What was the last film you watched?

[Long Lashes]

Oh you've watch it too Willie , did you feel like you'd worked the restaurant shift along with the staff? .. I did

I think he was in In The Line Of Duty?

Yes he played John Corbet a 'bent copper'

Yeah, like a soapy indie disaster movie, slightly exaggerated for dramatic purposes.

It really was.

It looks like a very ambitious project.

Oh wow 2000 actors! the sheer logistics must be a nightmare, having everyone in the right place at the right time. Can you imagine being the actor who completely fluffs his lines and then everyone would have to start filming right from the beginning again

This wouldn't have been possible in the pre-digital age. Not with a feature-length film, anyway, because a reel of film could only shoot so many minutes before it needed to be changed.

How true, I hadn't thought of this.

Hitchcock did a similar concept with Rope all the way back in 1948, but had to cheat and have a few moments where the camera was briefly-but-cleverly obscured to allow for reel changes whilst giving the impression of a continuously shot film. I'd recommend it if Boiling Point has piqued your interest in the concept.

Hitchcock was ahead of his time, thanks Mel I will look up ROPE.

It was only after watching BOILING POINT that I discovered it was filmed in one continuous take and I thought .. "no, it can't have been" .. I rarely re-watch films, but I watched it again to see if it was true that a single camera was used , it was very clever and added to the stressful atmosphere of this particular film.

 

[Seaviewer]

(On a smaller scale, there's also the Spice Girls' Wannabe video).

Even before the Spice Girls became as big as they did, I loved that video. All the stuff that's going on that had to be timed just right - amazing.

 

[Seaviewer]

Tell It to the Bees (2018)
This is quite an unusual film. On one level it's a slice of life drama set in a small Scottish town in 1952 which is already uneasy about the fact that the new doctor is a woman and is then further scandalised when she begins an affair with the mother of one of her patients.
But overlaying that is a surrealism concerning the bee hive in the doctor's back yard whose bees may or not be sentient.
Well-acted and engrossing.

 

[Toni]

Downsizing (2017)
View attachment 46484
The first half of the film is all about the fascinating Sci-Fi and mini worlds, but that no longer matters in the second half when it all looks like the real world.
Disappointing.

Oh that tagline says so much about Matty & Benny's relationship...

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

It's a joy to watch a film without any kind of preconceptions. I've seen - but have no strong sentiment towards - the TV series. And I had no idea this film remake was even a thing. I don't even recall how it ended up in my Prime watchlist, but looking at the director it was probably suggested after I watched the Downey/Law Sherlock Holmes films (after years of no desire to watch a Guy Ritchie film I've stumbled into watching three this year... and all have been enjoyable enough in their own way).

The good news with this film is that it's extremely stylish: it looks dark and drab in the best possible way, with long moody shadows and luscious sets contrasting with the occasional sunny location; the cast are extremely photogenic (I felt a little dirty realising I'd been enjoying watching Armie Hammer, a name I only know from repeatedly seeing this intriguing thread title); the Sixties fashions are fun; and the score strikes a nice balance, being quirky and retro while still appealing to 21st Century tastes.

The not-so-good news is that this style is mostly over substance. There's a lot of action and there are certainly a lot of twists when it comes to which of the double and triple agents can be trusted. The story, however, doesn't hold the interest. It's essentially an "origin" story and so feels like watching a slick pilot for a TV series, the tone of which is necessarily different from the rest of the series itself. By film's end, it feels things are being set up for an ongoing series of films (or, at the very least, a sequel) which may have been an improvement.

Even as I watched, I realised I had no desire to watch it ever again. But, had there been a sequel, I'd certainly have been up for continuing watching, so it must have had something going for it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

A film I've not watched for a long, long time. I'd thought I'd watched it only once or twice, back when it was released on home video. But a great many of the scenes, imagery and even dialogue came back to me as I watched, suggesting I've watched it more than this. Now I'm getting a fragmented remembrance of having recorded this back when it first aired on British TV (BBC, if I'm not mistaken. I'm fairly sure there were no ads).

If anything, I found it more watchable than I did back then. It's certainly a nice little time capsule of an Eighties New York that may or may not have existed.Nicely written with some snappy lines (Laurie Metcalfe snapping "Take a valium, like a normal person" has never been forgotten by me, though until last night I couldn't have told you where I'd heard it).

Back then, Into The Groove was a big deal. Having only discovered Madonna with the Like A Virgin single, I'd say ITG was the single that cemented my fandom (it was her first British #1, and for one of those glorious four weeks she made chart history by holding the TOP TWO positions - with the re-release of Holiday being #2). It was so nice to revisit the song in context last night and relive some of the magic of the time. In terms of soundtrack, though, the revelation this time round was Thomas Newman's score which is quirky and whimsical without being daft. Most enjoyable.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I've seen - but have no strong sentiment towards - the TV series.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is the first show that I was conscious of considering my favourite. While I'm curious about what they've done with it, I have no great desire to see this movie (but I may end up catching it eventually).

 

[Seaviewer]

The Stranger (1946)
I haven't seen a lot of Orson Welles's work but I saw this on one of the local free catch-up services to I thought I'd give it a look.
Welles directs and appears as a fugitive Nazi who takes up residence in a small American town and makes the mistake of falling in love (apparently genuinely) with a local girl, played by Loretta Young. Top billing goes to Edward G. Robinson as a detective out to bring the Nazi to justice.
I've always thought that the best direction is the one you don't notice, and Welles's use of shadows and unusual angles tends to take me out of the story, but it's still quite gripping.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Living (2022)

While I'm not familiar with a great deal of Bill Nighy's work, I'd say the "career-best" boast could well be accurate. It's certainly a wonderful, touching performance.

This is the kind of film that gives one a little perspective... even if it's brief. It's life-affirming in the same kind of way as is attending a funeral. Despite the subject matter of dying, the film is made with a light touch and stays the right side of gentle and watchable.

The biggest nice surprise was the period setting. Now I look more closely at the poster it's obvious it's a period film, but having only previously glanced at it, I simply saw a conservatively dressed older man, so I hadn't picked up on this. The retro opening titles were great.

The period detail looked mostly fairly good, though - as always - some contemporary speech patterns and expressions blighted this somewhat, with a little Kardashian vocal fry creeping into the younger women's speech. Aimee Lou Wood's character in particular spoke like a 21st Century intern (which, to be fair to her, could be the writing as much as the performance).

Still, it's a gorgeous-looking film, wonderfully performed, and I'm sure it more than deserves its many accolades and awards.
​

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is the first show that I was conscious of considering my favourite. While I'm curious about what they've done with it, I have no great desire to see this movie (but I may end up catching it eventually).

I'd imagine it might be a more bitter pill to swallow for someone who is very familiar with the series. I'd love to say give it a go, mainly because I'd be curious to know what you thought of it, but the chances are that you're wise to give it a wide berth.

The Stranger (1946)

Oh, until I read your post I'd forgotten all about this one, which I only watched for the first time a couple of years ago:

It took me about a third of the film to settle into the slow pace and general quaintness, but from then on I found the film quite compelling. The references to Naziism and visuals of concentration camps took me aback a fair bit, as it would still have been very fresh and raw when this was made. A brave move, and it paid off.

As Franz Kindler, Orson Welles visually reminded me of - alternately - JR Ewing and Josh Henderson's John Ross. With Edgar Randolph's cheekbones, moustache and secret past.

And it all takes place in a kind of Peyton Place, with a gorgeous New England town square set (and some good-looking young men that would give the Harringtons a run for their money).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

WarGames (1983)

How this one passed me by as a kid I have no idea. I heard about it, of course, but that was as far as it went. Perhaps it's because as a child I wasn't particularly interested in computers. Or international relations.

I expected this film to feel dated, a feeling borne out by the very Eighties electronic calculator red font used for the opening titles. Certainly, most of the tech looks very old school.

Still, the writing holds up well, the subject is (sadly) as relevant as ever, and casting is great. I believe this is the second Ally Sheedy film I've watched (after finally doing The Breakfast Club earlier this year). Matthew Broderick is... fine. There were an awful lot of familiar faces, most of whom were in the war room: Whitey from One Tree Hill (AKA Fenton Washburn) had some meaty scenes; Cagney & Lacey's Inspector Marquette (AKA the nice black doctor who told Karen Mackenzie she was going to die) was also present, as was the mean sexist from both Nine To Five and Tootsie. It took me ages to place John Spencer - L.A. Law's Tommy Mullaney - who appeared in the tense pre-credit scene (the film's best sequence, in my opinion) as the man who refused to turn the key to launch a missile strike.

Overall, expectations were fairly low. I expected to tick the box of having seen it and to get a slice of Eighties nostalgia along the way. I'm happy to say it both met and exceeded expectations. There's a nice postmodernism running through the film that makes it really work today. The scene where "Joshua" dials up David at home is genuinely chilling.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I saw War Games when it first came out but I don't think I've seen it since. Pretty good as I remember it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Fallen (1998)

A film I'd never heard of, much less watched. It... wasn't great.

It just feels like too much of everything. For a start, it's about 40 minutes too long and consequently feels at best quite sluggish (at worst, it was tediously wearing). The main plot is kind of a simplistic urban legend that gets overdone and stretched far too thin over the 2+ hours. The film apparently attempts to mitigate this by giving us Denzel's non-traditional family setup and the Cagney & Lacey style procedural at the New York police station. Both are done well enough, and the former works especially in the film's favour (the latter gets a bit verbose and navel gazey), but the plot turns coming from them aren't anywhere near as impactful as they could be.

There are several big "twists" towards the film's end which, unfortunately, can be seen coming from a great distance. This means there's absolutely nothing to make the investment feel worthwhile.

As for the evil spirit moving from person to person by touch... it looks hokey all the way through (the effects in this film are extremely shonky), and gets overdone in some daft looking, over-choreographed scenes where the extras appear to be an amateur flashmob.

For anyone wanting to watch Denzel pursuing a serial killer in a thriller-cum-procedural, save yourself two hours you'll never get back, and watch the following year's The Bone Collector instead.








​

I saw War Games when it first came out but I don't think I've seen it since. Pretty good as I remember it.

I really enjoyed it, and I'd imagine it was probably even better back in 1983 when the tech would have seemed even more impressive.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Apartment (1960)

I watched this once some thirty-plus years ago. Funny the tricks the memory plays, since I remembered this as being in vivid colour rather than the black and white in which it was shot.

Back then, I decided I'd ticked the box and had no desire to watch it again. Whatever I'd expected, The Apartment wasn't it (I probably watched it off the back of Some Like It Hot expecting more of the same. I remember finding the drug overdose/stomach pumping particularly depressing).

Watching it last night was a very different experience. It hit all the right notes for me: funny, charming and just touching enough to give it substance. It's reminded me that I haven't seen nearly enough of Jack Lemmon's body of work, and the same goes for Billy Wilder.​

 

[Angela Channing]

WarGames (1983)

I love this film. I first saw it when it was released in the 1980s and most recently watched it about 3 years ago and it didn't seem at all dated considering how much geopolitics and technology has changed in the intervening years.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I first saw it when it was released in the 1980s and most recently watched it about 3 years ago and it didn't seem at all dated considering how much geopolitics and technology has changed in the intervening years.

This was the big surprise for me. The very Eighties red "arcade" font used for the credits was the most dated aspect for me.

Aesthetically, the computers looked very different to those we see today, and I imagine NORAD's equipment isn't so filled with diodes these days, but the story holds up well and remains relevant. The film could probably easily be remade today almost line for line.

The writing, casting and performances were solid, and these three aspects never date.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Cast A Dark Shadow (1955)

Tagline: "No woman could resist his sinister charm!"


A nice little obscure vintage British thriller. Well, it went completely under my radar anyway. I hadn't heard of it until a couple of days ago when it popped up as a suggestion. Perhaps not surprising considering it bombed at the time.

It has a great deal going for it. A combination of play-like sets (belying its origins) and charming, terribly British locations (the quaint little village appears to be Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire).

I also found the behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating. Margaret Lockwood had evidently made some stinkers just prior to this, negatively affecting the film's reputation to the point where her top billing was later rescinded in some publicity material, making her name far smaller and less prominent than Dirk Borgarde's, even though Dirk had hand-picked her and he and the director insisted (many years later) that she was great in it.

I found it interesting to watch Dirk in a sinister role, particularly as it was filmed around the time of the earliest Doctor films. Some of his choices - seeming to enjoy the obstacles that come his way, and smiling at times when someone else gains the upper hand - reminded me of what Larry Hagman would do decades later in Dallas. In film terms, this frequently feels quite Hitchcockian, with echoes of Rope as well as Hitch's earlier British works, as well as having some similar themes to Psycho, still years away at this point.

As things escalated, I found myself genuinely wondering how it would all end. Sadly, the actual outcome was telegraphed, though only by a couple of minutes, as it was a situation that had to be reached through escalating drama, which it did well.

All in all, a nice little film, that would probably make ideal weekend matinee fare.



Incidentally, I prefer this poster but, sadly, can't find a decent-sized image.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Something Wild (1987)

This came up as a suggestion off the back of Desperately Seeking Susan, but I actually have a vague memory of reviews of another Eighties Madonna fil pointing out its uncanny likeness to Something Wild, so I was interested to see it on this level.

As Something Wild began, the similarities between its premise and that of Who's That Girl were glaring*. Even the tone felt very similar at first.

Not knowing much about the film beyond its initial premise, and some written comments about it being Hitchcockian. In executions, Something Wild's turns were still surprising - and at times even shocking. Of course, I knew Jonathan Demme's association with darkness with his history Columbo episodes and going on to direct The Silence Of The Lambs. Somehow, though, I just didn't pre-empt this quirky film going into that same psychologically unsettling territory, nor having the level of graphically bloody violence it eventually got. Probably the first clue I got to the film's more earthy nature was when Melanie Griffith's tits carried a lengthy scene or two by themselves (a point at which the Victorian in me briefly contemplated bailing). But, of course, Ray Liotta's name should really have clued me in far earlier than this. I'd also previously read some comments on the film which alluded to it being Hitchcockian.

It's an interesting film, if for no other reason that I found all its main characters rather unlikeable in different ways. Jeff Daniels's character probably gets off the lightest in this regard, but (unless I missed something) only fairly late in the film is it revealed that he's not a cheating skank.

Living up to its name, this really is a wild ride, going to some places I really couldn't have envisaged beforehand. That makes it a success, for my money. All the same, it's not an easy or comfortable ride, nor is it enjoyable most of the time. It challenged me in many ways so, while it wasn't a wasted experience, I can say hand on heart that I have no desire to ever watch it again.
​

* As a big Madonna fan back then, I did watch Who's That Girl a number of times in the mid-late Eighties. And I actually enjoyed it, (though I had admittedly probably made up my mind to do so ahead of time). These days, my main memory of the film is of Madonna doing that turtle-mouthed thing a lot in an attempt to look comedically screwball. I also vividly remember it was the first time I noticed the American pronunciation of the word "mall" when Madge said "Hey - a maul" and I had no idea what she meant (shopping malls weren't really a "thing" in Britain at the time). Thinking about it, I would have almost certainly have heard the term in this context in Back To The Future before this, but I didn't really pick up on it at the time.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

I probably last watched this version when I was still at school, so it's been a while. If anything, it's even more horrifying today.

It's a bleakly grey, subjective nightmarish trudge that breaks the viewer's spirit almost as much as that of the characters. It's godawful... in the best possible way, with voyeuristic flashes of things (from broadcast executions to Shirley Stelfox's minge) that one immediately wants to unsee, but can't.

The bleach bypass processing makes it look all at once vintage and contemporary. It could easily pass for a film (or Netflix series) that was made today. The performances are terrific, and it feels that no punches are pulled.

It made me quite giddy with anxiety, and last night I had the weirdest dreams.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Some of his choices - seeming to enjoy the obstacles that come his way, and smiling at times when someone else gains the upper hand

Good losers are probably the most dangerous ones.

I also found the behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating

I didn't know that streaming services offered the special features.

Ray Liotta

Living up to its name, this really is a wild ride, going to some places I really couldn't have envisaged beforehand.

Looking at the picture I can't decide if it's overselling or underselling itself, and now I'm curious to know how it compares the film.

 

[Seaviewer]

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
As I wrote recently in the "Katharine Hepburn" thread, I saw this a long time ago on TV and I think I see now why as a kid I had no idea what it was about other than being set in an insane asylum.
I see now that the subtext is buried so deep that I'm sure that it must have been heavily censored compared to the original play.
There is evidently a 1993 remake which I'll have to catch up with to see if they've been more obvious with the homosexual themes they refer to here only obliquely, but I doubt that Maggie Smith can top Hepburn's performance.
Elizabeth Taylor is also very good (oddly,I saw her as teenager just a few weeks ago in Life With Father). In fact Monty Clift as the doctor is often reduced to simply wandering back and forth between the set pieces of the two divas, the denouement being a sort of face off which reminded me of the courtroom climax of The Caine Mutiny - the mental disintegration of the one vindicating the stand of the other.