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Nice to see you back MM! NO, do not leave out commentary. I know from comments others have left for me & vice versa, many of us appreciate them. Even if they're not movies I'd see, I love when others share a bit of themselves. Well written is well written, regardless of subject.
Eagerly awaiting your next review...
l.
I truly appreciate your words and the compliments I've received from others. Sometimes, my ADHD says, "They won't miss you at all. You write too much and too randomly, and it probably drives them bonkers~if they read it." Then, I receive messages that say I WAS missed and my words DO mean something to people. Thank you for your kindness.
I admit that a large part of each day is spent watching movies, and I'm wishing that I had started my film journal habit decades ago. I sometimes think of making a list of what I've seen, but that's too mindboggling to do because, since I was a little girl in the Fifties, I've been mad for movies!
So, what else will my journal yield? Right now, when I should be asleep, I'm rewatching (rererere...) "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959), which shocked audiences with such words as "rape", "panties", "****" and even "sperm"! It's considered one of the greatest courtroom dramas in cinematic history. Otto Preminger had to go to its rescue in federal court when it was banned in Chicago; he explained that the language was not gratuitous and was important to the story. EDIT: Ooh! some word was too much even now! I think it was s*l*you-know-what*t.)
"Young Sherlock Holmes" (1985) ~ To me, this definitely holds up as a wonderful adventure with a perfect cast, an exhilarating musical score, and~honestly~groundbreaking effects. Who knew that CGI would end up destroying so many movies when filmmakers forgot that you have to have a solid story on which to hang these special effects? Ray Harryhausen spoke of this danger early on, explaining that his stop-motion work was meant to embellish a story, not to replace it.
"The Jerk" (1979) ~ It's as nuttily funny now as it was the first time I saw it. Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters are an adorable on-screen couple though this is a world away from their ill-fated lovers in "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), a vastly overlooked film that does have some hard-to-take scenes along with the amazing stuff. I've heard they were a real-life couple for quite a while, and it's too bad that they couldn't have done more work together, especially music-related. BTW: You might enjoy this:
I have to make note of a wonderful movie that I saw some time ago. I'd heard about it for many years but could never have expected it to be so touching, actually bringing me to tears more than once. I must say that I've always disagreed with Robert Donat taking the Best Actor Oscar the year Clark Gable was nominated for "Gone with the Wind". However, I could have completely agreed with Donat being nominated and receiving it for his role in this: "The Magic Box" (1951). From Wikipedia:
Quote:
This biographical drama gives an account of the life of William Friese-Greene, who first designed and patented a working cinematic camera. This claim is subject to some controversy, but evidence now tends to support it. The film was completed and shown just before the end of the 1951 Festival of Britain, but the general release was not until 1952. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image", leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappointments, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries.
There's a moment when the inventor achieves success, but there's no one to share this. So, he frantically recruits a police officer to share his discovery; the stunned officer is played by Laurence Olivier! The cast is filled with British star-power, including a few whose success was yet to come. Donat is absolutely perfect, managing to snag my sympathies even when doing things I should have berated him for, as I did in the often-aggravating "Flash of Genius" (2008).
That's more than enough babbling for now. So many movies; too many words...
Right now, I'm watching the Frank Capra classic "Lost Horizon" (1937), which I've seen many times before. Lately, TCM airs the version with still photos overlaid with the recorded track, which makes for a strange moment each time we go from the regular film to these fillers. It's definitely one that would be worth seeing on the big screen, along with other epics such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935), "The Good Earth" (1937), and "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936). There are so many others that must have been an extraordinary experience.
Sadly, this city is small enough that we rarely received re-releases. I did see a number of them though: "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story" and~best of all~"Gone with the Wind". I console myself with how many great movies I saw in theaters from the Fifties to about the late Eighties when I became too ill and too poor to go to the movies anymore. My final two movies, thanks to a friend who drove here from out of town, were "POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Thanks to that friend and her husband, I was able to go see the second "Jurassic Park" and "Star Wars 1". I missed so many films I'd love to have seen in a theater, especially the LOTR trilogy; they were at the mall, but I couldn't even get to such a close place. So, I make do with our TV, which isn't so bad.
Ouch! I rambled again! Here are some more films I've seen recently: The Encounter (2010) ~ Basically, Jesus runs a diner, where a number of people are stopped. It's rather odd but not really that bad. I'd watch it again. ' His Kind of Woman (1951) ~ Vincent Price as a very hammy actor steals the movie from Robert Mitchum. He has all of the best lines and scenes! The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) ~ Harry Belafonte makes this one a special treat. If they remade this today, it wouldn't have a chance of being like this. Real Steel (2011) ~ I like Hugh Jackman, but this film has such hideous cinematography, pitiful special effects, and all-'round poor acting that I actually fell asleep during it! I don't generally do that unless I'm very ill, and I wasn't at that time~just bored and irritated. Jackman looks like he's walking through it only half-alert. I'll stick with the "Twilight Zone" version, "Steel" with Lee Marvin. I might never give this another chance, as it seems truly awful. I HATE all of this grayish/greenish, unlit-looking cinematography! Are their eyes that bad?! How can audiences put up with it?! If I saw something that dreadful-looking in the theater, I'd be demanding my money back. It started around the time of "Gladiator" and has gotten worse and more common. *sigh*
DARN! I didn't check what was coming up, and it's "The Hurricane" (1937)! I would have taped this one! I know it will be aired again, but I have the blank tape~just not in the machine. Oops! Jon Hall is unbelievably beautiful in this film, prettier than young Dorothy Lamour. His mother was a Tahitian princess, and he was such a stunning creature.
Nighty night! I might have to get some sleep~unless Jon keeps me awake.
Yesterday we saw "August: Osage County" I wanted to see it for the acting of Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts together. They did a good job but the movie itself was a bit depressing. Not a good choice if you want something uplifting.
Just watched the new RoboCop.
Aside from some unbelievable bad guys, a lot of gratuitous violence, some very sticky plot devices, and a few moments where you say, "Why the hell did they do THAT?" It was really somewhat interesting.
Samuel L Jackson's character is a Scary SOB.
I last watched ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) -- It was ok.... I think FOUL PLAY is much better (Also from 1978)
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NO, do not leave out commentary. I know from comments others have left for me & vice versa, many of us appreciate them. Even if they're not movies I'd see, I love when others share a bit of themselves. Well written is well written, regardless of subject.
