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| carrobin |
 Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:55 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Tonight TCM and PBS showed two films I hadn't seen in quite a while, and I was pretty much glued to the TV (since neither channel has commercial breaks). It's hard to believe that "In the Heat of the Night" came out in the '60s, while I was still living in South Carolina--Poitier is terrific, but Steiger is phenomenal as he deals with the nuanced variations in their uneasy relationship. It's one of the great murder-mystery movies, and the ending left me feeling the same way I felt when I first saw it--I just wanted to hug them both. The other film, which I saw with the film class, was "Eyewitness," with William Hurt (looking like a college kid) as a janitor at the Met Life building in Manhattan, who has a crush on TV newswoman Sigourney Weaver; he finds the body of an Asian businessman in one of the offices during his night shift, which gives him the chance to meet her and develop a relationship. Christopher Plummer and James Woods add complications, and there's a great dog, too. Both highly recommended (though I'm sure everyone here has seen "Heat of the Night" at least once). |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:55 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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| Every time I watch ItHotN I am mildly surprised to find it is not in black and white, and also that I do not like it more than I do. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 11:07 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| The last time I watched it, it seemed a little dated. It had a lot more impact when I first saw it, probably around 1970. |
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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: Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:37 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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Watched All the King's Men (1949) and thought A Face in the Crowd (1957) borrowed a lot from it, especially the supporting roles.
One thing interesting in AtKM is how the nice girl-next-door ends up badly shafting everybody. ** Don't read further if ya don't want to know too much ** She cheats on her boyfriend and dumps him for his boss, all the while still being friends with the jilted ex-boyfriend. Then she intentionally betrays her father's secret past to his enemy (her new lover), which results quickly in the father's suicide. Yikes.
Also watched The Bad & the Beautiful. For a film about the motion picture industry it sure employs a hokey story device. An interesting cast and Kirk Douglas gets to do his brassy routine, but I didn't get much involved. It seemed a bit formulaic but trying hard to disguise that. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:47 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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Rewatched some films from a few years ago that I thought were reasonably good but not great. Inside Llewyn Davis and The Descendants. Turns out that they're the same film. Well, not really, but the parallels were impressive. Both focus on a white male going through a particularly bad week, with unexpected bad news multiplying. An adulterous relationship is the cause of some of the turmoil. Both have some medical issues involved. Both involve a fair amount of travel, including an unhelpful surplus traveler (Sid the boyfriend and Ulysses the Cat). Genre music figures heavily in both. Both are concerned with creating a time and place. Both films are helped by very good lead performances. Really I could easily picture a younger Clooney in the Llewyn Davis folk singer.
Odd how they track so much.
Llewyn Davis does a good job of capturing a harried time, and the early 60's folk music revival. And I always enjoy cats in films. Not sure why I don't fully warm to the film. Maybe because the other characters aren't developed much. Or the wrap-up isn't much and the wrap-around film loop not that interesting. Solid film that just doesn't have enough to it.
The Descendants has a nice pace and does take some time with characters. It's well done, but maybe the stakes feel a bit phony. The whole state is watching, there's a big deadline -- and yet it can all just be postponed or cancelled because the deadline was phony. The family interplay is quite good. Though since part of theme is how the Father becomes a better parent, it would have been nice if he asked his daughters what they wanted done with the land. Seemed an obvious missed opportunity to show Clooney shifting from lawyer to father, and respecting his daughters opinions. Overall an enjoyable watch. Maybe more satisfying than Llewyn Davis. Though a few annoyingly edited scenes including the opening scene detracted a bit. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:18 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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We rewatched I Tonya - the deftly executed breakages of fourth wall, the remarkable performances, the brilliant rink shots, the integration of tragedy and the deeply comedic and a sort of reverence for the flawed human character... it's really a masterpiece. That it wasn't buried up to its neck in film awards underscores for me that the power center of the industry doesn't value what I value.
The Descendants and Llewyn Davis sounds like a plate of nachos and a plate of broccoli. Watch them both and you nearly have a nutritious meal. But you're fairly sure which you want to get seconds of. Don't think I could watch ILD again. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 6:08 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I agree with both gromit and bart about ILD and "The Descendants." They are both second-tier films from directors at whose shrines I regularly worship. Actually, I think ILD is from the third tier of Coen movies, even though I worked on it and got personal direction from the great Ethan. "The Descendants" is wholly enjoyable but a bit shallow IMO. Alexander Payne does a great job, but it's not as great as "Election" or "Sideways" or "Nebraska" or the under-appreciated "Downsizing" (though much better than the largely overrated "About Schmidt"). It features a totally cool supporting performance by one of my favorite underrated actors, Beau Bridges. I've always preferred Beau to Jeff. Call me crazy. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:54 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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The Descendants is a very solid enjoyable film.
Both Inside Llewyn Davis and The Descendants are worth watching for their terrific lead performances.
I really disliked About Schmidt
And the Coen's have had a few definite slip-ups.
The Coen's and Payne know how to make quality films.
I'll watch anything they put out. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:45 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| The Descendants also has a great supporting performance by Shailene Woodley. |
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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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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:22 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Today's headlines...made me think of Macy's famous "I'm answering your darn questions" scene in Fargo. FBI has only charged Felicity, but says he was in the room when she heard the pitch.
Knock a hundred dollars off the Trucoat? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 2:14 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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Syd wrote: The Descendants also has a great supporting performance by Shailene Woodley.
Yeah.
The casting is quite good throughout.
I thought Judy Greer was great as the wife of the cheating guy. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:00 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote:
I really disliked About Schmidt
You and me both. I'm so glad to find someone who agrees with me. It's Payne's one and only turkey, but most so-called "critics" loved it. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:21 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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billyweeds wrote: gromit wrote:
I really disliked About Schmidt
You and me both. I'm so glad to find someone who agrees with me. It's Payne's one and only turkey, but most so-called "critics" loved it.
One of the few films I've walked out of. |
_________________
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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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 1:15 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Films I've walked out of:
Leon (The Professional)
Blue (of the French "color" trilogy)
Miss Congeniality
and...
wait for it...
Lord of the Rings (the one that won the Oscar, I think, though I don't care) |
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| knox |
| Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:05 pm |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1246
Location: St. Louis
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Quote:
Films I've walked out of:
Leon...
Lucky you!
For me it managed to be maudlin, ridiculous, and exploitative in a way that egged me on to keep watching to see how awful it could get. |
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