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| bartist |
 Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:40 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Brief SPOILERS for "All is Lost"
"All is Lost" - pure film action, pure film art. Bob shows exactly how I would like to be 77 years old. He's done the rugged individual in a wild place before, but his age brought something allegorical to this - you could see the story as death and rebirth.
And I learned something: container ships don't stop. Save your flares. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 4:49 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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Please Murder Me (1956).
Angela Lansbury & Raymond Burr in a noir sounded like a good idea.
But this is pretty much just a bad movie.
Raymond Burr is wooden, the plot is silly, the pacing is yawn-inducing, and a lot of the film seemed to be of television quality. Clunky screenwriting including dictation done twice, a letter which is read two or three times, and other poorly judged stylings. About the only thing good in the film was the lighting. Some effective use of shadows and patches of light.
And the guy who played the artist who comes in towards the end, Lamont Johnson, was pretty good in a bit part.
Not recommended. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:51 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: Please Murder Me (1956).
Angela Lansbury & Raymond Burr in a noir sounded like a good idea.
But this is pretty much just a bad movie.
Raymond Burr is wooden, the plot is silly, the pacing is yawn-inducing, and a lot of the film seemed to be of television quality. Clunky screenwriting including dictation done twice, a letter which is read two or three times, and other poorly judged stylings. About the only thing good in the film was the lighting. Some effective use of shadows and patches of light.
And the guy who played the artist who comes in towards the end, Lamont Johnson, was pretty good in a bit part.
Not recommended.
Agreed on everything, including Lamont Johnson, who later became a successful film and (mainly) television director.
Lansbury tried her damndest but couldn't make this lame-o script work. Her role was very under- and badly-written. Burr was, as noted, wooden. This was a foreshadowing of his almost equally wooden but enormously successful Perry Mason characterization. |
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| knox |
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:49 am |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1246
Location: St. Louis
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| Saw the original vers. (1969) of The Italian Job - must be one of the first movies to use the idea of mucking up traffic computers (and street cams) to aid a heist. The cliffhanger at the end was perfect, a comic classic. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:44 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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The Quincy Jones song helps, too. And the exploration of every possible place a Mini Cooper could go without getting stuck.
What I particularly love about the end of TIJ is what no one on the bus mentions. Gold bullion at one end, counterweight of crooks at the other, and it's obvious that there is simply no way to get the gold without dropping them all into the gorge. Caine's attempts to defy physics are hilarious, of course. Flattening yourself on the floor doesn't actually decrease your weight. And no one points out: if anyone steps off the bus, via the front door, then everyone else is dead. If everyone tries to jump out at once, there will be a logjam, and again, almost everyone dies. It's kind of similar to the famous logic problem, The Prisoner's Dilemma. Except the situation is worse, of course, because absent a pole and hook contrivance to gradually pull bullion from the back, they are completely fucked. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:12 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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More post-war/noirs online:
The Limping Man (1953) -- basically a sub-Hitchcock film. Not bad, with Lloyd Bridges as an American who seeks to rekindle a war romance 6 years later, only to get caught up in a world of intrigue, murder, blackmail. A few contrivances, especially regarding his girlfriend who is supposed to be a movie star, pilot/car racer and expert rifle shot.
I didn't care for the cheesy surprise ending much at all -- but the film moves around at a good pace with good enough oddball characters, and decent unlikely twists. Entertaining enough.
Dishonored Lady (1947).
Hedy Lamarr is a magazine designer who leaves the glamorous life to be an artist, hooks up with a studly/nerdy research doctor in her rooming house, but then the glam crowd reenters her life and she gets charged with murder. Mildly entertaining, but much of it is rather rote with cliched characters. These late 40's/early 50's films sure do like to go to trial though.
The final act or two is as boring as the title, and the trial scenes abundantly useless. And then they just skip to the resolution. Seems like it could have been more, but it mostly floats along on autopilot. |
Last edited by gromit on Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
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| knox |
| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:35 am |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1246
Location: St. Louis
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bartist wrote: The Quincy Jones song helps, too. And the exploration of every possible place a Mini Cooper could go without getting stuck.
What I particularly love about the end of TIJ is what no one on the bus mentions. Gold bullion at one end, counterweight of crooks at the other, and it's obvious that there is simply no way to get the gold without dropping them all into the gorge. Caine's attempts to defy physics are hilarious, of course. Flattening yourself on the floor doesn't actually decrease your weight. And no one points out: if anyone steps off the bus, via the front door, then everyone else is dead. If everyone tries to jump out at once, there will be a logjam, and again, almost everyone dies. It's kind of similar to the famous logic problem, The Prisoner's Dilemma. Except the situation is worse, of course, because absent a pole and hook contrivance to gradually pull bullion from the back, they are completely fucked.
It's a good logic puzzle, for sure. I wondered if it was possible for everyone to concentrate at the very front of the bus and be able to have one skinny person get out and then start handing large rocks back into the bus until there was enough mass at the front that they could leave (or reach the gold). The joke is that they have pulled off an intricately planned heist, but now are, mostly, too drunk to even think about such options. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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ALERT ALERT ALERT
TCM tomorrow (Friday) at 1pm--The Mark, the brilliant 1961 movie about a sex criminal played by Oscar nominee Stuart Whitman, who should have taken home the gold. He's supported by Rod Steiger and Maria Schell in career-best performances. The movie, directed magnificently by Guy Green, is almost never seen. Do not pass up this opportunity if you have a DVR or are free on a Friday afternoon. This is one of the best films of the 1960s. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 9:36 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I'd wanted to see The Hitch-Hiker (1953) for a long time.
Actually I'd like to see most Ida Lupino directed films.
For a film directed by a woman, it's interesting that there isn't one female character in Hitchhiker. Well, there is one who gets shot in a car during the opening credits and we don't even see her head. Just a scream, a pocketbook that gets dropped, then a gunshot and all we see of her is a leg and part of a dress slumped over.
Pretty powerful film. William Talman does a good job as the titular psycho.
There are a few minor contrivances during their tense journey, and I kept wondering how the gunman manages to excrete while keeping a gun trained on two men. The way he sleeps while keeping an eye on them was pretty amusing. I also liked the way that the Mexicans speak Spanish most of the time. In keeping with how realistic the film is. Taut, tnese, a little claustrophobic, with good tension,.
Recommended.
Link above lets you watch it online in a browser window.
Just click bottom right corner to make it full screen. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 1:21 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Just watched Inner Sanctum, which was definitely low-budget and only barely competent, but did its genre work fairly well. "Surprise" ending was genuinely surprising and effective. Mary Beth Hughes and Lee Patrick were the only remotely well-known performers in the cast. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Is it on Netflix? How did you find it? |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:20 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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The marsh/riverbank scene at the end seemed really low budget.
The newspaperman reminded me of Jonathan Winters.
There were a few good lines of dialogue and a few good comic moments nicely interspersed in the drama. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 3:11 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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| Billy.........So glad you mentioned The Mark. That film left a lasting impression when I saw it. I remember a soundtrack featuring Mozart. I don't have TCM. What should I do? |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 3:51 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I came in at the 45 minute Mark.
When he goes on a date in the car with the blonde colleague.
Pretty good film, but a little longish.
The main role seemed exactly like a James Mason role -- a normal guy who is a little off. I thought the lead in The Mark was good at acting conflicted and tortured. The blonde wasn't that good; her acting/accent distracting. And I didn't care for the ending where she stands by him unquestioningly. Despite having put her daughter into the hands of a convicted pedophile, who deceived her, she fully trusts him. The psychiatrist was also kind of a strange role.
But the plot was good and there is genuine tension/drama, and the lead carries the film. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 4:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Thanks, Gromit. Had seen your later posts, but not the first one, thus didn't know you'd provided a link. |
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