What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

I think our crowd -- mostly bourgie middle-aged/elderly retiree types -- don't like a film that pushes them too hard. The scene with the vat of poop was the point too far for a lot of them.

LizzieMaine said:

I think our crowd -- mostly bourgie middle-aged/elderly retiree types -- don't like a film that pushes them too hard. The scene with the vat of poop was the point too far for a lot of them.

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Yup, that scene stays with you. Do you know if it was based on something that really happened?

LizzieMaine said:

Our patrons thought so. They'd all come out the door after the show shaking their heads.

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When they went into a Paul Verhoeven-movie at free will, they are not in the right to shake their heads after the show.

Lizzie, a "Town Without Pity" would have been a perfect pic for your theater if you could time travel your theater to 1961 when it came out.

Fading Fast said:

Yup, that scene stays with you. Do you know if it was based on something that really happened?

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I've not found any one specific incident, but collaborators in general did not fare well after Liberation in any of the European countries. She's lucky she wasn't strung up.

It Came From Outer Space (1953) with Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, and several faces that you'll know. Surprisingly well done science fiction story, filmed, it appears in the Mojave Desert, the Lucerne area, and Victorville. Story by Ray Bradbury, dir. by Jack Arnold. The Missus rolled her eyes inwardly when I started the movie, but later she remarked, Why did I let this dumb movie suck me in? Enjoyed it---
Also a documentary called Neat: the Story of Bourbon (2018). Informative, high-quality production that drifts back and forth between light-heartedness and dedicated bourbon-love. We thought it was exceptional.

Fading Fast said:

Lizzie, a "Town Without Pity" would have been a perfect pic for your theater if you could time travel your theater to 1961 when it came out.

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@LizzieMaine

Or an "Alien"-party on the 40 years anniverary, where you get free entrance, when you come in your 1979's clothes!!

Trenchfriend said:

@LizzieMaine

Or an "Alien"-party on the 40 years anniverary, where you get free entrance, when you come in your 1979's clothes!!

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Hmmm...now where did I put my platform shoes and Angels Flight bell bottoms...

Zombie_61 said:

Hmmm...now where did I put my platform shoes and Angels Flight bell bottoms...

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I hate to admit it, but I did once own a pair of Angels Flight bell bottoms. It was about the time that I first started earning money from an actual job. At the time, I felt as hip as can be.

A Nun's Story from 1959 starring Audrey Hepburn, Dean Jagger and Peter Finch

I have no idea what it took to become a nun in pre-WWII Belgium - so no idea how realistic this portrayal is - but it doesn't matter as, even if complete fiction, it is a powerful tale of morality, personal conviction and inner conflict playing out in the Congo, WWII Belgium and one young woman's head and heart.

The daughter (Hepburn) of a wealthy Belgium family, to the family's dismay, chooses to give up her identity, her family and her aborning career as a successful epidemiologist nurse to become a nun. Her father, (played by the always outstanding Dean Jagger), a prominent surgeon, had hoped his smart daughter would follow him in his work, but supports her decision with all the love and apprehension that comes naturally, albeit painfully, to this thoughtful and good man.

The Church requires a nun to give herself completely to the Church, in part, by giving up all sense of individuality, pride and ambition. While seemingly unfairly demanding - especially to a 2019 world view and something even 1959's Hepburn greatly struggled with - the terms are clear ahead of time and the choice purely voluntary. Despite that, Hepburn still hopes to be sent by the Church to the Congo where her medical skills are needed most.

After a long period of training and tests of her convictions - seemingly to break down her sense of self and make her a pure vassal of the church - Hepburn is sent to the Congo where her skills prove valuable. But a bout of TB sees her, eventually, back in Belgium working as a nurse during the outbreak of WWII. More moral challenges face Hepburn as the Church demands neutrality to the combatants, but Hepburn still sees the bigger issues and struggles not to take sides.

And it is this never-settled inner struggle that leads to the final climax of whether or not Hepburn will remain a nun in the Church - a Church she loves and doing work she loves, but for a Church that might be asking too much of her, too much of her identity, to remain.

The power of movie, well understood by director Fred Zimmerman (who knew how to make morality tales as seen in his "High Noon" and "From Here to Eternity" efforts) is the balanced treatment of the Church's and Hepburn's views and positions. As in life, neither is all right or all wrong / all evil or all goodness - a thoughtfulness modern writers and directors, who often seem to suffer no uncertainty of the purity of their values, would benefit from emulating.

Tiki Tom said:

I hate to admit it, but I did once own a pair of Angels Flight bell bottoms. It was about the time that I first started earning money from an actual job. At the time, I felt as hip as can be.

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When I was going to high school in the 70s Dittos jeans were very popular among the female students because they had an unusual U-shaped seam in the back that somehow shaped and improved the appearance of the backside of nearly every girl who wore them. My then-girlfriend had quite a few of those jeans, and she convinced me that Angels Flight pants did for guys what Dittos jeans did for girls. So I got a pair, and...well, let's just say she was very appreciative. But that polyester they were made from--most uncomfortable pants I've ever worn.

Fading, a recent dramatic film I liked a lot that makes for an interesting comparison/contrast to The Nun's Story is Novitiate. It's a far less idealized telling on a much smaller scale, set in the sixties.

LizzieMaine wrote: "The scene with the vat of poop was the point too far for a lot of them."

When I loaded this page and saw the above remark I thought, 'Oh, they're discussing the final scene in The Magic Christian.'

A Hologram for the King from 2016 starring Tom Hanks

It's kinda like they tried to make "Lost in Translation" in Saudi Arabia - not really, but kinda.

Tom Hanks plays a middle-aged divorcee whose career struggles forces his daughter to to drop out of college. He's in Saudi Arabia owing to a family connection disgruntledly giving him a last chance to salvage his career by attempting to sell a computer holographic system to the Kingdom.

If that seems to be a weak plot, it is, as this is not a plot-driven movie but a moment-of-crisis-in-one's-life movie. With a nasty looking cyst on his back - the metaphor for that writes itself - a slacker Saudi driver who entangles Hanks in his family's problems, a team of technicians being shunted by the Saudi government and his own noted personal issues, Hanks is a man at a crossroads and spiraling down fast.

Amongst his challenges, finding alcohol in a country that forbids it becomes a daily effort and risk as every day brings new life failures for Hanks. And, sitting at the center of it all in Saudi Arabia is the built-by-fiat mega city he's trying to pitch his holographic system to - a city that is both splendid and menacing but, ultimately, soulless.

One night, after passing out drunk and awaking in a blood-soaked bed - the cyst opened up - Hanks winds up in a Saudi doctor's office that would put almost any medical facility in the West to shame. He's treated by a female Saudi doctor - also a divorcee - with whom he shares a moment, but neither fully sees nor embraces it as he's too enervated by life and she's too restrained by her culture.

That's it - any more would give too much away. Will Hanks pull victory, or something positive, out of the jaws of defeat? Will he sell the holographic system and revive his career and finances - and put his daughter back in school? Will he pursue a relationship with seemingly insurmountable challenges but also great promise? Will that darn cyst kill him or be cured?

Effectively, will the crazy of his Saudi experience save or finish him? Based on a novel by Dave Eggars, one senses more depth and passion in the book than the, probably, overly distilled movie plot - you can only do so much nuance and life complexity in two hours of screen time. It doesn't really work, but it does have some good moments and as noted, points to a better story behind it.

N.B. If it played in Lizzie's theater - seems like that kind of movie - my guess is the reception was mixed.

Our Hallowe'en Cavalcade of Horror has begun. So far:

Monster House - one of my "recent" favourites, the one daughter loves it, the other thinks it's okay, but still laughs out loud at times (Jenny - "That must be the uvula". Chowder - "Oh, so it's a girl house"! Jenny - "What?! NO! It causes the gag reflex, everyone has a uvula". Chowder - "I don't...")

Also watched John Carpenter's The Thing, even the girls enjoyed it, great film with great lines. Love the Bombardier snow plows, and had forgotten it was filmed in British Columbia.

The Prisoner of Zenda from 1937 with Ronald Coleman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor and David Niven

I became a fan of old movies as a kid growing up in the '70s watching them on a '50s black-and-white TV. At about ten years old, Errol Flynn was one of my heroes. I had only a vague idea of the historical periods of his movies (as, sometimes, did the scriptwriters), but I got the point: he was flamboyant, handsome, fearless, talented (with a sword, ship, horse, etc.); men wanted to follow him; he saved the day and he got the girl. I was sold.

The Sea Hawk was my favorite, but The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade and Captain Blood were not far behind. To this day, I can sit down and greatly enjoy any of those (and other) Flynn movies. Had I seen The Prisoner of Zenda at this age, Ronald Coleman might have also been a hero, but alas, the few stations that ran old movies in the '70s in my area never played it.

And that is a shame as this movie should first be enjoyed as a kid. It's a romp of an action-adventure for its day with heroes, villains, castles, kings, sword fights, (style-wise, out of place) gun fights, scheming women, beautiful women, missions of honor and, yes, the hero gets the girl.

As an adult, I enjoyed it enough, but didn't love it. My guess is that's because I didn't have any childhood history with it. Seeing it first as an adult, I saw some of its clunkiness - some of its silliness - not as part of the fun, but as a weakness. When I see those old Flynn movies, I unconsciously forgive all that and just enjoy the spirit of the movie and the echo of childhood joy.

If you've read the novel or seen one of the movie versions made of The Prisoner of Zenda, then you know the plot, if not, then all you need to know is it's the story of a kingdom somewhere that has a weak, but good-hearted heir, a scheming heir's brother, loyal advisors, scheming advisors, loyal troops, scheming troops, good women, scheming women, two beautiful women (how did Madeleine Carroll not have more of a career?), poisoned wine and a whole bunch of action.

It was good, maybe I'll like it even more the next time, but I'm sure I'd have loved it as a kid.

Hallowe'en Cavalcade of Horror - Dark Shadows, a favourite now of my wife and I (have never seen the show so do not care how much "better" it is, we appreciate the film for what it is, so there, nya..).

Last evening with our girls, Hocus Pocus, another family favourite!

I'm also a big Errol Flynn fan... but I love the 1937 Prisoner of Zenda. It holds up well, those clunky weaknesses were all there in the original story. (Has anybody seen the 1922 silent version?) The 1952 version is essentially a shot-for-shot remake in Technicolor, and despite some fine actors (James Mason, Deborah Kerr), it just lacks the punch of the 1937 one. And I'll take Ronald Colman over Stewart Granger anytime! (See also: Arrowsmith, If I Were King, Talk of the Town, Random Harvest, etc.)

And I'm one original TV series fan who liked Tim Burton's Dark Shadows film a lot. Yes, it's a very different animal from the original spook opera... but you know, the TV show was never exactly "good". And every previous attempt to revive it failed precisely because it took itself too seriously. So making it a fish-out-of-water comedy works for me, especially since it's very clear that it comes from a place of tremendous affection for the original series.