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

[JTN 2,272]

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Clue: Mozart.

I know it's a clue, but I'm clueless, sorry. Eagerly waiting for someone to figure out the reference.

[Jurassic Shark 12,257]

1 minute ago, JTW said:

I know it's a clue, but I'm clueless, sorry. Eagerly waiting for someone to figure out the reference.

 

Next clue: Amazon Prime.

[JTN 2,272]

4 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Next clue: Amazon Prime.

Got it!  Never saw the series, though, so it took me a while to put it together. Is it worth watching?

[Jurassic Shark 12,257]

Just now, JTW said:

Got it!  Never saw the series, though, so it took me a while to put it together. 

 

It's a great series! Reminds me I need to catch up on the last season. 

[Richard Penna 3,786]

Watched some Mr Bean a few days ago - the 'Ultimate Disaster Movie' and 'My Bean's Holiday'.

 

I've always had slightly mixed feelings about the first one because the format was clearly altered for the worldwide market - Bean almost never speaks in the original TV show, so to have him turning into rather an extrovert in this film and even making a speech, always felt a bit odd. However it's huge fun and you still get to see the side of Bean where he's an absolute social menace to most people, but is kind to those he cares most about.

 

The sequel is largely more of the same although in this one he has almost no lines (a deliberate choice by the producers to take him to France so he has to rely on his trademark physical antics). Special mention has to go to the wonderful final scene where he finally reaches the beach and the entire cast sings along to La Mer - so incredibly well done, and you cheer inside for him.

 

I loved Howard Goodall's scores for both, and a significant achievement of the second score is actually the screening scene at Cannes where the score for the movie-within-the-movie is by Goodall, but then it merges in and out of being score of this film, and then sometimes the actual score is heard in the 'movie'. Goodall weaves his themes throughout.

 

Astoundingly the only music released from either score is the main theme from the first - nothing whatsoever is officially released from the second. I think this was an era when for the first movie, all the focus was on the Songtrack album and there wouldn't have been the demand or ease of release for a score album like there would be today. Thankfully there are C&C promos for both out there (and on YouTube) which are an almost perfect substitute.

[bollemanneke 3,369]

Bad Santa. Very nice music and no OST. Okay movie, but the kid is... stupid.

[bollemanneke 3,369]

National treasure, again. Still very enjoyable. Kruger isn't as good as I remembered, but Riley is so funny. Score is great. I want to buy an expansion.

[Schilkeman 1,017]

14 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

National treasure, again. Still very enjoyable. Kruger isn't as good as I remembered, but Riley is so funny. Score is great. I want to buy an expansion.

I saw that for the first time last year and was pleasantly surprised by it. A very solid action movie. Still haven’t gotten around to seeing 2,

[Nick1Ø66 4,880]

On 20/12/2023 at 6:09 PM, Jurassic Shark said:

 

It's a great series! Reminds me I need to catch up on the last season. 

 

The first season was pretty good, the second OK, but I stopped watching sometime during the third season because I started to find most of the characters, and especially the leads, insufferable. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,257]

4 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

 

The first season was pretty good, the second OK, but I stopped watching sometime during the third season because I started to find most of the characters, and especially the leads, insufferable. 

 

OK, boomer.

[Nick1Ø66 4,880]

Not a boomer, you're about a hundred years (+/-) off.

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,414]

Scrooged and Elf ... seasonal fantasy comedy rewatches. Goofy fun, albeit a little darker in the former flick.

[filmmusic 1,914]

 

I cannot spend Christmastime without watching my favorite holiday film!

And large part is due to the great Williams score!

[bollemanneke 3,369]

The lion king remake. Voice cast varies terribly with the children being the absolute worst yet again. Most songs are great. The score is MAGNIFICENT, though I’m sick of the singing thanks to the endless concert performances. Preparing for terrible OST and wishing there was a law that forced studios to allow Mike to supervise every single soundtrack when it came out.

[Marian Schedenig 8,275]

2 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

wishing there was a law that forced studios to allow Mike to supervise every single soundtrack when it came out.

 

That would be the end of the JW expansions, he wouldn't have time for them anymore.

[bollemanneke 3,369]

Not if he had a team.

[Richard Penna 3,786]

Nah, if it were a team you'd start to get secret resentments that a personal grail was done by a Mike minion.

 

I think instead we have to accept that Mike isn't the only producer out there that does fine work. It's just that they probably don't work for Disney and some producers of very questionable judgement were in charge of some of the legacy releases.

[Edmilson 7,659]

2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

Nah, if it were a team you'd start to get secret resentments that a personal grail was done by a Mike minion.

 

It's not secret in my case, it's overt 

 

But in Mike's case I wouldn't mind him getting a team of 5 or 6 minions to help him produce expanded albums faster, as long as they maintain the same quality of work. Sure, it won't be great if he gets all the credit while his assistants, who did most of the work, are ignored, but as you love to repeat again and again and again... this is just the way things work in Hollywood.

[Richard Penna 3,786]

I think the difference there is that the film/TV industry pumps out thousands of films and shows a year and that needs some serious composing firepower to keep up, because scores are needed as a mandatory part of that process.

 

Whereas expansions aren't needed as part of that process - they're part of a valuable and appreciated ongoing archival and restorative process but a film can be made and come out, and nothing happen to its score, and the rest of the machine would keep moving. The fact that WB is telling the labels to sod off at the moment is indicative that it's not core to their current activities. (and obviously why they need someone else in charge of their music, fast, preferably someone who's never seen 300)

 

Were Mike given completely free reign to every Vault in Hollywood and contracted to expand everything with a release required once a week, then he'd have perfect justification to build a team, but in the current workflow it may just not be worth the time and effort to get assistance if the labels are happy with the scale of releases coming out.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

11 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

Not if he had a team.

Ooh, you mean, like, a bunch of people who could do it for him, so he wouldn't have to be there? Great idea! He could supervise, by remote.

It could be called Remote Control Productions.

[bollemanneke 3,369]

Oh, I'm sure there are people working who are just as competent and committed as Mike. It's just that whenever I get my hands on any OST and compare it to the standards set by people like Mike and Neil Bulk, I get frustrated.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

Oh, come on, @Tallguy, that was funny 

[Sweeping Strings 2,414]

Demon Seed - loopy bit of late-70s sci-fi in which AI supercomputer Proteus (voiced in a silkily sinister fashion by an uncredited Robert Vaughn) imprisons and impregnates ('synthetic sperm', anyone?) its creator's ex-wife, Julie Christie.

Any 'rise of the machines' cautionary tale intentions get buried beneath the sheer silliness of the premise. Still Vaughn gives good bad guy (even in voiceover form), there are some pretty decent SFX and Christie gets her kit off.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

Great mid-'70s "sci-fi" (and I mean that in the best, and pulpiest, sense).

@Sweeping Strings

Sweep, don't forget Fritz Weaver, and the creepy, atmospheric score, by Jerry Fielding 

[Schilkeman 1,017]

The Godfather

 

Only the second time I’ve seen it, but it left an even stronger impression this time. I’ve sung the praises of The Irishman in recent years, but that movie feels like it’s playing checkers compared to The Godfather. What a layered and nuanced piece that treats the medium it’s using holistically.

 

On to Part II

[A24 4,372]

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

(voiced in a silkily sinister fashion by an uncredited Robert Vaughn)

 

Oh, I never knew that. 

[Tallguy 3,552]

21 minutes ago, Schilkeman said:

The Godfather

 

Only the second time I’ve seen it, but it left an even stronger impression this time. I’ve sung the praises of The Irishman in recent years, but that movie feels like it’s playing checkers compared to The Godfather. What a layered and nuanced piece that treats the medium it’s using holistically.

 

On to Part II

 

Some day I'll seriously revisit these films. I know 1 way better than 2.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

I know 1 way better than 2.

 

That's a shame, because 2 is way better than 1.

[Tallguy 3,552]

24 minutes ago, Slipperman9 said:

 

That's a shame, because 2 is way better than 1.

 

That's what everyone tells me. There are a lot of moving parts in 2, even more than 1. AND you have to know 1 really well. It's the Pirate's of the Caribbean 3 of mafia movies.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

An accurate assessment, @Tallguy.

2 is (probably) the first (and only?) film that is both a prequel and a sequel. For me, it's a deeper, richer experience... and that is a bold claim when one knows what 1 is like.

[Tallguy 3,552]

3 minutes ago, Slipperman9 said:

An accurate assessment, @Tallguy.

2 is (probably) the first (and only?) film that is both a prequel and a sequel. For me, it's a deeper, richer experience... and that is a bold claim when one knows what 1 is like.

 

I forgot what movie I was watching where I had seen the previous film once, liked it, didn't care THAT much. And then the sequel expected a level of investment I just didn't have. And I thought "Ohhhh! This is what it's like to watch Pirates 3 if you're a normal person!"

 

I know GF2 has been revered from the get go. Which is kind of amazing considering that one couldn't just go refresh one's memory of GF1 anytime one wanted to back then.

[Chen G. 4,048]

10 hours ago, Slipperman9 said:

That's a shame, because 2 is way better than 1.

 

I've never ever felt that or agreed with that.

 

There's nothing The Godfather: Part II does that The Godfather didn't do. It doesn't give you anything new, and stuff that was implicit in the original like the final shot of the door closing on Kay, is turned into spelled-out, tawdry melodrama in Part Two. Watching Michael go from a good man to rotten apple in the original is infinitely more riveting, dynamic and involving that watching a bad man go...badder. Snooze.

 

Also, what I briefly thought was rocket fire turned out to be fireworks. I guess that means...happy new year! 

[Schilkeman 1,017]

Having just watched, I don’t think it’s way better, but I think it’s reductive to say it offers nothing new. It goes deeper in themes, and is more expansive. It’s a plot movie as much as, if not more so, a character movie. It’s a decent into hell. Part III is payment for sins. It all very Catholic and very Americano.

 

It’s commentary on America is also biting, and, unfortunately, accurate.

[Chen G. 4,048]

I guess crime dramas just aren’t my thing in general: I’m not even that wild about the original The Godfather. But Part II especially…when I last watched it, it all but passed right through me. Did nothing.

[Schilkeman 1,017]

Part III. This is an exceptional film. I do not, and will never, see why people seem to dislike it. Pure opera, with the emotional weight of the saga. Pacino’s scream at the end killed me. A masterpiece of a trilogy.

[filmmusic 1,914]

I have purchased this UHD but it's not among my favorite musicals. I find it somewhat disjointed.

Of course I love the classic Singin' in the Rain scene.

 

[Schilkeman 1,017]

Apocalypse Now. My second full viewing, and it is indeed amazing, but does anyone else feel like the film gets up to Kurtz's compound and then stops dead? I really felt it dragging, but it was also my third heavy movie of the night, so maybe not. It's a better piece of film craft, but it didn't move me the way The Godfather did.

[Nick1Ø66 4,880]

I actually prefer the "Godfather Epic (1901-1959)"  (aka "The Godfather Saga") which Coppola has distanced himself from. 

[Tallguy 3,552]

34 minutes ago, Schilkeman said:

but does anyone else feel like the film gets up to Kurtz's compound and then stops dead?

 

I felt that way the first time I saw it (on home video). I thought "This was the greatest movie ever made and then Brando RUINED it!"

 

The second time I saw it (on the movie screen) I was bracing myself for the letdown. And then I surprisingly found it riveting.

 

Between this and Superman it's kind of astounding to think that this is Brando "phoning it in". (I'm not saying Jor-El is any kind of a masterpiece, but to be even that good would be a lot of work for most actors. And for Brando it wasn't any work at all.)

 

I haven't revisited Apocalypse Now since then. I also have never seen Hearts of Darkness. (Or read Heart of Darkness.)

[Naïve Old Fart 9,760]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

(or read Heart of Darkness.)

 

It's good, and so is NOSTROMO, and THE SECRET AGENT, and THE N***** OF THE NARCISSUS, and LORD JIM.

[Chen G. 4,048]

4 hours ago, Schilkeman said:

Apocalypse Now. My second full viewing, and it is indeed amazing, but does anyone else feel like the film gets up to Kurtz's compound and then stops dead? I really felt it dragging.

 

Lots of people say that.

 

I never felt that. To me, Kurtz compound felt every inch of the deepest circle of hell of Dante's inferno that it was meant to be. Spine-tingling stuff.

[Nick1Ø66 4,880]

Apocalypse Now is one of those movies that I have an incredible amount of respect for and enjoy every time I watch it, which is every few years, but can't say it's one of my favourites.

 

My last viewing was on a long flight of the Redux, and I can't quite decide which version I prefer. In the Redux I quite like the French Plantation scene. I like that it adds historical context to the piece, and address an aspect of the Vietnam War I think a lot of people were unaware of. I know it's primarily considered an anti-war film, but to me Apocalypse Now really anti-colonialism, and this is the sequence that really drives that home.

 

But I hate the new sequence where they find the playmates upriver, which IMO has no place in the movie. And the pacing on the Redux isn't as good.

[filmmusic 1,914]

Holds up very well, even today!

 

[Schilkeman 1,017]

Ok, last day of my break and marathoned Superman I, II, and Returns, and I still feel they are the best super hero trilogy. Not that that's a stacked deck, but I enjoy it more than X-Men, Spiderman, and Batman, or more than any other super hero story with significantly more entries.

[Sweeping Strings 2,414]

Bloodbath At The House Of Death - 80s British comedy horror. Mildly amusing way to pass 100 minutes on a NYD afternoon, and as a bonus it featured brief toplessness by Pamela Stephenson.

[filmmusic 1,914]

 

Watched this from my newly purchased UHD! (awful cover by the way)

Great film of course, with lots of suspense.

The score is good too, especially the action cues, but I truly believe it stole the Oscar nomination from the great The Piano.

[filmmusic 1,914]

 

Ok, not the greatest of films, but it's a classic.

I assume the aerial shots with the airplane "fights" would be a sensation back then.

[Tallguy 3,552]

17 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

 

Ok, not the greatest of films, but it's a classic.

I assume the aerial shots with the airplane "fights" would be a sensation back then.

 

They were good. It was a movie. It was obviously a mix of real planes and model work. You didn't expect anything else. But it did have real aircraft carriers.

 

Paramount made two movies that year with the U.S.S. Enterprise. And the one that had the real one was not Star Trek.

[Bespin 8,508]

I rewatched 'The Color Purple' this week, marking my second viewing. After this experience, I've come to the conclusion that it's not a perfect movie; rather, it leans more toward the negative side than the positive.

 

This led me to ponder 'The Fablemans' and Spielberg's ability to evoke genuine emotion (I mean when a magical alien is not on the screen) without also coming off as somewhat eerie. Upon my second viewing, I found myself confronted with Spielberg's limitations.

 

Regarding the music by Quincy Jones, while the theme is undeniably beautiful, in many instances where emotional resonance was expected, the music choice felt like a complete letdown. And so there are the limitations of Quincy Jones too.

 

Anyway, that's my take on it.

[filmmusic 1,914]

 

A favorite movie from my childhood, a landmark in American cinema!

A bit complex script for kids, but it's delightful with a great Silvestri score too!