What was the last movie you saw?

Empire of Passion / In the Realm of Passion (1978) A Japanese horror film, in which an adultery leads to murder; they dump the husband's corpse in a dry well, hoping that will end it. But the husband's ghost ensures it will not end there. None of the cast are familiar to me.

8/10
 
Parson said:
I enjoy black and white photography when it is an historical documentation --- in other words an actual picture which was snapped in 1950 or so, before there was much possibility for color. When I was a child (1950's) there were people who would painstakingly paint their photographs so that it could be scene in color. I'll never forget how gobsmacked I was by the first color television I saw. I rather liked the Wizard of Oz, where "normal" life was black and white, but Oz was in amazing color. That's kinda the way I feel about it. Black and white only hints at what is the beautiful reality of things.
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Okay. That's a different -- for lack of a better word -- philosophy than mine. And I revert to color and lighting being artistic decisions. Midnight Cowboy or Shaft were filmed in color, but washed out, heightening the grungy-ness of '70s NYC. But both were still in color. Meanwhile, the highly saturated colors of 1950s and '60s musicals only heighten the fantasy of people spontaneously combusting in song or dance and no one around them noticing, or noticing and joining in. Not in my neighborhood.

And then there's something like Stagecoach or Citizen Kane or a good deal of film noir where the action on the screen is often accentuated by the play of light and shadow, which often reflect the battle between good and evil between characters or sometimes within a focus character.

(To be fair, there is a question of budget: The film noir aesthetic allowed for less preparation of setting because with what light was allowed you could barely see the characters much less the pictures on the wall. See also early seasons of The X-Files in which most rooms under investigation had no light switches.)
 
Parson said:
This sounded interesting to me, but I don't know if I can watch it. Who would ever do a movie in black and white. It's an artsy trope to say it "leaves room for the actors to show their stuff" with no basis in reality!!!
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It is a very good film. Tbh I had no memory that it was in black & white, which suggests to me that this was not a major thing. The film is very well shot, but in no way pretentious. Just a story about how a working class street is affected by the troubles. It is loosely autobiographical of Kenneth Branagh’s childhood.
 
Branagh is a marvellous actor, and Belfast is beautifully shot.

As for B&W in movies, it can really enhance the picture quality, and allows the director to use light and shadow to devastating effect - something that simply cannot be replicated in colour. Look at The Third Man, Young Frankenstein, Dr Strangelove and Schindler's list as four good examples.

Colour has its place, but most movies do not make good use of it. Wizard of Oz, Saving Private Ryan and Joker ate good examples of movies that use colour to enhance the experience.
 
I remember when TV programs were 1st made in color. Because so few people even had color TVs, the programs used the words "in color" right on the screen during the opening credits.

Some things work better in color, while others in B&W. Horror & scifi could spend less on costumes, with B&W, & still have very frightening creatures.

Most of the films I watch are B&W; my choice. Most are 4 x 3 aspect ratio, also. I grew up with B&W, our family finally bought a color TV early in the 1970s. Lost in Space, Star Trek, Get Smart, & anything else were in B&W in my memories, even though broadcast in color.

Muller often talks about the latter Noir films, in which they were expected to eventually be seen on TVs with curved screens and glare, so, they needed to all but eliminate the high contrast cinematography.
 
THE PSYCHO LOVER - 1970 -A psychiatrist is hired to examine a man who confesses to rape-murders despite having iron-clad alibis.
The doctor then devises to brainwash him into killing his wife so he can marry his young mistress. It's dramatically competent in the acting department despite unfamiliar faces, including those who go topless.
Laurence Montaigne, who was Stonn in the "Amok Time" Star Trek episode does convey a poor man's Nimoy ambience here. He drives a very fancy car that has remote control doors and canopy, and 2 minutes are spent as the car opens and closes. What was the point? I assume one of the film investors was the car maker and wanted to show it off.
You won't miss anything if you skip it but for Stonn completists it is probably worth it to see what Spock missed out on after the Pon-far.
 
Randy M. said:
Okay. That's a different -- for lack of a better word -- philosophy than mine. And I revert to color and lighting being artistic decisions. Midnight Cowboy or Shaft were filmed in color, but washed out, heightening the grungy-ness of '70s NYC. But both were still in color. Meanwhile, the highly saturated colors of 1950s and '60s musicals only heighten the fantasy of people spontaneously combusting in song or dance and no one around them noticing, or noticing and joining in. Not in my neighborhood.
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Randy M. said:
And then there's something like Stagecoach or Citizen Kane or a good deal of film noir where the action on the screen is often accentuated by the play of light and shadow, which often reflect the battle between good and evil between characters or sometimes within a focus character.
Click to expand...
I guess that we will most certainly disagree here. I'm very big on realism. I want things to look the way they look. If you have to rely on lighting and lack of color to convey a message you've done a pretty poor job of acting and story telling. I also really dislike "dark" scenes. My eyesight does not let me see the action clearly and find that very frustrating. I do have a similar thing with sports broadcasts which pipe in crowd noise to make the game "seem" more involving than it is, or maybe they are just poor sound engineers who don't know how to make sure the audio is clear and understandable.
 
Parson said:
I guess that we will most certainly disagree here. I'm very big on realism. I want things to look the way they look. If you have to rely on lighting and lack of color to convey a message you've done a pretty poor job of acting and story telling. I also really dislike "dark" scenes. My eyesight does not let me see the action clearly and find that very frustrating. I do have a similar thing with sports broadcasts which pipe in crowd noise to make the game "seem" more involving than it is, or maybe they are just poor sound engineers who don't know how to make sure the audio is clear and understandable.
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@Parson I would recommend Belfast to you, if you have the chance, and I would be very interested to hear your critical opinion.
I will be surprised if you do not get something of value from the film.
 
hitmouse said:
@Parson I would recommend Belfast to you, if you have the chance, and I would be very interested to hear your critical opinion.
I will be surprised if you do not get something of value from the film.
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Well, it is on Peacock and I have a subscription so I'll try to squeeze it in. It does sound interesting.
 
The Grinch (2018): CGI. I watched this with my niece and nephew. I hated it. They make the Grinch seem like such a minor offender in this one. He's supposed to be unlikable until the end! Don't get me started on the music; it's as bad as the original is good. I think I'd watch even the live-action Jimy Carey one a few more times before I watch this one.
 
Carry On (2024) Netflix. Starring Taron Edgerton. Low rent second rate thriller, like a really crap Die Hard 2. Christmas mercenary shennanigans in LAX.
 
The Mayor of Hell (1933)

Patsy Gargan (James Cagney), a gangster-type having political connections, take charge over a boys' reformatory, much to the displeasure of Thompson (Dudley Digges), who feeds the kids slop, and pockets the money that should have fed them properly.

Gargan, not only spends the food money on food for the boys, but teaches the boys about the legal system, and even allows them to run their own courtroom, judging the minor offenses committed by them. Thompson eventually regains authority, but the boys, having experienced proper management under Gargan, revolt.

supporting cast/characters:
Dorothy Griffith, the nurse (Madge Evans); Mike (Allen Jenkins), Gargan's #2, who hates the whole idea of helping the kids; Judge Gilbert (Arthur Byron; name unfamiliar, but face clicks).

Boys: Smoke (Allen "Farina" Hoskins; was in Our Gang); no other familiar names.

8/10

very intense!
 
The Crooked Way (1949) NOIR ALLEY. Hmm, it has been nearly a month since I watched this; almost forgot about it. There are several movies in which the protagonist had suffered amnesia; had come to believe he was a decent guy, only to learn he was a gangster, etc.

Eddie Rice (John Payne) is the amnesiac, suffered a boo-boo to his noggin while in combat during WWII. His physician advises him to go to LA, in the hopes he may remember some details of his early life. He is recognized by the local police, who identify him as Eddie Riccardi, a bad guy, and advise him to leave town immediately.

supporting cast/characters:
The REALLY bad guy: Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts); Petey (Percy Helton; the nitro-whisperen guy from GET SMART! :LOL:).


8/10
 
A Christmas special at a local cinema today, I took 2 grandkids to see The Polar Express -
They loved it.

As has been mentioned before there is definitely an "uncanny valley" vibe when watching it.
 
Sweet Music (1935) a VERY unusual form of stage entertainment! Skip Houston (Rudy Vallée) & band members douse one another with seltzer water, pull other pranks dress in drag, and make the one who is billed along with them, very uncomfortable! That one is Bonnie Haydon (Ann Dvorak), and she loathes Houston.

Supporting cast/characters:
'Ten Percent' Nelson (Ned Sparks); Helen Morgan (Helen Morgan?); 'Dopey' Malone (Robert Armstrong); Barney Cowan (Allen Jenkins).

Weird, but thoroughly entertaining!

8/10
 
THE UNCANNY - 1977 - rewatch --Peter Cushing brings Ray Milland a book he wrote on the diabolical nature of cats. Three stories follow--I think the first is the best. The second one is interesting mainly because Charles Bronson's daughter appears in it. The third which has Donald Pleasence seems like it may have been written for Vincent Price.
 
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