What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Benzadmiral]

Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) Still a great movie!

For years, thanks to that title, I thought it was a Western -- the Old West 1870s type. It is set in what was then the modern West, but it isn't a "Western" as we've come to think of it.

That's okay. Robert Ryan in his blue denim shirt and fedora-bashed OR is a style icon for me:

 

[Fading Fast]

For years, thanks to that title, I thought it was a Western -- the Old West 1870s type. It is set in what was then the modern West, but it isn't a "Western" as we've come to think of it.

That's okay. Robert Ryan in his blue denim shirt and fedora-bashed OR is a style icon for me:

View attachment 69782

And no modern low-rise pants for Ryan. Those bad boys are riding high and proud on his evil-in-this-movie self.

 

[Fading Fast]

The entire "Elizabeth Taylor" thing has always passed me by. An okay, no more, actress. And while she had a brief moment of kinda classic beauty, the drinking, (wouldn't doubt) drugs and general hard living gave her, IMHO, a haggard look very quickly in here career.

And this is not a women-and-age thing as many female stars age wonderfully and gracefully like Katherine Hepburn and many men do not. I think Taylor was an early example of a star's private life eclipsing, but also fueling, her public life and career. Had she not had all the Burton and other drama, I think she would have faded quickly.

Watched the first 40 or so minutes of "The VIPs" last night - will try to finish it tonight. Taylor, IMHO, looks horrible. Her skin looks unhealthy and she looks bloated - my guess (and I have no real knowledge) is prescription drugs as VIPs (teehee) had no trouble finding a doctor in those days to load them up on pills.

Maggie Smith - 50 or so years before "Downton -" is the opposite of Taylor. She looks great - young, healthy, smart, alert, able. So far, really enjoying the movie for the mid-sixties schmaltz that it is.

 

[Bushman]

Just got out of the new Kong movie. I really enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would, even. I liked the pacing, and the action. It was just the perfect length, accomplished to set out what it was supposed to do, and didn't overstay its welcome. Also, it was apparently 'bring your retired dad to the movies' day or something. There was three other father/offspring couples in the auditorium. My Dad and I always enjoyed a good creature feature, and this is one hell of a monster mash.

 

[green papaya]

For years, thanks to that title, I thought it was a Western -- the Old West 1870s type. It is set in what was then the modern West, but it isn't a "Western" as we've come to think of it.

That's okay. Robert Ryan in his blue denim shirt and fedora-bashed OR is a style icon for me:

View attachment 69782

In January 1944, Robert Ryan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a Drill instructor at Camp Pendleton , Ca.

he was a graduate of Dartmouth College , having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years of his attendance.

he must have been a tough guy in real life just like in his movies

 

[Worf]

Just got out of the new Kong movie. I really enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would, even. I liked the pacing, and the action. It was just the perfect length, accomplished to set out what it was supposed to do, and didn't overstay its welcome. Also, it was apparently 'bring your retired dad to the movies' day or something. There was three other father/offspring couples in the auditorium. My Dad and I always enjoyed a good creature feature, and this is one hell of a monster mash.

Thanks for that! I won't see it this weekend.... to many people, but will do a matinee next week sometime.

"Well they say it's like a giant gorilla..."
"Jeeze! Ain't we got enough of them in this town already?"

Worf

 

[Doctor Strange]

Our Little Sister, a recent Japanese film about three sisters who take in their much younger half-sister after their estranged father dies. A charming little slice-of-life drama.

 

[Bushman]

Thanks for that! I won't see it this weekend.... to many people, but will do a matinee next week sometime.

"Well they say it's like a giant gorilla..."
"Jeeze! Ain't we got enough of them in this town already?"

Worf

I get Wednesdays off, so I like to go see movies on those days, and this March has been a real film fest this year. Both this week and last week the theaters were practically empty. Seems Wednesday afternoon is the perfect time to go see a movie quietly.

 

[Zombie_61]

A friend and I saw Logan at a mid-afternoon showing on Tuesday. I didn't do a head count, but I'd be surprised to learn there were more than 10 people in the theater, including us. The theater complex, a 16-screen multiplex, was considerably busier when we were leaving so I imagine they're able to exist on night-time and weekend business. But for those of us who actually want to watch the movie, mid-week afternoon showings are the way to go.

 

[PeterGunnLives]

I've been getting into cult B-films of the 1950s, i.e. Roger Corman.
Interesting stuff.

 

[AmateisGal]

The Maltese Falcon in my Denver hotel room yesterday.

I always feel "at home" if I have TCM playing, no matter where I'm at!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Stanley Kubrick's breakout film, The Killing, from 1956. Dynamite noir stuff.

Y'know, I never used to like Kubrick's work. I was confused by 2001, annoyed by what he did to Stephen King's The Shining *, and had never seen Dr. Strangelove (still haven't watched it all the way through). Then I picked up Eyes Wide Shut, because Nicole Kidman was in it. Well, I enjoyed the film tremendously even though Nicole was on screen very little. It was creepy, sort of a modern Gothic, and I was caught up in it. Since then I've seen the original Lolita, and Spartacus, and now this one. I may well try Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket.

* At an SF convention I attended in Knoxville in 1983, King was the guest of honor. Someone asked him at a Q & A what he thought of Kubrick's film version of his third novel. "I consider I handed Stanley Kubrick a live hand grenade," he said, "and he heroically threw his body on top of it."

 

[Worf]

I get Wednesdays off, so I like to go see movies on those days, and this March has been a real film fest this year. Both this week and last week the theaters were practically empty. Seems Wednesday afternoon is the perfect time to go see a movie quietly.

Saw a 2:30 showing yesterday afternoon with Puddin' (showing her what retired life could be like if she ever wised up).... We saw it in a "RPX" Cinema. Regal Theatre chain's "Premium" viewing room. It's not Imax but it's not a normal screen either. Bigger screen, leatherish seating and way more speakers. Not worth the upcharge but 3D is wasted on me and the first "normal" showing wasn't until 3 hours later... so in we went. Fun movie... Samuel L. Jackson is great in his "Ahab like" role as a Lt. Colonel of an Air Cavalry unit grateful for one last mission before the end of the Viet Nam war. Kong was well done as well, big, bad, and sentient. No dumb ape he. It was his island and you come correct or get your butt kicked. The film did much to link the "Monarch Group" to the Kong mythos (the folks trying to kill "Godzilla" in the last U.S. iteration of the beast) so I'm thinking that a modern version of King Kong vs. Godzilla maybe in the offing. Sign me up for that. As for the movie itself you could do a lot worse with your money.

Worf

PS - There was certainly less than 10 people in the theatre and the experience was GREAT!

 

[Fading Fast]

"The V.I.P.s"

See the better original version: "The Grand Hotel."

 

[Fading Fast]

Saw a 2:30 showing yesterday afternoon with Puddin' (showing her what retired life could be like if she ever wised up).... We saw it in a "RPX" Cinema. Regal Theatre chain's "Premium" viewing room. It's not Imax but it's not a normal screen either. Bigger screen, leatherish seating and way more speakers. Not worth the upcharge but 3D is wasted on me and the first "normal" showing wasn't until 3 hours later... so in we went. Fun movie... Samuel L. Jackson is great in his "Ahab like" role as a Lt. Colonel of an Air Cavalry unit grateful for one last mission before the end of the Viet Nam war. Kong was well done as well, big, bad, and sentient. No dumb ape he. It was his island and you come correct or get your butt kicked. The film did much to link the "Monarch Group" (the folks trying to kill "Godzilla" in the last U.S. iteration of the beast so I'm thinking that a modern version of King Kong vs. Godzilla maybe in the offing. Sign me up for that. As for the movie itself you could do a lot worse with your money.

Worf

PS - There was certainly less than 10 people in the theatre and the experience was GREAT!

After '76's not-at-all-good remake (although being 12 years old at the time, Lange made an impression on me) and, then, '05s over-engineered mess, I had sworn off "Kong" remakes as there is always the original, but your review has me intrigued.

Funny coincidence. I caught about 10 minutes of "Cider House Rules" on HBO today and the scene I saw was when Michael Caine is showing the original "King Kong" to a sick child. The scene of "Kong" we see is, IMHO, one of the most aggressively sexual scenes in a pre-code movie as Kong holds Fay Wray in his hand moving his fingers all over her and, then, he demonstrably sniffs his fingers as his nostrils flare. How they got away with that even in pre-code is amazing. And it wasn't missed on the "Cider House Rule's" director - he chose that clip for a reason.

 

[Zombie_61]

...The film did much to link the "Monarch Group" (the folks trying to kill "Godzilla" in the last U.S. iteration of the beast so I'm thinking that a modern version of King Kong vs. Godzilla maybe in the offing...

Based on things I've read on the 'Net, a new "Kong vs. Godzilla" movie is definitely in the planning stages.

 

[drcube01]

I was always a Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain fan, but I recently watched a few Harold Lloyd pictures on the Youtube last weekend (including 1922's Grandma's Boy), and I was mighty impressed. I had never gotten around to watching Lloyd for some reason. That's surprising given the fact that my great grandmother was in a Harold Lloyd movie circa 1917.

 

[MisterCairo]

Last night for St. Paddy's Day, we saw Darby O'Gill and the Little People (with an incredibly young Sean Connery) with the girls (which was almost psychedelic), and then for grown up time we watched Allied, which was excellent. In fact, my wife cried at the end!

 

[Doctor Strange]

I was always a Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain fan, but I recently watched a few Harold Lloyd pictures on the Youtube last weekend (including 1922's Grandma's Boy), and I was mighty impressed. I had never gotten around to watching Lloyd for some reason. That's surprising given the fact that my great grandmother was in a Harold Lloyd movie circa 1917.

Harold Lloyd had his own particular genius, and he represents America in the twenties much better than Keaton or Chaplin. Keaton and Chaplin were unique, coming at things from very much their own approaches, but Lloyd embodies the hopes and dreams (and prejudices and limitations) of the average person. His films are a great window into the time, like the novels of Sinclair Lewis.

Not blessed with a showbiz childhood or the level of innate genius that Keaton and Chaplin began with, Lloyd worked hard for years to turn himself into a successful film comedian, first as a follower of Chaplin's Tramp (as "Lonesome Luke"), then stumbling onto the "Glasses Character". This character had two modes: in the majority of his films, he's very much Lloyd himself - a glad-handing optimist striving for success against huge odds. Occasionally - like Keaton - he played the wealthy playboy who doesn't know anything about real life, and learns. (Keaton also played the first character, "the boy" in lots of films... but with him, it was just as much a role as the playboy, not a clear reflection of his own personality.) Nothing slowed his pursuit of success, not even losing half a hand to a "prop" bomb explosion - he still hung off buildings with only one good hand.

Lloyd was more beholden to his gag writers and directors than Keaton (and of course, Chaplin did everything himself!), and he was more analytical in his pursuit of audience pleasing: he recut his films after previewing them for audiences to find the perfect timing on gags and pauses for laughs, and to ensure that he always had the audience's sympathy. His films were literally laugh-generating machines rolling off an assembly line. He was more a perfectionist professional comedian, not an antic force for anarchy like Chaplin, or a deadpan modernist like Keaton. He faced the change to talkies head-on and remained successful until he retired - with his fortune and family intact - to a life of hobbies (stereo slide photography and fraternal organizations). Interestingly, in the fifties when Chaplin was denied a return visa for his alleged communist sympathies, Lloyd was presented with an honorary Oscar... partly for being a "good citizen".

Anyway, his best films are still plenty funny - especially when seen with an audience. They may not exhibit the sublime, otherworldly genius, or inherent social commentary, seen in Keaton and Chaplin, but they're fascinating historical documents... and very funny.

 

[AmateisGal]

Woman in Gold. Truly an amazing story.

I just put Casablanca in the DVD player for background noise as I write.