Senso '45 or Black Angel to use its English title.
This is a film by Tinto Brass, the purveyer of 70s-style soft porn, all stockings and suspenders, swaying boobs, bent over as$es. It belongs to another era, before video and DVD, before the freeze frame and the chapter selection. You'd have to sit and watch the titillation unfold, unable to speed things up or cut to the action.
That said, the women are far removed from the hard, anonymous, blonde Croydon-facelifts of hardcore, they have a bit of va-va-vooom! Some of the couplings did put me in mind of the school librarian being chatted by the hopeful deputy head, it's that sort of world.
This film is set in Venice in the dying months of the Second World War. It has an enjoyable European sensibility that is refreshing and some of the photography of wartime Venice is lovely, especially the dawn shots, which are often used to great effect in war films, the only respite from human cruelty and betrayal, a vivid stripping back to essentials.
The story is about an aristocratic woman (Anna Galiena, very good) falling for a young blond brute of a Nazi, cheating on her husband. It's all very straightforward. Generally you'd think you couldn't go wrong with a classy sex orgy featuring Nazi uniforms, cocaine and blow jobs, but thanks to the composer - Ennio Morricone no less - using oboes and trumpets to fashion a comical, inquisitive little tune better suited to the playout credits of Miss Marple Investigates on Sunday afternoon, they manage to... Lying in bed alone last night, rather than thinking of any of the film's erotic offerings, instead that annoying tune went round my head.
The sex - the main reason for viewing, it's cheeky erotica - obv falls short of what you can see these days, you can get more explicit emoticons, it seems! )
I can't really recommend it but it has something going for it, you can see where Paul Verhoven got his inspiration for Black Books, and it's all a bit Allo Allo without the laughs (which some may prefer, of course).
I watched this because it's set entirely on Holy Island, aka Lindisdarne in Northumberland, a 11th century Dark Ages hangout where the gospels were preserved. It's got great atmospheric b+w photography.
Two gangsters are on the run from a failed heist, one mortally injured. One goes ahead to find a place to hide, it's the Lindisfarne island, a spooky fortress sometimes cut off from the mainland by the tide. One of the gangsters is an American 'Oooh Ooooh Mr Beagley' type.
At the fortress who does he meet but Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is ill-amused at this trespass and has him despatched to a suicide garden... okay okay, it's our old mate Donald Pleasance, one year on from his Blofeld gig, here playing a posh effeminate type emasculated by his cheating wife and the new aggressive American gangster on his doorstep.
It gets absurd at the half way point and the ending is a cop out, but it's atmospheric and always holds the interest, the actors own their roles, esp Pleasance who you realise was a very good actor as Blofeld, he's quite different here though still with trademark bald head. {[]
One scene where he's forced to wet shave the gangster was lifted for the opening of The Untouchables, it's exactly the same.
I recently rewatched this film. I'm not a huge Tim Burton fan, but I consider Ed Wood to be a masterpiece. The film tells the story of Edward D. Wood, Jr. who is often described as 'the worst director of all time' but IMO was alot more talented than many so-called serious directors working today (Lars Von Trier for example ), and who was also an extremely eccentric individual.
The performances are superb; especially that of Martin Landau who won a much deserved Oscar and Johnny Depp who delivers IMO one of his finest performances. I can not believe that Depp was not nominated for this, but was nominated years later for Finding Neverland.
The look of the film is gorgeous, while the screenplay is both extremely funny and enormously intelligent. What I love about it is that Wood is never made fun of; rather the film treats him with not just respect but also with love.
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone, whether you're a Burton fan or not. It truly is one of the best films of the 90's. {[]
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
This is an example of a pretentious 'art' film that I can not stand. Steven Soderbergh is a terrific director (Out of Sight is magnificent, while Ocean's 11 is tremendous fun) but I can not for the life of me see what the point is with this film.
To me, in fact, there is no point. IMO it is simply another self-indulgant 'art' film which contributes nothing to the world of cinema and, in this case, was made by a director who's not so talented that he can afford to get away with it. X-( X-( X-(
That said, it was enjoyable at times and I quite appreciated seeing David Hyde Pearce away from the brilliance that was Frasier.
I would not recommend this film as I very much regret my decision to have seen it and would certainly not see it again.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
The great Jack Lemmon plays Stanley Ford, a successful comic strip artist and devoted bachelor who, while attending a friend's bachelor party, gets drunk and marries the girl hired to pop out of the cake, an Italian beauty pageant contestant who doesn't speak any English (played by a radiant Verna Lisi). Although at first horrified at this turn of events (and at the loss of his faithful butler Terry Thomas), Stanley eventually comes around to enjoying married life and even changes his comic strip's main character Brash Brannigan from womanizing spy to domesticated klutz. But, when the new Mrs. Ford accidentally comes across a comic strip panel where Brash kills his wife, she disappears and Stanley is promptly arrested and put on trial for murder. The resulting trial, where a desperate Stanley resorts to getting himself acquitted by confessing to the murder (even though he didn't kill anyone) is hilarious, especially when he convinces his henpecked attorney to symbolically erase his domineering wife from existence ( "SHUT UP YOU OLD BAT!!!" ) ) to prove his point.
This is one of those great screwball comedies from the 1960s that's short on plot but long on laughs, witty dialog and hilarious characters. It's all a clever play on the battle of the sexes (and yes, the men always lose in the end). A great comedy that could probably never get made today.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,703MI6 Agent
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
Stick with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Temple Of Doom has it's fun moments, but some of the moments seemed boring. I liked this movie years ago, but now some things seem to bother me about it. Years ago the Short Round charector was cute, now I comapre him to Jar Jar Binks. Is that a bad thing?
3.5 stars out 5. Good fun on a Saturday afternoon. But doesn't have as much fun as Raiders did.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Twisty-turny thriller that keeps you watching, just to see what happens, but leaves little impression. Decent cast though, including Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker.
Hackneyed East End (ho ho) gangster thriller set in Spain, a poor man's Layer Cake/Sexy Beast/Buster.
Danny Dyer is the hapless nerk sent out there to meet a friend who is now a big shot with his mate after fleeing a bank robbery. Dyer also provides the voice over, but not very well, he's no Michael Caine.
Every scene has a hit song from the 1980s when it is set, which gets a bit School Disco. It seems to be to avoid any real tension, oh don't worry, here's another Duran Duran song.
It's all highly predictable and not even sexy enough for what should be a guilty pleasure. You know things are bad when every 10 mins I was pausing it because I preferred my inner monologue...
Charlie Wilson's War - A wonderfully entertaining movie with a great cast, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams are all wonderful. Charlie Wilson is one of those colorful characters that makes for interesting movie watching. He drinks and cavorts while trying to gather support for the clandestine war against the Russians in Afghanastan.
While watching this movie I started thinking about all the great movies Tom Hanks has made, Forest Gump, Castaway, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Philadelphia, A League of Their Own, Big, Road To Perdition, The Terminal, just to name some. Let's not forget he is the voice of Woody from Toy Story. I believe he will go down as this generations greatest actor.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited May 2008
Quite a divergent pair to review here: one on DVD, last night...and one experienced today, at perhaps the most famous movie palace on Earth. First, the DVD viewing...
"The Mist"
Rented this one with my brother at a 'Mom & Pop'-type video store on Bronson street in Hollywood; neither one of us had seen it yet.
Wow. Really scary stuff; great monster movie fare. Writer-Director Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) keeps his string of very faithful (and effective) Stephen King adaptations going with this one. Thomas Jane gives a powerful performance as the main protagonist. A chilling turn by Marcia Gay Harden, as a fundamentalist Christian who sees the event as God's final judgment, adds to the drama but teeters on the very brink of unintentionally OTT self-parody.
A bit talky (which is an offshoot of Darabont's faithfulness to King, I think), this is nevertheless one hell of a lot of fun...but there is a caveat...
The ending of this picture is one of the most ironic, shocking and horrifying endings I've ever seen come out of the Hollywood system. It very nearly spoils the experience for me...but, having heard Darabont's explanation on the commentary track, I've come to accept it a bit more readily. But it's incredibly, brutally dark---more than a little 'Rod Serling'---and absolutely guaranteed to stick with you for a good long time after you've seen the picture. Darabont stays that King approved of his ending: he said that every generation needs its own 'Night of the Living Dead,' where things just end horribly, and nothing works out well for anyone. Darabont, for good or ill, certainly accomplishes this IMRO.
That said, if you've a very strong constitution---for both visceral and emotional horror, I recommend it.
"Speed Racer"
My brother has been dying to show me a film at the fabulous Grauman's Chinese Theatre, on Hollywood Blvd...but our only option, during my entire trip out here, has been this one: the Wachowski's take on a cartoon series I've never seen---nor have I ever been the least bit interested in seeing. Still, he had discount coupons, and seeing the picture was actually cheaper than taking a tour of the theatre, so we went for it today.
I must honestly say that my brother and I enjoyed this film quite a bit more than we expected. We both have an admittedly snobbish resistance to excessive CGI, and this one is pretty much nothing but---human actors inhabiting an entirely CGI world. It feels quite a bit like Robert Rodriquez' Spy Kids films (for those parents who've been priveleged to experience them ). It stars Emile Hirsch as the titular character, with John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as his parents.
This is basically a cartoon with human inserts---the veritable opposite of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?---and it does an effective job of immersing its audience in that world. Personally, I'd have preferred more of what I see as actual racing---rather than what looks like a "Jak and Daxter" video game that my kids play---but IMO it all works on a "kid's movie" level.
I understand that this film is a massive flop at the box office; perhaps it wasn't marketed correctly. Too bad, that. I could have seen a worse film at the Chinese Theatre, that's for sure B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,703MI6 Agent
While watching this movie I started thinking about all the great movies Tom Hanks has made, Forest Gump, Castaway, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Philadelphia, A League of Their Own, Big, Road To Perdition, The Terminal, just to name some. Let's not forget he is the voice of Woody from Toy Story. I believe he will go down as this generations greatest actor.
I first saw Tom Hanks on re-runs of a comedy called Bosom Buddies. I never thought at the time I was seeing a future Oscar winning actor. Kind of makes me look at todays shows and wonder "Could anyone of these people be a future Best Actor winner?" I guess time will tell.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
This 1976 film stars Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, with backup of Denholm Elliott (so Crusade was a reunion of sorts), Nicol Williamson, Robert Shaw (another reunion) and Richard Harris who plays Richard the Lionheart and gets killed off early on in the film returning from the Crusades with Robin Hood.
It's an excellent poignant film of old age, all the more so because Connery is still virile unlike in NSNA which had a similar theme but has him very creaky. Some great acting by the man too, no self parody really. Hepburn I was less keen on, you didn't get the sense they were really lovers though you could say that of a lot of Connery's on-screen lovers, their usually 'conquests' of a sort.
Not historically too accurate despite its downbeat tone; Richard I died on a skirmish defending the Angevin kingdom I believe, not returning from the Crusades, which he'd done a year or two before, so Robin could have returned home earlier.
Works well as a companion piece to The Lion in Winter, which deals with Richard's dad, Henry II (Peter O'Toole). It's all about a wasted life, despite one's endeavours. Both are scored by the great John Barry. {[] Some great landscape photography too.
Decent little thriller with a fine performance from Joseph-Gordon Levitt as a former High School hockey star whose reckless driving leaves him brain damaged, and his friends dead, or in one case missing a leg, unless she is a figment of his f****d-up mind. It's never made clear, but ambiguity is a good thing. Levitt gets suckered into a plan to rob the bank where he works as a janitor, and things go awry as they tend to do in films like this. It's well worth a look, and Levitt is one of the best young actors around.
Holocaust drama, this time the angle is that the main protagonist is a German forger arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned; later he and other Jews are given priviliged treatment so their skills can be exploited in forging foreign currency to undermine the Allied economy.
Solly's initial views is to be out for himself. He survives the war - this we know from the opening scene set in a post-war Nice - but at what cost to his soul?
Didn't quite pan out how I expected, but a rigorous example of the genre; however the main theme in these films is that you can't argue with a guy with a gun, you have to suppress all reason and be stripped of humanity - but at what point do you just give up and give in? It's the opposite of those Allied war movies from the perspective of the victors, where every death is seen as a blow against Hitler. Here any challenge on point of principle is simply futile and foolhardy, and ends in the death of others.
On a different note, one older inmate I recognised from 30 years ago, The Spy Who Loved Me, he was the unbearded Jewish banker ("Yes indeed!") who witnesses with his pal the shark-induced death of Stromberg's secretary before being blown up, here wearing much the same expression of doomed wariness and with even more justification...
Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland star in this satirical drama that rightly attacks totalitarian regimes, but doesn't have the balls to pick on a real one, instead aiming for a fictional country, which is something I expect from Herge's 'Adventures of Tin Tin,' but not from a so-called serious drama. Still, may I recommend it to Dan Same.
Have I developed some kind of reputation here? :v )
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Visconti's classis 1963 epic about the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy during the 1860s unification of Italy under Garibaldi, seen from the point of view of the patriarch Prince Don Fabrizio Salina, played to perfection by Burt Lancaster.
It turns out there are two versions of this, one is the Hollywood one where Lancaster speaks English, the other is Italian where his voice is dubbed into Italian by another actor, in either case there is dubbing over different actors, it's all very odd.
Worth watching for the stunning Sicilian landscapes, unchanged in 100 years. It's a lenghthy three hours, and hard going at times, with no emotional resonance between the characters, Salino is his own man mostly, limited in his interation with others. "We are the leopards," he says. "What comes after us are the wolves and the jackals..." ie the grubby political hacks and lower orders. Not hugely different to Gone With The Wind, set around the same time and about the change in social order, but totally lacking the same romance/human interest provided by the love triangle of Rhett/Scarlett/Ashley.
Former Bond director and confirmed hack, Roger Spottiswoode strikes again with this dreary tale of an aid worker in China. Children of Huang-Sh**e more like.
National treasure2; absolute dross. The only reason I saw it was because its a really slow day at work and someone had a copy laying around.
thats two hours of my life I'll never get back
Anyone seen Rhino , it stars S Eaton...been many yrs since I saw it
Mummy 1959 4 of 6 (Willoughby Gray (Zorins dad in AVTAK) played the nuthouse boss)
Dr Zhivago 1965 4/6 (honestly , this disappointed me & at times felt tideious , very little happened & Omar wasn't as charming as he was in Funny Girl , for example)
Julie Christie was to be Domino in TB , wasn't she ?
Notorious Japanese shagathon from the 1970s. I rented this from LOVEFILM.com, morally the equivalent of borrowing your flatmate's jazz mag when he isn't looking, or standing behind a bloke who's leafing through Hustler in the newsagent, catching an eyeful without being the one holding the magazine.. . )
Anyway, I found this film very tedious. It's set in a 1930s brothel, so there's this theme of exploitation going on, and at the risk of making a Sean Connery-style faux pas, I don't find Japanese women that attractive, so renting this was like going to a sushi bar if you don't like raw fish!
It's also supposed to be a hotel or something, I don't know, anyway a guy starts shagging the maid or something and they get it on, it's an addiction for them both it seems. Both are married to someone else. The sex isn't arousing to watch, it's a bit like watching Gazza come out of rehab and down 10 pints. She turns into a nagging harpy because he's still with his wife, there's a bit of auto asphyixiation thrown in and kitchen knives waved around willies, not my idea of a turn-on.
No fun at all. With this and rubbish like Tinto Brass, I may even have to go out and get a girlfriend if this carries on...
National treasure2; absolute dross. The only reason I saw it was because its a really slow day at work and someone had a copy laying around.
thats two hours of my life I'll never get back
My brother and I saw this the other day on BluRay; while we liked it a fair bit more than you did, it wasn't anywhere near as good as the original.
I didn't care for the way the movie began by pretty much undoing everything that happened in the last one: Ben gets dumped by his girlfriend, Riley gets audited and loses everything, and the Gates name is besmirched. Whenver that happens, you just know each situation will be eventually rectified by the end of the film and sure enough, they are. Ed Harris' character also goes thru a fairly bizarre arc, starting out as a villain but ending up an unlikely (and still unsavory) hero.
On the plus side, the cast was all very good. Helen Mirren's scenes with John Voight and their endless bickering were well done, but their vine swing went a bit too far. I also liked Bruce Greenwood as the president of the US; he's a very likable actor and I'm looking forward to seeing him as Captain Pike in the next Star Trek movie. The puzzles were pretty clever and the final sequence beneath Mount Rushmore was well done.
As usual, the BluRay presentation yielded a really sharp picture and booming surround sound.
By the way, what was up with the few, unresolved references to "Page 47"? Was that put in there to set up the McGuffin for the inevitable next movie?
My brother and I saw this the other day on BluRay; while we liked it a fair bit more than you did, it wasn't anywhere near as good as the original.
I feel pretty much the same as you. I saw it at the cinemas (twice in fact) and I quite enjoyed it. Is it a masterpiece? No, but then I never expected it to be. The original also is no masterpiece, but both films (particularly the original) are IMO enormously entertaining. What more can I ask for?
BTW, am I the only person who thinks that Diane Kruger looks really beautiful at the end when wet?
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
BTW, am I the only person who thinks that Diane Kruger looks really beautiful at the end when wet?
No, you're not!! {[]
(btw, yes, Dan, you've earned a well earned rep here at AJB. I salute you, you crazy Aussie, ya rock!
And here on friday night I've done nothing but impress my guests with you tube vids of ELVIS & THE BEATLES. (and if you've got something against them, kiss off!)
Fall of Roman... and El Cid are typical 50s longwinded epics, the latter better than the former supposedly. Loren is none too voluptuous in this staid context.
Arabesque is poor man's Charade though it has its quirks... Gregory Peck is a leading man out of context. Good John Barry tune sort of, not his best though.
The Mist. This movie truly shocked me--and not because of the monster effects or the creepy music. This is so nihilistic you'd think it was written by Jean Paul Sartre on a particularly bad day. The not-so-subtle message is that if you believe in anything--religion, family, the military, even your own innate goodwill, guts, and determination--then it's all a pathetic waste of time. Just kick back and wait for the monsters to eat you: hell, you're going to die anyway. What a downer. I should have remembered that "mist" is German slang for manure. . .
(btw, yes, Dan, you've earned a well earned rep here at AJB. I salute you, you crazy Aussie, ya rock!
-{ Thanks, I very much appreciate this. {[]
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Comments
but in theaters, I saw Iron Man the other night. it was AMAZING.
~Pen -{
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
This is a film by Tinto Brass, the purveyer of 70s-style soft porn, all stockings and suspenders, swaying boobs, bent over as$es. It belongs to another era, before video and DVD, before the freeze frame and the chapter selection. You'd have to sit and watch the titillation unfold, unable to speed things up or cut to the action.
That said, the women are far removed from the hard, anonymous, blonde Croydon-facelifts of hardcore, they have a bit of va-va-vooom! Some of the couplings did put me in mind of the school librarian being chatted by the hopeful deputy head, it's that sort of world.
This film is set in Venice in the dying months of the Second World War. It has an enjoyable European sensibility that is refreshing and some of the photography of wartime Venice is lovely, especially the dawn shots, which are often used to great effect in war films, the only respite from human cruelty and betrayal, a vivid stripping back to essentials.
The story is about an aristocratic woman (Anna Galiena, very good) falling for a young blond brute of a Nazi, cheating on her husband. It's all very straightforward. Generally you'd think you couldn't go wrong with a classy sex orgy featuring Nazi uniforms, cocaine and blow jobs, but thanks to the composer - Ennio Morricone no less - using oboes and trumpets to fashion a comical, inquisitive little tune better suited to the playout credits of Miss Marple Investigates on Sunday afternoon, they manage to... Lying in bed alone last night, rather than thinking of any of the film's erotic offerings, instead that annoying tune went round my head.
The sex - the main reason for viewing, it's cheeky erotica - obv falls short of what you can see these days, you can get more explicit emoticons, it seems!
I can't really recommend it but it has something going for it, you can see where Paul Verhoven got his inspiration for Black Books, and it's all a bit Allo Allo without the laughs (which some may prefer, of course).
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I watched this because it's set entirely on Holy Island, aka Lindisdarne in Northumberland, a 11th century Dark Ages hangout where the gospels were preserved. It's got great atmospheric b+w photography.
Two gangsters are on the run from a failed heist, one mortally injured. One goes ahead to find a place to hide, it's the Lindisfarne island, a spooky fortress sometimes cut off from the mainland by the tide. One of the gangsters is an American 'Oooh Ooooh Mr Beagley' type.
At the fortress who does he meet but Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is ill-amused at this trespass and has him despatched to a suicide garden... okay okay, it's our old mate Donald Pleasance, one year on from his Blofeld gig, here playing a posh effeminate type emasculated by his cheating wife and the new aggressive American gangster on his doorstep.
It gets absurd at the half way point and the ending is a cop out, but it's atmospheric and always holds the interest, the actors own their roles, esp Pleasance who you realise was a very good actor as Blofeld, he's quite different here though still with trademark bald head. {[]
One scene where he's forced to wet shave the gangster was lifted for the opening of The Untouchables, it's exactly the same.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I recently rewatched this film. I'm not a huge Tim Burton fan, but I consider Ed Wood to be a masterpiece. The film tells the story of Edward D. Wood, Jr. who is often described as 'the worst director of all time' but IMO was alot more talented than many so-called serious directors working today (Lars Von Trier for example
The performances are superb; especially that of Martin Landau who won a much deserved Oscar and Johnny Depp who delivers IMO one of his finest performances. I can not believe that Depp was not nominated for this, but was nominated years later for Finding Neverland.
The look of the film is gorgeous, while the screenplay is both extremely funny and enormously intelligent. What I love about it is that Wood is never made fun of; rather the film treats him with not just respect but also with love.
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone, whether you're a Burton fan or not.
This is an example of a pretentious 'art' film that I can not stand. Steven Soderbergh is a terrific director (Out of Sight is magnificent, while Ocean's 11 is tremendous fun) but I can not for the life of me see what the point is with this film.
To me, in fact, there is no point. IMO it is simply another self-indulgant 'art' film which contributes nothing to the world of cinema and, in this case, was made by a director who's not so talented that he can afford to get away with it. X-( X-( X-(
That said, it was enjoyable at times and I quite appreciated seeing David Hyde Pearce away from the brilliance that was Frasier.
I would not recommend this film as I very much regret my decision to have seen it and would certainly not see it again.
The great Jack Lemmon plays Stanley Ford, a successful comic strip artist and devoted bachelor who, while attending a friend's bachelor party, gets drunk and marries the girl hired to pop out of the cake, an Italian beauty pageant contestant who doesn't speak any English (played by a radiant Verna Lisi). Although at first horrified at this turn of events (and at the loss of his faithful butler Terry Thomas), Stanley eventually comes around to enjoying married life and even changes his comic strip's main character Brash Brannigan from womanizing spy to domesticated klutz. But, when the new Mrs. Ford accidentally comes across a comic strip panel where Brash kills his wife, she disappears and Stanley is promptly arrested and put on trial for murder. The resulting trial, where a desperate Stanley resorts to getting himself acquitted by confessing to the murder (even though he didn't kill anyone) is hilarious, especially when he convinces his henpecked attorney to symbolically erase his domineering wife from existence ( "SHUT UP YOU OLD BAT!!!"
This is one of those great screwball comedies from the 1960s that's short on plot but long on laughs, witty dialog and hilarious characters. It's all a clever play on the battle of the sexes (and yes, the men always lose in the end). A great comedy that could probably never get made today.
Stick with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Temple Of Doom has it's fun moments, but some of the moments seemed boring. I liked this movie years ago, but now some things seem to bother me about it. Years ago the Short Round charector was cute, now I comapre him to Jar Jar Binks. Is that a bad thing?
3.5 stars out 5. Good fun on a Saturday afternoon. But doesn't have as much fun as Raiders did.
Twisty-turny thriller that keeps you watching, just to see what happens, but leaves little impression. Decent cast though, including Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker.
Hackneyed East End (ho ho) gangster thriller set in Spain, a poor man's Layer Cake/Sexy Beast/Buster.
Danny Dyer is the hapless nerk sent out there to meet a friend who is now a big shot with his mate after fleeing a bank robbery. Dyer also provides the voice over, but not very well, he's no Michael Caine.
Every scene has a hit song from the 1980s when it is set, which gets a bit School Disco. It seems to be to avoid any real tension, oh don't worry, here's another Duran Duran song.
It's all highly predictable and not even sexy enough for what should be a guilty pleasure. You know things are bad when every 10 mins I was pausing it because I preferred my inner monologue...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
While watching this movie I started thinking about all the great movies Tom Hanks has made, Forest Gump, Castaway, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Philadelphia, A League of Their Own, Big, Road To Perdition, The Terminal, just to name some. Let's not forget he is the voice of Woody from Toy Story. I believe he will go down as this generations greatest actor.
"The Mist"
Rented this one with my brother at a 'Mom & Pop'-type video store on Bronson street in Hollywood; neither one of us had seen it yet.
A bit talky (which is an offshoot of Darabont's faithfulness to King, I think), this is nevertheless one hell of a lot of fun...but there is a caveat...
That said, if you've a very strong constitution---for both visceral and emotional horror, I recommend it.
"Speed Racer"
My brother has been dying to show me a film at the fabulous Grauman's Chinese Theatre, on Hollywood Blvd...but our only option, during my entire trip out here, has been this one: the Wachowski's take on a cartoon series I've never seen---nor have I ever been the least bit interested in seeing. Still, he had discount coupons, and seeing the picture was actually cheaper than taking a tour of the theatre, so we went for it today.
I must honestly say that my brother and I enjoyed this film quite a bit more than we expected. We both have an admittedly snobbish resistance to excessive CGI, and this one is pretty much nothing but---human actors inhabiting an entirely CGI world. It feels quite a bit like Robert Rodriquez' Spy Kids films (for those parents who've been priveleged to experience them
This is basically a cartoon with human inserts---the veritable opposite of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?---and it does an effective job of immersing its audience in that world. Personally, I'd have preferred more of what I see as actual racing---rather than what looks like a "Jak and Daxter" video game that my kids play---but IMO it all works on a "kid's movie" level.
I understand that this film is a massive flop at the box office; perhaps it wasn't marketed correctly. Too bad, that. I could have seen a worse film at the Chinese Theatre, that's for sure B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I first saw Tom Hanks on re-runs of a comedy called Bosom Buddies. I never thought at the time I was seeing a future Oscar winning actor. Kind of makes me look at todays shows and wonder "Could anyone of these people be a future Best Actor winner?" I guess time will tell.
This 1976 film stars Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, with backup of Denholm Elliott (so Crusade was a reunion of sorts), Nicol Williamson, Robert Shaw (another reunion) and Richard Harris who plays Richard the Lionheart and gets killed off early on in the film returning from the Crusades with Robin Hood.
It's an excellent poignant film of old age, all the more so because Connery is still virile unlike in NSNA which had a similar theme but has him very creaky. Some great acting by the man too, no self parody really. Hepburn I was less keen on, you didn't get the sense they were really lovers though you could say that of a lot of Connery's on-screen lovers, their usually 'conquests' of a sort.
Not historically too accurate despite its downbeat tone; Richard I died on a skirmish defending the Angevin kingdom I believe, not returning from the Crusades, which he'd done a year or two before, so Robin could have returned home earlier.
Works well as a companion piece to The Lion in Winter, which deals with Richard's dad, Henry II (Peter O'Toole). It's all about a wasted life, despite one's endeavours. Both are scored by the great John Barry. {[] Some great landscape photography too.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Decent little thriller with a fine performance from Joseph-Gordon Levitt as a former High School hockey star whose reckless driving leaves him brain damaged, and his friends dead, or in one case missing a leg, unless she is a figment of his f****d-up mind. It's never made clear, but ambiguity is a good thing. Levitt gets suckered into a plan to rob the bank where he works as a janitor, and things go awry as they tend to do in films like this. It's well worth a look, and Levitt is one of the best young actors around.
Holocaust drama, this time the angle is that the main protagonist is a German forger arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned; later he and other Jews are given priviliged treatment so their skills can be exploited in forging foreign currency to undermine the Allied economy.
Solly's initial views is to be out for himself. He survives the war - this we know from the opening scene set in a post-war Nice - but at what cost to his soul?
Didn't quite pan out how I expected, but a rigorous example of the genre; however the main theme in these films is that you can't argue with a guy with a gun, you have to suppress all reason and be stripped of humanity - but at what point do you just give up and give in? It's the opposite of those Allied war movies from the perspective of the victors, where every death is seen as a blow against Hitler. Here any challenge on point of principle is simply futile and foolhardy, and ends in the death of others.
On a different note, one older inmate I recognised from 30 years ago, The Spy Who Loved Me, he was the unbearded Jewish banker ("Yes indeed!") who witnesses with his pal the shark-induced death of Stromberg's secretary before being blown up, here wearing much the same expression of doomed wariness and with even more justification...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland star in this satirical drama that rightly attacks totalitarian regimes, but doesn't have the balls to pick on a real one, instead aiming for a fictional country, which is something I expect from Herge's 'Adventures of Tin Tin,' but not from a so-called serious drama. Still, may I recommend it to Dan Same.
Visconti's classis 1963 epic about the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy during the 1860s unification of Italy under Garibaldi, seen from the point of view of the patriarch Prince Don Fabrizio Salina, played to perfection by Burt Lancaster.
It turns out there are two versions of this, one is the Hollywood one where Lancaster speaks English, the other is Italian where his voice is dubbed into Italian by another actor, in either case there is dubbing over different actors, it's all very odd.
Worth watching for the stunning Sicilian landscapes, unchanged in 100 years. It's a lenghthy three hours, and hard going at times, with no emotional resonance between the characters, Salino is his own man mostly, limited in his interation with others. "We are the leopards," he says. "What comes after us are the wolves and the jackals..." ie the grubby political hacks and lower orders. Not hugely different to Gone With The Wind, set around the same time and about the change in social order, but totally lacking the same romance/human interest provided by the love triangle of Rhett/Scarlett/Ashley.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Former Bond director and confirmed hack, Roger Spottiswoode strikes again with this dreary tale of an aid worker in China. Children of Huang-Sh**e more like.
thats two hours of my life I'll never get back
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
Mummy 1959 4 of 6 (Willoughby Gray (Zorins dad in AVTAK) played the nuthouse boss)
Dr Zhivago 1965 4/6 (honestly , this disappointed me & at times felt tideious , very little happened & Omar wasn't as charming as he was in Funny Girl , for example)
Julie Christie was to be Domino in TB , wasn't she ?
also known as The Realm of the Senses
Notorious Japanese shagathon from the 1970s. I rented this from LOVEFILM.com, morally the equivalent of borrowing your flatmate's jazz mag when he isn't looking, or standing behind a bloke who's leafing through Hustler in the newsagent, catching an eyeful without being the one holding the magazine.. .
Anyway, I found this film very tedious. It's set in a 1930s brothel, so there's this theme of exploitation going on, and at the risk of making a Sean Connery-style faux pas, I don't find Japanese women that attractive, so renting this was like going to a sushi bar if you don't like raw fish!
It's also supposed to be a hotel or something, I don't know, anyway a guy starts shagging the maid or something and they get it on, it's an addiction for them both it seems. Both are married to someone else. The sex isn't arousing to watch, it's a bit like watching Gazza come out of rehab and down 10 pints. She turns into a nagging harpy because he's still with his wife, there's a bit of auto asphyixiation thrown in and kitchen knives waved around willies, not my idea of a turn-on.
No fun at all.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
My brother and I saw this the other day on BluRay; while we liked it a fair bit more than you did, it wasn't anywhere near as good as the original.
I didn't care for the way the movie began by pretty much undoing everything that happened in the last one: Ben gets dumped by his girlfriend, Riley gets audited and loses everything, and the Gates name is besmirched. Whenver that happens, you just know each situation will be eventually rectified by the end of the film and sure enough, they are. Ed Harris' character also goes thru a fairly bizarre arc, starting out as a villain but ending up an unlikely (and still unsavory) hero.
On the plus side, the cast was all very good. Helen Mirren's scenes with John Voight and their endless bickering were well done, but their vine swing went a bit too far. I also liked Bruce Greenwood as the president of the US; he's a very likable actor and I'm looking forward to seeing him as Captain Pike in the next Star Trek movie. The puzzles were pretty clever and the final sequence beneath Mount Rushmore was well done.
As usual, the BluRay presentation yielded a really sharp picture and booming surround sound.
By the way, what was up with the few, unresolved references to "Page 47"? Was that put in there to set up the McGuffin for the inevitable next movie?
BTW, am I the only person who thinks that Diane Kruger looks really beautiful at the end when wet?
(btw, yes, Dan, you've earned a well earned rep here at AJB. I salute you, you crazy Aussie, ya rock!
And here on friday night I've done nothing but impress my guests with you tube vids of ELVIS & THE BEATLES. (and if you've got something against them, kiss off!)
Desire under the elms 1958 3/6 (Loren & Perkins chamistry is flat & in general the movie is slooooooow & what was up with the end ?)
Anyone seen these Loren films , they good ? :
El Cid
Fall of Roman empire
Timbuctu (western with J Wayne)
Heller in pink tights
Millionairess
Arabesque (some kinda Bond/Hitchcock wannabe)
Arabesque is poor man's Charade though it has its quirks... Gregory Peck is a leading man out of context. Good John Barry tune sort of, not his best though.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
-{ Thanks, I very much appreciate this. {[]