What was the last movie you saw?

[Toby Frost]

I used to love Young Sherlock Holmes. The scene with the stained glass window - one of the first uses of CGI, if I remember rightly - stands up very well.

 

[Randy M.]

Al, I second your recommendations. I recall seeing Young Sherlock Holmes in a small theater. My wife and I were having a good time, laughing at the silliness of some of it. The rest of the audience seemed totally unaware of the humor. (And some seemed unaware there was a movie playing.)

Murder by Decree is one of my favorite Holmes movies, too, and I was struck on reading Alan Moore's From Hell to see the similarities between the plots, which I believe Moore acknowledged in his afterwards. If you haven't seen it, the 1960s movie, A Study in Terror might be of interest to you; again, Holmes vs the Ripper, and once again Frank Finlay playing Lestrade.

I'm probably repeating myself from past exchanges, but ...

One of the odder background facts concerning Murder by Decree is that the director, Bob Clarke, had previously directed Black Christmas, a precursor of slasher films and, I believe, an influence on John Carpenter, and went on to direct Porky's one of the stupidest teen sex movies of the early '80s (which is certainly saying something) and also one of the biggest box-office winners of its year. The success of Porky's and its sequel provided the financing for another project, A Christmas Story. I'd be hard pressed to think of a director with four more distinct movies in her/his resume.

Randy M.

 

[Parson]

One of the odder background facts concerning Murder by Decree is that the director, Bob Clarke, had previously directed Black Christmas, a precursor of slasher films and, I believe, an influence on John Carpenter, and went on to direct Porky's one of the stupidest teen sex movies of the early '80s (which is certainly saying something) and also one of the biggest box-office winners of its year. The success of Porky's and its sequel provided the financing for another project, A Christmas Story. I'd be hard pressed to think of a director with four more distinct movies in her/his resume.

I have a hard time thinking that this could be true. Such range is mind boggling.

 

[Anthoney]

The Outlaw King. I liked it. It feels more personal than grand. I'm not judging accuracy but just that it held my attention and I didn't feel like I wasted my time.

If I had a complaint it would be that this should have been a mini series at least 6 episodes long. Things were skipped for times sake and it ends when things were just starting.

 

[svalbard]

Outlaw King.

A dull telling of Robert The Bruce's rise to power. The acting was ok. I thought Chris Pine was good as Robert, Stephen Dillane made for an excellent Edward I and Taylor-Johnson was also watchable as The Black Douglas. However the script left the actors down, it lacked the urgency and drama of, dare I say it, Braveheart. The history was cobbled together with a ridiculous duel between The Bruce and Edward II at an otherwise excellently shout Battle of Bannockburn. Ultimately I was not disappointed with the movie because I did not hold any great hopes for it.

 

[svalbard]

Correction to my above post. The final battle is Louden Hill not Bannockburn. But still very well done.

 

[Jeffbert]

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) Hammer, but apparently earned a bad review. Not only are there the archaeologists, all Brits, but there is an American (Fred Clark) who financed the expedition, who wants to show the items in a travelling show. This idea, irks the scientists, who hate the cheapening of their work. With the commercial element, this film seemed a fresh start on an otherwise stale genre. Clark is known for portraying characters of this type, reminds me of William Castle!

Pharaoh's Curse (1957) a so-called mummy movie, without a mummy. But there is a supernatural guy who is killing the archaeologists. Made by a guy called "one shot" for his cheapness.

Mysterious Doctor (1943) DURING WWII, AN English mining town's central place of employment is idle because the miners believe it is haunted by a murder-ghost. at just under an hour, this one was o.k.; but only because of its brevity.

From Beyond the Grave (1974) An anthology of 4 stories tied together by the central character (Peter Cushing) who runs a curiosity shop called Temptations Limited. These people buy or steal items that have consequences. The 1st customer, wants to buy a military decoration/medallion to gain the respect of a peddler (Donald Pleasence) who wears a few of them, himself. But PC will not sell him one, unless he has the papers to prove that he earned it. So, he steals it. Gains the peddler's respect, but, in the end, wishes he had not. The others follow the same pattern. Amicus made this one, & it is really well done Twilight Zone - type irony.

& another anthology film,

Black Sabbath () Boris Karloff introduces the stories, but they are not tied together, as was the case above. Reminds me that I still have not watched much Night Gallery (on HULU). So far, I have just watched the 1st story. But it was very good. a medium had died in the midst of a seance, and a rather horrible/hilarious expression was frozen on her face. So the woman comes to dress the corpse for burial, and thinks that the ring on its finger would be wasted in a stuffy old coffin, so she steals it. Bad move. Same irony as above.

 

[Rodders]

I was very fortunate to have been sent to Tokyo this weekend. Out Friday, Land Saturday and return today. Exhausting, but awesome. As you can imagine, I watched a few movies on the flight.

Deadpool 2. I enjoyed a lot and thought that it was nearly as good as the original. Loved the final scenes.

Ready Player One. I loved the book, but kinda felt let down by the movie. Enjoyable enough but I found that I couldn't suspend my belief to enjoy it too much.

Tomb Raider. Meh. (I wonder what happened to Alicia Vikander. She was everywhere then poof...)

Game Night. Great fun!

Tag. I really wanted to hate this, but actually found it quite entertaining.

Life of the Party. I avoided Melissa McCarthy's movies for quite a while, but I have to say that I have enjoyed what I've seen and find her very likeable.

Father Figures. Not funny, not drama, but a really enjoyable movie about two brothers connecting and what it means to be a parent.

 

[Jeffbert]

PANIC IN THE STREETS (1950) I was about to watch THE SNIPER (1952), but Muller mentioned this title in his intro to that, so, I started with this. This is Jack Palace's film debut. He owns what appears to be a laundry mat, but the opening scene has him in a shady poker game. The lucky winner has had enough, but JP wants to win back his money from the guy, who has been complaining of feeling ill. He goes out, but JP sends henchmen, one of them Zero Mostel. (who is not known for this type of film) They shoot and kill the guy, recover the money, & this seems to be a standard crime drama. But, the ME finds evidence of serious illness, & sends for authorities. Enter Lieutenant Commander Clinton Reed (Richard Widmark), who examines the corpse, and concludes that he had pneumonic plague. He has a rather tough time, getting the police chief & the mayor to understand the seriousness of the situation. He wants to inoculate everyone who came into contact with the guy, but the M & the PC are all about the difficulties of tracking them down, and their rights being violated, etc. RW says absolutely no news coverage, because the carriers would flee along with many others; hence the title.

Definitely earned its four star rating.


THE SNIPER (1952) As noted above, this was a NOIR ALLEY presentation. a loser with the ladies, takes out his frustration on random women. The people are demanding that the cops end the terror, but how? The sniper even sends a note to the cops telling them to stop him. Adolphe Menjou is the police LT., a very different role from his earlier films, most of them comedies. Very tense, though not as much as PANIC IN THE STREETS.

Muller stated that this film, though not well received when 1st released, started the psycho-mass killer genre.


THE HUMAN MONSTER (1939) titled The Dark Eyes of London in the UK, Lugosi as an ex-physician, who is now an insurance broker; who also runs a charity institute for blind men. He lends his customers money using their life insurance policies as collateral. He is named as the beneficiary, and they, conveniently, die..

 

[Cathbad]

Knock Knock (2015)

This movie is well beneath Keanu Reeves' talent. It boggles my mind wondering why he agreed to star in this movie!?

This movie went nowhere. Two young women show up, soaked by rain, at Keanu's door. After much hem and hawing on his part, he lets them in and, when they "realize" they are on the wrong street, he calls an Uber for them. These two beautiful, young women do everything they can to get him to have sex with them - and finally, he concedes.

After that, it jut gets wierd. They prove sadistic and evil, telling him they were only 15 (they were supposed to be 17, I guess, but the actresses were surely in their mid to late 20s, so even that didn't work), started torturing him, ala A Clockwork Orange. I kept wondering what their end game was? Apparently, they never had one.

I'm not sure what director Eli Roth was trying to say/convey in this movie, but I am sure it failed saying it.

This was little more than a T & A movie - but on't get your hopes up even there - it showed a lot less than most such movies. Porky's would be a better choice for that, and at least Porky's had a (dumb) story to tell!

 

[J Riff]

Yes, and ASTRO-ZOMBIES has a better dance scene, woohoop*)

 

[Randy M.]

Theater of Blood (1973) dir. Douglas Hickox; starring Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry

After we watched this movie, my wife told me it was corny. I agreed, and told her it was corny at the time of release and, I think, was meant to be.

A Shakespearean actor is driven to attempt suicide by what he feels an unjust lack of recognition of his accomplishments, bad reviews and the awarding of a major prize to a “twitching, mumbling boy who can barely grunt his way through an incomprehensible performance!” (Thank you, IMDB.) As a consequence revenge obsesses him and he begins killing his critics with a variety of methods derived from Shakespeare.

This was pretty near the end of Price’s heyday as a horror leading man, which began with House of Wax in 1953, and just after the major success of The Abominable Dr. Phibes movies (1971, 1972). He’s obviously enjoying the chance to chew the scenery, taking on various characters, quoting from Shakespeare, making grand gestures, and it all works in context. He’s ably assisted by Rigg, also enjoying herself though less flamboyantly, and Hendry and a who’s who of British character actors still working at the time like Robert Morley (the most queasily shocking murder in the move and so the one most discussed in my high school corridors way back when), Jack Hawkins, Coral Browne, Harry Andrews and Diana Dors.


Randy M.

 

[Graymalkin]

MANDY 2018
Was getting kind of worried with Nicholas Cage. But this violent and knowing revenge thriller allows the Elvis-lipped face actor a more spirited workout. Watch for the vomiting Cheddar Goblin in a shop near you. Lurid, psychedelic, unnerving and funny. Bill Duke's brief appearance captivates.
I must see Beyond the Black Rainbow, also directed by Panos Cosmatos.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I finally got around to watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all in one long day at home. I can't add much to what has already been said about these epic films. I'll just note that I am not a Tolkien purist, so I have no quibbles with any changes made. The production values were excellent. I don't know if I really needed so many long battle sequences.

 

[Rodders]

These are still on my list of movies that I need to watch.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

On the Threshold of Space (1956)

Documentary-style drama dealing with an Air Force physician who goes through a bunch of dangerous tests at the dawn of the Space Age. He checks out an ejection seat that broke the arm of a pilot; parachutes from a high-altitude balloon; rides a super-fast rocket sled; and finally goes to an extremely high altitude in another balloon. It's all very technical and, I presume, extremely accurate, if not much of a story.

 

[Graymalkin]

. I don't know if I really needed so many long battle sequences

 

[svalbard]

Outlaw King.

A dull telling of Robert The Bruce's rise to power. The acting was ok. I thought Chris Pine was good as Robert, Stephen Dillane made for an excellent Edward I and Taylor-Johnson was also watchable as The Black Douglas. However the script left the actors down, it lacked the urgency and drama of, dare I say it, Braveheart. The history was cobbled together with a ridiculous duel between The Bruce and Edward II at an otherwise excellently shout Battle of Bannockburn. Ultimately I was not disappointed with the movie because I did not hold any great hopes for it.

A sign of madness replying to my own post

However on a second viewing this is a much better movie than I first gave it credit. It still has it flaws and I would have liked to have seen the uncut version released. It is the performances from the cast that lifts the movie from a humdrum script and the cinematography is topnotch. The Battle of Louden is a highlight and gets across the horror of close combat fighting. You do come away thinking that such fighting must have had serious psychological impacts upon the combatants.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Unique African-American filmmakers double feature:

Go Down, Death! (1944)

Religious fable from actor/director Spencer Williams, famous for the theological fantasy/allegory The Blood of Jesus (1941) (and infamous for starring in Amos and Andy[1951-1953] on television.) A preacher is stealing Sunday business away from a shady nightclub, so the owner (Williams himself) tricks the preacher into being photographed with booze and shady ladies. The nightclub owner's foster mother is a pious woman who berates him for his sleazy scheme. They fight over the photographs and he kills her, placing the blame on a burglar. After her funeral, during which the preacher recites the well-known poem that gives the film its title, the killer is haunted by his conscience, sees scenes of Hell (stolen from the 1911 Italian film L'Inferno; you can clearly see scenes of Virgil leading Dante past the tortured souls featured in The Divine Comedy), and dies. That's all that happens in a film that runs less than an hour, although time is filled up with jazz and jitterbugging. The filming is primitive in the extreme. Although not as effective as the surreal climax of The Blood of Jesus, the final sequence, of the murderer running away from the booming voice of his own conscience, has a certain power.

The Human Tornado (1976)

Comedian/actor Rudy Ray Moore stars as his recurring character Dolemite in this eccentric blaxploitation film. We start with Dolemite's raunchy nightclub comedy act, which consists of insulting members of the audience in obscene ways. At a party at Dolemite's fancy house, some cartoonish racist rednecks show up, including a sheriff. Bad timing, because the sheriff's wife is in bed with Dolemite. In the first of many, many scenes where farce and bloodshed alternate, the sheriff has his deputy kill his wife. Dolemite kills the deputy and runs off to California with some buddies. (They kidnap a wildly stereotyped gay man in order to use his car.) In Los Angeles, they get involved in helping a nightclub owner who is being forced to close down by a rival who has kidnapped two of the women working for her. Lots of nightclub acts and martial arts battles follow. There's also a bizarre sex scene between Dolemite and the rival's wife which has to be seen to be believed. The mood of the film varies constantly from broad comedy to violent action. Constant swearing, frequent female nudity (and a bit from Dolemite), endless racial invective; something to offend everyone.

 

[Jeffbert]

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Two aging ex starlet sisters are living together in a townhouse; one (Joan Crawford) is a paraplegic (though her exact condition is not stated with certainty until near the end; it suffices that she cannot walk) and is confined to the second floor. Her more famous, title character (Bette Davis), waits on her out of a feeling of guilt for injuring her while drunken; but she resents her, and treats her cruelly. and is learning to forge her signature, so she can cash her checks.

This was tough to watch at first, and I almost turned it off. Some of its elements reminded me of unpleasant things in my own life. Jane was at least to me very unattractive; in fact, downright ugly. Her sister also was showing her age, but her face could have been that of Jane's daughter, such was the difference in their faces. Very tense film!


Frozen Dead (1967) This was unintentionally funny; reminded me of The Brain that Would Not Die. 20 years after the end of WWII, a mad scientist Nazi had been living in England for years, and was a respected member of the community. He had been experimenting with thawing frozen Nazis, with limited success; only their brains were not quite working right. Two Nazi big shots come to visit him, and demand revival of 1500 frozen Nazi leaders immediately. The scientist's assistant, a Nazi henchman, had reported success a bit prematurely, and these two had come.

Adding to the scientist's troubles, his niece has come to visit, bringing her friend with her. The assistant takes it upon himself, to kill the niece's friend, so the Scientist will have the fresh, living brain to play with. Thoroughly entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons!