Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[titoli]

The Odyssey (1997) I saw the dvd which, apparently, is 40'-50' shorter than the miniseries in two parts so it is possible that the syrens episode got cut in the transfer. Which makes it no less inexcusable. Main problem with this is that compared to the two italian versions made in the '50's and '60's it pales for numbers of reasons. The main problem is in the casting: Assante is no Fehmiu, of course (Konchalovski should have known that Italians and Greeks are morphologically different); but, even worse, is no Kirk Douglas (nobody can be Kirk Douglas). He's a good actor, but Ulysses is out of his reach. Greta Scacchi, unfortunately, suffers from the comparison with Papas who, after having played her role 30 years before, now plays Ulysses' mother: and though not pretty even 30 years before, still she makes you understand at a glance that she's the real thing (and still, at her age, very attractive). Of course Scacchi can't hold a candle to Silvana Mangano as to sheer beauty: so the main characters of the story are miscast. The actor playing Telemachus is embarassing, while Bernadette Peters earns the palm as ugliest Circe of film history. Isabella Rossellini of course can't play for life but has still the looks of a woman. On the plus you have gorgeous Vanessa Williams as Calypso. But in the other two versions you had Rossana Podestà and Barbara Bach playing Nausicaa (a character almost invisible in the american movie) who amply made up for beauty.
Talking about the movie, the Poliphemus episode here is depressing: where in the italian version you have a short horror movie, here the story looks like a joke. I could go on and on listing major and minor defects, but I think is enough. Still the movie is worth watching for some episodes: the Scylla and Caribdes episode makes up for the lacking horror in Poliphemus encounter; the Ade's descent is good in the beginning, and the return to Ithaca shows Assante at his best. 7\10  

[Groggy]

I saw that in some junior high class or other. No strong memory of it.

[dave jenkins]

New York Confidential (1955) - 7/10. Richard Conte is a stone cold killer working for Broderick Crawford in the NY branch of "the Syndicate." Early on the rules are established: the Syndicate always comes first, and individuals who in any way threaten its existence (or are perceived to threaten it) are eliminated. This dictum is rigorously enforced, so that by the end of the film all the players have changed but the Organization keeps chugging along. The virtue of this approach is that the film maintains a hard edge throughout, with nary a hint of sentimentality. However, it also means there are few surprises. By way of compensation we do get some fun performances: Conte is pitiless, and Crawford should have won an award for his scenery chewing. And then there's Anne Bancroft, playing the boss's daughter who wants only to get out from under, who had, in her day, the loveliest bones in the industry.

[moviesceleton]

Through a Glass Darkly (1961) - 8.5/10
Wild Strawberries coming up probably tonight, The Silence next week.

[cigar joe]

The Odyssey (1997) I saw the dvd which, apparently, is 40'-50' shorter than the miniseries in two parts so it is possible that the syrens episode got cut in the transfer. Which makes it no less inexcusable. Main problem with this is that compared to the two italian versions made in the '50's and '60's it pales for numbers of reasons. The main problem is in the casting: Assante is no Fehmiu, of course (Konchalovski should have known that Italians and Greeks are morphologically different); but, even worse, is no Kirk Douglas (nobody can be Kirk Douglas). He's a good actor, but Ulysses is out of his reach. Greta Scacchi, unfortunately, suffers from the comparison with Papas who, after having played her role 30 years before, now plays Ulysses' mother: and though not pretty even 30 years before, still she makes you understand at a glance that she's the real thing (and still, at her age, very attractive). Of course Scacchi can't hold a candle to Silvana Mangano as to sheer beauty: so the main characters of the story are miscast. The actor playing Telemachus is embarassing, while Bernadette Peters earns the palm as ugliest Circe of film history. Isabella Rossellini of course can't play for life but has still the looks of a woman. On the plus you have gorgeous Vanessa Williams as Calypso. But in the other two versions you had Rossana Podestà and Barbara Bach playing Nausicaa (a character almost invisible in the american movie) who amply made up for beauty.
Talking about the movie, the Poliphemus episode here is depressing: where in the italian version you have a short horror movie, here the story looks like a joke. I could go on and on listing major and minor defects, but I think is enough. Still the movie is worth watching for some episodes: the Scylla and Caribdes episode makes up for the lacking horror in Poliphemus encounter; the Ade's descent is good in the beginning, and the return to Ithaca shows Assante at his best. 7\10  

a pretty fair assessment

[Groggy]

Border Incident - 7/10 - Early Anthony Mann flick, a docudrama about illegal Mexican immigrants and the criminals on both sides of the border who exploit them. Surprisingly hasn't dated all that much, though it's a bit slow and draggy at times. Wonderful John Alton photography, some great set pieces (the final showdown in the quicksand) and excellent performances by Ricardo Montalban and Charles McGraw make it worth watching.

[dave jenkins]

Queen Bee (1955) - 8/10. Joan Crawford plays a manipulative bitch who ruins every life she comes in contact with, and Barry Sullivan is her long-suffering husband. The ending, where Ms. Crawford's character gets what's coming to her, is very satisfying.

To the Ends of the Earth (1948) - 8/10. Dick Powell is a T-man running down an international opium ring; the peripatetic agent has ports of call in Shanghai, Egypt, the Lebanon, Cuba and the east coast of the US, but the actor never leaves the studio. The film plays mostly like a docu-drama of the drug trade circa the 1930s (its supposed to be based on fact), and the dry presentation is somewhat enlivened by the intricacies of the trade and the clever sleuthing that exposes it, but the ending is riveting drama with a twist I didn't see coming. Another worthy effort from Dick Powell in his tough-talking prime.

[Groggy]

The Dogs of War - 7-8/10 - Retains the structure and basic plot of the novel while changing a lot of the particulars. The movie's biggest deviation is trying to make its protagonist, Shannon, sympathetic, rather than Forsyth's cold-blooded mercenary. I don't object overmuch to this, and if anything it makes the The Professionals-style cop-out ending more palatable, but in this regard it's significantly different from the novel. Still, it delivers what it promises - intricate plotting, Forsythian attention to detail and a bloody, adrenaline-soaked climax - and you can't really fault it for that.

[Dust Devil]

Suburbia (1983) - 6/10

I do not know if this is a so authentic portrayal of the 70s/80s punk subculture in (American) suburbia, as all the enthusiastic comments on IMDb would imply, but tell you what; if you can get past the fact that in it there isn't one single person that can act, it is rather entertaining in a deviant and sinister way. Believe it or not the director's a woman - Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World). There's also Chris Pedersen (Platoon, Point Break), it's not that he can act but he does have that type of face you tend to remember.

If you listen carefully, at some point you'll briefly hear a punk version of the main theme from GBU playing on the radio. (!!!!!)

[Dust Devil]

The Dogs of War - 7-8/10 - Retains the structure and basic plot of the novel while changing a lot of the particulars. The movie's biggest deviation is trying to make its protagonist, Shannon, sympathetic, rather than Forsyth's cold-blooded mercenary. I don't object overmuch to this, and if anything it makes the The Professionals-style cop-out ending more palatable, but in this regard it's significantly different from the novel. Still, it delivers what it promises - intricate plotting, Forsythian attention to detail and a bloody, adrenaline-soaked climax - and you can't really fault it for that.

We're talkin' about the Walken flick, directed by John Irvin (Hamburger Hill) ?

If so - we agree: an old flying-under-the-radar favorite of mine, though I haven't seen it in ages.

[cigar joe]

Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) Fitz Lang Dir. Similar to the Holmes/Moriarty theme but flipped the emphasis is on Mabuse the criminal master of disguises 6.5-10 a bit too long.

[Groggy]

We're talkin' about the Walken flick, directed by John Irvin (Hamburger Hill) ?

If so - we agree: an old flying-under-the-radar favorite of mine, though I haven't seen it in ages.

Yep

[dave jenkins]

The Killer Inside Me (2010) - 5/10. A fairly faithful adaptation of the Jim Thompson "novel" (which is really a long short story) about a psychopathic lawman on a spree in the 50s South.  Maybe the faithfulness is the problem: what worked on the printed page (the unique first person account of a twisted psyche) can't really be communicated through film's more objective presentation (voice overs, especially those delivered by Casey Affleck, just can't cut it).  Since the hero is, by definition, an incomplete human being, and none of his victims are particularly interesting, the film leaves us starved for people to care about. We're left with a flat depiction of a serial murderer going about his dreary--occasionally shocking--business and little else. The film is certainly relentless, but to what end?

[Jill]

Is it possible I didn't review The Princess Bride? Well, I was having a bad cold when I saw it. I read it too since then.

10/10

I have to admit I watched it because it was constantly quoted on TvTropes. Now I can see the why.

I just love them all. I mean, I usually can't stand perfect heroes, but I love Westley (I just hope they never remake it - the assholes would surely cast Orlando Bloom and ruin it). And André the Giant? Totally adorable. I have a great love for Gentle Giants, and he's a perfect one.

"I AM THE DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS! I HAVE COME FOR YOUR SOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUL!" - I rofled.

And Inigo? Badass Extraordinaire (thought I doubt he'll survive that knife wound). And Vizzini - he thinks he's genre savvy, but he isn't.

Also, I want a plush R.O.U.S.

[titoli]

The Recruit (2003)  At first interesting, you start getting tired after you get the hang of it all:"Nothing is what it seems". Unfortunately, that's all there is to it. 5\10