What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[belfastboy]

Your story is probably better than the mixed-up movie's story, but the movie did have charm and whimsy to it.

I like Helprin (the author of the book the movie is based on), but this is not his best effort.

If you or your wife are readers and want to see Helprin at his best, I'd recommend "In Sunlight and in Shadow" and "A Soldier of the Great War."

Thank you, I will check those books out. We both are avid readers.

 

[Fading Fast]

Thank you, I will check those books out. We both are avid readers.

"A Soldier..." is the better book, but "In Sunlight..." has some of "A Winter's..." charm. Hope you and your wife enjoy them.

 

[AmateisGal]

Alice Through the Looking Glass. Really enjoyed it!

 

[bluesmandan]

Jason Bourne. It sucked so bad i thought it had to be a new director, but nope it was the same guy. A dud compared to the others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Worf]

I so wanted to like this movie when it came out, but either because I saw the original as a kid and loved it or because this '05 version really isn't a good movie, it felt forced and flat versus the original to me.

The special effect seemed over the top and distracted from the story which, even as a kid, effected me in the original as I felt Kong's loss, fear, rage, despair in a way that I didn't in this newer version.

Some movies shouldn't be remade because there is nothing you can do to make it better. Fay Wray and Kong struck the right balance of emotion and frustrated lust - it's there, implied, but not gratuitous - neither the '76 or this '05 version handled that incredibly tricky balance as well.

Errr... I WAS speaking of the original. The Jack Black version is "OK" but nothing I'd watch again....

Worf

 

[Fading Fast]

Errr... I WAS speaking of the original. The Jack Black version is "OK" but nothing I'd watch again....

Worf

oops, my bad.

 

[Formeruser012523]

Jason Bourne. It sucked so bad i thought it had to be a new director, but nope it was the same guy. A dud compared to the others.

Happy to see I'm not alone in this feeling. I'd rather watch the first one for the millionth time as I felt this one was just a rehash of it (& a bad one, at that). At least you didn't pay good money to view it in the theater.

 

[Stearmen]

Dr. Who: The Power of the Daleks. I missed the first three, so I may not bother with the rest!

 

[Fading Fast]

"Young and Innocent" AKA "The Girl was Young"
- 1937 Hitchcock
- 3/4 of a good movie as the plot kinda falls apart at the end / is wrapped up too silly neat
- Most classic Hitchcock elements are there:
---- Middle-class man falsely accused of murder goes on the run
---- Pretty blonde helps him as they fall in love
---- The MacGuffin (in this case a raincoat) is in use, you care so little about it that you forget for awhile that's what they are trying to find
---- Climatic final chase scene amidst dramatic geography: an abandoned mine that swallows a car
---- Hero saves falling-to-her-death pretty blonde with last second hand-to-hand pull up (used later in "North By Northwest")
- Works okay as a movie and even better for fans of Hitchcock who enjoy seeing his development as a director
- The "pretty blonde" in this case, Nova Pilbeam (that's a name) is outstanding and carries the movie

 

[MisterCairo]

A Christmas Story with our girls.

"Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."

Tough explaining that one....

 

[AmateisGal]

An original Netflix movie called Spectral. Whoa. It was pretty intense. I enjoyed it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106651/videoplayer/vi1757918745?ref_=tt_ov_vi

 

[Formeruser012523]

Dr. Who: The Power of the Daleks. I missed the first three, so I may not bother with the rest!

Watched the first because the ads were so intriguing. Found the animation lacking. Forgot about the second. Didn't bother with the third. Oh well. Didn't recall how slow moving those classics could be. Guess I was missing Tom Baker's snark too.

 

[Bushman]

Elf, with Will Ferrell. One of the few movies I enjoy with Ferrell, so it's a treat for me every holiday season.

 

[MisterCairo]

Elf, with Will Ferrell. One of the few movies I enjoy with Ferrell, so it's a treat for me every holiday season.

(Answering his father's business phone) "Buddy the Elf, what's your favourite colour?"

 

[MisterCairo]

Christmas Vacation. I love this film and I can use a quote from it year round in any situation.

 

[Stearmen]

"It's a Wonderful Life", a favorite.
Been watching lots of TCM lately.(cold spell)

I did a "George Bailey".
I added some extra "saturation" to see what it would be like to watch it in color.
Luckily only did one scene.

I still like the Married With children version the best. SPOILER ALERT. Where Al finds out, every one in his life would be better off if he had never been born!

 

[2jakes]

Christmas Vacation. I love this film and I can use a quote from it year round in any situation.

There's several blocks nearby that is infested with *Griswolds*.

So many Christmas lights everywhere, I can turn off my
headlights and still see clearly at night when coming home.

 

[Stearmen]

There's several blocks nearby that is infested with *Griswolds*.

So many Christmas lights everywhere, I can turn off my
headlights and still see clearly at night when coming home.

The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon: Oh, yes. We had a tree, we had a manger, we had an inflatable Santa Claus with plastic reindeer on the front lawn. And to make things even more jolly, there were so many blinking lights on the house they induced neighborhood-wide seizures.

 

[Denton]

"Young and Innocent" AKA "The Girl was Young"
- 1937 Hitchcock
- 3/4 of a good movie as the plot kinda falls apart at the end / is wrapped up too silly neat
- Most classic Hitchcock elements are there:
---- Middle-class man falsely accused of murder goes on the run
---- Pretty blonde helps him as they fall in love
---- The MacGuffin (in this case a raincoat) is in use, you care so little about it that you forget for awhile that's what they are trying to find
---- Climatic final chase scene amidst dramatic geography: an abandoned mine that swallows a car
---- Hero saves falling-to-her-death pretty blonde with last second hand-to-hand pull up (used later in "North By Northwest")
- Works okay as a movie and even better for fans of Hitchcock who enjoy seeing his development as a director
- The "pretty blonde" in this case, Nova Pilbeam (that's a name) is outstanding and carries the movie

I really like "Young and Innocent," and, for the most part, I prefer Hitchcock's English movies to his Hollywood movies. A few more items to add to your list: wonderful settings; great practical effects with puppets and model sets; strange, funny, menacing child's birthday party scene; and "the most beautiful tracking shot in the history of film" (according to Claude Chabrol):

 

[Fading Fast]

I really like "Young and Innocent," and, for the most part, I prefer Hitchcock's English movies to his Hollywood movies. A few more items to add to your list: wonderful settings; great practical effects with puppets and model sets; strange, funny, menacing child's birthday party scene; and "the most beautiful tracking shot in the history of film" (according to Claude Chabrol):

All good points. And really spot on comment on the birthday party as my girlfriend and I said to each other what an aggressive / negative vibe the child's party had.

My only complaint, as noted, was the end - the mine and restaurant scenes felt forced and fake to me. Way too many near misses, coincidences and "just made it" moments. You can have one or two of those, but they kept piling up.

Also, as you mentioned, the integrating of the train models and real train yard was well done (other than the fake people models - they were too obvious - but the budget was probably stupid small).

Nova Pilbeam was the backbone of the movie IMHO. It was her ability to show angst, to show the risk to her and her father in minute facial expressions, as well as, her ability to man-up when others where flagging that carried the movie. She, not the male lead, was the one you cared about. He was almost a MacGuffin himself, but we knew her family, what she had on the line and what she was willing to risk that kept the viewer engaged.

I'm a fan of his English movies, but love his later American ones as well. What's nice about the English ones are (1) the smaller budgets forces more creative ways to show things and (2) the stories are, IMHO, tighter / more compact. They are like petit fours versus big layer cakes. And I love the insanely crisp and gorgeous black and white cinematography.