What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[AmateisGal]

I was a bigger oddball than you - I had virtually no interest in contemporary pop music AT ALL until I got to college. It was all light classical, old-time jazz, and show tunes.

But while the film of Amadeus is great, I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway production in 1980, with Ian McKellen as Salieri, Tim Curry as Mozart, and Jane Seymour as Constanze. The opening remains, to this day, the greatest single feat of stage acting and stagecraft I've ever seen. Unlike the film, where as he starts reminiscing, old Salieri just cuts to young Salieri... In the play, he slowly rises from his wheelchair, the lighting changes (changing his makeup), his posture and bearing changes to that of a younger man, his voice becomes stronger/younger, the blanket falls away - and he's young Salieri! This was my introduction to the brilliance of Ian McKellen - so I wasn't surprised when began showing up in big fantasy films two decades later, blowing everyone else off the screen!

Wow. That sounds like an amazing production!

 

[Doctor Strange]

It was. I was very lucky to have a couple of Broadway theater connections in the seventies and eighties who regularly got us tickets for lots of great musicals and plays. Many great New York Shakespeare Festival productions (The Threepenny Opera with Raul Julia and Blair Brown, Romeo and Juliet with Peter McNichol [and Milo O'Shea reprising Friar Lawrence from the Zeffirelli film!], The Merchant of Venice in Victorian dress set aboard a yacht called "The Belmont", Shaw's Man and Superman...) and important musical revivals (including The King and I with Yul Brynner on his final tour). And when I was younger, I had also managed to see the original productions of Man of La Mancha and 1776...

Now I only get to a Broadway show once or twice a decade... and find that I end up spending a fortune and not enjoying it all that much!

 

[Worf]

Maybe, you will get one.

Awaiting the "Fire Sale" as we speak.

Da (NEVER Buy Retail) Worfster

 

[Benzadmiral]

Star Trek: Beyond, the third of J.J. Abrams's takes on the original series. If you ignore the nods to the earlier films (the relationship between Uhura and Spock, for example), this one is the most like a big-scale, extra-colorful version of the Shatner-Nimoy TV series. The threat is utterly alien, the solutions devised by Kirk, Spock, Scott, and the others are fun, there are tricky plot switches in which Kirk is revealed to NOT be an idiot, and there's some humor, not too much. Plus there are winks to the fans of the original. (For example, Kirk in this one uses the line, "There's no such thing as the unknown. Only things temporarily not understood" -- which came from an early episode of the series.)

J.J.'s version of Starfleet still doesn't feel like a paramilitary (or other) "service," though. I don't think anyone on his ship ever addresses Kirk as "sir."

 

[Worf]

Worf is way too cool to wear anything from my wardrobe, except, maybe, one of my Yankee baseball caps because, I think, he is a fan of the Bronx Bombers (a term which, while not going away, does seem to be used much less often today).

SPEW!!! GASP!!!! CHOKE!!! WHEEZE!!!!! You're younger than I, so I'll forgive you your misconceptions and chalk them up to your being a callow youth.

1. I was raised in a "NATIONAL LEAGUE" house.
2. I'm the product of a Brooklyn Dodger Fan and a NY Baseball Giants fan.
3. In my youth the "Junior Circuit" was where ball players went to die.
4. I SAW the Mets play at the Polo Grounds in their FIRST season.
5, I was a METS fan BEFORE they existed.
6. My ONE trip to Yankee Stadium (patooie) ended with me doused in beer (I hope it was beer) and my hands around some Jamoke's throat!

My family would have to be held hostage and under threat of death by (insert favorite form of dispatch here) before I would ever, EVER wear Yankee gear in public. PERIOD! REAL Mets fans would walk nekid cross burning coals before wearing Stankee gear... Sorry, nope, not gonna happen. I appreciate the offer in the spirit in which it was proffered but I'm old school. I believe in loyalty to my teams, loyalty to my friends and the never ending fountain of joy that is VENDETTA!

Worf

 

[Fading Fast]

SPEW!!! GASP!!!! CHOKE!!! WHEEZE!!!!! You're younger than I, so I'll forgive you your misconceptions and chalk them up to your being a callow youth.

1. I was raised in a "NATIONAL LEAGUE" house.
2. I'm the product of a Brooklyn Dodger Fan and a NY Baseball Giants fan.
3. In my youth the "Junior Circuit" was where ball players went to die.
4. I SAW the Mets play at the Polo Grounds in their FIRST season.
5, I was a METS fan BEFORE they existed.
6. My ONE trip to Yankee Stadium (patooie) ended with me doused in beer (I hope it was beer) and my hands around some Jamoke's throat!

My family would have to be held hostage and under threat of death by (insert favorite form of dispatch here) before I would ever, EVER wear Yankee gear in public. PERIOD! REAL Mets fans would walk nekid cross burning coals before wearing Stankee gear... Sorry, nope, not gonna happen. I appreciate the offer in the spirit in which it was proffered but I'm old school. I believe in loyalty to my teams, loyalty to my friends and the never ending fountain of joy that is VENDETTA!

Worf

Having grown up in New Jersey - which, if truth be told, is just another borough of Manhattan (and not even as important a one as, say, Brooklyn) even if it likes to think of itself as state with its own identity (pshaw) - I understand every thing you wrote and appreciate the magnitude of my mistake. In penance, I would gladly wear a hair shirt in Met's blue and orange.

Edit add: the source of my horrible mistake is that I thought we had once discussed our shared joy of Reggie Jackson's World Series home run fest, but clearly I'm confusing you with someone else.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

You Gotta Stay Happy (1948) Joan Fontaine, Jimmy Stewart, and Eddie Albert. Former Army pilots trying to survive as a two-plane cargo outfit, with Jimmy as the president and pilot and Eddie as co-pilot. Joan ends up on board for a NY to CA run with time sensitive freight. I had never even heard of this movie until just before watching it. IMDb says the jacket Stewart wears is the one he wore during his service. Worth a watch.

 

[2jakes]

"Sunny Side of Life"
This was my favorite when I called in sick on a cold & yucky day,
stayed in bed to watch TCM all day with a bowl of chicken soup.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Sunny Side of Life"
This was my favorite when I called in sick on a cold & yucky day,
stayed in bed to watch TCM all day with a bowl of chicken soup.

Especially before the proliferation of DVDs and, now, DVRs and streaming, I spent a few sick days and many rainy weekend days with TCM.

What was good was that it "forced" you to watch what was on so you discovered some gems (and clunkers) that you would probably not have chosen to see if you weren't "stuck" in front of the TV all day.

Even now, with all the viewing options in the world, I'll still sometimes just watch whatever TCM is playing as there is something to the serendipity of discovering a neat movie that way.

 

[Formeruser012523]

"Sunny Side of Life"
This was my favorite when I called in sick on a cold & yucky day,
stayed in bed to watch TCM all day with a bowl of chicken soup.

How I've missed these old promos! Really great to see them again, thanks.

Spent a good portion of yesterday watching TCM's 90th anniversary of Vitagraph shorts. The diamond in the rough to me was one called Lambchops with Burns & Allen. Think the host mentioned it was their first time on film.

So many channels, so much junk, so much streaming, still so much nothing. I find myself back on TCM every time, good or bad.

 

[Edward]

I was a bigger oddball than you - I had virtually no interest in contemporary pop music AT ALL until I got to college. It was all light classical, old-time jazz, and show tunes.

But while the film of Amadeus is great, I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway production in 1980, with Ian McKellen as Salieri, Tim Curry as Mozart, and Jane Seymour as Constanze. The opening remains, to this day, the greatest single feat of stage acting and stagecraft I've ever seen. Unlike the film, where as he starts reminiscing, old Salieri just cuts to young Salieri... In the play, he slowly rises from his wheelchair, the lighting changes (changing his makeup), his posture and bearing changes to that of a younger man, his voice becomes stronger/younger, the blanket falls away - and he's young Salieri! This was my introduction to the brilliance of Ian McKellen - so I wasn't surprised when he began showing up in big fantasy films two decades later, blowing everyone else off the screen!

La Curry... Wow. Wish I'd seen him live then. I did see him in Spamalot, and he was amazing in that. Hope he recovers enough to sing again soon...

 

[2jakes]

How I've missed these old promos! Really great to see them again, thanks.

Spent a good portion of yesterday watching TCM's 90th anniversary of Vitagraph shorts. The diamond in the rough to me was one called Lambchops with Burns & Allen. Think the host mentioned it was their first time on film.

So many channels, so much junk, so much streaming, still so much nothing. I find myself back on TCM every time, good or bad.

Must've been the acoustics but the musical instruments of the early era
have a distinct sound that I enjoy more than modern versions of the
same tunes with some exceptions.

The epitome of most 40s vocal groups are the Andrew Sisters and that
high-pitch harmony. Even early Sinatra when he started with the
Dorsey Brothers.

And can someone explain why did most of the '30s films have lines
beginning with...."Say".

"Say....can you you spare a dime?"

SAY....was that typical of the way folks talked back then or was it poor script writing,
or both?

SAY IT' AIN'T SO....JOE!

 

[Fading Fast]

...
"Say....can you you spare a dime?"

SAY....was that typical of the way folks talked back then or was it poor script writing,
or both?

SAY IT' AIN'T SO....JOE!

I've noticed this too, but just assumed it was a cultural tick of the period. That said, Lizzie, is there more to it than that?

 

[Formeruser012523]

And can someone explain why did most of the '30s films have lines
beginning with...."Say".

"Say....can you you spare a dime?"

SAY....was that typical of the way folks talked back then or was it poor script writing,
or both?

SAY IT' AIN'T SO....JOE!

Do recall reading about how actors at that time went to classes or were trained to speak a certain way. That's why they had the weird accents like in His Girl Friday & others. Wish I'd saved that link way back then. Oh well.

 

[2jakes]

Do recall reading about how actors at that time went to classes or were trained to speak a certain way. That's why they had the weird accents like in His Girl Friday & others. Wish I'd saved that link way back then. Oh well.

This may explain why the actors in the '30s
"Frankenstein" sound like they have a New England
or British accent.
I'm aware that the actor that played the
mad scientist and Cary Grant were of English origin.

It seems that for the most part, this was the style
for the times.

Bogart, Cagney, and Robinson being the exception
in '30s Hollywood films.

 

[AmateisGal]

Currently watching It Happened on Fifth Avenue. I have a nice collection of classic Christmas movies and I love watching them every year!

 

[Zombie_61]

Westworld (1973). In the future of 1983 guests who are willing and able to spend $1,000 a day vacation at an adult-themed amusement park where a major malfunction causes the life-like robotic "hosts" to attack the guests. I saw this when it was released in '73, and walked out of the theater thinking it was "okay"; not bad, but not great either. Having recently watched the first season of the new rebooted/updated series on HBO, when I saw this listed on the SyFy channel I thought I'd give it a second chance. My original opinion stands.

 

[2jakes]

Currently watching It Happened on Fifth Avenue. I have a nice collection of classic Christmas movies and I love watching them every year!

My favorite "Christmas Carol" movie is the 1938 version.
It may not rank as the best by everyone.
But I can relate to it.
Especially the scenes of a young Scrooge left alone in school during
the holidays and the sister that adored him.
I need to take note and find out when it's on so that I can record it.

 

[Fading Fast]

Currently watching It Happened on Fifth Avenue. I have a nice collection of classic Christmas movies and I love watching them every year!

Like it, but always felt this one falls a bit short of even the second-tier Christmas ones like "Remember the Night" or "Holiday Inn."

P.S. "Remember the Night" is on TCM on Dec 22, just waiting for my stupid cable company's DVR to "see" out that far and I'll have the recorder set. This one has grown on me over the years.

 

[Fading Fast]

My favorite "Christmas Carol" movie is the 1938 version.
It may not rank as the best by everyone.
But I can relate to it.
Especially the scenes of a young Scrooge left alone in school during
the holidays and the sister that adored him.
I need to take note and find out when it's on so that I can record it.

I'm a big fan of the '38 version too (also the '51 version with Alastair Sim). The '99 version with Patrick Stewart isn't a bad one, but not in the class of the other two.

The '38 version is on TCM 12/18 at 9am (EST).