The. Movie. Thread

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The Freshman and The Kid Brother

Two more Harold Lloyd movies. Both of them are great, but the latter is the most satisfying entry of my recent silent movie binge.
 
I believe the last 3 films I watched were

*Dog Day Afternoon

Love Story*

and

A Streetcar Named Desire.

*Dog Day Afternoon * stars Al Pacino and John Cazale (he also played Fredo in the Godfather films)

It’s based on a true story about a bank robbery and hostage situation. It takes place in Brooklyn during the hottest day of the summer, early 1970’s. Very gritty, lots of foul language, but also very intriguing. I guess not for everyone.

Love Story also takes place in the early 1970’s. It stars Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neil as a rich boy and poor girl who meet in college, fall in love, get married. And “Never have to say I’m sorry”. Very sad tear jerker.

Finally Streetcar Named Desire is an incredible film It stars Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh and Kim Hunter. It is the filmed version of the Tennessee Williams’ play. It’s about a married couple Stella and Stanley, and how their relationship devolves after Stella’s sister Blanche moves in with them. Blanche has a past that she struggles to keep hidden. She is very fragile and mentally unstable.
 
catholicmoviene said:
Jaws

Second time watching it. I raved about it the first time around, but I think I over-hyped it for myself. The second half is still as exciting as a movie can possibly be, but the first half came off as cheesy and a little contrived. It’s like seeing a really good movie in theaters then noticing more of its flaws when it comes out on DVD. Since I’ve been a little bit let down the second time, maybe the third time’s the charm?
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I was right. Third time’s the charm 🙂
 
Far North (2007) starring Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean. Watched it on Hulu; first movie that I watched in full on my new Roku box.

Synopsis from IMDB:
In an indefinite time somewhere in the Arctic with Soviet soldiers, the nomads Saiva and her stepdaughter Anja are permanently moving seeking a safe place in the arctic tundra. They camp in a remote area far north where Saiva believes they will be safe and survive fishing and hunting reindeer and small animals. Their lives change when Saiva finds Loki, a frozen stranger that is dying in the ice. Saiva brings him to their tent and recalls when she met her boyfriend and his tribe; how soviet soldiers have slaughtered them and raped her; and how she rescued Anja and killed the aggressors. When Loki is recovered, he and Anja fall in love with each other, affecting her relationship with Anja. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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imdb.com/title/tt0860866/

Well-made and beautifully shot, but warning … the ending of this film is quite disturbing.
 
My husband, some friends, my son, and I just saw the excellent What We Do in the Shadows, a New Zealand “mockumentary” about some young vampires who live in a flat together. It was meticulous, clever, and hilarious. We unexpectedly all felt it was up there with Young Frankenstein.

One of the preceding trailers was for a true story, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, which looked really, really good. Werner Herzog has been singing its praises, so we’ll be checking it out. 👍

kumikothetreasurehunter.com/
 
What I’ve been watching lately…

Tom and Viv
A depressing yet fascinating movie about the first marriage of T.S. Eliot to a society daughter who is…erratic, to say the least.

Jakob the Liar
A Robin Williams movie I just picked up on Saturday, being sold in a home and garden shop of all places. Williams stars as Jakob, a resident of an unnamed Polish ghetto during WW2, who accidentally overhears news broadcasts indicating that the Soviets are pushing the Nazis back, and uses it to inspire hope in his Jewish community. He also rescues Anne Frank, or rather a young Jewish girl who also played Anne Frank in another movie. A good movie, though sad.

Moscow on the Hudson
Sold with Jakob. in this Williams is a Russian musician who visits New York with his circus and decides to defect. The film is about him adjusting to new life. Most of the characters he meets are also immigrants, and if it weren’t for the spots of nudity and sex, the movie would be a good Fourth of July movie, celebrating American ideals.

Fiddler on the Roof
…you know Fiddler,right? Turns it it’s a bunch of songs I’ve heard before, but never placed, linked by a story about a man with four daughters in the early 20th century, whose family traditions are stressed by the unleashing of modernity. His daughters want to marry for love and even try to marry outside the Jewish faith. The ending is a little sad (I’ve gotta find happier movies), and a little odd: I’d half-expected the October Revolution to erupt, but it never does.
 
Sad comment on movies that I was stumped for a bit trying to think of a really good movie I’ve seen lately. But at last I was able to think of a couple. “Midnight in Paris” a Woddy Allen one from a few years ago, and Lost City which I think was directed by its star Andy Garcia. Both really good…
 
The Godfather

A brilliant crime drama that makes the mob life look all but unsavory, except for the food.

Big Hero 6

It’s certainly creative, funny, and touching. There just isn’t much there that sticks with me.
 
My dh and I recently saw the Kenneth Branagh/Disney version of “Cinderella.” Very well done and perfectly fine for the kiddos. It puts virtue–real virtue above status or looks and there’s nothing politically correct nor is she in doubt about who she is nor does her father not understand her, and so on and so on like so many films about young women these days. The costumes, sets and cinematography had that lush fairy tale look, but the story drew you in and made you believe in it. I highly recommend it for family viewing.
 
When Marnie Was There (2014)
Studio Ghibli (available on Japanese DVD/Bluray) with English subtitles.
Animated, full feature length.

A film about love, regret, loneliness, resentment and forgiveness but not the sort of love one may imagine from the trailer. It’s not a lesbian or any other type romance. Saying more will spoil it.
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=xu8U60uw2Go
 
I saw two good old movies recently. Lydia, starring Merle Oberon, and Blue Gardenia, starring Anne Baxter. The cinematography in Lydia is really breathtaking. Oddly enough, TV’s Superman, George Reeves, is in both films.
 
Cinderella - both Disney versions

I watched the original cartoon after the new live action one because I hadn’t seen it in its entirety. The cartoon is enjoyable in a Looney Toons way, but the new one is genuinely an excellent movie.
 
catholicmoviene said:
Cinderella - both Disney versions

I watched the original cartoon after the new live action one because I hadn’t seen it in its entirety. The cartoon is enjoyable in a Looney Toons way, but the new one is genuinely an excellent movie.
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Of course, the original animated version was aimed at children not an adult audience. I delighted in it as a child, but when I saw it again as an adult all the silliness with the mice, etc. grated after a while. I kept thinking “What happened to Cinderella’s dillemma? Who cares about the mice!” LOL! Their version of “Sleeping Beauty” holds up better, I think. They stick more to the storyline, still the three good fairies take up too much screen time–but again, it was aimed at children not adults.
 
Della said:
Of course, the original animated version was aimed at children not an adult audience. I delighted in it as a child, but when I saw it again as an adult all the silliness with the mice, etc. grated after a while. I kept thinking “What happened to Cinderella’s dillemma? Who cares about the mice!” LOL! Their version of “Sleeping Beauty” holds up better, I think. They stick more to the storyline, still the three good fairies take up too much screen time–but again, it was aimed at children not adults.
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I still haven’t seen Sleeping Beauty. In fact, there are a lot of Disney movies that I still need to see, in addition to all the other famous movies that I need to see in general.
 
catholicmoviene said:
I still haven’t seen Sleeping Beauty. In fact, there are a lot of Disney movies that I still need to see, in addition to all the other famous movies that I need to see in general.
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So many movies so little time! 😃 It’s just my opinion, but it seems to me that with a few exceptions most of the really great films were made back in the days of the Hollywood system before the far left took over filmmaking. For that last few decades they’ve been largely agenda driven rather than story driven–at least the ones that got the Oscars–that most people never saw or even heard of. Such films are so predictable and banal–just a waste of good celluloid, IMO. Ha! Not that old Hollywood couldn’t make agenda films, but even those were well made and had some heart. Not so much now days, sad to say. That’s why a film like Branagh’s “Cinderella” is such a delight. An oasis in a sea of sludge.
 
Della said:
That’s why a film like Branagh’s “Cinderella” is such a delight. An oasis in a sea of sludge.
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One of the things I liked most was that Cinderella and Kit didn’t fall in love because the other was rich and royal, but because they were both good people. I may have more expectations for Avengers 2 and Star Wars VII, but I can’t imagine either of them being better than Cinderella.
 
catholicmoviene said:
One of the things I liked most was that Cinderella and Kit didn’t fall in love because the other was rich and royal, but because they were both good people. I may have more expectations for Avengers 2 and Star Wars VII, but I can’t imagine either of them being better than Cinderella.
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I agree. Of course, Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 are popcorn movies with sound and fury and not much substance. They are meant to be summer money makers so the studios can afford to make more “meaningful” films, which only the elite will bother to see. 😛
 
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