Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?

[S.B.G]

Mine may have come from ThinkGeek.

I kept it in the original packing since it's obviously worth much more than whatever the selling price was.

Hmmm..... that may end up on my office desk one of these days.

 

[Plutonius]

The weekend before that, I rewatched the two seasons of the "Death Note" animé. On storytelling level and plot turns, I would consider it one of the best animés, maybe even the best one outthere.

As far as anime, "Death Note" is one of the classics. I'm not sure I'm ever going to re-watch it after seeing it once (it was very good). I am currently re-watching "Noir". It's an excellent anime (especially the music) and I highly recommend it.

 

[spoon man]

Just watched Jack Reacher I lost interest about half way, but Rosamund Pike kept me watching .

 

[twietee]

As far as anime, "Death Note" is one of the classics. I'm not sure I'm ever going to re-watch it after seeing it once (it was very good). I am currently re-watching "Noir". It's an excellent anime (especially the music) and I highly recommend it.

Because we briefly talked about it: I've watched some episodes of Afro Samurai and Angel Beats.

The Afro is not bad, I like the drawing style, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it. I would probably compare it to Trigun, which is good, but not good as Cowboy Bebop for example (not even close imho). But it's entertaining nevertheless.

But I have to confess to not knowing what to think of your highly praised Angel Beats.
Just saw the first episode and well...maybe have to see some more. Maybe I'm not old and young enough for it at the same time!

 

[Plutonius]

Because we briefly talked about it: I've watched some episodes of Afro Samurai and Angel Beats.

The Afro is not bad, I like the drawing style, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it. I would probably compare it to Trigun, which is good, but not good as Cowboy Bebop for example (not even close imho). But it's entertaining nevertheless.

But I have to confess to not knowing what to think of your highly praised Angel Beats.
Just saw the first episode and well...maybe have to see some more. Maybe I'm not old and young enough for it at the same time!

I also wasn't sure what to think after I saw the first episode but it ended up being one of my favorites .

 

[obeygiant]

Just saw "Oz, the great and powerful". It was pretty good. Kind of nice family entertainment. Thumbs up.

 

[sk1wbw]

Watching Event Horizon, not a completely bad sci-fi movie.

 

[costabunny]

watching Blade Runner (again) - no matter how many times I watch this; it's still atmospheric and haunting love it.

 

[obeygiant]

watching Blade Runner (again) - no matter how many times I watch this; it's still atmospheric and haunting love it.

Love that movie. Every once in a while I'll catch the voice-over version playing on IFC. The final cut of the film works best for me.

 

[S.B.G]

Just put on Beowulf, kind of more for background noise than anything.

 

[Happybunny]

I'm going to get slaughtered for this, but I don't think Paul Newman was much of an actor. I hasten to add that I think he was an interesting and generous man, but I found most of his acting to be, at least very least, obvious...and at worst, really trying too hard to be Marlon Brando. As an example, in "Somebody Up There Like Me", all the mumbling and shrugging and aw shucks stuff was just overacting...badly.

He was fine in light comedies that just required him to look gorgeous and wink at the camera a lot. "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy..." were his meat and potatoes. Look gorgeous, smile slyly, and delivered his lines mainly with his blue, blue eyes.

He was, IMO, pretty good in "The Hustler", and better as he aged, as in "The Color Of Money". He was acceptable (though still overacting) in "The Verdict", but again, you just sat there and watched him obviously "act"...not submerge himself in the character.

All that said, for the most part, I found his films enjoyable, but never forgot, for a moment, that I was watching Paul Newman, not just believing the character he was playing.

Again...I think he was a good guy. Took up racing very seriously at 50+ years, gave away scads of money with his food products, did good stuff for kids...but never once really submerged himself in a role...never once disappeared in a role. That, along with range, characterizes, for me, a good actor.

Sorry, a bit late my response..

I have to admit that I don't share your exprience with Newman. I haven't seen an awful lot of his movies, but those that I've seen, I liked him quite a lot (Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy..., Torn Curtain, Sting - although I think this is not a masterpiece, Hud, Hudsucker - minor role, etc.).

I don't think his acting in Hud is obvious. But do you have seen this movie? I just ask, because the only flaw I see here is the title. So many great characters and actors, it's just incredible and I'm not quite sure why pick one and name the whole piece after him. The music, screenplay, directing and the whole cast is top notch imho.

I can't say where Newman would stand if James Dean hadn't died so early, playing so many roles Dean would have (possibly) gotten. And I dont claim he re-invented acting or revolutioized it. But I don't care, he perfectly impersonates this cool, ambitious but lazy and lost guy for me in his younger years. Brando is a different story though and you know how high I think of him. The lost and rebellious young 'Brando' is completely different to the one of Newman (which is probably more ordinary somehow), but I think they're both justified. I don't know about any off-screen stuff of Newman though, but you make it sound like he's a good guy.

I have yet to watch more movies with J.Dean to re-think and render my equation more precisely, though.

Oh, and I've finished Lawrence of Arabia. Have to give it some thought until judgement. Peter O' Toole looks like he's on drugs and sure is....eh...special. I would think you're not a big fan of him, Shrink.

Remarkably, James Dean only made three movies..."Rebel Without A Cause", "East Of Eden", and "Giant" before he lunched his Porsche and himself. (He did a bunch of TV, but only 3 movies). Dean, Brando, and Newman, among others (e.g. Montgomery Clift), were the new breed actors who came out of the Actors Studio (an acting style called "The Method", based on the writings of Stanislowski). They all represented a sea change in acting...instead of acting from the outside in, they acted from the inside out...and changed American film acting forever. For me, Dean and Brando were the pick of the litter in their impact on film acting.

I have seen ALL of Newman's movies. I'm not saying he was terrible, but I feel he was obvious, and as I mentioned in my post...never really submerged himself in the characters he played, and was at his best when he played light comedy, and could wink at the audience. He appeared to be having a good time in those roles (e.g. "The Sting", "Butch Cassidy...") and invited the audience to join him in the fun. But as far as disappearing into his more dramatic roles...not so much. If you want to see him overdo do it, see "Somebody Up There Likes Me", if you haven't seen it yet. For me, it's a prime example of his bad overacting.

About "Lawrence Of Arabia"...first, in general, I don't like "epic" films. I prefer smaller, less GRAND films. It was OK for what it was, but not a favorite of mine. (see also: Dr. Zhivago, and "Gone With The Wind...which I have tried to watch several times, and could never make it all the way through.)

I have, however, enjoyed O'Toole in other films, and I think he was quite good, accepting that he represented the British style of film acting. A bit large and grand (see: Laurence Olivier for the well done, but over the top style of British acting), but I have enjoyed many of his performances.

BTW: I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "special"...but if you mean gay,the real Lawrence was purported, by some, to have been bisexual...although there is not universal agreement on that. Also, although not mentioned explicitly in the movie (if I remember correctly - I saw the film long ago) Lawrence was raped during one of his times as a prisoner. O'Toole himself, I am quite sure, was straight. One of the heavy drinking, bar fighting, Brits...along with Richard Burton and others.

I have not seen 'Hud', so I'll keep an eye out for it.

However, I am something of a fan of Paul Newman in his 'lighter' movies, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and, obviously, 'The Sting', (a lovely, clever, witty, stylish movie, and a terrific soundtrack).

Perhaps, I am biased, as I really liked Paul Newman the man; his politics, his attitudes on race, gender, disability, his generous charity work - whereby he gave both time and money to causes he supported, and so on. I realise that I am perfectly capable of overlooking his limitations as an actor as I liked the man so much....



Here, I have to say that I'm not all that impressed by Peter O'Toole, the actor, and I never saw him as 'great' (whereas some of the other brawlers, heaving drinking barflies of that era, such as Richard Harris and Richard Burton, were excellent actors).

Re 'East of Eden', I've never liked the film, because I loved the book, and I think the film (movie) is an utter travesty of what was a superb and stunning work, easily Steinbeck's best work.

In the early 1990s, I tripped over a battered, copy in my father's bedroom. It was a cheap paperback, with yellow dusting on the edges of the pages, pages which themselves, easily separated from the spine, closely packed print which smudged easily and was difficult to read.

Looking at it, I realised that my father had bought it in the US in the 1950s, when the book came out, and had smuggled it home to Ireland in his suitcase, where, it had been, of course, banned, under our draconian censorship laws.

Unfortunately, the movie misses the epic scope and scale of the novel, and, by omitting the first two thirds of the novel (by focussing solely on Cal and Aron's story) also misses entirely the moral and philosophical core of the book, as expressed by the superlative philosophical discussions between Samuel Hamilton and Lee, the Chinese philosopher-cook (easily my favourite character in the entire book).



Quite a while since I've seen it, too, alas.

A Paul Newman film changed my life,well sort of.
In 1969 I saw the film "Cool hand Luke" and I was mesmerised by the mirrored sunglasses of "Boss Godfrey" played by Morgan Woodward. I looked for a long time to find such glasses for myself, I heard that you could buy them in Amsterdam, I travelled the 65 Kms a bought a pair.
The next weekend I was in my home town, sitting at a beer garden, wearing my new glasses, when this girl walked up to me and sat down, and said Hi I'm Ankie. She later became my wife, I asked her why she had talked to me in the first place she said it was the sunglasses.
Here's me 43 years later same beer garden and same glasses.

Also 3 wives later.

I've always had a soft spot for that film.

 

[Shrink]

A Paul Newman film changed my life,well sort of.
In 1969 I saw the film "Cool hand Luke" and I was mesmerised by the mirrored sunglasses of "Boss Godfrey" played by Morgan Woodward. I looked for a long time to find such glasses for myself, I heard that you could buy them in Amsterdam, I travelled the 65 Kms a bought a pair.
The next weekend I was in my home town, sitting at a beer garden, wearing my new glasses, when this girl walked up to me and sat down, and said Hi I'm Ankie. She later became my wife, I asked her why she had talked to me in the first place she said it was the sunglasses.
Here's me 43 years later same beer garden and same glasses.
Image
Also 3 wives later.

I've always had a soft spot for that film.

I can see where the film had an significant impact on your life!

And now, the obvious question is...did the sunglasses contribute to your other two marriages??!!

 

[mscriv]

Watching Event Horizon, not a completely bad sci-fi movie.

I love that movie. I saw it in college with a group of friends in the theater. It was hilarious because one of our friends was not from this country and not familiar with horror movies. He completely freaked out and talked to the actors on screen the whole time trying to help them. It was so funny.

 

[twietee]

...

Also 3 wives later.

I've always had a soft spot for that film.

Good story!

But didn't Newman broke out of prison three times too in Cool Hand Luke? There may be another, deeper psychological impact of said movie onto you and your marriages than you think...

But honestly, it's one of my favorite prison break movies ever, too. Just topped by Le Trou which is pure art imho. And no, I don't like the Shawshank Redemption (or however the name is).

 

[Happybunny]

I can see where the film had an significant impact on your life!

And now, the obvious question is...did the sunglasses contribute to your other two marriages??!!

That would be a big NO.
Wife number two banned me from wearing them when she accompanied me.

Good story!

But didn't Newman broke out of prison three times too in Cool Hand Luke? There may be another, deeper psychological impact of said movie onto you and your marriages than you think...

But honestly, it's one of my favorite prison break movies ever, too. Just topped by Le Trou which is pure art imho. And no, I don't like the Shawshank Redemption (or however the name is).

I must say I had never looked for a deeper meaning, but I did find the end of marriages two and three to be very liberating.

Look What I just ordered from Amazon.

 

[twietee]

Look What I just ordered from Amazon.


Image

I just bought myself the (smallish ) complete collection of James Dean...wonder what would happen if I got myself a red leather jacket, too??! Maybe I can tell you in twenty years...if MR didn't explode/implode earlier.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A Paul Newman film changed my life,well sort of.
In 1969 I saw the film "Cool hand Luke" and I was mesmerised by the mirrored sunglasses of "Boss Godfrey" played by Morgan Woodward. I looked for a long time to find such glasses for myself, I heard that you could buy them in Amsterdam, I travelled the 65 Kms a bought a pair.
The next weekend I was in my home town, sitting at a beer garden, wearing my new glasses, when this girl walked up to me and sat down, and said Hi I'm Ankie. She later became my wife, I asked her why she had talked to me in the first place she said it was the sunglasses.
Here's me 43 years later same beer garden and same glasses.
Image
Also 3 wives later.

I've always had a soft spot for that film.

That is a great and very enjoyable post, and thanks for sharing.

I can see where the film had an significant impact on your life!

And now, the obvious question is...did the sunglasses contribute to your other two marriages??!!

What can I say? This man knows what questions to ask......

That would be a big NO.
Wife number two banned me from wearing them when she accompanied me.



I must say I had never looked for a deeper meaning, but I did find the end of marriages two and three to be very liberating.

Look What I just ordered from Amazon.


Image

Bravo, very good response.

I just bought myself the (smallish ) complete collection of James Dean...wonder what would happen if I got myself a red leather jacket, too??! Maybe I can tell you in twenty years...if MR didn't explode/implode earlier.

Twietee, promise me that if you watch all the James Dean movies, you will at least read the book 'East of Eden', and see what the differences are between the two of them. For what it is worth, John Steinbeck himself regarded it as his best work by far (going so far as to write that he had 'poured everything he was and everything he knew' into the book; indeed, he and his mother appear as cameos in the book).

And, apart from the flashes of misogyny (Steinbeck was going through a messy divorce at the time he was writing the book), which I pass over with gritted teeth and averted eyes, I also think it excellent.

 

[Shrink]

watching Blade Runner (again) - no matter how many times I watch this; it's still atmospheric and haunting love it.

Fantastic film. For me, it's the only true neo-noir film, and in color. It's the update of the 40's hard boiled detective movie (e.g., "Murder, My Sweet")

Lots of films get called neo-noir, and are in color. My take on noir is, with the exception of "Bladerunner", the are no color films that can be called noir, or if more recent, neo-noir...except "Bladerunner".

Wonderful script, direction, acting, cinematography, and art direction.

The story has it that when Ann Rice saw Rutger Hauer in this film, it was him she visualized as LeStat in her vampire books.

The movie is a gem!!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Fantastic film. For me, it's the only true neo-noir film, and in color. It's the update of the 40's hard boiled detective movie (e.g., "Murder, My Sweet")

Lots of films get called neo-noir, and are in color. My take on noir is, with the exception of "Bladerunner", the are no color films that can be called noir, or if more recent, neo-noir...except "Bladerunner".

Wonderful script, direction, acting, cinematography, and art direction.

The story has it that when Ann Rice saw Rutger Hauer in this film, it was him she visualized as LeStat in her vampire books.

The movie is a gem!!

Yes, "Bladerunner" is an imaginative, atmospheric, beautifully shot, thought-provoking and utterly original film. Great soundtrack, too......

 

[twietee]

...promise me that if you watch all the James Dean movies, you will at least read the book 'East of Eden', and see what the differences are between the two of them.

With pleasure! I loved every book I read of him, especially Cannery Row. Uh..those are books, wrong thread then.


Blade Runner is perfect. I watch it 2-3 times a year and am always amazed that it's running time is incredible short (in comparison). Since I never notice that while viewing, it guess it just proofs how perfect this movie tells its story.

Besides, the apartment of Deckard features Wright's famous brick pattern of the Ennis House. It was also used for Vincent Price's House on Haunted Hill b-movie. I too read that the Deleted and Alternate Scenes, part of the bonus features is actually quite awesome and was highly recommended. I haven't got the 30th anniv. bluray box, but when I do, I will gladly report back.

edit: hmmm, seems like my mind tricked me: running time is supposed to be 117min. Well, it's sooo good, it feels like 80min.

 

[Huntn]

also 3 wives later.

 

[twietee]

Just finished The Elephant Man. Superb movie and great reference to all the 30s/40s horror movies. Frankenstein, Freaks and The Body Snatcher comes to mind. Beautifully played by Anthony Hopkins, too.

 

[twietee]

*looks at thread thoughtfully*

"Maybe I watch too many movies?"

Anyway, finally got to see Shane last night, which was, alongside with Hud, the last within my Western collection - well there still is Altman's Buffalo Bill (with Newman) - ...but not a fan! Strangely, this movie is much praised and raved about at ImdB (that's why I got it initially), but it feels so utterly constructed that it's hard to understand why such a fuss? It has all the standard western-templates, though, so maybe that's it? Puzzles me!

Because I'm in the mood for some "spoilers", which made me laugh out loud, be warned and skip to the next post:

- Shane, our 'hero', got into some trouble at the saloon (the only place where the mean guys always hang out, yet everybody still goes there once a day to sip a whiskey...or soda pop) - but he was told not to get into trouble, so he let it pass.
Second time he enters the town, now along his new farmer-friends, and hit the store (which is right next to the saloon) the camera shows how the brave men and women check out the groceries in the foreground.In the background we, rather accidentally, see Shane, played by Alan Ladd - not the tallest actor in Hollywood history btw, immediately running to the saloon swing doors, standing outside on his toes and spieing into the saloon if the bad guys are still around. Maybe that doesn't sound funny, but it was so awkward a situation, really made me laugh.

- Shane finally got to fist fight his farmer-friend to stop him going to town to get shot by this evil gunslinger Wilson (indeed excellent: Jack Palance). They rumble from inside the house to the outside. Camera stays inside and follows The Wife and this ennerving little rascal (Brandon de Wilde) to the window to see the two men fight. When the two arrive at the window, there is a horse's head coming right in front of them- staring at them. WTF? lol.

- So Shane finally cheated a bit to knock the good farmer down to finish business in town himself and rides away on his horse. Since the little rascal, who was mad at first, because he cheated the fist fight, yelled an excuse after Shane, which he supposedly didn't hear - that's what his mother tells him - he runs after Shane. And by running I mean speeding past the river, fields, mountain and forest at night time to come to town ten seconds (!!!) after our brave Shane on his horse. C'mon. Oh, did I mention he's supposed to be 7-8 years old?

Only really cool scene was Jack Palance shooting one of the farmers after provoking him (in fact remarkable little shooting in this western - which I don't mind - maybe only 6 shots during the whole movie).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

To be honest, I don't really like the 'classic westerns', as I find them too clichéd, too predictable, too lacking in nuance, and worst of all, with mono-dimensional characters and utterly predictable (and worse, ahistorical) villains, and ahistorical stories.

And, the lighting bothers, me; even as a child, I disliked it in the classic Hollywood westerns - they seemed so false. In art, I like the works of the Flemish/Dutch masters, the morbid Spaniards, and (much later) the Impressionists - I love the way the play of light can be used to mask or highlight detail when using a canvas (or a screen) to tell a tale.

Hence, on account of their stunning lighting (accurately reflecting a pitiless sun in an arid landscape, an authentic backdrop to the tales being told), I also like spaghetti westerns, despite conceding the doubtful history.

While I have no problem with studio lighting in urban (indoor) settings, especially film noir, (where I love the dubious darkness, which adds to the atmosphere and is usually augmented by excellent character acting, gloriously imperfect characters, great scripts...and so on), in westerns, I like my settings to be more realistic, i.e. shot outdoors in settings which frame the narrative, so that the landscape and lighting enhance the narrative.

Thus, oddly, I really like some of the 'modern' nuanced (and knowing) deconstructions of the 'western' myth, such as 'The Outlaw Josie Wales', and 'Unforgiven'; for the same reason, (he was allowed to be human and afraid), I also really liked Gary Cooper's shocked Marshall in 'High Noon'. And yes, I also liked 'Heaven's Gate', and loved 'Once Upon a Time In The West'.

All of this means that here is the place to state that I simply loathe (strong verb, I know) John Wayne, both as an actor (and as an icon).

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

In The Valley Of Elah
with Charlize Theron & Tommy Lee Jones

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