) at the old Elgin revival house (now the Joyce Dance Theater) - a different feature and two or three shorts every week. We saw nearly all the then-known Keaton silents, and it was an astounding experience, even for already hardcore Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy buffs like us. I devoured Rudi Blesh's Keaton biography - still the best book on Keaton, IMHO - around the same time, and I began acquiring Keaton shorts in Super 8: One Week, The Blacksmith, The Balloonatic, etc. Soon after, I got 16mm prints of more Keaton shorts: The Boat, The Scarecrow, The Goat... And yeah, I eventually collected some Keaton films on VHS and DVD.

(* This was 1975, when Raymond Rohauer [boo!] had just made his new prints of the Keaton films available for rental.)

We ended that summer making our own b/w two-reel silent comedy in Super 8 (complete with fake Blackhawk Films informational titles) that was totally inspired by the immersion in Keaton... I starred (since I'd just essentially taken a masterclass in silent comedy) and co-wrote/co-directed. In terms of how swiftly we shot it, and how well it has always gone over with an audience, it's the most successful movie we ever made! Thanks, Buster.