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It's style over substance, but darn good style and fifty times better than the TV movie remake a few years back.
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What Was The Last Movie You Watched?
- Thread starter Amy Jeanne
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It's style over substance, but darn good style and fifty times better than the TV movie remake a few years back.
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Gone are the Days (2018) currently on Netflix. Our own @RBH mentioned this movie in the Hats on TV thread, so I thought I'd give it a look. Lance Henriksen stars as aged and dying western outlaw Taylon Flynn, who decides to rob one last bank. Co-starring Meg Steedle as his "she doesn't know she's his" daughter Heidi, Billy Lush as his "cohort/crime partner" Virgil, Tom Berenger as "legendary Texas Ranger reduced to local sheriff" Will McMullen, Steve Railsback as "boss of the dying town where the bank is located" Jaden, and an extended cameo by Danny Trejo as the mysterious "River Man", except for some of the language used Gone are the Days plays very much like a low-budget TV movie. It's a relatively familiar story with a few predictable twists, and pacing as slow as molasses in winter. But Lance Henriksen's performance is what made this worth watching for me--completely convincing as a cantankerous older man who is a mere shadow of what he was in his younger days.
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Julian Shellhammer
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Stretching back a few days,
Isle of Dogs (dvd). Weird, but a few parts are funny.
Murder on the Orient Express (dvd), the new one starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Have not read the book, nor seen the 1974 film, except for a slender sliver of it on tv. Knew the twist. The Missus said it was sort of a downer. Agreed.
In the Heat of the Night, off of TCM. Missus had never seen it, I'd seen several times over the years, so I kept calling out "Here it comes! Keep watching!" for the really good parts. An exceptional movie~
Isle of Dogs (dvd). Weird, but a few parts are funny.
Murder on the Orient Express (dvd), the new one starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Have not read the book, nor seen the 1974 film, except for a slender sliver of it on tv. Knew the twist. The Missus said it was sort of a downer. Agreed.
In the Heat of the Night, off of TCM. Missus had never seen it, I'd seen several times over the years, so I kept calling out "Here it comes! Keep watching!" for the really good parts. An exceptional movie~
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A strange Netflix offering..."Land of the Enlightened". A weird mix of documentary and drama where I was not sure where the line between the two was drawn. Incredible cinematography of the Afghan landscape shot in 16mm. Well worth a watch for a glimpse into Afghan tribal life amongst the detritus of the many wars in their land.
Benjamin Hall
New in Town
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As a huge Esther Williams fan, I just rewached Easy to Love. Those huge choreographed sequences are just spectacular. I also came across some great "backstage" clips:
Just shows how much work went into those aquamusicals.
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Watch on the Rhine, 1943 - sure it's a propaganda film, but Paul Lukas, Lucille Watson (who can do upper-class woman with grit and integrity better than anyone) and Bette Davis imbue even its cringe-worthy lines with so much integrity you just go along for the ride.
My Favorite Wife, 1940 - a movie probably only made because of, and completely destroyed by, the code. It has a somewhat interesting premise - a wife presumed dead after missing at sea for seven years who returns to find her husband just remarried, while he learns that his wife spent those seven years on a deserted island with a handsome man. Okay, forced, but it has possibilities; however, the movie is so worried about who might have slept with whom without a marriage license (I'd think my girlfriend an idiot for, somewhere along the way - and sooner rather than later - not sleeping with the guy, come on) that the interesting premise is beaten down to a screwball comedy plot that - other than Grant and Dunn's obvious chemistry and snappy exchanges - quickly becomes boring.
Lady in the Lake, 1946 - directed by and staring Robert Montgomery. He films most of the movie form his view as the star - detective Phillip Marlowe - so that, in theory, you experience the investigation he's conducting as he does. It's an interesting gimmick, but it doesn't work as it feels off (you never really adjust) and you miss not seeing the star. Otherwise, it's a by-the-numbers mystery that's entertaining enough, but nothing special. It is an example, though, of a topic we discuss in another thread - when the star chooses the wrong woman. In this case, it's not so much that there's an alternative (although, I'd want to explore the possibility of the blonde secretary* who keeps hinting), but that the woman he chose was such a horrible word-that-rhymes-with-witch.
* Played by Lila Leeds - a freakin' perfect film-star name that came about from her real name Lila Lee Wilkenson. Also, she was "the girl" who was arrested when Mitchum got busted for smoking pot. Her career never recovered the way his did, which is why most of us probably remember he was arrested along with "a girl" whose name we don't remember.
My Favorite Wife, 1940 - a movie probably only made because of, and completely destroyed by, the code. It has a somewhat interesting premise - a wife presumed dead after missing at sea for seven years who returns to find her husband just remarried, while he learns that his wife spent those seven years on a deserted island with a handsome man. Okay, forced, but it has possibilities; however, the movie is so worried about who might have slept with whom without a marriage license (I'd think my girlfriend an idiot for, somewhere along the way - and sooner rather than later - not sleeping with the guy, come on) that the interesting premise is beaten down to a screwball comedy plot that - other than Grant and Dunn's obvious chemistry and snappy exchanges - quickly becomes boring.
Lady in the Lake, 1946 - directed by and staring Robert Montgomery. He films most of the movie form his view as the star - detective Phillip Marlowe - so that, in theory, you experience the investigation he's conducting as he does. It's an interesting gimmick, but it doesn't work as it feels off (you never really adjust) and you miss not seeing the star. Otherwise, it's a by-the-numbers mystery that's entertaining enough, but nothing special. It is an example, though, of a topic we discuss in another thread - when the star chooses the wrong woman. In this case, it's not so much that there's an alternative (although, I'd want to explore the possibility of the blonde secretary* who keeps hinting), but that the woman he chose was such a horrible word-that-rhymes-with-witch.
* Played by Lila Leeds - a freakin' perfect film-star name that came about from her real name Lila Lee Wilkenson. Also, she was "the girl" who was arrested when Mitchum got busted for smoking pot. Her career never recovered the way his did, which is why most of us probably remember he was arrested along with "a girl" whose name we don't remember.
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LizzieMaine
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"Mickey's Nightmare," a 1932 Mickey Mouse cartoon short directed by Burt Gillet.
Being the bland corporate themepark figurehead that he is today, most people don't expect much when the Mouse's early shorts turn up -- and the vinegary edge of many of these films takes them by surprise. The title might lead you to expect some sort of supernatural hijinks, but instead this cartoon offers a blisteringly cynical view of romantic love and marriage not unlike that commonly seen in the realm of two-reel live-action comedies and in newspaper comic strips. The vision is of marriage as a prison, a grim sentence to be avoided by any means necessary, with Mickey a poor sap blinded by his love for Minnie until he is confronted by a nightmare of his ultimate fate as the parent of a brood of screaming, uncontrollable brats. Frank Tashlin would have even more to say about this trope five years later in the brilliant "Porky's Romance," but it's still a vigorous look into the persecution complex of the American male during the Depression era.
Like most prints circulating these days, the one I saw has reconstructed opening titles, which delete the disturbing features of the originals. Imagine sitting in a theatre in 1932 and seeing *this* coming at you twenty feet high:
Being the bland corporate themepark figurehead that he is today, most people don't expect much when the Mouse's early shorts turn up -- and the vinegary edge of many of these films takes them by surprise. The title might lead you to expect some sort of supernatural hijinks, but instead this cartoon offers a blisteringly cynical view of romantic love and marriage not unlike that commonly seen in the realm of two-reel live-action comedies and in newspaper comic strips. The vision is of marriage as a prison, a grim sentence to be avoided by any means necessary, with Mickey a poor sap blinded by his love for Minnie until he is confronted by a nightmare of his ultimate fate as the parent of a brood of screaming, uncontrollable brats. Frank Tashlin would have even more to say about this trope five years later in the brilliant "Porky's Romance," but it's still a vigorous look into the persecution complex of the American male during the Depression era.
Like most prints circulating these days, the one I saw has reconstructed opening titles, which delete the disturbing features of the originals. Imagine sitting in a theatre in 1932 and seeing *this* coming at you twenty feet high:
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This brings to mind another popular cartoon character from the same era: Felix the Cat. If you've only seen the television cartoons produced by Famous/Paramount Cartoon Studios, you don't know the real Felix.
Julian Shellhammer
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Vera Cruz, again, for the gazillionith time. It's been on my dvr for almost two years. I call it up every so often. Coop is Coop and Lancaster is a force of nature.
First Man was just released here, so I went to see it last night.
I was deeply impressed by how they put the sense of danger back into the whole test pilot/astronaut depictions. It's something that seems to have been lost with all the 'right stuff' hung-ho popular memory of the era. Yes, NASA had rooms full of eggheads and boffins who knew how to do all this stuff on paper, but First Man really took the gloss off it and made me realize afresh how very dangerous the whole thing was, and just how awesome those astronauts had to have been as professional pilots.
Also (and I've never read it, but it seems the film is faithful to a solid Armstrong biography), I never realized the grief Armstrong was going through. Gosling deserves an Oscar for that. I had always thought that Armstrong had (like fighter pilot Robert Lodge) the 'personality of a chartered accountant' and that's why he looked like he lacked animation about his moon landing in every photo and interview, but the truth seems to have been that he was just very sad. At times in the movie I wondered if he had a death wish, but by the end I realized it was grief. Maybe because of the era, or just him, but he didn't seem he could talk about his grief the way people have the opportunity to today. I have new found respect for the man.
We haven't been to the moon since 72, and I think people have forgotten how difficult, dangerous and amazing it was that we (more precisely, they) did it, and it's kind of taken for granted or even dismissed with conspiracy theories. I'm glad this film was made.
I was deeply impressed by how they put the sense of danger back into the whole test pilot/astronaut depictions. It's something that seems to have been lost with all the 'right stuff' hung-ho popular memory of the era. Yes, NASA had rooms full of eggheads and boffins who knew how to do all this stuff on paper, but First Man really took the gloss off it and made me realize afresh how very dangerous the whole thing was, and just how awesome those astronauts had to have been as professional pilots.
Also (and I've never read it, but it seems the film is faithful to a solid Armstrong biography), I never realized the grief Armstrong was going through. Gosling deserves an Oscar for that. I had always thought that Armstrong had (like fighter pilot Robert Lodge) the 'personality of a chartered accountant' and that's why he looked like he lacked animation about his moon landing in every photo and interview, but the truth seems to have been that he was just very sad. At times in the movie I wondered if he had a death wish, but by the end I realized it was grief. Maybe because of the era, or just him, but he didn't seem he could talk about his grief the way people have the opportunity to today. I have new found respect for the man.
We haven't been to the moon since 72, and I think people have forgotten how difficult, dangerous and amazing it was that we (more precisely, they) did it, and it's kind of taken for granted or even dismissed with conspiracy theories. I'm glad this film was made.
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As much as I have wanted to, I have not been able to make it through Murder on the Orient Express. It is just too blah for me.
In the Heat of the Night on the other hand is a great movie. I have watched it many times and always am entertained. Great acting and a great story; worth a viewing for anyone who has yet to see it.
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Now, Voyager 1942 with Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Gladys Cooper
It's been a long time since I last saw this movie and was struck by two things - how insanely good the acting in it is and how insanely melodramatic the story is. The stars imbue such integrity, passion and sincere emotion in it, that it works impressively well, but the story has so many self-sacrifices, abrupt personality changes and forced coincidences that you just have to go with it and enjoy the acting. And it's beautifully filmed with wonderful clothes, cars, houses, cruises and other details that serve, today, as outstanding time travel.
Morning Glory 1933 with Katherine Hepburn Adolphe Menjou and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Another one I hadn't seen in a long time. I remembered it being similar to "Stage Door" but, while it does have some elements of that (young wanna-be actress trying to get a start on Broadway), the difference in this one is that Hepburn's character is sincerely insane. Sure, she functions, but just barely in her world of dreams and fantasies and only survives as those around her are surprisingly kind. It's also an early talkie with an emphasis on talking. Fortunately, the dialogue is darn good and engaging, resulting in it feeling more modern than its date. Lastly, it's an early example of Hollywood / Broadway making a good inside-view movie of itself. There's even a faint pre-echo of "All About Eve."
It's been a long time since I last saw this movie and was struck by two things - how insanely good the acting in it is and how insanely melodramatic the story is. The stars imbue such integrity, passion and sincere emotion in it, that it works impressively well, but the story has so many self-sacrifices, abrupt personality changes and forced coincidences that you just have to go with it and enjoy the acting. And it's beautifully filmed with wonderful clothes, cars, houses, cruises and other details that serve, today, as outstanding time travel.
Morning Glory 1933 with Katherine Hepburn Adolphe Menjou and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Another one I hadn't seen in a long time. I remembered it being similar to "Stage Door" but, while it does have some elements of that (young wanna-be actress trying to get a start on Broadway), the difference in this one is that Hepburn's character is sincerely insane. Sure, she functions, but just barely in her world of dreams and fantasies and only survives as those around her are surprisingly kind. It's also an early talkie with an emphasis on talking. Fortunately, the dialogue is darn good and engaging, resulting in it feeling more modern than its date. Lastly, it's an early example of Hollywood / Broadway making a good inside-view movie of itself. There's even a faint pre-echo of "All About Eve."
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Edward
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According to everything I read, Armstrong became something of a recluse after he returned to earth as he didn't care for celebrity, though his private tragedy I'm sure had a lot to do with it. I remember it being commonly claimed in a series of tracts I saw when I was a kid in the early 80s that Armstrong found God on the moon, but I don't know how true that is.
@Edward, yeah, I remember reading/hearing similar things when I was a kid. If astronauts found God on the moon, then that's fine and their business, but given their profile, I'd have expected them to evangelize a bit more.
Armstrong always seemed conspicuous by his absence, kind of aloof. So it makes some kind of sense that this was more about grief for him.
He did have unscripted/unscheduled time on the moon where he did 'jog' over to the edge of a crater and paused a while. What he did there, if there was a bracelet, we'll never know, but as a historical figure, the grief the film portrays him as having makes him much more understandable in retrospect.
Armstrong always seemed conspicuous by his absence, kind of aloof. So it makes some kind of sense that this was more about grief for him.
He did have unscripted/unscheduled time on the moon where he did 'jog' over to the edge of a crater and paused a while. What he did there, if there was a bracelet, we'll never know, but as a historical figure, the grief the film portrays him as having makes him much more understandable in retrospect.
Edward
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It's definitely on my hitlist to see: hoping it'll be on the plane when I'm next off to Beijing in April...
@Edward, I hope it is available on your flight, and I hope you can enjoy it (I think you may). I admit, it's not for everyone; my wife was expecting something more like The Right Stuff, and was disappointed that it didn't have more 'obvious' glamor, golden hour scenes, upbeat soundtrack and Top Gun style 'hell yeah, America!' attitude about it. It feels like a much more personal movie, but I think that in the same way that The Right Stuff really gave Chuck Yeager the popular recognition he deserved, this movie will inform people about Armstrong and dispel his aloofness. I think he deserves that at least.
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The Best Man from 1964 with Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson and Lee Tracy (plus a bunch of other really talented actors you'll recognize).
In the early '60s, several good B&W political thrillers were made that reveal the inner workings of the dirty world of politics while having an almost documentary feel - think "Advise and Consent" or "Seven Days in May." For some reason, this equally good one, never hit my radar and seems to get less attention in general.
Maybe it's because it doesn't deal with an immediate crisis; instead, it focuses on the behind-the-scenes and very ugly machinations and deal-making at one Party's political convention to select its presidential nominee. The politics seem a bit blended as this Party somehow has the ideological room for a progressive liberal (Fonda) and a self-aggrandizing communist hunter (Robertson). This being Hollywood, one is give the halo treatment, while the other is presented as devil like, but even so, the characters are well developed, the dialogue powerful and the tension continuously builds to the final vote.
For fans of '30s movies, Lee Tracy - one of that older era's regular young "sharp" guys - pops up as a former president and elder statesman of the Party and gives a much-deserved Oscar-nominated performance. He smacks down both the pie-in-the-sky idealism of the progressive candidate and the ugly bare-knuckles approach of the "commie hunter." He's a man who has fought to the top, made compromises, survived and argues that balance beats extremes. Agree or disagree, Tracy delivers the view with passion and conviction.
Throw in all the '60s technology (at the convention, walkie-talkies the size of bricks are the must-have item), architecture, clothes and cars and the time travel is fantastic. If the style of the movie - '60s political "thriller -" works for you, this one is a must see the next time it pops up.
In the early '60s, several good B&W political thrillers were made that reveal the inner workings of the dirty world of politics while having an almost documentary feel - think "Advise and Consent" or "Seven Days in May." For some reason, this equally good one, never hit my radar and seems to get less attention in general.
Maybe it's because it doesn't deal with an immediate crisis; instead, it focuses on the behind-the-scenes and very ugly machinations and deal-making at one Party's political convention to select its presidential nominee. The politics seem a bit blended as this Party somehow has the ideological room for a progressive liberal (Fonda) and a self-aggrandizing communist hunter (Robertson). This being Hollywood, one is give the halo treatment, while the other is presented as devil like, but even so, the characters are well developed, the dialogue powerful and the tension continuously builds to the final vote.
For fans of '30s movies, Lee Tracy - one of that older era's regular young "sharp" guys - pops up as a former president and elder statesman of the Party and gives a much-deserved Oscar-nominated performance. He smacks down both the pie-in-the-sky idealism of the progressive candidate and the ugly bare-knuckles approach of the "commie hunter." He's a man who has fought to the top, made compromises, survived and argues that balance beats extremes. Agree or disagree, Tracy delivers the view with passion and conviction.
Throw in all the '60s technology (at the convention, walkie-talkies the size of bricks are the must-have item), architecture, clothes and cars and the time travel is fantastic. If the style of the movie - '60s political "thriller -" works for you, this one is a must see the next time it pops up.
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"Wait Until Dark" on TCM. I had wanted to see this pic for a while now. Hepburn, Alan Arkin in a dramatic role etc. WOW, what a bad movie. Plodding plot, plot holes to drive truck through and terrible performances. Especially Hepburn with an Oscar nomination to boot. Arkin was laughably creepy instead of scarily sinister.
Amy Jeanne
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Damn I started this thread 12 years ago
Lean'n'mean
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' Identify' (2016) (A.K.A. Kill Comand) ....a fine of example of how low-budget does not necessarily mean low quality. The story is hardly original but has good acting, excellent special effects & C.G.I. & sufficient tension to keep you watching. All in all, a solid sci-fi flick, typical of the genre but holds a few surprises, is well made & entertaining.
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