Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

[Pink Mist]

Aftersun (2022) - 7/10

The problem for me is the underlying tension here. It's not a movie I ever feel uncomfortable with. It's subtle about the depression it portrays but it's there and it doesn't need to smack you in the face with it but the subtle tension underneath makes for a mood that could've been almost a nostalgic slice of life turn into something that keeps you on edge for no reason. Then again I guess that's A24's thing these days but it doesn't always need to be. I don't need to hear A24 make Blur's Beetlebum get distorted at the end like something bad is going to happen when it just cuts to another scene and nothing particularly bad happens. Just make the enjoyable and more touching moments, actually enjoyable. Well acted by the two leads though.

I'm not sure I understand this perspective.

Spoiler

The whole plot of the film is an adult woman years later looking back at the last time she spent with her father before he killed himself. It's about her grief and the random/eclectic memories one has about a loved after they've died. In the case of these memories, as an parent to a young child herself she is beginning to see things through his eyes more and coming to terms of why he died - and importantly, to the degree that he attempted to shield her from his depression (which is why the tension underneath everything). So of course there's nostalgia in the memories, but there's a necessary sadness looking back at the trip. A brilliant work of art in exploring this feeling; I lost a close aunt when I was a similar age to suicide and it almost perfectly captures my last few memories of her.

 

[Pink Mist]

Jackpot 2 (Mika Kaurismäki, 1982)

Three young people, two boys and a girl, meet on a Friday evening in an urban post-disaster setting which has brought Helsinki to ruins. The boys’ sole purpose of life is to play a Flip-Flop pinball machine.

Definitely an early career work from the Kaurismäki brothers; I'm not sure if its a student film like The Liar (the brothers' first collaboration), but it is pretty close. That said, despite its rough edges it holds up pretty well and you can see the early beginnings of their trademark styles, particularly the deadpan humour that Aki Kaurismäki would become world renowned for. Some great shots too, such as the pinball being played on the beach with the sunset.

Its a fun 30 minutes, mostly plotless other than 3 friends just vibin' playing pinball in a post-apocalyptic Helsinki. Also the film is heavily Godardian influenced. If The Liar reminded me of Breathless, this is the Kaurismäki version of Weekend.

 

[Osprey]

The Ipcress File (1965) - 6/10

A British spy (Michael Caine) investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of leading scientists. Made as a downbeat alternative to the early 007 movies, this British spy thriller is sort of an anti-Bond movie. Harry Palmer is not so different than James Bond in that he's quick witted and likes the ladies, but the plot is darker, more psychological and a bit like The Manchurian Candidate. There are also no exotic locations (just London), thrilling action scenes, sports cars, cool gadgets or upbeat music. It shows the darker, 9-to-5 side of the spy business, not the fun side. I appreciated that it dared to be different instead of just copying 007. The ending is strong and the cinematography is interesting, to say the least. Nearly every shot looks up at the actors, sometimes from only a few feet off of the ground. I started to wonder if they employed a child as the cinematographer. Add to that a lot of dutch angles and I was a little distracted by the framing of many shots, but it was certainly distinctive.

---

Gambit (1966) - 8/10

A British burglar (Michael Caine) hires an American dancer (Shirley MacLaine) to pose as his wife in order to steal from an Arab art collector, but little goes according to plan. This is one fun and well-paced caper. It takes only 5 minutes for the plan to be put into motion, but things aren't as they seem and are turned upside down only 30 minutes in. It makes for an unusual plot structure that I won't give away, but I thought that it really worked and made the middle portion of the film very funny. There are all kinds of other twists and turns, as well. It gets a little unbelievable in the end and there's a bit of romance that came out of nowhere, but I was already loving the film too much at that point to care. I liked the Arab setting, even though it clearly wasn't filmed in the Middle East (for one, the scene above is unmistakably the coast of Southern California). Caine and MacLaine contrast each other nicely because he's suave and to the point while she's chatty and unfocused, much to his annoyance. Reportedly, MacLaine (who was a much bigger star at the time) chose Caine to star opposite her after seeing him in The Ipcress File, and he was so thrilled to work with her and make his first American film that he agreed without reading the whole script. It's not a remarkable film in any way, but I just found it very entertaining from start to finish. Hollywood re-made it a decade ago (of course), but the remake isn't well rated (of course), so I'm not in a rush to check that out.

 

[kihei]

View attachment 651060

The Ipcress File (1965) - 6/10

A British spy (Michael Caine) investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of leading scientists. Made as a downbeat alternative to the early 007 movies, this British spy thriller is sort of an anti-Bond movie. Harry Palmer is not so different than James Bond in that he's quick witted and likes the ladies, but the plot is darker, more psychological and a bit like The Manchurian Candidate. There are also no exotic locations (just London), thrilling action scenes, sports cars, cool gadgets or upbeat music. It shows the darker, 9-to-5 side of the spy business, not the fun side. I liked that it dared to be different instead of just copying 007. The ending is strong and the cinematography is interesting, to say the least. Nearly every shot looks up at the actors, sometimes from only a few feet off of the ground. I started to wonder if the cinematographer was a child or hunchback. Add to that a lot of dutch angles and I was a little distracted by the framing of many shots, but it was certainly distinctive.

---

Doesn't sound like a 6/10 from you. Seems like you are lowballing it a bit.

 

[Osprey]

Doesn't sound like a 6/10 from you. Seems like you are lowballing it a bit.

I wish. I liked it enough (which is a 6/10 for me), but I might've sounded more generous because I wanted to like it as much as a lot of other people apparently do. I can't say that I liked it as much as the 7.2 average at IMDb, but then I liked Gambit even more than its 7.1, so it balanced out.

 

[Puck]

I wish. I liked it enough (which is a 6/10 for me), but I might've sounded more generous because I wanted to like it as much as a lot of other people apparently do. I can't say that I liked it as much as the 7.2 average at IMDb, but then I liked Gambit even more than its 7.1, so it balanced out.

The Ipcress File tv series (season 1, 6 episodes) is playing on Amazon Prime and it is actually pretty good. I highly recommend it. The new 'My Cocaine' (Harry Palmer) is young British actor Joe Cole.

Die Ipcress-Datei (TV Mini Series 2022) ⭐ 7.3 | Drama, Thriller

1h | 18

www.imdb.com

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Ipcress File film was a bit boring, never got going and was more style than substance. I'd seen The Spy Who Came In From The Cold like a month or two before so it was quite a disappointment.

Holiday (1938) - 7.5/10

This is arguably better than Cukor's Philadelphia Story though it feels more low-key and static/set-like. Predictable story especially considering the poster and you know where it's going the moment Katherine Hepburn enters and lays her eyes on Cary Grant but the predictability doesn't matter when the line deliveries are solid albeit overstated like the style was from the time. I absolutely love the way melancholy is portrayed in some older films, Katherine Hepburn collecting herself to go down the staircase into the party...what a scene. She does have the tendency to steal scenes and Cary Grant's presence isn't a match for her lol.

Sometimes I listen to her talk and just like with Jeff Goldblum I think.....is this an actual human person or was it an alienoid.

 

[Osprey]

Infinity Pool (2023) - 4/10

Vacationing at a secluded beach resort in a tiny nation, a struggling writer (Alexander Skarsgård), his wife, another tourist (Mia Goth) and her husband experience a terrible accident that exposes them to horrific local customs. The latest horror film from Brandon Cronenberg starts promisingly enough with an unsettling atmosphere and a shocking early development, but then doesn't really develop after that and just becomes scene after scene of violence, drug trips, nudity and gore with barely any story behind it all. There's apparent social commentary about how the rich can buy their way out of trouble, but it gets lost in the confusing events, intense imagery and implausibility of the premise. I stuck it out, waiting for the big twist or payoff that I assumed was coming. Instead, the same twist happens over and over again and then the movie just ends. There's no big reveal, no resolution of conflict, no payoff. Skarsgård and Goth are both pretty good, but don't have much to work with. Goth gets to be seductive and a bit crazy, which she's good at, but Skarsgård spends the whole film as one of the most pathetic characters that I've ever seen. I guess that he wanted something really different after playing a Viking warrior in The Northman, but his character is so pathetic that I never had any sympathy for him and everything in the story happens only because he doesn't stand up for himself. It got pretty irritating. In summary, it's a film without much plot or character development, but a lot of intense scenes for the sake of shock value. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, but at least the David Cronenberg films that I've seen have had solid plots to tie all of the weird and extreme stuff together. Perhaps Brandon should take a cue from his father's best films and work with co-writers in the future.

 

[kihei]

Mutzenbacher (2022) Directed by Ruth Beckermann 7B

To reference Monty Python...and now for something completely different. Austrian director Ruth Beckermann puts out a casting call for 100 men of all ages as she is supposedly adapting an infamous pornographic novel from 1904 called Josephine Mutzenbacher or The Story of a Viennese Whore. The first person narrator is a child prostitute who recounts her sexual encounters even those before her teens. But Beckermann isn't really going to make that movie. Rather she makes a documentary out of the auditions. Austrian men, black and white, young and old, rich and poor, read excerpts from the novel and then comment about what they think while a mildly intimidating Beckermann, off camera, occasionally poses her own questions. The result is sometimes hilarious but also deeply revealing which is likely why most people don't talk about their sex life and their fantasies more often. If the intent here was to show the craven nature of male sexuality, and I am not at all sure it was, the documentary fails on that score. While there are indeed a couple of eyebrow raisers among the motley crew, most guys answer honestly and frankly and provide more than a few genuine insights along the way. I found the doc absolutely fascinating if a little long-winded. And I could have lived without a male chorus of a hundred shouting out synonyms for "f***" in unison and that sort of thing. That's funny for about 2.1 seconds.

Intriguing as Mutzenbacher is, I couldn't help wondering what the reaction would be if the shoe was on the other foot. What if a male director had 100 women read from a pornographic novel thinking that they were auditioning for a movie and what if the director got them to talk about their sexual feelings and fantasies. Definitely a double standard would apply, little doubt about that. But I give Beckermann big points for taking a risk and coming up with something original and genuinely thought-provoking.

subtitles

MUBI

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Johnny Handsome. When looking back through a director's filmography there's always the possibility (if not the temptation) to latch on to an underseen or underappreicated film and go "Wait! This is pretty great!" This is the Walter Hill movie that made me do that. I feel like Hill's two best known films —48 Hours and The Warriors — are widely and properly regarded. He has another tier of great films that have passionate defenders — Streets of Fire, The Driver, Extreme Prejudice, Southern Comfort. After that you get into the mixed bag territory. Recently watched both Last Man Standing and Geronimo, both of which are entertaining, professional work. SOLID is a good description for the Walter Hill experience.

I'd slot Johnny Handsome below that top six, but above Hill's other generally sturdy work. A real classic, pulpy noir. Bad people filled with tough talk and bad ideas with an added undercurrent of mad scientist quackery. One thing that's really popped to me about Hill's movies is that he attracts talented casts and gets the most out of them even with cheap paperback stories like this. One of Mickey Rourke's best performances (maximum wounded dog energy) right before his career went downhill. There's a joke to be made here about his real-life face being an inverse of his physical arc in this movie but I'm TOO CLASSY to make that joke.

Morgan Freeman killing in the sort of supporting role he'd soon graduate from. Ellen Barkin might have a little too much spice in her gumbo accent, but good lord is she both femme and fatale. And Lance Henrickson doing his Lance Henrickson menace.

Pick out a classic 40s/50s golden age noir and then throw this on for the back half of a good double feature.

 

[OzzyFan]

High Noon (1952)
3.20 out of 4stars

“Former marshal Will Kane is preparing to leave the small town of Hadleyville, New Mexico, with his new bride when he learns that local criminal Frank Miller has been set free and is coming to seek revenge on the marshal who turned him in.”
A great western with slow building suspense and an interesting look at the lawman’s dilemma, directly and metaphorically. Won 4 Academy awards, including best actor for Gary Cooper, whose emotive facial expressions and glances greatly helped him achieve that honor. I have no notable political withstanding on any topic involving the law/police, so take everything I say as my film interpretation please. The film is about how being a lawman is a job of integrity, responsibility, and sacrifice of which many don’t truly comprehend and even fewer are truly suited for. Unenviable and some would argue wrongful, but in the end necessary. When danger and violence are on the table, one must throw self-preservation by the wayside in favor of the greater good. It’s not about selfish wants and gains and abuses and loopholes, it’s about doing anything and everything in one’s abilities and powers to protect and serve the people, or in other words, doing within the law whatever is possible for the general welfare and peace of all people. To what degree this is upheld is up for debate, but this is the purpose of lawmen. And all this could be metaphorically extended to soldiers and government politicians. Controversial for its time because it was seen as an un-American communist movie, and metaphorical of the blacklisting of Hollywood workers during the Cold War era. Supposedly very influential on the Western genre in its format and untraditional portrayals of characters.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
3.10 out of 4stars

“During a rural picnic on Valentine’s day in 1900, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.”
A great art mystery drama that is cryptic and fateful and can be best described through the Poe poem quote spoken at the beginning “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”. If you know that Poe poem, you know that this film is an indirect retelling and expansion of that story. Unlike the vast majority of Poe adaptations, this is far from traditional horror albeit it is eerie. The main theme is existential, about the reality of life and hope being fleeting, as we are slaves to both nature and time of which we don’t fully comprehend. Humans are helpless and panged by the unknown and uncontrollable forces behind these elements, and essentially being insignificant in the world with an ever eroding personal impact. Life is but a dream and fragile. Its flooding of nature imagery and sounds pounds this message through. Beautifully shot and encapsulates the dream-like quality of its material excellently. The score is a character in itself: atmospheric, dreamy, and haunting. There are definitely other overtones of sexuality at play too, which I thought could be metaphorical here of a sexual awakening in adolescent girls alongside the possible vulnerabilities and external concerns that go along with it.

Bone Tomahawk (2015)
3.05 out of 4stars

“A small-town sheriff leads a posse of four men into a desolate region to rescue three people who were abducted by a cannibalistic Native American clan.”
A great western with horror elements that’s an odd, slow burn, grimly atmospheric, gritty, and at times brutal journey. Some graphic carnage, so those sensitive to that be warned. Aside from the opening scene, it’s a bit slow and a bit meandering for the first 30minutes as it sets-up, but after that it's very engaging. Well written, well directed, with great long shots and acting (especially from Kurt Russell). Sprinkles in a lot of off-beat humor throughout, which felt only mildly effective for me but added nicely to the peculiarity of it all. And the “horn/call” sound of the cannibals is very unnerving, I wonder how it was created. Convincing and entertaining reminder of the dangers and lawlessness beyond wild west town borders.

The Loved Ones (2009)
3.00 out of 4stars

“After a classmate declines her invitation to the school dance, a teenager kidnaps him and makes him the guest of honor at her own twisted prom.”
A great horror that is sadistic, twist filled, bloody, and well executed with a good amount of dark humor. Know as little as possible going in because the unraveling is noteworthy. The film progressively elevates as it intrigues with visual and mental curveballs. Just as well directed as it is written, conveying its material with an excellent mix of inference, teasing, obscuring, doing, and showing. 84minutes of mostly well paced fun.

 

[OzzyFan]

View attachment 651487

Infinity Pool (2023) - 4/10

There's apparent social commentary about how the rich can buy their way out of trouble, but it gets lost in the confusing story, intense imagery and implausibility of the premise. I stuck it out, waiting for the big twist or payoff that I assumed was coming. Instead, the same twist happens over and over again and then the movie just ends. There's no big reveal, no resolution of conflict, no payoff. Skarsgård and Goth are both pretty good, but don't have much to work with. Goth gets to be seductive and a bit crazy, which she's good at, but Skarsgård spends the whole film as one of the most pathetic characters that I've ever seen. I guess that he wanted something really different after playing a Viking warrior in The Northman, but his character is so pathetic that I never had any sympathy for him and everything in the story happens only because he doesn't stand up for himself. It got pretty irritating. In summary, it's a film without much plot or character development, but a lot of intense scenes for the sake of shock value. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, but at least the David Cronenberg films that I've seen have had solid plots to tie all of the weird and extreme stuff together. Perhaps Brandon should take a cue from his father's best films and work with co-writers in the future.

Well, there was a sort of twist and payoff at the end differing. I don't know if I'd call it a big payoff, but it was definitely something more noteworthy (you can guess what I'm talking about). I guess you were hoping for some grand revelation or answer that never came. I think the theme is expanded enough from my correlative analysis of it and that's what's built throughout the film, the expansive-ness and lengths this abuse can go and how it makes them feel and appear. I don't know if the filmmakers wanted Skarsgaard to be a sympathetic character throughout the film, maybe at the end they might but before that I'm not sure they do because he doesn't see the "it crowd" as something diabolic until later on.

Overall the film is meant to be satirical (not literal), albeit it arguably hits the nose on the head sometimes, so it gets away with the shock and extremeness on that end. Not that I want to quote rottentomatoes, but it is a visceral experience first and foremost with some things on it's mind, that's the point. But yeah, Brandon is not his dad, David has an excellent collective and fairly rangy filmography that are as deep as they are visually experimental, and fit my personal tastes very well.

 

[JackSlater]

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
3.10 out of 4stars

“During a rural picnic on Valentine’s day in 1900, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.”
A great art mystery drama that is cryptic and fateful and can be best described through the Poe poem quote spoken at the beginning “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”. If you know that Poe poem, you know that this film is an indirect retelling and expansion of that story. Unlike the vast majority of Poe adaptations, this is far from traditional horror albeit it is eerie. The main theme is existential, about the reality of life and hope being fleeting, as we are slaves to both nature and time of which we don’t fully comprehend. Humans are helpless and panged by the unknown and uncontrollable forces behind these elements, and essentially being insignificant in the world with an ever eroding personal impact. Life is but a dream and fragile. Its flooding of nature imagery and sounds pounds this message through. Beautifully shot and encapsulates the dream-like quality of its material excellently. The score is a character in itself: atmospheric, dreamy, and haunting. There are definitely other overtones of sexuality at play too, which I thought could be metaphorical here of a sexual awakening in adolescent girls alongside the possible vulnerabilities and external concerns that go along with it.

I read the book Picnic at Hanging Rock recently. The movie is interesting in terms of tone and visuals and whatnot and the book is fairly similar, however there is a big difference - the book explains exactly what happens at the end. Honestly I prefer to ignore that when considering the movie. Better not to know sometimes.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Johnny Handsome. When looking back through a director's filmography there's always the possibility (if not the temptation) to latch on to an underseen or underappreicated film and go "Wait! This is pretty great!" This is the Walter Hill movie that made me do that. I feel like Hill's two best known films —48 Hours and The Warriors — are widely and properly regarded. He has another tier of great films that have passionate defenders — Streets of Fire, The Driver, Extreme Prejudice, Southern Comfort. After that you get into the mixed bag territory. Recently watched both Last Man Standing and Geronimo, both of which are entertaining, professional work. SOLID is a good description for the Walter Hill experience.

I'd slot Johnny Handsome below that top six, but above Hill's other generally sturdy work. A real classic, pulpy noir. Bad people filled with tough talk and bad ideas with an added undercurrent of mad scientist quackery. One thing that's really popped to me about Hill's movies is that he attracts talented casts and gets the most out of them even with cheap paperback stories like this. One of Mickey Rourke's best performances (maximum wounded dog energy) right before his career went downhill. There's a joke to be made here about his real-life face being an inverse of his physical arc in this movie but I'm TOO CLASSY to make that joke.

Morgan Freeman killing in the sort of supporting role he'd soon graduate from. Ellen Barkin might have a little too much spice in her gumbo accent, but good lord is she both femme and fatale. And Lance Henrickson doing his Lance Henrickson menace.

Pick out a classic 40s/50s golden age noir and then throw this on for the back half of a good double feature.

Was thinking more about how much I liked Morgan Freeman in this but couldn't find the right words earlier. It occurred to me now though ... he's a bit of a shit. A good guy in the relative dynamics of the story but he's an asshole. He's been such shorthand for dignity and honor and other high ideas for so long that it took me 24 hours after this to ID the fact that he is playing a dick.

 

[kihei]

Alcarras (2022) Directed by Carla Simon 5B

In rural Catalonia in Spain, an extended family of fruit farmers have harvested peaches for decades. However, they do not own the land and are threatened with eviction when the people who have inherited the land want to replace the trees with solar panels which would be more profitable. Sole, the head of the family, chooses to resist the change but not all his family are in agreement with his aggressive actions. There is a lot to like about Alcarras. Beautifully photographed, it does a good job of portraying individual family members and making us aware of the devastating nature of the loss they face. But if one can have an excess of naturalism in a film, well, this baby would be it. We spend an awful lot of time watching farmers farm, children play, and plants being plants. The film is very well intended, but its central character is not really all that sympathetic (his final gesture of rebellion seems just mean-spirited and wasteful), and the narrative lacks any kind of kick that might jolt this collection of bucolic images into something powerful. While frequent lovely moments abound, there was just not enough urgency to keep me interested.

subtitles

 

[Osprey]

kihei was so uninterested in the film that he didn't even care to assign a grade. Who's lowballing films now?

Edit: Aw, he corrected it.

Edit #2: Coincidentally, I just posted a review in which I didn't assign a grade, myself.

 

[kihei]

kihei was so uninterested in the film that he didn't even care to assign a grade. Who's lowballing films now?

Edit: Aw, he corrected it.

It wasn't intentional. Just forgot at first, then I was blindsided for a couple of minutes by a wonky mouse. Turned out to be a good thing. When I started the review I was thinking 6, but as I wrote it I just went "f***, not really."

 

[Osprey]

The Amusement Park (1975) - ?/10

In 1973, a Lutheran group that was concerned about ageism and elder abuse in our society commissioned an educational film on the subject. For whatever reason, they hired the director of Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero. Maybe they weren't familiar with it and he hadn't yet learned that he could keep remaking it instead of taking low-paying jobs like this. The Lutherans were seemingly so horrified by what he delivered that it was shelved and never shown again. After Romero died in 2017, relatives found a copy of the presumed lost film and restored it. It's only 53 minutes long and starts with an introduction by actor Lincoln Maazel, telling the viewer about the plight of the elderly and that the following film will illustrate what they go through. It then switches to Maazel (now dressed like Colonel Sanders) walking through an amusement park and, initially, enjoying it. Eventually, though, he's pushed around, taken advantage of and worse. The amusement park is seemingly a metaphor for society, a place meant for young people, where old people aren't appreciated and just get in the way. Gradually, the camerawork and editing gets more hectic and the audio (of mostly crowd noises and carnival music) more cacophonous, to the point where it's all a bit unnerving and horror film like. Later on, there's a scene with a freak show in which the "freaks" are just normal elderly people (subtle, huh?) and another with a biker gang beating the old man with chains and lead pipes and robbing him. This is apparently what life is like when you get old. The whole thing eventually circles back to the beginning in a rather clever but depressing way. Intended to motivate young people to care for the elderly, the film is much more effective at making them terrified of growing old. There's even a scene in which a young couple visits a fortune teller and sees visions in her crystal ball of how horrible their twilight years will be. The film is rather nightmarish, like a Twilight Zone episode. It's hard to imagine what the Lutherans were expecting when they hired a horror film director, but it probably wasn't this. It's like if Catholics commissioned an educational film about the healing power of Christ and hired William Peter Blatty. I don't know how to rate it because its heart is in the right place and it succeeds in leaving an impression, yet it's not the intended one and I can't recommend it. It's too low budget, too short on plot and too depressing. It probably has value only to Romero fans or people really curious to see what happens when a horror director is hired to do a PSA. Fun fact: All of the young people disrespecting, ignoring, stepping over and abusing their elders in this are now elderly, themselves.

 

[OzzyFan]

I read the book Picnic at Hanging Rock recently. The movie is interesting in terms of tone and visuals and whatnot and the book is fairly similar, however there is a big difference - the book explains exactly what happens at the end. Honestly I prefer to ignore that when considering the movie. Better not to know sometimes.

Thanks for pointing this out. Just read the book ending and glad they left the film as they did. Works more powerfully that way imo.

 

[Chili]

The Towering Inferno-1974

Several disaster films made in the early 1970's, for me this one holds up the best. The danger is real in many cases for the stuntmen and the actors who did many stunts themselves. 70 ft+ models? What a cast. Favorite performance was Fred Astaire including putting out someone on fire for real with his jacket. And the Paul Newman/Steve McQueen angle. Seemed like McQueen used to feel he was always in competition with Newman and his films (The Hustler/Cincinnati Kid, Cool Hand Luke/Papillon, Winning/Lemans...). McQueen got the script amended so that he would have as many lines as Newman, which is interesting because he usually liked as few lines as possible in his films. Quite the ride.

Elmer Gantry-1960

An evangelical wannabe (Burt Lancaster) talks his way into the life of a spiritual faith healer (Jean Simmons). There is quite a bit of religion in the film, interesting how it is portrayed. Both of the leads are convincing in their ability to capture the attention of an audience and get their messages across, although their real motives may be different. Some top notch performances, a couple of whom won academy awards including Lancaster who combines charm and wit. A bit over long but a good film.

Behold a Pale Horse-1964

At the end of the Spanish civil war in 1939, many were exiled from Spain to France. Some did not accept that the war was over like Manuel Artiquez (Gregory Peck) and he became an underground fighter. It's many years later and Captain Viñolas (Anthony Quinn) has set up an elaborate trap. The bandit's mother is dying and the Captain sees this as his opportunity to capture Artiquez. Based on a novel written by Emeric Pressburger (of Pressburger & Powell films) and directed by Fred Zinnemann. He was very choosy about his projects and sometimes chose hard to film stories (like The Nun's Story). Nice score of latin themed music. A beautifully filmed story on some impressive locations, based on a real life legend named Zapater.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The Towering Inferno-1974

Several disaster films made in the early 1970's, for me this one holds up the best. The danger is real in many cases for the stuntmen and the actors who did many stunts themselves. 70 ft+ models? What a cast. Favorite performance was Fred Astaire including putting out someone on fire for real with his jacket. And the Paul Newman/Steve McQueen angle. Seemed like McQueen used to feel he was always in competition with Newman and his films (The Hustler/Cincinnati Kid, Cool Hand Luke/Papillon, Winning/Lemans...). McQueen got the script amended so that he would have as many lines as Newman, which is interesting because he usually liked as few lines as possible in his films. Quite the ride.

Elmer Gantry-1960

An evangelical wannabe (Burt Lancaster) talks his way into the life of a spiritual faith healer (Jean Simmons). There is quite a bit of religion in the film, interesting how it is portrayed. Both of the leads are convincing in their ability to capture the attention of an audience and get their messages across, although their real motives may be different. Some top notch performances, a couple of whom won academy awards including Lancaster who combines charm and wit. A bit over long but a good film.

Behold a Pale Horse-1964

At the end of the Spanish civil war in 1939, many were exiled from Spain to France. Some did not accept that the war was over like Manuel Artiquez and he became an underground fighter. It's many years later and Captain Viñolas (Anthony Quinn) has set up an elaborate trap. The bandit's mother is dying and the Captain sees this as his opportunity to capture Artiquez. Based on a novel written by Emeric Pressburger (of Pressburger & Powell films) and directed by Fred Zinnemann. He was very choosy about his projects and sometimes chose hard to film stories (like The Nun's Story). Nice score of latin themed music. A beautifully filmed story on some impressive locations, based on a real life legend named Zapater.

Was just listening to a podcast. It wasn't about James Garner and Steve McQueen but there was an aside about them and their rivalry on The Great Escape and how McQueen was jealous of Garner's turtleneck sweaters. Further proof that even seemingly the coolest dudes in the world can be weird and thin skinned.

 

[Chili]

Was just listening to a podcast. It wasn't about James Garner and Steve McQueen but there was an aside about them and their rivalry on The Great Escape and how McQueen was jealous of Garner's turtleneck sweaters. Further proof that even seemingly the coolest dudes in the world can be weird and thin skinned.

I read a biography on Steve McQueen (by Christopher Sandford which I recommend) there are other stories like that. He had a rough childhood. He made $12 million on Inferno. Once he had that kind of loot, seemed to lose interest in his career. No question he had his demons.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Girls In Uniform (1931) - 7.5/10

Unfortunately does little against the stereotype of German being a very shouty language but it is an interesting film compared to the more sanitized stuff from Hollywood after 1932. Early lesbian film with a level of tension and expressive characters similar to M throughout to keep it more interesting than most boring LGBQT films today like Carol or that one with the Italian holiday and the cannibal. Obviously it's rough around the edges being an early talkie but the editing style is still somewhat refreshing.

The Seventh Continent (1989) - 7/10

The build-up is better than the ending for me. That sinister feeling doesn't really settle in till late but it's also maybe better that way rather than modern A24 type films trying to bash you over the head with it. Maybe it's Haneke's edgy statement on capitalist culture but I couldn't relate to it or find it particularly edgy. Maybe because he shows the characters as being quite content throughout making their decision at the end less in line with the rest of the film.

 

[Puck]

UK BAFTA Awards today. Banshees won Best British Film. Irish Director made a funny snarky comment about his film being in 'British' category. Best Picture overall was All Quiet on the Western Front. Confusing I know. Anyway Cate Blanchet (Tar) won Best Actress. Austin Bultler (Elvis) won Best actor.

All Quiet on the Western Front sweeps Baftas as Banshees also gets an Oscar boost

Anti-war film takes record-breaking seven awards, including best picture and best director, while Irish black comedy The Banshees of Inisherin and Elvis biopic both win four awards

www.theguardian.com

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Banshees would be my clear winner too (although I haven't seen All Quiet because I have no desire to sit through the third version of that story though I'm sure it's well-made). Banshees was the most captivating film from the year for me along with Knives Out 2 but didn't suffer the moer convoluted bits of Knives Out 2 and was a neater/better-made film. Maybe more entertaining too.