Saturday Evening Movie Thread

Saturday Evening Movie Thread - 10/11/2025

James Whale

James Whale should get as much credit as any other individual for both the elevation and fall of Universal Studios' ownership in the 1930s. His four horror features for Carl Laemmle Jr., Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, and Bride of Frankenstein represent the pinnacle of the studio's efforts at bringing literary-sourced horror to the screen. Four films that were so successful that they set the financial path for the studio for almost twenty years.

And yet, right after Bride of Frankenstein, he made Show Boat in 1936, a cinematic adaptation of a Ziegfeld musical that was a major box office success but which had been so expensive and went over-budget during production that the producing father and son pair were forced to give up control of the studio to their creditors. That change in studio executive backing ended up leaving Whale without anyone to support him leading to post-production on his next film, The Road Back, a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front based on the source sequel by the original novel's author Erich Maria Remarque, which Universal massively reshot to soften it, hoping to get it past Nazi censors to sell in Germany. (It didn't work. The film bombed horribly everywhere.)

And Whale was essentially homeless creatively after that. He had a contract with Universal to work out, so he made a handful of small films (a couple of them pretty good) while lending himself out to other studios like MGM, Warner Brothers, and Columbia for individual picture deals (which was how Howard Hawks made his entire career) until he just grew too tired to make any more movies and quit in 1941. He invested well, lived off of that and with his partner, producer David Lewis, and eventually committed suicide by drowning himself in a pool in 1957 because of health issues.

Watching his films, though, it was obvious, early, what drove him, and it wasn't the fact that he was gay.

The Great War

Here's the page on Wikipedia about Bride of Frankenstein, specifically the Interpretation section that includes a more than 500 word section about the Gay reading of the film. It is a nearly endless litany of how every little thing in the film, from the Monster's calling both the hermit and the bride "friend" to almost everything else, coded as being about the gay experience. And then it ends with quotes from Whale friends who call the entire interpretation bunk. Why include the section anyway? (Oh, wait, Wikipedia, I get it now.)

Actually watching all of his movies, especially in order, the only thing one can come away with as an animating experience in Whale's life that fed his creativity is World War I. And it's not some kind of remote, "war is hell" thing from an intellectual. Second Lieutenant James Whale of the Worcestershire Regiment was commissioned in July of 1916 and was in the trenches in Flanders in August of 1917 when he was captured in the fighting with the German Army. He was held as a prisoner of war until December 1918.

I actually didn't know this slice of his biography until after watching his first two films and reading a brief summary of his third, Waterloo Bridge right before watching it. I was curious because all three, his adaptation of the stage play he had originally directed on the stage, Journey's End, the sound segments of Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels, and Waterloo Bridge were all stories of soldiers dealing with emotional effects of The Great War (well, Whale's parts of Hell's Angels, Hughes' parts were pew-pew flying).

And that knowledge fed directly into my latest viewing of Frankenstein. When I do these lists of films, I always make sure to rewatch the films I'd seen and even reviewed before because the new context of the films around them provide a different framing that can inform the films differently. I don't think there's a more potent example of me getting a completely different thematic read of a film on a second review than with Whale's Frankenstein. It completely recast the film in my mind, making Henry Frankenstein and the Monster into scarred men who couldn't communicate with anyone who hadn't shared their experiences, something that was intimately related to the characters in Journey's End, a connection made all the stronger by the presence of Colin Clive as Captain Stanhope in the earlier film and Dr. Frankenstein in the latter.

Even the film made in the 90s about Whale's later years in life, Gods and Monsters starring Ian McKellen as Whale, Brendan Fraser as a fictional gardener who befriends him, and directed by Bill Condon, (a film I assume, like all movies about real events, to be roughly 90% fictional) leaned heavily into the WWI element as foundational (though the film takes a different approach than my meager analysis).

However, this thematic line grows increasingly frayed afterwards. I think it's fair to see some strains of it in The Old Dark House, The Kiss Before the Mirror, a film about a lawyer who decides to kill his wife when he represents another man who killed his own wife, and even up through The Invisible Man (the main comparison I make is to Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse films, especially the second, but the idea from the earlier Whale films is still there in a form), and Bride of Frankenstein, but By Candlelight shows that Whale was not monomaniacally interested in talking about the war.

Lubitsch and the Studio System

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I bring up Ernst Lubitsch pretty much whenever I can because his Hollywood films were absolute joys of formalistic technique, light humor, and masquerade, and it's easy to bring him up because Hollywood loved him and loved to imitate him. Whale was no different, and By Candlelight, the film he made after The Invisible Man and before Bride of Frankenstein, is an entertaining trifle in the vein of Lubitsch (it's about the servant to an Austrian prince who pretends to be the Austrian prince to win the heart of a girl).

I bring it up to highlight how I could probably stretch the film thin to the point of breaking to fit it into the WWI, soldiers can't speak to people who haven't been part of the conflict, line that's extremely evident in most of Whale's earliest films, but it would only be worth it to justify an analysis and say almost nothing about the film itself. The film is purely an entertainment in the vein of a popular filmmaker at the time, and it's a great place to highlight the fact that Whale, for all the talk people make about his German Expressionistic influences in Frankenstein, was actually a chameleon director. He changed his style from film to film, depending on the film. There are a couple of flourishes he retains across them, mostly a singular and long dolly shot from the furthest reaches of a set to highlight the space, but ultimately Show Boat looks almost nothing like Frankenstein because Whale obviously knew that he didn't need to make Show Boat look like Frankenstein. He was an accomplished studio director who could take assignments and modify his own methods to the material.

And that becomes important because it explains so much of his later films, those after The Road Back when he became the journeyman, riding out his Universal contract and getting individual jobs with other studios. He was well-practiced at setting aside his deepest artistic desires to just do the assignment, and when he was stripped of most creative power and just managed sets to film often subpar scripts, he just did it. There's precious little of Whale as an artist after The Road Back because he just no longer had the power, or perhaps even the inclination, to push for it. There's good stuff back there. Wives Under Suspicion, a remake of The Kiss Before the Mirror, is worth some attention, and there's also his ornate production of The Man in the Iron Mask.

But what made Whale interesting and unique, able to really breathe life in Frankenstein with all of its changes from the book, got smothered by the realities of studio filmmaking and falling out of favor.

The Road Back

The Road Back was the final half of Whale's downfall in the system. The first half, of course, was the success that was Show Boat which led to the Laemmle family losing control of Universal to its creditors. The Road Back was just Universal throwing Whale and his film under the bus to appease literal Nazis in Germany who hated the source book, calling the author Erich Maria Remarque a traitor and unpatriotic for his anti-war stances. The existing film is so butchered with reshoots done by another director that it's hard to see what the film could have been.

I was reminded of John Huston's adaptation of The Red Badge of Courage, a film that MGM cut down to the bone but one can still kind of see the film that Huston was trying to make through all of the rash editing decisions. It's hard to that with The Road Back because so much was reshot. The big stuff remains, obviously, like some large crowd scenes around unrest over the economic situation in Weimar later in the film, the more serious stuff in general, is obviously from the original shoot. But it's all undone by so many frequent cuts to lighter scenes that obviously don't fit.

It's such a compromised film that if someone were to list The Road Back as a lost film, I wouldn't begrudge the label. And it's obvious that it was supposed to be something big for Whale personally. A big, $1 million, film about The Great War and the soldiers' experience coming home. It's perfectly in his wheelhouse. Adapted from a celebrated, best-selling author like Remarque? A book so controversial is got banned in Germany? And Universal butchered the final cut so much that no one liked it and there's almost nothing of it left.

No wonder he ended up walking away from the industry.

Legacy

Whale's legacy will always be his four horror films, mostly the three that fall within the umbrella of the monster movies. I go into these runs with an eye towards finding the filmmaker away from his better known work, like how I found that the "real" Fritz Lang was much more than Metropolis and that, in fact, Metropolis wasn't reflecting of Lang overall that much at all. That's not the case with Whale, though.

He is his horror films. It's something like 75% of him as a filmmaker. You can see the major WWI elements in most of them in some form, so the more overt expressions in movies like Journey's End, Hell's Angels, Waterloo Bridge, and even the reduced form of The Road Back become almost redundant (to continue with the numbers, this would be about 24% of who he was as a filmmaker with the final 1% being studio hatchet man).

The horror movies are his best films. They are his most complete expressions of what he wanted to say in the cinematic form. They are most of his best made stuff. They are him at the peak of his power with the least interference from studio heads. There's more than just those, but they end up being supporting elements rather than defining ones.

He probably hated that, but it's true.

Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:

TRON: Ares

Roofman

Movies I Saw This Fortnight:

Wives Under Suspicion (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It wouldn't last too much longer, but it's still nice to see that he was still trying in his diminished professional state." [Amazon Prime]

The Man in the Iron Mask (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's not great cinema. It's a solid entertainment. It's Whale's last big success in his career. It's a fine, light entertainment that does its job and ends without much fuss. I've seen much worse efforts." [YouTube]

They Dare Not Love (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "His legacy will always be the monster movies, but They Dare Not Love and others of his work showed that he was more than that." [Library]

Black Sunday (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It really could have used another writer, but Bava made the absolute most of what he could." [Amazon Prime]

Erik the Conqueror (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "It's obvious that Bava wasn't really operating in his comfort zone in these more plot-driven exercises, but I don't think he was that far from making them work. He probably needed a better sense of structure, though." [Library]

Black Sabbath (Rating 3/4) Full Review "Solid, entertaining, and stylish, it's Bava precisely where he should be." [Plex]

The Whip and the Body (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's not some great piece of horror cinema, but it's solidly entertaining and showing that Bava could disappear a bit into gothic horror, subsuming his more outrageous stylistic flourishes in favor of a more muted visual tone. I'm kind of glad that Bava didn't rewrite it, is all." [Plex]

Planet of the Vampires (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's all style and no substance, but the style is a good time at the movies. This is Bava in his element. I can wish all day that he worked from better scripts, but this is nothing to sneeze at." [Library]

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.

My next post will be on 11/1, and it will be about the directing career of Mario Bava.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at 07:45 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 foist?

Posted by: anachronda at October 11, 2025 07:44 PM (edU/H)

2 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 07:45 PM (+qU29)

3 Diane Keaton is room temperature

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 07:46 PM (+qU29)

4 I just remember Keaton from the Godfather movies. (There are only two in my dimension.)
She was... okay I guess. I suspect Mrs Corleone could have been played by any shiksa.

Posted by: gKWVE at October 11, 2025 07:48 PM (gKWVE)

5 I thought Diane Keaton was cute in "Baby Boom". She had good chemistry with Sam Shepard. Too bad they didn't make any more movies together.

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 07:48 PM (lJ0H4)

6 Diane Keaton is room temperature

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 07:46 PM (+qU29)

Damn. RIP.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 07:50 PM (snZF9)

7 Heh. Watching 'The Unforgiven'

Eastwood just walked into the saloon where his friend's body is displayed.

Soon to come, 'Deserves got nothing to do with it'.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 07:51 PM (XeU6L)

8 Still nothing about Apocalypse Now

Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2025 07:52 PM (Bbhox)

9 I liked Diane Keaton in Father of the Bride.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 07:53 PM (snZF9)

10 Surprisingly Ben Affleck has directed three really good movies.

Gone Baby Gone
The Town
Argo

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 07:54 PM (EYmYM)

11 Keaton was good in Something Got to Give. Might be a chick movie but I liked it a lot.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 07:56 PM (EYmYM)

12 8 Still nothing about Apocalypse Now
Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2025 07:52 PM (Bbhox)

=====

Seven years ago.

https://ace.mu.nu/archives/375337.php#375337

Don't comment on the old thread. The system will ban you.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 07:57 PM (GBKbO)

13 I like the old horror movies

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 07:58 PM (+qU29)

14 Apocalypse Now is very overrated IMHO.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 07:58 PM (EYmYM)

15 I don't like the horror genre but I think The Others was really good.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 07:59 PM (EYmYM)

16 Keaton was good in Something Got to Give. Might be a chick movie but I liked it a lot.
Posted by: Willie Nailer

Yes, she and Jack Nicholson were great in that movie.

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 08:01 PM (lJ0H4)

17 Still nothing about Apocalypse Now
Posted by: Accomack
-----

[detects faint aroma of napalm]

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 08:01 PM (XeU6L)

18 Damn...I've been doing this thread for 8.5 years.

Looking through my emails with OM...

Miss him.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:02 PM (GBKbO)

19 Nicole Kidman is back on the market but I think over shadowed by Lori Loughlin being back on the market. She's pretty hot for 61 .

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 08:02 PM (EYmYM)

20 I mentioned this earlier in the week. Kinda of amazing because I don't watch many movies these days. I saw Perfect Days, a Japanese film, directed by Wim Winders. The description sort of reminded me of Fen's morning posts about seeing the area near her home.

It is a slow character study. The lead cleans public toilets in Tokyo. He has a regular boring routine that gets shaken up as the movie progresses. He's content with what he has. It's a real acting job as the character doesn't say much. The actor portrays emotion like a silent era actor. It's available on Amazon

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 11, 2025 08:03 PM (kUxzU)

21 Apocalypse Now isn't that good, has some good lines though. The long version is better a bit

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 08:03 PM (+qU29)

22 Looking through my emails with OM...

Miss him.
Posted by: TJM's phone

As does everyone.

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 08:04 PM (lJ0H4)

23 Any time "Brideshead of Frankenstein" plays on TCM I have to watch it. It's batshit. You can call it the straight version of "Young Frankenstein" but I think it's just as wild.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:05 PM (kpS4V)

24 No doubt this will be the unpopular opinion, but I liked Tron Ares.

Posted by: Darth Randall at October 11, 2025 08:06 PM (eBHtS)

25 TJM time has a way of flying on this website

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 08:06 PM (+qU29)

26 "Brideshead of Frankenstein"?! God love you, autocorrect.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:06 PM (kpS4V)

27 23 Any time "Brideshead of Frankenstein" plays on TCM I have to watch it. It's batshit. You can call it the straight version of "Young Frankenstein" but I think it's just as wild.
Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:05 PM (kpS4V

====

Son of Frankenstein (not directed by Whale) is probably what you're thinking of. Pretty much the exact same story.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:06 PM (GBKbO)

28 Thx TJM. Seen three of four horror feature Whale directed. Never seen The Old Dark House. Have to check it out, the other three were great

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:07 PM (pwtJC)

29 Movies is %90 of what I watch on tv

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 08:07 PM (+qU29)

30 I saw "Tron: Ares" in 3-D IMAX and as expected, the visuals and NIN soundtrack rocked; the story....eh.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:08 PM (kpS4V)

31 "Brideshead of Frankenstein"?! God love you, autocorrect.
Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord!

Brideshead of Frankenstein Revisited

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 08:08 PM (lJ0H4)

32 Now that I'm only streaming the free services like Roku, Tubi , Plex, etc, I'm seeing a lot of movies with big stars that I had no idea they made.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 08:09 PM (EYmYM)

33 Brideshead of Frankenstein Revisited
----

Sebastian Flyte blowing bubbles at The Monster, who dances in innocent glee.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:10 PM (kpS4V)

34 I liked Keaton in Reds. I know some don't care for the film as it is about Commies, but the performances were fantastic and in the end, it showed how foolish they were.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 08:11 PM (syz1S)

35 I have seen no Tron movies. I remember that my brother liked the first one. Just one of them things that I missed when it was released, then forgot about for decades.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at October 11, 2025 08:11 PM (0aYVJ)

36

As Annie Hall said to Alvy Singer

"Well, La di da..."

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at October 11, 2025 08:12 PM (x0n13)

37 I watched The Maze Runner today. A very good movie with such a WTF moment (which apparently makes way more sense and is done differently in the book) at the end that it partially ruins it.

Non-woke. I'd have given it an A- til 10 minutes were left...then I'd drop it to B-, but I may give the 2nd one a whirl anyway - I mean, it's free on streaming...

Posted by: Nova Local at October 11, 2025 08:13 PM (tOcjL)

38 Old films. I often have trouble watching them. Not because they are bad, nor because of the black and white thing. To be honest, I am not sure why. A lot of great stuff out there.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at October 11, 2025 08:15 PM (0aYVJ)

39 34 I liked Keaton in Reds. I know some don't care for the film as it is about Commies, but the performances were fantastic and in the end, it showed how foolish they were.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 08:11 PM (syz1S)

Agreed. I don't think it was a paean to the Commies either. Good film, worthy of my one and only time seeing it when it first came out. No desire ever to see it again.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at October 11, 2025 08:15 PM (x0n13)

40
Still nothing about Apocalypse Now
Posted by: Accomack
-----

[detects faint aroma of napalm]

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 08:01 PM (XeU6L)

*throws red card*
Foul. Timing of this statement is not in the morning.
LTC Kilgore is not happy with you.

Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2025 08:16 PM (QVmho)

41 Keaton was a good actress . Her Godfather trilogy, Looking for Mr Goodbar, Annie Hall were all great works, as. was Reds.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:16 PM (pwtJC)

42 I have seen only a few Diane Keaton movies. Not a lot. never saw Annie Hall, becuz Woody Allen. But I always thought she was pretty, and had a nice smile, and seemed like a nice person.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at October 11, 2025 08:18 PM (0aYVJ)

43 Movie thread, gonna drop this here...

https://tinyurl.com/3j3b6n57

Posted by: davidt at October 11, 2025 08:19 PM (i0F8b)

44 I don't remember much from "Reds"; liked Trotsky firing up the crowd in Tashkent.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:20 PM (kpS4V)

45 I am finding Mario Bava's more fun than James Whale.
Maybe it is being unable to divorce the art and the artist. That element sorta killed all of my enjoying for Bryan Singer movies (and The Usual Suspects is probably my favorite movie ever).

I will make an effort at some point to dig in, if for no other reason than to see if my theory of how he depicts women as unfaithful is valid. Or if it's just based on some comments in TJMs reviews.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:20 PM (xcxpd)

46 KUSC Classical station is playing James Horner 's score for "Legends of the Fall".

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:22 PM (kpS4V)

47 Reds and LOVED Annie Hall. I'm the person who didn't care for The Godfather series, according to my husband, the only person. I fell asleep during Godfather 2 in the theater.

Posted by: Megthered at October 11, 2025 08:22 PM (NHKs8)

48 Oooh, TLM 's Half in the Bag on Tron: Ares just dropped. Later taters!

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:23 PM (kpS4V)

49 Keaton is in my worst ever movie .

Looking for Mr Goodbar

Admittedly I saw it when I was 18 so may not have appreciated it. Never thought to give it another chance.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 08:24 PM (EYmYM)

50 Watched Bride of Frankenstein last night for the umpteenth time. I was fascinated at the miniature people under glass as a kid. Always thought Whip and the Body had a s and m vibe with a creepy Christopher Lee.

Posted by: B movie Milo at October 11, 2025 08:24 PM (iL+fp)

51 Saw Roofman. Channing Tatum does a good job selling his felonious character, but I wasn't buying. Guy was evil, beyond redemption.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 11, 2025 08:25 PM (dtajH)

52 KUSC Classical station is playing James Horner 's score for "Legends of the Fall".
Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord!

Must be a James Horner thing tonight. WPLN here in Nashville played a selection from his score to Field of Dreams a little while ago.

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 08:25 PM (lJ0H4)

53 The formerly hot Diane Keaton has died.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Going For the Brass Ring! at October 11, 2025 08:26 PM (L/fGl)

54 51 Saw Roofman. Channing Tatum does a good job selling his felonious character, but I wasn't buying. Guy was evil, beyond redemption.
Posted by: Ignoramus at October 11, 2025 08:25 PM (dtajH

====

The McD's in the movie is just a few miles from my house.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:27 PM (GBKbO)

55 Looking for Mr Goodbar

Admittedly I saw it when I was 18 so may not have appreciated it. Never thought to give it another chance.
Posted by: Willie Nailer

Most depressing movie ever.

Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025 08:27 PM (lJ0H4)

56 "Planet of the Vampires" is kind of a prequel to "Alien". It had campy special effects, but also was kind of scary. The search through the alien ship they found is similar to the search when they found the Xenomorph eggs in "Alien".

As Count Floyd (SCTV) would say, "Scary stuff, kids!"

But then again, "Dark Star" is also a humorous prequel to "Alien", as Little Dan O'Bannon was a writer for both.

Posted by: Pepperidge Farms remembers at October 11, 2025 08:28 PM (13Txl)

57 I see 28 Days Later on Netflix (or one of the streaming services) recently. Hadn’t seen it since the time I saw in theaters. Had this vision of a great movie in mind mind, on second watch, kinda meh. I forgot how woke it is. Also forgot the lead character was played by Cillian Murphy.

Funny how time can play tricks with your memory that way.

Posted by: Its Go Time Donald at October 11, 2025 08:29 PM (5Yz+T)

58 The monster and the blind hermit were obviously lovers!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 11, 2025 08:29 PM (63Dwl)

59 I think I like some of the old horror movies better then newer ones. I guess it depends on the plot. Sci-fi horror is usually ok. Event Horizon. Now thats a blueprint to follow.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 08:30 PM (snZF9)

60 Hollywood disaster that broke John Wayne's leg back in the '20s. (Maybe 90 seconds)

https://is.gd/Cu9SJv

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Going For the Brass Ring! at October 11, 2025 08:31 PM (L/fGl)

61 I have seen no Tron movies. I remember that my brother liked the first one. Just one of them things that I missed when it was released, then forgot about for decades.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at October 11, 2025 08:11 PM (0aYVJ)

The first and second ones didn't really have much of a plot, but they were pretty impressive for effects and shooting. They looked wonderful.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 11, 2025 08:31 PM (rbvCR)

62 I'm curious how the studio could get away with titling a 70's flick about terrorists and the Goodyear blimp "Black Sunday" when the Bava film already existed with the same name.

Are they allowed to do that?

Posted by: Orson at October 11, 2025 08:33 PM (dIske)

63 Psycho and The Birds did it for me on the horror movies. I'm more of a Sound of Music type watcher.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:34 PM (QGLzn)

64 The blind hermit was a bad influence. Showed Frankie how to smoke and drink.

Posted by: B movie Milo at October 11, 2025 08:34 PM (iL+fp)

65 My son never had much interest in Star Wars but watched the first one and then Empire Strikes Back. Empire is a fantastic movie, but almost nothing --even in a space fantasy world-- about it makes sense. Every two minutes I'm saying to myself "why are they out seeing if there is life on Hoth if they already have a massive base built there and why are they searching for life on Hoth if they know the Empire will be there shortly because they have an evacuation plan already in place?" And that's just in the first few minutes.

Great piece on James Whale. I haven't seen any of these in quiet some time. Always fun to go back to the classics!

Posted by: Lex at October 11, 2025 08:35 PM (y4H1r)

66 Hey everybody. Hey movie thread! Hey TJM!

Call me crazy, but I *still* think a much better *two-hour* (maybe a few more minutes) film could be carved out of all the bloat in The Deer Hunter.

IMHO an entire film editing course could be taught, just based on that one film alone.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 08:35 PM (/p+XQ)

67 I think if AN were coherent, it wouldn’t be great; it would lose its manic vignette flavor.
I don’t quite know why, but, AN and Moby Dick are linked in my head. They are the same romantic story.
Sometimes I include “Howl” or Pollack. The idea shifts.

Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2025 08:35 PM (4qMiv)

68 62 I'm curious how the studio could get away with titling a 70's flick about terrorists and the Goodyear blimp "Black Sunday" when the Bava film already existed with the same name.

Are they allowed to do that?
Posted by: Orson at October 11, 2025 08:33 PM (dIske)

====

It's really rare to find titles with copyright. I can think of one, Exodus, the Otto Preminger film. No one can release a movie with that title. Ridley Scott had to add the subtitle Gods and Kings to his Moses movie because MGM would have sued.

Also, no one takes Italy seriously for films on a business level, I don't think.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:36 PM (GBKbO)

69 All Hail Eris: I got to tour the studios of KUSC... in 1982.

At the time, they received programs from National Public Radio (NPR) via satellite, but couldn't always air them live. They had a whole bank of huge reel-to-reel recorders at the ready to record them, so they could time-shift the programs. Never forgot that.

They also had some impossibly rare classical records that, if they sold them today, could probably fund them for at least a year.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 08:37 PM (/p+XQ)

70 I have seen no Tron movies.
Posted by: Pug Mahon

The first and second ones didn't really have much of a plot, but they were pretty impressive for effects and shooting. They looked wonderful.
Posted by: Kindltot

So, Tron was the Avatar of 1982?

Posted by: mikeski at October 11, 2025 08:38 PM (nhCoE)

71 Having a gay guy - McKellen playing a gay guy - Whale ,is kind of typecasting

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:39 PM (pwtJC)

72 I wonder how Dallas Jenkins and Taylor Sheridan will be reviewed years from now.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:39 PM (QGLzn)

73 71 Having a gay guy - McKellen playing a gay guy - Whale ,is kind of typecasting
Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:39 PM (pwtJC)

===

It is a pretty good movie, at least.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:40 PM (GBKbO)

74 65
Great piece on James Whale. I haven't seen any of these in quiet some time. Always fun to go back to the classics!
Posted by: Lex at October 11, 2025 08:35 PM (y4H1r)

====

Thanks!

I watch so few newer movies.

Watched Sinners recently, and i was just confused at what everyone seemed to love. Kinda dumb, I thought.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:41 PM (GBKbO)

75 >>>It's really rare to find titles with copyright. I can think of one, Exodus, the Otto Preminger film. No one can release a movie with that title.

I'm skeptical. I didn't think a title could be protected by copyright. Especially a word that is in common usage and is even a book in the Bible.

Could you provide a link to where you got that info?

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 08:41 PM (syz1S)

76 Ben first saw the Birds after coming home on a Sunday afternoon children's movie. Was scared birds were going to attack me long after that.

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 08:42 PM (+qU29)

77 I think I like some of the old horror movies better then newer ones. I guess it depends on the plot. Sci-fi horror is usually ok. Event Horizon. Now thats a blueprint to follow.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 08:30 PM (snZF9)

Speaking of which, this headline bothered me at first read:
Event Horizon Telescope images reveal new dark matter detection method

https://tinyurl.com/tmc4tddk

Posted by: Kindltot at October 11, 2025 08:43 PM (rbvCR)

78 73 71 Having a gay guy - McKellen playing a gay guy - Whale ,is kind of typecasting
Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:39 PM (pwtJC)

===

It is a pretty good movie, at least.
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:40 PM (GBKbO)

And it stars a guy who got groomed by gay men!
Poor Brendan....the guy has had it rough.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:44 PM (xcxpd)

79 70 I have seen no Tron movies.
Posted by: Pug Mahon

The first and second ones didn't really have much of a plot, but they were pretty impressive for effects and shooting. They looked wonderful.
Posted by: Kindltot

So, Tron was the Avatar of 1982?
Posted by: mikeski at October 11, 2025 08:38 PM (nhCoE)

Tron 1 has a plot, a simple one even.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:45 PM (xcxpd)

80 It's really rare to find titles with copyright. I can think of one, Exodus, the Otto Preminger film. No one can release a movie with that title. Ridley Scott had to add the subtitle Gods and Kings to his Moses movie because MGM would have sued.

Also, no one takes Italy seriously for films on a business level, I don't think.
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:36 PM (GBKbO)
__________________________________

Cool. Thanks. So, my documentary on Morocco's Fennec Fox entitled "Casablanca" is good to go.

Posted by: Orson at October 11, 2025 08:46 PM (dIske)

81 "It's really rare to find titles with copyright. I can think of one, Exodus"

Did they trademark it?

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (dtajH)

82 So, Tron was the Avatar of 1982?
Posted by: mikeski at October 11, 2025 08:38 PM (nhCoE)

There are a number of films where the director, cameramen and set designers outclass the writers.
Pity, too, because there are wonderful stories in the world

Posted by: Kindltot at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (rbvCR)

83 75
I'm skeptical. I didn't think a title could be protected by copyright. Especially a word that is in common usage and is even a book in the Bible.

Could you provide a link to where you got that info?
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 08:41 PM (syz1S

===

It's listed in the Wikipedia, though the read is that the studio just made the decision proactively without actual legal action. Could MGM have successfully sued? Probably not, but the threat is enough to make it de facto copyrighted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Exodus:_Gods_and_Kings#cite_ref-8

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (GBKbO)

84 TJM, what about Israeli films?

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (QGLzn)

85 78 And it stars a guy who got groomed by gay men!
Poor Brendan....the guy has had it rough.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:44 PM (xcxpd)

====

I'm glad he's having a resurgence, at least.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:48 PM (GBKbO)

86 Promethius gay xxx version.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at October 11, 2025 08:49 PM (Gpfr9)

87 84 TJM, what about Israeli films?
Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (QGLzn)

*Considered mentioning Lemon Popsicle*
*Decides not to mention Lemon Popsicle*
*Does his part to keep this thread Lemon Popsicle free*

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:49 PM (xcxpd)

88 84 TJM, what about Israeli films?
Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:47 PM (QGLzn)

====

Never really thought about their films, to be honest.

I should look into it.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:49 PM (GBKbO)

89 And it stars a guy who got groomed by gay men!
Poor Brendan....the guy has had it rough.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:44 PM (xcxpd)

====

I'm glad he's having a resurgence, at least.
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:48 PM (GBKbO)

Very true. I hope he gets a true second act. He went to HS with the wife.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (xcxpd)

90 Mark Andrew Edwards, Ushpuzin and The Band were fun films.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (QGLzn)

91 Of course, the question that is top-of-mind for every True Hordling when engaging in a movie thread about a Director is "How did the work of [Whale] influence, directly, indirectly, or dreckly, the greatest movie of all-time, Prometheus?"

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (0sNs1)

92 Well while always a great thread its bed time for me
Have a great night everyone

Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2025 08:51 PM (+qU29)

93 89
Very true. I hope he gets a true second act. He went to HS with the wife.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (xcxpd

===

Very cool.

Like, went to HS and interacted or were both in the same building in different years?

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:51 PM (GBKbO)

94 90 Mark Andrew Edwards, Ushpuzin and The Band were fun films.
Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (QGLzn)

I need to watch The Band at some point.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:51 PM (xcxpd)

95 Of course, the question that is top-of-mind for every True Hordling when engaging in a movie thread about a Director is "How did the work of [Whale] influence, directly, indirectly, or dreckly, the greatest movie of all-time, Prometheus?"

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 08:50 PM (0sNs1)

I see that movie mentioned a lot here. Is there some joke surrounding that movie that I'm not getting?

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 08:53 PM (snZF9)

96 Like, went to HS and interacted or were both in the same building in different years?
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:51 PM (GBKbO)

In the same building. It's a big ol school on the side of Everett. Plus she was a bit younger than he was, not in the same grade.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:53 PM (xcxpd)

97 I see that movie mentioned a lot here. Is there some joke surrounding that movie that I'm not getting?
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 08:53 PM (snZF9)

TJM, sigh, unironically likes that trash fire of a movie.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (xcxpd)

98 Prometheus' Director says “The quantity of movies that are made today, literally globally – millions. Not thousands, millions… and most of it is sh*t"

https://tinyurl.com/3f863zvc

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (0sNs1)

99 Saw a trailer for Nuremberg. Russell Crowe plays Goering. Crowe is seriously bulky

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (pwtJC)

100
Michael Keaton is mortadella?

rip

Posted by: Soothsayer at October 11, 2025 08:55 PM (Va4G1)

101 I didn't think a title could be protected by copyright.

Which is fortunate for me. I watched Gods and Monsters mainly because it happened to have the same title as my roleplaying game. I discovered that when I went to get a domain name for the game. I don’t recall whether they actually had “godsandmonsters.com” but I discovered the movie while looking up potential domains.

And yes, it is a good movie. May have been the first time I saw Brendan Fraser in a movie.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 11, 2025 08:55 PM (EXyHK)

102 97 I see that movie mentioned a lot here. Is there some joke surrounding that movie that I'm not getting?
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 08:53 PM (snZF9)

TJM, sigh, unironically likes that trash fire of a movie.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (xcxpd)

====

And people love to give me shit about it.

It's all in good fun.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:55 PM (GBKbO)

103 99 Saw a trailer for Nuremberg. Russell Crowe plays Goering. Crowe is seriously bulky
Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (pwtJC)

====

It's screened at some festivals, and it's supposedly pretty good, something of a return to form for Crowe.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:56 PM (GBKbO)

104 The ark has been opened and Prometheus is now melting the faces off all who participate in the thread.

Posted by: All Hail Eris,, coming to you live from the Roller Disco of Discord! at October 11, 2025 08:57 PM (kpS4V)

105 Smell the Glove, he was plenty heavy in " Body of Lies". I will day his speech about terrorists in that movie is not just script but truth

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 08:59 PM (QGLzn)

106 If you look up the word Exodus on Wiki, then scroll down to the film section, there are 5 films - after 1960 - listed with the single word title Exodus. Twice in the UK. Also Hong Kong.

Those countries both respect, and participate in, the US copyright framework.

I see the cite listed for the Gods and Kings film, but there's no backup. A reference to an old magazine, but no quote or link.

But you may be right about them not wanting to tangle with MGM. Perhaps for reasons not limited to legalities.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 08:59 PM (syz1S)

107 Isn't TJM the only individual in North America who LIKED Prometheus? ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:00 PM (/p+XQ)

108 @105 agreed. Body of Lies was underrated IMHO.
Crowe stars in one of my top twenty movies, Master and Commander. A classic

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 09:01 PM (pwtJC)

109 Currently watching "Freddie Vs Jason".

Exactly what you'd expect, but just when I thought they needed to revive Zombie James Whale to add a Doctor Praetorius to the mix and liven things up,

they have a really well-done Jason set on fire and wielding the Flaming Machete of Doom scene.

Now I don't know what to think.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2025 09:03 PM (iJfKG)

110
TJM, sigh, unironically likes that trash fire of a movie.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 08:54 PM (xcxpd)

====

And people love to give me shit about it.

It's all in good fun.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 08:55 PM (GBKbO)

Ah, I see. I didn't think it was "that" bad. I only saw it once, and I had questions after. I probably have to watch it again. I do remember thinking great, another asshole android double crossing mankind.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:03 PM (snZF9)

111 Was Prometheus horrible? No.

Was it an obvious set up for a billion spinoffs, straight-to-streaming dramas and new Alien franchises? Yes.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:04 PM (/p+XQ)

112 Haven't seen all of Keaton's movies, but I can't recall ever seeing one of her flicks in which I disliked her. And she was always delightful in her movies with Woody Allen, Annie Hall in particular.

Haven't watched Whale's horror films in forever, and need to revisit. Looking forward to seeing the post on Mario Bava (Saw Black Sunday in the theater when it first came out here -- think I was 11 or 12 -- and the opening scene with the masking of Barbara Steele is something I never forgot. Need to revisit that one too. Been a while.)

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:04 PM (q3u5l)

113 Is it me/my computer or am I almost all alone? :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:07 PM (/p+XQ)

114 Didn't think Prometheus was bad, a little disjointed but some good scenes. With each Alien related movie it seems if they keep the "what the hell have we found here" thing going it works. Prometheus does that at times

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 09:07 PM (pwtJC)

115 Smell the Glove, I think half of Hollywood owes a paycheck or two to Dan O'Bannon at this point.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:08 PM (/p+XQ)

116 TheJamesMadison rarely expresses his admiration, in fact love, for another film in the Alien franchise, perhaps the only one that induces stronger emotions than Prometheus.

I speak, of course, of Alien: Covenant.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:08 PM (0sNs1)

117
lulz: I've been meaning to ask You People about this for 6 months, but forgot:

Besides her prickly nature, Fiorentino also got caught up in all the shit from the wiretapping scandal surrounding John McTiernan. She was dating Anthony Pellicano and an FBI agent who was investigating Pellicano. The agent was pulling info off of FBI computers and passing it on to Pellicano, using her as the courier/conduit.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at April 01, 2025

What's this all about?

Posted by: Soothsayer at October 11, 2025 09:08 PM (Va4G1)

118 No question that the first 100% AI movies will be films like Prometheus.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:09 PM (/p+XQ)

119 No question that the first 100% AI movies will be films like Prometheus.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:09 PM

The first AI movies, if they don't already exist, will be pr0n.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:10 PM (0sNs1)

120 Duncan, that goes without saying :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:11 PM (/p+XQ)

121 Smell the Glove, this is a totally pull.it out of thin air opinion because I don't watch Sci -fi but what little I have seen seems to be looking for explanations of the Creation .

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 09:11 PM (QGLzn)

122 Was Prometheus horrible? No.

Was it an obvious set up for a billion spinoffs, straight-to-streaming dramas and new Alien franchises? Yes.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:04 PM (/p+XQ)

I think I was bit confused after seeing it. At first I didn't even know it was a sequel to the Alien movies. After a bit in I thought hmm, this looks like it came before the Alien movie. I don't know what happened after that. I never saw the connection to the original movie, or maybe I just don't remember. Not a good sign I guess.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:11 PM (snZF9)

123 You: "When I do these lists of films, I always make sure to rewatch the films I'd seen and even reviewed before because the new context of the films around them provide a different framing that can inform the films differently. "

Me: In a novel about a book store, one of the characters says, and I paraphrase liberally, "When you encounter a book can be as important as what the book is. We change as we age and what seemed unimportant in youth can be mesmerizing in later years; and vice versa ..."

Onward, clc

Posted by: CarlosinIdaho at October 11, 2025 09:11 PM (nmULU)

124 I watched the new 4K of "Corpse Bride" which I saw in the theater 20 years ago. This release looks even better.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at October 11, 2025 09:12 PM (CHHv1)

125 Finally got around to catching Coen's film of Macbeth with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. Kinda liked it.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:12 PM (q3u5l)

126 Call me crazy, but I *still* think a much better *two-hour* (maybe a few more minutes) film could be carved out of all the bloat in The Deer Hunter.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 08:35 PM (/p+XQ)

++++

But what would you cut? It's a Vietnam movie, so I imagine that you would want to keep the Vietnam stuff. But that just leaves the hometown stuff. And cutting that would be a serious mistake.

That give us the basis for caring about what happened to those men as they were removed from a tight community and thrown into the hell of war. And then the film returns to the home front and shows them returning to community.

I never felt bored watching that movie. Editing anything out would lessen it.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 09:12 PM (syz1S)

127 Berserker, I believe Prometheus is a prequel.

I'm also surprised we haven't met Mr. Weyland and Mr. Yutani yet. The hyper-wealthy, likely full-on narcissistic/psychopathic founders/owners of Alien's corporation.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:13 PM (/p+XQ)

128 Anon, good question, and that's the standard Hollywood message about it: "okay mister know-it-all, what'd you cut?!"

It'll probably get me in trouble, but the Vietnam stuff itself (including the RR scene!) could be cut a lot. Bring it down to just very quick flashbacks.

In fact, maybe the entire film could be turned into one or more of the characters, reminiscing. Of course that might require a narration track to be recorded.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:15 PM (/p+XQ)

129 100
‘ Michael Keaton is mortadella?’

Buster Keaton too.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at October 11, 2025 09:16 PM (fd80v)

130 Carlos at 123 --

Do you remember the title of that novel?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:16 PM (q3u5l)

131 A white whale! Lower the boats!

Posted by: Eromero at October 11, 2025 09:16 PM (LHPAg)

132 Now for something different...

The fun horror movie with a very neat and original "monster", "Splinter", is now streaming on a couple of different channels. like Netflix, Hulu and Prime.

This is one I watch every Halloween season.

Give it a whirl.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2025 09:17 PM (iJfKG)

133 TheJamesMadison rarely expresses his admiration, in fact love, for another film in the Alien franchise, perhaps the only one that induces stronger emotions than Prometheus.

I speak, of course, of Alien: Covenant.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:08 PM (0sNs1)

I have an unopened box set of alien movies on dvd. It seems I'm going to have to binge watch them. Seems like I don't remember a lot of the movies. I remember the first time I ever saw the advertising for the first movie more than anything else. There was a poster in the window of a 7-11. It had an egg with an eerie green light escaping a cracked shell and the words "In space no one can hear you scream." I was thinking shit I gotta see this.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:17 PM (snZF9)

134 Berserker, both the entire Alien series and entire Godfather series could be re-cut into a streaming miniseries.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:18 PM (/p+XQ)

135 This is supposedly the correct order to watch the films in the Alien franchise:

1. Prometheus (2012)
2. Alien: Covenant (2017)
3. Alien (1979)
4. Aliens (1986)
5. Alien 3 (1992)
6. Alien: Resurrection (1997)
7. Alien: Romulus (2024)
8. Alien: Earth (2025)

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:20 PM (0sNs1)

136 Aliens vs The Godfather?

I'd check it out.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 09:20 PM (syz1S)

137 Let's just hope that no one mixes together the Godfather and Alien films with AI.

Imagine Sigourney sitting down with the Mother. "My offer is NOTHING!!!"

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:20 PM (/p+XQ)

138 Berserker, I believe Prometheus is a prequel.

I'm also surprised we haven't met Mr. Weyland and Mr. Yutani yet. The hyper-wealthy, likely full-on narcissistic/psychopathic founders/owners of Alien's corporation.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:13 PM (/p+XQ)

Right, prequel, thats what I meant. It seemed like it came before the first movie, but I didn't know that was the point. I went in not knowing it was a prequel.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:21 PM (snZF9)

139 127 Berserker, I believe Prometheus is a prequel.

I'm also surprised we haven't met Mr. Weyland and Mr. Yutani yet. The hyper-wealthy, likely full-on narcissistic/psychopathic founders/owners of Alien's corporation.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:13 PM (/p+XQ)

Weyland is in Prometheus. He's horrible and cheesy. And not in the fun way.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:21 PM (xcxpd)

140 If you're a fan of the original Alien, check out Alan Dean Foster's novelization. Been some time since I read it, but if memory serves, Foster was working from a shooting script and so included some scenes that didn't make it into the final cut (finding Dallas & crew coccooned, etc). Worth a look.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:21 PM (q3u5l)

141 @134 A+E has taken the first two Godfather films, added a few outtake scenes and shown them in chronological order. Pretty week done

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 09:22 PM (pwtJC)

142 Mark, didn't realize.

But now that I think of it, isn't he the one who refuses to die? ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:22 PM (/p+XQ)

143 135 This is supposedly the correct order to watch the films in the Alien franchise:

1. Alien (1979)
2. Aliens (1986)
Nothing else
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:20 PM (0sNs1)

FTFY

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:22 PM (xcxpd)

144 142 Mark, didn't realize.

But now that I think of it, isn't he the one who refuses to die? ;-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:22 PM (/p+XQ)

Yeah, he's the old ass guy played by Guy Pearce in the world's worst old age makeup. He gets killed by an Engineer.

It really is a horribly written and performed movie.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (xcxpd)

145 This is supposedly the correct order to watch the films in the Alien franchise:

1. Prometheus (2012)
2. Alien: Covenant (2017)
3. Alien (1979)
4. Aliens (1986)
5. Alien 3 (1992)
6. Alien: Resurrection (1997)
7. Alien: Romulus (2024)
8. Alien: Earth (2025)

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:20 PM (0sNs1)

Holy shit, I didn't know there were that many. Damn, they really milked that franchise.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (snZF9)

146 This is ~~supposedly~~ the correct order to watch the films in the Alien franchise:

1. Alien
2. Aliens

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (EXyHK)

147 Looking for Mr Goodbar

Admittedly I saw it when I was 18 so may not have appreciated it. Never thought to give it another chance.
Posted by: Willie Nailer
*
Most depressing movie ever.
Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2025

***
The novel is too . . . but Goodbar the book gives us a picture of a woman's life in the context of the Sixties and Seventies, with memorable characters, including the protagonist (the character Diane Keaton played).

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:24 PM (omVj0)

148 Wolfus, isn't Looking For Mr Goodbar actually a condemnation of the 1960s/70s hookup culture?

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:25 PM (/p+XQ)

149 Don't forget about the Aliens vs Predator film. And with that, you have to watch all the Predator movies as well.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 11, 2025 09:25 PM (syz1S)

150 “Do not attempt to explain the sequels. That is impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.”

“What truth?”

“There are no sequels.”

Posted by: Kid With Spoon at October 11, 2025 09:25 PM (EXyHK)

151 People also don't realize that William Peter Blatty actually wrote The Exorcist as a pro-Catholic, anti-sexual revolution tale.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:26 PM (/p+XQ)

152 The Spaceballs scene with the Alien popping out of John Hurts stomach has to fit in that chronology somewhere

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 09:26 PM (pwtJC)

153 So there's some disagreement on the proper order for watching the Alien movies.

But where do we put the Alien vs Predator movies in the chronology? How dare we simply erase them from their place in film history? Attention must be paid!

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:26 PM (q3u5l)

154 Anon, I got to see the original Predator in a then-brand-new theater, when the film was brand new.

I was blown away by the experience.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:26 PM (/p+XQ)

155 I checked and season 6 of The Chosen isn't available until 2027. I will have all the pixels worn off 1-5 by then.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 09:27 PM (QGLzn)

156 Russ Meyer was the last American film auteur.

Change my mind.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:27 PM (0sNs1)

157 Duncan, I know Roger Ebert loved Russ Meyer. They worked on a crazy film together in 1970, Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:28 PM (/p+XQ)

158 Holy shit, I didn't know there were that many. Damn, they really milked that franchise.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (snZF9)

Fast and Furious still holds that title.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 09:29 PM (EYmYM)

159 This afternoon I watched the second half of Skyfall, that great Bond flick with Daniel Craig. It would be a great adventure story even if it were not about someone called James Bond. The last forty-five minutes, from the scene where M quotes Tennyson at the Ministry of Defence hearing as Silva closes in on her and Bond races to stop him, to Bond "kidnapping" M and taking her in the Aston-Martin to Scotland to get the advantage over Silva --! Then the battle at Bond's old estate . . . character relationships and revelations, a character (Ralph Fiennes) who turns out to be much more than we thought . . . dynamite stuff.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (omVj0)

160 Holy shit, I didn't know there were that many. Damn, they really milked that franchise.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (snZF9)

Fast and Furious still holds that title.
Posted by: Willie Nailer

*Ahem.*

Posted by: Ian Fleming & James Bond at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (/p+XQ)

161 Holy shit, I didn't know there were that many. Damn, they really milked that franchise.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:23 PM (snZF9)

Fast and Furious still holds that title.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 09:29 PM (EYmYM)

yeah I'm not sure I made it past the 2nd one.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (snZF9)

162 off double-o-sock

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:31 PM (/p+XQ)

163 Black Sunday (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It really could have used another writer, but Bava made the absolute most of what he could." [Amazon Prime]

After reading about James Whale, I was wondering who this Bava person was. After looking at the link to Black Sunday, the plot was reminiscent of the plot of The Mummy. I wonder if The Mummy was influenced by Black Sunday.

Posted by: Darrell Harris - Je Suis Charlie at October 11, 2025 09:31 PM (0CU3H)

164 156 Russ Meyer was the last American film auteur.

Change my mind.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:27 PM (0sNs1)

===

Not while Michael Bay exists, bruh.

Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 09:31 PM (GBKbO)

165 No love for 'Jason and the Argonauts'?

I mean, c'mon...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8goVW2TNlE0

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 09:32 PM (XeU6L)

166 Wolfus, isn't Looking For Mr Goodbar actually a condemnation of the 1960s/70s hookup culture?
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025

***
I think so. It certainly doesn't glamorize it. The author, Rossner, doesn't come out and lecture us, as would be expected today. She *shows* us the trivial nature and emptiness of that culture in Teresa's life.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:32 PM (omVj0)

167 Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (snZF9)

I barely made it through the first. There are 11 movies in the franchise.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 09:35 PM (EYmYM)

168 oo here's a vid about John Carter
youtu.be/0HLAVF2FWkk
I always thought the movie was good and that Disney screwed it over.

Posted by: gKWVE at October 11, 2025 09:35 PM (gKWVE)

169 gKWVE, that's what Disney does best nowadays: screw things over.

Am shocked they still haven't figured out how to ruin Disneyland. Make all the princesses drag queens, maybe?

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:36 PM (/p+XQ)

170 Also, Disney is thinking of adding a Jimmy Kimmel-themed ride to the park! :-P

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:37 PM (/p+XQ)

171 Ahem.*
Posted by: Ian Fleming & James Bond at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (/p+XQ)

I don't consider that a milking situation. But yeah there are over 20 Bond movies

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 09:39 PM (EYmYM)

172 Also, Disney is thinking of adding a Jimmy Kimmel-themed ride to the park! :-P
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:37 PM (/p+XQ)

Basically piggy-backing off of much more talented folks like Ben Stein and Adam Carolla?

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at October 11, 2025 09:39 PM (0aYVJ)

173 Not while Michael Bay exists, bruh.
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 09:31 PM

As the late, great Pauline Kael argued, however, most "auteurs" rely on creativity of others, like cinematographers.

Russ Meyer did do it all, including cinematography. Ye canna say the same for Bay now, can ye, lad?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:40 PM (0sNs1)

174 "Jimmy Kimmel-themed ride"

It's a small mind after all.

Posted by: fd at October 11, 2025 09:40 PM (vFG9F)

175 Pug, you know it! :-P

I think Disney is allergic to real talent at this point.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:41 PM (/p+XQ)

176 No love for 'Jason and the Argonauts'?

I mean, c'mon...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8goVW2TNlE0

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 09:32 PM (XeU6L)

That was creepy as fuck when I was kid. I don't think I saw that in 50 years. Damn...

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 11, 2025 09:41 PM (snZF9)

177 fd, the Kimmel ride's guaranteed to make you throw up or your next park visit is free! :-P

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:41 PM (/p+XQ)

178 I always thought [John Carter] was good and that Disney screwed it over.

I’m a huge fan of ERB’s series, and my first thought on seeing the movie title was, why did someone make a movie about the worst representative in the House on my ballot.

Even if they wanted to keep the title short, there had to be a better title than “John Carter”.

I did enjoy the movie, though. I haven’t seen it since, but I recall thinking they did a good job, and hoping there would be more in the series.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 11, 2025 09:42 PM (EXyHK)

179 Russ Meyer relied upon large breasts. He knew what worked

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 11, 2025 09:42 PM (pwtJC)

180 >>>Also, no one takes Italy seriously for films on a business level, I don't think.
Posted by: TJM's phone
--------------

Heyja, waita minute.
_Tinto Brass

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at October 11, 2025 09:43 PM (+f1g8)

181 Rewatched Jason & the Argonauts about five years ago, and that sucker still holds up. Mister, we could use a man like Ray Harryhausen again.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:43 PM (q3u5l)

182 The skeleton fight was at the end of the movie. They saved the best for last.

Posted by: Willie Nailer at October 11, 2025 09:44 PM (EYmYM)

183 Heroes and Icons is running the first episode of the 1967 series Garrison's Gorillas, which was a sort of "Dirty Dozen/Suicide Squad" for TV, tonight at 10 Central. I don't remember it well; maybe some of you do.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:45 PM (omVj0)

184 173 Not while Michael Bay exists, bruh.
Posted by: TJM's phone at October 11, 2025 09:31 PM

As the late, great Pauline Kael argued, however, most "auteurs" rely on creativity of others, like cinematographers.

Russ Meyer did do it all, including cinematography. Ye canna say the same for Bay now, can ye, lad?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:40 PM (0sNs1)

I really, really hate Pauline Kael. She's wrong so consistently she could have been the third person in 'At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert'.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:47 PM (xcxpd)

185 Rewatched Jason & the Argonauts about five years ago, and that sucker still holds up. Mister, we could use a man like Ray Harryhausen again.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025

***
People laugh at the 1981 (?) Clash of the Titans. But the stealthy hunt by Perseus of Medusa in the shadowy hall lit only by flickering firelight suited the stop-motion animation perfectly. A wonderful sequence.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:47 PM (omVj0)

186 159 This afternoon I watched the second half of Skyfall, that great Bond flick with Daniel Craig. It would be a great adventure story even if it were not about someone called James Bond. The last forty-five minutes, from the scene where M quotes Tennyson at the Ministry of Defence hearing as Silva closes in on her and Bond races to stop him, to Bond "kidnapping" M and taking her in the Aston-Martin to Scotland to get the advantage over Silva --! Then the battle at Bond's old estate . . . character relationships and revelations, a character (Ralph Fiennes) who turns out to be much more than we thought . . . dynamite stuff.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:30 PM (omVj0)

I still can't tell when you're trolling and when you're channeling qdpsteve.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:49 PM (xcxpd)

187
I'm out. Watching Apocalypse Now redux (3:22:00 hours long)

Laterz.

*should be early morning when we sniff napalm*

Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2025 09:50 PM (QVmho)

188 If they'd wanted a short title, they could have called it John Carter of Mars and still had a title short enough to fit almost any marquee.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:50 PM (q3u5l)

189 155 I checked and season 6 of The Chosen isn't available until 2027. I will have all the pixels worn off 1-5 by then.
Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 09:27 PM (QGLzn)

We're restarting the series again and running up through the Last Supper. Hopefully by then House of David will have new Episodes.

Both shows have been good. Not just 'good for Christian content' just good in general.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:50 PM (xcxpd)

190 I still can't tell when you're trolling and when you're channeling qdpsteve.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025

***
Huh? I'm being serious. Grand film.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:50 PM (omVj0)

191 I really, really hate Pauline Kael. She's wrong so consistently she could have been the third person in 'At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert'.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2025 09:47 PM

In this particular instance though, regarding the definition of a cinematic auteur, she is correct.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 11, 2025 09:52 PM (0sNs1)

192 "think Disney is allergic to real talent at this point."

Disney's problem is that they are trying to shoehorn woke propaganda into entertaining movies, instead of creating entertaining movies for their own sake.

C.S. Lewis touched on this in "The Inner Ring"

if, say, you want to join a musical society because you "really like music—then there is a possibility of satisfaction. You may find yourself playing in a quartet and you may enjoy it. But if all you want is to be in the know, your pleasure will be short lived. The circle cannot have from within the charm it had from outside. By the very act of admitting you it has lost its magic."

A good counter-example of this is the Star Trek series. Every episode had a "message", but that wasn't it's primary purpose. It's like trying to force a marriage to be "happy". Work toward having a "good" marriage and happiness will occur naturally as byproduct.

The irony is that if Disney prioritized entertainment, their propaganda wave would be irresistible. Yay corruption? Heh

Posted by: Fen at October 11, 2025 09:55 PM (ciYHQ)

193 Mark: I agree with you about Pauline Kael. She was really just a rich-bitch mean girl who could write.

IMHO it was also criminal what she tried to do to Bosley Crowther at the NY Times. (She wanted him fired, shamed and ostracized for not falling in love with 'Bonnie And Clyde' in 1967.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:55 PM (/p+XQ)

194 Fen, yep!

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:56 PM (/p+XQ)

195 Mark Andrew Edwards, you are so right.What is so appealing about The Chosen is it is just great storytelling.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 11, 2025 09:56 PM (QGLzn)

196 recheck

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at October 11, 2025 09:56 PM (+f1g8)

197 Thanks for the thread, TJM.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 09:57 PM (q3u5l)

198 Regarding "message" in books and films: Yes, it may be there, or ir may not. It can be great if it is a byproduct of the main story, the adventure or the mission or the mystery or whatever. If the script is nothing but message, then meh. Smart writers sugarcoat that pill.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:58 PM (omVj0)

199 NOOD

ONT

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at October 11, 2025 10:00 PM (ULPxl)

200 "Disney is thinking of adding a Jimmy Kimmel-themed ride to the park"

They should just upgrade the Jussie Smollett Incident. It's the same ride (bearing false witness, Charles) with a bonus side quest to Subway*

* not valid in Texas or Florida

Posted by: Fen at October 11, 2025 10:01 PM (ciYHQ)

201 185 Rewatched Jason & the Argonauts about five years ago, and that sucker still holds up. Mister, we could use a man like Ray Harryhausen again.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025

***
People laugh at the 1981 (?) Clash of the Titans. But the stealthy hunt by Perseus of Medusa in the shadowy hall lit only by flickering firelight suited the stop-motion animation perfectly. A wonderful sequence.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2025 09:47 PM (omVj0)

Clash of the Titans is a great movie. You get past the cheesy special effects, and you get sucked right into the plot. I even liked the owl.

Posted by: Darrell Harris - Je Suis Charlie at October 11, 2025 10:07 PM (0CU3H)

202 193 Mark: I agree with you about Pauline Kael. She was really just a rich-bitch mean girl who could write.

IMHO it was also criminal what she tried to do to Bosley Crowther at the NY Times. (She wanted him fired, shamed and ostracized for not falling in love with 'Bonnie And Clyde' in 1967.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 11, 2025 09:55 PM (/p+XQ)

oh, can I stomp on Pauline too? Never did like her snooty persona, or her reviews...I forget where I read this years ago, but she HATED Deanna Durbin films , I guess since they were basically positive, pro-American films.... even if you aren't a big fan of musicals (and the later films showed her singing less and less) they are very well produced, often funny films

Posted by: zigggggy at October 11, 2025 10:17 PM (/Pwrg)

203 so late (too late) to comment, but excellent opine TheJamesMadison

Surprised you didn't like Kiss Before the Mirror...I really liked the dark performance of , of all people Frank Morgan

Posted by: zigggggy at October 11, 2025 10:26 PM (/Pwrg)

204 Re: 130

Just some guy, sorry, I don't. Just did a ten-minute search and didn't find it, though found others of interest. Will keep thinking about this and if I find a clue, will forward.

Onward, clc

Posted by: CarlosinIdaho at October 11, 2025 10:37 PM (nmULU)

205 Carlos at 204

Don't go crazy looking for it -- it'll turn up sooner or later.

Thanks and have a good one.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2025 10:53 PM (q3u5l)

206 145 Holy shit, I didn't know there were that many. Damn, they really milked that franchise.

i still haven't seen leonard parts 1 through 5.

Posted by: anachronda at October 11, 2025 11:06 PM (edU/H)

207 I even liked the owl.
Posted by: Darrell Harris
---------

I particularly like the owl. Let's see Boston Dynamics come up with one of those.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 11:20 PM (XeU6L)

208
[looks around]
[damn...the theater is empty]

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 11, 2025 11:21 PM (XeU6L)

209 Who the hell has time to watch all these movies?

Posted by: tevildo at October 12, 2025 05:00 AM (nAOwl)

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