What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Bushman]

Lat movie was The Invisible Man. The innkeeper's wife's reaction is still unintentionally hilarious, as is the cop's stereotypical "What's all this?"

 

[AmateisGal]

Sealed Cargo with Dana Andrews and Claude Rains. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I can't find the DVD for a decent price!

 

[Zombie_61]

Lat movie was The Invisible Man. The innkeeper's wife's reaction is still unintentionally hilarious, as is the cop's stereotypical "What's all this?"

I'm not so sure it was unintentional; Universal and other studios often cast Una O'Connor (the Innkeeper's wife, Jenny Hall) as the "comic relief" character. Conversely, E.E. Clive (Constable Jaffers) generally played the stereotypical "irritable, British stiff upper lip" characters regardless of whether they were aristocrats or butlers, but may also have been cast in The Invisible Man for comic relief because that kind of overly formal character would be a stark contrast to the working class inhabitants of the village. Regardless, the comic relief seen so early in the movie does help to "ease" the audience into the story.

 

[Fading Fast]

Sealed Cargo with Dana Andrews and Claude Rains. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I can't find the DVD for a decent price!

It's funny how some really good movies can be found on DVD for $5 and others are still priced like it's 1997.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I'm not so sure it was unintentional; Universal and other studios often cast Una O'Connor (the Innkeeper's wife, Jenny Hall) as the "comic relief" character. Conversely, E.E. Clive (Constable Jaffers) generally played the stereotypical "irritable, British stiff upper lip" characters regardless of whether they were aristocrats or butlers, but may also have been cast in The Invisible Man for comic relief because that kind of overly formal character would be a stark contrast to the working class inhabitants of the village. Regardless, the comic relief seen so early in the movie does help to "ease" the audience into the story.

Also remember that The Invisible Man was directed by James Whale, whose style incorporated humor along with thrills and chills. I mean, The Old Dark House and Bride of Frankenstein also have plenty of humor (and Bride includes return appearances by Una O'Connor and E.E. Clive, who were part of the Hollywood "British Colony" along with Whale).

Recommendation: Ian McKellen is wonderful as older, retired has-been James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998).

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Big Sick" 2017

• Another movie on the clash of cultures when young adult children from different backgrounds date and one or the other's family (in this case, the man's Pakistani family) doesn't accept its child's choice to date outside his or her culture

• While treading on done-to-death material owing to our modern culture's obsession with this topic, it handles it lightly and without preaching while bringing some decent humor and sincere emotion - it's what we used to call a good "cable movie" meaning it isn't worth going to the theater to see it, but catch it on cable and you'll enjoy it

• Weird to see Ray Romano in any role other than in his eponymous sitcom, but he did a decent job even if he is always the same character

• (Spoiler alert) While the resolution was a bit too easy, it was still nice to see the son simply say to the family - "nope, I don't accept being excommunicated from the family, so I'm dating who I want and still staying in the family -" I loved when he voted himself back in
  • A bit of a novel approach versus the teeth gnashing that usually ensues - and the father's basic acceptance and mother's face-saving, half acceptance rang true

 

[belfastboy]

Watched "Frantz" on Netflix. A French period piece. A wonderful, beautiful movie. Treating a very very sad subject matter with an understatement that conveyed the sadness yet avoided straying into the maudlin. A gem.

 

[Zombie_61]

Also remember that The Invisible Man was directed by James Whale, whose style incorporated humor along with thrills and chills. I mean, The Old Dark House and Bride of Frankenstein also have plenty of humor (and Bride includes return appearances by Una O'Connor and E.E. Clive, who were part of the Hollywood "British Colony" along with Whale).

James Whale was brilliant at blending the humor and the thrills and chills without making either feel as if they had been inserted with a crowbar. His movies (the few I've seen, anyway) have a nice, natural flow to them, and if he wasn't in the editing room he and film editor Ted Kent must surely have had the same mindset.

Recommendation: Ian McKellen is wonderful as older, retired has-been James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998).

I agree, though I found the movie a bit lacking overall. By the time the credits rolled, I felt I knew Ian McKellen better than I knew James Whale.

 

[MisterCairo]

The Addams Family (1991 - man that's hard to believe) as part of our Hallowe'en cavalcade!

I had never seen the movie all the way through. I got the double feature DVD for our collection.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Love, Honor an Behave" 1938

• At one level, this is just another under-the-code, late '30s movie of the upper-class' mix-match-and-re-match marriage games (clearly, Depression-Era America loved seeing the upper class spend its money)

• But it also a very imperfect but aggressive social debate about the value of teaching children winning / striving to be the best as a principal versus the principal of being a "good sport" and losing with equanimity where how you play the game is more important than winning

• IMHO, the balance is you try to win as hard as you can within the parameters of fair play, but the movie highlights how some who strive to win cross lines of either cheating (clearly wrong) or becoming myopically focussed on winning to the detriment of anything and any one else in their life and, conversely, how some become so absorbed with being a good sport and losing with grace that winning is viewed as all but wrong and losing becomes a badge of honor

• The killer line (done from memory) is when the father who wants his son to play football / study / work with the drive to be the absolute best at all of it tells his wife who is more concerned with the son caring about others, being a good sport, not overly focusing on winning that "you've made a fetish out of a virtue until you've turned it into a vice." KABOOM!

• All of this is wrapped inside a sloppily written story about a couple of marriages unraveling owing to the central issue above and kids growing up as failed or successful adults with either the win or the lose-with-grace value system driving their live's ups and downs

 

[Edward]

"Porky's Double Trouble," a wonderful black-and-white Looney Tune from 1937 directed by the brilliant and gifted Frank Tashlin. This is a perfect little gem of a cartoon, which also manages to succinctly capture every ridiculous cliche of 1930s crime melodrama moviemaking -- the fast cuts, the montage effects, the seedy plot, the hardboiled characters. Even the narrator is bona fide -- he's none other than Charles Frederick Lindsley, who narrates, without a trace of snark, in exactly the same cast-iron style he used on the "Calling All Cars" radio program. Should have won an Oscar that year as best short, but then as now the Academy has absolutely no sense of humor.

I suspect it missed out for all the same reasons as La La Land was feted.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Gemma Bovery" 2014

• A French film - as is French-flim's wont - more about life's inner conflicts and angst (mainly the sexual ones) than any plot-driven story

• Young pretty English woman and her older husband move into a run-down house in a upscale French village where their middle-aged neighbor - a successful baker married to a complaining wife and cynical son - blends a fantasy about "Madame Bovery" (he sees the new neighbor as a modern Madame Bovery) and sexual desire into an obsession about her

• (Spoiler alerts) With this setup, the film follows expectations - the young woman has an affair with a young man in the neighborhood which drive the baker all but nuts while making his wife jealous and more unpleasant while a bunch of awkward neighborhood dinners and contretemps improbably bounce along until all the secrets and subterfuge come spilling out in an improbable climax

• The village is beautiful, the by-the-numbers story pretty well executed and characters engaging enough that it all kinda works, but it is not worth going out of your way to see this one unless this type of material is right in your wheelhouse

 

[2jakes]

The Big Sleep (1946)
A young Dorothy Malone!

 

[M Hatman]

Watched "Dressed to Kill" this morning.

A Michel Shane detective movie....followed by

Which has some fantastic 30's western hats!!
Just finished "Now See me 2"

How is that for acclectic movie watching?
M

 

[Fading Fast]

The Big Sleep (1946)
A young Dorothy Malone!
View attachment 88794

She delivers an incredible performance of passionate sexual verve in a controlled-for-the-code way that might be the best of the entire era. From a bit aloof, to modestly interested, to I'm becoming attracted, to I'm going to fire this up myself, to let go! - Malone, in this scene, through facial expressions, eye contact and body English, conveys more sexual energy and desire than all the gratuitous sex in movies and TV shows today manage.

 

[2jakes]

She delivers an incredible performance of passionate sexual verve in a controlled-for-the-code way that might be the best of the entire era. From a bit aloof, to modestly interested, to I'm becoming attracted, to I'm going to fire this up myself, to let go! - Malone, in this scene, through facial expressions, eye contact and body English, conveys more sexual energy and desire than all the gratuitous sex in movies and TV shows today manage.

I’m a "The Big Sleep” junkie!

I have this 1946 version that TCM shows every now and then.
Also the original 1945 version, plus a documentary on why the changes were made
with scenes to illustrate the differences.
I made a copy to include scenes that were left out into my own version
and added a slight sepia-tone coloring simply because I like it.

Btw: These two versions are still available in DVD format.

 

[Fading Fast]

I’m a "The Big Sleep” junkie!

I have this 1946 version that TCM shows every now and then.
Also the original 1945 version, plus a documentary on why the changes were made
with scenes to illustrate the differences.
I made a copy to include scenes that were left out into my own version
and added a slight sepia-tone coloring simply because I like it.

Btw: This two versions is probably still available in DVD.

I always liked the movie, but for decades never fully embraced it because I could never fully follow it.

Then I read the book and learned the plot, so now I thoroughly enjoy the movie as I can just appreciate its value as a film without being frustrated that I don't know what the heck is going on half the time.

That said, while I really like the movie and love the bookshop scene, I enjoy "The Maltese Falcon" as a movie more.

 

[belfastboy]

I love Netflix as I can pick out an obscure foreign film without any $$ risk. Watched "Land of Mine" the other night. A Danish/German movie that was a wonderfully made, understated and touching movie. Watched it in my PJ's with my own damn popcorn and a beer.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I always liked the movie, but for decades never fully embraced it because I could never fully follow it.

Then I read the book and learned the plot, so now I thoroughly enjoy the movie as I can just appreciate its value as a film without being frustrated that I don't know what the heck is going on half the time.

That said, while I really like the movie and love the bookshop scene, I enjoy "The Maltese Falcon" as a movie more.

Chandler liked his tricky, convoluted plots. His Philip Marlowe stories always seemed more tangled, plot-wise, than Dashiell Hammett's -- at least when we compare Maltese Falcon (the novel, though the Bogart version is very faithful to it) and Big Sleep. A Chandler novel, or even shorter piece, would have something like "Persons A, C, and E are killed, but not all by the same person; B bumped off A, D took out E, but E shot C before he himself was offed."

(Hey, not a bad outline for a story --!)

 

[Fading Fast]

Chandler liked his tricky, convoluted plots. His Philip Marlowe stories always seemed more tangled, plot-wise, than Dashiell Hammett's -- at least when we compare Maltese Falcon (the novel, though the Bogart version is very faithful to it) and Big Sleep. A Chandler novel, or even shorter piece, would have something like "Persons A, C, and E are killed, but not all by the same person; B bumped off A, D took out E, but E shot C before he himself was offed."

(Hey, not a bad outline for a story --!)

In the same genre, I just started "Double Indemnity" by James M. Cain. Based on Mildred Pierce, which I read last year, and the Stanwyck / MacMurray movie, I'm optimistic this is going to be a good read. I'm really excited to see the book version of the Keyes character.