Saturday Evening Movie Thread 07/27/2024 [TheJamesMadison]

Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges, his father's last name was Biden but he took the name of his step-father, was born to a theatrical mother who carted him around with her as she explored the theaters of Europe as a performer. Educated in different boarding schools across the continent, he was as fluent in French as he was in English, calling France a second home. He never found a professional home as an adult until 1928 when he suddenly became Broadway's biggest playwright, joining the army's air service and working in a store that his mother's fourth husband owned.

The play that changed the direction of his life was Strictly Dishonorable, a comedy on Broadway. It premiered on September 18, 1929. The stock market crashed on October 24, 1929. The people were in a mood for comic antics, and Sturges was right there at the right time to give it to them. His star was made overnight, and Hollywood quickly came calling. By 1932, he was working in Hollywood for several studios, writing scripts for movies like William Wyler's The Good Fairy and Mitchell Leisen's Easy Living. He wanted to direct, though, and, in 1940, sold a script to Paramount, The Great McGinty, for $10 with the understanding that he would direct.

The Great McGinty was a large success, and Paramount had a new golden-boy: the best paid writer (and later, at one point, the best paid person) in America. He directed eight films over the span of years from 1940 to 1944 including The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, and Hail the Conquering Hero. I don't think any writer/director has ever burned so brightly for so short a time, for Sturges was in constant battle with studio bosses at Paramount, mostly Buddy DeSylva, until Sturges broke with Paramount and entered a business deal with Howard Huges to form California Pictures. His part of the company lasted one film, the Harold Lloyd legacy sequel to The Freshman, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock. He was beginning the filming of another film for the company when Hughes fired him over the phone (never go into business with Howard Hughes). He got hired by 20th Century Fox, a situation that led to two box office, duds, and he was released from his contract.

He would spend the rest of his life trying to pull funds together for more films, only getting one production off the ground again, The French, They Are a Funny Race, made in France with French money and filmed in both English and French (it's kind of bad). Always having a problem controlling his intake of alcohol, he died of a heart attack in 1959 while writing his autobiography, less than four years after his last film and fifteen since his last unfiltered financial success (Hail the Conquering Hero).

And yet, despite the very concentrated timing of his directing career (for all intents and purposes, it was only five years from 1940 to 1944), his films are surprisingly well known for being eighty years old. That's hard for comedies which have notoriously short shelf-lives. Why is that? Why does Sturges stand the test of time?

Influence

When you spin up a documentary or interview about Sturges, you get a lot of platitudes about how Sturges was unique and couldn’t be replicated. I've heard that too many times about too many artistic figures to take it at face value, and watching Sturges' films, while I had a great time with them, I did not find them terribly unique. They felt like they existed in the space between Ernst Lubitsch and Frank Capra.

I came to this conclusion before watching Sullivan's Travels where both directors are name-dropped. Capra is entirely mentioned in the opening scene where Joel McCrea talks about how he wants to make serious films despite being known as a comic director while Lubitsch is brought up more than once as the director that Veronica Lake dreams of working for. The whole movie is pretty obviously a reaction to Capra's recent turn into making more serious-minded films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and, in particular, Meet John Doe which reached theaters eight days before Sullivan's Travels started production. He saw Capra betraying comedy by trying to be serious instead of telling stories of upwardly mobile Americans and a certain fantasy while real Americans suffered. As the butler character in Sullivan's Travels puts it regarding the portrayal of comedy on screen, "If you'll permit me to say so, sir, the subject is not an interesting one. The poor know all about poverty and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous."

Where does this manifest in Sturges' films? Well, the connection started for me when I was going through Wyler's filmography and saw The Good Fairy. Despite Sturges' name, I saw the film as primarily a Lubitsch homage (Wyler, along with Billy Wilder, were huge Lubitsch fans and had a famous exchange when leaving the man's funeral). It had the battle of the sexes, the heavy use of masquerade with a character pretending to be someone else, and a heavy emphasis on class differences, all of which defined Lubitsch's work coming from a fan in Wyler. I walked into Sturges' filmography with that experience still fresh in my mind, and it didn't take long to see the influences.

Christmas in July, his second film is where the two main influences combine most clearly for the first time. On the one hand, you have obvious Capra-like elements of a young man, an everyman, finding a sudden windfall that brings him great wealth through his own good idea (he wins a contest for a coffee company's new motto), but there are heavy elements of the masquerade with the young man learning that he didn't actually win while also embracing certain class issues around the battle of the sexes (both guy and girl are poor, but the guy suddenly getting paid and huge promotions). It has the light touch of Lubitsch, the overall plot of Capra, but uses mechanisms that are a bit more Lubitsch than Capra.

Why bring this up? To tear Sturges down? Not at all. I just see precious little originality in the world of art and film, and I think pointing out influences, especially very successful application of influences like with Sturges, is important in trying to appreciate film as a medium while guiding people towards newer things to them that they might enjoy. Essentially, I'm saying that if you like Sturges films like The Lady Eve, check out some more Lubitsch films like The Smiling Lieutenant.

Writing and Directing

So, enough about his influences. What about him made him special? Having inspirations from other successful people doesn't make one special. Making the most of your inspirations and doing it well is what does that. And I think Sturges did that. His influences are obvious, but he was his own artist through and through nonetheless.

There are a few things he does that are relatively unique. The first thing that comes to mind is his use of hooks in dialogue where one line of dialogue will feed into the next. It's easy to see this in the early parts of The Lady Eve, in particular the string of dialogue from unnamed characters along the side of the ship that Henry Fonda is about to board. One line will end with a word, and the next line, spoken by the next person in the line but not talking to the previous person, takes it up as the topic for a quick line, ending with another word that gets picked up by the next. It moves quickly, but it's not hard to keep track because the structure within the dialogue allows for easy following. That's not just a writing thing, though, that's also a directing thing.

Sturges made movies in the early 40s, more than a decade after sound had been introduced. Sound remained fairly primitive for a while, waiting for stereo to be invented and limited to mono tracks recorded with primitive technology like early microphones, so there was a general best practice of using steady pacing in speaking with precious little, if any, overlap in dialogue. Sturges worked up against that, having people nearly talk over each other at high speeds, providing a nice clip to the movement of the scene, propelling the audience forward in the action as they try to keep up. It also helps that the lines are funny. This was happening when some others were trying the same thing, most notably Howard Hawks on His Girl Friday which came out the same year that Sturges started directing (1940).

The other interesting thing about his writing is this incredible adherence to the three-act structure that Sturges keeps to. Most of his films are right around ninety-minutes long, and you can set your watch to the transitions from one act to the next happening right at the 30 and 60 minute marks. This adherence to structure allows him to spend time with characters, establishing situations, and letting scenes play out with his fun dialogue for goodly amounts of time, allowing for this combination feeling of quick movement through the delivery of dialogue but without speeding through the actual story by keeping an eye towards his structural delivery.

Story

What his brand of quick line delivery and adherence to story structure allowed was actually pursuing character-based stories, and all of his films, no matter what else they're doing, follow that path. It's not just about delivery funny dialogue in quick style, but about doing that in service to a story with interesting characters. Well, except for The French are a Funny Race...that doesn't adhere to much.

Think of perhaps his best known film, The Lady Eve. We have the fast dialogue, mostly used to bring our two stars together, apart, and then back together again over the course of the film, but it's all done in the service of a love story. A love story between a low-class huckster played by Barbara Stanwyck and a high-class boob played by Henry Fonda. The first act is about them getting to know each other on a cruise ship. It's sweet, well written, and all about the characters, all while being very funny. The second act is Stanwyck's revenge against Fonda for dumping her once he found out she was a card shark, pretending to be the eponymous, English Lady Eve, wrapping him around her finger, and getting him to fall in love with her and marry her. The third act is them breaking apart and then finding a way to come back again. There's real story here. Every joke, whether funny lines from the main cast or bit players, is done in support of these two people going through this journey. There are no massive detours into different subplots for extended periods of time just because Sturges thought it would be funny. There's surprising focus here, and it's present in most of his work as well.

And I keep coming back to this whenever I think about comedic movies, but what gives them life after the initial laughs have worn off is whether they adhere to storytelling or not. Strings of funny things disconnected from something holding it up don't age as well over the decades. There will always be exceptions, but comedy supported by dramatic storytelling always feels stronger and more likely to last longer than comedy that's just disconnected jokes. Sure, we can point to The Marx Brothers or The Three Stooges because of funny routines (Duck Soup is one of my favorite movies, but I also latch onto story and satirical elements in there beyond just the zany antics), but most comedy of yesterday falls out and ages really badly. The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Great McGinty, Hail the Conquering Hero, and Christmas in July have all aged wonderfully.

You see, despite seeing influences from other filmmakers everywhere, despite not thinking of Sturges as a blazingly original talent with no equal, I still find so much to enjoy with his work because he was, you know, just really good at telling stories filled with laughs. He wrote well. He directed well. He burned very brightly for a very short amount of time, but he burned out.

His final two films are drudgery to get through, and he seemingly lost his mojo before his death. It's a sad end, something that probably could have been avoided, but it is what it is. At least we got his work from the early 1940s. They're treasures.

Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:

Deadpool & Wolverine

Movies I Saw This Fortnight:

The Great McGinty (Rating 3/4) Full Review "However, it's still pretty solid. The acting is good. The camera tries to be sophisticated, but it's not exactly Wyler levels of composition and movement. It's pretty good, is what I'm saying." [Library]

Christmas in July (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's a charming, winning film that does rely too much on miscommunication to be the source of its drama, but wins me over pretty well by the end." [Library]

The Lady Eve (Rating 4/4) Full Review "The Lady Eve may be something of a trifle, but it's a wonderful trifle." [The Criterion Channel]

Sullivan's Travels (Rating 4/4) Full Review "So, it really is a gem. It has fun comedy, a nice little romantic subplot, and even a message (about not having messages) that won me over by the end." [The Criterion Channel]

The Palm Beach Story (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "Sturges had a winner on his hands, and it's all the more impressive because of how fast he was working in the first few years of the 1940s." [Library]

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Rating 3/4) Full Review "The final ten minutes or so are the highlight. The rest of the film has its moments, mostly from Bracken stealing every scene he's in (and he's in a lot of the movie), but the lack of any narrative focus robs the film overall of the kind of heightened comedy with dramatic underpinnings that marked his earlier efforts." [Library]

Hail the Conquering Hero (Rating 4/4) Full Review "It's a comedy with real laughs and real drama undergirding all of it. It's wonderfully performed, quickly paced, and a real treat to sit through. I think this might be my favorite Sturges film." [Library]

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "Is this one of the great films from either men? Not really. Is it an entertaining trifle that builds well, elicits chuckles, and has some small thrills along the way? I think so." [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 8/17, and it will talk about the films directed by John Landis.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:45 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 07:48 PM (fwDg9)

2 Present !

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:52 PM (V13WU)

3 Evening.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 07:52 PM (3SvH7)

4 Wow, skip , looks like people are out clam baking or something...

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:52 PM (V13WU)

5 I am going to make one , ONE off topic remark and then we can go back to the MOVIES !

JD Vance just wiped the floor with K. Harris. That is all.

Back to the movies !

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:53 PM (V13WU)

6 runner, can you go back to the KT thread and say how?

Posted by: Ben Had at July 27, 2024 07:55 PM (5MvGY)

7 Nice work, TJM.

I finally watched "Moneyball" this week. Liked it.

In a bit of the doldrums when it comes to entertainment. Can't find a decent new series I'm interested in, and I can't just rewatch Chuck, Justified, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Person of Interest over and over until I die.

Or, maybe I can.

I will catch Deadpool and Wolverine next week at some point.

Posted by: Sharkman at July 27, 2024 07:56 PM (/RHNq)

8 I have a suggestion, to TJM, when you go through "Movies I Saw This Fortnight" can you pls add release dates? It makes a difference to me, sort of a quick reference, and helps with decisions - to watch or not to watch. Maybe add a director's name too. Not a demand , just a thought.

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:57 PM (V13WU)

9 runner, can you go back to the KT thread and say how?
Posted by: Ben Had at July 27, 2024 07:55 PM (5MvGY)

you bet!

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:57 PM (V13WU)

10 I guess I am not the movie guy I thought I was. Haven’t heard of this guy or his movies.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 07:57 PM (B1dzx)

11 I love The Lady Eve. One of my favorite movies.

Posted by: Tuna at July 27, 2024 07:59 PM (oaGWv)

12 Thanks, O B

Sturges is one of my favorite film makers. Your analysis explains why I love his movies.
One of the minor pleasures is his use of his "ensemble company". It is delightful to watch to see supporting actors in different roles throughout his work.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 07:59 PM (4lnL8)

13 Posted by: Sharkman at July 27, 2024 07:56 PM (/RHNq)

I recommend Mr In Between.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 07:59 PM (B1dzx)

14 Watched The Man From.UNCLE last night. Hadn't seen it in awhile. They could of made a great series with it. And while Hugh Grant has a small role, every time he opens his mouth I'm ready to laugh.
Oh well.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 08:00 PM (W/lyH)

15 I’m watching the Trump crypto speech. Apparently the SEC chairman is hated by that group.

Trump is obviously listening to Vivek about crypto.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at July 27, 2024 08:00 PM (jDLoh)

16 Polynikes- how lucky you are to get to see them for the first time!

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:02 PM (4lnL8)

17 Deadpool and Wolverine, were ok, I guess considering the dumpster fire Marvel has become, thats a good thing,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:02 PM (PXvVL)

18 KTE has heard that Twisters is pretty good and not political

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at July 27, 2024 08:03 PM (+NAra)

19 Got through that tour de force of Sturges

If seen any of them hasn't been in a long time

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 08:04 PM (fwDg9)

20 is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes any good ? I don't want to waste 2.5 hrs on some dreck...

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:04 PM (V13WU)

21 I also saw Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, you could think of it as a sort of prequel to Man from Uncle, since Cavill is the star in both, even though he plays a Brit March Phipps and and an American Napoleon Solo

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:04 PM (PXvVL)

22 It would have apropos if Sturgis made a movie about a huge motorcycle rally that ran for a week.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 08:06 PM (6WCwE)

23 both Guy Ritchie projects, maybe they will get their niche audience, there, like Uncle did,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:06 PM (PXvVL)

24 Just watched a pretty good 2016 movie called The Confirmation with Clive Owen. A Father /Son themed movies. I like that genre.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:06 PM (B1dzx)

25 Let me try a ranking:
Palm Beach Story
Sullivan's Travels
The Lady Eve
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Hail the Conquering Hero
The Great McGinty

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:07 PM (4lnL8)

26 "Killer Shrews" is on Svengoolie. It's one of those movies where you hope everybody gets eaten.

Posted by: fd at July 27, 2024 08:09 PM (vFG9F)

27 the first got caught in the trough after civil war if memory serves, I was looking for a sequel, but arnie hammer, well he has some issues,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:09 PM (PXvVL)

28 >>>>KTE has heard that Twisters is pretty good and not political

The director has said that anything about climate change was intentionally left out of the movie because he didn't want it to have any kind of message.

Posted by: Mark1971 at July 27, 2024 08:09 PM (xPl2J)

29 Read the content.

I don't see what this has to do with the Olympics.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:10 PM (l7eLn)

30 "Killer Shrews" is on Svengoolie. It's one of those movies where you hope everybody gets eaten.
Posted by: fd

I thought we weren't talking about Kamala and Hillary tonight.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at July 27, 2024 08:10 PM (VNX3d)

31 I pretty much like Kenneth Branagh's Death On the Nile. Then I saw the documentary on Armie Hammer and felt a little sick that I had seen one of his movies.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:11 PM (L/fGl)

32 I started to watch the movie Hillbilly Elegy but stopped because it felt, to me, inauthentic. I also have the audio book but we will see. It was directed by Ron Howard. If Vance wants to step out the shadow of the boomer generation, than a Zemekis-type director isn't it.

I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love.

Related, I stopped the bio of Elon Musk because the man continues to do stuff after the book was finished. It would be a cliffhanger, even if it is only a year old.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (lhenN)

33 KTE has heard that Twisters is pretty good and not political
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion

It was fun. No politics whatsoever. Attractive actors. Perfect summer movie.

Posted by: Tuna at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (oaGWv)

34 Watched The Man From.UNCLE last night. Hadn't seen it in awhile. They could of made a great series with it. And while Hugh Grant has a small role, every time he opens his mouth I'm ready to laugh.
Posted by: Diogenes

Surely my dear Diogenes, you know there was a Man From UNCLE series during the 60's.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (6WCwE)

35 (never go into business with Howard Hughes).

No shit! I'm never getting those storage fees for all these bottles of urine.

One of these days I'm just going to dump it all down the drain.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:13 PM (Y1ZHh)

36 Thx TJM. Saw Sullivan's Travels in college, as well as The Lady Eve. Thought both were great . A few years later I watched The Sin of Harold Diddlebock on a small black and white TV. Didn't realize that Sturges directed it. Very funny and Harold Lloyd doing his stunts was insane.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at July 27, 2024 08:13 PM (9Lk6I)

37 On the opposite side of the spectrum (when it comes to movie quality) I recently watched "Ember Days" via RiffTrax. It was strangely nostalgic, taking me back to the early days of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Like many of the old MST3K episodes, the movie is preposterously-high-minded, but hilariously-low-budget, and the lack of budget causes it to fail miserably. It was hilarious to behold, and the jokes were top-notch.

To describe the actual movie....Ember Days features a bunch of magical characters (from assorted different mythologies) played by utterly boring actors wearing costumes from Hot Topic. It takes place in dirty apartments and dreary back-alleys, features a flurry of gun-fights with terrible cgi-muzzle-flashes, and endless pretentious monologues that are supposed to explain what's going on. In sum, it would be a nightmare to watch alone, but is a glorious mess when watched with friends or RiffTrax commentary...

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 27, 2024 08:13 PM (Lhaco)

38 I find it hard to pick a favorite from his output. Lady Eve has Stanwyck, so that's a big plus. Sullivan's Travels is perhaps his biggest story, and it's a blast from start to finish. Hail the Conquering Hero has such heart, it's impossible to overlook, and I'd put Miracle at Morgan's Creek with the other three.

In a way the ending feels somewhat tacked on, but obviously everything falls together as a result. I just love the whole premise of the thing, and it's hard not to love Eddie Bracken.

Influenced or not, Sturges is my favorite director. Period.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:13 PM (5KCDZ)

39 I pretty much like Kenneth Branagh's Death On the Nile. Then I saw the documentary on Armie Hammer and felt a little sick that I had seen one of his movies.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:11 PM (L/fGl)

Ditto.
I wonder if Hammer was doomed the day he was born?
Also I think Branagh is a fantastic actor.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 08:14 PM (W/lyH)

40 Hugh Grant has a small role,

-
Stupidest man on the face of the Earth.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:15 PM (L/fGl)

41 The Man From UNCLE movie seemed like an attempted origin story for a movie franchise.

Posted by: davidt at July 27, 2024 08:15 PM (i0F8b)

42 KTE has heard that Twisters is pretty good and not political
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion

Not bad but it would have been infinitely better if Bill Paxton said "Game over Man! GAME OVER!!!" sometime during the film.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 08:16 PM (6WCwE)

43 One of the minor pleasures is his use of his "ensemble company". It is delightful to watch to see supporting actors in different roles throughout his work.
Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 07:59 PM (4lnL

William Demarest chews up dialogue like nobody's business!

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:16 PM (azFsr)

44 43
William Demarest chews up dialogue like nobody's business!
Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:16 PM (azFsr

====

Yeah, but is it the same dame?

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:17 PM (GBKbO)

45 Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:07 PM (4lnL

Thanks for your ranking list.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:17 PM (B1dzx)

46 well Branagh also comes off as a parody of poirot, then again after suchet, it's almost impossible to surpass, or peter ustinov,

yes they race swapped some characters in Nile, they made the victim, more tan than the original version, but seeing as it was gail gadot, I allowed for that,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:18 PM (PXvVL)

47 I liked the movie of Man from UNCLE, sadly no sequel

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 08:18 PM (fwDg9)

48 Let me try a ranking:
Palm Beach Story
Sullivan's Travels
The Lady Eve
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Hail the Conquering Hero
The Great McGinty

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:07 PM (4lnL

Hmmm, Palm Beach Story at top? Interesting. I haven't seen it in a long time, probably needs a rewatch.

Great McGinty is fun and topical. Although these rogues might have gotten off easy.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:19 PM (2zDnd)

49 yes I think Guy Ritchie wanted to replicate the success of his Holmes series, it was pretty period specific, in many respects,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:20 PM (PXvVL)

50 William Demarest chews up dialogue like nobody's business!
Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:16 PM (azFsr

====

Yeah, but is it the same dame?
Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:17 PM (GBKbO)

Don't start THAT again!!!

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:20 PM (S5qSY)

51 Ustinov's Death on the Nile>>Branagh's Death on the Nile

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:20 PM (V13WU)

52 I confess, I like Peter Ustinov's work.

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:21 PM (V13WU)

53 Just rented Sullivans Travels to watch.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:22 PM (B1dzx)

54 the plot from uncle, is borrowed from ian fleming's moonraker,, the players are italian rather than german like drax but they had similar goals,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:22 PM (PXvVL)

55 52 I confess, I like Peter Ustinov's work.
Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:21 PM (V13WU)

====

He directed a few movies as well. One of them is an adaptation of Melville's Billy Budd.

It's really good. Ustinov also plays the captain.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:22 PM (GBKbO)

56 Ustinov's Death on the Nile>>Branagh's Death on the Nile

Posted by: runner

A drunken Jessica Fletcher.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (L/fGl)

57 Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:07 PM (4lnL

Thanks for your ranking list.
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:17 PM (B1dzx)

Just to get the argument started, Hail the Conquering Hero... Eddie Bracken is a 4F who won't go home because he can't face the town and his family, since his father was a MOH winner.

A group of Marines on leave show up at a bar, and he buys them drinks, because... they discover who his father was, and the shenanigans begin.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (xxmgU)

58 Hmmm.

I watch a lot of movies, but on looking over the text, I realize that I don't believe I've ever seen a Preston Sturges movie. How the bleep did THAT happen?

Will have to remedy that soon.

And hello to the horde.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (q3u5l)

59 Ustinov's Death on the Nile>>Branagh's Death on the Nile

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:20 PM (V13WU)

Hmmmm...tough call this one. Both are good. Suchet was in a class by himself. His best was his final show when he dies.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (W/lyH)

60 49 yes I think Guy Ritchie wanted to replicate the success of his Holmes series, it was pretty period specific, in many respects,
Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:20 PM (PXvVL)

I think The Gentlemen is my favorite movie of his.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (B1dzx)

61 58 Hmmm.

I watch a lot of movies, but on looking over the text, I realize that I don't believe I've ever seen a Preston Sturges movie. How the bleep did THAT happen?

Will have to remedy that soon.

And hello to the horde.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (q3u5l)

====

That's why I do these, to discover them myself and, hopefully, get more to discover them as well.

I hope you have fun with the discovery!

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:24 PM (GBKbO)

62 I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love.
...
Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (lhenN)
====

That is a good criticism. I hated that movie more than Titanic

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 08:25 PM (JvZF+)

63 I watch a lot of movies, but on looking over the text, I realize that I don't believe I've ever seen a Preston Sturges movie. How the bleep did THAT happen?

Will have to remedy that soon.

And hello to the horde.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:23 PM (q3u5l)

Aloha.

I've never seen a Sturges movie, either.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:26 PM (LM2ci)

64 I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love.
...
Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (lhenN)
====

That is a good criticism. I hated that movie more than Titanic
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 08:25 PM (JvZF+)

I hate the fact the road toward Monument Valley is now a tourist destination for douchebags who want to get their pictures taken in the middle of the road.

Knock it off, people, I have places to get to.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:27 PM (wyZoQ)

65 I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love.
...
Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (lhenN)

That is a good criticism. I hated that movie more than Titanic
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 08:25 PM (JvZF+)

I like Forrest Gump, it I hate Jenny. You *would* have to be a huge retard to fall for a girl like that.

Lt. Dan and Bubba were the real heroes of the movie.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:29 PM (LM2ci)

66 TJM, thank you for all the hard work. I will go sit in the corner as I have never seen a Sturges movie.

Posted by: Ben Had at July 27, 2024 08:29 PM (5MvGY)

67 Titanic was proof that money does not keep people from drowning.

Posted by: Eromero at July 27, 2024 08:30 PM (LHPAg)

68 Oh, and once you notice the unrelenting Marxist class warfare in Titanic you can't unsee it. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:30 PM (LM2ci)

69 Trump is obviously listening to Vivek about crypto.
Posted by: MAGA_Ken at July 27, 2024 08:00 PM (jDLoh)

I heard the CEO of one of the online banks mention that the Crypto industry is actually big enough to be an important lobbying group on its own, and the Dems are still trying to kneecap them.
the SEC recently exempted certain big banks from having to report customers' crypto holdings but other banks are still required to do so, which means they are at a disadvantage - and the FEC is picking winners and losers. It is a mess.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:31 PM (D7oie)

70 Titanic was proof that money does not keep people from drowning.
Posted by: Eromero

"Hello! A little help here!!"

Posted by: Zombie Natalie Wood at July 27, 2024 08:31 PM (6WCwE)

71 Titanic was proof that money does not keep people from drowning.
Posted by: Eromero at July 27, 2024 08:30 PM (LHPAg)

That's why you get super buoyant luggage. Clearly none of those people ever saw Joe Versus The Volcano.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:32 PM (LM2ci)

72 Hmmm, Palm Beach Story at top? Interesting. I haven't seen it in a long time, probably needs a rewatch.

Great McGinty is fun and topical. Although these rogues might have gotten off easy.
Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:19 PM (2zDnd)

Well, there's just a hair's breadth between all of them.

Joel McCrae is a favorite of mine and Rudy Valee and Mary Astor almost steal the show, as the super rich brother and sister. The story is just so silly and fun.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:32 PM (4lnL8)

73 Ustinov was also good as Poirot in Evil Under the Sun.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:32 PM (L/fGl)

74 I will never understand why people hate Jenny because she did not have romantic feelings for a mentally challenged guy but rather became his good friend when everyone else rejected him. And her adult problems arose out of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:33 PM (B1dzx)

75 "Killer Shrews" is on Svengoolie. It's one of those movies where you hope everybody gets eaten.
Posted by: fd at July 27, 2024 08:09 PM (vFG9F)

Is this the one where they dressed up dogs as giant shrews and filmed them running in the dark?

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:34 PM (D7oie)

76 I just suddenly had a thought.

Why didn't they just turn the boat around and go back to the iceberg? They could have unloaded quite a few people there. The rest could have stayed in the boats.

Posted by: Robert iz sooooooper smahrt! at July 27, 2024 08:35 PM (LM2ci)

77 you bet!
Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 07:57 PM (V13WU)

You still haven't stated what event/context...

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at July 27, 2024 08:35 PM (/HDaX)

78 This is a diversion indeed, a welcome respite from the phantasmagorical incongruous juxtapositions that emanate from France and the mawkish abortion that they call the Olympics. Sturges, Lubitsch, theirs are contributions to the craft, but Capra is the auteur that speaks to my Teutonic soul.

Why should this be, you ask. Or maybe you don't, but I shall dilate upon the issue nonetheless. I saw Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, and realized the potential of it that the Italian had not been able to bring forth. Clearly, his vision had been perverted by the fiends of the studio system of his day, such that George Bailey had been robbed of the noble death which he sought.

I would fix this, I vowed. My remake would utilize my HO-scale near human that was Klaus Kinski, and I would convey to cinemas the true version of Bailey's journey, the gem which I would call Life Is a Bitch, Weaklings. George Bailey, after having devoured Henry Potter's still-beating heart, would ascend the railings of the town bridge, and, with the encouragement of the indifferent seraph Clarence, would plunge to his death in the stream below. Alas, it was not to be, for Klaus could not swim. I need cognac.

Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 08:36 PM (tmPIh)

79 Agatha Christie is not supposed to be all dark and angsty.
Which is why all the recent BBC renderings are so bad.
Ustinov is the best Poirot, hands down. The whole movie, with the exceptions of Bette Davis and Maggie Smith, was perfectly cast.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:37 PM (4lnL8)

80 78 Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 08:36 PM (tmPIh)

====

Solid.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:37 PM (GBKbO)

81 Never saw Cameron's Titanic all the way through. A few bits and pieces (thought it was just wonderful watching DiCaprio sink -- only thing that would have made it better would be if what's-her-name had sunk too). Never saw enough to notice the Marxist class warfare stuff. But you'd think that anyone who'd ever read anything at all on the Titanic would know that it wasn't only poor people that went down with the ship.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:37 PM (q3u5l)

82 Ustinov was also good as Poirot in Evil Under the Sun.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:32 PM (L/fGl)'

Death on the Nile
Evil Under the SUn
Thirteen at Dinner
Murder in Three acts
Appointment with Death
Dead Man's Folly

all Ustinov's Poirot

Je recommande!

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:39 PM (V13WU)

83 I heard the CEO of one of the online banks mention that the Crypto industry is actually big enough to be an important lobbying group on its own, and the Dems are still trying to kneecap them.
the SEC recently exempted certain big banks from having to report customers' crypto holdings but other banks are still required to do so, which means they are at a disadvantage - and the FEC is picking winners and losers. It is a mess.
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:31 PM (D7oie)

————

Trump also mentioned commuting the sentence of some guy that got a great response from the crowd

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at July 27, 2024 08:39 PM (jDLoh)

84 Ustinov is a great actor

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 08:39 PM (fwDg9)

85 I will never understand why people hate Jenny because she did not have romantic feelings for a mentally challenged guy but rather became his good friend when everyone else rejected him. And her adult problems arose out of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 08:33 PM (B1dzx)

She was a screw up that strung his dumb ass along, used him when it suited her, had her way with him and then dumped her bastard into his lap just before she died. Jenny dying of AIDS was the happiest moment in that entire movie.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:40 PM (A2lWH)

86 You still haven't stated what event/context...
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at July 27, 2024 08:35 PM (/HDaX)

that is the St. Cloud, Minnesota rally going on right now

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:40 PM (V13WU)

87 In 1949, Sturges directed Unfaithfully Yours, which was quite good.

Posted by: who knows at July 27, 2024 08:41 PM (Yjadf)

88 Ross Ulbricht, Condemned to life imprisonment for running a crypto based Craig's List that a judge didn't understand

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:41 PM (D7oie)

89 Yes, Killer Shrews was the one where they dressed up some dogs to serve as the giant mutant killer shrews.

They don't make 'em like that any more.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:42 PM (q3u5l)

90 Husband and I saw Titanic and we both kept looking at our watches. By the end we were cheering the iceberg.

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 08:42 PM (rwiQP)

91 84 Ustinov is a great actor
Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 08:39 PM (fwDg9)

His Nero in "Quo Vadis" is not to be missed.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:43 PM (4lnL8)

92 Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 08:36 PM (tmPIh)

Oh my f#^€ing GAWD this is hilarious.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:43 PM (A2lWH)

93 87 In 1949, Sturges directed Unfaithfully Yours, which was quite good.
Posted by: who knows at July 27, 2024 08:41 PM (Yjadf)

====

A delight, but a financial failure. Black comedies don't seem to do great upon original release.

Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry met a similar fate.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:45 PM (GBKbO)

94 Mrs. E likes Margaret Rutherford. Me too.

Posted by: Eromero at July 27, 2024 08:45 PM (LHPAg)

95 isnt the problem with winston groom's original work, which was much darker than the screen play,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:45 PM (PXvVL)

96 Forest Gump is a ok movie, think only seen it twice
.

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 08:45 PM (fwDg9)

97 Klaus could not swim. I need cognac.
Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 08:36 PM (tmPIh)

Bravo!

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at July 27, 2024 08:45 PM (/HDaX)

98 I'm sorry I spoiled your movie thread party.

Posted by: Forest Gump at July 27, 2024 08:46 PM (i0F8b)

99 Unrepentantly off topic...

Blabbermouth: IRON MAIDEN And THE ROLLING STONES Wedding: STEVE HARRIS's Daughter Marries RONNIE WOOD's Son

https://tinyurl.com/3p7bc59f

And soon her progeny will marry Prince William's eldest. In turn their offspring shall establish the coming of the world's first Unholy Kingdom of Metal.

As it is written, so shall it be done.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:47 PM (A2lWH)

100 89 Yes, Killer Shrews was the one where they dressed up some dogs to serve as the giant mutant killer shrews.

They don't make 'em like that any more.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:42 PM (q3u5l)

Well......Now we would have hilariously out-of-place cgi rats running around the place. I've seen a number of modern movies that are just as poorly-made as Killer Shrews.

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 27, 2024 08:47 PM (Lhaco)

101 His Nero in "Quo Vadis" is not to be missed.
Posted by: sal

Also an asshole pervert in Spartacus.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:48 PM (L/fGl)

102
They don't make 'em like that any more.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:42 PM (q3u5l)

They should be forced to.
True film making is a lost art.

Posted by: Reforger at July 27, 2024 08:49 PM (xcIvR)

103 Nice retrospective on Sturgis. He was absolutely my favorite director of 1940s screwball comedies.

Posted by: Paco at July 27, 2024 08:49 PM (njExo)

104 Willard is in Paris and has a take!

"The @Paris2024 Opening Ceremony showcased the world’s most beautiful city. Imaginative, inventive and memorable."

Because of course the Mittster thinks trannies being SACRELIGOUS is A-Ok.

Posted by: Redbanzai at July 27, 2024 08:49 PM (iqZsv)

105 The global war on terror has churned out a million Lt Dans.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:49 PM (lhenN)

106 ,,and the Old Man in Logan'sRun

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:50 PM (V13WU)

107 Also an asshole pervert in Spartacus.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Covfefe Today, Covfefe Tomorrow, Covfefe Forever! at July 27, 2024 08:48 PM (L/fGl)

Remembered that 2 seconds after "post".

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:50 PM (4lnL8)

108 Oh hell yes!

Some months ago, Nurse Ratched was going on about the movie Zombeavers. Schlock of a kind I dearly love, but Amazon showed it as unavailable and I wasn't going to buy the disc.

Wait no more. It's now currently available for free if you have Prime.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (/HDaX)

109 100 --

Yes, unless they didn't even have a budget for cgi rats. If memory serves (and these days, it don't always serve like it used to), the movie adaptation of James Herbert's novel The Rats gave us dachshunds dressed up like giant mutant killer rats. Must be seen to be disbelieved. Think the flick was called Deadly Eyes.

Naturally, the book was better.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (q3u5l)

110 yes werner is very dark, you get a taste of that, in his part as the zek, in the jack reacher film, I think they created that character out of whole cloth, instead of relying on one shot, the source material

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (PXvVL)

111 Back on topic...

With the end of Rightstufanime.com and their annual July birfday sale, I opted to piss away way too much money in the B&N July Criterion sale. I bought...way too much. Seventeen films altogether.

Pleze...halp...

Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (A2lWH)

112 "I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love."

Zemikis is all over the place. I really liked "Cast Away", but "Beowulf" is arguably one of the worst movies ever made: the combination of Zemekis and Neil Gaiman is toxic.

As for "The Lady Eve", I just don't get it. There is zero chemistry between Stanwick and Fonda - she's smart and tough, while he's a nitwit, albeit a rich one - so it's a complete mystery why she falls for him in the end. In a sensible story, she'd take the money and go find someone who wasn't as dumb as a bag of hammers.

Posted by: Nemo at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (S6ArX)

113 its in the fine print of 2025, along with forcing wheedon to make the second season of firefly on pain of death,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:52 PM (PXvVL)

114 apropos..new HBO series with Colin Farrell - The Penguin

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:53 PM (V13WU)

115
With the end of Rightstufanime.com and their annual July birfday sale, I opted to piss away way too much money in the B&N July Criterion sale. I bought...way too much. Seventeen films altogether.

Pleze...halp...
Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (A2lWH)

What did you get?

Posted by: Redbanzai at July 27, 2024 08:53 PM (iqZsv)

116 111 Back on topic...

With the end of Rightstufanime.com and their annual July birfday sale, I opted to piss away way too much money in the B&N July Criterion sale. I bought...way too much. Seventeen films altogether.

Pleze...halp...
Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (A2lWH)

====

I save all my Criterion purchases for their site's flash sales. It's the $50 gift card after $500 in cumulative purchases that focuses me. Effectively 10% cash back.

February ish and October ish.

That's when I'm picking up Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid next, along with others.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:54 PM (GBKbO)

117 Pleze...halp...
Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (A2lWH)

I'm still working on the three I got from that sale...

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at July 27, 2024 08:54 PM (/HDaX)

118 If I am to be honest, Kinski's inability to swim was not entirely a hindrance, as cinéma vérité would be amply rewarded had he found the water to be a greater nemesis for him than life itself. I would have documented it with great sincerity, and the viewer would be able to count every bubble.

My agent informed me though, that this could not be. I realized that he was invoking the maudlin concerns of the ASPCA regarding Klaus. Surely that. I remonstrated with him that none should tell Kinski of this, as he would think he's people. Such a grotesquerie could not be permitted. The cognac is not working. I shall try the plum brandy from Romania that America's sweetheart Willem Dafoe gifted me. The skateboard event is on now, and I require the fortitude to view it.

Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 08:55 PM (tmPIh)

119 The first Tom Cruise Jack Reacher movie was worth seeing just for Herzog's scenes as the Zek. He was delightfully bone-chilling in that.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 08:56 PM (q3u5l)

120 A bit off topic but as Mrs D is currently holding the channel changer tighter than an 8inch vice grip, I have to ask. Why do all Brit cop shows have unlimited homosexuality, every cop has serious issues, nobody smiles, and the head cop is always a political asshole?

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 08:56 PM (W/lyH)

121 apropos..new HBO series with Colin Farrell - The Penguin
Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:53 PM (V13WU)

Is this an origin story for DC universe, or is it a live action adaption of Happy Feet?

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:57 PM (D7oie)

122 its in the fine print of 2025, along with forcing wheedon to make the second season of firefly on pain of death,
Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:52 PM (PXvVL)

Are you just pretending Serenity doesn't exist?

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:57 PM (wyZoQ)

123 79 Agatha Christie is not supposed to be all dark and angsty.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 08:37 PM (4lnL

I agree. My favorite stories of hers feature Timmy and Tupence, which could almost be classified as rom-coms.

Posted by: tankdemon at July 27, 2024 08:58 PM (R256O)

124 yes hes in a few scenes, but he makes the most of them

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:58 PM (PXvVL)

125 104 Because of course the Mittster thinks trannies being SACRELIGOUS is A-Ok. - Redbanzai

What the hell is wrong with that guy? He is such a complete putz, an embarrassing ass who covers himself in disgrace every time he opens his gob, the unhippest dork in American politics. I suppose, now that he's in Paris, he'll hit the ultimate low by taking up the accordion.

Posted by: Paco at July 27, 2024 08:59 PM (njExo)

126 Is this an origin story for DC universe, or is it a live action adaption of Happy Feet?

==

lol, DC universe. Farrell in unrecognizable. Taking his character from Pattinson's batman movie (which was awful)

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:59 PM (V13WU)

127 As for "The Lady Eve", I just don't get it. There is zero chemistry between Stanwick and Fonda - she's smart and tough, while he's a nitwit, albeit a rich one - so it's a complete mystery why she falls for him in the end. In a sensible story, she'd take the money and go find someone who wasn't as dumb as a bag of hammers.
Posted by: Nemo at July 27, 2024 08:51 PM (S6ArX)

To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her.

If I perfect my time machine, that's going to be the first thing I do with it... go back in time and show her what she was missing all those years.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:59 PM (q0j6h)

128 20 is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes any good ? I don't want to waste 2.5 hrs on some dreck...
Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 08:04 PM (V13WU)

Easy.

There is ONE Planet of the Apes movie (196

.

NEVER SHALL THERE BE A SECOND.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:01 PM (8sMut)

129 120 A bit off topic but as Mrs D is currently holding the channel changer tighter than an 8inch vice grip, I have to ask. Why do all Brit cop shows have unlimited homosexuality, every cop has serious issues, nobody smiles, and the head cop is always a political asshole?

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 08:56 PM (W/lyH)

Because... Brit Cop show.

Posted by: Reforger at July 27, 2024 09:02 PM (xcIvR)

130 127 To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her. - BurtTC

Well said! If you get the time machine cranked up, good luck.

Posted by: Paco at July 27, 2024 09:02 PM (njExo)

131 i did the first episode of the emmerich gladiator epoch, those who are about to die, that was pretty good,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 09:02 PM (PXvVL)

132 Because Britain has been ruled by malodorous faggots for a long time.

Posted by: Jamaica at July 27, 2024 09:03 PM (sMnUY)

133 Time to try and get some sleep
Hope everyone has a great evening

Posted by: Skip at July 27, 2024 09:04 PM (fwDg9)

134 well the sequel with taylors demise was ok, but yes they went down him from there,

the last one, sort of pivots to that place in the last original series some 6o0 years in the future,

Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 09:04 PM (PXvVL)

135 130 127 To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her. - BurtTC

Well said! If you get the time machine cranked up, good luck.
Posted by: Paco at July 27, 2024 09:02 PM (njExo)

Thanks, I'm sure as hell going to need all the luck I can get!

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 09:04 PM (qJTmp)

136 Some things are universal because they touch on human existence beyond today's headlines.

W.C Fields' domestic comedies, like It's a Gift and The Man on the Flying Trapeze are good examples. Everyone can identify with what Harold Bissonet or Ambrose Wolfinger go through. Though technology has moved on, the human condition hasn't.

It's why movies from the 30's and 40's can still be watched and can still resonate with people, while movies from the 70's and 80's are curiosities.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (CHHv1)

137 What did you get?
Posted by: Redbanzai at July 27, 2024 08:53 PM (iqZsv)

Altogether now...

*Inhales deeply*

All That Money Can But, Fiend Without A Face, Diabolique, The Blob, Robinson Crusoe On Mars, Videodrome, Harakiri, Throne Of Blood, Tokyo Drifter, Ugetsu, Arsenic And Old Lace, It Happened One Night, Night Train To Munich, La Cage Aux Folles, A Matter Of Life And Death, High And Low, Rules Of The Game *GASP*

Eh huh

Eh huh

Eh huh

Eh huh

WHEW!!!!

Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (QjmrT)

138 Mitt Romney in Paris... as a mime.

Posted by: davidt at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (i0F8b)

139 62 I love Zemikis but Forest Gump is a monument to undeserved boomer self-love.
...
Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 08:12 PM (lhenN)
====

That is a good criticism. I hated that movie more than Titanic
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 08:25 PM (JvZF+)

I have seen bits and pieces of Forrest Gump. Not impressed.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (8sMut)

140 My granddaughter just texted me that she and her friends are watching Velocipastor. She said don't ever watch it grandma.

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:06 PM (rwiQP)

141 Robert, what a haul! And A Matter of Life and Death!! Love that one.

Peter Ustinov is in another of my Powell and Pressburger faves, One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing. He plays a young priest in a small part.

Posted by: skywch at July 27, 2024 09:08 PM (uqhmb)

142 Forest Gump was a super hero movie .

Gump’s super powers were running and dumb luck.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:08 PM (B1dzx)

143 There are a hundred million people at the Trump Rally.
It's a huge arena and it's packed.

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 09:08 PM (y/M9h)

144 >>Mitt Romney in Paris... as a mime.

One of those movies that's funnier than it should be, robot mime: https://tinyurl.com/yrk665a9

Posted by: Lizzy at July 27, 2024 09:08 PM (Pijte)

145 Dead Man's Folly

Is that like a Dead Man’s Party?

Posted by: Oingo Boingo at July 27, 2024 09:08 PM (8sMut)

146
I have seen bits and pieces of Forrest Gump. Not impressed.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (8sMut)

I had just moved to DC when it was filmed. I was working at the National Academy of Sciences downtown when they were filming some of the outdoor scenes. That was kinda fun - though I was not an extra or anything...

Posted by: Iris at July 27, 2024 09:09 PM (n3DL0)

147 To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her. - BurtTC

I think she had great chemistry with Fred McMurray. See "Remember the Night"

Posted by: Tuna at July 27, 2024 09:09 PM (oaGWv)

148 Are you just pretending Serenity doesn't exist?

Yeah, mostly.

Posted by: Oddbob at July 27, 2024 09:09 PM (/y8xj)

149 you know, I think I misposed my JD vance post and it ended up on the hobby thread...

Posted by: runner at July 27, 2024 09:10 PM (V13WU)

150 Every show, and it’s commercials, has to get an added lbgqblahblah, minority,, fat woman, or bluehair. Even home improvement reality stories. Why not cop shows? Hill Street Blues had the Police Chief married to a judge or something and we were shocked. If only we could have seen the future.

Posted by: Eromero at July 27, 2024 09:10 PM (LHPAg)

151 Barbara Stanwick with Fred McMurray in Double Indemnity. The best for both of them.

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:11 PM (rwiQP)

152 It's why movies from the 30's and 40's can still be watched and can still resonate with people, while movies from the 70's and 80's are curiosities.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (CHHv1)

So true, Beck.
I think part of this is the self-absorption of the '70s and 80s.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:11 PM (4lnL8)

153 122 its in the fine print of 2025, along with forcing wheedon to make the second season of firefly on pain of death,
Posted by: no 6 at July 27, 2024 08:52 PM (PXvVL)

Are you just pretending Serenity doesn't exist?
Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 08:57 PM (wyZoQ)

Serenity or no, Firefly narrowly avoided a disease that plagues sci-fi.

The Second Season.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:11 PM (8sMut)

154 I save all my Criterion purchases for their site's flash sales. It's the $50 gift card after $500 in cumulative purchases that focuses me. Effectively 10% cash back.

February ish and October ish.

That's when I'm picking up Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid next, along with others.
Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 08:54 PM (GBKbO)

I'm taking all my cupie pons and getting me that big ass Godzilla set. This will guarantee I die the loneliest death imaginable.

Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 09:12 PM (QjmrT)

155 My granddaughter just texted me that she and her friends are watching Velocipastor. She said don't ever watch it grandma.
Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:06 PM (rwiQP)

That was odd. It looked less like a raptor or a therapod, and more like a spinosaur.

(Suck it Darren Naish!!)

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:12 PM (D7oie)

156 Firefly. Top 5 of best TV series. It still makes me mad that it's gone.

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (rwiQP)

157 Serenity or no, Firefly narrowly avoided a disease that plagues sci-fi.

The Second Season.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:11 PM (8sMut)

Farscape made it to 3 seasons I think. And s movie to wrap it up after it was unexpectedly cancelled,

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (B1dzx)

158 I heard the CEO of one of the online banks mention that the Crypto industry is actually big enough to be an important lobbying group on its own, and the Dems are still trying to kneecap them.
the SEC recently exempted certain big banks from having to report customers' crypto holdings but other banks are still required to do so, which means they are at a disadvantage - and the FEC is picking winners and losers. It is a mess.
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 08:31 PM (D7oie)

Crypto has a LONG way to go to be a medium of exchange.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (8sMut)

159 To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her. - BurtTC
-------
I think she had great chemistry with Fred McMurray. See "Remember the Night"
Posted by: Tuna at July 27, 2024 09:09 PM (oaGWv)

Sure sure sure, love the film, but come on! He's just a big ol' stiff, and she's... well, she's Barbara Stanwyck!

Btw, I watched Double Indemnity recently. They were together in that... If I were in his shoes, would I have?

Yeah.

Posted by: BurtTC at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (9hYR2)

160 Speaking of CGI, we watched the recent Harrison Ford all-CGI Call of the Wild this week. Not a terrible movie but essentially a princess movie involving a CGI dog. I guess a tranny princess dog. Anyway, not too bad but the CGI was a bit offputting because your eyes can see the dog is fake even though it's really well done.

While we watched it I honestly thought it would be a good idea to get the movie, rip to to 480p, and watch it on a small screen to see if it deadens the CGI uncanny-valley effect.

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:14 PM (P+DXn)

161 Have we done Powell and Pressburger? So many good movies.
In fact, I forced myself to not record "I Know Where I'm Going" for the nth time tonight.

A baby Richard Attenborough has a few seconds' scene in "Life and Death".

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:14 PM (4lnL8)

162 154 I'm taking all my cupie pons and getting me that big ass Godzilla set. This will guarantee I die the loneliest death imaginable.
Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 09:12 PM (QjmrT)

=====

Since going through the Showa Era films, I wouldn't mind owning that set. I don't know if I'd spend the real kinds of money to get it. Maybe I'll talk my mother into buying it for me.

Still gotta go through the Heisei and Millenium Eras at some point.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 09:14 PM (GBKbO)

163 >>Farscape made it to 3 seasons I think. And s movie to wrap it up after it was unexpectedly cancelled,

Indeed!
John Crichton is the best James T. Kirk 2.0.

Posted by: Lizzy at July 27, 2024 09:15 PM (Pijte)

164 And soon her progeny will marry Prince William's eldest. In turn their offspring shall establish the coming of the world's first Unholy Kingdom of Metal.

As it is written, so shall it be done.
Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:47 PM (A2lWH)

UP THE FUCKING IRONS!!!

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:15 PM (8sMut)

165 I heard the CEO of one of the online banks mention that the Crypto industry is actually big enough to be an important lobbying group on its own, and the Dems are still trying to kneecap them.

__

Ha. Remember when Coinbase went public and Biden made a speech the next day saying that they were going after bitcoin and bitcoin traders?

Completely coincidental timing.

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:15 PM (P+DXn)

166 Crypto has a LONG way to go to be a medium of exchange.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (8sMut)

Crypto will do to banking what email did to telegraph, telephone and postal services.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (D7oie)

167 161 Have we done Powell and Pressburger? So many good movies.
In fact, I forced myself to not record "I Know Where I'm Going" for the nth time tonight.

A baby Richard Attenborough has a few seconds' scene in "Life and Death".
Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:14 PM (4lnL8

===

They're already on the schedule!

Landis then Tony Scott then Powell (and Pressburger).

I'm looking forward to it.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (GBKbO)

168 Yes Sal! IKWIG is a fave of mine. Best one for Roger Livesey, IMO. And young Petula Clark as the little girl,

Posted by: skywch at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (uqhmb)

169 There is ONE Planet of the Apes movie (196.

NEVER SHALL THERE BE A SECOND.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

This is truth undeniable - neither the version where Marky-Mark veers dangerously close to bestiality, a role which he performed disturbingly well, nor that Andy Serkis CGI frolic that was the cinematic equivalent of nails down a chalkboard, can hold even a weakly burning taper to the Charlton Heston original. He was a terror to the weak monkey people, and the film lacked only the discharge of their bladders when he admonished them to get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty apes. The upbeat ending of that one resounded within my soul.

I used that quote once during a Hollywood soiree. I think Taylor Swift may have been on the receiving end, or maybe it was a palomino. I am not able to distinguish between the two.

Posted by: Werner Herzog Saw The Olympics Opening Ceremony at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (tmPIh)

170 Many, MANY moons ago, a friend and I took a couple of my younger siblings to a drive-in all-night showing of all 5 Planet of the Apes movies.

By the end of the 5th flick, it was starting to get light enough that you could barely see the screen.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 09:18 PM (q3u5l)

171 138 Mitt Romney in Paris... as a mime.
Posted by: davidt at July 27, 2024 09:05 PM (i0F8b)

You have opened the door to a story that I believe will be more appropriate on the Open Thread later this evening, though I will hint that Marcel Marceau is the subject.

Posted by: tankdemon at July 27, 2024 09:18 PM (R256O)

172 TJM, great--will look forward to the P&P one.

Posted by: skywch at July 27, 2024 09:18 PM (uqhmb)

173 Preston Sturges, his father's last name was Biden but he took the name of his step-father

Kind of like how William Jefferson Blythe would rather be known as BJ Clinton.

Posted by: that Esquire photo at July 27, 2024 09:19 PM (gKWVE)

174 Crypto is video game money . Appropriate .

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:19 PM (B1dzx)

175 Farscape made it to 3 seasons I think. And s movie to wrap it up after it was unexpectedly cancelled,
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (B1dzx)

Yeah but were Seasons 2-3 any good?

An example of the Second Season curse: Space: MCMXCIX. Season 2 of that show is hot garbage.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:20 PM (8sMut)

176 168 Yes Sal! IKWIG is a fave of mine. Best one for Roger Livesey, IMO. And young Petula Clark as the little girl,
Posted by: skywch at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (uqhmb)

I have to say he's a smitch too old for IKWIG, but he and Wendy Hiller have great chemistry.
Agree on Petula Clark.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:21 PM (4lnL8)

177 150 Hill Street Blues had the Police Chief married to a judge or something and we were shocked. If only we could have seen the future.
Posted by: Eromero at July 27, 2024 09:10 PM (LHPAg)

I think it was the precinct captain was married to either a prosecutor or public defender from the district the precinct was in.

Posted by: tankdemon at July 27, 2024 09:22 PM (R256O)

178 Even though I'm certain he actually won, I'm still ashamed that I ever put Romney's name down for anything.

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:23 PM (P+DXn)

179 Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:20 PM (8sMut

I thought the entire series and movie were very good but admittedly some episodes better than others.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:23 PM (B1dzx)

180 179 Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:20 PM (8sMut

I thought the entire series and movie were very good but admittedly some episodes better than others.
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:23 PM (B1dzx)

====

I've always wanted an 1812 plushie.

Posted by: TJM's phone at July 27, 2024 09:23 PM (GBKbO)

181 Crypto will do to banking what email did to telegraph, telephone and postal services.
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (D7oie)

I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Thanks!

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:24 PM (8sMut)

182 Be careful with her, Francois.

Posted by: Sgt Phil Esterhouse at July 27, 2024 09:24 PM (i0F8b)

183 An example of the Second Season curse: Space: MCMXCIX. Season 2 of that show is hot garbage.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

Oh hi.

Posted by: Battlestar Galactica 1980 at July 27, 2024 09:24 PM (gKWVE)

184 The precinct captain was just sleeping with the DA on Hill Street Blues.

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:26 PM (rwiQP)

185 As it is written, so shall it be done.
Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 08:47 PM (A2lWH)

UP THE FUCKING IRONS!!!

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:15 PM (8sMut)

Saw them on Piece of Mind, tour.
I'm watching them now on youboob in '23 and damn do I feel old.

Posted by: Reforger at July 27, 2024 09:27 PM (xcIvR)

186 There's a charming Alec Guiness movie called "The Promoter" (1952) with Petula Clark as the ingenue.
Also Glynis Johns when she was a smokeshow.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:27 PM (4lnL8)

187 By the end of the 5th flick, it was starting to get light enough that you could barely see the screen.
Posted by: Just Some Guy

There are a number of imbeciles that attend one or two of my meetings whom cannot, for the life of them, come back from a break on time. So, I've taken to throw this up on the screen to help the knuckleheads along:

https://youtu.be/YJE_KIwq_vk?si=rN4Ro_keEPQUY1ni&t=233

Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 09:27 PM (6WCwE)

188 Farscape made it to 3 seasons I think. And s movie to wrap it up after it was unexpectedly cancelled,
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:13 PM (B1dzx)

Yeah but were Seasons 2-3 any good?
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:20 PM (8sMut)

It went four seasons and got better over the course of its run. It was really freakin' good.

Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 09:28 PM (B1V5i)

189 Crypto will do to banking what email did to telegraph, telephone and postal services.
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:16 PM (D7oie)
People really do need to go back to the basics about what a medium of exchange is and the absolute most fundamental reason why a medium of exchange is successful.

Here is that reason: People Like Using It.

People don’t have to be explained how paper money works or how debit cards work. Can anyone explain, in one sentence that a five year old can understand, how cryptocurrency works? And how people can use it everyday?

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:28 PM (8sMut)

190 Oh hi.
Posted by: Battlestar Galactica 1980 at July 27, 2024 09:24 PM (gKWVE)

Thanks! That’s more evidence of the dangers of Season 2.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:29 PM (8sMut)

191 187 -

Tonypete -- not bad.
The big question, though, is: Do they bring back enough drinks and popcorn for everybody?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 09:30 PM (q3u5l)

192 I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Thanks!
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:24 PM (8sMut)

better dust your fax machine off, then. You are bound to need it soon.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:31 PM (D7oie)

193 Tonypete,
That's hilarious!
The Film Society has taken to showing a preview of the next film, a cartoon and a "Let's Go to the Lobby" ad before the feature.
Fun memories of old-time movie going.

Posted by: sal at July 27, 2024 09:31 PM (4lnL8)

194 Kind of like how William Jefferson Blythe would rather be known as BJ Clinton

Or Leslie King Jr became Gerald Ford, or John C. Carter became Charlton Heston? (getting all my presidents in here)

Posted by: Way,Way Downriver at July 27, 2024 09:32 PM (zdLoL)

195 The most recent movie I saw was -

"Longlegs" two weeks ago.

I'm glad to see that it's doing well because it's a well-made slow burn horror movie of the creepy variety.

Nicholas Cage does a great job as the serial killer. although, he's not in the movie that much he dominates it.

The movie concerns a serial killer calling himself "Longlegs" who is responsible for killing whole families. Yet, he never appears to be on the site of the murders. Someone in the family actually commits the killings.

The movie starts out looking like it might be "Silence of the Lambs" then slowly edges into the supernatural.

It appears that America is going through a slow burn horror moment, similar to what Japan did in the 90s.

Maybe folks are burnt out on the "jump scare". I know that I sure am.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 09:32 PM (eDfFs)

196 Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:28 PM (8sMut)

You tell the five year old it’s just the money you use in video games to buy the sword of power or the magic potion.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:32 PM (B1dzx)

197 Can anyone explain, in one sentence that a five year old can understand, how cryptocurrency works? And how people can use it everyday?
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

-

The feds - and WEF types - have decided to implement it, and it will be required for your accounts and purchases.

(I doubt a five year old would understand a PATRIOT Act reference, but I suspect some eventual "security" setup scare will be the excuse.)

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:33 PM (P+DXn)

198 Sal, thanks, I'll check out The Promoter. I love Glynis Johns (49th Parallel!)

Posted by: skywch at July 27, 2024 09:35 PM (uqhmb)

199 Chuck E Cheese Digital Currency

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at July 27, 2024 09:35 PM (63Dwl)

200 People don’t have to be explained how paper money works or how debit cards work. Can anyone explain, in one sentence that a five year old can understand, how cryptocurrency works? And how people can use it everyday?
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:28 PM (8sMut)

Random nerds doing what the Federal Reserve does, but with better security and less inflation.

Posted by: Cato, Post-Apocalyptic Scourge of the Seas at July 27, 2024 09:36 PM (gJKGU)

201 Naturalfake
My daughters want to see this movie and I am a terrible scary cat but I saw the trailer and want to see it too now. Am I going to have nightmares?

Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:37 PM (rwiQP)

202 better dust your fax machine off, then. You are bound to need it soon.
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:31 PM (D7oie)

Your arrogance never has ceased to astound me. Telegraphs are gone, but postal services and voice telephony are still with us, And is the latter EVER still with us. Granted, they aren’t what they were, but nonetheless.

Can you, in one single sentence that a kindergartner can understand, explain to me or anyone else who cryptocurrency works and how ordinary people like me can use it for day to day financial transactions? (I can do that with paper money, checks, and debit cards.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:37 PM (8sMut)

203 To be fair, every costar she's ever had was not man enough for her.

If I perfect my time machine, that's going to be the first thing I do with it... go back in time and show her what she was missing all those years.
Posted by: BurtTC
-----------------------

No man was ever man enough for her. (nudge nudge)

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 09:37 PM (y/M9h)

204 Ross Ulbricht, Condemned to life imprisonment for running a crypto based Craig's List that a judge didn't understand

Posted by: Kindltot

Also for knowingly trafficking illegal drugs and for hiring hit men to kill at least two people who passed him off. Fortunately, he failed to successfully have them murdered.

Fuck him.

Posted by: Sharkman at July 27, 2024 09:38 PM (/RHNq)

205 Preston Sturges is a fave.

I usually wind up watching his films once a year.

A disciplined yet delightful talent. He really understood the importance of comedy. Too bad his talent flared out so quickly.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 09:39 PM (eDfFs)

206 My name is Beckoning Chasm. An asshat. An information wave hit me and I got shot through a browser. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the internet on a website, a living website, full of strange, alien coolbots. Doing everything I can to stay relevant.

Look upward, and see the wonders I've seen.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (CHHv1)

207 People don’t have to be explained how paper money works or how debit cards work. Can anyone explain, in one sentence that a five year old can understand, how cryptocurrency works? And how people can use it everyday?
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:28 PM (8sMut)

explain the function of the federal reserve in money creation via debt and then get back to me. Most people neither care nor understand, and all they want is the Red Canoe card show a valid balance, and think it has to do with the amount of gold in Fort Knox.

And then there is the Chivo wallet on the Lightning Network that is banking El Salvador. Good thing all those day laborers on coffee plantations and Milpas are data scientists.

"Eppur si muove" is a wonderful phrase, it is valid today in response to entrenched beliefs as it was for Galileo
It doesn't matter what the accepted theory is if I can show that it cannot explain an outcome.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (D7oie)

208 Finally made it to the thread!! Been traveling today; amazed to see that no one has mentioned that the Coen Bros are huge fans of Preston Sturgess, and much of “Oh Brother where are art thou?” is an open homage to “Sullivan Travels”; as well as to the Odyssey, obviously.

In Sullivans Travels, Joel McCrae goes on a long journey to learn how to make the Great American Movie; but he decides that the people want comedies to lift their spirits instead, so he never makes it. The movie he wanted to make was to be called “Oh Brother where art thou?”

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 27, 2024 09:41 PM (8kFa7)

209 Can anyone explain, in one sentence that a five year old can understand, how cryptocurrency works? And how people can use it everyday?
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

-

The feds - and WEF types - have decided to implement it, and it will be required for your accounts and purchases.

(I doubt a five year old would understand a PATRIOT Act reference, but I suspect some eventual "security" setup scare will be the excuse.)
Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:33 PM (P+DXn)
***

Will this be when I have to get a chip implanted?

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 09:41 PM (W/lyH)

210 Naturalfake
My daughters want to see this movie and I am a terrible scary cat but I saw the trailer and want to see it too now. Am I going to have nightmares?
Posted by: Megthered at July 27, 2024 09:37 PM (rwiQP)

Well, I can't guarantee nightmares.

But, like any good "creepy" horror movie, it does get under your skin. So...maybe?

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 09:42 PM (eDfFs)

211 Preston Sturges, his father's last name was Biden

------

Lemme guess... He got abruptly blacklisted by all the studios one week after unsuccessfully setting up John Huston to be shot by a stupid, ugly malcontent?

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 27, 2024 09:42 PM (0FoWg)

212 I watched the 2001 Japanese movie "Pulse." It's weird and unsettling (go to YT for "Pulse Ghost appears"). It also seems to have the message that death is a necessary part of life, though it also says the afterlife is eternal loneliness and if you can get some friends, you should.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:42 PM (CHHv1)

213 My name is Beckoning Chasm. An asshat. An information wave hit me and I got shot through a browser. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the internet on a website, a living website, full of strange, alien coolbots. Doing everything I can to stay relevant.

Look upward, and see the wonders I've seen.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (CHHv1)

This is the same basic premise as the old 80s cartoon, Captain N The Game Master.

I watched too many cartoons as a kid.

Posted by: Robert regrets nothing at July 27, 2024 09:43 PM (hoqM0)

214 Glynis Johns....
Sigh.
The first time I saw a movie with her in it, young me felt funny in my tummy.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 09:45 PM (W/lyH)

215 Also watched "Jaws" this week for the first time in many decades.

Man, what a great movie. I'd forgotten how great the dialog, tension and pacing are.

Posted by: Sharkman at July 27, 2024 09:45 PM (/RHNq)

216 Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (D7oie)

What backs up crypto?

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:45 PM (B1dzx)

217 Here's something controversial: Groucho Marx was the Chevy Chase of his day. Only less obnoxious and easier to deal with.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:45 PM (CHHv1)

218 Hmmm. Paris just went dark. Film noir?

Posted by: 13times at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (n9TDU)

219 Hey Robert - off topic but we stopped to get gas today at a Loves in NC. Their pos at the pumps were not accepting any credit cards - didn't matter if they were personal cards or fleet cards. So, cash only.

I'd like to tell you hilarity ensued but, well, it didn't.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (6WCwE)

220 Groucho was funnier too.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (q3u5l)

221 I agree, Robert and Polynikes. Farscape was one of those rare series that started off being just kinda interesting, but then kept getting better and better as it went on. The closing miniseries, “The Peacekeeper Wars”, was one of the best wrap ups of a multi season series I’ve ever seen. (And their is absolutely brilliant homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey stuck in the middle of it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (8kFa7)

222 "Eppur si muove" is a wonderful phrase, it is valid today in response to entrenched beliefs as it was for Galileo

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (D7oie)

I always knew it by the English translation "and yet, it moves". In a weird way, that's the phrase of the times. The experts and academics in an amazing number of fields are stuck in an entrenched orthodoxy that supports itself with reams upon reams of theory...

...yet said theory turns into nightmares when put to practice, everywhere. The "experts" beclown themselves time and again, but never fail to find endless amounts of rubes who will trust them no matter how much they fail.

Posted by: Cato, Post-Apocalyptic Scourge of the Seas at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (gJKGU)

223 206 My name is Beckoning Chasm. An asshat. An information wave hit me and I got shot through a browser. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the internet on a website, a living website, full of strange, alien coolbots. Doing everything I can to stay relevant.

Look upward, and see the wonders I've seen.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:40 PM (CHHv1)

True this.
Peace out. We are in weird times. Better than any movie ever.
Waiting for the credits to roll.
Maiden just merged with The Stones.
Who had that on a bingo card?

Posted by: Reforger at July 27, 2024 09:47 PM (xcIvR)

224 Lights out, cocks out.

Posted by: Parisian Muslim Rape Gangs Full Of Ennui at July 27, 2024 09:47 PM (hoqM0)

225 Well, I can't guarantee nightmares.

But, like any good "creepy" horror movie, it does get under your skin. So...maybe?

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 09:42 PM (eDfFs)
***

Fiend Without A Face.
First horror flick.I saw as a kid. Scared the shit outta me.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 09:47 PM (W/lyH)

226 Finally made it to the thread!! Been traveling today; amazed to see that no one has mentioned that the Coen Bros are huge fans of Preston Sturgess, and much of “Oh Brother where are art thou?” is an open homage to “Sullivan Travels”; as well as to the Odyssey, obviously.

In Sullivans Travels, Joel McCrae goes on a long journey to learn how to make the Great American Movie; but he decides that the people want comedies to lift their spirits instead, so he never makes it. The movie he wanted to make was to be called “Oh Brother where art thou?”
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 27, 2024 09:41 PM (8kFa7)

No wonder I have not seen the movies before. I don’t like any Cohen movies. I just watched Sullivan’s Travels and it was just meh to me.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:49 PM (B1dzx)

227 off topic but we stopped to get gas today at a Loves in NC. Their pos at the pumps were not accepting any credit cards - didn't matter if they were personal cards or fleet cards. So, cash only.

I'd like to tell you hilarity ensued but, well, it didn't.
Posted by: Tonypete at July 27, 2024 09:46 PM (6WCwE)

Hey, I've been to that Love's!

The hilarity only ensues if you call the phone number written on the bathroom stall.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 09:50 PM (hoqM0)

228 The feds - and WEF types - have decided to implement it, and it will be required for your accounts and purchases.

(I doubt a five year old would understand a PATRIOT Act reference, but I suspect some eventual "security" setup scare will be the excuse.)

***

Will this be when I have to get a chip implanted?
Posted by: Diogenes

-

Who knows.

The system is already in place and running, though. They're just waiting for the event to switch us over. FedNow IIRC?

Start at 50 seconds if you want to hear the WEF types tell you clearly and without any misunderstanding:

https://tinyurl.com/23v8rp8u

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (P+DXn)

229 Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 09:37 PM (8sMut)

You are ignoring what I said in favor of what you want to fight. I don't do you homework for you and I don't think it is important to teach kindergartners what money is and how it is created via fiat, gold standard and crypto.

I hope your intense focus on banking and money creation in its current form is due to your intellectual interest in banking, credit and money creation. And as such I can suggest a number of authors for you to read, like I read them.
I know you hate Rothbard, apparently because you were told he was terrible and bad, but you could read Jesus Huerta de Soto, his history of banking and money creation is quite readable.
You could also read something by Saifedean Ammous, though I would stay clear of anything political by him, mostly because I disagree deeply with his views on Middle East politics. Even read Cantillon or the history of the Mississippi company.
One day you will have to answer "how is money created within the FED system, and how is it different from the Gold standard. These resources will help answer that for you.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (D7oie)

230 "Fiend Without a Face" deserves a 4K release. And maybe a remake by someone who would respect it, like Guillermo Del Toro.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (CHHv1)

231 Fiend Without A Face.
First horror flick.I saw as a kid. Scared the shit outta me.
Posted by: Diogenes at July 27, 2024 09:47 PM (W/lyH)

The last act with all the brains was great. They get shot and blood just oozes out. It's hysterical.

And the lead actress looked great in that tight shirt.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (hoqM0)

232 Didn't the Coen sisters become sisters

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (JvZF+)

233 Does anyone want to tell me what backs up the value of Crypto?

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:53 PM (B1dzx)

234 Crypto backs up crypto.

Posted by: davidt at July 27, 2024 09:54 PM (i0F8b)

235 The system is already in place and running, though. They're just waiting for the event to switch us over. FedNow IIRC?

Start at 50 seconds if you want to hear the WEF types tell you clearly and without any misunderstanding:

https://tinyurl.com/23v8rp8u
Posted by: Moron Robbie - M
----------------------------------

The other fun part is that cash will become invalid.

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 09:54 PM (y/M9h)

236 The value of anything is determined by what someone will pay for it.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 09:55 PM (JvZF+)

237 233 Does anyone want to tell me what backs up the value of Crypto?
Posted by: polynikes
----------------------------

Who controls it?

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 09:55 PM (y/M9h)

238
Does anyone want to tell me what backs up the value of Crypto?
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:53 PM (B1dzx)

It's me, baby!

Posted by: Nothing at July 27, 2024 09:56 PM (eDfFs)

239 The value of anything is determined by what someone will pay for it.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 09:55 PM (JvZF+)

Is that your final answer?

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:56 PM (B1dzx)

240 236 The value of anything is determined by what someone will pay for it.
Posted by: San Franpsycho
------------------------

They call our money the Petro Dollar

What will they call crypto?

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 09:56 PM (y/M9h)

241 For my fellow FaceBookians
https://tinyurl.com/bddzszky

Posted by: Erebus- ex-killer whale at July 27, 2024 09:56 PM (elaR+)

242 Didn't the Coen sisters become sisters
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 27, 2024 09:52 PM (JvZF+)

You're thinking of the Wachowski siblings.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 09:57 PM (NpiX9)

243 The only person in DC with an ounce of character is Trump, and they all hate him. I don't imagine for a second that these people will maintain the value of the dollar.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at July 27, 2024 09:58 PM (lhenN)

244 Does anyone want to tell me what backs up the value of Crypto?

--

Same as any other thing that isn't protected by the FDIC. There's some perception of value by the consumer, and the consumer makes the choice to purchase it. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it's not worth ten cents after a year.

A lot of crypto's value is based on being part of but outside of the fiat currency system, and that's also where it bounces around the legal/illegal borders, especially when cashing in.

It's not too far from the U.S.' fiat currency you use at Walmart and Food City in that someone agrees it's worth something. If people decide it's not, then it's not.

Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:59 PM (P+DXn)

245 Man, I drop in on the movie thread and everyone's deep into monetary theory.

Heavy stuff.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 27, 2024 10:00 PM (llXky)

246 Ever see that one episode of Futurama where the go to the movies and the movie allows the audience to vote on the character's next action and all the robots vote to watch him do taxes?

Yeah.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 10:01 PM (861fP)

247 "And what are you studying, Ralph 2243?"

"Oh, nothing important, Ronald 2299. The odd, ephemeral trends of the 2020's. NFTs, AI, Crypto. The usual."

"Ah! Trends that crested and fell within a few years. Most amusing. Our ancestors were so keen to take to shiny objects!"

"Indeed, Ronald 2299! No doubt why we must live under the crow's oppressive hegemony."

"Ralph 2243! Please speak more softly. Their ears are evrywhere."

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 27, 2024 10:02 PM (CHHv1)

248 It's not too far from the U.S.' fiat currency you use at Walmart and Food City in that someone agrees it's worth something. If people decide it's not, then it's not.
Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:59 PM (P+DXn)

And people feel it’s worth something because it has the backing of the United States. Who is backing the current crypto?

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 10:03 PM (B1dzx)

249 The Sins of Harold Diddlecock... now that one sounds interesting!

Posted by: Ambiguously Gay Richard Simmons at July 27, 2024 10:03 PM (NDo40)

250 Nood.

Posted by: tankdemon at July 27, 2024 10:03 PM (R256O)

251 Fiend Without a Face is delightful, as are its star's other two 1950s monster flicks -- It! The Terror from Beyond Space, and First Man into Space.

Maybe dated in some aspects, but all three of those suckers still hold up pretty well.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 10:04 PM (q3u5l)

252 And people feel it’s worth something because it has the backing of the United States. Who is backing the current crypto?
Posted by: polynikes

--

Yes, exactly.

The people who are using crypto are agreeing to view that it has value, the same as the people using fiat currencies.

+1

Posted by: Moron Robbie - college educated women initiate 90% of those divorces at July 27, 2024 10:04 PM (uLJ/J)

253 For the most part, I either love or hate a Sturges film. I enjoyed the analysis, but one thing I didn't see mentioned that should be is his stock company that he always seems to use, most notably William Demarest. They provide a familiar backbone to his films, and give his body of work something of a repertory company feel.

I think my favorite is Sullivan's Travels, which makes a very strong philosophical statement, starting with the statement quoted in the analysis about not fooling around with poverty that is made by Sullivan's butler (played by Robert Grieg, IIRC).

Director George Stevens kinda took the journey that the Joel McCrea character took in this film. His experience in military service during WW II made him resolve to be a more serious and somber filmmaker. Still, he managed to bring a lot of humor to films like I Remember Mama and Giant.

His most disappointing film in my opinion is The Great McGinty. A great cast, but he got very preachy in it.

Posted by: Otis Criblecoblis at July 27, 2024 10:05 PM (2JDMs)

254 Relative to crypto the USD is a tangible asset.

Posted by: Braenyard at July 27, 2024 10:06 PM (y/M9h)

255
First Man into Space

Love that one.

Scared the daylights out of me when I was a kid.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 10:06 PM (eDfFs)

256 Crypto isn't real, but it's also not accumulating an additional $1T in debt every 60 days.

Posted by: Moron Robbie - college educated women initiate 90% of those divorces at July 27, 2024 10:08 PM (uLJ/J)

257 Does anyone want to tell me what backs up the value of Crypto?
Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 09:53 PM (B1dzx)

same thing that backs up the value of diamonds or the value of gold.

Money has an actual definition having to do with perceived value, its ability to store value, and its convertibility. To be money it has to satisfy these and a few other minor elements that I can't think of right now.
Bank notes are claimed to be all of these things, but they are currently a terrible way to store value

Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 10:08 PM (D7oie)

258
Eh, Crypto is the EV of currency.

It's novelty money.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 27, 2024 10:12 PM (eDfFs)

259 Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 10:08 PM (D7o

Nothing backs up crypto but you can't seem to admit it. It's video game money.

Yeah it creates its 'value' as long as people like you will accept it as payment. Are you for mandating people accept it?

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 10:13 PM (pFQ77)

260 And with all that I think this is a successful Movie Thread. I knew squat about Preston Sturges. I thought he was a super serious arty farty kind of director. And now someday I will make sure to catch one of his movies.

Posted by: Robert at July 27, 2024 10:14 PM (hCl2q)

261 Besides gold and diamonds has their own intrinsic value beyond perceived value.

Posted by: polynikes at July 27, 2024 10:21 PM (pFQ77)

262 A bit late to post on this one, but it looks like the Criterion Channel's streaming service will run a bunch of Sturges in August:

The Great McGinty (1940), Christmas in July (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)

with Sullivan's Travels to run there in October.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 27, 2024 10:21 PM (q3u5l)

263 Money has an actual definition having to do with perceived value, its ability to store value, and its convertibility. To be money it has to satisfy these and a few other minor elements that I can't think of right now.
Bank notes are claimed to be all of these things, but they are currently a terrible way to store value
Posted by: Kindltot at July 27, 2024 10:08 PM (D7oie)

NO. Money is a MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE. The end.

You want to store value? Great! INVEST MONEY.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:33 PM (8sMut)

264 256 Crypto isn't real, but it's also not accumulating an additional $1T in debt every 60 days.
Posted by: Moron Robbie - college educated women initiate 90% of those divorces at July 27, 2024 10:08 PM (uLJ/J)

Yeah, but that's not money either. That is Congress not being responsible stewards of the money it has.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:34 PM (8sMut)

265 Yes, exactly.

The people who are using crypto are agreeing to view that it has value, the same as the people using fiat currencies.

+1
Posted by: Moron Robbie - college educated women initiate 90% of those divorces at July 27, 2024 10:04 PM (uLJ/J)

I find it funny that the people who shriek about "fiat currencies" are some of the biggest fans of crypto.

The ONLY rule that applies to money is: Do People Like Using It?

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:36 PM (8sMut)

266 "You are ignoring what I said in favor of what you want to fight. I don't do you homework for you and I don't think it is important to teach kindergartners what money is and how it is created via fiat, gold standard and crypto."

I asked you a simple. basic question,rooted in a very simple proposition: a currency succeeds because People Like Using It. If you CANNOT explain in the SIMPLEST terms, so simple than even CHIDREN can graps it, how crypto works and why it is the single greatest currency ever, guess what? PEOPLE WILL NOT USE IT. And, as such, it will NEVER go anywhere.

Liberatarians like yourself view yourselves as the SUPREME EXPERTS on EVERYTHING and HATE when peons like myself as questions, especially when it comes to your inherent genius. But history is a guide. The Allies introduced the D-Mark to "Trizonia" in 1948. Why did it take off? Because The Germans Liked Using It. It was a major currency clear until the Euro came along, because People Liked Using It and took no brain power to understand. 100 pf=1 DM. Worked as cash, could be drawn from banks if you wanted to write checks.

(continued)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:47 PM (8sMut)

267 kindltot, I suspect your being pissy also boils down to something beyond your extreme arrogance. It's this: You Have No Answer. Which is a shame, because if crypto works in such a way where even little children can understand it, where even the biggest imbeciles in society (in your view, everyone not kindltot) can understand how it works, guess what? Crypto takes off. Currency only works with a vote of the people. When currency reforms fail IN NORTH FUCKING KOREA that tells me all I need to know. People MUST buy in to your currency, no matter what it is.

Make crypto stupid easy to use and understand, it works. It will fly. We'll talk. Until That Day, crypto is complete and utter bullshit and techie wankery.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:51 PM (8sMut)

268
The feds - and WEF types - have decided to implement it, and it will be required for your accounts and purchases.

(I doubt a five year old would understand a PATRIOT Act reference, but I suspect some eventual "security" setup scare will be the excuse.)
Posted by: Moron Robbie - Make Women Great Again at July 27, 2024 09:33 PM (P+DXn)
***

Oh OK. Where is it?

Did you know Sweden decided to go cashless about a decade ago? Guess what? THEY COULDN'T. Because people wouldn't go along. Among other reasons. Funny that.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:55 PM (8sMut)

269 Random nerds doing what the Federal Reserve does, but with better security and less inflation.
Posted by: Cato, Post-Apocalyptic Scourge of the Seas at July 27, 2024 09:36 PM (gJKGU)

Well, this was a nothing answer. Which says to me that the crypto-nerds do not understand what makes a currency successful.

1) Is it stupid easy to use?
2) Do People Like Using It?

If the crypto-nerds cannot answer those questions, cryptocurrency will continue to go nowhere.

Oh, to curb inflation, no matter your currency, do this:
Spend all money on 1) a good or 2) a service.
Government is neither 1 nor 2. Spend money here SPARINGLY as possible.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at July 27, 2024 10:59 PM (8sMut)

270 Brilliant films like Ungentlemanly Warfare are the stuff dreams are made of. Why not forget about fictional agents like Bond and Bourne dashing to save the world from disaster and forget about CIA and MI6 officers reclining on their couches dreaming up espionage scenarios to thrill you. Check out what a real MI6 and CIA secret agent does nowadays. Why not browse through TheBurlingtonFiles website and read about Bill Fairclough's escapades when he was an active MI6 and CIA agent? The website is rather like an espionage museum without an admission fee ... and no adverts. You will soon be immersed in a whole new world which you won't want to exit.

After that experience you may not know who to trust so best read Beyond Enkription, the first novel in The Burlington Files series. It's a noir fact based spy thriller that may shock you. What is interesting is that this book is apparently mandatory reading in some countries’ intelligence agencies' induction programs. Why? Maybe because the book is not only realistic but has been heralded by those who should know as “being up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”. It is an enthralling read as long as

Posted by: Jim Brown at July 28, 2024 07:12 AM (YPGXf)

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