Movie Thread

[Tricycle Rider]

Das Boot (1981) - Had to rewatch this one again with my dad, it's probably our very fave WWII movie. That's not to say we're on the Nazi's side (far from it, actually), but you can just feel the sense of hopelessness and desperation once your boat starts sinking.

 

[movingtarget]

Das Boot (1981) - Had to rewatch this one again with my dad, it's probably our very fave WWII movie. That's not to say we're on the Nazi's side (far from it, actually), but you can just feel the sense of hopelessness and desperation once your boat starts sinking.

Great movie and the final scene was a stunner.

 

[Nomad]

Das Boot (1981) - Had to rewatch this one again with my dad, it's probably our very fave WWII movie. That's not to say we're on the Nazi's side (far from it, actually), but you can just feel the sense of hopelessness and desperation once your boat starts sinking.

Along those lines is "The Enemy Below" (1957) with Robert Mitchum as the U.S. destroyer skipper and Curd Jurgens as the U-boat Captain. This movie even won an academy award for special effects. I've probably watched it a dozen times and Mitchum is one of my favorite actors of all time.

Over the decades I've become somewhat of a World War 2 historian. I had a Great Uncle who was killed in combat at the Battle of the Bulge, which really traumatized my Grandmother hating all things German the rest of her life. And interestingly, my maternal Grandfather was stationed in France in WW1 (1918) as part of the AEF ready for deployment to the trenches. Fortunately, the Armistice was signed before his unit was sent. I remember him telling me how he had never been so scared in his life and couldn't sleep for weeks. So, I'm also interested in WW1 films - any good ones out there?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Along those lines is "The Enemy Below" (1957) with Robert Mitchum as the U.S. destroyer skipper and Curd Jurgens as the U-boat Captain. This movie even won an academy award for special effects. I've probably watched it a dozen times and Mitchum is one of my favorite actors of all time.

Over the decades I've become somewhat of a World War 2 historian. I had a Great Uncle who was killed in combat at the Battle of the Bulge, which really traumatized my Grandmother hating all things German the rest of her life. And interestingly, my maternal Grandfather was stationed in France in WW1 (1918) as part of the AEF ready for deployment to the trenches. Fortunately, the Armistice was signed before his unit was sent. I remember him telling me how he had never been so scared in his life and couldn't sleep for weeks. So, I'm also interested in WW1 films - any good ones out there?

This sounds like my grandmother, her husband (my dad's father) had been executed by the Nazis when my dad was just a baby because grandfather had worked for the Czech resistance. My grandma was so traumatized and hated anything German she would never even talk about grandfather, consequently my dad spent his entire life being obsessed with WWII in search of the truth. Finally a few years ago some records had been unearthed (couldn't really find anything during the communist days), turns out my grandpa was a bit of a war hero, a small plaque had been dedicated to him in front of the house where he used to live. So now my dad at last has some peace... he still wants to know what happened to grandpa's body, but I'm like - dad, just let it go.

I'll have to watch The Enemy Below, I've never heard of it, it sounds very promising. I love anything involving submarines.

As to WWI I haven't seen that many movies, but one of my all-time fave books is All Quiet on the Western Front. The 1930 movie is supposed to be quite good also, I should give it a looky. There's also a TV movie from 1979 with Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine that is based on the book, I haven't seen that one either.

 

[movingtarget]

Watched Wyatt Earp (1994) directed by Lawrence Kasdan who has made good films like The Accidental Tourist and Body Heat among others. Considering the big cast of talent on display this was a bit of a wasted opportunity and also a tad bloated at almost three hours long ! Obviously meant to be a star vehicle for Kevin Costner it was film making by the numbers and a throwback to the old style westerns, many of which were much better than this. Gene Hackman and Dennis Quaid made good use of their screen time but it was a bit too predictable and self important. The visuals were fine but this movie is for a non demanding audience mostly. Tombstone might not have as been as historically accurate but it was a much better movie.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Watched Wyatt Earp (1994) directed by Lawrence Kasdan who has made good films like The Accidental Tourist and Body Heat among others. Considering the big cast of talent on display this was a bit of a wasted opportunity and also a tad bloated at almost three hours long ! Obviously meant to be a star vehicle for Kevin Costner it was film making by the numbers and a throwback to the old style westerns, many of which were much better than this. Gene Hackman and Dennis Quaid made good use of their screen time but it was a bit too predictable and self important. The visuals were fine but this movie is for a non demanding audience mostly. Tombstone might not have as been as historically accurate but it was a much better movie.

Body Heat was good, and I remember liking The Accidental Tourist way back when.

Costner has been in some good ones - Bull Durham, No Way Out, Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves. Then there's some questionable ones like Silverado and The Untouchables (I thought the latter was only ok as a whole), and then there's a real stinker like The Bodyguard. I kinda lost touch with his career after that, looking at his filmography he's been very prolific, though.

Has Costner ever played a villain? He always struck me as so benign, kinda like Tom Hanks.

 

[movingtarget]

Body Heat was good, and I remember liking The Accidental Tourist way back when.

Costner has been in some good ones - Bull Durham, No Way Out, Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves. Then there's some questionable ones like Silverado and The Untouchables (I thought the latter was only ok as a whole), and then there's a real stinker like The Bodyguard. I kinda lost touch with his career after that, looking at his filmography he's been very prolific, though.

Has Costner ever played a villain? He always struck me as so benign, kinda like Tom Hanks.

Don't think I remember Costner as a villain, not in any of his movies I have seen. But I think I remember reading that he played one or two later on in his career.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Don't think I remember Costner as a villain, not in any of his movies I have seen. But I think I remember reading that he played one or two later on in his career.

Even if he did eventually play a villain I'm not sure I would buy it, I'm just so used to him playing the good and/or neutral guy.

You mentioned Body Heat and The Accidental Tourist upthread, I'm a fan of William Hurt. Or at least the movies of his I have seen - Gorky Park, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Big Chill I also liked when they first came out.

What's your take on William Hurt?

 

[movingtarget]

Even if he did eventually play a villain I'm not sure I would buy it, I'm just so used to him playing the good and/or neutral guy.

You mentioned Body Heat and The Accidental Tourist upthread, I'm a fan of William Hurt. Or at least the movies of his I have seen - Gorky Park, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Big Chill I also liked when they first came out.

What's your take on William Hurt?

I usually like him in movies. He was great in all of those movies as well as many others like Altered States. I wasn't a fan of The Big Chill another Lawrence Kasdan movie ! He was also good in Damages the TV series in season two I think it was. Kiss of The Spider Woman was very different, oddly I didn't care for the book but liked the movie. Children of A Lesser God was a bit over the top but I couldn't fault the performances including his. Also good in Eyewitness, Alice, The Doctor, Broadcast News and so on ..............he rarely misses.

 

[movingtarget]

Watched Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012). Dominated by the performance of Daniel Day Lewis, a very talky and political movie as expected. People that don't have much interest in history or politics probably won't like it much as it is also long. There are some scenes regarding the Civil War but the majority is about Lincoln's struggle to get the required numbers to push through an amendment to end slavery. In the end it was a pretty narrow margin. I thought the movie was interesting enough without being memorable.

 

[Laplaz]

Magnolia (1999) - Paul Thomas Anderson
Rewatched this stunner last night. One of Anderson's best, who is probably my favorite living director right now. The soundtrack is brilliant, as is the cast, inespecially Robards, Walters and Cruise. It could be a bit long for somebody, with its 3 hour running time. Nonetheless, I would recommend it.

 

[movingtarget]

Magnolia (1999) - Paul Thomas Anderson
Rewatched this stunner last night. One of Anderson's best, who is probably my favorite living director right now. The soundtrack is brilliant, as is the cast, inespecially Robards, Walters and Cruise. It could be a bit long for somebody, with its 3 hour running time. Nonetheless, I would recommend it.

His best film of the ones I have seen. One of Cruise's best performances in a very different role for him. Agree about the soundtrack, Aimee Mann is usually a good listen.

 

[movingtarget]

Sundance, sunset: is the death of indie cinema imminent?

With blockbusters filling up the big screen and streaming giants dominating the small, independent film-makers are running out of options

www.theguardian.com

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The Enemy Below (1957) - Watched this last night, there were definitely similarities with the later Das Boot and even The Hunt for Red October. Das Boot is way more grim than Enemy Below, but this doesn't take away from the excitement of the final battle scene in the latter. One thing I did not understand was why the German captain was wearing what looked more like an unbuttoned fancy silk shirt than a buttoned naval shirt, and then later in the final scene he again did not button what did look more like a uniform shirt. Especially for a captain I thought this looked sloppy and unprofessional, but that's a minor quibble.

Interestingly there were two different versions of the ending, the test audience unequivocally chose the happier ending. I would have preferred the unhappier ending, but that's just me.

Anyway, thanks to Nomad for mentioning this movie, I'm glad I saw it.

Speaking of submarine movies I think the worst I've seen were K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) and U-571 (2000). Don't remember exactly why I thought they were stinkers, I just remember not liking them.

 

[movingtarget]

Enemy (2014) a Dennis Villeneuve movie. Well acted especially by Jake Gyllenhaal about a man who spots his double or doppelganger and decides to meet him. Familiar idea with nice visuals, sometimes creepy, but didn't have much impact by the end even with the bizarre final shot. Seems like the critics were divided. Not surprised ! More of an exercise in mood and psychology.

 

[BlueRoads]

The Enemy Below (1957) - Watched this last night, there were definitely similarities with the later Das Boot and even The Hunt for Red October. Das Boot is way more grim than Enemy Below, but this doesn't take away from the excitement of the final battle scene in the latter. One thing I did not understand was why the German captain was wearing what looked more like an unbuttoned fancy silk shirt than a buttoned naval shirt, and then later in the final scene he again did not button what did look more like a uniform shirt. Especially for a captain I thought this looked sloppy and unprofessional, but that's a minor quibble.

Interestingly there were two different versions of the ending, the test audience unequivocally chose the happier ending. I would have preferred the unhappier ending, but that's just me.

Anyway, thanks to Nomad for mentioning this movie, I'm glad I saw it.

Speaking of submarine movies I think the worst I've seen were K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) and U-571 (2000). Don't remember exactly why I thought they were stinkers, I just remember not liking them.

If you like submarine-movies, there is a "new version" of Das Boot, a series. Actually it is not really a new version but more a whole new story and a good part of it plays on land. It's also not really great, more like the opposite, but the actors are mostly rather good and the captain is played by the van der Poel-lookalike Rick Okon. In case you want to round out your submarine-watching experiences and can find an English version you might still think of this one.

Das Boot (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[movingtarget]

If you like submarine-movies, there is a "new version" of Das Boot, a series. Actually it is not really a new version but more a whole new story and a good part of it plays on land. It's also not really great, more like the opposite, but the actors are mostly rather good and the captain is played by the van der Poel-lookalike Rick Okon. In case you want to round out your submarine-watching experiences and can find an English version you might still think of this one.

Das Boot (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Series one was okay, Series Two about to be released. Still much better than the current series of War of The Worlds which is awful.

 

[movingtarget]

Black Christmas (1974) - Margot Kidder was obnoxious and I thought Olivia Hussey was just awful, thankfully at least Kidder got bumped off fairly early.

This is one of the earliest slasher movies as we know them nowadays, it heavily influenced John Carpenter and his Halloween. Aside from the aforementioned actresses it was actually pretty good, very creepy.

The following is a spoiler in case somebody hasn't seen Black Christmas and wants to watch it in the future, I don't know how to do spoiler tags and make the text disappear:



We never find out who the killer is or why he kills to begin with, that's an unusual approach. I think there was some talk about a sequel, but instead all there was was just a remake or two, I would have preferred a sequel. I need some answers, gosh darnit.

Rewatched Black Christmas. Had not seen it for years. Some of the acting irritated me at the beginning but it did get better. Still stands up pretty well. Much more tension than in many similar movies especially the final ten minutes. Obviously very influential in the horror genre. Reminded me a little of When A Stranger Calls which was a bit later. Both low budget movies but very effective. I watched the latter a few years ago and it still holds up unlike many other genre movies from the 70s. I also think the acting was superior in the later film as well.

 

[BlueRoads]

Series one was okay, Series Two about to be released. Still much better than the current series of War of The Worlds which is awful.

You saw it? Had not expected anyone outside of Germany to have watched it.

 

[movingtarget]

You saw it? Had not expected anyone outside of Germany to have watched it.

Yes it was on free to air TV in Australia. We have a multi cultural channel that gets plenty of European content and thankfully also cycle racing ! As usual the content varies in quality. They also have some of the better American series which is good.

 

[Unchained]

I have typed in lately " Donald Sutherland movies " and have enjoyed the results for the most part. I did watch The Assignment " even with Ben Kingsley it was a tough time.
I also watched 3 Laura Linney movies, all were good..she was in my head because of Ozark, which I read is cancelled..?
I will put this out there..The Weight of Gold,narrated by Michael Phelps,it's pretty heavy and will probably make you think about the doping area of this site, but I think it's worth watching.

 

[movingtarget]

I have typed in lately " Donald Sutherland movies " and have enjoyed the results for the most part. I did watch The Assignment " even with Ben Kingsley it was a tough time.
I also watched 3 Laura Linney movies, all were good..she was in my head because of Ozark, which I read is cancelled..?
I will put this out there..The Weight of Gold,narrated by Michael Phelps,it's pretty heavy and will probably make you think about the doping area of this site, but I think it's worth watching.

Laura Linney is usually good value. Haven't seen Ozark but heard it was cancelled. Donald Sutherland rarely puts in a bad performance.

 

[movingtarget]

High-Rise (2016) an over the top social satire. Some of the performances are okay but it gets boring pretty quickly with lots of dull characters acting out. The book wasn't much better. A time waster.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Rewatched Black Christmas. Had not seen it for years. Some of the acting irritated me at the beginning but it did get better. Still stands up pretty well. Much more tension than in many similar movies especially the final ten minutes. Obviously very influential in the horror genre. Reminded me a little of When A Stranger Calls which was a bit later. Both low budget movies but very effective. I watched the latter a few years ago and it still holds up unlike many other genre movies from the 70s. I also think the acting was superior in the later film as well.

I thought Olivia Hussey was particularly atrocious, I remember seeing her in Jesus of Nazareth and Romeo and Juliet. This was so long ago though that I don't recall whether she's a lousy actress or whether it was just her role in Black Christmas.

Anyhoo, you never do see what the killer looks like, but his crazed eyes peeking through the door and his demented phone calls gave me the willies.

Speaking of willies I rewatched The Deliberate Stranger (1986) about Ted Bundy the other day, I remember when it first aired on TV as a two-part mini series. Back then splitting a 3-hour movie into two parts made sense, but trying to watch it all in one go is a labor. It's so badly drawn out that about halfway through I fell asleep, I was less than wowed by Mark Harmon. He was considered a sex symbol back then but not my type, maybe if he had been I would have tried to stay awake. Heh.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I have typed in lately " Donald Sutherland movies " and have enjoyed the results for the most part. I did watch The Assignment " even with Ben Kingsley it was a tough time.
I also watched 3 Laura Linney movies, all were good..she was in my head because of Ozark, which I read is cancelled..?
I will put this out there..The Weight of Gold,narrated by Michael Phelps,it's pretty heavy and will probably make you think about the doping area of this site, but I think it's worth watching.

Love Donald Sutherland and Tubi has The Assignment for free right now, so I'll try to catch it. Would also like to see The Weight of Gold, while I never particularly cared for Michael Phelps this doc sounds promising.