What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[AmateisGal]

Saw Justice League...should've seen Thor a second time instead...Trailer for Infinity Wars looks incredible!!!!!

I did not hear good things about Justice League. D.C. keeps trying to stay in pace with Marvel, but they're failing miserably (with the exception of Wonder Woman).

I cannot WAIT for Infinity War!

 

[AmateisGal]

What makes her career even more interesting is that for a good part of that time she was married to a vicious, alcoholic, physically abusive, thoroughly loathsome man -- the notorious stage comedian Frank Fay. They were only married from 1928-35, but she carried the psychological scars of that relationship for the rest of her life in a strong case of what might be called "Stockholm Syndrome." That she managed to decouple all of that from her work on the screen is nothing short of miraculous.

Trauma bonds are a very really thing. I've learned an awful lot about what a person who survives an abusive marriage goes through, and I am amazed that Barbara Stanwyck was able to perform so well in spite of them. I'm dealing with trauma bonding, as well, and though it's getting easier, it is the hardest thing I've ever encountered.

 

[ton312]

I did not hear good things about Justice League. D.C. keeps trying to stay in pace with Marvel, but they're failing miserably (with the exception of Wonder Woman).

I cannot WAIT for Infinity War!

Absolutely right! The only reason I gave JL a chance was because WW was so good. Showed they actually could make a good comic film (I did like Man of Steel tho). WW is one of my favorites in the genere. They would have been wise to roll out additional origin stories and then build the team. They put the cart before the horse AGAIN!

 

[AmateisGal]

Absolutely right! The only reason I gave JL a chance was because WW was so good. Showed they actually could make a good comic film (I did like Man of Steel tho). WW is one of my favorites in the genere. They would have been wise to roll out additional origin stories and then build the team. They put the cart before the horse AGAIN!

Totally. And not only that, they cast Ben Affleck as Batman. Really?!? Christian Bale OWNED the character when he played it. Affleck is NOT Batman in ANY universe. I still can't take him seriously. I would have liked an Aquaman origin story, too (oh, let's be honest - I wanted it because it's Jason Momoa!).

Funny: my daughter just texted me from her high school fantasy lit class - they're watching Wonder Woman.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Gotta say, the Avengers: Infinity War trailer does look outstanding!

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/avengers-infinity-wars-trailer-makes-marvel-cosmic.html

I've been on the fence about seeing Justice League. I was considering going to a bargain first matinee (as I did with Batman V Superman... and paying the lowest possible ticket price was all it deserved), but the reviews are so universally bad, even from comics fanatics, that I'm probably going to skip it.

Last film watched: We Are What We Are (American remake) - an ugly horror film about deep country cannibalism. Not my thing at all, but it's for a discussion with a film group I joined a while back. (We're comparing/contrasting it with Martha Marcy May Marlene, a vastly better film with some superficial similarities.)

And Melissa - admittedly, just on the basis of BvS - I thought Affleck was fine... he's just playing a version of Batman in which I have no interest.

High school fantasy lit class?!? Boy, things have changed since I was a kid.

 

[ton312]

Totally. And not only that, they cast Ben Affleck as Batman. Really?!? Christian Bale OWNED the character when he played it. Affleck is NOT Batman in ANY universe. I still can't take him seriously. I would have liked an Aquaman origin story, too (oh, let's be honest - I wanted it because it's Jason Momoa!).

Funny: my daughter just texted me from her high school fantasy lit class - they're watching Wonder Woman.

That's awesome! My daughter loved Ragnorak! She insisted on watching Thor and The dark world and her Christmas list is peppered with Thor Lego requests. Ah, just typing that....somebody pinch me. I must be stuck in some wonderful dream. To be honest (although she won't admit it) I think she's crushing on Chris Hemsworth...

 

[AmateisGal]

That's awesome! My daughter loved Ragnorak! She insisted on watching Thor and The dark world and her Christmas list is peppered with Thor Lego requests. Ah, just typing that....somebody pinch me. I must be stuck in some wonderful dream. To be honest (although she won't admit it) I think she's crushing on Chris Hemsworth...

Good for her!!! And why WOULDN'T she be crushing on Chris Hemsworth? I know I do! LOL

Thor Ragnorak was one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It was FUN to watch and that hasn't happened for me in ages.

My daughter (17) and I are going to have a Marvel marathon for New Year's Eve. She wants to start with the Iron Man movies, but I've seen them so many times (except for Iron Man 3 which I did not enjoy), that I'm hoping to talk her into starting with the first Captain America.

 

[AmateisGal]

Gotta say, the Avengers: Infinity War trailer does look outstanding!

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/avengers-infinity-wars-trailer-makes-marvel-cosmic.html

I've been on the fence about seeing Justice League. I was considering going to a bargain first matinee (as I did with Batman V Superman... and paying the lowest possible ticket price was all it deserved), but the reviews are so universally bad, even from comics fanatics, that I'm probably going to skip it.

Last film watched: We Are What We Are (American remake) - an ugly horror film about deep country cannibalism. Not my thing at all, but it's for a discussion with a film group I joined a while back. (We're comparing/contrasting it with Martha Marcy May Marlene, a vastly better film with some superficial similarities.)

And Melissa - admittedly, just on the basis of BvS - I thought Affleck was fine... he's just playing a version of Batman in which I have no interest.

High school fantasy lit class?!? Boy, things have changed since I was a kid.

Yep, she's very fortunate to have some great classes - this is her senior year. She's got Holocaust history and Holocaust lit classes next semester. I would love to take them with her.

 

[Fading Fast]

Barbara Stanwyck is probably my favorite actress of the Golden Era. Maybe that's because she reminds me so much of my grandmother. They even look a bit similar! But maybe that's just me. View attachment 95685 View attachment 95684

I see a meaningful resemblance - that's very cool.

 

[AmateisGal]

I see a meaningful resemblance - that's very cool.

I didn't know if I was the only one to spot it or not, so thank you!
The pic below is one of my favorites of her - she's on the left.

 

[Fading Fast]

I didn't know if I was the only one to spot it or not, so thank you!
The pic below is one of my favorites of her - she's on the left.


View attachment 95755

I see most in the mouth and eyes, but also a bit in the nose. You aren't seeing something that's not there - there is a resemblance (as opposed to my in-my-mind-only resemblance to Gary Cooper ).

 

[Bushman]

I was completely underwhelmed with it. I want superhero movies to move like superhero comic books. WW was much lacking in that regard. Very slow and ponderous.

It's kinda why I liked it. When every superhero movie these days has to have the world literally being destroyed. It's nice to see a movie on a scale in which it's as much a personal journey as a physical one.

 

[Fading Fast]

"My Fair Lady" 1964 with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn

I've seen bits and pieces of this one over the years, but since it stars two of my favorite actors, I decided to sit down and watch it from beginning to end.

Some movies - musicals in particular - are all about the time and place you are in your life when you watch them. I saw "The Sound of Music" at a time when its music, story and magic worked for me and, because of that, I can watch it again and again.

Unfortunately, the music in "My Fair Lady," which is no small part of the movie, didn't work for me (with a few small exceptions) and the over-stylized approach felt forced to me - so I was, in general, bored and put off.

That said, there were times when the movie sparkled, but for me, that was when the actors were talking and the dialogue was thoughtful and advancing the plot or theme. The scene toward the end when Harrison and Hepburn meet at Harrison's mother's house (away from he music numbers) was outstanding - smart and funny.

I'm glad I saw it, probably won't ever watch it again - but will look to catch a few of the good scenes when it's on.

And kudos to Gladys Cooper who played Harrison's mother - great job bringing nuance to a role that could have been cardboard without her acting talent.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Like a bunch of other bloated musical adaptations of that time - Camelot is another classic example - its overblown production and insistence on casting non-singing stars hobbles it. Had original Broadway star Julie Andrews been in this (and Camelot too!), it would have been a lot better. Of course, she was busy doing Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music at the time.

One of the ironies is that having the ubiquitous Marni Nixon dub Audrey Hepburn's singing wasn't necessary: I once saw raw footage of Hepburn performing "Loverly" during the shooting, and her own voice, while no miracle like Andrews', sold the emotion far better than Nixon's technically-good-but-generic overdub does. (Honestly, I feel the same way about her ghosting for Deborah Kerr and Natalie Wood.)

As someone who grew up memorizing the original cast albums of most of the great forties-to-sixties musicals, I think it's unfortunate that so many of their film adaptations are only halfway successful at getting the essence of the show (Carousel, The Music Man) or outright disasters (Man of La Mancha). Even the best, like The King and I, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Oliver!, are all overcooked in ways that don't do justice to the stage originals.

 

[Fading Fast]

Like a bunch of other bloated musical adaptations of that time - Camelot is another classic example - its overblown production and insistence on casting non-singing stars hobbles it. Had original Broadway star Julie Andrews been in this (and Camelot too!), it would have been a lot better. Of course, she was busy doing Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music at the time.

One of the ironies is that having the ubiquitous Marni Nixon dub Audrey Hepburn's singing wasn't necessary: I once saw raw footage of Hepburn performing "Loverly" during the shooting, and her own voice, while no miracle like Andrews', sold the emotion far better than Nixon's technically-good-but-generic overdub does. (Honestly, I feel the same way about her ghosting for Deborah Kerr and Natalie Wood.)

As someone who grew up memorizing the original cast albums of most of the great forties-to-sixties musicals, I think it's unfortunate that so many of their film adaptations are only halfway successful at getting the essence of the show (Carousel, The Music Man) or outright disasters (Man of La Mancha). Even the best, like The King and I, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Oliver!, are all overcooked in ways that don't do justice to the stage originals.

You know way, way more than I do about the above - just want to acknowledge that.

I remember reading once that there was a big debate about whether or not Audrey should be allowed to sing "Moon River" in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." She did and, IMHO, did a very good job as an amateur.

Would it have been better if a professional had dubbed it - probably not because there's a fake feel to that.

Would it have been better if Audrey could sing like Julie Andrews - sure, but as you point out, Andrews couldn't star in every musical.

Would it have been worse if Audrey had no voice or a bad ammeter's - yes, but fortunately, her voice worked well enough and that song was more about emotion than the quality as it wasn't a musical but a drama. Having Audrey sing it, IMHO, helped the emotional connect the scene required and that would have been lost had it been song "better" but dubbed.

 

[Touchofevil]

Thor: Ragnorak
For me, the best of the Thor series.
Entertaining.
A lot of laughs.

JLA
I will wait for it to be released on
Netflix, Amazon, or HBO. It looks to be
Too much CGI for my liking. The trailers I
have seen actually hurt it more than helped it.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I loved Ragnarok, but I always have to stick up for the original Thor. It was the trickiest film Marvel Studios had yet attempted at the time - with magic and fantasy rather than technology as its driving principle, and a more goofy, comic-y set of unearthly characters than the Iron Man films. It could easily have failed big time... but it did a fine job of setting up its fantastic characters/locales and the Asgardian royal family's Shakespearean dynamic. (And that's because again Marvel made an offbeat but perfect choice of director: Kenneth Branagh. Not only could he handle that royal drama easily after a career of doing Shakespeare, but he did everything else right too. And it was noticed, he subsequently got to do the bigger-budget Cinderella and Murder On The Orient Express remakes.)

Agreed that the Justice League trailer does the opposite of its intention, coming across as exhausting CGI nonsense. I'm still on the fence about seeing Justice League theatrically. I haven't seen a good word about it from anyone, the reviews were awful, and apparently even Joss Whedon's rewrites/reshoots couldn't improve it. Maybe at a bargain matinee...

The irony is, this week the four DC TV shows on the CW did a pretty awesome crossover, mostly handling loads of story arcs well across its huge cast. Of course, these shows have a lot of humor baked in, and enough story time to really work through their plots and characters. The DC films are so intent on being dark, grim, ponderous SERIOUS MYTHOLOGY! that they (with the notable exception of Wonder Woman) can't manage that. At a time when Marvel is upping their already significant humor content and crazy psychedelic color schemes in films like Doctor Strange, Guradians Vol. 2 and Ragnarok, DC continues doubling down with the downbeat Zack Snyder (*) bombast.

(* I'm one of the folks who loved his 300 and Watchmen adaptations... but thought Man of Steel was badly misconceived and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Confusion was a complete disaster. I used to think he was the perfect superhero film director, but now it's clear that he needs an already great story to adapt, and he can't improve a bad script.)

 

[Touchofevil]

My big problem with the first Thor (and it is probably just me) is the character of Kat Dennings. She is supposed to be funny, but just like her character on Two Broke Girls, she annoys the heck out of me. Get rid of her and the movie is much better off.
Overall, I really enjoy the actors playing the parts of the Asgardians. It is a quality cast which keeps getting stronger.

 

[AmateisGal]

I wonder why DC can't even come close to Marvel. Is it money? Doubtful. Is it the stories themselves? No. Are the people writing the Marvel movies just better than those tackling the DC universe? Maybe.

 

[Haversack]

I watched Chimes at Midnight for the first time since high school the other evening. This was Orson Welles' 1965 film compiling all the Falstaff parts from Shakespeare's Henry IV Parts One and Two, and Henry V. I got a lot more out of it now that I know about movies and the history of the time better. What was obvious watching it was the influence it had on more recent films. It felt like the people behind the Game of Thrones' series used a fair bit of Gielgud's portrayal of Henry IV and Fernando Rey's of Worcester in depicting Tywin Lannister and Baelish.