Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

Shadow of a Doubt (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1943) 4k disk

The setup: in a brief prologue, Charlie (Joseph Cotten) is seen in a hotel. The hotel lady tells him that two men were looking for him; he decides to flee.
Meanwhile, "Charlie" Charlotte (Teresa Wright) is a teenager from Santa Rosa, CA (which isn't too far from where I live). She's bored, and one day she decides to send a telegram to her uncle Charlie, after whom she's named and of whom she's fond, to liven things up. Coincidentally the family receives a telegram from Charlie that same day saying he's coming over for a visit. They pick him up from the train station and everyone is delighted; he's a super nice guy, and he's brought nice presents for everyone. Charlie (the girl) is especially delighted about her uncle's visit; she's always felt they share a special bond; she attributes it to telepathy and the fact they share a name. Gradually, however, she begins to suspect that there might be more about her uncle than meets the eye... What is he hiding? Or is she making it up?



Apparently of all the films Hitchcock made, this one was his favorite. I don't agree, but it's nevertheless a great little thriller with a good sense of suspense and forward momentum. Also very good central performances by Wright and Cotten (and the child actors are pretty fun, too--the little girl is awesome). I'm not sure I've seen Wright in anything else; I recently saw Cotten in The Third Man. I had a good time with it. Recommended if you like Hitchcock and haven't seen this one; but in the unlikely case you're unfamiliar with Hitchcock and want to check out his best stuff, I'd go for something else first. Rating: 4 shadows of a doubt out of 5.

 

weird the al yankovic story

probably the best harry potter film yet

 

Have you seen "Pride of the Yankees" or "The Best Years of Our Lives"?

 

I haven’t.

 

The Parrallax View The 70's really knew how to do conspiracy thrillers didn't it. Warren Beatty is the reporter delving into the mysterious deaths of everyone who was present at the assassination of a senator. He can't run the story as he doesn't know who he can trust but he discovers a link to a Parallax Corporation, a company recruiting assassins around the world. After attempts on his own life he fakes his own death and then joins them hoping to bag a big conspiracy story.

Never seen this before, Beatty is really good, Parallax are creepy, the paranoia is palpable, some of the shots and locations are striking. The story is bleak, really bleak. Its very much of its time with the score, weird camera angles and cinematography. Thoroughly enjoyed it though.

Amazing to see people dropping their bag at the entrance to an airport and it being unchecked, people actually paying on the flight for their ticket too.

 

weird the al yankovic story is a modern day scarface

 

I'm not sure that I see the correlation.

 

You should. They're two very good movies.

 

I've been meaning to see Best Years of Our Lives again. I saw it once, years ago, but since then I've retired from the air force and I bet I'll react differently to it now.

 

Scrooged (1988)

One of the best Christmas movies and adaptations of A Christmas Carol.

 

Anybody here use Letterboxd ?

 

I do. I know of at least one other person here who does, too.

 

The Da Vinci Code. This movie, and the book it was based on, was vigorously boycotted by many Christians, especially Catholics, on the grounds that it was blasphemous and quite explicitly anti-Catholic. It’s a fair cop, and the boycotters certainly came out ahead in the deal. The movie probably should have been boycotted by everyone, on the grounds that it sucks ass. It is an offense not only against Christian dogma, but more generally against the audience.

I can tolerate a dumb treasure-hunt thriller if it’s fun, but this is not only resoundingly stupid, it’s deadly dull. Tom Hanks, one of the most naturally likable men onscreen, is utterly wasted playing a boring, formless drone to whom not even he can bring a scrap of personality. His character is a “symbologist,” which means he gives inane lectures about how one thing looks kinda like another thing, is passingly good at puzzles, and is extremely conversant for no actual reason in made-up conspiracy theories about the Holy Grail that he rattles off randomly as if they’re common knowledge. He has no other actual characteristics except claustrophobia, which I think is an attempt to give him an Indiana Jones-style weakness except that it doesn’t humorously undercut any heroic adventuring skills he has, it just makes him fidgety in elevators and has no point. He spends most of the movie being led around by other people and solving absurd riddles, and absolutely none of it being entertaining in any way.

The rest of the movie isn’t any better. The plot is stupendously stupid, the sort of incoherent muddle full of incomprehensible left-field solutions to lame riddles characteristic of “smart” characters written by stupid people. None of its butchered conspiracy-theory history feels convincing, in large part because there’s nothing behind it and little sense of meaning, nothing that substantiates it beyond Ian McKellen spinning tales in his estate. Very little that’s actually interesting happens in the film, no notable adventures or action setpieces. Just people talking and very occasionally a pedestrian burst of violence when an albino Paul Bettany shows up to try to kill somebody. And between the boring, murkily dark cinematography and Hanks’s awful haircut, there’s nothing good to look at, no visual razzle-dazzle to a movie about priceless artistic masterpieces, exotic locations, and notional adventure.

Characters, plot, action, dialogue, visuals, atmosphere, everything this movie can suck at, it does. If you are going to slander a major world religion and multiple actual contemporary organizations to make a potboiler, at least make a good potboiler. This crappy monument to mediocrity wasn’t even worth the time of the people protesting it.

 

I don't care about slandering Christianity, but what they did to Tom Hanks' hair was sacrilegious.

 

Da Vinci Code the book was essential reading, a real page tuner. The movie was a massive let down. They did a much better job with Angels and Demons.

 

I do.

 

we all do, quietly in our own small spaces, rooms, boxes, and quarters

 

Police Academy this must have been a big hit on vhs rentals back in the mid-80's as it was something we hired out often until we got our own home video recorder and taped it off the tv. It must be well over 30 years since I last saw this and then decided to give it another go today. It still has its funny moments that made me chuckle, most of which probably wouldn't make it into a film if it was made today. Amazing how many sequels it spawned.

 

amazing just how many hits Steve Guttenberg had in the 80's , and then ...

 

Just finished JL Synder cut. Far far far better than the ass that hit the big screen.

 

Weird the al Yankovic story

Just so good

 

I never thought Blazing Saddles could be made again in today's age, yet Paws of Fury was a kid's version remake of Blazing Saddles. So, perhaps Police Academy could be remade, even if all of the same jokes couldn't be used.

 

I watched Police Academy in the '80s when I was a preteen--it was soooo funny! I tried watching it again about 5 years ago and turned it off. Cringe.

Humor has a weird way of aging; it ages more rapidly than any other genre, and it tends to not age gracefully. Dated dramas are still relatable when they're well-done. Dated special effects movies are often quaint and interesting; we watch it and say something like "those special effects were really good for their time!". But dated humor is just annoying (do we ever say "those jokes were really funny for their time"?). And it's not just whether jokes are PC or not (though it helps); it's everything, from the types of jokes to the way comedic timing works. I can't quite put my finger on it. Obviously there are some exceptions--Dr Strangelove, Airplane!, and others still mostly work.

Someone mentioned Some Like it Hot a few posts ago, a classic (and in the BFI top 100!). I thought it was a good movie, but hardly one of the best ever made. But people were rolling in the isles with laughter when it was first released.

(Speaking of the BFI top 100, they are going to release the next one some time next week.)