What was the last movie you saw?
- Thread starter Tabitha
- Start date
I liked this one a lot. More than Cleopatra. She was also in another film similar to this Charge of the Black Lancers--where she takes an arrow in stomach but still manages to kill her would-be assailant and rides a horse awayto warn her people.
I didn't know she made films into the 80s. Last time I saw her was early 70s films.
Another good 50s Italian woman-led peplum is Teodora-Slave Empress.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Hardly Working (1980)
The strangest double feature I ever saw was a combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the abysmal Jerry Lewis World War Two comedy Which Way to the Front? (The coolest one I ever saw was Phantom of the Paradise and Dark Star, but that's another story.) For a decade, Lewis disappeared as director/actor while working on the infamous and never-to-be-released The Day the Clown Cried. Then he came back with this.
Let's get the plot out of the way. Circus clown loses his job, works at a few places, gets a position as a mail carrier, wins the heart of a single mother.
Observations:
Film starts with scenes from old Jerry Lewis movies. Kind of like begging for approval.
Clown act after this is performed on a tiny set pretending to be a circus, with a few people in the supposed audience. Since the actors apparently can't provide laughter, we hear what is unmistakable a laugh track over some unfunny antics.
Sister and brother-in-law and their two little kids show up for a while, then disappear from the film.
Wild inconsistencies in the character. Speaking to the family, he's a normal human being. At the various jobs, he's a clumsy idiot. (The last thing in the world a professional clown should be.) This part of the film provides dreary, poorly executed attempts at slapstick. He destroys a woman's car as a gas station attendant. Guess what? That's the woman who falls in love with him.
One gag, I'll admit, was slightly clever. We see the outside of a glass shop where he is presumably working. We hear, but do not see, breaking glass. It goes on too long, as does every joke in this thing, but it wasn't entirely stupid.
As a chef in a Japanese restaurant, he repeats his extremely offensive caricature of a Japanese person with thick glasses, buck teeth, and goofy accent. Right out of World War Two propaganda. Shameful.
Bizarre sequences that aren't funny and make no sense. While delivering mail, he flies a deserted blimp around. There's no joke; he just flies it and lands it, without incident. When a woman offers him a beer, the Budweiser horse-drawn wagon shows up.
More inconsistency. He becomes the world's worst mail carrier, of course, but when an inspector shows up he's suddenly completely efficient and professional.
Lots of familiar faces from 1960's TV show up. The whole film looks like it was made (badly) fifteen years or so before the release date. Bad timing, bad editing, lousy soundtrack music.
Avoid. Thank goodness, given my self-destructive tendencies, the next (and last) film he directed himself in (Cracking Up) isn't on YouTube. It's supposed to be worse.
The strangest double feature I ever saw was a combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the abysmal Jerry Lewis World War Two comedy Which Way to the Front? (The coolest one I ever saw was Phantom of the Paradise and Dark Star, but that's another story.) For a decade, Lewis disappeared as director/actor while working on the infamous and never-to-be-released The Day the Clown Cried. Then he came back with this.
Let's get the plot out of the way. Circus clown loses his job, works at a few places, gets a position as a mail carrier, wins the heart of a single mother.
Observations:
Film starts with scenes from old Jerry Lewis movies. Kind of like begging for approval.
Clown act after this is performed on a tiny set pretending to be a circus, with a few people in the supposed audience. Since the actors apparently can't provide laughter, we hear what is unmistakable a laugh track over some unfunny antics.
Sister and brother-in-law and their two little kids show up for a while, then disappear from the film.
Wild inconsistencies in the character. Speaking to the family, he's a normal human being. At the various jobs, he's a clumsy idiot. (The last thing in the world a professional clown should be.) This part of the film provides dreary, poorly executed attempts at slapstick. He destroys a woman's car as a gas station attendant. Guess what? That's the woman who falls in love with him.
One gag, I'll admit, was slightly clever. We see the outside of a glass shop where he is presumably working. We hear, but do not see, breaking glass. It goes on too long, as does every joke in this thing, but it wasn't entirely stupid.
As a chef in a Japanese restaurant, he repeats his extremely offensive caricature of a Japanese person with thick glasses, buck teeth, and goofy accent. Right out of World War Two propaganda. Shameful.
Bizarre sequences that aren't funny and make no sense. While delivering mail, he flies a deserted blimp around. There's no joke; he just flies it and lands it, without incident. When a woman offers him a beer, the Budweiser horse-drawn wagon shows up.
More inconsistency. He becomes the world's worst mail carrier, of course, but when an inspector shows up he's suddenly completely efficient and professional.
Lots of familiar faces from 1960's TV show up. The whole film looks like it was made (badly) fifteen years or so before the release date. Bad timing, bad editing, lousy soundtrack music.
Avoid. Thank goodness, given my self-destructive tendencies, the next (and last) film he directed himself in (Cracking Up) isn't on YouTube. It's supposed to be worse.
Jeffbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,908
Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie? I think I might enjoy that one!
When I was young, one particular Jerry Lewis film was occasionally on the afternoon movie, & it seems we became rather familiar with it. WAY... WAY OUT Was about men & women on the moon; Americans and Russians. Cold war tensions, etc., complicate things. Both nations have habitats on the moon, & one particular U.S. Astronaut has been too long away from women.
Peter Mattemore (Jerry Lewis) is a U.S astronaut, happily single, but, whose boss Harold Quonset (Robert Morley) insists he take a wife, and go on a Honeymoon on the Moon. Sadly, there are only two (2) eligible young women in the space program. One is rather unattractive, while the other Eileen Forbes (Connie Stevens), wants nothing to do with him.
While my memories of this film are pleasant, I probably should avoid seeing it again, lest my memories be wrecked by reality. I have since come to dislike JL's movies; though I do not know why.
When I was young, one particular Jerry Lewis film was occasionally on the afternoon movie, & it seems we became rather familiar with it. WAY... WAY OUT Was about men & women on the moon; Americans and Russians. Cold war tensions, etc., complicate things. Both nations have habitats on the moon, & one particular U.S. Astronaut has been too long away from women.
Peter Mattemore (Jerry Lewis) is a U.S astronaut, happily single, but, whose boss Harold Quonset (Robert Morley) insists he take a wife, and go on a Honeymoon on the Moon. Sadly, there are only two (2) eligible young women in the space program. One is rather unattractive, while the other Eileen Forbes (Connie Stevens), wants nothing to do with him.
While my memories of this film are pleasant, I probably should avoid seeing it again, lest my memories be wrecked by reality. I have since come to dislike JL's movies; though I do not know why.
Last edited:
Jeffbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,908
DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959) The 2nd of 3, count 'em, three Robert Ryan Westerns. This one, being set during winter is very different from others I have seen.
Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) is a rancher, who being one of several other ranchers, is at odd with the settlers who have recently moved-in, & began stringing barged wire around their farms. Something about cattle needing to roam all over the place, during certain seasons, makes Starrett really angry about these newcomers bringing problems along with them. He is at the point where he wants to challenge Hal Crane (Alan Marshal; never heard of him) to a gunfight. Crane's wife (Tina Louise), once had been Starrett's girlfriend, and finds herself caught in the middle.
So, just as Starrett is about to say that famous line about drawing yer gun, wouldn't you know it, bad guys burst through the doors, and disarm everybody. Ex military officer Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) leads a group of sex-starved bad guys, who would think nothing of killing all the men in the town, and having their way with the women. Yet, Bruhn has been shot, and is in need of medical attention. Even with that, he is not long for this world. Starrett realizes the sad fact, that as soon as Bruhn croaks, his gang will go wild.
A tense drama, and good show!
Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) is a rancher, who being one of several other ranchers, is at odd with the settlers who have recently moved-in, & began stringing barged wire around their farms. Something about cattle needing to roam all over the place, during certain seasons, makes Starrett really angry about these newcomers bringing problems along with them. He is at the point where he wants to challenge Hal Crane (Alan Marshal; never heard of him) to a gunfight. Crane's wife (Tina Louise), once had been Starrett's girlfriend, and finds herself caught in the middle.
So, just as Starrett is about to say that famous line about drawing yer gun, wouldn't you know it, bad guys burst through the doors, and disarm everybody. Ex military officer Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) leads a group of sex-starved bad guys, who would think nothing of killing all the men in the town, and having their way with the women. Yet, Bruhn has been shot, and is in need of medical attention. Even with that, he is not long for this world. Starrett realizes the sad fact, that as soon as Bruhn croaks, his gang will go wild.
A tense drama, and good show!
Carroll Baker, Giallo, Triple-header!
During which we learn the moral, if you're in a giallo, it's best not to be Carole Baker.
Baker was a blandly pretty starlet starting in the late '50s, but exhibited some real talent as an actress, her career lasting into the early oughts (for instance, she played the bad guy's mother in Kindergarden Cop). By the late '60s, she wanted out of a contract and away from her former manager, and moved to Italy where she made several giallos.
Paranoia (1969; a.k.a. Orgasmo, why? I don't know; there's a difference in run times, though) dir. Umberto Lenzi; starring Baker, Lou Catel, Colette Descombs
Recent widow, Kathryn (Baker), falls under the spell of a playful, amorous young man, Peter, and his sister, Eva. Through sex, drugs and rock & roll (or a not terribly close approximation of the last), Kathryn is seduced, her life taken over, and we begin to see that Peter and Eva have a plan. Maybe one of the sourest outlooks of any movie I've ever watched.
A Quiet Place to Kill (1970) dir. Umberto Lenzi; starring Baker, Jean Sorel, Anna Proclemer
Hitchcockian. Baker's ex-husband's new wife invites her to visit them. Once there, Baker notices the tension, which culminates with the new wife offering her money to murder the cheating son-of-a-gun. Naturally, plans don't always work exactly as planed.
Knife of Ice (1972) dir. Umberto Lenzi (notice a pattern?); starring Baker, Alan Scott, Evelyn Stewart
Also Hitchcockian. Martha (Baker), unable to speak since the death of her mother and father in a train accident, finds herself at the center of several murders of young women at each of which satanic symbols have been drawn. Will they figure out whodunit before the murderer gets to Martha? While I found this the best of the three, the ending may strain credulity for some viewers: There's a sequence that seemingly predicts the exact actions of a character, when there are any number of other things that character could have done. (Note: As far as I can see, giallos are not known for strict adherence to logic and plausibility.)
I find in general that I like the giallos that stick closer to the mystery end than to the horror end of their spectrum, and really enjoyed The Bird with the Crystal Plumage that found a sweet spot about mid-way between.
During which we learn the moral, if you're in a giallo, it's best not to be Carole Baker.
Baker was a blandly pretty starlet starting in the late '50s, but exhibited some real talent as an actress, her career lasting into the early oughts (for instance, she played the bad guy's mother in Kindergarden Cop). By the late '60s, she wanted out of a contract and away from her former manager, and moved to Italy where she made several giallos.
Paranoia (1969; a.k.a. Orgasmo, why? I don't know; there's a difference in run times, though) dir. Umberto Lenzi; starring Baker, Lou Catel, Colette Descombs
Recent widow, Kathryn (Baker), falls under the spell of a playful, amorous young man, Peter, and his sister, Eva. Through sex, drugs and rock & roll (or a not terribly close approximation of the last), Kathryn is seduced, her life taken over, and we begin to see that Peter and Eva have a plan. Maybe one of the sourest outlooks of any movie I've ever watched.
A Quiet Place to Kill (1970) dir. Umberto Lenzi; starring Baker, Jean Sorel, Anna Proclemer
Hitchcockian. Baker's ex-husband's new wife invites her to visit them. Once there, Baker notices the tension, which culminates with the new wife offering her money to murder the cheating son-of-a-gun. Naturally, plans don't always work exactly as planed.
Knife of Ice (1972) dir. Umberto Lenzi (notice a pattern?); starring Baker, Alan Scott, Evelyn Stewart
Also Hitchcockian. Martha (Baker), unable to speak since the death of her mother and father in a train accident, finds herself at the center of several murders of young women at each of which satanic symbols have been drawn. Will they figure out whodunit before the murderer gets to Martha? While I found this the best of the three, the ending may strain credulity for some viewers: There's a sequence that seemingly predicts the exact actions of a character, when there are any number of other things that character could have done. (Note: As far as I can see, giallos are not known for strict adherence to logic and plausibility.)
I find in general that I like the giallos that stick closer to the mystery end than to the horror end of their spectrum, and really enjoyed The Bird with the Crystal Plumage that found a sweet spot about mid-way between.
I haven't seen Knife of Ice--I better add it to my list.
I wondered why Baker went to Europe--I wonder if Raf Vallone put her up to it--because she did a movie with him right before she went to Italy.
I can imagine him telling her while Making HARLOW, "you want bigger roles? Go to Italy."
I wondered why Baker went to Europe--I wonder if Raf Vallone put her up to it--because she did a movie with him right before she went to Italy.
I can imagine him telling her while Making HARLOW, "you want bigger roles? Go to Italy."
Harpo
Getting away with it
I'm wondering why a Memnoch the Devil movie never happened?
I probably should have mentioned that I got that off of Wikipedia, so factual mileage may vary. On the other hand, being typecast as sexy blonde with no way to break the mold was common at the time (see also, Stella Stevens) so what I read there seemed consistent with other stories I've come across. (And maybe still pretty consistent.)
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Early Agatha Christie Adaptations Double Feature:
Lord Edgware Dies (1934)
Based on the Hercule Poirot novel of the same name, also published as Thirteen at Dinner. Young American actress wants a divorce from her much older British husband and asks Poirot to talk to him. Surprisingly, the husband agrees and claims he wrote a letter to his wife telling her so. She claims she never got it. Next thing you know, he's been stabbed in the neck with a long, sharp instrument. She looks like the likely suspect, but has an airtight alibi. And what does it have to do with a professional impersonator who is found poisoned soon after? And a letter with part of it torn away? I haven't read the book, but I looked at the detailed synopsis on Wikipedia (warning: it tells whodunit) and the film follows it quite closely. So closely, in fact, that things that aren't quite clear in the movie made sense when I read the synopsis.
Christie purists will be surprised that Poirot is tall, slender, fairly young, not bald, and has no mustache. Most shocking, he's French and not Belgian. The film is inherently talky, but, unsurprisingly, cleverly plotted. Worth a look.
Love From a Stranger AKA A Night of Terror (1937)
Adapted from a play based on Christie's story "Philomel Cottage." Not a whodunit at all. Woman wins a fortune in a lottery, it causes her fiancé to break up with her. Meanwhile, Basil Rathbone sweeps her off her feet. The audience knows from the start that he's after her money, but it takes a while for us to discover he's an insane serial killer. Takes quite a while to get going, but once Rathbone and the woman are alone, it becomes an intense thriller. Worth a look.
Lord Edgware Dies (1934)
Based on the Hercule Poirot novel of the same name, also published as Thirteen at Dinner. Young American actress wants a divorce from her much older British husband and asks Poirot to talk to him. Surprisingly, the husband agrees and claims he wrote a letter to his wife telling her so. She claims she never got it. Next thing you know, he's been stabbed in the neck with a long, sharp instrument. She looks like the likely suspect, but has an airtight alibi. And what does it have to do with a professional impersonator who is found poisoned soon after? And a letter with part of it torn away? I haven't read the book, but I looked at the detailed synopsis on Wikipedia (warning: it tells whodunit) and the film follows it quite closely. So closely, in fact, that things that aren't quite clear in the movie made sense when I read the synopsis.
Christie purists will be surprised that Poirot is tall, slender, fairly young, not bald, and has no mustache. Most shocking, he's French and not Belgian. The film is inherently talky, but, unsurprisingly, cleverly plotted. Worth a look.
Love From a Stranger AKA A Night of Terror (1937)
Adapted from a play based on Christie's story "Philomel Cottage." Not a whodunit at all. Woman wins a fortune in a lottery, it causes her fiancé to break up with her. Meanwhile, Basil Rathbone sweeps her off her feet. The audience knows from the start that he's after her money, but it takes a while for us to discover he's an insane serial killer. Takes quite a while to get going, but once Rathbone and the woman are alone, it becomes an intense thriller. Worth a look.
dask
dark and stormy knight
Strangely disappointing biopic about the famous vaudeville sister act. Well filmed and superbly acted but missing were memorable songs and slam-bang dance numbers. Still, try as you might, you’d be hard pressed to find a hotter pair to fill the bill.
Two further classics:
Laura (1944), starting Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and a young Vincent Price. This threesome appeared together in several films in the ‘40’s. This was great, and Tierney is stunning.
Out of the Past (1947), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas as the suave gangster boss. A terrific film noir, with standout performances by Mitchum and Greer.
Laura (1944), starting Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and a young Vincent Price. This threesome appeared together in several films in the ‘40’s. This was great, and Tierney is stunning.
Out of the Past (1947), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas as the suave gangster boss. A terrific film noir, with standout performances by Mitchum and Greer.
Jeffbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,908
RED SONJA (1985) Fantasy Sword & Sandal film. Lovely young scantily-clad honey wielding a rather heavy sword, without becoming tired!? O.K., so, nobody wants to read that.
So, there is this glowing green object called the Talisman, that has become too powerful, & must be consigned to darkness forever, lest the Earth be destroyed. Just as the Priestesses are about to tuck it away, wouldn't you know it, the villains storm the place, and slaughter all but one, who, though mortally wounded, escapes to tell Lord Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who was on his way, but running late. Red Sonja (Brigitte Nielsen) had just completed her swordsmanship training, and was unaware of the attack. She & Kalidor would team-up to defeat the villains, but not before bratty half-pint Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) & his all too tolerant servant Falkon (Paul L. Smith), joined her.
Requires a suspension of disbelief. Though not unique to this film.
Pure comic book stuff. Entertaining, yes.
That kid really needed to go over somebody's knee!
So, there is this glowing green object called the Talisman, that has become too powerful, & must be consigned to darkness forever, lest the Earth be destroyed. Just as the Priestesses are about to tuck it away, wouldn't you know it, the villains storm the place, and slaughter all but one, who, though mortally wounded, escapes to tell Lord Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who was on his way, but running late. Red Sonja (Brigitte Nielsen) had just completed her swordsmanship training, and was unaware of the attack. She & Kalidor would team-up to defeat the villains, but not before bratty half-pint Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) & his all too tolerant servant Falkon (Paul L. Smith), joined her.
Requires a suspension of disbelief. Though not unique to this film.
Pure comic book stuff. Entertaining, yes.
That kid really needed to go over somebody's knee!
Jeffbert
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,908
CAMERA BUFF (1979) Polish film about humble factory worker Filip Mosz (Jerzy Stuhr) who buys a movie camera to film his yet to be born daughter. He becomes involved in an amateur filmmakers' club, wins a prize, then begins finding other subjects to film. As he had become interested in filming unpleasant things, that he thought people ought to know about, he had not thought how such coverage might affect other people.
Eventually, his hobby becomes more important than his family, and his wife goes to live with her mother.
Interesting, seeing PEPSI in several scenes; MARLBORO in one. Product placement of Capitalist products behind the IRON CURTAIN.
Eventually, his hobby becomes more important than his family, and his wife goes to live with her mother.
Interesting, seeing PEPSI in several scenes; MARLBORO in one. Product placement of Capitalist products behind the IRON CURTAIN.
Rewatched MITCHELL 1975 -Joe Don Baker is a washed-up cop who we first see sleeping in the back of a police cruiser as if he is an arrest subject and not a detective. He has no partner (his superior refuses to give him one) and he goes about doing his job with a lethargic determination. This film has been the butt of jokes (MST3K) however, it was never intended to be taken seriously anyway. What interests me about it is that it's not any major studio-linked film---it is small distribution drive-in fare, and it's not really counterculture in theme. Mitchell is seeking to nail a mob-connected lawyer (John Saxon-who else?) for murdering a Puerto Rican burglar but it's window-dressing, there's no heartfelt personal commitment by the cop other than he wants to do his job. That's interesting for the time it was made--he is an honest cop. He won't take bribes. He's not really cynical either. He's too run-down to be cynical. I rewatched ST. IVES the other night--also from 1975, also about a washed-up cop (Charles Bronson) --however, we are left with the message that criminality is tempting. Not the case here. There's no subtext or reflection for that. And the other thing that is unique about it is that Mitchell succeeds. He gets the bad guys. By himself. It was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen who specialized in male-focused action films.
Captain America: Winter Soldier. Every few years I have to remind myself why I have no interest in superheroes.
SilentRoamer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 5, 2015
- Messages
- 1,428
I watched A Quiet Place.
Despite some very odd behaviour by some of the humans (like the people in the Island behaving like they are having a summe vacation, without any mitigation plans for the island being breached), I actually really enjoyed this movie. Krasinski and Blunt were really good, their on screen chemistry was very believable (I subsequently found out they are married). The daughter was also very well acted.
The Aliens/Death Angels were an interesting concept on an extremophile species, I'm pretty sure once they are near you they eventually kill you because of your heartbeat but potentially the heartbeat is not loud enough to torture them. I didn't see their appearance as a calculated invasion but more like an invasive species which completely dominates the local fauna, in fact as we didn't see them eating people I think they kill people because noise is extremely painful to them.
I will be watching the sequel - because the first one was a good watch and because I like Cillian Murphy as well.
I'm avoiding googling the monsters because I don't want spoilers but once I have seen number two I will go and really look them up and what peoples theories are.
Despite some very odd behaviour by some of the humans (like the people in the Island behaving like they are having a summe vacation, without any mitigation plans for the island being breached), I actually really enjoyed this movie. Krasinski and Blunt were really good, their on screen chemistry was very believable (I subsequently found out they are married). The daughter was also very well acted.
The Aliens/Death Angels were an interesting concept on an extremophile species, I'm pretty sure once they are near you they eventually kill you because of your heartbeat but potentially the heartbeat is not loud enough to torture them. I didn't see their appearance as a calculated invasion but more like an invasive species which completely dominates the local fauna, in fact as we didn't see them eating people I think they kill people because noise is extremely painful to them.
I will be watching the sequel - because the first one was a good watch and because I like Cillian Murphy as well.
I'm avoiding googling the monsters because I don't want spoilers but once I have seen number two I will go and really look them up and what peoples theories are.
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The last days of the Lóntuisteach | Promotions | 0 | |
|
DISTAFF -- Last Chance to Buy!! | Promotions | 0 | |
|
Avatar: the Last Airbender live action (Netflix) | General TV Discussion | 18 | |
|
Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn (1968 novel -- not movie) | Classic SF&F | 11 | |
| N | Y: The Last Man, movie or telly series? | Graphic Novels & Comics | 3 |
Similar threads
-
-
-
Avatar: the Last Airbender live action (Netflix)
- Started by HareBrain
- Replies: 18
-
Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn (1968 novel -- not movie)
- Started by Extollager
- Replies: 11
-