Movie Thread

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes The Eagle Has Landed has not dated well but when I saw it in the 70s I thought it was okay. Patton was a much better movie obviously. Scott and Brando had reputations for being notoriously difficult on set and would drive producers, directors and actors crazy with their antics and self indulgence although I never heard anyone deny their talent. They also both had deeply troubled personal lives as well it seems.

Yes, I had read that Scott had been an alcoholic, so while filming Patton his coworkers were told not to drink around him. And Brando had his own issues, sometimes it's best not to know too much about actors and their real lives because it can ruin the illusion they are trying to portray on screen. Speaking of Brando...

I watched Last Tango in Paris yesterday, oof. It's definitely art house, the whole story was allegedly based on Bertolucci's fantasies. Ok, that might raise an eyebrow, but, adults can be complicated, and it's clear both lead characters were damaged people. Apparently the rape seen had been simulated, but the actress felt like she had been raped because the scene wasn't in the script. So it supposedly came as an unfortunate surprise. And Brando too had said there was a scene where he felt uncomfortable being in the nude, but that scene had been cut out.

Well, at least I can say I saw it, but much like Irreversible (2002) it's a movie I don't need to see again. Brando was good though, and I did enjoy seeing all those old Citroens. So there's that.

 

[BlueRoads]

I watched the Umbrella Academy, it was really nice. Nice story, Ellen Page was good and I liked the haunted junkie-dead brother connection. I liked the soundtrack as well, pretty much my taste.

But sometimes I feel so old. Like I've seen everything before. I want to see a film with children's or teen's eyes again, getting pulled in, not knowing what's happening, afraid not to be able to take the horror, spiders in my stomach, not able or willing to speak to the person next to me, ashamed, naked. Only some actors still speak to me: the tenderness of a look, the range of the human voice.
About stories, I feel like: oh, yeah, I like it, the trust issue, always gets me... Like I'm watching myself watching. And the cinematography today appears so conservative, pragmatic.
I'm film-depressed. Maybe I just need a cinema-visit.

 

[movingtarget]

Yes, I had read that Scott had been an alcoholic, so while filming Patton his coworkers were told not to drink around him. And Brando had his own issues, sometimes it's best not to know too much about actors and their real lives because it can ruin the illusion they are trying to portray on screen. Speaking of Brando...

I watched Last Tango in Paris yesterday, oof. It's definitely art house, the whole story was allegedly based on Bertolucci's fantasies. Ok, that might raise an eyebrow, but, adults can be complicated, and it's clear both lead characters were damaged people. Apparently the rape seen had been simulated, but the actress felt like she had been raped because the scene wasn't in the script. So it supposedly came as an unfortunate surprise. And Brando too had said there was a scene where he felt uncomfortable being in the nude, but that scene had been cut out.

Well, at least I can say I saw it, but much like Irreversible (2002) it's a movie I don't need to see again. Brando was good though, and I did enjoy seeing all those old Citroens. So there's that.

Yes can't say I want to see either film again really especially Irreversible which was powerful but disturbing. Have only seen one other Gaspar Noe movie called I Stand Alone which was also a tough watch without being as explicit. Interesting film maker all the same.

Fun watching some of those movies from the 70s with their fashions, house interiors and cars !

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes can't say I want to see either film again really especially Irreversible which was powerful but disturbing. Have only seen one other Gaspar Noe movie called I Stand Alone which was also a tough watch without being as explicit. Interesting film maker all the same.

Fun watching some of those movies from the 70s with their fashions, house interiors and cars !

I WANT! >>

I was just a wee child during the 70s, but I love watching movies from that era because they get me all sentimental when I see the cars and interior decor and such, though, I also think the interiors must have smelled terribly of musty smoke. Think even during the 80s people still smoked on planes and in hospitals, nowadays movie characters only smoke when they are playing the villain.

Ok, back to movie talk about films where just one viewing is enough - don't know about you, but I needed to see Deliverance (1972) only once. I know it's a landmark picture, but I was just so repulsed by the whole thing I definitely don't care to see it again.

 

[movingtarget]

I WANT! >>

I was just a wee child during the 70s, but I love watching movies from that era because they get me all sentimental when I see the cars and interior decor and such, though, I also think the interiors must have smelled terribly of musty smoke. Think even during the 80s people still smoked on planes and in hospitals, nowadays movie characters only smoke when they are playing the villain.

Ok, back to movie talk about films where just one viewing is enough - don't know about you, but I needed to see Deliverance (1972) only once. I know it's a landmark picture, but I was just so repulsed by the whole thing I definitely don't care to see it again.

Have to admit I saw Deliverance a few times simply because it was played on free to air TV quite often. I didn't find it quite as disturbing as Irreversible. The book was good as well. John Boorman made some very good movies. Others included Excalibur and The Emerald Forest.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Have to admit I saw Deliverance a few times simply because it was played on free to air TV quite often. I didn't find it quite as disturbing as Irreversible. The book was good as well. John Boorman made some very good movies. Others included Excalibur and The Emerald Forest.

Excalibur is good, I have the dvd. (I only own dvds of movies I really, really like.) I'll have to watch it again just so I don't have to think about Deliverance.

Speaking of charming fantasy movies one I at first wasn't sure I would like but ended up loving years ago was Willow (1988) with Val Kilmer. Whatever happened to his career? He had some good roles there for a while.

And another lovely fantasy is 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) with Tony Randall. Think nowadays it would be considered racist and controversial because of cultural appropriation, or whatever the kids are calling it these days.

 

[jmdirt]

Anybody seen the Island of Dr. Moreau ('70s version)? I remember seeing it in the early '80s and being intrigued. I wonder what I would think of the movie now?

 

[movingtarget]

Anybody seen the Island of Dr. Moreau ('70s version)? I remember seeing it in the early '80s and being intrigued. I wonder what I would think of the movie now?

I remember seeeing some of the latest version and it looked pretty bad. The director was canned, scenes were reshot, actors were going crazy ! Marlon Brando was in it with Val Kilmer ! Can't remember the 70s version. The original with Charles Laughton is supposed to be good. Don't think I ever saw it but it horrified audiences back in the day ! May have to check it out. Think it was called Island of the Lost Souls.

 

[movingtarget]

Excalibur is good, I have the dvd. (I only own dvds of movies I really, really like.) I'll have to watch it again just so I don't have to think about Deliverance.

Speaking of charming fantasy movies one I at first wasn't sure I would like but ended up loving years ago was Willow (1988) with Val Kilmer. Whatever happened to his career? He had some good roles there for a while.

And another lovely fantasy is 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) with Tony Randall. Think nowadays it would be considered racist and controversial because of cultural appropriation, or whatever the kids are calling it these days.

Yes the Dr Lao movie was always popular. It was quite good. Never saw Willow but it seems that Kilmer derailed his late career and had a difficult reputation with directors. Even worse he over did the face surgery and like Micky Rourke spoiled his natural good looks. I saw him in a movie last week and didn't even realize it was him ! Think he had some health issues as well. I didn't think he was very good as Batman but he was quite good as Jim Morrison in The Doors. He was good in Thunderheart where he played a detective investigating a murder on a Sioux reservation. Sam Sheppard was also in it. it seems that Kilmer is mostly in low budget movies these days which happens to a lot of actors as they get older. Didn't realize he was was 60 years old.

 

[jmdirt]

Yes the Dr Lao movie was always popular. It was quite good. Never saw Willow but it seems that Kilmer derailed his late career and had a difficult reputation with directors. Even worse he over did the face surgery and like Micky Rourke spoiled his natural good looks. I saw him in a movie last week and didn't even realize it was him ! Think he had some health issues as well. I didn't think he was very good as Batman but he was quite good as Jim Morrison in The Doors. He was good in Thunderheart where he played a detective investigating a murder on a Sioux reservation. Sam Sheppard was also in it. it seems that Kilmer is mostly in low budget movies these days which happens to a lot of actors as they get older. Didn't realize he was was 60 years old.

I agree.

 

[jmdirt]

I remember seeeing some of the latest version and it looked pretty bad. The director was canned, scenes were reshot, actors were going crazy ! Marlon Brando was in it with Val Kilmer ! Can't remember the 70s version. The original with Charles Laughton is supposed to be good. Don't think I ever saw it but it horrified audiences back in the day ! May have to check it out. Think it was called Island of the Lost Souls.

I knew that it was an old story, but I had no idea how old...it was based on a 1896 Wells novel. Burt Lancaster was the 'star' in the '77 version.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau

 

[movingtarget]

I knew that it was an old story, but I had no idea how old...it was based on a 1896 Wells novel. Burt Lancaster was the 'star' in the '77 version.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau

Ah yes I remember the Lancaster version now. Lancaster was good in most things sometimes great. Where to start ? The Birdman of Alcatrazz, Sweet Smell of Success, Lawman, Elmer Gantry, The Rainmaker there were many great ones. Speaking of HG Wells there is a new version of War of The Worlds coming out soon on TV which looks interesting.. The English TV version from last year was a bit disappointing. As for Lancaster's version of The Island of Dr Moreau I thought it was okay but I haven't seen it for many years. I thought the Tom Cruise movie version of War of the Worlds wasn't too great but it had some good moments.

 

[movingtarget]

Watched a French movie called Amour (2012) made by the Austrian film maker Michael Haneke. A challenging movie for some because of the subject matter. A story about a couple's challenge with old age and illness and at what point does ongoing suffering become unbearable and cruel. Not a happy film but superbly acted and directed and totally unsentimental. It deservedly won the best film award at the Cannes Film Festival and was critically acclaimed just about everywhere.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes the Dr Lao movie was always popular. It was quite good. Never saw Willow but it seems that Kilmer derailed his late career and had a difficult reputation with directors. Even worse he over did the face surgery and like Micky Rourke spoiled his natural good looks. I saw him in a movie last week and didn't even realize it was him ! Think he had some health issues as well. I didn't think he was very good as Batman but he was quite good as Jim Morrison in The Doors. He was good in Thunderheart where he played a detective investigating a murder on a Sioux reservation. Sam Sheppard was also in it. it seems that Kilmer is mostly in low budget movies these days which happens to a lot of actors as they get older. Didn't realize he was was 60 years old.

Kilmer seems to have a mixed reputation, some actors liked working with him and some didn't. And I wouldn't recognize him nowadays either, didn't realize he was Native American?



He allegedly had had throat cancer and barely has his old voice now, I just found out. So maybe that is why he is wearing scarfs these days, or, at least in pictures he always is.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Watched a French movie called Amour (2012) made by the Austrian film maker Michael Haneke. A challenging movie for some because of the subject matter. A story about a couple's challenge with old age and illness and at what point does ongoing suffering become unbearable and cruel. Not a happy film but superbly acted and directed and totally unsentimental. It deservedly won the best film award at the Cannes Film Festival and was critically acclaimed just about everywhere.

I read the synopsis, the film sounds quite heavy. But then aging hardly is for wusses, as the saying goes.

Normally I would watch it because I worked with the elderly for over ten years and am familiar with some of the situations, but being my dad had a stroke of his own a while back and has vascular dementia as a consequence it's not really something I would be up for at this time. It would just be too real.

On my end I watched Scanners (1981) the other day - so that is where that iconic head exploding scene comes from. lol!

Overall the premise is interesting, but it could perhaps have been executed a little better. But for fans of sci-fi and Cronenberg it's definitely a must-see, for its time the special effects are quite good.

I also watched The Hindenburg (1975) yesterday, this version of events is largely conjecture. But it's still a suspenseful and enjoyable disaster flick, it was fun seeing some of the big stars of yesteryear again. (Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, Burgess Meredith, etc.)

 

[movingtarget]

I read the synopsis, the film sounds quite heavy. But then aging hardly is for wusses, as the saying goes.

Normally I would watch it because I worked with the elderly for over ten years and am familiar with some of the situations, but being my dad had a stroke of his own a while back and has vascular dementia as a consequence it's not really something I would be up for at this time. It would just be too real.

On my end I watched Scanners (1981) the other day - so that is where that iconic head exploding scene comes from. lol!

Overall the premise is interesting, but it could perhaps have been executed a little better. But for fans of sci-fi and Cronenberg it's definitely a must-see, for its time the special effects are quite good.

I also watched The Hindenburg (1975) yesterday, this version of events is largely conjecture. But it's still a suspenseful and enjoyable disaster flick, it was fun seeing some of the big stars of yesteryear again. (Anne Bancroft, George C. Scott, Burgess Meredith, etc.)

Tthe Hindenburg wasn't bad, good cast, and Scanners was an 80s VHS classic ! One of Cronenberg's early films. Maybe a little dated but pretty good with one of Michael Ironsides better performances along with his scene chewing in Starship Troopers ! Scanners was the movie that got Hollywood's notice because until then his movies had been Canadian indy movies. I think his next film was The Dead Zone the Stephen King adaptation and as a cult director many thought he was an odd choice but he did a fine job and that set him on his way in Hollywood. One of Christopher Walken's best performances and Martin Sheen was also good. I thought the novel was one of King's best.

Amour is a great film but yes it's a tough watch.

 

[jmdirt]

Another one to add to the '70s rock scene, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.

There was quite a bit that I didn't know about her.

 

[movingtarget]

Another one to add to the '70s rock scene, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.

There was quite a bit that I didn't know about her.

Always liked her voice and she had a great band. Some good live footage on YouTube. Is she the one who has an illness and can't sing anymore ?

 

[jmdirt]

Always liked her voice and she had a great band. Some good live footage on YouTube. Is she the one who has an illness and can't sing anymore ?

Supranuclear pasly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_supranuclear_palsy

 

[movingtarget]

This was better than the actual movie..........too funny

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Cg-upCQD8


I remember trying to watch this but I only made it halfway !

 

[Tricycle Rider]

This was better than the actual movie..........too funny

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Cg-upCQD8


I remember trying to watch this but I only made it halfway !

I've never seen it, at least I don't think I have. But I'll give this vid a looky, and if I can find a copy of the movie itself I'll put it on my watch list.

EDIT: I just watched this video - ha! Sometimes the trivia about the making of a movie is more fun than the movie itself.

And now I simply must find a way to watch this disaster of a flick (for free), I wanna see how far I can make it.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Blade Runner (1982) - It's been a few years since I've seen it, I forgot how much I had forgotten. It's one of my fave sci-fi films for the scenery and atmosphere alone, it's remarkable how even in hi-def I hadn't noticed any of the sets or props looking like they had been made of cardboard.

There are hundreds of fun factoids about this movie, some of the more interesting ones are:

Initially the workprint was four hours long, mercifully the editors went to town and trimmed it down. It's true the pacing is slow, dark, and with little action, four hours of this would have been just too much.

Harrison Ford did not enjoy working on this movie, evidently Ridley Scott was such a perfectionist that some work days were 13 hours long because of retakes. Also, Scott, being from the UK, had different methods of filming and directing, in some cases he had to adjust to Hollywood's way of making films.

The movie did poorly at the box office upon initial release, partly due to coming out at the same time as E.T. (I still haven't seen E.T., nothing about it piques my interest.) Apparently The Thing (1982) had also suffered at the box office because of *** E.T.

Some of the Spinners (the fun flying cars) are still on display at a couple of locations.

There are tons more factoids about Blade Runner, if you are interested you can find them at IMDb. It's hard to think that this movie did poorly initially, nowadays it's definitely one of the best sci-fi films out there.

 

[movingtarget]

Blade Runner (1982) - It's been a few years since I've seen it, I forgot how much I had forgotten. It's one of my fave sci-fi films for the scenery and atmosphere alone, it's remarkable how even in hi-def I hadn't noticed any of the sets or props looking like they had been made of cardboard.

There are hundreds of fun factoids about this movie, some of the more interesting ones are:

Initially the workprint was four hours long, mercifully the editors went to town and trimmed it down. It's true the pacing is slow, dark, and with little action, four hours of this would have been just too much.

Harrison Ford did not enjoy working on this movie, evidently Ridley Scott was such a perfectionist that some work days were 13 hours long because of retakes. Also, Scott, being from the UK, had different methods of filming and directing, in some cases he had to adjust to Hollywood's way of making films.

The movie did poorly at the box office upon initial release, partly due to coming out at the same time as E.T. (I still haven't seen E.T., nothing about it piques my interest.) Apparently The Thing (1982) had also suffered at the box office because of *** E.T.

Some of the Spinners (the fun flying cars) are still on display at a couple of locations.

There are tons more factoids about Blade Runner, if you are interested you can find them at IMDb. It's hard to think that this movie did poorly initially, nowadays it's definitely one of the best sci-fi films out there.

Yes a great movie, along with Alien it's Scott's best work. He made other good movies but those two sit above the others. It seems that ET came along at the right time after the economic crash and dark movies were not the flavour of the month so The Thing and Blade Runner tanked at the box office compared to ET. I thought ET was not bad but nothing compared to the other two in quality. Nice performances by the kids in ET including Drew Barrymore. When ET was re-released years later some bright spark decided that men carrying guns was bad and they should be carry walky talkies instead so some manipulation was made. Our gobsmacking PC culture at it's worst. A few seconds in a movie that didn't matter to the story at all. Sometimes you have to wonder. It was a family movie and the gun scene didn't change that and no one got shot anyway !

It seems that Harrison Ford also did not like working with Sean Young who was making her first movie at age 19 and had her mother on the set. Young had a reputation later for being difficult, she was also involved in a stalking case against James Woods her ex boyfriend. Like Val Kilmer she pretty much derailed her career after appearing in some box office successes like No Way Out with Kevin Costner. Rutger Hauer also wrote the final speech he made in the movie which I thought worked well in that scene with Ford. Hauer was always proud of his work on Blade Runner and unlike Ford he loved working with Scott. These days Ford seems to have a more positive view of Blade Runner especially after he made the sequel.

The Thing was also a very good movie, probably John Caprenter's best movie along with the original Halloween. One of Kurt Russell's best performances as well. Carpenter's movies took a dive after the 80s unfortunately, his later movies were mostly mediocre. I have to admit I was disappointed by the Alien prequels Ridley Scott was involved in, Alien Prometheus and Alien Covenant were not near the quality of the early movies in the franchise. I think he might have been better off directing the Blade Runner sequel instead but I still think that Dennis Villeneuve did a good job on that. Villeneuve has the two Dune movies being released soon which should be very interesting.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes a great movie, along with Alien it's Scott's best work. He made other good movies but those two sit above the others. It seems that ET came along at the right time after the economic crash and dark movies were not the flavour of the month so The Thing and Blade Runner tanked at the box office compared to ET. I thought ET was not bad but nothing compared to the other two in quality. Nice performances by the kids in ET including Drew Barrymore. When ET was re-released years later some bright spark decided that men carrying guns was bad and they should be carry walky talkies instead so some manipulation was made. Our gobsmacking PC culture at it's worst. A few seconds in a movie that didn't matter to the story at all. Sometimes you have to wonder. It was a family movie and the gun scene didn't change that and no one got shot anyway !

It seems that Harrison Ford also did not like working with Sean Young who was making her first movie at age 19 and had her mother on the set. Young had a reputation later for being difficult, she was also involved in a stalking case against James Woods her ex boyfriend. Like Val Kilmer she pretty much derailed her career after appearing in some box office successes like No Way Out with Kevin Costner. Rutger Hauer also wrote the final speech he made in the movie which I thought worked well in that scene with Ford. Hauer was always proud of his work on Blade Runner and unlike Ford he loved working with Scott. These days Ford seems to have a more positive view of Blade Runner especially after he made the sequel.

The Thing was also a very good movie, probably John Caprenter's best movie along with the original Halloween. One of Kurt Russell's best performances as well. Carpenter's movies took a dive after the 80s unfortunately, his later movies were mostly mediocre. I have to admit I was disappointed by the Alien prequels Ridley Scott was involved in, Alien Prometheus and Alien Covenant were not near the quality of the early movies in the franchise. I think he might have been better off directing the Blade Runner sequel instead but I still think that Dennis Villeneuve did a good job on that. Villeneuve has the two Dune movies being released soon which should be very interesting.

Are you serious? That's just absurd!

Geez, speaking of PC culture, for some pure dumb fun I watched National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011), even though it came out only nine years ago it would never fly nowadays. It manages to be offensive toward just about everyone... I liked it though, simply because I knew what it was trying to be and I didn't have to clutch my pearls each time I saw something that might be deemed inappropriate in today's climate. (Glad I'm not Gen Z, are these kids allowed to laugh at anything?)

Another movie that I'm not so sure knew what it was trying to be though that I watched earlier today was Split Second (1992) with Rutger Hauer. Oh dear, was it a thriller? Horror? Sci-fi? Cheesy comedy? All of the above?

I was hoping it would be something tense and suspenseful like Blade Runner because the scenery was convincing, but the plot and dialogue turned to *** fairly quickly and I had a hard time finishing the movie. With about 30 minutes to go I wanted to give up because the flick was just so dumb, instead I ended up doing my nails and not really paying attention. So I'm not even sure how the movie ended. At least Rutger Hauer looked like he had fun starring in this, so there's that.

 

[movingtarget]

Are you serious? That's just absurd!

Geez, speaking of PC culture, for some pure dumb fun I watched National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011), even though it came out only nine years ago it would never fly nowadays. It manages to be offensive toward just about everyone... I liked it though, simply because I knew what it was trying to be and I didn't have to clutch my pearls each time I saw something that might be deemed inappropriate in today's climate. (Glad I'm not Gen Z, are these kids allowed to laugh at anything?)

Another movie that I'm not so sure knew what it was trying to be though that I watched earlier today was Split Second (1992) with Rutger Hauer. Oh dear, was it a thriller? Horror? Sci-fi? Cheesy comedy? All of the above?

I was hoping it would be something tense and suspenseful like Blade Runner because the scenery was convincing, but the plot and dialogue turned to *** fairly quickly and I had a hard time finishing the movie. With about 30 minutes to go I wanted to give up because the flick was just so dumb, instead I ended up doing my nails and not really paying attention. So I'm not even sure how the movie ended. At least Rutger Hauer looked like he had fun starring in this, so there's that.

Don't remember much about Split Second. Hauer made some good movies but most of his best work was in European movies. Blade Runner was the stand out Hollywood movie for him, Blind Fury was okay as was Nighthawks, he made a few dogs as well. He made a version of Dracula which was supposed to be pretty bad. One of his later movies was Hobo With A Shotgun, not exactly an inspiring title, but I heard that it was entertaining trash ! Apart from Blade Runner, his best starring roles that I saw were in The Hitcher,The Osterman Weekend and Ladyhawke. He made a lot of movies post Blade Runner but mainly in smaller roles. Escape From Sobibor was a pretty good TV movie. Wanted : Dead or Alive and The Blood of Heroes were entertaining B Graders. Flesh and Blood was also supposed to be good but I heard it was very violent, set in the middle ages. That is one I will chase up eventually. Didn't really see much of the National Lampoon movies, just bits and pieces. Some of the old Bill Murray movies were stupid but funny.