What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Zombie_61]

Just finishing: In The Heat of the Night

My wife and I finished watching In the Heat of the Night on TCM, then watched Saving Private Ryan--again--on the History channel.

 

[Harp]

then watched Saving Private Ryan--again--.

Ryan is replete with error, which I will avoid entirely here.

A film called Hell is For Heroes with Steve McQueen is quite realistic cinema.
Another, Ambush Bay focuses a Marine Raider PBY insertion in the Philippines.

The latter is perhaps more fact driven with its portrayal of a small team's destruction.

 

[Zombie_61]

Ryan is replete with error, which I will avoid entirely here...

Oh, I know, but it's not a bad movie and is usually better than whatever is on the other channels. Any time a movie is advertised as a "true story" I take it with a grain or two of salt.

...A film called Hell is For Heroes with Steve McQueen is quite realistic cinema.
Another, Ambush Bay focuses a Marine Raider PBY insertion in the Philippines.

The latter is perhaps more fact driven with its portrayal of a small team's destruction.

I've never so much as heard of either of those, so I'm now on the lookout for them. Thank you!

 

[Alice Blue]

This movie won't be out until the end of the month, but I'm really looking forward to it: The Dig, which tells the story of the discovery and excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1939. Aside from the fascinating subject matter, I'm looking forward to all of the period outfits and cars and so on. The movie will be released on Netflix on January 29. https://www.theguardian.com/science...3-IzO1MVsSGuUFPZXemXpmews3RkJcJOXW1tiagF0v9eM

 

[Edward]

Caught the tail end of Shrek 2 last night, arguably the strongest entry in the franchise. Also watched the film which happened to follow it - Dark Shadows. As fashionable as it was at the time to tear it down (and that long before Depp became persona non grata in Hollywood), my original opinion on cinema viewing is only reinforced by subsequent revisits. That opinion being that it is, frankly, a vastly more entertaining romp than Beetle Juice, the latter having aged less well (perhaps in part because it was made as contemporary, not a period piece) and, well, just not being as good as it's de riguer among critics to suggest.

Goldfinger remains a favorite Bond, but this one scene really ended 007's credibility.
Goldfinger, a gambler would have let the hand play out. Bond's quip, considered, but rejected
inside the opponent mind essentially finished the hand. 007's retort seen for what it was,
a desperate bid of little substance. A bluff. Seen and raised-no pun intended.

Is Auric really a gambler, though? The first time we see him he likes to give the impression he's gambling, but he's sure to fix the odds heavily in his favour by cheating.

This movie won't be out until the end of the month, but I'm really looking forward to it: The Dig, which tells the story the discovery and excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1939. Aside from the fascinating subject matter, I'm looking forward to all of the period outfits and cars and so on. The movie will be released on Netflix on January 29. https://www.theguardian.com/science...3-IzO1MVsSGuUFPZXemXpmews3RkJcJOXW1tiagF0v9eM

I'm intrigued by this one too. It's been interesting seeing a number of films coming direct to streaming of late. It'll be interesting to see whether that trend reverses entirely once the cinemas are open again, or if the streaming showings gradually replace cinema for all but the blockbusters. I still very much enjoy the cinema experience, though it's one in which we indulge much less regularly nowadays (pre-pandemic) given the rapidly rising cost.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Came in last night on the second half of "The Taking Of Pelham 123," the original 1974 version (accept no remakes), and was impressed once again with how perfectly cast, written, and directed it is -- in these days of bloated, bone-dumb action thrillers, it's taut, lean, and intense. And it's also definitely in the running for the "Most New York Movie Ever Made" award.

 

[Harp]

Is Auric really a gambler, though? The first time we see him he likes to give the impression he's gambling, but he's sure to fix the odds heavily in his favour by cheating. .

Who called the Schlesinger 4 on the golf course?
And besides, Goldfinger trusted a blonde to assist his card scam.
Some men would swear that fact alone exemplifies a gambler's risk, and, a helluva one at that.

 

[Harp]

Came in last night on the second half of "The Taking Of Pelham 123," the original 1974 version (accept no remakes), and was impressed once again with how perfectly cast, written, and directed it is -- in these days of bloated, bone-dumb action thrillers, it's taut, lean, and intense.

Shaw shock redemption.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That third rail don't mess around.

 

[Tiki Tom]

“Julie and Julia” for the second time. Good movie, better the second time around.

 

[Zombie_61]

Came in last night on the second half of "The Taking Of Pelham 123," the original 1974 version (accept no remakes), and was impressed once again with how perfectly cast, written, and directed it is -- in these days of bloated, bone-dumb action thrillers, it's taut, lean, and intense. And it's also definitely in the running for the "Most New York Movie Ever Made" award.

Being fans of the original, a good friend and I saw the 2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 remake on opening day. I think we might have made it about half-way through when we looked at each other and shrugged, mutually deciding we were going to stop trying to figure it out and just watch Travolta ham it up. Above all, we couldn't decide if Director Tony Scott forgot to tell Travolta that it was supposed to be an action drama, or if he forgot to tell Denzel Washington that it was supposed to be a comedy. Regardless, this is another movie we could not recommend to anyone.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Lady with Red Hair (1940) (definite article "the" missing) with top-billed Miriam Hopkins, supported by Claude Rains and a host of others. An old-fashioned biopic from Warner Brothers of Mrs. Leslie Carter and David Belasco. Rains is an absolute thief when it comes to scene-stealing, although in this film Helen Westley as the theatrical boarding house owner Mrs. Frazier dominates every scene she's in. An enjoyable way to pass an evening.

 

[Edward]

Flicked on the broadcast TV side last night, and browsing the EPG while watching Salvage Hunters (antiques and architectural salvage dealer visits other dealers and buys stuff to sell - surprisingly fascinating!), and discovered the Horror Channel was showing Straw Dogs. Not the Peckinpah original, but a 2011 remake of which I was previously unaware. In many ways it is remarkable faithful to the original, despite switching the action from the Cornish countryside to the rural, Southern USA. The resetting - and the consequent tension between 'rednecks' and LA city boy is well managed, with enough prejudice on both sides that it feels like neither is being condemned or seen as in the right. The narrative is careful to avoid the real controversy of the original film (not so much the violence as the implication that a vicious rape appears to turn consensual), and notably here the final confrontation is motivated by a wholly new plot device - it seems in this version the husband is unaware of his wife's ordeal, and is motivated by defending another character (and the basic idea of justice over lynching) rather than revenge. This draws out more his turn from beta-male to violence, though it does change the narrative feel somewhat from the idea of there being a 'snapping point' for an otherwise 'peaceful' man. An interesting subplot is also the social power in small communities like this of sports, and the implied social authority this gives those in leadership positions thereof. Interesting this was in that film a decade ago, before more recent controversies rooted in this.

Overall, if you're familiar with the original ,this is an interesting point of comparison; while it lacks some of the brutal discomfort of the original, it certainly hasn't sanitised the story to any noticeable degree. Not one for the faint-hearted, there's plenty of recreation of imagery from the original, including the bear trap. Like the original, there's enough content there to make it interesting, rather than simply an exploitation picture.

I was also reminded by the credits they were both based on a novel (to which both bear little resemblance, I am told; I am intrigued to read it now.)

 

[Fading Fast]

The Age of Innocence from 1934 with John Boles, Irene Dunn and Julie Haydon

Oh but for one year. Edith Wharton's wonderful novel of fin-de-siècle New York society pivots on one thing, an extramarital affair. The Motion Picture Production Code, which was only seriously enforced for the first time in 1934, does not believe in extramarital affairs. You see the problem. Had it been filmed in the pre-code year of 1933, problem solved.

In the narrow space of upper-class New York society in the early 1900s, you followed a strict set of rules of conduct to, not only maintain your own position, but that of your family's. Hence, when well-liked and engaged society lawyer John Boles begins an affair with a divorcee, Irene Dunn (points are subtracted from your social standing for even associating with a divorcee), the family tries to circle the wagons by covering up the affair (really, just ignoring its existence) and talking Boles out of it. But you need to be a bit of a movie-code windtalker to even know that an affair is going on as it's never shown and only discussed indirectly.

You can dismiss this story as one of rich people playing a vicious but silly game in their expensive little sandbox, or see it as a metaphor for any group, tribe, clique etc. that creates and then enforces strict rules on its members. Seen as the latter, The Age of Innocence is a parable for everything from high school inner circles to political parties as enforcement against a favored member usually employs both a carrot and a stick as the real goal is not expulsion, but conformity by the offending party and, then, acceptance of the now-contrite individual back into the tribe.

It's effectively a story of individual choice fighting group rules as the individual is faced with suppressing personal desires to remain a member in good standing. So Boles and Dunn have to decide if following their hearts is worth having to leave society and besmirching their families on the way out.

Wharton knew her world well, so the source material is strong and RKO and director Philip Moeller give it their best shot, but you can't have an excommunication story without sin. Hence, while we know, and the 1934 audience knew, what was really going on, it's still a bridge too far to ask viewers to accept that the only thing that matters in this movie - a full-on, knees-knocking-hard affair - can't be shown or even explicitly discussed.

Despite that, and despite feeling more like a stage production than a movie (my kingdom for a soundtrack), Wharton's searing dialogue still provides some verve, while Dune, Boles and Julie Haydon, as the woebegone wife, do yeoman's work in carrying this code-addled production over the finish line.

 

[Harp]

^^^Did it again FF. I have to see this and reread Wharton, always a pleasure. Great review.

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^Did it again FF. I have to see this and reread Wharton, always a pleasure. Great review.

Thank you. If you haven't seen it, I recommend the 1993 "Age of Innocence" with Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder as the much better version. And, for what it's worth, "House of Mirth" is my favorite Wharton novel and "Summer" is tied with "Ethan Frome" as my favorite "novelette" of hers.

 

[Harp]

Thank you. If you haven't seen it, I recommend the 1993 "Age of Innocence" with Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder as the much better version. And, for what it's worth, "House of Mirth" is my favorite Wharton novel and "Summer" is tied with "Ethan Frome" as my favorite "novelette" of hers.

I handed Ethan Frome to a nephew to read, advising Edith Wharton would teach him how to write.
Also gave Frome to a lady at the office who had inquired about Wharton but had never read her.
I missed the D-Day version, thanks. You are writing my movie dance card buddy.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Apartment from 1960 Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray

Jack Lemmon is a young New York City insurance company employee who informally loans his bachelor apartment out to some of the married senior executives to use for their affairs. But since Lemmon's smitten by one of the office building's female elevator operators, Shirley MacLaine, his attention is elsewhere as he's nothing more than amused by his bosses' assignations, even as he begins to benefit from this arrangement as his pandering bosses promote him.

However, when he accidentally discovers that a very senior married executive, Fred MacMurray, is having an affair with MacLaine, which MacMuarray sees as nothing more than a casual side adventure, despite leading MacLaine to believe it's more, Lemmon's indifference is shattered. When MacLaine painful learns the truth of her status in a crushing scene where MacMurray all but hands her cash for their recent roll in the hay, she attempts suicide in Lemmon's apartment only to be rescued and nursed by back to health by Lemmon and his doctor neighbor.

The rest of the movie is Lemmon coming to terms with his part in these "harmless" affairs, MacMurray, as things unravel, viciously trying to keep the affair secret from his wife and MacLaine accepting that she's been played hard while, finally, noticing that Lemmon isn't just a friend.

Having seen this one several times over several decades, what struck me during this viewing was, yes, how frank, even nonchalant, the movie is about extra-marital affairs and, yes, how stone-cold selfish Fred MacMurray's character is (and how frighteningly good MacMurray is at playing him), but even more so, how soul-crushingly sad almost everyone's life in this movie is.

While the men joke about their affairs, there's no real joy in them as the men are bitter, cynical husbands who seem to be going through the motions of having affairs either as a temporary escape or to have something to brag about at work.

And while their "girlfriends" might giggle and put on a show of happiness on the outside, they too seem broken and bitter just below the surface. They're either disappointed that they are "the other woman" or are cynically playing the men for money and gifts while the men are playing them for sex without commitment. No one is really enjoying themselves.

Standing atop all this miserableness is MacMurray who plays the perfect husband and dad at home while lying to everyone, all the time, to keep his two worlds apart. And even though it's easy and right to despise him for his brutal nastiness - he keeps a former aging "girlfriend" on as his secretary to, as she notes, see the younger models come and go - he seems no happier than anyone else - financially successful, yes; happy, no.

In The Apartment, director and co-writer, with I.A.L. Diamond, Billy Wilder serves up an amazing rebuke to all those lighthearted, early 1960s "battle of the sexes" movies - think Rock Hudson and Doris Day in Pillow Talk - where single middle-aged adults don't have sex and marriage is the answer to all problems. In Wilder's much darker world, Shirley MacLaine sums up the disaffection felt by all when Lemmon, noticing that her compact mirror is cracked, asks her if she knows it's broken, responds, "yes, I know, I like it that way, it makes me look the way I feel."

 

[Worf]

The Apartment is one of those rare films that I still wonder how it EVER got made. This one is like a velvet sledgehammer. It lays waste to smug middle class pretensions of corporate America that permeated the times. The sexism, classlessness, treachery, abuse of power, pettiness, man they didn't spare a single bullet, they gave it the whole nine yards... right in the face.

Worf

 

[Touchofevil]

The Sellout on TCM last night. An okay noir. A nice cast of characters who I have seen in so many movies or television shows over the years but whose names I cannot remember.