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| gromit |
 Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 11:15 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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| Really enjoyed Seconds, John Frankenheimer's 1966 sort of sci-fi drama. Rock Hudson is terrific in this weird film. A lot of interesting James Wong Howe compositions and close-ups and fisheye lenses for POV shots, and unsettling low angle shots. It really all comes off to make for a quite unique film. Kind of like aTwilight Zone episode made into an arty avant-garde feature film. Even the presence of Rock Hudson works in that TZ guest-star manner. |
Last edited by gromit on Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 12:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Temple Grandin is an inspiration. Clare Danes did her justice. I saw it more of a story about a person who doesn't fit the mold. But who insists on being herself.
I have a grandson with autism. Susan Boyle just revealed she had been diagnosed with Aspergers. It is a fascinating spectrum of conditions and a window into the workings of the brain.
I just finished Grandin's latest book. She's brilliant and she's got the rare ability to explain how she thinks. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:43 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:24 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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R.I.P. Audrey Totter, who singlehandedly made Lady in the Lake almost watchable.
As for Seconds, I agree it's fascinating, but quite pretentious. Though Rock Hudson's presence certainly works, for me the movie runs a little out of steam once John Randolph, the actor who plays Hudson as an older man, leaves the scene. Randolph is the really terrific actor on board here. His supporting-actor performance of a John/Cheever/Updike/O'Hara-style character was award-worthy IMO, but the movie didn't get enough respect at the time. |
Last edited by billyweeds on Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:02 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Doing a private reading today of the screenplay of Miracle on 34th Street. I'm reading Kris Kringle in the second half of the screenplay. (Another actor lusted after it just as much as I did so he's reading the first half. Bah! Humbug!) |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:57 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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I signed up for Netflix Streaming yesterday. Of the fifty-eight films in my DVD queue, just five of them can be streamed. In "View Instantly", they give me a list of fifteen films they think I ought to watch, but I don't.
This is a major disappointment. I thought I would be virtually free of mailing DVDs. I hope I'm doing something wrong. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 1:58 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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yambu wrote: I signed up for Netflix Streaming yesterday. Of the fifty-eight films in my DVD queue, just five of them can be streamed. In "View Instantly", they give me a list of fifteen films they think I ought to watch, but I don't.
This is a major disappointment. I thought I would be virtually free of mailing DVDs. I hope I'm doing something wrong.
You and Joe should form a club. I won't be joining that club, after just streaming Lovelace, Bridegroom, and Frances Ha, all of which are at least (Lovelace) interesting and at most (Frances Ha) wonderful. I'm looking forward to Robot and Frank and several others. Go for it! |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 2:17 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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yambu wrote: I signed up for Netflix Streaming yesterday. Of the fifty-eight films in my DVD queue, just five of them can be streamed. In "View Instantly", they give me a list of fifteen films they think I ought to watch, but I don't.
This is a major disappointment. I thought I would be virtually free of mailing DVDs. I hope I'm doing something wrong.
I like Hulu's streaming service better than Netflix's. For one thing, they have some sort of streaming deal with Criterion. Netflix does have the "Story of Film" series that's been showing on TCM, which helped when I missed an episode. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:13 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Redbox has been pretty good here, at a few of the boxes, but "Frances Ha" mysteriously vanished from them after only a week. Unfathomable. My hope is that a competing kiosk-style company is setting up business here, and looks like they may try a little harder in the niche genres. The only bricks/mortar stores left in town are Blockbuster, and they just went belly up. Done in by kiosks and streaming video providers.
Robot and Frank is a hoot, though it has some improbable elements, and is best digested as allegorical. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:22 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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billyweeds wrote: Doing a private reading today of the screenplay of Miracle on 34th Street. I'm reading Kris Kringle in the second half of the screenplay. (Another actor lusted after it just as much as I did so he's reading the first half. Bah! Humbug!)
If you start plotting against him and he eventually dies in mysterious circumstances -- well, make sure you get it all on film.
Quote: As for Seconds, I agree it's fascinating, but quite pretentious. Though Rock Hudson's presence certainly works, for me the movie runs a little out of steam once John Randolph, the actor who plays Hudson as an older man, leaves the scene. Randolph is the really terrific actor on board here.
James Wong Howe deservedly got an Oscar nom for his cinematography, despite few actually liking the film at the time. I think the film goes in for a lot of arty effects and they all work really well. I thought all the supporting cast was very well-chosen, especially the guy who is the lead bureaucrat/face of the corporation, who reminded me a good deal of the (much later) Brasil.
Really I thought the whole film worked really well and I'm thinking it's something of a minor masterpiece. There was a deleted scene in which Rock goes to visit his daughter wherever she was in Cali. And the daughter was played by Frankenheimer's wife Evans Evans, while her husband was played by Leonard Nimoy. Unfortunately Frankenheimer searched for the negative of that deleted scene and couldn't find it. There is a still photo of Nimoy, Evans and Rock.
I was really impressed with Rock's acting in Seconds. He's damn good throughout and caps it off at the end with his frantic struggle which is pretty terrifying. I mean, Holy Shit, that was powerful and crazed.
Everybody should watch Seconds if they haven't.
Recently given a Criterion number, so should be Hulu-able. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:14 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| The French film "The Intouchables" is the true story of a billionaire quadriplegic and the wild black guy form Senegal whom he hires to take care of him. Mildly entertaining. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 7:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: I thought all the supporting cast was very well-chosen, especially the guy who is the lead bureaucrat/face of the corporation...
You're probably referring to Will Geer, a very well-known actor who I think was in The Waltons, among many, many other films and television programs. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:30 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Befade wrote: Temple Grandin is an inspiration. Clare Danes did her justice. I saw it more of a story about a person who doesn't fit the mold. But who insists on being herself.
I have a grandson with autism. Susan Boyle just revealed she had been diagnosed with Aspergers. It is a fascinating spectrum of conditions and a window into the workings of the brain.
I just finished Grandin's latest book. She's brilliant and she's got the rare ability to explain how she thinks.
I was checking it out on Amazon and was surprised at how many books she's written or collaborated on. I'd only known of four, but she has several times that many. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:14 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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billyweeds wrote: gromit wrote: I thought all the supporting cast was very well-chosen, especially the guy who is the lead bureaucrat/face of the corporation...
You're probably referring to Will Geer, a very well-known actor who I think was in The Waltons, among many, many other films and television programs.
No, Will Geer plays the corporate founder who acts like a benevolent old grandfather, but seems ready to kindly steamroll anyone who gets in his way. He's quite effective as well.
I was referring to the guy running the day-to-day stuff, "Mr. Ruby" played by Jeff Corey. His eyebrows alone made him seem off-kilter and he has that Dr. Strangelove/Brasil oddness about him which doesn't lapse into parody. Though the bizarre chicken-eating scene during an initial interview was borderline.
Listening to the director commentary, "Uncle Arnie, The Used Cow Dealer" was an actual business, and the boss ordering people around is the actual Uncle Arnie (aka Aaron Magidow as per IMDb). And that bacchanal wine harvest hootenanny was also a real event filled with the actual participants. I was surprised that these were actual human endeavors the filmmakers approached, paid off, and inserted a few film actors into. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:56 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Jeff Corey achieved quite a reputation in the acting community as a teacher. He was very respected. Don't know whether he's still with us or not.
P.S. Looks like the answer is no. This from Wikipedia:
"Jeff Corey (August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s." |
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