Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

[Gideon58]

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Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock, 1969)


Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Leon Uris (novel), Samuel Taylor (screenplay)
Cast: Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Length: 2h 23mins



This was a really well written review...I've never had any desire to see this film and I'm considering re-thinking that, but...2 hours and 23 minutes?

[Gideon58]

This is the kind of thing that I never want to hear - if it is really true - because it frustrates me that it never happened. I would've loved Jamie Lee Curtis in the role of the daughter. I think she would've portrayed the character more like she should've been (I agree that it wasn't the way it should've been presented), which means more like Carrie Fisher.

Jamie Lee definitely could have pulled the role off, but have a hard time picturing Janet Leigh in the role of the mother as it was written...the film is, in essence, a comedy, which has never really been Leigh's forte, IMO. Though the idea of a real life mother and daughter playing the roles I think would have brought an added richness to the film, like Will and Jaden Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness.

[Citizen Rules]

1st...thanks G & C for the help:)It's been many years since I saw Topaz, but I remember not liking it, so I never watched it again. Maybe I should give it another chance?It's not a fun movie per say, I doubt I'll ever watch it again. I watched it as I'm trying to watch all of Hitch's sound films. I don't think I'll attempt to watch all of the silents he directed.

Saw Topaz decades ago, can't really comment as I remember sod all about it (even the screenshots trigger absolutely nothing) .... that's very unusual for a Hitch film. Give me a few more months and I won't remember anything either...though that's not unusual for me:p

This was a really well written review...I've never had any desire to see this film and I'm considering re-thinking that, but...2 hours and 23 minutes? What Hitch films have you seen? If you let me know I might be able to recommend one that I really like that you haven't watched yet.

[Nestorio_Miklos]

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Hidden Figures (2016)

Director: Theodore Melfi
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Biography

About: A team of Black American women mathematicians working at NASA in the early 1960s as 'computers'. Their job is to do complex mathematical calculations so that America can put the first man into space, John Glenn. The film focuses on three gifted women who despite their skills face segregation and unfair treatment.

Review: Director Theodore Melfi serves up a potpourri of drama, romance, light comedy, social commentary, history and biography all tastefully rolled up in one palatable movie called Hidden Figures.

Who knew that NASA employed woman in 1960 as human computers...and segregated them to a small part of the complex? You can learn a lot from this film...and have fun while doing it. While the topic of segregation and civil rights is important and the movie's main focus is to pay homage to these black women pioneers who helped to break the color barrier, the film also doesn't forget to entertain too.

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I liked the lead Taraji P. Henson, I had never seen her before but she had a likable on screen presences and had me rooting for her to get fair treatment and to find love and respect.

Octavia Spencer (The Help, 2011), has a strong willed character that audiences will be rooting for. Janelle Monáe, is the other part of this trio, she has less screen time and there forth less character development. She's known as a model and singer, but did appear in (Moonlight, 2016).

It was good to see Kevin Costner as the driven but fair minded head of NASA's Friendship space launch program. And for an antagonist we get the capable Kirsten Dunst.

Hidden Figures is not ground breaking or hard hitting, but it delivers where needed. Oh BTW history shows John Glenn was a cool guy! as he insisted on having the flight trajectory math checked by the real Katherine Johnson played by Janelle Monáe, thus giving her the credit she was do!

rating_3_5
just watched it recently and i liked it too. will write a couple of paragraphs myself

[Citizen Rules]

Oh cool! thanks for telling me, I'll keep an eye on your review thread for it. I'd love to read your review.

[Citizen Rules]

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Once Upon a Crime...(1992)


Director: Eugene Levy
Cast: Richard Lewis, Sean Young, John Candy, Jim Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, George Hamilton
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery

SCTV alumnus, Eugene Levy directed his only theatrical release movie to date with 1992's Once Upon A Crime. Levy, who's better known as a comic actor, developed his comic writing skills on televisions SCTV where he also starred. Levy only has a brief cameo in this, star studded ensemble cast.

Once Upon A Crime is black comedy-hybrid being crossed with the screwball style of movie making. The results? It's funny! Some of the lines are witty and made me laugh out loud. The movie follows the antics of 3 couples, all who are trying to find a missing Dachshund dog that has a reward of $5000 for it's return to it's wealthy owner, who's in Monte Carlo. To this mix, through in a murder and a body and some hap hazard French police work and you get the makings of a comedy caper....get it!

On location filming in Italy, France and Monaco makes this special...including scenes shot inside the posh Casino at Monaco. This movie is liking taking a vacation, without ever leaving your recliner.

The other big draw is a talented group of comic actors who are paired up...there's three pairs.

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Richard Lewis and Sean Young meet on the streets of Italy, both are down and out with no money, so they join forces to capture the lost dog...all the while bickering and generally making each other mad. These two were by far my favorite, I thought both of them had real chemistry and seemed to like working together. Funny!

Cybil Shepard and Jim Belushi are two Americans on vacation in Monte Carlo. She just wants some romance from her dim witted husband who just wants to gamble the couples life savings. I liked Cybil and well, Jim Belushi is Jim Belushi, if you like him, you'll love him here.

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Another SCTV alumnus heads up the third couple, that's the mysterious Augie Morosco played by SCTV veteran John Candy. Candy's good here, of course, but doesn't get a lot of screen time as it's an ensemble cast. Rounding out the cast is the gigolo George Hamilton and Giancarlo Giannini as the French police inspector.

I don't know why I hadn't seen this before, but it's well worth watching.
rating_3_5+

[Gideon58]

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Once Upon a Crime...(1992)


[FONT=Arial Narrow]Director: Eugene Levy
Cast: Richard Lewis, Sean Young, John Candy, Jim Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, George Hamilton
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery



Never heard of this...interesting cast...enjoyed reading out it, may add it to my watchlist.

[Citizen Rules]

Never heard of this...interesting cast...enjoyed reading out it, may add it to my watchlist. I was thinking of you when I wrote that review, I figured you either have seen it, or should see it. I think you would like it.

[Nestorio_Miklos]

Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock, 1969)



decent and underrated cold war drama. I like it too.

[Citizen Rules]

decent and underrated cold war drama. I like it too. Thanks you! Finally someone who agrees with me:) Have you seen any of Hitch's other mid-late 60s movies, like Marnie, Torn Curtain, Frenzy or Family Plot?

[Nestorio_Miklos]

Thanks you! Finally someone who agrees with me:) Have you seen any of Hitch's other mid-late 60s movies, like Marnie, Torn Curtain, Frenzy or Family Plot?
yes i have, and I truly enjoyed all of them. Marnie i've seen only once, Frenzy some 3 times but i keep coming back to Family Plot that i've seen maybe even 10 times. There is something magical about it. :) All 3 are underrated IMO.

[Citizen Rules]

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Swing Kids (1993)

Director: Thomas Carter
Writer: Jonathan Marc Feldman
Cast: Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Kenneth Branagh
Genre: Drama

Hated by Roger Ebert,who gave Swing Kids, a one star rating...But I liked it! Unlike Roger, I didn't have a moral issue with the film's message which centers around a group of teens in Nazi Germany who's only concerned with one thing in their lives, the freedom to listen to swing music. While Roger seemed to take offense that the teens didn't stand for anything more than listen to their music...I enjoyed the film just for that reason. The Germans who lived in 1939 Nazi Germany were just like anyone else and teens often care about their own subculture.

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The strength of the film is that it shows that most members of the Hitler Youth, were just teens who were pressured to join, and if they didn't join they were forced to go to work camps. Not every person in Nazi Germany were villains or heroes, there were plenty of people just trying to get by.

Swing Kids does not glorify the Nazis or show the Hitler youth in any favorable means, we merely see that real people wore those uniforms and they weren't all evil, but were people stuck under a dictator with little choices left to them.

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The movie is put together well and the cast did a find job at being real teens, stuck in Nazi Germany. I particular thought Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale were good as was Kenneth Branagh who plays a SS man who's supportive of the teen's at first but later shows his true colors.

I liked this take on the old and tired Nazi war movie. It was refreshing as it wasn't preachy and it was believable.


rating_3_5



.

[Captain Steel]

Swing Kids (1993)

rating_3_5


Hey! I actually saw this one! It was quite a while back, but I always remember it as a very good movie. As you said, it's an interesting perspective that takes a look at a particular time, people and place.

[Citizen Rules]

Hey! I actually saw this one! It was quite a while back, but I always remember it as a very good movie. As you said, it's an interesting perspective that takes a look at a particular time, people and place. WTF (what the fudge:)) does Roger Ebert know anyway.:p

Hey I'm watching a movie, a submarine movie, I bet you would like it and I bet you've seen it too...Ice Station Zebra. Have you seen it?

[cricket]

I'm pretty sure I've seen that and hated it.

[Captain Steel]

Rules, correct me if I'm wrong (since it's been so long) - was there a scene in Swing Kids involving a finger in a box?

[Citizen Rules]

Rules, correct me if I'm wrong (since it's been so long) - was there a scene in Swing Kids involving a finger in a box? No, not that I remember.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm pretty sure I've seen that and hated it. You and Roger Ebert are on the same wave length;)
I thought Christian Bale made a good...err bad Nazi.

[Captain Steel]

No, not that I remember.

Huh! I thought for sure there was a scene where one of the 'brown shirts' had to make a delivery to a home and when someone inside opened the box there was a severed finger inside (some kind of Mafia-type message from the Nazis to the family of a resistor or some such). Maybe I'm thinking of a different movie?

[Captain Steel]

You and Roger Ebert are on the same wave length;)
I thought Christian Bale made a good...err bad Nazi.

Was Cricket referring to Swing Kids or Ice Station Zebra?
For the record, I think I started watching Ice Station Zebra, but never completed it, so can't give an opinion.

[Citizen Rules]

Huh! I thought for sure there was a scene where one of the 'brown shirts' had to make a delivery to a home and when someone inside opened the box there was a severed finger inside (some kind of Mafia-type message from the Nazis to the family of a resistor or some such). Maybe I'm thinking of a different movie?Your post jogged my memory some. No finger in box, that I remember in Swing Kids, but the brown shirts (Nazi Youth) delivers a box to a Jewish woman who then opens it up to find it's the ashes of her husband that had been arrested by the SS. Pretty powerful scene too.

[Citizen Rules]

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Johnny Belinda (1948)

Director: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead
Genre: Drama
Studio: Warner Bros.

Johnny Belinda picked up a whopping 12 Academy Award nominations...and Jane Wyman won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a deaf mute woman who's raped by the town thug and becomes pregnant.

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Set in an isolated fishing village on a remote island off the Nova Scotia coast. Belinda MacDonald (Jane Wyman) lives with her father, (Charles Bickford) and her stern aunt (Agnes Moorehead) on a dirt poor farm. With little connection to the outside world, no one has realized that Belinda is extremely bright and a fast learner. Her family and towns folk call her the 'dummy' and she is forced to toll away grinding flour at the families farm.

When an idealistic doctor (Lew Ayres) comes from the city to live in the small fishing village, he encounters Belinda and begins teaching her sign language. Which her father and aunt feel is a waste of time. When Belinda is rapped the townsfolk blame the doctor and rumors and lies run rampant, with dire results.

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The movie is based on a true life incident and explores the dangers of spreading rumors and lies and the brutality of rape.
Johnny Belinda is considered to be one of the first Hollywood movies to deal with the rape topic. It was considered controversial at the time and has been highly regarded ever since it's first release.

I found the story to a powerful one that resonated with the both the beauty and ugliness of humanity.

The cast was outstanding: I really liked Jane Wyman in this as she had this enduring quality to her. Charles Bickford was equally good as a cantankerous Scottish farmer who does love his daughter but doesn't understand her. And Agnes Moorehead is spot on as a stern and seemingly cruel aunt, she deserved and Oscar too. The music by Max Steiner and the cinematography work well with the subject at hand.

The remote farm setting on a small island really added to the feeling of poverty and isolation, which then made this story all the more powerful.

rating_4

[cricket]

I already have that on my watchlist and actually mentioned it about an hour ago when I told my wife that it was Wyman who beat the gal in I Remrmber Mama for best actress. My wife was surprised that Wyman won an Oscar for whatever reason.

[Citizen Rules]

I already have that on my watchlist and actually mentioned it about an hour ago when I told my wife that it was Wyman who beat the gal in I Remember Mama for best actress. My wife was surprised that Wyman won an Oscar for whatever reason. I didn't know she beat out Irene Dunne for the Oscar. That's kind of funny too because when I got done to just 4 possible noms for the 40s Hof, this was one of them.

[Citizen Rules]

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Of Human Bondage (1934)

Director: John Cromwell
Writers: Lester Cohen (screen play), W Somerset Maugham (novel)
Cast: Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Frances Dee
Genre: Drama, Romance

A young sensitive man who suffers from a clubbed foot condition...meets a cold hearted, uncaring waitress and despite her indifference to him, he falls madly in love with her. A relationship where he's bound to her like a moth to a flame.

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This is the movie that made Bette Davis a star.

This is the movie that nearly cost her movie career.

This is the movie that changed the way the Academy Award handles it's votes.

Based on the powerful W. Somerset Maugham novel of the same name...Of Human Bondage tells a gripping story of how someone like the young man (Leslie Howard) can risk destroying himself all for the love of a woman who doesn't care a thing about him. This is the classic tale of a needy person and an extreme narcissistic young woman (Bette Davis). Together they are bound, much to the determinant of both of them. Somerset Maugham knew a thing or two about dysfunctional relationships and the characters in this movie ring as true today, as they did back in 1934.

Bette Davis took a huge gamble making this film. Jack Warner head of Warner Bros studio, where she was a contract actor, didn't want her to do it as he though it would ruin her glamours image. Miss Davis knew better and had enough of the bleach blonde and false eyelash glamour look that Warner Bros were marketing her as.

Because Davis was lent out to another studio Jack Warner campaigned to keep her from getting an Academy nomination. She got one anyway, by write in votes. Thus prompting the Academy to change to PriceWaterhouse to tally the votes, with no writes in allowed.

Of Human Bondage, still works today as we still have people who are drawn into destructive relationships like a moth to a flame.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

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Of Human Bondage (1964)


Director: Ken Hughes
Writers: Bryan Forbes (screenplay), W Somerset Maugham (novel)
Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
Genre: Drama, Romance

This is the third movie version of W. Somerset Maugham's novel. The other two versions were made in 1934 with Bette Davis and Leslie Howard and 1946 with Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker.

This 1964 version stars Kim Novak as Mildred Rogers an uneducated waitress of lose morals and no regard for the pain she causes her love interest, played by Laurence Harvey to suffer.

I watched this version the night after watching the original 1934 version and the difference was like night and day. This 1964 version is milquetoast. Most notably wrong is that the film never conveys a sense of passing time. In the original story years pass as Mildred is out of the life of the young man Philip Carey. Then circumstances brings her back into the picture with disastrous results. This film however failed to convey that scope of time.

Kim Novak is an odd choice for the narcissistic cold heartened Mildred. Kim in real life was said to be horrible shy and timid, that usually shows in her movie roles...but if she's aptly cast that personality trait can be a plus for her. Here it's not. I'm actually amazed that she did as good as did.

The real let down is the club footed doctor who's hopelessly enslaved by love to her, played by Laurence Harvey. Harvey seemed over confident and the role calls for a weak willed, sensitive man. He was all wrong and wooden in his performance.

Interesting to watch another version of the classic Of Human Bondage, but as a movie it fails to rise above average.

rating_2_5

[Gideon58]

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Johnny Belinda (1948)

Director: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead
Genre: Drama
Studio: Warner Bros.

Johnny Belinda picked up a whopping 12 Academy Award nominations...and Jane Wyman won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a deaf mute woman who's raped by the town thug and becomes pregnant.



Never had a desire to see this until I read your review...will be adding it to my watchlist.

[Gideon58]

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Swing Kids (1993)

[LEFT]Director: Thomas Carter
Writer: Jonathan Marc Feldman
Cast: Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Kenneth Branagh


This actually sounds like fun and I've always liked Robert Sean Leonard, will be adding it to my watchlist.

[Citizen Rules]

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Another Part of the Forest (1948)


Director: Michael Gordon
Writers: Lillian Hellman (play), Vladimir Pozner (screenplay)
Cast: Fredric March, Dan Duryea, Edmond O'Brien, Ann Blyth, John Dahl
Genre: Drama

Another Part of the Forest is a prequel to the popular play and Bette Davis movie, The Little Foxes (1941). This was also written by the same author, Lillian Hellman who wrote it for the stage in 1946.

The movie tells how the devious Hubbard family got to be so devious and rich. It's set in the old south after the Civil War in 1880. We see some of the Hubbard family members from The Little Foxes when they were younger. And we're introduced to the patriarch of the family, Marcus Hubbard played by the great stage and screen actor Fredrick March.

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Returning to this prequel is Dan Duryea who had previously played Oscar Hubbard's slimy son Leo. Here Duryea plays the younger Oscar with the same conniving sleaziness.

But the film belongs to one actor, Edmond O'Brien in his finest role. Here he plays Ben Hubbard, a man as greedy and underhanded as Bette Davis was as Regina.

This little known film packs a punch and for fans of The Little Foxes is a must see.

3.5+

[seanc]

Adding this to my watch list. Absolutely loved The Little Foxes.

[Citizen Rules]

Cool Sean, please pop in and let me know what you think of it.

[mark f]

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

[Citizen Rules]

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Ice Station Zebra (1968)

Director: John Sturges
Writers: Alistair MacLean (novel), Douglas Heyes (screenplay)
Cast: Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller

About: A mystery at the North Pole has occurred. The scientists at Ice Station Zebra have radioed a garbled message for help!...Then comes only radio silence....Meanwhile the Soviet Union has a spy satellite with stolen high tech camera technology that has fallen from orbit and landed at the North Pole, on the drift ice. The U.S. sends a nuclear sub, the USS Tigerfish on a secret rescue mission. On board is an ex Russian who's defected to the west and a British SAS officer, along with a bunch of Marines. One of them might be a saboteur.

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Background: Reportedly Ice Station Zebra was Howard Hughes favorite movie. As he owned a Las Vegas TV station the reclusive millionaire would call and request the movie to be played over and over. That was in the days before DVDs and VCRs. It ran over 100 times thanks to Hughes!

Rock Hudson who plays the submarine captain considered this his favorite movie of his own. Originally Charlton Heston was offered the role of submarine captain, but he turned it down, saying there was no characterization in the script. Indeed the movie has little characterization, and all the actors appear wooden even Rock Hudson. So it's odd that this is his favorite film when Rock has done much better movies and had much better roles.

The fault isn't with any of the actors but with a script that's heavy on intrigue but light on character motive. I guess Chuck Heston knows how to read a script!

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The star of the movie is the cutting edge, underwater camera cinematography. That's a real sub you see diving under the water, and those ground breaking scenes were done with a special underwater camera designed and operated by the 2nd unit cameraman and cinematographer John M Stephens. The underwater scenes and the sub look amazingly real, because it is real! That alone makes the film well worth watching.

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I found the first two acts that took place on the sub to be the best. Once the crew gets to Ice Station Zebra the movie becomes a standard fare story.

rating_3

[Gideon58]

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Ice Station Zebra (1968)

Director: John Sturges
Writers: Alistair MacLean (novel), Douglas Heyes (screenplay)
Cast: Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller



Charlton Heston turned down the role to a lack of characterization...seriously? Heston is no Olivier.

[Citizen Rules]

Heston is a pretty good actor, have you ever seen him in Soylent Green?

[Chypmunk]

I quite enjoy Ice Station Zebra, couldn't watch it more than once every decade tho' :)

[Citizen Rules]

I quite enjoy Ice Station Zebra, couldn't watch it more than once every decade tho' :)You're no Howard Hughes:D

[Chypmunk]

You're no Howard Hughes:D
Ok, it's a fair cop ... what gave it away? :D

[Citizen Rules]

No jars of urine in the closet:D

[Guaporense]

Citizen Rules
Why do we love movies so much? Seems like a simply question, right? But think about it...why do us movie nuts devote so much time to watching, pondering and discussing movies?

I did some soul searching on that question and for me movies are like a time or travel machine. Through movies, one can image another life. Getting a glimpse of what might have been if our lives had taken a different path. One can image what it would have been like to live hundreds of years ago, or to see the wonders of the past world, or the amazement of future things to come. For the time I'm watching a movie, my mind is there in the story, I'm experiencing in a small way, an out of body existences.

Does anyone else feel that way?

That's called fiction. TV shows, literature, manga, even some lyrical songs, also work in the exactly same fashion.

The question is another: why obsess over a very specific form of fiction, that is "live action 2 hour long American films, usually made between 1940 and 1990?", since this is the specific form of film you review in here. Why it is so appealing to you? I will explain exactly why.

Historically fiction was mostly done in theater plays, since Ancient Greece each small town had its own theater. The Greeks were obsessed with it. In the 20th century with development of film, theater plays were filmed to be more easily distributed and consumed and these are called movies. They were 2 hours long because that is the amount of tine people found optimal to spend sitting in a movie theater.

Today TV shows are the dominant form of fiction in the Western world, while in Asia, manga and videogames are also extremely popular. The 2 hour long live action videoclip is an increasingly obsolete format of fiction. I guess movies might appeal to some older people more than TV shows because they are older and reflect more the spirit of the time and place. I guess middle aged Americans are attracted to mid 20th century American movies because it was "their" time and place.

People's sensibilities are formed in most cases in their youth, from the ages of 5 to their early 20s. Older people like the stuff made at the time their sensibilities were formed. That is why 70 year old film critics' top picks are from the 1950-60s, when they were 5-20 year olds. And they are also determined by the place where that stuff came from: if a person that is 5 to their early 20s years old only consumes North American film as their main form of fiction, that is what will determine their preference for fiction: 2 hour long American live action.

Hence, this obsession is pure social conditioning. After the brain's sensibilities are formed, the stuff that is different from the stuff it was conditioned to is automatically rejected. There, however, exists very few people that are intellectually curious, they are different in the sense their brains are more plastic and can accommodate greater variability from what they grew up with.

[Citizen Rules]

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Unfaithfully Yours (Preston Sturges,1948)

Director: Preston Sturges
Writer: Preston Sturges (screenplay)
Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee
Genre: Screw Ball-Dark Comedy, Romance

About: A flamboyant, misogynistic symphony conductor (Rex Harrision) brow beats everyone around him and then becomes jealous when he envisions his lovely wife (Linda Darnell) having an affair with his male secretary, thus prompting the mad genius to conceive of multiple scenarios for dealing with his wife's imaged infidelity.

Review: Hell, that mini synopsis sounds pretty good doesn't it? To bad the film is a confusion of different styles and drags in the third act. I've seen some pretty good work from Preston Sturges too, but this sure isn't one of them.

Problem 1, Rex Harrison is way over the top, with zero charm and maxim annoying-ability. The man grates on the nerves. A little Rex can be good thing, but a lot of Rex and I need ear plugs.

Problem 2, The film doesn't know what it wants to be? Is it a dark comedy? Rex Harrison is as dark as they come in this and that might have work if they hadn't then did the next problem. Or is it a zany screwball comedy?

Problem 3, Is the completely insane, slap stick third act...where for what feels like an eternity, Rex Harrison stumbles around trashing his apartment in a scene reminiscent of a Three Stooges movie. He stands on a chair but then his foot goes right through the wicker material (good grief)... then he 'tries' to open a high cupboard and the knob breaks off (a real knee slapper) and then he falls over and everything he touches breaks or falls over...and he's left setting in a big mess in his living room. I thought Preston Sturges was known for biting social observant commentary, delivered in a witty comic style...not here!

Do yourself a favor and instead watch the remake with Dudley Moore, Unfaithfully Yours (1984).

rating_2

[SilentVamp]

Is Kitty any good? I've never heard of it, but after watching your nom for the 13th I have a new appreciation for Paullete Goddard.
I think it is a fairly decent movie. I like Paulette in there, and Ray Milland is pretty good in a more comedic role. It is a Pygmalion story. And I have never minded those just so long as they differ enough from each other. I would give it a try, if I were you. I think it is worth it.


Swing Kids (1993)
Hated by Roger Ebert,who gave Swing Kids, a one star rating...But I liked it!
I liked it, too. :shrug:

Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale were good as was Kenneth Branagh who plays a SS man who's supportive of the teen's at first but later shows his true colors.
I have always felt that Kenneth Branagh was great at playing Nazis. :yup:
But then again, I have always felt that Branagh was very good at playing anything. So I suppose you can't really listen to me when I can't find any fault with his performances. Ever. :)


Johnny Belinda (1948)
Another one of the top films on my list that I considered for the HoF. I think it is a very good film.


Of Human Bondage (1934)
Getting some 1930's out of the way already for that potential countdown? :) I haven't seen this movie in so long, but I know it is one that I really, really like. I don't have the slightest idea why, but I remember this film being one of the first VHS tapes that was owned in my house when I was a kid. Of ALL movies. :)


Of Human Bondage (1964)
Never had any interest in the remake.

[Gideon58]

Heston is a pretty good actor, have you ever seen him in Soylent Green?

Yes, it's my favorite Heston performance, but, still, he's no Olivier.

[Gideon58]

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Unfaithfully Yours (Preston Sturges,1948)

Director: Preston Sturges
Writer: Preston Sturges (screenplay)
Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee
Genre: Screw Ball-Dark Comedy, Romance



so disappointed you didn't like this...after seeing A Letter to Three Wives I had been curious about the rest of Linda Darnell's resume and was thinking of starting here, but from what you say, I guess not.

[Citizen Rules]

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=1717251#post1717251)
Of Human Bondage (1964)


Never had any interest in the remake. You're not missing much. There is a Of Human Bondage (1946), (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038795/) with Paul Henreid, Elanor Parker and Alexis Smith....but damned if I could find a copy. Anyone know where? PM if you do.

[Citizen Rules]

so disappointed you didn't like this...after seeing A Letter to Three Wives I had been curious about the rest of Linda Darnell's resume and was thinking of starting here, but from what you say, I guess not. But...Unfaithfully Yours is highly rated at IMDB so if you want to see a film with Linda Darnell, you might like it. She does have a lot of screen time.

One of my favs of her movies is Summer Storm (1944) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037325/) A movie adaptation of a work by Chekhov, and directed by one of the greats Douglas Sirk.

[Citizen Rules]

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Great Balls of Fire! (1989)


Director: Jim McBride
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

The meteoric rise and fall of one of rock's greatest performers, The Killer...Jerry Lee Lewis. 1989's Great Balls of Fire is based on a book written by Myra Lewis who was Jerry Lee Lewis' cousin and married him at the tender age of 13.

The movie chronicles the early career of Jerry Lee from his bid to become a rock legend in his own time....to his wildly successful music and stage shows...and his highly controversial marriage to his 13 year old cousin, that would ultimately lead to his downfall.

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Director Jim McBride takes us on a visually stunning film that is packed with stunning period piece sets, so rich that one thinks the crew had a time machine back to the 1950s. The movie is really a thing of beauty to look at.

Even more impressive is the free flowing overlapping scene style that is reminiscent of a music video. Normally that might be a bad thing but here it's a huge plus! Instead of the usually style of film making, the scenes are more fluid and impart an emotion, that emotion is pure unbridled joy coupled with a reckless energy all wrapped up with the high energy sounds of Jerry's music as the soundtrack.

Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder as Jerry lee and Myra...burn up the screen with their charisma. Which is odd as we're watching a 22 year old man sweep a 13 year old girl off her feet...and yet it works!

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Quaid embodies Jerry Lee, it's an amazingly entertaining and vicious performance. And talk about vicious liveliness, Winona Ryder lights up the screen with her enthusiasm. I don't know if the real
Myra was this fun loving and colorful, but who cares! this isn't trying to be a documentary or even a serious biopic....It's a 98 minute joy ride at break neck speed, all wrapped in authentic songs recorded for the movie by that bad boy himself, Jerry Lee Lewis. Yahoo!

rating_4_5

[Nestorio_Miklos]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31651&stc=1&d=1497984668
Great Balls of Fire! (1989)


Director: Jim McBride
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

The meteoric rise and fall of one of rock's greatest performers, The Killer...Jerry Lee Lewis. 1989's Great Balls of Fire is based on a book written by Myra Lewis who was Jerry Lee Lewis' cousin and married him at the tender age of 13.

The movie chronicles the early career of Jerry Lee from his bid to become a rock legend in his own time....to his wildly successful music and stage shows...and his highly controversial marriage to his 13 year old cousin, that would ultimately lead to his downfall.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31652&stc=1&d=1497984676


Director Jim McBride takes us on a visually stunning film that is packed with stunning period piece sets, so rich that one thinks the crew had a time machine back to the 1950s. The movie is really a thing of beauty to look at.

Even more impressive is the free flowing overlapping scene style that is reminiscent of a music video. Normally that might be a bad thing but here it's a huge plus! Instead of the usually style of film making, the scenes are more fluid and impart an emotion, that emotion is pure unbridled joy coupled with a reckless energy all wrapped up with the high energy sounds of Jerry's music as the soundtrack.

Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder as Jerry lee and Myra...burn up the screen with their charisma. Which is odd as we're watching a 22 year old man sweep a 13 year old girl off her feet...and yet it works!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31653&stc=1&d=1497984683


Quaid embodies Jerry Lee, it's an amazingly entertaining and vicious performance. And talk about vicious liveliness, Winona Ryder lights up the screen with her enthusiasm. I don't know if the real
Myra was this fun loving and colorful, but who cares! this isn't trying to be a documentary or even a serious biopic....It's a 98 minute joy ride at break neck speed, all wrapped in authentic songs recorded for the movie by that bad boy himself, Jerry Lee Lewis. Yahoo!

rating_4_5




i have seen this and you just reminded me to rewatch it. I remember to have a good time with this movie.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31651&stc=1&d=1497984668
Great Balls of Fire! (1989)


Director: Jim McBride
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

]

So glad you enjoyed the film, Citizen...Quaid has rarely been better.

[Gideon58]

You're not missing much. There is a Of Human Bondage (1946), (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038795/) with Paul Henreid, Elanor Parker and Alexis Smith....but damned if I could find a copy. Anyone know where? PM if you do.

I've heard talk of a third version with Eleanor Parker but I'll be damned if if it's available anywhere or know anyone who's ever seen it.

[Gideon58]

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Of Human Bondage (1964)


Director: Ken Hughes
Writers: Bryan Forbes (screenplay), W Somerset Maugham (novel)
Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
Genre: Drama, Romance



I've seen parts of the Bette Davis version but have never had any desire to see the Kim Novak version because, well because it's Kim Novak.

[mark f]

I've heard talk of a third version with Eleanor Parker but I'll be damned if if it's available anywhere or know anyone who's ever seen it.
It's on TCM all the time. Next showings (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16119/Of-Human-Bondage/).

[Citizen Rules]

It's on TCM all the time. Next showings (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16119/Of-Human-Bondage/).After an extensive online search, I found out the only way to watch Of Human Bondage (1946) online, is if one has a TCM subscription, I don't. I don't think Gideon does either.

[Citizen Rules]

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The King and I (1956)

Director: Walter Lang
Writers: Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Oscar Hammerstein II (book)
Cast: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno
Genre: Drama, Musical

About: In the 1860s a British school teacher and widow, agrees to travel to exotic Siam (Thailand) to teach the King's many children.

Background: Based on the successful Broadway musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, that featured Yul Brynner in the lead role. That play was originally based on a novel: Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which in turn was based on the real diaries of Anna Leonowens who did indeed travel to Siam as a school teacher.

Also influenced by the 1946 movie Anna and the King of Siam (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038303/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) and remade in 1999 as Anna and the King (1999) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166485/) Both are non-musicals.

Review: I just love this movie! It's wonderful...It's intelligently written by one of the truly great Hollywood screen writers, Ernest Lehman. Lehman's volume of great movies include:

Hello, Dolly!
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Sound of Music
West Side Story
From the Terrace
North by Northwest
Sweet Smell of Success
Sabrina

The script is the life blood of a movie and The King and I pulsates with life! It's witty, it's charming, and it explores many different themes without being obvious. Of course the real star of the movie is
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Have there ever been two more inspired performances which are so in tune with each other, and the story, that you forget you're watching a movie.

Yul owned the role of the King, it's hard to believe anyone else could do that role. He's forceful, he's powerful and yet he's curious and not quite as forbidding as he might seem. Thanks to Yul making the King human, we can see more than meets the eye.

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Deborah Kerr has never shined more than here, she seems to be truly enjoying her self and that joy comes through the screen to us. She has great charm and poise. She's strong yet feminine. We like her, we care about her.

A young Rita Moreno, has a plum role as Tuptim the Burmese slave girl brought against her will to the palace of the King of Siam. Her story line is in many ways what this film is about.

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And those sets! Anna is decked out in those giant hoop dresses which the director puts to good use in the film. I love the way her skirt swirls when she dances and spreads out on the floor like a giant umbrella when she sets down. All the colors and the fabrics shine in the glorious palace sets, this is a visual treat!


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Ahhh...the music! What wonderful songs we have from the greatest song writing team to work on stage and movies, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Getting to Know You is the signature song from the movie.

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My favorite number was the ballet style The Small House of Uncle Thomas, it's a beautiful yet simply retelling of the classic American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...it's told from the viewpoint of a Burmese slave woman running away from the Kingdom of Siam. It combines both traditionally Thai and Asian dance movements with modern choreography. There's nothing else like it.

I'd give The King and I Ten Stars if I could.

rating_5+++

[gbgoodies]

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Unfaithfully Yours (Preston Sturges,1948)

Director: Preston Sturges
Writer: Preston Sturges (screenplay)
Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee
Genre: Screw Ball-Dark Comedy, Romance

About: A flamboyant, misogynistic symphony conductor (Rex Harrision) brow beats everyone around him and then becomes jealous when he envisions his lovely wife (Linda Darnell) having an affair with his male secretary, thus prompting the mad genius to conceive of multiple scenarios for dealing with his wife's imaged infidelity.

Review: Hell, that mini synopsis sounds pretty good doesn't it? To bad the film is a confusion of different styles and drags in the third act. I've seen some pretty good work from Preston Sturges too, but this sure isn't one of them.

Problem 1, Rex Harrison is way over the top, with zero charm and maxim annoying-ability. The man grates on the nerves. A little Rex can be good thing, but a lot of Rex and I need ear plugs.

Problem 2, The film doesn't know what it wants to be? Is it a dark comedy? Rex Harrison is as dark as they come in this and that might have work if they hadn't then did the next problem. Or is it a zany screwball comedy?

Problem 3, Is the completely insane, slap stick third act...where for what feels like an eternity, Rex Harrison stumbles around trashing his apartment in a scene reminiscent of a Three Stooges movie. He stands on a chair but then his foot goes right through the wicker material (good grief)... then he 'tries' to open a high cupboard and the knob breaks off (a real knee slapper) and then he falls over and everything he touches breaks or falls over...and he's left setting in a big mess in his living room. I thought Preston Sturges was known for biting social observant commentary, delivered in a witty comic style...not here!

Do yourself a favor and instead watch the remake with Dudley Moore, Unfaithfully Yours (1984).

rating_2


As you already know, I disagree with you about Unfaithfully Yours. I think the 1948 version is much better than the 1984 remake, but I like both versions.

I think the movie is more dark comedy than slapstick, with the exception of the third act when he tries to actually act out one of his fantasies. That part worked better in the 1984 remake, probably because Dudley Moore was better at that type of slapstick acting than Rex Harrison.

I like that in the 1948 version he imagines three different fantasies, even taking the high road of forgiveness in one of them. (In my head, I always picture Bugs Bunny singing "Return My Love" (from "What's Opera, Doc?") during the 2nd fantasy. :lol:) I also like how he incorporates the first two fantasies into the third, as if this was actually happening, and he's telling them about his original thoughts.

Another thing that the remake did better was telling the viewer what actually happened with his wife while he was away earlier in the movie. We don't find out the truth until the very end of the movie in the original version, and that leaves us wondering if she actually cheated on him or not.

[gbgoodies]

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The King and I (1956)

Director: Walter Lang
Writers: Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Oscar Hammerstein II (book)
Cast: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno
Genre: Drama, Musical

About: In the 1860s a British school teacher and widow, agrees to travel to exotic Siam (Thailand) to teach the King's many children.

I'd give The King and I Ten Stars if I could.

rating_5+++


It's been a long time since I watched The King and I, but it's a great movie. I was hoping that someone would have nominated it in the recent musicals HoF, but sadly, nobody did. I think it would have placed pretty high in that HoF.

[SilentVamp]

Yul owned the role of the King, it's hard to believe anyone else could do that role. He's forceful, he's powerful and yet he's curious and not quite as forbidding as he might seem. Thanks to Yul making the King human, we can see more than meets the eye.
His performance is my third favorite of any musical (behind, of course - as I've mentioned them before - William Daniels in 1776 and Robert Preston in The Music Man). Interestingly (for me, at least :)), my top 3 favorite performances in any movie musical are all by actors who originated the roles on Broadway and then appeared on screen with them.

My favorite number was the ballet style The Small House of Uncle Thomas, it's a beautiful yet simply retelling of the classic American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
Truth be told, I think it is the part that I like the least about the musical. It just goes on too long. While I know why it is used, I just think it should've been a little shorter.


It's been a long time since I watched The King and I, but it's a great movie. I was hoping that someone would have nominated it in the recent musicals HoF, but sadly, nobody did. I think it would have placed pretty high in that HoF.
This is one of the movies that I actually anticipated seeing in the HoF and was surprised that it wasn't.

[Citizen Rules]

Yahoo! I just hit 600 Reviews... thanks to everybody who stops in here to comment, I really appreciate it!

[Citizen Rules]

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Manhattan (1979)
Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Woody Allen's masturbatory ode to himself...a film that has become seminal in the annals of celebrated and obscure film reviewers around the world...Yes Virginia, there's life outside of Manhattan, but one wonders if Woody is aware of anything outside of his own existence. Nay make that outside of his own fantasies.

In 1979 director, writer and actor Woody Allen crafted an introspective film that was so unique in it's style that it still influences film makers today. One can hardly watch a Jim Jarmusch film without seeing a bit of the cityscape cinematography that Woody so masterly incorporates into his look at the denizens of Manhattan.

The strength of Manhattan is the sheer beauty of it's black & white photography. But any 'joe schmo' can shoot his movie on B & W film stock...it takes an artisans eye to hand select the perfect location for the shot, and to create a composition that is uniquely framed to give maxim artistic impact....and of course: lighting and shadow is all key, Woody Allen is undeniable a master at this.

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For all the cinematic artistry, Manhattan plays out like one of Woody's personal fantasies, that's his auteur's stamp. Woody Allen is Isaac a successful but neurotic New York intellectual who's magnetic to women and despite looking like a peeping tom, manages to marry a young and beautiful Meryl Streep, who we find out turns lesbian and divorces Isaac. The 43 year old then has a fling with a 17 year old played by Mariel Hemingway also 17 in real life at the time of filming.

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The much older man involved with a teenage girl could have had so many possibilities for exploration with this taboo theme. Woody, who wrote this film could have shown the relationship as having some type of consequences or made some type of statement.

But instead the movie presents the friends of Isaac (Woody Allen) as having no real objections to a relationship that would be considered pedophile-ism in the real world and could result in statuary rape charges. But no, not here in Woody's make believe world. Woody the person, wants to bring his fantasy to life and so has the characters readily accepting his strange love.

And that's one of the weak points of Manhattan...it fails to explore this relationship and it's consequences. In fact none of the relationships seem to say much about anything, they just simply happen so that Woody can hang his intellectual name dropping script onto the back of the actors.

That's why I call Manhattan, Woody's masturbatory ode to himself.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)

Director: Randa Haines
Writer: Steve Conrad
Cast: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie
Genre: Drama, Romance

An old cantankerous and hard-drinking Irishman (Richard Harris) who once was a sea captain, finds himself in a small apartment building run by Helen (Shirley MacLaine). To escape the heat of his broken air conditioning unit he spends his days in the park by the lake. There he meets a dawdling but, well-mannered Cuban American ex barber (Robert Duvall) who spends his days sitting on a park bench doing crossroad puzzles...and visiting the local cafe to talk to a friendly waitress, (Sandra Bullock).

I liked it. It reminded of Harry and Tonto or The Straight Line. I won't say it was that good but the first half of the movie was pretty interesting. The film loses some of it's edginess towards the end, but still there's enough themes being explored here for the viewer who enjoys learning more about the human condition.

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As a bonus you get to see a lot of Florida and some well respected actors too. The music score was too much of the 'it's wonderful feeling' sound, the type of score Spielberg often uses. But ignore the overblown score and enjoy the acting and the story.

rating_3_5

[re93animator]

[CENTER]
Manhattan (1979)

Woody Allen's masturbatory ode to himself.

I think that goes for pretty much every Woody Allen movie starring Woody Allen. I also tend to find his characters annoyingly self-indulgent, but I think he said in an NPR interview that his film personas are usually intentionally different than himself in real life. Maybe that's a testament to his acting.:)

[Citizen Rules]

I think that goes for pretty much every Woody Allen movie starring Woody Allen. I also tend to find his characters annoyingly self-indulgent, but I think he said in an NPR interview that his film personas are usually intentionally different than himself in real life. Maybe that's a testament to his acting.:)I like many of his films, but I think Woody is BSing us if he says his film personas are usually different than his real self...unless he meant he's actually creepier in real life!

[Gideon58]

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The King and I (1956)

[FONT=Arial Narrow]Director: Walter Lang
Writers: Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Oscar Hammerstein II (book)
Cast: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno
Genre: Drama, Musical
[QUOTE]

Absolutely LOVED your review of this movie and agree with everything you said...no arguments here, this is one of my favorite musicals that I NEVER tire of re-watching, can't even tell you how many times I've watched it but my love for this film rivals my love for Mary Poppins... I loved what you said about Kerr's costumes (that was one Oscar the Academy got right, I think it was #2 or #3 on my best costume thread) and Yul Brynner has become the gold standard for this role that any actor who takes the role onstage aspires to. Brynner will also be appearing on the list I'm doing now.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Writer: William Anthony McGuire (screenplay)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan
Genre: Fictionalized Biography, Drama, Musical

The life and times of Broadway's colorful producer of extravagant stage show revues, Florenz Ziegfeld.


The Great Ziegfeld stars William Powell as the great stage promoter and producer Florenz Ziegfeld. Luise Rainer as the French stage actress and his 1st wife, Anna Held whom he brought to America and made a big star out of...Myrna Loy as Billie Burke the actress, best known for playing Glinda the good witch in The Wizard of Oz. Billie was Ziegfeld's second wife and worked as a script consultant on this film...Also staring is his rival and friend Jack Billings played by Frank Morgan, who's best known as the Wizard in the The Wizard of Oz. Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger appear as themselves, having been an early talent discoveries by Ziegfeld. Ray Bolger was of course the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. (That's three The Wizard of Oz connections!)

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At three hours long this lush MGM production is more of a love letter to Ziegfeld, than a factual biopic. It's a fictionalized and idolized view of one of the greats in the early days of Broadway. Such sorted details as Zig's infidelity is left out of the story.

The film is known for its exuberant musical numbers that cost millions by today's standards. Flo as his friends called him put on spectacular stage revues with elaborate costumes and filled with beautiful girls. Giving us the term 'Ziegfeld Girl'.

The movie does provide entertainment and William Powell does a stand up job here. He's likable and makes us care about him. He makes a good Ziegfeld.

The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Dance Direction and Luise Rainer picked up a Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Luise would be the first actress to win back to back Best Actress Oscars when she won the next year as well for The Good Earth.

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I wasn't overly fawn of Myrna Loy performance, which is somewhat bland, but she has a smaller role and it doesn't take away from the movie. Reportedly Billie Burke wanted to play herself but was deemed not to be a big enough star to play herself! Frank Morgan deserves a shout out as a very likable and colorful rival and friend of Ziggy.

Trivia: Pat Nixon (then Patricia Ryan), the future wife of Richard Nixon and the First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974, makes an uncredited appearance as a Ziegfeld girl.

The biggest star of the film is the musical numbers, they have to be seen to be believed. Inspired by the great Busby Berkeley, the production numbers are vast, and sometimes a bit long, but still worth the price of admission.

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Everything you could want to know about Flo Ziegfeld, just don't take it as gospel.

rating_3_5

[Gideon58]

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The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

[FONT=Arial Narrow]Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Writer: William Anthony McGuire (screenplay)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan
Genre: Fictionalized Biography, Drama, Musical




Adding this one to my watchlist, have wanted to see it forever but have been having a really hard time finding it. I've heard about this one amazing scene Luise Rainer has on the telephone that most people think won her the Oscar. I am a great believer in single scenes winning actors Oscars so I've always been curious about this one. Also, William Powell looks SO handsome in that still you posted.

[Citizen Rules]

Gideon58
After watching The Great Ziegfeld, Luise Rainer shoots to the top of my favorite actresses list. She didn't make many movies, but in this one so is so ethereal and so full of life, that her performances is magical.

[SilentVamp]

Brynner will also be appearing on the list I'm doing now.
The King of Siam is going to be one of your sexiest characters? I approve very much of that. :up::yup:

After watching The Great Ziegfeld, Luise Rainer shoots to the top of my favorite actresses list.
Is your favorite actor/actress list (or lists :)) ever going to happen? :D As I said before, if you do yours, I have to do mine! I did actually try to work on one not that long ago. I've got a decent list, but other than my top 3, I don't know exactly where I would like to place the others.

[Gideon58]

The King of Siam is going to be one of your sexiest characters? I approve very much of that. :up::yup:




Are you kidding? Of course he is, Yul Brynner was one of the sexiest actors ever and that character is one of movie's sexiest. The relationship created by Brynner and Deborah Kerr is the most romantic non-romantic relationship ever put on screen and the sexual heat is off the charts...yes, the King will be somewhere in the top 20.

[cricket]

I didn't like The King and I, and that's why I don't join musical hall of fames.:)

[Citizen Rules]

...Is your favorite actor/actress list (or lists :)) ever going to happen? :D As I said before, if you do yours, I have to do mine! I did actually try to work on one not that long ago. I've got a decent list, but other than my top 3, I don't know exactly where I would like to place the others. I did actually work on it, then gave up, but now that you mention it I should keep going...so yeah I hope to do it someday.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)


Les demoiselles de Rochefort (original title)
Director: Jacques Demy
Writer: Jacques Demy
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, George Charkas, Gene Kelly
Genre: Musical
Language: French

About: Two musically inclined sisters dream of leaving their small town in Rochefort, France for fame, romance and the big city.



Review: I enjoyed it! Visually sweet with color splashes that coordinate with each scene. My raspberry beret is off to the art director! I just loved the look of this film, even the buildings received a Monet make over.

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My favorite movie color was the deep turquoise, it's everywhere. My favorite set, the cafe where mom served French Fries with a cheery dissipation, despite having lost the love of her life because she didn't like his last name....oui, that's fickle:p

Catherine Deveau....woohoo! hey it rhymes. Does she have screen presences or what! I hardly noticed her twin sister when Catherine was in the scene, sorry but it's true. Though my favorite girl in the film wasn't even young, it was the twin's mom. I can't remember her name, but she was so lively and lit up the screen. I really liked her and cared more for her storyline than anyone else.

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And I see Bernado actually survived the knife fight and moved to France, where he lost his artificial tan and learned to be dubbed. The guy get's around;) I noticed him right away as I had just seen him in West Side Story. He's real good here, and a smooth dancer too. It was neat seeing Gene Kelley but he was a bit underused in this film.

Oh, and I don't know why but the waitress in the cafe was interesting even though we never really get to know her, she seemed to have a story of her own.

Lots of fun lines in the movie, but the funniest part was when the gaiety turns dark with talk of carving up a murdered woman to stuff her in a box! Very cleaver of the director, or is that clever?;) Just when the audience needs a break from all that squeaky clean fun, the movie introduces a killer at large. I liked that too. I liked everything about the movie.

rating_4

.

[Citizen Rules]

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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main
Genre: Musical

About: The Smith family who are looking forward to attending the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904. However their dreams are interrupted when the father announces he's moving the family to New York.



Review: It's a classic all right! It's a heartwarming look back to the 'good ole days' of 1904, made for an audience who in 1944 was dealing with a horrific world war.

So no wonder this movie is pure escapism. And that's why the Halloween scene is there, it's fanciful, escapism. I thought it was funny in a macabre way. I mean what's cuter than little Margaret O'Brien saying she's 'killing people' on Halloween and then throwing a dummy in front of a trolley in hope of derailing it, ha! Naughty little brat! In some ways the best part is how Margaret O'Brien is completely the opposite of the oh so nice family. I mean she sings a sung about getting drunk! I Was Drunk Last Night.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32162&stc=1&d=1499044663


Judy Garland is great of course, she sings her little heart out, pouring more emotion into her songs than is humanly possible. I loved The Trolley Song and how it was staged. The very cute duet of Judy and Margret doing the Under the Bamboo Tree, complete with a little dance number. And of course Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas which is one magnificently depressing song.

Vincent Minnelli always knows how to deck out the sets in rich color and detail. And the Victorian house and it's furnishings look authentic and lived in. Though I can't say I was a fan of Judy Garland's hair color, but I got a kick out of the scene with her and Lucile Bremer discussing their hair coloring. '

Marjorie Main the housekeeper is a gem, as was the dad, Leon Ames. The rest of the family was kind of a blur, but that's understandable... as this is Judy's and little Margret's picture.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31859&stc=1&d=1498354440
Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay)
Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Genre: Adventure, Thriller

A hungry shark feeds on human tidbits as New Englanders on Amity Island get ready for their big summer tourist season.

In 1975 Spielberg became a household name with his exciting thriller featuring a huge shark that scared the bejesus out of movie goers. And it gave us some of the most memorable scenes from a movie, and memorable dialogue too. Anybody remember, "you're gonna need a bigger boat!"

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31860&stc=1&d=1498354448

I watched this for the first time in 30 years and was impressed with the care that went into the staging of the scenes and the cinematography.

A good example of that is this famous scene from the beginning of the movie. Not only is the whole shark attack done frighteningly real with the girl being pulled under water only to pop up again screaming. But look at that buoy in the background. She's so close and that buoy gives us hope that she can reach it and climb to safety. It also gives scale and makes the scene look all the more real. The twilight setting with it's dark shadows makes the attack all the more potent.

The entire movie is constructed for maximum effect, that's why the three shark hunters go out on a small rickety old boat. Spielberg is a genius.

And the score? I don't even have to mention how amazing it is and how much the music adds to the tension.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31861&stc=1&d=1498354456
From left to right: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss


I liked all three of the main cast and they're an odd mix, which also creates tension on the cramped quarters of the boat.

Roy Scheider is out of his element as he hates the water and is an outsider to the small island where he's come to be their local sheriff. Robert Shaw as the hard drinking, half crazed sea captain puts the meaning into colorful! But it's Richard Dreyfuss who's always been my favorite. Even when I saw this first run at the theater as a kid, it was the marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss who I could relate to. He's for many people a proxy on the shark hunt.

Oh and almost forgot to say after over 40 years the mechanical shark still looks real!

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29261&stc=1&d=1488821540
1 7 7 6 (1972)
Director: Peter H. Hunt
Writers: Peter Stone (book), Sherman Edwards (conception)
Cast: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
Genre: Drama, History, Musical

The Continental Congress covens in 1776 during America's Revolution to decide the fight of the new nation.




One of the most different and interesting musicals ever made. The story of the Declaration of Independence, set to music. It was intriguing to watch these diverse group of men from the original thirteen colonies, who've formed a congress to decide the fate of the future United States of America. I always liked history, and I have to say I got a good history lesson from this.

Somehow the dramatization of the first Congress and the difficulties it faced in trying to get all the delegates to unanimously agree to declare independence, was a powerful teaching tool. I felt like I was there in the room and privy to history in the making.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31864&stc=1&d=1498357305


I found the fight over the passage about slavery particular interesting, and the compromise that was ultimately made saddening... but not surprising as people thought-out the centuries have put their pocket books over morality.

Perhaps the strangest moment was a personal epiphany when I heard the song Momma Look Sharp...a song that sent shivers down my spine and gave me more emotional impact in a few minutes, than most movies can do in hours. Sung in the first person, by a dying soldier to his mother. Both the theme, the arrangement and the vocals really reminded me of the third part of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. I'm convinced that Freddie Mercury seen 1776 and was inspired by Momma Look Sharp.

And check this out...the silhouetted figure against a black background during Momma Look Sharp is very much like the opening video for Bohemian Rhapsody....OK, one last thing, at the end of Is Anybody There? There's a refrain song by John Adams that's also very reminiscent of the ending refrain of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Momma Look Sharp, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VgEenf-TIMI)

(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)Bohemian Rhapsody, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)

The end part of: (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fq4H4SAb6s&t=150)Is Anybody There, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fq4H4SAb6s&t=150)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention how impressed I was with the streets of Philadelphia and the inside of Congressional Hall. We get so use to movie magic that it's easy to forget in these older movies that to make the locations look authentic 18th century they had to go to great effort. 1776 looks authentic!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31863&stc=1&d=1498357233


There's lots of music, and lots of clever wit and charm in 1776.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31880&stc=1&d=1498422452
Swing Time (1936)
Director: George Stevens
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance

About: A stage performer (Fred Astaire) who likes to gamble, heads to New York City with nothing more than a dime in his pocket. He wants to raise $25 grand so he can marry his well-to-do fiancée. But once in NYC he falls for a spirited, redhead who's an aspiring dancer (Ginger Rogers).



Review: Some high stepping dancing by Fred and Ginger:)

Fred Astaire danced with many different partners in his career, some maybe even better dancers than Ginger Rogers, but none of them had the spunky likability of Ginger. Fred and Ginger look right together. I can't even begin to image my journey into cinema with out them. They use to say that Fred Astaire gave the pair class, and Ginger Rogers gave them sex appeal. What a winning combination!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31877&stc=1&d=1498421932


The story is simple, after all it's a rom-com musical and we can't expect the story to be too deep. But it's deeper than 21st century audiences might be aware of, as the movie is about a down and out guy who's just lucky enough at gambling to make it big...real big...with lots of money, a fancy car and even partners in a swanky night club. That's something those suffering through the depression could latch onto and dream about...and movies like Swing Time helped them escape their reality of poverty, if only for the duration of the movie.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31876&stc=1&d=1498421925


There's some nice songs here especially The Way You Look Tonight, but what really makes the movie special are the dance numbers.

I loved them all, but especially fond of the high spirited and joyous opening number, Pick Yourself Up. I love the jump-twirls over the railings and back again on to the dance floor. A Fine Romance with it's setting in the snowy outdoors was charming. And the final dance number at the end, which starts off somber and then builds the emotions until the music and dance steps ignite into pure joy, Never Gonna Dance.

rating_4_5

[Captain Steel]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29261&stc=1&d=1488821540
1 7 7 6 (1972)
Director: Peter H. Hunt
Writers: Peter Stone (book), Sherman Edwards (conception)
Cast: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
Genre: Drama, History, Musical

The Continental Congress covens in 1776 during America's Revolution to decide the fight of the new nation.




One of the most different and interesting musicals ever made. The story of the Declaration of Independence, set to music. It was intriguing to watch these diverse group of men from the original thirteen colonies, who've formed a congress to decide the fate of the future United States of America. I always liked history, and I have to say I got a good history lesson from this.

Somehow the dramatization of the first Congress and the difficulties it faced in trying to get all the delegates to unanimously agree to declare independence, was a powerful teaching tool. I felt like I was there in the room and privy to history in the making.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31864&stc=1&d=1498357305


I found the fight over the passage about slavery particular interesting, and the compromise that was ultimately made saddening... but not surprising as people thought-out the centuries have put their pocket books over morality.

Perhaps the strangest moment was a personal epiphany when I heard the song Momma Look Sharp...a song that sent shivers down my spine and gave me more emotional impact in a few minutes, than most movies can do in hours. Sung in the first person, by a dying soldier to his mother. Both the theme, the arrangement and the vocals really reminded me of the third part of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. I'm convinced that Freddie Mercury seen 1776 and was inspired by Momma Look Sharp.

And check this out...the silhouetted figure against a black background during Momma Look Sharp is very much like the opening video for Bohemian Rhapsody....OK, one last thing, at the end of Is Anybody There? There's a refrain song by John Adams that's also very reminiscent of the ending refrain of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Momma Look Sharp, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VgEenf-TIMI)

(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)Bohemian Rhapsody, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)

The end part of: (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fq4H4SAb6s&t=150)Is Anybody There, video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fq4H4SAb6s&t=150)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention how impressed I was with the streets of Philadelphia and the inside of Congressional Hall. We get so use to movie magic that it's easy to forget in these older movies that to make the locations look authentic 18th century they had to go to great effort. 1776 looks authentic!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31863&stc=1&d=1498357233


There's lots of music, and lots of clever wit and charm in 1776.

rating_4





I love this movie.
First saw it as a child at Radio City Music Hall and it sparked my interest in Revolutionary War history. The hints at the Civil War which would follow 8 decades later are poignant. I usually have a beef with historical accuracy, but the liberties taken here (most for time restraints of fitting events into a movie) are minor, although the dramatic climax surrounding Judge Wilson's vote did not occur.

Also interesting is the fact that the character of John Adams here is actually an amalgam of John and his cousin Samuel (who doesn't appear in the movie), but many of the lines and even some song lyrics are taken directly from John Adams' writings and letters to and from his wife Abigail.

Never made the connection between Mama Look Sharp and Queen before - but yeah, I can see it! :)

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31859&stc=1&d=1498354440
Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay)
Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Genre: Adventure, Thriller



Enjoyed your review of this film, though I have never enjoyed it the way the rest of the world does...I think the opening scene with the girl in the water by herself is absoutely brilliant, but the rest of it...John Wiliams music does rock.

[Citizen Rules]

I love this movie.
First saw it as a child at Radio City Music Hall and it sparked my interest in Revolutionary War history. The hints at the Civil War which would follow 8 decades later are poignant. I usually have a beef with historical accuracy, but the liberties taken here (most for time restraints of fitting events into a movie) are minor, although the dramatic climax surrounding Judge Wilson's vote did not occur.

Also interesting is the fact that the character of John Adams here is actually an amalgam of John and his cousin Samuel (who doesn't appear in the movie), but many of the lines and even some song lyrics are taken directly from John Adams' writings and letters to and from his wife Abigail.

Never made the connection between Mama Look Sharp and Queen before - but yeah, I can see it! :) I didn't know they showed movies at Radio City Music Hall, but I bet that's a really cool theater. Did you see it first run? This was one of the nominations in the Live Action Musical Hall of Fame and it did very well. It had three 1st place votes and came in second. People really liked it.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1711734#post1711734

[Citizen Rules]

Enjoyed your review of this film, though I have never enjoyed it the way the rest of the world does...I think the opening scene with the girl in the water by herself is absoutely brilliant, but the rest of it...John Wiliams music does rock. I'm going to watch the 2nd and 3rd sequels. I'm not sure if I've ever seen them or not? Who knows if I will like them?

[Captain Steel]

I didn't know they showed movies at Radio City Music Hall, but I bet that's a really cool theater. Did you see it first run? This was one of the nominations in the Live Action Musical Hall of Fame and it did very well. It had three 1st place votes and came in second. People really liked it.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1711734#post1711734

Don't know if it was a first run viewing since it came out in '72 - that would have put me at around 2nd grade age. But I do remember going into NYC (it was usually with my mom and a group my aunt belonged to) and seeing a few movies and / or shows at Radio City. So showing movies there in the 70's was a regular thing.

[Captain Steel]

I'm going to watch the 2nd and 3rd sequels. I'm not sure if I've ever seen them or not? Who knows if I will like them?

I've never seen a single Jaws sequel, but only heard that they get progressively worse to the point of being completely ridiculous (becoming analogous to the sillier Japanese giant monster movies of the 60's).

[Captain Steel]

A little known fact that 1776 got right was that the Founding Fathers would often spontaneously break into song, accompanied by an unseen orchestra (which some theorize was kept in a back room of Constitution Hall) and members of Congress would somehow know all the lines to choruses that coincided with their ongoing activities, so they could all sing flawlessly together. Historians theorize this ability was some form of new American osmosis. Entire debates were carried out in song and congressional stewards would work the window shades to set the mood of the operatic exchanges with dramatic changes in lighting! ;)

[SilentVamp]

1 7 7 6
rating_4
4 out of 5 and it still ended up second to last. :tsk: If only I'd nominated a film with more women like you said would've preferred. :D

[Citizen Rules]

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Godspell (1973)

Director: David Greene
Writers: David Greene, John-Michael Tebelak
Cast: Victor Garber, Lynne Thigpen, Katie Hanley

OMG! what did I just watch:eek: Wow...that was painful and not in any good way:p I've never seen a bigger bunch of dimwitted kooks, parading around, making faces and acting like Sesame Street rejects. Even worse was the unfunny attempt at clowning around for the camera, Ugh...and those silly voices they did:rolleyes: It was like a hippie commune where the inmates had escaped for the day, to go hopping and skipping around a strangely empty New York City. Which brings me to the silver lining:)

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OMG the scenes of NYC were amazing. This is like a time machine back to the early 70s. The groovy face painted kooks...err I mean kids, do go to some very impressive spots in the city. The camera shot of NYC from the top of the Twin Towers was amazing...Equally impressive was the scene done on the old abandoned waterfront wharf...Love the cinematography in this movie:yup:....Just look at this camera shot below...amazing.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29480&stc=1&d=1490111711


And the whole movie is like that. Loved the bridge arch scene when the camera shows us the bridge's arches lined up and receding into the background, then pans down to show us our ragamuffin friends frolicking on the grass.:D

rating_2_5

[Captain Steel]

I've still never seen Godspell - but that dude with the Superman "S" on his shirt and the mime makeup always gave me the creeps (just from still shots). He reminds me of a bizarre short-lived comic book character called "Brother Power the Geek."
http://www.weirdretro.org.uk/uploads/3/8/2/1/38217449/5436920_orig.jpg

[Citizen Rules]

I've still never seen Godspell - but that dude with the Superman "S" on his shirt and the mime makeup always gave me the creeps (just from still shots). He reminds me of a bizarre short-lived comic book character called "Brother Power the Geek."
http://www.weirdretro.org.uk/uploads/3/8/2/1/38217449/5436920_orig.jpg Ha, he does look like him! When did that comic book come out?

(the dude with the clown make up and Superman shirt is Jesus...or at least he claims to be:p)

[Captain Steel]

Ha, he does look like him! When did that comic book come out?

(the dude with the clown make up and Superman shirt is Jesus...or at least he claims to be:p)

1968!
It was in direct response to the hippie movement - about a Frankenstein-like mannequin brought to life by electricity who seemed to adopt the hippie culture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Power_the_Geek

[Citizen Rules]

That's wild! Totally funny what he says in that single panel:p I thought it might be from the hippie days.

[re93animator]

I'm going to watch the 2nd and 3rd sequels. I'm not sure if I've ever seen them or not? Who knows if I will like them?

It's hard for me to be objective since I watched each one on an almost weekly basis when I was a kid, but I think the 2nd is decent. 3 and 4 both have unintended comic relief and fun settings, but they're dumb & hokey monster movies at heart. Without the nostalgia factor, I doubt they'd have much if any appeal. Watch only if you like cheesefests.

[Citizen Rules]

It's hard for me to be objective since I watched each one on an almost weekly basis when I was a kid, but I think the 2nd is decent. 3 and 4 both have unintended comic relief and fun settings, but they're dumb & hokey monster movies at heart. Without the nostalgia factor, I doubt they'd have much if any appeal. Watch only if you like cheesefests. Thanks, that actually helps, good to know that the 2nd one is decent. Yeah, I do like cheesy movies, there's something about them that makes them fun:p I just requested from my library Jaws 2...and will be reviewing it in the very near future.

[Nestorio_Miklos]

re-reviewing movies from musical HOF? You just gave me an idea that i should too :D

[Citizen Rules]

re-reviewing movies from musical HOF? You just gave me an idea that i should too :D Glad to give you an idea:) Yup, I wrote them so I figured it's good to enter them into the data base reviews of MoFo. But I do tweak them some and so they read somewhat differently.

[Gideon58]

[CENTER]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29533
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)[LEFT]
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main
Genre: Musical

Judy Garland is great of course, she sings her little heart out, pouring more emotion into her songs than is humanly possible. I loved The Trolley Song and how it was staged. The very cute duet of Judy and Margret doing the Under the Bamboo Tree, complete with a little dance number. And of course Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas which is one magnificently depressing song.



"Magnificently depressing", LOL! That's perfect...that song rips my guts out every time she sings it and NOBODY sings it like she does. I also love The Boy Next Door which you neglected to mention.

[Citizen Rules]

"Magnificently depressing", LOL! That's perfect...that song rips my guts out every time she sings it and NOBODY sings it like she does. I also love The Boy Next Door which you neglected to mention. I like Bing's version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas too. I didn't mention The Boy Next Door as that wasn't a fav of mine, not a bad song, just not a personal favorite.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31953&stc=1&d=1498530200

The Wanderers (1979)

Director: Philip Kaufman
Writers: Richard Price (novel), Rose Kaufman (screenplay)
Cast: Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, John Friedrich, Toni Kalem
Genre: Drama

Director Philip Kaufman probably best known for his stylish horror sci-fi flick, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and for writing the smash hit Indiana Jones movies, gave us his own unique version of teenage gangs, circa 1963 New York, in the film The Wanderers.

The Wanderers is part coming of age, as we watch the teenage gang members go about their business of hanging out, fighting with other gangs and trying to score with the girls...It's also part surrealism with the Bowling Godfathers five older men all brothers who rule the local bowling alley and would seem to be at home in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. It's even got some pseudo horror in it with the zombie like Ducky Boys gang. This films got it all, but don't think it couldn't make up it's mind as to what kind of film it wanted to be. I'd say it's purposely broad and unique and that makes it a cult classic.

There's oodles of unique characters and multiple themes running through this urban jungle tale. The gang known as the Baldies were pretty wild! Look at how big the head Baldie 'Terror' is compared to his girlfriend Pee Wee. Yikes! The bridge scene has to be seen to be believed! Ouch!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31954&stc=1&d=1498530209

Each scene in the movie is like it's own mini-movie and tells a complete story in just the time that the scene takes to be done. The party scene had lots going on downstairs and upstairs too...

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31955&stc=1&d=1498530220


I really liked the entire cast and thought all the actors brought a unique personality to the film. The director found some of the actors as unknowns which adds to the indie feel of the movie. The only name I'm familiar with is Karen Allen who would later star in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Wanders is a cross between Pulp Fiction, The Warriors and The Big Lebowski...so how can you go wrong. And the soundtrack of late 50s & early 60s rock n roll music propels the movie along with the classic rock songs being an intricate part of the movie.

But what impressed me most was the end of an era feeling as the carefree days of the early 1960s give away to the assassination of JFK....the teenage Wanderers move into adult hood as the music style changes and we see a silhouetted Bob Dylan singing The Time They Are a Changin'...Indeed they would be changing, as the carefree days of the early 60s would give rise to the Vietnam war and social unrest.

There's much more here than meets the eye.

rating_4

[Captain Steel]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31953&stc=1&d=1498530200

The Wanderers (1979)

Director: Philip Kaufman
Writers: Richard Price (novel), Rose Kaufman (screenplay)
Cast: Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, John Friedrich, Toni Kalem
Genre: Drama

Director Philip Kaufman probably best known for his stylish horror sci-fi Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and for writing the smash hit Indiana Jones movies, gave us his own unique version of teenage gangs, circa 1963 New York, in the film The Wanders.

The Wanders is part coming of age, as we watch the teenage Wanders gang go about their business of hanging out, fighting with other gangs and trying to score with the girls... It's also part surrealism with the Bowling godfathers who rule the local bowling alley and would seem to be at home in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. It's even got some pseudo horror in it with the zombie like Ducky Boys gang. This films got it all, but don't think it couldn't make up it's mind as to what kind of film it wanted to be. I'd say it's purposely broad and unique and that makes it a cult classic.

There's odules of unique characters and multiple themes running through this urban jungle tale. The gang known as the Baldies were pretty wild! Look at how big the head Baldie 'Terror' is compared to his girlfriend Pee Wee. The bridge scene has to be seen to be believed! Ouch!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31954&stc=1&d=1498530209

Each scene in the movie is like it's own mini-movie and tells a complete story in just the time that the scene takes to be done. The party scene had lots going on downstairs and upstairs...

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31955&stc=1&d=1498530220


I really liked the entire cast and thought all the actors brought a unique personality to the film. The only name I'm familiar with is Karen Allen who would later star in the Indian Jones movies.

The Wanders is a cross between Pulp Fiction, The Warriors and The Big Lebowski...so how can you go wrong. But what impressed me most was the end of an era feeling as the carefree days of the early 60s give away to the assassination of JFK. There's much more here than meets the eye.

rating_4



LOVE this film!

It always gets compared to the Warriors (probably due to the similar sounding title) even though the stories take place in different eras. It also gets confused with the Lords of Flatbush - a slightly earlier Greaser movie of the 70's (that takes place in the early 60's). Of these three gang movies, this is my favorite!

Even though this movie is a "period piece" it is full of metaphor. People still philosophize what the Ducky Boys represent (they are obviously much more than just a giant gang of poor urban Irish Catholics).

The music is a highlight as well.

I too love the ending - the transition when we glimpse Dylan singing marks the end of an era.

[Gideon58]

I didn't know they showed movies at Radio City Music Hall, but I bet that's a really cool theater. Did you see it first run? This was one of the nominations in the Live Action Musical Hall of Fame and it did very well. It had three 1st place votes and came in second. People really liked it.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1711734#post1711734

There's a scene in the 1987 Woody Allen movie Radio Days where Dianne Wiest and Seth Green are taken to Radio City Music Hall to see The Philadelphia Story.

[Citizen Rules]

LOVE this film!

It always gets compared to the Warriors (probably due to the similar sounding title) even though the stories take place in different eras. It also gets confused with the Lords of Flatbush - a slightly earlier Greaser movie of the 70's (that takes place in the early 60's). Of these three gang movies, this is my favorite!

Even though this movie is a "period piece" it is full of metaphor. People still philosophize what the Ducky Boys represent (they are obviously much more than just a giant gang of poor urban Irish Catholics).

The music is a highlight as well.

I too love the ending - the transition when we glimpse Dylan singing marks the end of an era. Oh cool, good to see some love for this movie. Guess what? I'd never seen it before. I'm not even sure if I had heard of it before.

It's sure different than those other gang movies. I've seen Lords of Flatbush once and that was like 40 years ago! I plan on watching it again now that I have gang fever:p I just requested Rumble Fish and The Outsiders from my library. Those should be good. I've seen The Warriors several times, I love that film.

Definitely the music is a big part of the movie. Good point about Dylan signaling the change at the end of the movie (though I think that was a Dylan impersonator). Isn't he singing The Times They Are A Changin' 1964. Quite appropriate.
The Ducky Boys gang was a weird concept alright. I'm still not sure what they represent? I read that there was a real Ducky Boys gang. I'm guessing it started in the 1950s and Ducky Boys is from their hair cuts of the time, the D.A.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck's_ass

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29612
Mary Poppins (1964)

Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson
Genre: Family Musical Fantasy

About: In the 1900s in London a wealthy family hires an eclectic nanny with magical powers to help with the children's upbringing. She proceeds to weave her magic through song to bring the neglected children closer to their father.

Review: Mary Poppins is a big splashy Disney production, with some very creative dance & song numbers. The Chimney Sweep number is pretty amazing and I'd say my favorite. It's very different, and stylish in how it's done.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31975&stc=1&d=1498617529


I think this is a movie I'd have to watch a number of times to love as it's really light on story and heavy on production numbers. Normally that might appeal to me but I'm not a fan of movies made for kids. I didn't grow up with Disney and when it comes to musicals I prefer themes aimed more at adults. I guess I don't have much of a kid in me:p I wasn't even a kid when I was a kid! On the flip side I can't deny that this is a brilliantly done Disney classic.

The animation mixed with live action sequences thrilled audiences at the time, where else could you see Dick Van Dyke dancing with animated penguins and Julie Andres riding carousel ponies through the country side.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31976&stc=1&d=1498617538


For me it was Julie Andrews that makes this movie so special, that's cause she's got the magic;)

rating_4

[Captain Steel]

Oh cool, good to see some love for this movie. Guess what? I'd never seen it before. I'm not even sure if I had heard of it before.

It's sure different than those other gang movies. I've seen Lords of Flatbush once and that was like 40 years ago! I plan on watching it again now that I have gang fever:p I just requested Rumble Fish and The Outsiders from my library. Those should be good. I've seen The Warriors several times, I love that film.

Definitely the music is a big part of the movie. Good point about Dylan signaling the change at the end of the movie (though I think that was a Dylan impersonator). Isn't he singing The Times They Are A Changin' 1964. Quite appropriate.
The Ducky Boys gang was a weird concept alright. I'm still not sure what they represent? I read that there was a real Ducky Boys gang. I'm guessing it started in the 1950s and Ducky Boys is from their hair cuts of the time, the D.A.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck's_ass



Enjoy the gang movies, Rules!

Yes, obviously not the real Bob Dylan (except for the voice of course) and I don't think they say the name or have it on a poster, but we know by the song and the environment who it is supposed to be.

Hope no one took offense at my referring to the Ducky Boys as Irish Catholics, but isn't there a scene of them taking communion at a Catholic church before a fight or something? Obviously the Wanderers have some Italian roots so it was always theorized that the Ducky Boys were Irish. My dad was a teen in the gang days of the late 40's & early 50's and he used to talk about the skirmishes between the Italian and the Irish gangs that ruled different parts of the city. He used to tell stories about how he had some Irish Catholic cousins and friends (gang members), so he'd wait on the church steps for them to get out of mass - and he said the nuns would come out and literally beat him off the steps (with school pointer sticks) because he was German Protestant! He was terrified of the nuns. Talk about the days of sectarian violence and religious intolerance! ;)

I also remember the classroom scene near the beginning of the Wanderers where a fight nearly breaks out when the teacher has the students cover all the ethnic slurs that they call each other.

Another movie this reminds me of is Heaven Help Us (1985). It's not a gang movie, but takes place during the same era and is about boys attending a Brooklyn Catholic school in 1965. It's got that whole coming-of-age / end of an era feel to it and is very entertaining. If you liked the Wanderers, I also recommend Heaven Help Us.

P.S. Don't f&%# with the Wongs!

[Citizen Rules]

Enjoy the gang movies, Rules!

Hope no one took offense at my referring to the Ducky Boys as Irish Catholics, but isn't there a scene of them taking communion at a Catholic church before a fight or something? Obviously the Wanderers have some Italian roots so it was always theorized that the Ducky Boys were Irish. I took it that they were Irish too. At the start of the movie someone says, The Wanderers are an Italian gang, the Del Bombers are a black gang, The Wongs are an Asian gang. Like you said we see the Ducky Boys taking communion and as there was no Irish gang mentioned I'm sure that's who they were.


My dad was a teen in the gang days of the late 40's & early 50's and he used to talk about the skirmishes between the Italian and the Irish gangs that ruled different parts of the city. He used to tell stories about how he had some Irish Catholic cousins and friends (gang members), so he'd wait on the church steps for them to get out of mass - and he said the nuns would come out and literally beat him off the steps (with school pointer sticks) because he was German Protestant! He was terrified of the nuns. Talk about the days of sectarian violence and religious intolerance! ;)Wow, that's pretty wild. I can just envision that happening in the world of The Wanderers.

Another movie this reminds me of is Heaven Help Us (1985). It's not a gang movie, but takes place during the same era and is about boys attending a Brooklyn Catholic school in 1965. It's got that whole coming-of-age / end of an era feel to it and is very entertaining. If you liked the Wanderers, I also recommend Heaven Help Us. I'll watch it, thanks! I love all those period piece type films.

P.S. Don't f&%# with the Wongs!:D

[Chypmunk]

Glad you enjoyed Mary Poppins - It's not my type of fillum anyway but Dick Van Dyke really murders it with his abysmal Mockney accent.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29612
Mary Poppins (1964)

[SIZE=5][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#7E6A51][SIZE=3][COLOR=Black][FONT=Arial Narrow]Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson
Genre: Family Musical Fantasy


For me it was Julie Andrews that makes this movie so special, that's cause she's got the magic;)

rating_4

Enjoyed your review and Julie Andrews is what makes the movie so special. I hate to nitpick, but you referred to Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) as a widower, completely discounting the fabulous performance of Glynis Johns as Mrs. Banks. I mean, she actually has the first full musical number in the film ("Sister Suffragette").

[Gideon58]

Glad you enjoyed Mary Poppins - It's not my type of fillum anyway but Dick Van Dyke really murders it with his abysmal Mockney accent.


Yeah, I was so pleased that when he did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, again surrounded by an all-British cast, he didn't even attempt an accent.

[Citizen Rules]

Enjoyed your review and Julie Andrews is what makes the movie so special. I hate to nitpick, but you referred to Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) as a widower, completely discounting the fabulous performance of Glynis Johns as Mrs. Banks. I mean, she actually has the first full musical number in the film ("Sister Suffragette"). Whoops! I'll make a change to my review. Thanks for the catch:)

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32046&stc=1&d=1498702776
Kitty (1945)

Director: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owens
Genre: Drama, Romance

London, 1783...

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32047&stc=1&d=1498702782


In the dirt poor streets of Houndsditch a slum of 1780's London, a young woman (Paulette Goddard) ekes out a living by stealing. When she tries to steal the silver shoe buckles from a famous painter, he takes her inside and dresses her as a noble lady and paints her portrait.

The Anonymous Lady painting catches the eye of the Duke of Malmunster (Reginald Owen). The Duke wants to meet the lady but that's impossible as she's no lady, so she remains silent. As she leaves the painters residences she bumps into two well-to-do gentlemen. Sir Hugh Marcy (Ray Milland) and his friend Patrick Knowles. Sir Hugh takes the 'gutter snipe' as he calls her into his home and like a version of Pygmalion begins educating Kitty to the ways of the upper class.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32048&stc=1&d=1498702788


Kitty the movie starts out at a brisk pace and then expands into a multi themed tale of class struggle and inner values. As Kitty the character grows and move into the upper crust of society, we see her benefactor Sir Hugh who's a bit of a rogue, end up in financial ruin. The film is very savvy being based on a novel and never ventures into the pitfalls of many Hollywood films. It never gets silly, it never gets overly dramatic. It stays grounded while always changing and expanding on the story.

I though all the actors were really good here, I especially liked Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland. The sets and costumes (and this is a costumes movie) were amazing.

The ending, like the rest of the movie was intelligently done.

rating_4

[SilentVamp]

I am so happy to hear that you liked Kitty. I thought that you might, but then there was always that little feeling inside that said you might not. Maybe it was just something telling me to not get my hopes too high when it came to you liking the film. :)

I really enjoy both Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard in there, too. I think they work very well together. And weren't the costumes and sets really good?! I loved them!


But now you have to remember - as I do, too (and as I said I often forget!) - Ray Milland is the one in Kitty, and Dennis Morgan is the one in Kitty Foyle. :D I still don't see how I mix that up. :rolleyes:

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32046&stc=1&d=1498702776
Kitty (1945)

Director: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owens
Genre: Drama, Romance

London, 1783...



Really enjoyed reading this review...I have never seen a Paulette Goddard movie, this sounds like it might be a good place to start.

[Gideon58]

Glad you enjoyed Mary Poppins - It's not my type of fillum anyway but Dick Van Dyke really murders it with his abysmal Mockney accent.


No the accent isn't great, but saying that it "murdered the film" is overstating a bit, don't you think?

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=31768&stc=1&d=1498183402
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)

Director: Randa Haines
Writer: Steve Conrad
Cast: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie
Genre: Drama, Romance



Glad to see you enjoyed this one...I ran across this accidentally in a video store one day and watched it on a whim. Richard Harris' performance alone was worth the price of admission. There's a review of it on my thread somewhere.

[Gideon58]

I like many of his films, but I think Woody is BSing us if he says his film personas are usually different than his real self...unless he meant he's actually creepier in real life!

I totally agree Citizen...Woody is not that good an actor...the other thing that has always annoyed me about Woody is his perception of himself as a babe magnet...he always has these gorgeous women starring opposite him in these films and you just know that IRL none of these women would even look twice at someone who looked like Woody Allen. Woody is a brilliant writer and director, that's why actresses want to work with him, not because he looks cute in a wife beater.

[Chypmunk]

No the accent isn't great, but saying that it "murdered the film" is overstating a bit, don't you think?
You're reading what I said far too literally, the inference in that sentence is that his abysmal accent murders the film for me personally - it's the primary reason I would never watch it again though as stated it's not really my type of affair in the first place so any significant annoyance with it would have had the same result.

[Citizen Rules]

I am so happy to hear that you liked Kitty. I thought that you might, but then there was always that little feeling inside that said you might not. Maybe it was just something telling me to not get my hopes too high when it came to you liking the film. :)

I really enjoy both Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard in there, too. I think they work very well together. And weren't the costumes and sets really good?! I loved them!


But now you have to remember - as I do, too (and as I said I often forget!) - Ray Milland is the one in Kitty, and Dennis Morgan is the one in Kitty Foyle. :D I still don't see how I mix that up. :rolleyes:I had never heard of Kitty before, so I'm glad you told me about it as otherwise I'd never have seen it.


I hardly recognized Paulette with the really tall blonde wig. And yes amazing customs!

https://mattsko.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/admirer.jpg?w=560&h=413

[Citizen Rules]

Really enjoyed reading this review...I have never seen a Paulette Goddard movie, this sounds like it might be a good place to start.A few of her movies that I've seen and would recommend is:

The Women (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032143/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_44)(1939), that's a classic with an ensemble cast.

The Great Dictator (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032553/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_41)(1940) with Charlie Chaplin, which was Vamp's nomination for the 13th Hof.

The Ghost Breakers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032520/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_42) (1940) a comedy with Bob Hope that the Ghost Busters films were based on, it's funny.

So Proudly We Hail! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036367/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_30) (1943) Which was my nom in the WWII Hof, it's based on a true story of a group of nurses in the Philippines during the war.

And of course she made a lot more! I just haven't seen them. SilentVamp (or anyone) do you have any other Paulette Goodard movie recommendations?

Gideon take a look a this page about her. She was a Ziegfield Girl at 13.

http://stirredstraightup.blogspot.com/2011/09/

[Captain Steel]

Hey Rules,

Just found this video all about the "Ducky Boys" - it's confirmed, they were Irish. There's also some meaning behind the fact that they were all short. And apparently there's a book about a real Ducky Boys gang. Interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC6GWJIIPYA

[Captain Steel]

Book description from Amazon:

Straight from the streets of the mid-1960s Bronx comes a book about one of the borough's most feared gangs - The Ducky Boys. While their unusual name alone might contradict their reputation, in the Norwood/Bainbridge section of the Bronx their appearances provoked an ominous dread. So much so, that when Richard Price needed inspiration for a terrifying gang in his novel (and later movie) The Wanderers, he knew exactly which gang to choose. Lost Boys of the Bronx tells the story of the Ducky Boys in their own words. It is a story of how a few pre-teen kids in the Botanical Gardens turned into a gang of hundreds - and a gang so alarming that rumors of their arrival would shut down local schools. This is also a study of the mostly Irish Bronx neighborhood in which the Ducky Boys were born, and where so many of the Ducky kids got caught up in the tumultuous times of the '60s where their fierce loyalty was the only thing that got them through. This is not your typical gang book. It neither praises nor demonizes the gang for the things they did, but rather simply reports what happened - warts and all. You'll see the truth behind the Ducky Boys' gang - their lives, their loves, their pranks and crimes, and so much more. To borrow from a particular product's slogan - with a name like the Ducky Boys, you knew they HAD to be tough.

[Citizen Rules]

Thanks for posting that about the Ducky Boys, it explains a lot! So I now I know why they were almost mythical in the movie...and short too.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32076&stc=1&d=1498839882
L..I..F..E (2017)


Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror

On board the international Space Station a team of scientist recover a probe sent to discover life on Mars. They find life. And it finds them! C.R.

LIFE...part sci fi and part horror and a whole lot like Alien. The first 30 minutes were spell binding, and the film had quite the impact. The scene where the tiny alien life form grips the hand of a research scientist and squeezes until it pulverized every bone in his hand, was powerful! I swear I scarcely breathed during that scene...And I was thinking this might be the best sci-fi horror since Alien.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32079&stc=1&d=1498839903

There's something very dangerous about an innocuous looking blob of cellular material, that despite looking harmless, posses a life threatening situation. But then after feeding it, it grows (of course) then it becomes a octopus looking thing that stalks the crew. At that point the creature looked like a movie prop, even though it's CG. Just the way it moved and looked reminded me of a dozen other horror films.

Even worse was as the film went on, the science part went out the proverbial window, as the scientist make the stupidest decisions possible. At one point the creature is outside of the ship and the scientist are amazed at how it can function in the vacuum of space. But later when the creature is back aboard the scientist decide it must need oxygen, so they vent the atmosphere and it begins dying. Say what??? Wasn't it just going like gang busters on the hull of the ship without oxygen, 10 minutes earlier?

Towards the end of the movie I actually found myself saying, 'oh good he deserved to die for being so stupid.' You know a movie has lost it's effectiveness, when you end up rooting for the mutant alien! Oh, the twist ending was silly too.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32077&stc=1&d=1498839889

I could go on, but needless to say if you want some plausible science and plausible actions taken by scientist...this ain't the film for that.

However if you want a fun popcorn sci fi horror flick, then LIFE might do the trick. Just don't look for logic or originality here.





rating_2_5

[Nestorio_Miklos]

i was actually planning on watching that this weekend. Was it really that bad. I'm gonna watch it anyway to see for myself and maybe i write a few thoughts

[Citizen Rules]

i was actually planning on watching that this weekend. Was it really that bad. I'm gonna watch it anyway to see for myself and maybe i write a few thoughts I love to see what your thoughts are on it. The first 30 minutes are worth the price of admission. The last hour is more like a fun popcorn movie, so if you like that type of movie experience, then yeah it delivers.

[seanc]

I will see Life some time this year. All signs point to wasted opportunity though.

[Citizen Rules]

I will see Life some time this year. All signs point to wasted opportunity though. The hand crushing scene and the one that followed really made me queasy! it's well done. If they could have only maintained that level of fear/horror I'd be rating it much higher.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32076&stc=1&d=1498839882
L..I..F..E (2017)


[COLOR=#1D283A]Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror



You're the first person who has said anything negative about this movie...my curiosity is totally piqued now.

[seanc]

You're the first person who has said anything negative about this movie...my curiosity is totally piqued now.

You and I run in much different movie circles. I haven't heard anything positive. Weird, considering we both spend a lot of time here. I don't think I have read much about it here though and only known two people in everyday life who have seen it. The podcast world is slicing it up though.

[Citizen Rules]

I see that @ashdoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=79339) and @Sarge (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95601) have both reviewed LIFE (2017). Ashdoc's review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1679265#post1679265) is more positive about the movie than mine was.

Sarge's review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1678742#post1678742) came to many of the same conclusions that I did. Gideon58 LIFE is worth watching, as both Ashdoc and Sarge noted the space station and space scenes looked real! That's a plus. And I was never bored and that's another plus.

I just picked up another new sci-fi, Passengers (2016) I'll see how that one goes.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32133&stc=1&d=1498959449
My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946)


Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature
Genre: Western Drama
Length: 97 minutes

The exploits of Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, that lead up to the infamous gunfight at the OK Coral. CR


Everybody...has heard of Wyatt Earp and his time in Tombstone. And everybody has seen the shootout at the OK Coral depicted on film. I'd say most people are probably familiar with Wyatt's story from one movie: 1993's Tombstone.

My Darling Clementine is quite a bit different in story construction, than Tombstone and other movies about Wyatt Earp. At 97 minutes it's fairly fast paced and yet nothing ever feels rushed. That's because all of the superfluous material was parred down to the basic story of moral vs immoral....And that's thanks to Fox studio main man, Darryl F. Zanuck.

John Ford originally had shot a 2 hour film that didn't go over well with Zanuck, who then took over editing and honed the film down to 97 minutes. Zanuck was the editor on other Ford films including The Grapes of Wrath. The result is a film that focuses on how one man comes to a lawless town and through his sense of right and wrong, makes the town livable.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32131&stc=1&d=1498959427


The story of course is pure fiction, almost nothing you see actually happened and Wyatt Earp was not the good-doer that's pictured here. But so what, this is a movie, not historical research, and the way the story is told is very effective. It works.

Henry Fonda plays Wyatt Earp, and is the epitome of laid back. Which works well with a powerful, yet simplistic story. Fonda is always enjoyable on screen and this was one big reason why I enjoyed this so much.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32130&stc=1&d=1498959420


The other reason was the stunningly effective cinematography by John Ford. Ford is well known for his scenic landscape shots in Monument Valley in the Southwest of America. But what really impressed me was Ford's compositions that made use of vast empty spaces to give the feeling of utter loneliness. The empty spaces, when combined with the subject in the distances...and surrounded by darkness, gives a real stark beauty to the film.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.top10hq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/jaws-2.jpg


Jaws 2 (1978)
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Cast: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror

My review: This ain't Jaws. Enough said. Thanks for reading my review;)

Well, I suppose I have to say a bit more about this 2nd sequel of four Jaws films. When Jaws 2 came out in 1978 it was the biggest money making sequel until Rocky 2 hit the theaters. It's main claim to fame is one of the most famous movie tag lines to ever be coined:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

While Jaws 2 does have Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton returning in their roles as the Police chief, his wife and the towns mayor, most notably absent is Richard Dreyfus and director Steven Spielberg. Robert Shaw couldn't return, having previously been eaten by a shark;)

Jaws 2 has none of the building drama and tension that the original had and it lacks the gut wrenching shark attack scenes that made the first so powerful.

What the film does have is much more shark attack scenes with teens being chowed down like sardines. I mean who doesn't like to see teens get eating alive! This makes for a fun shark-monster movie much in the way the 1950s had teens being stalked by blobs or alien creatures.

http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattle/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/jaws-2-2-586.jpg


They put more money into the shark model for this one and as a result it can do more things and so we see it more too. Though I found the shark in the original more frightening. By showing too long of close ups of the sharks mouth one starts to think of it as a big Hollywood prop.


The film looks pretty good I must say and is shot and edited well too. The town of Amity comes alive in this sequel and the scenes shot out on the ocean look good.

http://milkthefranchise.com/wp-content/uploads/Article%20Graphics/Jaws-2-Cable.jpg?w=240


Oh, I love how Roy Scheider kills off the second shark, over the top for sure, but damn it's fun!

rating_2_5

[Captain Steel]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29350&stc=1&d=1489114125

Loving (2016)

Director: Jeff Nichols
Writer: Jeff Nichols
Cast: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton
Genre: Historical Bio-Pic Drama

About: Based on the actual events of Richard and Mildred Loving, who in 1958 drove from their home in Virginia to get married in nearby Washington D.C. Upon returning to Virginia they are quickly arrested for violating Virginia's interracial marriage laws. What follows in this true life story is the couple's fight for civil & personal rights...A harrowing tale of prison and banishment from their own state.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29351&stc=1&d=1489114132


Review: Don't be fooled by the movie's title into thinking this is some touchy-feely romance movie...it's not. Loving...is the last name of the real life interracial couple that the movie is based on. For the most part this is a historical drama. Oh sure we get a few terse moments when the police come looking for the newlyweds, but mostly it's done low-key. It's hard to believe that up until 1967 mixed race marriages were illegal in some southern states and those violating the law could be arrested and sent to jail, sad but true.

I found the film held my interest and the story is a riveting one. Yet the way the director/writer tells the story, left me with a bit of an empty feeling, like there should have been a bit more character development or more to the story. I don't feel I got to know the characters well, and in a film like this, that's very important. Loving is an indie film, so I'm willing to cut it some slack.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=29353&stc=1&d=1489114153


Ruth Negga...I was very impressed with her, she gave a compelling yet controlled performance. She made her character seem real and likable. I like to see her in more movies. The only other movie I've seen her in was World War Z. Ruth is worth the price of admission, as someone says.

Joel Edgerton...Playing her husband is Joel Edgerton. I've not seen him in anything that I recall. He really does look a lot like the real Richard Loving. I'd say he did a good job here, except I wish we would have gotten a little more insight into the real Richard. I feel like he gave a strong performance, but didn't let the audience in on it.

Let me say this, whoever cast the young ACLU layer was a fool. He was so comical that he came across like a young Jon Lovitz and I thought the movie was headed into slapstick territory, when the lawyer enters the picture.

I did enjoy Loving and learned something about the past. But ultimately I wanted more of a connection out of this film.

rating_3_5+




.


Watched this tonight. I was also engaged by the story, but it was done in such a low-key manner that, as a film, it seemed to drag. So I think this one would've benefitted by being cut down to an hour and a half, especially editing the first hour where there are long silent scenes where nothing happens.

I also would've liked more detail - like maybe captions stating the year or location (I had no idea for most of the movie where it was they ran away to after being expelled from Virginia as I don't think they revealed the location except in a brief mention later in the movie - I think they went to live in D.C., the same place they got married).

Based on Joel Edgerton's performance, I couldn't help but imagine Heath Ledger in the role if he'd lived (obviously since the extremely quiet character of Richard Loving was reminiscent of Ledger's role in Brokeback Mountain).

Now I have The Loving Story documentary cued up in my On-Demand list!

[Citizen Rules]

Captain Steel

Now I have The Loving Story documentary cued up in my On-Demand list! I predict you will like the documentary, it really gives lots of details. I enjoyed it!

[Citizen Rules]

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Director: Ken Hughes
Writers: Ian Fleming (novel), Roald Dahl (screenplay)
Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Length: 2 hours 24 minutes

About: A hap hazard inventor who's near penniless, takes a wrecked ex race car and through the magic of his inventions enables the car to float on water and even fly. After grandfather is abducted by evil agents from a foreign country, the inventor, his girlfriend and his kids fly off for a grand adventure. CR



Review: I enjoyed the movie!...Visually I was blown away by all the elaborate sets, and all the little details that went into each scene. OMG, this film deserved an Oscar for set design, maybe it won one? But I'm too lazy to go and look. (OK I just looked it wasn't even nominated for set design....booo!)

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I bet this movie cost a fortune to make! I'm actually surprised they would have spent all the time and money shooting the opening Gran Prix races with vintage cars. Which was impressive looking, but, if I was the executive producer controlling the purse strings I would have said no, it's not needed. I would have started the movie in the junk yard with the kids in the old junk car. But, I'm glad those race scenes are included, just surprised.

I'm even more surprised that they used a real dirigible airship. How cool is that! We get so use to modern day movie magic and CG effects, that we can take for granted what we're seeing on the scene. I know I do, so I ran the DVD back and watched that scene twice, and it looks like they really lifted Owen Jefferies (Grandpa) up in the air as he's answer nature's call. They must have used a crane to do that. Damn impressive! But all of the movie is impressive.

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That's a real castle they visit and the aerial shots of it are speculator! The castle is King Ludwig II's castle at Neuschwanstein, located at the foot of the Alps, Germany and the airship is visible in the courtyard. I assume that's real too.

I like to know how many major sets they used. The inside of the candy factory was massive and reminded me of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Not surprising the writer of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Roald Dahl also wrote: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory(1971), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(2005) &
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).

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I couldn't help but to think that the leading lady (Sally Ann Howes) was Julie Andrews' twin. Not only did she look like her, but she clearly was doing an imitation of Miss Andrews. Not surprising that the role of Truly Scrumptious was originally offered to Julie Andrews, who turned it down. Interesting to note that Sally Ann Howes replaced Julie Andrews in the Broadway production of My Fair Lady when Andrews left the show. Sally Ann Howes was good in this movie and no doubt felt the presences of the larger than life Andrews looming over her parasol. I enjoyed her songs and she was fine but to be honest she lacked charisma

That's probably not her fault, as the director Ken Hughes was noted for being an action director and disliked kids and so was out of his element here. He himself didn't like the movie and Dick Van Dyke is on record saying he didn't get along with the director or the producer.

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As much as I liked this, I thought both leads were lack luster and didn't have much chemistry. The movie is amazing visually and has lots of fine moments, some great songs, but the emotional elevation that films like Mary Poppins brings to the game is missing.

Still a fun adventorus movie and a great technical and visual film.

rating_4

[Captain Steel]

Captain Steel

I predict you will like the documentary, it really gives lots of details. I enjoyed it!

You were correct - I started watching the documentary and it does make you appreciate the movie more. What really amazed me is how the casting in the movie so closely matched the look of the real life people (which is kind of odd since none of these people would be known to anyone who didn't watch the documentary), but even such small part characters like the sheriff are dead ringers for their real life counterparts.

[Citizen Rules]

You were correct - I started watching the documentary and it does make you appreciate the movie more. What really amazed me is how the casting in the movie so closely matched the look of the real life people (which is kind of odd since none of these people would be known to anyone who didn't watch the documentary), but even such small part characters like the sheriff are dead ringers for their real life counterparts.I remember watching the movie and thinking the two lawyers were miscast and seemed overly goofy. But when I saw documentary, I realized that's what they seemed like. Cool, that you're like the doc. SilentVamp had mentioned another movie based on the Loving story. I haven't seen that one yet.

[Captain Steel]

I remember watching the movie and thinking the two lawyers were miscast and seemed overly goofy. But when I saw documentary, I realized that's what they seemed like. Cool, that you're like the doc. SilentVamp had mentioned another movie based on the Loving story. I haven't seen that one yet.

It's funny - I noticed when they show the lawyers out on the street in the documentary, they look a lot like the actors in the movie (especially with the hats and clothes). I also liked that parts of the movie were word for word reenactments of real life interviews - which again you wouldn't know unless you saw the documentary. I appreciate attention to detail. Unfortunately, in this case, accuracy didn't help make for a better movie.

I'm not saying they should have injected false drama like a lot of historical movies do. I hate false facts being put into history movies just to try to make them more exciting, and thus rewriting history. Just that they could have easily focused on different aspects to help the story move a bit more (from a film perspective, that is).

[Citizen Rules]

http://www.designsponge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/the-pajama-game-4.jpg

The Pajama Game (1957)
Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen
Writers: George Abbott, Richard Bissell (screenplay)
Cast: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney
Genre: Musical, Romance

About: A pajama factory worker (Doris Day) who heads the workers union in the factory, falls in love with the new superintendent (John Raitt), who has just fired her! He refuses to meet the workers' demand for a pay rise, which causes a rift in their budding romance.



Review: I have a new favorite! I loved how this movie felt like going to a Broadway show. I don't recall ever seeing a move that was literally lifted from the stage, and put onto film. Even most of the original cast and production crew came along to make the movie.

I'm so enthusiastic about this movie, that I did something I normally never do...I watched it twice, two nights in a row. You know what? It's much better the second time around, as I knew the songs and the characters and the story line..so I could focus more on the sheer fun of the movie. And this is a fun, splashy movie, with simple but very efficient sets, that adds to the Broadway feel of the movie.

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The Pajama Game does something I've never seen in another movie, it uses lighting fixtures as part of the set decor. Think about it, when is the last time you seen a light bulb in a movie, on, and being deliberately used as part of the set decoration. Almost every scene in this movie includes ceiling lights, desk lights and neon signs! The neon is everywhere and adds a brilliant splash to the film.

What's more splashy in a 1950s movie than neon? The costumes! Just look at the women and what they are wearing. They're very colorful, with stripes and patterns and polka dots. They're wearing contrasting color as accents and they're chic and at the same time frivolously riotous looking. Lots of visual eye candy in this film.

I loved all the numbers especially Racing With the Clock done at the start of the film in the factory and later reprise during the work slowdown. It's a great song and the choreography with the movement of the workers, was neat to see.

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Loved the big splashy picnic scene and the song Once A Year Day. Carol Haney is a real stand out in this number and in the show stopper Steam Heat, and in Hernando's Hideaway, which is so creatively choreographed by Bob Fosse, the silhouetted chorus lit by matches was brilliant. Carol Haney is such a talent, she's funny as heck and the liveliest character around, she's a superb dancer and while she might not match Doris Day's silky voice, she has a presence to her singing that I really liked.

I like Doris Day here, I always like Doris. She doesn't get to develop her character as much as usual, but she has some great songs. Loved the comic song, There Once Was a Man, and the heart breaking Hey There, which is a classic. Wow, Doris looked great in the picnic scene, well she looked great in the entire film, so did everywhere.

If there was one thing I wasn't big on was John Raitt, he's one helluva baritone singer, but he didn't bring much personality to the role. This is his only lead role in a movie. I wish Howard Keel could have done his part.


rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

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West Side Story ( Robert Wise, 1961)

Wow, that was epic! No wonder West Side Story won a whopping ten Oscars including:

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris - Bernado
Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno - Anita
Best Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Music Score
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Costume Design, Color
Best Sound
Best Film Editing


And I agree, it deserved to win them all! What a lavish telling of a simple, yet effective tale. Boy meets girl from the wrong side of the tracks, the romance is doomed, with tragic results. Romeo and Juliet set to a street gang musical.

The movie has so many wonderful songs that I don't know where to start. The Jet Song, where we are first introduced to the Jets on the streets was a favorite. Both the song's melody and lyrics...as well as the choreography were perfect for that scene. Very cool!

Dance at the Gym...loved it! that entire number, the colors, the movement, the song, everything about it. That was one of my favorites.

Another favorite scene was the dressmaking scene when Tony visits Maria after hours and they use the clothing mannequins in the store to tell the story of how their parents would view their love. Very charming and personal too.

Gee, Officer Krupke! ...was hilarious, loved the way it was staged and loved the lyrics to the song, very clever.
.....Gee, Officer Krupke, Krup you!
Ha! that cracked me up.

I really liked Natalie Wood in this, and I'm not her biggest fan. But here she really fits the role and made a perfectly sweet Maria.


I wasn't to keen on the way Tony was presented by Richard Beymer. I read he wasn't to happy playing Tony as the nicest, sappiest guy in the world, either. He wanted Tony to have a bit more roughness to him but the director thought otherwise. Oh well, it still works.

My favorite characters/actors was Russ Tamblyn who finally got to do a substantial role here. He was a noted dancer, strong on gymnastics which got him a part in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I thought he made a pretty good leader of the Jets too. Same for the Sharks head man, Bernado - George Chakiris, he was really intense, which fit the movie well. Also I liked Rita Moreno here and the old candy store owner too.

All right that's enough writing....West Side Story is close to perfection. The look, the song numbers, the choreography and the tragic love story. Sublime.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

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My Bakery in Brooklyn (2016)
Bakery in Brooklyn


Director: Gustavo Ron
Writers: Gustavo Ron, Francisco Zegers
Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Krysta Rodriguez, Griffin Newman, Ernie Sabella,
Blanca Suárez, Ward Horton
Genre: Comedy, Romance

About: Two cousins, take over their aunt's bakery in Brooklyn...but can't get along and have different ideas on how to save the business from the bank. Romance follows for everyone!

Review: A movie so good they named it twice, well not really;) Regardless of which title you use, this 2016 movie pans out a bit fluffy, with way too many nuts and not enough crunch. Oh sure the film looks great, the bakery is way cool and the on location street filming in Brooklyn never looked better. But gawd did I hate the characters! Who ranged from annoying to hyperbolic. Especially Krysta Rodriguez, the dark haired girl. She drove me crazy! I kept thinking she would make a great female stalker in some horror film.

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The cousins have a food fight reminiscent of screw ball comedies of the past.

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The aforementioned plot also involves three romances, Aimee Teegarden (the cousin with the shorter blonde hair) falls for the bank guy who comes to foreclose on the bakery. Meanwhile her insane cousin with short dark hair falls for a colorful TV chief who really can't bake at all. Then there's my only favorite character Daniella who's played by Spanish actress Blanca Suárez in her first America movie. Hopefully she gets some better scripts to work with in the future.

The plot is zany with nods to Arsenic and Old Lace in one of the subplots.

I didn't like this, but my wife did. So maybe this is what they call a 'chick flick', if so I say it needed some big explosions!

rating_2


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[cricket]

Glad you enjoyed My Darling Clementine, one of my favorites from the 40's so far.

I couldn't stand Mary Poppins or West Side Story, but I liked Meet Me in St. Louis.

It's been many years since I've seen The Wanderers and I'd like to see it again. It's one of Mark's favorites if you didn't know.

When they came out when I was a kid, I liked Jaws and Jaws 2 about the same. Not sure if I'd like part 2 that much now.

[Citizen Rules]

Glad you enjoyed My Darling Clementine, one of my favorites from the 40's so far.

I couldn't stand Mary Poppins or West Side Story, but I liked Meet Me in St. Louis.

It's been many years since I've seen The Wanderers and I'd like to see it again. It's one of Mark's favorites if you didn't know.

When they came out when I was a kid, I liked Jaws and Jaws 2 about the same. Not sure if I'd like part 2 that much now. @SilentVamp (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=87364) told me about My Darling Clementine. I thought I might have seen it years ago, but nope that was the first watch. I guess just the title sounded familiar to me.

No I didn't know The Wanderers was one of Mark's favorites. I must have looked at his Top 10 movies at some time in the past.

The funny thing is I went to the library and picked up a whole stack of DVDs and seen The Wanderers in there, and I didn't remember even requesting it, nor did I recognize the title. I must have seen someone mention it here at MoFo and then requested it weeks ago.

So now I got the gang movie bug. I need to write my review of Rumble Fish.

[cricket]

It's not in his top 10 but it's a favorite.

[Citizen Rules]

Oh OK, I don't read the Movie Tab II where he post at. I really should check that thread out...I'm probably missing a lot of great stuff.

[Citizen Rules]

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Rumble Fish (1983)


Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: S.E. Hinton (novel), S.E. Hinton (screenplay)
Cast: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane

About: Rusty James, is a street wise hoodlum with lots of muscle but not much brains. Rusty James idolizes his older brother Motorcycle Boy. Rusty James longs for the old days of street gangs, which was before his time.

Background: In 1983 while directing The Outsiders, director Francis Ford Coppola co-wrote the screenplay for Rumble Fish along with S.E. Hinton who had written the novel.

Coppola used many of the same cast from The Outsiders...But unlike The Outsiders which was a traditional Hollywood style of story telling....Rumble Fish was made as an art house/experimental existential film...shot in high contrast black & white with off kilter compositions, reminiscent of early Film Noir films. The music score too was unique featuring a one of a kind percussion score by Stewart Copeland.

The result is an unconventional film that tells a story by visual and aural suggestion, as opposed to a more direct method. I liked it, but it's a challenge to fully appreciate it.

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A young Laurence Fishburne on the left, with Tom Waits middle and Matt Dillon right.


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Nicholas Cage in one of his first movies, along with Diane Lane


Part of the allure of this film is the young cast, of mostly unknowns: Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn
and Laurence Fishburne. Along with such established actors as Dennis Hopper and of course Mickey Rourke. Though in 1983 none of them were really house hold names.

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The premise itself is interesting. Rusty James (Matt Dillion) is the younger brother of the neighbor hood hero Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), who's left the neighborhood for good, or so it seems. Which causes Rusty James to idolize his brother and the older generations of street gangs. The street gangs are gone, according to the movie having been replaced by dope on the streets. What makes Rusty James interesting is, he's not to bright, yet thinks he can grow up to be just like his brother, who's to much of a deep thinker for his own good.

Enough said. If you're a cinema buff, you should watch this.

rating_3_5

[Captain Steel]

Never saw Rumble Fish, but dang! Diane Lane was hot! ;)

[Citizen Rules]

Man! you got to see that. Matt Dillon starts having visions of Diane Lane floating around in her undies! I'm not kidding... It's kind of a cool film...but I was thinking of something you said when I watched it, as the score reminded me of your favorite movie score, Birdman:eek:

[Citizen Rules]

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3 Godfathers (John Ford, 1948)


Director: John Ford
Writers: Laurence Stallings & Frank S. Nugent (sceenplay)
Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr, Ward Bond
Genre: Drama, Western

Three outlaws blow into a dusty western town to rob the local bank...but before they can, they meet the friendly sheriff and his wife who serve them coffee. But after the bank hold up, the sheriff isn't as amicable, as he chases them through the torturous Death Valley desert. While the desperado ride for the only water source in miles, the sheriff beats them there, cutting off their water. Forced to turn back and dying of thirst they come upon a lone wagon with a dying woman. Her last request is that they become the babies godfather's and care for it.

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Left to right: Harry Carry Jr, Mildred Natwick, John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz


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Character actor Hank Worden, on the left...brings a lightness to the story with his colorful portrayal of a not to bright Deputy. Right side, veteran actor Ward Bond brings both gentile good naturedness and later shows his staunch determination in his role as sheriff.


John Ford originally directed a silent version of the same story, called Marked Men back in 1919, the film is now lost. There's also a 1916 and a 1936 movies of the same story, with the same title.

John Ford broke with tradition and shot the 3 Godfathers in Technicolor. What stands out to me is the brutal beauty of the Death Valley and Mohave deserts where Ford filmed. Which was quite a feat to take the huge Technicolor cameras on location. The pay off is a rich looking film with one of the stars being the landscape. And as this is a Ford film he gets the most out of cinematographer.

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The Duke gets to care for a baby in one of his more unusual movie roles.


John Wayne, is likeable here and this is more of a gentle film that many of Wayne's movies. It has a nice story, with excitement too.

rating_3_5+

[Gideon58]

[CENTER]http://www.designsponge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/the-pajama-game-4.jpg

The Pajama Game (1957)
[LEFT]Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen
Writers: George Abbott, Richard Bissell (screenplay)
Cast: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney
Genre: Musical, Romance



Terrific review, hard to argue with anything you've said here.

[Gideon58]

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3 Godfathers (John Ford, 1948)


Director: John Ford
Writers: Laurence Stallings & Frank S. Nugent (sceenplay)
Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr, Ward Bond
Genre: Drama, Western



Never been into John Wayne but I enjoyed your review.

[Citizen Rules]

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)


Director: Alexander Hall
Writers: Sidney Buchman & Seton I. Miller (screen play)
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes,
Edward Everette Horton
Genre: Drama Fantasy Romance

A boxing champion Joe Pendleton (Robert Montgomery) crashes his plane and was meant to live...but due to a mistake made in the afterlife he dies 50 years too soon. Joe then finds himself in the afterlife where he meets a bungling angel (Edward Everst Horton) who's responsible for his predicament...To straighten out the mess, Joe finds the head angel, Mr Jordan (Claude Rains), who takes Joe to Earth to look for a replacement body. They find one too in a recently murdered millionaire.

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1941's Here Comes Mr Jordan, ushered in a new sub-genre, fantasy afterlife movies and paved the way for a number of films all dealing with the afterlife. Including: A Guy Named Joe (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035959) (1943), Down to Earth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039337) (1947), The Bishop's Wife (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039190) (1947), It's a Wonderful Life (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650) (1946) and Stairway to Heaven (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038733) (1946).

Part drama, part romance, part comedy and a whole lot of fun! Robert Montgomery was up to the task as the uneducated boxer stuck in the body of a Wall Street tycoon, but the film is stolen by Claude Rains who's calm, cool and collected, head angel. Rains is really good in this. So too is the lovey Evelyn Keyes. And for some zany comedy we get both the veteran character actor Edward Everst Horton and James Gleason as the boxing promoter.

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Publicity photo from left to right: Rita Johnson, Robert Montgomery and Evelyn Keyes


Don't think of this as a boxing movie, it isn't. In fact the boxing scene equals only a couple minutes of the film. The heart of this film is the inner self will always shine through and true love can always find a way...even if it's in a different body!


rating_3_5+

[gbgoodies]

Here Comes Mr Jordan is a great movie. Have you seen the 1978 remake, Heaven Can Wait starring Warren Beatty? It's one of the few cases where the remake is just as good as the original.

[Citizen Rules]

Here Comes Mr Jordan is a great movie. Have you seen the 1978 remake, Heaven Can Wait starring Warren Beatty? It's one of the few cases where the remake is just as good as the original. Hey GBG:p Nope I haven't ever seen it, but I'm planning too. If for no other reason than to see all the 'hip' 1978 styles and cars. Kind of like a time machine taking me back to all the trendy stuff that happened when I was in school....and can't remember:)

[Gideon58]

Hey GBG:p Nope I haven't ever seen it, but I'm planning too. If for no other reason than to see all the 'hip' 1978 styles and cars. Kind of like a time machine taking me back to all the trendy stuff that happened when I was in school....and can't remember:)

The 1978 film is absolutely incredible Citizen, I know you would like it...Warren Beatty received three Oscar nominations for co-writing, co-directing, and outstanding lead actor and he has never been more charismatic or likable onscreen. There is a review of it in my thread somewhere.

[Gideon58]

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)


Director: Alexander Hall
Writers: Sidney Buchman & Seton I. Miller (screen play)
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes,
Edward Everette Horton
Genre: Drama Fantasy Romance



Great review Citizen...have always wanted to see this because I love the 78 film so much...I don't know if you're aware but Joe Pendleton is a pro football player in the remake and the way he dies is different too, but the rest of the story is very loyal to the original.

[Gideon58]

Man! you got to see that. Matt Dillon starts having visions of Diane Lane floating around in her undies! I'm not kidding... It's kind of a cool film...but I was thinking of something you said when I watched it, as the score reminded me of your favorite movie score, Birdman:eek:

Definitely adding Rumble Fish to my watchlist, primarily because it was written by the same woman who wrote The Outsiders, a book and movie I adore. One of the rare instances where the film version of a book was just as good as the book.

[Citizen Rules]

Definitely adding Rumble Fish to my watchlist, primarily because it was written by the same woman who wrote The Outsiders, a book and movie I adore. One of the rare instances where the film version of a book was just as good as the book.
Same director too, Francis Ford Coppola. He shot both at around the same time, in 1983. Some of the same cast are in both movies. But that's where the similarities end. The Outsiders is done as a conventional story telling movie, while Rumble Fish is more of an experimental art film. It's well worth watching as much of the emotion of the film is delivered not in story but in the unique percussion score by Stewart Copland and the equally unique cinematography. Look for smoke being used in just about every scene.

[Citizen Rules]

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Ordinary People (1980)


Director: Robert Redford
Writers: Judith Guest (novel), Alvin Sargent (screenplay)
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Genre: Drama

In the aftermath of a families double tragedy: the accidental death of the oldest son, and a suicide attempt by the other son, the Jarrett family becomes strained to the breaking point.

1980's Ordinary People, marks the directorial debut of Robert Redford, and launched the acting careers of newcomers Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern.

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Judith Guest. A book so frank about the subject of dysfunctionalism, sex, suicide and depression that it was the most banned book by schools in the 1990's.

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Director Robert Redford removes the more seedy aspects of the novel, giving us a pure study of an 'ordinary' family that is dealing with an extraordinary crisis. This crisis has taken the already difficulties present in the families relationships and brought them to a head. And this is what makes Ordinary People such a powerful story, it's told in a realistic and brutally simple style of story telling.

Of all the movies I've watched this is one of the very few that makes me feel like I'm not watching a movie but am actually there witnessing the lives of this people. People who are real, and a family not unlike countless other families.

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Ordinary People earned Robert Redford an Academy Award for Best Picture and for Best Director. And the film won an Oscar for Best Writing, Alvin Sargent.

Newcomer, Timothy Hutton picked up an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. And both Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch were nominated for an Academy Awards.

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I really must say Mary Tyler Moore gave an outstanding performance, playing against type as the bitter mother who bottles her emotions up, and keeps her youngest son at arms distances.

Mary deserved the Oscar! Sissy Spacek won for Coal Miner's Daughter a good performance too, but Mary Tyler Moore's portrayal was nothing short of sublime.

Timothy Hutton who's the surviving youngest son, guilt ridden and suicidal, nails his performance by keeping himself grounded. None of the actors go 'big', they all stay within the boundaries of Redford's vision of a simple telling of very ordinary people...and that's the films power.

One way Redford achieves 'less is more' is by utilizing the actors body language. How they stand and hold their bodies in relation to each other, speaks volumes.

Judd Hirsch plays a psychologist and his therapy sessions with the troubled suicidal son (Timothy Hutton), not only gives us insight into the guilt complex of Hutton's character but also sheds light on the problems with his mother and father and their relationship. All three family members are fractured in their own way.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Passengers (2016)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer: Jon Spaihts
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen
Genre: Sci Fi, Adventure, Drama, Romance

A huge automated spacecraft carrying 5000 colonist to a distant planet has a malfunction and as a result one of those 5000 colonist in hibernation is awakened prematurely.

The man (Chris Pratt) finds he's completely alone on the ship with everyone else still in hibernation. Even worse the ship won't reach it's destination for 90 years...and there's no way for him to go back into hibernation.

I really, liked this! I expected the worse, I thought this would be some silly non-stop action movie like the current crop of Star Trek films. Instead I found a more introspective film that explores what it would mean to be alone for one's entire lifetime on a ship with 5000 people all in hibernation.

More so, it explores what would someone do when they fall in love with a complete stranger (Jennifer Lawrence) and become fixated on her after reading her journals. Bringing the lonely man to a decision, does he awaken the woman so that he wouldn't be alone anymore? But In doing so he's condemning her to spend her days on a empty space craft, alone with him.

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I must say both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence were very good here. Yeah I know, JL has done a bunch of those teen movies, but she's a good actress given a good script to work with and Passengers gives her a very intelligent, thought provoking script.

Passengers is not a techno-babble sci fi, in fact it's hardly sci fi in the classic sense. It focuses on the human longing for connection and explores what some might call 'stalking' when a man goes to the extreme to meet a woman he believes he loves, but has never meet.

In some ways this reminds of a cross between Castaway and Titanic in it's exploration of the human soul. Though the film is different enough to stand on it's own feet.

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One intelligent twist is, there's someone for the man to talk to, an android bartender played by Michael Sheen. This plot device allows the man to talk about how it feels to be so alone and to want something so bad, (the woman in hibernation) that he considers doing what he knows is wrong. We can see his frustration and obsession growing as he interacts with the amicable, but mostly unaware android bartender. We feel he's wrong, but we can understand it too.

The ship looks cool both the exterior and more importantly the interior. It's vast, and impressive, the CG looked good as the ship looked real and not all CG. I don't want to give away the plot but I will say this is one of the best sci fis I've seen in years, and that includes Interstellar.

rating_4_5

[Swan]

Whoa! High score. This seems like one of those flicks that despite being panned critically, seems to have quite a few fans. I know several people in real life and virtually who liked it a lot. I may have to see it.

[Citizen Rules]

Hey Swan, I am not a fan of JL, but despite that I liked the movie and her. So maybe I am a JL fan:D

[nebbit]

I :love: Ordinary People :yup:

I thought Passengers was to predictable :yup:

[Gideon58]

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Ordinary People (1980)


[FONT=Georgia]Director: Robert Redford
Writers: Judith Guest (novel), Alvin Sargent (screenplay)
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Genre: Drama



I knew we were kindred spirits Citizen...finally someone who agrees with me about Mary Tyler Moore...Spacek was terrific, but Mary was just amazing in this movie.

[Citizen Rules]

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Sophie and the Rising Sun (2016)


Director: Maggie Greenwald
Writers: Maggie Greenwald (screenplay), Augusta Trobaugh (novel)
Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Takashi Yamaguchi, Margo Martindale
Genre: Drama

Sophie and the Rising Sun is a very small indie film, that's not well known, but it should be. Director & Writer Maggie Greenwald takes us on a journey back to 1941 to a sleepy little fishing village called Salty Creek, located along the waterways of South Carolina. Into this quiet town where gossip is the only exciting thing going on, comes a bus, that bus deposits a stranger to the back waters town. The man is badly beaten and unconscious, he looks different than the white and black folk of the town, he's Asian. The town folk people aren't sure what to make of him and decide he's Chinese.

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As we hear the stirrings of World War II and here of the attack on Pearl Harbor, an elderly lady who is caring for the man learns his true identity....he's Japanese.

What follows is tension as the town people turn hostile towards the man who's now recovered and working as a gardener. But one woman Sophie is not afraid.

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I really enjoyed this movie, it's shot so beautiful that it looks like a painting, it flows very smoothly and yet the subject matter of racism against a Japanese American is powerful. And yet the film never gets 'loud'. It's a real masterpiece of film making and of story telling. I think this is very special and I plan on watching more of the directors movies.

rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32458&stc=1&d=1499652004Jaws 3-D (1983)

Director: Joe Alves
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett Jr, Leia Thompson
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller

Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid) now grown, runs into shark problems at Florida's Sea World theme park. Along with his girlfriend...marine biologist (Bess Armstrong) they must stop a 35-foot Great White shark that has become trapped in the park's artificial lagoon.

Not as bad as you might think...This third installment in the Jaws franchise is often panned as being really, really bad...but guess what? I liked it. The key is knowing that the 3D effects on a 2D TV are going to look silly! But back in the day this was cutting edge for 3D and when properly viewed in the theater the 3D effects were pretty cool.

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That's a 3D severed arm.


Jaws 3D is a fun film, that in some ways isn't as tense as the first two. What it does right is give us some believable characters filmed on location in Florida at Sea Word.

I really liked Dennis Quaid paired with Bess Armstrong, they made a good team and along with other 80's greats Lou Gossett Jr and Leia Thompson, we have an interesting cast, that truth be told is more interesting than the shark itself.

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The good guys: Dennis Quaid and Bess Armstrong.

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The bad guys...munch, munch, munch.


Jaws 3D feels like one of those fun 1950s monster movies, more than a thriller-horror. Adding to the feel is that only the bad guys & jerks get eaten by the shark. Which is very different than the first movie and made this more of a popcorn flick where I'm rooting for the shark!

rating_3

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32458&stc=1&d=1499652004Jaws 3-D (1983)

[FONT=Georgia]Director: Joe Alves
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett Jr, Leia Thompson
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller



https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32461&stc=1&d=1499652042

The bad guys...munch, munch, munch.
[/CENTER]

Jaws 3D feels like one of those fun 1950s monster movies, more than a thriller-horror. Adding to the feel is that only the bad guys & jerks get eaten by the shark. Which is very different than the first movie and made this more of a popcorn flick where I'm rooting for the shark!

rating_3

LMAO!!!

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32458&stc=1&d=1499652004Jaws 3-D (1983)

[FONT=Georgia]Director: Joe Alves
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett Jr, Leia Thompson
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller



And whatever happened to Simon MacCorkindale?

[Citizen Rules]

And whatever happened to Simon MacCorkindale?I know I haven't seen him in anything, come to think of it I didn't even know who he was until I seen Jaws 3D. I just checked IMDB and he hasn't worked for 7 years. Maybe he retired? Before that it looks like he has been in television.

[Gideon58]

He was a fixture on TV and in the movies during the 70's and 80's and dropped off the edge of the planet...didn't even notice until you mentioned him in your review and realized I hadn't seen him in anything in years.

[gbgoodies]

And whatever happened to Simon MacCorkindale?


He starred in a terrible TV show called "Manimal". It was so bad that it probably killed his career.

[Gideon58]

Donnie Darko The Director's Cut


http://www.outlawvern.com/posters/donnie_darko_directors_cut_2004.jpg

[COLOR=#000066][COLOR=#000000][SIZE=3]Never judge a movie by it's cover, that's what I did. I requested this from my library a couple months ago. I took one look at the cover and seen a young guy with an ax over his shoulder and said to myself, 'nope I'm not watching a slasher horror film.' So I never watched it.



Frankly, I have never understood this movie, but if you liked it Citizen, I am willing to give it anothere chance.

[Citizen Rules]

Frankly, I have never understood this movie, but if you liked it Citizen, I am willing to give it anothere chance. If you try watching the theatrical cut, if you can find it.

[Gideon58]

OK

[Citizen Rules]

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Tobacco Road (John Ford, 1941)


Director: John Ford
Writers: Erskine Caldwell(novel), Jack Kirkland(stage play), Nunnally Johnson (screen play)
Cast: Charley Grapewin, Gene Tierney, Marjorie Rambeau, Dana Andrews
Genre: Comedy, Drama

The greatest story ever ruined by a director. John Ford laid an egg. A great big ostrich sized egg...with his inane, madcap comedy, Tobacco Road... 'tat aint funny' and 'aint much bout nuthin'

Based on the novel and the wildly successful stage play that ran for 10 years. The original play of Tobacco Road was filled with dismal, despicable people who lived in squalor and behaved atrociously, it was cutting edge and shocked a lot of people with it's depiction of depravity.

Brooks Atkinson wrote: "The theatre has never sheltered a fouler or more degenerate parcel of folks than the hardscrabble family of Lester...It is the blunt truth of the characters he [the writer] is describing, and it leaves a malevolent glow of poetry... As Jeeter Lester, Henry Hull gives the performance of his career. Plays as clumsy and rudderless as 'Tobacco Road' seldom include so many scattered items that leave such a vivid impression."

From the original biting social commentary play, Ford then made a madcap comedy where the characters act more like figures from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Especial maddening is the character Dude the 16 year old son who screams and hollers like he's going into convulsions. Dude makes Jerry Lewis look downright sedate. Dude's ridiculous caterwauling ruins what otherwise might have been a watchable movie.

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The movie is set in Depression era 1930s Georgia and centers around the Lester family. Pa Jeeter is a lazy lout who hasn't worked in years, and who spends his days idyll setting on the front porch with the rest of his starving, dirt poor family. His family includes his wife Ada, the fore mentioned son Dude, and the old maid daughter who no one wants, Ellie May (played by beauty Gene Tierney). When the bank comes to foreclose the property Jeeter must scheme to get $100 or lose the farm.

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Gene Tierney has top billing along with Dana Andrews, and both only had a few minutes on screen and just a couple of lines.

Tobacco Road is still worth watching, if for no other reason than to spark one's imagination at just how impressive the original stage play must have been. Or you could just read the book.

rating_2_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Mystery in Mexico ( Robert Wise,1948)


Director: Robert Wise
Writers: Lawrence Kimble (screen play), Muriel Roy Bolton (story)
Cast: William Lundigan, Jacqueline White, Ricardo Cortez, Jacqueline Dalya
Genre: Crime Mystery
Length: 66minutes

After an expensive diamond necklace disappears, insurance detective Steve Hastings is sent to Mexico to investigate. The prime suspect is a fellow insurance agent who disappeared while in Mexico along with the necklace. On the flight down to Mexico, Steve meets Victoria who claims to be visiting her brother, the missing agent.

Early in his career Robert Wise directed this forgotten gem from RKO studios. RKO specialized in shorter, more affordable to make movies, this one comes in at only 66 minutes. When RKO upped their budget for this film, Wise decided to do something unique for the time, film on location in Mexico City.

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From left to right: Jacqueline White, William Lundigan, Jacqueline Dayla and Ricardo Cortez.


What resulted is a very authentic little film with lots of personality thanks to the cast. Mystery in Mexico isn't really that much of a mystery, nor is it an action film, or a twisting and turning noir.

Like many of Robert Wise's best loved films this movie shows a lot of character charm and interaction. I cared more for the second string story of the romance than of the actual mystery itself.

The film moves along at a nice clip and one is treated to a gentile noir, light on noirness but full of charm.

I liked it so much I might watch it again!

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

Hmm:indifferent:, nobody familiar with those last few movies that I reviewed? OK, maybe this next one that I'm about to write will be of interest....I hope.

[Citizen Rules]

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Christine(2016)

Director: Antonio Campos
Writer: Craig Shilowich
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts
Genre: Biography, Drama

Christine (2016), the movie is a bio-pic about the real life reporter, Christine Chubbuck who worked in a newsroom in the early 1970s and fought to maintain integrity in news reporting, while her boss who's concerned with profits, wants her to do more 'blood and guts' reporting. But it's her very personal battle with depression that makes this movie so memorable.

Director Antonio Campos keeps the focus tightly on Christine, while limiting insight into the other characters. This works well as the other members of the news room appear to us as a mystery, indeed Christine too feels she can't connect to these people. By keeping their stories to a bare minimum the director puts us into the head of the troubled young news reporter and we feel as suspect about her co workers intentions, as she does.

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Rebecca Hall does one helluva a job transforming herself into the intensely despondent, Christine. She says so much, just with a glance, she extrudes a turbulent uneasiness...it's all in her facial expressions and body language. It's a fine performance, Oscar worthy.

What also impressed me was the attention to detail in the 1974 circa sets. I mean every little background detail in the sets looks authentic 1974...including the way the film is processed, it has a washed out look that is very period piece looking. It's impressive work.

Christine Chubbuck life is the basis for the 1976 movie Network, fans of that movie need to see Christine (2016).

rating_3_5++

[Citizen Rules]

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Bird on a Wire (1990)


Director: John Badham
Cast: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke
Genre: Action, Comedy

A rich lawyer (Goldie Hawn) runs into an old boyfriend who she thought was killed in a plane crash 15 years earlier. The boyfriend (Mel Gibson) has been in the FBI's relocation program, ever since he informed on a pair of vicious drug dealers (David Carradine & Bill Duke).

What can I say? It's Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, together!... in a buddy action film, with lots of comic scenes included. It's big! It has a crazy plane ride and a helicopter doing loop-to-loops. It's got explosions, motorcycle chases. Mel even gets his legs bashed when they're hanging outside of Goldie's BMW convertible as she flies down the street and his leg meets with a big truck's windshield! Ouch! It was pretty funny, and that's why you watch this movie for early 90s fun!

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They really knew how to have fun with movies back in the 80s and early 90s. This is a fun, fast paced, action flick, that is meant for entertainment and it is entertaining.

Mel Gibson is great in this and so is Goldie Hawn (in an annoying way). Well she annoys Mel's character too, so I'd say she did a good job here!

Don't miss the high speed motorcycle escape down Fan Pan Alley which is a real place located in 'China Town' Victoria, B.C. Canada...And I've been there too! The best part was the huge multi level zoo set complete with Tigers, Baboons and two suspension bridges. It has to be seen to be believed.

rating_3

[Joel]

Always good to read your reviews of my favorite eras.

[Citizen Rules]

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Above and Beyond (1952)


Directors: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Writers: Beirne Lay Jr (story), Melvin Frank
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore
Genre: Biography, Drama

The story of Army Colonel Paul Tibbetts who overseen project Blue Light which was dedicated to the development and deployment of the worlds first atomic bomb, that was dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.

Wow, powerful stuff! Above and Beyond mixes Col Tibbetts (Robert Taylor) story with his personal life as told by his then wife Lucy (Eleanor Parker). She narrates the movie with a voice over, giving us background into how the overwhelming job of overseeing the development the B-29 conversion unit at Wendover Field, Utah, was accomplished.

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Handled respectfully, the subject matter of creating and dropping the atom bomb on Japan was handled quite soberly and we never see 'hurray for our side' or 'let's give them hell'...in fact I was surprised to see how somber Paul Tibbetts and the rest of the flight crew were when they dropped the atomic bomb, it's a powerful moment.

Fairly factual, the movie is fairly factual and many of the events you see actually happened. In one early scene while Tibbetts is still flying B-27 bombers out of England, he and his flight squadron are ordered to fly very low over Germany which results in several of the bombers being lost.

Tibbetts then stands up to the General and tells the General if he wants the planes to fly at the dangerous low level of 6000 feet then the General will have to ride with him! Well, that didn't go over well and later the same General refused to sign his promotion. I would have thought that was Hollywood make believe, but nope, it really happened.

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Robert Taylor and Elanor Parker, Robert Taylor started out as a handsome leading man in the 1930's, here an older and perhaps more world weary Taylor turns in one heck of a performance. So to does one of my favorite actresses of the 1950s, Elanor Parker. She adds a human touch that shows us the hardships the wives and families had to endure during this time, when everything was kept a secret, not even the wife of Paul Tibbetts knew about the secret bomb.

Actual B-29s, one of the stars of the movie are the planes! As this was made in 1952 there were still plenty of B-29s and we see them flying and it's quite a site to see Enola Gay airborne along with the two accomplaying camera planes, Necessary Evil and The Great Artiste...it's even more foreboding to see the city of Hiroshima gone in an instant.
rating_4

[Beatle]

http://cdn.highdefdigest.com/uploads/2014/05/30/rollerball1.jpg
Rollerball (1975)

Director: Norman Jewison
Writer: William Harrison (screenplay)
Cast: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams
Length: 125 minutes

Synopsis: In the future governments have been replaced by omni-powerful corporations. War and poverty have been eliminated and so has personal freedom. Humans have every luxury they desire but their lives are controlled by the corporations. One man, Jonathan E, a star rollerball athlete refuses to accept the status qua when he's told the corporation wants him to retire from the game.

Rollerball sounds pretty interesting, but it's not. It's merely a dressed up exploitation film with a cool premise...sadly it has no guts and nothing to say.

Besides some futuristic looking buildings, shot in Germany, the film mainly revolves around the circular rollerball track. It's like a glorified version of the old TV roller derby with some mumbo jumbo jargon about evil corporations thrown in to try and make the film seem legit.

Rollerball borrows heavily from classic sci-fi. The classical music score and the uncooperative, talking super computer is very reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And the plot idea that women are assigned to houses like furniture, comes straight out of Soylent Green. There's little that's original about Rollerball and even less of a story or character development. We never learn what motivates Johnathan E. We never dive into the underpinning of this futuristic society.

James Caan mumbles his way through the film. His character barely seems to any emotions, and not much of a brain either. Maybe he's been bopped in the head one too many times!...Or more to the point the movie lacks anything reminiscent of a good script, so Caan has nothing to say.

Rollerball is a product, like cotton candy on a hot summers eve...it leaves one with an empty feeling.

rating_2

Hi Rules. :) Returning the favour.

I haven't seen this in ages and I was also probably too young to get it, even if it's rubbish. The one thing I remember is the final confrontation scene when Caan confronts the computer, or what was it? I do like him, though.

I guess this reply of mine comforts to the film - there's little that's original about it.

[Gideon58]

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Bird on a Wire (1990)


Director: John Badham
Cast: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke
Genre: Action, Comedy



Hated this movie with a passion...Mel and Goldie made my worst onscreen chemistry list. I'm glad you liked it, but I found it silly and exhausting and didn't laugh once. Maybe I'll give it a rewatch since you seemed to like it.

[cricket]

Glad you enjoyed Passengers, a big surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I saw Jaws 3D at the movies. I only remember I didn't like it.

Finally saw Ordinary People recently, a terrific film, but not as powerful as I had hoped.

[Stirchley]

Finally saw Ordinary People recently, a terrific film, but not as powerful as I had hoped.

I have never gotten the hype with this movie & have never been able to finish it.

[Citizen Rules]

Hated this movie with a passion...Mel and Goldie made my worst onscreen chemistry list. I'm glad you liked it, but I found it silly and exhausting and didn't laugh once. Maybe I'll give it a rewatch since you seemed to like it. Well, I didn't like it that much:p I don't plan on ever rewatching it. But it was a fun popcorn movie.

Glad you enjoyed Passengers, a big surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I saw Jaws 3D at the movies. I only remember I didn't like it.

Finally saw Ordinary People recently, a terrific film, but not as powerful as I had hoped.I'm surprised you liked Passengers, but cool:up: Jaws 3D is like Bird on the Wire, a fun but silly popcorn movie. I just watched Jaws 4 The Revenge, it had some things going for it, and some against.

I have never gotten the hype with this movie & have never been able to finish it.MTM as a ice queen, what more does one need in a movie:p

[Citizen Rules]

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The Beginning or the End (1947)



Director: Norman Taurog
Writers: Robert Considine (story), Frank Wead
Cast: Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake,
Genre: Docu-drama

About: A fictionalized documentary-drama that covers the early research, development and finally the dropping of the the world's first atomic bomb.

Review: This is one strange movie! It was conceived by a very unlikely person, Donna Reed. Miss Reed along with her high school teacher who later worked at Oak Ridge on the development of the atomic bomb came up with the idea for a documentary style film using actors to demonstrate the development of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project...and much more importantly to show the audience the dangers of atomic weapons. The film's title says it all!

We see President Roosevelt aptly played by Godfrey Tearle, deciding on the dangers vs the benefits of dropping the bomb on Imperial Japan who had refused to surrender. We see Hume Croyn introducing the film to the audience as Dr. Oppenheimer. Later we see President Truman also agonizing over the hard decision to drop the bomb or invade Japan with ground troops.

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I was shocked that a film made 2 years after the war would take such a pessimistic view of atomic power and weapons while suggesting that the harnessing of the atom could be the end of mankind! For me this was a revelation as I never would have guessed there was so much opposition to the development of atomic weapons so early in the U.S. history.

Along with all the background on the Manhattan Project we get a personal story that involves two men and their wive/girlfriend and the sacrifices they have to go through.

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Audrey Totter and Beverly Tyler bring some beauty to this most serious film.


I doubt many people will watch this film today, but if you're interested in history or at lest interested in how people viewed atomic weapons after the WWII, this then would be a worthy film to watch.

rating_3_5

[Captain Steel]

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Passengers (2016)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer: Jon Spaihts
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen
Genre: Sci Fi, Adventure, Drama, Romance

A huge automated spacecraft carrying 5000 colonist to a distant planet has a malfunction and as a result one of those 5000 colonist in hibernation is awakened prematurely.

The man (Chris Pratt) finds he's completely alone on the ship with everyone else still in hibernation. Even worse the ship won't reach it's destination for 90 years...and there's no way for him to go back into hibernation.

I really, liked this! I expected the worse, I thought this would be some silly non-stop action movie like the current crop of Star Trek films. Instead I found a more introspective film that explores what it would mean to be alone for one's entire lifetime on a ship with 5000 people all in hibernation.

More so, it explores what would someone do when they fall in love with a complete stranger (Jennifer Lawrence) and become fixated on her after reading her journals. Bringing the lonely man to a decision, does he awaken the woman so that he wouldn't be alone anymore? But In doing so he's condemning her to spend her days on a empty space craft, alone with him.

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I must say both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence were very good here. Yeah I know, JL has done a bunch of those teen movies, but she's a good actress given a good script to work with and Passengers gives her a very intelligent, thought provoking script.

Passengers is not a techno-babble sci fi, in fact it's hardly sci fi in the classic sense. It focuses on the human longing for connection and explores what some might call 'stalking' when a man goes to the extreme to meet a woman he believes he loves, but has never meet.

In some ways this reminds of a cross between Castaway and Titanic in it's exploration of the human soul. Though the film is different enough to stand on it's own feet.

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One intelligent twist is, there's someone for the man to talk to, an android bartender played by Michael Sheen. This plot device allows the man to talk about how it feels to be so alone and to want something so bad, (the woman in hibernation) that he considers doing what he knows is wrong. We can see his frustration and obsession growing as he interacts with the amicable, but mostly unaware android bartender. We feel he's wrong, but we can understand it too.

The ship looks cool both the exterior and more importantly the interior. It's vast, and impressive, the CG looked good as the ship looked real and not all CG. I don't want to give away the plot but I will say this is one of the best sci fis I've seen in years, and that includes Interstellar.

rating_4_5

Watched this tonight.
Didn't plan to watch the whole thing since I started late, but I couldn't turn it off and stayed up till 4:00 am to see the end. A refreshing sci-fi.

And I liked your suggestion that it is a combination of Castaway and Titanic.

I liked this because it was a "realistic" sci-fi (no aliens or galactic empires, it contained scenarios based on real theories).

This is the movie where I said they stole the plot from my story - and though there were some remarkable similarities, my story lacked the one plot point that gave Passengers the most tension (awakening Aurora) and my story went in a completely different direction toward the third act. Wonder if she was named Aurora because that was Sleeping Beauty's name? And Jennifer Lawrence was certainly a sleeping beauty - in fact, this was the first movie I've seen her in where I really liked her and her character (but I haven't seen a lot of her movies).

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects.

I thought the reason that it came to cable so quickly was that it might have been of poor quality - but a pleasant phenomenon with sci-fi movies is that when they lack all the qualities that makes them appeal to the most general of audiences, they end up not being very popular and thus going to cable quickly. Which is a treat for those of us who enjoy more meaningful sci-fi with less laser gun battles. In this sense it reminds me of Moon (2009) although it has little else in common outside a theme about loneliness.

Now just don't tell gbgoodies that Laurence Fishburne shows up for a little while because then she might not watch it, which would be too bad because I think this is a movie she would enjoy.

[gbgoodies]

Now just don't tell gbgoodies that Laurence Fishburne shows up for a little while because then she might not watch it, which would be too bad because I think this is a movie she would enjoy.


Passengers sounds like my type of movie, and I added it to my watchlist recently after I read a few good reviews of it, but I probably won't get to it until after I finish my list for the 1940's countdown.

I don't like Laurence Fishburne, but I don't usually avoid movies just because he's in them.

[Citizen Rules]

Passengers (2016)....I liked this because it was a "realistic" sci-fi (no aliens or galactic empires, it contained scenarios based on real theories).

....Jennifer Lawrence was certainly a sleeping beauty - in fact, this was the first movie I've seen her in where I really liked her and her character (but I haven't seen a lot of her movies).

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects.

...it reminds me of Moon (2009) although it has little else in common outside a theme about loneliness... Glad to hear there's another fan of Passengers:p I knew about the movie for awhile but seen Jennifer Lawrence was in it and thought it would be another silly CG action movie aimed at tweens. No way was I going to watch it, but then I saw the trailer and it looked intriguing.

I never liked Jennifer Lawrence, not her personally of course, but her movies. She had been in a lot of lame movies. So I really went into this film thinking I'd hate it. It won me over with a haunting question, what would you do if you were stuck for life on a ship all by yourself, but discovered you could wake up a girl you had fallen for, would you do it? Geez...I thought about that but I just don't know what I would do if I was in his shoes?

This is an esoteric sci-fi that focuses on ethics, loneliness and relationships, while still delivering some dazzling and beautiful special effects. That's a good tag line! Apt too.

Passengers sounds like my type of movie, and I added it to my watchlist recently after I read a few good reviews of it, but I probably won't get to it until after I finish my list for the 1940's countdown.

I don't like Laurence Fishburne, but I don't usually avoid movies just because he's in them. Fishburne is playing agaisnt character type so you might be OK with him, plus he's only in it for a very short while. Let me know what your thoughts on Passengers are.

[gbgoodies]

Fishburne is playing against character type so you might be OK with him, plus he's only in it for a very short while. Let me know what your thoughts on Passengers are.


I'll let you know. It sounds like my type of movie, so it's pretty high on my watchlist. Hopefully I'll find time to watch it after I finish watching some more 1940's movies, but my DVR is pretty full right now, and I have to clear some movies off of there first.

[Citizen Rules]

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Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Peter Benchley(characters), Michael De Guzman (screen play)
Cast: Lorraine Gary, Michael Caine, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller

Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) the wife of Chief Brody has become a widow. After her youngest son is eaten by a Great White shark she starts to fear for the life of her oldest son Mike Brody (Lance Guest) who's now working in the Bahamas doing underwater research with a partner Jake (Mario Van Peebles). She desperately tries to convince her son that the Great White is seeking revenge on her family and wants him to stop scuba diving. He won't...but he does take her to his home in the Bahamas.

There she meets a roguish, good looking man, Michael Caine and starts a relationship. Just when things are looking better, Mike and Jake spot a huge Great White and decided to tag it for a scientific study. But the shark has other ideas!

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Not as bad as you think!, This 4th and last sequel to the classic Steven Spielberg movie is much better than it's given credit for. The cinematography is beautiful and skillfully handled. In many ways the camera work is superior to the original Jaws.

I loved the opening scene that is shot solely from the sharks perspective...we see through the eyes of the shark as it approaches the Amity island beach at twilight. The camera varies from underwater to just above the water's surface. It's haunting!

The opening shark attack is especially brutal with it's emotional impact and ferocity. The entire film has a quality about it's production that the previous sequels lacked.

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What blew me away was the performance by Lorraine Gary. She was in the original Jaws and in Jaws 2, and in both those movies she never really stood out..here she gets a chance to shine. She's a very likable actress and that's something I didn't notice about her before.

She was one of my favorite characters in the movie. The other favorite was Michael Caine who's quite personable as the roguish and mysterious pilot. There relationship made the film more than just a quick bite to eat.

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I wish I could say, I liked the actors who played her son Mike and his partner Jake, but they were both boring, with a capital B. Mario Van Peebles bad Caribbean accent was more annoying than a sun burn in winter. And Lance Guest who plays the son Mike, was lack luster.

This was filmed on location in the Bahamas and at Martha's Vineyard and that alone made the film look authentic. Like I said this is a much better Jaws sequel than people give it credit for. I liked it.

rating_3

[gbgoodies]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32709&stc=1&d=1500429982

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Peter Benchley(characters), Michael De Guzman (screen play)
Cast: Lorraine Gary, Michael Caine, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles
Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller

rating_3_5


I'm surprised that you gave this movie such a high rating. Just the concept that the shark is out for revenge and followed her to The Bahamas was ridiculous.

I usually like Michael Caine, but IMO this was one of his worst movies.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm surprised that you gave this movie such a high rating. Just the concept that the shark is out for revenge and followed her to The Bahamas was ridiculous.

I usually like Michael Caine, but IMO this was one of his worst movies.Well after giving Jaws 3D a 3 I had no where to go with my rating but up:p

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32721&stc=1&d=1500483630
The Black Hole (1979)

Director: Gary Nelson
Writers: Jeb Rosebrook & Bob Barbash (story)
Cast: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, Joseph Bottoms
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

1979's The Black Hole is Disney's attempt to cash in on the Star Wars phenomena. The movie rips off several key ideas from Star Wars, most notable are the two 'cute' talking robots that look like R2D2. The lead robot sounds suspiciously like C3P0 with a soft spoken British actor Roddy McDowall providing voice. V.I.N.CENT as the bot is called, even has the same know-it-all pretentiously annoying personality of C3PO.

Then there's the running laser blaster battle in the corridor. The laser blaster sound effects sound just like the famous scene from the first Star Wars. If all this isn't enough the digitally recorded music score (reportedly the world's first) has one score for the laser blaster fight scenes that sounds very similar to the triumph score used in Star Wars. The piece is called 'Laser (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-black-hole-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/id211194337)' Give it a listen.

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The movie itself ranks up there as one of the most stupidest sci fi's ever made. It's bad enough that they get the most elemental science facts wrong, like being able to breathe in space! and meteorites that glow red hot like a sun!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32720&stc=1&d=1500483570


"In 2014, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson deemed the film to be the least scientifically accurate movie of all time."


But the worst is the lack luster script and acting that is just this side of a two dimensional universe. The only actor who had life in him was Maximilian Schell. Schell plays a colorful mad scientist, who's hell bent - literally - to travel through a black hole with his ship of robots...very reminiscent of Disney's Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Perhaps some of the dismal acting can be attributed to Disney having the entire movie looped in the studio. It's hard for an actor to deliver their lines naturally if they are watching themselves on a screen and trying to match the movement of their mouths. Looping a film is best not done.

The one saving grace is the visuals which really do look good. But that's not enough to keep the film from slipping down a gravity well.

rating_1_5

[Captain Steel]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32721&stc=1&d=1500483630
The Black Hole (1979)



I've always had a love / hate relationship with this movie. The hate part is mostly from the things you mentioned, the love part was that it came out at a time when I was getting heavy into sci-fi.

I remember after it came out I made a Mad-magazine style comic lampoon of it (I think I called it "The Black Bowl").

Good call on Schnell as Captain Nemo - no wonder his character seemed so familiar.

[Citizen Rules]

I've always had a love / hate relationship with this movie. The hate part is mostly from the things you mentioned, the love part was that it came out at a time when I was getting heavy into sci-fi.

I remember after it came out I made a Mad-magazine style comic lampoon of it (I think I called it "The Black Bowl").

Good call on Schnell as Captain Nemo - no wonder his character seemed so familiar. I'm in the mood for more bad/weird 70s-80s sci fi films. Got any recommendations?

I've seen Saturn 3 recently.

[Citizen Rules]

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Whirlpool (Otto Preminger, 1959)


Director: Otto Preminger
Writers: Ben Hecht & Andrew Solt(screenplay), Guy Endore (novel)
Cast: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer
Genre: Film-Noir


About: A well-to-do woman (Gene Tierney) suffers secretly from kleptomania, a neuroses she has hidden from her psychologist husband (Richard Conte). After she's caught shoplifting, a shady man (José Ferrer) offers to help her and convinces the store not to press charges. Grateful for the help, she lets him hypnotize her in an effort to cure her problems. Instead she founds herself at the scene of a murder with no memory of why she was there or of what happened. Soon the police suspect her of foul play.

Director Otto Preminger delivers up a suspenseful thriller noir with shades of Svengali (1931). The movie follows Gene Tierney as she helpless falls deeper under the control of a two bit hypothesis and swindler, Jose Ferrer. Fans of Hitchcock will find a lot familiar here.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32753&stc=1&d=1500517451

Gene Tierney pulls off playing a neurotic woman who doesn't know who to trust, magnificently. She was born to play this type of character who seems so real and yet there's a real distance in her eyes.

Jose Ferrer, makes one of the creepiest, misogynistic villains ever to grace the screen...and it's all in his voice! He makes one helluva a bad guy here and really creep me out with his arrogant controlling ways.

I have to give a shout out to character actor Charles Bickford as the hard boiled police chief.

Whirlpool is part of 20th Century Fox's studio Noir collection.


rating_3_5+

[gbgoodies]

I'm surprised that you gave this movie such a high rating. Just the concept that the shark is out for revenge and followed her to The Bahamas was ridiculous.

I usually like Michael Caine, but IMO this was one of his worst movies.

Well after giving Jaws 3D a 3 I had no where to go with my rating but up:p


I don't remember much about Jaws 3-D, except thinking that it was so bad that even the 3-D couldn't save it, but IMO neither of those movies deserves ratings that high.

[gbgoodies]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32721&stc=1&d=1500483630
The Black Hole (1979)

Director: Gary Nelson
Writers: Jeb Rosebrook & Bob Barbash (story)
Cast: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, Joseph Bottoms
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

rating_1_5



I've never seen the movie The Black Hole, but I have a CD that has some of the music and sound effects on it, and I thought it sounded pretty good. I guess I'll pass on watching the movie, and just listen to the music every once in a while instead.

[gbgoodies]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32751&stc=1&d=1500517432
Whirlpool (Otto Preminger, 1959)


Director: Otto Preminger
Writers: Ben Hecht & Andrew Solt(screenplay), Guy Endore (novel)
Cast: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer
Genre: Film-Noir


About: A well-to-do woman (Gene Tierney) suffers secretly from kleptomania, a neuroses she has hidden from her psychologist husband (Richard Conte). After she's caught shoplifting, a shady man (José Ferrer) offers to help her and convinces the store not to press charges. Grateful for the help, she lets him hypnotize her in an effort to cure her problems. Instead she founds herself at the scene of a murder with no memory of why she was there or of what happened. Soon the police suspect her of foul play.

Director Otto Preminger delivers up a suspenseful thriller noir with shades of Svengali (1931). The movie follows Gene Tierney as she helpless falls deeper under the control of a two bit hypothesis and swindler, Jose Ferrer. Fans of Hitchcock will find a lot familiar here.

rating_3_5+





I DVRed Whirlpool, but I haven't watched it yet, but based on your synopsis, I think I've seen this movie already. I vaguely remember the first scene with José Ferrer, so I'll probably recognize it within the first 5-10 minutes of the movie.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32751&stc=1&d=1500517432
[LEFT][CENTER]Whirlpool (Otto Preminger, 1959)


Director: Otto Preminger
Writers: Ben Hecht & Andrew Solt(screenplay), Guy Endore (novel)
Cast: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer
Genre: Film-Noir



After seeing The Man with the Golden Arm I want to see everything Preminger directed and after seeing Laura, I want to see everything Gene Tierney did...can you recommend some Gene Tierney films, Citizen?

[Citizen Rules]

I DVRed Whirlpool, but I haven't watched it yet, but based on your synopsis, I think I've seen this movie already. I vaguely remember the first scene with José Ferrer, so I'll probably recognize it within the first 5-10 minutes of the movie. Whirlpool is a remake of I Wake Up Screaming (1941) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033740/)

Have you seen that one? Both are pretty good.

EDIT: I meant to say Vicki is a remake of I Wake Up Screaming

[Citizen Rules]

After seeing The Man with the Golden Arm I want to see everything Preminger directed and after seeing Laura, I want to see everything Gene Tierney did...can you recommend some Gene Tierney films, Citizen?My favorite Gene Tierney filmisLeave Her to Heaven

After that one, I'm pretty sure you would like them all (in alphabetically order):

Heaven Can Wait (not the same story as the Warren Betty film)
Laura (which you seen, but it's always worth a rewatch)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Rex Harrison is powerful in this one)
Whirlpool (which I just reviewed a good thriller-mystery-noir)
The Razor's Edge (Tyrone Power and Gene have amazing chemistry in this)

[rauldc14]

Whirlpool sounds like something I would love. I'll have to see it at some point.

[Citizen Rules]

Whirlpool sounds like something I would love. I'll have to see it at some point. It's only 98 minutes. If you like Hitch (and I know you do!) I think you'd like it. Not saying it's shot like a Hitchcock film, it's not, it's pretty straightforward.

[Gideon58]

My favorite Gene Tierney filmisLeave Her to Heaven

After that one, I'm pretty sure you would like them all (in alphabetically order):

Heaven Can Wait (not the same story as the Warren Betty film)
Laura (which you seen, but it's always worth a rewatch)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Rex Harrison is powerful in this one)
Whirlpool (which I just reviewed a good thriller-mystery-noir)
The Razor's Edge (Tyrone Power and Gene have amazing chemistry in this)

Have always wanted to see The Ghost and Mrs. Muir...that might be my first stop...loved the TV show when I was a kid and was shocked when I learned it was based on a movie.

[Citizen Rules]

Cool:) I look forward to your review on it. The Ghost and Mrs Muir is one of the movies in the 1940s Hof Part 2 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=49452)

People seem to be really liking it, I did!

[gbgoodies]

Whirlpool is a remake of I Wake Up Screaming (1941) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033740/)

Have you seen that one? Both are pretty good.


No, I haven't seen I Wake Up Screaming (1941) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033740/), but I added it to my watchlist.

[gbgoodies]

Have always wanted to see The Ghost and Mrs. Muir...that might be my first stop...loved the TV show when I was a kid and was shocked when I learned it was based on a movie.


The movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is much better than the TV show. The TV show was more of a comedy, but the movie is more of a drama.

[Gideon58]

The movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is much better than the TV show. The TV show was more of a comedy, but the movie is more of a drama.

Oh, I know the movie was nothing like the TV show.

[Gideon58]

No, I haven't seen I Wake Up Screaming (1941) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033740/), but I added it to my watchlist.


Wasn't there another remake of I Wake Up Screaming called Vicki?

[Citizen Rules]

Wasn't there another remake of I Wake Up Screaming called Vicki? Yes there was. And I was wrong when I said Whirlpool was a remake of I Wake Up Screaming, I had it confused with Vicki which I also just watched.

[Citizen Rules]

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Vicki (1953)
Director: Harry Horner
Writers: Steve Fisher (novel), Dwight Taylor
Cast: Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters, Elliott Reid, Richard Boone
Genre: Film Noir

A beautiful New York model (Jean Peters) who's on her way to stardom in Hollywood is found murdered on the eve of her leaving for California.

The suspects are her friends: manager-promoter (Elliott Reid) who found Vicki working as a waitress. The news paper gossip columnist (Max Showalter) who used his column to promote her. An actor who once dated her and even her loyal younger sister (Jeanne Crain) is called into question by the hard nosed police detective (Richard Boone) who's hell bent to find the murderer and isn't above shady practices to get a confession.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32810&stc=1&d=1500739517
Left, Jean Peters is Vicki a New York glamour girl/model who's career is created out of thin air by a promoter and news paper columnist. Her dutiful sister is Jeanne Crain who might be in love with Vicki's promoter.


This is a damn good noir! Thanks to a near-psycho cop played to the tee by Richard Boone. He's so far off his rocker that he breaks into the suspects rooms and torments them in hope of getting a confusion.

Richard Boone gives one of the most menacing portrayals of police work, I've seen done in classic Noir. His police detective reminds me of Kirk Douglas in the Noir Detective Story (1951) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043465/).

Richard Boone and the brutal police interrogation scenes makes Vicki well worth the 90 minutes it takes to watch this little gem.

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At police headquarters, Jeanne Crain and Elliott Reed.


Elliott Reed who usually played light comedies makes a good 'nice' guy who's caught up as a murder suspect. He's very likable and gives the audience a character they can relate to. I liked the lovely Jeanne Crain who's a very skilled actress and Jean Peters who plays the murdered Vicki in flashbacks. Jean Peters was married to Howard Hughes the billionaire.

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Do you know who that is? Later he would become one of the most successful TV producers in history. Here he plays a young nervous hotel clerk ...It's Aaron Spelling


Vicki offers up a well structured film noir that starts out intense and stays that way right through the ending.

rating_3_5++

[Citizen Rules]

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Five Easy Pieces (1970)


Director: Bob Rafelson
Writer: Carole Eastman (screenplay)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush
Genre: Drama

At the 43rd Academy Awards in 1971 the youth orientated film, Five Easy Pieces, caused a bit of a stir when it was nominated for four Oscars:
Best Picture, Best Lead Actor Jack Nicholson, Best Lead Actress Karen Black and Best Screenplay...it won none of them.

Was it ripped off? Is this baby boomer cult classic really as good as some claim? Let's find out.

At the heart of the story is Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson)who's a young wreck loose, adrift and trying to find meaning to his life, as he refuses to follow in the footsteps of his wealthy family. This theme of disillusioned youth struck a cord with the then young baby boomer generation, who like Bobby Dupea was looking for more meaning to life than just the 9-5 grind. Such films were popular at the time, the most well known is Easy Rider.

Here Jack Nicholson plays a more mainstream character, but true to his acting persona is still a free spirit. And that spirited rebellious streak is what struck a note with the baby boomers who longed to chart their own course in life, disregarding conventions of the past.

So it's no surprise that one of the most celebrated parts of the film is the restaurant scene where an older waitress, who represents the older generation refuses to take Bobby's special order and staunchly says no special orders, just what's on the menu. She's adamant and inflexible. Bobby smarts off to the waitress...and when he has had enough, in an act of rage over the inflexibility of the older waitress he swipes the table with his arm knocking dishes and glasses onto the ground.

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Some would call him a hero for taking a stand and that's why this film has resonated with a generation. I can't deny Jack Nicholson is a colorful character so he fits this movie like a glove. I personally didn't find much depth to his performance as he seems so flippant in many of his movies that it's hard to take him seriously. Still his scenes with his father who just had a stroke, were very powerful.

For me what makes this film is Karen Black's performance as Rayette Jack Nicholson's waitress girl friend and mental punching bag. And verbally abuse her he does. I'd just seen Karen Black in Hitchcock's film Family Plot and there she was no more interesting than the background furniture, but here she really gets to act, and act she does.

Rayette is simple but loyal, she allows Nicholson's character to show what a lout he really is, by her being such an enabler. I couldn't help caring about her plight and yet with her pouting ways and strange make up that could scare a cat on Halloween...I ultimately believe she belonged with Bobby Dupea. They're a forlorn couple, with no future, who live for the day and hope for a better tomorrow, without ever trying to make their lives any better.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

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Cross Creek (1983)

Director: Martin Ritt
Writers: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings(novel), Dalene Young(screenplay)
Cast: Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Dana Hill
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance

In 1928 New York, a would-be writer, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings finds her dreams of writing a Gothic romance novel smashed, when the legendary literary editor Max Perkins rejects her book. Max Perkins is famous for discovering such noted authors as: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe and was the subject of a 2016 film Genius...But this is the story of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who after rejection of her writing, leaves her husband to move to the wilds of Florida where she has bought an abandoned orange grove. There she plans to work on her next novel in solitude.

Cross Creek (1983), is based on her memories titled Cross Creek. This is her story of her own life in a remote, dirt poor area of Florida, far removed from the closest town. There she encounters the poor folk who live off the land and struggling just to put food on the table.

One of the poor families she makes friends with is the Turner family who would go on to be the subject of her Pulitzer Prize winning fiction novel The Yearling. But Cross Creek is much more than just Marjorie's time with the Turners.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32833&stc=1&d=1500827797


Mary Steenburgen, plays the novelist. I liked her in this role, she brings a quiet sturdiness which aids the story. It doesn't look like this, prim and proper lady, can live in a jungle, but her tenacity and sheer stubbornness comes through the screen. Another actress might have been overbearing in this role but Mary Steenburgen is enduring and pulled me into her story. I really enjoyed this movie! And this is my second time watching it.

Filmed on location in the wilderness of Florida, the dense undergrowth and the lush greenery becomes part of the story. I have to say I was blown away by Rip Torn as Marsh Turner and Dana Hill who plays his daughter, who has found the young deer and grows attached to it.

Cross Creek is a solid movie and a must for fans of The Yearling.

rating_3_5++

[Captain Steel]

Ah, Peter Coyote - he's that actor with the unique voice (sounds a little bit like Henry Fonda).

[Citizen Rules]

Ah, Peter Coyote - he's that actor with the unique voice (sounds a little bit like Henry Fonda). He does, doesn't he. I've heard his voice on several documentaries.

I just watched a sci fi called Advantageous (2015) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3090670/)

Have you seen that one? It's a very small indie film, I liked it, but very different.

[cricket]

I've seen Five Easy Pieces about 3 times and haven't been crazy about it yet. It's been a few years now, and I feel like it's something I should love so I plan on watching it again. It at least has one of my favorite scenes.

[Citizen Rules]

I've seen Five Easy Pieces about 3 times and haven't been crazy about it yet. It's been a few years now, and I feel like it's something I should love so I plan on watching it again. It at least has one of my favorite scenes. I wasn't real hot on the movie either, I don't know if my review gave that impression? The film had it's moments of course, but I just didn't connect to it.

I think Five Easy Pieces greatest claim to fame is it's place in early 1970s cultural baby boomer phenomenon. I'm not a baby boomer, so maybe that's why I didn't connect to it.

[Camo]

I love Five Easy Pieces. That's actually my favourite Jack Nicholson performance.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Blue Dahlia (1946)


Director: George Marshall
Writer: Raymond Chandler (screenplay)
Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard DeSilva, Doris Dowling
Genre: Film noir

A Navy pilot (Alan Ladd) returns to the U.S. along with two Navy buddies: Hugh Beaumont and William Bendix. Bendix has a metal plate in his head, suffers from PTSD and is easily aggravated. Alan Ladd decides to surprise his wife at her apartment.

Much to his surprise he finds his wife having an affair with the sleazy owner of the Blue Dahlia club (Howard De Silva). In a fit of anger Alan Ladd threatens his wife and storms out of the apartment, leaving his gun on a chair. Later she turns up dead and he becomes the prime suspect. On the run he meets the disenfranchised wife of the nightclub owner, Veronica Lake.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32880&stc=1&d=1501036107
Left to right: The three Navy buddies, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont and Alan Ladd


https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32878&stc=1&d=1501036094
Alan Ladd pulls a .45 on his cheating wife Doris Dowling.


The Blue Dahlia marks the 3rd out of 4 films that Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were paired together. Along with Bogie and Bacall, Ladd and Lake were one of the most notable onscreen couples of the 40s. The two were paired because of their height. Ladd was only 5' 6" and to look taller in his films they paired him with the petite Veronica Lake who was all of 4' 11". Together they made four films:

This Gun for Hire (1942)
The Glass Key (1942)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Saigon (1948)

What makes The Blue Dahlia unique is the famed novelist Raymond Chandler wrote an original screenplay for the movie. It was his first original screenplay and originally the ending was quite different but a change was forced due to concerns of the U.S. Navy. Not surprisingly then, the end scene is the weakest. But we're talking only a few minutes out of the entire film. The dialogue is classic Raymond Chandler with flippant one liners that oozes 40s film noir-ness. By far the best parts are the first 20 minutes when Ladd confronts his drunken wife about the affair.

I found the movie to be a middle of the road film noir. As much as I've liked Ladd and Lake in This Gun for Hire, here I didn't feel their characters were that compelling. By far the most interesting was Ladd's trashy wife played to nasty perfection by Doris Dowling and the cool as a cucumber, but sleazy club owner Howard DeSilva.

Reportedly Raymond Chandler didn't like the director who he thought was uninspired, nor did he like Veronica Lake. But to this reviewer I'd say the scriptwriter is mostly at fault as the characters never get flushed out so aren't that interesting.

rating_3

[Citizen Rules]

I love Five Easy Pieces. That's actually my favourite Jack Nicholson performance.What would you say was the strongest/best part of the film for you?

[Gideon58]

What would you say was the strongest/best part of the film for you?

It's my second favorite Nicholson performance behind The Shining

[Gideon58]

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Cross Creek (1983)

Director: Martin Ritt
Writers: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings(novel), Dalene Young(screenplay)
Cast: Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Dana Hill
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance



Despite the awesome Mary Steenburgen, never really had any desire to see this film...I may have to re-think that.

[Citizen Rules]

Despite the awesome Mary Steenburgen, never really had any desire to see this film...I may have to re-think that. Can I ask why you aren't interested in it? I'm not trying to change your mind or anything, I'm just curious.

It's a really good story BTW, and a lot of movies are void of good stories. It held my attention and I liked Cross Creek so much that I watched The Yearling (1946) which I need to review!:p

[Camo]

What would you say was the strongest/best part of the film for you?

Can't really answer that, it's been about 2 1/2 to 3 years. Should give it a rewatch soon.

[Gideon58]

Can I ask why you aren't interested in it? I'm not trying to change your mind or anything, I'm just curious.

It's a really good story BTW, and a lot of movies are void of good stories. It held my attention and I liked Cross Creek so much that I watched The Yearling (1946) which I need to review!:p

Nothing specific, it just didn't look like a very interesting movie to me. But I'm willing to add it to my watchlist if you liked it.

[Citizen Rules]

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Decoy (1946)


Director: Jack Bernhard
Writers: Nedrick Young (screenplay), Stanley Rubin (story)
Cast: Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Sheldon Leonard
Genre: Film Noir
Length: 76 minutes

"A mortally wounded female gangster recounts how she and her gang revived an executed killer from the gas chamber, to try and find out where he buried a fortune in cash."

Tagline

'She Treats Men the Way They've Been Treating Women for Years!'

Woohoo! what a crazy woman Margot is! Played by British actress Jean Gillie, Margot is a one of a kind character, for any film noir. She's nearly psychopathic in how she takes joy in seducing men, only to use them, then kill them! It's pretty bold stuff for 1946.

Right after WWII, movies in America took a dark turn, most of the big studios made dark themed, crime melodramas which later would be called film noir.

Decoy, is a 'poverty row' film, which describes any of the small movie studios that made B-budget pictures on the cheap. Decoy was one such movie made by Bernhard-Brandt Productions and disturbed by Monogram Pictures, those are names most aren't familiar with.

What makes these smaller noirs interesting is they could do more daring stuff than the big studios would usually attempt. And it doesn't get much more daring than a non repentant female lead who takes joy in double crossing and killing men, so that she can get her hands on the stolen loot.

If that ain't enough to peak your interest in this cult classic noir, then how about the scene where a doctor is forced to revive a convicted killer who was just gassed in the prison's gas chamber. Who knew methylene blue could perform such miracles? I love this scene as it's reminiscent of Frankenstein ala noir.

Jean Gillie, made one helluva a wicked femme fatale. Sadly she died at 33 and her career was cut short.

rating_3_5

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32877&stc=1&d=1501036085
The Blue Dahlia (1946)


Director: George Marshall
Writer: Raymond Chandler (screenplay)
Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard DeSilva, Doris Dowling
Genre: Film noir

A Navy pilot (Alan Ladd) returns to the U.S. along with two Navy buddies: Hugh Beaumont and William Bendix. Bendix has a metal plate in his head, suffers from PTSD and is easily aggravated. Alan Ladd decides to surprise his wife at her apartment.

Much to his surprise he finds his wife having an affair with the sleazy owner of the Blue Dahlia club (Howard De Silva). In a fit of anger Alan Ladd threatens his wife and storms out of the apartment, leaving his gun on a chair. Later she turns up dead and he becomes the prime suspect. On the run he meets the disenfranchised wife of the nightclub owner, Veronica Lake.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32880&stc=1&d=1501036107
Left to right: The three Navy buddies, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont and Alan Ladd


https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32878&stc=1&d=1501036094
Alan Ladd pulls a .45 on his cheating wife Doris Dowling.


The Blue Dahlia marks the 3rd out of 4 films that Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were paired together. Along with Bogie and Bacall, Ladd and Lake were one of the most notable onscreen couples of the 40s. The two were paired because of their height. Ladd was only 5' 6" and to look taller in his films they paired him with the petite Veronica Lake who was all of 4' 11". Together they made four films:

This Gun for Hire (1942)
The Glass Key (1942)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Saigon (1948)

What makes The Blue Dahlia unique is the famed novelist Raymond Chandler wrote an original screenplay for the movie. It was his first original screenplay and originally the ending was quite different but a change was forced due to concerns of the U.S. Navy. Not surprisingly then, the end scene is the weakest. But we're talking only a few minutes out of the entire film. The dialogue is classic Raymond Chandler with flippant one liners that oozes 40s film noir-ness. By far the best parts are the first 20 minutes when Ladd confronts his drunken wife about the affair.

I found the movie to be a middle of the road film noir. As much as I've liked Ladd and Lake in This Gun for Hire, here I didn't feel their characters were that compelling. By far the most interesting was Ladd's trashy wife played to nasty perfection by Doris Dowling and the cool as a cucumber, but sleazy club owner Howard DeSilva.

Reportedly Raymond Chandler didn't like the director who he thought was uninspired, nor did he like Veronica Lake. But to this reviewer I'd say the scriptwriter is mostly at fault as the characters never get flushed out so aren't that interesting.

rating_3






Doris Dowling is killing me in that dress...it reminds of that silver lame jumpsuit that Hepburn wore in Christopher Strong

[cricket]

I don't know if it makes it but I at least have The Blue Dahlia on my contender's list for the 40's. I seem to really enjoy anything with Ladd.

[Citizen Rules]

Doris Dowling is killing me in that dress...it reminds of that silver lame jumpsuit that Hepburn wore in Christopher StrongDoris Dowling, who's the femme fatale is wearing a gold lamé jumpsuit. She looks dangerous in it too!

I don't know if it makes it but I at least have The Blue Dahlia on my contender's list for the 40's. I seem to really enjoy anything with Ladd. I have another Ladd movie to watch (if I can) before I send in my 40s Countdown list, and that would be The Glass Key, another film noir with Veronica Lake.

[Joel]

I've seen Five Easy Pieces about 3 times and haven't been crazy about it yet. It's been a few years now, and I feel like it's something I should love so I plan on watching it again. It at least has one of my favorite scenes.

Was it the diner scene with the toast?

[cricket]

I liked The Glass Key too, but not as much as The Blue Dahlia.

[cricket]

Was it the diner scene with the toast?

You bet

[Joel]

You bet

Son of a gun, how'd I guess? It's the scene that sticks out in my head. Funny stuff!

[Citizen Rules]

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The Best of Everything (1959)


Director: Jean Negulesco
Writers: Edith Sommer & Mann Rubin (screenplay), Rona Jaffee (novel)
Cast: Hope Lange, Diane Baker, Suzy Parker, Stephen Boyd, Louis Jourdan
Genre: Drama, Romance

1959's The Best of Everything, is a stylish, soap opera style drama-romance that comes two years after Peyton Place defined the genera in 1957. Based on the novel of the same name by Rona Jaffe, the movie tells the tale of four women, 'career girls' who work at a Madison Avenue book publishing business.

The film is also a message to young women of the late 1950s who want to have a full time carer....'don't do it! I actually couldn't believe the movie's message, especially as it was written by a 27 year old woman, Rona Jaffe who had worked in a large publish business.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32972&stc=1&d=1501378816


What I found somewhat shocking, or maybe it wasn't shocking for the standards of the day was, the idea that these young women fresh out of college should be content to work a few years 'to prove themselves' then settle down to be a housewife and mom.

This idea is reinforced by the matriarch of the publication business, an older hard nosed woman who's sacrificed femininity and any chance of happiness she could have had, for the pursuit of a career...aptly played by Joan Crawford. Fresh on her heels is a smart young college grad Caroline Bender played by fresh faced Hope Lange. Caroline is after the head editors job and increasingly takes on a hard edge as she moves up the corporate ladder.

Caroline lives with two other young women who also work at the company, played by the likable Diane Baker who falls for a hustler and ends up pregnant....and the inspiring actresses played by Suzy Baker who sleeps with the director, then becomes obsessed with him as he kicks her to the curb.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32973&stc=1&d=1501378824


Hope Lange, reminds me of Grace Kelly, and I have to say I prefer Hope Lange...She looks great in the fashions of the late 1950s and she turns in a solid performance to boot.

One of the highlights of the film is the on location shooting in New York, which never looked more dazzling than it does in the early morning light.

rating_3

[Citizen Rules]

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The Major and the Minor (Billy Wilder, 1942)


Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland
Genre: Comedy

Susan (Ginger Rogers) can't afford the train fare so decides to disguise herself as a 12 year old, in order to get a cheaper ticket. On the train she's spotted by the conductor and ends up hiding in an Army Major's cabin, (Ray Milland). He believes she's a real 12 year old and decides to take her under his wing so she can get to her destination safely. Along the way she has a lot of curious mishaps!

Totally hilarious, and that's thanks to the writing/directing genius of Billy Wilder, with his eye for wit and biting commentary....and thanks to Ginger Rogers who sparkles in almost every film she's in. I can't image another actress pulling off a believable (for the movies) 12 year old, other than Miss Rogers.

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https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32980&stc=1&d=1501381527


One of the interesting things I noticed was at first the 12 year old Susan was scrubbed of the usual Hollywood make-up and indeed looked like a kid. Later as we get to know the character, the make up department began to add in more make up. See the two above photos, the first is from early in the film with no apparent make up, in the second photo she has on more make up but is still in the 12 year old disguise....I guess they figured once we were sold on the idea of Ginger as a 12 year old, they then could doll her up some.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=32981&stc=1&d=1501381535
Love this scene with a bunch of wallflowers all sporting Veronica Lake hair-dos.


As the movie progresses Susan ends up in a boys military school surrounded by a bunch of adolescent Don Juan's who all want to take the lovely Susan to the big dance. Leaving the school age girls without a dance partners. By putting Susan/Ginger Rogers in a number of situations with real kids, we then get to see how differently the kids act compared to the adults. Which apparently isn't all that different as we see the adult Susan bumming a cigarette off her pre teen friend. Speaking of smoking, the 'being caught smoking on the back of the train' scene was out right funny!

Good stuff!

rating_4

[Gideon58]

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Leave Her To Heaven (John Stah,1945)

[SIZE=3]
Director: John M. Stah
Cast: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain
Genre: Film Noir, Drama, Thriller

[/LEFT]

Enjoyed your review as well...can't argue with anything you've said here...Tierney was amazing...halfway through I went to the Oscar IMDB to see if she had gotten an Oscar nomination for it and was very pleased to see that she did...she lost to Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce...Tierney was robbed...way better than Crawford in Mildred Pierce. I also loved what you said about the look of the film...the colors, the movie is absolutely a joy to look at...the scenes on the ranch, especially when Ellen is spreading the ashes. I also have to second what you said about the detail put into the staircase scene...we knew what she was going to do, but the director made it worth watching because we get to see the idea get hatched in her head and every detail of the execution...even the music was instrumental in telling this part of the story, absolutely loved it...thank you again, Citizen, I never would have watched it if it weren't for you.

[Joel]

Blade Runner (1982)
http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/15/12/1600x940/gallery-1426603272-blade-runner.jpg
Blade Runner (1982)




Citizen, this is a wonderful review of one of my favorite films! I just wrote a review myself and couldn't muster up the energy to detail it like you did, so I thank you. A thoughtful read and super tribute!

[Citizen Rules]

Enjoyed your review as well...can't argue with anything you've said here...Tierney was amazing...halfway through I went to the Oscar IMDB to see if she had gotten an Oscar nomination for it and was very pleased to see that she did...she lost to Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce...Tierney was robbed...way better than Crawford in Mildred Pierce. I also loved what you said about the look of the film...the colors, the movie is absolutely a joy to look at...the scenes on the ranch, especially when Ellen is spreading the ashes. I also have to second what you said about the detail put into the staircase scene...we knew what she was going to do, but the director made it worth watching because we get to see the idea get hatched in her head and every detail of the execution...even the music was instrumental in telling this part of the story, absolutely loved it...

thank you again, Citizen, I never would have watched it if it weren't for you. That made my day:)

Citizen, this is a wonderful review of one of my favorite films! I just wrote a review myself and couldn't muster up the energy to detail it like you did, so I thank you. A thoughtful read and super tribute!Thanks Joel...I'll go read your review of Blade Runner right now:p

[Beatle]

http://www.top10hq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/jaws-2.jpg


Jaws 2 (1978)
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Cast: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror

My review: This ain't Jaws. Enough said. Thanks for reading my review;)

Well, I suppose I have to say a bit more about this 2nd sequel of four Jaws films. When Jaws 2 came out in 1978 it was the biggest money making sequel until Rocky 2 hit the theaters. It's main claim to fame is one of the most famous movie tag lines to ever be coined:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

While Jaws 2 does have Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton returning in their roles as the Police chief, his wife and the towns mayor, most notably absent is Richard Dreyfus and director Steven Spielberg. Robert Shaw couldn't return, having previously been eaten by a shark;)

Jaws 2 has none of the building drama and tension that the original had and it lacks the gut wrenching shark attack scenes that made the first so powerful.

What the film does have is much more shark attack scenes with teens being chowed down like sardines. I mean who doesn't like to see teens get eating alive! This makes for a fun shark-monster movie much in the way the 1950s had teens being stalked by blobs or alien creatures.

http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattle/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/jaws-2-2-586.jpg


They put more money into the shark model for this one and as a result it can do more things and so we see it more too. Though I found the shark in the original more frightening. By showing too long of close ups of the sharks mouth one starts to think of it as a big Hollywood prop.


The film looks pretty good I must say and is shot and edited well too. The town of Amity comes alive in this sequel and the scenes shot out on the ocean look good.

http://milkthefranchise.com/wp-content/uploads/Article%20Graphics/Jaws-2-Cable.jpg?w=240


Oh, I love how Roy Scheider kills off the second shark, over the top for sure, but damn it's fun!

rating_2_5








I've actually been seeing this on and on and on on TV 1000, as they show it every day. :) Practically. Yeah, I love this movie, and must've seen it shortly after it came out, as I recall I saw all Jaws movies. Thing is, I can't even remember any of the others! It was like 35 years ago, man!

I've always loved Roy, such a cool (well, ok he can get a bit hectic, but wouldn't you if a shark is eating you alive?) guy. :) I've always loved the flegmatic kind. Plus he's actually hillarious in this one, imho. My fave is Blue Thunder though. I especially like when he lost his job lol. With his funny little face, raving 'round about a shark: "I can tell you this is a shark! I know bc I saw one up close! You don't think I can't tell a shark?!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENqfHw99_Cw

Or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHlWH_KAQ0

Bligh me, that's absolutely hillarious! From the word go!

Plus it has that beautiful Amity place,yaknow with the sunshine and the ocean. That's actually my fave part of it.

And the ending was electrifying.

Hated this movie with a passion...Mel and Goldie made my worst onscreen chemistry list. I'm glad you liked it, but I found it silly and exhausting and didn't laugh once. Maybe I'll give it a rewatch since you seemed to like it.

Well, since you said even the critics are welcomed Rules, I think I agree, the problem being the memory again. But I really did always find Mel to be UNBELIEVABLY annoying, is it a coincidence he often plays nuts? And I heard a lot of spectaculary nasty things about him,besides what's well known. That he abuses women etc. I really think that he's, well, dearranged. Much like Tom Cruise, but the latter doesn't annoy me a bit, funnily enough. OK maybe I was too harsh, but he's not someone I like. And the movie, as I recall, really is rubbish. An annoying one. ok, I'm being too harsh again...At least I've always loved Goldie, except in that movie with Steve Martin. She was increadibly annoying, and the two make one of the worst chemistries ever.

[Citizen Rules]

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USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)


Director: Mario Van Peebles
Writers: Cam Cannon, Richard Rionda Del Castro
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane
Genre: Action, Drama, History

'During World War II, an American navy ship is sunk by a Japanese submarine leaving 300 crewmen stranded in shark infested waters.'

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, ain't as bad as a shark bite, and it isn't as bad as people make it out to be. On the other hand it ain't real good either. Most of the fault lays with lame direction by Mario van Peebles. Yeah that actor guy who once stared in Jaws 4 The Revenge...Now he'sin the director's seat and taking his revenge on the audience.

The film goes limp when the men go into the water and soon after a Jaws like shark attacks happen. No real suspense, no real sense of what the men went through, no heart felt stories or deeply emotional scenes, just lots of sharks chomping on sailors. This might be funny if it wasn't for one thing, this really happened!

The USS Indianapolis, was the U.S. Naval ship that delivered the atomic bomb to Tinian Island on a secret mission. After successfully delivering the bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima, the USS Indianapolis sails back to the U.S. without an escort...where it was sunk by a loan Japaneses submarine. Due to a military screw up, the sinking ship's SOS was never responded to and of the
1,196 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. While the remaining 900 crew member were in the ocean with almost no food or water for four days. By the time they were rescued only 317 had survived.

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Mostly factual, most of what you see in this movie is factual including the court martial of the Captain played by Nicholas Cage and his in-person meeting of the Japanese Imperial Navy officer who sunk his ship.

I wish this had a better script, especially the all important part about the men who were stuck floating in the Pacific ocean for four days. Their story is all important and I feel this film glossed over that for some silly close ups of shark attacks.

rating_2_5+

[cricket]

I love that cast but I'm not interested in seeing it.

[Citizen Rules]

I love that cast but I'm not interested in seeing it.
I think a good documentary on the USS Indianapolis would be better, than the movie. But still I was never bored, and that's saying something cause I get bored easily!

[cricket]

I like that idea and in fact felt the same way about Deepwater Horizon.

[Citizen Rules]

I like that idea and in fact felt the same way about Deepwater Horizon.My mom told me to watch Deepwater Horizon, both my parents liked it. But nay, I read about it and it just didn't look like my kind of movie.

[cricket]

I thought it was as good as could be expected. I just thought it was pushing it making a regular movie about that event.

[Citizen Rules]

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Advantageous (2015)

Director: Jennifer Phang
Writers: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang
Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams
Genre: Sci-Fi Drama

When is sci fi, not a sci fi? Answer: when science-tech takes a back seat to the human condition. Advantageous is one such 'sci-fi' film.

Set in the near future in a decadently opulent city where the elite have wonderful lives and can afford to send their children to the very best schools...which then ensures that the child when grown, will have enough money to live the 'good life'.

Advantageous is a small indie film, written and directed by Jennifer Phang an up and coming director...and co written by
Jacqueline Kim, who also stars...The movie has a decidedly feminine touch, that I found sincere and refreshing for a sci fi.

The plot revolves around Gwen (Jacqueline Kim) who's the lead spokesperson for a mega corporation, who's latest technological breakthrough is the ability to do mind transfers into a younger healthier cloned human body. Gwen finds herself mysteriously out of a job as the corporate headquarters deem her to be too old. But they have a solution for Gwen, transfer her mind into another younger body of her choosing.

The problem is her daughter's reaction to mom in a new body. I won't say more except I really liked the dynamics of the mother daughter relationship vs mom wanting to sacrifice all for a better life for her daughter, even if that includes having her mind transferred into another body.

rating_3_5+

[HashtagBrownies]

You can find the craziest things on Amazon.

33094

[Captain Steel]

Hi Rules - hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread, but I just saw a film that seems like it belongs here.

I saw you reviewed some films with Ray Milland, and I just watched one on TCM called Panic in the Year Zero (1962). I think TCM is having a Ray Milland marathon today!

https://thehannibal8.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/panic_in_year_zero_poster_02.jpg

I like post-apocalyptic & survival movies, so I was attracted to this one.
This film about a family trying to survive after a nuclear war seems a bit naive & campy compared to modern sensibilities and movies like The Road (2009).

But it's central theme is classic (the same themes that are focused on in TV shows like The Walking Dead) - that the biggest threat to survivors is not whatever caused the apocalypse, but other survivors.

Still, the movie doesn't let you get too far beyond its era - where the local villains are greaser hoodlums & "juvenile delinquents" who were already "bringing down" the society of the day. Good thing they are opposed by respectful, whitebread suburban teenagers like Frankie Avalon!

One of the weirdest (yet entertaining) aspects of the film is the soundtrack - kind of a rebellious beatnik cool jazz which is a perfect theme for the hoodlum villains (who don't seem like they're surviving, but just up their usual mischief of generally being rebels, drinking Budweiser and chasing skirts), but it seems extremely out of place with the movie's scenario.

Take away the apocalyptic scenario and this could have easily been one of those "middle-class families terrified by a gang of beatnik thugs while on vacation" that were popular in the early 60's.

[Citizen Rules]

...I saw you reviewed some films with Ray Milland, and I just watched one on TCM called Panic in the Year Zero (1962).

I like post-apocalyptic & survival movies...it's central theme is classic...the biggest threat to survivors is not whatever caused the apocalypse, but other survivors.

Still, the movie doesn't let you get too far beyond its era - where the local villains are greaser hoodlums & "juvenile delinquents" who were already "bringing down" the society of the day. Good thing they are opposed by respectful, whitebread suburban teenagers like Frankie Avalon!

One of the weirdest (yet entertaining) aspects of the film is the soundtrack - kind of a rebellious beatnik cool jazz which is a perfect theme for the hoodlum villains (who don't seem like they're surviving, but just up their usual mischief of generally being rebels, drinking Budweiser and chasing skirts), but it seems extremely out of place with the movie's scenario.... Damn! That sounds good. I've never heard of it before, so thanks for posting about it. So far your movie recommendations have been spot on and I've enjoyed them.

To bad the 'greaser hoodlums' weren't headed up by Fabian...that way Fabian could have kicked little Frankie's butt, ha😁 I'll post a review when I get a chance to see it.

I do like Ray Milland have you seen X The Man With X Ray Vision? I thought that was well done and fun at the same time.

[Captain Steel]

Damn! That sounds good. I've never heard of it before, so thanks for posting about it. So far your movie recommendations have been spot on and I've enjoyed them.

To bad the 'greaser hoodlums' weren't headed up by Fabian...that way Fabian could have kicked little Frankie's butt, ha😁 I'll post a review when I get a chance to see it.

I do like Ray Milland have you seen X The Man With X Ray Vision? I thought that was well done and fun at the same time.

It's not a great movie, but knowing your tastes, you may find it interesting from a culturally historic point of view. The leader of the bad guys is played by Richard Bakalyan, you will probably recognize him as a character actor from a zillion movies and TV shows - he had a flat, broken looking sort of nose and usually played toughs, hoods or heavies.

It's kind of a fun watch from today's point of view. I found it rather funny how everyone appears so neat and clean after a nuclear war where society has fallen apart.

Yes, I've seen X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes! Wild movie and quite a departure for veteran actor Ray Milland - interestingly, it was made only a year after Panic In Year Zero.
(And if we want to talk about "departures" for Ray Milland, there's always The Thing With Two Heads from 1972!)

P.S. Frankie Avalon is actually pretty good in this serious role as the son in this "nuclear family" (that's a pun) - another departure from his beach movies with Annette!

http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i316/panicinyearzero1962.86186_012820141103.jpg

[Citizen Rules]

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The Yearling (1946)

Director: Clarence Brown
Writers: Paul Osborn (screen play), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (novel)
Cast: Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr.
Genre: Classic Literature Drama

A boy persuades his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?

The Yearling, the classic 1946 movie based on the classic Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1938 by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Based on the authors own experiences living in a poor area of remote Florida during the Depression of the 1930's. The Yearling tells the story of a poor family living hand to mouth. The father (Gregory Peck) is a gentle soul who dolts on his only surviving child (Claude Jarman Jr.). The father waits his son to be able to enjoy what few simple pleasures their hard life can give. His mother (Jane Wyman) on the other hand is distant as they loss of her other children, has hardened her heart and she's afraid to reach out and love the lonely boy, in case he doesn't survive the hardships of the times. When the father shoots a doe deer and discovers it had a fawn he allows the boy to raise the baby deer as a pet.

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The movie does a lot of things right, it shows a young boy coming of age as his pet fawn deer grows to a yearling and begins destroying the families crops which they need to survive. We get a good look at a time gone by as we see the poor substances farmers who live in poverty in the wilds of the Florida scrub lands.

Trivia:

"...32 trained animals were used, including five fawns. The fawns needed to be replaced as they aged in order to conform to the description of the title animal. The fawn found by Jody, as he pulls back the foliage, was three days old and had bee&n rescued from a forest fire. Other animals used in filming included 126 deer, 9 black bears, 37 dogs, 53 wild birds, 17 buzzards, 1 owl, 83 chickens, 36 pigs, 8 rattlesnakes, 18 squirrels, 4 horses & 17 raccoons. The quantity of "critters" total is 441."

Shot in stunning Technicolor, the film takes us on location to Florida as well as other outdoor spots in California which serve as the Florida countryside. The result is we see real trees and real animals and the film feels real.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=33137&stc=1&d=1501726875


I thought Gregory Peck did a great job at being a kind heartened father as did Jane Wyman in her more distance role. The child actor too, really become the character and that then made the movie work.

The Yearling is a family classic that still works today.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

It's not a great movie, but knowing your tastes, you may find it interesting from a culturally historic point of view. The leader of the bad guys is played by Richard Bakalyan, you will probably recognize him as a character actor from a zillion movies and TV shows - he had a flat, broken looking sort of nose and usually played toughs, hoods or heavies. I don't recognize his name, but that physical description makes me think of the guy from the Star Trek episode Miri, (the one with Kim Darby) and a bunch of delinquent kids who never grow old, well until they turn into Grumps. Was he the blonde guy with the flat nose in an army shirt.


Yes, I've seen X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes! Wild movie and quite a departure for veteran actor Ray Milland - interestingly, it was made only a year after Panic In Year Zero.
(And if we want to talk about "departures" for Ray Milland, there's always The Thing With Two Heads from 1972!)
I remember that from when I was a kid, is the other 'head' football player Rosie Greer? Or is that another movie?