What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)

[bollemanneke 3,348]

When a man loves a woman.

 

Well, I definitely loved the first part. (Why do I keep saying that so often?) Meg Ryan never disappoints and what I found rather interesting is that I suddenly started disliking Michael after 50 minutes. What I didn't really find great was that the second half was suddenly all about the insecure husband. I mean, Andy Garcia was great, but I didn't really want to see him cry, I wanted it to be more about his wife. That's when it became too... profound for me, or rather, it was trying to be profound.

It's not every day you hear a film score that features so much solo clarinet. Especially the opening scenes contained really moving music, ut overall it could have been more.

[Bespin 8,482]

Valley of the dolls is on Netflix... I started it this morning... wouaaa... that's soooooo bad!!!!!

 

It's almost so bad that it's good... strange! Don't know when I will finish it. LOL

 

I read the history on imbd... I think the making of this movie was not supposed to be like this. Judy Garland was supposed to have the leading role, but she was fired because of her behaviour due to pills/alcohol.

 

They also wanted Elvis Presley to play in it... so it finally have been made with actors and actress of very second plan.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Monte Carlo (1930; Ernst Lubitsch)

 

A supremely silly musical comedy about a broke Countess who runs away from marrying a boorish, but rich, Count to try and make her fortune gambling in Monte Carlo.  She immediately loses the money she has and proceeds to rack up a bunch of debt.  Concealed identities and hijinks, including a ridiculous romance story, ensue.

 

No Chevalier in this one, but Jeanette MacDonald returns and she's very charming in her daffy way.  The male lead in this one is Jack Buchanan, who I don't like very much.  This one isn't as good as The Love Parade but still entertaining.  There's a fantastic early musical numbers involving a train.

 

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931; Ernst Lubitsch)

 

Definitely the best Lubitsch movie yet.  Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins in a silly fantasy European love triangle.  Chevalier is a lieutenant in the Austrian army.  This sort of very Old World idea of the dandy, decadent military man; an archetype which would have been old fashioned in the 1930s even.  He falls in love with Colbert, a jazzy flapper violinist in a beer garden orchestra.  Through a bizarre misunderstanding Chevalier becomes engaged to the Princess (Hopkins) of a fictional European kingdom called Flausenthurm.  Colbert even refers to Hopkins as "this small town princess" which is just a hilarious phrase to me for some reason.

 

The final 10-15 minutes of this are just so delightful, and a comedic twist that only Lubitsch could pull off.  With this one, he's getting closer and closer to dropping the musical numbers entirely (which he'll do soon after).

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Papillon

 

Grimmer and edgier than I expected, but very harrowing and an enriching experience. If you gave Steve McQueen a tennis ball in his solitary cell, it might have been called The Great Escape. He and Dustin together immediately made me think of Bart and Milhouse - they're so similar!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Schaffner was an interesting filmmaker, who hardly gets mentioned on JWfan. Hmmmm....

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I still need to see The Stripper, Islands in the Stream and Lionheart.

[publicist 4,643]

Islands in the Stream is a very beautiful film, which balances larger-than-life Hemingway pathos with a sweet family story (it also features a great hammerhead shark attack). The finale especially should be of interest to film music aficionados, as the music here says so much words and images cannot that it is a textbook example of what a dramatic film score CAN be.

 

[SteveMc 2,674]

I've only seen Patton (a classic) and Nicholas and Alexandra (a major missed opportunity).  I've seen parts of POTA.  

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I really want to watch Islands in the Stream as well, I love the music.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,528]

3 hours ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

I still need to see The Stripper, Islands in the Stream and Lionheart.

You don't need to see SPHINX 

NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA has some interesting aspects, mainly RRB's score, and Tom Baker.

THE BOYS FROM BRASIL is a must, if only to see two old pros, chewing the scenery.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

2 minutes ago, Richard said:

You don't need to see SPHINX 

NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA has some interesting aspects, mainly RRB's score, and Tom Baker.

THE BOYS FROM BRASIL is a must, if only to see two old pros, chewing the scenery.

 

I've seen N&A. They showed that to us in high school when we were learning about the Romanovs. TBFB, please, I can quote that one back to front.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,528]

Go on, then.

 

Don't you understand English, you arse? We are not at home.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I am the doctor who delivered him!

[SteveMc 2,674]

4 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

 

I've seen N&A. They showed that to us in high school when we were learning about the Romanovs. TBFB, please, I can quote that one back to front.

The main issue with N&A is that the actress playing Alexandra obviously has no connection with the character she is playing.  She admitted to disliking the character immensely.

Historical accuracy issues are also present.

 

The ideal N&A movie would have been made in the 80s with Meryl Streep playing Alexandra.  

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

So how did you cope with the shooting on Papillon? It looked difficult for you when you were locked in a cell and had to munch on a cockroach.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,528]

Oh, that was easy  compared to acting with Faye Dunaway, in his next film.

[SteveMc 2,674]

4 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

So how did you cope with the shooting on Papillon? It looked difficult for you when you were locked in a cell and had to munch on a cockroach.

It was. But, Ali McGraw showed up eventually.

[Glóin the Dark 1,221]

On 8/7/2018 at 2:27 PM, Richard said:

...did you know that the bath in the bath scene, had no water in it?

 

That's disgusting. She can't have got cleaned at all.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

6 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

I really want to watch Islands in the Stream as well, I love the music.

Read the book instead!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

 

I refuse to call it "The Mummy" because the villain wasn't even mummified. What the fuck? The broad playing 007's wife is awful. The son now has an American accent. Everyone is out of character. Why even bother theming it around The Mummy series. Brand recognition, I guess. Never watch it. 2008 was a bad year for movies.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

25 minutes ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said:

Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

 

I refuse to call it "The Mummy" because the villain wasn't even mummified. What the fuck? The broad playing 007's wife is awful. The son now has an American accent. Everyone is out of character. Why even bother theming it around The Mummy series. Brand recognition, I guess. Never watch it. 2008 was a bad year for movies.

Awful score is too.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Bloody awful.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I knew a guy who absolutely loved that turd. And he just lovvvvved everything.

 

Alex still doesn't know the first thing about me.

[A24 4,333]

I liked you when you decided to watch Woody Allen's Manhattan instead of Godzilla or ID4. Yes, for a brief moment I thought there was still hope for you, Drax. 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

You'd get on well in Moe's tavern when he decided to change it into something all arty and postmodern and invited all these weirdos.

 

[Holko 9,526]

Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy

 

One final watch of both of these (for a while at least) to again get context for the scores I now know better.

 

The Rock is gloriously oblivious to the hidden and unknown art known to some as "acting" in the minute he's onscreen. Best job ever! "Hey, we'll fly you down to the desert, you can grimace for the camera a bit, then we'll take a couple hundred photos and a 3D scan of you. Done in under a week and we'll put your face all over the posters!"

I could finally start to understand some of Beni's Hungarian grunts and throwaway insults - even though his pronounciation is terrible and the accent is pretty wrong, it's always heartwarming to hear actual coherent words and expressions instead of random gibberish because most of the audience wouldn't understand it, and even if it's some of the most tame insults ever like "dirty animal" when we have such a sprawling and flowery vocabulary of swear words.

 

There's less difference between these two in stupidness and quality than I first thought. The first one does try to be more a genuine adventure with scares and a tongue-in-cheek attitude, the second moves more firmly into the t-i-c action territory. The first has an awesome scope to it and relishes the thrill of travel and discovery - see The Caravan and The Camel Race. The second one falters a bit by having too large a scope and rushes things to cram all the plotlines, characters and stupid lore into two hours - still, that minute in Sandcastles is as good as the aforementioned scenes.

 

I also thought the first one had more genuine character moments, like Rick awkwardly giving Evy the toolkit or Ardeth Bay grinning like a little kid on his first airplane ride, but the second one actually fares pretty well, too, with the whole romance and parentage thing, how serious and determined everyone is when preparing for the jungle shootout, ad also Imhotep's end.

 

I do prefer the first one, but the second is not as far behind as I initially thought.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Are you my mummy?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

What a surprise. And in distinguished company, all wearing gas masks. You must excuse me, gentlemen, not being English, I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Bob! Mask!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

MASK! Put it on now!

[Holko 9,526]

Predator

 

Good. The preparation scene at the end was cool, but the constant whiplash sound effects whenever cutting to predat-o-vision got very irritating, and that Vincent Price laugh...

[bollemanneke 3,348]

The Good Witch's Garden.

 

Overly romantic, simplistic and sentimental, but sometimes I just don't care about that. Not sure who I liked better, Peter Macneill or Rob Stewart. Naturally, I did not like Brandon and his subplot.

But the score was a good one. Clearly performed by samples, but a very nice main theme and an extremely magical effect to announce witchcraft is all I need. Dare I suspect this music to be unreleased?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2

 

These are great films.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

17 hours ago, Holko said:

Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy Mummy

 

One final watch of both of these (for a while at least) to again get context for the scores I now know better.

 

The Rock is gloriously oblivious to the hidden and unknown art known to some as "acting" in the minute he's onscreen. Best job ever! "Hey, we'll fly you down to the desert, you can grimace for the camera a bit, then we'll take a couple hundred photos and a 3D scan of you. Done in under a week and we'll put your face all over the posters!"

I could finally start to understand some of Beni's Hungarian grunts and throwaway insults - even though his pronounciation is terrible and the accent is pretty wrong, it's always heartwarming to hear actual coherent words and expressions instead of random gibberish because most of the audience wouldn't understand it, and even if it's some of the most tame insults ever like "dirty animal" when we have such a sprawling and flowery vocabulary of swear words.

 

There's less difference between these two in stupidness and quality than I first thought. The first one does try to be more a genuine adventure with scares and a tongue-in-cheek attitude, the second moves more firmly into the t-i-c action territory. The first has an awesome scope to it and relishes the thrill of travel and discovery - see The Caravan and The Camel Race. The second one falters a bit by having too large a scope and rushes things to cram all the plotlines, characters and stupid lore into two hours - still, that minute in Sandcastles is as good as the aforementioned scenes.

 

I also thought the first one had more genuine character moments, like Rick awkwardly giving Evy the toolkit or Ardeth Bay grinning like a little kid on his first airplane ride, but the second one actually fares pretty well, too, with the whole romance and parentage thing, how serious and determined everyone is when preparing for the jungle shootout, ad also Imhotep's end.

 

I do prefer the first one, but the second is not as far behind as I initially thought.

The Mummy Returns gets unfairly shit upon IMO (mostly for the bad CGI). It's a solid action adventure film that's at least better than your average Marvel Blockbuster that has 80% on Rotten Tomatoes 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's good.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Exactly!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

You. Lighten up. You. Big trouble. You. Get in the car.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

MY NAME'S... NOT... RIIIIIICK!!!!!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

7 hours ago, Holko said:

Predator

 

Good. The preparation scene at the end was cool, but the constant whiplash sound effects whenever cutting to predat-o-vision got very irritating, and that Vincent Price laugh...

 

First time I've ever heard anyone complain about that.

[A24 4,333]

I'm trying to watch Ready Player One but I didn't know it was that computer-generated. It's like watching those cinematic clips from computer games. It's an odd concept. The tone of the movie is for 12-year-olds and yet it's filled with references to a time period they are unfamiliar with.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It wasn't bad but not something I'd watch again.

[Quintus 5,399]

Spielberg is teaching younger generations about revered older movies and games which they should maybe look into someday. If you read the young comments under any YouTube clip of RPO (which I have done), he doesn't seem to have landed too wide of the mark. It appears to be a well loved movie with younger gamers and such, which is mission accomplished really.

[crocodile 8,013]

I've watched about 50 minutes of it last night. It definitely plays better on home media than it does at the cinema.

 

The film itself is absolutely fine There's nothing remarkable about it but it doesn't really aim high anyway.

 

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

I introduce my own kids to and try to imbue in them an interest in older movies, songs etc all the time, probably the same as countless other parents do with their own children. Generally young minds really embrace and absorb that stuff.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It's been a pet query of mine lately as to whether kids today are more open to older and/or more varied forms of art or music. Because I remember growing up in the 1990s, you could find yourself falling victim to some intense peer pressure from other kids to conform and follow the trends like the latest Top 40 chart hits, or else you risked getting bashed up. From some of the murmurs I've heard, that sort of mentality among kids isn't as strong these days, perhaps thanks to the wealth of works available to them through streaming services and YouTube?

 

It's like my post in the hostility thread regarding girls and SW. When I was a schoolkid in the 90s, girls went "yuck!" at sci-fi or nerdy stuff. Today they seem to embrace it.

[Sweeping Strings 2,360]

On 8/10/2018 at 4:25 AM, Horner's Dynamic Range said:

Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

 

I refuse to call it "The Mummy" because the villain wasn't even mummified. What the fuck? The broad playing 007's wife is awful. The son now has an American accent. Everyone is out of character. Why even bother theming it around The Mummy series. Brand recognition, I guess. Never watch it. 2008 was a bad year for movies.

It's still better than Crystal Skull. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Stir of Echoes

 

Bit of a standard supernatural thriller. Feels a bit like Frequency. Not bad.

[A24 4,333]

20 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

Not bad.

 

See!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Well it wasn't great or terrible. What's your problem?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

He found you, didn't he?