Saturday Evening Movie Thread [Guest Post by TheJamesMadison]

Introduction

So, I love movies. I’ve loved movies since I only loved the Indiana Jones movies and Star Wars. What really got me to expand my view of movies was jumping into the deep end early by wanting to watch the movies that inspired George Lucas, in particular, Hidden Fortress by Kurosawa. From there, a whole world of visual entertainment opened up to me. Over the years, I’ve traveled the corners of Sweden with Ingmar Bergman, explored the cosmos with Star Trek, and discovered almost every movie that ever won Best Picture at the Oscars. I’ve had a Netflix subscription since my mother bought me a three month gift about 10 years ago, and I’ve kept the watching up ever since. I currently have about 5,000 ratings movies rated on Netflix and a queue that I keep at about 400 movies long.

I’m no expert, though. I just love movies. I love watching them, and I love talking about them. I’m hoping that this thread will become a weekly thread with the support of the Horde. I want to thank OregonMuse for helping to get this started and Ace for keeping the blog going.

Movies are lies.

F for Fake by Orson Welles

Narrative feature films are all lies. The actors lie to you about who they are. The director lies to you about what’s going on. The screenwriter wrote pages and pages of fake stuff. The sets are fake. The props are fake. The lighting is fake. It’s all fake and lies. So, why care?

My first professor at Virginia Tech was in a literature and film class (he also ended up teaching several creative writing courses that I took while there), and he paraphrased Albert Camus, who said, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” So, yes, the effects, the actors, the words are all fake, but there’s an endeavor on the part of everyone involved to tell some truth. What truth, though? That depends on the efforts of the specific creative team making the film.

Movies are Made for Everyone, and No One.

When I was growing up, my mother had a book of 500 reviews written by Pulitzer Prize winning film critic (as it said on the book’s cover) Roger Ebert. That Pulitzer Prize notification did a lot to convince me that Ebert knew what he was talking about when it came to films. I focused on movies that I already loved (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.), but as I watched new movies that my mother showed me (Stalag 17, for example), I’d go back to Ebert to see what he said. I didn’t read them before I watched the movies, but afterwards. If a film review is meant to either persuade you to see a movie or dissuade you of the same thing, then what possible point was I making in reading them after the fact? I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was learning HOW to watch movies.
One theme in Ebert’s writing that you can dig out after reading hundreds of his reviews is that he’s very deferential to the makers of the films. He always seemed to start from the place of asking the question, “What was the director/screenwriter trying to accomplish with this film?” And only after having addressed that internally did he ever begin to ask, “How successful was this film?” Because, to him, you can’t answer the question of how successful a film is without understanding what it’s supposed to be.

Imagine a conversation with someone who has just seen The Godfather for the first time:

A: “That movie was terrible!”

B: “What do you mean? It’s a classic.”

A: “I didn’t laugh once! It was the worst comedy ever!”

B: “But, it’s not a comedy. It’s a drama.”

A: “That doesn’t matter! I wanted to watch a comedy!”

Person A may have a point that he was in the mood for a comedy, but is his criticism of The Godfather valid? No. It’s not. The Godfather isn’t meant to be a comedy, so it should not be judged as a comedy. Whether the movie is successful or not depends on the kind of movie that Francis Ford Coppola was trying to make, not what the audience wants to see.

The audience may not like what the artist intended, but if the audience can’t address the intention of the artist, then the audience’s reaction, no matter how visceral or genuine, isn’t a valid criticism of the work. That does not mean that the artist is always successful at attempting their goal, just that valid criticism has to start from the assumption that the artist is trying to do something and go from there.

Movies Fail. Movies Succeed. It’s all a matter of Taste.

Continuing with the example of The Godfather, we can reimagine the conversation from earlier:

A: “That movie was terrible!”

B: “What do you mean? It’s a classic.”

A: “I didn’t believe that Michael would suddenly be able to take charge of the family. He didn’t seem to have the skillset required to pull that off.”

B: “I disagree. I think that Michael’s time in the Army, as well as the growth that we observe through the film, demonstrates that Michael is very capable of becoming Don to the family.”

So, what to think of Person A’s reaction now? You may agree or not (I certainly hope not. I just made that up on the spot.), but at least it’s based on the idea that The Godfather was a drama that was trying to tell the story of a character and family. It’s valid as a criticism, no matter what Person B thinks of it. It’s an argument that can be had about the nature of truth within the film. About the truth of Michael as a man.

Which brings me back to where I started: Movies are all lies, but they tell a truth.

Michael Corleone is not a real person. He may have some inspiration in the real world, but he’s ultimately fake. He’s a creation of Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, and Al Pacino. And yet, we’re asked by these same people to care for Michael as a person, as well as his journey. Whether that cadre is successful or not is entirely up to the audience, so long as the audience understands what the creators are trying to do.

Because Movies are Fake, Certain “Sins” Don’t Matter

Have you tried to show the original King Kong to a millennial? I have. I have a sixteen year old half-brother who I showed it to, and he couldn’t get past the fakery of the effects. The effects were cutting edge in the 30s but are woefully out of date now. Does that mean that my half-brother was wrong in not liking the movie because of those effects?

Yes and no.

If your tastes demand only the most up to date special effects when used, then fine. You are limiting your ability to enjoy quite a bit of cinema’s history. But, the question isn’t really whether a special effect looks real or not, but whether it is effective. Looking real is only part of being effective.
Look back at Kong in his cinematic debut. He’s obviously a puppet being manipulated frame by frame by hand. But you know what also looks fake? Anything animated. The Little Mermaid doesn’t look real. Roger Rabbit doesn’t look real. Nemo doesn’t look real. But, despite the unreality of Ariel, or Roger, or Nemo, we can find a way to identify with all of them because they each are real characters with understandable desires. Ariel wants love and to move away from home. Roger doesn’t want to be framed for a murder he did not commit while trying to save his way of life. Nemo wants to be his own person (fish) and not live completely shielded from the world by his father. These are understandable desires.

What does this have to do with King Kong? Kong is a character in the movie as much as Ann Darrow. In fact, Kong’s desire for some kind of interpersonal connection is very easily understood by many people. The fact that he can’t get the time of day from the pretty blonde is the tragedy that leads him to his ultimate ruin. The fact that Kong looks fake, changes size depending on what set he’s on, and never says a word, doesn’t change the fact that we can understand him and feel for him. In the end, it’s a fake looking monkey dead on the streets of New York, but it’s a fake looking monkey that we’ve grown to love in some small way.

The effects in Kong are no longer believable, but they are effective. In the specific instance of King Kong, the “sin” of unrealistic effects don’t matter because of the work that went into the character of Kong himself. Was the movie’s intent to convince you that a giant gorilla was real or that we should sympathize with him? It was definitely both, but the fact that they succeeded in getting the audience at large to feel something for Kong is why the sin of unrealistic effect becomes a non-sin.

Next week, I will break down my theory on narrative and how it relates to film.

Movies of Today

Opening in theaters: Kong: Skull Island
Next in my Netflix Queue: Green Zone
Movies I saw this week: Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (3/5 Netflix rating | 2/4 quality rating) and Terminator: Genisys (2/5 Netflix rating | 1.5/4 quality rating)

Posted by: OregonMuse at 07:32 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Today's movies have better tech but are just as fake.

Posted by: Flyboy at March 11, 2017 07:34 PM (HTKQp)

2 Almost first...

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:34 PM (Jj43a)

3 You know what? Nothing at the current movies turns me on. Now watching Escape From New York. So there's your proof it's possible.

Posted by: Eromero at March 11, 2017 07:36 PM (zLDYs)

4 My first professor at Virginia Tech was in a literature and film class (he also ended up teaching several creative writing courses that I took while there), and he paraphrased Albert Camus, who said, "Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." So, yes, the effects, the actors, the words are all fake, but there's an endeavor on the part of everyone involved to tell some truth. What truth, though? That depends on the efforts of the specific creative team making the film.

*nods sagely*

Posted by: Dan Rather at March 11, 2017 07:39 PM (vRcUp)

5 I am intrigued by the upcoming Netflix production of Iron Fist.

Posted by: Insomniac - sin valor at March 11, 2017 07:40 PM (0mRoj)

6 "Escape From New York" is another one of the movies that weren't supposed to be documentaries, that seem more true to life every day

Posted by: random lurker at March 11, 2017 07:40 PM (WF5ei)

7 King Kong wasn't real??

Posted by: freaked at March 11, 2017 07:40 PM (BO/km)

8 Michelle 0bama makes here Hollywood debut in Kong: Skull Island

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 07:41 PM (GsAUU)

9 I love movies as well, been a TCM addict for years. But I have found, with great disappointment, that few films made after 2000 measure up to anything I care about watching, and almost nothing made after 2010. There's a few; I thought "Gravity" was quite gripping and well done.

But I can count the number of post 2010 movies I really thought were "good" on one hand.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:41 PM (V2Yro)

10 Between this thread and the last, is everyone still downstairs talking about houseplants or something?

https://youtu.be/b0Lo_541gVI

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 07:41 PM (8nWyX)

11 The most recent tech isn't always the most satisfying. Compare puppet Yoda with CGI Yoda. You forget almost immediately that Frank Oz is manipulating a little rubber homunculus* because this Yoda occupies the same physical space as the actors.

*No, not Reich

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:42 PM (EnKk6)

12 11 The most recent tech isn't always the most satisfying. Compare puppet Yoda with CGI Yoda. You forget almost immediately that Frank Oz is manipulating a little rubber homunculus* because this Yoda occupies the same physical space as the actors.

*No, not Reich
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:42 PM (EnKk6)

=============

I'm thinking of doing a future post on practical versus computer generated effects.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (Jj43a)

13 Not bad, TJM. Looking forward to the next one.

Posted by: RI Red. Still despicable at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (JUd/g)

14 Ran into Micheal Steele in a Restaurant in Bethesda tonight

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (hNfhn)

15 I never really liked movies although over my lifetime a few stand out. As I got older, movies were just pablum; nonsense to while away the hours and time is too valuable for that and real life is interesting and enjoyable.

I kinda envy people who can waste 2 or 3 hours watching crap for crap's sake.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (5VlCp)

16 11 The most recent tech isn't always the most satisfying. Compare puppet Yoda with CGI Yoda. You forget almost immediately that Frank Oz is manipulating a little rubber homunculus* because this Yoda occupies the same physical space as the actors.

*No, not Reich
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:42 PM (EnKk6)

--yeah, I prefer stop-motion to CGI as well. First Clash of the Titans to me is better than the remake.

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (GsAUU)

17 The next movie I'm going to, is the new Blade Runner. If they ruin it then I might be done with Hollywood forever.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 07:44 PM (6Ll1u)

18 Btw, a film can be almost dramatic and still succeed, a film can be almost an action movie and work, many well known films have been almost suspensful, but not quite.

A film that is Almost Funny, on the other hand, is always going to rated as the Worst Film Ever.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:44 PM (V2Yro)

19 Thanks Muse - this site keeps getting better and better! Well worth the subscription price!

Posted by: goatexchange at March 11, 2017 07:44 PM (YFnq5)

20 So, Jack Nicholson's "you can't handle the truth!" was a lie?

Posted by: t-bird at March 11, 2017 07:45 PM (/wWB4)

21 Sully spoke to me. Any operator, be it in a plane or a ship or a ground vehicle, can empathize.
Very effective movie. I had studied the entire event, including the actual voice radio traffic. Only the NTSB as a villain was a tad off.

I see one movie a year. Sully was it this year, and Kingsman: The Secret Service was it for last year.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:45 PM (u82oZ)

22 I don't like Deep Throat because I don't understand her motivation.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 07:45 PM (Nwg0u)

23 Next you're going to tell me Jessica Rabbit isn't real, you effing Hokie. . .

Posted by: ChupaMe at March 11, 2017 07:45 PM (vE2qF)

24 The effects are terrible, but I will watch "Big Trouble in Little China" any time I stumble on it. It's fun, it's funny, and you know what Jack Burton always says? (Gotta watch it to find out)

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 07:45 PM (NOIQH)

25 Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 07:44 PM (6Ll1u)

Hmmmm.....

http://www.lifemovie.com/

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 11, 2017 07:46 PM (rF0hx)

26 13 Not bad, TJM. Looking forward to the next one.
Posted by: RI Red. Still despicable at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (JUd/g)

===========

Thanks!

I hope to have a better record than the baseball thread.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:46 PM (Jj43a)

27 I'm thinking of doing a future post on practical versus computer generated effects.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (Jj43a)
---
But why is some fakery better than others? Why does Chuck Jones' cartoony Antony and Cleo tug at the heart strings, while more realistic animation makes me go yeesh?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:46 PM (EnKk6)

28 Italicans, retreat!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:46 PM (EnKk6)

29 Ran into Micheal Steele in a Restaurant in Bethesda tonight

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (hNfhn)

How badly did your car injure him?

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (0K/XU)

30 19 Thanks Muse - this site keeps getting better and better! Well worth the subscription price!
Posted by: goatexchange at March 11, 2017 07:44 PM (YFnq5)

============

Ahem....

You're welcome.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (Jj43a)

31

closing somebody's tag

Posted by: t-bird at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (/cksx)

32 NaCly Dog to Teh Barrel, please.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (0K/XU)

33 Yikes. . The Barrel for me. Not my idea of a romantic night.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (u82oZ)

34 while more realistic animation makes me go yeesh?

This is about me, isn't it?

Posted by: Jar-Jar Binks at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (7H/2n)

35
Movies I saw this week: Earth vs. The Flying Saucers

Give me 500 words on how to tell the difference between Hugh Marlowe and Richard Carlson.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (oVJmc)

36 The Great Wall is fun, stupid and beautiful.

Posted by: DaveA at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (8J/Te)

37 27 But why is some fakery better than others? Why does Chuck Jones' cartoony Antony and Cleo tug at the heart strings, while more realistic animation makes me go yeesh?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:46 PM (EnKk6)

============

I think it has to do with emotional involvement more than anything else.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (Jj43a)

38 32 OM

Reporting for dirty duty, Aye, Sir.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (u82oZ)

39
Ran into Micheal Steele in a Restaurant in Bethesda tonight

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (hNfhn)

Hard enough to send him to the hospital?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 11, 2017 07:49 PM (rF0hx)

40 homunculus*

*No, not Reich

-
Rules to control the proles I must enact.*

*Reich

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 07:49 PM (Nwg0u)

41 33 Yikes. . The Barrel for me. Not my idea of a romantic night.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:47 PM (u82oZ)
---
Just lie back and let it happen. Fighting it just makes it worse.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:49 PM (EnKk6)

42 But why is some fakery better than others?

Compare the original Grinch to Jim Carrey's irritating-as-fuck Grinch.

Posted by: t-bird at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (7H/2n)

43 King Kong wasn't real??

Posted by: freaked

Coulda fooled me.

Posted by: Tom Baker at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (vRcUp)

44 35
Movies I saw this week: Earth vs. The Flying Saucers

Give me 500 words on how to tell the difference between Hugh Marlowe and Richard Carlson.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 07:48 PM (oVJmc)

===========

Does this go to my final grade?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (Jj43a)

45 Just lie back and let it happen. Fighting it just makes it worse.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes

That's what I always say.

Posted by: Bill Clinton at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (QDr6b)

46 Nice post TheJamesMadison, I hope this becomes a regular thread too.

I've pretty well given up going to movies anymore due to the SJW insertion into every movie and/or political views of the actors and directors.

I took a few film classes in college as part of my degree field and enjoyed them even though the professors seem to be very impressed with themselves on obscure film trivia.

I hope this thread will help me get back to wanting to watch movies again.

Posted by: Beartooth at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (qIhPN)

47 Ran into Micheal Steele in a Restaurant in Bethesda tonight

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 11, 2017 07:43 PM (hNfhn)

Hard enough to send him to the hospital?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 11, 2017 07:49 PM (rF0hx)

My wife had my car partying her way thru DC while I worked...I was out to dinner with a few Shipmates. But Steele is very tall. And seemed like a nice guy

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 11, 2017 07:51 PM (hNfhn)

48 Wow, this place is filthy and muddy. I hate filthy mud.

If only I could use a GOPe or bent Dem congressman as a step stool.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:51 PM (u82oZ)

49 Big Trouble in Little China! Yeah, always liked that one.

Then again, we get El Rey network, and sometimes my wife will walk in and catch me watching Master of the Flying Guillotine or Legend of the Drunken Master, so maybe my taste is questionable.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:52 PM (V2Yro)

50 in a Restaurant in Bethesda

goto Louisiana Kitchen and bring us some Gumbo, please.

Posted by: DaveA at March 11, 2017 07:52 PM (8J/Te)

51 Compare the original Grinch to Jim Carrey's irritating-as-fuck Grinch.
Posted by: t-bird at March 11, 2017 07:50 PM (7H/2n)
---
The Grinch's slow, snaggle-toothed evil grin is one of the funniest things ever drawn. And who cannot love his long-suffering pooch?

Maybe it's unfair to compare anything to Jones/Warner Bros cartoons because the characters, while wacky, are so adroitly drawn and fully realized.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:53 PM (EnKk6)

52 Great topic!! I hope it continues for weeks on end. As a film minor many years ago (early 70's), it's fine to see a scholarly, conservative discussion of film on the AoSHQ!. Please keep it up.

Posted by: jayhawkone at March 11, 2017 07:53 PM (ZD+J8)

53 Special effects are very good today, but are not necessary. When you read a book, your mind makes the effects. I understand what someone might mean when they sneer at the King Kong effects, but they aren't understanding the story. It is a kind of laziness.

Posted by: Whiskey Mike at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (7lqlp)

54 The last movie I was excited to see in the theatre was the last Pirates of the Caribbean. Everyone in the theatre (including me) cheered when Jack Sparrow showed up.

I loved Last Samurai too. I had a hard time not shedding a tear when Nobutada made his last stand on the bridge rescuing Katsumoto and then again when Katsumoto and Ugio were killed in the charge against the Imperial Army.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (msT6C)

55 Th fakery I hate is when they make cartoons out of live actors, such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express". Don;t know what it's called, but it is freaky.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (NOIQH)

56 Prejeans on I-49 in Lafayete, La, makes the best Duck and Andouille Gumbo ever. If you've never tasted it, better than anything ever dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (V2Yro)

57 Movie review?

You're no Ace

Seriously, nice job. Thank you.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (voOPb)

58 Greatest movie ever = The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (Sfs6o)

59 "... it's fine to see a scholarly, conservative discussion of film on the AoSHQ!."
---
It will descend into barbarism and boobery soon enough.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (EnKk6)

60 Well JM, I wonder if film as art is still a lie that tells the truth, or if it's a complete lie anymore?
I too like movies...but my self imposed ban continues. This is week 14 of no movies. I have not missed them.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (0tfLf)

61 What a great thread to have!

My favorite thing to bring up for movies: Conan: The Barbarian is a much deeper movie than it is often given credit for. Starts out with Conan's father explaining that he could not trust men, women nor beasts, but he can trust in steel. So as we go through the movie we find that he can indeed trust in both men (Subotai saves him from the Tree of Woe), women (Valeria battles demons to save him from death), and steel fails him when his father's sword is broken in battle and only Valaria's spirit saves him from the killing blow. So Thulsa Doom had the right of it: flesh IS stronger!

Posted by: Mordineus at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (u4xKN)

62 Th fakery I hate is when they make cartoons out of live actors, such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express". Don;t know what it's called, but it is freaky.
Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (NOIQH)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 07:56 PM (8nWyX)

63 Kong is a character in the movie as much as Ann Darrow. In fact, Kong's desire for some kind of interpersonal connection is very easily understood by many people. The fact that he can't get the time of day from the pretty blonde is the tragedy that leads him to his ultimate ruin.

So you're saying Kong is supposed to elicit a feeling of kinship in ugly guys who have a great deal of trouble getting laid?

Maybe that's why I hate that movie. I don't like the feeling of being pandered to, especially when it reminds me of problems for which it offers no solution.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 07:56 PM (vRcUp)

64 57 Movie review?

You're no Ace

Seriously, nice job. Thank you.
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (voOPb)

============

I've got a few topics to run through then maybe you'll get some reviews.

I dream of making Ace's look like short poems by comparison.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:56 PM (Jj43a)

65 Second greatest movie ever = Topless Brain Surgeons VII

Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (Sfs6o)

66 Since it seems kinda required, the best movie I saw this week was Earth 3000. Epic boob's ass.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (6Ll1u)

67 On a Robot Chicken Christmas Special, the Nerd was having a dream and wished to go see the grinch, and he was taken to go see the Jim Carrey Grinch, and he screamed "No!! You took my favorite childhood memory and shit in its mouth!!!!"

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (V2Yro)

68 such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express". Don;t know what it's called, but it is freaky.

IIRC uncanny valley - they mostly quit because people don't like it.

Posted by: DaveA at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (8J/Te)

69 An excellent introduction to an excellent idea for a new thread. I also love movies. I love everything about them. I can enjoy all types of movies ranging from the Silent Era to today's blockbusters and everything in between. I love the classics and I love the hopelessly cheesy Z-grade movies. Hope this becomes a popular and continuous thread. Way to go!

Posted by: Augustus623 at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (ITt4h)

70 That probably explains "The Pillow Book" review by Ebert. What a pile of garbage and necrophilia. So yes the director and all did get their point across and no I still didn't like the film.

OTOH, I got as many Shaw Brother movies cued as I could find. It's the same theme with pretty much the same actors/stunt men among all the movies with abrupt endings, but still fun to watch. "The Five Venoms" would be a good place to start.

Added to the verbose, Lucas did steal a bunch of ideas from Kirosawa so it's not like he's a visionist but just an innovative film maker riding on his credentials from 40 years ago.

Posted by: auscolpyr at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (pzA2L)

71 If somebody named a nice little town in exurbia Uncanny Valley, I would live there.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:58 PM (EnKk6)

72 Okay, I gotta give a shout-out to MANOS - THE HANDS OF FATE

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:58 PM (V2Yro)

73 Just lie back and let it happen. And put some ice on that when it's mercifully over.

Posted by: Bill Clinton at March 11, 2017 07:58 PM (89T5c)

74 If somebody named a nice little town in exurbia Uncanny Valley, I would live there.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 07:58 PM (EnKk6)

Sounds like a David Lynch setting.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:00 PM (8nWyX)

75 Hey everybody.

Oh man. If I had to write an essay here about "The Movies," it would probably easily be 90 times as long as the one posted by TJM above.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:01 PM (u8kLQ)

76 3
You know what? Nothing at the current movies turns me on. Now watching
Escape From New York. So there's your proof it's possible.

Posted by: Eromero at March 11, 2017 07:36 PM (zLDYs)

Just watched the same thing...lol.*nice boobies on whats her name*

Posted by: Mimzey at March 11, 2017 08:02 PM (n3hky)

77 Greatest movie. Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.

* glares in defiance *

Posted by: Beartooth at March 11, 2017 08:02 PM (qIhPN)

78 I started to watch foreign films and I started to like the non PC aspect of Asian movies and Hollywood is turning me off. We really like some of the Korean movies, they can be very gritty, they have a lot of themes about Corruption of the Police, Politicians etc. lots of class war fare and "knowing" your place. Watching these make me realize how I am to live in the US. The value of Human life is so different.

Really liked the "man from nowhere"

If you get the chance watch "North Koreans try American BBQ for the first time" it's on YouTube. they are interviewed as they are eating. Eye opening.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:03 PM (dKiJG)

79 This is a Kraut WWII movie I'd like to see.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vIwimWccIoM

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:03 PM (Nwg0u)

80 The 1933 Kong tells the same story better than the 2005 version in half the running time.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:03 PM (oVJmc)

81 Does that mean that my half-brother was wrong in not liking the movie because of those effects?

++++

No.

Suspension of disbelief. For whatever reason, if you can't forget you are watching a movie and just disappear into the story, then the movie is not going to work for you. As you say, if your half-brother can find a way to stop paying attention to the cheesy special effects and enjoy the story, it would be to his advantage since it would open up a lot more films to him. But, if he can't get past it, it is pointless for him to waste his time just because others are telling him it's a classic.

I have the same problem with old movies, not only with special effects, but also if they are black and white. Same with the story telling. Older movies tend to be more sanitized, language wise and also sex and violence. Sometimes, if I'm in the right mood, I can forget about all that and enjoy the movie. But, often not.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (R+30W)

82 Wow, this place is filthy and muddy. I hate filthy mud.

If only I could use a GOPe or bent Dem congressman as a step stool.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 07:51 PM (u82oZ)

Sorry, it's Egg McMuffin's night off. You'll have to make do.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (0K/XU)

83 my take on why modern movies so often turn me off: all the nihilism present in them. If nothing means anything, if I don't have a hero to truly cheer for, if I don't think that whatever action they are undertaking is worth the trouble, why watch?

I am sick and tired of the anti-hero. Recent James Bond flicks leave me cold.

Know a recent film I loved? The Kingsman: The Secret Service. Good guys being good, bad guys being bad. World saved, girl had, took itself just seriously enough that you cared, but was FUN!

Posted by: Mordineus at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (u4xKN)

84 People will 'like' The Godfather if some guy named Luca Brasi was askin' them what they thought of Vito.

Posted by: torabora at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (YZXQH)

85 Also, compare the almost stage-like settings of Coppola, where the one camera captures the entire conversation with the actors posed almost like in a painting, to the shaky cam/swooping Dykstraflex/cut-cut-cut directors.

The latter isn't necessarily a bad thing. In Creed the photographer moved dynamically around the fighters as they slugged at each other and it was very effective, I thought.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (EnKk6)

86 recently there was a ranking of the "king kong" movies making the rounds and the most recent version by jackson was #1, largely based on the cgi.

i, like many, would rank the original at the top and for me it would be in part due to fay wrap's performance. she was really sexy! jessica lang was a blank in the 70's version and i don't even know who was in the 2005 remake. kong's love for fay was a central theme in the movie and there was even a sexual chemistry at least by innuendo.

and you know who could be sexual? kate uptown in a live action remake of "heavy metal", that adult cartoon that was parodied by south park as "major boobage". can you imagine her riding a pterodactyl? movie magic!

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (WTSFk)

87 >>uncanny valley - they mostly quit because people don't like it.

Good - it is creepy!
- - - -
Ugh, never aligned with Ebert on movie review. Pretty much avoided movies he loved.

Can't remember which movie critic said it (maybe John Nolte or Christian Toto?), but he said that critics watch so many movies that they are charmed/love anything that is different or weird simply because it has broken the monotony. Other than the whole embrace of anything uber-progressive, that seems to explain a lot of movies that are adored by critics that are not well-received by regular people.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (NOIQH)

88 Two of the all-time greatest movies ever, Citizen Kane and Casablanca, are interesting.

Kane is probably not much like anything that came before it, or since. It was innovative, but the story is kind of a downer (let's face it) and it's hard to think of any movie that similar, with the possible exception of "There Will Be Blood."*

Casablanca, OTOH, is probably the template for a million and one Spielberg and other popcorn, heroes-against-the-really-bad-guys flicks. And yet it still holds up, it's so well-written and packed full of memorable scenes and great themes.

(*Remember when it seemed like EVERYBODY IN THE WHOLE FREAKING UNIVERSE was running around yelling "I drink your milkshake!!!"? Yeah, that was a little annoying.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:04 PM (u8kLQ)

89 Does 'Skull Island' offer a cameo of Madonna?

Posted by: torabora at March 11, 2017 08:05 PM (YZXQH)

90 The 1933 Kong tells the same story better than the 2005 version in half the running time.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:03 PM (oVJmc)

Yeah, Peter Jackson's Kong movie was as bloated as his fat, corpulent carcass.

But Naomi Watts was great in it. I'll give it that.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:05 PM (0K/XU)

91 upton not uptown damn splchk.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 08:05 PM (WTSFk)

92 Keep Bill Clinton out of the barrel. Please.

This is worse that a midwatch after a long week series of UNREPS.

Takes out a rag and polishes the brass in the Barrel.

On topic, movies of the sea that were somewhat convincing were Das Boot, In Which We Serve, and The Cruel Sea.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:05 PM (u82oZ)

93
John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

All others must prostrate before it.

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:06 PM (KgpWR)

94 God damn it, Michael Corleone is a MARINE.

Person B is an idiot!!!

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 08:06 PM (bGMOs)

95 Ashley Judd's starring in a sequel called 'The Bi-Polar Express.'

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:06 PM (oVJmc)

96 Good heavens, why is everyone effing up on the italics tonight?

Lizzy, to the Barrel.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:06 PM (0K/XU)

97 Okay, I gotta give a shout-out to MANOS - THE HANDS OF FATE

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:58 PM (V2Yro)

The Master will be pleased

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (auHtY)

98 Today's Hollywood let's you know who they are, Roman Polanski wants to come back if you will only forgive his child rape. He's suffered enough hiding out in Europe all these years don't you know? Let's let him know how we feel about that.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (6Ll1u)

99 Animal's fixation on Betty Grable is legendary.

Posted by: eleven at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (qUNWi)

100 No, not Lizzy, sorry, I meant All Hail Eris. AHE to the Barrel, please.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (0K/XU)

101 I am naturally charitable to movies, classics included. But sometimes you can't ignore the stupidity. Like in the Incredible Shrinking Man, when the cat was chasing him around, it was growling and meowing loudly. Of course that was ridiculous. Cats are silent, sneaky hunters. They do not hunt their prey by meowing at the top of their lungs.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (vRcUp)

102 Hidden Fortress wow .. my kids loved that movie
Discovered Kurosawa during a samurai festival on PBS
1970 ... suspension of belief Is my favorite movie term

Posted by: Qmark at March 11, 2017 08:07 PM (nqqsz)

103 65 Second greatest movie ever = Topless Brain Surgeons VII
Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 07:57 PM (Sfs6o)

Bess Armstrong performing an autopsy topless in House of God

Posted by: Fox2! at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (brIR5)

104 John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

All others must prostrate before it.

Hmmm....sounds good.

Posted by: eleven at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (qUNWi)

105 143 Next in my Netflix Queue: Green Zone

++++

I never watched that one, deliberately. It's a Matt Damon vehicle, and from what I've read about it, it's left-wing propaganda through and through. But, I haven't watched it for myself. Perhaps you'll have a different take on it.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (R+30W)

106 "Throne of Blood", a great rendition of the Scottish Play.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (bGMOs)

107 Kong is a character in the movie as much as Ann Darrow. In fact, Kong's desire for some kind of interpersonal connection is very easily understood by many people. The fact that he can't get the time of day from the pretty blonde is the tragedy that leads him to his ultimate ruin.

-
So you're saying it wasn't the airplane; it was beauty that killed the beast.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM (Nwg0u)

108 i thought Michael Corleone was a Marine.

Posted by: Farmer Bob at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM (sqpGi)

109 Okay, I gotta give a shout-out to MANOS - THE HANDS OF FATE

----

Riffed, yes, unriffed, heck no. I think a movie goer actually slapped the director after a screening

Posted by: auscolpyr at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM (pzA2L)

110 Opening recently: "Kong: The Legend of the Vietnamese Fire Code."

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ec_1489255875

Excellent special effects, no CGI.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM (t5m5e)

111 fay wray not wrap damn splchk.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 08:10 PM (WTSFk)

112 I still like the original "King Kong". And I am in awe of "Stagecoach". I can appreciate what they were able to accomplish in those days with their low-tech tools. I'm at the point with the current use of CGIs that they can't hold my attention. They have traded good scripts, acting, and directing with all of the falseness they can muster. Bores me to death.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:10 PM (Ivjge)

113

A regular movie thread? Super Fun Happy Time!

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:10 PM (lmIoG)

114 61 What a great thread to have!

My favorite thing to bring up for movies: Conan: The Barbarian is a much deeper movie than it is often given credit for. Starts out with Conan's father explaining that he could not trust men, women nor beasts, but he can trust in steel. So as we go through the movie we find that he can indeed trust in both men (Subotai saves him from the Tree of Woe), women (Valeria battles demons to save him from death), and steel fails him when his father's sword is broken in battle and only Valaria's spirit saves him from the killing blow. So Thulsa Doom had the right of it: flesh IS stronger!
Posted by: Mordineus at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (u4xKN)

Great insight. And a great movie.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:10 PM (dKiJG)

115 Thanks for this TJM, did you like the movie? That rivaled some of Ace's reviews.

j/k I like the idea of this thread, glad you are doing it. We are both movie buffs, Jules even more than I.

Posted by: Farmer at March 11, 2017 08:11 PM (o/90i)

116 104 John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

All others must prostrate before it.

Hmmm....sounds good.
Posted by: eleven at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (qUNWi)

I am not sure 'greatest movie ever made'. It is, however, a refreshing movie for the lack of exposition by the characters (except for a few bits.)

It tells a simple story and does it well. You do not have to guess at what John Wick's motivation is.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 08:11 PM (R7+kO)

117 Does 'Skull Island' offer a cameo of Madonna?

-
Or James Carville?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:11 PM (Nwg0u)

118 Thank God Salty cleaned it out.

*gingerly steps into barrel*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:11 PM (EnKk6)

119 Lizzy, pleased to meet you. *Tips Fedora to her*

I cleaned up a spot for you to sit over there. I'll go unclog the drain. We can talk about the Red Letters Reviews of Star Wars and stay on topic.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (u82oZ)

120 Roger Ebert was kind of a left wing tool. I tried reading his movie reviews when he was still alive, but he let that bleed through, and it put me off him. But I did watch Siskel and Ebert as a kid - it wasn't as obvious there.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (vRcUp)

121
Posted by: Mordineus at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (u4xKN)

---

Shows it was deeper than Stone's homage to Nietzsche's "superman".

Posted by: auscolpyr at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (pzA2L)

122 Next in my Netflix Queue: Green Zone

An amusing flick to watch whilst actually in the Green Zone.

Posted by: Country Singer at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (GUBah)

123 Love this idea.

Does anyone remember "Saturday Night at the Movies" that was on TV in the 60s?

To entertain myself, a few years ago, I started surveying the best movies of all time, loosely considering what films I would include in a film class, if I ever got the chance to teach one.

I would check out books from the library that critics wrote with their lists of the best, then rent them from Netflix, educating myself. Fun.

Just now, finished watching "Annie Get Your Gun" on VHS.

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:13 PM (8mO0Q)

124 I started to watch foreign films and I started to like the non PC aspect of Asian movies and Hollywood is turning me off. We really like some of the Korean movies, they can be very gritty, they have a lot of themes about Corruption of the Police, Politicians etc. lots of class war fare and "knowing" your place. Watching these make me realize how I am to live in the US. The value of Human life is so different.

Really liked the "man from nowhere"

If you get the chance watch "North Koreans try American BBQ for the first time" it's on YouTube. they are interviewed as they are eating. Eye opening.
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio

Man, do I ever agree about Korean movies. I'd never seen one until Netflix. They're so well made and cover just about every genre.

Kim Jong Il was reported to be quite the film buff. Could it be that the quality state of South Korean films was a massive psyops against him? Imagine seeing the wealth and freedom of the South. Heh.

Also, I've learned from Netflix that both China and South Korea really, really HATE the Japanese.

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:13 PM (xJxz7)

125 Posted by: Aetius451AD
===

...

John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (KgpWR)

126 All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes

Bows low. What be your pleasure, your Grace?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (u82oZ)

127 >>my take on why modern movies so often turn me off: all the nihilism
present in them. If nothing means anything, if I don't have a hero to
truly cheer for, if I don't think that whatever action they are
undertaking is worth the trouble, why watch?

Yes! People make fun of Michael Bay, but you can;t say his movies aren't stupid fun. And compare his "The Island" to "Never Let me Go" - undar all those fast cars/boats/motorcycles, explosions, and hot Ewan MacGregor and Scarlet Johanssen is a powerful pro-life message. Sneaky Bay!

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (NOIQH)

128 John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

All others must prostrate before it.

Posted by: Mortimer

Um, like, dude! Like, you like me. You, like, really like me!

Posted by: Quinoa Reeves at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (vRcUp)

129 Steve and Cold Bear, true that Ebert was a left-wing tool, about the last 10 years of his life reviewing films.

As I recall, he went off the rails when W got elected and started seeing politics everywhere. Call it Andrew Sullivan Syndrome.

But before that, it seems he was pretty good about knowing what was good and what wasn't. I've discovered a few films thanks to his "Great Movies" series, particularly Picnic At Hanging Rock.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (u8kLQ)

130 I wanted to see Snakes on a Plane...but couldn't figure out what it was about, so i passed on it.

Posted by: Mimzey at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (n3hky)

131 I'll continue to advocate for Tarkovsky's 'Stalker.' Spare in a way that defies description, beautiful cinematography, compelling story told in a strange and rambling way. When it's over, you're shocked to realize that it wasn't at all about what you thought it was.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (FNPYW)

132 Be kind and rewind, booknlass.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at March 11, 2017 08:15 PM (89T5c)

133 Okay, I gotta give a shout-out to MANOS - THE HANDS OF FATE

----

Riffed, yes, unriffed, heck no. I think a movie goer actually slapped the director after a screening

Posted by: auscolpyr at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM

I'm on the other side on Manos. The only way to watch it it is in it's complete, original glory. Manos doesn't need a word of commentary. There's nothing anybody can add to Manos, it speaks loudly for itself in every terrible scene.

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:15 PM (lmIoG)

134 Have gotten into watching Russian movies, with English subtitles if possible. Watched Kasym today, a WWII movie based on a real Russian scout/saboteur from Kazakhstan.
http://youtu.be/u0I3r3MH-a

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:15 PM (HDU3V)

135 Bows low. What be your pleasure, your Grace?
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:14 PM (u82oZ)
---

*pulls off gas mask*

Hello NaCly, how about a glass of something and a thin cheroot?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:16 PM (EnKk6)

136 Imma watch John Wick.

If I don't like it I'm coming back here to take names.

But serially...I like Keanu Reeves. Constantine is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Posted by: eleven at March 11, 2017 08:17 PM (qUNWi)

137 I noted it an a thread earlier, but Happy Birthday to LTC(ret) James "Maggie" Magellas, who turned 100 today.

He was portrayed in the film "A Bridge Too Far" by John Ratzenberger.

https://tinyurl.com/jds8dxu

Posted by: Country Singer at March 11, 2017 08:17 PM (GUBah)

138 Has anyone here ever seen "Ghost World"?

It seems to be the latest offbeat film on my offbeat-films-to-see list.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:17 PM (u8kLQ)

139 106. Yes.....the lady vanishes into the dark, and all you hear is the rustle of her kimono, and then stone-faced she emerges with the jar of sake, and that eerie rustle/squeak as she walks......

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (FNPYW)

140 If you get the chance watch "North Koreans try American BBQ for the first time" it's on YouTube. they are interviewed as they are eating. Eye opening.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio

This is a great video. I've seen it multiple times.

Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (0K/XU)

141
Riffed, yes, unriffed, heck no. I think a movie goer actually slapped the director after a screening

Posted by: auscolpyr at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM
---
I loved how Dr. Forrester and Frank would sneak in and apologize to Joel and the 'bots for the awfulness of this film.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (EnKk6)

142 of course, the idiotic scale of kong in skull island makes for a nice metaphor for the monster that cgi has become, impervious and out of scale to the human.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (WTSFk)

143 But I have found, with great disappointment, that few films made after 2000 measure up to anything I care about watching, and almost nothing made after 2010.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 07:41 PM (V2Yro)

I agree. I am so tired of all of these comic-book themed and CGI "stuff explodes" movies. I really miss movies that are targeted towards thoughtful adults.

That's why Mrs. Cop and I decided to give Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk a viewing in the theater. I liked it but the wife didn't; the movie dealt with why this squad of men fought in Iraq. They didn't think of themselves as victims or pawns: they fought because they loved each other (there were no homosexual connotations in the film).

Posted by: Retired Buckey Cop is now an engineer at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (5Yee7)

144 I hate the New Kong, Faye Ray always I thought was always scared of Kong and knew he would turn on her at any minute. The Jackson version I never thought he would hurt her and she was in no danger.

I always liked that BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA is that Jack Burton is really the sidekick.

Who here is still not waiting for Buckaroo Banzai vs The World Crime league, also that movie would not be today because PC bullshit in what ethnic background the lead actor is.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:19 PM (dKiJG)

145 I can't believe that a discussion of great movies has yet to mention the GOAT: Hot Tub Time Machine.

Posted by: Farmer Bob at March 11, 2017 08:19 PM (sqpGi)

146 Was reading last night about the notorious Moors Murders in the UK in the mid-1960s. One of the first really horrific thrill killer cases, and it happened just as England was abolishing the death penalty.

Surprised there hasn't been a major film about that yet.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:19 PM (u8kLQ)

147 Here is a pretentious Chardonnay, but the wine cellar in the Barrel is sadly neglected. We will have to make do.

Pulls two flute out of my backpack, and offers one to All Hail Eris. Because of the possibility of methane, no smoking in the Barrel, please. We may be close to the lower explosive limit.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:19 PM (u82oZ)

148 Weapons transitions and tactical reloads are what makes a movie great.

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:20 PM (KgpWR)

149 My local PBS is playing classic movies weekly on the weekend, I'm watching Sudden Fear now.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 08:20 PM (6Ll1u)

150 146 Was reading last night about the notorious Moors Murders in the UK in the mid-1960s. One of the first really horrific thrill killer cases, and it happened just as England was abolishing the death penalty.

Surprised there hasn't been a major film about that yet.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:19 PM (u8kLQ)
---
Wasn't there one with that kid Garfield?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (EnKk6)

151 That was the first Russian movie that didn't make the NKVD out to be real bastards whereas Penal Battalion a Russian WWII mini series they were worse than the Nazi's.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (HDU3V)

152 Roger Ebert was kind of a left wing tool. I tried reading his movie reviews when he was still alive, but he let that bleed through, and it put me off him. But I did watch Siskel and Ebert as a kid - it wasn't as obvious there.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (vRcUp)

====

After catching a couple of movies they loved, I learned to go see the ones they hated. Worked out much better for me.

Posted by: Flyboy at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (aPumV)

153 All Hail Eris, a young actor named Garfield?

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (u8kLQ)

154 wow - can't believe I looked below the fold and found a poster for Stalag 17. What a great film - I was just telling a co-worker about it last week.

The original anti-hero film; I understand Holden begged them not to make his character such an SOB. If you haven't seen it, as highly recommended as anything I can think of.

Several great sequences, but this may be the best of Wilder's career:
http://tinyurl.com/poabsnc
Rates with any Hitchcock. Notice the rousing audio, which has absolutely nothing to do with what is actually going on. And the final shot is a dissertation on the use of the x and z axis. Notice how Holden only looks directly at the camera, and directly behind him. Doesn't look to the side at all.

Posted by: Vertov at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (D0D9N)

155 132 Aspirin Factory, I'm thoroughly committed to cheap movies! lol.

the college library where I work part-time was getting rid of this little TV with a VHS player in the base, and they gave it to me.

So I just browse the thrift stores for movies, pay about 50 cents per, and voila!

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (8mO0Q)

156 Movies should be eye-popping, heart-tugging, and mind-blowing.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (Nwg0u)

157 This is a Kraut WWII movie I'd like to see.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vIwimWccIoM
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:03 PM (Nwg0u)

You're right. This looks good.

Posted by: Beartooth at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (qIhPN)

158 I prefer my chardonnay to be insouciant.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (EnKk6)

159 Manos doesn't need a word of commentary. There's
nothing anybody can add to Manos, it speaks loudly for itself in every
terrible scene.

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:15 PM (lmIoG)

So you're saying its like Velveeta.

Posted by: Mimzey at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (n3hky)

160 105

I never watched that one, deliberately. It's a Matt Damon vehicle, and from what I've read about it, it's left-wing propaganda through and through. But, I haven't watched it for myself. Perhaps you'll have a different take on it.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (R+30W)

==========

Watched it this morning. Definitely propaganda but kind of entertaining on the surface.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (Jj43a)

161 Well, all I know about Ebert is:

- kid I grew up with in the 'hood was his grocery checkout up on Lincoln Ave, and she said "he's an a****le".

- I was in the bar west of the Old Town Ale House on North Ave. (down by the gas station at Sedgwick) one night and the buddy I was drinking with suddenly spoke up real loud and said "a round of beer for the house, and a double Clorox for that noisy %@#*&%$ down at the end of the bar" , meaning who I later found out was Ebert. Silence, followed by laughter followed. I still have the Irish coffee glass that I pocketed that night, in preparation for the Hasty Retreat (not required as it turned out, Ebert left soon afterwards).

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (Oeb2k)

162 I wanted to see Snakes on a Plane...but couldn't figure out what it was about, so i passed on it.

It was all about ennui. There, I saved you a trip.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:22 PM (JZdsf)

163 107

So you're saying it wasn't the airplane; it was beauty that killed the beast.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:09 PM (Nwg0u)

==========

Golf clap

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:23 PM (Jj43a)

164 I am not sure 'greatest movie ever made'. It is, however, a refreshing movie for the lack of exposition by the characters (except for a few bits.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 08:11 PM

It's one of those rare movies that uses minimal dialogue/exposition, but manages to give you insight into just about every character in the flick. They don't say much, but when they do, it speaks volumes about the characters and how they relate to each other.

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:23 PM (lmIoG)

165 A ton of critics say "Triumph Of The Will" is one of the all-time great films.

Except, you know, that it's tough for most audiences to get past the pro-Nazi, pro-Hitler subtext. (And thank God for that, actually.)

Leni Riefenstahl... oh man, there was a woman who really messed herself up, to say the least.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:23 PM (u8kLQ)

166 153 All Hail Eris, a young actor named Garfield?
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:21 PM (u8kLQ)
------

Andrew Garfield was in a three-part t.v. movie about the Yorkshire Ripper:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Riding

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:24 PM (EnKk6)

167 Terrific post, compelling and rich.

Posted by: Dr Spank at March 11, 2017 08:24 PM (ajJoO)

168 It's one of those rare movies that uses minimal dialogue/exposition, but manages to give you insight into just about every character in the flick. They don't say much, but when they do, it speaks volumes about the characters and how they relate to each other.

Much like Porkys 2.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:24 PM (JZdsf)

169 156- I saw a movie with popping, tugging, and blowing once- but I'm pretty sure the popping part was faked.

Posted by: Farmer Bob at March 11, 2017 08:24 PM (sqpGi)

170 Friends don't let friends watch Matt Damon movies.

Posted by: weft cut-loop at March 11, 2017 08:24 PM (4YGWz)

171 64 57 Movie review?

You're no Ace

Seriously, nice job. Thank you.
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at March 11, 2017 07:54 PM (voOPb)

============

I've got a few topics to run through then maybe you'll get some reviews.

I dream of making Ace's look like short poems by comparison.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 07:56 PM (Jj43a)

Dream? You haven't been beaten down yet

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at March 11, 2017 08:25 PM (voOPb)

172 >>
I started to watch foreign films and I started to like the non PC aspect of Asian movies and Hollywood is turning me off....

I'll watch foreign flicks when I have insomnia. One of the things I love about them are that they often allow their characters to be legit lower or middle-class (vs. Hollywood characters all life like millionaires and work for Google-rich companies) and they allow their characters to be normal/imperfect (not all good or all bad). A generalization, but it happens enough to be noteworthy. For example, compare "Mostly Martha" (love that film) to "No Reservations" (criminal). Some good ones I've seen (that made me stay up, darn it!) were "The Secret in Their Eyes," "Vitus," "After the Wedding," and "Summer Hours."

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:25 PM (NOIQH)

173 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white. I guess growing up watching black and white TV got me acclimated to it.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 08:25 PM (IqV8l)

174 Was reading last night about the notorious Moors Murders in the UK in the mid-1960s. One of the first really horrific thrill killer cases, and it happened just as England was abolishing the death penalty.

-
I remember reading about that in Life magazine when I was a kid.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:25 PM (Nwg0u)

175 My Honor is Loyalty looks real good, awaiting the new one about Dunkirk

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (HDU3V)

176 Well, the one scene I liked in "triunph of the will" was the Nazi Foresters Brigade marching with their shovels at shoulder arms .... the rest, not so much.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (Oeb2k)

177 One thing Roger Ebert did, late in his career, that *really* left a bad taste in my mouth:

He was one of the few critics brave enough about Mel Gibson's film "Passion Of The Christ," to give it four stars, even though he also said it was the most violent film he had *ever* seen.

But then when a ton of the usual left-wing suspects were trashing the film, its audience and Gibson with it, Ebert absolutely refused to defend Mel or the film. He basically dropped his own review down the memory hole, to stay in good with his leftist cronies.

Really cowardly of Ebert to do that in my book.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (u8kLQ)

178 There should be a law, that requires producers to include a special bonus feature into DVDs that explains what the fuck their movie is about. Especially if it contains plot twists and turns that are likely to confuse me when I am only half paying attention.

Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (Sfs6o)

179 Rummages in wine cellar, finds hidden bottle. Pulls it out in triumph!

All Hail Eris, let us share a bottle of Pinot Grand Fenwick. Fortunately, it's not the premier grand cru crop.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (u82oZ)

180 How the hell can one not watch black and white movies? Or silent movies? Or foreign language films? Is that any greater a leap than reading a book?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (EnKk6)

181 Man, do I ever agree about Korean movies. I'd never seen one until Netflix. They're so well made and cover just about every genre.

Kim Jong Il was reported to be quite the film buff. Could it be that the quality state of South Korean films was a massive psyops against him? Imagine seeing the wealth and freedom of the South. Heh.

Also, I've learned from Netflix that both China and South Korea really, really HATE the Japanese.
Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:13 PM (xJxz7)

Signal a Korean Tv show that's a ripoff of Frequency movie. I liked that they can't fix everything people still die or are harmed. The Justice system is weird with Murders have a term limits.

Memories of A Murder is another good one.

Guard House, about a DMZ base that has only one survivor.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (dKiJG)

182 Has anyone here ever seen "Ghost World"?

It seems to be the latest offbeat film on my offbeat-films-to-see list.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:17 PM

Yes! See it. It's really good.

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (lmIoG)

183 The Element of Crime is probably the darkest of the von Trier flicks, which is saying quite a lot. It's got this nightmare/fever dream aspect to it, like a lot of his stuff, but he's vicious with this one - he.does.not.let.up.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (FNPYW)

184 All Hail Eris, let us share a bottle of Pinot Grand Fenwick. Fortunately, it's not the premier grand cru crop.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (u82oZ)
---
Pass the Duchy!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (EnKk6)

185 Leni Riefenstahl... oh man, there was a woman who really messed herself up, to say the least.
Posted by: qdpsteve

Make Nazi propaganda and you'll never work in pictures again. Make Soviet propaganda and you'll have hagiographies made about you and the oppression you suffered by being snubbed at the Oscars that one time. Go figure.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (QDr6b)

186 When little thought the whole world was only in B&W before I was born since all movies and tv were B&W.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (HDU3V)

187 173 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white. I guess growing up watching black and white TV got me acclimated to it.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 08:25 PM (IqV8l)

==============

I took a few classes with Stephen Prince, the film scholar. In one of his classes he explicitly said in one of the first classes, "I will convince you that black and white is beautiful."

I already thought it was because I was already a snob.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (Jj43a)

188 otho, thanks.

I also want to see "Irreversible," though I know it's super violent and disturbing.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (u8kLQ)

189 Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (Sfs6o)

+++

You so funny.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:29 PM (Ivjge)

190 Prince Ludwig, yup. Sad and maddening.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:29 PM (u8kLQ)

191 At the beginning of the MST version of "Manos", Dr, Forester says "Not only have most people never seen a movie this bad, most people have never even CONCEIVED of a movie this bad."

And he's exactly right. Even in the opening driving in the car scenes 5, 6 minutes of screen time goes by and it's like they just forgot to write any dialogue at all.

In every scene, they could have just told the actors to adlib whatever they felt like and the result would have been 10 times better than the actual script. And of course a movie like that HAS to have a music track that was written by an inmate in some state hospital somewhere.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 08:29 PM (V2Yro)

192 NaCly and All Hail Eris are making the barrel look nice.

I'm unable to choose my greatest film of all time, but the first contender (haha) is "A Streetcar Named Desire"

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (8mO0Q)

193 And he's exactly right. Even in the opening driving in the car scenes 5, 6 minutes of screen time goes by and it's like they just forgot to write any dialogue at all.
---
"Filmed in Zaprudervision!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (EnKk6)

194 The first foreign film that I remember seeing was the Japanese classic, Skinny and Fatty.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (6Ll1u)

195 I believe a good topic on movies would be about sequels that totally ruin the first in a series.

To this day I can't watch The Matrix after the next two movies came out and defecated on the premise, theme and story of the first in the series.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (0i9eW)

196 New Russian movies seem to hold no punches, but the Soviet made War and Peace at the end Kutuzov practicly gives the workers of the world unite speach.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (HDU3V)

197 Guard House, about a DMZ base that has only one survivor.
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio

That one WAS awesome. I also look for anything with Min sik Choi of Oldboy fame. Try The Admiral. Really good and they get to flame their hated Japanese.

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (xJxz7)

198 195 I believe a good topic on movies would be about sequels that totally ruin the first in a series.

To this day I can't watch The Matrix after the next two movies came out and defecated on the premise, theme and story of the first in the series.
Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (0i9eW)

===========

I have a post on adaptations swimming around in my head. Sequels could be an extension of that if the adaptation idea doesn't go far enough.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:31 PM (Jj43a)

199 194 The first foreign film that I remember seeing was the Japanese classic, Skinny and Fatty.
Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (6Ll1u)
---
Remember when they showed furrin flicks in the after school time slot? Cuz I remember Skinny and Fatty.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:32 PM (EnKk6)

200 196. Stalker is strange - there's nothing at all even remotely political.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:32 PM (FNPYW)

201 120 Roger Ebert was kind of a left wing tool. I tried reading his movie reviews when he was still alive, but he let that bleed through, and it put me off him. But I did watch Siskel and Ebert as a kid - it wasn't as obvious there.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:12 PM (vRcUp)

++++

I used to enjoy watching him as well. Even bought one of his books. But, he went full BDS after 9/11, especially once the Iraq war started. He started injecting his politics into his reviews, so I stopped consuming his products.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:32 PM (R+30W)

202 182 Has anyone here ever seen "Ghost World"?

It seems to be the latest offbeat film on my offbeat-films-to-see list.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:17 PM

Yes! See it. It's really good.
Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (lmIoG)

+++

Saw it years ago. Yes, pretty good.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:32 PM (Ivjge)

203 The first foreign film that I remember seeing was the Japanese classic, Skinny and Fatty.
Posted by: Tinfoilbaby

Holy cow, I think I saw that on CBS children's playhouse with Kukla, Fran and Ollie. They'd play alot of foreign films.

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (xJxz7)

204
But then when a ton of the usual left-wing suspects were trashing the film, its audience and Gibson with it, Ebert absolutely refused to defend Mel or the film. He basically dropped his own review down the memory hole, to stay in good with his leftist cronies.

He took it on the chin.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (IqV8l)

205 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white.

-
I tried to get my daughters to watch Paper Moon with the same result.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (Nwg0u)

206 When I was lived in Japan the only English language film on their TV was High Noon. They showed it once a year, and I watched it each time. Now I'm sick of it. But Shane is still a great movie.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (u82oZ)

207 I'm not sure if it is still available on Netflix (I'm at work and can't check) but "The Call of Cthulhu" used to be available. It was made by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Film Society on a Grade Z budget, but to get around that, they decided to make it a period film, and made it in the style of a silent movie. So it was shot in black and white, has title cards for dialog and the effects are straight out of the 20s for the most part. And for me, that's what makes it work. The film follows the story very closely and is definitely worth a look.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (v3DL/)

208 washrivergal, thanks!

Bertram, yup. Again, it really let me down about Ebert.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (u8kLQ)

209 Oh, Bertram

*snickers*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (EnKk6)

210 Oh, and TheJamesMadison, great post, I hope it will continue !

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (Oeb2k)

211 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white.

People like that make my teeth clench.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (oVJmc)

212 There is only one Matrix movie.
Also, no sequel to the cheese-tastic 80's movie Highlander.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (NOIQH)

213 ... and he paraphrased Albert Camus, who said, "Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth."

===========

I first gained an intellectual appreciation for art after reading Ayn Rand's "The Romantic Manifesto." Here's one quote from it:

"Since man lives by reshaping his physical background to serve his purpose, since he must first define and then create his values -- a rational man needs a concretized projection of these values, an image in whose likeness he will re-shape the world and himself. Art gives him that image; it gives him the experience of seeing the full, immediate, concrete reality of his distant goals.

Since a rational man's ambition is unlimited, since his pursuit and achievement of values is a lifelong process -- and the higher the values, the harder the struggle -- he needs a moment, an hour or some period of time in which he can experience the sense of his completed task, the sense of living in a universe where his values have been successfully achieved. It is like a moment of rest, a moment to gain fuel to move farther. Art gives him that fuel; the pleasure of contemplating the objectified reality of one's own sense of life is the pleasure of feeling what it would be like to live in one's ideal world."

Posted by: ShainS at March 11, 2017 08:35 PM (mt8X9)

214 201 used to enjoy watching him as well. Even bought one of his books. But, he went full BDS after 9/11, especially once the Iraq war started. He started injecting his politics into his reviews, so I stopped consuming his products.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:32 PM (R+30W)

===========

I love Ebert, but for a good unintentional laugh read his review of The Lives of Others.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:35 PM (Jj43a)

215 207 I'm not sure if it is still available on Netflix (I'm at work and can't check) but "The Call of Cthulhu" used to be available. It was made by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Film Society on a Grade Z budget, but to get around that, they decided to make it a period film, and made it in the style of a silent movie. So it was shot in black and white, has title cards for dialog and the effects are straight out of the 20s for the most part. And for me, that's what makes it work. The film follows the story very closely and is definitely worth a look.
Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 08:33 PM (v3DL/)
---
I LOVED this movie. Has that German Expressionist feel. Also their 30's B&W style telling of The Whisperer in Darkness.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:35 PM (EnKk6)

216 Yes to the thought here, it's better to pretend some sequels never happened at all.

American Graffiti and A Christmas Story both had those kinds of sequels.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (u8kLQ)

217 This movie may be a little too political for the weekend, but Showtime did a production they call "Trumped" about the 2016 election.
About 90 minutes.
The producers are both liberal reporters that we regularly dismantle here at the AoS.
Rich in liberal tears and foolishness.
navybrat sez check it out.

Posted by: navybrat at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (w7KSn)

218 >>>How the hell can one not watch black and white movies?

i'm with you.
i even considered buying one of those reproduction black and white tv's for kicks.

Posted by: concrete girl at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (pe9k3)

219 Bertram, yup. Again, it really let me down about Ebert.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (u8kLQ)

+++

I was like Flyboy. It got to the point with Ebert's selections that I would watch or not watch the opposite of what he said. He got to be that miserable.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (Ivjge)

220 6 "Escape From New York" is another one of the movies that weren't supposed to be documentaries, that seem more true to life every day
Posted by: random lurker at March 11, 2017 07:40 PM (WF5ei)

Another accidental documentary: Idiocracy

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (0i9eW)

221 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white. I guess growing up watching black and white TV got me acclimated to it.

Have we got a product for you.

http://tinyurl.com/zjusjn6

Posted by: The Instant Color TV Co. at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (JZdsf)

222 A ton of critics say "Triumph Of The Will" is one of the all-time great films.

Except, you know, that it's tough for most audiences to get past the pro-Nazi, pro-Hitler subtext. (And thank God for that, actually.)

Leni Riefenstahl... oh man, there was a woman who really messed herself up, to say the least.

It is a great film. One of the greatest. And the fact is, IIRC, there's really nothing objectionable in it. If you really listen to the political messages, literally it's all pablum. There's nothing anti-semetic, or about invading other countries. That's really the genius of the film - it doesn't really SAY anything, it just presents a movement in a way to make you want to join.

And Leni ended up allright. She had a very successful photography career after the war, married some guy decades younger than her, and lived to be almost 100.

Posted by: Vertov at March 11, 2017 08:36 PM (D0D9N)

223 A guy I used to know at work said he couldn't get his wife to watch To Kill a Mockingbird because it was in black and white.

People like that make my teeth clench.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (oVJmc)

To be fair, once you've seen See You Next Wednesday in Feel-Around, no other format compares.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:37 PM (8nWyX)

224 I wanted to see Snakes on a Plane...but couldn't figure out what it was about, so i passed on it.

Posted by: Mimzey

They should do a movie "GOPes in Congress".

Trump: "I'm sick and tired of all these motherf*cking GOPes in this motherf*cking administration".

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:37 PM (vRcUp)

225 200. A deeply spiritual film from an atheist regime....very strange. My angel is bored to tears by it - 'all they do is walk through ruined buildings, get scared and lost and paranoid, and talk without ever really saying what they mean.' And then she gives me a meaningful look, and I shrug. Heh....

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:37 PM (FNPYW)

226 Well, the one scene I liked in "triunph of the will" was the Nazi Foresters Brigade marching with their shovels at shoulder arms .... the rest, not so much.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (Oeb2k)

I read a few years ago that Nazi foresters cut swastikas in pine and fir forests and planted disingenuous trees. So come Fall there would be a blazing swastika in red, orange, or yellow leaves as seen from the air.

They still occasionally find one and rip it out.

Posted by: Beartooth at March 11, 2017 08:37 PM (qIhPN)

227 Grave of the Fireflies by Isao Takahata is a beautiful, tragic anime

a brother and sister struggle to stay alive after the bombs in Japan.

i've never forgotten it, and it's been since 88

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (8mO0Q)

228 washrivergal, yeah, I couldn't trust Ebert any more either after a few years of his Bush-bashing.

His site is now pretty much a full-fledged Movie Site For Liberals Only. But the good news is, there's a lot more alternatives as well these days.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (u8kLQ)

229 Does Pixy hate me?

Posted by: fluffy at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (W58Ck)

230 I've watched Tarkovsky's Solaris a number of times, but I wasn't able to get into Stalker. Maybe I'll get around to giving it another chance someday...

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (oVJmc)

231 I had to watch some movies that were so bad they left my jaw on the floor.

Posted by: Roger Ebert at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (nFdGS)

232 I read a few years ago that Nazi foresters cut swastikas in pine and fir forests and planted disingenuous trees.

Once you've been lied to by a tree it's hard to ever trust foliage again.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (JZdsf)

233 Does Pixy hate me?

Pixy does not hate.

Pixy is a force of vengeance.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (oVJmc)

234 Try getting someone who doesn't like B&W to watch a silent movie like The General

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (HDU3V)

235 Pixy won't let me comment that The Godfather insists upon itself.

Posted by: fluffy at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (W58Ck)

236 230 I've watched Tarkovsky's Solaris a number of times, but I wasn't able to get into Stalker. Maybe I'll get around to giving it another chance someday...
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (oVJmc)

=========

Andrei Rublev is his best movie. A true masterpiece.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (Jj43a)

237 212. You mean 'Dark City,' yes.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (FNPYW)

238
To be fair, once you've seen See You Next Wednesday in Feel-Around, no other format compares.

I saw that right before 'Deep Throat.'

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (oVJmc)

239 140 If you get the chance watch "North Koreans try American BBQ for the first time" it's on YouTube. they are interviewed as they are eating. Eye opening.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio

This is a great video. I've seen it multiple times.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at March 11, 2017 08:18 PM (0K/XU)

Same here watched it a lot.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (dKiJG)

240 vertov, hmmm.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (u8kLQ)

241 Pixy won't let me comment that The Godfather insists upon itself.
Posted by: fluffy at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (W58Ck)

Take that opinion to some other blog, pal.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (JZdsf)

242 I like long shots like the opening scene of A Touch of Evil and two in The longest Day. One is where the Kraut planes strafe the beach and the other is when the Free Frogs assault the village along the canal. Although not a single shot, I also like the sequence in Vertigo when Jimmy Stewart tales Kim Novak.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (Nwg0u)

243 I've watched Tarkovsky's Solaris a number of times, but I wasn't able to get into Stalker. Maybe I'll get around to giving it another chance someday...
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:38 PM (oVJmc)

I've read Roadside Picnic but never seen Stalker. I don't know how much the movie draws from the book, but it's not a long story and you might get more out of the movie. At the very least, it's a good read.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (8nWyX)

244 234 Try getting someone who doesn't like B&W to watch a silent movie like The General
Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (HDU3V)

===========

You shouldn't have to try to get anyone to watch that. They should just say yes without question.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:41 PM (Jj43a)

245 What does the ending of Nocturnal Animals mean?

Posted by: Dr Spank at March 11, 2017 08:41 PM (TJCSB)

246 The worst film I have ever tried to watch (I could only take 9 minutes of it) is the 1967 Marat/Sade, a filmed version of an avant garde 60's play.

It's a good example of why film (but not music) totally sucked in the 60's, and most movies from that decade stink.

It portrays DeSade, who's confined in an insane asylum, staging a play he's written about the Death of Marat, using the inmates of the asylum as his actors. Theoretically, it's supposed to be full of metaphor and intellectual whatever.

In practice, the film starts and you find yourself being screamed at incessantly by mental patients. They scream everything they say. They never stop. Oh, you do believe you are watching mental patients alright - the director of his mess had to be one himself.

It took me 9 minutes to realize it wasn't ever going to get any better than that. Click.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (V2Yro)

247 Dr Spank, it meant "ha ha, it's too late to get your money back!" :-P

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (u8kLQ)

248 I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theatre, I think it was the second Avenger movie. I am a TCM addict too, but I love the movies from the 30's and 40's. I love the goofy comedies, the out of control musicals and love noir murder mysteries. There isn't a movie today I would bother with.

Posted by: Abby at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (HBU7W)

249 242 I like long shots like the opening scene of A Touch of Evil and two in The longest Day. One is where the Kraut planes strafe the beach and the other is when the Free Frogs assault the village along the canal. Although not a single shot, I also like the sequence in Vertigo when Jimmy Stewart tales Kim Novak.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (Nwg0u)

============

Mmmm...Orson Welles...

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (Jj43a)

250 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.

Do I continue?

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (xJxz7)

251
Re: effects

I never cared if the effects were horrible if the story was good.

I liked the old Doctor Who because the stories were interesting and fun -- who cares if the "monsters" were guys in a rubber costume with a green glow around them.

Posted by: Soothsayer Pro LX at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (Xs7AG)

252 Tom Servo, that's how "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" looks to me. I just refuse to sit through it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (u8kLQ)

253
I am an 80's kid.

Predator. Platoon. Rambo. Kickboxer.

John Wick is rooted in these.

Yet it soars above them.

That was NOT easy.

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:43 PM (KgpWR)

254 I saw that right before 'Deep Throat.'
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:40 PM (oVJmc)

I stuck around for Catholic High School Girls In Trouble.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:43 PM (8nWyX)

255 Does Pixy hate me?

-
Pixy doesn't hate but she is totally indifferent to human life.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:43 PM (Nwg0u)

256 Pulp Fiction.
Where does it begin?

Posted by: navybrat at March 11, 2017 08:43 PM (w7KSn)

257 >>> If you get the chance watch "North Koreans try American BBQ for the first time" it's on YouTube. they are interviewed as they are eating.

I believe it was South Koreans. Some North Koreans would happily eat out garbage.

>>> Eye opening

ISWYDT

Posted by: fluffy at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (W58Ck)

258
For example: Avatar

Supposebly superb special effects. But so what; the story is supremely stupid.

Posted by: Soothsayer Pro LX at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (Xs7AG)

259 243. Let's just say he kept the Zone, but never specified what happened there, amd Stalkers, but they don't do anything but lead people into one room in the Zone. As in the story, the place seems to have a mind and logic and natural laws all its own. But very, very loosely based.

Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine. Glory to Kekistan! No Longer Accepting Harem Applicants at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (FNPYW)

260 I'm unable to choose my greatest film of all time...

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:30 PM (8mO0Q)
Charlton Heston's version of Ben Hur.or Lawrence of Arabia.or Casablanca.or Citizen Kane.or The Godfather.Oh hell, At any given point in time, I could even pick Mr Blanding's Dream House.I'm easy that way.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (bGMOs)

261 There is only one Matrix movie.
Also, no sequel to the cheese-tastic 80's movie Highlander.

Posted by: Lizzy

===

Amen, sister.

Have you accepted John Wick into your heart?

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (KgpWR)

262 Beartooth, wow ....

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (Oeb2k)

263 234 Try getting someone who doesn't like B&W to watch a silent movie like The General
Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (HDU3V)

+++

Buster Keaton was just incredible. He did his own stunt work with very limited special effects. He was clearly an original.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (Ivjge)

264 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.

Do I continue?

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (xJxz7)

You can stop watching after a certain scene. You'll know which one I'm talking about.

Posted by: Emmett Milbarge at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (nFdGS)

265 >>Do I continue?

NO!!!

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (NOIQH)

266 Tom Servo, ever hear of one of William Peter Blatty's film follow-ups to The Exorcist, called The Ninth Configuration?

The lead character is assigned to help out with running an insane asylum for... marines? Not sure which branch. Anyway, in the film, one of the insane officers is trying to stage a production of Hamlet, using *dogs* as the actors.

Oookay...

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:44 PM (u8kLQ)

267 Movies!!! What an absolutely fabulous idea. I really hope this is kept as a regular weekly feature.

My oldest grandchild is 16, the youngest three, so I have become a connoisseur of kids movies. It's kind of challenging to find a movie that won't bore me and the oldest or scare the bloody bejeebers out of the five-year-old. (The three-year-old is too young and uncontrollable to join the party, yet.) I really love How To Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians. Good characterization and an actual plot.

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (Exqwe)

268 I saw Mulholland Drive and don't remember it.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (HDU3V)

269 Mmmm...Orson Welles...
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Ahhhhhh!!! The French...champagne
https://youtu.be/VFevH5vP32s

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (QDr6b)

270 and then there's Powell and Pressburger...

has anyone here seen "I Know Where I'm Going!"?

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (8mO0Q)

271 Anybody seen the Kiwi vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows? Hilarious. Three classic vamps - you've got your RomantiGoth, your Impaler, and your Nosferatu type - all living together. Lots of bitching about mundane things like chores, and them hitting the town, getting into fights with werewolf gangs, etc.

I ask because I have it here and I'm thinking of popping it in.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:46 PM (EnKk6)

272 I love Ebert, but for a good unintentional laugh read his review of The Lives of Others.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:35 PM (Jj43a)

++++

Heh. That's exactly what I'm talking about. It really soured me on him the first few times I saw that kind of thing, so I swore him off. Since he went ahead and died, I decided to quit holding a grudge.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 08:46 PM (R+30W)

273 Nocturnal Animals Petting Zoo ....

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, they are gaslighting us 24/7 at March 11, 2017 08:46 PM (Oeb2k)

274 I read a few years ago that Nazi foresters cut swastikas in pine and fir forests and planted disingenuous trees.

Once you've been lied to by a tree it's hard to ever trust foliage again.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:39 PM (JZdsf)

Gah. F*in autocucumber. Deciduous trees.

Posted by: Beartooth at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (qIhPN)

275 Watching the N.Koreans try BBQ vid. The moment when the young lady eats beef brisket for the first time.

Geez, communism is evil.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (R7+kO)

276 Beyond Outrage, it's a Yakuza movie with Beat Takashi, great actor, he will probably be the only good thing about Ghost in the Shell.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (dKiJG)

277 My comment at 260 looked better before I hit send.

Formatting got all up fvcked by pixy.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (bGMOs)

278 And Leni ended up allright. She had a very successful photography career after the war, married some guy decades younger than her, and lived to be almost 100.

Posted by: Vertov

Trump's administration is a meritocracy that assigns important roles to intelligent, competent women ... JUST LIKE HITLER.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (vRcUp)

279 My daughter loves What We Do in the Shadows and keeps bugging me to watch it. I don't know...

Posted by: Abby at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (HBU7W)

280 268 I saw Mulholland Drive and don't remember it.
Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (HDU3V)

+++

I saw it twice and don't remember it.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 08:47 PM (Ivjge)

281 i found touch of evil from get shorty

Posted by: concrete girl at March 11, 2017 08:48 PM (pe9k3)

282 That Kim Novak had some big breasts

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 11, 2017 08:48 PM (6Ll1u)

283 250 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.

Do I continue?
Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (xJxz7)

======

Yes.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:48 PM (Jj43a)

284 "Vigirinia Woolf" was on TCM the other night, on a Burton day. Yeah, i can't watch that - it's one of those films that you make you feel dirty just for having watched it, like you've been peeping through the window of a really nasty family fight between your in-laws.

Now I did watch Cleopatra from start to finish again, I just love those sets, Liz Taylor in those costumes looks as good as she ever did.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 08:48 PM (V2Yro)

285 Never considered movies to be lies until I saw 'Galaxy Quest''

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at March 11, 2017 08:48 PM (e8kgV)

286 >>Anybody seen the Kiwi vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows?

Yes, it's funny. Watch it.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:49 PM (NOIQH)

287
I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theatre

I do. It was Star Trek 2 : The Wrath of Khan

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 08:49 PM (IqV8l)

288 Sin City

Posted by: Mimzey at March 11, 2017 08:49 PM (n3hky)

289 I saw Mulholland Drive and don't remember it.

Posted by: Skip

I remember two lesbians in bed. That's all I remember.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:50 PM (vRcUp)

290 Already seen it once, Lizzy. I loved it!

Bat fight!!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:50 PM (EnKk6)

291 King Kong wasn't real??

Posted by: freaked at March 11, 2017 07:40 PM (BO/km)

They were real, and they were spectacular.

Posted by: zombie Fay Wray from Cardston, Alberta at March 11, 2017 08:50 PM (WDdjT)

292 I was going to do a double feature of Arrival (out on DVD) and SlaughterHouse 5, but life intervened.

Maybe in a few weeks.

Posted by: Adriane the Movie Critic's Critic ... at March 11, 2017 08:50 PM (AoK0a)

293 Nice job. I hope this becomes a regular feature. Not to complain, but gardening and chess don't light my fire.

Posted by: Robert Osbourne at March 11, 2017 08:50 PM (hbvkG)

294 >>Have you accepted John Wick into your heart?

Yup

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 08:51 PM (NOIQH)

295 qdpsteve

You should watch it again. It is genius. Here's the thing - the film isn't about Hitler - it's about people's reactions to Hitler. Notice how often you don't see Hitler enter a stadium, the people react. You see the people waiting, Hitler enters, people react. Or the first sequence of Hitler driving through the city. The sequence is about the spectators. There's even the famous shot of the cat in the window watching the parade.

I hope it's obvious I'm not apologizing for Nazi's. But here's the thing. I have a tape of an old PBS show from the '80's with Frank Capra talking about the WWII doc's he did for the USA. He said the first thing he did was watch Triumph of the Will, and he said it scared him like nothing else in his life. He said, I watched it, and knew these people knew exactly what they were doing. They weren't clowns or idiots, they were as dangerous as anything on earth.

Posted by: Vertov at March 11, 2017 08:51 PM (D0D9N)

296 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.

Do I continue?

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (xJxz7)

Well, I'd say yes. It's a very inexplicable movie, and it gets more inexplicable as it goes on, but it's fun to watch. I think I have come up with an explanation of the story, with all of its twists, turns and recursions, but it's not definitive. You might enjoy coming up with your own.

Posted by: HTL at March 11, 2017 08:51 PM (JsSFV)

297 That was an excellent vintage. Thank you for a lovely time in the Barrel, All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes.

Gets 20"of nylon climbing rope from the backpack and ties grappling hook to one end. Gets two lengths of smaller cord out of pack.

Upsa daysie. Tugs rope. Ties two foot holds to rope with Prusik knots. No belay here.

Ascends rope using the Prusik slings, gets to top of Barrel and sends cords down to Eris for her assent.

Escape from the Barrel!

What an elixir! A mix of fresh air, freedom, and a bonny companion.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (u82oZ)

298 Vertov, hmmm. Thanks for the review.

I should mention, I've *never* seen Triumph Of The Will. But I have read about it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (u8kLQ)

299 All I remembered was there was something in it to see but nothing else. David Lynch so let me down at Twin Peaks

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (HDU3V)

300 88: Love Casablanca (one of my top 5, for sure), am not the least bit impressed by Citizen Kane - all the "experts" laud the technical achievements Orson Welles had as the director (there were many, I'll admit), but they tend to transfer those to the rest of the film, and I think they shouldn't.

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (jQ2oO)

301 Lizzy ,

You are too coool!

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:53 PM (KgpWR)

302 Most overrated movie experience:

Gone With The Wind

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:53 PM (JZdsf)

303 In the 1600s, Asians migrated to various Spanish holdings, and lots of them ended up in Mexico. When Japan closed its harbors to foreign ships, a decent number of Japanese were stranded and couldn't return. The Spanish forbade 'Chinos' from carrying weapons, but made an exception for Japanese, who were allowed to wear swords if they protected the silver routes through 1600s Mexico from raiders.

What I'm getting at is that if there isn't a lost Sergio Leone print of this in a vault somewhere then we are definitely living in the wrong timeline.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:53 PM (8nWyX)

304 big sarge, I think it's fair to say that Casablanca is a much better film at *capturing hearts,* yes, than Citizen Kane is or ever was.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (u8kLQ)

305 Dambusters/Star Wars, side by side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNdb03Hw18M

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (oVJmc)

306 TJM, Good thread and your point about the director's intentions is correct. My problem is the director's intentions usually leave me cold. This may be a generational thing. Like most of TV, movies seemed aimed at younger audiences that I have little in common with.

The last time I went to the movies, or wanted to, was for LOTR: The Return of the King. Since then, one of the few movies I cared about was "John Carter" which had great sets, a hot babe, plenty of humor, and a fun story line. Disney screwing the pooch with promoting it doesn't diminish the movie.

I'll leave the super hero movies, teen aged angst vampires, and liberal, self discovery crap in theaters to the youngsters. I can watch The Thin Man, Broadway Melody of 1940 (brilliant B and W photography), Kiss Me Kate, Brigadoon, Singin' In The Rain or Guys and Dolls (over the top colorful fun), or My Favorite Year while munching my popcorn.

Posted by: JTB at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (V+03K)

307 Plan 9 From Outer Space is an underappreciated classic, IMO... It was Bela Lugusi's last film!

Posted by: Zettai Ryoiki at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (kP16F)

308 Was watching Maltese Falcon around a week ago, its hard to beat those old movies.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (HDU3V)

309 Escape from the Barrel!

What an elixir! A mix of fresh air, freedom, and a bonny companion.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (u82oZ)
---
*lights stogie to clear lungs*

Whew! Thanks Salty.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (EnKk6)

310 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.

Do I continue?

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (xJxz7)

Have you gotten to the lesbian scene yet? Outside of that the movie is very difficult to understand

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (auHtY)

311 Good Lord people.

John Wick has reloads. RELOADS!!

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:55 PM (KgpWR)

312 Movie tie in for the above - Into the Void. It's about a South American climbing trip gone bad. I have the DVD but not watched it yet.

I remember the story of the survivor, who was damned lucky.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:55 PM (u82oZ)

313 Have you gotten to the lesbian scene yet? Outside of that the movie is very difficult to understand
Posted by: TheQuietMan

No Lesbos yet. But I will commit to persevere and report back next week on what is surely to become a recurring thread.

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:56 PM (xJxz7)

314 I used to watch movies when I was younger, but haven't seen many in recent years.

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 08:56 PM (sdi6R)

315 I should mention, I've *never* seen Triumph Of The Will. But I have read about it.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (u8kLQ)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 11, 2017 08:56 PM (JZdsf)

316 rickl, I know you're a big Dylan fan. What do you think of "Don't Look Back"?

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:57 PM (u8kLQ)

317
What I'm getting at is that if there isn't a lost Sergio Leone print of this in a vault somewhere then we are definitely living in the wrong timeline.
Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 08:53 PM (8nWyX)
----
How is this not a film?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:57 PM (EnKk6)

318 Tom Servo, that's how "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" looks to me. I just refuse to sit through it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:42 PM (u8kLQ)

I consider that movie a look into the explosive marriage of Liz and Dick. Drunk and verbally brawling. It's very well done but depressing.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 11, 2017 08:57 PM (auHtY)

319 Heh, was debating colleagues about war movies.

Apocalypse Now is one of my all-time favorites. I argued that Full Metal Jacket is a better war movie, but Apocalypse Now is not so much a war movie as it is about the human condition. Seriously, does the epic scene with Robert Duvall really stand as a war movie scene? No, it's surreal, not representative of anything from the Vietnam War.

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (GsAUU)

320 "Throne of Blood", a great rendition of the Scottish Play.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 08:08 PM (bGMOs)

---
My favorite Kurosawa pic.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (v3DL/)

321 The most entertaining thing about Casablanca is that they started filming without a completed script - for the most part, they just made it up as they went along.

But truly talented people can do stuff like that.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (V2Yro)

322 Scarlet Pimpernel, with Leslie Howard. Great book and pre-war movie. He died in the was on an intelligence mission.

Posted by: goatexchange at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (iD27G)

323 Roger Ebert was a political dolt, but his taste in movies was pretty close to mine, so I always paid attention to his reviews. Another thing in his favor: Before he got sick, I e-mailed him several times with questions, and he always responded. Class guy.

One question I never asked Ebert: Back in the '60s, Playboy used to run spreads on nude scenes from movies that never played on American screens. Playboy would said the scenes were cut for U.S. viewers because of censorship, but they would appear in the movies' overseas release.

Well, now that we've got a global cinematic community, where the hell are all those unexpurgated movies??????

Posted by: Outside Adjitator at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (hbvkG)

324 I liked 8 1/2. Still not sure what it was about.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (vRcUp)

325 The only B+W I watch is The Three Stooges. IDK why.

Posted by: DaveA at March 11, 2017 08:59 PM (8J/Te)

326 What I'm getting at is that if there isn't a lost Sergio Leone print of this in a vault somewhere then we are definitely living in the wrong timeline.

-
He was getting ready to shoot a Leningrad film when he died. I'm sorry I didn't get to see that.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 08:59 PM (Nwg0u)

327
Have you gotten to the lesbian scene yet?
==

eww

Weapon transitions?

Hell OOOooo?

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 08:59 PM (KgpWR)

328 324 I liked 8 1/2. Still not sure what it was about.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (vRcUp)

=====

It was about Fellini.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 08:59 PM (Jj43a)

329 267 Movies!!! What an absolutely fabulous idea. I really hope this is kept as a regular weekly feature.

My oldest grandchild is 16, the youngest three, so I have become a connoisseur of kids movies. It's kind of challenging to find a movie that won't bore me and the oldest or scare the bloody bejeebers out of the five-year-old. (The three-year-old is too young and uncontrollable to join the party, yet.) I really love How To Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians. Good characterization and an actual plot.

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (Exqwe)

Legends of the Guardians is a good story but might be much for the young one.

Justin and the Knights of VALOUR, I can't recommend that movie enough. The King and one of the Knights is killed so Knights are outlawed and when trouble comes they claim the LAW will protect them, they will just arrest the evil army.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:00 PM (dKiJG)

330 Movie tie in for the above - Into the Void. It's about a South American climbing trip gone bad. I have the DVD but not watched it yet.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:55 PM (u82oZ)

Haven't seen that one, but it pops up on my list because I watched North Face/Nordwand, about the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger in 1936 by two Germans and two Austrians. It's worth watching for the man-vs-mountain stuff, plus Johanna Wokalek has a cute face :3

Also starring Florian Lukas and Benno Furmann for the 'ettes.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:00 PM (8nWyX)

331 Great post, TJM! For my money, you can't go wrong having a discussion of narrative in film and story while reading Brian McDonald's "The Golden Theme" and "Invisible Ink". Can't wait to read the next post; I'm kind of a story- geek

Posted by: Mavin T Johnson at March 11, 2017 09:01 PM (+sz8w)

332 Full Metal Jacket.
War movie?
or
Anti-War movie?

Posted by: navybrat at March 11, 2017 09:01 PM (w7KSn)

333 TheQuietMan, exactly.

Tom Servo, yup. Hard to believe something that great was more or less created "on the fly."

logprof, oh man. I think someday a blockbuster *fiction* movie (I know about the documentary, "Hearts Of Darkness") will be made that's just about how Coppola made Apoc Now.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (u8kLQ)

334 OK, I'm about 25 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour movie by David Lynch called Mulholland Drive.
Do I continue?
Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 08:42

Have to agree w/ the consensus here, forgettable.

Now if you want Lynch, try "Blue Velvet". I thought it was an interesting movie, Jules hated it. Her Dad, a movie buff, loved it. Go figure.

Posted by: Farmer at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (o/90i)

335 navybrat

Yes.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (u82oZ)

336 Apocalypse Now is one of my all-time favorites. I argued that Full Metal Jacket is a better war movie, but Apocalypse Now is not so much a war movie as it is about the human condition. ...

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM (GsAUU)

The movie is actually an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness that was set in Africa.

Posted by: Retired Buckey Cop is now an engineer at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (5Yee7)

337 My favorite Kurosawa is Rashoman - not so much for the story, but for the ideas presented. It sounds trite for a movie to examine the idea "What is Truth?", but Rashoman gives a more complete, accurate, and disturbing answer than any other film I can think of. It's one of the only films of which I can honestly say, it changed my outlook on life to a certain extent.

Second fave is Seven Samurai - halfway through I started to get embarrassed at just how shamelessly American directors have ripped off all of his stuff.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (V2Yro)

338 FMJ is a better war movie than Apocalypse Now, there are all sorts of interpretation on AN if its a after life experience or a dream.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 09:03 PM (HDU3V)

339 I like to think that if Kubrick has survived, that after 9/11, he would have (a) returned to New York, and (b) made an incredible 9/11 movie. But we'll never know, of course.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:03 PM (u8kLQ)

340 But I often say "Never get out of the boat"

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (HDU3V)

341 323: ah yes, playboy pictorials...

their "girls of barbarella" pictorial was better than the movie.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (WTSFk)

342 Watching The Fifth Element right now. For some reason. It's goofy as fuck, kind of like Buckaroo Banzai, but it entertains, and is that not what cinema is, ultimately?

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (Cojoj)

343 And mh other favorite is "AahhhhSooooooo"

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (HDU3V)

344 Plan 9 From Outer Space is an underappreciated classic, IMO... It was Bela Lugusi's last film!

Posted by: Zettai Ryoiki

All I remember from that is the zombie kicking over the tombstone. Then there was a lengthy scene in which an alien was talking about a gasoline fire as metaphor. It convinced me of the standard view that it was not a good movie. Not even "so bad, it's good", but just a crap movie.

Jerry Seinfeld once said at a Tommy Chong roast, "Cheech and Chong inspired me to go into comedy. I remember seeing their act in college and thinking, anyone could do better than this".

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (vRcUp)

345 navybrat, I think Stanley may have been quoting someone else, but he said once that it's impossible to make a truly anti-war movie, because the very nature of cinema is to make war look at least a little exciting.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (u8kLQ)

346 Right after I graduated from college I was subletting in a place that had a black and white tv.

One night, the Wizard of Oz was on and for a long moment I couldn't figure out why it didn't change to color when Dorothy got to Oz!

Oh yeah...

My son cringes at the special effects on Star Trek TOS (okay, who doesn't?), but black and white doesn't seem to bother the kids.

Esp. not To Kill A Mockingbird. My daughter had watched it and then I just casually turned it on when the boys were delaying going to bed.

Color or not, it pulls you in. We didn't finish watching it, but they were enjoying it.

That's about the only movie I'd recommend watching before reading the book.

Posted by: Mama AJ, nice person, not a witch at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (gTQoY)

347 I also loved "Apocalypse Now" and it still pisses me off that they've changed the ending in the current version from the original, theatrical ending.

Just say that the title "Apocalypse Now" made perfect literal sense in the original theatrical ending.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (V2Yro)

348 341 323: ah yes, playboy pictorials...

their "girls of barbarella" pictorial was better than the movie.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (WTSFk)

A LOT of things were better than the movie.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (R7+kO)

349 Good but lesser-known Kurosawas:

High and Low
Ikiru
Stray Dog

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (oVJmc)

350 Full Metal Jacket.
War movie?
or
Anti-War movie?

-
And why aren't their jackets metal?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (Nwg0u)

351 Wasn't Patton, one of the greatest war movies of all time, intended as an anti-war movie? I seem to remember reading that the director wanted people's reaction to be "what a crazy warmongering bastard he was."

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (QDr6b)

352 307 Plan 9 From Outer Space is an underappreciated classic, IMO... It was Bela Lugusi's last film!

Posted by: Zettai Ryoiki at March 11, 2017 08:54 PM (kP16F)

++++

Watching Ed Wood is my way of appreciating Plan 9.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (R+30W)

353 Greatest movie ever = The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted by: Weasel at March 11, 2017 07:55 PM (Sfs6o)

Heh. One time, I was streaming a radio show from WWOZ, hosted by Jamie Dell'Apa, and he did an entire program of music "inspired" by the Day The Earth Stood still. Mostly novelty songs about flying suacers, aliens, and rocket ships. The running gag was that he treated the original movie, with Michale Rennie and Patricia Neal, as an actual documentary, with a real robot Gort, who he said was pissed about the then-current remake of TDTESS, and was going to come and wreak havoc. Jamie also said "it's the only movie you ever need to see".

Anyway, I recorded most of the program (missed the first 20 minutes or so), and have it stored as an mp3. I could e-mail you a copy, if you want.

Posted by: zombie Fay Wray from Cardston, Alberta at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (WDdjT)

354 Porklips Now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrnNeIIumJg

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (EnKk6)

355 Prince Ludwig, not sure about that, but I've read that countercultural types who went to see "Patton," left loving the guy.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (u8kLQ)

356 I rewatched Hail Caesar now two times. It keeps getting better. I think its a great movie now.

Posted by: chris not rock at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (WO0/g)

357 Ah, it wasn't beauty killed the beast.
It was the airplane.
Bamp bah...

Posted by: gNewt at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (oqMTy)

358 I saw Apocalypse Now Redux
with all the scenes including the French village.
In IMAX.
Awesome.
That scene where an RPG shoots towards the viewer, well, I was out of my seat and mostly out the door.

Posted by: navybrat at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (w7KSn)

359 351 Wasn't Patton, one of the greatest war movies of all time, intended as an anti-war movie? I seem to remember reading that the director wanted people's reaction to be "what a crazy warmongering bastard he was."
Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (QDr6b)

In that case, the director failed miserably.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (R7+kO)

360 Of course, A Serious Man is even better. The Coen brothers are the best there is right now.

Posted by: chris not rock at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (WO0/g)

361 The last time I went to the movies, or wanted to, was for LOTR: The Return of the King.
I can watch The Thin Man, ...Guys and Dolls (over the top colorful fun), or My Favorite Year while munching my popcorn.

Posted by: JTB

I'm with you. I recall seeing the first trailer for the LOTR movies, without dialogue, just the fellowship of the ring hiking through a pass in the mountains.... My husband and I were so psyched!

Our son, a couple years ago, played Skye Masterson in a local production of Guys and Dolls. They gave him Sinatra's "Luck Be a Lady" to sing and he KILLED it. I was amazed. and proud.

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (8mO0Q)

362 Just saw "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story of Cannon Films", about the two crazy Israeli brothers that made all my childhood favorites (Bloodsport, Delta Force, etc.). Really hilarious explanation of why all those movies were so shitty and why it seemed like they were just making it up as they went along (that's what they did)

Posted by: Derbererd at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (3WwA2)

363 Love Casablanca (one of my top 5, for sure), am not the least bit impressed by Citizen Kane - all the "experts" laud the technical achievements Orson Welles had as the director (there were many, I'll admit), but they tend to transfer those to the rest of the film, and I think they shouldn't.

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 08:52 PM (jQ2oO)

I think Citizen Kane is a very good movie in a technical sense. Camera work, story etc but it was missing something. The Third Man is a much better movie. At least I enjoy it more

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (auHtY)

364 349 Good but lesser-known Kurosawas:

High and Low
Ikiru
Stray Dog
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (oVJmc)

===========

Ikiru is my favorite Kurosawa.

Stephen Prince, the Kurosawa scholar and one of my college professors, said that his favorite was another little known one called Red Beard, which is great.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (Jj43a)

365 Wasn't Patton, one of the greatest war movies of all time, intended as an anti-war movie? I seem to remember reading that the director wanted people's reaction to be "what a crazy warmongering bastard he was."

Ironic that directors think that people don't like strong leaders.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (oVJmc)

366 Ikiru
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:05 PM (oVJmc)

Ikiru is a warm uplifting crippling sucker punch that will make you curl up on the floor holding your gut and being happy about the experience. Dude was a genius.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (8nWyX)

367 The Admiral, yes I watched that one, hard to believe that it's based on a true story, depending on what you read they Truly were that outnumbered. B

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (dKiJG)

368 Patton was directed by Frances Ford Coppola, who at the time (a) was trying to raise the money and clout for The Godfather, and (b) shepherding a new young talent he liked through the studio system, whose name was George Lucas.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (u8kLQ)

369 Heh, was debating colleagues about war movies.

Apocalypse Now is one of my all-time favorites. I argued that Full Metal Jacket is a better war movie, but Apocalypse Now is not so much a war movie as it is about the human condition. Seriously, does the epic scene with Robert Duvall really stand as a war movie scene? No, it's surreal, not representative of anything from the Vietnam War.

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 08:58 PM

Apocalypse Now is a trip. It's an immersion into the Vietnam experience through the mind, through memories, sometimes mundane and real, sometimes warped and surreal. One of the recurring things I hear from those who were there and have an opinion on the flick say... "That's not what vietnam was really like, but, it fucking SEEMED like it."

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (lmIoG)

370 If Spock plays his cards right, he may get some Stratos poon...

"The Cloud Minders" episode is on MeTV.

Posted by: Spock's Libido at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (8iiMU)

371 347 I also loved "Apocalypse Now" and it still pisses me off that they've changed the ending in the current version from the original, theatrical ending.

Just say that the title "Apocalypse Now" made perfect literal sense in the original theatrical ending.

I won't watch anything but the original, which I watch every five years or so. The Wagner-helicopter scene is possibly my favorite scene in any movie.

Posted by: chris not rock at March 11, 2017 09:09 PM (WO0/g)

372 I think the real creativity these days in in video games.

Marathon, a Mac first person shooter, and Fallout I and II had more story and inventiveness that a lot of what Hollywood put out.

From all reports, the new games seem to have gone even further.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:09 PM (u82oZ)

373 Kekophobia must be stopped

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 09:09 PM (GsAUU)

374 I LOVED this movie. Has that German Expressionist feel. Also their 30's B&W style telling of The Whisperer in Darkness.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:35 PM (EnKk6)

----
Another good one.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (v3DL/)

375 Wiki says Patton directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

Posted by: chris not rock at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (WO0/g)

376 368 Patton was directed by Frances Ford Coppola, who at the time (a) was trying to raise the money and clout for The Godfather, and (b) shepherding a new young talent he liked through the studio system, whose name was George Lucas.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:08 PM (u8kLQ)

========

Coppola only wore it and he was actually attacked for not making a negative enough portrait of Patton, but an understanding one instead.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (Jj43a)

377 The Russian band Leningrad does a fairly pop series of songs about bad decisions and modern failures. It is sort of a realistic view of failures of modern culture. When they are having fun it is good music.

The playing is balls on and the lyrics are limited, but there have been a series of fabulous videos shot over the songs.

The most recent one is played in reverse, and the plot is pretty banal, but in playing the results first and then running down the chain of events to the initiating events, and the setting and editing is amazing.
The quality of some of these are wonderful, visually.

And it starts with a screaming crowd running away from a burning circus.

https://youtu.be/ktiONWfSL48

Posted by: Kindltot at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (WQX/u)

378 341 323: ah yes, playboy pictorials...

their "girls of barbarella" pictorial was better than the movie.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (WTSFk)

I seem to recall that a lot of Playboy pictorials were better than the movies. They extracted the best scenes from the movies and left the rest.

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (sdi6R)

379 Marathon
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:09 PM (u82oZ)

*Mjolnir MkIV fistbump*

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (8nWyX)

380 OregonMuse, fellow Hokie.
Nice to know. I am an 88 grad in Aerospace.
When did you graduate?

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (x9Z10)

381 372 I think the real creativity these days in in video games.

Marathon, a Mac first person shooter, and Fallout I and II had more story and inventiveness that a lot of what Hollywood put out.

From all reports, the new games seem to have gone even further.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:09 PM (u82oZ)

I'd agree. Knights of the Old Republic was far better than all of the prequels- which I guess is like saying you are the valedictorian of summer school.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:11 PM (R7+kO)

382 Chris and TJM, oops, thanks.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:11 PM (u8kLQ)

383 Just saw "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story of Cannon Films", about the two crazy Israeli brothers that made all my childhood favorites (Bloodsport, Delta Force, etc.). Really hilarious explanation of why all those movies were so shitty and why it seemed like they were just making it up as they went along (that's what they did)

Posted by: Derbererd at March 11, 2017 09:07 PM (3WwA2)

Absolutely nothing in Bloodsport was made up. Totally real.

Posted by: Frank Dux at March 11, 2017 09:11 PM (nFdGS)

384 I just watched "The Straight Story" on you tube the other night.

A G rated Disney production directed by David Lynch, with music by Angelo Badalamenti about the true story of a guy who rides his lawn mower from Iowas to Wisconsin to see his estranged brother.

It gets the room dusty (for me) in a good way.

Posted by: Deplorable Ian Galt at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (8iiMU)

385 What makes "5th Element" such a great to watch sci-fi movie is that it's FUN!!! And the sets are beautiful! It seems like every director these days is into making his movies gritty and dark just to show how Serious He Is, and he wants to show Horrible Things happening all the time.

5th Element has a fluffy plot, but EVERY scene is beautifully crafted and fun to watch, and even though it's not a comedy there are hilariously comedic lines from front to beginning.

"Where did you learn to Negotiate like that?", one of my faves.

How come so few directors seem to realize that's a formula that ALWAYS works? Beautiful, fun, funny, and lots of interesting characters.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (V2Yro)

386 308. The Maltese Falcon is another great one...I can't watch that movie without saying "The Maltese Falcon" in Bogie's voice. I'm pretty good at it, too, if I say so myself.
Probably my favorite Bogart film is The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Talk about accurately depicting the human condition! Absolutely perfect.
I can't think of a Bogart movie I don't love. He really was one of the best actors ever.

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (jQ2oO)

387 I seem to recall that a lot of Playboy pictorials were better than the movies. They extracted the best scenes from the movies and left the rest.
Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (sdi6R)

So they took the "Breast" parts?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (R7+kO)

388 356 I rewatched Hail Caesar now two times. It keeps getting better. I think its a great movie now.
Posted by: chris not rock at March 11, 2017 09:06 PM (WO0/g)
---
Any movie that has Herbert Marcuse as the villain is of course great.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (EnKk6)

389 380 OregonMuse, fellow Hokie.
Nice to know. I am an 88 grad in Aerospace.
When did you graduate?
Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:10 PM (x9Z10)

========

06 in English literature

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (Jj43a)

390 One of my all-time favorite movies is The Freshman with Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando.

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX at March 11, 2017 09:12 PM (Saqzi)

391 He said the first thing he did was watch Triumph of the Will, and he said it scared him like nothing else in his life. He said, I watched it, and knew these people knew exactly what they were doing. They weren't clowns or idiots, they were as dangerous as anything on earth.
Posted by: Vertov
---
A hair OT but the German-Americans of the time knew it as well. My grandfather played in a German-American band his entire life in SE PA. In early Sept 1939 he and his band had a gig at an German American Bund picnic in Reading PA. This chapter of the Bund was not radical american Germans, just families that had gatherings, beer, food and music for their outings. Sometime during the performance it was announced that the Nazis hand invaded Poland.

This was a huge gathering - hundreds - and my grandfather said everyone in attendance knew this was bad - real bad - and the world would pay for it.

The band packed up, the party disintegrated without many words and all went home to ponder what lie ahead.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 11, 2017 09:13 PM (tr2D7)

392 Fifth Element is like a filmed comic strip by Moebius in Heavy Metal Magazine.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:14 PM (oVJmc)

393 Making an antiwar movie is as ridiculous as making an anticancer movie. War is bad, mmmkay, so let's not have one.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 09:14 PM (Nwg0u)

394 Hail Ceasar is worth watching more than once.
I have first hand experience with Hollywood and Hollywood commies and they really did a nice job with that setting.
Cohen Bros., anything they make I watch.

Posted by: navybrat at March 11, 2017 09:14 PM (w7KSn)

395 As an infantry officer with two tours in Iraq as a door-kicker, I have to say that anyone who finds anything remotely good about either The Green Zone or The Hurt Locker should be taken out and beaten with a baseball bat. A travesty is the mildest condemnation I can use. Now, American Sniper, on the other hand, is pretty darn good. I was even able to identify streets I knew in Baghdad from some of the scenes.

Posted by: Assassin6 at March 11, 2017 09:15 PM (GBYzV)

396 I kill fish.

Posted by: USAAC bombardier Capt. Yossarian at March 11, 2017 09:15 PM (oqMTy)

397 >>One of my all-time favorite movies is The Freshman with Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando.

Good one! "Vermont."

Posted by: Lizzy at March 11, 2017 09:16 PM (NOIQH)

398 I kill fish.

Posted by: USAAC bombardier Capt. Yossarian at March 11, 2017 09:15 PM (oqMTy)

What has Abe Vigoda ever done to you?

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 11, 2017 09:16 PM (auHtY)

399 Haven't in a long time and would love to see Silent Running with Bruce Dern again.

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 09:16 PM (HDU3V)

400 Watching The Fifth Element right now. For some reason. It's goofy as fuck, kind of like Buckaroo Banzai, but it entertains, and is that not what cinema is, ultimately?
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (Cojoj)

The Noodle seller is the same one that was in BladeRunner.

Chuck Norris vs Communism (Netflix) another good documentary about smuggled films into Romania. The people who watched and the Woman who dubbed them all. The effect of the movies had on people.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:16 PM (dKiJG)

401 [9]Anybody seen the Kiwi vampire mockumentary "What We Do in the Shadows"? Hilarious. Three classic vamps - you've got your RomantiGoth, your Impaler, and your Nosferatu type - all living together. Lots of bitching about mundane things like chores, and them hitting the town, getting into fights with werewolf gangs, etc.

I ask because I have it here and I'm thinking of popping it in.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:46 PM (EnKk6)

---
Awesome movie.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 09:16 PM (v3DL/)

402 The movie is actually an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness that was set in Africa.
Posted by: Retired Buckey Cop is now an engineer at March 11, 2017 09:02 PM (5Yee7)

--Um, yeah, I knew that. Read Heart of Darkness in AP English senior year, which upped my appreciation of the movie.

And I agree with the above that Redux is even better. Whether I am sober or not, it's still a great movie.

King Leopold's Ghost, about the ivory empire in the Congo Basin, is a great read, by the way.

Charlie don't surf!

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 09:17 PM (GsAUU)

403 Fifth Element is like a filmed comic strip by Moebius in Heavy Metal Magazine.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:14 PM (oVJmc)

I like the details. Like The Diva looking like the Giger Alien, but softer and (as far as I know) a better singer. And Milla doing the 3 Stooges thing fighting the bad guys.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:17 PM (Cojoj)

404 Ian, I loved "The Straight Story" too. That was Farnsworth's last movie, wasn't it?

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 09:18 PM (8mO0Q)

405 kurosawa's "dreams", done at the end of his career, isa collection of short stories and vignettes, some of them are just ravishing and amazing. not a great film but recommended.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:18 PM (WTSFk)

406 What?

No love for....The Naked Prey?

A movie with almost no dialogue at all.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:19 PM (S6Pax)

407 06 in English literature

My goodness. Your a baby.
But since your at AOSHQ, and a Hokie, must have redeeming qualities

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:19 PM (x9Z10)

408 Some of the best cinema I've seen lately comes in little bite-sized 10-20 minute snackies, e.g.:

The German, a Battle of Britain air duel. From Ireland
https://youtu.be/oLTfWeg1NIc

The French Doors, a little horror flick from NZ
https://youtu.be/7_Okf__vMI4

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:19 PM (8nWyX)

409 Wasn't Patton, one of the greatest war movies of all time, intended as an anti-war movie? I seem to remember reading that the director wanted people's reaction to be "what a crazy warmongering bastard he was."

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable

Trump: "What's wrong with you, son?".

Mitch McConnell: "It's nerves, sir"

Trump: "GET THIS MISERABLE SON OF A BITCH OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOOT HIM MYSELF!!!"

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 09:20 PM (vRcUp)

410 Your a baby.

Damn. You're a baby.

Have another glass of wine RK

Don't mind if I do.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:20 PM (x9Z10)

411
No love for....The Naked Prey?

A movie with almost no dialogue at all.
Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America

That was Wilde!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 09:20 PM (IqV8l)

412 Appcolyptio (sp)
God Father 1 and 2
Dirty rotten scoundrels
Unforgiven
Sound of Music
Outlaw Josey Whales

Posted by: DanJack at March 11, 2017 09:21 PM (GQaZZ)

413 407 06 in English literature

My goodness. Your a baby.
But since your at AOSHQ, and a Hokie, must have redeeming qualities
Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:19 PM (x9Z10)

===========

I refuse to believe that I have any redeeming qualities.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:21 PM (Jj43a)

414 ppcolyptio (sp)
God Father 1 and 2
Dirty rotten scoundrels
Unforgiven
Sound of Music
Outlaw Josey Whales

Wow, one of these things is not like the others. . .

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:22 PM (x9Z10)

415 "The Deer Hunter" was a good movie.

Once, in college, I opined that the scenes where the prisoners were forced to play Russian Roulette must have been a metaphor for something, but I didn't know what.

A guy who was from Cambodia said, "No, that really happened."

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 09:22 PM (sdi6R)

416 "The Naked Prey" - watch that and then watch Mel Gibson's "Apocolypto".

Once you get into the chase, you realize that Mel Gibson ripped off the chase in "The Naked Prey" scene for scene.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:22 PM (V2Yro)

417 I was trying to explain Soylent Green to my teenage daughter last night.

Great movie.

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:22 PM (x9Z10)

418 Worst Movie Theatre Experience Ever: When we were 11, my best friend and I pestered my older brother to death to take us with him to a matinee to see 'Deliverance'. I think he agreed just to shut us up. Once I was an adult, we laughed about it. He said he was mortified, slumping lower in his seat with every passing scene, while we would whisper to him things like, "What are they doing to that fat man?"

Posted by: JuJuBee at March 11, 2017 09:23 PM (dargh)

419 An anti-war movie?

Watch "The Americanization of Emily"

Pretty funny. James Garner, Julie Andrews

Written by Paddy Chayefsky, pretty brilliant guy.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:23 PM (S6Pax)

420 Bertram, yup. Again, it really let me down about Ebert.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 08:34 PM (u8kLQ)

Nicest thing I can say about him is he had good taste in automobiles.

(discards Fay Wray sock)

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 11, 2017 09:23 PM (WDdjT)

421 Trump: "What's wrong with you, son?".

Mitch McConnell: "It's nerves, sir"

Trump: "GET THIS MISERABLE SON OF A BITCH OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOOT HIM MYSELF!!!"
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear

Sean Spicer: Sir, some of the men can't tell when you're being serious and when you're being dramatic.
Trump: Good. Only I need to know that.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:24 PM (QDr6b)

422 Nice write up.

I like movies but "Movies are all lies, but they tell a truth." The truth? No way! They try to lead the audience to accept some notion to be true. That notion might be totally false in the "real" world. I am 65 and probably have seen over 1000 movies in my life. I can count on one hand the number that told a real truth.

Having said the about, many are entertaining.

Posted by: Zogger at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (SKahJ)

423 Dr. Zhivago is a gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (0i9eW)

424 Now, American Sniper, on the other hand, is pretty darn good. I was even able to identify streets I knew in Baghdad from some of the scenes.
Posted by: Assassin6 at March 11, 2017 09:15 PM (GBYzV)

I just watched that one last night on DVD, the first time since seeing it at the theater. Rough.

As for war movies, Black Hawk Down is the best, IMO. Addendum: Band of Brothers is the best mini-series...that is written.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (Cojoj)

425 I never met a woman yet that didn't cry at the end of "Random Harvest", no matter how many times they have seen it. I've always thought that the person that the camera love more than anyone was Greer Garson. And I even thought that before I sold her a console in the mid seventies in Dallas. But I liked her even more after that.

Posted by: nsirchov at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (1TcdB)

426 Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America

the Naked Prey was one of my Dad's favorite movies.

"The Americanization of Emily" is a great movie. A nicely subtle anti-war movie with real humor and punch. And Julie Andrews. Sigh.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:26 PM (u82oZ)

427 423 Dr. Zhivago is a gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves.
Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (0i9eW)

===========

I love David Lean, but Zhivago is a huge misfire of a movie.

Sooooo boring.

Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest movies ever made, though.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:26 PM (Jj43a)

428 423 Dr. Zhivago is a gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves.
Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (0i9eW)

Yes. this is one I have not seen. a travesty. Must remedy that.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:27 PM (Cojoj)

429 As an infantry officer with two tours in Iraq as a door-kicker, I have to say that anyone who finds anything remotely good about either The Green Zone or The Hurt Locker should be taken out and beaten with a baseball bat.
Posted by: Assassin6 at March 11, 2017 09:15 PM (GBYzV)

I like The Hurt Locker, mostly because it's entertaining and I don't know dick about infantry or EOD, and because there are so many submarine flicks that are pure rancid ball sweat and people just love them and ask me "wow, is that what it's like?". It's like I'm giving back to the community to do the same for movies that make grunts grind their teeth into powder. All meant in love, sir, namaste.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:27 PM (8nWyX)

430 Minuteman, couldn't Zhivago have been shorter?

David Lean was a great filmmaker, but man oh man, it seems like he couldn't make a film under three hours to save his life.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:27 PM (u8kLQ)

431 Watched Speed Racer last night, I really like that movie.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (A4HOq)

432 I really need to see the French film SERIAL BAD WEDDINGS it so non PC that US distributors refused to show the Movie here. They hate and make fun of all their son's in laws make racist jokes etc because they are Muslim, Jew, Asian and the youngest finally is marrying a Catholic but I won't spoil it.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (dKiJG)

433 I liked the book "Blackhawk Down", but really didn't like the movie that much.

I have a friend that was pulled out of inactive reserve to spend a fun year in Iraq in 2004-2005, and was stationed in the Green Zone (and spent a lot of times in Blackhawks flying around Iraq).
He will not see "Blackhawk Down" or read the book.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (S6Pax)

434 "Patton" was CO-WRITTEN by Coppola, not directed by him. Didn't matter who did what, though, the movie was intended to denigrate Patton; Omar Bradley (an overrated General if there ever was one, IMHO) was a technical adviser, and nobody hated Georgie Patton more than he did. Unfortunately, the movie won the Oscar for Best Picture, George C. Scott won for Best Actor, and Patton himself was more popular with the public than ever.

HOOAH!

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (jQ2oO)

435 Oregonmuse, jmu is on daughter's short list. Was it a good experience?

Posted by: RKinRoanoke at March 11, 2017 09:29 PM (hK1rt)

436 >>>>Patton was directed by Frances Ford Coppola<<<<

Patton was directed by Frank Schaffner, who also directed Planet of the Apes.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at March 11, 2017 09:30 PM (x3uSY)

437 Saving nic in a new browser. FWIW, Chrome sucks.

Posted by: Flyboy at March 11, 2017 09:30 PM (CELAJ)

438 I like how some movies Suck You In.

I'm moving into a new apt. The other night I unpacked and set up my PS/2. Hmmm, need to test it. All the games are still packed... ahh, here's a DVD.

Put in Hard Boiled... just to make sure all the connections were were set up right...

Wound up watching the first 10 minutes or so ... it sucked me in!

Posted by: ArthurK at March 11, 2017 09:30 PM (GIrrh)

439 404
Ian, I loved "The Straight Story" too. That was Farnsworth's last movie, wasn't it?

Posted by: booknlass at March 11, 2017 09:18 PM (8mO0Q)

I believe so.
I just read that he had metastatic cancer while he was filming it.
Also, David Lynch shot the film 'chronologically' (apparently in order of the journey). Thank Wikipedia for this trivia!

Posted by: Deplorable Ian Galt at March 11, 2017 09:30 PM (8iiMU)

440 Watched Speed Racer last night, I really like that movie.

It's loud, overdone, and obnoxious, but, at the end, I realized how it really did embody the cartoon. Not that I think it worked, mind you, but I saw what they were doing.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:32 PM (oVJmc)

441 Great movies?

What about John Ford's cavalry trilogy?

Rio Grande
Fort Apache
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

And his greatest movie
The Searchers
John Wayne should have won an academy award (best actor) for his role as Ethan Edwards.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:32 PM (S6Pax)

442 433 I liked the book "Blackhawk Down", but really didn't like the movie that much.

I have a friend that was pulled out of inactive reserve to spend a fun year in Iraq in 2004-2005, and was stationed in the Green Zone (and spent a lot of times in Blackhawks flying around Iraq).
He will not see "Blackhawk Down" or read the book.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (S6Pax)

++++

Black Hawk Down was set in Somalia, years before the Iraq war. I'm surprised your friend would think it was too close to home for him.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 09:32 PM (R+30W)

443
"The Americanization of Emily" is a great movie. A nicely subtle anti-war movie with real humor and punch. And Julie Andrews. Sigh.
Posted by: NaCly Dog

James Garner in that movie says :

You American-haters bore me to tears, Ms. Barham. I've dealt with Europeans all my life. I know all about us parvenus from the States who come over here and race around your old cathedral towns with our cameras and Coca-Cola bottles... Brawl in your pubs, paw at your women, and act like we own the world. We overtip, we talk too loud, we think we can buy anything with a Hershey bar. I've had Germans and Italians tell me how politically ingenuous we are, and perhaps so. But we haven't managed a Hitler or a Mussolini yet. I've had Frenchmen call me a savage because I only took half an hour for lunch. Hell, Ms. Barham, the only reason the French take two hours for lunch is because the service in their restaurants is lousy. The most tedious lot are you British. We crass Americans didn't introduce war into your little island. This war, Ms. Barham to which we Americans are so insensitive, is the result of 2,000 years of European greed, barbarism, superstition, and stupidity. Don't blame it on our Coca-Cola bottles. Europe was a going brothel long before we came to town.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 11, 2017 09:33 PM (IqV8l)

444 Omar Bradley (an overrated General if there ever was one, IMHO) was a technical adviser, and nobody hated Georgie Patton more than he did. Unfortunately, the movie won the Oscar for Best Picture, George C. Scott won for Best Actor, and Patton himself was more popular with the public than ever.

HOOAH!
Posted by: big sarge

There may have been some krauts who hated Patton more, but not by much. I wish he had survived and won the presidency in '52 instead of Ike.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:33 PM (QDr6b)

445 TheJamesMadison

You have my vote for this post to be a regular feature.

You can have a lot of different topics, fur sure.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:33 PM (u82oZ)

446 Movies!!! What an absolutely fabulous idea. I really hope this is kept as a regular weekly feature.

... It's kind of challenging to find a movie that won't bore me and the oldest or scare the bloody bejeebers out of the five-year-old. (The three-year-old is too young and uncontrollable to join the party, yet.) I really love How To Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians. Good characterization and an actual plot.

Posted by: Deplorable lady with a deplorable basket of deplorable cats at March 11, 2017 08:45 PM (Exqwe)

Any animated movie by Miyazaki would be great for kids of all ages. A good start is "Spirited Away". Very imaginative. I would recommend the dubbed version since the movie references Japanese mythology which are explained a bit in the English voice over.

Posted by: Duke of Righteous WTF? at March 11, 2017 09:33 PM (T71PA)

447 Full Metal Jacket.
War movie?
or
Anti-War movie?
---

Shibumi's Dad, a former Marine, loved the first part of the movie. Was spot on.

The second part, when they're doing urban warfare? Dad complained the whole time, said the guy was obviously never in the service and they go that part completely wrong.

Posted by: shibumi at March 11, 2017 09:34 PM (J5mC3)

448 As for war movies, Black Hawk Down is the best, IMO. Addendum: Band of Brothers is the best mini-series...that is written.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (Cojoj)

--I watch Black Hawk Down at least yearly.

How could Ridley Scott make something as awesome as Black Hawk Down or Gladiator and also something as shitty as Kingdom of Heaven?

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 09:34 PM (GsAUU)

449 416 was not aware of ripping off another chase scene. I thought Gibsons movies was amazing without sub titles. It was almost like a silent movie... which is a true art form... the art form of our time is editing

Posted by: DanJack at March 11, 2017 09:34 PM (GQaZZ)

450 Black Hawk Down was set in Somalia, years before the Iraq war. I'm surprised your friend would think it was too close to home for him.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous

He flew in a lot of Blackhawks, and was a front line combat soldier in Desert Storm. He retired as a Major because his knees were going bad on him, and he and his wife had their first kid, and didn't want to drag him all over the world.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....outlaw in America at March 11, 2017 09:35 PM (S6Pax)

451 loved "patton" but less so since.

loved patton but less so since.

i read somewhere that after the slapping incident patton apologized to his troops on his own initiative and not at eisenhower's insistence.

ike was justifiably furious at patton. his striking an enlisted man is nigh unforgivable and grievously undermines military order.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:35 PM (WTSFk)

452 Why, I seldom watch movies anymore. They take time away from reading.

Seriously, I use movies of any age as light entertainment, not soul searching or life changing. Clever and creative count a lot. That's why I like those old Popeye, Betty Boop, and Chuck Jones Warner Brothers cartoons. And justifiable violence: Tombstone, Silverado and Quigley Down Under are always a treat.

Posted by: JTB at March 11, 2017 09:36 PM (V+03K)

453 448
How could Ridley Scott make something as awesome as Black Hawk Down or Gladiator and also something as shitty as Kingdom of Heaven?
Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 09:34 PM (GsAUU)

=========

The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven is one of the greatest epics ever. It's a gorgeous and complex film.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (Jj43a)

454 Nothing to do with movies, sorry, but I've been listening to Nico albums tonight. Listening to her work has to be the most depressing thing ever. I mean, really, really depressing.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (MZcWR)

455 My baby brother actively avoided movies like Black Hawk Down, and Band of Brothers for years. Kind of like he hated driving through underpasses, or seeing firework shows on Independence Day.

He is now a Black Hawk pilot. Still hates firework shows.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (Cojoj)

456 Anybody ever see House or House 2. The first had William Katt, kinda a funny horror movie.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (A4HOq)

457 logprof

Ridley Scott's first movie, The Duelist, was an unappreciated masterpiece. Well to me at least. I knew the Conrad short story and was competing in saber at the time, so maybe I was a tad biased.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (u82oZ)

458 Can't believe it took over 400 comments before mention of The Outlaw Josey Wales, absolute best movie ever made.

Posted by: Eromero at March 11, 2017 09:38 PM (zLDYs)

459 61: Ah, Conan the Barbarian. A movie that is much greater than the sum of its parts. I never could tell exactly why, but maybe you're explanation is it...

Sadly, it is one of only 2 1/4 good Robert E Howard movies. The second Conan movie was lame, and the remake was awful. Kull was funny when it was Kevin Sorbo and a rock music soundtrack, but otherwise not very good. And then there was Solomon Kane....Not a very faithful adaptation, but the moment where Solomon transforms from penitent-pacifist to angel-of-vengeance...That sequence was pure awesome!

Posted by: Castle Guy at March 11, 2017 09:38 PM (7aeqx)

460 456 Anybody ever see House or House 2. The first had William Katt, kinda a funny horror movie.
Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:37 PM (A4HOq)

Also, that guy from Night Court, right?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:39 PM (R7+kO)

461 Eromero, *I* can't believe no one has mentioned Dr. Strangelove yet.

Now *there's* an anti-war movie...

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:39 PM (u8kLQ)

462 The Duellists is the correct title. Seriously, a good flick.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:39 PM (u82oZ)

463 "there are so many submarine flicks that are pure rancid ball sweat and people just love them and ask me "wow, is that what it's like?". ..."
Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 09:27 PM (8nWyX)
---
I was in the Subterranean Navy, so please enlighten me. What are the most egregious errors in submarine films?

Is it the lack of hot racking?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (EnKk6)

464 Give me a great old Black and White. Sunset Boulevard is a fav. I do like some of the silent movies too. I grew up watching old movies with my dad on the local station.

Give me the ThinMan any day.

Posted by: mpfs, Pirate Wench at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (JSC3V)

465 460
Also, that guy from Night Court, right?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:39 PM (R7+kO)

==========

"Why won't those guys fix my VCR so I can watch my Night Court tape?"
-Mr. Plinkett

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (Jj43a)

466 ike was justifiably furious at patton. his striking an enlisted man is nigh unforgivable and grievously undermines military order.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp

I never served. I'm sure SMFH could kick my ass. But after years of reading about idiots with a need for "safe spaces", it's hard to sympathize with that stupid soldier who couldn't get a grip. I think when we're at war, it's appropriate for a general to chastise people like that for cowardice.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (vRcUp)

467 Missing with Jack Lemmon, when I was younger I was outraged at it, now I'm am I older and now know his Son was a Communist sympathizer he got what was coming to him.

Speed Racer, really like that movie, the Heart of the movie is the love of family, I get emotional when Speed has a chance of breaking his brother's record but doesn't because he loves him. The Father stopped watching races really hit home with me because when my Dad passed away I couldn't watch football anymore because I would always watch with him, and it took my nephew to get me watching again.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (dKiJG)

468 After six months of what we used to call McCarthyism -- public trial by innuendo, smears, outright lies, and CNN's creepy Fake News fetish -- all the national media has found is EXACTLY ZERO. After a half-year of 24/7 delirium, all they have to show for their fever dream is two guys named Jack and Squat sitting in the Zilch Caf� eating a Nothingburger with a side-order of Shutout that was overcooked by a fella named Bupkis and served by a waitress named Zilch.

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (e8kgV)

469 441. Amen. Ethan Edwards was the Duke's favorite role, and it wasn't even close. He named a son after the character, for crying out loud. It's bad enough that he didn't win an Oscar for it - he didn't even get nominated in 1957 (the movie came out in 1956). He was very bitter about it, too, and he should have been. He was transcendent in the role. His performance was quite a masterpiece.

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 09:41 PM (jQ2oO)

470 Serious about "Apocolypto" and "The Naked Prey". First time I watched Apocolypto, I started calling out to my wife what was going to happen next in each scene, just because I knew "Naked Prey".

The part where his friends get tortured to death is probably even more gruesome in Naked Prey, I think.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:41 PM (V2Yro)

471 And mh other favorite is "AahhhhSooooooo"

Posted by: Skip at March 11, 2017 09:04 PM (HDU3V)
.
Back in the day, when I was a nipper, we'd run around saying "you honorable aahhhsooo".Amazingly, not one of us got our mouths washed out with soap.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 09:41 PM (bGMOs)

472 Ridley Scott could really, really, *really* rehabilitate his image post-Prometheus, if the upcoming "Blade Runner 2049" turns out great.

But I admit I don't trust it to turn out well. The original BR is such a classic by this time.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:42 PM (u8kLQ)

473 All the gee whiz effects can't save a movie if the script stinks and the characters don't resonate with the audience.

John Wick is not someone to invite over to meet the family, but because the screenwriter had the punk bad guys kill Wick's dog the audience is roofing for a hit man. That is inspired writing.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (boHn2)

474 472 Ridley Scott could really, really, *really* rehabilitate his image post-Prometheus, if the upcoming "Blade Runner 2049" turns out great.

But I admit I don't trust it to turn out well. The original BR is such a classic by this time.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:42 PM (u8kLQ)

========

He's not directing the Blade Runner sequel. He is doing Alien Convent though.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (Jj43a)

475 I was right, Richard Moll.

For some readon I was thinking it was Mull, like Martin.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (R7+kO)

476
What a neat thread.

I hope we can have this as a regular occurrence.

Not a regular movie goer and quite selective about what I watch, mostly like movies that are pure escapism, where you can check the brain in at the door.

Posted by: irongrampa at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (X35Yt)

477 House 2, haven't seen it, but I give it full kudos for the best subtitle ever:

House 2: The Second Story

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (oVJmc)

478 466: one of the soldiers patton struck had malaria, i think, and was running an over-100 temperature. the other was what was called shell-shocked, ptsd today.

but regardless of the justification that might be offered of their cowardice, an officer striking a soldier is a breach of all military discipline.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:44 PM (WTSFk)

479 Ayn Rand's first novel, "We The Living", written in the 1930s, had a scene where government goons came to an upper middle class house and informed the owner that his house belongs to the state now and total strangers will be housed in his "unused" rooms.

"Dr. Zhivago" had an almost identical scene.

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 09:44 PM (sdi6R)

480 It's loud, overdone, and obnoxious, but, at the end, I realized how it really did embody the cartoon. Not that I think it worked, mind you, but I saw what they were doing.

---------

It was all that, that's why I liked it. It also had a really great father/son moment when Speed was walking out the door to leave the family and his Pops realized the mistake he made with Rex when the same thing happened 10 years before.

I think it is a great pro-family movie.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:45 PM (A4HOq)

481 Brade Huntaa 2049 using script ideas tossed out of the original movie to me is not a good sign Qdpsteve.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 11, 2017 09:45 PM (boHn2)

482 TJM, I know. Scott hired Denis Villanueve, of Arrival, to direct BR 2049. Will be interesting to see how it comes out.

Let's be honest, people know Scott's name but not Villanueve's. It's similar to the original Star Wars movies; Lucas only directed the first one, but gets all the credit (and blame) for everything in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:45 PM (u8kLQ)

483 TJM, Alien Convent?

Didn't know the Aliens were Catholic. ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:46 PM (u8kLQ)

484 John Wick is not someone to invite over to meet the family, but because the screenwriter had the punk bad guys kill Wick's dog the audience is roofing for a hit man. That is inspired writing.
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (boHn2)

It is also simple.

Assassin meets girl. They fall in love. Guy quits being an assassin. Wife dies. Wife gives guy a puppy. Annoying idiot kills puppy. Guy shoots everyone in head.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:46 PM (R7+kO)

485
I love David Lean, but Zhivago is a huge misfire of a movie.

Sooooo boring.

Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest movies ever made, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:26 PM (Jj43a)

I guess this is one of those subjective things that under different circumstances agreement could be had.

I may very well may have been in a state of mind that was able to immerse myself in the richness of Lean's film, being sufulsified by the music, the colors, the details and the cinematography. David Lean put me into the time and place, not due to nor in spite of the tempo of the film.

Under different conditions possibly my mood would have been better served by an Eddie Murphy fart movie.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 09:46 PM (0i9eW)

486 Anna, agreed.

And it looks like autocucumber is giving you a run for your money. ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:46 PM (u8kLQ)

487 458 Can't believe it took over 400 comments before mention of The Outlaw Josey Wales, absolute best movie ever made.
Posted by: Eromero at March 11, 2017 09:38 PM (zLDYs)

--In my Top 25 for sure.

I shake my head at how none of my colleagues get it when I tell them "Endeavor to persevere."

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 09:47 PM (GsAUU)

488 What's fun is to watch "Strangelove" immediately after watching "Fail-Safe".

The other fun thing about Strangelove that may not be so obvious now is that every main character in the War Room at the end was a caricature of a real life person.

Adlai Stevenson, Andrei Gromyko, Curtis LeMay, Werner Von Braun - I cannot think of any other satire that as cuts as deep and as accurately as that!

(and if you listen carefully you'll hear a young and uncredited James Earl Jones in the cockpit of that B-52)

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:47 PM (V2Yro)

489 482
Let's be honest, people know Scott's name but not Villanueve's. It's similar to the original Star Wars movies; Lucas only directed the first one, but gets all the credit (and blame) for everything in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:45 PM (u8kLQ)

======

People are learning Villanueve's name.

Prisoners
Sicario
Arrival
Blade Runner 2049
Dune

He's becoming a name.

I'm very excited and yet I haven't even seen a single one of his movies (they're all in my queue).

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:47 PM (Jj43a)

490 Tom Servo, oh yeah.

I like both films, although I think it was overkill for Kubrick to sue over Fail-Safe.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:48 PM (u8kLQ)

491 Eromero, *I* can't believe no one has mentioned Dr. Strangelove yet.

Now *there's* an anti-war movie...
--

By the end, I was rooting for Major Kong to drop the bomb.

Of course, during Obama II: Romney Sucks, I was hoping for SMOD.

/Peter Sellers is amazing in the film IMHO

Posted by: shibumi at March 11, 2017 09:49 PM (J5mC3)

492 TJM, hmm. With a pedigree like that, his could be a household name soon. Nice queue. :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:49 PM (u8kLQ)

493 466 ike was justifiably furious at patton. his striking an enlisted man is nigh unforgivable and grievously undermines military order.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp

I never served. I'm sure SMFH could kick my ass. But after years of reading about idiots with a need for "safe spaces", it's hard to sympathize with that stupid soldier who couldn't get a grip. I think when we're at war, it's appropriate for a general to chastise people like that for cowardice.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (vRcUp)

++++

It's not about safe spaces; it's about him laying hands on a soldier under his command. It is no more acceptable for him to strike a soldier than it would be for the soldier to strike him. Command does not give him that right.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 09:49 PM (R+30W)

494 Qdpsteve not autocucubah.

When Gaff talks to Deckart as he eats. The vendor translates "He says you brade runnah."

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 11, 2017 09:49 PM (boHn2)

495 House 2 , is kinda the big budget sequel to first movie which has a low budget indie feel to it.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (A4HOq)

496 shibumi, oh yeah.

There's only *two* actors that Stanley Kubrick *ever* let ad-lib in his films: Peter Sellers, and R. Lee Ermey.

They both were able to leave Stanley laughing so hard, he was in tears on the floor.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (u8kLQ)

497 "Outlaw Josey Wales" is one of the only movies I can think of that makes a good attempt to show what that war looked like if you fought for the South.

"Endeavor to Persevere", heh. And that's about all the Indians ever got from us.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (V2Yro)

498 Anna, ah. ;-) I learn new stuff here every day.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (u8kLQ)

499
Dr. Zhivago is a gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 09:25 PM (0i9eW)
.Concur.Lean's worked with all the forces of nature: Snow/Cold - Zhivago, Desert/Heat - Lawrence, Water/Temperate - Ryan's Daughter.

Posted by: browndog at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (bGMOs)

500 John Wick is the greatest movie ever made.

All others must prostrate before it.

Posted by: Mortimer - Finish Her! at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (KgpWR)

501 495 House 2 , is kinda the big budget sequel to first movie which has a low budget indie feel to it.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (A4HOq)

Have not seen the movie in around 20 years, but I seem to remember the first one was ok.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:50 PM (R7+kO)

502 As long as we all agree that Looking for Mr Goodbar is the worst movie ever made then it's all good.

On a side note , I watched Galaxy Quest for the 20th time today.

Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 09:51 PM (IDPbH)

503 Geez, what the heck has my dog been eating?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 09:51 PM (R7+kO)

504 /Peter Sellers is amazing in the film IMHO
Posted by: shibumi

IIRC, he was supposed to play Maj. Kong too but couldn't get the accent right so they went with Slim Pickens. Good call I'd say.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:51 PM (QDr6b)

505 Ridley Scott's Moses movie I stopped watching when he didn't use BC but CE, it's a religious movie for crying out loud and you don't use BC. That let me know it was going to be shit.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:52 PM (dKiJG)

506 As an infantry officer with two tours in Iraq...anyone who finds anything remotely good about either The Green Zone or The Hurt Locker should be taken out and beaten with a baseball bat. A travesty is the mildest condemnation I can use.
Now, American Sniper, on the other hand, is pretty darn good. I was even able to identify streets I knew in Baghdad from some of the scenes.
Posted by: Assassin6 at March 11, 2017 09:15

We saw both American Sniper and 13 Hours on the openings here to support/enjoy them. Last movies we saw at the theatre.

Watched 13 Hours again on TV last night. Good flick, think it helped in defeating Hillary in some minds.

Posted by: Farmer at March 11, 2017 09:53 PM (o/90i)

507 Also another movie a really like, and I consider to be one of the funniest movies ever made, is Ruthless People.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:53 PM (A4HOq)

508 Not all Miyazki is suitable for kids. Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa are a bit grim. Howl's Moving Castle makes an incomprehensible hash of a very good book. However, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, The Castle of Cagliostro and Ponyo are all at least tolerable for all ages. Spirited Away is essential.

Posted by: Don at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (iGwig)

509 We've been talking about Cate Blanchett lately. I would highly recommend both her Elizabeth movies.

Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (IDPbH)

510 Have not seen the movie in around 20 years, but I seem to remember the first one was ok.

------

The first one good, the second one amps it up x10 and also has Cliff Claven in it.

Posted by: MAGA at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (A4HOq)

511 IIRC, he was supposed to play Maj. Kong too but couldn't get the accent right so they went with Slim Pickens. Good call I'd say.
Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable

On a recent showing on TCM they claimed Kong was offered to John Wayne but he was busy with another project. Would TCM lie? Maybe. Maybe they would.

Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0 at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (xJxz7)

512 People are learning Villanueve's name.

Prisoners
Sicario
Arrival
Blade Runner 2049
Dune

He's becoming a name.

I'm very excited and yet I haven't even seen a single one of his movies (they're all in my queue).

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at March 11, 2017 09:47 PM (Jj43a)

++++

I've seen the first 3 on your list and they are all excellent. Arrival maybe a bit less so than the other two. I had no idea the same person directed them all.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (R+30W)

513 Best conservative comedy movie ever is Blast From The Past.

Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 09:57 PM (IDPbH)

514 On a side note , I watched Galaxy Quest for the 20th time today.
Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 09:51 PM (IDPbH)

Just as AFI has its List of "Teh Best 100 Movies Evar!," I have my own, and Galaxy Quest is on that list. It epitomizes what I want from a movie: take me to a different place for a while, with no reminders of the real world.

It's that simple.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:58 PM (Cojoj)

515 On a recent showing on TCM they claimed Kong was offered to John Wayne but he was busy with another project. Would TCM lie? Maybe. Maybe they would.
Posted by: Blutarski-esque 0.0

They may have offered it to The Duke before Pickens, but I'm 95% certain that Sellers was supposed to play Kong and they had to do last-minute casting when he couldn't get the accent down.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:58 PM (QDr6b)

516 499: lean worked with all the forces of nature...

jungle/picnicking - bridge on the river kwai.

british survivors of japanese slave labor walked out. for good reason. lean's vietnam era meditation on war and militarism can be understood on some metaphorical level, but it is such a historical travesty i find all but the last 5 minutes unwatchable.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 09:58 PM (WTSFk)

517 508 Not all Miyazki is suitable for kids. Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa are a bit grim. Howl's Moving Castle makes an incomprehensible hash of a very good book. However, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, The Castle of Cagliostro and Ponyo are all at least tolerable for all ages. Spirited Away is essential.
Posted by: Don at March 11, 2017 09:55 PM (iGwig)

You are forgetting MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 09:58 PM (dKiJG)

518 MAGA, Ruthless People was a side-spitter. Very funny movie.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 09:59 PM (u82oZ)

519 513 Best conservative comedy movie ever is Blast From The Past.
Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 09:57 PM (IDPbH)

Love that movie. I really do.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 09:59 PM (Cojoj)

520 On a side note , I watched Galaxy Quest for the 20th time today.

-
Alan Rickman had such presence in everything he did.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (Nwg0u)

521 ... and offensive.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (WTSFk)

522 Since you brought up Ruthless People (DeVito, Bette Midler)
I gotta plug "Drowning Mona" - I don't know why it doesn't get much credit, because that movie is freaking hilarious.

If you haven't seen it, in the very first scene Mona (Bette Midler) is murdered. The rest of the movie has a lot of flashbacks showing why everyone in town is pretty glad she's dead, which makes it hard to figure out who did it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (V2Yro)

523 Arrival Is BORING.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (dKiJG)

524 Movies I wish I could show the whole horde at once:

- Observe And Report-
- Picnic At Hanging Rock
- Apocalypse Now
- Special Bulletin

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (u8kLQ)

525 I was in the Subterranean Navy, so please enlighten me. What are the most egregious errors in submarine films?

Is it the lack of hot racking?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 09:40 PM (EnKk6)

Lots of things, not really any one that stands out.

- Everything looks wrong. They don't make airline movies that try to make a school bus interior look like a 737. I get that you don't usually get to film on an actual boat, but Das Boot managed to not make it looked like it was filmed in a doublewide trailer home. There's a ton of real footage from Joe Schmucko, WXYZ action news on a submarine, just show it to the set people and say "make it look like this".
- The military discipline and chain of command stuff is always a trainwreck. The CO in Crimson Tide has a dog on board? Gets in a guerilla war on the boat with his XO? Really?
- Outside of WWII films, the gear is pure Star Trek. Monitors showing wireframe boats pitching and turning, that sonar thing that goes 'woop' and then has an expanding ring, radio comms at 400 feet, etc.

There are numerous other little nitpicks, but I think it's mostly what Mr. Assassin was saying upstairs: that's not what it's like, and nobody would do that. The movie might be entertaining to someone who hasn't been there, but anyone who has is silently screaming.

https://youtu.be/C_AmdvxbPT8

Just watch Das Boot and Down Periscope, they're the only realistic submarine movies that come to mind right now.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 10:01 PM (8nWyX)

526 "Patton" was CO-WRITTEN by Coppola, not directed by him. Didn't matter who did what, though, the movie was intended to denigrate Patton; Omar Bradley (an overrated General if there ever was one, IMHO) was a technical adviser, and nobody hated Georgie Patton more than he did. Unfortunately, the movie won the Oscar for Best Picture, George C. Scott won for Best Actor, and Patton himself was more popular with the public than ever.

HOOAH!

Posted by: big sarge at March 11, 2017 09:28 PM (jQ2oO)

That right there is great insight into that festering pussball Hwood. That is where their minds were then and how far they misread the public.

It's taken them years but they have achieved success at distorting youngsters cultural perspectives. We have suffered greatly because of them and MTV.

Posted by: gNewt at March 11, 2017 10:01 PM (oqMTy)

527 Tom Servo, LOL.

At this stage a lot of people would pay good hard cash at the movies to see Bette get murdered. ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:01 PM (u8kLQ)

528 I considered Siskel and Ebert as dead after I saw a movie they raved about.
The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover.
A thoroughly vile and disgusting movie.
In fact I noticed the more "avaunt guard" a movie was the more they liked it.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 11, 2017 10:02 PM (hVdx9)

529 Alan Rickman had such presence in everything he did.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks. Now worse than Hitler! at March 11, 2017 10:00 PM (Nwg0u)

Ditto this.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gentleman Drunkard at March 11, 2017 10:02 PM (Cojoj)

530 hogmartin, call me crazy but one movie that IMHO did a great job depicting the smallness/claustrophobia of an aircraft interior:

United 93. Oh man, what a great flick.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:04 PM (u8kLQ)

531 479 Ayn Rand's first novel, "We The Living", written in the 1930s, had a scene where government goons came to an upper middle class house and informed the owner that his house belongs to the state now and total strangers will be housed in his "unused" rooms.

"Dr. Zhivago" had an almost identical scene.
Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 09:44 PM (sdi6R)
-----------------------------
Not surprising since Pasternak and Rand were just depicting what actually happened during the Communist takeover in Russia.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at March 11, 2017 10:05 PM (Nox3c)

532 Just watch Das Boot and Down Periscope, they're the only realistic submarine movies that come to mind right now.
Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 10:01 PM (8nWyX)
---
Watched and read Das Boot. Very ascerbic book.

I have the same burning hatred for movies about the intel world. They just haven't a clue.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 10:06 PM (EnKk6)

533 I saw "Das Boot" in the theater when it first came out. It was riveting.

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 10:06 PM (sdi6R)

534 Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 10:01 PM (8nWyX)

+++

Das Boot is one of my all-time favorites.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 11, 2017 10:06 PM (Ivjge)

535 They may have offered it to The Duke before Pickens, but I'm 95% certain that Sellers was supposed to play Kong and they had to do last-minute casting when he couldn't get the accent down.

Posted by: Prince Ludwig the Deplorable at March 11, 2017 09:58 PM

Yeah, Sellers did try to do the role. There are photos of Sellers in costume and on set as Kong.

Posted by: otho at March 11, 2017 10:06 PM (lmIoG)

536 House 2, haven't seen it, but I give it full kudos for the best subtitle ever:

House 2: The Second Story

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 09:43 PM (oVJmc)

---

Not bad. But the best line of dialog, lead-in to a movie from Deathstalker 2.

Evil Queen: I'll have my revenge, and Deathstalker too.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 11, 2017 10:08 PM (v3DL/)

537 530 hogmartin, call me crazy but one movie that IMHO did a great job depicting the smallness/claustrophobia of an aircraft interior:

United 93. Oh man, what a great flick.
Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:04 PM (u8kLQ)

--Great movie. It got some criticism for the portrayal of the German passenger. I also like Greengrass's Captain Phillips.

Posted by: logprof at March 11, 2017 10:09 PM (GsAUU)

538 Das Boot is a lot like Pat Buchanon's speeches.

Better in the original German!

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 11, 2017 10:09 PM (V2Yro)

539 487 I mentioned Out law Josey Wales at 412. You are correct it is a great movie

Posted by: DanJack at March 11, 2017 10:09 PM (GQaZZ)

540 I usually watch foreign films with the original audio and subtitles, because I want to hear the actors act but understand the dialogue. It turns out that all of the cast of Das Boot spoke excellent English and did all their dubs themselves, so now I watch that with the English dubbed track.

Posted by: hogmartin at March 11, 2017 10:10 PM (8nWyX)

541 logprof, yup. Greengrass is a pretty good director.

I need to re-watch Das Boot I guess. Last time I saw it was so long ago, it was VHS days. Don't really remember any of it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:11 PM (u8kLQ)

542 Mel Gibson not only made the best sub titled movie ever he also made the second best sub titled movie ever.

Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 10:12 PM (IDPbH)

543 I need to re-watch Das Boot I guess. Last time I saw it was so long ago, it was VHS days. Don't really remember any of it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:11 PM (u8kLQ)

Spoiler alert: they lose the war.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 11, 2017 10:12 PM (WDdjT)

544 AOP, thanks a lot!!!!!!

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:13 PM (u8kLQ)

545 I am about willowed as normal. Met a guy in Denver airport that spent time in submarines. He told me das boot was the best submarine film. It was on hbo when I got home. He was a very interesting guy.

Posted by: The Real Bruce at March 11, 2017 10:14 PM (Qr8dA)

546 Next AOP you'll tell me Gabriel Byrne's girlfriend in The Crying Game was really a man.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:14 PM (u8kLQ)

547 For vet's that saw time in Bosnia the Slovenian movie No Man's Land is another great movie that points towards the craziness of the war zone.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 11, 2017 10:15 PM (0i9eW)

548 Wasn't Das Boot originally a miniseries? And they cut it down to 2 hours (or 4, later).

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 10:16 PM (EnKk6)

549 Das Boot is Third best sub titled movie. Admittedly my own father would disagree with as it was his favorite movie.

Posted by: Jack Sock at March 11, 2017 10:16 PM (IDPbH)

550 AHE, just saw at Amazon that Das Boot was a miniseries originally.

The director's cut turns it from 2 hours to almost 3, I believe.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:16 PM (u8kLQ)

551 Next AOP you'll tell me Gabriel Byrne's girlfriend in The Crying Game was really a man.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:14 PM (u8kLQ)

Never saw that movie. You are on your own with that one.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 11, 2017 10:17 PM (WDdjT)

552 Another miniseries I remember, because it seemed to last as long as the actual war:

"Vietnam: The 10,000 Day War."

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:17 PM (u8kLQ)

553 The Docks Of New York 1928 no effects excellent

Posted by: vizzy at March 11, 2017 10:17 PM (TdKpj)

554 Uh oh, ONT.

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 11, 2017 10:18 PM (u8kLQ)

555 528 I considered Siskel and Ebert as dead after I saw a movie they raved about.
The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover.
A thoroughly vile and disgusting movie.
Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 11, 2017 10:02 PM (hVdx9)

True, but Helen Mirren was absolutely delicious.

I had never heard of her before, and she was about twice my age when I saw the movie.

Posted by: rickl at March 11, 2017 10:18 PM (sdi6R)

556 Last of the Mohicans , great scenes, great quotes, great music and scenery.

Cora Munro :Why were those people living in this defenseless place?

Hawkeye: After seven years indentured service in Virginia, they headed out here
'cause the frontier's the only land available to poor people. Out here,
they're beholden to none. Not living by another's leave.

Posted by: JHW at March 11, 2017 10:20 PM (kn0BL)

557 I thought Sellers broke his leg, making it impossible to do Maj. Kong.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 11, 2017 10:27 PM (oVJmc)

558 Gabriel Byrne, yes, I knew him well.

Posted by: Kaiser Sose at March 11, 2017 10:28 PM (V2Yro)

559 I enjoyed this. Looking forward to another installment!

Posted by: Ostar at March 11, 2017 10:28 PM (4QZI0)

560
528 I considered Siskel and Ebert as dead after I saw a movie they raved about.

The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover.

A thoroughly vile and disgusting movie.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 11, 2017 10:02 PM (hVdx9)

True, but Helen Mirren was absolutely delicious.

I had never heard of her before, and she was about twice my age when I saw the movie.

Posted by: rickl
****

Wow. She was nude a lot more than I ever realized.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 11, 2017 10:31 PM (hVdx9)

561 Hey fellow Hokie. I took the literature and film class taught by Shoshana Knapp. We ate Jelly Bellies and watched Ronald Reagan slap Angie Dickinson in "The Killers".

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at March 11, 2017 10:59 PM (THS4q)

562 ONT is NOOD, btw.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 11, 2017 11:09 PM (R7+kO)

563 Damn it.
I don't often check the site during the weekend. Would love to revisit during the week.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at March 11, 2017 11:20 PM (xJa6I)

564 Best bar scene in a movie? Das Boot.

Posted by: Headless Body of Agnew at March 11, 2017 11:33 PM (FtrY1)

565 #560 Doesn't she play for the other team?

Posted by: torabora at March 12, 2017 12:50 AM (d3Tge)

566 Very nice re-education about films and reviews.
Thank you - the above was very nice to read indeed!

Posted by: MoJoTee at March 12, 2017 03:56 AM (vKbhP)

567 A movie thread is always a fine idea.

I was a bit taken aback by your "Movies are lies" declaration. I think I get the point you're trying to make; I just don't agree with the way you're trying to make it.

I wouldn't call movies & their creators, lies & liars. I think of a film as...offering perspective. Here's the angle from which I'll show you a (my) worldview; look where I tell you to look & tell me if you see what I'm showing you. Like the man said: I am the camera.

The hero is the guardian of that perspective. If narrative film has a through-line (and it does), it's,"This the story of [noun] who wants to [verb]." If you can pick up that thread & follow it to the end, you'll probably get the movie on a visceral level, even if it leaves you cold.
(Though God help you if you hate the actor playing that role; that can be a tough thing to get past.)

I look forward to next Saturday!

Posted by: Shopgirl at March 12, 2017 05:05 AM (1OLC+)

568 Thanks for this thread, TJM! At last year's SWOhMoMe, I brought up the idea of having a classic movie thread on AoSHQ. So glad it came to pass, and I hope it becomes a regular feature!

Posted by: DynamiteDan at March 12, 2017 05:17 AM (XeY55)

569 We loves ya you Big Monkey you...now fetch me a banana sammwich..........and roll 'em big and fat, 2017 a space oddity is starting in D.C.

Posted by: saf at March 12, 2017 08:08 AM (+zN6H)

570 V11 Topless surgeons found headless in a bar was WAY better... as an aside they served Fava beans as snacks. It blew my top off said Ebert.

Posted by: saf at March 12, 2017 08:26 AM (+zN6H)

571 Michael was a Marine wasn't he, not in the Army.

Posted by: craig at March 12, 2017 08:33 AM (PmzsL)

572 Late to this Elbert thread. He and Siskel made Michael Moore. Raved about his Roger & Me and its very lame follow up. Of course given where things are today, perhaps we should thank them, but I don't things would need to be where they are today without the fawning leftism that Hollywood has infused into our society and with the praise their crappy political screed movies get from the "critics".

Posted by: Wtp at March 12, 2017 08:50 AM (WQfDg)

573 "All Hail Eris, let us share a bottle of Pinot Grand Fenwick. Fortunately, it's not the premier grand cru crop.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 11, 2017 08:27 PM (u82oZ)
---
Pass the Duchy!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 11, 2017 08:28 PM (EnKk6) "

Why I love AoS.

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at March 12, 2017 09:00 AM (THS4q)

574 Hi All,

Sorry, I'm late. Looking forward to this movie thread.

Let me recommend 3 (with brief explanation) I've seen lately.

Will Penny, Charleton Heston - thought this was a cowboy movie for decades. Instead it is one of the most romantic movies I've ever seen.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Story of a New Zealand juvie adopted by an older couple. It is a children's book brought to film. Highly recommended.

Manchester by the Sea (current) haven't finished watching this. Powerful yet somehow understated film of the real difficulties and tragedies we may (and do) face in life. Well told with flashbacks and forwards. Highly recommended.

Wish I had time, space and talent to write more. But can recommend weekly.

Posted by: Not (J.J.) Sefton at March 12, 2017 09:03 AM (UT81J)

575 Another review of the Godfather which has Michael in the Army...He was a Marine!!! didn't you see the movie? (Sar)...

Posted by: Al from Chgo at March 12, 2017 10:09 AM (HYf2e)

576 Being a Marine he had the skill set and training to handle his family and any outsider who would do them wrong..Also has some impressive awards on his uniform...

Posted by: Al from Chgo at March 12, 2017 10:10 AM (HYf2e)

577 Skip Green Zone and watch Green Room (and Blue Ruin, then finish off with I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore)

Posted by: BJ at March 12, 2017 11:55 AM (GtEyF)

578 Two thumbs up (one on each hand)! I hope that you are able to hone this idea into a weekly column. I would find it a nice companion to my weekly Books post.

The Sunday papers aren't what they once were, now that the Golden Age of Comics has passed us by. Ace of Spades Weekend Edition is now my Sunday Paper, of a sort.

:WM

Posted by: Wry Mouth at March 12, 2017 12:32 PM (zIuv3)

579 #24 << The effects are terrible, but I will watch "Big Trouble in Little China"
any time I stumble on it. It's fun, it's funny, and you know what Jack
Burton always says? >>

BTiLC is an annual (at minimum) joyous event for me, also. Too much good stuff. Like "Galaxy Quest," you can sense the cast and crew having barrels full of fun.

Posted by: Wry Mouth at March 12, 2017 12:34 PM (zIuv3)

580 Love movies all you want. That's your choice.

Me? I'm not spending a single penny to be put into the pockets of people who hate my guts. In fact, you couldn't pay ME to watch any of the crap put out by today's Hollywood.

Your mileage may vary.

Posted by: Bea Arthur's Dick at March 12, 2017 02:21 PM (0xzXo)

581 The sounds are lies too.

What you hear is not the sounds made by the actual action recorded by the cameras. Instead, the sounds are made afterward by Foley artists, to sound like what the audience expects to hear (or to have heard).

Posted by: Rich Rostrom at March 12, 2017 06:39 PM (YkV15)

582 After reading through all of the comments it dawned on me that I never mentioned in my original post my own All-Time Favorite Movies (listed in no particular order):

These classics by the great director Richard Lester (overall my favorite director):

1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
2. Help! (1965)
3. A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum (1966)
4. The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers (1973/1974) - I've included these together because they were originally filmed at the same time by director Richard Lester during the filming of The Three Musketeers but he had so much footage that he ended up editing it into these two movies.
5. The Ritz (1976)

and then the rest:

1. Grand Hotel (1932)
2. Duck Soup (1933)
3. The Thin Man (1934)
4. Citizen Kane (1941)
5. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
6. My Favorite Brunette (1947)
7. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (194

8. The Pink Panther (1964)
9. What Did You Do In The War Daddy? (1966)
10. The Lion In Winter (196

11. Once Upon A Time In The West (196

12. Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)
13. M.A.S.H. (1970)
14. Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1974)
15. Murder By Death (1976)

I could literally go on and on, but I don't wish to bore everybody.

6. The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers (1973/1974) - I've included these together because they were originally filmed at the same time by director Richard Lester during the filming of The Three Musketeers but he had so much footage that he ended up editing it into these two movies.

Posted by: Augustus623 at March 13, 2017 11:28 AM (ITt4h)

Processing 0.06, elapsed 0.0707 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0256 seconds, 590 records returned.
Page size 308 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.