What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Touchofevil]

My wife and I have been watching today's Robert Mitchum marathon on TCM, a celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday. We started a little late and caught only the end of Angel Face (1953), but watched The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) and are currently watching The Wonderful Country (1959). Coming up are The Night of the Hunter (1955), Out of the Past (1947), Thunder Road (1958), and The Enemy Below (1957), so I'm hoping I'll be able to stay awake.

The same lineup has been playing here as well on this fine day. Some nice entertainment throughout the day.

 

[Touchofevil]

I have yet to see the film, but I understand Nolan used a unique approach for this. I gather there is relatively little dialogue, no achingly dull backstory ("Blimey, it seems like so long ago we were just wee, eating sweets on the High Street!"). Just a direct look at three key events from three time perspectives. No blather (are you listening, Mr. Spielberg?).

I am really looking forward to seeing this next week.

My father I think would have loved a movie like this. He was a British army vet (April 1939 - July 1946), and usually despised American war movies.

- "Always have to ruin it with a ********* romance!"

Rest in peace dad.

Cool picture! I am sure that you will find it to be worth a watching. It kept me attentively watching and entertained. It is different than most war movies (not a bad thing at all), but for me was just missing something. It could be that it was hard to understand about half of what was said; the strong accents, the muttering, and the volume are to blame. Enjoy!

 

[MisterCairo]

It could be that it was hard to understand about half of what was said; the strong accents, the muttering,

 

[Windsock8e]

I was bed ridden for a couple of days so watched:

"Ghost in the Shell" - not as good as the original but nice special effects and "Beat" Takeshi did his usual enigmatic self (my sister met him in the 80's and he is apparently quite lively and fun in real life).

"Live by Night" with Ben Affleck. He seems to have a different hat for almost every scene and I was not crazy on the blocking of his main hat which seemed too tapered. The other characters had some great hats and some nice straws.

"1898: last men in the Philippines" about a year long siege in 1898-1899 based on a true story in Spanish. Interesting. I kept thinking about the Japanese at the end of the War who refused to believe that Japan had surrendered and fought on until the 1960's and 1970's - similar thing happened in this movie.

I want to see Dunkirk in the cinema and as my wife surprisingly also wants to see it, need to organise a babysitter which is more complicated than it should be.

 

[MisterCairo]

I was bed ridden for a couple of days so watched:

"Ghost in the Shell" - not as good as the original but nice special effects and "Beat" Takeshi did his usual enigmatic self (my sister met him in the 80's and he is apparently quite lively and fun in real life).

"Live by Night" with Ben Affleck. He seems to have a different hat for almost every scene and I was not crazy on the blocking of his main hat which seemed too tapered. The other characters had some great hats and some nice straws.

"1898: last men in the Philippines" about a year long siege in 1898-1899 based on a true story in Spanish. Interesting. I kept thinking about the Japanese at the end of the War who refused to believe that Japan had surrendered and fought on until the 1960's and 1970's - similar thing happened in this movie.

I want to see Dunkirk in the cinema and as my wife surprisingly also wants to see it, need to organise a babysitter which is more complicated than it should be.

I am in EXACTLY the same boat (pun intended)...

 

[AmateisGal]

Scaramouche. Such a fun film!

 

[Fading Fast]

"Five Graves to Cairo" 1943 staring Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter and (crazy) Erich von Stromheim

• Tone's best movie - he shows several dimensions plus a thoughtful intensity he usually lacks and he only over acts in a few scenes / he carries it, but a Bogey or Tracy would have carried it better

• Kudos to Paramount for building or borrowing a hotel that had true character for the main set; though, Paramount did go cheap with the two-cent special effect overall

• Baxter was strong in her role - oddly, looking no younger than she did in "All About Eve" seven years later (or, said nicer, she looked no older seven years later)

• Erich von Stromheim is a ham and doesn't capture Rommel at all - but still, darn it, the man has a presence and power that somehow, kinda, works

• Tone's propaganda speech, wasn't subtle, but it was powerful - it was a more thought-out version of Bogey's Casablanca speech: "... it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that."

• The closing scene, when Tone returns, dragged on a touch, but was well done and a smart bookend to the opening scene

• Can't believe I've never seen this one before / fun to find there are gems you've never seen before still out there / I hang my head in shame for taking 53 years to get to this one

 

[2jakes]

TCM tonight:

The Tenderfoot (1932) Pre-Code comedy with a very
young Ginger Rogers.

I noticed the hat-band right away. It has no bearing with
the story.
There is no reference to the hat at all in the film.
I believe it was non-intentional.
I noticed that the poster does not show the “hat-band”.

The symbol goes back at least 5,000 years.
I’ve read that the meaning relates to “Well Being”,
“Good Existence” or “Good Luck”.

In this case it didn’t help the movie.
I found myself enjoying more the background scenes of
the buildings, cars, clothes and customs of the time than
the story.

 

[Fading Fast]

Good catch. And, clearly, dates to before the German Nazi evil. Nothing wrong with the symbol (actually is quite visually interesting if it hadn't been destroyed by Nazism), but always jarring now to see it in normal use even before its period of infamy.

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Quiet America" 1958

• Probably my third or fourth time seeing it and I like it more each time as it is a subtle movie where almost every line of dialogue means something, so one needs a few viewing to fully take it all in

• Also, as with any good story telling, my opinion about the characters evolves with subsequent viewings as I pick up nuances and shades in each one that missed earlier
  • The British journalist comes off as more venal to me this time as he (spoiler alert), at minimum, passively set the American up to be killed
  • The American came off as less "too gung ho" and more innocent and enthusiastic
  • Phoung came off as smarter and, maybe, more manipulative than before
  • Chances are I'll update these views the next time I see it

• That it was filmed in Vietnam gives one a feeling of "being there," of historical accuracy that no set or substitute location can capture

• This is a great example of how beautiful, warm and crisp '50s B&W film was

• Outstanding Fedora Lounge eye-candy throughout from the French Colonial architecture, to the mishmash of nationalities of the cars and scooters to the incredible clothes (linen suits, side-tab trousers, cotton sack suits [for the American, of course])

 

[BobHufford]

TCM tonight:
View attachment 81901
The Tenderfoot (1932) Pre-Code comedy with a very
young Ginger Rogers.
View attachment 81912
I noticed the hat-band right away. It has no bearing with
the story.
There is no reference to the hat at all in the film.
I believe it was non-intentional.
I noticed that the poster does not show the “hat-band”.

The symbol goes back at least 5,000 years.
I’ve read that the meaning relates to “Well Being”,
“Good Existence” or “Good Luck.

"Whirling Logs" and other meanings.

http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa086.shtml

 

[belfastboy]

Watched "The Chosen" a Spanish/English language movie about the plot to assassinate Leon Trotsky in Mexico. A well made movie that was interesting as it is a subject that I was only generally aware of. The risk in taking movie information as historically accurate is an entirely separate subject. But a good two hours entertainment.

 

[Touchofevil]

Chisum on TCM's Day of John Wayne flicks.

 

[Windsock8e]

King Arthur. Waste of money apart from a few battle scenes at the end. Guy Ritchie did not deliver on this mix of Snatch and Arthur. Call it "Snatchalot" total flop.


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[Fading Fast]

"The Big Lift" 1950 with Paul Douglas and Montgomery Clift

• Starts a bit slow and almost corny - don't be mislead, this becomes a serious, thoughtful, almost dark and very good movie

• Douglas and Clift play Air Force Sergeants sent to Berlin to help with the Airlift

• Douglas brings a former POW's hatred of Germany with him while Clift brings a younger "we're here to help" view

• Both views are challenged and debated as Douglas is forced to confront his own prejudices in a chilling scene when he confronts a former sadistic prison guard who tortured him and when his German girlfriend challenges his dictatorial behavior while Clift's optimism is used against him as his German girlfriend manipulates his emotions for her selfish motives

• This all happens as the larger context of collective guilt, past war-time behavior and the, of the time, American democratic shortcomings are actively discussed and debated

• Amidst all this intensity, the backdrop of the Airlift - Tempelhof Airport, bombed-out German cities, the constant roar of C-54s overhead and the four powers aggressively elbowing each other on the edge of war - provides a visually engaging atmosphere, but unfortunately, the amazing logistics and commitment of the lift are deemphasized owing to the aforementioned focus on the geopolitical and philosophical challenges of the time

• The best movies, IMHO, personalize big issues, avoid simple answers, challenge our prejudices and assumptions and leave us thinking - this one does all that

 

[Zachary]

The last movie I saw in the theatre:
"Valerian"

For me, it seems to be the most enjoyable space-scifi-action-thriller to date. I even prefer it over Star Trek. The special effects are just fan. tas. tic.

No wonder the graphic programmers were named by the hundreds in the end credits.

OFF:
Question to the audience:
What do you do in theatres when the film's over?
Do you go straight away, or do you watch the end credits fully?
I do the latter. I believe that's part of the respect we owe to those who entertained us, the numberless rack-wheels in the gear of the production of a movie.
/OFF

 

[Zachary]

A classical masterpiece in black and white:
Brighton Rock (1947)

 

[Doctor Strange]

That's an excellent film, and much better than its recent remake.

I watch the credits if I know there are mid- and post-credits sequences that aren't mere throwaway bloopers, as in the Marvel films. Or if we're talking about older films with short credit lists. But for today's typical five-minute-long, two-thousand names at multiple effects-houses credits, generally not.

On HBO, the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Reasonably entertaining if too long, with good effects work, and beautiful stylized 1926 NYC sets and costumes. I continue to be totally unimpressed with Eddie Redmayne, and there's zero chemistry between him and the female lead (Sam Waterston's daughter), who underplays almost to the point of vanishing... It leaves a bit of a void in the center of the film, but I liked the secondary characters quite a bit. (And Colin Farrell did such a good job playing an imposing, gangster-ish American wizard that I thought he was Bobby Cannavale!)

I don't know what hardcore Potter fans think of it. I read the books and saw the films as the father of Potter fans. I enjoyed but didn't go nuts over them, so I'm not exactly the target audience.

 

[AmateisGal]

"Five Graves to Cairo" 1943 staring Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter and (crazy) Erich von Stromheim

• Tone's best movie - he shows several dimensions plus a thoughtful intensity he usually lacks and he only over acts in a few scenes / he carries it, but a Bogey or Tracy would have carried it better

• Kudos to Paramount for building or borrowing a hotel that had true character for the main set; though, Paramount did go cheap with the two-cent special effect overall

• Baxter was strong in her role - oddly, looking no younger than she did in "All About Eve" seven years later (or, said nicer, she looked no older seven years later)

• Erich von Stromheim is a ham and doesn't capture Rommel at all - but still, darn it, the man has a presence and power that somehow, kinda, works

• Tone's propaganda speech, wasn't subtle, but it was powerful - it was a more thought-out version of Bogey's Casablanca speech: "... it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that."

• The closing scene, when Tone returns, dragged on a touch, but was well done and a smart bookend to the opening scene

• Can't believe I've never seen this one before / fun to find there are gems you've never seen before still out there / I hang my head in shame for taking 53 years to get to this one

I watched this a few months ago, I think. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I think they definitely miscast Erich von Stromheim as Rommel!

 

[AmateisGal]

I watched Barbara Stanwyck in The Reputation last night plus The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

I am EXTREMELY fortunate in that my new cable company allows me to watch the TCM On Demand app. Oh my! I will often just put a movie on in the background while I'm at work. It's so comforting!