What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

LizzieMaine said:

All I'm talking about here is why her movies are popular in my town. We're a town demographically dominated by elderly upper middle class white women, so they're going to come to Judi Dench movies. And Maggie Smith movies. For some reason, though, they don't like Juliette Binoche movies -- probably because she's not elderly and is French.

"Acting ability" doesn't enter into it for our EUMCWWs. They don't like complex, challenging scripts or anything that threatens their cozy Garden Club view of the world. These are the same people who passive-aggressively complain to me because the Metropolitan Opera schedules things like "The Nose" instead of the fiftieth rerun of "La Traviata." They like a nice, big, fat, simple story, preferably featuiring actors who don't make them think too much. They also like to throw their trash on the floor and plug up my toilets, which I then have to spend extra hours snaking out, but we won't get into that. Such incidents always make me shudder when I see a Dench-Smith opus on the upcoming schedule.

If there's a single person in the world who's more irrelevant to me in any way than Bono, I can't imagine who it would be. I know that he exists, but that's the limit of it.

Oh, and the last movie I saw was a Joe McDoakes short about allergies. George O'Hanlon was an unsung comic genius.

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jamespowers said:

Bono is just a stupid H.I.P.P.I.E. He is all front and a real do nothing hypocrite. :doh:

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HadleyH said:

" Gone With The Wind " of course! Best movie ever!:eusa_clap

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Wally_Hood said:

Big J, enjoyed your thoughts and analysis regarding Japan's take on films about WW2.

There was a discussion some time back about Emperor, regarding the extent of Hirohito's culpability as head of state, that is, was he the driving force behind the attack on Pearl Harbor, did he authorize or initiate the atrocities in China, or was he at best a figure head for the military who ran the government. The discussion lead to some strongly-held opinions about the situation.
The Army (1944) by Keisuke Kino****a is a propaganda film where the characters recite dialogue about serving the Emperor and the nation, about not shaming families while in the military, and so on, while at the same time telling a moving story of parents having to deal with their sons going off to almost certainly die in war.
Fires on the Plain (1959) does reflect the grim, dehumanizing themes of the book, but as it was filmed at something of a distance from the end of the war, it didn't have to promote the "we Japanese have been dealt with unjustly by the western world" excuse to legitimize military aggression.
The Human Condition (also from 1959) clearly condemns the militarists who made government policy and the military itself.

edit: after posting I realized that the filtering software replaced four letters with asterisks in the name of the Japanese director...

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Big J said:

I do love Southern Belles. I think it's the accent.

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Big J said:

Hi Wally,

Thanks for the information! 'The Army' was directed by Keisuke 木下, yep, you can't write s.h.i.t. even as part of another word! Fires on the Plain is a very good film, I thought. I love the anime Grave of the Fireflies. I use the station where they find the dead child almost every day. All the places in that film are real, and local to me, which really brings it home. My kids were made to watch it at school, and it traumatized them forever!

If you haven't sen it, you should try to check out 'The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi' by Kozaburo Yoshimura (1938). It7s based on a true story, and despite being propaganda, is actually almost subversive for the era in which it was made. Incidentally, made in 1938, before most of 'us' even think the war started, but Japan had ben at war for years by then. The plight of Japanese tankers isn't something that appears on our Pacific War radar.

It looks like I missed a good discussion on Hirohito's war responsibility! I certainly don't want to open that can of worms! His official biography, after many years of editing, nail-baiting, head-scratching, and re-editing has been compiled by the Japanese government, and the first volumes went on sale last year (I'm sure it'll be a riveting read), but I'll be interested to see how they reconcile his role as highest authority in the land with lack of accountability for war-crimes. Hirohito himself said that at the meeting to decide if they should attack Pearl Harbor, he listened to all of the opinions on the matter, and decided that his military was foolishly seeking war with the US, so he read them a poem.

He read them a poem! And that's it (by his own admission). He stood up, and left the room. I guess he thought that he 'really showed them'. After he found out they attacked Pearl Harbor, he didn't exactly drag these guys up to his office and say 'WTF! Didn't you hear my poem? You're all fired!'.

Also, he had family members present during the Nanking Massacre, so all this 'I didn't know' stuff doesn't wash with me.

Guilty.

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jamespowers said:

I had heard about Hirohito and his poem that told of the folly of war but he did not strictly FORBID them not to. Then again, we learn from the Nomanhan incident that generals int he field usually took the initiative and made their own decisions in the field---and even overruled their superiors. I forget the term they used for it but it was entirely acceptable and part of their system. :doh: One of those better to ask forgiveness than permission situations.
However, the Nomanhan generals who attacked the Russians in 1939 lost quite a bit of face with their peers due to their losses and insubordination......

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Big J said:

Absolutely true. Many of those present when Hirohito read his poem said after the war that they thought the meaning of the poem was to approve of the attack.
There is monumental responsibility dodging engrained into Japanese language and culture. At its most polite and respectful level, you can't use the phrase 'I think...', leading to endless circular discussions in an attempt to sound others out.
It's not surprising therefore, that the Japanese made some massive blunders and mistakes, basing thier actions on what they thought other people's unspoken feelings were.
Lucky for us.

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Worf said:

And in case you're wondering, he IS a public servant who was called in to conduct rescue operations after the first quake.

Worf

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basbol13 said:

One of my favorites I've watched numerous times ...."Sorcerer" staring Roy Scheider (1977) Is a William Friedkin film about four desperate men from different parts of the globe who agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous South American jungle. (It's a remake of the 1953 French Film "The Wages of Fear" staring Yves Montand it's another great movie to catch). The soundtrack of Sorcerer is especially interesting as it's done by Tangerine Dream. William Fiedkin said that if he heard Tangerine Dream earlier TD would have composed the soundtrack for "The Exorcist"

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