What was the last movie you saw?

[Jeffbert]

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) Appropriate for this weekend, & very long time since I last saw it. It was one of those frequently shown on the 4PM weekday movie on an ABC affiliate station.

Roger Corman directed it!? Who'da thunk that? I would never have suspected it.

Great cast, but most names are unfamiliar to me. Wiki page says Jack Nicholson was in it, but while I easily recognized Bruce Dern as the unfortunate mechanic who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I did not recognize Nicholson.

Al Capone (Jason Robards) was not, as I had thought, the top guy, but, not being Sicilian, was subordinate to Patsy Lolordo (Michele Guarini) who was born in Sicily. Learn something new every day!

George Moran was portrayed by B&W Ralph Meeker, who had been in many crime dramas of the time. Seeing the film now, after no less than a decade watching old B&W films on TCM gives me a similar respect for the actor & this role.



NOTHING BUT TROUBLE (1944) L&H in their later years as a butler and chef who end up in the middle of a plot by an evil prince to assassinate a young king, and thus, ascend to the throne. Funny, but pales compared to their earlier films.

So, the prince is the king's uncle, but, somehow that just seems weird; as though the king & prince were inbred hillbillies. The king, being an adolescent who adores college football, but has never had the chance to play, is brought to the park by his uncle, who, has an urgent need to go buy cigarettes, leaving the king alone for the kidnappers/assassins to get. But, not waiting where instructed, he hears the joyous shouts of the local boys playing football; thus, eluding the henchmen. L&H are just returning from the grocer with the stuff from which H will prepare a banquet for their new employers. Hijacked by the kids, who just lost their referee, and other official, L&H are present when the boy king comes along, just in time to take the place of the other, whose mother had dragged him away.

The scene with Ollie trying to slice the horse meat steak is wonderful, but there were just too few such classic L&H scenes in this film. Not bad, just not as good as the old films.

 

[KGeo777]

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
View attachment 75903
I did not recognize Nicholson.

He puts on a fake voice too so that also makes it harder to spot him.
He has one line I think.

 

[hitmouse]

A Matter of Life and Death (1946) which I caught on tv this afternoon. I haven’t watched this for about 15 years. I have always thought this was good, but had forgotten just what an extraordinary and deeply unusual film it is. Astounding visuals, witty script, very moving story clearly reflecting the emotional toll of the war which had just ended.

 

[Droflet]

Hitmous, fully agree and will be reseeing AMoLaD tomorrow. Wonderful film and just the shot in the arm that post war Britain needed.

 

[Dave Vicks]

HAIL MARY by Jean-Luc Goddard.

 

[Vince W]

Space Sweepers. A Korean film on Netflix. It's surprisingly good up to a point. There are elements I would have changed or dropped but on the whole a film that I would recommend. I recognise elements from 2000AD, The Fifth Element, Star Wars, and Dune. I think it might be compared to The Expanse series but with a more organic feel and better acting.

 

[Judderman]

Birdsong. A BBC film / 2 part mini-series. Set in second world war France with trenches scenes interspersed with scenes from the main characters romance. A good film, though has a lot of crying so you may need to be in the right mood.

 

[Randy M.]

Spies in Disguise (2019)

Needing something to keep a 2-year-old amused for a while, imagine my surprise when I found myself laughing at this spoof of spy movies, particularly of the Bond movies. Not bad at all, it's probably a good Will Smith movie for those needing a reminder why they liked Will Smith in the first place, playing to his sense of humor. And Tom Holland, Rashida Jones and Ben Mendelson are very good , too.

 

[hitmouse]

Birdsong. A BBC film / 2 part mini-series. Set in second world war France with trenches scenes interspersed with scenes from the main characters romance. A good film, though has a lot of crying so you may need to be in the right mood.

The novel was a massive bestseller in the late 90s.

 

[Toby Frost]

My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

I've never seen a Studio Ghibli film before, and wasn't sure what to expect. It's about a family who move to rural Japan. The father takes care of the two girls while their mother recovers from an illness in hospital. The girls meet a tubby, owlbear-like creature in the forest and befriend him.

It's rather short on plot, but that doesn't matter, given how charming and well-observed everything is. It's very gentle, but I genuinely wondered if the mother would recover, which I wouldn't have done with an American film. There's clearly references to Japanese animism in the forest spirits, which I don't quite understand, but the scenes in nature work perfectly. Overall, really good.

 

[hitmouse]

My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

I've never seen a Studio Ghibli film before, and wasn't sure what to expect. It's about a family who move to rural Japan. The father takes care of the two girls while their mother recovers from an illness in hospital. The girls meet a tubby, owlbear-like creature in the forest and befriend him.

It's rather short on plot, but that doesn't matter, given how charming and well-observed everything is. It's very gentle, but I genuinely wondered if the mother would recover, which I wouldn't have done with an American film. There's clearly references to Japanese animism in the forest spirits, which I don't quite understand, but the scenes in nature work perfectly. Overall, really good.

One of the greatest animated films. Probably my children’s most watched film. I think it is remarkable and brilliant on a number of levels quite apart from its visual beauty.

 

[Dave Vicks]

ROLLERBALL Starring James Caan.1975

 

[BAYLOR]

Fantastic Voyage 1966. This film never loses it's charm.

 

[Toby Frost]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Technically, this isn't a Ghibli film but it's from the same people, so it more or less counts. In the far future the heroine, Princess Nausicaa, tries to prevent the destruction of the valley where she lives in a power struggle between several factions. Huge stampeding insects are drawn into the story and Nausicaa tries to stop and befriend them.

This is more complex and less charming that My Neighbour Totoro, but it's a very different type of story. It feels like proper (if wild) science fiction rather than whimsical fantasy. While there's a fair amount of violence, what's notable is that Nausicaa is continually trying to diffuse the violence ("Enough killing!" is pretty much her catchphrase). Nobody is entirely evil, just stupid and greedy, and the monstrous insects are treated kindly. It's got a strong and healthy environmental element.

It's interesting how stereotypical some of the anime elements seem: the woman/child heroine with standard facial features, the slightly odd way everyone speaks, the animal companion - even down to that schwing! noise that accompanies anything flying into the air. But it's still very good indeed. Its environmental message reminded me of Dune, and the scenes of Nausicaa flying through the weird landscape makes me think of Moebius' Arzach. Well worth a look.

 

[CupofJoe]

in the heat of the night [1967] - some amazing acting and dialogue. You can feel the heat and the tension. Not to say Sidney Poitier isn't great but Rod Steiger is outstanding.
Tora, Tora, Tora [1970] - okay the Japanese aircraft are really American with a paint job and some of the dialogue is a little staged by today's style. But that asided the whole thing feels far more real and dangerous than some more recent films.

 

[Mouse]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Technically, this isn't a Ghibli film but it's from the same people...

Toby, if you're on a Studio Ghibli kick, make sure you check out When Marnie Was There pretty soon! One of my faves.

Last film I saw was Instant Family. And that was by accident. It was on TV and I didn't plan on watching it because it looked like that sort of crappy OTT American comedy that I can't stand but I got sucked in and actually, it was a pretty good film about adoption without too much slapstick.

 

[Rodders]

I saw Tora! Tora! Tora! for the first time about 6 months ago and was very impressed with it.

I liked the fact they used Japanese actors, speaking Japanese. I thought the effects held up pretty well, too.

 

[therapist]

Mulholland Drive. Such great reviews. Yet I was thoroughly confused at that 80% mark. I'm sure it would be alot better on a second watching—especially now that I have read about the film and learned that the first 80% is supposed be a dream. But I don't enjoy films that confuse me that much.

 

[Droflet]

Yep, I hear you, Therapist. I saw it again recently and was similarly perplexed. I'm afraid I'm just not into David Lean movies. He's quite odd.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Deep Red (Italian: Profondo rosso) (1975): My new favorite giallo film after The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Another psychotic murderess story.