What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

Our feature this week is "Encounters At The End of the World," Werner Herzog's documentary look at life at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Too much bloviation from Herzog in the narration, not enough penguins.

 

[Starius]

Last night I continued my Dario Argento kick (As I'm sure you are aware, he is the Hitchcock of Italian supernatural horror) with 1975's Deep Red.
To my personal surprise and enjoyment, there are several scenes in a old art nouveau style home. (I'm a sucker for art nouveau architecture.)

Tonight though, after work, I think I will change gears a bit (but staying with Italy) and watch Federico Fellini's 1965 film Giulietta degli spiriti aka Juliet of the Spirits.

 

[Lady Day]

Hancock

There were parts of this move that I really really liked, but it was just muddied by all the silly plot devices they crammed into this movie. That frustrates me, because I see parts that could have been explored expanding the genera into new ground.

Wanna make a movie about an alcoholic superhero redeeming himself, great, make a movie about that.

You wanna have a story about a super human 'being' who has lost his memory and is trying to find out who he is, overcome his vices for his sadness at how lost he is, and what his limits are? Great, make a movie about that.

You wanna make a movie about how this man is drawn to this do good PR guy and his 'wife' and what all their connections are? Super.

But cramming all three of these concepts into one movie with tons of crumbling buildings and exploding cars, is just a big noise fest.

Hancock says some profound lines in the movie, "You left me thinking I was the only one of my kind." DUDE, thats awesome!! But they dont do anything with that! That is what makes it frustrating.

I hated how the 'wife' was the only one with any info as to Hancock's past. Youre telling me in all the thousands of years, and numbers of 'them' that have been on the Earth that there is no society, scientist, or scholar looking to chat with Hancock on the streets of LA? And then she is mad at him! SHE left HIM!!!

Come on!

And on a couple of side notes, if he lost his memory 80 years ago (1920s Miami) I dont think he and his 'wife' would be able to go out in public anywhere together. Honestly, they should have done a bit of compensation for that because Smith played Hancock.

Also the 'revenge' bomber and the prison guys were just sad, and should have been left out all together as a revenge aspect.

And I HATED the hand held 'reality tv show' look they gave the movie!!!

It seemed really cut down and I hope there is an extended cut that would address some of the questions I have.

Its clearly been set up as a part 1, but if they do make more I really hope they focus on the characters and their relationships and the action a secondary.

Yeah right.


LD

 

[Brinybay]

A Fine Madness (1966, Sean Connery)

Only one star for this horrible movie. I would have given it an extra 1/2 star for the glimpse of the vintage fashions and artifacts of the 60s, but the rating sytem in Netflix only does whole stars, and it doesn't rate any more than one.

But other than that, I thought this movie stunk. If you liked the never-ending fighting and rancor of War of the Roses, you'll like this too. Sean's character is not funny, he's not even likeable, he's a total jerk and a big loser. Like in WOR, you keep waiting for it to turn a corner and start being funny and the main characters to start having some likeability, but it never does. Come to think of it, I wonder if Sean's character's last name (Shillitoe, sounds like Shi*hole) was a deliberate play on words? Awful, just really, really, awful.

 

[A.R. McVintage]

Charlie Wilson's War. Um, wow. This country...

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters), it won the Oscar for best foreign film 2008.

I love this film, I am normally not into warmovies, but this displayed a little world within a KZ camp so well. I won't reveal too much, but this is GOOD!!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813547/

Oooh!! This is third in the Netflix queue. Can't wait...

 

[Bugsy]

Coma. Still has it's moments and it's already 30 years old.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Right now I'm watching Kim Novak in Legend of Lylah Clare, which I've never seen before. But a couple nights ago I watched Lonely Hearts - John Travolta, Selma Hyak & Jared Leto about the detective trying to track down a pair of serial murders in the 1950's, and it's based on a true story. The hats and clothes were really something, compared to most movies these days that try to go for a vintage look. I'm sure others have mentioned it here on FL - just couldn't find it.

 

[Brinybay]

Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life

A one-man play that was filmed. Not a screen adaptation, but literally a play that was filmed. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, as long as you understand that's what it is, not a docu-drama as I thought it would be.

Interesting story-telling, beginning with his childhood and how he got his childhood nick-name (Elegant Mess).

The down side - I got a little annoyed because every other scene he was either taking off his hat and coat or putting them on. But I guess they had to have him doing something other than just sit there and narrate.

I thought the part about him being a "revenuer" hunting down hillbilly stills in the backwoods following the end of Prohibition was fascinating, particularly since he said he was more afraid of those good-ol-boys and their squirrel guns than he was any mobster's tommy-gun.

3 stars for the biography and history.

 

[Darhling]

Oooh!! This is third in the Netflix queue. Can't wait...

Have you seen 'its a beautiful life' ? That's an amazing film!

 

[Starius]

Well, last night I watched "Giulietta degli spiriti" and it was a fantastic film.

Giulietta has a eclectic group of friends, a family that over shadows her in excitement and beauty, a husband whom she soon realizes is having an affair with another woman, and becomes haunted by visions of the past that has defined who she is.

The course of the film is pretty much a quest for Giulietta, to redefine who she is to herself and to find emotional emancipation and liberation.

The cinematography and colors of this film are absolutely beautiful.

And if you're not impressed by that, if you're a fan of hats that can double as lamp shades, then this is also the film for you!

As a side note, the latest B-52's album has a song about this movie.

 

[sixsexsix]

I saw Step-Brothers in the theater on Tuesday, and yesterday I watched The Maltese Falcon on TCM. Two great movies

 

[Bugsy]

War Games.

 

[freebird]

All Through The Night with Bogie and Peter Lorre

 

[A.R. McVintage]

The Counterfeiters. A very moving and extremely interesting look at the Nazi counterfeiting operation going on during the war.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I just watched "The Petrified Forest". Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis. Bogarts "breakout" film from '36. Absolutely fantastic.
A big bonus for me was while I was viewing this DVD my dad called, I told him I was watching this film and he said, "that was one of your grandmothers favorite movies!". I enjoyed the rest of the film all the more.

 

[Bugsy]

Mrs. Miniver. What a cast!!!!!!!!!

 

[dollydaydream]

I watched L'appartement last night.

It got half way through & then the DVD started acting up. Turns out Love Film DVDs don't always come scratch free [huh]

What I saw was very good though lol

 

[WH1]

I also watched Mrs Miniver, good movie, then the followup from 1950, The Miniver Story. While not even close to the standard of the first, an interesting movie. It was fairly good in its take on the adjustment people and relationships go through following a long wartime deployment although not as good as "The Best Years of Our Lives", (I always get chills watching the scene in the plane boneyard).
Interesting to note that Richard Ney, who played Vin Miniver the eldest son in Mrs Miniver, married/divorced Greer Garson(11 years his senior) in the period between movies (8 years) was not only not in the second picture, his character apparently never existed in the timeline. Apparently he was such an outcast in hollywood after divorcing Garson they wouldn't even deign to kill his character off.

 

[Edward]

I've never seen Mrs Miniver, but I do recall some trivia.... I read that Greer Garson, who won the Oscar for her role in that film, still holds the record for the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history when accepting that award - two hours and fifteen minutes, according to the article I read(!).