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  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I think it's well known that Caine himself said he did many films just for the big pay cheque. As he came
    from a very poor background and didn't know when his success would end.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    Joshua wrote:
    As for The Forth Protocol I have watched that. C&D as I said elsewhere, just because I think Pierce Brosnan is (for me) the worst Bond, it is nothing to do with him or his other acting. I enjoyed him in that role as the Russian agent.

    I know, Joshua, I was just kidding. :))
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • JoshuaJoshua Posts: 1,138MI6 Agent
    Joshua wrote:
    As for The Forth Protocol I have watched that. C&D as I said elsewhere, just because I think Pierce Brosnan is (for me) the worst Bond, it is nothing to do with him or his other acting. I enjoyed him in that role as the Russian agent.

    I know, Joshua, I was just kidding. :))

    PLEASE DO NOT MENTION PIERCE BROSNAN TO ME AGAIN!!!!!!!!! :)) :)) :)) :)) :))
  • Lady RoseLady Rose London,UKPosts: 2,667MI6 Agent
    I think it's well known that Caine himself said he did many films just for the big pay cheque. As he came
    from a very poor background and didn't know when his success would end.

    There was that famous quote about Jaws 4. "I've never seen Jaws 4 but I have seen the house it built and it's rather nice' :))

    I've watched 'A Muppets Christmas Carol' a hundred times but it was only this year I noticed Scrooge/Michael Caine walks past a shop called 'Mickelwhite's" . I thought that was a nice touch.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is superb -{ so many great scenes.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I can go all the way back to The Jerk :# I knew nothing about it but laughed all the way though
    I was a Steve Martin fan after that. I have a soft spot for The Man with two Brains.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,172MI6 Agent
    TEA WITH MUSSOLINI

    This isn't a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it passes pleasantly a couple of hours and took my mind off the world outside my window. Franco Zeffirelli directs a movie loosely based on his own wartime experiences in Italy. A band of English and American women refuse to leave Florence when war breaks out in 1939 and end up prisoners of the Fascists, but in a rather different manner than their captors expected. Lovely scenery among the Tuscan hill towns. Willing performances from a stellar cast. Judi Dench is a bit OTT, Cher rather good but underused, Joan Plowright excellent. Maggie Smith gives an interesting turn as Lady Hestor, an ex-ambassador's wife deluded into believing Mussolini was a benign dictator; this neatly plays against her Oscar winning role as Jean Brodie, who of course was a proto-fascist in all but name. Beautiful photography. The amusing script could have been a bit more involved; it's very condensed and the characters are sketched instead of moulded. Enjoyed it though.
  • hehadlotsofgutshehadlotsofguts Durham England Posts: 2,107MI6 Agent
    The Theory Of Everything on Netfix.

    Fascinating biopic drama of Stephen Hawking,dealing with Motor Neurone disease.
    Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"

    " I don't listen to hip hop!"
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    I saw the original of DRS, it was a 50s film called Bedside Story with David Niven and Marlon Brando. Pretty rubbish, though it seems Steve Martin got the whole Ruprett character - mannerisms and all - off Brando, with one crucial difference. Martin is hilarious, and Brando - he just aint funny.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Jack Reacher

    I'd seen the dodgy sequel to this but the original was never shown on telly until recently, I've no idea how the scheduling of films comes about. Anyway, this co-stars Bond star Rosaumund Pike putting in a decent performance, she's a proper grown up in this. Not really quite the totty by now (God I'm showing my age now myself) and she seemed younger in Gone Girl which came later, right? But this is more a grown-up movie, it's old school, no CGI.
    The film was overshadowed by the whole 'Cruise ain't tall enough to be Reacher' along with Cruise bashing at the time but forgetting that it works and tbf the whole thing of him blending in and disappearing makes more sense than if he were 6ft 4. I found him convincing in the fight scenes albeit up against lacklustre hoodlums.
    Some daft snags occur only later in the film, it had a damn good run until then. The plot is a good one, and it throws you early on with some unexpected stuff.
    Cruise is the cliche role of the super detective like Sherlock who has command and knows his stuff, he is way ahead of everyone. This is always enjoyable to watch. It's almost Bond like but these days there has to be a downside, and Reacher is a loner like The Hitcher or The Fugitive, that's his thing and he doesn't get to settle. Really that's a bit like many an Army Vet who actually is traumatised and can't quite settle, always avoiding themselves, but Cruise sells it as a virtue of sorts.
    It's implied his sex comes from prostitutes however which is a bit of a downer.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,172MI6 Agent
    Agree with the Nap and Gymkata, I really enjoyed the first Jack Reacher without ever warming to the character. I too saw the second film first and thought it was terrible. Very violent and uninteresting, no character development at all. The debut has thoughtful plotting. The end was a trifle naff, with the old timer half blind vet giving Reacher a helping hand,but generally this one was a good crack. Cruise was rather good, I thought.
  • JTMJTM Posts: 3,027MI6 Agent
    Well I really enjoyed the second one as well {:)
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Here's another second film that fell foul of everyone.

    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

    It's crap, isn't it.

    It starts as it means to go on... spectacular opening in a Shanghai nightclub, but all the protagonists are unlikeable and behave badly. Indiana uses the singing star as bait against the gangsters, holding a knife to her. Said singing star only caring about the diamond. Gangsters horrible too but that's okay. No chemistry between Ford and Capshaw, perhaps because the latter was servicing the director. Nobody has any charm or charisma.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    The Fourth Protocol (1987)

    I was inspired by this very thread to re-watch this film for the first time since it was out on VHS, and I'm glad I did. It's a really good cold war thriller. Brosnan is effective as a spy and cold-hearted killer. I don't think this is how he would have portrayed Bond if he had been in TLD in the same year, but it's great watching him as that type of character. Well worth watching!
  • JoshuaJoshua Posts: 1,138MI6 Agent
    The Fourth Protocol is indeed a good film.
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    Def the weakest of the three.

    I actually watched it recently - still more enjoyable then 80% of the current CGI crap :))
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    welshboy78 wrote:
    Def the weakest of the three.

    I actually watched it recently - still more enjoyable then 80% of the current CGI crap :))

    oh, it's definitely better than KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

    Ha - I erased that one from my brain
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    welshboy78 wrote:
    Gymkata wrote:
    welshboy78 wrote:
    Def the weakest of the three.

    I actually watched it recently - still more enjoyable then 80% of the current CGI crap :))

    oh, it's definitely better than KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

    Ha - I erased that one from my brain

    You have chosen wisely.
  • JoshuaJoshua Posts: 1,138MI6 Agent
    I have just finished watching 'In The Heat Of The Night'. It was shown TV and from some of the language used I think it was not edited.

    It is the first time I have seen this film. Tibbs and me share a few experiences of 'not being liked' so I found the film had powerful messages.
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,172MI6 Agent
    Joshua wrote:
    I have just finished watching 'In The Heat Of The Night'. It was shown TV and from some of the language used I think it was not edited.

    It is the first time I have seen this film. Tibbs and me share a few experiences of 'not being liked' so I found the film had powerful messages.

    It's a great film. I know Steiger won the Oscar, but how come Sidney Poitier wasn't even nominated ?
    He's even better IMO.
    Mind you, '67 was a very strong year in the male acting category with many a great performance not getting recognised anywhere.
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,172MI6 Agent
    TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
    (2011)
    Yes, well, no need to comment extensively on this.
    Gary Oldman is excellent doing his best Alec Guinness impersonation. A host of good British actors give support. Hoyte van Hoytema does a great job making London look grimy and nineteen-seventies. Curiously, I feel as if Sam Mendes or the production team must have watched this film as those interiors of the Circus feel like the battered up underground last resort of MI6 we saw in SF, which started filming a few months after this movie's release. I'm probably wrong about that, but it is odd.
    I enjoy the film; there is always something new to notice. The writers packed in a lot of exposition into two hours and just about succeed in making it clear - something that can't be said of every adaptation of a Le Carre novel.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    chrisno1 wrote:
    Joshua wrote:
    I have just finished watching 'In The Heat Of The Night'. It was shown TV and from some of the language used I think it was not edited.

    It is the first time I have seen this film. Tibbs and me share a few experiences of 'not being liked' so I found the film had powerful messages.

    It's a great film. I know Steiger won the Oscar, but how come Sidney Poitier wasn't even nominated ?
    He's even better IMO.
    Mind you, '67 was a very strong year in the male acting category with many a great performance not getting recognised anywhere.

    How Paul Newman didn’t win the best actor award for Cool Hand Luke in 1967 remains the mystery of the 20th century, it’s his finest performance in a glittering career. I may be prejudiced here though :))
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,699MI6 Agent
    chrisno1 wrote:
    TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
    (2011)
    Yes, well, no need to comment extensively on this.
    Gary Oldman is excellent doing his best Alec Guinness impersonation. A host of good British actors give support. Hoyte van Hoytema does a great job making London look grimy and nineteen-seventies. Curiously, I feel as if Sam Mendes or the production team must have watched this film as those interiors of the Circus feel like the battered up underground last resort of MI6 we saw in SF, which started filming a few months after this movie's release. I'm probably wrong about that, but it is odd.
    I enjoy the film; there is always something new to notice. The writers packed in a lot of exposition into two hours and just about succeed in making it clear - something that can't be said of every adaptation of a Le Carre novel.

    And then the director made The Snowman :# :# :#
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    I also watched Tinker Tailor. It's a great looking film but imo it detracts from the story. It doesn't look natural.

    It would be a good companion film to The Lives of Others, which is rarely shown on telly.

    I think it's better to do Le Carre as a series as you get involved as to who the traitor is, you feel a sense of personal betrayal. Le Carre's The Night Manager started reshowing on BBC 4 last night, the first 2 episodes, and I've not seen it before, it's really good, and quite movie-like. I now see why Hiddleston was mooted for Bond based on this, and his voice is very good. He blew it with his unwitting unPC comments at an awards ceremony, didn't he, and then going out with Taylor Swift.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,238MI6 Agent
    Returning to Indiana and the Temple of Doom, by scheduling serendipity, two films have been on that nod to that. On the same day, Black Narcissus, the classic movie. Naturally, despite much of it shot in the studio, it seems more exotic and magical than Indiana Jones. It's set in the same area: the Himalayas yet oddly it's a cooler and more genuinely thrilling film. I know one is a masterpiece and the other popcorn movie, but the former has fun dialogue too.

    The other similar film was The River of No Return with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. Now, the former is the strong and silent type like Ford and the other plays a showgirl as does Kate Capshaw. There's also a kid in tow - Mitchum's kid - so the dynamic is the same as they have to navigate their way down river facing perils. But the chemistry between the two rocks and what's more, Monroe is just so hot they don't have stars like that any more, it's like it's considered indecent or not fair! Mind you same goes for Robert Mitchum, there's nobody as good-looking as that today. You can argue the pros and cons of that.

    You could watch the film just for the scenery, you might say. Not so for Indiana Jones and Ford himself seems like an awkward and mumbled figure.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,172MI6 Agent
    Nap, I too am watching The Night Manager and will rev up a review on the TV thread once its done
  • Lady RoseLady Rose London,UKPosts: 2,667MI6 Agent
    I watched 'THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK' last night.

    WW2 drama starring two of my absolute favourites, Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer.

    It's based on the story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty who saved the lives of thousands of Jews and Allied POW's in Rome.

    Very underrated film.
  • Sir Hillary BraySir Hillary Bray College of ArmsPosts: 2,174MI6 Agent
    Cowboys & Aliens

    When you think about it, the underlying premise here is very simple: if the earth were attacked by extraterrestrial forces, why couldn't that attack have come in the American West of the 1870s instead of, say, present-day Tokyo?

    And so we get a genre mash-up such as we have here. Daniel Craig, in between QOS and SF, wakes up in the desert with a wound in his midsection, a strange shackle on his wrist and no memory of anything, including his own identity. He makes his way to a typical frontier town with all the familiar characters -- a kindly preacher (Clancy Brown), a stressed-out saloon owner (Sam Rockwell), an overburdened sheriff (Keith Carradine), a mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde) who is not the hooker she appears to be, and a nasty landowner/rancher (Harrison Ford) who really runs things. It becomes clear that Danny is a pretty nasty piece of work himself, wanted for all manner of violent crimes. He makes some critical enemies, but before things get out of hand, spaceships from above wreak havoc, setting off explosions and lassoing people up into their bellies. Old grudges are gradually set aside as the humans band together to defend themselves from the invaders.

    I stumbled upon this about 30 seconds in, and had no intention of watching more than a few minutes. Somehow, it held my attention for its entire length. It's all pretty predictable, but even though I guessed what was around just about every corner, I still wanted to see. Way more fun and entertaining than I had imagined.
    Hilly...you old devil!
  • Shady TreeShady Tree London, UKPosts: 2,965MI6 Agent
    edited January 2021
    The Post (2017, Steven Spielberg)

    Yesterday evening I watched this again, mainly for Meryl Streep's performance - and as the first part of a 'double bill' with the thematically related 'All The President's Men', which I'm going to watch this evening. 'The Post' was obviously made, in part, as a response to Trump's attacks on news media; and it's interesting to return to the film now, at a point book-ending Trump's time in office. The other attraction is the movie's period mise-en-scene: it's set in 1971 (the same year as my favourite Bond film!)

    Last week I watched 'The Deer Hunter', which is what put me onto my current Meryl Streep kick. (And like 'The Post', 'The Deer Hunter' is concerned with the Vietnam War.) Streep's always been a very mannered performer, but she's fascinating to watch on screen and part of a generation of 'new wave' and method actors who helped transform film in the 70s. Watching 'The Deer Hunter' again reminded me, too, what a phenomenal performance Christopher Walken gave in that 1978 classic, winning him an Oscar. (Although Walken stands out as a fine actor in AVTAK - by comparison with the rest of AVTAK's cast - it's obvious that he was just 'phoning in' Zorin when 'The Deer Hunter' is considered alongside it!)
    Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,882Chief of Staff
    Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, on Netflix. This is basically a filmed play, so it's kind of claustrophobic, but it's still a fascinating, beautifully-acted look at 1927 America, when the only way a black person could make it was as an entertainer--and even then there were limits. It also has the final performance of Chadwick Boseman, who's excellent as an ambitious trumpeter; but it's hard to overlook how thin he is. . .and the knowledge of what caused that thinness.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
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