What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

AmateisGal · Sep 13, 2015

Touchofevil said:
As Fading Fast was struck so were the teachers with whom I work. Our clientele were toddlers when 9/11 occurred. As a school we observed and focused our classes on the importance of the events of this day and their effects on the world since.

THANK YOU for doing this!

AmateisGal · Sep 13, 2015

Currently watching The Maltese Falcon. (I was inspired by the Bogie thread!) May watch The Big Sleep next.

Wally_Hood · Sep 13, 2015

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) with Toshiro Mifune, dir. Akira Kurosawa. Mifune's character takes on wide spread corruption involving corporations and the government. Dark, dark, dark. Well shot, with strong performances from the leads. At two and a half hours, it does have some slow spots. Kurosawa favored the occasional static camera, with the actors selling the scene rather than cinematic flashiness.

Big J · Sep 13, 2015

AmateisGal said:
This is it exactly. When the anniversary of 9/11 comes around, it is, for us, like the anniversary of Pearl Harbor for the WW2 generation. And as the years have gone by, we remember it less and less. Which is why I'm 100% committed to remembering those anniversaries and indeed, all of the major anniversaries of American history: the beginning of the American Revolution, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the beginning and end of the American Civil War, etc., etc.

I was very pleased that my daughter's photojournalism teacher focused the entire class on 9/11. None of her other teachers even mentioned it.

I don't want to be political at all, but I think that a lot of people aren't sure how they should mark 9/11. Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War is conceptually easy, but 9/11 triggered a cascade of events that have a less clearly defined narrative, and loose ends. So maybe many people are unsure and wary of seeming insensitive? In any event, 9/11 was a terrible tragedy, and should be remembered respectfully for that alone, in isolation from efforts to politicize the narrative IMHO.

AmateisGal · Sep 13, 2015

Big J said:
I don't want to be political at all, but I think that a lot of people aren't sure how they should mark 9/11. Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War is conceptually easy, but 9/11 triggered a cascade of events that have a less clearly defined narrative, and loose ends. So maybe many people are unsure and wary of seeming insensitive? In any event, 9/11 was a terrible tragedy, and should be remembered respectfully for that alone, in isolation from efforts to politicize the narrative IMHO.

I agree with you.

LizzieMaine · Sep 13, 2015

That's the way I do it -- I've never liked organized public memorials with lots of hoopty-doo for anything. Every year at quarter to nine on September 11th I think about what I was doing when it happened -- something utterly insignificant, watching some bland author who wrote a book about Howard Hughes giving a tedious interview to Matt Lauer on the Today Show -- and I think about the utterly insignificant things all those other people were doing at that same moment. Crises don't occur when you're expecting them, and they happen to ordinary people who are no different than me or you. That was the tragedy of 9/11.

Zombie_61 · Sep 13, 2015

Monster on the Campus (1958). When Professor Donald Blake (Arthur Franz) is too stupid to keep a gamma ray irradiated prehistoric fish frozen, it's blood infects a German Shepherd, a dragonfly, and Professor Blake himself, temporarily causing them to de-evolve and become somewhat prehistoric versions of their modern beings. When the Professor is found unconscious near the body of a woman (Helen Westcott) with no memories of what happened or how he got there, he takes it upon himself to solve their mysterious murders when the only evidence indicates the killer is some sort of prehistoric subhuman and the local police can't figure it out. Featuring Joanna Moore, Troy Donahue, Judson Pratt, Phil Harvey, Whit Bissell, and stuntman Eddie Parker, this one's worth a look if you like really cheesy 1950s B-movies.

3:10 to Yuma (1957). I had seen the 2007 remake starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, but this was the first time I'd seen the original movie. Glenn Ford's performance is brilliant, and his casual manner works perfectly for his character's "in charge even when he's a captive" attitude. This is made more apparent by Van Heflin's character's "determined to get the job" somewhat nervous demeanor, and the two actors play perfectly off of each other. Definitely worth seeing.

Fading Fast · Sep 13, 2015

Finished watching "Triple Cross -" 1966 movie with Christopher Plumber staring as the WWII spy who played for both sides (maybe) or mainly for himself (probably). It was directed by Terence Young who directed several of the early Bond films and you can see him trying to make Plumber into a Bond-like character.

While parts were engaging, overall the super-spy thing didn't work as it felt forced and even unintentionally campy at times. That said, Gret Frobe (Auric Goldfinger to most of us) does an outstanding job as a German officer as does the always good Trevor Howard as a British spymaster.

If you go in knowing you are watching an uneven movie, you will probably enjoy the parts that work enough to make it worth the 2+hours.

dh66 · Sep 13, 2015

Zombie_61 said:
Monster on the Campus (1958). When Professor Donald Blake (Arthur Franz) is too stupid to keep a gamma ray irradiated prehistoric fish frozen, it's blood infects a German Shepherd, a dragonfly, and Professor Blake himself, temporarily causing them to de-evolve and become somewhat prehistoric versions of their modern beings. When the Professor is found unconscious near the body of a woman (Helen Westcott) with no memories of what happened or how he got there, he takes it upon himself to solve their mysterious murders when the only evidence indicates the killer is some sort of prehistoric subhuman and the local police can't figure it out. Featuring Joanna Moore, Troy Donahue, Judson Pratt, Phil Harvey, Whit Bissell, and stuntman Eddie Parker, this one's worth a look if you like really cheesy 1950s B-movies.

And there's that absolutely heart stoppingly horrifying scene at the end when Joanna Moore drives a pristine '58 DeSoto convertible over a cliff...[emoji33]

But really, I thought this one had a fairly well thought out plot, and if they'd sprang as much for the were-caveman makup as they did the writer............

Bushman · Sep 13, 2015

Finally got around to seeing Kingsman! I enjoyed even more than I expected to! I love it! I so regret not catching this one in theaters.

AmateisGal · Sep 13, 2015

Dial M for Murder.

Watching To Catch a Thief now. Yes, it's a Hitchcock afternoon!

Fading Fast · Sep 13, 2015

AmateisGal said:
Dial M for Murder.

Watching To Catch a Thief now. Yes, it's a Hitchcock afternoon!

Ray Milland is one of my favorite less-well-known actors of the Era. Enjoy - great afternoon.

AmateisGal · Sep 13, 2015

Fading Fast said:
Ray Milland is one of my favorite less-well-known actors of the Era. Enjoy - great afternoon.

I love how, after Ray Milland gets caught as the one who planned his wife's murder, he just casually offers everyone a drink. Ha!

Fading Fast · Sep 14, 2015

AmateisGal said:
I love how, after Ray Milland gets caught as the one who planned his wife's murder, he just casually offers everyone a drink. Ha!

The gentleman killer - a very nice touch. And Hitchcock used the low-rent thug Milland hired earlier on as a foil for Milland. The scene were Milland interviews him is outstanding.

Feraud · Sep 14, 2015

AmateisGal said:
I love how, after Ray Milland gets caught as the one who planned his wife's murder, he just casually offers everyone a drink. Ha!

I love Milland's reaction at the end!!

AmateisGal · Sep 14, 2015

To continue my Hitchcock marathon, I watched North by Northwest and am now watching Notorious.

AmateisGal · Sep 14, 2015

Fading Fast said:
The gentleman killer - a very nice touch. And Hitchcock used the low-rent thug Milland hired earlier on as a foil for Milland. The scene were Milland interviews him is outstanding.

Oh, I agree. He is so smooth. I love how cold-blooded he is about the whole thing, too, without being creepy.

Big J · Sep 14, 2015

Just watched The Bridges of Madison County and The Hours. Watched Still of the Night yesterday. Got Sophies Choice and Plenty lined up for tonight.
Meryl Streep is a national treasure, isn't she!

Zombie_61 · Sep 14, 2015

dh66 said:
And there's that absolutely heart stoppingly horrifying scene at the end when Joanna Moore drives a pristine '58 DeSoto convertible over a cliff...[emoji33]...

Yeah, that was probably the most upsetting part of the movie. lol

dh66 said:
...But really, I thought this one had a fairly well thought out plot, and if they'd sprang as much for the were-caveman makup as they did the writer............

The plot was fine, it was the details they dropped the ball on. For instance, at the beginning of the movie Professor Blake expresses his concerns about keeping the prehistoric fish frozen, but when he and B.M.O.C. Jimmy Flanders (Troy Donahue) get to the panel van that hauled it to the University he decides to give a ten minute dissertation about the fish while it's thawing out instead of doing that after they've put it in the freezer. Even my wife, who couldn't care less about movies like this, pointed out a few equally stupid moments like that. And I'm not sure which was worse--the "seemed to be thrown together at the last minute" caveman makeup, or the ridiculously obvious strings that operated the prehistoric dragonfly puppet. :doh: I enjoy movies like this, but it could have been better if they'd just put a little more thought into it.

dh66 · Sep 14, 2015

Zombie_61 said:
Yeah, that was probably the most upsetting part of the movie. lol

The plot was fine, it was the details they dropped the ball on. For instance, at the beginning of the movie Professor Blake expresses his concerns about keeping the prehistoric fish frozen, but when he and B.M.O.C. Jimmy Flanders (Troy Donahue) get to the panel van that hauled it to the University he decides to give a ten minute dissertation about the fish while it's thawing out instead of doing that after they've put it in the freezer. Even my wife, who couldn't care less about movies like this, pointed out a few equally stupid moments like that. And I'm not sure which was worse--the "seemed to be thrown together at the last minute" caveman makeup, or the ridiculously obvious strings that operated the prehistoric dragonfly puppet. :doh: I enjoy movies like this, but it could have been better if they'd just put a little more thought into it.

I totally forgot about the stings. [emoji3]

It's this subtle lack of cgi that that make these films so lovable to me.

What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

Wally_Hood

One Too Many

Big J

Call Me a Cab

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

LizzieMaine

Zombie_61

Fading Fast

dh66

Bushman

I'll Lock Up

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

Fading Fast

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

Fading Fast

Feraud

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up

Big J

Call Me a Cab

Zombie_61

dh66

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