What was the last film you watched?

[Seaviewer]

Atomic Blonde (2017)

I tend to lose track of who's who with these spy epics but the atmosphere is appropriately edgy (I'm wondering if the makers of Killing Eve watched this before they started) and the fight scenes well choreographed.

It's also the answer to the idea of a sex change for James Bond. Why bother when you already have characters like Lorraine Broughton?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Every Home Should Have One (1970)

I may be wrong, but I believe this is the first time I've watched anything with Marty Feldman in (I associate him mostly with Round The Horne on which he, along with Barry Took, wrote the scripts for the majority of episodes).

Another one that was saucier than expected (even though it's part of a "Saucy 70s" boxset). Some sustained shots of titties, a couple of full frontal pictures and even scenes of a naked Feldman and his equally naked au pair. Language, too, was fairly fruity at times.

Plenty of familiar faces: Father Dear Father's Patrick Cargill as a kinky MP whose quarters were rigged with two way mirrors, whips and chains; Penelope Keith as a strict, teutonic au pair (complete with Third Reich symbols) sent to replace her sexy predecessor who had slept with the married Feldman. There was Rising Damp's Miss Jones as the bespectacled secretary for the Mary Whitehouse type clean TV campaign, meekly keeping track of how many "bastards" had been used and how many groin shots had appeared in the films they reviewed. Perhaps most notably, Keeping Up Appearances' Daisy was Feldman's sexy wife, being whisked away for a dirty weekend by the hot Reverend.

It was a bit quirkier than I would like. Lots of surreal fantasy sequences, including some with terrible animation. But it had its moments.

The title sequence will probably give a flavour of what's in the film (I must confess that 1:05, naff as it is, made me laugh out loud):

 

[Toni]

Another "scary" flick (very meh):

"Hello...I´m Katharine Ross..."​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Keep It Up Downstairs (1976)

Pretty dire. It's basically Upstairs Downstairs meets soft core porn. The plot was dull. The sex scenes were naturally ugly men laying young tarts (there was a lesbian fantasy thrown in here and there. Not that this improved the situation). And - most importantly - it wasn't funny.

I plan to never see another female nipple as long as I live.

 

[Alexis]

A bit edgier than I was expecting. The strip joint got dangerously close to full frontal.

Penelope Keith as a strict, teutonic au pair (complete with Third Reich symbols)

Pretty dire. It's basically Upstairs Downstairs meets soft core porn. The plot was dull. The sex scenes were naturally ugly men laying young tarts (there was a lesbian fantasy thrown in here and there. Not that this improved the situation). And - most importantly - it wasn't funny.
I plan to never see another female nipple as long as I live.

Well I never!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Well I never!

Probably best to keep it that way, Alexis. I still feel tainted from Keep It Up Downstairs.

 

[Alexis]

Probably best to keep it that way, Alexis. I still feel tainted from Keep It Up Downstairs.

I didn't even know that these kind of saucey seventies films existed. I think I'll stick with my Carry On box set.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I didn't even know that these kind of saucey seventies films existed. I think I'll stick with my Carry On box set.

Yeah. Part of the reason the Carry Ons got more explicit with England and Emmanuelle was to keep up with the Joneses with this type of filth film being made.

I don't know if you've heard of the Confessions film series, but they're probably the most well-known of these sex comedy type films. But there are loads out there. It was the Seventies, after all:

 

[Seaviewer]

It's All Happening (1963)

British musical starring Tommy Steele set in a recording studio at the dawn of the swinging sixties

Well-intentioned story in part about helping an orphanage but the rampant sexism, no doubt seen at the time as harmless fun, is rather painful to the modern eye.

The film ends with a lengthy concert sequence featuring what I assume are some of the luminaries of the day but, aside from Steele himself and conductor Geoff Love, I've never heard of any of them.

 

[Emelee]

Had a lazy day on the sofa watching TV. So first it was Miss Congeniality 2, then Mr. Bean's Holiday and finally Good Morning, Vietnam.

 

[Clubsoda]

Romancing the Stone.

My fave adventure/romance film of all time. Flawless chemistry between Douglas, Turner and Devito and great acting and storyline pacing.

Highly rewatchable.

The Jewel of the Nile is ok.

 

[Seaviewer]

Muscle Beach Party (1964)

The second in the series of Beach Party movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.

I noticed that the songs were co-credited to Brian Wilson which I suppose gives some credibility to the odd popularity craze that centred on surfing - see also Gidget, Jan and Dean, et al.

Also notable for "introducing" Little Stevie Wonder.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Hippopotamus (2017)

Quirky and ever so British. Roger Allam is wonderful; the cinematography is nice and there are some nice lines. There's also something of an atheist allegory, which is refreshing.

Not a first class film, but enjoyable enough if you can overlook the bestiality and semen fixation.

 

[Angela Channing]

Resistance (2020)

The untold story of mime artist Marcel Marceau who was part of the French resistance during the Second World War and was responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of Jewish children. A fascinating story but a flawed film. Jesse Eisenberg is a great actor but not a great mime artist; far too stiff and expressionless when doing mime and so was not particularly convincing in those scenes but thankfully they were kept to minimum.

Parts of the film reminded me of The Sound of Music, parts reminded me of Life Is Beautiful and parts reminded me of The Great Escape but this film wasn't as good as any of those. That said, there was still enough in this film to enjoy and some of the escape scenes were genuinely nail-biting, edge of the seat stuff. Not all heroes wear capes, some wear clown make-up and do mime.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Tonight was my annual Jaws screening. I don't know how it's possible, but it gets better with each rewatch...

 

[Seaviewer]

A fascinating story but a flawed film.

I just read a review of Resistance that stated that the film is highly fictionalised. The climactic meeting with a key antagonist, for example, apparently never happened.

 

[Richard Channing]

It's a slow burn but but gradually gains momentum as it reaches it's very dark and effed up crescendo. Very atmospheric and unnerving, and you never quite know where it's going. I didn't really understand what was going on some of the time but that kind of added to the suspense. The performances are great, especially Toni Collete. All in all a pretty good modern horror movie.

 

[Angela Channing]

I just read a review of Resistance that stated that the film is highly fictionalised. The climactic meeting with a key antagonist, for example, apparently never happened.

I have no doubt a lot of artistic licence was taken with the plot but a lot of the scenes were factually based, even some of those that seem hard to believe.

 

[Angela Channing]

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

I was thinking about this film yesterday when I heard that Ennio Morricone, who wrote the score for it, had died. I hadn't seen this film since the first time I watched it back in the 1980s when Channel 4 in the UK used to screen foreign language films on Saturday evenings. There are 2 versions of this film, the original theatrical cut and the significantly longer director's cut. I had originally seen the director's cut so this time I watched the other version. Although I liked the film when I first saw it, I loved it second time around and it's a good example of a film where the director's cut is inferior.

It's a beautiful film, telling the story of a young boy and the 4 loves of his life: films, the Paradise Cinema, Alfredo the projectioner and a girl called Elena. Whereas the director's cut dwelled more on his relationship with Elena, the theatrical cut left the focus more on his relationship with Alfredo which was far more interesting. The final scene when he watches the film that Alfredo left him after he died is a real tearjerker. A classic of Italian Cinema and the music is stunning.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Not Disney's finest moment. But an enjoyable way to pass ninety minutes. And a whole lot more Elvis than I'd have expected, which was nice.​