What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[ChiTownScion]

Pavarotti, a documentary by Ron Howard.

Personally, I would have liked to seen a more objective treatment of the maestro and his art. While informative, it seemed like it was written by a publicist.

 

[Trenchfriend]

"Too Bad She's Bad" (1955), directed by Alessandro Blasetti. On german TV, right now.

Sophia Loren...
I think, the audience voted vor boobs.

 

[Vera Godfrey]

I needed a good laugh today so I watched Hellzapoppin

 

[Saabo]

Watched " Nothing in common " with Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason. In the 80's I was Hanks and now in 2019 I see me as Gleason. [emoji3525]

"Want to make God laugh? Tell him you've got plans"

 

[Woodtroll]

I, too, am a strong "I" (Myers Briggs), ...
That said, in general, if everyone, everywhere would be quieter, the world would be better.

AMEN! You may be interested in a book I'm reading right now, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. It's pretty insightful.

 

[3fingers]

AMEN! You may be interested in a book I'm reading right now, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. It's pretty insightful.

I tend towards being an introvert, but have forced myself out of it with varying levels of success. I do enjoy visiting with people very much though. We recently met the future mother in law of one of my stepsons and I was totally exhausted after an hour in a restaurant with her. I'm not sure I have ever met someone who appears to be able to speak continuously without stopping to breathe. It impressed on me the value of being quiet.

 

[scottyrocks]

I just watched (again) The Italian Job (2003).

This movie is stop-n-watch for me mainly because of the MINI Coopers, and was a big influence on me purchasing a 2005 model in that year.

The pacing of this movie is noticeably different than typical heist/car chase movies. More laid back and way less frenetic, even during the chase sequences. The acting is just so-so from all concerned (I have never been a Mark Wahlberg fan). Everyone else is either one-dimensional and/or sort of sleepwalks through the film. But it kind of works, and as I said, I watch it for the three trademark cars in action.

 

[Fading Fast]

Nora Prentiss from 1947 with Ann Sheridan and Kent Smith

Up until the crazy starts to happen about half way through, this is solid noir as a successful and, seemingly, happily married San Francisco physician (Smith) with two kids slow walks himself into an affair with a patient (smoldering Sheridan).

You get it, Smith's wife (and life) isn't bad - she's a good mother and decent wife - she's just become tone deaf to her husband's subtle cries for help (he's painfully bored with the social routine she pushes on him). Add in a mind-numbingly repetitive daily routine, his wife's rejection (again) of his requests for adventure and the usual pressures from work and kids and you see that beneath his mild and seemingly contented exterior is a man ready to break.

In walks (well faints - she's a patient) adventure in a killer body with long, flowing hair (versus his wife's tied-up-tighter-than-a-drum do) and all the pieces are in place. But still - and kudos to both the writers and director, Vincent Sherman, for this - the affair doesn't blast off [] as it does in most noirs, as both Smith and Sheridan try not to let it happen.

You almost wonder if the story is going in a different direction as Smith and Sheridan pull back several times before the affair finally happens, which is so much more real than the usual "meet and immediately forget everything important in our lives so that we can have sex" formula. But once the Rubicon's been crossed, things start to spiral in the usual bad direction: wife suspects, husband covers up and lies (while work slips and friends are insulted), the cheaters agree to stop (several times) but fail until it comes to a full boil.

Here, this excellent noir descends into crazytown. (Spoiler alert) Smith, lacking the will to divorce his wife, but unable to give up Sheridan, fakes his own death by using the body of an obscure patient who conveniently drops dead in his office. He then lies to Sheridan (who sincerely does't want to break up Smith's home) that he is getting a divorce, but convinces her to move across country to NYC with him until it is "all settled." (Gotta love a noir that takes place in the twin capital cities of noirdom.)

Now in NYC, Smith all but hides out in a hotel with Sheridan who doesn't understand his name change or fear of being seen. As the tension in their relationship rises - helped along by her relationship with an old friend and eligible bachelor - Smith falls into a jealous rage, tries to kill the friend (but doesn't), steals and smashes up a car while running from police, has plastic surgery to reconstruct his burned and broken face ............ shall I go on?

Okay, let's go - more crazy follows - detectives, extradition, false charges, a bizarre trial and a capital crime conviction. Noir wrecks lives, but this is extreme even for noir. Watch the first half for an outstanding movie and the second half to see what happens when screenwriters decide to just go all-in with the crazy. And watch it for Sheridan - while she has less screen time than Smith, she's the glue that holds it all together with an outstanding and nuanced performance (plus you can't take your eyes off her).

 

[Fading Fast]

It All Came True from 1940 with Ann Sheridan, Jeffrey Lynn and Humphrey Bogart

At least the movie answers this question: What happens when you give good actors a bad script? You get a so-so movie that you only watch for those actors.

Bogart plays a gangster/nightclub owner on the lam who hides out at his club's piano player's (Lynn) mother's boarding house where he runs into one of his former club's singers (Sheridan) who is also the childhood friend of his piano player (in theory, creating a love triangle - but, like everything else in this movie, it never gets fully developed).

Since the boarding house is in financial trouble and Bogie is getting bored just hiding out, he agrees to open a nightclub in the boarding house to pay off the mortgage and give Lynn and Sheridan a chance to showcase their talents - while banking some money for himself.

Yup, that's the plot and it is as good as it sounds, which is not good at all. Bogie and Sheridan - along with some older pro actors - use all their talent and star power to save this clunker, but, in the end, it's one of those movies in which you enjoy seeing the actors, but are bored by the story.

 

[belfastboy]

"Too Bad She's Bad" (1955), directed by Alessandro Blasetti. On german TV, right now.

Sophia Loren...
I think, the audience voted vor boobs.

They were spectacular!

 

[belfastboy]

Watched a 2008 movie "The Other Bolyn Girl".....Portman and Johannsen. I thought it a good companion piece to "Wolf Hall". Not sure of the historical accuracy but it certainly showed in more detail the family intrigue and how when it falls apart the entire family suffers the consequences. Interesting to watch a much younger Mark Rylance from a time when he was unknown to me. Portman as Anne and remembering her from 'Black Swan' has the evil woman role locked down very well.

 

[Zombie_61]

The Dead Don't Die (2019). In the small and quiet town of Centerville, police Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray), his officers (Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny), and the town residents slowly realize they're in the midst of a zombie invasion. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, whose movies often attain "cult" status, he seems to be a little out of his element in the zombie genre. "Slowly" is the key word here, as Jarmusch seemed to be in no hurry to tell this story and, once he finally got started, didn't seem to know how to end it. I enjoyed it, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone unless I knew they liked character driven movies with a deliberate (i.e., slow) pace.

 

[Worf]

In Which We Serve from 1942 with Noel Coward and Celia Johnson

Darn good propaganda film. England was at war, fighting for its life with no guarantee of victory - England wasn't losing sleep over the morality of putting out propaganda films; it was losing sleep over whether it would survive to see them.

This movie follows the British Naval ship H.M.S. Torrin from its launch, thorough its battles and to its sinking (not a spoiler, happens early on) - weaving in the background stories of its captain - played incredibly well by Coward (who also produced and co-directed with David Lean) - and several officers and crew members through flashbacks.

From sailors getting married the night before leaving, through servicemen's families getting bombed in the Blitz to wives stoically receiving telegrams of lost love ones - this is a picture of England united in a war effort. Petty family squabbles and other frivolities quickly dissipate when someone is faced with real tragedy.

Equally stoic are the men serving on the Torrin who endure endless attacks with courage to the point of still manning the guns as water washes over them with their torpedoed ship sinking fast - a powerful scene.

It is a moving story of a country united at war. It also serves as an incredible piece of time travel - not just visually (although the visuals - the cars, clothes, advertising, architecture and archival war footage - are amazing) - but also, from a cultural and social perspective as England's class culture is on display, but looking at its (probably) spiffed-up-for-morale best as genuine respect amongst the classes flows back and forth.

To wit, in one of the closing scenes, when Coward is saying good by to the surviving crew of the Torrin, you can't help but be touched as Coward's handshake and personal comment to each man makes you think, if you ever had to serve, Coward is the man you'd want as your captain. My guess, that scene was Lean's, as few can touch a deep emotional cord with "small" personal detail like that better than Lean.

Mrs. Miniver is still my gold-standard for WWII "England at War" propaganda films, but In Which We Serve isn't that far behind.

I like this film... I actually OWN it. It's is great propaganda... however I didn't like it's class affectations so much. I much prefer the companion piece to this one entitled "The Cruel Sea". No stiff upper lip class stoicism in this one... just drama, tension and war. No cheers at the end... no nothing... just a weary sigh. The Captains first ship is lost to a sub and it haunts him literally and figuratively for the rest of the film. This film shows unfaithful wives, sad deaths at sea and people wondering in a real way if they should marry considering the nature of the war in the North Atlantic. I love "In Which We Serve" but I prefer the same story with a bit less whitewash.

Worf

 

[Worf]

The other day, They Shall Not Grow Old, the Great War documentary by Peter Jackson. The use of computerized coloring (generally a bad thing with me) made the events real in a powerful way. If you have not seen it, it is well worth the investment of your time. Off of Amazon Prime.

I reviewed it some months ago. Best documentary I've seen in years. Amazing.

Worf

 

[Worf]

The Dead Don't Die (2019). In the small and quiet town of Centerville, police Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray), his officers (Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny), and the town residents slowly realize they're in the midst of a zombie invasion. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, whose movies often attain "cult" status, he seems to be a little out of his element in the zombie genre. "Slowly" is the key word here, as Jarmusch seemed to be in no hurry to tell this story and, once he finally got started, didn't seem to know how to end it. I enjoyed it, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone unless I knew they liked character driven movies with a deliberate (i.e., slow) pace.

I've enjoyed other Jarmusch films in the past. "Down By Law" etc.. but I found this thing boring and tired. This ground has been hammered to death. The concept was done better in "Zombieland" some years back. Stellar cast wasted on a tired and trite concept. The jokes aren't funny and what chemistry there is between Driver and Murray seems forced. Had this film came out 10 or 12 years ago before we had hot and cold running zombies on film and TV perhaps Jarmusch could've done something with the subject matter but not now.

Worf

 

[Fading Fast]

I like this film... I actually OWN it. It's is great propaganda... however I didn't like it's class affectations so much. I much prefer the companion piece to this one entitled "The Cruel Sea". No stiff upper lip class stoicism in this one... just drama, tension and war. No cheers at the end... no nothing... just a weary sigh. The Captains first ship is lost to a sub and it haunts him literally and figuratively for the rest of the film. This film shows unfaithful wives, sad deaths at sea and people wondering in a real way if they should marry considering the nature of the war in the North Atlantic. I love "In Which We Serve" but I prefer the same story with a bit less whitewash.

Worf

I will actively keep an eye out for "The Cruel Sea."

 

[Fading Fast]

Dunkirk from 1958 (not 2017)

In 1942's Mrs. Miniver, the Dunkirk evacuation scene is emotionally and patriotically pitch perfect - any Englishman with any kind of motorboat selflessly risks his life and property joining a heroic flotilla of civilian ships evacuating the trapped-on-the-French-coast British Expeditionary Force allowing it to live to fight another day for an on-its-heels England. In '42, a lift-your-spirits story was the right movie at the right time.

By 2017, some movies had become like avant-garde food - deconstructed so much so that they lost the point of the meal. 2017's Dunkirk brought you pieces of a great war movie - incredible in-the-action cinematography, gut-wrenchingly pointless loss of life, moments of heroism and moments of selfishness and the feeling that something big was going on - but if you didn't know the historical facts and context of The Battle of Dunkirk, the movie was like walking into the middle of a video game where you didn't understand who was fighting whom and why.

Sandwich between these two efforts is 1958's Dunkirk - a traditional movie more than a decade removed from the war and thus able to step back from Mrs. Miniver's pure propaganda. To be sure, it's an English film (from the wonderful Ealing Studios) with England's military and civilians as heroes, but with the honesty to show some war profiteering, small mindedness and senseless loss of life as well.

Employing an almost documentary style, the movie moves back and forth between the soldiers trapped on the French coast (almost reversing a future "Saving Private Ryan" by showing a small unit, under fire, retreating from inland France to the beach redoubt) and the civilians back at home slowly absorbing the news of the potential colossal loss of its expeditionary force while realizing that any hope lies with a quick marshaling of its civilian boats and owners in an unprecedented effort to save its trapped soldiers.

The movie shines at "small" moments - soldiers selflessly sacrificing themselves to allow the larger unit to safely retreat and boat owners - hours ago safely eating dinner at home - under fire from German Stukas but still motoring into battle. It also provides a moral / religious context - normal for the time - for the the battle and sacrifice that defined the 20th Century. It only lacked that one touch-you-to-your-core moment of the armada sailing into view that Mrs. Miniver delivered perfectly - but heck, you can always watch both movies.

N.B., For time travel, the movie's military equipment, architecture, cars, boats and clothes (the Navy sweaters and duffle coats are still being copied today) are pure joy.

 

[Bushman]

The Dead Don't Die (2019). In the small and quiet town of Centerville, police Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray), his officers (Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny), and the town residents slowly realize they're in the midst of a zombie invasion. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, whose movies often attain "cult" status, he seems to be a little out of his element in the zombie genre. "Slowly" is the key word here, as Jarmusch seemed to be in no hurry to tell this story and, once he finally got started, didn't seem to know how to end it. I enjoyed it, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone unless I knew they liked character driven movies with a deliberate (i.e., slow) pace.

I love character driven horror, but I'm not intimately familiar with zombie movies, and I've heard this one is very genre driven.

 

[Zombie_61]

I love character driven horror, but I'm not intimately familiar with zombie movies, and I've heard this one is very genre driven.

Really? As my username implies I have seen a few zombie movies, and beyond the basic plot (i.e., humans become aware that the dead have somehow been reanimated and have to figure out how to survive that) I'm not sure I agree. Then again, there are some "Easter eggs" that are directly connected to the zombie movie genre (and others that aren't), so I'm probably wrong.

That being said, unless it was a direct sequel I haven't seen any zombie movies that required a whole lot of familiarity. Like most "horror" movies the writers tend to take liberties with the established "rules" of the monster du jour so they can tell the story they want to tell, but modern zombies (i.e., beginning with George Romero's 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead) are pretty simple creatures--they're dead people who have somehow been reanimated, and they want to eat the living. Beyond that, the writers (the good ones, that is) usually tell you everything you need to know about how their zombies work.

 

[scottyrocks]

Like most "horror" movies the writers tend to take liberties with the established "rules" of the monster du jour so they can tell the story they want to tell,

Yes, one creative change that put a whole new frightfulness into the zombie genre (for me) is the speed in which they moved in I Am Legend (2007). Traditionally, zombies moved at a speed that one could sort of walk away from, but in this film they were as fast as fock, and just about impossible to escape from if they got too close. Of course, the CGI enhancements made them even more frightening.