WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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movieman1957
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by movieman1957 »

You can borrow mine.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Hey, Chris! I am SO GLAD you liked this movie! It's just a little bit of nothing, but that's usually the movies I like the best. When things start to go wrong in little ways, and then the way people deal with it, that's what I love to see, and there is so much heart here in this movie.

Nan, I can send you a copy, if I can find it in my pile of dvds.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I'm glad someone else has loved The Maggie, there's a lesson there for us all, not just Paul Douglas, I think he gave us a lesson himself, he was quite polite, even when faced by the most bewildering circumstances and he blew, he was never physically threatening. He was far more polite than his guy with the umbrella. One has the impression that if he'd had a hint of unpleasantness rather then bewilderment his precious cargo would have been sunk long ago.

Another first for me was Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore I really don't know what I expected, I don't think I expected anything apart from an entertaining movie, which I got, I didn't expect a film that taught me everything that shouldn't be done in modern day parenting. Leaving a child in a motel all day? Or dropping him off at the side of the road to walk a mile back to the motel? Introduce a couple of guys in a short space of time just after his father has died? Indulge him? I didn't expect this thoughts from a movie. Have we gone too far the other way? I really don't know. All this aside I enjoyed Ellen Burstyn's performance as the singer and Kris Kristofferson, I've looked at him through new eyes. Is this an advertisement for Tuscon and Phoenix? I enjoyed how Scorsese portrayed these places and despite Ellen's parenting gaps I really liked her.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
MikeBSG
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by MikeBSG »

Watched "Gunfight at the O. K. Corral" (1957) today.

It isn't my favorite western, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it this time. It has a bunch of fine character actors salted throughout, and Kirk Douglas is utterly terrific as Doc Holliday. I love the scene in which he joins Lancaster (Wyatt Earp) for the ride to Tombstone, and Lancaster asks "Where's your gear?" Douglas simply holds up a deck of cards.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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I liked Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore when I saw it with my mom in the movie theatre at a far too young age. I remember I was young enough to be incredibly shocked at the opening, this amazingly, blazingly beautiful shot of a sunset, Alice Faye singing, and then a really bad word! And the movie was disturbing to someone of my sensibilities. However, it was not so disturbing that I couldn't understand it and I was moving into the adult world when it came out, thanks to my parent's divorce. But still it was a bit of an eye opener.

We all make some really stupendous mistakes, And Alice certainly does. It struck me as being very understanding of her mistakes. I definitely could emotionally relate to the film, since my mom and I were in the same sort of situation when I was that age... she divorced and had to make it on her own with a 9 year old precocious child. Of course, my mom did not have affairs with Kris Kristofferson, or anyone else as far as I know... But the rest, without the love interest seemed pretty spot on. I'd love to revisit it, I don't know how I would feel about it now. It was a different time, the movie is connected in my mind with An Unmarried Woman and with a few other more free movies about feminism. At that time, leaving your child in a parked car while you went off to grocery shop was not unheard of. I wandered around my neighborhood every day all by myself. I imagine looking at it now would be a parent's nightmare.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I know, we were left in the car whilst my parents were in the shop, with the words we'll only be 5 minutes which was thr biggest lie, my Mum was quite smothering and didn't let me wander but everyone else did and I felt left behind. Is it a sign of the times that she was a widow? I know it was an awful bolt out of the blue to spur her into rash changes and mistakes but one could see the same thing now but with an unfaithful husband. The opening, wow, really red, I really didn't know what I was going to get. And why did the child look like Peter Bogdanovich? I'm sure it's not intentional but that's how he got me. Plus I missed the fact that the firend was a girl, she looked like a boy and I didn;t catch that her name was Doris but she preferred Audrey (I thought she said Aubrey). More than anything I thought it was a film of it's time. I liked it though.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I believe the same boy was in The Bad News Bears, a movie I still LOVE and I had a bit of a crush on him, because I was a geeky girl who loved classic films and he seemed so smart and geeky too. But my true crush was Brandon Cruz, from The Courtship of Eddie's Father TV show, who was also in The Bad News Bears. I probably saw Alice and Bears in the same year or so, they are also weirdly connected in my brain.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I don't know The Bad News Bears, I remember Happy days, no connection of course but I was terribly young and the Fonz looked like pictures of my father as a young man, I thought all those guys looked cute and it looked wholesome good fun. I can't remember any plot though.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Oh gosh, did you have Happy Days over there? Everyone was crazy about it here when I was growing up. We had dances at school with that theme! I preferred Laverne and Shirley which was basically I love Lucy updated. It's amazing how many shows are taken from that one - my daughter loved a show called Drake and Josh which was all recycled plots from Lucy including working in a sushi factory just like the chocolates episode from Lucy. There is another new show coming up that she can't wait to see, it looks just like Mork and Mindy about a space alien who comes to live in a suburban home.
RedRiver
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

This is a thought provoking discussion. ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, a Scorcese film from before violence became the ONLY theme, is quite good. It's sensitive and uncompromising; in the long run, superior to the broken bones and dismembered bodies the director is best known for. A movie that makes you think, not hide under the seats. Kristofferson is not my favorite actor, but Burstyn's talent more than compensates. A performer I've seen far too little of, I'm always glad when I do.

The Paul Mazursky film is just as good, but harder to nail down. A few days ago, we spoke of "the total package." A movie that doesn't stand out in many particular ways, but effects you as a whole. This "slice of life" look at divorce and rebuilding is one such movie. It's not heartbreaking. It's not accustory. It just is...Like Burstyn, Jill Clayburgh was a sensational performer, creating a real, human being with quirks and nuance. This film is the legacy of a talent who left us too soon.

"OK Corral"? Fine western! Maybe just a shade too long. Crack that whip and trim a little dialogue. But John Sturges' look at this oft told tale is exciting and dramatic. "Clementine" is better. But I've never seen a Wyatt Earp film I didn't like! (That's not entirely true. But this is a story for another time!)
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Do you think Unmarried Woman has dated more than Alice? I haven't seen Alice in a long time, but I think Unmarried does date just a little bit.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by charliechaplinfan »

The theme of Alice is dated but our attitudes have changed, single women are not unusual these days but her treatment of her son, which jars, it's not shown in a cruel light but in a loving but senisible light. One sense she'd been crushed by her marriage, that the joy had been ripped out of her and it was a voyage into being herself again, being answerable for all the decisions that are made and not having to second guess her husband or tiptoe around the fractitious relationship that father and son have with one another.

I haven't seen the Jill Clayburgh picture, it sounds like an ideal companion.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

It's worth watching and I'm amazed you haven't seen it, it has Alan Bates in it.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

SKYFALL SKYFALL SKYFALL! I went to see it, on advice posted here, and it was brilliant! Just brilliant! It was more beautiful than I was expecting, Roger Deakins did a great job as DP and I can't believe that no one here gave away any spoilers.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

I watched "Unmarried" again last year. Dated? Maybe a little. But that didn't detract from the sensitivity. Of course, we're classic fans. We like dated! This is one of two films by Paul Mazursky I like a lot. The offbeat NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE is not everybody's cup of tea. I found its wacky, slice of (bohemian) life entertaining. A fine cast that includes Lou Jacobi, Mike Kellin and an incredibly young Christopher Walken carries it well.
Last edited by RedRiver on November 25th, 2012, 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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