Last Movie You Saw

[Shady Grove]

Post the last movie you saw.

Last ones I saw were:

Kwaidan (1964). Fantastic and classy horror film.




Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) and Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937). Fun B-action movies with the irrepressibly charming Peter Lorre, based on the equally fun books by the outstanding J.P. Marquand.

[lover_of_the_bayou]

Alien vs. Predator....
....
0_O

[Shady Grove]

Mr. Moto's Gamble, Mr. Moto Takes a Chance and Mysterious Mr. Moto (all 1938).



Gamble has always been my least-favorite of the Moto films because it was done with a Charlie Chan plot instead of a Mr. Moto plot. Chance may be the series' weakest in structure and production values, but I liked it more this time than I have in the past. Mysterious is one of my favorites, and in my opinion, one of the sharpest of the series.

[lover_of_the_bayou]

In a Mr. Moto mood, are we? LOL

[Shady Grove]

Jun 19, 2008 9:30:09 GMT -5 lover_of_the_bayou said:

In a Mr. Moto mood, are we? LOL

LOL, yes indeed. ;D Although I haven't been able to watch any more for the past few days because my grandma's been sick and contagious, and my Moto DVDs are at her house.

I did see a documentary on Tex Avery last night, though. ;D

[Pineapple Girl]

Um.. on Saturday night I went out with friends to see Get Smart (which was so funny, I wans going to die) and today I watched Back to The Future One for about the 30th time in my life, I still love it

[lover_of_the_bayou]

The last movie I saw was probably...Underdog. We had the T.V. on and you couldn't help but watch it...

[Shady Grove]

The Climax (1944).



Good picture; Karloff was fantastic as aways; I didn't even mind the opera, and the cinematography was great. It was kind of weak for a "horror" film, being very low on horror (and very low on Karloff screen-time overall), and very high on musical routines, but since this is an early Technicolor film, I expected that; just like other early Technicolor films like House of Wax, the point of the film was more to play up the spectacle of the color rather than play up the story itself. I felt it could've been remastered a little better--I mean, true Technicolor is luxurious to the eye, but this looked washed out; I bet the company that released it didn't even bother to do any work on the contrast. And it was a painfully obvious ripoff of The Phantom of the Opera. But overall I really enjoyed it. It had been too long since I'd seen a Karloff picture.

[Shady Grove]

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)



A cult classic with good reason. Overall a really well-made, well-acted film. The sex scenes were a bit gratuitous, but I expected as much from the era; and I got to see David Bowie in just about every nude pose imaginable, so that was fun. The message of the film was a powerful one and the point was sharply made. Very "art-house," very "cult," and a very intelligent film overall. Oh, yeah--and David Bowie can actually act! Who knew?

[Shady Grove]

The Hunger (1983).



I like B-grade horror movies as a rule, and this one wasn't bad, but it was average. I did like it, but David Bowie's role was far too small, and I wasn't totally satisfied with the ending. (Although much of the climax did recall a lot of Roger Coman's '60s film-endings. The very tail ending was what bugged me.) Definitely worth seeing, but I'm not sure when I'll see it again. I suspect the book was probably better than the film.

[BAM PETTY]

PORN

[Shady Grove]

Basquiat, 1996.



A nice film. I didn't know much about Jean-Michel Basquiat before I saw the film, so I was kind of flying blind through the story, but I found it very interesting. Since seeing the film, though, I've looked up some of his paintings, and frankly, I don't think the film did his actual works any justice. (Poor copies.) The overall pacing was a little downbeat, but David Bowie's hilarious, scene-stealing take on Andy Warhol displaced this and helped make the whole film round out pretty well.

[Shady Grove]

Absolute Beginners (1986)



Bowie was scene-stealing in his small role, some of the cinematography was excellent and some of the songs were really very good; but most of the songs and performances fell flat, the acting was stale, the plot was paper-thin, the characters lacked the time between songs to express any kind of depth and ended up just being stock characters, Bowie was underused, the attempt at camping it up to parody the old-school musical genre failed miserably, and the overall film was incredibly unfocused; it left me aggravated by movie's end. Seeing Bowie sing and dance on a giant typewriter was probably the only worthwhile part of this mess.

[Shady Grove]

I've had some heavy bouts of insomnia the past few nights, and as such, I've seen a lot of movies. Here's the latest batch.

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch[/i] (2002)




Yes, it's as bad as you've heard. Well, maybe not quite, but it's kind of a mess. The original Rutles was beyond brilliance, but this rehash is a bit of a drag. It's all reused jokes and recycled footage from the first movie, and although the jokes are still enjoyable, it's nothing we haven't heard before; Idle even borrows the "feuding documentary hosts" gag from Monty Python's Flying Circus! Some of the celebrity interviews are hilarious, however: Bonnie Raitt's confession that she used to kiss her Rutles pillow, and Tom Hanks' extended rant on the brilliance of The Triangular Album, are high points. But cute interviews alone can't really make this thing worth recommending. It could be way worse--like I said, the jokes are still funny, it's just that they've done them before.


Topsy-Turvy[/i] (1999)




After a rather long string of lackluster pictures, I was desperate to see a truly great movie again. It was such a relief to see this downright charming film about the legendary composers Gilbert and Sullivan, and the making of their greatest opera, The Mikado. I love G&S, love The Mikado, and absolutely adored this film. The acting and writing were superb, the historical accuracy unsurpassed, and the musical sequences were fantastic. I was a little disappointed they didn't do a version of "On a Tree By a River," but you can't have everything. The best movie I've seen in ages. Positively infectious!


Rope[/b] (1948)




I'd heard this bandied about as a somewhat lesser Hitchthingy film, and although I didn't enjoy it as much as classics like Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window or North by Northwest, I felt it was a very solid, "very-good-if-not-great" piece by Hitch. Loved the single "real-time" take; must've been a b***h to make, but it's a cool gimmick that gives the film a sort of "stage-play" effect to the audience. My one big critique about the film is that it felt like it had only just started to "get going" when they ended it. But it was a really good, intellectual and fascinating film with another great performance by James Stewart and sharp direction by Hitch.


Shock Treatment (1964)




Nice little suspense flick. Nothing brilliant here, but a cool plot, nice acting by the cast, and some splendidly devious work by Lauren Bacall. Fun movie; I enjoyed it.

[Shady Grove]

Since I've been housesitting, I haven't had much else to do but watch movies, and I've seen a whole bunch of 'em.

Movies I've Seen for the First Time[/u]

Labyrinth[/b] (1986)




Fantastic movie. When Jim Henson is directing, George Lucas is executive-producing, Monty Python's Terry Jones is writing the screenplay and David Bowie is writing the songs, how could you possibly lose? Incredibly layered film chock-full of allegories, and some wonderful puppetry from the Muppet folks.


Singin' in the Rain[/b] (1952)




Truly the "musical for people who don't like musicals." Charming performances, superb direction and brilliant Technicolor. Makes you want to get up and dance with them.


Les Miserables[/b] (1952)
[img src="i32.photobucket.com/albums/d17/webmistressmaryjane/stargoldsmall.gif"]



Not to be confused with the musical version; this one was pure story. Not having read Hugo's novel I can't pass judgment on how well it brought the story to the screen, but I thought it was fascinating. A little treacley at times and kind of dragging in places, but a solid film with some fine performances, including brief appearances by Edmund Gwenn and Elsa Lanchester.


Nightmare[/b] (1956)




Average little suspense flick. Pretty nice overall, with some interesting concepts. Loved the idea of a mirrored room. The story's resolution seemed a little too clean-cut, but it was definitely a movie worth watching.


Mr. Winkle Goes to War[/b] (1944)




Cute story, another good performance by Edward G. Robinson, but nothing to write home about really.


Movies I've Seen Before, But Watched Again Recently:

Mad Love[/b] (1935)




One of my longtime favorites that first helped get me into the horror genre. The story's progression takes its time and helps to build the characters' personalities instead of just jumping right into the fright like a lot of horror movies. Some truly sick concepts in this film make me surprised it was ever released at all after the Hays Code. (Just look at the glint in Peter Lorre's eyes as Frances Drake is being "tortured" onstage early on in the movie.) Can't rave enough about this one!


Stranger on the Third Floor[/b] (1940)




Underrated film that took some pioneering steps in the style that would later be termed "film-noir." The story itself is a little flimsy, but the edgy camerawork and Peter Lorre's menacing, looming presence over the film more than make up for any weaknesses elsewhere.


The Maltese Falcon[/b] (1941)




My favorite movie of all time. Lost count how many times I've seen this. Every person on the planet should see this film. End of story.


The Mask of Dimitrios[/b] (1944)




Another incredibly underrated film, possibly the best pairing of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet except The Maltese Falcon. Intriguing story, fascinating characters, strong performances by everyone--including a rare leading-man opportunity of Lorre, and an early role for Zachary Scott--great production, just a really cool movie that desperately deserves more recognition than it gets.


20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[/b] (1954)




Enthralling! It's amazing to look back and see the kinds of films Disney used to make, and dismaying to see the kind of tweenage drek they're churning out these days. This is such a thought-provoking film that tackles some heavy issues and concepts--the idea of justifiable homicide, the fine line between genius and madness, humankind's tendency to use new inventions for negative reasons, etc.--it seems too heavy to be classified as a "children's movie." It's simply fantastic.

Key Largo[/b] (1948)




Now, if there is a movie I love ALMOST as much as Maltese Falcon, it is Key Largo. Deliciously cool film that almost entirely takes place in a hotel during a hurricane. I don't think Edward G. Robinson was ever as vile. (Even Rico in Little Caesar isn't as sleazy as his character Johnny Rocco in Key Largo). Equally strong performances come from Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore and Claire Trevor (I'm not surprised she won the Oscar). I could rattle on about all the reasons why I love this film, but as with Maltese Falcon, it would take too long.