What was the last film you watched?

[DallasFanForever]

Luxury Liner (1948)
A cruise ship captain’s daughter has dreams of becoming an opera singer so when she finds out that her father’s next voyage will coincidentally have some opera singers onboard she sneaks onto the ship. She gets caught and her father punishes her but she soon befriends one of the passengers and starts to play Cupid trying to fix her up with her father. All in all a pretty good movie.

 

[Seaviewer]

Luxury Liner (1948)

I've seen that one.
Jane Powell made a lot of great musicals, including Seven Brides For Seven Brothers with Howard Keel.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

May Contain Nuts (2009)

This was one of those films where I read the premise and wondered if I might not be the key demographic. And I came out of it feeling the same way.

Perhaps it's one of those films that resonates well with parents who can smile in recognition of some of the competitiveness and pretension that comes from interacting with other parents or the joy, truth and stress that raising children brings.

It wasn't entirely without its charming, heartwarming or funny moments, but overall it felt very much like an am dram reinterpretation of a Mike Leigh play, where wryness and bile - and humour - is lost in the mix. I'm fine with the characters being entitled and unlikeable, but I struggled with a subtext that suggests the audience is supposed to "get" them, and I just didn't. The woman was whiny while hubby had that aura where you can sense him trying (far too hard) to be natural and funny in his delivery. Imagine an hour and a half of watching that guy in the advert who asks Alexa about Mount Vesuvius married to one of those smug Oral B housewives and you have this.

It also had that Desperate Housewives dramedy tone prevalent at the time, where frenetically quirky music cues the audience in to which bits are supposed to be funny.​

 

[Angela Channing]

Seconds (1966)

This in an interesting film but not a great one. Apparently it was one of Rock Hudson's favourite performances and he is good in it and it's a departure from the light comedies and romantic leads that audiences were more familiar seeing him in.

The plot concerns a man who is dissatisfied with life and is convinced to go to a company to create a new life for him with a totally new identify and physical appearance. There's an unexpected scene in which Rock Hudson's character witnesses a group of people taking off all their clothes and jumping in a big vat of grapes to crush them, presumably to make wine. The scene contains full frontal male and female nudity and towards the end they rip off Rock's clothes and he joins in the grape crushing. It's not the kind of scene you find in a mainstream film with a major Hollywood star back in the 1960s. It's a clever story with a nice twist at the end.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I've seen that one.
Jane Powell made a lot of great musicals, including Seven Brides For Seven Brothers with Howard Keel.

The truth is I’ve never been a big fan of musicals for whatever reason but I really liked this one. I’m glad I gave it a chance.

 

[Biggie]

Bicentennial Man.

Robin Williams and Embeth Davidtz (in both roles as Portia and Little Miss) give performances that are without equal.

Visually stunning and accompanied by an original score that aurally sweeps you off your feet and into the lives you Andrew and Little Miss/Portia.

Excellent in every conceivable way.

 

[Angela Channing]

Hot Air (2019)

Steve Coogan as a Trump/Farage type (with something of the Greg Sumner to him). Taylor Russell was incredibly endearing as his niece. I kept seeing Bobby Simpson from Home and Away, and there was more than a little of the Jodi Foster about her.

Steve gave an absolutely blinding speech about 21st Century American values in the last third of the film. Sadly, I can't find it as shown, but I did find a bizarre remix (note Judith Light opening things up as Coogan's Hillary Clinton type nemesis):

I watched this film and thought it was interesting. Not sure Steve Coogan was the best choice for the lead. When the character is all about what he sees as being important American values it seems kind of strange to employ a Brit to play that part. However, he just about pulls it off. The real star is the girl that played his niece, such a charismatic and engaging screen presence, I hope she goes on to achieve big things in films. Nice film which on the surface is about what people think American values should be but fundamentally is about family and personal values.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Terrific performances by Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis but something just seemed to be missing for me.

Lancaster plays a powerful gossip columnist who is so overprotective of his younger sister that he hires a press agent, played by Curtis, to break her up with her boyfriend at all costs.
I liked the premise on paper but it just fell flat for me.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Not sure Steve Coogan was the best choice for the lead. When the character is all about what he sees as being important American values it seems kind of strange to employ a Brit to play that part. However, he just about pulls it off.

Yes, it's a strange one. He did convince me, though. He certainly looks the part.

The real star is the girl that played his niece, such a charismatic and engaging screen presence, I hope she goes on to achieve big things in films.

She was very likeable and yes: charismatic and engaging covers it well. Very watchable indeed.

 

[Biggie]

Respect.

My lexicon is not extensive enough for me to adequately describe how impeccable Jennifer Hudson was in the role of Aretha Franklin.

Respect was spellbinding throughout, The movie depicted the highs and the lows of Aretha Franklin's life from a young girl up to 1972. The musical set pieces were..... it's Aretha Franklin! She's had the ear of presidents!

I must single out the young actress who portrayed Aretha Franklin as a child for extra acknowledgement. That young lady is talented beyond her years, and deserves recognition.

I don't know the correct superlatives to use to convey how excellent this movie is.

 

[Seaviewer]

The Duke Wore Jeans
1958 musical starring Tommy Steele.
Sort of a mashup between The Prince and the Pauper and Cinderella with some rather ponderous songs co-written by Lionel Bart.
The only other cast member I recognised was Alan Wheatley - the sheriff in the Robin Hood TV series - and there's what I assume is an intentional meta moment when we get a cutaway of his reaction when Steele's character claims to be descended from the outlaw.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Blind Chance (1987)
I’m honestly not sure if I liked it or not. It’s a little odd to say the least. It’s a movie told in three parts with three different outcomes and the man’s fate is decided by whether or not he catches a train. I would say this movie was a little ahead of its time by 1987 standards. I believe it was made in Poland and ended up being held back before finally being released a few years later in a more censored form.

 

[Angela Channing]

Worth (2021)

A really good film based on the true story of a group of lawyers, lead by a character played by Michael Keaton, who had the job of handling compensation for those who were killed or injured in the 11th September terrorist attack. This could have been a really dry subject for a film with lots of legal dialogue about compensation formulae but it's so well written, acted and directed that it makes for a gripping and sometimes emotional drama.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Action in the North Atlantic (1943)

Merchant Marines led by Humphrey Bogart’s character are given the daunting task of bringing a supply vessel to our Russian allies (this movie was sure made in different times, huh?) but they are attacked by a German U-Boat on the way. What surprised me the most about this movie were the special effects. I have to say they were quite good by 1943 standards, particularly the ship battles on the open sea.

 

[Willie Oleson]

It’s a movie told in three parts with three different outcomes and the man’s fate is decided by whether or not he catches a train

Sounds very intriguing!

 

[DallasFanForever]

Sounds very intriguing!

It wasn’t boring, I’ll say that. I think it’s one of those movies you might have to watch again though. I’m still not sure what to make of it to be honest.

 

[Biggie]

Blind Chance (1987)
I’m honestly not sure if I liked it or not. It’s a little odd to say the least. It’s a movie told in three parts with three different outcomes and the man’s fate is decided by whether or not he catches a train. I would say this movie was a little ahead of its time by 1987 standards. I believe it was made in Poland and ended up being held back before finally being released a few years later in a more censored form.

Puts me in the mind of Sliding Doors.

Which is a remarkable movie. Circa 1997 I believe.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Puts me in the mind of Sliding Doors.

Which is a remarkable movie. Circa 1997 I believe.

Very similar. I would say Sliding Doors was a better movie but it’s kind of the same premise.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Mauritanian (2021)

Knowing of the story I was apprehensive about watching. Justly, as it turns out. The viewer really gets a sense of what the experience would have been like. We're taken into a dark airless place with no sense of escape. Silence alternates with horribly intrusive sound, and darkness with sickening flickering strobe lights. By the time the real brutality got underway in the last act I was too invested. Even though the anxiety created by the horror made me want to switch off, I couldn't and had to settle for looking away from the screen at times. It was just too truthful.

It's one of the most claustrophobic and subjective film experiences I've had. To say it's enjoyable to watch isn't accurate, but I'm still very glad I watched. Apart from being a story that needed to be told, this is a wonderfully made film with absolutely blinding performances from... well, everyone really. Jodie Foster, Tahir Rahim and Benedict Cumberbatch were incredible.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Bloodmatch (1991)
If martial arts films are your thing then you might want to see this one. Basically about a kickboxer trying to avenge his brothers death by bringing those responsible to justice.