Or Rough Film, really. Scarlett Johannsson takes the lead in the bachelorette party comedy in which school friends reunite in their late 20s or early 30s for an out of town party before she ties the knot.
Things take a fatal twist early on but the problem is the death is done so well, so effectively mundane and horrible that it casts a pall over the proceedings. It reminds me of a notorious British film some years ago called Donkey Punch where a group of lads and lasses find one girl dies during a sex 'game' or manoeuvre while on a yacht at sea and things go from bad to worse. This, however, is meant to be a comedy but the tone just isn't quite right for that Weekend at Bernie's thing. It's a hen night, so one has to ask 'Am I being sexist here? Would I think it okay if it were a bunch of lads in the same spot?' but if the gender roles were reversed here, the film would not even get a release as it would be deemed so horrible and sexist.
It might also tag on the Bridesmaids success but there isn't a gross out moment in the film - actually an oversight, because gross out comedies do unite the audience in its reaction, a valuable asset. It's the same reason Xmas cracker gags are made deliberately bad - because if everyone groans at them, it unites the party, whereas not everyone will get or like a good joke. I learnt that from a rerun of the BBC's QI.
The 'OMG I can't believe I'm going along with this!' vibe isn't present for this film. None of them are really quite comic actors, which harms it too.
"Just a little tip " .... I've often heard of a dark night, but a tip for anyone looking
a bargain I've just got the HD version of Where Eagles Dare on Amazon Prime for
only £3.99 -{ At first I was unsure of buying as Number24 has pointed out it may
not be 100% historically correct. Which for me is usually a must in my movie collection
of War Documentaries such as Pearl Harbour, Carry on Sargent and Which Way to the Front?
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I really shouldn't have revealed that Where Eagles Dare isn't 100% historically accurate. After all the main reason people watch that movie is historical accuracy. Historical correctnes means a lot to me and Mel.
As a huge McGoohan fan since childhood, I've seen Ice Station Zebra many times. The early scenes really effectively build the tension and is at its best in the underwater scenes, particularly the attempted sabotage. Sadly the producers wanted a 'bigger' climax than the novel, which is a shame as the novel is one of Alistair Maclean's best and the ending is a cracker. Patrick McGoohan though us the best thing about it and one can easily see how good he would have been as James Bond.
If you don't know this movie I can say it's a bout three servicemen returning home after WWII and their struggles to adjust to civiian life. William Wyler directed it, a director best known for Ben Hur. Wyler hired ex-servicemen for both cast and crew for "The Best years of our lives", including Harold Russell who last both his hands during his military service and plays one of the leads. This is a high quality drama about an important subject and it doesn't shy away from some some of the darker side of being a veteran and it's very different from all the other American WWII movies from that age that I've seen.
Great boys own adventure stuff, lots of action with the Nazi's as the villains {[]
I read in some of the IMDB Trivia that Ingrid Pitt said the film was harder for her
to film, than she thought it would. As she'd been a survivor of the Death Camps.
Sometimes it's frightening to think it wasn't all that long ago.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
On a somewhat similar theme to Gymkata's Guns of Navarone viewing, I watched Escape to Athena last night - another WWI action-adventure yarn set in the Greek islands, and even has David Niven too. Perhaps of most interest to Bond fans is that Roger Moore plays the German commandant of a POW camp in which the prisoners are digging up archaeological relics. Telly Savalas also stars as a local Greek resistance operator. Besides the POW camp and the archaeological aspects, the plot also involves a U-Boat refueling depot and and a 2 rocket launching site hidden inside a monastery. It's not as a action packed as the likes of the Navarone films or Where Eagles Dare and it's all a load of nonsense really, but humourous, fun and I enjoyed it.
Very Agatha Christie but very watchable. Really enjoyed Daniel Craig and his southern drawl. Don Johnson is actually a very good actor and Jamie Lee Curtis is always good value.
I just absolutely adore Christopher Plummer though. I can't believe he is 90 and still turning in top notch performances. What a legend. Had a bit of a crush on him since Sound of Music Days . A very handsome man with amazing presence.
I enjoyed Knives Out too. There was talk about Daniel Craig playing Detective Benoit Blanc in a second film.
Have you watched The Scarlet and the Black? It’s a tv film with Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck. (1983). Based on a true story from WWII. Very good film.
I enjoyed Knives Out too. There was talk about Daniel Craig playing Detective Benoit Blanc in a second film.
Have you watched The Scarlet and the Black? It’s a tv film with Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck. (1983). Based on a true story from WWII. Very good film.
I have indeed, though it's quite a while since I've seen it. I may rewatch it now you've mentioned it.
I absolutely love Gregory Peck. Him and Christopher Plummer are definitely at the very top of my favourite actors.
A Boy and His Dog
mid70s post-apocalyptic sci-fi, based on a story by Harlan Ellison.
Stars teenage Don Johnson as Vic, and Tiger from the Brady Bunch as Blood.
I like sci-fi of this period, low-budget cynical extrapolations of our probable future, before Star Wars came along with its bigbudget escapist fantasy version.
Story follows the amazing adventures of Vic and Blood, who wander a typical radioactive wasteland following the events of World War IV (which lasted five days).
Blood is telepathic, and can sense and identify other humans from a distance. But for this (mutant?) gift, he has lost the ability to find food. Which is why he partners with the teenage human Vic, who finds food for Blood, and Blood finds women for Vic.
But the latest woman Blood has found is different from all the others, wow, she actually likes to do "it", even more than Vic does! whats's going on? she has plans for Vic too, she's not from the surface, she's from Downunder, a place Vic then enters, leaving his faithful dog behind as he joins the grown-up world (getting a bit metaphorical here is this story structure).
Downunder is the typical underground city as always seen in such early70s sci-fi, where the more privileged survivors live on in a mutated version of a smalltown Thornton Wilder style society, all perpetual hardware stores church meetings and high school pep rallies, all very Baptist and Republican. Come to think of it, wasn't the freedom of the radioactive surface wasteland preferable to a secure future such as this?
It's available for free streaming on the Shout! Factory dvd website, which I assume is official and OK to link to.
A Boy and His Dog
mid70s post-apocalyptic sci-fi, based on a story by Harlan Ellison.
Stars teenage Don Johnson as Vic, and Tiger from the Brady Bunch as Blood.
I like sci-fi of this period, low-budget cynical extrapolations of our probable future, before Star Wars came along with its bigbudget escapist fantasy version.
Story follows the amazing adventures of Vic and Blood, who wander a typical radioactive wasteland following the events of World War IV (which lasted five days).
Blood is telepathic, and can sense and identify other humans from a distance. But for this (mutant?) gift, he has lost the ability to find food. Which is why he partners with the teenage human Vic, who finds food for Blood, and Blood finds women for Vic.
But the latest woman Blood has found is different from all the others, wow, she actually likes to do "it", even more than Vic does! whats's going on? she has plans for Vic too, she's not from the surface, she's from Downunder, a place Vic then enters, leaving his faithful dog behind as he joins the grown-up world (getting a bit metaphorical here is this story structure).
Downunder is the typical underground city as always seen in such early70s sci-fi, where the more privileged survivors live on in a mutated version of a smalltown Thornton Wilder style society, all perpetual hardware stores church meetings and high school pep rallies, all very Baptist and Republican. Come to think of it, wasn't the freedom of the radioactive surface wasteland preferable to a secure future such as this?
It's available for free streaming on the Shout! Factory dvd website, which I assume is official and OK to link to.
I haven’t seen this for many a year, it’s a brilliant film and directed by that superb actor from many Sam Peckinpah movies, L Q Jones.
Thanks for the link, cp
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,764Chief of Staff
Ad Astra…the first thing that springs to mind is why and the second (and probably more important point) SPACE MONKEYS…why doesn’t anyone mention them??? ?:)
I usually like films that plod but this just didn’t do anything…obviously far too cerebral for me
YNWA 97
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,764Chief of Staff
The Ambushers…Dean Martin as Matt Helm...having watched the previous two Matt Helm films last month I kinda had an idea what to expect...ie, not much but this is by FAR the weakest of the three I’ve seen...at times the editing is so bad I thought parts of the film were missing and it’s nowhere near as much FUN as the first two
Anyway...onwards and (hopefully) upwards with The Wrecking Crew next.
Ad Astra…the first thing that springs to mind is why and the second (and probably more important point) SPACE MONKEYS…why doesn’t anyone mention them??? ?:)
I usually like films that plod but this just didn’t do anything…obviously far too cerebral for me
Space monkeys ..... are you talking about the Norwegian astronauts? )
I once saw a Space Monkey displayed in one of those museums in Washington DC, presumably taxidermed?
I had always imagined the Space Monkeys had free use of the bridge, got to sit in the chairs, got to push some buttons and pull some levers even if they didnt do anything, and could watch the Moon growing larger through the window and point at it and jump up and down expressing their professional Space Monkey opinion of the phenomena...
But turns out they were tightly bound into these electronic sarcophogi with wires and tubes stuck into their bodies to record their physiological responses, I doubt they got any chance to properly enjoy the experience.
Three convicts escape from prison and pick a house to hide out in, terrorising the family who live there, who are afraid of making a wrong move in case they are shot. Very tense at times.
The Ambushers…Dean Martin as Matt Helm...having watched the previous two Matt Helm films last month I kinda had an idea what to expect...ie, not much but this is by FAR the weakest of the three I’ve seen...at times the editing is so bad I thought parts of the film were missing and it’s nowhere near as much FUN as the first two
Anyway...onwards and (hopefully) upwards with The Wrecking Crew next.
The Wrecking Crew is great fun and definitely stronger than The Ambushers, not to mention, ah, standout performances by Elke Summer and the late Sharon Tate. Have you seen One Upon A Time in Hollywood, Sir Miles? It references Wrecking Crew a fair bit and has a hilarious scene with Bruce Lee, who choreographed Wrecking Crew's martial arts scenes.
"How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,764Chief of Staff
The Ambushers…Dean Martin as Matt Helm...having watched the previous two Matt Helm films last month I kinda had an idea what to expect...ie, not much but this is by FAR the weakest of the three I’ve seen...at times the editing is so bad I thought parts of the film were missing and it’s nowhere near as much FUN as the first two
Anyway...onwards and (hopefully) upwards with The Wrecking Crew next.
The Wrecking Crew is great fun and definitely stronger than The Ambushers, not to mention, ah, standout performances by Elke Summer and the late Sharon Tate. Have you seen One Upon A Time in Hollywood, Sir Miles? It references Wrecking Crew a fair bit and has a hilarious scene with Bruce Lee, who choreographed Wrecking Crew's martial arts scenes.
I have watched Once Upon A Time In Hollywood...a couple of times in fact, loved it...especially the mad ending )
Yes, I know, but my grandkids insisted. All I'll say is: not as bad as its reputation would have you believe.
It's not even close to the original film but it's also not a complete travesty. The film as a whole doesn't really work and Kate McKinnon feels like she's in a completely different film tonally, but there are a lot of good individual moments here and there.
I enjoyed it, but I can barely remember the original.
Thsi is a war movie two movie about a topic that's been overlooked far too often, the convoys and their escorts. Jack Hawkins stars as George Ericson who commands escort ships in the battle of the Atlantic. Hawkin'd perferomce is first class.
The movie seems very realistic to me and there are few heroics, at least of the typical Hollywood kind. Instead we get some very tense moments,some hard moral questions and several intersting characters to follow. It struck me that The Cruel Sea will give a Bond fan a good idea of the type of war M had. If you don't mind a few short moments with outdated special effects (mostly obvious models and the use of newsreel footage) I think you'll enjoy this movie a lot.
Comments
Or Rough Film, really. Scarlett Johannsson takes the lead in the bachelorette party comedy in which school friends reunite in their late 20s or early 30s for an out of town party before she ties the knot.
Things take a fatal twist early on but the problem is the death is done so well, so effectively mundane and horrible that it casts a pall over the proceedings. It reminds me of a notorious British film some years ago called Donkey Punch where a group of lads and lasses find one girl dies during a sex 'game' or manoeuvre while on a yacht at sea and things go from bad to worse. This, however, is meant to be a comedy but the tone just isn't quite right for that Weekend at Bernie's thing. It's a hen night, so one has to ask 'Am I being sexist here? Would I think it okay if it were a bunch of lads in the same spot?' but if the gender roles were reversed here, the film would not even get a release as it would be deemed so horrible and sexist.
It might also tag on the Bridesmaids success but there isn't a gross out moment in the film - actually an oversight, because gross out comedies do unite the audience in its reaction, a valuable asset. It's the same reason Xmas cracker gags are made deliberately bad - because if everyone groans at them, it unites the party, whereas not everyone will get or like a good joke. I learnt that from a rerun of the BBC's QI.
The 'OMG I can't believe I'm going along with this!' vibe isn't present for this film. None of them are really quite comic actors, which harms it too.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
a bargain I've just got the HD version of Where Eagles Dare on Amazon Prime for
only £3.99 -{ At first I was unsure of buying as Number24 has pointed out it may
not be 100% historically correct. Which for me is usually a must in my movie collection
of War Documentaries such as Pearl Harbour, Carry on Sargent and Which Way to the Front?
A memory from watching the film with my family, when I was a boy:
(One of the party falls down a sheer drop and is clinging on desperately.)
Brother: Is that rock?
Father: It's solid ice!
Brother: No, Rock Hudson!
Alas, no!
If you don't know this movie I can say it's a bout three servicemen returning home after WWII and their struggles to adjust to civiian life. William Wyler directed it, a director best known for Ben Hur. Wyler hired ex-servicemen for both cast and crew for "The Best years of our lives", including Harold Russell who last both his hands during his military service and plays one of the leads. This is a high quality drama about an important subject and it doesn't shy away from some some of the darker side of being a veteran and it's very different from all the other American WWII movies from that age that I've seen.
Great boys own adventure stuff, lots of action with the Nazi's as the villains {[]
I read in some of the IMDB Trivia that Ingrid Pitt said the film was harder for her
to film, than she thought it would. As she'd been a survivor of the Death Camps.
Sometimes it's frightening to think it wasn't all that long ago.
Very Agatha Christie but very watchable. Really enjoyed Daniel Craig and his southern drawl. Don Johnson is actually a very good actor and Jamie Lee Curtis is always good value.
I just absolutely adore Christopher Plummer though. I can't believe he is 90 and still turning in top notch performances. What a legend. Had a bit of a crush on him since Sound of Music Days . A very handsome man with amazing presence.
Have you watched The Scarlet and the Black? It’s a tv film with Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck. (1983). Based on a true story from WWII. Very good film.
I have indeed, though it's quite a while since I've seen it. I may rewatch it now you've mentioned it.
I absolutely love Gregory Peck. Him and Christopher Plummer are definitely at the very top of my favourite actors.
Another Classic from Hammer, with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
mid70s post-apocalyptic sci-fi, based on a story by Harlan Ellison.
Stars teenage Don Johnson as Vic, and Tiger from the Brady Bunch as Blood.
I like sci-fi of this period, low-budget cynical extrapolations of our probable future, before Star Wars came along with its bigbudget escapist fantasy version.
Story follows the amazing adventures of Vic and Blood, who wander a typical radioactive wasteland following the events of World War IV (which lasted five days).
Blood is telepathic, and can sense and identify other humans from a distance. But for this (mutant?) gift, he has lost the ability to find food. Which is why he partners with the teenage human Vic, who finds food for Blood, and Blood finds women for Vic.
Downunder is the typical underground city as always seen in such early70s sci-fi, where the more privileged survivors live on in a mutated version of a smalltown Thornton Wilder style society, all perpetual hardware stores church meetings and high school pep rallies, all very Baptist and Republican. Come to think of it, wasn't the freedom of the radioactive surface wasteland preferable to a secure future such as this?
It's available for free streaming on the Shout! Factory dvd website, which I assume is official and OK to link to.
Fantastic cast in a modern whodunit ( although to fans of the genre, not too difficult to solve )
well worth a watch. -{
I haven’t seen this for many a year, it’s a brilliant film and directed by that superb actor from many Sam Peckinpah movies, L Q Jones.
Thanks for the link, cp
I usually like films that plod but this just didn’t do anything…obviously far too cerebral for me
Anyway...onwards and (hopefully) upwards with The Wrecking Crew next.
Space monkeys ..... are you talking about the Norwegian astronauts?
I had always imagined the Space Monkeys had free use of the bridge, got to sit in the chairs, got to push some buttons and pull some levers even if they didnt do anything, and could watch the Moon growing larger through the window and point at it and jump up and down expressing their professional Space Monkey opinion of the phenomena...
But turns out they were tightly bound into these electronic sarcophogi with wires and tubes stuck into their bodies to record their physiological responses, I doubt they got any chance to properly enjoy the experience.
Three convicts escape from prison and pick a house to hide out in, terrorising the family who live there, who are afraid of making a wrong move in case they are shot. Very tense at times.
The Wrecking Crew is great fun and definitely stronger than The Ambushers, not to mention, ah, standout performances by Elke Summer and the late Sharon Tate. Have you seen One Upon A Time in Hollywood, Sir Miles? It references Wrecking Crew a fair bit and has a hilarious scene with Bruce Lee, who choreographed Wrecking Crew's martial arts scenes.
Me too...I read your review at the time and was looking forward to watching it... but I’m not really sure what I just watched
I have watched Once Upon A Time In Hollywood...a couple of times in fact, loved it...especially the mad ending
Yes, I know, but my grandkids insisted. All I'll say is: not as bad as its reputation would have you believe.
I enjoyed it, but I can barely remember the original.
comedians. The re-make Wasn't
Thsi is a war movie two movie about a topic that's been overlooked far too often, the convoys and their escorts. Jack Hawkins stars as George Ericson who commands escort ships in the battle of the Atlantic. Hawkin'd perferomce is first class.
The movie seems very realistic to me and there are few heroics, at least of the typical Hollywood kind. Instead we get some very tense moments,some hard moral questions and several intersting characters to follow.
It struck me that The Cruel Sea will give a Bond fan a good idea of the type of war M had. If you don't mind a few short moments with outdated special effects (mostly obvious models and the use of newsreel footage) I think you'll enjoy this movie a lot.