trabuquera
Modesty Bag
^ nope - I'll look out for it though, cheers OU.
What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)
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Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
You might have to access it naughtily:
Pamfir - movie: where to watch streaming online
Pamfir - movie: where to watch streaming online
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
The last few days I have been catching up with some things mentioned in Quentin Tarantino's Cinema Speculation book.
The Verdict - a 1946 Don Siegel with Peter Lorre & Sydney Greenstreet. It's a Victorian melodrama filmed in a noir style. Some excellent shots, delicious interplay between PL&SG and a fairly smart (though also pretty dumb) ending. Very good if you like that kind of thing (Siegel thought it was crap).
Malibu High - a disaffected 'teen' gets her revenge on....stuff, by seducing all hr male tutors, becoming a hooker and then an assassin. Ultra low budget exploitation classic that is both exactly as cheap and cheesy as it sounds and way better than it should be just by the sheer commitment everyone seemingly has to the project.
Followed by Brian de Palma's first two hit movies, which I'd barely heard of let alone seen.
Greetings - capturing the zeitgeist of the counter-culture, featuring one Robert De Niro in his first lead role, as someone with a very unhealthy obsession with spying on women, as he and his friends try to avoid the draft (the telegram which invites you to partake opens with the word 'Greetings'). It's a surprisingly jaunty film, Bob has never been lighter or funnier (except maybe in King of Comedy) and there are lots of great bits. It's also incredibly of its time and many bits (especially around racial and sexual politics) grate quite a lot. More than just a historical curio.
Hi, Mom! - de Niro reprises his character and his Peeping Tom in a film sometimes shown as a direct sequel to Greetings. It's better constructed and less offensive but is most notable for a truly incredible act, where Bob has moved on from being a Peeping Tom to being a budding radical and helps in the staging of the radical drama 'Be Black Baby' - a 'show' where the audience are shown what it's like to be black. It's astoundingly convincing and shocking and probably the best twenty minutes de Palma has ever filmed. Yes, even better than Carrie.
Most annoyingly, the book has almost made me want to watch some Sylvester Stallone movies, as he speaks so highly of them. I have never seen an entire SS movie (I have most of Copland and F.I.S.T. and probably nearly all of Rocky by accident. Bananas doesn't count) and I'm not really sure I want to start now, even tho Lords of Flatbush does sound kinda interesting.
The Verdict - a 1946 Don Siegel with Peter Lorre & Sydney Greenstreet. It's a Victorian melodrama filmed in a noir style. Some excellent shots, delicious interplay between PL&SG and a fairly smart (though also pretty dumb) ending. Very good if you like that kind of thing (Siegel thought it was crap).
Malibu High - a disaffected 'teen' gets her revenge on....stuff, by seducing all hr male tutors, becoming a hooker and then an assassin. Ultra low budget exploitation classic that is both exactly as cheap and cheesy as it sounds and way better than it should be just by the sheer commitment everyone seemingly has to the project.
Followed by Brian de Palma's first two hit movies, which I'd barely heard of let alone seen.
Greetings - capturing the zeitgeist of the counter-culture, featuring one Robert De Niro in his first lead role, as someone with a very unhealthy obsession with spying on women, as he and his friends try to avoid the draft (the telegram which invites you to partake opens with the word 'Greetings'). It's a surprisingly jaunty film, Bob has never been lighter or funnier (except maybe in King of Comedy) and there are lots of great bits. It's also incredibly of its time and many bits (especially around racial and sexual politics) grate quite a lot. More than just a historical curio.
Hi, Mom! - de Niro reprises his character and his Peeping Tom in a film sometimes shown as a direct sequel to Greetings. It's better constructed and less offensive but is most notable for a truly incredible act, where Bob has moved on from being a Peeping Tom to being a budding radical and helps in the staging of the radical drama 'Be Black Baby' - a 'show' where the audience are shown what it's like to be black. It's astoundingly convincing and shocking and probably the best twenty minutes de Palma has ever filmed. Yes, even better than Carrie.
Most annoyingly, the book has almost made me want to watch some Sylvester Stallone movies, as he speaks so highly of them. I have never seen an entire SS movie (I have most of Copland and F.I.S.T. and probably nearly all of Rocky by accident. Bananas doesn't count) and I'm not really sure I want to start now, even tho Lords of Flatbush does sound kinda interesting.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Does he mention Bloody Mama? De Niro is in that and it's directed by Roger Corman. Worth a look, if you checking out early Bob.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Only in passing and regarding what sounds a brilliant shot (in more than one sense of the word) that doesn't involve Bob.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Finally got to watch Stalker, Tarkovsky's greatest film from 1979.
Not a lot to add to the countless articles and books on the film, apart from having read the novel which it is based. And quite different it is.
There was that advantage/disadvantage in sitting down to experience the film, because it certainly is an experience.
Not a lot to add to the countless articles and books on the film, apart from having read the novel which it is based. And quite different it is.
There was that advantage/disadvantage in sitting down to experience the film, because it certainly is an experience.
Elpenor
Dancing as fast as I can
I watched this earlier. A fair summation. I could have watched a lot more of the first half.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Rewatching Schitt’s Creek. For whatever reason both my OH and I had forgotten various subplots taking place in the first couple of seasons. In any event, it stands perfectly well to repeated viewings, and it’s interesting to remind oneself of how perfectly awful they were at the beginning of the story, and how much they progressively change for the better over the six seasons.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Well, shortly after my post above I decided to give it a go anyway, and I’m well glad I did. It’s a kind of sci-fi thriller/ horror/ dark comedy hybrid about a software developer who decides to introduce her niece, who is going through a difficult period, to a highly advanced AI robotic doll to comfort and entertain her, with unfortunate consequences.
Very watchable indeed m. It’s far more dimensional than the basic ‘toy turns evil’ type of film one might assume from the synopsis, and as much of a dark comedy and a thriller as is a horror film.
Not amazing but a solid 7/10 for me. Well produced and with a pleasing soundtrack to boot.
Very watchable indeed m. It’s far more dimensional than the basic ‘toy turns evil’ type of film one might assume from the synopsis, and as much of a dark comedy and a thriller as is a horror film.
Not amazing but a solid 7/10 for me. Well produced and with a pleasing soundtrack to boot.
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
Before Sunrise
I'm sort of surprised I've never seen it before, because it's exactly the sort of thing I'd have watched in the mid-90s. It is still a good film, wonderfully shot with great dialogue, but it's also very of its time. I don't think Linklater truly took advantage of the Vienna setting - it would easily work as a play and you wouldn't really miss much. But hey, it would be a pretty good play. I'm not convinced it needed two sequels, either. I think it works fine on its own, and I haven't made up my mind if I'll rent Before Sunset and Midnight.
I'm sort of surprised I've never seen it before, because it's exactly the sort of thing I'd have watched in the mid-90s. It is still a good film, wonderfully shot with great dialogue, but it's also very of its time. I don't think Linklater truly took advantage of the Vienna setting - it would easily work as a play and you wouldn't really miss much. But hey, it would be a pretty good play. I'm not convinced it needed two sequels, either. I think it works fine on its own, and I haven't made up my mind if I'll rent Before Sunset and Midnight.
Elpenor
Dancing as fast as I can
Couple of films watched today.
Lady In The Lake. Did not like this Marlowe adaptation. Shot from a first person perspective which made me feel a bit giddy, the novelty wore off very quickly (Marlowe’s eyes following the blonde receptionist as she leaves the room). A lot of very wooden acting particularly from the female lead (we mainly hear Marlowe’s voice and see him in a mirror once or twice). Fell asleep a few times (at 2pm!) and missed some crucial plot details but not sure I minded that much.
The Night and the City. London-set film noir in the soho and east end underworld. Richard Widmark is a hustler who is always on the make / take, this time in the world of wrestling, trying to make a fortune for his girl who is a waitress in a club. He clashes with the gangland wrestling boss, Herbert Lom, whose father happens to be an old-time wrestler promoted by Widmark. Enjoyed this quite a lot.
Lady In The Lake. Did not like this Marlowe adaptation. Shot from a first person perspective which made me feel a bit giddy, the novelty wore off very quickly (Marlowe’s eyes following the blonde receptionist as she leaves the room). A lot of very wooden acting particularly from the female lead (we mainly hear Marlowe’s voice and see him in a mirror once or twice). Fell asleep a few times (at 2pm!) and missed some crucial plot details but not sure I minded that much.
The Night and the City. London-set film noir in the soho and east end underworld. Richard Widmark is a hustler who is always on the make / take, this time in the world of wrestling, trying to make a fortune for his girl who is a waitress in a club. He clashes with the gangland wrestling boss, Herbert Lom, whose father happens to be an old-time wrestler promoted by Widmark. Enjoyed this quite a lot.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
The Night and the City is great, The Naked City is also fantastic too.
I saw an interesting noir recently.
The Long Wait, a Micky Spillane adaptation with Anthony Quinn as an amnesic who finds out that he is wanted for murder and has to track down the real killer. It has flaws one expects of anything with Spillane's touch that does not have the flair to play off and undermine Spillane's crap as the brilliant Kiss Me Deadly does. And with its lack of depth it's also a little too long and too slow.
That said it is not a bad 90 minutes, Quinn is his usual watchable self, and it is a huge improvement on I, The Jury which is pretty awful (the 1953 version) with Biff Elliot one of the worst leading men ever.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
A Tony Robinson series about the history of working people in Britain from Tudor times to ww2 and just started Paul O Grady's Working Britain.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Over the last couple of days I have been through the Paul Schrader Loves The Searchers quadrilogy. Although two of them are a bit tenuously related.
The Yakuza - the third script Schrader wrote, but the first to actually get released as a film. As in Searchers, a tough old boot goes back to where he fought a war to rescue a daughter. The difference is, Robert Mitchum isn't a massive racist, just a bit. Unfortunately he is also 'late Robert Mitchum' where he'd lost his menace and most of his charm. Added noiry twists and turns add to the film and there are some great sequences, but it's not as tight or gripping as it should be.
Rolling Thunder - written second, released third. The Searchers as DeathWish. A great opening rapidly descends into evilMexicans people do nasty things (they are very nasty) and vengeance must be taken! Again, there are some great sequences and a definite air of menace, but it is still just a slightly above average revenge thriller. Linda Haynes is very good, Slim is quite funny and the hook for a hand is ridiculous but great.
Hardcore - no doubt about this one, it is The Searchers through and through, with an Ethan, a Martin and a Debbie, not to mention the nameless faceless hordes of The Wicked. A good Calvinist goes to find his daughter lost in the hellhole of LA, obviously kidnapped because who could runaway from a tedious midwest Calvinist town? For an hour, it's brilliant. Great performances from George C Scott & Season Hubley. The sex (there is a fair bit of it) is still astoundingly full on, in 1979 it must have freaked people out entirely. Sadly, Schrader wasn't allowed to complete the film how he wanted to, so the last half hour is bullshit. Some good moments, but it's as if Ethan had entered a fever dream and imagined the best possible outcome. Everything points to it ending a certain way, but then, without a word for why, there's a 180 swing and mom and apple pie.
Taxi Driver - written first, released second (as they were waiting for the right actors). The most direct and straightforward of the adaptations. Interesting in that this one clearly does have a fever dream ending. It's pretty good, next time you watch it do remember that Travis never actually served in Vietnam.
The Yakuza - the third script Schrader wrote, but the first to actually get released as a film. As in Searchers, a tough old boot goes back to where he fought a war to rescue a daughter. The difference is, Robert Mitchum isn't a massive racist, just a bit. Unfortunately he is also 'late Robert Mitchum' where he'd lost his menace and most of his charm. Added noiry twists and turns add to the film and there are some great sequences, but it's not as tight or gripping as it should be.
Rolling Thunder - written second, released third. The Searchers as DeathWish. A great opening rapidly descends into evil
Hardcore - no doubt about this one, it is The Searchers through and through, with an Ethan, a Martin and a Debbie, not to mention the nameless faceless hordes of The Wicked. A good Calvinist goes to find his daughter lost in the hellhole of LA, obviously kidnapped because who could runaway from a tedious midwest Calvinist town? For an hour, it's brilliant. Great performances from George C Scott & Season Hubley. The sex (there is a fair bit of it) is still astoundingly full on, in 1979 it must have freaked people out entirely. Sadly, Schrader wasn't allowed to complete the film how he wanted to, so the last half hour is bullshit. Some good moments, but it's as if Ethan had entered a fever dream and imagined the best possible outcome. Everything points to it ending a certain way, but then, without a word for why, there's a 180 swing and mom and apple pie.
Taxi Driver - written first, released second (as they were waiting for the right actors). The most direct and straightforward of the adaptations. Interesting in that this one clearly does have a fever dream ending. It's pretty good, next time you watch it do remember that Travis never actually served in Vietnam.
Idris2002
canadian girlfriend
Regan - the pilot for The Sweeney.
It still works, believe it or not, even if you keep expecting John Thaw to address Denis Waterman as "Lewis". What was once "slice of life of gangland London c.1973" is now "portrait of a vanished world". All women are "birds", and Thaw and Waterman move through almost exclusively male environments.
I also found a pilot for the series that didn't have Thaw and Waterman in the lead roles, substituting a couple of randoms instead. I thought this one might be interesting, but switched off after 10 minutes.
It still works, believe it or not, even if you keep expecting John Thaw to address Denis Waterman as "Lewis". What was once "slice of life of gangland London c.1973" is now "portrait of a vanished world". All women are "birds", and Thaw and Waterman move through almost exclusively male environments.
I also found a pilot for the series that didn't have Thaw and Waterman in the lead roles, substituting a couple of randoms instead. I thought this one might be interesting, but switched off after 10 minutes.
RedRedRose
Well-Known Member
In Which We Serve (1942) Noel Coward stars and co-directs in this patriotic war-film. Follows the story of a marooned group of sailors as they reminisce about their lives through a series of flashbacks. Had its moments in terms of wit and dialogue, and despite the stock footage, it did a remarkable job (especially, given the time period) of ratcheting up the action. Possibly, one or two too many predictable characters, but overall it carries you along.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Black Hawk Down
Thought should get round to watching. Think avoided at the time (2001!!!) because of reviews sayings it was very gung ho and portrayal of Somalis was inaccurate.
Yes, there is that. Despite its faults, it's gripping and so many familiar faces starting out in their careers plus a few reliable stalwarts.
Shock Treatment
Second time watching the 1981 oddity from Richard O'Brien and still maddening in parts. Great to see Ruby Wax, Rik Mayall, Sinitta and Barry Humphries (who seems to be channeling Peter Sellers).
Thought should get round to watching. Think avoided at the time (2001!!!) because of reviews sayings it was very gung ho and portrayal of Somalis was inaccurate.
Yes, there is that. Despite its faults, it's gripping and so many familiar faces starting out in their careers plus a few reliable stalwarts.
Shock Treatment
Second time watching the 1981 oddity from Richard O'Brien and still maddening in parts. Great to see Ruby Wax, Rik Mayall, Sinitta and Barry Humphries (who seems to be channeling Peter Sellers).
RedRedRose
Well-Known Member
Always surprises me when they make these gung-ho American war films/TV shows how they manage to put so many non-Americans in the action roles: MacGregor, Bloom, Bana, also Spud from Trainspotting. Band of Brothers is exactly the same.
RedRedRose
Well-Known Member
Cop Land (1997) Stallone is a suburban New Jersey sheriff in an area where a high number of city cops reside. He encounters major police corruption and reluctantly decides to take it on. A wealth of acting talent on screen (De Niro, Keitel, Liotta) but I was left somewhat unconvinced.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Tom Hardy in there as well!
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Things to Come - first time seeing the 1936 classic since the early 80s. Don't remember the last act, but oh, the sets, the model work and design! A bit speechy in some places and stilted in others, but overall, if you are interested in early cinematic sci-fi and dystopian/post apocalyptic society, this is an obvious choice.
Also, the influence on shows like Doctor Who - still 27 years away at the time - can be seen in the futuristic cities and peculiar costumes.
Also, the influence on shows like Doctor Who - still 27 years away at the time - can be seen in the futuristic cities and peculiar costumes.
RedRedRose
Well-Known Member
Great Lakes Untamed (2022) 3-part documentary about the North American Great Lakes, covering its geography, history and wildlife. Very well put together.
Idris2002
canadian girlfriend
"But for Man, no rest and no ending".
I hadn't thought of the Doctor Who connection, but it's obvious once you put it like that.
They were all fab..? You've never seen chemistry like Bogart and Bacall? What should you watch next..?
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