Now watching...

[Aggie87]

I tried to watch "Yellowbeard" last night. Checked it out from my local library, as I thought I remembered it being funny. With a cast including half of Python, Cheech & Chong, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, and Madeline Khan, how could I go wrong? After viewing it, my opinion changed to "how could the producers have gone so wrong? This flick STUNK!!! Not funny, not clever, nothin'.

Also recently watched "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", back to back. I'm not sure how important it would've been to see Clerks, Mallrats, and/or Chasing Amy first, but these were definitely entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny in parts, and just plain wierd in others. Dogma moreso than the the other.

[Guest Mnytime]

The Searchers is in my top 10 and is my #1 Western.  Though the only way to see this on TV is in WideScreen.

Ford is in my top 2 or 3 U.S. directors.

John Ford is to films what Duke Ellington was to jazz. Both had a long,

successful career. Both surrounded themselves with a stock company of

actors/musicians. Both were creative until their final years.

Also watched 'My Darling Clementine' recently, another remarkable Ford

western. Even a non-Ford regular like Victor Mature (a so-so actor) is just superb

and his Doc Holliday part is just in the same league as Henry Fonda's Wyatt Earp.

Even though he is famous today for the Westerns he had classics in every genre of films. You don't see that much anymore these days. Most directors these days stick to a single genre for most of their career. At the most two.

I believe he still holds the record for most Oscars by a Director with 4.

Edited June 12, 2003 by Mnytime

[Guest Mnytime]

I tried to watch "Yellowbeard" last night. Checked it out from my local library, as I thought I remembered it being funny. With a cast including half of Python, Cheech & Chong, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, and Madeline Khan, how could I go wrong? After viewing it, my opinion changed to "how could the producers have gone so wrong? This flick STUNK!!! Not funny, not clever, nothin'.

Also recently watched "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", back to back. I'm not sure how important it would've been to see Clerks, Mallrats, and/or Chasing Amy first, but these were definitely entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny in parts, and just plain wierd in others. Dogma moreso than the the other.

Feldman died making Yellowbeard. Cheech and Chong's first two films really are the only one's worth anything.

I didn't like Jay and Bob myself but if you watched all the others in order first the jokes would have made more sense to you.

Clerks is the best of the bunch. IMHO

[BruceH]

Also, FORCE OF EVIL with John Garfield. I don't know what I'd do without TCM now that AMC has gone down the toilet.

Force of Evil is one of my favorite films! And I agree Garfield doesn't quite get his due, even now. He was literally hounded to death by HUAC. Sad. But that film also has an excellent score, great b&w cinematography, and Abraham Polonsky's direction is top-notch. A real gem.

Last film I saw was Finding Nemo, with the family. Pixar are about the only ones out there making good, entertaining family films.

[slsmcgrew]

slsmcgrew, What did you think of "Old School?" I just rented it, and apart from over the top Will, found it pretty weak. One I did enjoy recently on DVD was "Lantana."

I have to admit that I haven't quite watched it yet. I have a nasty habit of buying DVD'S because I think I might like it or the trailers have sucked me in. The husband just

[jacman]

i got up early (before the kids), and watched Billy Jack. i'm 44 and i still like that movie.

tonight after everyone has gone to sleep:

An American In Paris.

[Guest Mnytime]

American in Paris is such a classic. I had a thing for Leslie Caron after seeing this film. See owns and runs a B&B in France these days.

She was all of 17 when she made the film.

It cost $2.7 million to make this in 1951, which in today's money is $19.27 million. $542,000 ($3.8 million today) of the $2.7 went into the final 15 minute Ballet number.

I really love the way the incorporated Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's "Chocolat dansant dans un bar" into the final.

Edited June 12, 2003 by Mnytime

[Guest Mnytime]

Watching White Heat on TCM with Cagney playing one of his best roles. A psychotic killer who has an Oedipus Complex.

On Top Of the World Ma!

[ghost of miles]

i got up early (before the kids), and watched Billy Jack. i'm 44 and i still like that movie.

I was just talking about that movie with some co-workers the other day after jokingly posting Billy Jack as a liberal talk-show counterpart to O'Reilly & co. in the Al Franken thread. Yeah, that movie really grabbed me as a kid... haven't watched it in years, but I still remember the dramatic closing scene and "One Tin Soldier." Didn't that come out the same year as DIRTY HARRY? Ideological avengers were in in '71, evidently.

[jacman]

and everybody giving the 'upraised fist', as the cops lead Billy to the police cruiser. my, how idealistic the movie (and I) was then.

the first Billy Jack movie (Born Losers), was cool. more fighting, less political stuff, tho they make lots of references to Billy's service in Viet Nam. for any one interested:

http://www.billyjack.com/

[J Larsen]

Here's what I've watched over the last couple weeks:

Y Tu Mama Tambien -entertaining enough, but vastly overrated IMHO

Insomnia -

Harry Potter 2 - not a bad movie, it passed a couple hours while I wasn't feeling well

Blue Velvet - I hadn't seen this in five years or so. It may be Lynch's best.

Insomnia - An interesting spin on the police-detective genre. Easily recommended to people who like Inspector Morse or even, say, Law & Order, etc.

Forgot to mention that Robin Williams does an admiral job with the "bad guy" role in Insomnia. After seeing him waste his talents in so many sugary roles over the years, it was really nice to see him in a grittier role. Maybe I should check out Two Hour Photo as well.

Edited June 13, 2003 by J Larsen

[Guest Mnytime]

I would suggest seeing the 1997 original version of Insomnia directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. The Hollywood version really pales in comparision. IMHO

[J Larsen]

Thanks Mny, I'll check that out. The reason I got the remake is that I wasn't feeling too well so I didn't feel like going to the video store and it was the most promising selection on pay-per-view at the time.

[brownie]

Watching White Heat on TCM with Cagney playing one of his best roles. A psychotic killer who has an Oedipus Complex.

On Top Of the World Ma!

'White Heat is another one of my Top Five Best Films ever list.

Don't think there is a better Cagney appearance anywhere.

Really 'Top of the World'.

[BERIGAN]

Watching White Heat on TCM with Cagney playing one of his best roles.  A psychotic killer who has an Oedipus Complex.

On Top Of the World Ma!

'White Heat is another one of my Top Five Best Films ever list.

Don't think there is a better Cagney appearance anywhere.

Really 'Top of the World'.

Brownie, is there a channel similar to Turner Classic Movies you can watch overseas,(Or TCM via Satellite) or do they still run European and American "classic" films on commercial TV???

You used to see old American films on local commercial channels in the States til the mid 80's, then it seemed all channels decided color films, no matter how crappy, was better than ANY classic film...now kids, especially without cable will never get a chance to see White Heat...old movies are a dirty word with many these days.. No joke, in the mid 90's there was a girl I knew(And almost dated) who said black and white TV hurt her eyes Now you know why, in spite of her great ass, I never asked her out!

[Guest Mnytime]

You should be able to get to TCM on Satellite.

http://alt.tcm.turner.com/GET_TCM/satellite.htm

http://alt.tcm.turner.com/MAIL/gettingtcm.htm

[brownie]

Berigan asked:

Brownie, is there a channel similar to Turner Classic Movies you can watch overseas,(Or TCM via Satellite) or do they still run European and American "classic" films on commercial TV???

You used to see old American films on local commercial channels in the States til the mid 80's, then it seemed all channels decided color films, no matter how crappy, was better than ANY classic film...now kids, especially without cable will never get a chance to see White Heat...old movies are a dirty word with many these days.. No joke, in the mid 90's there was a girl I knew(And almost dated) who said black and white TV hurt her eyes Now you know why, in spite of her great ass, I never asked her out!

Yes, we even have TCM in France. There is a dozen film channels on cable TV here. At least,

three of them have a lot of classic black/white films, mostly Hollywood films. French movie

freaks still love those films.

You can have them in original language (with or without French subtitles) or in French

versions which I try to avoid. Last week, one of those movie channels played Allan Dwan's

'The Sands of Iwo Jima' in French only (obviously, the original language copy was not

available) and John Wayne speaking in French was not my cup of tea.

And all these movie channels play these films uninterrupted. No commercials as on so many

US TV channels.

Not sure I would have been as particular as you about that girl. When I was still chasing girls

(that was years ago), I would have taken her out to see a film in glorious colours.

[Jad]

Here's what I've watched over the last couple weeks:

Y Tu Mama Tambien -entertaining enough, but vastly overrated IMHO

Insomnia -

Harry Potter 2 - not a bad movie, it passed a couple hours while I wasn't feeling well

Blue Velvet - I hadn't seen this in five years or so. It may be Lynch's best.

Insomnia - An interesting spin on the police-detective genre. Easily recommended to people who like Inspector Morse or even, say, Law & Order, etc.

Forgot to mention that Robin Williams does an admiral job with the "bad guy" role in Insomnia. After seeing him waste his talents in so many sugary roles over the years, it was really nice to see him in a grittier role. Maybe I should check out Two Hour Photo as well.

Saw Robin Williams in One Hour Photo the other night. He does an admirable job of being creepy. I'm a little tired of his comic schtick, but with this and Insomnia and the small roll he had in Dead Again, it seems he could step quite easily into more dramatic roles.

Also, satisfying my HK action jones lately was Tsui Hark's Vampire Killers. It's making the rounds of midnight showings, but I think it's already available on DVD.

[ghost of miles]

As I usually stick with the intellectual stuff, I will more than likely be viewing something Monty Pyhton this weekend.

This past weekend--Season 1 of Python on DVD. "Upper Class Twit of the Year" still funny the third time around.

Also watched the two-disc re-issue of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN that Berigan alluded to in another thread. It's fascinating to watch films from that 1950 period like this one and SUNSET BOULEVARD, with their respective self-referential takes on Hollywood--an interesting historical vantage point, as the glory days of the studio system were starting to wane. What was the first self-referential Hollywood film? The first Crosby/Hope road movie?

[catesta]

Cool Hand Luke.

Edited July 28, 2003 by catesta

[ghost of miles]

and everybody giving the 'upraised fist', as the cops lead Billy to the police cruiser. my, how idealistic the movie (and I) was then.

Yeah, it gave me chills when I was 13!

Last week my wife & I watched THE WOMEN (1939). Interesting comedy with an all-female cast, centered around the reactions of several women who find out their husbands are cheating on them. It's black and white, but during a fashion-show sequence it suddenly bursts into glorious Technicolor... for no apparent aesthetic reason that I could figure out, other than showing off. The ideology of it was kind of crazy, too--really progressive on occasion, really essentialist most of the time.

[Johnny E]

Watching White Heat on TCM with Cagney playing one of his best roles. A psychotic killer who has an Oedipus Complex.

On Top Of the World Ma!

One of the classic movies of all time. The scene when he goes nuts in the prison cafeteria is classic. He slides and stumbles all the way down the table and when he gets to the end he slugs the last dumb ass right in the face.

This and Public Enemy are my two favorite Cagney's.

"Made it ma', top of the world!"

[Johnny E]

I been watching the Sopranos on DVD obsessively for the past week or so. I'm done with the first season and halfway through the second.

How 'bout that Paulie Walnuts?

[brownie]

Last week my wife & I watched THE WOMEN (1939). Interesting comedy with an all-female cast, centered around the reactions of several women who find out their husbands are cheating on them. It's black and white, but during a fashion-show sequence it suddenly bursts into glorious Technicolor... for no apparent aesthetic reason that I could figure out, other than showing off. The ideology of it was kind of crazy, too--really progressive on occasion, really essentialist most of the time.

All the leading ladies in the film (Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and others)

were afraid of the 'glorious' Technicolor process that MGM was trying to push.

The Technicolor system was still in its infancy at the time.

The ladies who felt safer with the way they were photographed in black and

white won.

The MGM executives just threw in that Technicolor fashion show to promote

their new system.

[BERIGAN]

Last week my wife & I watched THE WOMEN (1939).  Interesting comedy with an all-female cast, centered around the reactions of several women who find out their husbands are cheating on them.  It's black and white, but during a fashion-show sequence it suddenly bursts into glorious Technicolor... for no apparent aesthetic reason that I could figure out, other than showing off.  The ideology of it was kind of crazy, too--really progressive on occasion, really essentialist most of the time.

All the leading ladies in the film (Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and others)

were afraid of the 'glorious' Technicolor process that MGM was trying to push.

The Technicolor system was still in its infancy at the time.

The ladies who felt safer with the way they were photographed in black and

white won.

The MGM executives just threw in that Technicolor fashion show to promote

their new system.

Interesting talk about the Women and Technicolor....The Women (Recently on DVD with an alternate fashion show sequence, I haven't seen it, just read about it) Can't make up it's mind, early feminist tale, or women are animals, bitches, as Joan Crawford alludes to....but still a lot of fun!

Speaking of Joan, she is in the "classic" The Ice Follies of 1939, which has a big Technicolor scene as well....Never really thought about it before, but MGM seemed a bit late on the bandwagon of Color...I think The Wizard of Oz was their first full length Technicolor film.....other studios had full length films earlier(WB with Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938, the beautiful The Garden of Allah from 1936-which seems to be out of print already? )It was very expensive to shoot a film in Color...an interesting site I found on the web with lots o info on color and film in general....

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/t...echnicolor1.htm

Edited August 7, 2003 by BERIGAN