Robert Perkins
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Post by Robert Perkins on Sept 24, 2018 7:54:57 GMT -5
Solo: A Star Wars Story 4.5/5
Best Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi! My only complaint -- and I know this is silly -- is that I wish they had cast a Han Solo who looked and sounded a little more like Harrison Ford, who will always be Han Solo in my world.
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Post by Legend Lover on Sept 24, 2018 9:06:41 GMT -5
Solo: A Star Wars Story4.5/5 Best Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi! My only complaint -- and I know this is silly -- is that I wish they had cast a Han Solo who looked and sounded a little more like Harrison Ford, who will always be Han Solo in my world. I understand both parts of your complaint...I wish the same thing, but I also know it's silly. I'm still to see this film though. I'm way behind on my movies.
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Post by Ronv69 on Sept 24, 2018 9:19:17 GMT -5
I love Shane. You’re a lowdown dirty Yankee Lair . I've never been able to warm up to Shane. The kid kinda gives me the creeps and I can't forget that Alan Ladd always had to stand on apple boxes for his close ups because he was so short. Here's a little factoid for those interested. The part of The Warner Brothers backlot that looks like a residential street is also known as 7/8ths Street because all of the structures were built at 7/8th scale. When I was shooting in that area, the reason I was given for this being done was that so many of Warner's stars in the 1940's and '50's, when the "neighborhood" was constructed, were...uhh...height challenged...so downscaling the architecture made them look taller. Same for me. The whining little kid ruined the move for me. Almost as bad as "The Champ" I never held their lack of height again then. I focused on their ability to sell the character. John Wayne was just a tall jerk.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Sept 24, 2018 9:31:57 GMT -5
Fact never reported, John Wayne on a secret mission during WWII, visiting wounded vets in a tent hospital, entered and was roundly booed. Most of his counterparts served valiantly, but he didn’t.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2018 9:41:33 GMT -5
Brad ^^^^^^^ my Dad was a Marine during WWII and told all of us that John Wayne showed up to visit the wounded but never served his Country. I understand why my Dad was not a fan!!
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Post by zambini on Sept 24, 2018 10:23:25 GMT -5
Same for me. The whining little kid ruined the move for me. Almost as bad as "The Champ" I never held their lack of height again then. I focused on their ability to sell the character. John Wayne was just a tall jerk. I agree that Wayne was a jerk. I do like Shane although I need to rewatch again after so long.
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Post by toshtego on Sept 24, 2018 10:58:20 GMT -5
I've never been able to warm up to Shane. The kid kinda gives me the creeps and I can't forget that Alan Ladd always had to stand on apple boxes for his close ups because he was so short. Here's a little factoid for those interested. The part of The Warner Brothers backlot that looks like a residential street is also known as 7/8ths Street because all of the structures were built at 7/8th scale. When I was shooting in that area, the reason I was given for this being done was that so many of Warner's stars in the 1940's and '50's, when the "neighborhood" was constructed, were...uhh...height challenged...so downscaling the architecture made them look taller. Same for me. The whining little kid ruined the move for me. Almost as bad as "The Champ" I never held their lack of height again then. I focused on their ability to sell the character. John Wayne was just a tall jerk. Yeah, but that snot-nose saved Shane's life by preventing him from being bushwacked. I never understood Wayne's reluctance to serve during WWII. Certainly, most every other actor of his age did. Actors, in general, are not the most admirable people. That is to say, they can be confused with the roles played. That is not who they are. Some try to be consistent with those characters while others remain insecure and fearful. Guys like Jimmy Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Tyronne Power took time out from their careers to serve. Wayne, Errol Flynn and others did not. I do not usually pay much attention to actor's personal lives. However, Wayne was such an aggressive conservative spokesman for much of his life, his lack of service seemed to cast a shadow on his credibility. Maybe that is why he took so to the Rooster Cogburn character with all his flaws?
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sablebrush52
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Post by sablebrush52 on Sept 24, 2018 17:15:55 GMT -5
Same for me. The whining little kid ruined the move for me. Almost as bad as "The Champ" I never held their lack of height again then. I focused on their ability to sell the character. John Wayne was just a tall jerk. Yeah, but that snot-nose saved Shane's life by preventing him from being bushwacked. I never understood Wayne's reluctance to serve during WWII. Certainly, most every other actor of his age did. Actors, in general, are not the most admirable people. That is to say, they can be confused with the roles played. That is not who they are. Some try to be consistent with those characters while others remain insecure and fearful. Guys like Jimmy Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Tyronne Power took time out from their careers to serve. Wayne, Errol Flynn and others did not. I do not usually pay much attention to actor's personal lives. However, Wayne was such an aggressive conservative spokesman for much of his life, his lack of service seemed to cast a shadow on his credibility. Maybe that is why he took so to the Rooster Cogburn character with all his flaws? Wayne took advantage of the absence of a great many stars to promote his career. After the War he took a lot of shite for it, especially from John Ford, who was quite the bastard himself. Errol Flynn, besides being a chicken hawk, was a Nazi sympathizer, and would have probably flunked a physical due to his lifestyle.
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Post by Ronv69 on Sept 24, 2018 17:40:53 GMT -5
Do we really need to know all of this about the trained monkeys that get the big buck to entertain us? They are by plan out of touch with reality, especially these days.
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Post by toshtego on Sept 24, 2018 19:20:43 GMT -5
Yeah, but that snot-nose saved Shane's life by preventing him from being bushwacked. I never understood Wayne's reluctance to serve during WWII. Certainly, most every other actor of his age did. Actors, in general, are not the most admirable people. That is to say, they can be confused with the roles played. That is not who they are. Some try to be consistent with those characters while others remain insecure and fearful. Guys like Jimmy Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Tyronne Power took time out from their careers to serve. Wayne, Errol Flynn and others did not. I do not usually pay much attention to actor's personal lives. However, Wayne was such an aggressive conservative spokesman for much of his life, his lack of service seemed to cast a shadow on his credibility. Maybe that is why he took so to the Rooster Cogburn character with all his flaws? Wayne took advantage of the absence of a great many stars to promote his career. After the War he took a lot of shite for it, especially from John Ford, who was quite the bastard himself. Errol Flynn, besides being a chicken hawk, was a Nazi sympathizer, and would have probably flunked a physical due to his lifestyle. Certainly, John Ford was a notorious prick. At least he served a function with the USN in making useful films. He is also among the greatest American Directors. I forgot about Errol's affinity for the Nazis. He probably admired the uniforms and imagined himself so dressed.
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Post by JimInks on Sept 25, 2018 0:08:01 GMT -5
Maureen O'Hara said John Wayne was classified 4-F in WW2. When pressed for a reason by Larry King on his show, she refused to tell King why, and said it was a secret she has always kept. Dunno how true this is, but that's what I heard.
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Post by unknownpipesmoker on Sept 25, 2018 0:17:31 GMT -5
I watched Burden... It blew my mind, literally. What an artist. THIS is art. This guy had insight and balls... Prepare yourself. Heavy stuff. Oh Gawd, Chris Burden. Boy does that bring back memories of the early '70's when performance art was all the rage. Here was this guy maiming himself and all the art world could do was offer him more opportunities to do so, rather than any one of those phonies suggesting that he seek professional help. Did he ever succeed in killing himself? You know, this would make for a GREAT black comedy. I would disagree. I think this is art. Pain can be art. Uncomfort can be art. The human body, placed in poses and positions, etc, all can be art. Chris didn't need help. that was back when the art community was more liberated- everything has to be so sanctioned and approved of thesedays in universities and galleries - that's the phonies, in my opinion.
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Post by zambini on Sept 25, 2018 0:18:41 GMT -5
Whether he served or not, Wayne seems by most accounts to have been a less than admirable person towards most people.
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Post by Dramatwist on Sept 25, 2018 0:19:23 GMT -5
...re-watched "12 Years A Slave". Tragic. Sobering...
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 3:37:43 GMT -5
Maureen O'Hara said John Wayne was classified 4-F in WW2. When pressed for a reason by Larry King on his show, she refused to tell King why, and said it was a secret she has always kept. Dunno how true this is, but that's what I heard. From Wikipedia: America's entry into World War II resulted in a deluge of support for the war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no exception. Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status (classified as 3-A – family deferment) although actor Henry Fonda, born two years earlier, volunteered and served three years. Wayne repeatedly wrote to John Ford saying he wanted to enlist, on one occasion inquiring whether he could get into Ford's military unit, but consistently kept postponing it until after "he finished just one or two pictures".[5]:212 Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but Republic Studios was emphatically resistant to losing him since he was their only A-list actor under contract. Herbert J. Yates, President of Republic, threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract,[5]:220 and Republic Pictures intervened in the Selective Service process, requesting Wayne's further deferment.[5]:213
Wayne toured U.S. bases and hospitals in the South Pacific for three months in 1943 and 1944.[5]:253 with the USO.[32][33][34] By many accounts, his failure to serve in the military was the most painful part of his life.[5]:212 His widow later suggested that his patriotism in later decades sprang from guilt, writing: "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."[35]
U.S. National Archives records indicate that Wayne had, in fact, made an application[36] to serve in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the modern CIA, and had been accepted within the U.S. Army's allotted billet to the OSS. William J. Donovan, OSS Commander, wrote Wayne a letter informing him of his acceptance into the Field Photographic Unit, but the letter went to his estranged wife Josephine's home. She never told him about it. Donovan also issued an OSS Certificate of Service to Wayne.[37]
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 3:47:19 GMT -5
"The Defector", 1966.
Montgomery Clift's last movie. With Hardy Kruger. Filmed mostly in Bavaria as a standin for "East Germany". Directed by Raoul Levy and may have been his last picture, also.
A Cold War Spy chase movie which captures all of the "charm" of the old DDR which I traveled in years ago. With David Opatashu as the Soviet Advisor to Kruger.
Unless you are a fan of Clift or Kruger and enjoy Cold War dramas, this once could be missed. Not as meaty as "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold".
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 9:11:01 GMT -5
Hardy Kruger, whom you may recall as the model airplane designer in "The Flight of the Phoenix", was also a veteran of WWII. Since we were discussing actors who served in The Big War.
He was pressed into a SS Grenadier battalion as a teenager. Certainly, he was lucky to have survived.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2018 9:54:15 GMT -5
An old western from 1957: "Fury at Showdown". It starred John Derek, Nick Adams, Carolyn Craig and John Smith. Not a bad movie. Not a particularly good one either, but one I had never seen. It is the first time I have seen John Derek as an actor and he was not too good in this. John Smith as one of the villains was more interesting to me. I am used to him as a good guy. I watch Laramie on the Western Channel fairly regularly. There were a number of character actors from the Golden Era of Westerns, some of them cast against type like Mr. Smith. I would give this one a 5/10.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2018 9:59:51 GMT -5
Hardy Kruger, whom you may recall as the model airplane designer in "The Flight of the Phoenix", was also a veteran of WWII. Since we were discussing actors who served in The Big War.
He was pressed into a SS Grenadier battalion as a teenager. Certainly, he was lucky to have survived. Thanks for reminding me of that fine actor. Apparently Mr. Kruger is still with us. Doesn't seem to be acting any more. He is in one of my favorite war movies of all time: "A Bridge Too Far".
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Post by Ronv69 on Sept 25, 2018 10:06:59 GMT -5
...re-watched "12 Years A Slave". Tragic. Sobering... Yep, that was disgusting. Hard to watch. I can't watch movies like Amistad or Schindler's List. I know what happened, I don't need to see it. The seeds of this behavior are in all of us, whether we want to believe it or not. We must be constantly on guard against backsliding to our animal nature.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Sept 25, 2018 10:39:25 GMT -5
Fact here, my Ancestors came to America in the late 1700s on the Amistead, I attended a Simon family Get together and the theme was get to know your Ancestors, I raised my hand and asked the Question, Were we on the top deck or on Btm chained. No houmor with these folks, their faces were like somebody farted in church.!
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 12:21:53 GMT -5
...re-watched "12 Years A Slave". Tragic. Sobering... Yep, that was disgusting. Hard to watch. I can't watch movies like Amistad or Schindler's List. I know what happened, I don't need to see it. The seeds of this behavior are in all of us, whether we want to believe it or not. We must be constantly on guard against backsliding to our animal nature. I cannot watch Holocaust movies. Amistad I have seen twice. I am a fan of Anthony Hopkins, his was a great performance as JQ Adams. Ditto the African guy who was the lead actor. Matthew Mc. was also good.
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 12:23:12 GMT -5
Fact here, my Ancestors came to America in the late 1700s on the Amistead, I attended a Simon family Get together and the theme was get to know your Ancestors, I raised my hand and asked the Question, Were we on the top deck or on Btm chained. No houmor with these folks, their faces were like somebody farted in church.! Seems like a reasonable question to ask.
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Post by jeffd on Sept 25, 2018 13:45:13 GMT -5
Maureen O'Hara said John Wayne was classified 4-F in WW2. When pressed for a reason by Larry King on his show, she refused to tell King why, and said it was a secret she has always kept. Dunno how true this is, but that's what I heard. I heard that too, probably from someone who had heard the show. It was apparently something he wanted kept secret. It kind of explains his movie career, in a way, trying to make up for not being able to serve. I dunno.
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Post by Dramatwist on Sept 25, 2018 14:30:35 GMT -5
Maureen O'Hara said John Wayne was classified 4-F in WW2. When pressed for a reason by Larry King on his show, she refused to tell King why, and said it was a secret she has always kept. Dunno how true this is, but that's what I heard. I heard that too, probably from someone who had heard the show. It was apparently something he wanted kept secret. It kind of explains his movie career, in a way, trying to make up for not being able to serve. I dunno. ...it's not a secret... ask his son, Patrick... John Wayne was actually depressed about not being able to serve in WWII... to my mind, he served a better purpose in some of his movies... my 2 cents...
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Post by toshtego on Sept 25, 2018 18:02:22 GMT -5
"Split Second", 1953. Dick Powell's Directorial debut is an Atomic Bomb Crime Thriller. Two convicts escape from The Big House, take hostages and hide in a Nevada ghost town, Ground Zero for an A-Bomb test. Will they escape before Zero Hour?
Interesting cast: Stephen McNally, who is fairly credible as the lead criminal type, Alexis Smith, the spoiled Hieress, Jan Sterling, a Noir Great doing what she always did and meaning it! Keith Andes, the Newspaper Reporter and all around Good Guy, Arthur Hunnicutt, the Old Miner, Philosopher, and Greek Chorus stand-in, Richard Egan, noble as usual, and, boy, is he noble, Paul Kelly, a real ex-con playing a con who tries to con his way out of this lousy situation.
This is an entertaining crime drama with atomic overtones. Worth watching. I give it a 7/10.
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sablebrush52
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Post by sablebrush52 on Sept 25, 2018 20:41:18 GMT -5
Oh Gawd, Chris Burden. Boy does that bring back memories of the early '70's when performance art was all the rage. Here was this guy maiming himself and all the art world could do was offer him more opportunities to do so, rather than any one of those phonies suggesting that he seek professional help. Did he ever succeed in killing himself? You know, this would make for a GREAT black comedy. I would disagree. I think this is art. Pain can be art. Uncomfort can be art. The human body, placed in poses and positions, etc, all can be art. Chris didn't need help. that was back when the art community was more liberated- everything has to be so sanctioned and approved of thesedays in universities and galleries - that's the phonies, in my opinion. It takes variety to make a horse race. I didn't say that it wasn't art. I just didn't think that it was great art or really good art. Performance art could be revelatory, as in how much BS people could be induced to put up with in order to seem deep and cool. Occasionally a performance piece actually did induce an altered state of consciousness, besides dozing, and occasionally some kind of satori experience. I will give this to Burden, he was willing to impale or shoot himself rather than faking it. He wasn't a phony, he was committed, and maybe he should have been committed. I did some reading on him and he did move on to really interesting stuff. The '70's art community more liberated? Not from what I experienced. More like warfare with artists pointlessly insisting that their "thing" was the only "thing". As for institutional approval, that's up to the artist whether he/she/them is going to apply for grant money or find their own way. I've made a nearly 50 years long career as an artist, and worked for and earned every penny by virtue of having chops, using them, and expanding them. I chose a different path, going into commercial art, though I could have done the fine art path. I had serious offers if I wanted to decamp to NYC. It just wasn't for me. Fine art felt like, then as now, a celebration of commercialized BS with a few islands of honesty scattered about. Instead I followed a different passion by getting involved in films and TV. It's BS as well, but a painter actually has to be able to paint.
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exbenedict
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Post by exbenedict on Sept 25, 2018 21:45:49 GMT -5
Back to the original point of the thread: Just saw the new Predator. Not high art by any means, but if you like the franchise, it was fun. Lots of fun little sight gags and jokes in the background if you're paying attention from Shane Black.
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Post by Dramatwist on Sept 25, 2018 22:34:20 GMT -5
Back to the original point of the thread: Just saw the new Predator. Not high art by any means, but if you like the franchise, it was fun. Lots of fun little sight gags and jokes in the background if you're paying attention from Shane Black. Sorry, man. We bad.
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exbenedict
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Post by exbenedict on Sept 26, 2018 2:22:38 GMT -5
Lol. It’s all good ;-)
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