My Monthly Movie Mumble (MMXVIII)

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Thought I'd keep the same format as last year - it's really predominantly for my own benefit so everyone else can feel free to ignore this thread if they so wish ... in much the same way as the vast majority did the last one
JANUARY (pt. i) (29)

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015)

Superhero adventure that's a reasonably fun watch in places but for me the primary tale is overly padded and the action becomes rather tedious

Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
+
Very nice period adventure/drama laced with dry humour that's a beautiful visually with some nice performances and remains quite a fascinating tale even if a little slow in pace

Blood And Bone (Ben Ramsay, 2009)

Moderate martial arts outing that's mixed in terms of its fight sequences and drama, rather ludicrous in it's depiction of 'organised street fighting' and rather unoriginal in terms of narrative but is watchable and even enjoyable to an extent

Boot Camp aka Punishment (Christian Duguay, 2008)
+
Substandard drama supposed cloaked in reality in which the acting, dialogue and camerawork/editing is dreadful at times and though the drab tone may suit the tale it makes the viewing experience an uncomfortable one but probably not in the way intended

Café Metropole (Edward H. Griffith, 1937)

Comedy romance with some decent performances and nice lines that's a fairly entertaining watch even though the plot is rather flimsy and feels just a little drawn out

Dance, Girl, Dance (Frank R. Strayer, 1933)

Passable light-hearted musical drama that never really rises above mediocre and has the odd sound issue but does have a couple of decent enough performances from Ms, Knapp and Ms. Busch and the tale is reasonably well presented

Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro [Eyeball aka The Secret Killer] (Umberto Lenzi, 1975)

Modest slasher that has some really poor dialogue and stiff acting but the tale is serviceable and the whole has a certain cheesy charm despite it's weaknesses

Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming, George Cukor & Sam Wood, 1939)

Epic period romantic drama that has some marvellous imagery within a great story but although the first half passes fairly swiftly for me the second half drags a fair bit and even some nice, dramatic interplay between Ms. Leigh and Mr. Gable and an iconic ending can't completely compensate for that

Hitlerjunge Salomon [Europa Europs] (Agnieszka Holland, 1990)
+
Remarkable wartime tale based on reality but personally I'd have preferred a less frivolous tone to much of proceedings as whilst it allows a little ridicule every now and then for me it undermines the tale as a whole

Identity Thief (Seth Gordon, 2013)
+
Comedy that has a few worthwhile moments but it's mostly unexceptional fare in a pretty formulaic tale that lacks originality

If I Were King (Frank Lloyd, 1938)

Predominantly light-hearted period swashbuckler with it's roots in reality that's nicely paced and acted (especially Messrs. Rathbone and Colman) and highly entertaining

Insidious: Chapter 3 (Leigh Whannell, 2015)
+
Horror that's watchable but lacking in scares, very predictable and little more than a pastiche of eighties fare though sadly without that decade's charming cheese

Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015)
+
Sci-adventure that imo would have been better without either the primary subplot or occasional attempts at comedy and has more than it's fair share of irritations but most of the action is acceptable and the whole a reasonably fun outing

Kreuzweg [Stations Of The Cross] (Dietrich Brüggemann, 2014)

Powerful minimalistic drama centred around a fantastic first time performance from Ms. van Acken in the lead and although religious in content it's impact is in no way limited purely to those of faith imo

Ladies In Love (Edward H. Griffith, 1936)
+
Romantic comedy that has some nice performances and is amusing in places but the narrative is fairly fragmented and sadly lacking in spark which diminishes interest and makes proceedings feel all of the runtime and then some imo

Late Extra (Albert Parker, 1935)

Low-budget crime thriller that doesn't really bring a lot new to the table and suffers at times with a little poor dialogue but moves along at a decent clip and it's little quirks make it an interesting enough watch

Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935)

Crime drama with its roots in reality that's well acted (especially by Ms. Negri) with some interesting camerawork and transitions and the tale easily holds attention even though there are no real surprises

Merrily We Go To Hell (Dorothy Arzner, 1932)
+
Romance that mixes comedy with drama fairly effectively and Ms. Sydney lights up the screen but although the tale remains of interest it's arc is rather predictable

No Good Deed (Sam Miller, 2014)

Home invasion thriller with a decent enough performance from both leads and manages to build a few pockets of atmosphere but is undermined by character actions that are just simply too unrealistic to disregard

Paura nella cittŕ dei morti viventi [City Of The Living Dead aka The Gates Of Hell] (Lucio Fulci, 1980)

Zombie horror that has some fun effects and creates nice atmosphere at points and although both acting and dialogue can certainly be picked at is an entertaining enough watch

Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)

Whimsical romantic drama that may not have the greatest amount of depth to it's story but it's interestingly offbeat and conveyed with a level of charm and Ms. Gyllenhaal is an absolute delight

Strangers On A Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)

Wife's choice, top tier Hitch imo - comments from previous watch here

The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim, 2011)

Modest adventure drama that struggles for believability but is quite watchable nonetheless with some nice cinematography and ambience when out in the wild

The Paperboy (Lee Daniels, 2012)

Thriller that's nicely acted but not a tale I care much for in either content or some of the delivery and I struggle to buy Messrs. Efron and McConaughey being related whilst for me the casting of Mr. Oyelowo is quite bizarre in terms of his characters heritage

The Rise And Rise Of Michael Rimmer (Kevin Billington, 1970)
+
Satirical British comedy taking potshots primarily at the political establishment but also the media and armed forces too which has a star-studded cast and certainly hits the mark in terms of spin and insincerity but the wry humour is somewhat hit and miss and the overall tone a little flat

The Three Musketeers (Allan Dwan, 1939)
+
Musical comedy swashbuckling adventure that's a pretty fun romp (despite some missing frames and foreign intertitles in the print I watched) thanks to it's lead Mr. Ameche and the antics of The Ritz Brothers

Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)

Mystery thriller with a nice enough concept that does get somewhat confusing but imo that actually helps it play out quite nicely as never quite sure who to be rooting for

Twin Husbands (Frank R. Strayer, 1933)
+
Modest crime drama that gets a little too convoluted for it's own good imo but at just over an hour it's an easy enough watch that skips along pretty quickly

When A Stranger Calls (Simon West, 2006)

Home invasion thriller that has some irritating editing in the early stages, is rather repetitive in it's build up and the coda unoriginal but the set/location is good and the action when it finally begins is adequate



JANUARY (pt. ii) (34)

All Is Lost (J.C. Chandor, 2013)
+
Survival drama that's quite good in terms of realism and despite the lack of dialogue an interesting enough watch but for me the ending is just so very twee and annoying

Angela (Rebecca Miller, 1995)

Odd drama that's watchable but is an eclectic marriage of score and visuals/ideas that for me too often fail to pull in the same direction leaving the tale of mental illness it is trying to weave undermined

Anthropoid (Sean Ellis, 2016)
+
WW II drama based on reality that depicts it's titular operation and aftermath in linear fashion quite nicely and is well enough acted though the film's one attempt at a revelatory moment is easily foreseen and the climax overly melodramatic imo

Bad Girl (Frank Borzage, 1931)
+
Relationship drama that's reasonably well acted and watchable even if there are a few skipped frames but how it was deemed Oscar worthy is a bit baffling tbh with some of the dialogue isn't great and the story a little contrived

Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)

Decent enough thriller that's quite stylish in it's use of both colour and camera angles and for me has a simply spellbinding sequence (where Jack synchronises sound and vision) but in contrast parts of the climactic sequence are ridiculous and not particularly well managed imo

David Bowie: The Last Five Years (Francis Whately, 2017)

Documentary ostensibly centred on the great man's final works but unsurprisingly is as much about his past works and the man himself

Enduring Love (Roger Michell, 2004)
+
Nice drama/thriller with good performances that weaves it's tale pretty well and though rather muted in terms of content it's no less effective for that

Feet First (Clyde Bruckman & Harold Lloyd, 1930)
+
Inventive comedy that has a little uneven sound in places and for me suffers in terms of pace but does have some nice sight gags and the skyscraper sequence is brilliantly executed even if a little overly long

Goddess Of Love (Jon Knautz, 2015)
+
Somewhat sterile psychological thriller that doesn't drag but never really allows any connection to build between viewer and characters and though the score is nice in places and some of the imagery is quite nice there's not a lot of atmosphere to be found

Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, 2016)
+
WW II biographical drama that tells a remarkable story in quite entertaining fashion even if if does use a tried and trusted template and for me the swelling score is a tad overdone in places

Honor Among Lovers (Dorothy Arzner, 1931)

Reasonable romantic drama that gets a little 'plot-happy' in the second half but remains an entertaining enough watch even if the print I watched was (a) segmented and (b) not the best in places

Hoosier Schoolboy (William Nigh, 1937)
+
Watchable social drama but whilst the acting is acceptable it's just far too heavy-handed with it's themes to be that enjoyable

House Of Danger (Charles Hutchison, 1934)
+
Low-budget mix of thriller and drama in which Onslow Stevens performs fairly well as the lead but the initial stages are pretty poor and lacking a little in clarity whilst the absence of any real mystery in proceedings leaves the whole feeling somewhat pedestrian

Insurgent (Robert Schwentke, 2015)

Weak sci-action sequel that's disappointing in just about every regard

Lo squartatore di New York [The New York Ripper] (Lucio Fulci, 1982)
+
Slasher/thriller that may have mixed effects, ludicrous cartoon vocal for the killer, poor dubbing and some rather abrupt editing but if one is prepared to look past those and embrace it fully it has a certain charm and is both an effective and fun watch

Lockout (Steve Saint Leger & James Mather, 2012)

Sci-action that has a few nice throwaway lines and a decent enough one half of the main antagonists but imo struggles in terms of tone and is quite disappointing in terms of action with some of the editing being really irritating early on

Menschen am Sonntag [People On Sunday] (Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Rochus Gliese, Curt Siodmak & Fred Zinnemann, 1930)
+
Reconstructed silent 'slice of life' drama that's nice in terms of cinematography and of interest from a historical social perspective but not really that entertaining a watch which drags in places and I really didn't care for most of the added score

Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)

Charming tweenie romantic adventure that's a little overly childish in the odd place but the whimsical tone throughout proceedings is delightful and enhanced nicely by the score

No Man Of Her Own (Mitchell Leisen, 1950)
+
Nice noir that's well made with good performances and a decent enough story though it is rather sedate and lacking in action

Pretty Baby (Louis Malle, 1978)
+
Period drama with a nice performance from it's young lead that provides a good depiction of it's era and remains an entertaining enough watch albeit one that's ultimately of more interest for it's notoriety than it's content

Private Number (Roy Del Ruth, 1936)

Romantic drama that mixes the light-hearted with darker elements (Mr. Rathbone enjoys his role as a lecherous cad) with varying degrees of success but wisely plays it far more evenly for a very nice final act

The Dead Girl (Karen Moncrieff, 2006)
+
Mystery drama centred on a crime that's told in segments from different perspectives and is well acted with a nicely managed tone maintaining interest without resorting to much in the way of theatrics

The Fault In Our Stars (Josh Boone, 2014)

Enjoyable romantic drama that's very nicely acted by Ms. Woodley and ably supported by Mr. Elgort and overall a very effective tale though some of the lesser characters aren't particularly well fleshed out and it all becomes a little contrived and belaboured in the closing stages imo

The Grey (Joe Carnahan, 2011)

Survival adventure that's nicely bleak in it's cinematography and somewhat entertaining but although some of the memories are nicely interwoven none of the characters really resonate with me leaving me slightly disinterested in proceedings

The Healer aka Little Pal (Reginald Barker, 1935)

Moderate drama that's very predictable in it's story arc and somewhat twee but the principal cast play it well enough and it's a pleasant enough, if unremarkable, watch

The Light That Failed (William A. Wellman, 1939)
+
Nice enough drama anchored by a decent enough performance from Mr. Colman but it's Ms. Lupino that steals the show and even though proceedings begin rather weakly and do drift into melodrama on occasion the whole is a solid and effective enough watch

The Magdalene Sisters (Peter Mullan, 2002)

Drama centred on four of the thousands of unfortunates sent to the Magdalene Laundries that's well acted but should have been harder hitting than it is though does at least depict some of the cruelties and inhumanity of the places

The Man With The Iron Heart (Cédric Jimenez, 2017)
+
WW II drama based in reality that's quite fascinating when dwelling on the rise of Reinhard Heydrich with a nice performance from Mr. Clarke but once it morphs into the resistance operation it becomes a far more routine affair that's adequate but never rises much above that and doesn't always use it's fractured timeline to best effect

The Nanny (Seth Holt, 1965)

Decent Hammer thriller with nice performances in a beautifully restrained affair that manages to maintain interest though could do with a little more punch in it's climax imo

The Pool (Chris Smith, 2007)

Drama set in India that is a quite charming watch and despite a primarily young and inexperienced cast very nicely performed (even more remarkable considering some of them are not natural Hindi speakers and direction had to come through a translator too) though for me the score doesn't seem particularly suitable in places

The Rains Came (Clarence Brown, 1939)
+
Romantic drama that aside from lovely titles and some nice cinematography is a little disappointing in it's early stages with some unwanted jingoism but picks up with the introduction os Ms. Loy's character and after the rightfully accoladed effects of the monsoon is quite a delightful watch even if a touch melodramatic on occasion and Mr. Power's make-up being variable

The Rogues' Tavern (Robert F. Hill, 1936)

Low-budget murder mystery that has a few issues with the print I watched but is substandard anyway with stiff direction and acting plus a lack of atmosphere detracting from a tale that otherwise might be fun enough even if somewhat hokey

Three Blind Mice (William A. Seiter, 1938)
+
Comedy romance that's acted quite nicely for the most part and a pleasant enough watch without ever really hitting any highs

Tsubaki Sanjűrô [Sanjuro] (Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
+
Delightful samurai drama with a lovely sense of humour that weaves it's tale quite beautifully



FEBRUARY (pt. i) (22)

Blonde Ice (Jack Bernhard, 1948)
+
Entertaining enough film-noir that may contain no intrigue or directorial flourishes but is acted well enough and the story holds interest though the climax is a little rushed and disappointing

Chained (Jennifer Lynch, 2012)
+
Crime/horror dwelling more on the psychological that's anchored by a performance from Mr. D'Onofrio that even though iacking a little consistency is still strong enough to drive proceedings that are somewhat slow but interesting enough even if the final twist' feels somewhat contrived

Craig's Wife (Dorothy Arzner, 1936)
+
Nice enough relationship drama with good performances from the key players but proceedings do end a little over-melodramatically and imo the tale would have benefitted from a little more lead-in

Death Machine (Stephen Norrington, 1994)
+
Tongue-in-cheek sci-action adventure with over-the-top acting and some terrible dialogue that's poorly executed and disappoints or the first half but thankfully is more cohesive in the second and comes alive to become a far more entertaining watch

Missing Girls (Phil Rosen 1936)
+
Low-budget crime drama that starts weakly, incorporating a social message, with a tale that's rather ridiculously concocted but is watchable and leads to a climax that's fun enough for the threepenny stalls at a Saturday matinee

Nattlek [Night Games] (Mai Zetterling, 1966)
+
Art-house drama that's visually quite nice and scored with a sense of humour to accompany the bourgeois decadence but sadly the tale itself is of limited interest to me

Notorious But Nice (Richard Thorpe, 1933)

Modest crime drama that has some issues with acting, delivery and sound in places but aside from one courtroom scene is paced reasonably and the overall tale is an enjoyable enough one

Of Human Bondage (John Cromwell, 1934)

Romantic drama that's watchable with a story that would be ok but fails to really sell the central relationship and Ms. Davis' affected accent is quite jarring and grating personally

One Rainy Afternoon (Rowland V. Lee, 1936)

Quite nice comedy romance with elements of satire that may be a little overly frenetic at times for my taste and certainly makes the most of its rather slender storyline but has some spirited performances and is amusing in places with some nicely delivered lines

Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992)

Fantasy drama spanning centuries that's nice on a technical level with a very good central performance by Ms. Swinton and some nice aspects of whimsy but the meandering gender-based tale is too fractured and slight to be very effective

Pet Sematary (Mary Lambert, 1989)

Horror that manages to build some nice atmosphere in places and most of the effects are decent enough but for me the overuse of lack of depth of field in the camerawork irritates far more than adding to proceedings

Pygmalion (Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard, 1938)

Classic version of the romantic drama with touches of comedy that mixes the light-hearted and the earnest really well with very nice performances from both leads, especially Ms. Hiller

Song For A Raggy Boy (Aisling Walsh, 2003)
+
Reality based drama that's acted well (especially by Mr. Glen) and tells an important story but devotes too much effort to the sub/back story which sadly detracts from the overall impact imo

The Affairs Of Cellini (Gregory La Cava, 1934)

Light-hearted period drama with elements of light-farce that's nice visually and has a few decent comedic moments but not enough to stop it from dragging a little in the final third and raise it above being just an easygoing watch

The Bat Whispers (Roland West, 1930)
+
Mixed crime mystery drama that utilises a marvellous set, uses light/shadow fairly well and has some fantastic camerawork but also has some pretty poor sound in places, stiff direction in places, a character (the maid) who's histrionics are just annoying as opposed to adding comic relief and though the tale comes together quite nicely for the final half hour it's quite clumsy and confusing prior to that

The Beloved Rogue (Alan Crosland, 1927)

Silent adventure/romance with a spirited performance from Mr. Barrymore that is infused with a delightful vein of humour but doesn't sugar-coat it's tale containing some nicely portrayed feats of derring-do plus some darker aspects though it does have a tendency to lapse too far into melodrama and farce at times for my taste

The Boys From County Clare aka The Boys & Girl From County Clare (John Irvin, 2003)

Comedy drama centred around a 1960s Fleadh Cheoil that has a few nice moments in what is a very formulaic tale but not enough to raise it above just a pleasant enough easygoing watch

The Scarlet Pimpernel (Harold Young, 1934)

Decent telling of the classic period drama/adventure that's nicely acted and quite entertaining in it's cat and mouse tale despite there being little actual adventure involved

The War Zone (Tim Roth, 1999)

Powerful drama that's well acted and nicely understated for the most part making subsequent events all the more effective even if hardly surprising though the climax and one or two minor points feel just a touch unrealistic to me

Topaze (Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, 1933)
+
Comedic drama that for me only really comes alive for the last half hour or so when Mr. Barrymore is far less constrained by the material and can finally bring some real life to his role

Unbroken (Angelina Jolie, 2014)

Disappointing biographical WWII drama that doesn't do it's subject justice as it fails to evince any real emotional reaction thanks to some of the scenes being horribly staged and the whole feeling so terribly one-dimensional

What Doesn't Kill You (Brian Goodman, 2008)

Crime drama with it's roots in reality that's nicely acted by both leads with an air or realism to proceedings and an interesting enough tale but does feel all of it's runtime, especially so in the first half



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
you typed "twee"



I wish I had this drive for organization. I've never been one with the discipline to stay focused enough to do... well damn near anything worth while.

Looking forward to how this tracks out.
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



you typed "twee"



I wish I had this drive for organization. I've never been one with the discipline to stay focused enough to do... well damn near anything worth while.

Looking forward to how this tracks out.
I shall almost certainly use it more than twee times in the whole year. It's a nice word.

Awwww thank you yn, first time in my life I've ever been called organised lol .... in all honesty it's required as a sort of aide-memoire so I'm kinda forcing myself to do this though there are still movies that I watch and fall through the cracks 'cos I simply forget to record that fact

Badly. I'm involved. It'll track out badly.



This is pretty cool.
Dammit, I'm aiming for 'boring' not 'kewl'
Thanks though.



Very surprised by your reactions to The Dead Girl and The Fault in our Stars. Topsy nominated The Dead Girl in the 11th Hall of Fame, i had never heard of it. I didn't hate it but it felt like your average Hallmark Movie to me only with a famous cast and better cinematography, Brittany Murphy's was the only performance i liked. The Fault in our Stars would make my bottom ten of this decade, kinda feel like i shouldn't have been watching it in the first place though as it felt like a teen thing like Twilight or Justin Bieber.

Glad you liked Moonrise Kingdom and a few others.



Indeedy and we all know that probably doesn't auger well



Very surprised by your reactions to The Dead Girl and The Fault in our Stars. Topsy nominated The Dead Girl in the 11th Hall of Fame, i had never heard of it. I didn't hate it but it felt like your average Hallmark Movie to me only with a famous cast and better cinematography, Brittany Murphy's was the only performance i liked. The Fault in our Stars would make my bottom ten of this decade, kinda feel like i shouldn't have been watching it in the first place though as it felt like a teen thing like Twilight or Justin Bieber.

Glad you liked Moonrise Kingdom and a few others.
Interesting, I've not really had much exposure to Hallmark fare and thought most of their stuff leaned more toward the romantic/emotional side of the spectrum. I thought The Dead Girl was fairly nicely done with it's segmented approach, I agree Murphy gave the standout performance but then she did have the most striking role in proceedings.

The Fault In Our Stars isn't particularly my type of fare but it quite easily won me over thanks to the performances from the two leads (especially Ms. Woodley) ... though I will admit to not being at all fond of the contribution of the Isaac character. I'm not surprised you hated it though as I think I've seen you allude in the past to finding cancer not the easiest of topics to view and it's very much front and centre in TFIOS (if I'm misremembering please do correct me).

I was very, very late to the Wes Anderson party but the whimsical tone from the few I've seen thus far (Mr. Fox, Moonrise & Grand Budapest) is right up my street and I look forward to hopefully seeing more of his in due course.



Interesting, I've not really had much exposure to Hallmark fare and thought most of their stuff leaned more toward the romantic/emotional side of the spectrum. I thought The Dead Girl was fairly nicely done with it's segmented approach, I agree Murphy gave the standout performance but then she did have the most striking role in proceedings.
My mom used to always have the Hallmark Channel on in the background when she was cleaning or whatever when i was a kid, and we had that setup that i had a sky channel in my room but could only watch whatever she was watching on the actual Skybox so i found myself watching that garbage more than once when i was a kid Just felt it was really sentimental and it was all undeserved to me at least, also found it pretty manipulative and as i said i wasn't a fan of most of the performances glad you got something out of it though.

The Fault In Our Stars isn't particularly my type of fare but it quite easily won me over thanks to the performances from the two leads (especially Ms. Woodley) ... though I will admit to not being at all fond of the contribution of the Isaac character. I'm not surprised you hated it though as I think I've seen you allude in the past to finding cancer not the easiest of topics to view and it's very much front and centre in TFIOS (if I'm misremembering please do correct me).
Nah, you're absolutely right. My niece got Leukemia when she was three and i was thirteen and it really traumatised me, as a result i struggle watching things about cancer. Glad to know someone pays attention to me around here haha. I actually remember where you most likely remember that from; i said to you once i imagine Ikiru is great but i'm scared to watch it because of the cancer. It's definitely an irrational fear as when i watched Fault in our Stars or The Broken Circle Breakdown they didn't do anything other than make me a bit sad thinking of my niece, she is a completely great little lady now who is way past her five years of remission thankfully. It wasn't the cancer i didn't like about the film, i just disliked...everything haha. Good to see someone is a fan here as it's a favourite of my younger sisters, also saw it in Zotis' top ten.

I was very, very late to the Wes Anderson party but the whimsical tone from the few I've seen thus far (Mr. Fox, Moonrise & Grand Budapest) is right up my street and I look forward to hopefully seeing more of his in due course.
Damn, had no idea you're just getting into him. Awesome that you are enjoying his work I've seen them all Fantastic Mr. Fox is my personal favourite but they are all good.



My mom used to always have the Hallmark Channel on in the background when she was cleaning or whatever when i was a kid, and we had that setup that i had a sky channel in my room but could only watch whatever she was watching on the actual Skybox so i found myself watching that garbage more than once when i was a kid Just felt it was really sentimental and it was all undeserved to me at least, also found it pretty manipulative and as i said i wasn't a fan of most of the performances glad you got something out of it though.
Can't even say whether or not Hallmark has ever been an option for us, quite possibly has at some point or another but if it has thankfully it's either never been a part of whatever package we've had or we've just naturally blocked it out Man, that sounds like some crappy childhood you had in televisual terms

Nah, you're absolutely right. My niece got Leukemia when she was three and i was thirteen and it really traumatised me, as a result i struggle watching things about cancer. Glad to know someone pays attention to me around here haha. I actually remember where you most likely remember that from; i said to you once i imagine Ikiru is great but i'm scared to watch it because of the cancer. It's definitely an irrational fear as when i watched Fault in our Stars or The Broken Circle Breakdown they didn't do anything other than make me a bit sad thinking of my niece, she is a completely great little lady now who is way past her five years of remission thankfully. It wasn't the cancer i didn't like about the film, i just disliked...everything haha. Good to see someone is a fan here as it's a favourite of my younger sisters, also saw it in Zotis' top ten.
Wow, entirely understandable that it's a subject that gives you cause for concern, so glad she safely fought her way through it. Hmmmmm, so I apparently have the same taste as young(ish) girls and Zotis .... 'scuse me while I try and find where I put the shotgun cartridges

Damn, had no idea you're just getting into him. Awesome that you are enjoying his work I've seen them all Fantastic Mr. Fox is my personal favourite but they are all good.
Yeah, I think as much as anything the titles just never really grabbed my attention enough to take a closer look. On the plus side though at least I have more unseen stuff of his to look forward to than most people



You've gotta stop watching so many movies, Chyp. You're making me feel all inadequate over here. It's like the boys' locker room all over again.

I appreciate that you're already diving into the 30's. I've seen a healthy number of films from the 40's to the present, but my knowledge of 30's cinema is seriously lacking. This Monthly Movie Mumble will certainly be a valuable resource for gathering recommendations. I also appreciate the color coding to help single out films from that decade. Never heard of Mazurka, for instance, but I'll now be keeping an eye out for it, along with a few other 30's films that you've given positive ratings.

We appear to share similar sentiments toward most of our shared viewings thus far this year. My attention admittedly wandered during Barry Lyndon, but the film itself is gorgeous. I wish I hadn't known anything about Triangle, but even with some of its twists already spoiled for me, the setting and unique concept kept me on the edge of my seat. I give Yojimbo the slight edge over Sanjuro, but both are great. I've been tempted to recommend Pretty Baby to people in the past just to see if they freak out and think they've committed a crime for witnessing 12-year-old Brooke Shields in the buff, but people already think I'm weird enough, so best not to add registered sex offender to my list of descriptors.

I still think Strangers on a Train is a great suspense film, but I've sadly found its returns diminished on repeated viewings. And speaking of Hitch, I've never been able to get on with De Palma and his constant aping of the master, and that feeling remained even with Blow Out, one of Tarantino's favorites. We agree on All is Lost, but not on the ending. Camo has already made you feel like a 14-year-old girl for your high rating for The Fault in Our Stars, so I won't rub it in any further, but those four popcorns definitely caught me by surprise. I've seen some kinky screenshots from Secretary, which would normally make the movie a priority for me, but my lack of physical attraction for Jake's sister continues to throw cold water on my interest.

I rate Gone with the Wind the same as you. I watched it for the first time last year. I thought the first half was masterful, but I ended up really souring on the movie down the stretch. At one point it felt like there was a new horrible tragedy occurring every ten minutes and I just became numb to it all. Some of the characters became insufferable in the second half as well. Still a stunning achievement from a technical standpoint, and I'm glad to say I've seen it.

Looking forward to seeing what else you watch in the coming weeks.
__________________



You've gotta stop watching so many movies, Chyp. You're making me feel all inadequate over here. It's like the boys' locker room all over again.

I appreciate that you're already diving into the 30's. I've seen a healthy number of films from the 40's to the present, but my knowledge of 30's cinema is seriously lacking. This Monthly Movie Mumble will certainly be a valuable resource for gathering recommendations. I also appreciate the color coding to help single out films from that decade. Never heard of Mazurka, for instance, but I'll now be keeping an eye out for it, along with a few other 30's films that you've given positive ratings.

We appear to share similar sentiments toward most of our shared viewings thus far this year. My attention admittedly wandered during Barry Lyndon, but the film itself is gorgeous. I wish I hadn't known anything about Triangle, but even with some of its twists already spoiled for me, the setting and unique concept kept me on the edge of my seat. I give Yojimbo the slight edge over Sanjuro, but both are great. I've been tempted to recommend Pretty Baby to people in the past just to see if they freak out and think they've committed a crime for witnessing 12-year-old Brooke Shields in the buff, but people already think I'm weird enough, so best not to add registered sex offender to my list of descriptors.

I still think Strangers on a Train is a great suspense film, but I've sadly found its returns diminished on repeated viewings. And speaking of Hitch, I've never been able to get on with De Palma and his constant aping of the master, and that feeling remained even with Blow Out, one of Tarantino's favorites. We agree on All is Lost, but not on the ending. Camo has already made you feel like a 14-year-old girl for your high rating for The Fault in Our Stars, so I won't rub it in any further, but those four popcorns definitely caught me by surprise. I've seen some kinky screenshots from Secretary, which would normally make the movie a priority for me, but my lack of physical attraction for Jake's sister continues to throw cold water on my interest.

I rate Gone with the Wind the same as you. I watched it for the first time last year. I thought the first half was masterful, but I ended up really souring on the movie down the stretch. At one point it felt like there was a new horrible tragedy occurring every ten minutes and I just became numb to it all. Some of the characters became insufferable in the second half as well. Still a stunning achievement from a technical standpoint, and I'm glad to say I've seen it.

Looking forward to seeing what else you watch in the coming weeks.
Hey there Capt, always nice to see you've escaped the asylum again and made your way back home for a while! Thirties movies are often only around an hour long so viewing figures naturally rise a bit but even then I still regularly feel shamed by the lick of mark f's wet towel around the back of my knees .... sorry for any impure images that innocent sentence may conjure up

Thanks for the remark about the colour coding ... appreciate that someone has actually noticed Mazurka was remade by Hollywood in 1937 and called Confession with Kay Francis in the lead, sadly as of yet my limited resources have failed to turn up a copy available for viewing for gratis and memories of it are far too faded to proffer comparison but there's still time for me to perhaps run across a legal copy before whenever that countdown deadline rolls around.

I'd put Barry Lyndon off for years despite it being Kubrick, mainly because the synopsis never really appealed and partly because I'm not much of a fan of Ryan O'Neal, so am very glad I finally got round to seeing it .... all down to this place as the glowing comments from various MoFos about it were what finally gave me the push to give it a go when the next chance arose. One of the few advantages to losing brain cells is if I give a film like Triangle a berth for a couple of years it's enough to erase almost everything but the barest memory of exactly how events evolve thus making it nicely rewatchable.

Love both Sanjuro and Yojimbo, the former just edges it for me but like you say there's not a whole lot between two absolutely fab films. You should definitely recommend Pretty Baby just for the heck of it, very much a case of reputation exceeding content but the merest mention is probably still enough to raise the odd eyebrow here and there.

I don't think Hitch's Strangers will ever diminish that much for me, sure I can nitpick at it as I can at most fillums but it's still for the most part a beautifully orchestrated work and parts of it are simply divine imo. I don't mind earlier De Palma for the most part, not so keen on most of his later works that I've seen though. The whole sinking down into the abyss sequence at the end in All Is Lost was just so hackneyed I actually rolled my eyes tbh - there was zero need for it imo. I'm the opposite, I find young Ms. Gyllenhaal quite visually appealing so Secretary was always going to be an easy watch for me .... the fact that it's quite a decent fillum is just the icing on the top

Yeah, I'd not seen Gone With The Wind for decades and was starting to wonder why when the first half flew by so quickly and enjoyable - but boy that second half wore on me in places, it's still an impressive piece of filmmaking but I doubt I'll ever give it another rewatch tbh.

Thanks for checking in, always appreciated even if it does bump the thread



Weird is relative.
You saw 63 films in January alone? That's amazing. I only managed 31, so that's technically one movie per day. I had the free time to have seen more, just not the attention span. (ADHD.)
Anyway, there are several here I hadn't heard of that I'm adding to my watchlist. Thanks for sharing.



You saw 63 films in January alone? That's amazing. I only managed 31, so that's technically one movie per day. I had the free time to have seen more, just not the attention span. (ADHD.)
Anyway, there are several here I hadn't heard of that I'm adding to my watchlist. Thanks for sharing.
It was a very cold month so the extra little bit of heat from the television was not just appreciated but positively embraced I'll probably watch the sum total of three if June is a scorcher
Thanks for looking in, appreciated.



I am the Watcher in the Night
Great stuff!

I havent had the time to watch many movies recently but I did watch Barry Lyndon a couple months back. It is highly rated and talked about but like most of Kubrick's work, I found it to be an utter bore. There was some cool imagery and actually some humour but it was too long, too drawn out and just a nothing script. I fail to see why it is often rated so high.
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I havent had the time to watch many movies recently but I did watch Barry Lyndon a couple months back. It is highly rated and talked about but like most of Kubrick's work, I found it to be an utter bore. There was some cool imagery and actually some humour but it was too long, too drawn out and just a nothing script. I fail to see why it is often rated so high.
Kubrick is certainly not to everyone's taste.



Kubrick is certainly not to everyone's taste.
I'm a Kubrick fan, but I watched Barry Lyndon before I was quite ready for it, and my first viewing of it left me kind od cold. Beautiful looking film, lovely score And OH MY ****ING GODS HOW BOUT DAT LIGHTING?!?! , but found I didn't care about the story at all. Years later, I watched it again on a Kubrick marathon and felt quite differently regarding caring about the story.

I'd say it's a movie one should watch a few times, at different stages of life.
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