What was the last movie you saw?

[Happy Joe]

Snagged a double; The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb; 1940s, B&W, both on the same DVD.
Unfortunately these are chopped/cut down versions (television stations used to do this to make movies fit the time slots), running about an hour each. Although a bit jumpy (due to the inexpert trimming) still enjoyable (in the right mind frame). Note; the second movies has many cut scene/flashbacks from the first with some extra story line, the heroes are now old and their adult offspring get to deal with the Mummy.
These almost looked/viewed like a serial although I believe they were intended as a movie and its sequel.

If you are not a fan these can be skipped.

Enjoy!

 

[j d worthington]

Snagged a double; The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb; 1940s, B&W, both on the same DVD.
Unfortunately these are chopped/cut down versions (television stations used to do this to make movies fit the time slots), running about an hour each. Although a bit jumpy (due to the inexpert trimming) still enjoyable (in the right mind frame). Note; the second movies has many cut scene/flashbacks from the first with some extra story line, the heroes are now old and their adult offspring get to deal with the Mummy.
These almost looked/viewed like a serial although I believe they were intended as a movie and its sequel.

If you are not a fan these can be skipped.

Enjoy!

Actually, these were short films (as most of the Universal horror films of this period were): The Mummy's Hand, for instance, had a running time of 67 minutes, while The Mummy's Tomb was exactly 60 minutes in length. So these aren't (likely) cut-down versions, but the originals. I agree, though, that the editing was sometimes a bit rough, and this caused some confusing or unsatisfactory transitions....

Hoops: What did you think of Psycho, The Birds, and Marnie?

As for my own viewing: I recently rewatched Aaron Vanek's The Yellow Sign (2001). Although a small, independent film, with all the flaws that entails, it manages quite a good atmosphere and sense of the nightmarish, and David Reynolds puts in a rather good performance as the Watchman (not quite the way Chambers depicted him in the tale, but that might have proven just a bit difficult to accomplish without a much larger buget, and his presence is definitely impressive). Some serious liberties taken with the story itself, but I also think they work quite well, in general.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for the more obscure weird films that center around storytelling, atmosphere, and the like rather than gore or physical horror....

 

[gully_foyle]

Hot Fuzz on the telly the other night. Love it, though the plot falls apart half way through. Couldn't figure out which Iain M Banks book(s) Bill Baillie was reading.

 

[ravenus]

You know, I have a fair amount of fondness for that particular film. Flawed, ridiculous, silly thing that it is, it nonetheless has its charm (for me, at any rate)....

Me too. It's the only one in that series that remembers to have a modicum of old-world charm and even a wee bit of horror.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Watched The Machinist last night. Christian Bale, as I said elsewhere, really does put his body through some to get into a role. Like when he buffed up for American Psycho. Never really through much of him before (literally), but really starting to respect him as an actor. The Machinist was good, but considering how weird the film was generally, I also expected the denouement to also be more...well, weird.

Watched Vertigo today, as my ongoing quest to devour my Hitchcock collection. And after today's viewing, really quite like James Stewart now. I especially enjoyed the first half of the film, and the relationship between Scotty and the bra-making woman (I forget her name now, alas).

And to answer your question, J.d, been liking them just fine. Psycho has been, without a doubt, my favourite so far. I was just so surprised and taken by Norman Bates. I think, having heard the name mentioned so much and the things it has become synonymous with now, I just was not expecting the character to be as he was in the film.

People with so many issues and problems and weird relationships; it's all good viewing.

 

[ravenus]

Brokeback Mountain
Not particularly impressed with the screenplay but Ang Lee directs with a quiet sure hand and Heath Ledger's performance is a revelation (after I thought him an overrated bore in the Batman movie)

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

HBO presentation, You Don't Know Jack. Actually a very good movie, I found. Better than some biographical ones I've seen, and it was played out pretty well, I thought. I believe they got Al Pacino to play Dr. Kevorkian simply because he looked more like him than other actors might have, but of course Pacino is at the top of the A-list and his performance was great. The others played their parts well as far as I know.

 

[Toby Frost]

I thought him an overrated bore in the Batman movie

Ledger was ok, but the film was so obsessed with being dark it forgot to give the Joker any jokes. To my mind, Jack Nicholson still owns that role.

 

[Foxbat]

Sherlock Holmes
Really enjoyed this one.

 

[biodroid]

Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant - very cool movie actually nice action a pretty generic story but John C Rielly played his part well.

Surrogates - this was good dispite the poor reviews, better than Gamer IMHO

 

[nj1]

Saw WATCHMEN for the first time last night. £6 in Tesco... worth the £6 but i'm glad i never went to the cinema to watch it as i found it a bit over long (the missus actually fell asleep twice).

Was watching the fabulous YOUNG GUNS 2 on five until Dr Who started... was torn which way to go but Dr Who won out in the end as i've seen YG's loads of times.

 

[Foxbat]

The First Of August (English subtitles) The first part of a trilogy based on the struggles of the Chinese Communists starting in early 20th Century. The first part deals with the uprising of that date in 1927 and is a well filmed but deeply sanitised and romanticised account of the events leading up to the revolt in Nanchang.

Quite simply, this is Action Propaganda along the lines of Braveheart meets Spartacus with a sprinkling of the Little Red Book. Confusing for the viewer that lacks any knowledge of 20th century Chinese history, it is, nonetheless a decent if deliberately skewed movie.

Mao makes a brief appearance halfway through and again at the end (and is on a par with John Wayne’s ‘Truly he is the of God’ moment). I expect the second part of this trilogy will be of the long march and will be just as sterile a retelling as this one was. I fully expect to see Mao exit a burning building with a child under his arms just like Kurt Russel in Backdraft……but then again I’m a known cynic.

Still, if watched with a fair bit of scepticism, it’s not the worst I’ve seen.

 

[ravenus]

Sherlock Holmes
Really enjoyed this one.

You, Foxbat, YOU? Does this mean I should actually give this a spin? Yes, I don't expect any faithfulness to the Doyle stories, but is it an actually fun movie or another soulless display of what these fancy computers can do?

 

[j d worthington]

I especially enjoyed the first half of the film, and the relationship between Scotty and the bra-making woman (I forget her name now, alas).

I assume you mean Midge, played by Barbara Bel Geddes -- quite an accomplished actress, that one.... Stewart played some very complex characters himself, I think you'll find. (Though I'd love to have seen the stage version of Harvey, in which I understand he made the character a good deal edgier and slightly sinister....)

 

[BookStop]

Was feeling nostalgic this weekend and got a couple borrowed movies fromthe library.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is just as hi-larioius as I rmember from my last viewing some 5 years ago. The kids quite enjoyed this one as well, and my 11 year old is now quite the accomplished "Ni" sayer.
BladeRunner was a bit of a disappointment though. My attention span must not be what it used to be, as I got bored during allt he long scenes with nothing but ambiance, and the shadowing visuals were more of an eye-strain than anything else. ( I kind of wish I had left this movie alone and just remembered it fondly instead) Rutger Hauer was excellent though - I love that man - and I jsut got the significance of my t -shirt with the origami unicorn on it. *slaps forehead*

 

[Foxbat]

You, Foxbat, YOU? Does this mean I should actually give this a spin? Yes, I don't expect any faithfulness to the Doyle stories, but is it an actually fun movie or another soulless display of what these fancy computers can do?

I would take the Sherlock link with a pinch of salt and treat it for what it is....just a good old fist fight, lots of running, jumping and a few puzzles to solve.... against a Victorian background. Some nice CGI that is not over the top and reasonably subtly applied. Good fun but definitely not Sherlock as we know him

 

[Daisy-Boo]

Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant - very cool movie actually nice action a pretty generic story but John C Rielly played his part well.

Surrogates - this was good dispite the poor reviews, better than Gamer IMHO

I enjoyed Cirque du Freak too. It was quite a sweet little movie.

I agree with you about Surrogates. I also enjoyed it more than I expected I would. It's not a great movie but it's not a bad movie either.

 

[clovis-man]

Two period pieces:

My One And Only is set in 1953 or thereabouts and is loosely based on the young life of George Hamilton. It involves his mother, played by Renee Zellweger, leaving town after finding her band leader husband, Kevin Bacon, in flagrante delicto with a chorus girl. The ensuing odyssey and the collection of strange characters that Zellweger & her two sons, George & Robbie encounter is highly entertaining.

The Secret Life of Bees happens in the civil rights era of the early 1960s and is a fairly faithful adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel. Good cast (Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning et al) and a good, albeit sometimes unsettling story. Worthwhile.

Something else both movies have in common: excellent film scores by Mark Isham.

 

[Happy Joe]

"Sorcerer" a remake of "Wages of Fear". I much prefer "Wages" (in spite of the ending and subtitles)...
Both movies have criminals/low lifes transporting nitroglycerin (the main component of dynamite) over rough terrain in heavy trucks.
A fair movie (Sorcerer) worth a rental.
(Now I have to locate a copy of "Wages of Fear" for the library).

Enjoy!

 

[mosaix]

"Like Minds". An interesting but disturbing movie.