What was the last movie you saw?

[Starbeast]

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) - I haven't seen this in a decade, or so. For those who enjoy "Kaiju" (Japanese for giant monsters) flicks, this ones for you. The movie is very comic bookish and jam-packed with titanic creatures who are ready to fight!

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) - My favorite movie version (thee only good version IMO). Long ago, a grade school teacher read the story to us, then a few weeks later she took the class on a field trip to see the film in a Chicago theater. That was fun. A wonderful flick for children and kids at heart.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - When there is no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the Earth to devour the living. A zombie-tastic sequel to the 1968 George A. Romero's movie, Night of the living Dead. I still consider both films as stand alone masterpieces. The original movie was about a group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in an abandoned house. This time, two SWAT policemen join a couple, as they travel in a helicopter to survive in a shopping mall. Such a great concept.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) - I haven't seen this in a decade, or so. For those who enjoy "Kaiju" (Japanese for giant monsters) flicks, this ones for you. The movie is very comic bookish and jam-packed with titanic creatures who are ready to fight!

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) - My favorite movie version (thee only good version IMO). Long ago, a grade school teacher read the story to us, then a few weeks later she took the class on a field trip to see the film in a Chicago theater. That was fun. A wonderful flick for children and kids at heart.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - When there is no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the Earth to devour the living. A zombie-tastic sequel to the 1968 George A. Romero's movie, Night of the living Dead. I still consider both films as stand alone masterpieces. The original movie was about a group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in an abandoned house. This time, two SWAT policemen join a couple, as they travel in a helicopter to survive in a shopping mall. Such a great concept.

Gene Wilder was a marvellous actor, and this was arguably his greatest role. He's a softer, gentler, friendly Wonka than portrayed in the book and other movies - but (in my opinion) all the better for it. And he could sing like an angel: 'Pure Imagination' is a wonderful song, and the expression on his face when he sings it makes it appear that he believes every word of it.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Repo Man - with #1 daughter who giggled like a loon all the way through. It's a very funny film.

 

[Jeffbert]

If you go by the Biblical witness about angels than angels are almost always portrayed poorly. But it must be added that there is very little in the Bible which describes angels, and the words that are contained in the Bible are open to a lot of differing interpretation. But we can say that there is not a whiff in the Bible that angels are bumbling or sorta clueless or that humans are somehow turned into angels at death. These ideas can almost certainly be traced to human story telling often in the form of folk tales.

To be honest I've sometimes enjoyed angels in leading roles. I enjoyed a lot of what was for a time a hit TV show Touched by an Angel. They made a lot of stuff up too, but I thought the angels were treated with reverence and religion with respect. Right now the very best "religious" media has to be The Chosen. I've watched all of the episodes and although some of their picking and choosing of Jesus' words as well as the events that are placed in the show for "dramatic reasons," sometimes ring somewhat phony to me I enjoy the episodes. Or at least I have so far.

I do not doubt that It's a Wonderful Life would have been viewed suspiciously in 1948. The whole cooperation vs. competition aspect of community life would have rung false in the hyper-sensitive time adjacent to McCarthyism. I'd argue that the cooperation vs. competition would be very much in line with the Christian gospel. The Communist saying "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" would be a good summary of the communal living conditions in the earliest church in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection, and not a bad way of describing what George Bailey was doing at least somewhat intentionally.

Oh, I had completely forgotten that the Angel was buffoonish. My bad. I thought you were talking about the physical aspects.

There is another film that comes to mind, Jack Benny in The Horn Blows at Midnight. As I recall, that Angel also had problems. The dead becoming Angels has been around for who knows how long. Not just films, but songs, such as Ebony Eyes [as I recall]. There is also the mostly forgotten Littlest Angel. I would like to see that again. There is a Tom & Jerry cartoon, in which Tom is having a dream/nightmare, it features as I recall, an escalator to the clouds.

I understand that many people consider Biblical things off limits for comedy. I guess I was never one of them.

 

[Jeffbert]

Gene Wilder was a marvellous actor, and this was arguably his greatest role. He's a softer, gentler, friendly Wonka than portrayed in the book and other movies - but (in my opinion) all the better for it. And he could sing like an angel: 'Pure Imagination' is a wonderful song, and the expression on his face when he sings it makes it appear that he believes every word of it.

When I watched an History Channel program about chocolate, & heard that Willy Wonka bombed at the theaters, I was taken aback. It is family friendly, musical, & funny. Why did it fail?

 

[KGeo777]

TONY ARZENTA - BIG GUNS - 1973 - Alain Delon is a contract killer who wants out. Richard Conte is a mob boos who tries to tell him he can't. The other mob bosses decide to eliminate him, but kill his wife and son by mistake so he kills them one by one.

 

[KGeo777]

I heard [or read] that this film was considered Communist propaganda!

Someone was telling me the Towering Inferno was shown in East Germany because it was considered anti-capitalist. Never thought of it but it does have something about the failure of a wealthy man's business efforts.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has also been described as a communistic story--the effort to find gold fails, but the two survivors find communities to join.

 

[JunkMonkey]

oops!

 

[JunkMonkey]

Someone was telling me the Towering Inferno was shown in East Germany because it was considered anti-capitalist. Never thought of it but it does have something about the failure of a wealthy man's business efforts.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has also been described as a communistic story--the effort to find gold fails, but the two survivors find communities to join.

I think just about every Hollywood film that isn't The Fountainhead or ends with John Wayne riding off leaving a lot of dead people behind him has been described as 'communistic' by someone (except communists).

 

[JunkMonkey]

When I watched an History Channel program about chocolate, & heard that Willy Wonka bombed at the theaters, I was taken aback. It is family friendly, musical, & funny. Why did it fail?

Who knows? But it was in good company - The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Shawshank Redemption, Donny Darko, Fight Club, Peeping Tom, Blade Runner, The Wizard of Oz, Brazil, Citizen Kane, and It's a Wonderful Life all flopped on their initial release.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Marketing and distribution are often the difference between success and failure,

A children's film about chocolate would probably hsve done better at Christmas, and being described as a 'musical' probably didn't help.

 

[Danny McG]

Not the full film, I've been on YouTube to watch the twenty minutes or so of the actual charge from The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936)
Erroll Flynn looking impeccably groomed as he exhorts the Lancers "Onward men, onward"

Looking at it from a cynical modern viewpoint and you can discern the trip ropes for the horses, and see Erroll rocking out of rhythm with his mount.

Looking at it from my 11 year old schoolboy viewpoint (when I first saw it in the 1960s) and it was awesome! I've saw colour versions since then but not on such a large scale.

 

[KGeo777]

As I recall, a TCM host said that this inspired the film Alien. It does have similarities.

And PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES

That film has the derelict ship and alien fossil.

 

[KGeo777]

Not the full film, I've been on YouTube to watch the twenty minutes or so of the actual charge from The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936)
Erroll Flynn looking impeccably groomed as he exhorts the Lancers "Onward men, onward"

Looking at it from a cynical modern viewpoint and you can discern the trip ropes for the horses, and see Erroll rocking out of rhythm with his mount.

I heard that the horse wrangler on that film (and the 1920s Ben-Hur) was a horse meat trader --he liked to deliberately injured horses so they could be killed for horse meat. Flynn was reportedly critical about the horse treatment and it led to more care with how they were treated (with some exceptions--the 1966 KHARTOUM).

 

[Starbeast]

The Man Who Would be King (1975) - Stars Sean Connery, Michael Caine & Christopher Plummer. Also Mr Caine's wife also appeared this film, Shakira Caine. This magnificent adventure film (one of my favorites) was directed by John Huston. Basically it's about two ex-military British officers who decide to become kings of Kifiristan, loot the country and return to England as wealthy men. However things don't quite go as they planned.

The End (1978) - Stars Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise & Sally Field. This very dark comedy is about a man who learns from his doctor that he has 6 months to live. He decides he will kill himself rather than wait until he expires. After saying goodbye to the people he loves most in the world, he attempts to off himself. He failed, and wakes up in a hospital/metal ward. This is where he meets a manic-depressive patient who offers to help him end his life. But later in the movie the dying man decides he doesn't want to end his life because it would hurt the people he loves. It's a little dated, but I enjoyed seeing this again after so many years.

Another 48 HRS (1990) - Stars Eddie Murphy (gets top billing this time around), Nick Nolte & Brion James. An action packed sequel to, 48 HRS (1982), and is darker than the original film and IMO stays on course with excitement, entertainment with another great music score by, James Horner. I just had to see this again after watching the first film. For me, it's another masterpiece by director, Walter Hill.

 

[paranoid marvin]

The Man Who Would be King (1975) - Stars Sean Connery, Michael Caine & Christopher Plummer. Also Mr Caine's wife also appeared this film, Shakira Caine. This magnificent adventure film (one of my favorites) was directed by John Huston. Basically it's about two ex-military British officers who decide to become kings of Kifiristan, loot the country and return to England as wealthy men. However things don't quite go as they planned.

The End (1978) - Stars Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise & Sally Field. This very dark comedy is about a man who learns from his doctor that he has 6 months to live. He decides he will kill himself rather than wait until he expires. After saying goodbye to the people he loves most in the world, he attempts to off himself. He failed, and wakes up in a hospital/metal ward. This is where he meets a manic-depressive patient who offers to help him end his life. But later in the movie the dying man decides he doesn't want to end his life because it would hurt the people he loves. It's a little dated, but I enjoyed seeing this again after so many years.

Another 48 HRS (1990) - Stars Eddie Murphy (gets top billing this time around), Nick Nolte & Brion James. An action packed sequel to, 48 HRS (1982), and is darker than the original film and IMO stays on course with excitement, entertainment with another great music score by, James Horner. I just had to see this again after watching the first film. For me, it's another masterpiece by director, Walter Hill.

TMWWBK - brilliant movie, and I think the only time Connery and Caine appeared in a movie together. When you consider the length of their careers in film, that is a pretty remarkable thing.

 

[Danny McG]

TMWWBK - brilliant movie, and I think the only time Connery and Caine appeared in a movie together. When you consider the length of their careers in film, that is a pretty remarkable thing.

They were both in A bridge too far but I don't think they did any scenes together in it.

 

[KGeo777]

The Man Who Would be King (1975) - Stars Sean Connery, Michael Caine & Christopher Plummer.

That is a really well-put together film. It follows the trend of the time, the "destruction of the macho man" theme, but you don't feel quite demoralized by the story. It is a cautionary tale about messing around in other's people's neighborhood, but you kind of admire their cheerful recklessness. There's no self-reflection by the characters. Even Billy Fish exhibits that cheerful resolve in the face of catastrophe.

"Rifleman Majendra Bahadur Gurung wishing you many good lucks! Ayo Gorkhali!"

 

[Toby Frost]

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has also been described as a communistic story--the effort to find gold fails, but the two survivors find communities to join.

"Are you now, or have you ever been, members of an unsuccessful effort to find gold?"

I've never rated Connery at all: he seems like one of those Glorious Technicolor leading men who were basically large lumps who announced their lines and then did an action scene. Like the sort of acting you'd see in The 39 Steps or Brief Encounter, it was of its day and its day ended. That said, Connery was okay in Outland, so perhaps he could do some kind of subtlety when called for. I think Caine was a much better actor than some of his roles allowed, and could be really good when he got the chance. That said, he appeared in a few pretty ropey films.

 

[Randy M.]

Six Triple Eight (2024) dir. Tyler Perry; starring Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian (Netflix)

Based on a true story of the only Black women's battalion to go to Europe during WWII, charged with organizing and making regular mail delivery to and from the soldiers. I'm not sure how true-to-life this is, but given all we've heard about Black contributions to the war effort, it comes across as plausible that these women would find the right system despite discriminatory headwinds from the brass. Washington gives a strong performance, as does Obsidian, but Shanice Shantay has a scene stealing character who helps keep this from being saccharinely sincere.


Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) dir. Tim Burton; starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega (Prime)

Lydia (Ryder) has grown up, still seeing ghosts and trying to make a living off it. When her father dies, she returns home with her daughter (Ortega) and fiance (Justin Theroux) to join Delia (O'Hara) in burying him. Beetlejuice sees this as an opportunity to return to the world of the living, with the additional motive of avoiding an ex (Monica Bellucci), a soul sucker who wants his.

Another movie showing it's nearly impossible to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That said, this is still fun if you sit back and roll with it. I'm always impressed when performers are willing to let loose and go with the Burtonian whimsy, and all of the performers here do just that. Note that the youngest of the performers, Ortega, has the chops of an old pro. One of the highlights has William Dafoe as a dead ham actor directing efforts to keep Beetlejuice contained. Also, Bellucci makes an effective soul sucker, an early scene of her pulling herself together is also a highlight of Burtonian invention.


A Haunting in Venice (2023) dir. Kenneth Branagh; starring Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey (Prime)

The best (by a long stretch) of the three Hercule Poirot movies Branagh has directed. A dispirited post-WWII Poirot is prodded into investigating a medium (Yeoh) by his friend Ariadne Oliver (Fey). Naturally, there's a murder. This works in large part because Branagh brings to his Poirot a world-weariness that is addressed by the events of the movie. Fey's humor occasionally shows through, but she demonstrates she could handle dramatic parts with aplomb. Well worth watching for creepy atmosphere and solid performances in an Agatha Christie mystery not previously adapted to film (that I know of).


Blood of Dracula (1957) dir. who cares?; starring, no one any of us has heard of (Svengoolie on MyTV)

Brought to us by those people who gave us I Was a Teenage Werewolf among other similar movies, this involves a rebellious school girl hypnotized with the aid of an ancient Transylvanian amulet into becoming her worst possible self, a real blood-sucker with bad hair. Dracula hisownself does not appear.