Nothing Personal (2009) - 7.5/10 - A woman leaves Amsterdam, apparently after the breakup of a marriage, to travel across Ireland on foot and by hitchhiking. She comes across a remote home where a hermit lives and they slowly build a relationship. Dialogue is fairly sparse at times, but isn't really needed. It was a good film and Lotte Verbeek and Stephen Rea each give nice performances.
The Cranes are Flying (1957) - 9.5/10 - This Soviet film about WWII deals with a young woman named Veronika (Tatyana Samoylova) who is in love with a young man named Boris (Aleksey Batalov). It is expected that they will marry, but the war starts and he enlists. Waiting is really hard for Veronika, especially since she gets no letters from Boris. The movie features an excellent performance from Samoylova plus the visuals and story are each top notch as she deals with the fear and the heartbreak and the war. It is an excellent film.
Raise the Red Lantern (1991) - 9/10 - After her father dies, 19 year old Songlian (Gong Li) gives in to her stepmother's wish for her to marry. Songlian becomes the fourth mistress of a very wealthy man in 1920s China who lives in a large compound. Songlian soon finds that the mistresses are in competition with one another for the attention of the Master and that the servants also treat the mistresses differently depending on who holds his favor at the moment. Songlian finds herself somewhat isolated and can't even rely on the maid assigned to her. A nice performance from Gong Li in an excellent film.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - 9/10 - The set used for most of the film is deceptively simple. The images of the people from the church and Joan with the close ups and group shots and so on, the fast talking and fast pace is all very effective. Using material from the actual transcripts is impressive, but so are the performances from all of the actors.
Simon of the Desert (1965) - 8/10 - Simon has been living on top of a tall pillar for over 6 years, praying to become closer to God. Another pillar is erected for him and he comes down and walks over to the new pillar. He has attracted crowds of people who want to see him perform a miracle. When one is performed, they leave unimpressed. There are a number of recurring characters including a group of religious men, a goat herder, his mother, and Satan. Satan appears a number of times to try and tempt Simon. The film moves at a pretty quick pace and there is humor mixed in as well. It's a lot more entertaining perhaps than the description might make it seem. Luis Buñuel directing it plays a large role in that.
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) - 8/10 - Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) is a concert pianist who was pretty well known in his younger days. He is about to leave town to avoid a duel when he receives a letter from a woman that he does not remember. Lisa (Joan Fontaine) relates her story in the letter as to how she loved Stefan from the age of 14 when he lived nearby and she heard him play regularly. She continued to love him as she grew up, but he took no notice of her until one night many years later. The story is very melodramatic, but it works very well and the lead performances are very good.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Darby O'Gill and the Little People (Robert Stevenson, 1959) 8/10
This is where producer Albert R. Broccoli first saw Sean Connery and cast him as James Bond. Charming Disney fantasy about an old Irish codger (Albert Sharpe) who spins tall tales in the village about having met the King of Leprechauns. Nobody believes him and he is the butt of jokes but the old man actually does converse with the King with whom he carries on a battle of wits about getting three wishes granted. The two old men play matchmaker for Darby's spirited daughter (Janet Munro) with the young man (Sean Connery) who has been chosen to replace him as caretaker. Causing problems for all is the old village snoop (Estelle Winwood) and her son (Kieron Moore) who also hopes to win the young lass. Colorful bit of whimsy was shot entirely on the studio lot in California where an Irish village was created. Wonderful special effects depicting the leprechauns. And Connery and Munro sing "Pretty Irish Girl".
Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021) 4/10
Villeneuve's film is spectacular in almost every way. Grand sets, huge space ships, stunning backdrop of the Norwegian fjord and the desert of Wadi Rum in Jordan which fills in for the story's desolate giant worm-ridden planet of Arrakis where the "chosen one" Paul (Timothée Chalamet), the Duke, his father (Oscar Isaac) and his mother (Rebecca Ferguson) all find themselves on after being given the stewardship of the dangerous desert planet. The story, unfortunately, still remains convoluted and trite although because of the grandness of the project it towers above the pathetic David Lynch version that flopped in 1984. Maybe it should have remained as Frank Herbert's book - a cult classic tome - and should never have been filmed. An eclectic cast flail about on the sidelines - Josh Brolin as a close aide of the family, Jason Momoa as a swordmaster, Stellan Skarsgård as the chief villain of the piece floating around like Casper the ghost, Zendaya as the love interest, Javier Bardem as a leader of a tribe and an underused Charlotte Rampling, her face covered by a thick net, as the stern Reverend Mother. Unfortunately the film does not conclude the story but one has to now wait for the second part in order to find out how it all ends.
The Protégé (Martin Campbell, 2021) 6/10
Maggie Q was an exciting discovery playing a kick-ass assassin out for revenge when her foster dad and trainer (Samuel L. Jackson) is killed. The film has all the usual clichés of the genre and more. Also amusing was the banter between Q and Michael Keaton with shades of "Prizzi's Honor". It appears I've seen Maggie Q before but in a few forgetful minor Hollywood parts - her stardom was courtesy of the Hong Kong film industry - but she more than carries off the lead role here.
Lawyer Man (William Dieterle, 1932) 4/10
Idealistic lawyer (William Powell), with a roving eye, gets involved with crooks and realizes that in order to survive he must learn to play the crooked game as well. Joan Blondell is the faithful and lovelorn secretary who stands by him. Pre-code drama although nothing special.
The Last of the Mohicans (George B. Seitz, 1936) 6/10
James Fenimore Cooper's exciting 1826 novel about the French and Indian war gets a good, if rather set bound, Hollywood treatment. Randolph Scott is Hawkeye, the white American hunter and scout, in love with the Governor's feisty daughter (Binnie Barnes) while her younger sister (Heather Angel) falls for an Indian (Phillip Reed). Bruce Cabot is the despicable Indian chief Magua who secretly shifts alliances with the French against the British and tries to abduct the two ladies. The film's daring (for the time) interracial love story is sweetly played out between Sears and Reed. Mostly forgotten film is over shadowed by the Michael Mann remake which was a huge romantic hit at the boxoffice.
Ecologia del delitto / Bay of Blood (Mario Bava, 1971) 6/10
A wheel-chair bound Countess (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death in her bay side mansion by her husband who is then mysteriously knifed to death. This sets off a chain of gruesome murders making it Mario Bava's most violent film. The graphic murders have at its center various characters wanting possession of the vast property including the Count's estranged daughter (Claudine Auger) and her husband (Luigi Pistilli). Dying in vicious fashion are two young couples who for kicks break into a derelict house on the bay. One couple is impaled to death as they make love while one girl is decapitated just after taking a nude swim in the bay and discovering the rotting corpse of the Count. Assorted people find themselves facing deadly sharp objects ending in painful deaths. An ironic ending is the icing on this bloody cake.
Wing and a Prayer: The Story of Carrier X (Henry Hathaway, 1944) 7/10
Exciting, moving account of the workings of an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII and a salute to the Navy airmen. Rousing propaganda piece, set in the months between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, has stunning scenes of aerial battles along with spectacular moments showing planes landing, taking off and crashing off the giant ship. Skillfully woven into the action scenes is actual documentary footage which gives the film authenticity. The cast gamefully play every stereotype in the book with among the standouts Don Ameche as the relentlessly severe flight commander, Dana Andrews as the leader of the attacking squadron, William Eythe as an Oscar-winning actor flying missions and keeping Oscar in the cockpit as his mascot, Richard Jaeckel as the underage gunner and Charles Bickford as an Admiral. The film's original screenplay was nominated for an Oscar.
The Bravados (Henry King, 1958) 6/10
Surprisingly lacklustre Western has spectacular widescreen color cinematography by the great Leon Shamroy. A story of revenge as a rancher (Gregory Peck) gives chase to four men (Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva, Lee Van Cleef) who have raped and killed his wife. He tracks them down to a town where the sheriff has jailed them for robbing a bank. Before they are hanged the men escape with everyone - the townfolk, the rancher and his former girlfriend (Joan Collins playing a Mexican and speaking with a clipped British accent) - giving chase. Peck looks bored througout and fails to portray a man full of fury while Collins is absurd casting.
Hard to Get (Ray Enright, 1938) 5/10
Silly comedy has a spoilt heiress (Olivia de Havilland) plan revenge on an attendant (Dick Powell) at a gas station but instead falls in love with him. The hijinks involve a wonderful supporting cast - Charles Winninger as the girl's daffy rich dad, Melville Cooper as his butler and wrestling partner, Bonita Granville as the bratty sister, Isabel Jeans as the haughty mother and Penny Singleton as a talkative maid. Early de Havilland when she was still alternating between A and B pictures. Powell sings and clowns but then also gets an excrutiatingly cringy moment where he appears in black face and sings "Sonny Boy".
Wings of the Navy (Lloyd Bacon, 1939) 5/10
Competition on and off the playing field. Naval aviator (George Brent) faces envy and competition from his younger brother (John Payne) who leaves the submarine service to join the flying cadets like his much celebrated older brother. When he falls in love with his brother's girlfriend (Olivia de Havilland) matters take on a prickly stance when she reciprocates his feelings. Superb aerial sequences in this B-film.
Welcome Stranger (Elliott Nugent, 1947) 7/10
Barry Fitzgerald is a delightful curmudgeon as the small-town doctor who hires an unseen doctor as his replacement when he wishes to go on vacation. It's hate at first sight between the old man and the young doctor (Bing Crosby) who likes to croon songs at the drop of a hat. The Crosby-Fitzgerald chemistry remains intact - a holdover from their Oscar-winning days on "Going My Way". Pretty Joan Caulfield co-stars as a school teacher while doing double duty off-screen as Crosby's mistress. A huge hit at the boxoffice the film's cast also includes the great Elizabeth Patterson as the wise no-nonsense housekeeper, young Wanda Hendrix as the teenage daughter of the town drunk (Frank Faylen) and amusing Percy Kilbride as the town's lone dim-witted taxi driver. Crosby sings four songs and there is the obligatory Bob Hope put-down in the screenplay.
The Walls Came Tumbling Down (Lothar Mendes, 1946) 6/10
B-noir has a society columnist (Lee Bowman) turn detective when his close friend, a priest, is found dead by hanging. Was it suicide or murder? The plot involves a pair of rare Bibles, a shady crook (George Macready) and a femme fatale (Marguerite Chapman). Atmospheric film played around restaurants, bars, offices and hotel rooms. The two leads have snappy chemistry.
Westbound (Budd Boetticher, 1959) 6/10
One of many Westerns Boetticher made with star Randolph Scott which, short of disowning, the director acknowledged that it was one of the low points in his career. I don't know what he was talking about as it many not be great but its a perfectly respectable film. Union army officer (Randolph Scott) is tasked with running a stagecoach line carrying shipments of gold to support the Union war effort. Unfortunately a southern sympathiser and an old adversary (John Duggan), now married to his former sweetheart (Virgina Mayo), stands in his way. Scott is his usual stiff self and Mayo is wasted in a brief role but the film is livened by Michael Pate as a vicious killer out to steal the gold. Also adding sparks are Karen Steele and Michael Dante as a young frontier couple who get caught between the crossfire.
This is where producer Albert R. Broccoli first saw Sean Connery and cast him as James Bond. Charming Disney fantasy about an old Irish codger (Albert Sharpe) who spins tall tales in the village about having met the King of Leprechauns. Nobody believes him and he is the butt of jokes but the old man actually does converse with the King with whom he carries on a battle of wits about getting three wishes granted. The two old men play matchmaker for Darby's spirited daughter (Janet Munro) with the young man (Sean Connery) who has been chosen to replace him as caretaker. Causing problems for all is the old village snoop (Estelle Winwood) and her son (Kieron Moore) who also hopes to win the young lass. Colorful bit of whimsy was shot entirely on the studio lot in California where an Irish village was created. Wonderful special effects depicting the leprechauns. And Connery and Munro sing "Pretty Irish Girl".
Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021) 4/10
Villeneuve's film is spectacular in almost every way. Grand sets, huge space ships, stunning backdrop of the Norwegian fjord and the desert of Wadi Rum in Jordan which fills in for the story's desolate giant worm-ridden planet of Arrakis where the "chosen one" Paul (Timothée Chalamet), the Duke, his father (Oscar Isaac) and his mother (Rebecca Ferguson) all find themselves on after being given the stewardship of the dangerous desert planet. The story, unfortunately, still remains convoluted and trite although because of the grandness of the project it towers above the pathetic David Lynch version that flopped in 1984. Maybe it should have remained as Frank Herbert's book - a cult classic tome - and should never have been filmed. An eclectic cast flail about on the sidelines - Josh Brolin as a close aide of the family, Jason Momoa as a swordmaster, Stellan Skarsgård as the chief villain of the piece floating around like Casper the ghost, Zendaya as the love interest, Javier Bardem as a leader of a tribe and an underused Charlotte Rampling, her face covered by a thick net, as the stern Reverend Mother. Unfortunately the film does not conclude the story but one has to now wait for the second part in order to find out how it all ends.
The Protégé (Martin Campbell, 2021) 6/10
Maggie Q was an exciting discovery playing a kick-ass assassin out for revenge when her foster dad and trainer (Samuel L. Jackson) is killed. The film has all the usual clichés of the genre and more. Also amusing was the banter between Q and Michael Keaton with shades of "Prizzi's Honor". It appears I've seen Maggie Q before but in a few forgetful minor Hollywood parts - her stardom was courtesy of the Hong Kong film industry - but she more than carries off the lead role here.
Lawyer Man (William Dieterle, 1932) 4/10
Idealistic lawyer (William Powell), with a roving eye, gets involved with crooks and realizes that in order to survive he must learn to play the crooked game as well. Joan Blondell is the faithful and lovelorn secretary who stands by him. Pre-code drama although nothing special.
The Last of the Mohicans (George B. Seitz, 1936) 6/10
James Fenimore Cooper's exciting 1826 novel about the French and Indian war gets a good, if rather set bound, Hollywood treatment. Randolph Scott is Hawkeye, the white American hunter and scout, in love with the Governor's feisty daughter (Binnie Barnes) while her younger sister (Heather Angel) falls for an Indian (Phillip Reed). Bruce Cabot is the despicable Indian chief Magua who secretly shifts alliances with the French against the British and tries to abduct the two ladies. The film's daring (for the time) interracial love story is sweetly played out between Sears and Reed. Mostly forgotten film is over shadowed by the Michael Mann remake which was a huge romantic hit at the boxoffice.
Ecologia del delitto / Bay of Blood (Mario Bava, 1971) 6/10
A wheel-chair bound Countess (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death in her bay side mansion by her husband who is then mysteriously knifed to death. This sets off a chain of gruesome murders making it Mario Bava's most violent film. The graphic murders have at its center various characters wanting possession of the vast property including the Count's estranged daughter (Claudine Auger) and her husband (Luigi Pistilli). Dying in vicious fashion are two young couples who for kicks break into a derelict house on the bay. One couple is impaled to death as they make love while one girl is decapitated just after taking a nude swim in the bay and discovering the rotting corpse of the Count. Assorted people find themselves facing deadly sharp objects ending in painful deaths. An ironic ending is the icing on this bloody cake.
Wing and a Prayer: The Story of Carrier X (Henry Hathaway, 1944) 7/10
Exciting, moving account of the workings of an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII and a salute to the Navy airmen. Rousing propaganda piece, set in the months between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, has stunning scenes of aerial battles along with spectacular moments showing planes landing, taking off and crashing off the giant ship. Skillfully woven into the action scenes is actual documentary footage which gives the film authenticity. The cast gamefully play every stereotype in the book with among the standouts Don Ameche as the relentlessly severe flight commander, Dana Andrews as the leader of the attacking squadron, William Eythe as an Oscar-winning actor flying missions and keeping Oscar in the cockpit as his mascot, Richard Jaeckel as the underage gunner and Charles Bickford as an Admiral. The film's original screenplay was nominated for an Oscar.
The Bravados (Henry King, 1958) 6/10
Surprisingly lacklustre Western has spectacular widescreen color cinematography by the great Leon Shamroy. A story of revenge as a rancher (Gregory Peck) gives chase to four men (Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva, Lee Van Cleef) who have raped and killed his wife. He tracks them down to a town where the sheriff has jailed them for robbing a bank. Before they are hanged the men escape with everyone - the townfolk, the rancher and his former girlfriend (Joan Collins playing a Mexican and speaking with a clipped British accent) - giving chase. Peck looks bored througout and fails to portray a man full of fury while Collins is absurd casting.
Hard to Get (Ray Enright, 1938) 5/10
Silly comedy has a spoilt heiress (Olivia de Havilland) plan revenge on an attendant (Dick Powell) at a gas station but instead falls in love with him. The hijinks involve a wonderful supporting cast - Charles Winninger as the girl's daffy rich dad, Melville Cooper as his butler and wrestling partner, Bonita Granville as the bratty sister, Isabel Jeans as the haughty mother and Penny Singleton as a talkative maid. Early de Havilland when she was still alternating between A and B pictures. Powell sings and clowns but then also gets an excrutiatingly cringy moment where he appears in black face and sings "Sonny Boy".
Wings of the Navy (Lloyd Bacon, 1939) 5/10
Competition on and off the playing field. Naval aviator (George Brent) faces envy and competition from his younger brother (John Payne) who leaves the submarine service to join the flying cadets like his much celebrated older brother. When he falls in love with his brother's girlfriend (Olivia de Havilland) matters take on a prickly stance when she reciprocates his feelings. Superb aerial sequences in this B-film.
Welcome Stranger (Elliott Nugent, 1947) 7/10
Barry Fitzgerald is a delightful curmudgeon as the small-town doctor who hires an unseen doctor as his replacement when he wishes to go on vacation. It's hate at first sight between the old man and the young doctor (Bing Crosby) who likes to croon songs at the drop of a hat. The Crosby-Fitzgerald chemistry remains intact - a holdover from their Oscar-winning days on "Going My Way". Pretty Joan Caulfield co-stars as a school teacher while doing double duty off-screen as Crosby's mistress. A huge hit at the boxoffice the film's cast also includes the great Elizabeth Patterson as the wise no-nonsense housekeeper, young Wanda Hendrix as the teenage daughter of the town drunk (Frank Faylen) and amusing Percy Kilbride as the town's lone dim-witted taxi driver. Crosby sings four songs and there is the obligatory Bob Hope put-down in the screenplay.
The Walls Came Tumbling Down (Lothar Mendes, 1946) 6/10
B-noir has a society columnist (Lee Bowman) turn detective when his close friend, a priest, is found dead by hanging. Was it suicide or murder? The plot involves a pair of rare Bibles, a shady crook (George Macready) and a femme fatale (Marguerite Chapman). Atmospheric film played around restaurants, bars, offices and hotel rooms. The two leads have snappy chemistry.
Westbound (Budd Boetticher, 1959) 6/10
One of many Westerns Boetticher made with star Randolph Scott which, short of disowning, the director acknowledged that it was one of the low points in his career. I don't know what he was talking about as it many not be great but its a perfectly respectable film. Union army officer (Randolph Scott) is tasked with running a stagecoach line carrying shipments of gold to support the Union war effort. Unfortunately a southern sympathiser and an old adversary (John Duggan), now married to his former sweetheart (Virgina Mayo), stands in his way. Scott is his usual stiff self and Mayo is wasted in a brief role but the film is livened by Michael Pate as a vicious killer out to steal the gold. Also adding sparks are Karen Steele and Michael Dante as a young frontier couple who get caught between the crossfire.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Glass Cell (1978) - 7.5/10 - A man is wrongfully convicted of fraud and spends five years in prison. When he is released, his family is almost like a stranger to him and he sees that his lawyer is unusually close with his wife and young son. The time in prison changed the man and he finds it difficult to deal with his roles having been usurped by another. It was a pretty good crime drama.
Sara Akash (1969) - 6/10 - Samar is coerced into marrying Prabha by his family. He wants to complete his studies before thinking of marriage, but gives in to the pressure. Neither one is ready for married life. Samar becomes bitter and Prabha fits in poorly with Samar's family, who often give her a hard time.
Le Samourai (1967) - 7.5/10 - A hitman gets pulled in for questioning after a job. He's established his alibi, but is still under suspicion. The police are after him, but so are the people who hired him. There's a lot of atmosphere here and the film is rather minimalist in a number of ways, especially dialogue. It's a good film, though I didn't like it as much as some reviews that I've seen.
Chungking Express (1994) - 7.5/10 - This movie has two stories about Hong Kong policeman whose girlfriends have left them. The first one has a guy calling her number repeatedly and hoping she'll come back. It really wasn't all that interesting. I liked the related story about the woman who has a drug deal go bad much more. The second story has a guy whose flight attendant girlfriend leaves. Another girl who works at the snack bar he frequents likes the man, though she has an interesting way of expressing it. She also likes really loud music. The second story was a lot more enjoyable than the first one.
Salaam Cinema (1995) - 6/10 - Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian director who put an ad in the paper for an open casting call for his next movie. So many people showed up that it was a dangerous mob scene outside the facility they were using for screen tests. He decided to make a movie about the casting process for these prospective actors. It had its interesting moments, but overall was just okay.
Paths of Glory (1957) - 8.5/10 - A general (George Macready) aiming for a promotion orders an undermanned troop to attack and take a heavily fortified German position during the first World War. Kirk Douglas plays the colonel in charge of these men and has to defend three men chosen as scapegoats against charges of cowardice after the attack fails. Adolphe Menjou also has a significant role as a smarmy general. Stanley Kubrick directed the film and I thought it was very good.
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) - 8/10 - Buster Keaton is the son of a steamboat captain who hasn't seen him since he was a baby. When he arrives in town, he is a big disappointment to his father. While the second half of the film is definitely better than the first half, I did enjoy the film quite a bit overall. The storm sequence was excellent.
Sara Akash (1969) - 6/10 - Samar is coerced into marrying Prabha by his family. He wants to complete his studies before thinking of marriage, but gives in to the pressure. Neither one is ready for married life. Samar becomes bitter and Prabha fits in poorly with Samar's family, who often give her a hard time.
Le Samourai (1967) - 7.5/10 - A hitman gets pulled in for questioning after a job. He's established his alibi, but is still under suspicion. The police are after him, but so are the people who hired him. There's a lot of atmosphere here and the film is rather minimalist in a number of ways, especially dialogue. It's a good film, though I didn't like it as much as some reviews that I've seen.
Chungking Express (1994) - 7.5/10 - This movie has two stories about Hong Kong policeman whose girlfriends have left them. The first one has a guy calling her number repeatedly and hoping she'll come back. It really wasn't all that interesting. I liked the related story about the woman who has a drug deal go bad much more. The second story has a guy whose flight attendant girlfriend leaves. Another girl who works at the snack bar he frequents likes the man, though she has an interesting way of expressing it. She also likes really loud music. The second story was a lot more enjoyable than the first one.
Salaam Cinema (1995) - 6/10 - Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian director who put an ad in the paper for an open casting call for his next movie. So many people showed up that it was a dangerous mob scene outside the facility they were using for screen tests. He decided to make a movie about the casting process for these prospective actors. It had its interesting moments, but overall was just okay.
Paths of Glory (1957) - 8.5/10 - A general (George Macready) aiming for a promotion orders an undermanned troop to attack and take a heavily fortified German position during the first World War. Kirk Douglas plays the colonel in charge of these men and has to defend three men chosen as scapegoats against charges of cowardice after the attack fails. Adolphe Menjou also has a significant role as a smarmy general. Stanley Kubrick directed the film and I thought it was very good.
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) - 8/10 - Buster Keaton is the son of a steamboat captain who hasn't seen him since he was a baby. When he arrives in town, he is a big disappointment to his father. While the second half of the film is definitely better than the first half, I did enjoy the film quite a bit overall. The storm sequence was excellent.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Detour (1945) - 7/10 - A piano player in New York decides to travel to California to join his girlfriend. Since he has almost no money, he hitches rides with mixed success. He gets lucky when he is picked up by a guy in Arizona who is going all the way to LA and then things take a turn. It was a decent noir film.
Bye Bye Morons (2020) - 7.5/10 - Suze is a hairdresser in her 40s who has just been informed that she is dying. She decides to try and find the baby she gave up for adoption when she was 15. She gets help from a bureaucrat undergoing a midlife crisis and a blind archivist. There is quite a bit of humor here and I thought it was a fun movie.
The Scoundrel (1935) - 6/10 - Noel Coward stars in this film about a publisher who seems to be rather callous and dismissive of most of the people in his life. It was a bit dull, but watchable.
The Match Factory Girl (1990) - 8/10 - Iris works in a match factory and leads a pretty sad and dull life. She lives with and helps support her parents who are strict and appear to be unloving. She doesn't have any luck romantically until one night when she meets a man in a bar, but it becomes apparent later that he thought she was a prostitute. When he scorns her, something inside snaps and Iris decides to get revenge. I thought this was a very good film. Iris is a woman of very few words, but she doesn't need many to convey her situation. She actually becomes livelier after she decides to get even.
Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword of Vengeance (1972) - 9/10
Lone Wolf and Cub - Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972) - 9/10
Lone Wolf and Cub - Baby Cart to Hades (1972) - 9/10 - I've loved the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series since the 1980s, but this is the first time I've watched the movies. I think that they are pretty faithful and very entertaining, though definitely bloody and violent (as are the comics). I enjoyed them quite a bit and will watch the other three movies in this series at a later date.
A Man Escaped (1956) - 8.5/10 - A French resistance prisoner is sent to prison and meticulously plans his escape with some help from his fellow prisoners. The movie was pretty much just the prisoner in his own cell or mingling briefly with the other prisoners while washing up or in the courtyard, but it was somewhat tense and was very well done. It is a very good movie.
Bye Bye Morons (2020) - 7.5/10 - Suze is a hairdresser in her 40s who has just been informed that she is dying. She decides to try and find the baby she gave up for adoption when she was 15. She gets help from a bureaucrat undergoing a midlife crisis and a blind archivist. There is quite a bit of humor here and I thought it was a fun movie.
The Scoundrel (1935) - 6/10 - Noel Coward stars in this film about a publisher who seems to be rather callous and dismissive of most of the people in his life. It was a bit dull, but watchable.
The Match Factory Girl (1990) - 8/10 - Iris works in a match factory and leads a pretty sad and dull life. She lives with and helps support her parents who are strict and appear to be unloving. She doesn't have any luck romantically until one night when she meets a man in a bar, but it becomes apparent later that he thought she was a prostitute. When he scorns her, something inside snaps and Iris decides to get revenge. I thought this was a very good film. Iris is a woman of very few words, but she doesn't need many to convey her situation. She actually becomes livelier after she decides to get even.
Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword of Vengeance (1972) - 9/10
Lone Wolf and Cub - Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972) - 9/10
Lone Wolf and Cub - Baby Cart to Hades (1972) - 9/10 - I've loved the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series since the 1980s, but this is the first time I've watched the movies. I think that they are pretty faithful and very entertaining, though definitely bloody and violent (as are the comics). I enjoyed them quite a bit and will watch the other three movies in this series at a later date.
A Man Escaped (1956) - 8.5/10 - A French resistance prisoner is sent to prison and meticulously plans his escape with some help from his fellow prisoners. The movie was pretty much just the prisoner in his own cell or mingling briefly with the other prisoners while washing up or in the courtyard, but it was somewhat tense and was very well done. It is a very good movie.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) - 7/10 - I didn't have this one marked as watched, though I wasn't sure how I'd missed it. Sure enough, I could tell right away that I'd seen it, but decided to rewatch it anyway. There are definitely some good bits here - the Monte Carlo casino and choice at the beginning for example. The animals are trying to get back to New York City and join a circus as they try to stay away from the law (animal control). It's a fun movie.
Animal Crackers (1930) - 6/10 - There were some funny bits here and there, but there was also dead air sometimes after attempted jokes, especially earlier in the film. It was like they were waiting for a nonexistent audience reaction. Overall, I thought it was kind of dull and the mystery of the missing painting wasn't all that interesting. There was enough there to make it worth watching once, but it is not one of the better Marx brothers films.
Harakiri (1962) - 10/10 - A ronin shows up at the gate of the Iyi clan in 1630 requesting permission to use their forecourt to commit ritual suicide by harakiri. Times had been tough for masterless samurai since the peace of 1619. A retainer of the Iyi clan relates the story of a man who made the same request in the recent past in likely hope of being given some money, but forced to follow through. The ronin insists that he wants to continue and before the ceremony begins, he relates his story. Tatsuya Nakadi does an excellent job as the aging samurai who has had to scramble to make a living over the past 11 years. The set design and camerawork are also top notch. Highly recommended.
Bitter Rice (1949) - 8.5/10 - Francesca and Walter stole jewels and now Walter is being hunted by the police. He passed the jewels on to Francesca when the police cause them to miss their train. Francesca mixes in with workers taking a different train to work in rice fields as seasonal workers. Another rice worker, Silvana, figures out why Francesca is there and tells her boyfriend Marco, a soldier. Walter eventually shows up and tempers flare and plans are made by Walter to make money there. The film is well acted and is pretty entertaining throughout.
Aniki-Bóbó (1942) - 8.5/10 - Carlitos is a young boy with a crush on Terezinha, a girl who hangs out with the the same group of boys that Carlitos does. However, she seems to like another boy, Eduardo, who is a bit bigger and stronger and is a leader in the group. The two boys fight a couple of times as Carlitos tries to win her affection. It's a very nice film with only a few adult characters of any note - the shopkeeper and the schoolteacher.
Go West (1925) - 7/10 - Buster Keaton is down on his luck and can't get a job in New York City so he decides to head west, hopping on a train car since he has no money. He arrives at a ranch and is hired as a cowboy, though he has no skills in that regard. I thought the first part of the film was a bit slow and not really all that funny. However, it got a lot better in the second half and the finale in the city was really good.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - 7/10 - I hadn't seen this since the 80s and didn't remember anything about it so I decided to watch it again. Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is a truck drive who takes his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) to the airport to meet his fiance. The fiance gets kidnapped and they follow the trail to Chinatown which leads to all sorts of problems. The result is a goofy supernatural martial arts action comedy that doesn't really make a lot of sense if you think about it, but is entertaining enough for the spectacle of it.
Animal Crackers (1930) - 6/10 - There were some funny bits here and there, but there was also dead air sometimes after attempted jokes, especially earlier in the film. It was like they were waiting for a nonexistent audience reaction. Overall, I thought it was kind of dull and the mystery of the missing painting wasn't all that interesting. There was enough there to make it worth watching once, but it is not one of the better Marx brothers films.
Harakiri (1962) - 10/10 - A ronin shows up at the gate of the Iyi clan in 1630 requesting permission to use their forecourt to commit ritual suicide by harakiri. Times had been tough for masterless samurai since the peace of 1619. A retainer of the Iyi clan relates the story of a man who made the same request in the recent past in likely hope of being given some money, but forced to follow through. The ronin insists that he wants to continue and before the ceremony begins, he relates his story. Tatsuya Nakadi does an excellent job as the aging samurai who has had to scramble to make a living over the past 11 years. The set design and camerawork are also top notch. Highly recommended.
Bitter Rice (1949) - 8.5/10 - Francesca and Walter stole jewels and now Walter is being hunted by the police. He passed the jewels on to Francesca when the police cause them to miss their train. Francesca mixes in with workers taking a different train to work in rice fields as seasonal workers. Another rice worker, Silvana, figures out why Francesca is there and tells her boyfriend Marco, a soldier. Walter eventually shows up and tempers flare and plans are made by Walter to make money there. The film is well acted and is pretty entertaining throughout.
Aniki-Bóbó (1942) - 8.5/10 - Carlitos is a young boy with a crush on Terezinha, a girl who hangs out with the the same group of boys that Carlitos does. However, she seems to like another boy, Eduardo, who is a bit bigger and stronger and is a leader in the group. The two boys fight a couple of times as Carlitos tries to win her affection. It's a very nice film with only a few adult characters of any note - the shopkeeper and the schoolteacher.
Go West (1925) - 7/10 - Buster Keaton is down on his luck and can't get a job in New York City so he decides to head west, hopping on a train car since he has no money. He arrives at a ranch and is hired as a cowboy, though he has no skills in that regard. I thought the first part of the film was a bit slow and not really all that funny. However, it got a lot better in the second half and the finale in the city was really good.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - 7/10 - I hadn't seen this since the 80s and didn't remember anything about it so I decided to watch it again. Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is a truck drive who takes his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) to the airport to meet his fiance. The fiance gets kidnapped and they follow the trail to Chinatown which leads to all sorts of problems. The result is a goofy supernatural martial arts action comedy that doesn't really make a lot of sense if you think about it, but is entertaining enough for the spectacle of it.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
No Time to Die (2021) - 8/10 - The Daniel Craig Bond era goes out with a bang. Bond is retired and just as he is on the verge of being happy, trouble finds him and messes it all up. New foes and old show up here and there is certainly plenty of action. Lashana Lynch was good as the new 007, though I thought she would play a slightly larger role. Léa Seydoux returns and does a good job. There were quite a few nice sequences during the film. It was definitely better than Spectre.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976) - 5/10 - A documentary about the author of Under the Volcano. It was comprehensive, but fairly dull.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) - 7.5/10 - A crooked card game leads to a £500,000 debt. This leads to a plan to rob a small neighboring gang, but there are rival factions, mishaps, and plenty of violence. It was a pretty good film.
Pather Panchali (1955) - 7.5/10 - A poor man in a Bengal village aspires to be a writer, but has debts so he leaves home to try and find work to pay off the debts and support his family. Much of the film deals with the everyday life of his wife, daughter Durga who is a bit of a handful, and son Apu who is fairly young. It is a pretty good film and was filmed with very little money and amateur actors. It is also the start of the Apu trilogy of films which are highly regarded in India and elsewhere.
Nights of Cabiria (1957) - 8/10 - A prostitute survives nearly drowning in a river and starts yearning for happiness and a better future, only to find disappointment and heartbreak. Giulietta Masina was very good in this film directed by Federico Fellini.
A Well Spent Life (1971) - 7/10 - Mance Lipscomb was a tenant farmer in Texas for much of his life. He was also an excellent blues and folk guitarist who only played locally until being discovered in 1960. After that, he recorded a number of records and toured the U.S. quite a bit. This film looks at his life and family, including his wife of over 55 years. He tells stories, plays songs, and is interviewed. It's an interesting documentary.
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) - 8/10 - We get a behind the scenes look at the effort it took to get Vivian Malone and James Hood registered for classes at the University of Alabama, thus breaking the color barrier. The access that Robert Drew and his ABC News crew had is kind of amazing. Much of the film centers on Robert Kennedy and his deputy, Nicholas Katzenbach, but we also get JFK in a meeting, and plenty of George Wallace plus the two students involved. There is a lot of political maneuvering to make sure the students are safe and that the court order is enforced without making Wallace a martyr to the cause. It's a nice documentary about a pivotal moment in U.S. history.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - 8.5/10 - Jimmy Stewart stars as Senator Ransom Stoddard who returns to the town of Shinbone for the first time in many years. The newspaper editor wants to know why he is there so he relates the story of how he came to Shinbone when the state was still a territory. Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) was an outlaw who was used to getting his way, except when Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) confronted him. Vera Miles also co-stars as Hallie, Doniphon's girlfriend. This is another entertaining western from director John Ford (there were so many of them) and it ranks near the top for me. It is nice seeing Stewart and Wayne together in a film and they each do a nice job in their respective roles.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) - 7.5/10 - A crooked card game leads to a £500,000 debt. This leads to a plan to rob a small neighboring gang, but there are rival factions, mishaps, and plenty of violence. It was a pretty good film.
Pather Panchali (1955) - 7.5/10 - A poor man in a Bengal village aspires to be a writer, but has debts so he leaves home to try and find work to pay off the debts and support his family. Much of the film deals with the everyday life of his wife, daughter Durga who is a bit of a handful, and son Apu who is fairly young. It is a pretty good film and was filmed with very little money and amateur actors. It is also the start of the Apu trilogy of films which are highly regarded in India and elsewhere.
Nights of Cabiria (1957) - 8/10 - A prostitute survives nearly drowning in a river and starts yearning for happiness and a better future, only to find disappointment and heartbreak. Giulietta Masina was very good in this film directed by Federico Fellini.
A Well Spent Life (1971) - 7/10 - Mance Lipscomb was a tenant farmer in Texas for much of his life. He was also an excellent blues and folk guitarist who only played locally until being discovered in 1960. After that, he recorded a number of records and toured the U.S. quite a bit. This film looks at his life and family, including his wife of over 55 years. He tells stories, plays songs, and is interviewed. It's an interesting documentary.
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) - 8/10 - We get a behind the scenes look at the effort it took to get Vivian Malone and James Hood registered for classes at the University of Alabama, thus breaking the color barrier. The access that Robert Drew and his ABC News crew had is kind of amazing. Much of the film centers on Robert Kennedy and his deputy, Nicholas Katzenbach, but we also get JFK in a meeting, and plenty of George Wallace plus the two students involved. There is a lot of political maneuvering to make sure the students are safe and that the court order is enforced without making Wallace a martyr to the cause. It's a nice documentary about a pivotal moment in U.S. history.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - 8.5/10 - Jimmy Stewart stars as Senator Ransom Stoddard who returns to the town of Shinbone for the first time in many years. The newspaper editor wants to know why he is there so he relates the story of how he came to Shinbone when the state was still a territory. Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) was an outlaw who was used to getting his way, except when Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) confronted him. Vera Miles also co-stars as Hallie, Doniphon's girlfriend. This is another entertaining western from director John Ford (there were so many of them) and it ranks near the top for me. It is nice seeing Stewart and Wayne together in a film and they each do a nice job in their respective roles.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Peeping Tom (1960) - 7/10 - A photographer works at a film studio during the day, takes suggestive photos of women for a newsagent, and secretly works on his 'documentary' on fear. He's a serial killer who likes to film women as he kills them and get their reactions. He also becomes friends with the young woman whose family rents the downstairs set of rooms. It was a decent film and more of a psychological drama than horror.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) - 9/10 - John Ford directed this excellent western about a Cavalry Captain nearing retirement who takes out a patrol shortly after Custer and his men were killed at Little Big Horn. He is also escorting the wife and niece of the commander to take them to safety. The film is beautifully shot and John Wayne does a great job as Captain Nathan Brittles. There is a fair amount of humor in the film in addition to the drama and the supporting cast is also very good.
All About My Mother (1999) - 8.5/10 - Pedro Almodóvar wrote and directed this film about a single mother who sees her son die on his 18th birthday. She decides to return from Madrid to Barcelona for the first time since leaving during her pregnancy in order to tell the father about the son's existence and death. I thought it was a pretty moving story and Cecilia Roth was very good in the lead role as Manuela.
Nobody (2021) - 7.5/10 - Hutch is happily married with two kids, but reverts back to his old classified self after a home invasion. This leads to big trouble with a group of Russian criminals. This was a fun wish fulfillment film with plenty of action.
L'enfant (2005) - 8/10 - Bruno and Sonia are a young couple who survive and welfare and the money that Bruno brings in with petty thefts. Sonia has a baby and is happy, but Bruno keeps thinking of ways to make money. It's a realistic and well acted film.
Tokyo Story (1953) - 10/10 - Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama (Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama) are an older couple who live in Onomichi with their youngest daughter, Kyoko, who is a teacher. They travel to Tokyo to visit two of their grown children, grandchildren, and daughter-in-law with a stop in Osaka on the way home to visit another son. They feel like a burden on their children who don't take time from their busy lives to spend with their parents and see the visit as a bit of a nuisance. The only one who shows them kindness and takes the time is Noriko (Setsuko Hara), the widow of their son who died eight years earlier in WWII. The movie is definitely a masterpiece and the acting is superb, especially from Setsuko Hara and the actors who played the parents. The cinematography, music, and story are also excellent. You can see that it was inspired by Make Way for Tomorrow, but I think that this is a better film. The movie (and others directed by Yasujirō Ozu) has been on my list to watch for a while.
The White Bus (1967) - 6/10 - A young woman leaves London by train for a trip to another city. She is accompanied by a group of football fans. When she arrives, she boards a white tour bus and joins a group of visitors from other parts of the world who are being led on a tour by the mayor. The film switches to color for short sequences, seemingly at random. There are also the occasional bit of fantasy from the protagonist. It's an interesting film at times, but not a great one.
The Call of Cthulhu (2005) - 5/10 - This film adapts the Lovecraft short story as a silent film with intertitles. It didn't really feel like an older film, though. I didn't really enjoy it that much, not being a Lovecraft fan, but it seems to be fairly faithful to the source material.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) - 9/10 - John Ford directed this excellent western about a Cavalry Captain nearing retirement who takes out a patrol shortly after Custer and his men were killed at Little Big Horn. He is also escorting the wife and niece of the commander to take them to safety. The film is beautifully shot and John Wayne does a great job as Captain Nathan Brittles. There is a fair amount of humor in the film in addition to the drama and the supporting cast is also very good.
All About My Mother (1999) - 8.5/10 - Pedro Almodóvar wrote and directed this film about a single mother who sees her son die on his 18th birthday. She decides to return from Madrid to Barcelona for the first time since leaving during her pregnancy in order to tell the father about the son's existence and death. I thought it was a pretty moving story and Cecilia Roth was very good in the lead role as Manuela.
Nobody (2021) - 7.5/10 - Hutch is happily married with two kids, but reverts back to his old classified self after a home invasion. This leads to big trouble with a group of Russian criminals. This was a fun wish fulfillment film with plenty of action.
L'enfant (2005) - 8/10 - Bruno and Sonia are a young couple who survive and welfare and the money that Bruno brings in with petty thefts. Sonia has a baby and is happy, but Bruno keeps thinking of ways to make money. It's a realistic and well acted film.
Tokyo Story (1953) - 10/10 - Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama (Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama) are an older couple who live in Onomichi with their youngest daughter, Kyoko, who is a teacher. They travel to Tokyo to visit two of their grown children, grandchildren, and daughter-in-law with a stop in Osaka on the way home to visit another son. They feel like a burden on their children who don't take time from their busy lives to spend with their parents and see the visit as a bit of a nuisance. The only one who shows them kindness and takes the time is Noriko (Setsuko Hara), the widow of their son who died eight years earlier in WWII. The movie is definitely a masterpiece and the acting is superb, especially from Setsuko Hara and the actors who played the parents. The cinematography, music, and story are also excellent. You can see that it was inspired by Make Way for Tomorrow, but I think that this is a better film. The movie (and others directed by Yasujirō Ozu) has been on my list to watch for a while.
The White Bus (1967) - 6/10 - A young woman leaves London by train for a trip to another city. She is accompanied by a group of football fans. When she arrives, she boards a white tour bus and joins a group of visitors from other parts of the world who are being led on a tour by the mayor. The film switches to color for short sequences, seemingly at random. There are also the occasional bit of fantasy from the protagonist. It's an interesting film at times, but not a great one.
The Call of Cthulhu (2005) - 5/10 - This film adapts the Lovecraft short story as a silent film with intertitles. It didn't really feel like an older film, though. I didn't really enjoy it that much, not being a Lovecraft fan, but it seems to be fairly faithful to the source material.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Finding You (Brian Baugh, 2021) 5/10
Strictly like a Hallmark romance which one, in an effort to be a Vanessa Redgrave completist, sat through. Corny romance - High School violinist (Rose Reid) goes to Ireland for a semester and ends up falling in love with a gregarious movie star (Jedidiah Goodacre) who helps her to leave her inhibitions behind. Since its shot on location the film relies on stunning Irish vistas and the couple is surrounded by colorful folk - the host family who run a B&B, a homeless drunk musician (Patrick Bergin), the actor's pushy father (Tom Everett Scott) and a crotchety old lady (Vanessa Redgrave). Lots of jaunty Irish music on the soundtrack. And Redgrave once again does her bed-ridden old hag routine but is still charming doing it.
Free Guy (Shawn Levy, 2021) 6/10
A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds), with a dull disposition, suddenly decides he wants more from his boring repetitious life in Free City. He is unaware that he is actually a non-player character in a video game and is in shock when the woman (Jodie Comer) he falls in love with tells him the truth. She and her partner (Jo Keery) are out to prove that the idea for the game was in fact stolen by the game's developer (Taika Waititi). Like all video games it's very noisy. There is an underlying anti-violence message along with a shout-out to people who are too scared to move away from their lives lived in dull conformity. The film is a plea to the hesitant and boring folks to move their ass and change their lives.
Bloodshot (David S. F. Wilson, 2020) 4/10
Comic book nonsense with Vin Diesel being used as a killing machine by a nefarious organization run by Guy Pearce. Vin kicks ass. And that's all that is needed in that part of the world.
GoldenEye (Martin Campbell, 1995) 7/10
Two peppy Bond girls - a plucky computer programmer (Izabella Scorupco) and the deadly Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) who likes to torture her victims by asphyxiating them between her thighs as the principal henchwoman to a rogue MI6 officer (Sean Bean) who steals a secret space based weapons program called GoldenEye. Coming to the rescue is the new Bond (Pierce Brosnan) who arrives in the franchise with a new M (Judi Dench) and a new Moneypenny (Samantha Bond). A strong group of actors - Gottfried John, Robbie Coltrane, Joe Don Baker, Tchéky Karyo, Alan Cumming, Michael Kitchen - round out the cast. Action packed film with the tank chase sequence a highlight. Brosnan proves to be an excellent witty Bond.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 1969) 7/10
A new Bond (George Lazenby) takes over from Sean Connery. And this time he's in love with the daughter (Diana Rigg) of a rich crook (Gabrielle Ferzetti). It doesn't look good though as she probably needs a shrink more than she needs Bond. Although the two look good clinching together in a montage sequence as Louis Armstrong croons "We Have All the Time in the World" which is also a dead giveaway that permanent romance is not in the cards for 007. Hunt, who graduated from being the editor on Connery's first two Bond films to being editor plus second unit director on the next three, makes his directorial debut with this installment. The action scenes are kind of sparse though an avalanche and the raid on the mountaintop retreat of Blofeld (Telly Savalas) are well shot. The ski chase sequences are slightly marred by back projection. The production design is tacky which is not really the film's fault because the european hotel locations were gaudy - caught between the old Baroque style and 1960s chic which is in full evidence at the villain's lair high up on the Alps at the revolving restaurant at Piz Gloria in Switzerland. Dapper Lazenby fits very comfortably into the part and its a pity he decided to quit after only one film.
Candleshoe (Norman Tokar, 1977) 5/10
Jodie Foster's last film for Disney and Helen Hayes' last big screen role. A street urchin, an orphan (Jodie Foster), is passed off as the grandaughter of an old British lady (Helen Hayes) by a sly conman (Leo McKern). Years before Hayes appeared with Ingrid Bergman in "Anastasia" with shades of a similar ruse. He hopes to find treasure hidden by a pirate in the old lady's stately countryside manor. David Niven plays four parts as the old lady's butler, gardener, the tippling chauffeur and an old colonel which is a bit of a spoof on Niven's Oscar-winning role in "Separate Tables". Harmless fun with Foster, then Hollywood's most famous child star, a remarkably mature actress - she had just come off "Taxi Driver" the previous year - and after a hiatus of three years from the screen she would emerge in grownup parts. Based on the book "Christmas at Candleshoe" by Michael Innes, the story is a mixture of "Kidnapped", "Anastasia" and "Kind Hearts and Coronets".
Strictly like a Hallmark romance which one, in an effort to be a Vanessa Redgrave completist, sat through. Corny romance - High School violinist (Rose Reid) goes to Ireland for a semester and ends up falling in love with a gregarious movie star (Jedidiah Goodacre) who helps her to leave her inhibitions behind. Since its shot on location the film relies on stunning Irish vistas and the couple is surrounded by colorful folk - the host family who run a B&B, a homeless drunk musician (Patrick Bergin), the actor's pushy father (Tom Everett Scott) and a crotchety old lady (Vanessa Redgrave). Lots of jaunty Irish music on the soundtrack. And Redgrave once again does her bed-ridden old hag routine but is still charming doing it.
Free Guy (Shawn Levy, 2021) 6/10
A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds), with a dull disposition, suddenly decides he wants more from his boring repetitious life in Free City. He is unaware that he is actually a non-player character in a video game and is in shock when the woman (Jodie Comer) he falls in love with tells him the truth. She and her partner (Jo Keery) are out to prove that the idea for the game was in fact stolen by the game's developer (Taika Waititi). Like all video games it's very noisy. There is an underlying anti-violence message along with a shout-out to people who are too scared to move away from their lives lived in dull conformity. The film is a plea to the hesitant and boring folks to move their ass and change their lives.
Bloodshot (David S. F. Wilson, 2020) 4/10
Comic book nonsense with Vin Diesel being used as a killing machine by a nefarious organization run by Guy Pearce. Vin kicks ass. And that's all that is needed in that part of the world.
GoldenEye (Martin Campbell, 1995) 7/10
Two peppy Bond girls - a plucky computer programmer (Izabella Scorupco) and the deadly Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) who likes to torture her victims by asphyxiating them between her thighs as the principal henchwoman to a rogue MI6 officer (Sean Bean) who steals a secret space based weapons program called GoldenEye. Coming to the rescue is the new Bond (Pierce Brosnan) who arrives in the franchise with a new M (Judi Dench) and a new Moneypenny (Samantha Bond). A strong group of actors - Gottfried John, Robbie Coltrane, Joe Don Baker, Tchéky Karyo, Alan Cumming, Michael Kitchen - round out the cast. Action packed film with the tank chase sequence a highlight. Brosnan proves to be an excellent witty Bond.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 1969) 7/10
A new Bond (George Lazenby) takes over from Sean Connery. And this time he's in love with the daughter (Diana Rigg) of a rich crook (Gabrielle Ferzetti). It doesn't look good though as she probably needs a shrink more than she needs Bond. Although the two look good clinching together in a montage sequence as Louis Armstrong croons "We Have All the Time in the World" which is also a dead giveaway that permanent romance is not in the cards for 007. Hunt, who graduated from being the editor on Connery's first two Bond films to being editor plus second unit director on the next three, makes his directorial debut with this installment. The action scenes are kind of sparse though an avalanche and the raid on the mountaintop retreat of Blofeld (Telly Savalas) are well shot. The ski chase sequences are slightly marred by back projection. The production design is tacky which is not really the film's fault because the european hotel locations were gaudy - caught between the old Baroque style and 1960s chic which is in full evidence at the villain's lair high up on the Alps at the revolving restaurant at Piz Gloria in Switzerland. Dapper Lazenby fits very comfortably into the part and its a pity he decided to quit after only one film.
Candleshoe (Norman Tokar, 1977) 5/10
Jodie Foster's last film for Disney and Helen Hayes' last big screen role. A street urchin, an orphan (Jodie Foster), is passed off as the grandaughter of an old British lady (Helen Hayes) by a sly conman (Leo McKern). Years before Hayes appeared with Ingrid Bergman in "Anastasia" with shades of a similar ruse. He hopes to find treasure hidden by a pirate in the old lady's stately countryside manor. David Niven plays four parts as the old lady's butler, gardener, the tippling chauffeur and an old colonel which is a bit of a spoof on Niven's Oscar-winning role in "Separate Tables". Harmless fun with Foster, then Hollywood's most famous child star, a remarkably mature actress - she had just come off "Taxi Driver" the previous year - and after a hiatus of three years from the screen she would emerge in grownup parts. Based on the book "Christmas at Candleshoe" by Michael Innes, the story is a mixture of "Kidnapped", "Anastasia" and "Kind Hearts and Coronets".
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - 7/10 - I didn't really like this movie when I watched it the first time. I decided to give it another chance and i did like it more this time, though I still didn't love it.
Avanti popolo (1986) - 7.5/10 - After the Six Day War ends, two Egyptian soldiers try to make their way across the desert to reach the Suez Canal and get home. They have a number of adventures along the way, including a British reporter, Israeli soldiers, and so on. There is a lot of humor throughout much of the film, but it can also get serious at times. I thought it was pretty good.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - 6/10 - I'm not really a fan of mockumentaries or else I'd probably rank this higher. I'd talk about the contents of the film, but for some reason I can't remember anything about what I saw during that hour and a half...
The Young and the Damned (1950) - 8.5/10 - A group of boys in Mexico spend a lot of time on the street getting into mischief. Things escalate when an older boy, Jaibo, escapes from reform school and returns. He gets them to steal and is involved in a couple of deaths. He is also a bad influence on Pedro, a boy who wants to be good, but doesn't know how. This was a really good movie.
Breathless (1960) - 7/10 - A car thief kills a police officer and then spends most of the rest of the film evading the police, chatting up a woman, and trying to convince her to go to Italy with him. It wasn't bad, but I expected to like it more.
Belle de Jour (1967) - 8.5/10 - A young woman loves her husband, but is unhappy due to the bdsm fantasies that she keeps having. When she hears of a high class and secret brothel, she visits and starts working there in the afternoon. It goes well for a while until one client becomes way too possessive. I thought it was very good.
Mary and Max (2009) - 8/10 - Mary is a lonely 8 year old Australian girl in the 1970s who decides to write to a random American in New York City. She chooses Max, a 44 year old obese man with no friends and Asperger's. The two exchange letters (and chocolate) for years and become friends. The story has its ups and downs and is told very well in animated form.
Avanti popolo (1986) - 7.5/10 - After the Six Day War ends, two Egyptian soldiers try to make their way across the desert to reach the Suez Canal and get home. They have a number of adventures along the way, including a British reporter, Israeli soldiers, and so on. There is a lot of humor throughout much of the film, but it can also get serious at times. I thought it was pretty good.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - 6/10 - I'm not really a fan of mockumentaries or else I'd probably rank this higher. I'd talk about the contents of the film, but for some reason I can't remember anything about what I saw during that hour and a half...
The Young and the Damned (1950) - 8.5/10 - A group of boys in Mexico spend a lot of time on the street getting into mischief. Things escalate when an older boy, Jaibo, escapes from reform school and returns. He gets them to steal and is involved in a couple of deaths. He is also a bad influence on Pedro, a boy who wants to be good, but doesn't know how. This was a really good movie.
Breathless (1960) - 7/10 - A car thief kills a police officer and then spends most of the rest of the film evading the police, chatting up a woman, and trying to convince her to go to Italy with him. It wasn't bad, but I expected to like it more.
Belle de Jour (1967) - 8.5/10 - A young woman loves her husband, but is unhappy due to the bdsm fantasies that she keeps having. When she hears of a high class and secret brothel, she visits and starts working there in the afternoon. It goes well for a while until one client becomes way too possessive. I thought it was very good.
Mary and Max (2009) - 8/10 - Mary is a lonely 8 year old Australian girl in the 1970s who decides to write to a random American in New York City. She chooses Max, a 44 year old obese man with no friends and Asperger's. The two exchange letters (and chocolate) for years and become friends. The story has its ups and downs and is told very well in animated form.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Seven Sweethearts (Frank Borzage, 1942) 4/10
B-musical from MGM. A reporter (Van Heflin) is sent to a small town in Michigan to cover a tulip festival. He stays at a quaint hotel owned by an eccentric old man (S.Z. Sakall) who has seven daughters all with male names. He falls for the youngest (Kathryn Grayson) but cannot marry her until the eldest (Marsha Hunt) gets married first. Since she wants to go to New York to become an actress it becomes a dilemma for her five younger sisters all of whom are ready to be married to their boyfriends. Silly, slow film has Grayson warbling a string of very ordinary songs as the marriage plot plays out. Pity the studio did not make this in colour as the costumes and the festival could have benefitted from it.
South Riding (Victor Saville, 1938) 8/10
Winifred Holtby's sprawling book - a panoramic portrait about Yorkshire, its people and politics - came out after the author's death. Saville's perceptive film adaptation captures the delicate nuances of the County's rural community struggling with the effects of the depression. The story takes the personal and private stories of a few characters and shows how it impacts their public lives. At the center is the local tormented squire (Ralph Richardson) who is in dire need of funds. He has a mentally unstable wife (Ann Todd) in an expensive sanatorium, a spoilt and disturbed daughter (Glynis Johns) at home and is in love with an idealistic headmistress (Edna Best). He is also part of the local council along with others - a crooked councillor (Edmund Gwenn) involved in fake land deals, a socialist (John Clements) who wants the poor to live better lives and a matron (Marie Lohr) who is the first female alderman of the district. Superbly acted film cries out for a television serial format - there were two subsequently - but manages to contain its many stories in an intimate way.
Footlight Serenade (Gregory Ratoff, 1942) 7/10
Conceited boxing champ (Victor Mature) turns in his gloves and decides to become a musical stage star. When he catches sight of a chorus girl (Betty Grable) he bumps her part upto being the understudy to his girlfriend (Cobina Wright) who is the star of the show. When the jealous star walks out the chorus girl becomes the lead but has to contend with the jealousy of her own husband (John Payne) who plays the foil guy to the boxer in the show. Fast paced musical comedy not only has the three charming leads but adding witty sparks on the sidelines are a trio of funny character actors - Phil Silvers, James Gleason and Jane Wyman, who was still a few years away from becoming a full fledged star herself. Snappy dance routines and lovely Grable singing a number of tunes makes this a lot of fun.
Law and Order (Nathan Juran, 1953) 6/10
Tired sheriff (Ronald Reagan) gives up his badge and wants to settle down with his girlfriend (Dorothy Malone) but trouble in the form of an old adversary (Preston Foster) rears its head. The plot goes through all the familiar genre tropes - younger brash brothers of both antagonists - the sheriff has two (Alex Nicol & Russell Johnson) and the cattle rustler also has two (Jack Kelly & Dennis Weaver) - who carry the plot further through hot-headed gunplay which forces the sherrif to pick up his badge once again in order to clean up the town. Reagan is very good as the cool-headed lawman who moves slowly but surely but Malone is totally wasted as his arm candy. Remake of a 1932 film with Walter Huston.
Seven Days to Noon (Roy & John Boulting, 1950) 6/10
A disgruntled scientist (Barry Jones) takes off with an atomic bomb and threatens to blow it up in Central London if the government does not stop production of the detonators. What is at first thought of as a joke turns serious and a cop (André Morell) tries desperately to search for the man. Tense film has two wonderful sequences as he interacts with an inquisitive and suspicious landlady (Joan Hickson) and a gregarious second-rate stage actesss (Olive Sloane) who gives him shelter for the night. The film won an Oscar for its story.
The Battle at Apache Pass (George Sherman, 1952) 4/10
Cochise (Jeff Chandler) tries to maintain peace with the white man and avoid Indian wars. However, Geronimo (Jay Silverheels), at the instigation of treacherous white men, instigates war which involves Cochise as well. Ordinary Western goes through the motions with all the clichés of the genre in full bloom. John Lund is the sympathetic Comnanding Officer and friend to Cochise and his squaw (Susan Cabot). The film is a prequel to Broken Arrow (1950) where Chandler first played Cochise and was nominated for an Oscar - a jewish actor playing a Native Indian. Politically incorrect now but not so back then.
Five Golden Hours (Mario Zampi, 1961) 4/10
Silly black comedy was American tv comedian Ernie Kovacs' only starring role in what would be Italian director Zampi's last film. A petty crook (Ernie Kovacs), a professional mourner and pallbearer by profession, consoles lonely widows and ingratiates himself into their lives. Comfortable after years of living off rich widows he falls in love with one (Cyd Charisse) who just so happens to con him out of a huge amount of money. A plan to murder three old ladies who he swindled from goes awry and he ends up in a posh sanitarium pretending to be insane with suave con George Sanders as his roommate. Light farce does not do justice to Kovacs' nutty talents which were put to use so well on television.
Infinite (Antoine Fuqua, 2021) 1/10
Convoluted mish-mash of a film channels "The Matrix" and scores of other CGI-infested films - "Inception" and the Jason Bourne franchise come to mind - which I saw in a haze of post-Pfizer delirium. The plot involves reincarnation with some in the world who are Believers while others are Nihilists - the former think remembering their past lives is a gift bestowed on them while the latter believe that human values are baseless and life is meaningless. At opposing ends of this are respectively Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor, once comrades in arms, but now in deadly combat - the former has a sword and the latter a kick-ass gun - over a fabergé egg which holds the key to ending the world. Non-stop action set pieces carry forward the plot which after a while become a haze of noise as the body count rises. Wahlberg atop a motorbike which he drives off a cliff and onto the wing of a passing military aircraft is a highlight. This is followed by both antagonists plummeting out of the crashing plane giving chase to that pesky egg in a freefall. Absolute nonsense has been listed by the New York Times as one of the worst films of the year. And they are absolutely on the mark with that assessment.
B-musical from MGM. A reporter (Van Heflin) is sent to a small town in Michigan to cover a tulip festival. He stays at a quaint hotel owned by an eccentric old man (S.Z. Sakall) who has seven daughters all with male names. He falls for the youngest (Kathryn Grayson) but cannot marry her until the eldest (Marsha Hunt) gets married first. Since she wants to go to New York to become an actress it becomes a dilemma for her five younger sisters all of whom are ready to be married to their boyfriends. Silly, slow film has Grayson warbling a string of very ordinary songs as the marriage plot plays out. Pity the studio did not make this in colour as the costumes and the festival could have benefitted from it.
South Riding (Victor Saville, 1938) 8/10
Winifred Holtby's sprawling book - a panoramic portrait about Yorkshire, its people and politics - came out after the author's death. Saville's perceptive film adaptation captures the delicate nuances of the County's rural community struggling with the effects of the depression. The story takes the personal and private stories of a few characters and shows how it impacts their public lives. At the center is the local tormented squire (Ralph Richardson) who is in dire need of funds. He has a mentally unstable wife (Ann Todd) in an expensive sanatorium, a spoilt and disturbed daughter (Glynis Johns) at home and is in love with an idealistic headmistress (Edna Best). He is also part of the local council along with others - a crooked councillor (Edmund Gwenn) involved in fake land deals, a socialist (John Clements) who wants the poor to live better lives and a matron (Marie Lohr) who is the first female alderman of the district. Superbly acted film cries out for a television serial format - there were two subsequently - but manages to contain its many stories in an intimate way.
Footlight Serenade (Gregory Ratoff, 1942) 7/10
Conceited boxing champ (Victor Mature) turns in his gloves and decides to become a musical stage star. When he catches sight of a chorus girl (Betty Grable) he bumps her part upto being the understudy to his girlfriend (Cobina Wright) who is the star of the show. When the jealous star walks out the chorus girl becomes the lead but has to contend with the jealousy of her own husband (John Payne) who plays the foil guy to the boxer in the show. Fast paced musical comedy not only has the three charming leads but adding witty sparks on the sidelines are a trio of funny character actors - Phil Silvers, James Gleason and Jane Wyman, who was still a few years away from becoming a full fledged star herself. Snappy dance routines and lovely Grable singing a number of tunes makes this a lot of fun.
Law and Order (Nathan Juran, 1953) 6/10
Tired sheriff (Ronald Reagan) gives up his badge and wants to settle down with his girlfriend (Dorothy Malone) but trouble in the form of an old adversary (Preston Foster) rears its head. The plot goes through all the familiar genre tropes - younger brash brothers of both antagonists - the sheriff has two (Alex Nicol & Russell Johnson) and the cattle rustler also has two (Jack Kelly & Dennis Weaver) - who carry the plot further through hot-headed gunplay which forces the sherrif to pick up his badge once again in order to clean up the town. Reagan is very good as the cool-headed lawman who moves slowly but surely but Malone is totally wasted as his arm candy. Remake of a 1932 film with Walter Huston.
Seven Days to Noon (Roy & John Boulting, 1950) 6/10
A disgruntled scientist (Barry Jones) takes off with an atomic bomb and threatens to blow it up in Central London if the government does not stop production of the detonators. What is at first thought of as a joke turns serious and a cop (André Morell) tries desperately to search for the man. Tense film has two wonderful sequences as he interacts with an inquisitive and suspicious landlady (Joan Hickson) and a gregarious second-rate stage actesss (Olive Sloane) who gives him shelter for the night. The film won an Oscar for its story.
The Battle at Apache Pass (George Sherman, 1952) 4/10
Cochise (Jeff Chandler) tries to maintain peace with the white man and avoid Indian wars. However, Geronimo (Jay Silverheels), at the instigation of treacherous white men, instigates war which involves Cochise as well. Ordinary Western goes through the motions with all the clichés of the genre in full bloom. John Lund is the sympathetic Comnanding Officer and friend to Cochise and his squaw (Susan Cabot). The film is a prequel to Broken Arrow (1950) where Chandler first played Cochise and was nominated for an Oscar - a jewish actor playing a Native Indian. Politically incorrect now but not so back then.
Five Golden Hours (Mario Zampi, 1961) 4/10
Silly black comedy was American tv comedian Ernie Kovacs' only starring role in what would be Italian director Zampi's last film. A petty crook (Ernie Kovacs), a professional mourner and pallbearer by profession, consoles lonely widows and ingratiates himself into their lives. Comfortable after years of living off rich widows he falls in love with one (Cyd Charisse) who just so happens to con him out of a huge amount of money. A plan to murder three old ladies who he swindled from goes awry and he ends up in a posh sanitarium pretending to be insane with suave con George Sanders as his roommate. Light farce does not do justice to Kovacs' nutty talents which were put to use so well on television.
Infinite (Antoine Fuqua, 2021) 1/10
Convoluted mish-mash of a film channels "The Matrix" and scores of other CGI-infested films - "Inception" and the Jason Bourne franchise come to mind - which I saw in a haze of post-Pfizer delirium. The plot involves reincarnation with some in the world who are Believers while others are Nihilists - the former think remembering their past lives is a gift bestowed on them while the latter believe that human values are baseless and life is meaningless. At opposing ends of this are respectively Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor, once comrades in arms, but now in deadly combat - the former has a sword and the latter a kick-ass gun - over a fabergé egg which holds the key to ending the world. Non-stop action set pieces carry forward the plot which after a while become a haze of noise as the body count rises. Wahlberg atop a motorbike which he drives off a cliff and onto the wing of a passing military aircraft is a highlight. This is followed by both antagonists plummeting out of the crashing plane giving chase to that pesky egg in a freefall. Absolute nonsense has been listed by the New York Times as one of the worst films of the year. And they are absolutely on the mark with that assessment.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
One Hundred Children Waiting for a Train (1988) - 7.5/10 - This Chilean documentary looks at a film class taught on weekends to groups of children. They learn the elements of what make motion pictures work and construct their own zoetropes, film strips, and other things. They also get to watch movies. I thought it was pretty interesting.
Man with a Movie Camera (1929) - 8/10 - A man with a movie camera wanders around several cities in the Soviet Union in this experimental film. It is very fast paced with lots of cuts and documents lots of things happening in these cities. It uses a lot of techniques that were either new or uncommon at the time, but have since become fairly standard.
Amores Perros (2000) - 7/10 - Three stories intersect with a car crash. Octavio is in love with his brother's wife and also gets involved in a dog fighting ring. Daniel leaves his wife for a supermodel girlfriend, Valeria. El Chivo is a hitman who looks like a vagrant. It's a good movie, though the stuff with the dogs was pretty hard to watch.
Zemlya (1930) - 5/10 - Life in a farming community is changed with the arrival of a new tractor. There's a murder and collectivization is at hand. There are some decent scenes, but the acting wasn't that great and a lot of the movie is fairly dull.
Hellzapoppin' (1941) - 7/10 - A musical comedy about two stage comedians who want to turn their Broadway hit into a movie. They're told that they have to add a romance into the picture. There are a ton of gags, breaking of the fourth wall, and other zaniness throughout the picture. I thought it was a lot of fun, though it started to get a bit old toward the end. The dance sequence just past the midpoint of the film was very good.
Raven's End (1963) - 7/10 - An aspiring writer named Anders lives with his parents in a poor neighborhood in 1930s Sweden . His father is an alcoholic and his mother works hard doing laundry to make ends meet. Their situation is somewhat bleak and Anders hopes to break out of it. It's a decent film.
To the Forest of the Firefly Lights (2011) - 8.5/10 - Hotaru befriended a forest spirit on a mountain near her uncle's home during the summer she was six years old. She spent quite a bit of time with him that summer and every summer after that up through the present time when she is entering high school. Gin looks like a young man, but doesn't age like humans do. If he is touched by a human, he will disappear. The movie is relatively short, but is very well done.
Man with a Movie Camera (1929) - 8/10 - A man with a movie camera wanders around several cities in the Soviet Union in this experimental film. It is very fast paced with lots of cuts and documents lots of things happening in these cities. It uses a lot of techniques that were either new or uncommon at the time, but have since become fairly standard.
Amores Perros (2000) - 7/10 - Three stories intersect with a car crash. Octavio is in love with his brother's wife and also gets involved in a dog fighting ring. Daniel leaves his wife for a supermodel girlfriend, Valeria. El Chivo is a hitman who looks like a vagrant. It's a good movie, though the stuff with the dogs was pretty hard to watch.
Zemlya (1930) - 5/10 - Life in a farming community is changed with the arrival of a new tractor. There's a murder and collectivization is at hand. There are some decent scenes, but the acting wasn't that great and a lot of the movie is fairly dull.
Hellzapoppin' (1941) - 7/10 - A musical comedy about two stage comedians who want to turn their Broadway hit into a movie. They're told that they have to add a romance into the picture. There are a ton of gags, breaking of the fourth wall, and other zaniness throughout the picture. I thought it was a lot of fun, though it started to get a bit old toward the end. The dance sequence just past the midpoint of the film was very good.
Raven's End (1963) - 7/10 - An aspiring writer named Anders lives with his parents in a poor neighborhood in 1930s Sweden . His father is an alcoholic and his mother works hard doing laundry to make ends meet. Their situation is somewhat bleak and Anders hopes to break out of it. It's a decent film.
To the Forest of the Firefly Lights (2011) - 8.5/10 - Hotaru befriended a forest spirit on a mountain near her uncle's home during the summer she was six years old. She spent quite a bit of time with him that summer and every summer after that up through the present time when she is entering high school. Gin looks like a young man, but doesn't age like humans do. If he is touched by a human, he will disappear. The movie is relatively short, but is very well done.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Diamond Arm (1968) - 7.5/10 - Semyon Gorbunkov is sent off by his wife and kids on a cruise to Turkey. He befriends a fellow passenger who is part of a smuggling operation for jewels. Through a mishap, Semyon ends up with a cast on his arms that contains the jewels his friend was supposed to pick up. Semyon realizes what is going on and reports it to the State when he returns home and they recruit him to try and catch the smugglers. There is a lot of slapstick here and there are probably things that only a Russian audience can fully appreciate, but I thought it was a fun and fast moving comedy and I enjoyed it.
Margarita y el lobo (1969) - 6/10 - The film starts with the divorce of Margarita and Lorenzo and then proceeds from there with flashbacks to their relationship. At first, Margarita fell in love with Lorenzo, but then she came to realize that he was trying to mold her into the perfect housewife without any of her own personality left. There are plenty of songs throughout as Margarita sings about the relationship. It's interesting, but doesn't feel totally complete.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - 8/10 - Oscar Isaac stars as a man trying to make it as a folk singer in New York City in the early 1960s without much luck. He isn't really a very likable guy, but he does have some talent singing, though nothing to show for it. He hops from one acquaintance's couch to another and for a while has to keep track of a friend's cat that he accidentally let out. I enjoyed it.
A Star is Born (1976) - 4/10 - This was kind of painful to sit through at times. The story was dull and I didn't find Streisand very convincing in anything other than actual singing (and I''m not a fan of that either). Easily the worst of the A Star is Born films.
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) - 7/10 - This documentary looks at Walter Steiner, one of the best in the world at ski flying in the 1970s. It highlights the dangers involved in jumping long distances, especially if the wind or course increase the risk.
The Cameraman (1928) - 8/10 - Buster Keaton stars as a man who takes tintype photos of people on the street. He buys a newsreel camera to impress a girl who works at MGM and does his best to capture good footage and the affections of the girl, though of course a number of things go wrong. It was a pretty entertaining film.
Kagemusha (1980) - 8.5/10 - A petty thief is captured who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Shingen of the Takeda Clan. He is enlisted to serve as a second double for the lord. When Shingen dies in 1573, Kagemusha is convinced to pretend to be Shingen in front of the whole clan with only the generals and a few others in on the secret. The movie is long at three hours, but never seems to lag, and is an excellent film from Akira Kurosawa.
Margarita y el lobo (1969) - 6/10 - The film starts with the divorce of Margarita and Lorenzo and then proceeds from there with flashbacks to their relationship. At first, Margarita fell in love with Lorenzo, but then she came to realize that he was trying to mold her into the perfect housewife without any of her own personality left. There are plenty of songs throughout as Margarita sings about the relationship. It's interesting, but doesn't feel totally complete.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - 8/10 - Oscar Isaac stars as a man trying to make it as a folk singer in New York City in the early 1960s without much luck. He isn't really a very likable guy, but he does have some talent singing, though nothing to show for it. He hops from one acquaintance's couch to another and for a while has to keep track of a friend's cat that he accidentally let out. I enjoyed it.
A Star is Born (1976) - 4/10 - This was kind of painful to sit through at times. The story was dull and I didn't find Streisand very convincing in anything other than actual singing (and I''m not a fan of that either). Easily the worst of the A Star is Born films.
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) - 7/10 - This documentary looks at Walter Steiner, one of the best in the world at ski flying in the 1970s. It highlights the dangers involved in jumping long distances, especially if the wind or course increase the risk.
The Cameraman (1928) - 8/10 - Buster Keaton stars as a man who takes tintype photos of people on the street. He buys a newsreel camera to impress a girl who works at MGM and does his best to capture good footage and the affections of the girl, though of course a number of things go wrong. It was a pretty entertaining film.
Kagemusha (1980) - 8.5/10 - A petty thief is captured who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Shingen of the Takeda Clan. He is enlisted to serve as a second double for the lord. When Shingen dies in 1573, Kagemusha is convinced to pretend to be Shingen in front of the whole clan with only the generals and a few others in on the secret. The movie is long at three hours, but never seems to lag, and is an excellent film from Akira Kurosawa.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
My Childhood (1972) - 8/10 - In 1945, Jamies is growing up in a coal mining town in Scotland. He lives with his older half brother and his aging grandmother. His life is marked by poverty and loneliness. This is the first of a trilogy of autobiographical films by Bill Douglas and is shot in black and white. It is pretty effective and well done.
Run Uje Run (2020) - 7.5/10 - This autobiographical film from Sweden stars Uje Brandelius, a happily married father of three who is a radio talk show host and member of a pop band called Doktor Kosmos. His world is upended when he is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and he is afraid to tell anybody about it. Uje and his family and friends all portray themselves in the film and I thought it was pretty good.
L'Avventura (1960) - 8/10 - A group of wealthy Italians have an outing on a boat in the Mediterranean. They stop at a rocky deserted island to sunbathe and relax, but one member of their party, disappears. After a long and fruitless search, Anna's lover, Sandro, and best fried Claudia (Monica Vitti) fall for each other. The people in this group seem kind of bored and like they are looking for things to keep themselves occupied. It was a good film.
The Wages of Fear (1953) - 9/10 - The movie starts in a small and remote South American town. It's a lot easier to get there than it is to leave. They are far from anywhere to speak of and a ticket out costs a lot, especially without much in the way of jobs available. A big fire at an oil field gives an opportunity to four men to drive truckloads of nitroglycerin 300 miles through the jungle and hills to the site to help put out the fire. It's a dangerous and tense journey with a number of obstacles to overcome. It's also an excellent film.
Alphaville (1965) - 4.5/10 - A secret agent arrives in the future city of Alphaville to look for a missing agent and to find the creator of Alpha 60, the intelligent computer that runs Alphaville. The lead actor wasn't bad, but the movie is pretty dull and uninteresting.
The Secret Formula (1965) - 7.5/10 - This Mexican experimental film has a good soundtrack and some interesting imagery.
The General (1926) - 9/10 - This was a rewatch and I liked it even more the second time around. Definitely a classic.
Chircales (1972) - 8/10 - This documentary follows a family of brickmakers in Bogotá, Colombia. These brickmakers are stuck in a cycle of serfdom where they have to work long hours in dangerous conditions for very low wages and still end up in debt to the landlord. The landlord can also kick them out at any time, leaving them with almost nothing. It was a sad situation, but a good film.
Run Uje Run (2020) - 7.5/10 - This autobiographical film from Sweden stars Uje Brandelius, a happily married father of three who is a radio talk show host and member of a pop band called Doktor Kosmos. His world is upended when he is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and he is afraid to tell anybody about it. Uje and his family and friends all portray themselves in the film and I thought it was pretty good.
L'Avventura (1960) - 8/10 - A group of wealthy Italians have an outing on a boat in the Mediterranean. They stop at a rocky deserted island to sunbathe and relax, but one member of their party, disappears. After a long and fruitless search, Anna's lover, Sandro, and best fried Claudia (Monica Vitti) fall for each other. The people in this group seem kind of bored and like they are looking for things to keep themselves occupied. It was a good film.
The Wages of Fear (1953) - 9/10 - The movie starts in a small and remote South American town. It's a lot easier to get there than it is to leave. They are far from anywhere to speak of and a ticket out costs a lot, especially without much in the way of jobs available. A big fire at an oil field gives an opportunity to four men to drive truckloads of nitroglycerin 300 miles through the jungle and hills to the site to help put out the fire. It's a dangerous and tense journey with a number of obstacles to overcome. It's also an excellent film.
Alphaville (1965) - 4.5/10 - A secret agent arrives in the future city of Alphaville to look for a missing agent and to find the creator of Alpha 60, the intelligent computer that runs Alphaville. The lead actor wasn't bad, but the movie is pretty dull and uninteresting.
The Secret Formula (1965) - 7.5/10 - This Mexican experimental film has a good soundtrack and some interesting imagery.
The General (1926) - 9/10 - This was a rewatch and I liked it even more the second time around. Definitely a classic.
Chircales (1972) - 8/10 - This documentary follows a family of brickmakers in Bogotá, Colombia. These brickmakers are stuck in a cycle of serfdom where they have to work long hours in dangerous conditions for very low wages and still end up in debt to the landlord. The landlord can also kick them out at any time, leaving them with almost nothing. It was a sad situation, but a good film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) - 7.5/10 - Disney did a nice job with this animated musical adaptation of the Hunchback story.
If....(1968) - 7.5/10 - Malcolm McDowell stars in this story about a British boys boarding school where the students return for the new term. Three of the older boys decide to rebel in their own fashion due to the callousness of those in charge. Their actions get increasingly violent at times and the ending is something to behold.
Another Girl, Another Planet (1992) - 5/10 - A guy in an East Village apartment has a lot of women who visit him. It was shot on a toy Pixelvision camera. It can be a little bit interesting at times, but not that much.
Gregory's Girl (1980) - 7.5/10 - A girl named Dorothy tries out for the boys soccer team at a school in Scotland and is better than many of the boys. Gregory becomes somewhat infatuated with her, but Dorothy and the other girls in Gregory's life are more in control of the situation than he is, including his younger sister Madeleine. This is an enjoyable coming of age drama/comedy.
Total Balalaika Show (1994) - 9/10 - This was a fun concert film featuring the Leningrad Cowboys. I love the hair, too.
Diamonds of the Night (1964) - 8/10 - Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them between concentration camps. They travel through the woods, but are eventually hunted by older, armed locals. The difference between these men and the two boys is stark. It is a fairly tense and good film.
If....(1968) - 7.5/10 - Malcolm McDowell stars in this story about a British boys boarding school where the students return for the new term. Three of the older boys decide to rebel in their own fashion due to the callousness of those in charge. Their actions get increasingly violent at times and the ending is something to behold.
Another Girl, Another Planet (1992) - 5/10 - A guy in an East Village apartment has a lot of women who visit him. It was shot on a toy Pixelvision camera. It can be a little bit interesting at times, but not that much.
Gregory's Girl (1980) - 7.5/10 - A girl named Dorothy tries out for the boys soccer team at a school in Scotland and is better than many of the boys. Gregory becomes somewhat infatuated with her, but Dorothy and the other girls in Gregory's life are more in control of the situation than he is, including his younger sister Madeleine. This is an enjoyable coming of age drama/comedy.
Total Balalaika Show (1994) - 9/10 - This was a fun concert film featuring the Leningrad Cowboys. I love the hair, too.
Diamonds of the Night (1964) - 8/10 - Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them between concentration camps. They travel through the woods, but are eventually hunted by older, armed locals. The difference between these men and the two boys is stark. It is a fairly tense and good film.