Watched C’MON C’MON last night. A very endearing little film (monochrome) mostly due to the chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and 9YO Woody Norman. Delightful. I own the DVD and it will no doubt get an annual viewing.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
Got to the hotel last night, one of the channel’s had John Candy in “Summer Rental”… pretty funny. He left the stage too soon.
Last Edit: Aug 31, 2023 8:56:33 GMT -5 by trailboss
"Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose."~Sir Adrian
Watched MUNICH last night. Excellent cast. Heavy stuff. Ciaran Hinds plays an excellent role. Lotsa Jews. And they win. Sorta.
I always enjoy Michael Lonsdale in everything he's in. Day of the Jackal. Ronin. The BBC Smiley's People. This. He does bumbling and menacing equally well.
Watched MUNICH last night. Excellent cast. Heavy stuff. Ciaran Hinds plays an excellent role. Lotsa Jews. And they win. Sorta.
I always enjoy Michael Lonsdale in everything he's in. Day of the Jackal. Ronin. The BBC Smiley's People. This. He does bumbling and menacing equally well.
He was a great character actor.
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Watched "Kronos", 1957, again last night. Great old Sci-Fi movie with a most interesting story. Some actual science included at no extra charge. The subtitle could have been "The Battery Which Ate the World."
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Post by Plainsman on Sept 17, 2023 21:40:34 GMT -5
Watched ALL IS TRUE. Kenneth Branagh’s 2018 take on the last three years of Shakespeare’s life, from the burning of the Globe in 1613 until his death, on his birthday, 23 April 1616. Most of it is speculation as the details are simply, understandably, not known. I didn’t know what to expect as I have found Branagh’s work to be, uh, ‘variable’ in the past. But I was quite moved by it. It is a fine film, with a truly excellent cast and with a brilliant script and sensitive camera work. I recommend it.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
Watched ALL IS TRUE. Kenneth Branagh’s 2018 take on the last three years of Shakespeare’s life, from the burning of the Globe in 1613 until his death, on his birthday, 23 April 1616. Most of it is speculation as the details are simply, understandably, not known. I didn’t know what to expect as I have found Branagh’s work to be, uh, ‘variable’ in the past. But I was quite moved by it. It is a fine film, with a truly excellent cast and with a brilliant script and sensitive camera work. I recommend it.
Everybody knows Shakespeare was faked by Neil Armstrong and NASA.
Here’s a bit of encouragement for those embarking on what might seem an impossible task…
We’re not sure when Shakespeare arrived in London to make his mark. Its a pretty safe bet that he was there by 1587. We know exactly when he left to return to Stratford: 1613, after the destruction of his Globe theater by fire. He had written his last work by then.
In those 26 years he wrote 37 plays for sure and possibly 40, a long narrative poem, the sonnet sequence, and perhaps other works. A busy time, for sure, and yet— in order to produce that monumental oeuvre — perhaps the world’s greatest — in that amount of time he would only have had to write 15-20 lines per day. Amazing!
So if you’re facing a seemingly insurmountable job, just think of Will and his 20 lines a day.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
Watched ALL IS TRUE. Kenneth Branagh’s 2018 take on the last three years of Shakespeare’s life, from the burning of the Globe in 1613 until his death, on his birthday, 23 April 1616. Most of it is speculation as the details are simply, understandably, not known. I didn’t know what to expect as I have found Branagh’s work to be, uh, ‘variable’ in the past. But I was quite moved by it. It is a fine film, with a truly excellent cast and with a brilliant script and sensitive camera work. I recommend it.
I will look look got this one. Thanks for the tip.
B, made a fine King Henry V.
Last Edit: Sept 18, 2023 10:47:57 GMT -5 by toshtego
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Haunting in Venice (2023). Tina Fey has the wrong energy for the film but all in all an improvement on Death on the Nile. Come for the costumes and set design.
"The Court Jester", 1956. Danny Kaye was an enormous talent. Kind of a silly but funny movie. Lighthearted amusement. Good singing and dancing. Many funny gags. Beautiful Technicolor with great sets and costumes.
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Post by trailboss on Sept 19, 2023 22:00:41 GMT -5
Saw the Poirot movie today - A haunting in Venice.
Enjoyed it, but to not see him smoking a pipe is silly though. My wife rolled her eyes when I said that.
I told her that it is akin to making a movie about the rat pack and no alcohol, and Sherlock sporting a Nicotene patch.
"Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose."~Sir Adrian
They seek him here. They seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Or is he in hell. That damn’d elusive pimpernel.
Watched the 1982 version of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL last night. With Anthony Edwards chewing the rug as a foppish Brit baronet, and a young(er), unwrinkled Ian McKellen as the villain. Dated but actually quite good. The production values were excellent.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
They seek him here. They seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Or is he in hell. That damn’d elusive pimpernel.
Watched the 1982 version of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL last night. With Anthony Edwards chewing the rug as a foppish Brit baronet, and a young(er), unwrinkled Ian McKellen as the villain. Dated but actually quite good. The production values were excellent.
"Who, Sir? Me, Sir? No, Sir!"
"There is nothing so bad as something not-so-bad."
I loved the old movie with Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, and Raymond Massey. This one I must find. Thanks for the tip. Great story.
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Saw the Poirot movie today - A haunting in Venice.
Enjoyed it, but to not see him smoking a pipe is silly though. My wife rolled her eyes when I said that.
I told her that it is akin to making a movie about the rat pack and no alcohol, and Sherlock sporting a Nicotene patch.
Fair point, but nic patch aside, Cumberbatch nailed the personality!
I dunno, after Jeremy Brett, I think anyone else gets down a few pegs, just my opinion.
"Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose."~Sir Adrian
Post by Plainsman on Sept 20, 2023 21:32:26 GMT -5
I am not a fan of ‘modernizations’ of Shakespeare. But tonight I watched the 1995 film of RICHARD III, with Ian McKellen as Richard. I wasn’t exactly encouraged to see that Annette Benning and Robert Downey Jr were also cast members. But I have to admit it is a splendid production. Putatively set in England in the 1930s after a civil war, it plays heavily on Nazi symbology. British khaki slowly turns into black, jackboots, and even the palace guards seem to be toting Schmeissers. The language is Shakespeare throughout and very, very well done. McKellen, as usual, is masterful and it is amazing how the language melds with the surroundings, (which seem more Speer than Wren) and becomes organic. London has become Nuremburg. If you are able to come by a copy of this, I highly recommend it.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
Fair point, but nic patch aside, Cumberbatch nailed the personality!
I dunno, after Jeremy Brett, I think anyone else gets down a few pegs, just my opinion.
Fair point Charlie, but Brett plays the classic, gaslight, Sherlock. His rendition wouldn’t quite fit into todays world. True to the books, absolutely (minus the cocaine problem), but I felt like Cumberbatch did an excellent job of bringing the character’s personality to life in our modern world.
Last Edit: Sept 21, 2023 7:33:45 GMT -5 by fadingdaylight
I am not a fan of ‘modernizations’ of Shakespeare. But tonight I watched the 1995 film of RICHARD III, with Ian McKellen as Richard. I wasn’t exactly encouraged to see that Annette Benning and Robert Downey Jr were also cast members. But I have to admit it is a splendid production. Putatively set in England in the 1930s after a civil war, it plays heavily on Nazi symbology. British khaki slowly turns into black, jackboots, and even the palace guards seem to be toting Schmeissers. The language is Shakespeare throughout and very, very well done. McKellen, as usual, is masterful and it is amazing how the language melds with the surroundings, (which seem more Speer than Wren) and becomes organic. London has become Nuremburg. If you are able to come by a copy of this, I highly recommend it.
Well done production.
"It furthers one to have somewhere to go". From The Book of Changes- I Ching.
Post by Plainsman on Sept 22, 2023 22:25:31 GMT -5
Tonight I watched THE FENCER (2015), a Finnish, Estonian, German film, in Estonian (subtitled of course). This is a “little” film with a great big heart and I found it very moving. An Estonian is trying to evade the Soviet secret police because, like all Estonian men of military age, he had been drafted into the German army when the Nazis took over the country and now the Soviets have taken it and are sending all former draftees to labor camps. He takes a job in a rundown small-town Estonian school where he reluctantly begins to teach the children how to fence. That’s the basic story line. It will not disappoint you.
As an aside, in the “extras” following the film there is an extended interview with the director. I had never heard a long stretch of Finnish before and I found it fascinating— not that I could understand of word of what sounded like a very complex language. I knew that Finnish occupies a singular and somewhat mysterious place in linguistics but I liked being able to hear a lot of it at one time.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead
ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN.(2021) One should not expect a two hour praise-fest of the wonderfulness of him. Nor a critical cut-piece. This is an even-handed treatment of of a complex subject with a dark and painful center to both film and subject. I had always thought of Bourdain as a chef who stumbled into writing but, due to the writing itself, I was not entirely surprised to learn that it was the other way around. In its own way the film is a kind of voyage of discovery, so I won’t say much more about it. I found it both moving and disturbing.
Wars are not won with missiles or diplomacy. They are won by brave men with rifles. -Robert de Bromhead