Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Movie-mber Edition

[nameless1]

Are they going to waive or alter the theatrical release requirements at all?

Going to be an underwhelming year either way.

The Academy laxed the rules this year. Movies on VOD and streaming services are allowed to be qualified, and they only need to be submitted to the secure website within 60 days of the released.

Here is the exempt from the Academy Awards release:

The devastating COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of all Los Angeles County movie theaters as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Current Academy Awards rules (under Rule Two, Eligibility) require that a film be shown in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County for a theatrical qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days, during which period screenings must occur at least three times daily. Until further notice, and for the 93rd Awards year only, films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are initially made available on a commercial streaming or VOD service may qualify in the Best Picture, general entry and specialty categories for the 93rd Academy Awards under these provisions:

1. The film must be made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member-only streaming site within 60 days of the film’s streaming or VOD release;
2. The film must meet all other eligibility requirements.

On a date to be determined by the Academy, and when theaters reopen in accordance with federal, state and local specified guidelines and criteria, this rules exemption will no longer apply. All films released thereafter will be expected to comply with the standard Academy theatrical qualifying requirements.

 

[nameless1]

It is going to be a weird Academy Award season. If the nominated movies don't pop up on Netflix, I'm not going to be able to see them legally.

Yeah, I really want to see Nomadland and Pieces of a Woman. I heard good things about Ammonite too. The movie I have seen at the film fest has largely underwhelmed. There is No Evil was my favourite and the best from what I saw, but it is still a tad below what I usually consider to be the year's best.

 

[Chili]

The Right Stuff-1983

Story of the evolution of the US Space program back to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier up to the mid 1960's. Long but well done. Dramatizes the danger involved in the early flights. Would be great to see this one in a theatre.

Footnote: Realized why Bill Lee (aka The Spaceman) titled a book of his 'The Wrong Stuff'.

 

[kihei]

Yeah, I really want to see Nomadland and Pieces of a Woman. I heard good things about Ammonite too. The movie I have seen at the film fest has largely underwhelmed. There is No Evil was my favourite and the best from what I saw, but it is still a tad below what I usually consider to be the year's best.

I'd only add First Cow to that list from what I have seen. Hope it's nominated. And Dick Johnson Is Dead in the documentary category, wonderful film, that. Usually I've seen a dozen or so of the submitted International films by now, but I have only seen four this year: A Sun, The Endless Trench, I'm No Longer Here, and La Llorona, none of which will make my top twenty even in this weak year.

 

[nameless1]

I'd only add First Cow to that list from what I have seen. Hope it's nominated. And Dick Johnson Is Dead in the documentary category, wonderful film, that. Usually I've seen a dozen or so of the submitted International films by now, but I have only seen four this year: A Sun, The Endless Trench, I'm No Longer Here, and La Llorona, none of which will make my top twenty even in this weak year.

Ahh yes, First Cow was great. Like the river that flows prominently beside the setting, it is slow, nothing really happens, and even the characters are emotionally flat. Yet, somehow, it works, because it feels like a slice of life. That is a great film, and I too hope it gets nominated. That said, I think it is more on the There is No Evil category. It is very good, but it is just a tier below the great tier.

 

[Osprey]

I Was a Male War Bride (1949) - 8/10 (Loved it)

I Was a Male War Bride (1949) Directed by Howard Hawks 8A

I Was a Male War Bride is a late era screwball comedy with Cary Grant and directed by Howard Hawks that recalls there much earlier collaboration Bringing Up Baby. As with that film the plot is silly, but unlike contemporary silly plots, the film is witty rather than moronic. World War II has ended and Henry (Cary Grant), a French army captain (but with no accent), has been assigned to work with Catherine (Anne Sheridan, a US army lieutenant with whom he shares a bit of a tumultuous past. Their relationship is close to the love/hate model. When we meet them, the hate side of the equation is in the ascendancy, but then love beckons and things get really complicated. While male soldiers take European women for brides all the time, there are no regulations that guide the reverse practice. So, Henry and Catherine have to get married several times, can’t share a hotel room, and Henry may not be allowed into the States at all. We watch them work their way out of one complex situation after another, accompanied by snappy dialogue and some great physical humour, most of it coming from Grant whose comic timing is genius. In one long, almost silent scene, he gets trapped in his fiance’s bedroom when the doorknob to the hall door falls off unexpectedly. What follows is Grant’s use of facial expressions and body language to communicate his various states of alarm and frustration. He is just a delight to watch. There are several scenes in the movie nearly as clever. I think I have seen I Was a Male War Bride three or four times now, and I still laugh out loud frequently.

YouTube

I saved this until now because I wanted to see the earlier Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday first. It turned out that I'd seen all three films before. I must've gone on a similar Cary Grant/Howard Hawks spree years ago. I certainly didn't mind re-watching them, though, since I loved all three (again). Despite having seen this, I wasn't sure which character Cary Grant's love interest was until he told her "I think you're repulsive." It's a giveaway that whichever woman Cary Grant is rudest to in a comedy is the one that he falls for. He might even be the only actor who can say that to a woman and make it funny. It was interesting to read that the film was based on the biography of an actual Belgian officer named Henri Rochard that was entitled "I Was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress." It's a good thing that they changed the title for the film, but they sure got a lot of use out of the original one in the story. Anyways, as you said, it's a quite funny film and a great romantic comedy that has aged very well, IMO.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Made a list of the top 300 percentile films (excluding obscure stuff) fro Criticker.com last month. It's changed quite a bit by now I'm sure as these percentiles often fluctuate but general gist should still apply. The percentile rating is not really a rating I guess but serves the same purpose:

Name	Percentile
Harakiri (1962)	85.05
The Godfather (1972)	83.7
The Godfather: Part II (1974)	83.27
The Hole (1960)	82.58
High and Low (1963)	82.5
12 Angry Men (1957)	82.34
The Human Condition III	82.18
Seven Samurai (1954)	82
Sátántangó (1994)	81.67
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)	81.47
Come and See (1985)	81.41
Woman in the Dunes (1964)	81.2
Ikiru (1952)	80.73
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)	80.44
The Human Condition II	80.43
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)	80.31
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)	80.31
The World of Apu (1959)	80.16
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)	79.94
The Best of Youth (2003)	79.94
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)	79.85
Parasite (2019)	79.73
Late Spring (1949)	79.67
Fanny and Alexander (1982)	79.52
The Shop on Main Street (1965)	79.46
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)	79.33
The Browning Version (1951)	79.3
Sherlock Jr. (1924)	79.03
Stalker (1979)	79.03
Persona (1966)	78.96
Modern Times (1936)	78.89
Paths of Glory (1957)	78.79
Sunset Blvd. (1950)	78.74
The Battle of Algiers (1966)	78.69
Children of Paradise (1945)	78.65
City Lights (1931)	78.64
M (1931)	78.64
The Wages of Fear (1953)	78.55
A Man Escaped (1956)	78.49
Ran (1985)	78.46
Napoléon (1927)	78.45
Tokyo Story (1953)	78.42
Kis Uykusu (2014)	78.36
Pulp Fiction (1994)	78.26
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)	78.15
A Separation (2011)	78.13
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)	77.91
City of God (2003)	77.9
A Short Film About Love (1988)	77.88
Ordet (1955)	77.88
Pather Panchali (1955)	77.8
Three Colors: Red (1994)	77.75
Rear Window (1954)	77.62
Goodfellas (1990)	77.61
Army of Shadows (1969)	77.58
Rififi (1955)	77.58
Sunrise (1927)	77.58
Tokyo Twilight	77.58
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)	77.55
Samurai Rebellion (1967)	77.55
Wild Strawberries (1957)	77.53
The Ascent (1977)	77.45
Double Indemnity (1944)	77.4
Day of Wrath (1943)	77.34
Andrei Rublev (1966)	77.26
Bicycle Thieves (1948)	77.25
The 400 Blows (1959)	77.2
The Third Man (1949)	77.12
Winter Light (1963)	77.02
A Brighter Summer Day	76.99
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)	76.98
Z (1969)	76.97
Dr Strangelove	76.95
Yojimbo (1961)	76.95
The Mirror (1975)	76.92
Schindler's List (1993)	76.88
The General (1926)	76.88
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)	76.87
Time of the Gypsies (1988)	76.86
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)	76.85
Nights of Cabiria (1957	76.84
Umberto D. (1952)	76.84
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)	76.82
To Be or Not to Be (1942)	76.79
Das Boot (1981)	76.78
Early Summer (1951)	76.78
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)	76.75
Autumn Sonata (1978)	76.74
Rashomon (1950)	76.73
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)	76.72
Close-Up (1990)	76.71
The Seventh Seal (1957)	76.71
When A Woman Ascends The Stairs	76.7
My Night at Maud's (1969)	76.64
Ahlat Agaci (2018)	76.64
The Mother and the Whore (1973)	76.58
Yi Yi (2000)	76.51
Vertigo (1958)	76.49
Ugetsu (1953)	76.44
Casablanca (1942)	76.39
Greed (1924)	76.39
Paris, Texas (1984)	76.38
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)	76.38
The Lives of Others (2006)	76.35
All About Eve (1950)	76.26
The Red Shoes (1948)	76.25
Il Posto (1961)	76.19
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)	76.18
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)	76.18
Le Samouraï (1967)	76.1
Spirited Away (2001)	76.08
The Dark Knight (2008)	76.07
Aparajito (1956)	76.04
The Apartment (1960)	76.04
Fight Club (1999)	76.02
Grand Illusion (1937)	76.02
Red Beard (1965)	76.01
The Exterminating Angel (1962)	75.94
I Am Cuba	75.9
Psycho (1960)	75.9
Memories of Murder (2003)	75.82
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)	75.79
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)	75.76
Marketa Lazarova	75.75
Apocalypse Now (1979)	75.73
A Short Film About Killing (1988)	75.71
8½ (1963)	75.66
The Hunt (2012)	75.66
Through a Glass Darkly (1961)	75.66
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)	75.65
Chinatown (1974)	75.64
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)	75.64
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)	75.63
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)	75.61
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)	75.56
Taxi Driver (1976)	75.47
The Burmese Harp (1956)	75.47
The Cremator (1969)	75.38
La Notte (1961)	75.35
Underground (1995)	75.34
Citizen Kane (1941)	75.31
Cries and Whispers (1972)	75.28
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)	75.26
Diabolique (1955)	75.22
Shame (1968)	75.2
Touch of Evil (1958)	75.2
Night and the City (1950)	75.17
Secrets & Lies (1996)	75.17
Naked (1993)	75.15
L'Eclisse (1962)	75.14
In the Mood for Love (2000)	75.12
The Fire Within (1963)	75.09
The Cameraman (1928)	75.07
Kanal (1957)	75.05
Fitzcarraldo (1982)	75.03
The Celebration (1998)	75.03
Nostalghia (1983)	74.96
Ace in the Hole (1951)	74.92
Out of the Past (1947)	74.92
Throne of Blood (1957)	74.92
The Face of Another (1966)	74.9
Los Olvidados (1950)	74.89
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)	74.87
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)	74.81
A Face in the Crowd (1957)	74.8
Forbidden Games (1952)	74.8
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)	74.77
Still Walking (2008)	74.76
In a Lonely Place (1950)	74.75
The Life of Oharu (1952)	74.74
Masumiyet (1997)	74.73
Network (1976)	74.73
The Great Dictator (1940)	74.73
The Kid (1921)	74.68
Three Colors: Blue (1993)	74.67
Kes (1969)	74.65
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)	74.6
Stroszek (1977)	74.58
The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)	74.53
Dersu Uzala (1975)	74.5
Barry Lyndon (1975)	74.49
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)	74.49
Summer (1986)	74.43
The Rules of the Game (1939)	74.42
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)	74.36
Onibaba (1964)	74.33
Paper Moon (1973)	74.3
Wings of Desire (1987)	74.24
Metropolis (1927)	74.23
The Servant (1963)	74.21
There Will Be Blood (2007)	74.19
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)	74.18
Tampopo (1985)	74.15
Where Is The Friend's Home? (1987)	74.15
Brief Encounter (1945)	74.1
Spirit of the Beehive (1973)	74.09
Raging Bull (1980)	74.07
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)	74.05
Faust (1926)	74.03
Chungking Express (1994)	73.99
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)	73.98
North by Northwest (1959)	73.91
Ivy (2015)	73.9
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)	73.9
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)	73.9
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)	73.84
Princess Mononoke (1997)	73.82
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)	73.81
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)	73.81
The Phantom Carriage (1921)	73.8
Days of Heaven (1978)	73.79
Eternity And A Day	73.79
Oldboy (2003)	73.77
Alien (1979)	73.76
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)	73.75
The Circus (1928)	73.75
Fail-Safe (1964)	73.74
Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964)	73.71
Fury (1936)	73.7
The Gold Rush (1925)	73.7
The Last Laugh (1924)	73.6
Cría cuervos (1976)	73.54
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)	73.52
The Usual Suspects (1995)	73.52
Unforgiven (1992)	73.52
The Conformist (1970)	73.49
Cinema Paradiso (1988)	73.47
The Turin Horse (2011)	73.45
Hiroshima mon amour (1959)	73.42
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)	73.42
La Haine (1995)	73.4
Landscape in the Mist (1988) 76	73.36
Whiplash (2014)	73.33
The Twilight Samurai (2002)	73.32
Léon: The Professional (1994)	73.23
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)	73.22
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)	73.21
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)	73.2
Ai no mukidashi (2008)	73.19
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	73.19
Day for Night (1973)	73.17
Vivre Sa Vie (1962)	73.16
Manon of the Spring (1986)	73.16
I Was Born, But... (1932)	73.12
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)	73.12
Opening Night (1977)	73.12
The Return (2003)	73.11
Sanjuro (1962)	73.08
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)	73.07
Ivan's Childhood (1962)	73.05
Singin' in the Rain (1952)	73
The Matrix (1999)	73
To Live (1994)	73
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)	72.99
Blade Runner (1982)	72.98
Alice in den Städten (1974)	72.96
For a Few Dollars More (1965)	72.93
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)	72.9
The Double Life of Veronique (1991)	72.89
Se7en (1995)	72.86
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)	72.86
The Shining (1980)	72.86
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)	72.82
Play Time (1967)	72.79
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)	72.78
The Conversation (1974)	72.77
Love Streams (1984)	72.75
Phantom of Liberty (1974)	72.72
Au hasard Balthazar (1966)	72.69
The Virgin Spring (1960)	72.69
The Handmaiden	72.64
The Night of the Hunter (1955)	72.63
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)	72.61
Au revoir les enfants (1987)	72.6
Seven Beauties (1975)	72.59
Amadeus (1984)	72.55
White Heat (1949)	72.54
It Happened One Night (1934)	72.53
La Strada (1954)	72.49
La Dolce vita (1960)	72.49
Le Cercle rouge (1970)	72.45
Jean de Florette (1986) 76	72.43
Safety Last! (1923)	72.42
Mondays in the Sun (2002) 76	72.42
Trouble in Paradise (1932)	72.42
The Hustler (1961)	72.41
About Elly (2009)	72.38
3 Women (1977)	72.37
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)	72.25
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)	72.24
Fargo (1996)	72.22
Viridiana (1961)	72.21
Kwaidan (1964) 76	72.21
Cool Hand Luke (1967)	72.2
Solaris	72.15
The Sacrifice (1986)	72.14
Dial M For Murder	72.13
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)	72.12
Memento (2001)	72.12

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[kihei]

What is Cricketeer,. com and what does this list represent?

Very good list but why in the world is The Hole so high? Good film, but top four?

After translating the Turkish and Japanese titles, I have seen all but the following:

Napoleon (damn it!)
Underground
In a Lonely Place (figures I should have seen it, but definitely don't remember it)
Summer
Tokyo Twilight
Ivy
Landscape in the Mist
Monday in the Sun

I'll see if I can find those.

 

[kihei]

For those interested, a really insightful overview of Wong Kar-wai's work:

Wong Kar-wai’s Masterpieces of Political Uncertainty

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Good lord is this thread humbling. I've always gotten a well-meaning chuckle and shake of the head from my friends (none of who are really into the arts except for one or two) calling me a film buff but this board is always a good reminder that I'm such a putz. But I look at it positively in the sense that there's enough good stuff to watch, listen to and read to last me two lifetimes.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Horrible Bosses - 2011

A fun film about three guys who hate their jobs, and more specifically, their bosses. Good cast, lots of funny moments. The main three actors (Bateman, Day and Sudeikis) have really good chemistry.

7/10

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Life after Flash

Documentary that catches up with the cast and crew of the legendary Flash Gordon, now considered second only to the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the realm of high camp. Also has interviews with various people who share the booths with them on the Comicon circuit, people who know people who know people in the entertainment industry, but mostly we follow around Sam J. Jones, the now-weathered former star whose ill-advised spat with producer Dino De Laurentiis led from starring as Flash Gordon and Hollywood hedonism to divorce, depression, obscurity, and eventually professional security gigs. Even though Sam's pushing 60 and looks like he got left out in the sun for a couple of weeks after dying in a desert, he still retains larger than life charisma and personality. Bit of a Jesus freak, but clearly still a fun guy to be around. Pretty damn good shape for 60, too.

It's worthwhile if you ever saw the Flash Gordon movie. You're going: "Oh yeah...I remember that!" a lot. Telling who doesn't appear as well; for example, a very young Timothy Dalton co-starred as Prince someone or other and took the role Very Seriously. He's not around, but the bit actor alongside him said: "I met Timothy Dalton in a store in Kensington once, and I said, 'Oh! Mr. Dalton! You killed me in Flash Gordon!' and he gave me a withering look and walked away...!" Brian May turns up to talk about the soundtrack, Brian Blessed shouts a lot, and a few aging, overmade, teary Hollywood women tell us how *tragic* Sam's story was. Dino De Laurentiis, Max von Sydow, and Freddie Mercury unfortunately do not appear due to their being dead. Although Max was alive when this was done...read into that what you will.

Your life is poorer if you haven't seen the original Flash Gordon.

On Prime.

It's hard to describe how totally not utterly bizarre this was at the time.

 

[Osprey]

It's worthwhile if you ever saw the Flash Gordon movie. You're going: "Oh yeah...I remember that!" a lot. Telling who doesn't appear as well; for example, a very young Timothy Dalton co-starred as Prince someone or other and took the role Very Seriously. He's not around, but the bit actor alongside him said: "I met Timothy Dalton in a store in Kensington once, and I said, 'Oh! Mr. Dalton! You killed me in Flash Gordon!' and he gave me a withering look and walked away...!" Brian May turns up to talk about the soundtrack, Brian Blessed shouts a lot, and a few aging, overmade, teary Hollywood women tell us how *tragic* Sam's story was. Dino De Laurentiis, Max von Sydow, and Freddie Mercury unfortunately do not appear due to their being dead. Although Max was alive when this was done...read into that what you will.

Your life is poorer if you haven't seen the original Flash Gordon.

Actually, I started watching it for the first time only last month. It didn't take me long before I thought of you. It reminded me of Battle Beyond the Stars, which you talked me into watching (and which I'm pretty sure that you used an almost identical caption with). I said that I "started watching it" because I got about a third through and had to stop. A couple of weeks ago, I watched another third and had to stop again. It's been hard for me to take much of it before I need to put something/anything else on. The lead actor, especially, is one of worst lead actors that I've ever seen. Clearly, they cast him on physique and charisma more than acting talent. I felt bad for Max Von Sydow and Timothy Dalton and don't blame them for wanting to distance themselves from the movie. Anyways, I'll finish it eventually, but I'm not looking forward to it .

 

[Osprey]

The Bishop's Wife (1947) - 6/10 (Liked it)

An angel (Cary Grant) visits a bishop (David Niven) to help him build a cathedral and re-connect with his wife (Loretta Young). This sentimental Christmas classic has a lot of holiday good will and charm. Grant's literally angelic character (which is a far cry from his character in the last three films that I watched) touches and inspires everyone around town that he meets, like Phil in the latter half of Groundhog Day. He even touches... you guessed it... the bishop's wife, which is where the film started to feel a little strange. He's ever the gentleman, but they spend a lot of time together (including going ice skating) and get along so well that it's as if the two are developing a romance. It's like It's a Wonderful Life if Clarence tried to help George by flirting with his wife. It's a weird contrast with the otherwise moral and religious nature of the film. I think that that aspect stuck out and distracted me more than the last time that I watched it, years ago. In spite of that, though, I still enjoyed it and it's still a charming film with holiday spirit.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

As a matter of fact, I started watching it for the first time only last month. It didn't take me long before I thought of you. It really reminded me of Battle Beyond the Stars, which you talked me into watching (and which I'm pretty sure that you used an almost identical caption with). I said that I "started watching it" because I got about a third through and had to stop. A couple of weeks ago, I watched another third and had to stop again because it's so bad. The lead actor, especially, is one of worst lead actors that I've ever seen. Clearly, they cast him on physique and charisma more than acting talent. I felt bad for Max Von Sydow and Timothy Dalton and don't blame them for wanting to distance themselves from the movie. Anyways, I'll finish it eventually, but I'm not looking forward to it .

I first saw Flash Gordon when...I must have been 6 or 7 when it came out. They were both out in 1980, although Battle Beyond the Stars was a far, far lower production. Flash on the other hand was a big budget tentpole with tons of advance press. I remember I had a picture book of the movie...maybe some other timely merch as well. I definitely remember some of the advertising hype at the time, this of course being after Star Wars had broken open sci-fi for the masses, and when I was a kid I was right into that stuff. I saw Battle Beyond the Stars quite a bit later on IIRC; certainly not in the theatres like I did with Flash or Star Wars. It was definitely on tv or video years later, definitely after Sybil Danning had registered in the early pangs of my puberty.

I haven't been able to find the movie itself on anything lately in Canada. Maybe HBO Max or something...I dunno. No great rush to watch it again, but it's gotta be a laugh after all this time.

One little nugget that came out is that it's the Queen of England's favourite movie, and she watches it with the kids on a regular basis. Go figure.

 

[kihei]

Hamlet (1948) Directed by Laurence Olivier 8A

Laurence Olivier’s production of Hamlet, for which he is both director and star, is the only film adaptation of a Shakespeare play to win an Academy Award for best motion picture. Hamlet is, of course, the story of a young Danish prince seeking revenge for his father’s cruel murder. Hamlet’s flaw is that he procrastinates so long that when he finally acts greater tragedy occurs. While there have been some excellent performances of Hamlet since this one (Christopher Plummer, Richard Burton, Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson, David Tennant, for example), Olivier's performance remains the benchmark for all Hamlets that follow. Considered along with John Gielgud, who wasn’t leading man material, as the best Shakespearean actors of the 20th century, Olivier had a lot riding on this production. He gathered a gifted cast and the result is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally gripping. This adaptation of the play remains rather stagy, but the production is well shot and brilliantly performed by all. Olivier as both director and actor does more than justice to arguably Shakespeare’s finest play.

Sidenote: Kudos to the sound editor who does an excellent job of making Shakespeare’s words audible, at least most of the time. One of my gripes about seeing stage performances of Shakespeare is too often words get garbled by the actors and the beauty of the language is compromised for the audience. For the most part, there is no such problem with this production. It also helps if one reads the play before seeing the movie, hardly a chore.

Criterion Channel

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Moon

with various Sam Rockwells, and the voice of Kevin Spacey.

Near future. Humanity has solved the energy crisis by setting up He3 mining on the far side of the moon, and the whole process runs so efficiently it only needs one single person to mind the store for the entire planet. That person is Sam Bell (Rockwell), who's now two weeks shy from the end of his 3-year contract and is raring to get back to Earth. His unkempt beard and nervous cabin fever energy are familiar to anyone who's spent much time in covid lockdown this year (as I happen to be doing again right now...@#!!), and the allure of running on a treadmill, making balsa wood models and talking to his potted plants is wearing thin. Sam's also not doing too well physically, and one day when he's out in the lunar rover to repair a harvester, he has a hallucination and crashes. He wakes up back on base, feeling curiously better. The computer's being vague about everything, and his suspicions grow. Soon, he's back out at the crash site to find...himself. Turns out Sam is a clone, the latest in a line who apparently wear out every three years and have to be replaced with a fresh version who has all the requisite built-in memories to get the job done and sigh wistfully at the idea of coming back to his wife and daughter. But uh-oh. The company's sent up a "rescue" ship to repair the harvester...and they're probably not going to like multiple Sam Bells running around. What to do...

Interesting concept, and great performances by Sam Rockwell as the various clones trying to come to grips with their situation. There are some logical lapses in their plan and the whole concept, but it's not a bad ride as you're going through it. A little slow in places, but ultimately an okayish effort if you like sci-fi.

The base computer that controls various contraptions running on rails in the ceiling and is the only other major character in the film speaks in the voice of Kevin Spacey. That did not age well.

On Prime.

Alexa...Amazon is charging *how* much for shipping?!

I forgot all about this movie. I remember seeing it in the theater and enjoying it.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

What is Cricketeer,. com and what does this list represent?

Very good list but why in the world is The Hole so high? Good film, but top four?

After translating the Turkish and Japanese titles, I have seen all but the following:

Napoleon (damn it!)
Underground
In a Lonely Place (figures I should have seen it, but definitely don't remember it)
Summer
Tokyo Twilight
Ivy
Landscape in the Mist
Monday in the Sun

I'll see if I can find those.

www.criticker.com

Right up your alley actually. You rank films based on your own rating scale (I just use 1-100 now but I used to use 1-20). It puts each of your films in a percentile so the films I've rated 85-100 for example are going to be in my highest percentile. It's gotten confusing but it used to just put it in your tier 1 percentile to tier 10. The problem with this is that I don't really rate enough filmsi at a low rating to have an even distribution but the recommendations still do the job. It recommends you based on your top 1000 TCI's which are people who have films ranked at the closest matching percentile to you.

The way it works is that it isn't totally accurate but it's great at recommending the sort of films that you would like (I'll leave that to your interpretation). It's not as good at recommending more of the straightforward Hollywood stuff I prefer.

For example, I hated Underground, loud bigmouthed mess of a Serbian film but you'd probably love it. In A Lonely Place is quite decent, probably overrated though because it's built on a Bogart performance.

 

[Chili]

The Set-Up-1949

'Get yer fresh roasted peanuts!' Boxing tale told in real time by a great director. Feels authentic throughout. Robert Ryan, a collegiate heavyweight boxing champ, was perfect in the lead role.

Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull) among others is a fan of this film. Top notch.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

www.criticker.com

Right up your alley actually. You rank films based on your own rating scale (I just use 1-100 now but I used to use 1-20). It puts each of your films in a percentile so the films I've rated 85-100 for example are going to be in my highest percentile. It's gotten confusing but it used to just put it in your tier 1 percentile to tier 10. The problem with this is that I don't really rate enough filmsi at a low rating to have an even distribution but the recommendations still do the job. It recommends you based on your top 1000 TCI's which are people who have films ranked at the closest matching percentile to you.

The way it works is that it isn't totally accurate but it's great at recommending the sort of films that you would like (I'll leave that to your interpretation). It's not as good at recommending more of the straightforward Hollywood stuff I prefer.

For example, I hated Underground, loud bigmouthed mess of a Serbian film but you'd probably love it. In A Lonely Place is quite decent, probably overrated though because it's built on a Bogart performance.

I rated a few films, then went to Underground and the site gave me a probable rating of 100. I low-balled it to 97.

 

[Osprey]

Remember the Night (1940) - 8/10 (Loved it)

A New York City district attorney (Fred MacMurray) prosecuting a petty thief (Barbara Stanwyck) bails her out and brings her home to Indiana for Christmas so that she doesn't have to spend the holiday break in jail. This romantic drama starts out a little far fetched, but quickly becomes a unique and wonderful film. John intends to convict Lee when they get back to New York, but they both very slowly warm up to each other in spite of that cloud hanging over them. I found it both heartbreaking and touching to see this woman who grew up without a loving family get to experience the holidays with one that welcomed her into theirs without even knowing her. Eventually, however, doubt begins to creep in over whether he's better off without a girl like her and the picture takes on a slightly tragic tone. MacMurray is good, but unexceptional because his character is always in control and guarded. It's Stanwyck who really carries the film and on whom all of the emotional weight rests. Largely thanks to her and Preston Sturges' script, it's a sentimental film--I even had something in my eye only halfway through--but not as sentimental as some other Christmas films. It's good blend of sentimentality, romance, drama and a dash of lightheartedness. It's another film that I'd forgotten that I'd seen (ironically, given the title), but am glad that I discovered again.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Remember the Night (1940) - 8/10 (Loved it)

A New York City district attorney (Fred MacMurray) prosecuting a petty thief (Barbara Stanwyck) bails her out and brings her home to Indiana for Christmas so that she doesn't have to spend the holiday break in jail. This romantic drama starts out a little far fetched, but quickly becomes a unique and wonderful film. John intends to convict Lee when they get back to New York, but they both very slowly warm up to each other in spite of that fact. It was both heartbreaking and touching to see this woman who grew up without a loving family get to experience the holidays with one that welcomed her into theirs without even knowing her. Eventually, however, doubt begins to creep in over whether he's better off without a girl like her and the picture takes on a slightly tragic tone. MacMurray is good, but unexceptional because his character is always in control and guarded. It's Stanwyck who really carries the film and on whom all of the emotional weight rests. Largely thanks to her and Preston Sturges' script, it's a sentimental film--I even had something in my eye only halfway through--but not as much as some other Christmas films. It's good blend of sentimentality, romance, drama and a dash of lightheartedness. It's another film that I'd forgotten that I'd seen, but am glad that I discovered again.

This is one of my underrated/underseen seasonal favorites.

 

[kihei]

Your life is poorer still if you have never seen the original serial from 1936 that the later movie was based on, a Saturday morning staple on TV when I was growing up shortly after the cessation of the Napoleonic Wars.



This entry above strings 13 of the 39 chapters together. For best effect, one chapter per week is recommended. Set, costumes and special effects are a blast.

 

[kihei]

Enemy at the Gates (2001) Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud 6A

Jude Law plays Vasily Zaitsev, a Russian sniper par excellence, who wreaked havoc on the invading German army during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II. Ed Harris plays a smart, veteran German sniper whose sole purpose in coming to Russia is to eliminate Yuri before he can do more damage. Joseph Fiennes plays a sort of Soviet PR guy whose job it is to make Zaitsev into a national hero. And Rachel Weisz is the required love interest. Whenever either Fiennes or Weisz are on screen, the movie comes to a dead halt. Whenever Law or Harris are playing their deadly game, Enemy at the Gates bristles with tension. The film’s obvious flaws are frustrating because the movie should have been so much better than it is. However, when Enemy at the Gates is playing to its own strengths, it is among the most gripping war movies that I have seen this century.

Prime Video

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Re: 2020 movies.

My handy tracking app says I've seen 47 2020 movies but I forgot that it also counts some TV shows/miniseries (Tiger King, Zero Zero Zero, Haunting of Bly Manor, The Last Dance) as movies. So still probably 35-40 2020 movies which still feels like more than I would guess.

Pretty lean crop as you might imagine. Favorites to date are Steve McQueen's Mangrove and Lovers Rock (which I suppose you could argue IS a TV miniseries, but I think they're clearly stand-alone movies connected in theme only) and Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. Starts to get pretty lean after that ... Palm Springs, The Wolf of Snow Hollow, nice indie thriller called The Catch. Then I'm down to Borat 2 and Bill & Ted 3. Beyond that there isn't much I'd even recommend to folks. Bacurau (2019 film, but U.S. release this year) would be my favorite if it counts.

New Fincher today. McQueen's third entry in Small Axe (with four and five coming in the next weeks), plus a new Soderbergh soon so I'm hoping for some more winners.