What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

He's pretty amazing, the guy actually lights his own cigarette during the film, it's something else. Imagine that tho, born like that, just when you think life's got you down, this guy lived til 63 like that. Had kids, I mean, wow...
 
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Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

Just an all around classic that I appreciate more every time I see it.

2 words - Peter. Sellers.

I know, Im probably preaching to the choir on this one, but it just has to be said after seeing this film again. Brilliant comedic actor, he's like Steve Martin to me, just his very presence alone on the screen almost makes me bust out laughing. George C Scott is great, everyone's great in this movie, I dont think there's one bad thing I can say about this film.

Never take your precious bodily fluids for granted!
 
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Actually, Steve M is like Peter S!! If you haven't seen it, get hold of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" it's excellent!!
 
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Finally got around to watching Passion of the Christ. While I found it to be…well…harsh as religious movies go, it was a very well made movie. The cinematography was excellent.
 
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Love that film! I hate it when reviewers get their panties in a bunch and get all political about it and dont just watch it for what it is, a remarkable period film with supernatural overtones dealing with a prominent religious figure in history. Ok, maybe that's not quite accurate, but you dont have to get all bitchy about it while reviewing the thing because you dislike the Christian religion or Mel Gibson.

Half the reviews Ive read are so tainted by such BS, they dont reviews the actual film on it's technical or dramatic merits.
 
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I agree. I think that reasoning had more to do with me not getting it when it was released than any other. I wanted to watch it for what it was...a movie. And it's a darn good one.
 
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BTW- "Freaks" is on Turner Classic Movies tonight!

So is "Mark of the Vampire", another Tom browning flick which is supposed to be a remake of the lost "London After Midnight". While "Mark.." is horribly disappointing in the end in my opinion, it has some great moments during it's running time featuring a certain female vampire skulking about.
 
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Le Bossu (English: On Guard) (1997)

I picked this up on a whim and enjoyed it. It's a tale of revenge but doesn't get mired in brooding. Instead, it manages to have plenty of light hearted laughs and quick wit meshed into an overall fun story. The main character, Lagardere, reminds me of Tuco (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) with a sense of honor.

The Fountain(2006)
This was quite possibly the single most confusing movie I have ever seen. Very beautiful though.
 
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Recently I watched Ivan the Terrible again. The over the top theatricality is a bit absurd but it wins me over. And the silence in many scenes -- I hate that in contemporary films there's always a heavy score playing, trying to dictate what emotion the viewer should feel at all time.
 
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Cleopatra (1934)

Good old Turner Movie Classics! This one is nigh impossible to find on VHS or DVD, but Turner came thru for me, now I got it on VHS. Glad I taped it. It's a good film, but like many historical type flicks, it toys pretty significantly with the actual history.

History be damned tho, it was a good flick even by modern day standards in my opinion. Maybe it's just me, but the Roman armor and regalia seems to look better and more authentic in these old black and white films, and this film is a good example of this. Color tends to make these period pieces look cheap, unless they are fairly modern and very high budget. The naval Battle of Actium is done suprisingly well, I was pretty impressed at all the full scale ships and pyrotechnics that were used, this thing must have cost an arm and a leg.

And then of course if the centerpiece of the whole thing that simply must be done right for the film to succeed, Cleopatra.

Claudette-Colbert---Cleopatra--C10104368.jpeg


Of the multitude of Cleos that Ive seen over the years, the Claudette Colbert incarnation is in my opinion, the sexiest. Yes, even moreso than Liz Taylor's rendition. This little manx looks like she could easily seduce any man, I'm an instant Colbert fan. The outfits that she's in are a bit risque for the time, but theyre well done, she looks regal.

This is a great 30's Cleo flick, probably going to have it on a loop in the background this weekend while I'm getting some gaming done.
 
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I watch practically everything worth watching... there's just too many great movies to recall here... but just recently I watched The Davinci Code. I thought it was very good... but it's probably only going to appeal to open-minded people when it comes to religion. If you're very devout in virtually any religion you might find this movie boring (due to lack of suspension of disbelieve as caused by your own beliefs) or even offensive. If you believe unquestionably that there is no God and Jesus was just a man like any other, then the movie similarly will probably just seem pointless to you.

The Remote with Adam Sandler was a very good movie which was released recently. That one was funny and very, very sad. It had some great life lessons that could be learned from it. I'd recommend it to anyone of any age.

For older movies, Vanilla Skies and What Dreams May Come immediately come to mind. Those are works of art in the purest sense of the word. They're poetic creations of the imagination that I for one appreciate immensely. Whether or not they relate to your own beliefs in any or all aspects of your life, they're still worth watching.


I rented the New Superman Returns movie but I heard some bad things about it. I'll have to decide for myself after I watch it. I'll get around to watching it probably tonight. If it is as good as the Spiderman movies then I'll be happy. The spiderman movies are pretty fun to watch.
 
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The Cat People (1982)
The newer one, with Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. I cant say that I didnt like it, but I was certainly disappointed. One of the strengths of the original 1940ish version was the ambiguity of the "cat people" curse. Was Irena really cursed, one of a long line of cat people who transform into a pather and devour their human mates, or simply just neurotic? That's what gave the before-it's-time psycho-sexual thriller it's edge, it was up to the viewer to decide. That edge is nonexistent in the 80's version, it's clear that we have supernatural forces at work here, complete with full-on transformation scenes and strangely catlike things she does even while in human form. It's just overkill that destroys all the mystery. I'm suprised there wasnt a scene of her sharpening her manicure on Malcolm Mcdowell's furniture!

Another sticking point with me was the cheese factor, which is rare for a cheese lover such as myself. Now, for a film that takes itself as serious as this film does, there is no room for cheese. While the former version was made in a low-tech and often times horribly acted era for film, especially for the horror genre, it was the newer version which made me laugh out loud twice.

"Irena" calls a woman's voice behind the growl of a panther. "Mom?" says Nastassja Kinski. I'm sorry, there's just no way I could keep myself composed there! Then at another point, as Nastassja is getting it on with her lover, she makes this weird face and lets out a big "HISSSSSS".

Hilarious! I even checked the subtitle just for kicks and it said [hisses], cracked me up even more!

And while I'm ranting, I have to say that Simone Simon (there's a name for ya) was far more sympathetic than Nastassja. Kinski aguably doesnt even know she's a "cat person" 'til like 3/4 thru the film, where Simon is sure she is from the get-go, and it torments her the entire time. But then again, is she?

Good question, and one that should have went unanswered, in this Tiger's opinion!
 
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Just watched Alice (Jan Svankmajer, 1988)- the most disturbing version of Alice in the Wonderland. Still shivering. Fantastic film- stop-animation, real people and puppets. But so disturbing...
 
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Any of you guys into Maddin/Toles? Life hasn't been quite the same since I saw Careful (which, by the way, is extremely disturbing if experienced under the influence of certain vegetable alkaloids, not that I recommend or even regularly do that sort of thing). I also loved Archangel, and liked Tales from the Gimli Hospital well enough. Didn't much care for Twilight of the Ice Nymphs though.
 
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The Bad Seed

Weird 50's flick about a little girl who's a murdering psychopath. Little misanthrope gets hit by lightning at the end, cracked me up, best part of the film!
 
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Ball Of Fire (1941)

Awesome! Gary Cooper in a role unlike Ive ever seen him, a stuffy scientist type, studying modern slang for an encyclopedia he's pat of writing. Barbara Stanwyck as a ganster's honey and showgirl, goes into hiding (as a subject) in the almost monastic house which Cooper and his fellow scientists are writing the encyclopedia. Suprisingly funny film, loved it!
 
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Watched "Rocky" again last night. I was just laying around being lazy tiger, when it came on TCM. You cant just watch half of a movie like that, so I ended up just watching the whole thing.

Lazy tiger be damned, I worked out and punched the bag for like an hour afterward!
 
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The Bad Seed

Weird 50's flick about a little girl who's a murdering psychopath. Little misanthrope gets hit by lightning at the end, cracked me up, best part of the film!

Yes, that one's a classic--scared the grits out of me as a child--I swear she was the image of my little sister!;)
 
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Hubby, sister-in-law, her hubby and Jaz are about to watch the 'Team America' special edition. After that we'll watch 'Ghost in the Shell: Innocence', and after that, 'FFVII Advent Children', and after that, Enki Bilal's 'Immortal'. I have seen all four, but I haven't seen the dubbed versions of the two in the middle yet, so I'm rather excited...
 
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