ExactlyOriginally Posted by John in Covina
Exactly
"Kissing a man without a moustache is like drinking champagne without bubbles”
In those days the best painkiller was ice; it wasn't addictive and it was particularly effective if you poured some whiskey over it.~ Gracie Allen
The Perfect Stranger and Every Girl Should Be Married.
Brought my copy of the Prequel - The Thing to a friends house and watched it on the big big screen 120" projection. Since i had only watched it on a laptop , I could finally make out some scenes of the saucer and the souround sound made it resonate.
It is a great homage to Carpenter's and the B&W version too.
Here the head scientist of the Norwegian team is as big an a22h*le as Dr. Carrington in the 1951 version "The Thing - From Another World"
Blue Skies!
State of Grace. One day I hope to see it from beginning to end.
Wrath of the Titans, with younger teen Hood. Lotta boom boom boom. He dug it. I will say that the cgi is amazing: the way it was shot, with the shakeycam look mixed with the cgi that presents gritty, rocky, textured images, is very good looking. However, for me it was still a lot of really big explosions, dysfunctional father-son issues, sibling jealousy, and really big explosions.
Let me dig this solid cat and see what jumps in that wig of his that's causing all the flip on the vine.
Rented Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (fourth one). Entertaining. Not great. Won't buy it. I do have an appreciation for Penelope Cruz I never had before...
Actually, I considered it to be the best one since the first film. I liked all of them well enough, but... a Pirates film with Johnny Depp and all the great things about the first three, and shorn of drippy Orlando and that awful Kiera Knightley? GENIUS.
If in doubt - overdress.
Vivienne Westwood
The Brain Eaters (1958) on IFC. A bad movie, but I am watching it nonetheless.
Invaders from Mars (1953).
Yes, and an under-rated film when it comes to Welles' "canon."Trust me. You wouldn't feel different.
On the other hand, I saw The Stranger tonight:
"Wilson of the War Crimes Commission is seeking Franz Kindler, mastermind of the Holocaust, who has effectively erased his identity. Wilson releases Kindler's former comrade Meinike and follows him to Harper, Connecticut, where he is killed before he can identify Kindler. Now Wilson's only clue is Kindler's fascination with antique clocks; but though Kindler seems secure in his new identity, he feels his past closing in."
Now that was worth watching without thinking it was some ridiculous formulaic nonsense.
Just saw The Black Book (a.k.a. The Reign of Terror), and Scene of the Crime, both from '49 and both featuring Arlene Dahl, at the Film Noir Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Enjoyed the two of them, although I'm not sure I would call either one Noir. The first, directed by Anthony Mann, filmed by John Alton and released by Eagle-Lion, dealt with the French Reign of Terror, and the end of Robespierre (played very well by Richard Basehart). It was "interesting," to say the least, to see Charles McGraw in the role of a French Hussar; some reviewer referred to McGraw, with his scraggly beard and longish hair, as looking like the leader of a French biker gang. The actor who stole all the scenes he was in, though, was Arnold Moss as Fouche'. He had a natural, almost flippant style that was unique for the time, and is almost a dead ringer for actor Adrien Brody. Intriguing film by Mann/Alton, although most of the actors looked Anglo-Saxon rather than French. The second film dealt with a L.A. detective (Van Johnson) out to avenge the death of another officer, with some of the scenes filmed on location, others on the MGM backlot; not remarkable, but with a great cast including Gloria DeHaven, Tom Powers, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, Anthony Caruso, Jerome Cowan, and Romo Vincent (as "Hippo"). (One interesting scene dealt with a Black shoeshine man who gives Johnson's character some information: the former, despite his race and position, is presented as an intelligent, articulate person, who refers to the detective by his first name. Kind of a rarity for the time.)
The highlight of the evening was listening to the remarks of an actor who appeared in both films (very memorably in the second), Mr. Norman Lloyd (and who sat right in front of me). He told stories of working with Orson Welles in the Mercury Theatre, with Alfred Hitchcock, and of his times as an actor, director, and producer, in the venues of stage, screen, and television. Great memory for a seasoned veteran 97 years old!
Last edited by Widebrim; 04-28-2012 at 02:18 PM.
1. John 3:16, 17
2. Dress to please yourself, but do take others into some consideration.
-Lee
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