Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[Cusser]

Yesterday - rained all day - I watched The High and The Mighty from 1954.  This was an early "crisis over the ocean" airplane trouble film, won best original score Oscar though.  Most likely this was a major inspiration for the film "Airplane" as well (both actually starred Robert Stack) and for "Airport", etc. 

Engine dies mid-pacific, broken propeller causes loss of some gasoline, focuses on the stories of the individual passengers.  One must remember the time frame this was made, so I'll rate 6/10.

Evening we watched "Destination Wedding" with Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder (who was virtually unrecognizable at age 47, playing a decade younger).  Very predictable, but Paso Robles scenery was nice (I've been there).  Interesting use of quite-long takes with both actors (who had 98% of the dialog in the film) in the scenes, rare cutting back and forth.  Rate 4/10, really seemed more like a Lifetime Movie.

[XhcnoirX]

Detective Story (1951): An evening at the 21st precinct bureau in NYC, with various storylines intersecting, centered around principled detective Kirk Douglas, his wife Eleanor Parker and abortion doctor George Macready. William Bendix plays Douglas's more easy-going partner. Smaller parts for Joseph 'Dr. No' Wiseman and Cathy O'Donnell. Noir-lite. Really enjoyed it, even tho Douglas goes a bit over-the-top at times. Good movie. 8/10

[dave jenkins]

even tho Douglas goes a bit over-the-top at times. Good movie. 8/10

Ya don't say? Imagine ol' Kirk, going a bit over-the-top. Who'd a thunk it?

[cigar joe]

Ya don't say? Imagine ol' Kirk, going a bit over-the-top. Who'd a thunk it?

[XhcnoirX]

Ya don't say? Imagine ol' Kirk, going a bit over-the-top. Who'd a thunk it?

 

[dave jenkins]

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) - 6/10. Vaguely amusing.

I'm upping my score on this. Yes, this is just a series of vignettes; there's no story. Some of the bits are better than others, but some are really, really good. The one where Cate Blanchet plays opposite herself is amazing, and I like the one with Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. And of course, as everybody says, the last one with the old codgers is beyond phenomenal. I guess these started out as shorts (I remember seeing a couple of them in the 90s before features) and only gradually coalesced into a longer piece. The b&w photography is pretty and the songs are pretty great. 7/10.

[dave jenkins]

The Midnight Man (1974) – 6/10. Not to be confused with a recent horror film, this is something that used to show on late night TV in the 70s, which I think is where I saw it originally. Burt Lancaster plays an ex-con/ex-police officer who is working security at “Jordon University” (played by Clemson).  An on-campus break-in and then a murder starts him investigating and getting in the hair of the local sheriff (Harris Yulin). This picture features all your 70s faves: Susan Clark, Cam Mitchell, Ed Lauter, Robert Quarry, Catherine Bach. Burt’s son Bill has a small part (there’s an amusing moment when Lancaster fils tells his old man to F-off).

The South Carolina locations are plentiful and well-used, but, this being a Universal production, soundstages are also in play and the back lot makes an appearance.

IMDb has all the contemporary advertising slogans:
             “The major sport at Jordan College this year is MURDER”

             “The score is one dead, ten witnesses to go.”

             “The Ex-con. The Hippie. The Senator. The Pervert. The Lesbian. The Professor. The Sheriff. The Sadist. One of
              them is a murderer. All of them make the most fascinating murder mystery in years.”

This last is misleading, as there is in fact more than one murderer.

The film has a kind of TV feel, due to the cast and lighting. It also plays as something akin to a series pilot—if you ever wanted to know what a 70s Lancaster cop show would have been like, this is the place to check. Ultimately the plot doesn’t work: it tries one-twist-too-many, making so much of what has come before nonsense (for example, if everyone in town besides the sheriff is on the take, what is Lancaster’s character even doing there? He was invited in by one of the baddies. Why—so he could screw things up?) The new blu looks very good and the Dave Grusin music on it helps me achieve nostalgia nirvana.

[cigar joe]

The Midnight Man (1974) – 6/10. Not to be confused with a recent horror film, this is something that used to show on late night TV in the 70s, which I think is where I saw it originally. Burt Lancaster plays an ex-con/ex-police officer who is working security at “Jordon University” (played by Clemson).  An on-campus break-in and then a murder starts him investigating and getting in the hair of the local sheriff (Harris Yulin). This picture features all your 70s faves: Susan Clark, Cam Mitchell, Ed Lauter, Robert Quarry, Catherine Bach. Burt’s son Bill has a small part (there’s an amusing moment when Lancaster fils tells his old man to F-off).

The South Carolina locations are plentiful and well-used, but, this being a Universal production, soundstages are also in play and the back lot makes an appearance.

IMDb has all the contemporary advertising slogans:
             “The major sport at Jordan College this year is MURDER”

             “The score is one dead, ten witnesses to go.”

             “The Ex-con. The Hippie. The Senator. The Pervert. The Lesbian. The Professor. The Sheriff. The Sadist. One of
              them is a murderer. All of them make the most fascinating murder mystery in years.”

This last is misleading, as there is in fact more than one murderer.

The film has a kind of TV feel, due to the cast and lighting. It also plays as something akin to a series pilot—if you ever wanted to know what a 70s Lancaster cop show would have been like, this is the place to check. Ultimately the plot doesn’t work: it tries one-twist-too-many, making so much of what has come before nonsense (for example, if everyone in town besides the sheriff is on the take, what is Lancaster’s character even doing there? He was invited in by one of the baddies. Why—so he could screw things up?) The new blu looks very good and the Dave Grusin music on it helps me achieve nostalgia nirvana.

I started watching this on rarefilms but it didn't hold my interest.

[dave jenkins]

Did you see it in widescreen and with all the profanity in place?

[cigar joe]

Did you see it in widescreen and with all the profanity in place?

I believe it was widescreen and pretty grainy, but don't remember any profanity, but then I only got about 5-10 minutes into it. It wasn't a good copy.

[dave jenkins]

The reason I asked: apparently there was a version for TV that circulated without the profanity and probably wasn't in widescreen. The new blu is not in the least grainy, in fact, looks very impressive. I'm not saying this is a great film on par with, say, Night Moves (wink, wink), but I think it's pretty entertaining. You may enjoy the new release.

[cigar joe]

The reason I asked: apparently there was a version for TV that circulated without the profanity and probably wasn't in widescreen. The new blu is not in the least grainy, in fact, looks very impressive. I'm not saying this is a great film on par with, say, Night Moves (wink, wink), but I think it's pretty entertaining. You may enjoy the new release.

Thanks

[dave jenkins]

To Sleep With Anger (1990) - 5/10. A mysterious stranger (Danny Glover) insinuates himself into the lives of a black middle-class LA family. Bad things start happening. I didn't like the acting in this--too many graduates, apparently, from the Kirk Douglas School of Maximum Emoting. The plot isn't bad, though, and the central character remains intriguingly ambiguous throughout. The story takes a weird turn at the end and becomes The Trouble With Harry (literally: the main character's name is actually Harry.) Worth a watch, but repeat viewings maybe not so much.

[PowerRR]

To Sleep With Anger (1990) - 5/10. A mysterious stranger (Danny Glover) insinuates himself into the lives of a black middle-class LA family. Bad things start happening. I didn't like the acting in this--too many graduates, apparently, from the Kirk Douglas School of Maximum Emoting. The plot isn't bad, though, and the central character remains intriguingly ambiguous throughout. The story takes a weird turn at the end and becomes The Trouble With Harry (literally: the main character's name is actually Harry.) Worth a watch, but repeat viewings maybe not so much.

I was thinking of blind-buying the new Criterion release because I loved the artwork so much. Instead, I'm gonna watch it streaming on The Criterion Channel, because it's movie of the week for charter subscribers. I'll let you know how I like it.

[PowerRR]

To Sleep with Anger (1990) - 5/10
Yeah, this one is dull.

The Delinquents (1957) - 6.5/10
Altman's debut is well photographed and a bit raw and subversive for its time. His style obviously hasn't developed yet, and but it still has somewhat of an Altman stamp on it. The dialogue and acting are really bad, and the story can be a bit silly. But, it goes by quick at a brisk 72 minutes, and it kept me entertained.