What was the last movie you saw?
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Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Promises . . . . . Promises! (1963)
Sex comedy that would be utterly forgotten today except for the fact that Jayne Mansfield has some nude scenes, the first mainstream American actress to do so since the silent days.
The plot involves Mansfield and her husband wanting to have a baby. They're on a cruise ship. The ship's doctor figures the husband's problem is anxiety, so he gives him a placebo. There's also another couple aboard the ship who get involved. The husband is Mickey Hargitay, Mansfield's real-life husband and former Mr. Universe. He gets to do some weightlifting.
Without going into the details of the bedroom farce plot, it turns out the characters spend the night with the wrong spouse, and nobody can remember anything the next day. Both women are pregnant, but who are the fathers?
There's a lot of time filled up with Mansfield singing, dream sequences, and attempts at comedy. Of course, we also get the brief nude scenes repeated over and over, inserted at random at various times in the film.
If the cast were completely unknown, this would just be another nudie cutie; but you'll recognize character actors and folks who appeared on TV. (Holy cow, there's the great Imogene Coca in a tiny scene as a client of a hairdresser who gets her perm burnt to a crisp by sitting under the dryer too long. The hairdresser, by the way, is played by T. C. Jones, who usually played in drag, although here he's playing a outrageously fey man. He does an imitation of Bette Davis and then one of Mansfield. Mansfield, as the fictional character she's playing, then imitates herself as well. Odd bit of postmodern self-reference there.)
Not a good film, although there are a few mildly amusing moments here and there.
Sex comedy that would be utterly forgotten today except for the fact that Jayne Mansfield has some nude scenes, the first mainstream American actress to do so since the silent days.
The plot involves Mansfield and her husband wanting to have a baby. They're on a cruise ship. The ship's doctor figures the husband's problem is anxiety, so he gives him a placebo. There's also another couple aboard the ship who get involved. The husband is Mickey Hargitay, Mansfield's real-life husband and former Mr. Universe. He gets to do some weightlifting.
Without going into the details of the bedroom farce plot, it turns out the characters spend the night with the wrong spouse, and nobody can remember anything the next day. Both women are pregnant, but who are the fathers?
There's a lot of time filled up with Mansfield singing, dream sequences, and attempts at comedy. Of course, we also get the brief nude scenes repeated over and over, inserted at random at various times in the film.
If the cast were completely unknown, this would just be another nudie cutie; but you'll recognize character actors and folks who appeared on TV. (Holy cow, there's the great Imogene Coca in a tiny scene as a client of a hairdresser who gets her perm burnt to a crisp by sitting under the dryer too long. The hairdresser, by the way, is played by T. C. Jones, who usually played in drag, although here he's playing a outrageously fey man. He does an imitation of Bette Davis and then one of Mansfield. Mansfield, as the fictional character she's playing, then imitates herself as well. Odd bit of postmodern self-reference there.)
Not a good film, although there are a few mildly amusing moments here and there.
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Wonderful Life or Home Alone? The former is great, the other should be buried somewhereIt wasn't a hit when it originally came out but its stature grew in the year afterwards. It's a terrific film. Red Dwarf did a homage to it in one of the books .
Jeffbert
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Practical Jokers (1938) Butch (Tommy Bond; film uses his real name!) is the bully of the series, and in this short film, he is pranking the other boys. The last prank involves a firecracker, whose fuse is extinguished, and which Spanky, Alfalfa, etc., intend to use to prank Butch. When the bakery delivery truck arrives at Butch's house, those boys take possession of the birthday cake, and put the firecracker under the center candle. Yet, Butch's mother wants them to present the cake to butch.
Cute, but far from the better OUR GANG films.
Cute, but far from the better OUR GANG films.
Jeffbert
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Hold That Ghost (1941) Ben M gave a bit of history, noting that A&C had been losing popularity since the end of WWII. Here, this could be considered the 1st of the monster parodies. O.K., So, I forgot exactly what Ben said, but that is as close as I can come to it.
So, these two losers Chuck Murray (Abbott) & 'Ferdy' Ferdinand Jones (Costello) are working as waiters in a nightclub, in which the gangster Moose Matson (William B. Davidson) is having a meal with two young blondes, a setting needed to establish several facts about this character. Long sentence, huh? Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters are doing their thing, & TL asks, "Is everybody happy?" Hmm, thought I, seems I have heard that before, likely in a WB cartoon. It might be worthwhile to take note of it. As noted on the Wiki page, the song & dance routines were extraneous, adding nothing to the plot. Unlike other films that include them, I found no cutting back and forth between the song & dance, and the other characters. I did press the forward 30 seconds button repeatedly, but nothing came up but the S&D routine.
A&C are fired, and next are gas station attendants. end-up in Moose's car when the police recognize him, and are the only ones present as Moose expires. During the reading of the will it is stated that those present at Moose's expiration will be the inheritors of his stuff, which consists of a broken down hotel out in the creepy part of town.
Oh, almost forgot! No captions! Could hardly believe it; what a rip-off! Some of the lines were hilarious! The wiki page noted that the laughs came so rapidly, that the audience could hardly hear the dialog. printing the screen never was so frustrating!
As expected certain gangsters are out to cash-in on Moose's money, and they converge on the creepy-old hotel. As A&C are already a bit nervous, and the two, count 'em, 2 young ladies who were in the cab with them are also just as nervous, as is a Dr. Jackson (Richard Carlson) a scientist of some sort. MM had made a statement about his hidden money, something about keeping it in his head. Wouldn't you just know it there is an actual moose head mounted on the wall. Hmm., could the money be inside it?
So, there is this gag in which Ferdy hangs his clothes on a coat hook, which seems to be about to fall off, but is actually the hidden lever that changes the room from a hotel bedroom into a gambling casino. Anyway, Costello never notices the sagging coat hook. I suppose people are more likely familiar with ROBIN & THE SEVEN HOODS, in which a similar thing happens, but without the switching back part or the poor guy being confused.
But, every time Costello goes to tell Abbott about the thing, he removes his clothes from the hook, and upon returning with Abbott, he finds nothing but a bedroom.
Among the supporting cast is Shemp Howard as a soda jerk. Is 'Howard' even needed with a name like Shemp?
My highest rating 9/10! Really funny. I have no recollection of ever seeing this before!
So, these two losers Chuck Murray (Abbott) & 'Ferdy' Ferdinand Jones (Costello) are working as waiters in a nightclub, in which the gangster Moose Matson (William B. Davidson) is having a meal with two young blondes, a setting needed to establish several facts about this character. Long sentence, huh? Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters are doing their thing, & TL asks, "Is everybody happy?" Hmm, thought I, seems I have heard that before, likely in a WB cartoon. It might be worthwhile to take note of it. As noted on the Wiki page, the song & dance routines were extraneous, adding nothing to the plot. Unlike other films that include them, I found no cutting back and forth between the song & dance, and the other characters. I did press the forward 30 seconds button repeatedly, but nothing came up but the S&D routine.
A&C are fired, and next are gas station attendants. end-up in Moose's car when the police recognize him, and are the only ones present as Moose expires. During the reading of the will it is stated that those present at Moose's expiration will be the inheritors of his stuff, which consists of a broken down hotel out in the creepy part of town.
Oh, almost forgot! No captions! Could hardly believe it; what a rip-off! Some of the lines were hilarious! The wiki page noted that the laughs came so rapidly, that the audience could hardly hear the dialog. printing the screen never was so frustrating!
As expected certain gangsters are out to cash-in on Moose's money, and they converge on the creepy-old hotel. As A&C are already a bit nervous, and the two, count 'em, 2 young ladies who were in the cab with them are also just as nervous, as is a Dr. Jackson (Richard Carlson) a scientist of some sort. MM had made a statement about his hidden money, something about keeping it in his head. Wouldn't you just know it there is an actual moose head mounted on the wall. Hmm., could the money be inside it?
So, there is this gag in which Ferdy hangs his clothes on a coat hook, which seems to be about to fall off, but is actually the hidden lever that changes the room from a hotel bedroom into a gambling casino. Anyway, Costello never notices the sagging coat hook. I suppose people are more likely familiar with ROBIN & THE SEVEN HOODS, in which a similar thing happens, but without the switching back part or the poor guy being confused.
Among the supporting cast is Shemp Howard as a soda jerk. Is 'Howard' even needed with a name like Shemp?
My highest rating 9/10! Really funny. I have no recollection of ever seeing this before!
JunkMonkey
Lord High Vizier of Nowt
Thor the Conqueror (1983) - Unusually inept (even by the standards of low budget Italian Barbarian movies) low budget Italian Barbarian movie which had#2 Daughter and I in stitches for it's full bewildering 90 minutes: The moment the villain evokes a god that lives in the 'nether regions' will long linger in our memories.
But why should we suffer alone?....
But why should we suffer alone?....
If you don't expect a Harryhausen film then it may be palatable--but if you do, Allah preserve you. The diaper-wearing Sinbad may be more historically accurate perhaps.
One interesting thing about it from memory (watched under the title Simbad) is that it is about the same production budget-wise as Golden Voyage of Sinbad--in terms of locations and extras. It shows how cheap those Harryhausen films were.
But I prefer one with monsters.
There was a 2010 Sinbad film made in Australia (on a beach decorated with tents apparently) and it was woefully less satisfactory than even this one.
That was my reaction too. A cartoon likely.
I read Costello felt he was upstaged by Davis but she was a good partner for him in the comedy bits.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
The Carey Treatment (1972)
Medical murder mystery based on an early novel by Michael Crichton. (A Case of Need, 1968, under the pseudonym Jeffrey Hudson, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel.)
James Coburn is Dr. Peter Carey, a pathologist newly arrived at a Boston hospital. The fifteen-year-old daughter of the head of the hospital dies from a botched abortion. Carey's buddy, a skilled surgeon who performs illegal abortions out of compassion, not profit (this is before Roe v. Wade) is arrested. He's too good a surgeon to have messed up the abortion so badly, so Carey sets out on his own investigation.
The studio severely edited the film; so much so, that director Blake Edwards sued. What we have left isn't bad. It takes a while to get going, there are scenes that don't go anywhere, and Jennifer O'Neill is wasted as Carey's love interest , but as a whodunit it's OK.
(Another sign that this is 1972: Carey smokes inside the hospital.)
Medical murder mystery based on an early novel by Michael Crichton. (A Case of Need, 1968, under the pseudonym Jeffrey Hudson, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel.)
James Coburn is Dr. Peter Carey, a pathologist newly arrived at a Boston hospital. The fifteen-year-old daughter of the head of the hospital dies from a botched abortion. Carey's buddy, a skilled surgeon who performs illegal abortions out of compassion, not profit (this is before Roe v. Wade) is arrested. He's too good a surgeon to have messed up the abortion so badly, so Carey sets out on his own investigation.
The studio severely edited the film; so much so, that director Blake Edwards sued. What we have left isn't bad. It takes a while to get going, there are scenes that don't go anywhere, and Jennifer O'Neill is wasted as Carey's love interest , but as a whodunit it's OK.
(Another sign that this is 1972: Carey smokes inside the hospital.)
THE ALPHABET MURDERS - 1965 -- Tony Randall as Poirot with Robert Morley as his sidekick. Directed by Frank Tashlin of Daffy Duck fame and there are some quite funny visual gags in this which would have fit into a cartoon. We were amused.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
The Bride and the Beast (1958)
Written by Edward D. Wood, Jr.!
Great White Hunter type brings his wife to his mansion on their wedding day. He happens to have a gorilla in a cage in the cellar. That's OK with her; she had a pet monkey when she was a child. They go to see the gorilla, who is named Spanky. Woman and gorilla are drawn to each other. So much so, that, when the happy couple is asleep (in twin beds, on their wedding night), Spanky easily busts out of the cage and goes to see her. He even tears off her nightgown, offering some extremely well hidden nudity. Husband shoots Spanky dead. End of movie after fifteen minutes? Nope.
Wife has dreams of animals (stock footage) running around Africa. Giving away the whole plot, she sees herself as a gorilla. Doctor comes to hypnotize her, pretty much just repeating what we already know [she's a reincarnated gorilla] , except for the fact that she gets to reveal her love of angora sweaters. (I told you who wrote it.)
The plot gets thrown out for a long time, as the couple head to Africa to watch more stock footage. Husband has to hunt down a couple of man-eating tigers. (Yes, in Africa. They explain this by telling us that a ship carrying tigers was wrecked on the African coast. The real reason, of course, is that they had some stock footage of tigers.)
Back at the plot, wife gets carried away by a gorilla. Despite husband's efforts, she chooses to remain.
Despite the premise, this is not as goofy as other Ed Wood efforts. The middle section is a typical cheap jungle adventure. (One of those which assures us that the bite of the tarantula is deadly.) The implied cross-species romance is the most noticeable aspect of this cheapie.
Written by Edward D. Wood, Jr.!
Great White Hunter type brings his wife to his mansion on their wedding day. He happens to have a gorilla in a cage in the cellar. That's OK with her; she had a pet monkey when she was a child. They go to see the gorilla, who is named Spanky. Woman and gorilla are drawn to each other. So much so, that, when the happy couple is asleep (in twin beds, on their wedding night), Spanky easily busts out of the cage and goes to see her. He even tears off her nightgown, offering some extremely well hidden nudity. Husband shoots Spanky dead. End of movie after fifteen minutes? Nope.
Wife has dreams of animals (stock footage) running around Africa. Giving away the whole plot, she sees herself as a gorilla. Doctor comes to hypnotize her, pretty much just repeating what we already know [she's a reincarnated gorilla] , except for the fact that she gets to reveal her love of angora sweaters. (I told you who wrote it.)
The plot gets thrown out for a long time, as the couple head to Africa to watch more stock footage. Husband has to hunt down a couple of man-eating tigers. (Yes, in Africa. They explain this by telling us that a ship carrying tigers was wrecked on the African coast. The real reason, of course, is that they had some stock footage of tigers.)
Back at the plot, wife gets carried away by a gorilla. Despite husband's efforts, she chooses to remain.
Despite the premise, this is not as goofy as other Ed Wood efforts. The middle section is a typical cheap jungle adventure. (One of those which assures us that the bite of the tarantula is deadly.) The implied cross-species romance is the most noticeable aspect of this cheapie.
STARCRASH - 1978 - I think Battle Beyond the Stars is the best Star Wars rip-off but this does have a lot of charm despite a lot that is lacking. How can you dislike a film where Marjoe Gortner and David Hasslehoff get to wield a light saber and Caroline Munro karate-kicking in a swimsuit while Robert Tessier is a poor man's Telly Savalas with green skin and Christopher Plummer as the Emperor of the Universe? Also the colorful ships and starfields are very Christmas-like. Munro's husband played the robot to keep an eye on her since he was concerned she might get hassled by the Hoff.
Also, one notices her costume gets less revealing once he gets into the story.
How Joe Spinell got the villain part is a mystery but thank goodness they brought in someone to dub him.
Also, one notices her costume gets less revealing once he gets into the story.
How Joe Spinell got the villain part is a mystery but thank goodness they brought in someone to dub him.
Arrival (2016)
My kind of movie (and writing). Less 'conflict' for its own sake and more a problem solving journey.
More of that sub 2001 philosophy and less Starship Troopers macho was refreshing. It had it's detractors, who found the lack of violence at every turn boring, but I really enjoyed it and the personal dilemma she faces at the end is one I hope I never have to face.
My kind of movie (and writing). Less 'conflict' for its own sake and more a problem solving journey.
More of that sub 2001 philosophy and less Starship Troopers macho was refreshing. It had it's detractors, who found the lack of violence at every turn boring, but I really enjoyed it and the personal dilemma she faces at the end is one I hope I never have to face.
alexvss
Me doesn't knows no grammar.
Godzilla Minus One (2023). In a Japan that lost WW2 just recently, the Japanese have another problem to worry about: Godzilla.
One of the best movies of 2023, no doubt, and perhaps the best Godzilla movie since the original (I didn’t see them all though). The special effects are great for its modest budget of 15 million USD, much better than 200 million modern blockbusters. The characters are well-written and the acting, also great. The themes are also valid and easy to understand. It talks about mourning, trauma, found family, social issues in Japan, etc.
The Godzilla too OP. It simply regenerates right after getting hit, and it launches a kamehameha-like beam that explodes like a nuclear bomb. It’s also very scary. No Godzillas were scary before, but this one is. The way it towers over things and destroys them, and the fact that it doesn’t have a reason at all, makes it a scary monster.
But the contingency plan the humans make is also great. I won’t spoil anything; I’ll just say that it is curious.
Strongly Recommended.
One of the best movies of 2023, no doubt, and perhaps the best Godzilla movie since the original (I didn’t see them all though). The special effects are great for its modest budget of 15 million USD, much better than 200 million modern blockbusters. The characters are well-written and the acting, also great. The themes are also valid and easy to understand. It talks about mourning, trauma, found family, social issues in Japan, etc.
The Godzilla too OP. It simply regenerates right after getting hit, and it launches a kamehameha-like beam that explodes like a nuclear bomb. It’s also very scary. No Godzillas were scary before, but this one is. The way it towers over things and destroys them, and the fact that it doesn’t have a reason at all, makes it a scary monster.
But the contingency plan the humans make is also great. I won’t spoil anything; I’ll just say that it is curious.
Strongly Recommended.
This really was a CrackerJack of a movie. I loved it too.
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Alien (1979)
Was on BBC3 so no ads...
Was on BBC3 so no ads...
ROGUE'S GALLERY 1968 - Time capsule of late 60s Los Angeles in a quasi noir detective story starring Roger Smith in his last movie (before devoting his time to Ann-Margret's career). Members of a club meant to fight suicidal thoughts are murdered. An impoverish private eye is hired to keep track of a suicidal girl. Edgar Bergen is the administrator of the club (is he the puppet master???) or is it Farley Granger (stranger on a train of thought we cannot fathom).
For some reason the locations stand out more than your average 1968 movie--something about it makes you feel like you are transported back in time. Never aired in US theaters so I read and ended up shown on tv in 1973.
For some reason the locations stand out more than your average 1968 movie--something about it makes you feel like you are transported back in time. Never aired in US theaters so I read and ended up shown on tv in 1973.
- Joined
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- Messages
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Godzilla Minus-One.
If you haven't seen it yet, do so at once. Wow. Godzilla is genuinely terrifying in this movie.
In the age of quippy-smashy marvel spaff, GMO radiates. A real sense of stakes, with some big emotional punches. It feels very much like Jaws in execution and blows anything the west has ever done with Kaiju's out of the water.
The glut of comic-book movies has made me tired of the constant city-wide destruction but here it is genuinely awe-some in the true sense of the word, especially when we hear the brass fanfare for the first time. Chills.
Godzilla's design looks like classic Godzilla - I don't know if it's a CG augmented man in a suit but it has weight and heft and looks both like a physical prop and a 3d model. Very well done, particularly considering the tiny budget.
The acting is superb and the human heart of the drama is fully beating. Actual heroism! People who look genuinely terrified! Real consequences!
Last of all, the soundtrack was absolutely superb. A mix of classic Godzilla meets Zimmeresque minimalism. The sound team had the mix of silence to score ratio really nailed down. It's a mark of how well written the screenplay is that the scenes of human drama were mostly without score yet still had a deep emotional impact. And when there was music it worked so well to build tension. Just fantastic.
See it while you still can. +1 to @alexvss strong recommendation. This is a must watch.
If you haven't seen it yet, do so at once. Wow. Godzilla is genuinely terrifying in this movie.
In the age of quippy-smashy marvel spaff, GMO radiates. A real sense of stakes, with some big emotional punches. It feels very much like Jaws in execution and blows anything the west has ever done with Kaiju's out of the water.
The glut of comic-book movies has made me tired of the constant city-wide destruction but here it is genuinely awe-some in the true sense of the word, especially when we hear the brass fanfare for the first time. Chills.
Godzilla's design looks like classic Godzilla - I don't know if it's a CG augmented man in a suit but it has weight and heft and looks both like a physical prop and a 3d model. Very well done, particularly considering the tiny budget.
The acting is superb and the human heart of the drama is fully beating. Actual heroism! People who look genuinely terrified! Real consequences!
Last of all, the soundtrack was absolutely superb. A mix of classic Godzilla meets Zimmeresque minimalism. The sound team had the mix of silence to score ratio really nailed down. It's a mark of how well written the screenplay is that the scenes of human drama were mostly without score yet still had a deep emotional impact. And when there was music it worked so well to build tension. Just fantastic.
See it while you still can. +1 to @alexvss strong recommendation. This is a must watch.
JunkMonkey
Lord High Vizier of Nowt
The 14 Amazons - Honk Kong historical epic. No idea who anyone was but, by the end of the film, the ones that got their jollies beheading captives and laughing a lot were all dead and a large number of the heroes still seemed to be alive. One slight distraction was that one of the various bunches of bad guys dressed in red, with pointy hats, and white fur trimming:
A lot of the movie was spent watching out heroines slaughtering hundreds and hundreds of Kung Fu Santas.
A lot of the movie was spent watching out heroines slaughtering hundreds and hundreds of Kung Fu Santas.
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