What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

Kingsman, The Secret Service & The Golden Circle

Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz

Rather cool movies......excellent choice.

In case you didn’t yet, watch „Brain Dead“ from Peter Jackson occasionally, hard to beat, or „Bad Taste“.

Nackt unter Wölfen (CC Buchenwald), 1963. Written by Bruno Apitz.

Not fully historical correct, but a ruthless psychological study about Buchenwald! The horror happens in your head.

For the first time I watched Murder My Sweet (1945) with Dick Powell and Claire Trevor. When I used to think of Philip Marlow, I usually thought of Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946), or Powers Booth in the HBO Marlow series from when I was a kid, but Dick Powell is pretty sharp.

It Started with Eve from 1941 with Charles Laughton, Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings

Q: Why watch a movie with Charles Laughton in it?
A: Because Charles Laughton is in it.

It Started with Eve is a silly little movie with a silly little plot that is elevated to a lighthearted and enjoyable picture because Charles Laughton and Deanna Durbin are just that good individually and even better together.

A sick, wealthy old man, Laughton, seemingly on his deathbed, asks his son, Robert Cummings, to bring his new fiancee to meet him before he dies. As only happens in movies, when the son can't locate his fiancee, and fearing that his father will pass away that night, he pays a shopgirl, Deanna Durbin, to pose as his fiancee to make the old man happy.

When Durbin and Laughton meet, there's an immediate connection between them that seems to revive the old man. A few days later, a recovering Laughton asks to see Durbin again and the son panics as he now has to go on with the charade that Durbin is his fiancee as Laughton's doctor says the shock of the truth would be too much for Laughton.

Adding to the "conflict" (a strong word for the blitheness of this movie) is that Cummings' real fiancee and her mother just arrived in the city to meet his father. This leaves Cummings having to explain to them why another woman is posing as his fiancee. The mother and daughter are understanding at first, but as time drags on, they, not surprisingly, become impatient.

Finally, you have Durbin who genuinely likes Laughton and is both irritated by and attracted to Cummings (you see where this one is going very early on), but who was about to return to her hometown as her singing career, the reason she came to the city, never took off. The rest of the movie is watching Cummings trying to keep all the balls in the air as the old man - who, early on, figures out the switch, but plays dumb - tries to put Durbin and his son together.

You don't watch this one for the dopey story; you watch it to see Laughton and Durbin turn their goofy roles into enjoyable comedy as Durbin proves equal to the immensely talented Laughton. Be it Durbin practicing her smile at Cummings' direction so that she can fool Laughton or Laughton lying straight faced time and again to Durbin just to keep her around, their chemistry brings such mirth to the movie that you don't care about its nonsensical plot.

Stars like Laughton and Durbin make a lot of money for a reason. Sure, in some way the fates just shined on these two as the camera simply loves them (yes, it loves misshaped and craggy Laughton in its own way), but they also are incredibly talented actors. They have a deep understanding of their roles, what is called for in a scene and the little nuances necessary (their facial expressions in this one are spot on time and again) to take a mediocre script like It Started with Eve and turn it into an entertaining hour-and-a-half movie.

Deanna Durbin was a wonderful performer, who learned to do comedy from Eddie Cantor on his radio show when she was just a kid, but once she got boxed into the "singing sweetheart" persona she never really got to do it much. I always respected her for saying "that's it, I've had enough," and walking away from the whole business. She ought to be better known today than she is.

Turnip said:

Rather cool movies......excellent choice.

In case you didn’t yet, watch „Brain Dead“ from Peter Jackson occasionally, hard to beat, or „Bad Taste“.

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They are still pretty entertaining even after having seen them many times. I have neither heard of or seen either movie, but will look them up. Thanks for the suggestions.

Turnip said:

Rather cool movies......excellent choice.

In case you didn’t yet, watch „Brain Dead“ from Peter Jackson occasionally, hard to beat, or „Bad Taste“.

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Or Meet the Feebles, Peter Jackson's 1989 picture, in which he did for The Muppets what Avenue Q would do for Sesame Street fifteen odd years later.

Yes, rather cool too! Will never forget the Vietnam traumatized Kermit and those allusions to Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter.

My Grampa and I used to watch these fellas when I was a kid. He actually got to see Bob Hope during WWII.

To get the most of the "Road To..." pictures, imagine Hope as Daffy Duck and Crosby as Bugs Bunny. The correspondence is absolutely perfect.

LizzieMaine said:

To get the most of the "Road To..." pictures, imagine Hope as Daffy Duck and Crosby as Bugs Bunny. The correspondence is absolutely perfect.

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I completely agree.

Touchofevil said:

Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz

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"That's what I'm talking about..."

The Hunt For Red October. Have not seen this in yonks, what a fun ride. So many actors are so young here, forgot all about Tim Curry and Sam Neill and Stellan Sarsgaard. Even an actor I know from an episode of Millennium, a Russian naval officer. Good times...

The Killers from 1964 with Lee Marvin, Clu Gulager, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson and Ronald Reagan

There is so much one could criticize in this movie, but I still liked it a lot.

Despite being on TCM's "Noir Alley," host Eddie Muller acknowledged that this one isn't noir, but something he called "neo-noir," sure, okay, whatever. I guess it was on "Noir Alley" because it's an alternative version of the 1946 noir-classic The Killers. And, heck, if you took out the 1964 version's color cinematography and lighthearted elements, you'd be left with a pretty grim hitman and crime-caper story.

But why would one take out the color and quasi casual vibe as those things work really well here. The visual style is a mashup of Ocean's Eleven and Viva Las Vegas making it as early '60s cool as it could be with the two hitmen, Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager, dressed in what could only be described as Ivy-league-gangster style.

But despite being visually pretty and not noir somber, it is a violent tale of two hit men, Marvin and Gulager, who, after completing a job, realize the target, John Cassavetes, didn't run when he had the chance.

Marvin, being a thinking man's assassin, ponders this for a bit and, then, decides he's going to trace the hit backwards. He believes the one-million dollars Cassavetes supposedly stole from his partners in a mail-truck heist (the reason he was "rubbed out") is still out there for the taking because, if Cassavavetes had the money, he would have tried to escape when he had the chance.

The rest of the movie is watching Marvin and Gulager work up the chain from their hit to find each gang member as they hunt down the money. The joy in this one is watching methodical, weary and focused Marvin partner with the younger and half-nuts Gulager. If ever a hitman should have been on Ritalin, Gulager would be it as he can't stop touching things, twitching, losing his train of thought and, generally, moving around like a gnat.

Yet somehow, instead of irritating each other, Marvin seems to enjoy Gulanger's crazy and, while Gulager will tweak Marvin, you can tell he respects the older man's brains and experience. It's an odd buddy movie, but the chemistry between these two is palpable and immensely enjoyable. And as they hunt down the money, the unusual combination of Marvin's menacing calmness and Gulager's frightening unpredictability throws everyone off his or her game.

As their search takes them up the chain to this film's femme fatale, Angie Dickinson, we see, through flashbacks, that she either played professional race-car driver Cassavetes hard - got him to fall in love with her so that he'd drive the getaway car for the heist - or truly fell in love with him, but had to, maybe, sell him out to survive in the end.

Dickinson is a bit of a stretch as femme fatale, but she gives it her all here with her somewhat tired faced - yes pretty, but not dewy - fitting the character. And despite proving that no woman should ever tease her hair up into a bubble (if it can't work for her, how many can it work for?), she needs no explanation when sporting a pair of capri pants and a T-shirt (see pic below).

From Dickinson, it's only one more dot to the brains behind the heist, future President of the United States Ronald Reagan as the "respectable-businessman" front for the gang, who becomes the last man standing between the team of Marvin and Gulager and the money.

The plot flaws and character inconsistencies are all over the place in this one, but if you just go with it, then the super-cool early '60s style, Marvin and Gulager's Mutt-and-Jeff pairing, Dickinson's good looks but overtaxed acting chops and Reagan's cheesy bad guy portrayal make it a fun, quick hour and half. Also, the film has either been restored or just never aged, as the TCM print was incredibly clear, crisp and vibrant, making this trip to the early '60s a visual treat.


And speaking of visual treats, Ms. Dickinson.

^^^Nothing like a good hit-gone-wrong-and-a-million-bucks-lying-around doover flick^^^

Angie's rather pneumatic quality shown maximum advantage adds sugar to the spice.
But everything ain't nice. And a good tracker doover, but the odd-couple pairing Clue and Lee,
seems a real stretch. Gotta check it out. A never seen caper. Nothing like a good strictly pro hit job.

Worf said:

"Save Yourselves" - Save your time don't watch this drivel. 30 something couple tied to their electric umbilical cords decide to spend a week sans electronics in upstate NY. Lo and behold an alien invasion starts. Problem is the aliens look like "tribbles' or as the male pus it "furry end tables". During the remainder of the movie you find out just how worthless these two individuals are at surviving. The movie could've said something deep about the emasculation of mankind, but it doesn't. I could've been funny (in the right hands) but it isn't. It at least could've been entertaining but its not. Man I hated this film. Two toes down from me.

Worf

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I looked this up, it has surprisingly good reviews, but I think I will give it a hard pass!