This was actually pretty awesome, much better than it should have been. It crushes the 1970s version with Charlton Heston. It's not high art but it's a really rousing, well paced, very well executed film that by all accounts is actually very historically accurate.
I was impressed by the film's adherance to historical fact. When I first learned that this film was coming, historical accuracy wasn't something that I was expecting. What I did expect was plenty of CGI aviation action, and this is what it definitely delivered. As a huge fan of the classic WWII aviation epics like Battle of Britain, Tora! Tora! Tora! and even more recent films featuring real aircraft like Dark Blue World and Dunkirk, I always find the CGI version lacking in realism and although Midway was not the worst offender in this regard, I did still have complaints with it. I found the scenes of dive bombers pulling out of their dives with their wings skimming waves tops was a bit much for me. But all things considered, Midway at least exceeded my expectations and deserves credit for the things that it gets right.
Yeah, that's a five-star film, quite Oscar worthy. Odd, v little or nothing in the way of superhero action or hints of what's to come (supposedly) and almost nothing to do with the DC universe. And somewhat the better for it. Helps that there's little celebrity prescence or cameos - Robert De Niro works because he is playing a 'famous' character so it puts him on the other side.
Some niggles - Phoenix is surely too old to be playing young Master Bruce's future nemesis. And the sense of Gotham as a location, and when this is meant to be set - it sort of dovetails with late 60s according to the movies shown on a cinema screen, but does that mean it is a precursor to Burton's Batman, set in the 80s? Of course, the whole Joker origins is wholly different.
Still, this was a class film reminiscent of the mainstream movies that went out in the 70s, ironically to do that now you have to hang it on a comic book hook.
Spellbound
Hitchcock, 1945
written by Ben Hecht (he was almost one of ours)
starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck
As with James Whale's Frankenstein, Mel Brooks has ruined this movie for me. Much of High Anxiety is specifically from this film, including Professor Little Old Man and the bellboy delivering the paper to the room.
The film is set in a lunatic asylum where something weirder than usual is going on. The staff of psychiatrists all psychoanalyse each other for laughs, because that's how they think, very mind-gamey work environment.
Bergman does lots of that slack jawed big brown eyes twitching convulsively in panic thing she does so well (see also: GasLight). I know Hitchcock was obsessed by Grace Kelly, but I think Bergman was the best actress he worked with.
Soundtrack features much use of theremin to make it all the more mind-gamey.
Towards the end, there is a two minute sequence by Salvador Dali to illustrate one of Peck's dreams. There was originally 20 minutes of Dali content filmed, but producer David Selznick didn't like it, and the other 18 minutes is now lost.
I really thought M. Night Shyamalan no longer made good movies, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. Split is about three teenage girls who gets kidnapped by man with more than twenty very different personalities. All those personalities are played by James MacAvoy. This part(s) is a gift to any actor, but also a huge challenge. Thankfully MacAvoy is able to handle an acting job few actors would be able to. The film is very tense and well plotted, a reminder that movies don't have to have huge budgets to be entertaining. I also want to mention Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays one of the girls. I first noticed her in "Witch" from the year before. She's very talented, has striking looks and I think she's going to be one of the big stars of the next decade.
The Thing (2011)
A prequel to the 1982 version. I did see it long ago and hated it, but this time, I enjoyed it a
little more. Although it's amazing that the practical special effects from 1982 look better than
the CGI effects in this 2011 movie.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I know this was a troubled production and some were dispointed by it. Personally Star Wars was never more than another film franchise for me and I was entertained by Solo. Alden Ehrenreich does an okey job, but he's got a nasal voice, but sadly not the star power of Harrison Ford. I'd love to have seen Chris Pratt or Ryan Reynolds in the role. Still, a fun ride.
The Hound of the Baskervilles ( 1939 )
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson -{ everyone must know the story
by now. I did notice the last line in the film " Watson the needle " must be one of the few
references to Holmes's drug habit and amazing for a 1939 movie.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
The Hound of the Baskervilles ( 1939 )
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson -{ everyone must know the story
by now. I did notice the last line in the film " Watson the needle " must be one of the few
references to Holmes's drug habit and amazing for a 1939 movie.
I love a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes film. Interestingly 'Hound of the Baskervilles' was apparently the first Sherlock Holmes film adaptation to actually set its story in the original Victorian time period. Once Universal got hold of the series the timeline shifted to the 1940s and saw Holmes up against Nazis (which is, for me, an irresistible premise) and other contemporary villains. My favourite Rathbone Holmes films come from the Universal series - notably The Scarlet Claw, The Spider Woman and The Voice of Terror. Sherlock Holmes in Washington is also really good, despite its boring sounding title.
As for 'Watson, the needle!' it certainly is a curious and surprising reference to be made in a film of that era (at least so it would seem from a modern viewpoint). But not only did the line appear in the film, even more curiously it is even printed in publicity material for the film! (Screenshot from a BBC Timeshift episode: How to be Sherlock Holmes)
True, as far as I know- just watch him in action in, say, "The Adventures Of Robin Hood". He's great in horror movies, too: "Son Of Frankenstein" (though you have to deliberately forget about Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder to enjoy it ) ) for one.
Everything or Nothing, the superb James Bond film documentary, now a few years old.
The pacing, the editing is great, esp with excerpts from the moodiest, most beautiful John Barry cues, making this for those of a certain age a new Bond movie really. I'd happily snap up a soundtrack to accompany it.
Sometimes the editing is a bit too on the nose, as the use clips from the film to accompany every narrative event. When Pierce Brosnan complains about being dumped, you half expect it to be accompanied by a shot of Bond on the bog - from his drop in at the Willard Whyte House, perhaps!
McClory is made out to be the villain - he was a bit, but they make it sound like he corralled Fleming into a drinking session where they thought up a Bond plot, rather than spending weeks and months trying to devise the first Bond film.
Clips from Skyfall that made their way into the cinema release are not on the DVD.
I like the Richard Chamberlain version as well. This one with Jim Caveizal and Guy Pearce is really, really entertaining, though. The action has been increased from the written story but it doesn't overwhelm the movie at all. I think you're in for a treat.
Well, I have to thank you for the recommendation.
I watched it this evening and really enjoyed it. Guy Pierce does make an excellent villain as does Michael Wincott.
And you never mentioned a very young Henry Cavill was in it!!
This is a French comedy with inovative musical numbers, many unsuccessful suicides, colourful characters, canibalism, odd camera angels, fantastic set design and orange colour filters that puts Sam Mendes to shame. This is great film and highly reccomended for anyone who wants to be entertained by a movei that dares to be different. Wonderful film!
Yes, I know , I'm very late to the party on this one but what a jolly old romp that was!!
Really enjoyed that.
Good to see Rick Yune in action and I was always a huge supporter of Gerard Butler for Bond. Still think he would have made an excellent Bond, for what it's worth. A worn in, tall, dark haired Scot ... what's not to love?
This is a French comedy with innovative musical numbers, many unsuccessful suicides, colourful characters, canibalism, odd camera angels, fantastic set design and orange colour filters that puts Sam Mendes to shame. This is great film and highly reccomended for anyone who wants to be entertained by a movei that dares to be different. Wonderful film!
It's a swell one!
I especially remember the musical saw, and the squeaky bedsprings sequence!
Have you seen their followup City of Lost Children?
One of the two co-directors went on to do Amélie and also the fourth Alien movie.
My Favourite Brunette ( 1947)
Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour with Peter Lorre. Always find this a terrific comedy, I still
laugh out loud in places. The scene where Hope is looking for a clue, while Lorre is trying to
place a clue for him to find, Only for Bob Hope to keep ignoring it is a classic. )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
This Japanese film is one of the best animated movies ever made. It's directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, both names a guarantee for for high quality and whimsical imagination, and this is their masterpiece. Studio Ghibli is the Japanese Disney in a way, but with more weight on artistry and less on business. This is so good adults with no kids go to the cinema to watch it. Highly recomended!
Directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. Slow paced Western, outstanding performances. Wayne plays the town sheriff, Martin his drunken deputy. Pretty much remade some years later as El Dorado with Wayne again plus Robert Mitchum in the part equivalent to Dean Martin, again directed by Hawks.... then again some years later as Rio Lobo, again directed by Hawks, again starring John Wayne with this time Jack Elam co-starring. The first one is the best!
Directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. Slow paced Western, outstanding performances. Wayne plays the town sheriff, Martin his drunken deputy. Pretty much remade some years later as El Dorado with Wayne again plus Robert Mitchum in the part equivalent to Dean Martin, again directed by Hawks.... then again some years later as Rio Lobo, again directed by Hawks, again starring John Wayne with this time Jack Elam co-starring. The first one is the best!
One of the true greats. I rewatched it a couple of months ago, and once again loved all the performances and characters. Good soundtrack too, especially the deguello theme which Morricone drew heavily on in his scores for the Sergio Leone films, particularly A Fistful of Dollars. The other Hawks Western that I'm very fond of is Red River. I should also give El Dorado a rewatch.
The last man on earth (1964) with Vincent Price.
Later filmed as The Omega Man and I am legend.
Has the feel of an old tv movie, but still very
Enjoyable as everyone must know the basic
Story idea. Only in this version the survivors of
The disease turn in to vampires.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Johnny Depp's Acting Career, or whatever it's called. Jaw-droppingly bad: overlong, overstuffed, incoherent, and lacking even a smidgen of charm. Rowling and Warner Bros.: the Harry Potter films weren't fun because of the numerous big-name actors in goofy wizard suits, they were fun because we saw this nonsense through the eyes of likeable children. Go back to kid's stuff, please.
Angel has fallen.
Standard by the numbers action thriller, Everyone you think will be a bad guy...... turns out
to be a bad guy. Some nice action sequences, moves along at a good pace. If you're in the
mood for a good shoot'em'up it's fine.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
This is very different from other superhero universe films I've seen, including Logan. It's the origin story of the Joker told as the style of a gritty 70's film like "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver". Robert de Niro is even in it! It sounds crazy, but actually it's brilliant. Joaquin Phoenix is great in the title role. Both people who mainly watch superhero movies and those who aminly watch high end dramas should watch this.
The last man on earth (1964) with Vincent Price.
Later filmed as The Omega Man and I am legend.
Has the feel of an old tv movie, but still very
Enjoyable as everyone must know the basic
Story idea. Only in this version the survivors of
The disease turn in to vampires.
All those versions of the movie were based to one degree or another on the novel "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson, wherein the protagonist Robert Neville tries to survive in a world where nearly all of Earth's population has turned into vampires. I read the novel many years ago and while the production values were modest, Last Man On Earth is actually the most faithful version.
Comments
I was impressed by the film's adherance to historical fact. When I first learned that this film was coming, historical accuracy wasn't something that I was expecting. What I did expect was plenty of CGI aviation action, and this is what it definitely delivered. As a huge fan of the classic WWII aviation epics like Battle of Britain, Tora! Tora! Tora! and even more recent films featuring real aircraft like Dark Blue World and Dunkirk, I always find the CGI version lacking in realism and although Midway was not the worst offender in this regard, I did still have complaints with it. I found the scenes of dive bombers pulling out of their dives with their wings skimming waves tops was a bit much for me. But all things considered, Midway at least exceeded my expectations and deserves credit for the things that it gets right.
Yeah, that's a five-star film, quite Oscar worthy. Odd, v little or nothing in the way of superhero action or hints of what's to come (supposedly) and almost nothing to do with the DC universe. And somewhat the better for it. Helps that there's little celebrity prescence or cameos - Robert De Niro works because he is playing a 'famous' character so it puts him on the other side.
Some niggles - Phoenix is surely too old to be playing young Master Bruce's future nemesis. And the sense of Gotham as a location, and when this is meant to be set - it sort of dovetails with late 60s according to the movies shown on a cinema screen, but does that mean it is a precursor to Burton's Batman, set in the 80s? Of course, the whole Joker origins is wholly different.
Still, this was a class film reminiscent of the mainstream movies that went out in the 70s, ironically to do that now you have to hang it on a comic book hook.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Hitchcock, 1945
written by Ben Hecht (he was almost one of ours)
starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck
As with James Whale's Frankenstein, Mel Brooks has ruined this movie for me. Much of High Anxiety is specifically from this film, including Professor Little Old Man and the bellboy delivering the paper to the room.
The film is set in a lunatic asylum where something weirder than usual is going on. The staff of psychiatrists all psychoanalyse each other for laughs, because that's how they think, very mind-gamey work environment.
Bergman does lots of that slack jawed big brown eyes twitching convulsively in panic thing she does so well (see also: GasLight). I know Hitchcock was obsessed by Grace Kelly, but I think Bergman was the best actress he worked with.
Soundtrack features much use of theremin to make it all the more mind-gamey.
Towards the end, there is a two minute sequence by Salvador Dali to illustrate one of Peck's dreams. There was originally 20 minutes of Dali content filmed, but producer David Selznick didn't like it, and the other 18 minutes is now lost.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I really thought M. Night Shyamalan no longer made good movies, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. Split is about three teenage girls who gets kidnapped by man with more than twenty very different personalities. All those personalities are played by James MacAvoy. This part(s) is a gift to any actor, but also a huge challenge. Thankfully MacAvoy is able to handle an acting job few actors would be able to. The film is very tense and well plotted, a reminder that movies don't have to have huge budgets to be entertaining. I also want to mention Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays one of the girls. I first noticed her in "Witch" from the year before. She's very talented, has striking looks and I think she's going to be one of the big stars of the next decade.
A prequel to the 1982 version. I did see it long ago and hated it, but this time, I enjoyed it a
little more. Although it's amazing that the practical special effects from 1982 look better than
the CGI effects in this 2011 movie.
I know this was a troubled production and some were dispointed by it. Personally Star Wars was never more than another film franchise for me and I was entertained by Solo. Alden Ehrenreich does an okey job, but he's got a nasal voice, but sadly not the star power of Harrison Ford. I'd love to have seen Chris Pratt or Ryan Reynolds in the role. Still, a fun ride.
Very watchable film though maybe more of a teen horror than a super scary horror.
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson -{ everyone must know the story
by now. I did notice the last line in the film " Watson the needle " must be one of the few
references to Holmes's drug habit and amazing for a 1939 movie.
I love a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes film. Interestingly 'Hound of the Baskervilles' was apparently the first Sherlock Holmes film adaptation to actually set its story in the original Victorian time period. Once Universal got hold of the series the timeline shifted to the 1940s and saw Holmes up against Nazis (which is, for me, an irresistible premise) and other contemporary villains. My favourite Rathbone Holmes films come from the Universal series - notably The Scarlet Claw, The Spider Woman and The Voice of Terror. Sherlock Holmes in Washington is also really good, despite its boring sounding title.
As for 'Watson, the needle!' it certainly is a curious and surprising reference to be made in a film of that era (at least so it would seem from a modern viewpoint). But not only did the line appear in the film, even more curiously it is even printed in publicity material for the film! (Screenshot from a BBC Timeshift episode: How to be Sherlock Holmes)
and ( unless this is an urban myth ) he was
One of the best swordsmen in Hollywood.
The pacing, the editing is great, esp with excerpts from the moodiest, most beautiful John Barry cues, making this for those of a certain age a new Bond movie really. I'd happily snap up a soundtrack to accompany it.
Sometimes the editing is a bit too on the nose, as the use clips from the film to accompany every narrative event. When Pierce Brosnan complains about being dumped, you half expect it to be accompanied by a shot of Bond on the bog - from his drop in at the Willard Whyte House, perhaps!
McClory is made out to be the villain - he was a bit, but they make it sound like he corralled Fleming into a drinking session where they thought up a Bond plot, rather than spending weeks and months trying to devise the first Bond film.
Clips from Skyfall that made their way into the cinema release are not on the DVD.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Well, I have to thank you for the recommendation.
I watched it this evening and really enjoyed it. Guy Pierce does make an excellent villain as does Michael Wincott.
And you never mentioned a very young Henry Cavill was in it!!
This is a French comedy with inovative musical numbers, many unsuccessful suicides, colourful characters, canibalism, odd camera angels, fantastic set design and orange colour filters that puts Sam Mendes to shame. This is great film and highly reccomended for anyone who wants to be entertained by a movei that dares to be different. Wonderful film!
Yes, I know , I'm very late to the party on this one but what a jolly old romp that was!!
Really enjoyed that.
Good to see Rick Yune in action and I was always a huge supporter of Gerard Butler for Bond. Still think he would have made an excellent Bond, for what it's worth. A worn in, tall, dark haired Scot ... what's not to love?
I especially remember the musical saw, and the squeaky bedsprings sequence!
Have you seen their followup City of Lost Children?
One of the two co-directors went on to do Amélie and also the fourth Alien movie.
Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour with Peter Lorre. Always find this a terrific comedy, I still
laugh out loud in places. The scene where Hope is looking for a clue, while Lorre is trying to
place a clue for him to find, Only for Bob Hope to keep ignoring it is a classic.
This Japanese film is one of the best animated movies ever made. It's directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, both names a guarantee for for high quality and whimsical imagination, and this is their masterpiece. Studio Ghibli is the Japanese Disney in a way, but with more weight on artistry and less on business. This is so good adults with no kids go to the cinema to watch it. Highly recomended!
Directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. Slow paced Western, outstanding performances. Wayne plays the town sheriff, Martin his drunken deputy. Pretty much remade some years later as El Dorado with Wayne again plus Robert Mitchum in the part equivalent to Dean Martin, again directed by Hawks.... then again some years later as Rio Lobo, again directed by Hawks, again starring John Wayne with this time Jack Elam co-starring. The first one is the best!
One of the true greats. I rewatched it a couple of months ago, and once again loved all the performances and characters. Good soundtrack too, especially the deguello theme which Morricone drew heavily on in his scores for the Sergio Leone films, particularly A Fistful of Dollars. The other Hawks Western that I'm very fond of is Red River. I should also give El Dorado a rewatch.
Later filmed as The Omega Man and I am legend.
Has the feel of an old tv movie, but still very
Enjoyable as everyone must know the basic
Story idea. Only in this version the survivors of
The disease turn in to vampires.
Standard by the numbers action thriller, Everyone you think will be a bad guy...... turns out
to be a bad guy. Some nice action sequences, moves along at a good pace. If you're in the
mood for a good shoot'em'up it's fine.
This is very different from other superhero universe films I've seen, including Logan. It's the origin story of the Joker told as the style of a gritty 70's film like "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver". Robert de Niro is even in it! It sounds crazy, but actually it's brilliant. Joaquin Phoenix is great in the title role. Both people who mainly watch superhero movies and those who aminly watch high end dramas should watch this.
All those versions of the movie were based to one degree or another on the novel "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson, wherein the protagonist Robert Neville tries to survive in a world where nearly all of Earth's population has turned into vampires. I read the novel many years ago and while the production values were modest, Last Man On Earth is actually the most faithful version.