Lily_Marie

Rest in peace, Ms. Bacall.

Gelfling

Such a lady!



true. I used to watch trailers but now I just go by cast, creative team and sometimes genre or topic if I can know enough without knowing everything!

Not these past few days. She popped in a couple of times before so maybe she'll be back. We can start whenever you have seen it and she'll catch up

poehler-bear

oh how nice. I wrote a big reply and it didn't post. Here I go again.

I watched Undercurrent late on Friday and forgot to post here, I'm sorry. I liked it, but I was expecting more from directing, cinematography and script. It was weird to watch Katharine Hepburn playing the helpless wife. It was the same with Stanwyck in The Two Mrs. Carrolls. Also, how many wife killer noirs did they need? I've seen at least 5! Robert Mitchum is always a pleasure to watch. Robert Taylor, on the other hand, still doesn't affect me. He goes to the list of people who shouldn't have a mustache. Kate Hepburn was fantastic!

Gelfling

is on fire this week! Happened to me twice!

No problem. I was going to start the ball rolling but I didn't want to spoil you in case you hadn't seen it yet.

Me too. Much more. And again there was a weird dichotomy. This time it was between what we are led to believe the movie is about for an hour or so and then what it actually was about all along, which is the stolen invention.

It seems a lot of people thought Hepburn was miscast. I think she could play everything so I don't agree she was "miscast" but the character was very weak (in terms of personality and motivation) so it was hard to reconcile that with Hepburn's presence. But I don't think another actress would have elevated the material further even though Hepburn sometimes feel ill at ease with the character's weirdly submissive reaction to her husband's inexplicable violent outbursts.

I also couldn't really get into the characters.
Alan goes from pretty bland in that "prince charming" way to very over the top paranoid (and for good reasons, I guess but since we are kept in the dark about his motivations until the last 20 minutes, it's hard to tell)
Ann seems bright and independent in the first part of the movie, then she just becomes very dense about some things (like the book!) and whenever she finally goes for answers, she refuses them based on... having known her husband for a month or something
Michael, I don't know. We mostly know him second-hand through other people talking about him, which makes it hard to relate to him, despite the bravado and heroic saves-the-day ending. I love Mitchum and he was a looker () but I read he was not at ease in the part of the sensitive guy and it shows so maybe he wasn't the best for the part.

it's a classic of the genre!

He certainly was easy on the eyes even though his masculinity comes off at odds with what we know of the character somehow.

yeah same here. I kept telling myself through the whole movie that he reminded me of a young James Caan (Godfather era James Caan although he didn't have a moustache in that film) but he lacked the impact Caan had.

The ending was... typical Hollywood code
Not so much the damsel in distress/hero saves the day part, that was expected but did we need the extra ending setting them up for the happily ever after?
She's made the mistake of falling for a guy 5 mn into meeting him basically, you'd think she would have learned from it

Oh and the music! I was so sure I had heard that piece before but it felt odd.
Well there's a reason for it I guess: I knew it from Santana's ripping it from Brahms on his 2010 album (and never crediting Brahms for it, nice )

Oh and I saw Maleficent today. Did you end up seeing it Nanda?

poehler-bear

For me, maybe the weirdest thing was that the character started out very Hepburn-y. The quick repartee, the strong relationship with her father, no interest in marriage, engaged by a profession (even if she didn't have one of her own?)... and then everything changed. Very odd.

Yeah... that part is much better suited for Robert Taylor, who I'll always picture as Garbo's idealistic lover. Mitchum's calm demeanor could have worked for Alan if his outburst were replaced by something more subtle, and knowing Mitchum's work, scarier.

But he likes poetry!

Not yet. Should I? Did you like it?

I finally watched Gable & Lombard only work together. And that's probably 95% of the reason why I liked this movie. It's not bad per se but it's completely ordinary. A bit tame for pre-code, even if features two shower scenes and Carole in her underwear. It's a shame they didn't know how to use Carole yet. It would have been great to have seen both of them playing their usual screen selves (I'm thinking more of Nothing Sacred and To Be or Not Be than Twentieth Century and My Man Godfrey). Has anyone seen it?
I also watched and loved Hero. I can see why people would criticize it but I'm so in love with this new cinema that appeals to color for effect rather than a complement to narrative. I also watched Le salaire de la peur and I'm a bit traumatized. Humanity is awful. Thanks Clouzot.

When are we watching The Pirate?

Gelfling

Nanda! Love your new icon

exactly what I thought too. The character changed so much between the prologue and the post-marriage story, it was jarring.

I think so too. I guess he was too attractive to play villains in the 40ies



I'm not sure
It's one of those movies that seem to take a feminist perspective on a well known story but I feel they ultimately failed if that was their intent.
And being a Disney movie, they were trying way too hard to stay within the events from the first movie when they should have just been better off pretending it never existed.

You should watch it. It's not a bad movie and you can't take my word for anything plus I need someone with whom I can have a smart conversation about it because the imdb board is full of Angelina fangirls and Disney conservatives fighting each other over everything that wasn't like the original and there's very little talk about the actual movie

Heh sounds like a pretty good sales point

I haven't but then my knowledge of Gable and Lombard filmographies is shameful!

It's not perfect but it's definitely beautiful and innovative.

Haha! Yeah he wasn't Walt Disney, for sure. It's a great movie though. What a brilliant idea! and so well directed and acted.

I watched it last night but we can get to it whenever you are ready.

Oh, I saw you checked and favorited Thelma & Louise! I wish they made more movies like these but it's a rare one.

Aga_darkside

R.I.P Lauren Bacall

I watched Le quai des brumes with while I was away and loved him (well, I loved the entire movie ) What other movies with Gabin would you recommend?

Wow, he had a gift then

I loved Madame de..., The Letter... a little bit less because I didn't buy the major twist that he didn't recognise her when they met again, but overall I enjoyed it.

As for the movie club, I have to catch up on Undercurrent because I had problems with the copy I had and I couldn't stream it while I was away. I watched The Pirate though, so I'm ready to discuss it whenever

poehler-bear

Aga! Are you back home?

Carole

Oh no. Okay, I'll see if I watch it soon.

You should watch it. It's not a bad movie and you can't take my word for anything plus I need someone with whom I can have a smart conversation about it because the imdb board is full of Angelina fangirls and Disney conservatives fighting each other over everything that wasn't like the original and there's very little talk about the actual movie

I'm not an expert on Gable, almost everything I've seen with him was because of his co-stars. Have you seen Dancing Lady yet? I think I've mentioned it here before. That's one I really enjoyed besides the better and more famous ones (It Happened One Night, Gone With the Wind). I've been meaning to watch The Misfits, have you seen it yet?
As for Lombard... she doesn't have the greatest filmography but she has some must watch's . I guess you've seen them all? Twentieth Century, To Be Or Not To Be, My Man Godfrey and Nothing Sacred. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Smith because her chemistry (and by that I also mean comedic chemistry) with Robert Montgomery is excellent. Her screwballs with Fred MacMurray are very enjoyable, Hands Across the Table is the best imo. And I've mentioned the two melodramas by John Cromwell.
Here I go again with recommendations

I was particularly impressed by the scene in the oil pond. And how beautiful were those bodies covered in oil in that black & white photography!

I started to, but I had to wake up before 5AM so my bed won. I'll watch it tomorrow!

Yes! I had extremely high expectations, not only about the quality of the movie but as a feminist product. Needless to say, I was pleased. It also surprised me a lot. I don't how I managed to go this long without knowing the plot but I had no idea it would involve rape, murder and canyon suicide. It was so much more than the road trip film I was expecting! I'm still very impressed by the bond between Thelma and Louise.

The story is completely ludicrous as a straightforward narrative. At first I was mostly angry at her blind devotion to him, her never-ending suffering for a man who doesn't even know she exists. But there's something about the way Ophuls directed and even Joan Fontaine's acting that makes all the absurdity of the story irrelevant, rather, a bonus to the whole movie.

Gelfling

you have and I haven't yet. My watchlist is long and it's not moving much lately
I'm glad we're doing the movie club thing or I wouldn't watch anything!

This, I have seen! Several times actually because when I first saw it, I didn't know anything about movies and it was dubbed so it didn't impress me much. When I saw it the second time, I loved it though so I saw it a couple more times

these I have seen, yes.

I'll start with those then. I must say I'm always intimidated by the size of the filmographies of some of these golden era stars, especially when I haven't seen them in much because I never know where to start

The cinematography was just amazing! I think people who believe that black and white movies look "boring" should be tied up to a chair and made to watch a few of these (after having been slept around a few times )

Yeah I can imagine! And it can be a little daunting to try movies like that because well, they're still very recent and they're not always what they're cracked up to be. In the 1990ies, the industry was big and booming and marketing was wielded with savvy so you never know if you're going to get a genuine movie or something that's been hyped but isn't worth much.

it resonates on many levels and it doesn't pull its punches. There's no complacency in the way any of these topics are treated, or the way the characters are portrayed.

It's certainly unapologetic in its portrayal of the bond that can exist between two women and it's not trying to make it something sexual or anything "edgy", it's a character piece. And one that is still very rare when it comes to women.
It's also by far Ridley Scott's most intimate movie.
And I don't think they could have picked two actresses who had more chemistry than Sarandon and Davis!

Too bad they couldn't win the Oscar. I think 1991 was the last year where I thought all the nominated actresses deserved to win.

Hehe I guess education at the time wasn't all that it was cut out to be.

Oh so many
Let me see which you should be starting with...
Renoir's La Bete Humaine is a must-see for many reasons, including Gabin's legendary performance
La Grande Illusion (Renoir again and an Oscar nomination for this one)
Then his career got a little in the dumps, due to a strong personality and bouts of alcoholism that didn't help him secure parts. He made a strong comeback in the 1950ies in gangster movies, some of which are interesting but I'll skip to the 60ies where his parts ran more to the drama again, most notably with Un Singe en Hiver (with some excellent dialogs from the other famous wordsmith of French cinema: Michel Audiard), then Le President, a political drama again directed by Verneuil and written by Audiard
And finally one of his last movies, Le Chat, a powerful character piece about love and hate in an aging couple, in which he shares the screen with the always amazing Simone Signoret and for which they both won a big bunch of acting awards.

And he did play Valjean in the only of many French movies adapted from Les Miserables which is worth seeing

You want to start with The Pirate even though Nanda hasn't seen it yet?

poehler-bear

I'm in the movie mood again but it's good to have something to give me a push.

Oh, that's great! I'll try to it asap then.

Exactly! I have been depending on icheck for that lately. Regardless of the merit of those lists at least they point me in one direction.



Yes! And it's not just rare to see two women bonding like that, it's rare to see any two characters with that kind of bond that feels that real and believably resilient.
Yes, the chemistry!

Oh sorry, you girls go ahead and discuss it. I'll watch it tonight.

Gelfling

and a direction! I have so much to watch I don't even know where to start when I have 2 hours to watch something!

True. I'm off the IMDB lists now because ummmm no (well except for the older movies) but the other official lists are useful.

And since I was sleepy, I was much nicer than I meant to be since that was supposed to be "slapped", not slept. Freudian slip of my sleepy brain demanding sleep

True. It's rare even in movies with male leads. I don't know why relationships between characters have taken a back seat to narrative twists and special effects.

I'm going to start on The Pirate then.
I was a little disappointed. I knew it was going to be a classic musical (pre-Sondheim I guess ) so I knew the musical numbers were not going to be integral to the storytelling and I wasn't expecting anything different but I still felt they were almost an afterthought and they weren't Porter's best.
Most of all though, I was disappointed by Judy Garland, which was odd. I know the part wasn't very serious (nor the movie) but I felt her heart wasn't really in it. Kelly was awesome, as usual, and seemed to have a lot of fun though.
All in all, it worked better as a comedy than as a musical, I think.

Aga_darkside

I'm sorry I disappeared but I was too busy fangirlng over Peter Capaldi's first episode as the Doctor

That's why I still enjoyed the movie even with that ridiculous premise.

Thank you, I'm gonna watch all of them! As for Les Miserables, I never felt like watching any of the adaptations of the novel, but I'm going to check this one Or are there any other worth watching?

I was also a little disappointed with The Pirate, I thought it was rather silly than amusing, but I agree Gene Kelly was awesome. And I also had an impression it would work better as just a comedy, because the musical numbers weren't that good or memorable.

poehler-bear

Whenever I decide to watch something on netflix I spend more time deciding what to watch than watching the movie itself

Yeah. The only IMDB lists worth looking for are the decade ones before 1970 (I believe?). My favorite of the big ones is They Shoot Pictures Don't They. So far I've been pleased with it. I also like their website a lot; the directors pages are very good for introductions.

[quote]And since I was sleepy, I was much nicer than I meant to be since that was supposed to be "slapped", not slept. Freudian slip of my sleepy brain demanding sleep [/qu9ote]
I didn't even realize it.

It did. I really enjoyed the Garland/Kelly dynamic, but I was expecting so much more from its musical interludes. And when the two starts finally work together, it's just that funny cute anyone could do it. Easter Parade did much better for Astaire/Garland. At least, I was more pleased with Minnelli's direction this time than with Undercurrent. A comment that I have to make, thank you The Pirate costume department for making Gene Kelly's ass so prominent. Though the daydream sequence went a bit too far into out loud laughter territory (Village People vibes). All in all, it was entertaining but no master piece. I liked it more than the other two we've seen so far.
I'll watch Bob Roberts today because I'm usually too tired during the week.

he was great!

Gelfling

no excuse needed for a bit of fangirling, especially when it's for Peter Capaldi

I was especially disappointed because I was expecting great things from Porter but of all the songs, only Be a Clown remains and it's not even that good.

And it somehow comes a little too late in the movie. Before that, she's under suggestion, and then under the assumption he is someone else, it's all very disingenuous so it doesn't help the dynamic.

Yep. But maybe it was just that Astaire had more experience working in duos than Kelly did.

Oh yeah! I think Undercurrent got the best of him but he was in charge and very versatile in The Pirate.



so it wasn't just me

I did too!

tell me about it! Oh and Netflix is finally going to be available here in September! Now let's see how bad it is with an enforced quota of French productions

I love that one! And I agree on pre-70ies IMDB lists. After that, it's "cult" territory or the usual fanboy voting that leads to ridiculous scores. Oh well.

probably my French accent

Not that I can think of. There were at least 3 other made here and they were not as faithful to the book and characters, imo. And I must confess I have never found the strength of trying the 1998 version with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush (and Claire Danes as Cosette) because it looked so Hollywood, I couldn't get into it.
There was a 1982 version that was not bad at all (our teacher actually took us to the movies to watch it and it's close to 4 hours! ) but the acting is not as good with the exception of Valjean and Thenardier, who were great.

oh and at the risk of being labelled as obsessed with James Caan... is it just me or...?

Aga_darkside

And when I finally start watching something I stop all the time to check things and it takes me forever to finish

It's great but it's a monster!

Agreed



Though I my say Kelly's routine during "Nina" was pretty impressive

I don't feel like watching it as well, with Les Mis I feel like the book is enough and I don't need to see it. The musical is another matter of course and I'm sure it affected me a lot, because I once caught a fragment of that adaptation with Liam Neeson on TV, there was the scene of the trial in Arras and I was like "Why aren't they singing?"

Not just you

I'm still behind with Undercurrent and I'm going to watch Bob Roberts tomorrow, so you can start without me.