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What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

Doctor Strange

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Hudson Valley, NY
A couple of more via Amazon Prime:

Mr. Holmes - Ian McKellen as the very old, long-retired Sherlock Holmes in 1947, struggling to recall the details of the case that pushed him to retire back in the twenties. McKellen is, of course, excellent, particularly in the flashbacks to the final case, where he's a slightly older than usually portrayed, but still sharp, consulting detective.

Casting joke: at one point Holmes watches himself portrayed flamboyantly in the movies a la Basil Rathbone... played by Nicholas Rowe, who'd starred as the teenage Holmes back in the eighties flick Young Sherlock Holmes.

Love & Friendship - Whit Stillman's adaptation of an unpublished Jane Austen story about an imperious, calculating widow. I found this a mixed bag, not in the same league as the best Austen film adaptations. It's an opulent production, and it's a pleasure to see Kate Beckinsale back in her scheming Cold Comfort Farm mode rather than as an action film star, but alas, it's just a pleasant trifle. I also thought it leaned much too hard on its baroque/classical soundtrack selections to provide drama, with a pretentious new music cue at every scene change.

At least Stillman tried something different this time, instead of his usual privileged, hyper-verbal characters talking endlessly in recent-past or current settings. (Privileged, hyper-verbal characters talking endlessly in the 1790s!)
 
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12,734
Location
Northern California
Last night: Mo' Better Blues
Great cast: Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel Jackson, Rubén Blades, and Nick Turturro
Entertaining

Currently on TCM: Scarlet Street
TCM's Sunday morning noir viewing.
Edward G. Robinson
It's okay.
:D
 
Messages
12,734
Location
Northern California
They were definitely trying to recapture the vibe of "The Woman in the Window" with "Scarlett Street." Robinson, IMHO, is what carries both of those movies.
Easily, he does. The rest of the cast (Scarlet Street) is somewhat forgettable next to him. He is entertaining in most of what I have seen him in. Still, it was a fine enough watch with a cup of coffee on a early Sunday morning. :D
 
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17,190
Location
New York City
Originally I incorrectly posted this in the "What Was The Last TV Show You Watched" thread:

Halfway through 1958's "The Goddess."

I'm struggling to stay interested in this one as the pacing is plodding, the atmosphere depressing and I'm disliking the lead more and more.

"Downer" movies can be quite engaging - "Leaving Las Vegas," "The Lost Weekend" and "The Country Girl" are all outstanding movies. But a "heavy" depressing movie, like those, has to offer something in return - outstanding acting, a gripping story that connects you to the actors, a portrayal of life's pathologies that feels very real / visceral.

A "downer" movie is asking something of you - stay with us for this depressing few hours, so it has to offer something in return; so far, "The Goddess" is delivering the depressing, it just hasn't yet offered up the something in return.
 

Worf

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5,206
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Troy, New York, USA
Yesterday must've been Virginia Mayo's birthday. They had 4 "Oaters" on TCM yesterday afternoon and she was the female lead in all of em. I watched "Fort Dobbs" with Clint Walker and Brian Keith. A slightly above average western that was all but over shadowed whenever Walker took off his shirt! Man whatta specimen! For the life of me I can't understand why he wasn't a BIGGER star? Never believed John Wayne could kick my ass in a fair fight but Walker? Sheeya... Call me yella!

Worf

PS: And get this.. he's still ALIVE!!!!!
 
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17,190
Location
New York City
I know (think I remember) that we had a Wonder Woman thread for the upcoming movie, but I couldn't find it, so anywho - just caught this trailer today:

http://wonderwomanfilm.com

Other than the Chris Nolan "Batman" trilogy, I don't watch too many of these Super Hero movies and certainly can't converse with all of you who know the origin stories, movie histories, etc., of these characters, but being a kid in the '70s made me a Wonder Woman fan for life.

Also, knowing that trailers can contain every good line, shot and visual in a movie, I try to keep my enthusiasm in check, but this one does look like a lot of fun. And neat to see Captain Kirk 2.0, I mean Chris Pine in it, as well as, Robin Wright who, other than our culture's youth-bias, looks like she could have played Wonder Woman herself. At minimum, I know I'm scared as heck of Wright and that's from "House of Cards" where she doesn't even have all the super hero skills and toys.

The serious-story-drama-action-comedy chemistry seems to be well balanced - but again, trailers can be deceiving.

Pumping and edgy "I'm willing to fight for Good vs. Evil" music, neat vintage clothes and the scene where she blocks the bullet heading toward Trevor was well done. I hope the actual movie is not a stinker.
 
Last edited:
Messages
17,190
Location
New York City
"Our Betters" A Constance Bennett pre-code
  • If you ever want to see what a British play (in this case, by Somerset Maugham) looks like converted to a movie that uses only sets and has no - really no - action that couldn't be done on a live stage - this is a great example
  • Basically, wealthy American Heiress - who married an impecunious but titled British Aristocrat - becomes a famous but acceptably scandalous hostess for the rich, titled and naughty of England's upper class and its hangers-on
  • The scorecard of who's zooming who, who cares about who's zooming who and who kinda gets hurt from all the illicit zooming looks like the diagram of the flight patterns of several gnats held in a small jar
  • While a bit too talky and stagey overall - and you'll want to smack the cigarette out of Bennett's hand as she holds it so pretentiously - it's entertaining enough as a story, but more entertaining as a time capsule
    • The attire is Ralph Lauren before there was Ralph Lauren - his design team has watched or should watch this movie for inspiration. In particular, the scene of "casual" attire after the game of lawn tennis looked like a modern-day Ralph Lauren ad
  • Based on the ridiculous number of movies made - and their box-office success - on the foibles, immorality and sexual escapades of the super wealthy during the Depression, one assumes the revolution never came because Americans didn't want to tear the rich down, they wanted to become them (or some college thesis film course claptrap like that)
 
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Doctor Strange

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,245
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
I know (think I remember) that we had a Wonder Woman thread for the upcoming movie, but I couldn't find it, so anywho - just caught this trailer today:

http://wonderwomanfilm.com

Other than the Chris Nolan "Batman" trilogy, I don't watch too many of these Super Hero movies and certainly can't converse with all of you who know the origin stories, movie histories, etc., of these characters, but being a kid in the '70s made me a Wonder Woman fan for life.

Also, knowing that trailers can contain every good line, shot and visual in a movie, I try to keep my enthusiasm in check, but this one does look like a lot of fun. And neat to see Captain Kirk 2.0, I mean Chris Pine in it, as well as, Robin Wright who, other than our culture's youth-bias, looks like she could have played Wonder Woman herself. At minimum, I know I'm scared as heck of Wright and that's from "House of Cards" where she doesn't even have all the super hero skills and toys.

The serious-story-drama-action-comedy chemistry seems to be well balanced - but again, trailers can be deceiving.

Pumping and edgy "I'm willing to fight for Good vs. Evil" music, neat vintage clothes and the scene where she blocks the bullet heading toward Trevor was well done. I hope the actual movie is not a stinker.

It's awfully hard for me to have any enthusiasm for the coming DC films, with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Dreck having been such an utter, godawful mess. Gal Godot's Wonder Woman was the best thing in it, but that's not saying much. I will probably be waiting for cable for this and all the forthcoming DC films, whereas I'm there the first weekend for the Marvel films. And mind you, I love the DC characters just as much, but they're being badly mishandled.

In the same way that Batman: The Animated Series will always be my favorite adaptation of Batman, I suspect that its sequel Justice League series will remain the far-more-worthwhile (and sadly, far more intelligent!) adaptation of the major DC characters. The Warners live-action films sure look like they're gonna continue to stink up the place!
 

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,126
Location
Nebraska
Yesterday must've been Virginia Mayo's birthday. They had 4 "Oaters" on TCM yesterday afternoon and she was the female lead in all of em. I watched "Fort Dobbs" with Clint Walker and Brian Keith. A slightly above average western that was all but over shadowed whenever Walker took off his shirt! Man whatta specimen! For the life of me I can't understand why he wasn't a BIGGER star? Never believed John Wayne could kick my ass in a fair fight but Walker? Sheeya... Call me yella!

Worf

PS: And get this.. he's still ALIVE!!!!!

I was watching those movies, too! Clint Walker...*swoon*!
 

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,126
Location
Nebraska
It's awfully hard for me to have any enthusiasm for the coming DC films, with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Dreck having been such an utter, godawful mess. Gal Godot's Wonder Woman was the best thing in it, but that's not saying much. I will probably be waiting for cable for this and all the forthcoming DC films, whereas I'm there the first weekend for the Marvel films. And mind you, I love the DC characters just as much, but they're being badly mishandled.

In the same way that Batman: The Animated Series will always be my favorite adaptation of Batman, I suspect that its sequel Justice League series will remain the far-more-worthwhile (and sadly, far more intelligent!) adaptation of the major DC characters. The Warners live-action films sure look like they're gonna continue to stink up the place!

DC is sadly far, far behind in the Superhero universe as Marvel continues to whoop their behind. The new trailer for Thor 3: Ragnarok is Disney and Marvel's most watched trailer EVER. And boy, was it good. So, so good. Cate Blanchett looks scary cool.

In contrast, when I watched the trailer for Justice League, I felt...nothing. Just sort of meh.

BUT, I will say that the trailer for Wonder Woman looks fantastic. That is probably the only DC movie I will watch. IMO, they screwed up big time when they cast Ben Affleck as Batman. Christian Bale pretty much owns that role now, and Ben Affleck simply cannot compare.
 
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Northern California
Clint Walker trivia
From Wikipedia:
In May 1971, Walker narrowly escaped death in a skiing accident at Mammoth Mountain, California. In a fall from a ski lift, Walker was pierced through the heart with a ski pole. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. However, a doctor detected faint signs of life and rushed Walker to surgery, where his damaged heart was repaired. Within two months, Walker was working again.

:D
 

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