What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Touchofevil]

Last night, Crimson Tide. What a cast!

 

[Touchofevil]

Showed up late for Death of a Scoundrel on TCM. First time viewing, but so far it is entertaining.

 

[2jakes]

American Graffiti. 1973.
This film is a time capsule of a period in my life when I was about
to finish high school.
The places, cars, music, clothes and people is spot on.
I was a tall, skinny pimply kid who had no clue about the future.
A year later after I graduated, Uncle Sam paid me a visit.
I was 19 when I went into the service. I got back in one piece.
I was 23.
But I felt very very old.

 

[Worf]

Jackie with Natalie Portman. It's well done and she gives a fine performance, but do we really need another movie about Jackie Kennedy?

We both got about halfway through it and gave up. I lived through it the first time, guess I didn't need to see it again...

Worf

 

[2jakes]

We both got about halfway through it and gave up. I lived through it the first time, guess I didn't need to see it again...
Worf

I saw Jackie with her husband drive-by in the motorcade on Houston street in
San Antonio, Tx. back in ’63.
I skipped class to go see them downtown.

The first lady was prettier in person and was surprised that the President’s
hair was lighter in color.
This was mostly because we only had a boxy wood TV set and everything
was in black & white and his hair appeared darker on cameras.

I didn’t find out that the movie “The Wizard of Oz” was in color until I was older
and we could afford a color set.

I was in school the next day and around lunch time.
We heard the bell ring to return to class.
The teachers were crying.
We listened on the P.A. system about the tragic events in Dallas.

The drums at the funeral motorcade are still very vivid for me.
There were only three stations programing back then. All three
were telecasting the same thing all week.

 

[Fading Fast]

I saw Jackie with her husband drive-by in the motorcade on Houston street in
San Antonio, Tx. back in ’63.
I skipped class to go see them downtown.

The first lady was prettier in person and was surprised that the President’s
hair was lighter in color.
This was mostly because we only had a boxy wood TV set and everything
was in black & white and his hair appeared darker on cameras.

I didn’t find out that the movie “The Wizard of Oz” was in color until I was older
and we could afford a color set.

I was in school the next day and around lunch time.
We heard the bell ring to return to class.
The teachers were crying.
We listened on the P.A. system about the tragic events in Dallas.

The drums at the funeral motorcade are still very vivid for me.
There were only three stations programing back then. All three
were telecasting the same thing all week.

I was sitting up close (no remote to change channels) when a man
walked up and shot Oswald.
I shouted to my mother who was in the kitchen...
“Hey ma..they just shot a guy!”

She didn’t believe me at first.
I recall thinking, “man, this is scary, grownup doing this!”

I was so naive !

I had the exact same experience with the Wizard of Oz and absolutely remember the first time I saw it in color - and the specific moment when Dorothy opens the door up to Oz. What a wow effect that was.

I wasn't born when Kennedy was shot, but when Reagan was I remember sitting with my mom following the events live on TV that afternoon and she kept referencing how much this echoed Kennedy for her.

 

[2jakes]

I had the exact same experience with the Wizard of Oz and absolutely remember the first time I saw it in color - and the specific moment when Dorothy opens the door up to Oz. What a wow effect that was.

I wasn't born when Kennedy was shot, but when Reagan was I remember sitting with my mom following the events live on TV that afternoon and she kept referencing how much this echoed Kennedy for her.

I was sitting up close to the TV (no remote to change channels).
We only had three stations and all were carrying the same thing.

I recall a man walking up and shoot Oswald.
I yelled to my mother who was in the kitchen.
“Ma, they just shot a guy!”
She didn’t believe me at first.

I remember thinking...
“Man this is a crazy world, the way grown-ups are behaving!”

I was so naive.

 

[Harp]

Finally got around to A League of Their Own.

I really liked it, but I'm just sappy enough to cry at the end. Gene Davis was surprisingly suited to the era, and Rosie O'Donnel was fantastic.
I guess the town where much of it was filmed STILL talks about what a jerk Madonna was.

I love this flick. Gena D captured my heart and nailed the role, she has credibility. And the ending credits and theme song made me bawl. Well, not really bawl, sort of cry a little.

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Ugly American" 1963

For some reason, this close to a roman-a-clef of the US-Vietnam situation in '63 has never even hit my radar until now.

Marlon Brando - after a contentious Sentate confirmation hearing - is appointed US ambassador to the movie's Vietnam surrogate "Sarkan" because he has a dating-back-to-WWII friendship with an influential rebel leader there. The story tracks pretty closely to Vietnam - communist North, leaning-toward-the-West (and somewhat propped up by the West) dictatorship in the South, several rebel groups, too many machinations to really keep it straight and America's fear that if Sarkan goes communist the rest of SE Asia will follow (Domino Theory) - with Brando pushing the US position (prop up the dictatorship / defeat the communists at all costs) hard while his Sarkan friend leads a band of rebels who are against the dictatorship but not aligned with the communists (yet).

There's too much going on in the movie to summarize concisely - Brando's character's bravado meets the confusing reality of a complex situation first by trying to muscle his way through with black-and-white ideology and military threat / his Sarkan friend's seeming innocence being exploited by Russian, Chinese and Sarkan communists / a good will or military vital American road project galvanizing anti-America sentiment / every side deviously playing for advantage.

And all of that, and more, are used to flush out several political view points that will make no one happy. The movie denounces American arrogance, but also shows the good work and intent of several Americans. It highlights the plight of the average Sarkan citizen, but also the mendacity of many of their people to advance their own political passions and careers. And it shows the behind-the-scenes machination of the communists and their argument that they are countering American aggression while only wishing to help Sarkan (uh-huh). While the movie doesn't have the surface edge of later Vietnam movies, for its time, it has a lot of sophisticated nuance, no triumphalism (all but the opposite) and avers no simple solutions or innocent victims.

It is the first movie where I felt Brando was awkward in a role as he never gets in a groove. He seems as confused as the political viewpoints, but instead of amplifying the movies theme, he comes off as stilted. That said, I'm impressed that, for the year it was made, it foreshadowed so many challenges and contradictions that were coming for all in Vietnam. It's not a great movie, but an interesting one that I'm looking forward to seeing again.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Florence Foster Jenkins. Not great, but reasonably entertaining. Good cast, good production design of forties NYC (though shot entirely in the UK).

It must have been a challenge for Meryl Streep to sing THAT badly!

 

[Touchofevil]

Chinatown
Again.
Because it is that good.

 

[Fading Fast]

Florence Foster Jenkins. Not great, but reasonably entertaining. Good cast, good production design of forties NYC (though shot entirely in the UK).

It must have been a challenge for Meryl Streep to sing THAT badly!

I saw it awhile ago and had to go back to read what I wrote to remember what I though of it (a symptom of age and that I watch too many movies). I basically alignewith your thoughts - here are my comments on it:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/thre...ovie-you-watched.20830/page-1131#post-2188760

P.S. Have you seen "The Ugly American" - thoughts on it?

 

[Doctor Strange]

I did see it, but it was 30 or 40 years ago and I have no memory of it. Sorry.

 

[Fading Fast]

I did see it, but it was 30 or 40 years ago and I have no memory of it. Sorry.

If you get the opportunity to see it again - I think you'd enjoy it as a period curio at minimum (and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it).

That said, I've never seen any mention of it on TCM or any TV channel that runs those types of movies. I stumbled across it in the "classic" movie section of Netflix DVDs and took a shot as it sounded interesting.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" 1958

• Everything in Tennessee William's world is a glass menagerie of broken people smashing and breaking each other some more - I'm exhausted

• After having watched a few Elizabeth Taylor dross movies recently like "The VIPs," this one reminds you she could once act / as can Burl Ives

• I would have paid to have seen Taylor's character punch Mae in the face as she threatened

• Poverty is brutal, but rich isn't the answer: I doubt I'd have survived being Big Daddy's son - I'll take my chances with door number two

• Newman's portrayal of Brick - like his description of waiting for "the click" to come when he drinks - stands out in a movie of stand-out moments, scenes and acting

• Now I'm going to crawl up in a ball in the corner and shake for awhile like any smart hedgehog does when scared

 

[Doctor Strange]

That's a great, great film. One of Taylor's best performances, and Burl Ives, Paul Newman, Judith Evans, Jack Carson, etc. are all splendid. Gotta credit the fine direction by Richard Brooks.

Yeah, it's a sad tragedy, but I'm a sucker for Williams. I've watched this too many times.

You know, Williams continued tinkering with the play for years through several productions, and this film adaptation only represents one version... the one that could be filmed in 1958. The Production Code required the description of Brick's relationship with Skipper to be so vague that his motivation for his not wanting to sleep with Maggie is mysterious. I mean, she's Elizabeth Taylor!

 

[Fading Fast]

That's a great, great film. One of Taylor's best performances, and Burl Ives, Paul Newman, Judith Evans, Jack Carson, etc. are all splendid. Gotta credit the fine direction by Richard Brooks.

Yeah, it's a sad tragedy, but I'm a sucker for Williams. I've watched this too many times.

You know, Williams continued tinkering with the play for years through several productions, and this film adaptation only represents one version... the one that could be filmed in 1958. The Production Code required the description of Brick's relationship with Skipper to be so vague that his motivation for his not wanting to sleep with Maggie is mysterious. I mean, she's Elizabeth Taylor!

Agree with all. Carson is a real actor who rarely gets a chance to stretch like he does here. Saw him recently in "The Tarnished Angels" where he gave a powerful and nuanced performance. Nice to see that better roles came to him later in his career.

The end of COAHTR - surely written for '50s sensitivity - really confuses the Brick-Maggie dynamic.

 

[2jakes]

“The Man with No Name” is referred to as Monco
in this film.


In “Fistful of Dollars” he was called Joe.

In “TGTBTU” Tuco (Eli Wallach) calls
him “blondie”.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The Miracle Woman, a 1931 film starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Frank Capra, DVR'd from TCM. (This one's been on my to-see-list since I first read Capra's autobiography circa 1975!)

An uneven film from Capra's pre-star director days, though a pretty major production from Columbia - still only a step above the poverty row studios at the time. Also the first collaboration with writer Robert Riskin, whose scripts were central to Capra's hit films up through Meet John Doe. It has excellent photography by Capra's regular DP, Joe Walker.

Stanwyck plays an evangelical radio preacher a la Aimee Semple McPherson... but she's bogus, it's all an act to rake in money from the suckers. Blinded aviator David Manners is prevented from committing suicide by hearing her broadcast, and eventually makes her see the error of her ways. As I said, it's uneven, but Stanwyck is excellent. (David Manners, as usual, is so bland that he leaves zero impression.)

The most interesting thing about it is the phony revival meeting plot, which is pretty gutsy for 1931. That aspect seems cribbed from Elmer Gantry (published in 1927, its film adaptation wouldn't come until 1960), including Stanwyck's name ("Sister Florence Fallon" isn't far from "Sister Sharon Falconer") and the climactic fire in which her tabernacle burns as the crowd fights to get out. (Stanwyck survives, and ends up atoning by entering the Salvation Army.)

Though not everything in it works, it's an interesting antique.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Miracle Woman, a 1931 film starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Frank Capra, DVR'd from TCM. (This one's been on my to-see-list since I first read Capra's autobiography circa 1975!)

An uneven film from Capra's pre-star director days, though a pretty major production from Columbia - still only a step above the poverty row studios at the time. Also the first collaboration with writer Robert Riskin, whose scripts were central to Capra's hit films up through Meet John Doe. It has excellent photography by Capra's regular DP, Joe Walker.

Stanwyck plays an evangelical radio preacher a la Aimee Semple McPherson... but she's bogus, it's all an act to rake in money from the suckers. Blinded aviator David Manners is prevented from committing suicide by hearing her broadcast, and eventually makes her see the error of her ways. As I said, it's uneven, but Stanwyck is excellent. (David Manners, as usual, is so bland that he leaves zero impression.)

The most interesting thing about it is the phony revival meeting plot, which is pretty gutsy for 1931. That aspect seems cribbed from Elmer Gantry (published in 1927, its film adaptation wouldn't come until 1960), including Stanwyck's name ("Sister Florence Fallon" isn't far from "Sister Sharon Falconer") and the climactic fire in which her tabernacle burns as the crowd fights to get out. (Stanwyck survives, and ends up atoning by entering the Salvation Army.)

Though not everything in it works, it's an interesting antique.

I saw it several years ago and remember thinking, Barbara Stanwyck can play any type of character believably. Good, bad, sexy, thieving, honest, cheating, prostituting, proselytizing - she does it all and does it well. I grew up watching her on reruns of "The Big Valley" where, even to a kid, it was clear she was the only truly talented actor in the cast. She sounded credible even with the cheesy dialogue she so often had on that show.