What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Touchofevil]

I don't care what they say about you.... you're aces in my book!

Worf

Well, THEY have been known to be wrong here and there. Nonetheless, thanks.

 

[Zombie_61]

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). In this crossover sequel to Universal's The Wolf Man (1941) and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is revived after being "dead" for four years, and encounters Dr. Frankenstein's Monster (Bela Lugosi) while trying to find the not-so-good Doctor's journal which he hopes (for some unknown reason) will contain a way for him to die and stay dead.

And now, a bit of trivia. Because Chaney had portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein, the original plan was for him to play both Talbot and the Monster. When the studio realized the time required to transform Chaney into both the Monster and the Wolf Man would extend the shooting schedule drastically, the idea was scrapped and Lugosi was cast as the Monster (a role he turned down for Frankenstein (1931) before Boris Karloff was cast).

Lugosi should have passed on this one as well. In The Ghost of Frankenstein Lugosi reprised his role as Ygor, the hunchbacked assistant from Son of Frankenstein, and in The Ghost of Frankenstein's final scenes Ygor's brain is transplanted into the Monster's body. This gave the Monster the power of speech, but left him blind as a result of incompatible blood types. So in the original filming script for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, the Monster also could speak but was blind. But when audiences laughed at Ygor's voice coming from the Monster in test screenings, the Powers That Be at Universal decided to eliminate Lugosi's/the Monster's dialogue from the final edit and, for whatever reason, all references to the Monster's blindness as well. As a result, Lugosi's stiff, arms outstretched, lumbering performance made little sense in the context of the finished movie, and his performance was panned by critics and fans alike. Also, it's very clear that it's stuntman Gil Perkins and not Lugosi under the makeup for approximately one-third of the Monster's screen time, so this movie contributed to the decline of Lugosi's career in Hollywood.

That being said, although Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is something of a fan favorite, it's not one of Universal's better outings.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

"A Walk In The Woods" ..........empty & as artificial as Redford's hair & eyebrow color.

"Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" ..............don't let the title put you off, a fun movie with it's tongue firmly in it's cheek & casts a mocking eye over the previous "Pride & Prejudice" films.

 

[Fading Fast]

The other day, I watched "Remember the Night" as I had an evening to myself, went trolling through the old stuff on the DVR and decided - against all seasonal logic - that a Christmas movie sounded good, especially since I had just watched "Double Indemnity" and wanted to see MacMurray and Stanwyck together again.

It's a better move than I remember, with more real movie story, character development and adult dialogue and situations than one gets in many Christmas movies. To be sure, the "Christmas Hollywood of the '40s" happiness is there (and it kind of felt good as I haven't been overloaded with that stuff now as I am in December when I usually watch movies like this). But the movie has a dark angle and doesn't completely wrap a perfect bow on it like most Christmas movies and MacMurray and Stanwyck bring acting skills and gravitas that overcome some cheesy dialogue while elevating the stronger parts.

Also, the clothes, cars, houses, sets, etc. have a great time-travel feel to them. So my humble recommendation is to watch this or some Christmas movie off season once in awhile - it gives you a new perspective on the movie when it isn't stuffed in with all the other Christmas movies and the atmosphere of the season.

 

[emigran]

Victor Victoria... superb cast... searingly funny... Robert Preston at his very best... Julie Andrews and James Garner... Alex Karas, gay... seen this one a zillion times... The finale with Preston is a scream. This one is right up there with Some LIke It Hot

 

[Benzadmiral]

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). In this crossover sequel to Universal's The Wolf Man (1941) and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is revived after being "dead" for four years, and encounters Dr. Frankenstein's Monster (Bela Lugosi) while trying to find the not-so-good Doctor's journal which he hopes (for some unknown reason) will contain a way for him to die and stay dead. . . .

. . . [A]lthough Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is something of a fan favorite, it's not one of Universal's better outings.

I watched the first part of it Saturday night on MeTV; hadn't seen it in many many years. The first half, with Talbot being revived by the full moon and searching out the Old Gypsy Woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) to find a way to die, was really quite good, I thought. The relationship between Talbot and Maleva was touching. When he transforms under the full moon when they are traveling by wagon in Dr. Frankenstein's home territory, Talbot bounds off the wagon, transforms, and then doesn't attack her -- like one of those stories we often hear about a wild animal which forms a bond with a human. Not a pet, still a wild animal, but with some sort of affective bond between them.

"The way you walk is thorny, my son, through no fault of your own. . . ."

 

[Benzadmiral]

Finally borrowed Spectre from the library and watched it yesterday. No, not a classic like Skyfall, and it featured the "damsel in distress" meme too prominently at the end. But the portraits of Bond, of Madeleine Swann, and especially of M (Mallory, as played by Ralph Fiennes) were very sharp.

 

[Zombie_61]

I watched the first part of it Saturday night on MeTV; hadn't seen it in many many years. The first half, with Talbot being revived by the full moon and searching out the Old Gypsy Woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) to find a way to die, was really quite good, I thought. The relationship between Talbot and Maleva was touching. When he transforms under the full moon when they are traveling by wagon in Dr. Frankenstein's home territory, he bounds off the wagon, transforms, and then doesn't attack her -- like one of those stories we often hear about a wild animal which forms a bond with a human. Not a pet, still a wild animal, but with some sort of affective bond between them.

"The way you walk is thorny, my son, through no fault of your own. . . ."

I agree. Chaney is quite good in all of the movies in which he plays Talbot/the Wolf Man. It's Lugosi's sabotaged performance and the obviously contrived climactic scenes that cause this movie to fall apart at the seams. As a result, the creepiest thing about the movie is Adia Kuznetzoff's singing in the Festival of the New Wine scenes.

 

[Worf]

"Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" - Wow! Just when I thought that decent, thoughtful, films about teenagers had gone the way of the DoDo Bird this gem pops up! Amazing scripting and marvelous acting from a cast of mostly unknowns, I was spellbound to the end. The last 20 minutes were a bit slow but on the whole I give it an A-. I can't recommend this film highly enough.... Of the Oscar nominated films last year there are several I'd have tossed for this one. The "Academy" blew it big time!

Worf

 

[Harp]

Light night I watched Tigerland. Good film by Joel Schumacher about a pair of platoons in 1971 at bootcamp, who are training at Fort Polk, LA, preparing for the arduous Tigerland training camp before they get shipped out to Vietnam.

7/10

Mister Charles Cong. Not just Charlie.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

' Automata' (2014)..............Reading the synopsis of the movie & a few reviews I was expecting a sort of discount ' Blade Runner' but I was pleasantly surprised. Nothing really original since we've seen the scenario in numerous films before but it kept one glued to the screen. The special effects were minimal but well done & a shaven headed Antonio Banderas gave a sober & intense performance (makes a change from his usual shoutin' & gesticulatin') & any film that opens with the overture from Haendel's ' Music for the royal fireworks' can't be all bad.

 

[AmateisGal]

Finally borrowed Spectre from the library and watched it yesterday. No, not a classic like Skyfall, and it featured the "damsel in distress" meme too prominently at the end. But the portraits of Bond, of Madeleine Swann, and especially of M (Mallory, as played by Ralph Fiennes) were very sharp.

I watched Spectre again the other night. I went to see it in the theater, but I always need to watch a Bond movie at least twice (sometimes more) to make an informed opinion. The opening sequence in Mexico City was quite a production in itself (I watched the DVD extra of how they filmed it). The story wasn't as tight as Skyfall. I'm looking forward to seeing what the story will be for the next one.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I watched Spectre again the other night. I went to see it in the theater, but I always need to watch a Bond movie at least twice (sometimes more) to make an informed opinion. The opening sequence in Mexico City was quite a production in itself (I watched the DVD extra of how they filmed it). The story wasn't as tight as Skyfall. I'm looking forward to seeing what the story will be for the next one.

Not as tight, true; for example, what happened to all the other people in the dining car on the train into the desert? Bond and Madeleine battle and defeat the big shaven-headed guy -- but we don't see anybody else in the fight scenes, even though there were other diners in the car when Bond meets her for cocktails.

Beyond that, Spectre is not a personal story the way Skyfall was, or at least the way the previous film used Bond's past and background, and relationship with Judi Dench's M, to such great effect. It did, however, work in some Fleming-created detail with the story of Oberhauser, who -- if I recall rightly, not having a copy of Octopussy right now -- did indeed teach the young Bond about skiing and other things, and acted as a father to him when he needed one after the death of his own.

 

[Babydoll]

Schindler's List. I bawled my eyes out at the end.

 

[2jakes]

Schindler's List. I bawled my eyes out at the end.

I feel the same way!
Great visuals from a technical aspect, (photography, screenplay, continuity & editing)
but the subject is something that I find not entertaining. Similar to the news videos I
have shot of the tragic events which are occurring daily.

 

[Touchofevil]

I watched Spectre again the other night. I went to see it in the theater, but I always need to watch a Bond movie at least twice (sometimes more) to make an informed opinion. The opening sequence in Mexico City was quite a production in itself (I watched the DVD extra of how they filmed it). The story wasn't as tight as Skyfall. I'm looking forward to seeing what the story will be for the next one.

But as usual, it was an event. It was one of those rare enough films that has to be viewed on the big screen. It was definitely a lot of fun.

 

[AmateisGal]

Not as tight, true; for example, what happened to all the other people in the dining car on the train into the desert? Bond and Madeleine battle and defeat the big shaven-headed guy -- but we don't see anybody else in the fight scenes, even though there were other diners in the car when Bond meets her for cocktails.

Beyond that, Spectre is not a personal story the way Skyfall was, or at least the way the previous film used Bond's past and background, and relationship with Judi Dench's M, to such great effect. It did, however, work in some Fleming-created detail with the story of Oberhauser, who -- if I recall rightly, not having a copy of Octopussy right now -- did indeed teach the young Bond about skiing and other things, and acted as a father to him when he needed one after the death of his own.

Yeah - the whole fight scene in the dining car should have had people rushing out in terror. That was a gaff, I think.

And I totally agree with you that it wasn't as personal as Skyfall, but I do like how Madeline Swan got to the heart of Bond, telling him he had a choice in his career path. If I didn't want to see more Bond movies made, I would be totally fine with him retiring to go off and get married with Madeline and have babies and live happily ever after. But of course, that won't happen.

 

[Stearmen]

Charge Of The Light Brigade (1968) Tedious movie, took four sittings to get through it! Not much of a spoiler, the best part was the end with the charge that gave the poem it's name. Still, that part was worth it!

 

[Worf]

Charge Of The Light Brigade (1968) Tedious movie, took four sittings to get through it! Not much of a spoiler, the best part was the end with the charge that gave the poem it's name. Still, that part was worth it!

Certainly no Flynn BUT it's accurate... The only thing the 30's version got right was that there was a war in the Crimea and some Brits rode down a valley with Ruski's shootin' at em! At least in the 68 version you kinda find out why they really charged and what a total mess that nasty little war was.

Worf

 

[Doctor Strange]

The early Ingmar Bergman film Sawdust and Tinsel, DVR'd from a wee-hours showing on TCM. It was interesting (at least to Bergman fans) but uneven, though it certainly has its moments. But it's not up to the level of the long run of masterworks he'd start writing/directing just two years later with Smiles of a Summer Night.