Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

[Captain Steel]

I can't remember if Auntie Mame was also a musical???

I was never a big Rosalind Russel fan (probably haven't watched enough of her movies). I could never get past her sour & haggard expression and 6-packs-a-day sounding voice!

[mark f]

Auntie Mame was not a musical, but it was far better than Mame.

[gbgoodies]

I can't remember if Auntie Mame was also a musical???

I was never a big Rosalind Russel fan (probably haven't watched enough of her movies). I could never get past her sour & haggard expression and 6-packs-a-day sounding voice!


If I remember correctly, Auntie Mame was not a musical.

I've only seen Rosalind Russell in a few movies, most notably His Girl Friday (1940) with Cary Grant.

[Captain Steel]

Auntie Mame was not a musical, but it was far better than Mame.

Thanks Mark. As said, I only saw bits of it, but of what I did see, I didn't recall any singing.

[Gideon58]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26639&stc=1&d=1471397357
Mame (1974)

Director: Gene Saks
Cast: Lucille Ball, Robert Preston, Bea Arthur
Genre: Musical


Your review of this movie is pretty much on the money, Citizen, my review of the film is almost word for word, it's a little spooky, LOL! It's a terrible movie, one of the five worst musicals ever made. BTW, the actor who played grown up Patrick was Bruce Davison, who played the title role in Willard and received an Oscar nomination for Longtime Companion.

[Citizen Rules]

I've never watched Mame specifically because I'm not a fan of Lucille Ball in anything other than "I Love Lucy", but I was going to watch this when I saw that the cast included Robert Preston.

But then I read your review, and the last sentence about Robert Preston, and it sounds like my first instinct to skip this movie was the right one. :( Robert Preston has little on screen time. And isn't memorable. Watch The Music Man, again:p Oh, I agree with you on Lucille Ball, she's great in I Love Lucy and decent in some 40s film noirs, but boring otherwise.

I wonder how it stacks up against Auntie Mame (1958) starring Rosalind Russel and Forrest Tucker...

...I was never a big Rosalind Russel fan (probably haven't watched enough of her movies). I could never get past her sour & haggard expression and 6-packs-a-day sounding voice! OMG, you should hear Lucy in Mame, it sounds like she's smoked for the last 1000 years:sick:...And then they have her sing:rolleyes:...I read that she got so winded that she only sing a few notes before needing a break.

Your review of this movie is pretty much on the money, Citizen, my review of the film is almost word for word, it's a little spooky, LOL! It's a terrible movie, one of the five worst musicals ever made. BTW, the actor who played grown up Patrick was Bruce Davidson, who played the title role in Willard and received an Oscar nomination for Longtime Companion.He played the lead in Willard? Now that's a cool movie! Glad you liked my review.:p

[Gideon58]

He played the lead in Willard? Now that's a cool movie! Glad you liked my review.:p

You need to get the bad taste of Mame out of your system, Citizen by watching Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame...that movie is freaking brilliant and so is Russell, directed by the same guy who directed the film version of The Music Man.

[Citizen Rules]

I've seen Auntie Mame, it's first rate, I loved Rosalind Russell in the role and even the kid actor was good. I should watch it again, but I just got The Big Bus and The Last Time I Saw Paris...so I will be watching those in the near future.:)

[Captain Steel]

OT: I have a lot of fond memories of Bruce Davison...

Willard (1971)
Dead Man's Curve (1978 TV Movie - Bruce played Dean Torrence of "Jan & Dean" alongside Richard Hatch who I got to meet & talk to at a comic convention in '98)!
Lathe of Heaven (1980 TV Movie)
Seinfeld (1996 - 1997: as "Wyck" in 3 episodes)
and, of course, as Senator Kelly in X-Men I & II

The guy's had a pretty prolific Movie & TV career.

[Captain Steel]

I've seen Auntie Mame, it's first rate, I loved Rosalind Russell in the role and even the kid actor was good. I should watch it again, but I just got The Big Bus and The Last Time I Saw Paris...so I will be watching those in the near future.:)

Oh noooooo!
(Since you didn't like Airplane!, you may hate the Big Bus - it's that kind of movie, people either love it or hate it - guess that's what makes a poorly received movie from the 70's a "cult film" today. And the humor, which is similar to that of Airplane, is older and even more dated. Then again, you may enjoy seeing the cast and the childhood memories they bring about. Who knows?)

[Gideon58]

Oh noooooo!
(Since you didn't like Airplane!, you may hate the Big Bus - it's that kind of movie, people either love it or hate it - guess that's what makes a poorly received movie from the 70's a "cult film" today. And the humor, which is similar to that of Airplane, is older and even more dated. Then again, you may enjoy seeing the cast and the childhood memories they bring about. Who knows?)

My recent re-watch of The Big Bus convinced me that the film is what actually inspired Airplane!

[Captain Steel]

My recent re-watch of The Big Bus convinced me that the film is what actually inspired Airplane!

Absolutely. The style of comedy is almost exactly the same - that couldn't just be a coincidence. (I also seem to remember some of the same creative people being involved in both, but not sure.)

I will say that whether people like the movie or hate it, I haven't met anyone yet who can't appreciate the bus driver's bar scene!

[Citizen Rules]

OT: I have a lot of fond memories of Bruce Davison...

Willard (1971)
Dead Man's Curve (1978 TV Movie - Bruce played Dean Torrence of "Jan & Dean" alongside Richard Hatch who I got to meet & talk to at a comic convention in '98)!
Lathe of Heaven (1980 TV Movie)
Seinfeld (1996 - 1997: as "Wyck" in 3 episodes)
and, of course, as Senator Kelly in X-Men I & II
The guy's had a pretty prolific Movie & TV career. Very cool that you got to meet Richard Hatch!...Lathe of Heaven, that's a movie you don't hear talked much about it. I liked it, and I think about that film sometime too. I've seen Willard but none of the others you mentioned.

Oh noooooo!
(Since you didn't like Airplane!, you may hate the Big Bus - it's that kind of movie, people either love it or hate it - guess that's what makes a poorly received movie from the 70's a "cult film" today. And the humor, which is similar to that of Airplane, is older and even more dated. Then again, you may enjoy seeing the cast and the childhood memories they bring about. Who knows?) Is the humor the same in both movies? Gideon in his review called it episodically (I think I know what that means?) and said the movie spent too much time with the characters (that's not verbatim, but from memory). So I think I might like it as what I didn't like about Airplane was the 5 second sight gags.

...I will say that whether people like the movie or hate it, I haven't met anyone yet who can't appreciate the bus driver's bar scene! A challenge:p I'll let you know what I thought of that scene.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26657&stc=1&d=1471481726
Sands of the Kalahari (1965)

Director: Cy Endfield
Writers: Cy Endfield(screenplay), William Mulvihill(novel)
Cast: Stanley Baker, Stuart Whitman, Susannah York
Genre: Survival Thriller Action

Synopsis: A small plane overloaded with passengers, makes a crash landing in the middle of the scorching Kalahari desert. Where the survivors find out, it's survival of the fittest.

Review: An interesting film with the premise that humans when removed from civilization along with creature comforts will behave barbarically. As an allegory there is a troupe of baboons who live amongst the rock cliffs, under the sweltering sun. They survive by fighting for dominance with each other. Then we have the beleaguered humans, who need food,water and shelter, and like the baboons become wild.

I might have really liked this film if there wasn't scenes of apparent animal cruelty. The leader of the humans is a big game hunter who cradles his rifle like it was sacred. In one scene he shoots at the baboons and they scatter. Latter we see what looks like a real, freshly killed bamboo laying there. I couldn't find out if they killed the bamboo to make the scene or if it was stuck footage. Either way I could have done without seeing real animals, dead.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26658&stc=1&d=1471481775

The humans as they pit themselves against each other makes for a good survival-thriller movie. And this was shot out in the desert in Spain and Namibia. The film looks great and so does Susannah York.

If it wasn't for the other crashed plane-desert survival movie that came out in the same year: Flight of the Phoenix...The Sands of Kalahari might be better known today.

rating_3

[Citizen Rules]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/75/ba/1d/75ba1de9f431d801f8990c9d13344593.jpg
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)

Director: Mel Stuart
Cast: Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, Vittorio De Sica
Genre: ComedyWhat a fun and interesting movie! Eighteen Americans take a whirlwind bus tour of nine European countries. Along for the ride is a young Brit (Ian McShane) who has a girl in every country and has his eye on a lovely young American woman,(Suzanne Pleshette).

This was filmed on location in: Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Holland, Netherlands, Italy, England, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium. It's like taking a European vacation without the expense! We see all sorts of real tourist sites in those country as we see the travelers run into all sorts of mischief.

In one scene the teen girl (in a mini skirt no less) goes to a gathering where a young guy sings...Donovan. He's in the film for that one scene performing a song, how cool is that.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26661&stc=1&d=1471485946


And kudos to Suzanne Pleshette who plays a modern 1969 woman who has is trying to decide if she wants to get married to the guy back home. Suzanne was not only charming as the main character, but beautiful as well. Suzanne never looked better.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=25201&stc=1&d=1462412069

The Bravados (1958)

Director: Henry King
Writers: Philip Yordan(screenplay), Frank O'Rourke(novel)
Cast: Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd
Genre: Western Drama

Synopsis: Rancher Jim Douglas (Gregory Peck) is hot on the trial of the outlaws who murdered his wife. When he finally catches up to them he finds they are in jail and about to be hanged for another crime. While he waits in town to witness their hanging, the outlaws escape and he takes on the chase.

About: I had only seen this once before and I have to say I was even more impressed on my second viewing. At first I though, 'oh this movie is starting off slow'...but then when the bad guys go on the lamb I started really liking it. The pace picks up and the story deepens.

Props: to an intelligent script that wasn't full of holes. By that I mean the actions that the people take, made sense. Sometimes movies make characters do gawd awful dumb things to make tension happen. Not here. Equally impressive is the script dared to break the western myth of good guy vs bad guy. It's the very last act in this movie that makes it stand out.

Gregory Peck, is one of my favorite actors from the 1950s. I though he did an exceptional job here. I especially liked the acting at the climax of the film when he crosses over into Mexico and realizes something very sobering. The way he plays that scene is heart felt.

http://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/_img/1140-2.jpg


And Props to the beautiful scenery shot in glorious Cinemascope and to the lovely Joan Collins too.

rating_4_5

[Captain Steel]

Very cool that you got to meet Richard Hatch!


One of my favorite stories (me and my stories!)...
Went to a comic convention in Oakland, 1998. I was on the "celebrity" side of the table because I was there hanging out with a cousin who is a comic book inker. It was a pretty slow show and we ended up chatting with the late Bob May (the guy who was inside the Robot in Lost in Space) since he was at a table across from us.

At one point I wondered over to the table where Richard Hatch was sitting (he was there for Battlestar Galactica, of course) and all the fan boys in line had questions about the show. When I got up to him he had a somewhat worn out look that he was trying to remove from his face... he seemed to be thinking, "What's this nerd going to ask... how many people can the Galactica hold?... will they ever reach Earth?... why don't they shoot the Cylons with photon torpedoes?"

I asked him, "Did you get to meet Jan Berry when you played him in Dead Man's Curve?"

A huge smile came over his face and he said, "You know that movie? I didn't think anyone remembered it!"

He seemed so relieved to finally talk to someone about something other than Battlestar Galactica. We had a nice conversation about Dead Man's Curve (1978) and Jan & Dean. Richard had indeed met & worked with Jan Berry to try to get his mannerisms down. (Jan, for those who don't know, was critically injured in a car crash in 1966 and remained a cripple for the rest of his life.)

[Citizen Rules]

That's a pretty cool story Capt! It's neat you had seen Dead Man's Curve before meeting him. I've heard of that movie, never seen it. Which character was he in Battlestar Galactica? It's been a looooong time since I seen that show. Did you get his autograph BTW?

It was a pretty slow show and we ended up chatting with the late Bob May (the guy who was inside the Robot in Lost in Space) since he was at a table across from us.
You meet the Robot guy? Bob May, wow I bet he had a bunch of stories. Did you say to him Danger Will Robinson Danger as you waved your arms wildly about? Probably not:p Did Bob May talk about his thoughts on the cast? I like to hear about that.

[Captain Steel]

That's a pretty cool story Capt! It's neat you had seen Dead Man's Curve before meeting him. I've heard of that movie, never seen it. Which character was he in Battlestar Galactica? It's been a looooong time since I seen that show. Did you get his autograph BTW?

You meet the Robot guy? Bob May, wow I bet he had a bunch of stories. Did you say to him Danger Will Robinson Danger as you waved your arms wildly about? Probably not:p Did Bob May talk about his thoughts on the cast? I like to hear about that.

I wouldn't have even approached Richard Hatch if I hadn't seen Dead Man's Curve (he looked miserable answering questions about Galactica). I don't really have any extra regard for celebrities, but for him I had a specific question and he just seemed so grateful to talk about something that didn't have to do with what he was there for. He played "Apollo" in the original B.G.
I've never asked anyone for an autograph... I wouldn't know what to do with it. Although, these days there's eBay you can sell it on! ;)

Bob May did indeed have a bunch of stories. He was a very lively guy (and based on my calculations, he was 59 in 1998). He was very short - which is why he could fit inside the robot. He reminded me of Mickey Rooney. He told how the crew would leave him in the robot as they all went to lunch - he needed assistance to get in & out. By the time they got back he'd be fuming, then someone would give him a sandwich that he'd eat inside the robot. He talked about how Jonathan Harris was nothing like Dr. Smith - he had none of Smith's qualities, but he was the biggest prankster on set.

I do remember that there was an elderly lady at the Lost in Space table with Bob May, and she played one of the aliens on the show, but for the life of me I don't know which one (but it wasn't the recurring "Green Lady" who was always trying to seduce Dr. Smith).

This last part is really sad, but Richard Anderson (the actor who played Oscar on the Six Million Dollar Man) was there... and I watched him for quite a while, no one was coming up to him. Later I saw him sitting alone at a snack bar table scraping the inside of a styrofoam ice cream cup and staring into it blankly.
I just now looked him up on IMDB... he's still alive... and he's even older than my dad!

[Citizen Rules]

Thanks for posting that Captain, I enjoyed reading it. Richard Hatch was Apollo? I didn't even recognize his name until you mentioned his character. Now, I can see him looking weary from all the questions. Sometimes as Apollo he seemed down trodden in the show. I use to love that show too, not like Star Trek but it was still a cool watch.

He told how the crew would leave him in the robot as they all went to lunch - he needed assistance to get in & out. By the time they got back he'd be fuming, then someone would give him a sandwich that he'd eat inside the robot. He talked about how Jonathan Harris was nothing like Dr. Smith - he had none of Smith's qualities, but he was the biggest prankster on set.:) I can almost picture him in the robot suit eating a sandwich as Johnathan Harris good naturally does a harmless prank. To me hearing Bob May's stories makes Lost in Space seem cooler.


This last part is really sad, but Richard Anderson (the actor who played Oscar on the Six Million Dollar Man) was there... and I watched him for quite a while, no one was coming up to him. Later I saw him sitting alone at a snack bar table scraping the inside of a styrofoam ice cream cup and staring into it blankly. That's odd, even I remember his face from his name. He was Jamie's (Bionic Woman's) boss. I always that character of his.

[gbgoodies]

OT: I have a lot of fond memories of Bruce Davison...

Willard (1971)
Dead Man's Curve (1978 TV Movie - Bruce played Dean Torrence of "Jan & Dean" alongside Richard Hatch who I got to meet & talk to at a comic convention in '98)!
Lathe of Heaven (1980 TV Movie)
Seinfeld (1996 - 1997: as "Wyck" in 3 episodes)
and, of course, as Senator Kelly in X-Men I & II

The guy's had a pretty prolific Movie & TV career.


I remember seeing Bruce Davison in a multi-episode arc of the TV show "The Practice". (I think it was around the time of the first X-Men movie.)

[gbgoodies]

I've seen Auntie Mame, it's first rate, I loved Rosalind Russell in the role and even the kid actor was good. I should watch it again, but I just got The Big Bus and The Last Time I Saw Paris...so I will be watching those in the near future.:)


I liked The Big Bus, but it's kind of goofy. IMO, it's not as funny as Airplane!, but if you keep your expectations low, you might like it even though you didn't like Airplane!. It has a much better cast.

[gbgoodies]

One of my favorite stories (me and my stories!)...
Went to a comic convention in Oakland, 1998. I was on the "celebrity" side of the table because I was there hanging out with a cousin who is a comic book inker. It was a pretty slow show and we ended up chatting with the late Bob May (the guy who was inside the Robot in Lost in Space) since he was at a table across from us.

At one point I wondered over to the table where Richard Hatch was sitting (he was there for Battlestar Galactica, of course) and all the fan boys in line had questions about the show. When I got up to him he had a somewhat worn out look that he was trying to remove from his face... he seemed to be thinking, "What's this nerd going to ask... how many people can the Galactica hold?... will they ever reach Earth?... why don't they shoot the Cylons with photon torpedoes?"

I asked him, "Did you get to meet Jan Berry when you played him in Dead Man's Curve?"

A huge smile came over his face and he said, "You know that movie? I didn't think anyone remembered it!"

He seemed so relieved to finally talk to someone about something other than Battlestar Galactica. We had a nice conversation about Dead Man's Curve (1978) and Jan & Dean. Richard had indeed met & worked with Jan Berry to try to get his mannerisms down. (Jan, for those who don't know, was critically injured in a car crash in 1966 and remained a cripple for the rest of his life.)


Yeah, I've met a lot of celebrities at conventions over the years, and they always love it when you talk about anything that they don't hear over and over again. Stuff like their lesser known movies, or even their outside interests will make their eyes light up when they talk.

When I met Johnny Whitaker and Jack Wild at a convention after-party, we had a blast talking about computers. And when Richard Dreyfuss was at a convention, he would talk about baseball and politics to anyone would would listen.

[gbgoodies]

I wouldn't have even approached Richard Hatch if I hadn't seen Dead Man's Curve (he looked miserable answering questions about Galactica). I don't really have any extra regard for celebrities, but for him I had a specific question and he just seemed so grateful to talk about something that didn't have to do with what he was there for. He played "Apollo" in the original B.G.
I've never asked anyone for an autograph... I wouldn't know what to do with it. Although, these days there's eBay you can sell it on! ;)

I used to collect autographs when I was younger, but I stopped collecting them many years ago. Now I prefer talking to celebrities when I meet them. You find out some interesting stuff about people when you don't talk about what they're best known for, and just ask them some simple questions.

For example, I found out that Malcolm McDowell hates New York, (or at least he did when he was here). And Stan Lee doesn't collect anything, not even stuff about him. And BarBara Luna (from the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror") likes little gadgets. Oh, and Tom Wopat, (from "The Dukes of Hazzard"), gets a little bit jealous, (and gives you dirty looks), when you talk to John Schneider about his singing career. :lol:


Bob May did indeed have a bunch of stories. He was a very lively guy (and based on my calculations, he was 59 in 1998). He was very short - which is why he could fit inside the robot. He reminded me of Mickey Rooney. He told how the crew would leave him in the robot as they all went to lunch - he needed assistance to get in & out. By the time they got back he'd be fuming, then someone would give him a sandwich that he'd eat inside the robot. He talked about how Jonathan Harris was nothing like Dr. Smith - he had none of Smith's qualities, but he was the biggest prankster on set.

I do remember that there was an elderly lady at the Lost in Space table with Bob May, and she played one of the aliens on the show, but for the life of me I don't know which one (but it wasn't the recurring "Green Lady" who was always trying to seduce Dr. Smith).

I met Jonathan Harris briefly at a convention, and he was super nice. I don't know if it was just an act for his fans, but he seemed sincere.


This last part is really sad, but Richard Anderson (the actor who played Oscar on the Six Million Dollar Man) was there... and I watched him for quite a while, no one was coming up to him. Later I saw him sitting alone at a snack bar table scraping the inside of a styrofoam ice cream cup and staring into it blankly.
I just now looked him up on IMDB... he's still alive... and he's even older than my dad!

While watching movies for the 1950's countdown, Richard Anderson was in a lot of the movies that I saw. I had no idea that he was in that many movies.

[Captain Steel]

To this day I still want to kick myself for not going up to Richard Anderson and talking to him (what with him looking so lonely, and after my experience talking to Richard Hatch.)

Too bad it was before the days of IMDB and I couldn't look to see that Anderson was in both Paths of Glory AND Forbidden Planet (two of my favs)! If I knew that at the time I would've definitely had something to talk to him about.

But geez, I could've approached him and just said something like, "How's the ice cream here?"

Then sometimes I'd think, "why should I feel bad for that guy? He's probably got millions from hit TV shows and movies that I'll never have?"
But feeling compassion for someone looking down is just part of my nature, I guess, no matter who they are.

[gbgoodies]

I went over and spoke to David Naughton, (from An American Werewolf in London and the old "I'm a Pepper" Dr. Pepper TV commercials), when he was sitting at his table looking bored, and he signed my can of Dr. Pepper. :lol:

[Captain Steel]

I met Jonathan Harris briefly at a convention, and he was super nice. I don't know if it was just an act for his fans, but he seemed sincere.


Yes, that's what Bob May said about him too. That he was the warmest person in real life, was super considerate, caring, hard working, playful, fun to be around... everything Dr. Smith wasn't! On the show Smith consistently ruined everything, but on the set Jonathan Harris was the person who made everyone else look forward to coming to work.

[gbgoodies]

Yes, that's what Bob May said about him too. That he was the warmest person in real life, was super considerate, caring, hard working, playful, fun to be around... everything Dr. Smith wasn't! On the show Smith consistently ruined everything, but on the set Jonathan Harris was the person who made everyone else look forward to coming to work.


That sounds about right. :)

[Gideon58]

I remember seeing Bruce Davison in a multi-episode arc of the TV show "The Practice". (I think it was around the time of the first X-Men movie.)

Davison also played a rather unlikable character in Robert Altman's classic Short Cuts, he played this cocky news anchor married to Andie McDowell, whose son gets hit by a car driven by Lily Tomlin. Jack Lemmon played his father. It was one of his best performances, one of the few unsympathetic characters I have ever seen him play.

[Gideon58]

thoroughly enjoy the insight and the love for movies you express as well as being quite eclectic when it comes to the movies you review.
ALWAYS a joy!

Totally agree...I love Citizen's passion for older movies...a rare thing around here.

[Gideon58]

Ditto. :) It's one of my faves, and yes, they really didn't have any chemistry. I don't think it's just the age, as you say, I think they're unfortunately simply incompatible. But then we have her "appearing again", so maybe it was for the best. I, on the other hand love heights, the higher the better, it's being down on earth I can't stand. I'd fly with airplanes all day long if I could. (Mostly taking off and landing, though because that way I'd be taking off all the time, which I adore. Nothing compares to it. You know the acceleration, if you ever flied, it reaches 300 kmh in 30 secs or less. Concorde had a ridiculous acceleration, to 450 kmh in 15 secs.)

I've always felt obligated to watch Vertigo because it is regarded as a classic and it IS Hitchcock, but I'm not a big Jimmy Stewart film (love Anatomy of a Murder) and I HATE Kim Novak...my recent watch of Pal Joey confirmed that, but I am going to watch it someday, out of respect for Hitch.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26670&stc=1&d=1471571627

To the Ends of the Earth (2005)

Director: David Attwood
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Harris, Jamie Sives
Genre: Drama Adventure Mini Series
Length: 4 hours 27minutes

About: In the year 1812 a young, but naive British aristocrat is sent by his wealthy uncle to the new Australian colony, where he is to take a post (job) with the governor. The ship he sails on is far from sea worthy and he finds that the passengers and crew are as much of a threat as the open sea.

Review: To The Ends of the Earth is a BBC TV mini series shown in three parts and based on the successful trilogy novels by William Golding. Golding also wrote Lord of the Flies. Like his more famous novel, this deals with human behavior when exposed to extreme conditions. But it's not Lord of the Flies, think of it as as coming of age film.

I watched this after watching another fine British nautical movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). I found To The Ends of the Earth to be more introspective and slower in it's story telling, which I liked. It was nice that each scene was allowed to develop fully before the next scene took place. Taking place almost exclusively on the sailing ship gave the film a microcosm feel and insight into what it must have been like to sail half way around the world in a small cramped ship.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26671&stc=1&d=1471572277


I thought the actors were very believable, as were the sets...the inside of the ship looked authentic to me. At four and half hours long, the character story arch and growth is allowed to grow organically. Nothing felt rushed here.

It was almost like traveling back in time.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26700&stc=1&d=1471737466
The Big Bus (1976)

Director: James Frawley
Cast: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Sally Kellerman, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Mulligan
Genre: Comedy Action Spoof

About: A bicentennial movie spoof of disaster films of the early 1970s. A mammoth sized bus named Cyclops, is built and powered by a nuclear power plant. It runs non stop from New York to Denver. On it's maiden voyage, it runs into all sorts of trouble.

Review: Yahoo! I like this movie! IMO this is like a million times better than that other well known movie spoof, Airplane (1980). Sorry folks if that ruffles feathers! but it's true, this undiscovered gem is full of funny lines and people. And the comedy comes from wit, not from sight gags like Airplane relied on. The differences in style are like this: Airplane is like Mad magazine, while The Big Bus is like a Saturday Night Live comedy skit.

What I liked about this movie is it built an entire world around this monster bus. They actually included little details about how the bus works and that made this a neat movie. I loved the automatic tire changing scene and the automatic bus wash scene, ha! Somebody actually put thought into making this idea of a nuclear powered monster bus, seem plausible...they even have radiation suits that drop down from the ceiling in case of emergency.

But the coolest thing about this is the bus itself. It was real! They really built it and filmed it driving on the hiway. There's a first class and couch sections. There's a swimming pool, a one lane bowling alley and yes even a piano bar. This bus is loaded! And so are the passengers.

The brassy old lady, Ruth Gordon who sets next to the agnostic priest, Rene Auberjonois gave up some of the best lines in the movie. Equally good was Sally Kellerman and Richard Muligan as a quarreling couple who get hot and heavy every time they argue!...And Lynn Redgrave as a blue blooded snob, who's looking for love action with anybody that's available, hilarious! The entire star filled cast read like a who's who of 1970s actors.

The only drawback, the movie was too short and ended abruptly. Almost like they ran out of money to shoot a proper ending. Oh well, I laughed anyway. And the drunken bus driver bar scene? A freakin hilarious take on West Side Story!

rating_3_5+

[cricket]

I haven't seen The Big Bus in years. I used to love it and would always watch it on TV.

[Citizen Rules]

I'd never heard of it until Captain Steel told me about. But first they made me watch Airplane! which I despised. I though the Big Bus was cool and one day I'll watch it again. Pity I couldn't find a hotter pic of Sally Kellerman, she had on this slinky red dress that had side cleavage. Pretty impressive.

[Citizen Rules]

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/hailcaesar/images/thumbnail_23310.jpgHail, Caesar! (Coen Brothers 2016)



Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich
Genre: Comedy-Drama

About: In the 1950s, Eddie Mannix is a Hollywood 'fixer' for a fictional movie company called Capital Pictures. His job is to keep the movie production running smoothly, which includes watching over wayward stars and dealing with nasty gossip columnist.

Review: I liked this movie pretty well for the most part. In fact I liked everything about it, except it doesn't delve into the characters lives as much as I would have wanted. Like many of the Coen Brothers movies, Hail! Caesar is filled with colorful characters and even colorfuler situations... now if the Coen's could just spend some time writing a script that brings these people vividly to life, we'd have something truly great. But they don't do it.

The premise of the movie is a grand idea and the characters they create and the actors who play them are all really top notch. But it leaves a person feeling left out and wanting more. It was like I was watching events through a window, I could see what was going on but never could connect to it emotionally.

The Coen's give us a colorful look inside a 1950s Hollywood movie studio, as we see how the stars behavior has to be managed by a fixer, Eddie Mannix. There are four different stories going on and none of them are really flushed out and examined to deeply.

http://moviegique.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_56e62b852807a.png

I loved the swimming extravaganza scene with Scarlet Johanson playing a Esther Williams type character. I loved how they filmed the scene, visually the Coen's are A+... real genius here at work! But I wanted to know more about this character's story arch and I didn't get it.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2016/01/hail_caesar.png
I liked this character too, the man on the left was a singing cowboy who gets accidentally put into a serious drama by the Studio head. It was funny and well done. I loved the interaction with the director.

Latter the cowboy actor has a studio arranged date with an actresses cast ala Carmen Miranda. Their date scene was interesting and I wanted to see what would happen to them....but sadly their characters just disappear from the movie, never to be seen again.

http://kirov-portal.ru/upload/resize_cache/iblock/38e/535_359_2/38ea1918f57dafbebab63de52a4d437a.jpg

The dancing sailors scene pays homage to 1940's Hollywood musicals, brilliantly staged and filmed too. Gene Kelly would have approved.

I would give this move high marks if it could have had a bit more depth to the characters stories. Still, I did enjoy it. A fun watch.

rating_3_5

[Captain Steel]

I kind of had a feeling you might feel this way about The Big Bus, Rules. But I didn't want to predict (or possibly influence you by making predictions) beforehand.

What's funny is; when I was little I had similar feelings about the bus as you expressed in your review. I knew the movie was a comedy spoof, but when I was 11, I thought the Cyclops was damn cool! One thing that separates the Big Bus from Airplane! is the former has an element of sci-fi in it which is the technology of the bus itself. Cyclops is a larger-than-life character in the movie (whereas the plane in Airplane! could be any plane from any Airport movie). In addition to spoofing films, this element gives the movie it's own unique originality.

As gbg pointed out a while back, the cast is another element that adds to the appreciation of the Big Bus. (Trivia: Sally Kellerman and Rene Auberjonois were both MASH (1970) alumni - she played Hot Lips and he played father Mulcahy.)

And the bus driver bar scene is still a favorite. As said before, even people who don't like the movie like and remember that scene (and hey, it had Vic Tayback in it!)

[Tugg]

I agree with your assessment that "Hail, Ceasar!" lacked depth and left the viewer disconnected. As it stands, the strongest thing about it was George Clooney and everything surrounding him. So it could have concentrated on his character more or otherwise other character should have been more engaging. I also agree that it had good premise, but story wise execution was not optimal.

[Citizen Rules]

I kind of had a feeling you might feel this way about The Big Bus, Rules. But I didn't want to predict (or possibly influence you by making predictions) beforehand.

What's funny is; when I was little I had similar feelings about the bus as you expressed in your review. I knew the movie was a comedy spoof, but when I was 11, I thought the Cyclops was damn cool! One thing that separates the Big Bus from Airplane! is the former has an element of sci-fi in it which is the technology of the bus itself. Cyclops is a larger-than-life character in the movie (whereas the plane in Airplane! could be any plane from any Airport movie). In addition to spoofing films, this element gives the movie it's own unique originality.

As gbg pointed out a while back, the cast is another element that adds to the appreciation of the Big Bus. (Trivia: Sally Kellerman and Rene Auberjonois were both MASH (1970) alumni - she played Hot Lips and he played father Mulcahy.)

And the bus driver bar scene is still a favorite. As said before, even people who don't like the movie like and remember that scene (and hey, it had Vic Tayback in it!) Ahh...as soon as I seen Vic Tayback I had to smile! He's a great character in any movie that he's in. I want to see Alice the tv series now.

I really liked The Big Bus thank you for recommending it to me. You're doing pretty good with your recommendations too. So keep them coming:p You guys said it was kind of like Airplane, but to me the style of the humor was completely different. The Big Bus was more like Young Frankenstein at least IMO.Yeah, I knew Sally Kellerman was in MASH the movie, but I had forgotten that Rene Auberjonois was in it. I live MASH the tv series in fact I'm currently watching that. But I never cared for MASH the movie, then again I don't care for Robert Altman movies. When I seen Rene Auberjonois as a priest, I was like, it's Odo! from Deep Space Nine.

[Citizen Rules]

I agree with your assessment that "Hail, Ceasar!" lacked depth and left the viewer disconnected. As it stands, the strongest thing about it was George Clooney and everything surrounding him. So it could have concentrated on his character more or otherwise other character should have been more engaging. I also agree that it had good premise, but story wise execution was not optimal.
Tugg, have you seen many Coen Brothers movies? I've only seen a few and I think the Coen's have potential but they seem not to be able to write characters three dimensional.

[Captain Steel]

Ahh...as soon as I seen Vic Tayback I had to smile! He's a great character in any movie that he's in. I want to see Alice the tv series now.

I really liked The Big Bus thank you for recommending it to me. You're doing pretty good with your recommendations too. So keep them coming:p You guys said it was kind of like Airplane, but to me the style of the humor was completely different. The Big Bus was more like Young Frankenstein at least IMO.Yeah, I knew Sally Kellerman was in MASH the movie, but I had forgotten that Rene Auberjonois was in it. I live MASH the tv series in fact I'm currently watching that. But I never cared for MASH the movie, then again I don't care for Robert Altman movies. When I seen Rene Auberjonois as a priest, I was like, it's Odo! from Deep Space Nine.




Same here about MASH - a case where the TV series was far better than the movie.
It's fun that you liked the Big Bus, but didn't like Airplane! When the reaction was the complete opposite with 70's movie audiences - Bus flopped and Airplane! was a huge money-making hit in the theater.

I've always been intrigued by Rene Auberjonois's name - I'm surprised he didn't change it and respect that he didn't (unless Auberjonois is not his real name??? That would be really hard to believe!) Of all Trek series Deep Space Nine was my least favorite - but I did like his character of Odo. I also remember him being on Benson(?)

[Tugg]

Tugg, have you seen many Coen Brothers movies? I've only seen a few and I think the Coen's have potential but they seem not to be able to write characters three dimensional.
I've seen many. Some of them I saw long time ago and couldn't comment. Other movies are among my very favorites: "Barton Fink", "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski", "The Man Who Wasn't There". I think their movies express absurdity of situations, various storylines and life itself. Their movies are not necessarily "character- centric", but can have them. For example one of my favorite characters is Charlie Meadows by John Goodman in "Barton Fink". But overall, just like in "Hial, Ceasar!" Coens are more about situations and how they play out rather than characters.

"Miller's Crossing" is at the top of my watch list and I'd like to see some other acclaimed films of theirs. For example I didn't like "No Country for Old Men" when it was released, but I might change my mind if I re-watch it.

[Citizen Rules]

I have never seen Benson, well I might have caught a few minutes of it once. I watched Soap, where his character Benson got started. I've seen Auberjonois in a few things, that name always stands out in the credits. And no! I can't pronounce it.

Hmm...you're not a big fan of DSN:suspicious:;), I don't think GBG is either. I love all the Trek TV shows, but DSN is my favorite as it wasn't episodic like the other series, but had a continuing story and character arches, like a soap opera. And I'm a sucker for melo-drama.

You know why I think, The Big Bus flopped? lack of money for advertising and that what the hell just happened type ending. I mean it just ends as the bus breaks in two. If they would have just had a scene where they pull into Denver and are greeted by pretty girl with champagne...and then as they pat each other on the back and laugh...the bus in the background, blows up. Then that film would be more memorable.

Catch ya latter!

[Citizen Rules]

I've seen many. Some of them I saw long time ago and couldn't comment. Other movies are among my very favorites: "Barton Fink", "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski", "The Man Who Wasn't There". I think their movies express absurdity of situations, various storylines and life itself. Their movies are not necessarily "character- centric", but can have them. For example one of my favorite characters is Charlie Meadows by John Goodman in "Barton Fink". But overall, just like in "Hial, Ceasar!" Coens are more about situations and how they play out rather than characters.

"Miller's Crossing" is at the top of my watch list and I'd like to see some other acclaimed films of theirs. For example I didn't like "No Country for Old Men" when it was released, but I might change my mind if I re-watch it.Thanks Tugg, I need to see a few more Coen's before I decide about them. I once said I didn't like Woody Allen movies, then Markf and Sean challanged me to watch more of them, and guess what? I ended up doing a 180 and liking Woody Allen as a director. I think I'll try to watch a few of those Coen films you mentioned.

[Captain Steel]

I have never seen Benson, well I might have caught a few minutes of it once. I watched Soap, where his character Benson got started. I've seen Auberjonois in a few things, that name always stands out in the credits. And no! I can't pronounce it.

Hmm...you're not a big fan of DSN:suspicious:;), I don't think GBG is either. I love all the Trek TV shows, but DSN is my favorite as it wasn't episodic like the other series, but had a continuing story and character arches, like a soap opera. And I'm a sucker for melo-drama.

You know why I think, The Big Bus flopped? lack of money for advertising and that what the hell just happened type ending. I mean it just ends as the bus breaks in two. If they would have just had a scene where they pull into Denver and are greeted by pretty girl with champagne...and then as they pat each other on the back and laugh...the bus in the background, blows up. Then that film would be more memorable.

Catch ya latter!

Just for fun (don't know why but I made it a point to memorize how to pronounce Auberjonois' name)... Oh-bear-zhen-wah.
The "zhen" part is like how we pronounce the "s" in "vision" where the "s" has a combination "z" and "sh" sound.

I'll have to get my DVD out to watch the end of the Big Bus again. I remember it breaking in two. I remember it dangling on a cliff (I guess that's before it breaks in two)?
My only guess as to what they were trying to do was have it seem like there'd need to be a sequel to see what happened after it split in two?

I think I would've liked a Love Boat type ending with each character disembarking & saying goodbye to the crew (each having some joke or punchline to offer).

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26713&stc=1&d=1471824990
Red Skies of Montana (1952)


Director: Joseph M. Newman
Cast: Richard Widmark, Constance Smith, Jeffrey Hunter
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

This is one very unique movie, I've never seen another film quite like it. It's about a group of U. S. Forest Service, Smoke Jumpers, who parachute into the back country to fight forest fires in the mountains of Montana. This is based on a real story that happened in 1949 and killed 12 smoke jumpers who were trapped by the flames.

Red Skies of Montana is unusual film for it's time as it did actual on location filming in the national forest in Montana. This on location shooting makes the film look very authentic. Those are real trees on fire! And a lot of the scenes are filmed outside in the real back country, fighting fires or smoke jumping out of a plane. And unlike other movies of this type this is very focused on one thing, telling the story of the smoke jumpers and the tragedy that befalls them.

Richard Widmark is in top form here. He's right for the role and looks at home covered in dirt and ash. Also look for a young Jeffrey Hunter as one of the smoke jumper. Jeffrey is best known for playing Captain Pike in the original Star Trek TV pilot. And if you look real close you will catch a glimpse of a very young Charles Bronson serving soup to the hungry men in their bunk house.

I've seen over dramatized movies on this subject bet never one that seemed so factual. I enjoyed it and it's in full technicolor too.

rating_4+

[cricket]

Never head of that before. Only a 6.6 on IMDb but it actually sounds pretty damn good.

[Citizen Rules]

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/6568_1.jpg
WarGames (1983)

Director: John Badham
Writers: Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
Genre: Thriller

About: A young computer hacker accidentally finds a back door into NORAD's military computer, the one that controls all the nukes! When the young man David (Matthew Broderick) unwittingly plays what he thinks is an innocent game with the NORAD computer, he starts the clock ticking on WW3.

Background: This movie actually inspired the U.S. Congress to create, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984. A clip of this movie showing David hacking into another computer over the telephone was shown to members of congress as proof of the dangers of hackers. Of course now we know how ridiculous that is, without computers being networked a simple phone call from a 1983 home computer will not hack into NORAD. Still congressmen bought this movie as conceivable! And that speaks to the power of this movie from over 33 years ago.

https://wwwcdn.pmg.com/content/uploads/2015/07/large_WarGamesScene.jpg

The set that was built for the NORAD command center for this movie was the most expensive set ever constructed, at the time and cost a cool 1 million to build. Even by today's standards the NORAD set looks amazing!

If you expect to see Ferris Bueller playing with war computers, you won't see it. Mathew Broderick plays his character serious and he never breaks the fourth wall. He does a good job at fitting into a very serious and exciting movie.

Ally Sheedy plays the girl and she's good at that.

http://www.filmsbonheur.com/media/93042/WARGAMES-140.jpg


I dig that scene with the cryptic numbers glowing on their chest. The mark of their responsibility.

War Games, surprisingly holds up well, and hey you get to see some antique computers too, how neat is that.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

Never head of that before. Only a 6.6 on IMDb but it actually sounds pretty damn good.Ahh, what do they know at IMDB? It's not the typical 1950s drama-action-romance, it's pretty focused and the special effects looked amazing. I think you'd like it.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.top10films.co.uk/img/Always_steven-spielberg_richard-dreyfuss_holly-hunter.jpg

Always (Steven Spielberg, 1989)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson
Genre: Fantasy, Romanc



Always, is one of those movies that have something for everyone. I myself, liked the fire fighting scenes...the scenes of the old planes flying low over the roaring fire to drop water & retardant to put out the flames. I thought the flying scenes and the forest fires were well done. I was on the edge of my seat! I really like the way that was filmed.

I knew the plane they flew was an old WWII plane, as you could see where the forward mounted gun turret had been mounted in the plexiglass nosecone. That plane was a Douglas A-26 Invader, very cool to see it fly!

I didn't care for the fantasy scenes with Hap (Audrey Hepburn). Luckily those were only a couple minutes long and are not a deal breaker. Oh...I thought Audrey looked great for a 64 year old woman, sad it's her last movie.

The only other scene/character I didn't like was the old hobo, I thought that was over the top, which is Spielberg's trademark. But once again that scene is like 2 minutes max so no big deal.

Brad Johnson who played Ted...plain didn't work. He was an OK actor but he was physical wrong for the part. He has this leading man, alpha male look and when we see him we've been conditioned to think that type of guy has woman throwing themselves at his feet. So he just didn't suit the role. Though the glasses did help him look more humble. But he was way too tall and damn! Holy Hunter is tiny!

rating_3_5

[Captain Steel]

http://bonnier.imgix.net/2015-11_lt-spotlight-olz5JUW4O0001T67XORRZw.jpg?auto=format&ixjsv=1.0.24&w=750
Spotlight (Tom McCarthy 2015)

Director: Tom McCarthy
Writers: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama

About: Based on the true life story of the Boston Globe newspapers investigate efforts to uncover a massive cover up scandal, involving child molestation by priest in the Catholic Church and the cover up by the community.

Wow, what a powerful movie and sadly it's all true. Spotlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture and and another Academy Award for Best Screen Play. In this reviewers opinion it was well deserving of both Oscars.

Spotlight is reminiscent of the 1976 classic All The President's Men. The focus of the movie is on the investigative efforts of a four person team at the Boston Globe called Spotlight. We follow the bread crumb evidence as the investigate team seek out and find new information to prove this huge conspiracy.

This is not a character driven movie, we hardly get to know the back story and personalities of the news reporters. We don't need to know much about them. The focus is on the uncovering of the molestation scandal.

We don't see much action, we don't see any of the priest actually abuse the kids. We do learn that an estimated 6% of Catholic Priest are involved in molesting children. We learn that the Catholic hierarchic including the Cardinal, look the other way as this abuse happens. In Boston alone we learn that there is a shocking 87 priest confirmed by their victims as abusing children.

I thought Michael Keaton was perfect in the role of the lead news investigator and I liked Rachel McAdams too.

rating_4


Finally watched Spotlight. It was good and as you described, Rules.

It may not have been direct, but the inferences in the film are definitely an indictment of the Catholic Church. Based on the nationwide & worldwide list at the end of the film of places where the abuse was prevalent and covered up, the Church seemed to be a sanctuary for pedophiles... basically an underground base of operations for NAMBLA!

I can also see how this movie would not appeal to the typical movie-going audience (who are hungry for action, toilet humor, and undecipherable CGI). So I'm wondering how it won a Best Picture award.

[gbgoodies]

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/6568_1.jpg
WarGames (1983)

Director: John Badham
Writers: Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
Genre: Thriller

About: A young computer hacker accidentally finds a back door into NORAD's military computer, the one that controls all the nukes! When the young man David (Matthew Broderick) unwittingly plays what he thinks is an innocent game with the NORAD computer, he starts the clock ticking on WW3.

Background: This movie actually inspired the U.S. Congress to create, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984. A clip of this movie showing David hacking into another computer over the telephone was shown to members of congress as proof of the dangers of hackers. Of course now we know how ridiculous that is, without computers being networked a simple phone call from a 1983 home computer will not hack into NORAD. Still congressmen bought this movie as conceivable! And that speaks to the power of this movie from over 33 years ago.

https://wwwcdn.pmg.com/content/uploads/2015/07/large_WarGamesScene.jpg

The set that was built for the NORAD command center for this movie was the most expensive set ever constructed, at the time and cost a cool 1 million to build. Even by today's standards the NORAD set looks amazing!

If you expect to see Ferris Bueller playing with war computers, you won't see it. Mathew Broderick plays his character serious and he never breaks the fourth wall. He does a good job at fitting into a very serious and exciting movie.

Ally Sheedy plays the girl and she's good at that.

http://www.filmsbonheur.com/media/93042/WARGAMES-140.jpg


I dig that scene with the cryptic numbers glowing on their chest. The mark of their responsibility.

War Games, surprisingly holds up well, and hey you get to see some antique computers too, how neat is that.

rating_3_5




Despite it being a bit dated, I love WarGames. It's a great blend of comedy, drama, thriller, and even a bit of sci-fi.

[gbgoodies]

http://www.top10films.co.uk/img/Always_steven-spielberg_richard-dreyfuss_holly-hunter.jpg

Always (Steven Spielberg, 1989)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson
Genre: Fantasy, Romanc



Always, is one of those movies that have something for everyone. I myself, liked the fire fighting scenes...the scenes of the old planes flying low over the roaring fire to drop water & retardant to put out the flames. I thought the flying scenes and the forest fires were well done. I was on the edge of my seat! I really like the way that was filmed.

I knew the plane they flew was an old WWII plane, as you could see where the forward mounted gun turret had been mounted in the plexiglass nosecone. That plane was a Douglas A-26 Invader, very cool to see it fly!

I didn't care for the fantasy scenes with Hap (Audrey Hepburn). Luckily those were only a couple minutes long and are not a deal breaker. Oh...I thought Audrey looked great for a 64 year old woman, sad it's her last movie.

The only other scene/character I didn't like was the old hobo, I thought that was over the top, which is Spielberg's trademark. But once again that scene is like 2 minutes max so no big deal.

Brad Johnson who played Ted...plain didn't work. He was an OK actor but he was physical wrong for the part. He has this leading man, alpha male look and when we see him we've been conditioned to think that type of guy has woman throwing themselves at his feet. So he just didn't suit the role. Though the glasses did help him look more humble. But he was way too tall and damn! Holy Hunter is tiny!

rating_3_5


Despite it's flaws, I love Always. Did you ever get a chance to see the original version, A Guy Named Joe, or are you waiting for the 1940's countdown?

[gbgoodies]

Finally watched Spotlight. It was good and as you described, Rules.

It may not have been direct, but the inferences in the film are definitely an indictment of the Catholic Church. Based on the nationwide & worldwide list at the end of the film of places where the abuse was prevalent and covered up, the Church seemed to be a sanctuary for pedophiles... basically an underground base of operations for NAMBLA!

I can also see how this movie would not appeal to the typical movie-going audience (who are hungry for action, toilet humor, and undecipherable CGI). So I'm wondering how it won a Best Picture award.


I don't think that Spotlight was the best picture of the year, but I was glad to see it won the Oscar for Best Picture because I thought it was better than most of the other movies that were nominated.

[Citizen Rules]

Finally watched Spotlight. It was good and as you described, Rules.

It may not have been direct, but the inferences in the film are definitely an indictment of the Catholic Church. Based on the nationwide & worldwide list at the end of the film of places where the abuse was prevalent and covered up, the Church seemed to be a sanctuary for pedophiles... basically an underground base of operations for NAMBLA!

I can also see how this movie would not appeal to the typical movie-going audience (who are hungry for action, toilet humor, and undecipherable CGI). So I'm wondering how it won a Best Picture award. My take is: sometimes the Academy has the guts to do the right thing in picking Best Picture of the year. It would have had my vote for best pic. It's a gutsy movie and yet it doesn't scream at the viewer. The Catholic Church at the time was directly responsible for untold numbers of child molestation. Very sad, scratch that, very sick! I'm glad you watched it and I liked the movie.

Despite it being a bit dated, I love WarGames. It's a great blend of comedy, drama, thriller, and even a bit of sci-fi. I hadn't seen War Games in like 30 years I thought it was going to be a light comedy but it was a good thriller.

Yes I did see A Guy Named Joe and reviewed it too. Thanks for recommending it to me. Between you and Captain, I get to find out about a bunch of neat movies:)

A Guy Named Joe, my review
http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1535445#post1535445

[gbgoodies]

Yes I did see A Guy Named Joe and reviewed it too. Thanks for recommending it to me. Between you and Captain, I get to find out about a bunch of neat movies:)

A Guy Named Joe, my review
http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1535445#post1535445


Thanks for the link, (and the reminder). I read your review, and I even replied to it (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=1535876#post1535876). I just didn't remember, probably because it's been so crazy around here since the manhole went "BOOM!", (and believe or not, we're still having some power problems, and no gas for cooking :().

[Gideon58]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26700&stc=1&d=1471737466
The Big Bus (1976)

Director: James Frawley
Cast: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Sally Kellerman, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Mulligan
Genre: Comedy Action Spoof
[B]


Enjoyed your review Citizen and glad you enjoyed the movie, If I had one minor disagreement with you, it would be regarding Ruth Gordon...her character/performance did nothing for me, but other than that, your review is pretty much on the money.

[Citizen Rules]

Thanks Gideon! I made that montage picture myself, which I though showed the movie better than I could describe it.

[Captain Steel]

Thanks Gideon! I made that montage picture myself, which I though showed the movie better than I could describe it.

Wow! Pretty good, Rules!

The shot of the parking lot reminds me of one gag in the movie, but I can't remember how it goes... I think it was a tour bus or something picking up all the reporters in press pool (?), then it drives around the parking lot and drops them all off at exactly the same spot as it picked them up?

I just remember it being one of the stupidest yet funniest gags. I like stupid humor like that. I'm definitely going to have to watch it again since I can't remember all these stupid gags.

[Citizen Rules]

Wow! Pretty good, Rules!

The shot of the parking lot reminds me of one gag in the movie, but I can't remember how it goes... I think it was a tour bus or something picking up all the reporters in press pool (?), then it drives around the parking lot and drops them all off at exactly the same spot as it picked them up?

I just remember it being one of the stupidest yet funniest gags. I like stupid humor like that. I'm definitely going to have to watch it again since I can't remember all these stupid gags. That van in the parking lot gag made me laugh out loud. I laughed a number of times at stuff in the movie. It's funny!

Yup you need to watch it again:p....You know what film The Big Bus reminds me of and it's one I recommended to you before is Space Station 76 (2014)...Don't let the dismal IMDB rating of 4.9 throw you, this is a funny clever movie. I'm sure most of those reviewers had no clue of what the 70s were like, so the comedy went over their heads.

My review of Space Station 76 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1295330#post1295330)

[Captain Steel]

I have that one on my list! (Now I just have to find it)... I don't have Netflix.

[Citizen Rules]

https://motionstatereview.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/ronhoward1.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1
Grand Theft Auto (Ron Howard, 1977)

Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Rance Howard, Ron Howard
Cast: Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Elizabeth Rogers
Producer: Roger Corman
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

About: A rich girl (Nancy Morgan) tells her millionaire dad that she's marrying a poor boy (Ron Howard). He forbids the marriage and insist she marries an old boyfriend who's a dorky, rich kid from the wealthy family. The daughter is locked in her room but escapes and steals her dads Rolls Royce. She picks up Ron Howard and heads off to Las Vegas to get married. Her angry parents and her rich jealous ex-boyfriend chase them all the way there. When her dad offers a $25,000 reward to anyone who can stop the love hungry couple from reaching Vegas...all sorts of wack jobs join the chase!

Review: Not much to write home about in Grand Theft Auto. It's main claim to fame is it marks Ron Howard's directorial debut. Backed by the king of cult classics, Producer Roger Corman. Ronnie not only directs, but writes and stars in his first movie. According to Roger Corman, Howard was as cool as a cucumber on his very first movie as a director.

In the 1970's action packed car chase movies were all the rage. This started with 1968's Bullitt featuring Steve McQueen thanks to his infamous car case scene. Then came the one-long-car-chase movie, Gone In Sixty Seconds (1974)....adrenalinezed audiences were hook on watching feature length car chases, resulting in Death Race 2000 (1975) and Gumball Rally (1976) and a year latter Ron Howard made this film.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26716&stc=1&d=1471918220


The saving grace in what otherwise would be a forgettable action film is Ron Howard, the actor. He's very likable on screen and so is his girl Nancy Morgan. The young couple on the run really makes one want to root for them. There fun to see together. Other than that, the movie is only OK. It's not too long and it has some recognizable faces, including Clint and Rance Howard, along with Marion Ross and even Gary Marshall has a cameo.

rating_2_5+

[cricket]

I would watch that on TV as a kid and I loved it. Of course, it's been many years.

[Citizen Rules]

I would watch that on TV as a kid and I loved it. Of course, it's been many years.Believe it or not, I had never seen that movie...But I did see Gone in Sixty Seconds and The Cannonball Run at the theater when they first came out.

[cricket]

How about Corvette Summer?

[Citizen Rules]

Good one! I had totally forgot about that. I've seen that several times but it's been decades. I always loved that one as a kid, what a cool car!

[edarsenal]

and speaking of 70's car chasing flicks; Smokey and the Bandit

http://cd-dvd-vault.com/img/content/smokey.jpg

[gbgoodies]

I watched Grand Theft Auto a few years ago, only because of Ron Howard, but sadly, it was mostly a forgettable movie.

However there's a pretty interesting story about how it got financed. The movie was written by Ron Howard and his father, but they couldn't raise enough money to make the movie. So Ron Howard made a deal with Roger Corman that if Corman would help finance Howard's movie Grand Theft Auto (1977), Howard would star in Corman's movie Eat My Dust! (1976).

[Citizen Rules]

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Wallis & Edward (2005)

Director: David Moore
Writer: Sarah Williams
Cast: Joely Richardson, David Westhead, Lisa Kay

About: Based on historical events, in 1936 the King of England (David Westhead) abdicated the crown so he could marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson (Joely Richadson). The events caused a scandal with many in Britain believing Wallis Simpson had lead the King astray. Making her one of the most hated women in the U.K. at the time.

Review: I suppose because this movie was written by a woman, it's a more sensible movie than otherwise might have been. It has more heart, more understanding than the other movie version of this story.

I watched an interview with the writer, Sarah Williams and she went to great care to find and read personal correspondents from Edward and especially from Wallis. What she found was contrary to popular British opinion. This movie shows a Wallis who is not a gold digging, pushing American woman that caused a Kings downfall. Instead the writer shows us that Wallis was the love of Edward's life and they were two soul mates on the journey of life. The film beautifully shows this love blossoming as we see the attempts by the royal family and Parliament to squelch the love.

I found this made for BBC TV movie to be told very sensible and with class. The period piece costumes and sets look luxurious like one would expect. But it's the two lead actors who bought a human face on history book characters that made this movie special for me.

rating_3_5

[Captain Steel]

The couple was a smaller but integral plot point in The King's Speech - a movie I liked quite a lot (although other's did not).

P.S. Why did she have a man's first name? ;)

[TONGO]

How about Corvette Summer?

WHOA! Blast from the past! Just a kid when I saw it, I utterly ruined a Hot Wheels car trying to paint it the same color as Mark Hamills corvette.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Corvette_Summer.jpg

[edarsenal]

Wallis and Edward sounds rather endearing; I will need to keep and eye out for it, thanks CR

[Citizen Rules]

Wallis and Edward sounds rather endearing; I will need to keep and eye out for it, thanks CRI liked it, much better than the other movie about Wallis and Edward:
The Woman He Loved (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096460/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_87) (TV Movie) 1998.

Originally I had Madonna's movie W.E. to watch on the same subject but I hated it so much I shut it off after 15 minutes.

[Citizen Rules]

The couple was a smaller but integral plot point in The King's Speech - a movie I liked quite a lot (although other's did not).

P.S. Why did she have a man's first name? ;) People don't like The King's Speech??? Everyone have told about that movie, loved it.

Wallis was her middle name and in honor of her father who had the same name. Her birth name was Bessie Wallis Warfield. I'm not sure why she went by Wallis, kind of creepy for Edward if you ask me;)

[Citizen Rules]

https://media.myshows.me/shows/normal/3/39/39dd4409674a54477086ca099f75a281.jpg

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2015)


Director: Laurie Collyer
Cast: Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon
Genre: Biography Drama

About: The life and times of Marilyn Monroe. From her troubled childhood, to her rise to stardom, and finally to her passing in 1962 at age 36.

Review: The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe is a made for TV mini series movie, based on the novel of the same name. Kelli Garner plays Marilyn Monroe. Kelli is a relatively unknown name in movies, even though she has numerous acting credits to her name. Let's cut to the chase.....Does she look like Marilyn Monroe?

The answer is yes and no. When she plays the younger Norma Jean without much make up, she doesn't really look like the legendary actresses. But once they give her the Marilyn look, then she looks a lot like her. You decide.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26731&stc=1&d=1472089921

So the other big question is can she play a believable Marilyn? Yes! she can. Kelli Garner nails the vocal inflections, the pause in her voice, the facial movements. It's really quite uncanny how see seems to be able to channel Marilyn. She's the best faux Marilyn I've seen.

The other question Marilyn Monroe fans will want to know is: is this an accurate description of her life? Ahhh...well, maybe. The movie is factual for the most part, they do flub on some smaller points but it does seem to cover the behind closed doors stuff that Marilyn had to endure to become a star. The movie gives us a good idea of what Marilyn's life was like and what she had to endure. And it's not always pretty. Some have said that the book and the movie is a bit more speculative than it needed to be. But unless anyone can say they have meet and knew the real Marilyn, then I guess the truth is in the image...and the image is however we choose to see it.

rating_4

[skizzerflake]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26728&stc=1&d=1472005210
Wallis & Edward (2005)

Director: David Moore
Writer: Sarah Williams
Cast: Joely Richardson, David Westhead, Lisa Kay

About: Based on historical events, in 1936 the King of England (David Westhead) abdicated the crown so he could marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson (Joely Richadson). The events caused a scandal with many in Britain believing Wallis Simpson had lead the King astray. Making her one of the most hated women in the U.K. at the time.

Review: I suppose because this movie was written by a woman, it's a more sensible movie than otherwise might have been. It has more heart, more understanding than the other movie version of this story.

I watched an interview with the writer, Sarah Williams and she went to great care to find and read personal correspondents from Edward and especially from Wallis. What she found was contrary to popular British opinion. This movie shows a Wallis who is not a gold digging, pushing American woman that caused a Kings downfall. Instead the writer shows us that Wallis was the love of Edward's life and they were two soul mates on the journey of life. The film beautifully shows this love blossoming as we see the attempts by the royal family and Parliament to squelch the love.

I found this made for BBC TV movie to be told very sensible and with class. The period piece costumes and sets look luxurious like one would expect. But it's the two lead actors who bought a human face on history book characters that made this movie special for me.

rating_3_5

Written by a woman or not, Wallis was a fairly despicable person. She was a gold-digging American woman, not just that, but she held Nazi sympathies and, at one point she and Edward (who she led around by the nose) wanted to be puppets in a Nazi ruled England. When she and Eddie were exiled to Nassau, she also showed herself to be a rather abrasive racist too.

[Citizen Rules]

I don't believe she was a gold digging woman, that is just the bad press she got in the UK, as they lost their King. Call it sour grapes.

Unless you believe Edward was a very weak willed individual, then even if she was a gold digger, he must have been powerless to fall under her spell. The film makes it clear that they loved each other and he didn't want to have the duties of King in the first place. No one forced him to abdicate. Oh and the woman who wrote it, is British.

[Captain Steel]

People don't like The King's Speech??? Everyone have told about that movie, loved it.

Wallis was her middle name and in honor of her father who had the same name. Her birth name was Bessie Wallis Warfield. I'm not sure why she went by Wallis, kind of creepy for Edward if you ask me;)

Thanks for the info on her name!
Have you seen The King's Speech, Rules?
One of my all time favorite movies. It's one of those I could watch again any time.
Guy Pierce plays Edward. (But the real magic is between Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter.)
You'd like it (no special effects, NO CGI!!!, no violence - except for the outbreak of WWII, no sex, but there is a lot of cursing - you'd have to watch it to find out why.) ;)

[Citizen Rules]

I did see The King's Speech. I thought it one of the best movies of the 21st century, that I had seen. I've only seen it one time and that was years ago, but have never forgotten it. It's my type of film alright! You got that right.

Oh yeah, the cursing;) I guess when the stammering King curses, it works because you feel as frustrated as he must have by his speech impediment, so the fact that he can curse is almost a relief. I hope that makes sense.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26733&stc=1&d=1472178929
Wild River (Elia Kazan,1960)

Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet
Genre: Drama, History, Romance

About: During the Great Depression of the 1930's, a project is undertaken to tame the Tennessee river by building a series of flood control dams. One catch, it will flood the Tennessee valley and force people out of their homes. Several weeks before the valley is to be flooded, a TVA bureaucrat (Montgomery Clift) comes to the river to do what his predecessors were unable to do, remove a proud and stubborn old woman from her ancestral home before the rising river floods her.

Review: Wild River is one of Elia Kazan's lesser known films. Based on real events. Like many of Kazan's movies it deals with a morality struggle, in this case one person standing up to the federal government. Reportedly Kazan listed this as his favorite among his many fine movies that he made.

Filmed almost entirely in the Tennessee Valley the film looks great and has a stark realism to it. Making this film all the more poignant is the sub-story of the black share croppers and their plight.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26734&stc=1&d=1472178949

Montgomery Clift was nearing the end of his acting career here and some may say the years of alcoholism shows. To his credit he staid sober during the entire filming. We can see in his face that there's an inner battle going on, but he keeps his emotions bottled up, which works well for his character, who has to make a hard decision that ways heavily on him.

Lee Remick was fresh from her first big role in Anatomy of a Murder. Previously she had worked with Kazan as a teenager in Face in the Crowd. Here she's matured into a fine actress. This might be my favorite role of hers, she's quite effective. Lee Remick said that Wild River was the favorite of all her movies.

Jo Van Fleet, the grande dame of stage, and veteran of Elia Kazan's East of Eden is the other main character. She owns her role, and it's her character that drives the story. She can both make us care for her plight and at the same time make us scorn her for her utter stubbornness, now that's acting!

rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino,1953)

Director: Ida Lupino
Writers: Collier Young & Ida Lupino (screenplay)
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman
Genre: Film Noir Thriller

About: Two unlucky fishermen in need of a ride are given a lift in a stolen car by a psychotic escaped murderer. He tells them that he's going to kill them when they get to the end of the ride.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=25103&stc=1&d=1461774144




Review: I've seen Ida Lupino in earlier films and knew she had directed, but I had never seen one until now. She does a fantastic job as a director! I love the way she goes with down-angled closeup shots, during the opening credits. It's too bad the credits had to roll over her work as the opening shots of the hitch-hiker's boots & the pavement of the road & the tires of the victim's car...are intense.

I love the way she keeps the film tense with closeup shots in the car's interior...it adds a sense of claustrophobia which is perfect for a story about two men held captive by a psycho. We also get a few beautiful wide shots, taken from up above on the rocks, as the car speeds along. The rock location is not only cool looking, but gives a sense of bleakness and isolation as does the stories choice of location in a remote region of Mexico. Written by Ida Lupino and her husband Collier, this is a stark, no nonsense script and the cinematography matches that to a tee.

I always like Edmund O'Brien, he's particular good here. And William Talman as the psycho hitch-hiker made one helluva bad guy.

rating_3_5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://cinenthusiast.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/the-big-country04.jpg?w=660&h=280

The Big Country (William Wyler,1958)

Director: William Wyler
Cast: Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charleston Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford
Genre: Western Drama Romance
Length: 2h 45min

About: A wealthy, former sea captain from New England travels to the west to marry a woman he had meant on the east coast. There he finds his ethics and sensibilities in conflict with the brutish nature of the open range



Awesome film...it has everything I could want in a film:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/the-big-country/w448/the-big-country.jpg


Superb story telling of a big story arch that encompasses idealism, romance, individuality and action too....All done with characters who act and speak in-accordance with their established personalities and back story. In other words they act real and have real convictions, which gives each of the characters real motivation for doing what they do.

Breathtaking cinematography, Wow! does this film look great! It's the gorgeous shooting locations, like the open vast prairie that fills the screen, or the stark white of Blanco Canyon...and the Terrill mansion! Was that cool looking or what?....And the camera work itself takes full advantage of this epic vastness. This should have won the Oscar for best cinematography.

Majestic music score, Right off the bat I noticed how special the music score was. It never over powered the film but really added to the epic feel of the movie. I loved it...and the score was nominated for an Oscar too.

Great Performances, Gregory Peck is the man! The more I see of him, the more I like him. He co-produced the film along with William Wyler and his personal style is apparent. I thought all the actors did a top notch job, especially Burl Ives who was a powerhouse, he gave one of the most powerful speeches I've seen done. Burl Ives did win a well deserved Oscar for best supporting actor.


http://www.harmonicacinema.com/media/2015/05/The-Big-Country-03.jpg


Parting thoughts, At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is a long movie, but the time flew by! There was always something going on that furthered the story and the character arcs.....I do believe I have a new Top 10 Favorite!

rating_5

[edarsenal]

Haven't seen Wild River or Hitchhiker since I was a kid; need to revisit them.
Have never seen Big Country, been curious to and even more so since your review.

[Citizen Rules]

Hey Ed....Big Country was Cricket's nomination in the 50s Hof Part 2. It came in at #3, not to shabby seeing how a lot of folks aren't real fond of westerns. I loved it so much I added it to my Top 10 list:)

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26741&stc=1&d=1472255824
Going Berserk (1983)

Director: David Steinberg
Writers: Dana Olsen, David Steinberg
Cast: John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy
Genre: Comedy

About: John Candy plays a likable goof (go figure!) he's out of money and dreams of being a drummer. He works his butt off as a chauffeur along with his best friend Joe Flaherty. Somehow Candy ends up engaged to a congressman's daughter...Throw in a sleezy, D-budget movie director and a religious cult with an aerobics class as a front and you get.....Going Beserk

Review: With such a zany script that features three of SCTV's top comediennes, how could this miss? But it does! Actually there's funny gags and lines, but for some reason the movie just doesn't seem funny.

The best I can figure is: for humor to work on the screen, the set up and the timing of the jokes, along with the reaction of the other characters are ultra important. This movie looks good on paper but doesn't deliver on the laughs, thanks to director.

Oddly for John Candy, he delivers some very crude humor that seems out of place and even misses as shock value. Tweens, might find the crude jokes funny but I doubt his fans would.

The one time shining spot in this movie is the black & white dream sequences, which lampoons the 1950s TV show Father Knows Best...and features John Candy as next door neighbor, Beaver Cleaver. A role he made famous on SCTV. I wish this skit had been the basis for the movie, because then it would have been a film worthy of John Candy's talents.

rating_2_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/slideshow-previews/52-3642bb9866e2a918a6eb56180305bf1b/current_1534_001thumb_original_original.jpg
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Reginald Rose (story & screenplay)
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall,Jack Klugman
Genre: Drama

The movie comes on like a sledge hammer with 11 of the jurors wanting to convict almost immediately. These 'bad' jurors look like utter fools as they foam at the mouth with their ridiculous reasons for wanting a guilty verdict. Their reasons to convict are so contrived and outright silly that it demotes the 11 jurors to mere cartoon caricatures.

Meanwhile the only 'sensible' person is the calm and collected juror played by Henry Fonda who believes the accused might be innocent. He then precedes to come up with numerous reasons to support his belief. His hunches are the key to the movie. If those hunches had solid logic behind them, this would have been a much better film. But the argument for a not guilty verdict had more holes than swiss cheese.

The acting is way over the top to the level of a dark comedy...especially Lee J. Cobb who tore up the scenery and the sets too. He was so audibly loud that he drowned out the other actors. Cobb, Ed Begley and the guy who wanted to convict the accused murder just so that he could get to the ball game on time, were the worst of the two-dimensional caricatures. Tension is created by repeatedly yelling'let's hurry up!'...'not another vote!' And they were yelling that within minutes of getting into the jury room too, are these men impatient or what!

The 'antagonist jurors' don't hold to their guilty verdict out of a belief in the facts but instead have 'personal demons' that cause them to cast a guilty vote...They don't act out of their convictions based on the trial's facts...that would have been interesting. Instead their function in the film was to yell and bully the other jurors to create tension, and that's lazy writing. They're written as court jesters, and that too is lazy writing.It would've been a better film if there was at least some tangible evidence for the 'voting guilty jurors' so they have a foundation for their belief that the accused was indeed guilty.

The cinematography with the establishing camera shot of the court house building is nicely done, making the court building look monolithic and imposing. The next shot when the camera goes inside to an upper deck and looks down at the people coming into the building...this makes them look so small and insignificant...Such a promising start to an otherwise disappointing film.


rating_2_5

[cricket]

First time hearing of Wild River, sounds real good.

[Citizen Rules]

First time hearing of Wild River, sounds real good. Me too, I hadn't really known anything about it, until I watched it. It starts out odd, with actual b&w footage of the Tennessee river flood and it's destruction, then a man telling how in the flood he had lost his wife and baby girl as the water pulled them out of his arms. It's powerful stuff because it's real, but I think maybe it put a damper on the film and that's why it's not well known. But it should be.

[MovieMeditation]

+rep for writing a review that states your thoughts and feelings and why you didn't like it. :up:

I've only seen 12 Angry Men once and that was a long time ago, so I can't put up a proper discussion right now, especially since your points or very specific. But personally I remember loving the movie. We'll see with a revisit.

[Captain Steel]

Okay. I'm a bit surprised at the rating for 12 Angry Men.
However, all your criticisms are valid. Despite the heavy-handed morality lesson, the lack of realism, a bit of dubious logic in both verdict directions, the fact that the movie is dated, and the over-the-top characters, I've always found this film gripping & entertaining from start to finish. I've always rated it a 5 of 5!

[Tugg]

If there was no drama in "12 Angry Men", you would have "12 Reserved Men".

[Captain Steel]

Also, I think Henry Fonda represents the idea of "burden of proof."
The Prosecution bears the burden of proof. The Defense does not have to prove that the accused did not do it, they don't have to prove anything. Fonda's character simply brings up questions that create reasonable doubt. They don't prove anything one way or another (as is pointed out to him multiple times by other jurors), but they create doubt that the Prosecution's scenario is 100% accurate.

And a little bit of reasonable doubt is all that's necessary to say that the Prosecution has not met the burden of proof - and therefore the verdict must be not guilty. "Not guilty" never means "innocent," it only means that the accusers did not prove their case or that there were enough variables still left on the table as to create reasonable doubt that the accusation is completely irrefutable.

I'm not arguing with Rules' synopsis - which is totally valid, just providing reasons why it wasn't necessary that Fonda's character's theories all make perfect sense - they didn't have to since all he was doing was establishing doubt in the minds of other jurors.

[MovieMeditation]

Glad an expert came in and stated a lot of what I probably would have if I had seen it many times before. Thanks, Steel! :up:

But yeah, my short and direct fragmented point of view would simply be, that I think the movie is a great exercise in drama and how to create it, continue it and keep it afloat. It is pretty basic in its formula but very precise and well handled in its execution. Discussion, new point, discussion, new point is the very thinly drawn basic of it; and I think it's wonderfully done and at the least very entertaining and exciting to follow.

[Citizen Rules]

+rep for writing a review that states your thoughts and feelings and why you didn't like it. :up:

I've only seen 12 Angry Men once and that was a long time ago, so I can't put up a proper discussion right now, especially since your points or very specific. But personally I remember loving the movie. We'll see with a revisit. Yup, I usually try to give reasons why I love/hate a film. It's the films I don't feel anything about that are hard for me to write a review for.

Okay. I'm a bit surprised at the rating for 12 Angry Men.
However, all your criticisms are valid. Despite the heavy-handed morality lesson, the lack of realism, a bit of dubious logic in both verdict directions, the fact that the movie is dated, and the over-the-top characters, I've always found this film gripping & entertaining from start to finish. I've always rated it a 5 of 5! I loved it too, until I watched it again a few months ago. Then it seemed to me like a film that was really good at manipulating the audiences emotions.

Once I started looking at the decisions the director took to achieve those emotionally ends, the film fall apart for me. And the more it smacked of a PC, agenda movie.

I have to laugh at the referential of evidence by Henry Fonda. Especially the eye witness testimony of the lady who from across the street, under oath said she had seen the accused stab his father. But....Fonda notices she has marks on her nose and concludes that she must have needed glasses for vision and couldn't had time to put them on and so must have been lying.

No one brings up the question if she wore sun glasses to court and took them off prior to entering the building, hence the glass marks on her nose...nor did anyone bring up the idea that she could have been wearing reading glasses, which is not uncommon for someone of her age and there forth didn't need glasses for distances vision, making her testimony accurate.

That reminds me of the O.J. Simpson trial and the Johnnie Cochran defense that if the leather gloves wore by the murderer didn't fit O.J. then he must be innocent.:rolleyes: "If it don't fit, you must acquit"

Actually maybe 12 Angry Men is brilliant in a reverse way. It aims to show that the court system is stacked against the poor, who can't get a fair trial. But instead the film shows the court system is flawed in another way: any lame brain can make far fetched claims that evidence is not accurate with hyperbola and in that way derail the justices system.

I really dislike 12 Angry Men, because it's sloppy and emotionally weighted one way. Oh and Henry Fonda was annoying, hell all the jurors were cartoon caricatures. It's hard to get a serious film when the bad guys wear black hats and twirl their mustaches.

[Captain Steel]

Glad an expert came in and stated a lot of what I probably would have if I had seen it many times before. Thanks, Steel! :up:

But yeah, my short and direct fragmented point of view would simply be, that I think the movie is a great exercise in drama and how to create it, continue it and keep it afloat. It is pretty basic in its formula but very precise and well handled in its execution. Discussion, new point, discussion, new point is the very thinly drawn basic of it; and I think it's wonderfully done and at the least very entertaining and exciting to follow.

I'm not an expert, but I have sat on 3 juries. Once I was foreman! :)

But I agree, the backdrop is the legal / jury system, the movie is about the drama, the characters and the level of entertainment that results from their interaction.

[Captain Steel]

Once I started looking at the decisions the director took to achieve those emotionally ends, the film fall apart for me. And the more it smacked of a PC, agenda movie.



You know my buttons, don't you, Rules?
Touche'!

After reading that I can never view it the same.
Just kidding - it's still a favorite. ;)

[Captain Steel]

That reminds me of the O.J. Simpson trial and the Johnnie Cochran defense that if the leather gloves wore by the murderer didn't fit O.J. then he must be innocent.:rolleyes: [I]"If it don't fit, you must acquit"



That's a favorite subject, but I'm not expert on it.
I may get bashed for this, but... from a logical point of view I think the evidence showed that O.J. was guilty, but from a purely legal standpoint I can't fault the jury for their verdict.

Another thing (and I'm not sure how it went down in the O.J. case) is the judge's instructions to the jury - they are often surprising and sometimes make it so that the jury can only decide one way. In one jury I sat on, at the last minute before deliberating the judge instructed us that we were not permitted to look at or review any hospital documentation - but it was a medical malpractice suit and the documentation was the whole case - that's where all the evidence was - without it there was no case. So even though we felt bad for the victim (who'd been messed up for life) we had to find the defendant (the Dr.) not guilty all because of the judge's last minute instructions.

In short, I think the glove was not the deciding factor in the O.J. case, but it was the doubt created by the police mishandling of evidence. The case was lost due to a poor job done by the Prosecution, the initial way police handled the investigation and things like discrediting Furhman's character - these created reasonable doubt.

[Citizen Rules]

Good post Captain. I'd agree with you that the police and prosecution botched the OJ trial. Though he's still guiltily in my book!

I've never sat on a jury, so it's interesting to hear the actual behind the scenes happenings from you. Have you seen the movie Judgement at Nuremberg? I would call that a literal master piece of high believability of a court trial.

[mark f]

It wasn't Fonda that mentioned the marks on her nose - it was the old man who did and put forth the theory that the witness needed glasses to see. The old man also said the witness tried to look about 20 years younger than she was. The defense attorney (public defender) didn't bring any of this up, so the jury was giving the accused what he never had - a questioning of the witness' veracity and the capability of her being able to clearly see the crime and give "eyewitness" testimony. Lee J. Cobb even gave the same argument that CR does about the glasses being used for other things, but the other jurors want to see how the totality of her testimony holds up, not just the glasses. In subsequent courtroom dramas, they just ask the witness to identify something from a distance and when the witness can't see well enough to be believed, her testimony is discounted, but in this film that can't be done, so it's up to the jury who come to believe and accept that the boy had a weak defense and that they will do all to make up for what they see as an unfair trial through incompetent defense.

The point of the movie is that things don't always seem to be how they first appear. The jury voted 11-1 to convict the boy without a word discussed, but then Fonda brings up some things and others do too. It's funny to hear a film made in the middle of the Eisenhower Administration called "PC". Yes, it's liberal, but the era needed some liberality, don't you think?

[Captain Steel]

Good post Captain. I'd agree with you that the police and prosecution botched the OJ trial. Though he's still guiltily in my book!

I've never sat on a jury, so it's interesting to hear the actual behind the scenes happenings from you. Have you seen the movie Judgement at Nuremberg? I would call that a literal master piece of high believability of a court trial.

Just watched it again about 2 weeks ago!

P.S. On one jury I was on a guy who put up a fuss about being selected was forced to serve by the judge (apparently a punishment due to the guy's attitude that he was above jury duty).
This turned out to be a mistake. The guy ended up being like Jack Warden's character in 12 Angry Men. He didn't want to be there and started browbeating other jurors to come to a quick decision so he could get back to his business. In hindsight, I think I should have reported the guy. He wasn't concerned with the outcome, only that it get over with. And unfortunately I think he did alter the outcome - if we'd deliberated longer I think the plaintiff would've gotten more compensation. So, it goes to show that the system is not perfect, and one judge trying to make a point to an unwilling individual created a rushed and unfair outcome for a plaintiff.

[Swan]

It wasn't Fonda that mentioned the marks on her nose - it was the old man who did and put forth the theory that the witness needed glasses to see. The old man also said the witness tried to look about 20 years younger than she was. The defense attorney (public defender) didn't bring any of this up, so the jury was giving the accused what he never had - a questioning of the witness' veracity and the capability of her being able to clearly see the crime and give "eyewitness" testimony. Lee J. Cobb even gave the same argument that CR does about the glasses being used for other things, but the other jurors want to see how the totality of her testimony holds up, not just the glasses. In subsequent courtroom dramas, they just ask the witness to identify something from a distance and when the witness can't see well enough to be believed, her testimony is discounted, but in this film that can't be done, so it's up to the jury who come to believe and accept that the boy had a weak defense and that they will do all to make up for what they see as an unfair trial through incompetent defense.

The point of the movie is that things don't always seem to be how they first appear. The jury voted 11-1 to convict the boy without a word discussed, but then Fonda brings up some things and others do too. It's funny to hear a film made in the middle of the Eisenhower Administration called "PC". Yes, it's liberal, but the era needed some liberality, don't you think?

Yeah I have to disagree with Citizen about this one. The film, to me, was always just about appropriate skepticism and analyzing situations properly. I don't know how anyone can argue that the jury aside from Fonda, in the beginning, was too quick to judge the guilt of the kid. Not sure why it's being considered PC to simply question the validity of the quick, thoughtless decision, but okay.

[Captain Steel]

To Rules, you are really stepping in it this month, buddy.
First, comparing the comic genius of Airplane! to Adam Sandler films... :eek:
And now giving 12 Angry Men a 2.5?
You better be careful and start getting your head back in the game!

;)

[Citizen Rules]

It wasn't Fonda that mentioned the marks on her nose - it was the old man who did and put forth the theory that the witness needed glasses to see. The old man also said the witness tried to look about 20 years younger than she was. The defense attorney (public defender) didn't bring any of this up, so the jury was giving the accused what he never had - a questioning of the witness' veracity and the capability of her being able to clearly see the crime and give "eyewitness" testimony. Lee J. Cobb even gave the same argument that CR does about the glasses being used for other things, but the other jurors want to see how the totality of her testimony holds up, not just the glasses. In subsequent courtroom dramas, they just ask the witness to identify something from a distance and when the witness can't see well enough to be believed, her testimony is discounted, but in this film that can't be done, so it's up to the jury who come to believe and accept that the boy had a weak defense and that they will do all to make up for what they see as an unfair trial through incompetent defense.

The point of the movie is that things don't always seem to be how they first appear. The jury voted 11-1 to convict the boy without a word discussed, but then Fonda brings up some things and others do too. It's funny to hear a film made in the middle of the Eisenhower Administration called "PC". Yes, it's liberal, but the era needed some liberality, don't you think?

Thanks for the information on who brought up the glasses question....Yes, to the sentence in bold.
I can see how the movie during the Eisenhower period did more good than harm.

My main objection is: most of the 11 jurors who want a guilty verdict are shown as caricatures and thus the film uses their personality traits, to defeat or question their views of the trial...when their views should have been defeated/or questioned from a factual/logical stand point.

And yes I just read what Captain wrote about the man forced to do jury duty who was in a hurry. It's interesting to know those things do happen.

I wish the film would have toned down the overly colorful caricatures in the film, then I might have bought it more.

But most of them are unbelievably (to me) bigoted, boobs, careless, etc. The only saving grace among the main ones is E.G. Marshall.

The worst stereo types: the juror who secretly is motivated for a guilty verdict because he has his own problems with his son. I believe that was Lee J Cobb?...

And the worst was the salesmen who didn't care what happened, but wanted the deliberation over because he had tickets to a ball game. That would have been grounds for a mistrial as would Fonda's illegally tampering with evidence (not sure if that's the correct term?) when he brings in a knife.

I went into this movie having seen it some years ago and thinking it was a near Top 10 for me. But the script is sloppy, it's over sentimentalized and the writer makes his points by painting most of the 11 as nutcases.

Hey! I just realized something, I'm like Henry Fonda standing up to entire room of jurors;)...Which I think is kind of cool...:)

[mark f]

The jury seemed like a reasonable cross-section of male humanity to me.

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah I have to disagree with Citizen about this one. The film, to me, was always just about appropriate skepticism and analyzing situations properly. That's what I would have loved to see, but in my mind the film didn't really go there in the way I wanted it to. I think the film is a cheat. It goes directly to our human nature of wanting to root for the underdog and wanting justices, but it makes its points by ad hominem attacks via the caricaturization of some of the 11 jurors.


I don't know how anyone can argue that the jury aside from Fonda, in the beginning, was too quick to judge the guilt of the kid.I'd say based on the evidence the accused was guilty. And in the end they let a murder go free. Of course it's just fictional movie and not based on a real case events.

[Swan]

I think your criticisms are thoughtful ones, but I do disagree with them. Thanks for the response though. :)

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah I have to disagree with Citizen about this one. The film, to me, was always just about appropriate skepticism and analyzing situations properly. I don't know how anyone can argue that the jury aside from Fonda, in the beginning, was too quick to judge the guilt of the kid. Not sure why it's being considered PC to simply question the validity of the quick, thoughtless decision, but okay.

I think your criticisms are thoughtful ones, but I do disagree with them. Thanks for the response though. :) Thanks Swan:)...And visit more often for a chat....it gets lonely in here sometimes! I'm good with different view points:) We're all just fans of cinema, each with our own individuality and experiences that color our views.

[The Sci-Fi Slob]

The jury seemed like a reasonable cross-section of male humanity to me.
Don't start with the sexism bullsh1t here! I get enough SJW crap on Twitter and YouTube.
:walter:

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26745&stc=1&d=1472346158


Detective Story (William Wyler,1951)


Director: William Wyler
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix
Genre: Film Noir

About: A hard nosed detective (Kirk Douglas) who's been suspended in the past for police brutality, finds himself on a case so disturbing that his negative emotions spill over to his wife (Elanor Parker). During a one day period at the police precinct room we see a wide range of assorted characters and criminals, each with their own stories.

Review: Kirk Douglas was known for intense acting such as in 1951's Ace in the Hole. Here in Detective Story he's even more intense and more forceful. Thanks to a well crafted back story, his character has real motivation to act in such a zealot manner. IMO this is Kirk Douglas' best performance...and he gave a lot of great performances!

http://trailerwatch.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1470435583_hqdefault.jpg


Elanor Parker who's first big role was in Caged (1950), gives a more well rounded performance as the wife of a out of control cop, who's dealing with a marriage that is falling apart. She's able to get her acting chops into the part and as much as I liked her in Caged, I like her performance here better.

The story construction of Detective Story is unique for a film noir and works well. We get the main story of Kirk Douglas as he pursues a suspect and is willing to do anything to get his man. That might be enough for most films but here, every action he takes, causes a secondary story-line to unfold with his wife. That's clever. Finally there's even a third subplot running through the story about a young teen accused of a petty crime. All of this is wrapped up in a birds eye view of the inner workings of a police precinct.

rating_5

[gbgoodies]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d6Di5YbkE80/maxresdefault.jpg
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino,1953)

Director: Ida Lupino
Writers: Collier Young & Ida Lupino (screenplay)
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman
Genre: Film Noir Thriller

About: Two unlucky fishermen in need of a ride are given a ride in a stolen car by a psychotic escaped murder. He tells them that he is going to kill them when at the end of the ride.



The Hitch-Hiker is a good movie because we all know the dangers of hitchhiking, and this puts us right in the middle of that danger. But if I remember correctly, the two fishermen picked up the hitchhiker in their own car. He didn't pick them up in a stolen car.

[gbgoodies]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/slideshow-previews/52-3642bb9866e2a918a6eb56180305bf1b/current_1534_001thumb_original_original.jpg
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Reginald Rose (story & screenplay)
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall,Jack Klugman
Genre: Drama

About: A fictionalized account of a jury of 12 men, 11 who want to convict a young man on a murder charge...And 1 hold out juror (Henry Fonda), who believes there's evidence enough to question the fairness of the trial.



rating_2_5

I'm shocked (and saddened) by your rating of 12 Angry Men. I know that you said that you didn't like it as much now as you did when you first saw it, but I didn't expect that low of a rating.

IMO, it's a brilliant movie. Watching Henry Fonda as the lone juror holdout trying to turn each other juror is mesmerizing.


Also, I think Henry Fonda represents the idea of "burden of proof."
The Prosecution bears the burden of proof. The Defense does not have to prove that the accused did not do it, they don't have to prove anything. Fonda's character simply brings up questions that create reasonable doubt. They don't prove anything one way or another (as is pointed out to him multiple times by other jurors), but they create doubt that the Prosecution's scenario is 100% accurate.

And a little bit of reasonable doubt is all that's necessary to say that the Prosecution has not met the burden of proof - and therefore the verdict must be not guilty. "Not guilty" never means "innocent," it only means that the accusers did not prove their case or that there were enough variables still left on the table as to create reasonable doubt that the accusation is completely irrefutable.

I'm not arguing with Rules' synopsis - which is totally valid, just providing reasons why it wasn't necessary that Fonda's character's theories all make perfect sense - they didn't have to since all he was doing was establishing doubt in the minds of other jurors.

As Capt. said, all he needed was "reasonable doubt", not "beyond the shadow of a doubt". His arguments were valid to create that reasonable doubt.


I wish the film would have toned down the overly colorful caricatures in the film, then I might have bought it more.

But most of them are unbelievably (to me) bigoted, boobs, careless, etc. The only saving grace among the main ones is E.G. Marshall.

The worst stereo types: the juror who secretly is motivated for a guilty verdict because he has his own problems with his son. I believe that was Lee J Cobb?...

And the worst was the salesmen who didn't care what happened, but wanted the deliberation over because he had tickets to a ball game. That would have been grounds for a mistrial as would Fonda's illegally tampering with evidence (not sure if that's the correct term?) when he brings in a knife.

I went into this movie having seen it some years ago and thinking it was a near Top 10 for me. But the script is sloppy, it's over sentimentalized and the writer makes his points by painting most of the 11 as nutcases.

You don't get out much, do you? That sounds like a typical crowd here in New York. :lol:


Hey! I just realized something, I'm like Henry Fonda standing up to entire room of jurors;)...Which I think is kind of cool...:)

Yeah, but the difference is that he won, and I don't think you're going to sway a lot of votes here. :skeptical:


Rules, have you seen My Cousin Vinny? The courtroom scenes in that movie are kind of similar to this, but instead of swaying the jury, Joe Pesci (as the lawyer) tries to negate the evidence and witnesses one by one. It's not exactly the same, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on that trial.

[Citizen Rules]

The Hitch-Hiker is a good movie because we all know the dangers of hitchhiking... I like what you wrote there:p...it's true too!


But if I remember correctly, the two fishermen picked up the hitchhiker in their own car. He didn't pick them up in a stolen car.Whoops....I have the worlds worst memory, I swear:eek:



Rules, have you seen My Cousin Vinny? The courtroom scenes in that movie are kind of similar to this, but instead of swaying the jury, Joe Pesci (as the lawyer) tries to negate the evidence and witnesses one by one. It's not exactly the same, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on that trial. No, not yet. I know you really liked My Cousin Vinny, I want to see it one of these days. Maybe we'll do another comedy Hof and you'll nominate it?:) It looks like a fun movie.

[gbgoodies]

I like what you wrote there:p...it's true too!

Whoops....I have the worlds worst memory, I swear:eek:

No, not yet. I know you really liked My Cousin Vinny, I want to see it one of these days. Maybe we'll do another comedy Hof and you'll nominate it?:) It looks like a fun movie.


I nominated My Cousin Vinny for the last Comedy HoF, and you saw how well that worked out. :rolleyes:

[Citizen Rules]

Oh, I remember the comedy Hof, but forgot that was your nom.

[gbgoodies]

Oh, I remember the comedy Hof, but forgot that was your nom.


Yeah, it was, and after seeing what some people here consider comedy, I doubt I would join another Comedy HoF. :(

(BTW, that's why I voted for sci-fi over comedy for the next MoFo countdown. I expect a lot of horror/sci-fi to show up on the list, but that's better than what could show up in a comedy countdown.)

[Chypmunk]

Have to disagree with you re: 12 Angry Men - I think it's a brilliantly written and directed film but to each their own viewpoint. Detective Story sounds interesting and pretty sure I've never seen that one.

[Citizen Rules]

Chyp, have you seen 12 Angry Men (1997)? It was made for TV, but has a high IMDB rating. Jack Lemon played the Henry Fonda role. I haven't seen it, but I think I will seek it out and see if it's more to my liking.

[Chypmunk]

Chyp, have you seen 12 Angry Men (1997)? It was made for TV, but has a high IMDB rating. Jack Lemon played the Henry Fonda role. I haven't seen it, but I think I will seek it out and see if it's more to my liking.
I never have and tbh don't think I ever want to as I hold the original in such high regard I just can't imagine it would do anything but pale by comparison.

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah I can see that. Most of the time, when we watch and love the original a remake seems unnecessary. I most always hold to that opinion myself. But a couple people told me the 1997 version was pretty good and my curiosity has gotten the best of me....So if you or anyone is interested, I will review it in a few days.

[Chypmunk]

Some sort of comparative review would certainly be interesting but from what you said about the original I can't see any reason why you'd feel too much differently about the tv version really.

[Citizen Rules]

Some sort of comparative review would certainly be interesting but from what you said about the original I can't see any reason why you'd feel too much differently about the tv version really. I guess it depends if the TV version presents the 11 jurors in a more well rounded, believable light. I have hope I will like it, and I hope they take the script and polish it. An any rate I'm going into it, expecting to like it, but I guess I'll have to watch it to see:p

[Chypmunk]

I guess it depends if the TV version presents the 11 jurors in a more well rounded, believable light. I have hope I will like it, and I hope they take the script and polish it. An any rate I'm going into it, expecting to like it, but I guess I'll have to watch it to see:p
I very much doubt they tamper with the script but you never know ... I've seen bigger travesties take place :(

[mark f]

All they do is bring it up to date. It's fine but nowhere near as perfect as the original.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26764&stc=1&d=1472409331
The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)


Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance

When I first got into watching 'old' movies, it was the early musicals that I watched. Its been awhile since I've seen a musical and even longer since I seen The Band Wagon. So It was nice to revisit this.

I know classic musicals aren't popular around here and that's a loss, because musicals are an art form onto themselves. They can't be compared to serious dramas, as that's not the avenue they peruse. They seek to wow and entertain, through dance and song.

As soon as the title credits rolled in The Band Wagon and I seen that top hat, cane and white gloves, I knew what that meant! I got a big kick out of it when those accouterments were being auctioned as belonging to a 'once famous' but forgotten hoofer, played by Fred Astaire. Oh, the irony!....I loved the fictitious film reference of Swinging Down to Panama, which is a nod to the first film Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ever made together, Flying Down to Rio. The film that made him a star. Fred is the greatest dancer to ever grace the movie screen. His early 1930s and 1940s films are the stuff of legends.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26762&stc=1&d=1472408974



I will say the story line of the movie wasn't that engaging. I didn't sense any chemistry with Fred and Cyd Charisse. I didn't buy into their romance. She's lovely to look at and one of the great female dancers, but Cyd Charisse really didn't have a strong screen presences in this film. She was much better in the musical, Silk Stockings (1957).

Musicals are about the 'numbers'. And I loved the night dance in the park. Louisiana Hayride was a splashy fun number belted out by stage great Nanette Fabray...And the Triplet number was one of funniest routines ever put to music.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26763&stc=1&d=1472409157


But the creme de la creme, was the sublime Girl Hunt number. That was sheer genius! The dance was done in a modern Bob Fosse style and very different than the traditional soft shoe and ballroom dancing that was done in the rest of the film. Director Vincent Minnelli's auteur stamp is all over the set design and costumes of this musical number. The Girl Hunt number makes this movie! But so do many of the other fine music numbers.

rating_3_5


.

[Citizen Rules]

https://greatfilmsblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-wind123.jpg

The Wind (1928)
Director: Victor Sjöström
Cast: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love
Genre: Drama



The Wind is one of the great silent films, and it holds the distinction of being the last silent film that the legendary Lillian Gish ever made. This was Lillian's pet project and was based on the novel, The Wind by Dorothy Scarborough.

The Wind, tells the tail of a young fragile woman, Letty (Lillian Gish) who finds herself alone in the east with no home and no one to care for her. She has no other choice but to travel across country to her cousin's isolated ranch in the wind sweep plains of Texas. As she gets closer to the ranch, the wind blows furiously, and never stops though out the movie.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26772&stc=1&d=1472417768


The wind effect was achieved by shooting near the heat drenched Mohave desert and using the propellers of eight airplanes to hurl wind, smoke and sand at the actors. The effect is amazing! And it's the wind that is the real protagonist of the film.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26770&stc=1&d=1472417204


I really loved this movie and Lillian Gish is very enduring it, she has that special quality. I literally just watched her and she made the movie. Her and the ever blowing wind.

I loved the music score and I've seen a number of silents and often they have the 'bouncy organ' for a score. I loved the way Lillian could get emotions across the vast span of time. This film still works!

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://mosaicando.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/flipper-e1456320904382.jpg
Flipper(1963)
Director: James B. Clark
Cast: Luke Halpin, Connie Scott, Chuck Connors, Mitzi
Genre: Adventure, Family, Drama


About: A fisherman (Chuck Connors) lives with his wife and son in a small house on the Florida Keys. Thanks to a hurricane and a fish die off known as the red tide...Fishing is meager and paying the bills tough. One day Sandy (Luke Halpin) finds a dolphin with a spear in it's side and rescues it.

Review: I was surprised to find out this was not a Disney film, it's MGM movie inspired by the Lassie TV series. The movie spawned a sequel which in turn migrated to TV as Flipper (1964-1967). Rebooted in 1996 as Flipper with Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood.

Starting with a roar! The first part of the film has the sleepy fishing village being beaten by gail force winds from an approaching hurricane. Dad and son are out on the water trying disparently to reach the safety of land. This was pretty exciting stuff.

Latter on it switches to drama with dad trying to decide if he should give up his sea days and move to the mainland. The Florida keys never looked my inviting and why would anyone want to leave them?

http://www.christopheloiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Flipper-Conors-family.jpg


Latter still we have the dolphin rescue and bonding which children should find endearing as it's nicely done. I got a little bored with the third act but over all it was a nice film to watch. Oh by the way, I gave the dolphin an acting credit, her name was Mitzi.

rating_2_5

[cricket]

I didn't end up watching The Wind for the western HoF since it ended up ineligible. It sounds great though.

[Citizen Rules]

I dug it:)....So much so I want to check out more of Lillian Gish's early work. And there's one of her movies in the Silent Hof.

[Captain Steel]

Chuck Connors YAAH!!!

[Omnizoa]

12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
rating_2_5
*pauses*

all your criticisms are valid.
Hold up.

I seen this movie years ago and at the time really liked it. But when I watched it again with a critical eye, I found it to be heavy on propaganda
That damnable REASON propaganda.

and pushing a pacifist ideology
Whut? When? Where? How did you get that? That we should reserve punishment in light of questionable evidence is pacifistic?

Did you not think that that was what the movie was about?

The movie comes on like a sledge hammer with the 11 jurors who want to convict looking like utter fools, as they foam at the mouth.
Most of them seem are fairly reasonable people with the odd 2 or 3 characters who hedge at disagreement like in REAL LIFE.

The second to last person to be swayed defended his position on a purely rational basis. He gave reasons, his reasons were disputed, and he was convinced he had err'ed.

Had the reasoning had solid logic behind them, this would have been a better film, but the reasons for a not guilty verdict have more holes than swiss cheese.
"THIS MOVIE IS GUILTY! GUILTY I TELL YOU, BURN THE MOVIE!"

"Whoa, hold on, we have to the hear reasons first."


"REASONS!? EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID HAS BEEN TWISTED!"

"Is my analogy brutal enough to make my point?"


I found the acting way over the top...especially Lee J. Cobb who tore up the scenery. He was so audibly loud that he drowned out the other actors.
And he was 1 guy in a spectrum of 12. These kinds of people exist in reality.

And they were yelling that with in minutes of getting into the jury room too, which is hard to believe.
Hyperbole.

The 'antagonist jurors' didn't hold fast to their guilty verdicts, out of a belief in facts...and they didn't act or speak out of their convictions in those facts...(that would have been interesting).
That HAPPENED, would you think it more realistic if everyone was a lunatic or no one was a lunatic?

Their function in the film was to yell and bully the other jurors to create tension, and that's lazy writing.
HANG UP, what's lazy writing? That we didn't take 2 hours to flesh out their car business on the side? That their personalities aren't applicable to the scenario more than they are? That's not lazy writing, that's pragmatism. If you're going to criticize this point, you better offer compelling alternatives.

The film lays it on like a sledge hammer and lacks any subtly, which makes it hard for me to 'be in' the movie.
Yes, "It's our job to convince you you're wrong" is a particularly salient point to make.

GOOD THING THOSE KINDS OF PEOPLE DON'T EXIST IN REALITY ANYWHERE.

Despite the heavy-handed morality lesson,
It's not a morality lesson, it's a motion in favor of due process which is FREQUENTLY ignored in our society even today.

did anyone bring up the idea that she could have been wearing reading glasses,
Okay, yes, reading glasses would dismiss that argument if reading glasses were worn long enough to leave those marks and not just during... reading.

Actually maybe 12 Angry Men is brilliant in a reverse way. It aims to show that the court system is stacked against the poor, who can't get a fair trial. But instead the film shows the court system is flawed in another way: any lame brain can make far fetched claims that evidence is not accurate with hyperbola and in that way derail the justices system.
You're making far-fetched claims with hyperbola in a way that DERAILS THIS MOVIE.

Is completely outside of your realm of consideration that 12 Angry Men can speak of the flaws inherent in a semi-democratic justice system in more ways than one?

Apathy?
Ignorance?
Competition?
Discrimination?
Confirmation Bias?
Authority Bias (attorney)?
Conservative Belief Revision? It goes on...

I really dislike 12 Angry Men,
Well that's fine, but you've made a terrible case against it.

it smacked of a PC, agenda movie.
http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/9195/474983_070.jpg
WHUUUUUUUUUUU???


Yeah I have to disagree with Citizen about this one. The film, to me, was always just about appropriate skepticism and analyzing situations properly. I don't know how anyone can argue that the jury aside from Fonda, in the beginning, was too quick to judge the guilt of the kid. Not sure why it's being considered PC to simply question the validity of the quick, thoughtless decision, but okay.
Exactly.

[gbgoodies]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26764&stc=1&d=1472409331
The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)


Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance

When I first got into watching 'old' movies, it was the early musicals that I watched. It's been awhile since I seen a musical and even longer since I seen The Band Wagon. So It was nice to revisit this.

I know classic musicals aren't popular around here and that's a loss, because musicals are an art form onto themselves. They can't be compared to serious dramas, as that's not the avenue they peruse. They seek to wow and entertain, through dance and song.

As soon as the title credits rolled in The Band Wagon and I seen that top hat, cane and white gloves, I knew what that meant! I got a big kick out of it when those accouterments were being auctioned as belonging to a once famous, but now forgotten hoofer, played by Fred Astaire. I loved the fictions film reference of Swinging Down to Panama. Flying Down to Rio was the first film Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made, that film made him a star. Fred's the greatest dancer to ever grace the movie screen. His early 1930s and 1940s films are the stuff of legends.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26762&stc=1&d=1472408974



I will say the story line of the movie wasn't that engaging. I didn't sense any chemistry with Fred and Cyd Charisse. I didn't buy into their romance. She's lovely to look at and one of the great female dancers, but Cyd Charisse really didn't have a strong screen presences in this. She was much better in Silk Stockings (1957).

Musicals are about the 'numbers'. And I loved the night dance in the park, Louisiana Hayride was a splashy fun number, belted out by stage great Nanette Fabray...and the Triplet number was funny.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26763&stc=1&d=1472409157


But the creme de la creme, was the sublime Girl Hunt number. That was sheer genius! The dance was done in a modern Bob Fosse style and very different than the traditional soft shoe and ballroom dancing that was done in the rest of the film. Director Vincent Minnelli's auteurs stamp is all over the set design and costumes of this musical number. The Girl Hunt number makes this movie!

rating_3_5


.


I agree with most of your review of The Band Wagon, but I prefer Gene Kelly over Fred Astaire. :)

[Captain Steel]

Check out Omnizoa givin' it to ol' Rules! ;)

[Citizen Rules]

I agree with most of your review of The Band Wagon, but I prefer Gene Kelly over Fred Astaire. :) I know you do:p...I like to think of Fred and Gene as apples and oranges, both great, but very different in their dance style. It's funny when I think of great male dancers from the movies the first two names are Fred and Gene:p

[gbgoodies]

I know you do:p...I like to think of Fred and Gene as apples and oranges, both great, but very different in their dance style. It's funny when I think of great male dancers from the movies the first two names are Fred and Gene:p


And Donald O'Connor :)

[Citizen Rules]

I like Donald O'Connor as a dancer and an actor. But I don't really care for Buddy Ebson's rubbery legs dancing. I like him better in Beverly Hillbillies.

[Gideon58]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26764&stc=1&d=1472409331
The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)


/rating]


.
LOVED reading your review of The Band Wagon, Citizen...it is my favorite MGM musical, I like it more than SIngin in the Rain. And I never thought about it until you wrote it, but it's absolutely true.. .the chemistry between Astaire and Charisse is non-existent until the moment they step off that carriage in Central Park and perform one of th emost beautiful pas de deuz ever filmed to the tune of "Dancing in the Dark"....I believe in my choreography thread, the number was somewhere in the top five...it's absolutely magical and I never tire of watching it...that number is worth sitting through the rest of the movie for, but I also love "Triplets", "I Guess I'll Have to Cange my Plans" "That's Entertainment", "A Shine ON Your Shoes"and the final ballet...Michael Kidd's choreography is spectacular, as is Minnelli's direction.

[Citizen Rules]

https://tweedlibrarian.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/film_i_vitelloni_01.jpg
I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953)


Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano
Cast: Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi
Genre: Drama, Comedy

About: A 'slice of life' character study of five young men from a small Italian town who learn about life, love, responsibility and growing up.

Review: I liked this film. I knew I would after watching it for only a minute or two. Sometimes you just get a good feeling about a movie. It's one of those cozy little films that gives us an intimate look at the going-ons of a small Italian town. Like peeping toms, we peer into the lives of five bored young men who are stuck in dead end lives, in a going nowhere town. They talk of leaving, they talk of big dreams, they talk, but learn that talk is cheap.

Some will say this isn't one of Fellini's best films as it isn't highly memorable. But then this isn't the kind of dramatically tragic story that leaves a lasting impression, such as La Strada does. I Vitelloni isn't intended to be that kind of film, it's more of a realism film in the way it shows us everyday people and the lives they lead. I Vitelloni is grounded in the kind of experiences that many people can relate too, regardless of where you are from.

We all know someone who's like these young men in the movie. From the womanizing playboy who can't be faithful and can't hold a job. To the dreamer who dreams of success as a writer but is fearful of reality. Each of the five men seem very real, with real issues.

Regardless of the subject matter Fellini manages to show a zest for life in his films...they feel very Italian, well of course they do...they are Italian. Fellini films have gusto!

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://didyouseethatone.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/dial-m-for-murder-3.jpg
Dial M for Murder (Hitchcock 1954)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Frederick Knott, Frederick Knott (stage play)
Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
Genre: Crime Drama Romance

About: Ray Milland wants to murder his wife Grace Kelly, so he blackmails another man into doing the deed for him. Problem is the perfect crime has a few flaws and things start to unravel.



Review: This is probably my least favorite Hitch film and I've seen a lot of them. This is based on a play and feels very 'stagey', which to me is usually a plus. I like films that hunker down in one spot and dive into great story plots with interesting characters played by skillful actors. But none of that happened here...the dialogue is unengaging and the acting is flat (except Ray Milland who was good).

The plot premise is intriguing, with the idea of seeing a murder planned from the point of view of the murderer, but it's poorly executed (pardon the pun). In Rope (1948) Hitchcock did the same planning of a murder, from the murders point of view, and did it much better.

When the film started out with Ray Milland telling his college mate the he wanted a murder committed, the long scene was done so lackadaisical and contrived that I didn't buy into. From there on I couldn't suspend disbelief and so the movie almost took on a comic quality in my mind.

Sorry to say this but Grace Kelly can't act in this. Oh sure she looks like a million bucks, but she delivers her lines like a robotic beauty. And the comic actor Robert Cummings is unbelievable as her romantic interest. I mean come on do you really think she would fall for him? Ray Milland was a stand out in this, he was personable and interesting and gave the film some needed weight.

rating_3+

[gbgoodies]

https://didyouseethatone.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/dial-m-for-murder-3.jpg
Dial M for Murder (Hitchcock 1954)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Frederick Knott, Frederick Knott (stage play)
Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
Genre: Crime Drama Romance

About: Ray Milland wants to murder his wife Grace Kelly, so he black mails another man into doing the deed for him. Problem is the perfect crime has a few flaws and things start to unravel.



Review: This is probably my least favorite Hitch film and I've seen a lot of them. This is based on a play and feels very 'stagey', which to me is usually a plus. I like films that hunker down in one spot and dive into great story plots with interesting characters played by skillful actors. But none of that happened here, the dialogue is unengaging and the acting is flat (except Ray Milland was good).

The plot premise is intriguing, with the idea of seeing a murder planned out from the POV of the murderer, but it's poorly executed (pardon the pun). In Rope (1948) Hitchcock did the same planning of a murder, from the murders point of view, and did it much better.

When the film started out with Ray Milland telling his college mate the he wanted a murder committed, the long scene was done so lackadaisical and contrived that I didn't buy into. From there own I couldn't suspend disbelief and so the movie almost took on comic quality.

Sorry to say this but Grace Kelly can't act in this. Oh sure she looks like a million bucks, but she delivers her lines like a robotic beauty. And the comic actor Robert Cummings is unbelievable as her romantic interest. Only Ray Milland was a stand out in this, he was personable and interesting.

rating_3


Dial M for Murder is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. I think it may have even been the first Hitchcock movie that I ever saw.

It's possible that you didn't like Grace Kelly in this movie because Hitchcock told her to act like she was in a trance in the final scenes, so that may have made it feel like her acting was a bit "off".

Did you know that this movie was filmed in 3-D? I recently found out that the 3-D version is going to be playing in New York City soon (http://filmforum.org/events/event/dial-m-for-murder-introduced-by-critic-stephen-whitty-event). I probably won't be able to go, but I'm going to try to see it in 3-D if possible.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26890&stc=1&d=1472955828
Calendar Girls (2003)

Director: Nigel Cole
Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton
Genre: Bio-Comedy, Drama

About: A group of older British women who are bored of spending their time in their town's chapter of the Women's Institute...decide to pose nude for a calendar to raise money for a hospital charity. Which they do, then they the become a media frenzy.

Review: Calendar Girls is a nice, quaint story about a bunch of middle age women who want to raise money for charity by posing nude for a calendar. Sound ridiculous? Well it actually happened!

I wish I could say the movie was interesting, heart warming, quirky and all around peachy. But it wasn't. It was formulated. It had a weak script that showed us a lot of stuff but never made the story come alive. I never cared about the women in the movie and this is the kind of movie I usually love.

Instead the director, who's not known for much of anything, failed to deliver the goods...instead he padded his movie with pretty shots of the British county side and Hollywood. But this isn't an art house film and no amount of wide angle greenery will compensate for a lack luster story.

There's nothing objectionable here, unless you object to boredom.

rating_2_5

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/df/af/9c/dfaf9c3c6475c0f2dd4b53ca4d9f09a6.jpg

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.cosmenet.in.th/upload/iblock/2c8/TheAgeofAdaline-cover-2.jpg

The Age of Adaline (2015)

Director: Lee Toland Krieger
Cast: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Anthony Ingruber
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

About: Adaline Bowman is a young woman born at the start of the 20th century. At age 29 a freak accident stops her aging process, keeping her forever young. But she pays a heavy price for eternal beauty.

Review: I love films that cover this type of subject matter: a person who's apart from the world and seemingly has it all and yet doesn't. This type of story gives the director a chance to explore a wealth of emotions, from loneliness and regret, to altruism and wisdom. All that which makes up humanity can be revealed with a finely crafted fantasy story.

In The Age of Adeline the director had the opportunity to hold up to the lens a beautiful, never aging woman named Adaline and through her show us something of ourselves. This movie is so ripe for the sublime and the important. It's possibility are limitless. So why in the hell did the director piddle away his chance with an uninspired script, that takes no chances and explores next to nothing.

I kept waiting for something important to happen. I thought for sure a revelation or a goose bump moment would occur. But instead the majority of the movie is padded out with inane small talk as we follow Adeline and see if she will fall in love or not. I have nothing against a good romantic movie. Pair romance with an existential movie and you could have a rare film that speaks volumes.

The Age of Adeline ain't that film. The romance part bombs in part because Adeline is wooed by a creepy, rich stalker guy. OK sure he's suppose to be handsome and altruistic with his wealth...but he freakin stalks her. He stakes out where she'll be and shows up in advance and won't take no for an answer. He won't leave her alone and that ain't romantic. And to make the romance part worse, the two have zero on screen chemistry.

https://a.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2015/04/3045324-inline-i-1-director-lee-toland-krieger-on-bringing-the-age-of-adaline-to-life.jpg


Blake Lively isn't a well known name. She's certainly a beauty and in a classy unique way. She has great screen presences and with a different director could have shined. But the director gives us a vision of a woman who is stilted and non too personable and that's too bad because she's our window into what it would be like to never age while never being able to tell anyone or form lasting relationships. The movie tells us these things about her, but only in a cursory way. We never experience them vicariously. Blake needed to bear her soul, instead she looks maniquesque. It's probably the directors fault for not getting her to open up more.

http://www.dvdmagazine.com.br/public/files/3ede1def2cb05c6eaeafbf6ea5fa7b81_640_x_341.jpg


Michiel Huisman is not well known either. Here he's just lack luster, more goofy than charismatic. Which makes the romance part unworkable. The audience needs to fall in love with the couple as they fall in love themselves. In the movie The Time Traveler's Wife, a similar theme occurs of a troubled, unrequited love, but in that movie the romance works. Here it doesn't.

http://filmtrailer.hu/wp-content/uploads/Adaline_varazslatos_elete_5.jpg


On the bright side is Harrison Ford. Even though Harrison's screen time is limited he make the most of it by giving the only inspired performance in the movie. I could feel his pain, his loss and his joy at seeing Adeline. It's too bad the story wasn't focused on Harrison Ford, Blake Lively (Adeline) and Anthony Ingruber. Anthony Ingruber is the young actor who knocked it out of the ball park with one helluva good impressionistic acting as the young Harrison Ford. I'd like to see more of him on the screen.

Another plus is, there's no gratuitous violence, no foul language and the film looks stunning. But the voice over narration is gawd awful and intrusive, and unnecessary.

https://41dcdfcd4dea0e5aba20-931851ca4d0d7cdafe33022cf8264a37.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/6101754_the-age-of-adeline-spactacularly-defies_t5b52337f.jpg

Lovely to look at but nothing to hold.



rating_3

[gbgoodies]

It's a shame that you didn't like The Age of Adaline. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite movies.

I didn't think of Ellis as a stalker. He was just a guy who liked her, and wanted to get to know her better. And while the movie starts off kind of slow, it picks up quickly once we meet his parents, and see the relationship between her and William. And I love the ending.

[Citizen Rules]

It's a shame that you didn't like The Age of Adaline. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite movies.

I didn't think of Ellis as a stalker. He was just a guy who liked her, and wanted to get to know her better. And while the movie starts off kind of slow, it picks up quickly once we meet his parents, and see the relationship between her and William. And I love the ending. I actually liked the premise and the casting choice Blake Lively, Harrison Ford and the young Harrison Ford actor... but I didn't like the director and he's choices.

I didn't think of Ellis as a stalker. There's a lot of reviews that think he's a stalker. As soon as he wouldn't take no for an answer, I started thinking stalker guy! I think the movie could have been a 5/5 but it's just too weak in too many areas.

[gbgoodies]

I actually liked the premise and the casting choice Blake Lively, Harrison Ford and the young Harrison Ford actor... but I didn't like the director and he's choices.

There's a lot of reviews that think he's a stalker. As soon as he wouldn't take no for an answer, I started thinking stalker guy! I think the movie could have been a 5/5 but it's just too weak in too many areas.


There are a lot of movies where the guy won't give up and he keeps trying to win the heart of his "dream girl". They're not all stalkers. Sometimes they're just determined. It's all about perception.

I loved Anthony Ingruber, who played the young William. I thought he should have been cast as the young Han Solo.

[Citizen Rules]

I don't mean he's a real stalker, just a stalker acting type that I guess is suppose to be appealing. I don't know who wrote the reviews men or women but here's just a sampling of what I read, just for fun:):

Then you meet the creepy stalker type Ellis. Not only can the actor not give a believable performance, but there was absolutely no chemistry between the two main characters.Coupled with uninspiring acting and this rich, genius, creepy stalker 'who is trying to do only good in this world' guy who just buys her love and she falls for him. What type of message is that? He's a stalker, he likes unusual girls, because- omg, she's reading braille and isn't blind, that's so cool! And he's rich, of course.At a New Years Eve party, Adaline finds Ellis—er, maybe he "finds" her—as he appears to have been a major fan of the "Christian Grey's Tips for Being a Crazy Stalker" He basically has been stalking her, ever since he saw her reading a book on the stairs of a library. Ain't that sweet? I get being attracted to a girl and trying to get with her, but pretty much stalking her, using your power to find where she lives and blackmailing her into going on a date with you is just what a creeper would do.This is my favorite one and no I didn't write it on another account:

It doesn't help that the guy who you sacrifice an infinite existence for is a bearded part-time artist who stalks you EVERYWHERE, and his defining feature is his non-stop niceness. In other words, NOT a person, just a conglomerate of what Hollywood' screen writers think is the 'perfect man'. No quirks or surprises here... We've created... FRANKENHUNK!!

[gbgoodies]

"FRANKENHUNK". :rotfl:

I didn't read any of the reviews for the movie before I watched it, and now I'm glad that I didn't. It allowed me to form my own opinion without having the "stalker" comments in my mind when I saw the movie.

Hopefully it won't change my opinion of him or the movie the next time I watch it.

[Citizen Rules]

"FRANKENHUNK". :rotfl:

I didn't read any of the reviews for the movie before I watched it, and now I'm glad that I didn't. It allowed me to form my own opinion without having the "stalker" comments in my mind when I saw the movie.

Hopefully it won't change my opinion of him or the movie the next time I watch it. GBG, I hope you took my post in the spirit I meant it. I thought those quotes were kind of funny and showed I wasn't the only person who felt that way about the movie....BUT...I know you love that film and if you posted a bunch of bad comments about Blade Runner, I might not think it was so funny:eek: So sorry if that was a bit to much. I meant it in good fun, but like a lot of internet humor it might have only been funny to me. And just to be fair there are many, many reviews that love The Age of Adeline and it has a high IMDB rating. Oh and I am glad I watched it.:)

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26970&stc=1&d=1473275854

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26975&stc=1&d=1473276339



Director: Jon Turteltaub
Cast: John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Yoba
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family

I loved this 1993 Disney comedy-drama about the real life struggle for the Jamaican Bobsled team to make it to the 1988 Olympic Games. The story is of course not a documentary but a fictionalized story that captures the spirit and joy behind the Jamaicans as they try to do the impossible. Is it impossible?....No problem, mon.

John Candy is the big name that will stand out here, but it's not a John Candy movie. He doesn't play his usually lovable goof here, his character is more surly, more serious. He's a former Gold Medal Olympian who lost his gold medals due to cheating and so is the outcast coach. Candy is in a supportive role here, though he has plenty of screen time. I liked him in this!

The four actors who play the Jamaican bobsledders are very good, each has his own well defined character with issues that each must resolve. They're a likable bunch, funny at times, but never over the top stupid...and that makes the film work so well. Cool Runnings is more reserved than you might expect from a John Candy Disney pairing...it's interesting, enjoyable and never gets too silly.

On a sad note, this is the last movie John Candy made that was released while he was alive. He would die of a heart attack only five months later at age 43.

rating_3_5+

http://jennifercovington.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Cool-Runnings-Black-and-White.jpg

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26990&stc=1&d=1473294828
Morning Glory (1993)

Director: Steven Hilliard Stern
Writers: Charles Jarrott, Deborah Raffin
Cast: Christopher Reeve, Deborah Raffin, Lloyd Bochner
Genre: Drama

About: In 1941 an ex convict (Christopher Reeve) drifts into a small rural town an answers a newspaper ad by a woman (Deborah Raffin) who wants a husband. He travels to her remote farm and begins to make a life for himself, but the town's sheriff won't let him be.

Review: I doubt many have heard of this film, but I enjoyed it. I was quickly pulled into the story as soon as I seen the drifter (Christopher Reeve) come into a small town. It was intriguing as he seemed like a good guy and yet he had this very quiet manner about him, somewhat mysterious...and he had a cloud over his head, as he had just gotten out of prison. So it was fascination to watch his story unfold.

I liked that this was told from a traditional linear fashion. No flashbacks, no secondary stories to speak of. The film follows the drifter as he meets the widow who's seeking a husband to work her run down farm. I must say, they made the farm and all the abandoned vehicles and weather beaten house, look really cool....and authentic.

Both Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin did an excellent job at immersing themselves into their roles. Latter on in the movie when the tension from the sheriff takes place, it gets somewhat predictable but still a rewarding watch.

rating_3+

[Gideon58]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26890&stc=1&d=1472955828
Calendar Girls (2003)

[SIZE=2]Director: Nigel Cole
Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton
Genre: Bio-Comedy, Drama



This sounds like fun, I may have to add it to my watcglist...Helen Mirren is almost always worth watching.

[Citizen Rules]

Calendar Girls is fun. It's funny that if you look for posters of that movie some of them have Helen Mirren so photoshopped that she looks 20!

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24898&stc=1&d=1460596819

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Director: Benh Zeitlin
Writers: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly
Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Beast of the Southern Wilds is one of the most interesting films I've seen in a long time. I would give a large portion of the film a 5/5 rating! The qualms I have with the film comes out of my awe for the film and my desire to have it be the film I would have wanted to see. The more I'm amazed by a film, the more critical I tend to be of it.

I was blown away by the voice over narrative by the little girl. IMO this is the best part of the film. The things she said and the way she perceived her fractured world, was a thing of sheer beauty. Whoever wrote those lines is a genius and an artist.

One special moment is when her daddy Wink, passes out in the woods. Latter when Hushpuppy returns with medicine he's gone and she thinks out loud.

HUSHPUPPY (V.O.) 'Daddy could have turned into a tree, or a bug. There wasn't any way to know.'

After the big flood she's traveling down the river in a boat made out of a truck bed and she thinks out loud.

HUSHPUPPY (V.O.) ' For every animal that didn't have a Dad to put it in a boat, the end of the world already happened. They're all down below, trying to breathe through water.'

The other element I loved, was the sights of the bayou. Even the poverty in it's own way, was beautiful, and fascinating to look at. I can't explain it but the film had a realistic quality that seemed like I was actually there. The trailer on huge piles of blocks was very cool, and the inside was so unique. I wish we would have had more time there. I love universe building and this film does it well! And all I needed in this film was to see the sights of the Bathtub area, through the eyes of Hushpuppy. That's my 5/5!

But the film made what I think is a mistake when it introduced the fantasy element of the large ice age beast. I disliked those parts.

I also didn't care about the adventure when they left the bayou to blow up the levy. That felt tacked on, like some story element troupe. Same with the rescue center scenes, tacked on and unnecessary. And I could have cared less about the touchy feely ending with the dying dad. Hadn't the film shown him as some mental case that makes his daughter live in her trailer by herself. The film didn't need to redeem him and go for a Hollywood ending.

In a way Beast of the Southern Wild reminded me of Life of Pi as both protagonist faced a tragedy so devastating that they invited an alternative fantasy to deal with the emotional impact of it.

rating_4

[cricket]

Calendar Girls is fun. It's funny that if you look for posters of that movie some of them have Helen Mirren so photoshopped that she looks 20!

Helen Mirren is still hot!

[Citizen Rules]

Ha! I think you've been popping too much Viagra lately;)

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.google.com/search?q=helen+mirren&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjq-eCb4P7OAhUN7GMKHfbfAnEQ_AUICCgB&biw=1008&bih=565#tbm=isch&q=helen+mirren+young

I think Helen really likes to appear topless, no wonder she did Calendar Girls:p

[gbgoodies]

GBG, I hope you took my post in the spirit I meant it. I thought those quotes were kind of funny and showed I wasn't the only person who felt that way about the movie....BUT...I know you love that film and if you posted a bunch of bad comments about Blade Runner, I might not think it was so funny:eek: So sorry if that was a bit to much. I meant it in good fun, but like a lot of internet humor it might have only been funny to me. And just to be fair there are many, many reviews that love The Age of Adeline and it has a high IMDB rating. Oh and I am glad I watched it.:)


Yes, I took your post the way you meant it. I wasn't offended or upset by it at all. :)

[gbgoodies]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26990&stc=1&d=1473294828
Morning Glory (1993)

Director: Steven Hilliard Stern
Writers: Charles Jarrott, Deborah Raffin
Cast: Christopher Reeve, Deborah Raffin, Lloyd Bochner
Genre: Drama

About: In 1941 an ex convict (Christopher Reeve) drifts into a small rural town an answers a newspaper ad by a woman (Deborah Raffin) who wants a husband. He travels to her remote farm and begins to make a life for himself, but the town's sheriff won't let him be.

Review: I doubt many have heard of this film, but I enjoyed it. I was quickly pulled into the story as soon as I seen the drifter (Christopher Reeve) come into a small town. It was intriguing as he seemed like a good guy and yet he had this very quiet manner about him, somewhat mysterious...and he had a cloud over his head, as he had just gotten out of prison. So it was fascination to watch his story unfold.

I liked that this was told from a traditional linear fashion. No flashbacks, no secondary stories to speak of. The film follows the drifter as he meets the widow who's seeking a husband to work her run down farm. I must say, they made the farm and all the abandoned vehicles and weather beaten house, look really cool....and authentic.

Both Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin did an excellent job at immersing themselves into their roles. Latter on in the movie when the tension from the sheriff takes place, it gets somewhat predictable but still a rewarding watch.

rating_3+


When I saw that you were reviewing a movie called Morning Glory, I thought it was going to be the 2010 movie with Harrison Ford (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126618/reference). I never even heard of the 1993 movie before, but it has Christopher Reeve, so I'll definitely add it to my watchlist.

[MovieMeditation]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24898&stc=1&d=1460596819

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)



rating_4
:up::up::up::up:

No matter the thing you liked less, a 4/5 rating is more than acceptable. I'm so glad you liked this.

[Citizen Rules]

http://i.imgur.com/5jozTFS.jpgSamurai Rebellion (1967)

Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô
Genre: Historical Drama, Romance, Action

About: A samurai swordsman enters into an arraigned marriage with a harsh, loveless woman from an aristocratic family. After enduring 20 years of being hen pecked by his overbearing wife, he has to decide if family honor or love is more important, even at the risk of losing his own life.

Review: I liked this! Even though there's some sword fighting towards the end of the film, this is essentially a melodrama.

What I thought was interesting is how this Japanese film from 1967 seemed to take it's cues from late 1950s American melodrama films. There's some resemblances here between Douglas Sirk's earlier films and this one by director Masaki Kobayashi.

The samurai for all his status, is dominated by his strong willed wife. A woman who was forced on him by an arranged marriage. In some ways this is Japan's version of a feminist film. As the earlier Japanese films showed woman as being subservient. Here, the woman are full of will power and determination and make bold statements.

This film looks beautiful, I watched a restored version on Criterion DVD. The sets of the Japanese house and country side looked great and the camera work was artistic. The director really did a find job here of bringing humanity with a personal view into Japan's Edo period during Shogun rule.

rating_4

[cricket]

Glad you enjoyed it! I think it's a movie that would surprise a lot of people by what kind of movie it actually is.

[Citizen Rules]

My wife really liked the film too. It held my attention, drew me into the story and found the melodrama fascinating. Very cool film!

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27019&stc=1&d=1473385796
The Lives of Others (2006)


Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Cast: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch

About: Set in 1984 in communist East Berlin, Germany. The Stasi secret police are conducting surveillance of a suspected subversive writer and his girlfriend. The agent finds himself strangely drawn into the lives of his two targets.

Review: First off, the subject matter of Communist East German Secret Police and their network of agents and informers and how they operate...is right up my alley! I love this subject matter, because it's history. I love history, especially history that hasn't been covered much in movies.

I found the first act totally fascinating: the Stasi secret police headquarters and the interrogation of a suspect who's being grilled because his friend had escaped to the west. Even better was the scene of the interrogator teaching a class of Stasi candidates the finer points on how to break a person over hours of sleep deprivation and how the innocent act under duress vs how differently the guilty act....Man powerfully stuff! I had this film pegged at a 5/5.

But then the film shifts gears and becomes an introspective look at a lonely Stasi police officer and how the lives of a writer and his actresses girlfriend changes his outlook on life. That part was well done, but it was so not want I wanted to see. I wanted to see a film more like the first act.

I felt the natural ending of the film was when the writer, a few years latter encountered the ex minister at a stage play and tells him it was people like him who made life miserable. I thought that should have been the end of the movie, but then we get another epilogue about the ex Stasi agent years latter. That seemed to me to dilute the power of the previous scene. Sometimes less is more.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26852&stc=1&d=1472778827

Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Writer: Lukas Moodysson
Cast: Oksana Akinshina, Artyom Bogucharskiy, Pavel Ponomaryov
Genre: Bio Pic Drama

About: Based on the true life story of Lilya a 16 year old girl from Estonia who is take to Sweden and forced into prostitution.



Review: This is one powerful movie. I like films that are 'indie films', small budget and up close and personal and Lilya 4-Ever certainly is that and much more.

I was really impressed with the first hour when we see Lilya in the slums of Russia, I kept thinking I was watching a documentary and Lilya and her young friend Volodya were real people....and that's powerful film making! I felt like I was transported to those run-down flats and I was watching real life unfold. It wasn't pretty, but it seemed very real.

The actresses who played Lilya (Oksana Akinsjina) was amazing! I never thought she was acting, it was like she was a real person and that's high praise. Same for the boy Volodya (Artiom Bogutjarskij) he was really good too, and together they had a real chemistry and a bond that came through and made the bleakness, a bit easier to watch.

The second part when she's forced into prostitution in Sweden, I could barely watch that, as it was so sad and so horrible for that to happen to her. I didn't like the Sweden part as much. I wanted to see more about how the illegal trafficking was done and the effects it had on her psychologically. We see a number of close-up scenes of guys with her and after a while that stopped being effective and I thought became counterproductive...I just wanted to see more from Lilya herself.

Lilya 4-Ever made a big impact on me and most movies don't do that.

rating_4

[gbgoodies]

I agree with you about Lilya 4-Ever. The first part of the movie was better than the second part. Overall it's a very good movie, but it's a tough watch.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/o/s/4/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.750x422.2uczf.png/1380066158907.jpg
Grace of Monaco (2014)

Director: Olivier Dahan
Writer: Arash Amel (screenplay)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, André Penvern
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance

About: A brief time period in Grace Kelly's life as Princess Grace of Monaco. The movie follows a political crisis that develops between France and Monaco during 1961 and the resulting martial problems between Grace and her husband Prince Rainer III.

Review: Olivier Dahan and Arash Amel, are two names that you should remember because it's their sole responsibility that this movie is such a mess. At least they could have made a film that didn't insult the audience's intelligence with arch villains and character types that even Disney wouldn't touch. OK, well maybe Disney would go to the character trope cupboard and say, 'lets get the evil step mother to be the protagonist to create some drama'...In Grace of Monaco I expect better, but got worse.

Right off the bat we get a one dimensional foe in the Countess who takes great glee in putting down the Princess in front of her entourage. Then we get more drama when the outspoken former Hollywood star gets told she's having a bad hair day by her husband Prince Rainer during a very important dinner none the less. The director and script writer really didn't know how to create believable tension, and it shows.

The gowns are stunning in this movie and some of the shooting is done on location in Monaco, but didn't Grace Kelly have blonde hair???


During a Red Cross gala in Monaco, the Princess gives an impassioned sugar coated speech, that according to this bio pic changed the course of history. Of course it's nonsense, France and Monaco worked out a tax deal and their mini conflict was over. At least the gown makes good use of acres of tool.


Oh I could go on, but let's say this movie is the twin of another infamous movie disaster Diana (2013). I do have to laugh at the reuse of scenes towards the end of the movie, way to save money guys! Nicole Kidman is one of the greats and she try's to lift the movie up, but she's working against a lame script.

rating_2

[Citizen Rules]

https://timespentwatching.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/vlcsnap-2015-01-24-20h33m25s61.png


East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)

Director: Elia Kazan
Writers: John Steinbeck(novel), Paul Osborn(screen play)
Cast: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris
Genre: Literary Drama, Romance

East of Eden incorporates the best of John Steniback's novel, along with Elia Kazan's personal style of direction...and pairs two phenomenal actors, James Dean and Julie Harris. On top of all that, it's a very powerful story of unfulfilled love and forgiveness.

Novelist John Steinback once said of his novels, 'that he wanted to help reconnect people to their lost humanity.' Steinback felt if his stories could point a way for people to reconnect and heal, it would be a better world. And that's what this movie is about, it's about the inability to love and the inability to forgive and the ultimate need to heal those festering wounds.

"When they first arrived in Los Angeles to begin production,Elia Kazan accompanied James Dean to visit his estranged father, who was living there at the time. Kazan witnessed first hand how badly the father treated Dean and how much the boy wanted to please him. As he got to know Dean better, Kazan saw how this relationship had instilled in him a great deal of anger because of frustrated love, the key to the character of Cal. "It was the most apt piece of casting I've ever done in my life."http://www.relatably.com/q/img/quotes-eden-of-the-east/are-you-bad-cal.jpg
John Steinback upon meeting James Dean said "He is Cal!"


This is the role James Dean was born to play. East of Eden is the only movie he ever lived to see released and the only one he ever got to watch. He died in a car crash before his other two films were ever released. I think Dean is amazing in this.

But it wasn't until my second viewing of this movie that I realized just how wonderful Julie Harris is in this. When she's doing a scene with the older brother, Aron (Richard Davalos) she's good as any other actress. But when she has scenes with James Dean she lights up and 'is in the moment.'

I watched a documentary interview with her done a few years back, and I could tell that she was deeply touched by her time working with James Dean...and it shows on the screen as she comes alive when her and Dean have scenes together.

It's a tragedy James Dean only was able to star in three movies before his untimely end. If you wonder what about him, East of Eden is a good place to start.

rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.war-films.info/warfilms/the-green-berets-1968-2.jpg

The Green Berets (1968)

Directors: John Wayne, Ray Kellogg
Writers: James Lee Barrett(screenplay), Robin Moore(novel)
Cast: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, Aldo RayPatrick Wayne, Jack Soo, George Takei
Genre: War, Action, Drama

The Green Berets has the dubious honor of being the only film about the Vietnam war, that was made during the war. The film was shot in 1967 and released in 1968 at the height of the American involvement in the Vietnam conflict. No film has been more criticized, maligned and jeered at, as has John Wayne's The Green Berets. Even the acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert gave this movie a zero rating....But despite all that, I liked it.

John Wayne's politics has taken a beating these days in the age of political correctness. Say what you will about the Duke, but he was passionate about what he believed in and was a force of nature. The man knew how to get things done! And what Wayne wanted to do was to make a pro Vietnam war movie, after visiting troops involved in the conflict. So Wayne buys the rights to, The Green Berets novel written in 1965 by Robin Moore and sets out to make a movie. The Duke goes all out in his quest, even enlisting the President of the United States to help him!

In 1967 John Wayne wrote to Democratic President Lyndon Johnson requesting military assistance for his pro-war film about Vietnam...Jack Valenti told the President, "Wayne's politics are wrong, but insofar as Vietnam is concerned, his views are right. If he made the picture he would be saying the things we want said." Wayne got enough help from the Defense Department to make this film, which became one of the most controversial movies of all time. http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/7/73/GreenB_310.jpg/601px-GreenB_310.jpg


The help Wayne got was the use of the military base at Ft. Benning, Georgia. This added realism to the film with the use of actual military air craft like the Huey helicopter and the Hercules star lifter planes, not to mention the use of the surrounded countryside. Unfortunately that country side around Ft. Benning added pine trees to what is suppose to be the Vietnam jungle.

The film that the 60 year old John Wayne made is a throwback to the WWII hero films of a couple decades earlier. The prolonged seize of the American base camp surrounded by jungle and hostile Viet Cong forces is very reminiscent of Wayne's earlier film The Alamo. While the second story line of a capture of a Viet Cong general by special forces, is reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen.

Sure John Wayne paints the enemy as merciless killers, but the critics are mistaken that Wayne gets the Vietnam war wrong. Instead of a group of gung hu Americans who save the day and survive unscathed by the war. We see that there's dissension about the war in the character of the reporter who believes the US involvement is wrong. We see that the war is a mess and that Americans and North Vietnamese die like flies for a worthless military outpost base that's at constant risk of capture...with the odds that it will only end up being recaptured again...in a useless waste of life.

rating_3

[Gideon58]

http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/o/s/4/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.750x422.2uczf.png/1380066158907.jpg
Grace of Monaco (2014)

Director: Olivier Dahan
Writer: Arash Amel (screenplay)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, André Penvern
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
[B]


This movie looks AWESOME, definitely adding it to my watchlist.

[Citizen Rules]

Grace of MonacoThis movie looks AWESOME, definitely adding it to my watchlist.I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27098&stc=1&d=1473792609
Cul-De-Sac (Roman Polanski, 1966)


Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander
Genre: Comedy Drama

About: A mild mannered Englishman (Donald Pleasence) is married to a hot blooded, sex starved French wife (Françoise Dorléac). They live in a remote castle on the beach. Along comes two moronic criminals, one of them critically wounded. Mayhem ensues.

Review: I went into this movie with good spirits, but this zany,1966 Roman Polanski film is not to my liking. As much as I love the 1930's screwball comedies, I dislike the zany, unstructured comedies of the mid to late 1960s. I don't find them funny for the most part. I believe this film succeeded for what it was trying to do and for the target audience it was made for. Just not my cup of tea.

Pretty much all the characters in the film, annoyed me. The little guy with the thick glasses had such a grating voice that I was glad when he finally kicked the bucket! The gangster with the wounded arm and the French woman also were so unlikable that it effected my viewing of the film. It seemed like the director was going for zany characters in a zany situation, located in a zany location....a little too zany for me.

I did like Donald Pleasence, and laughed a few times. The scenes where the family visited for dinner and the gangster had to pretend he was the servant...was my favorite part.

Another funny part was when Donald Pleasance's is dressed in horrible looking drag and carrying the unconscious gangster on a stretcher...The gangster wakes up and sees Pleasance face and looks terrified! Ha! Great use of a 1st person POV camera angle for that shot.

Oh, all the eggs at the beginning were funny. Eggs outside, eggs in the chicken coupe and when the gangster sneaks into the kitchen and opens the fridge door.....it's full of nothing but eggs!

rating_2_5

[Gideon58]

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East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)

Director: Elia Kazan
Writers: John Steinbeck(novel), Paul Osborn(screen play)
Cast: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris
Genre: Literary Drama, Romance

East of Eden i


You're not going to believe this Citizen bu before I had even read your review, I had given East of Eden a serious bumpup on my watchlist.

[Camo]

East of Eden and Cul-De-Sac were my two favourite first time watches from the 10th HOF. I get why you don't like Cul-De-Sac much, i don't think it is a particularly great film i just really enjoyed it. We seem to disagree on the characters, Pleasance was my least favourite and the gangster was the one i liked the most. East of Eden was excellent, a better film than Cul-De-Sac certainly but i think i enjoyed them about the same so it was difficult to decide which would be my #3. And yeah Harris was amazing, while not the best scene in the film i think the one that stuck with me the most was when Dean went to her office to ask her for money. Not sure why exactly but when i think of the film that and the ending are what come to mind first.

Lilya i think is a rare case of me liking the film less when i think about it. Don't know i know it is based on a true story but so much of it annoys me which is partly the intention so i'd say it is successful, but i honestly think i got more out of Amour despite how grim and depressing it was. Man that HOF was full of sad films :laugh:. I'm nominating a Care Bears film next time :p.

If you liked Lilya you should try Show Me Love (1998) from the same director. I liked it a lot more, watched it last week. It felt like the first part of Lilya without the depressing second half. It is pretty sad too at times i suppose but to nowhere near the same extent. Also the characters are mostly angsty teenagers so that might stop you liking it as much but i'd say it is worth a shot.

[Citizen Rules]

East of Eden and Cul-De-Sac were my two favourite first time watches from the 10th HOF. I get why you don't like Cul-De-Sac much, i don't think it is a particularly great film i just really enjoyed it. We seem to disagree on the characters, Pleasance was my least favourite and the gangster was the one i liked the most. I was glad to watch Cul-De-Sac as I had never even heard of it and I haven't seen many Roman Polanski films either, like maybe only 1 or 2. It was a good nom but not my type of comedy.


East of Eden was excellent, a better film than Cul-De-Sac certainly but i think i enjoyed them about the same so it was difficult to decide which would be my #3. And yeah Harris was amazing, while not the best scene in the film i think the one that stuck with me the most was when Dean went to her office to ask her for money. Not sure why exactly but when i think of the film that and the ending are what come to mind first. Two things I didn't like about East of Eden... the diagonal camera shots, which ever body else loved, but I thought they took the focus off the characters/situation, and put the focus on fancy cinematography.

And I didn't like the opening scene where Dean goes and sees his mother and comes back on the train. If I was the director I would have started the movie on the next scene when we first see Julie Harris and the older brother walking down a sunny road with James Dean following them in the tree line acting odd which then gives us some foreshadowing of what his character will be like, without giving away the ending, so to speak.

Lilya i think is a rare case of me liking the film less when i think about it. Don't know i know it is based on a true story but so much of it annoys me which is partly the intention so i'd say it is successful, but i honestly think i got more out of Amour despite how grim and depressing it was. Man that HOF was full of sad films :laugh:. I'm nominating a Care Bears film next time :p. ;) You might clean up with Care Bears!

If you liked Lilya you should try Show Me Love (1998) from the same director. I liked it a lot more, watched it last week. It felt like the first part of Lilya without the depressing second half. It is pretty sad too at times i suppose but to nowhere near the same extent. Also the characters are mostly angsty teenagers so that might stop you liking it as much but i'd say it is worth a shot.I appreciate Lilya but man it's one of those films I don't want to revist, I think I'll skip Show Me Love. I did see your review of it and it was a good write up.

[Camo]

Yeah, i'm not convinced Show Me Love would be for you. Or that it should've been for me even but i related to it, especially in the love-hate sister relationship that was portrayed, since one of my sisters was closest in age to me growing up. Especially in this quote after an argument which i'm paraphrasing:

Mum: What's up? You two not getting on again?
Elin: Of Course not! Because she is terrible and i'm the coolest in the world.
*mum continues watchng TV barely paying attention to her childrens BS* :laugh:

I also related to certain other reactions from the characters. I think that me not being so far removed from teenage life may have something to do with this though.

[Citizen Rules]

..I also related to certain other reactions from the characters. I think that me not being so far removed from teenage life may have something to do with this though. That's probably true. For me I often like to watch films with older actors, but not always of course. I did like Juno, though no here seems to like that film. I thought it was fresh at the time.

[Camo]

I liked Juno the first time i watched it. I liked the light approach to a difficult subject and the music. Last time i watched it though just about everything annoyed me. Especially the music.

[Camo]

Honestly, i think this may be the most irritating song ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ22YDWLNQI

[Citizen Rules]

Ha... Yeah, I can see that song by itself, seems little annoying. I suppose I should watch Juno again just to see how I feel about it:p BTW Camo weren't you going to host the 11th Hof? It's cool by me:) and I have my nomination all ready to go. (no it's not Juno;))

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27102&stc=1&d=1473811209 My Man Godfrey (1936)

Director: Gregory La Cava
Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady
Genre: Screwball comedy romance

About: A rich, ditzy woman (Carole Lombard) goes on a scavenger hunt for a Forgotten Man and finds Godfrey (William Powell) living in the city dump. She then hires him to be the butler to her eccentric family and promptly falls in love with him.

Review: I had watched this classic only once before when I was first getting into 'old films'. I liked it but I wasn't well versed enough in the style of 1930s film making to truly appreciate it. This time around I was even more impressed with this delightful screwball comedy.

Right off the bat I loved the title credits. How clever with the billboard theater style, art deco design. You know for a movie to work like this you need to care about the characters...instantly I liked Godfrey, the Forgotten Man, a derelict living in the city dump. You might think that's preposterous, that nobody would live in dump! Oh, but they did, the Depression of the 1930s was horrible and unlike today there was no 'safety nets' for the destitute.

In the movie you'll hear the phrase , 'prosperity is just around the corner'...being repeated with indignantly by the the city dump dwellers. That phrase resonated with1930s audiences, who recognized it as President Roosevelt's catch phrase. OK...I could go on with the history lessons but the point is this is a brilliant film that was relevant to the target audience as it spoke of the suffering the average person faced and lampooned the ultra rich who made idiots of themselves as they burnt money like it was a stack of firewood.

A lot of movies start off with a good premise, then fizzle out in the end...but not My Man Godfrey. As the story unfolded and we learned more about Godfrey the funner it got. I enjoyed the snappy dialogue, it was cleverly humorous as it lampooned the rich. Carole Lombard was one of the greatest comedians who graced the silver screen. Sadly she would be killed in a plane crash in 1942 helping to sell war bonds. She was only 33 at the time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/My_Man_Godfrey_promo_still_2.jpg/440px-My_Man_Godfrey_promo_still_2.jpg


In the last few years a digital colorized version of My Man Godfrey. I was curious to see what it looked like. I read about it and learned, it's not one of those hideous Ted Turner colorized movies from the 80s. The colorization process was done in 2005 by the Legion company. It looked great and while I usually hate the idea of colorizing movies, I have to say it looked like an authentic early 1930s color film. The colors were not bright an garish but were muted and matched the color palette of the 30s art deco style of the movie to a tee.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27103&stc=1&d=1473811216


I quickly forgot I was watching a colorized movie and I could actually see a lot more detail in the film too. I noticed some set pieces that I hadn't even seen before. And I could spot some subtle facial inflections that I hadn't noticed before.

After a second viewing of My Man Godfrey, I have to say I was even more impressed with the characters and fast witted dialogue.

rating_5


.

[Citizen Rules]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXJVgAfrCyU/UUFLEQGJo8I/AAAAAAAAKhI/911wYge7vaQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-03-14-04h00m12s64.png
The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989)

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Stars: Wings Hauser, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Arevalo
Genre: War Action

About: A tough as hell Marine sergeant and his military buddy find themselves at a demoralized military firebase outpost in the jungles of Vietnam, where the commanding officer has gone nuts and the V.C. are about to attack the under defended base.

Review: This movie rocks! I don't know why it's not better known. It's not a big Hollywood film but it still looks good and it's one of the most rewarding, action packed 90 minutes you'll ever see from a Vietnam war movie. Not only is this action packed, it's character driven with very colorful characters.

http://www.unratedfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/R-kills.jpg

http://m.cdn.blog.hu/mo/monty/image/filmek4/gloria/gloria4.jpg


R. Lee Ermey plays the gung hu Marine sergeant. A role Ermey was born to play. Ermey was a real life Marine who served in Vietnam. I can't think of a more dynamic and engaging character, than his portrayal of Sgt. Hafner. Pairing up with him, is his friend and fellow Marine Wings Hauser. Wings too brings his character alive with a no nonsense type performance. And everyone in this film is like that, no nonsense, no fluff. I actually believed I was watching real soldiers in Vietnam!

Siege of Firebase Gloria is the type of film you can watch over and over as each scene and each line is dynamic and a mini story in itself. This is much more than just an action film, watch it!

rating_4

[gbgoodies]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27098&stc=1&d=1473792609
Cul-De-Sac (Roman Polanski, 1966)


Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander
Genre: Comedy Drama

About: A mild mannered Englishman (Donald Pleasence) is married to a hot blooded, sex starved French wife (Françoise Dorléac). They live in a remote castle on the beach. Along comes two moronic criminals, one of them critically wounded. Mayhem ensues.

Review: I went into this movie with good spirits, but this zany,1966 Roman Polanski film is not to my liking. As much as I love the 1930's screwball comedies, I dislike the zany, unstructured comedies of the mid to late 1960s. I don't find them funny for the most part. I believe this film succeeded for what it was trying to do and for the target audience it was made for. Just not my cup of tea.

Pretty much all the characters in the film, annoyed me. The little guy with the thick glasses had such a grating voice that I was glad when he finally kicked the bucket! The gangster with the wounded arm and the French woman also were so unlikable that it effected my viewing of the film. It seemed like the director was going for zany characters in a zany situation, located in a zany location....a little too zany for me.

I did like Donald Pleasence, and laughed a few times. The scenes where the family visited for dinner and the gangster had to pretend he was the servant...was my favorite part.

Another funny part was when Donald Pleasance's is dressed in horrible looking drag and carrying the unconscious gangster on a stretcher...The gangster wakes up and sees Pleasance face and looks terrified! Ha! Great use of a 1st person POV camera angle for that shot.

Oh, all the eggs at the beginning were funny. Eggs outside, eggs in the chicken coupe and when the gangster sneaks into the kitchen and opens the fridge door.....it's full of nothing but eggs!

rating_2_5


I watched Cul-De-Sac twice because I thought I missed something the first time I watched it. I read that it was a comedy, and people in the HoF thread were talking about how funny it was, but I didn't find it funny at all. :shrug:

[gbgoodies]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27102&stc=1&d=1473811209 My Man Godfrey (1936)

Director: Gregory La Cava
Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady
Genre: Screwball comedy romance

About: A rich, ditzy woman (Carole Lombard) goes on a scavenger hunt for a Forgotten Man, and finds Godfrey (William Powell) living in the city dump. She then hires him to be the butler to her eccentric family and falls in love with him.

Review: I had watched this classic only once before when I was first getting into 'old films'. I liked it then but I wasn't well versed enough in the style of 1930s film making to truly appreciate it. This time around I was even more impressed with.

Right off the bat, I loved the title credits, how clever with the billboard style, art deco design. You know for a movie to work like this, you need to care about the characters. Instantly I liked Godfrey, the Forgotten Man, a derelict living in the city dump. You might think that's preposterous, that nobody would live in dump! Oh, but they did, the Depression of the 1930s was horrible and unlike today there was no 'safety nights' for the destitute.

In the movie you'll hear the phrase , 'prosperity is just around the corner'...being repeated with indignantly by the the city dump dwellers. That phrase resonated with1930s audiences, who recognized it as President Roosevelt's catch phrase. OK...I could go on with the history lessons, but the point is this is a brilliant film that was relevant to the target audience as it spoke of the suffering the average person faced and lampooned the ultra rich who made idiots of themselves as they burnt money like it was a stack of firewood.

A lot of movies start off with a good premise, then fizzle out in the end...but not My Man Godfrey, as the story unfolded and we learned more about Godfrey, the funner it got. I enjoyed the snappy dialogue, it was cleverly humorous as it lampooned the rich. Carole Lombard was one of the greatest comedians who graced the silver screen, sadly she would be killed in a plane crash in 1942 helping to sell war bonds. She was only 33 at the time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/My_Man_Godfrey_promo_still_2.jpg/440px-My_Man_Godfrey_promo_still_2.jpg


In the last few years a digital colorized version of My Man Godfrey was made. I was curious to see what it looked like. I read about it and learned, it's not one of those hideous Ted Turner colorized movies from the 80s. The colorization process was done in 2005. It looked great and I hate the idea of colorizing movies, but it looked like an early 1930s color movie. The colors were not bright an garish but were muted and matched the color palette of the 30s art deco style of the movie to a tee.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27103&stc=1&d=1473811216


I quickly forgot I was watching a colorized movie and I could actually see a lot more detail in the film too. I noticed some set pieces that I hadn't even seen before. And I could spot some subtle facial inflections that I hadn't noticed before.

After a second viewing of My Man Godfrey, I have to say I was even more impressed with the characters and fast witted dialogue.

rating_5


.


I watched the black and white version of My Man Godfrey, but I put the colorized version of it on my watchlist when you mentioned it in the HoF. It sounds like they did a good job on it, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Camo]

I didn't know there was a colourized version until i went back to read the other comments. When/if i rewatch it i'll make sure to check that one out.

[mark f]

Oh God, please don't.

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27115&stc=1&d=1473905280
Cloak and Dagger (Fritz Lang, 1946)

Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Gary Cooper, Robert Alda, Lilli Palmer
Genre: War Spy Adventure

About: During the last days of WWII a U.S. secret agent in the O.S.S. seeks to enlist the help of an old friend, scientist Alvah Jesper (Gary Cooper). The scientist who's working on the top secret Manhatten Project is asked to work undercover, traveling to Germany to find out about Nazi plans to build an atomic bomb.

Review: I don't really have too much exciting to say about this movie. It didn't elicit an emotional response. But I did find it entertaining and interesting from a historical standpoint. The story hums along at a good pace and I was also interested in it. This is the first movie to actually mention America's program to build an atomic bomb by name, the Manhattan Project.

Fritz Lang, directed this and the story hums along with intrigue, suspense and even romance. Gary Cooper is fine as the scientist turned spy and Lilli Palmer as the Italian resistances fighter was particularly good in her role. Some call this a film noir, but I didn't see any resemblances to a noir in this one.

rating_3

[mark f]

It's also the first film to mention American's war time secret branch of the military the O.S.S.
The Alan Ladd film O.S.S. was released four months earlier. :)

[Citizen Rules]

Oh rats, busted:p....Thanks Mark, I'll correct that in my review. I hadn't heard of O.S.S. is it any good?

[Citizen Rules]

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o165/cinquevolte/Blade%20Runner/0701801_Tyrell_Deckard_Rachael.jpg


Blade Runner...Theatrical Cut (1982)

I really love this movie, and I don't know if I love the story more or the look of it more? Or maybe it's the brilliant music score. I do know it's a film that makes me think, and I've thought about this film a lot!...Any film that can capture my imagination and hold it, is special, Blade Runner is very special to me.

I've seen this before of course, many times. The last time I watched the Final Cut version of this film. But it's been 34 years since I've seen the original Theatrical Cut, that's the version that was released in theaters and the version I just watched.

I swear Blade Runner gets better every time I watch it. This time around I realized just how beautifully Ridley Scott frames his compositions. The scene in the Tyrell corporation's office is perhaps my favorite, that's why I choose that photo. Seconds before that shot in the photo above, we see the reverse angle as Tyrell enters the room. There's this eerie light shimmer on the walls and the lighting is a warm gold, it just looks stunning. The decor is stunning too, with it's voluminous spaces and an Egyptian feel...which matches the pyramidal shape of the building. The film is filled with so many beautiful compositions...and the art designs is sublime.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27129&stc=1&d=1473957444


If there's one thing that Ridley Scott excels at is, world building, he fills the movie from side to side and top to bottom with details...details upon details! The film is so three dimensional that it looks like you could enter the world of Blade Runner at any scene. Ridley's use of night shooting coupled with rain...lots of rain...and lots of smoke, gives the set texture and realism, that otherwise wouldn't be there. The man's a genius at getting the right look.


http://www.athenstimeout.gr/sites/default/files/styles/scalecrop_540x300/public/articles/13-11/blade_runner_sean_young_cover_athensbars.jpg?itok=4zIwCi8i


Then there's the haunting music score by Vangelis. It's heavy and dark when we're on the crowded urban streets, then like a lifting storm the music lightens as the spinner car lifts up into the sky. During Rachel's Voight-Kampff test, the score changes to a light tinkling bell sound. Later we have a mellow steamy saxophone score in Deckard's apartment setting the appropriate mood. The visuals are so stunning that the music score is often overlooked but it's presents is powerful.

And what's not to like about a film noir, existential, slow burn-sci fi film, with some graphic violence punctuating the dark night. The morals that the film explores, as it examines what it means to be human, is deep. So deep that the debate still rages over just what the film is saying.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

I watched the black and white version of My Man Godfrey, but I put the colorized version of it on my watchlist when you mentioned it in the HoF. It sounds like they did a good job on it, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I expected it to look crappy, like the other colorized films I've seen but it looked good. It's more of a novelty but yeah watch it and see what you think:p

[Movie Max]

Tom Hardy plays the heavy, a really bad guy that makes the story line possible. What impressed me was his fine acting and especially the way he delivered his lines. He spoke like an uneducated mountain man would, which made me believe his character was real. That says a lot about his acting ability.

Well that's very interesting, because I thought he actually spoke like an educated southerner, with all those big words he used correctly.

[Citizen Rules]

Movie Max, it's been awhile since I seen The Revenant, so I'll take you word that Tom Hardy's character used big words correctly. And that even makes me like his performance all the better. Because he got the accent and the attitude down pat. I thought he deserved a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Did you like his character?

[Citizen Rules]

https://40.media.tumblr.com/1f6f80c238ae5fc24cb6b0a519e0b7a7/tumblr_nxsrlmZjWQ1uv27ino1_400.jpg
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931)


Director: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle (as William Goodrich)
Cast: Jack Shutta, Louise Brooks, William B. Davidson
Genre: Comedy Short
Length: 20 minutes

About: Windy Riley is a gung-hu automobile driver in a non stop race across the USA, from New York to San Francisco. But when a direction sign gets turned around, Windy Riley ends up in Hollywood, where he smashes a studio big wigs car. The studio boss demands he work off the debt at the studio but Riley steps in and takes the job of a promoter and tries to save the career of Betty Grey (Louise Brooks).

http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/windy-riley-goes-hollywood/w448/windy-riley-goes-hollywood.jpg



Windy Riley Goes to Hollywood is a two-reeler film, a short movie made for inclusion with the main feature film. A reel of 35mm film is approximately 1000 feet long and takes 11 minutes to show. In the early days of movie making, a movies length was often referred to in the number of film reels that the movie was composed of. These short two reelers were often used to show, up and coming stars, as a sort of live preview screen test. This one features Louise Brooks.

Louise Brooks had worked in Hollywood but shunned it to work in silent films in Europe, where she had success with such films as Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Latter, back in America she was put into this short to see if she had audience appeal. Sadly her talkie career never really took off.

This short is notable for being directed by William Goodrich, better known as Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Arbuckle was blacklisted in Hollywood after being falsely accused of raping an actresses who died. She actually was the victim of a botched abortion, but the bad publicity killed Arbuckle's career, hence the need to work with an alias.

This is funny, I liked this and the lead actor is a riot.
rating_3

[Movie Max]

I'm shocked (and saddened) by your rating of 12 Angry Men. I know that you said that you didn't like it as much now as you did when you first saw it, but I didn't expect that low of a rating.

Ditto.

[Movie Max]

Did you like his character?

Yeah, very much.

Here is a fan page that lists his...

Powers/Skills
Intelligence, Lies, Knowledge in hunting, Physical Strength, Skilled gunman and hunter, Excellent firearm skills
http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/John_Fitzgerald_(The_Revenant)
(http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/John_Fitzgerald_(The_Revenant))
I skimmed through your thread, clicked on what I've seen and could easily agree with. Now that I'm done, I want to dust off my copy of The Salton Sea (2002) for a rewatch (which I recommend, by the way) and I also want to see Brooklyn (2015).

Cheers!

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah, very much.

Here is a fan page that lists his...

Powers/Skills
Intelligence, Lies, Knowledge in hunting, Physical Strength, Skilled gunman and hunter, Excellent firearm skills
http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/John_Fitzgerald_(The_Revenant)

I skimmed through your thread, clicked on what I've seen and could easily agree with. Now that I'm done, I want to dust off my copy of The Salton Sea (2002) for a rewatch (which I recommend, by the way) and I also want to see Brooklyn (2015).

Cheers! I seen all those reps from you! Thank you for taking the time to check out my thread:) I loved Brooklyn, I suppose it depends on what a person wants in a film, but it was quality done.

Yeah, I've heard of The Salton Sea (2002) and I've been meaning to watch it...You must have spotted my review of Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea. I'm nuts for anything about the Salton Sea.

[gbgoodies]

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o165/cinquevolte/Blade%20Runner/0701801_Tyrell_Deckard_Rachael.jpg


Blade Runner...Theatrical Cut (1982)

I really love this movie, and I don't know if I love the story more or the look of it more? Or maybe it's the brilliant music score. I do know it's a film that makes me think, and I've thought about this film a lot!...Any film that can capture my imagination and hold it, is special, Blade Runner is very special to me.

I've seen this before of course, many times. The last time I watched the Final Cut version of this film. But it's been 34 years since I've seen the original Theatrical Cut, that's the version that was released in theaters and the version I just watched.

I swear Blade Runner gets better every time I watch it. This time around I realized just how beautifully Ridley Scott frames his compositions. The scene in the Tyrell corporation's office is perhaps my favorite, that's why I choose that photo. Seconds before that shot in the photo above, we see the reverse angle as Tyrell enters the room. There's this eerie light shimmer on the walls and the lighting is a warm gold, it just looks stunning. The decor is stunning too, with it's voluminous spaces and an Egyptian feel...which matches the pyramidal shape of the building. The film is filled with so many beautiful compositions...and the art designs is sublime.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27129&stc=1&d=1473957444


If there's one thing that Ridley Scott excels at is, world building, he fills the movie from side to side and top to bottom with details...details upon details! The film is so three dimensional that it looks like you could enter the world of Blade Runner at any scene. Ridley's use of night shooting coupled with rain...lots of rain...and lots of smoke, gives the set texture and realism, that otherwise wouldn't be there. The man's a genius at getting the right look.


http://www.athenstimeout.gr/sites/default/files/styles/scalecrop_540x300/public/articles/13-11/blade_runner_sean_young_cover_athensbars.jpg?itok=4zIwCi8i


Then there's the haunting music score by Vangelis. It's heavy and dark when we're on the crowded urban streets, then like a lifting storm the music lightens as the spinner car lifts up into the sky. During Rachel's Voight-Kampff test, the score changes to a light tinkling bell sound. Later we have a mellow steamy saxophone score in Deckard's apartment setting the appropriate mood. The visuals are so stunning that the music score is often overlooked but it's presents is powerful.

And what's not to like about a film noir, existential, slow burn-sci fi film, with some graphic violence punctuating the dark night. The morals that the film explores, as it examines what it means to be human, is deep. So deep that the debate still rages over just what the film is saying.

rating_5


While I agree that there is so much to love about Blade Runner, I think the visuals are amazing. That's what draws me into the movie the most every time I watch it.

I haven't watched the original Theatrical Cut probably since I saw it in the theater when it was released, but it's on my watchlist. (I'm hoping to find enough time to watch two or three different versions on the same day.)

[Citizen Rules]

GBG, if you like Blade Runner I think you would really like the original theatrical cut better....I do. I hadn't seen the theatrical cut either since I watched it at the theater. I was surprised at how small changes make a big difference in the movie. I won't go into them now, but if you ever watch the theatrical cut, let me know...I love to hear your thoughts on it.

[Optimus]

I hated Blade Runner, i seen it for the first time a couple of years ago and didn't like it at all.

[Citizen Rules]

I hated Blade Runner, i seen it for the first time a couple of years ago and didn't like it at all. Optimus can I ask what you would have liked to seen Blade Runner do differently?

[Optimus]

Optimus can I ask what you would have liked to seen Blade Runner do differently?

I can't even answer that question mate. I only seen it for the first time a couple of years ago so maybe it just didn't live up to expectations. Its very well recieved by almost everyone so i was expecting something very different to what i watched :p.

[Citizen Rules]

That's cool Optimus:) I was just wondering what you were expecting to see in Blade Runner. I know for myself, the movies I don't like are the ones I expect (or want) to be different, than they turn out to be. I seen a movie a month ago that everyone loved, and I though I would love it, but...it was completely not what I had hoped for, so I ended up disliking it. I think that happens to most people.

[Citizen Rules]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/thumb/5/5a/Lucky_Ones.jpg/640px-Lucky_Ones.jpg

The Lucky Ones (2008)


Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Neil Burger, Dirk Wittenborn
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Peña
Genre: Drama Comedy

About: Three soldiers returned home to the USA from Afghanistan, end up taking a cross country road trip together. Their stories are interwoven as they deal with their war injuries and learn life has moved on without them, during their tour of duties.

Review: I love indie films, and I love road trip films, especially when they're cleverly written and insightful. I instantly liked the film and cared about the three characters. I thought all three main actors were very good and made me care about what happened to them. In the hands of another director this could have turned into a typical sentimental film but it never does that, thank goodness.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/09/26/movies/26lucky.xlarge1.jpg


I loved the way this was edited and filmed...no quirky camera tricks, no fast cut edits, no flash backs. I especially like the way each of the character's stories wrapped up at the end. Good old fashion story telling, that kept me involved!

I thought it was cool how the film showed that all three characters were first and foremost soldiers. They breathe, think and act, soldiering. The director shows us how the three are different than civilians when they interact with non-soldiers.

I thought the end scene where they say goodbye to each other at the airport and Micheal Pena kisses Rachel McAdams goodbye showed how they were all soldiers: In most films they would have passionately kissed, falling in love and ended up together. But Pena kisses her not on the cheek, and not squarely on the lips, but off to the side of her lips (as a solider buddy might do)...

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27140&stc=1&d=1474073951
Ugetsu (Mizoguchi,1953)

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Cast: Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Fable

Ugetsu is based on an ancient Japanese fable that takes place in a turbulent time during the sixteenth century, when the Japanese were in a civil war. It's a morality tale of love, hope, dreams and the supernatural.

I liked this film right off the start and as the story progressed I became even more interested in it. It's a very interesting story! It held my interest and I was very curious as to what was going to happen next.

I enjoyed the folk lore style of story telling, quite well. I thought the actors were appropriate for being cast as historical folk lore caricatures. I liked the fable itself and it was filmed beautiful too.

I wasn't sure if the poor potter who met the noble lady and marries her, was drugged by her? Or was he enchanted by her or under a spell?...Or did he marry her of his own free will? It seems an important question as it determines much of the moral of the story.

I wish his story in Ugetsu had ended at the point when he returned to his home and found it was empty. I would have ended it by showing him vacantly staring out the widow at what once was. That's the way I would like it.

rating_4

[gbgoodies]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/thumb/5/5a/Lucky_Ones.jpg/640px-Lucky_Ones.jpg

The Lucky Ones (2008)


Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Neil Burger, Dirk Wittenborn
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Peña
Genre: Drama Comedy

About: Three soldiers returned home to the USA from Afghanistan, end up taking a cross country road trip together. Their stories are interwoven as they deal with their war injuries and learn life has moved on without them, during their tour of duties.

Review: I love indie films, and I love road trip films, especially when they're cleverly written and insightful. I instantly liked the film and cared about the three characters. I thought all three main actors were very good and made me care about what happened to them. In the hands of another director this could have turned into a typical sentimental film but it never does that, thank goodness.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/09/26/movies/26lucky.xlarge1.jpg


I loved the way this was edited and filmed...no quirky camera tricks, no fast cut edits, no flash backs. I especially like the way each of the character's stories wrapped up at the end. Good old fashion story telling, that kept me involved!

I thought it was cool how the film showed that all three characters were first and foremost soldiers. They breathe, think and act, soldiering. The director shows us how the three are different than civilians when they interact with non-soldiers.

I thought the end scene where they say goodbye to each other at the airport and Micheal Pena kisses Rachel McAdams goodbye showed how they were all soldiers: In most films they would have passionately kissed, falling in love and ended up together. But Pena kisses her not on the cheek, and not squarely on the lips, but off to the side of her lips (as a solider buddy might do)...

rating_3_5


I didn't get a chance to write about The Lucky Ones when it was in the HoF, but I thought it was a great movie, and it probably would have placed pretty high on my list if I had submitted one.

I'm generally not a fan of Tim Robbins because I find him unlikable in most of his movies, but I kind of liked him in this movie. I also liked the other two main characters, which made it easy for this movie to draw me into the story and care about the characters.

I also liked the ending because they didn't just take the easy way out with the predictable happy ending of two of the main characters ending up together.

[Citizen Rules]

The Lucky Ones is a good one! I'm not surprised that you would like it. Both me and my wife liked it, but I think I liked it more. Have you seen Mother's Day (2016) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4824302/)? I just got through watching that this evening and it was pretty silly. Innocuous, with a few laughs but mostly silly.

[gbgoodies]

The Lucky Ones is a good one! I'm not surprised that you would like it. Both me and my wife liked it, but I think I liked it more. Have you seen Mother's Day (2016) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4824302/)? I just got through watching that this evening and it was pretty silly. Innocuous, with a few laughs but mostly silly.


No, I haven't even heard of the movie Mother's Day, but I don't think I've seen any movies from 2016 yet. I'm way behind on current movies. I usually catch up at the end of the year when the Oscar nominees are announced.

[Citizen Rules]

I suggest you put Mothers Day at the bottom of your list. It's nothing to write home about. I wanted to shut it off after 15 minutes, and it only got worse.

[gbgoodies]

I suggest you put Mothers Day at the bottom of your list. It's nothing to write home about. I wanted to shut it off after 15 minutes, and it only got worse.


I took a quick look at the IMDB page for it, and it has a low rating, and no stars that I really care about, so I'll probably just wait to watch it until it's on TV eventually.

It can't be worse than the movie that I watched tonight. Hudson Hawk (1991) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102070/reference) starring Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello and Andie MacDowell. It starts off fun, with Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello singing to time their robbery, but it quickly gets ridiculous after that. I remembered it being a bad movie, but not that bad.

[Citizen Rules]

I took a quick look at the IMDB page for it, and it has a low rating, and no stars that I really care about, so I'll probably just wait to watch it until it's on TV eventually.

It can't be worse than the movie that I watched tonight. Hudson Hawk (1991) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102070/reference) starring Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello and Andie MacDowell. It starts off fun, with Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello singing to time their robbery, but it quickly gets ridiculous after that. I remembered it being a bad movie, but not that bad. I never seen Hudson Hawk, but I remember it had a lot of buzz about it when it came out. I might watch it for Andie MacDowell:p

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27146&stc=1&d=1474134358
Canadian Bacon (Michael Moore 1995)

Director: Michael Moore
Writer: Michael Moore
Cast: John Candy, Alan Alda, Rhea Perlman, Kevin Pollack, Rip Torn
Genre: Satire Comedy

About: A mild mannered American President (Alan Alda) whos popularity is at an all time low, gets talked into staging a Cold War with Canada. Meanwhile Bud Bright (John Candy) the not-to-bright sheriff of Niagara Falls heads to Canada to cause mischief.

Review: What's wrong with people!??? Canadian Bacon has a dismally low rating at IMDB, but this is one of the most satirical, clever, well written, biting humor movies, I've ever seen. Written and directed by Michael Moore (Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine), yes! it's that Michael Moore the one that the extreme right loves to hate. This is the only non-documentary film that Moore made...and it's a doozie. Packed full of Moore's social commentary on big business, big government and the effects of an out of control media. The jokes are subtle so those looking for Adam Sandler type humor will hate this. And that's probably why I loved it! There's so much going on that if you blink you can miss a dimuitive gem of witticism.

Kudos to John Candy and Alan Alda for delivering Michael Moore's dialogue with style. Canadian Bacon might have been a no-brainier title for a movie, but make no mistake about it, you will need a brain to enjoy this.

rating_3_5

[Movie Max]

I never seen Hudson Hawk, but I remember it had a lot of buzz about it when it came out. I might watch it for Andie MacDowell:p

You're a glutton for punishment.

[Citizen Rules]

Well ya;) but Andie was hot back in the day.

[Movie Max]

Well ya;) but Andie was hot back in the day.

She's not the punishment, the movie is.

[Citizen Rules]

http://nickisrandommusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Mothers-Day-Movie.jpg

Mother's Day (2016)
Director: Garry Marshall
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts
Genre: Comedy, Drama

A group of moms and their children come together on Mother's Day.

Chick Flick! Alert!...I ain't just saying that because it's mainly about women, some of the best movies are mainly about women. This is a very light, girl picture, lots of girl talk and stuff girls would like, especially young moms. This should probably be required viewing for all women under 30 who have or will have babies.

The estrogen rich script unfortunately is light fluff. Oh sure there's some laughs here and there and nothing offensive or completely horrible about the movie.

This is director Garry Marshal's last film, I wish I could say it was good one. Well at least it will put a smile on your face if only when the neon colored end credits role.

Jennifer Aniston is the highlight here, she doesn't get much to work with and this a cake walk for her. Unfortunately her role is nothing meaty like Cake (2014), which I highly recommended. If Aniston is the bright spot, the dim spot has got to be Kate Hudson who hams it up every time the camera comes near her. She actually shows off so much that the other actresses disappear, will figuratively anyway. I found her really annoying.

The movie is populate with just about every single cliche character you could image. There all there and for two hours you're stuck with them. That's about it.

rating_2

[Captain Steel]

Canadian Bacon - thank you, Rules!
I have some fond memories of this movie (haven't seen it in many years.)
Interestingly, a movie that came out two years later: Wag the Dog (1997) had virtually the same plot - trying to create a war for PR reasons - but with a slightly more serious take (although it was also a comedy.) I remember watching Wag the Dog and saying, "Hey! They stole this plot from Canadian Bacon"

I had to edit this to say... OMG! I never knew Michael Moore wrote & directed this! I'm not sure how to feel about it now. ;) I'm not a fan of Moore these days (although, at one time I bought his TV show "TV Nation" on VHS tapes)!

[Citizen Rules]

It was funny when the movie started as I seen the director of Canadian Bacon was Michael Moore, but thought, 'nah it can't be him, he makes documentaries.' But then as the movie goes on and it's very Michael Moorish, I start to wonder. Then I see him in a cameo role and knew it was him. I had never seen one of his films before. I know a lot of people don't like him. But at any rate it was a funny movie...and sadly the last film released with John Candy in it.:(

On the bright side I still have a bunch more Candy films to watch:

Wagons East (1994)
Armed and Dangerous (1986)
Once Upon a Crime (1992)
Brewster's Millions (1985)
Tunnel Vision (1976)
Really Weird Tales (1987)

I've not seen any of them, not even Brewster's Millions. So I have something to look forward to.

[Captain Steel]

I finally watched Wagon's East (1994). It's got some weak areas, but it's not as bad as people made it out to be, in fact, I'd say it's a bit underrated. Perhaps the fact that it's John Candy's last film cast a shadow upon it?

Without spoiling; my favorite character in the movie turned out to be the one played John C. McGinely! For me he ended up stealing the movie. He's very cliched at first, but watch and see what happens.


Come to think of it, John C. McGinely has left his mark as a character actor on me from a few films: Platoon, Office Space and the wildly suspenseful thriller Intensity (1997) - a made for TV movie (don't know why since it would have killed in the theater) where McGinely breaks from his usual comedic roles to play a charismatic yet sadistic serial killer!

[Citizen Rules]

I finally watched Wagon's East (1994). It's got some weak areas, but it's not as bad as people made it out to be, in fact, I'd say it's a bit underrated. Perhaps the fact that it's John Candy's last film cast a shadow upon it?

Without spoiling; my favorite character in the movie turned out to be the one played John C. McGinely! For me he ended up stealing the movie. He's very cliched at first, but watch and see what happens.


Come to think of it, John C. McGinely has left his mark as a character actor on me from a few films: Platoon, Office Space and the wildly suspenseful thriller Intensity (1997) - a made for TV movie (don't know why since it would have killed in the theater) where McGinely breaks from his usual comedic roles to play a charismatic yet sadistic serial killer!

John C. McGinely...that name doesn't sound familiar to me, so I Googled him and I don't recognize him. But I have Platoon on order from the library (I'm on a Vietnam war kick) and I'll be watching that soon. I think one of these days I'll check out Office Space as I'm liking Jennifer Aniston more than I would have thought. I'll probably try of Wagon's East as my next Candy movie, so I'll see what I think of McGinely's character in that one.

[Captain Steel]

Have you never seen Platoon, Rules?
Probably my favorite Viet Nam film. Intense, suspenseful, action-packed, violent and it has some very disturbing material.
The first time I saw it in the theater I walked away a bit shaken & stunned - as if I'd experienced some of the war (although all I did was sit in a chair for 2 hours.)
Outstanding cast & performances (even by Charlie Sheen - before he went mental). ;)
Keep an eye out for a young Johnny Depp in one of his early film appearances.

I've written about Office Space on this site before, but it's one of those films that grew on me - I didn't really care for it when I first saw it, but then it became more & more relatable to my job at the time. Now I watch it as a cult classic.

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah, I seen Platoon, but like a million years ago. Seems to me I liked it. Wasn't there a TV series called Platoon? I use to watch that and liked it as well. Johnny Depp is in it? thanks for mentioning that I had no idea.

I remember you saying you liked Office Space, it has a lot of a fans. I don't think I would relate to it as I've never even got close to any office type work, but I'll give a shot.

Catch ya latter, time for pizza and a movie (go figure);)

[Gooch]

For me, Office space is one of those movies that is as much fun to talk about and quote as it is to watch. Kinda like Napoleon Dynamite, which I don't really enjoy that much but like hearing people reference it. "Your mom goes to college" "IDIOTS!!!" etc. Also, Office spaces' themes are pretty universal. Unfulfilling jobs, clueless superiors and crushing boredom; most people can relate to that stuff. So not having worked in a cubicle shouldn't leave you feeling too out of the loop.

[Citizen Rules]

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Payback (1999)

Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Mad Mel is back at again and going ballistic in 1999's ode to film noir - Payback. Mel's more crazed than cool and like many of his other roles, channels an inner hostility as he vents it on those around him.

I watched the original theatrical cut which I thought was well done. I've heard people praise the Director's Cut because it removes the voice over narrative, but V.O's don't scare me at all. Some taunt the blue toned original film as being well, too blue, hence the Directors Cut removed the bluish cast. Big mistake, half of the films greatness is in it's look it's dark, it's gritty...and in the original release there's lots of cool toned blue's and greens all surrounded in shadows....brilliantly done. The look of the original version effectively gives the feeling of a classic black & white noir while still shooting in color.

At 1hour 40 minutes, this movie is fast paced, but not ADD inducing fast. We get just enough of Max's...errr I mean Porter's backstory to know where he's coming from. Actually all you need to know is in the title, he's pissed, crazy and wants payback. But only $70,000 worth of payback, he doesn't want the full $130,000. The money bit induces a bit of ironic comedy into a tense action film. Mel Gibson is great as an off his rocker, bad guy that we can't help but root for...well not in Australia where we cheer for him. This film delivers!

rating_3_5

[Movie Max]

Porter: We went for breakfast... in Canada.:D

[Gideon58]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27155&stc=1&d=1474220731
Payback (1999)

Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
rating_3_5

I LOVE this movie...one of my guilty pleasures, though I do have a slight issue with something you've mentioned here...Your review implies that Porter is a little crazy or mentally unbalanced and I have never gotten that impression from the character. I think Porter is very clever and very focused on what he wants...he wants his $70.000 and nothing more and I don't think someone who was mentally unbalanced could have worked his way through various levels of "the outfit" the way he did, right to the top, without complete possession of mental faculties. JMO.

[Citizen Rules]

I love that photo of Mel, he looks so intense...OK, so my review was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek take on both the Mad Max character and Mel's real life drunken outburst woes, hence the line 'Mad Mel'. Now I really like Mel, warts and all. So anyway back to his character Porter in Payback. I thought he was unhinged, I mean he goes through all that to get back his $70,000 that was stolen from him...but he stole that money himself, so it was never his. So yeah I think he's nuts...a fun kind of nuts, but crackers for sure.

[Movie Max]

In this role, he reminds me of Rutger Hauer from The Hitcher (1986), especially how he's so casual and careless about pain that is inflicted on him. Wacko, for sure.

[Gideon58]

In this role, he reminds me of Rutger Hauer from The Hitcher (1986), especially how he's so casual and careless about pain that is inflicted on him. Wacko, for sure.

I guess I'm alone on this one because I have never felt that Porter was nuts, just a guy who was left for dead after committing a crime who wants his half of the bootie back and will do whatever it takes to get it back.

[Movie Max]

I love that photo of Mel from Payback BTW...

Is that really from Payback? He looks older.

[Citizen Rules]

I guess I'm alone on this one because I have never felt that Porter was nuts, just a guy who was left for dead after committing a crime who wants his half of the bootie back and will do whatever it takes to get it back.I wouldn't say he was clinically insane or anything, he was sane but bonkers.

Is that really from Payback? He looks older. I thought it was as it came up in a search for (Payback Mel) but I think you're right he looks much older.

[Gideon58]

I wouldn't say he was clinically insane or anything, he was sane but bonkers.

I thought it was as it came up in a search for (Payback Mel) but I think you're right he looks much older.


I have to concur here...I don't think that photo is from Payback either.

[Citizen Rules]

No it's not from Payback, I thought it was originally, like I said, as it came up in a search, but it's from a latter film. I might change it, but I do like it.

[Citizen Rules]

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Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)

Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Cast: Louise Brooks, Josef Rovenský, Fritz Rasp
Silent Film

About: Thymiane (Louise Brooks) is a happy charming girl who lives with her family above a pharmacy shop. When she becomes pregnant and refuses to marry the father of the baby. Her baby is take from her and she is disowned by her family and sent to a reform school. There she finds life is very hard and unfair.



Review: Louise Brooks is the big draw here. She certainly can pack a lot of emotion into a scene just with the look on her face. She was fascinating to watch as she seemed so very real and sometimes characters in silent drama films come off as caricatures, but not here. The story concept was brilliant and allowed maximum emotional response from the audience. It was film beautiful too and never felt static, though I wish the pacing was a bit faster as some of the camera shots were held for past the point of interest. Luckily that didn't happen to much and isn't a deal breaker.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3OpaGMeABCM/hqdefault.jpg


I also watched another Louise Brooks film, a comedy, talkie short called Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931), it was interesting to here Louise's voice, though she only had a bit part and you would never know the range of acting she was capable of from this short film. If Louise had never went to Germany to make films, we wouldn't even know her name today.

Diary of a Lost Girl is a must see for not only silent film fans but movie buffs too.

rating_4

[Gooch]

Payback - There were some great noir-comedy lines in there. My favorite was "$70,000? My suits are worth $70,000!"

[Citizen Rules]

Payback - There were some great noir-comedy lines in there. My favorite was "$70,000? My suits are worth $70,000!"

Hey it's my twin;)...Yup I loved that line!

[Citizen Rules]

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Wings (William Wellman, 1927)


Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen, Clara Bow
Genre: War Drama Action Romance
Silent Film

About: Two friends who both love the same woman and go off to become fighter pilots in World War I.

Review: I watched the official, restored DVD of Wings. The first thing I see is that the tint is a light yellow and I'm thinking what is going on? On my last viewing the film was black and white. I knew that some old silent films were monochrome tinted. But I didn't think Wings was one of them. Then I watched the DVD extras and learned Wings had premiered as a Road show release. Road show releases were special limited viewing engagements, where the movie was shown at only a handful of premier theaters in large cities. These Road show pictures often came with little extras and in the case of Wings the extras were single color tinting and hand drawn in animated flames and machine gun fire, along with an intermission during the movie.

I believe that photo of the old movie theater is from a Road show of Wings as the theater is decked out for the occasion. If you watch Wings on the restored DVD you'll have two choices for soundtrack:

A pipe organ score by Gaylord Carter, and a new orchestration of the film’s original score by JS Zamecnik. The fact that the Zamecnik score incorporates the sound effects of the airplanes and gun fire helps remind us that Wings was made at the very tail-end of the silent era, just as the art was reaching its apotheosis. Watch Wings with the orchestral score!

My favorite sequence is the Paris bistro scene, that's the one with the 'bubbles' and the infamous and topless scene with Clara Bow, blink and you'll miss it.

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I love this gif of the opening tracking shot of the Paris bistro 'bubbles' scene. Both the technical side of this opening shot, and the story each of the couples tell at the 5 tables in the foreground is amazing.


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My gawd! it's the silent era and William Wellman the director actually shows us a real view of what it would be like to fly a plane into enemy territory strafing enemy soldiers. All of the battle scenes are huge! There's no way anything like this would be made today, unless is was CG:sick:

I don't know if you guys know this but William Wellman was a fighter pilot in World War I and the first American to join the French Lafayette Flying Corps, just like the two friends in Wings were.

I love this film! Buddy Rogers the dark haired pilot is amazing in this, he seems so personable which makes this film seem so real. Of course I liked the other pilot Richard Arlene and there last scene together is very touching...And I liked Clara Bow in this and there's even a brief camo by Gary Cooper, this is the film that launched his career.

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But mostly it's 'Wild Bill' William Wellman the director who I admire most of all. In his films and in his life he goes all out and lives life on the edge and his films reflect that gusto for life.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Orphans of the Storm (D.W. Griffith 1921)


Director: D.W. Griffith
Cast: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Silent Film

About: A tragic tale of two orphaned little girls one is blind and are separated as young woman by the French Revolution and unscrupulous people.

Review: Despite this being a classic by one of the great directors, I didn't care for this one. This was the first D.W. Griffith film I've seen and geez I had a hard time watching this, it was so slow and plodding. D.W. Griffith is in love with the spectacle of film, as that's what this film delivers...an unbridled spectacle of the French Revolution. Griffith is undeniably the king of costume pictures.

Orson Welles gave an introduction to Orphans of the Storm as part of a PBS TV series from 1971 and that was included on the DVD. I wish I could find the video of it, it's interesting. Orson said of this movie, 'that it was old fashioned even when it was first shown at the theater and it harked back to the stage days of the 19th century' He also said the film 'tasted of old dusty velour'.

Some 2 1/2 hours latter after watching the film, I knew what Orson had meant. The film to me seemed like some of the shorts Thomas Edison had made years earlier. The sets and costumes were fantastic but it was overkill with too much superfluous stuff happening, with little soul. I was just glad when the movie was finally over.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=27164&stc=1&d=1474243361


On the other hand the scale of the French Revolutionary period sets are massive! The costumes and set decorations look amazing and must have cost a small fortune. This is an impressive looking film.

rating_3

.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Gumball Rally (1976)

Director: Charles Bail (as Chuck Bail)
Cast: Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire, Raul Julia
Genre: Action Drama Comedy

About: A group of hard core racers, take to the street in a high speed, illegal cross country road race called The Gumball Rally.

Review: I actually seen this movie as a kid at the theater during it's first run. My dad liked car movies so I got to see on the big screen some of the great ones: Gone in Sixty Seconds, American Graffiti and this forgotten film, The Gumball Rally. There's not much story here, it's all about the race and the cars!

OMG! there are so many awesome cars in this movie that a car nut could blow a piston. The two main rivals are Michael Sarrazin and actor who was popular in the 70s. He gets to drive the infamous Ford Cobra 427 roadster...that's the blue car for you uncar people! His life long buddy and competitor is Tim McIntire who once played the brother of Kwai Chang Caine (David Caridine) in the TV series Kung Fu. He gets to drive a very fast 1974 Ferrari Daytona, the red car!


http://pics.imcdb.org/0is153/1capture181fq2.1842.jpg
In today's prices those two cars would be worth over 1.5 million dollars!

By far the coolest thing is the racing, the cars and the fact that the actors did all of their own driving...and yes it is high speed driving on real roads. A film like this could never be made today, unless it was a CG crap pile film:sick:

There's a team or pretty girls in a 974 Porsche 911 Targa and more pretty girls along the way. Oh and did I mention some of the crazy driving stunts they do...like pulling into a moving semi by a ramp. That was done for real as was the two wheeled driving of the yellow 1970 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, yes I know, not a cool thing to do to a classic muscle car!

http://cdn.speednik.com/files/2016/05/2016-05-23_01-43-37-640x358.jpg


Of all the actors it's the talented Raul Julia who steals the show as a red blooded Italian car driver. I really enjoyed visiting this film again.

rating_3

[gbgoodies]

I've never seen The Gumball Rally, but it sounds kind of like The Cannonball Run. Which would you say is the better of the two movies?

[Gideon58]

https://rauljuliafanpage.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/sin-tc3adtulo-1234567890000.jpg
The Gumball Rally (1976)

Director: Charles Bail (as Chuck Bail)
Cast: Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire, Raul Julia
Genre: Action Drama Comedy


[/CENTER]

So great to see some love for his movie and I totally agree with you, Raul Julia walks away with it.

[Citizen Rules]

I've never seen The Gumball Rally, but it sounds kind of like The Cannonball Run. Which would you say is the better of the two movies?Good question, I haven't seen The Cannonball Run in decades, but I picked up the DVD and will be watching it this weekend. So I will let you know:) Of course I will do a review and I'm on a movie car kick right now. A few weeks ago I watched and reviewed Grand Theft Auto with a younger Ron Howard. Latter I will watch Smoky and the Bandit.

So great to see some love for his movie and I totally agree with you, Raul Julia walks away with it. Raul was a special talent and almost always lightens up any movie he was in.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Big Parade (King Vidor,1925)
Director: King Vidor
Cast: John Gilbert, Renée Adorée
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Silent Film


I loved this film it was truly a treat to watch. Not only a great silent film but a great film period. The romance in the French village was so charming and so special that I could feel the love developing between James (John Gilbert) and Melisande (Renee Adoree). I found Renee Adoree to be captivating on the screen, she was so naturalistic in the emotions that she expresses, that she was utterly charming.

From the time the Dough Boys arrive in the French village until they went off to war, that was my favorite part. Though all of the film is special.

https://41.media.tumblr.com/091a1f1744a67fb486003fd1f68b007f/tumblr_inline_nuj9sdozdx1tro391_540.jpg


I loved how the film spent enough time showing the first meeting of James and Melisande and their developing romance. The barrel carrying scene was fun! and I could feel the joy in their hearts. Rarely does a film connect with me like The Big Parade did.

Another scene that was special is by the river, when he keeps touching her arm playfully and she keeps pushing him away... with a glimmer in her eyes for him.

http://66.media.tumblr.com/4de583b9acbc7e4cad5c5cb314c9092a/tumblr_mvq4wv9Fqq1sr1ki0o3_500.gif



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And this is cute, I rarely say 'cute' but it is cute!


And I equally loved the night time rendezvous scene, with the gum chewing. I could really feel the love developing there it was magic.

All of this leads up to the heartbreaking scene when she finds the photo of his old girlfriend. Finally the romance that has built up cumulates in a heart wrenching scene as James is marching off to war with Melisande fearing she will never see him again.

http://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/8844_5.jpg


Wow! That's a powerful scene. The movie could have ended here and I would still give it a 5/5...But we get even more! The war scenes were equally powerful and well done, especially as they were scored so well which made the war so somber and hopeless looking. The director really made the point that war is hell!..but love triumphs all!


rating_5

[cricket]

The car chase movies and car race movies of the 70's were the best. I remember watching The Gumball Rally on TV whenever it was on.

[Citizen Rules]

The car chase movies and car race movies of the 70's were the best. I remember watching The Gumball Rally on TV whenever it was on. Do you have any more titles for me from the 70s-80s? I'm on the car race kick. So far I've seen:

Grand Theft Auto
The Gumball Rally
Death Race 2000
and will be watching
The Cannonball Run
Smokey and the Bandit
Gone in Sixty Seconds (the original not the gawd awful remake)

[cricket]

Hooper
Vanishing Point
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Corvette Summer

[Citizen Rules]

I seen Dirty Mary Crazy Larry a year or ago or so, I liked it and it was different too...and what an ending, very spectacular. I've seen Corvette Summer and was meaning to see that one too. I'll check out the other titles too, thanks!

[cricket]

Hooper is not really a car movie but there's car scenes. It's awesome anyway.

[Citizen Rules]

I just looked up Hooper:

Hollywood aging stuntman Sonny Hooper wants to prove that he's still got what it takes to be a great professional in this risky and under-recognized line of work. Cast: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field

Yeah that sounds like a fun one. Thanks and I will review it when I get a chance to watch it. I have to start watching some 11th HoF films:p

[Citizen Rules]

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Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922)
Director: F.W. Murnau
Cast: Max Schreck, Greta Schröder, Ruth Landshoff
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Silent Film

The oldest surviving vampire film is the classic German silent, Nosferatu. An unauthorized silent film, based very closely on the famous novel by Bram Stroker, Dracula. Bram Stoker's widow filled a legal suit against the makers of Nosferatu, which she won. This resulted in an agreement that all the negatives and prints of the film would be destroyed. And they were all thought destroyed too...except a few prints survived in a couple foreign countries. In 1994 the surviving prints were restored and the film came to life once more.

Nosferatu is an interesting film and I'm glad I watched it. But I found it underwhelming. The story didn't click with me and the film version I watched seemed to be almost pieced together with no transitions between the scenes. I wonder if that's because the surviving prints were incomplete and so had to be pieced together? I noticed for a few seconds the movie was actually showing a negative image of the print. I did learn there's a newly restored version of Nosferatu and I bet the print and the music score is much approved upon.



There's a lot to like in this film: the creature was way cool looking! Great makeup and design. And I loved the creepy, up the staircase, shadow scene...as well as the stop action sequences. Oh and the skeleton clock was cool too!

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ptch6l0QNlQ/hqdefault.jpg


The unrestored version which I watched was black and white, but I believe the restored version has some single color tinting to it. Overall I liked this film visually.

rating_3

[Citizen Rules]

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The Crowd (King Vidor,1928)
Director/Writer: King Vidor
Cast: Eleanor Boardman, James Murray
Genre: Drama
Silent Movie

About: The life of an ordinary man and an ordinary woman who meet, fall in love and marry. Their life together in a huge, crowded city is full of hardships and unrealized dreams.



Review: Directed by one of the great directors King Vidor...The Crowd, I had never heard of it before. Nor had I heard of the two leads, (James Murray, Eleanor Boardman), but I really liked both of them! It's important to care about the couple in a film that revolves around romance and their lives together. And I did care about them as people and I believed in their love.

Even though we don't hear them speak, John & Mary were more real to me than most romantic couples in sound movies. Love is contagious and their love for each other was infectious, in a very charming way. For the first part of the film where they're dating and falling in love, I don't think I've ever smiled more during a film. And the touching scene at Niagara falls, gave me a lump in my throat, I was touched by that.

The second part of the film takes a different turn and also produced strong emotions in me, mainly because I could empathize with John Sims, which made me melancholy. But even that is a positive for the film, as I rarely feel much of anything when I watch a movie. The Crowd was a very special film and one that I will remember.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

Episode IV - A New Hope
Director: George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

Right off the bat I should say, I'm not a big time Star Wars fan. I haven't seen the last Star Wars movies, I don't collect the figures and Star Wars was never a big part of my childhood. I did see the first one, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) when it was first released in theaters. My parents took me, but we waited until it had been in the theater for six months, as my dad didn't want to stand in line. Guess what? We get to the theater and the line is around the block! It must have taken hours to get inside. When the movie started I was blown away! No one had seen a film quite like that before.

So recently I watched the first Star Wars A New Hope (1977) because I wanted to watch the series in order. I had only seen it three times before, the last was over 15 years ago. I was excited to watch it and saved it for pizza night...I hate to say this...but I was bored by it. It felt like a movie made for 10 years old, with all the cutesy stuff and little Muppet creatures, and the movie was deliberately made in a wink-wink, camp style that I hadn't remembered. As a kid I loved it, but as an adult I didn't.

Now don't get upset because.... when I say they acted campy and it seemed aimed at kids, I mean, that's the style of film making the director intended it to be. Keep reading I'll explain....

My reaction to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) after not watching it for 15 years was, OMG! George Lucas did a modern version of the old Flash Gordon 1930s movie serials.

Everything from the evil emperor who wants to conquer the universe, to the heroic everyday guy, to the beautiful princess and even talking robots was inspired by Flash Gordon. The acting and the tone is the same campy nod-to-the-audience that they did in the Flash Gordon serials. I hadn't realized that before.,,,Even the scene transition swipes are 1930s Flash Gordon style. You know, when it changes from one scene to another and a swipe sweeps the old scene away. So that's all genius and Lucas totally succeed at that.

Hans Solo was my favorite character and his character made the first one good, as Leia and Luke weren't developed enough. I liked all the main characters but C3PO drove me nuts in the first one. I kept hoping he would implode like the Death Star but no such luck.

rating_3_5