I really enjoyed it, but they haven't answered most of the questions the story opens. If they didn't have another season it would be only a fraction of a story told, which IMO doesn't really count, despite good performances.
I really enjoyed it, but they haven't answered most of the questions the story opens. If they didn't have another season it would be only a fraction of a story told, which IMO doesn't really count, despite good performances.
Bloodline is excellent. Fantastic acting from the whole cast, and such a gnawing tension the whole way through. Both seasons were top notch!
I watched the first two Peaky Blinders and liked it, but then got caught up in something else and never went back... these days there is just too much to watch.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Sweet Home
Nice Spanish thriller on Netflix. Mostly in English with some subtitles.
A dilapidated tenement building has one lone occupant who refuses to be put out. The realty company is finally fed up and resorting to more severe,
and less legal, tactics to have him removed. A young couple decides to use the building for a private birthday ceremony for him. Unfortunately for
them, it happens to be the same night the realty thugs show up to deal with the old man.
A good high suspense, cat and mouse movie. The lead actress was quite good, and beautiful. Recommended for the horror/thriller crowd!
A Comfort Zone is not a Life Sentence
The Deadly Affair - 1966 adaptation of a John Le Carre novel (Call For The Dead, and with the name of the George Smiley character changed to Charles Dobbs due to a rights issue). On the face of it, it seems an unremarkable, run-of-the-mill typical sixties spy drama, with infidelity, intrigue, lots of intense conversations in drawing rooms etc.
But being a Sidney Lumet film, there is of course more to it than that. Lumet insisted on not showing the touristy side of London, and de-saturating the colour to give it a very drab but interesting look. He also used a lot of hand held camera in real locations, which really helped to give an impression of sixties London as it was, and not how it was often unrealistically portrayed.
The other plus point is the concentration on secondary characters, notably Harry Andrews stoic, and sometimes brutal Inspector Mendel, Roy Kinnear in a straight role as a sleazy car salesman, and Simone Signoret in a very late career role and looking somewhat world weary, though still a very good actress, Maximillian Schell, Kenneth Haigh, A very young looking Lynn Redgrave and an unbilled David Warner (playing Edward II in an on-stage performance during a tense sequence in a theatre), and Corin Redgrave.
The portrayal of the seedier side of London is very well realized, especially in the sequence where Harry Andrews goes looking for Roy Kinnear in a pub, and beats him to a pulp. Quite uncharacteristic and brutal for the time, as was the general look of the movie with handheld cameras and the washed-out look.
A bit of a nostalgia trip I guess, but I can remember watching this on TV some 30 years back and it left an impression on me.
Well worth watching if you like Le Carre and sixties British spy drama's.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
I looked the movie up on Wikipedia. You forgot to mention that it also stars James Mason, a wonderful actor I don't think as ever done a shoddy job. For some reason, tho, I clicked on the link to Harry Andrews. I immediately recognized him. A great English actor who also co-stars in The Hill, probably my second favorite Sidney Lumet film (after 12 Angry Men) that stars Sean Connery in maybe his best role ever. If you've never seen it, check it out. You'll need the closed captions, tho, as the dialogue is often hard to follow due to their British accents.
I'm gonna look for The Deadly Affair. Where did you see it?
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Hidden – The 2015 film written and directed by The Duffer brothers, the same guys who brought you Stranger Things. The easiest way to describe this movie is that it's a viral outbreak version of 10 Cloverfield Lane without famous actors and with elements of another movie. To say what would probably be a spoiler. Oh and there's something else that makes this the most interesting take on the genre but I'm not going to tell you what. So if this review piques your interest, do yourself a favor and don't read about this movie online before watching it.
BTW, this was released a half year before 10 Cloverfield Lane. Which kinda makes me wonder if JJ Abrams ripped off the Duffer bros.
Two thirds of the movie takes place in an old abandoned fallout shelter next to the local school and is inhabited by a family of four: Ray, Claire (his wife), Zoe (their daughter), and Olive (Zoe's doll). The movie begins sometime after a viral outbreak. We never find out if the outbreak is localized, an epidemic, or a pandemic as the family went underground almost immediately, discovered through flashbacks. Fortunately for them there are plenty of provisions in the way of canned goods stored in the shelter. Luckily, there's also a water pump. It isn't explained, however, where their bathroom facilities are but that becomes immaterial as the movie takes place over the course of several hours. And it's obvious they don't really have a shower, either, as they all look a bit dirty.
Like 10 Cloverfield Lane, the door (which is really a nautical deck hatch) to the shelter is locked at all times because they are hiding from the "breathers". And because the breathers are so apparently dangerous, the parents have established four rules:
1. Never be loud.
2. Never lose control.
3. Never open the door.
4. Never talk about the breathers.
One of the more interesting aspects to the movie is that they are able to look out of their shelter through a vent with a handmade periscope and we can see that something major has occurred. My first thought was that it looks like a nuclear winter.
To say anything more would contain spoilers.
4 out of 5 twisted perspectives.
Last edited by Hal...; 08-14-2016 at 06:08 PM.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
A Million Ways to Die in the West – I believe this has already been reviewed here so I'll keep this brief. It's a funny movie if you like Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad) and I do. There is some toilet humor, which I loathe, and a bit that could have been left out. Like so many comedies, however, the laughs get fewer the longer the movie runs and the focus switches to the story. Stars MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Neal Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sarah Silverman.
It's worth a look for many good laughs and the ever gorgeous Charlize Theron.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
^^^ I'm pretty subjective (Seth McF is my son-in-law's cousin & while he didn't attend my daughter's wedding, his mailed gift was impressive), but that said, A Million Ways.... is pretty damn funny. It's no Blazing Saddles, but not bad at all.
And I agree that Theron is so striking that even the makeup on Monster didn't hide that completely. Close though.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Good lord...forgetting the star of the movie...for shame! Dunno how I missed that. I picked this up on an R2 dvd pretty cheap via Amazon, and its also available on R1.
I agree I don't really think Mason ever gave a bad performance, even one of his last ever roles in The Verdict (Mr Lumet again) was excellent.
I know The Hill very well, used to show on TV a lot in the UK, which is where I live so the accents are not an issue for me. Powerful stuff even today, and good to see Connery flexing his acting muscles outside Bond.
Harry Andrews was one of those solid, dependable actors who was never really the lead, but was often quite a powerful presence in most of his roles.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
Mason at least once was pretty bad - it was one of the Italian movies where he starred with Leonard Mann. It was in the mid 70's. The movie is hardly an undiscovered golden apple but he was not particularly good. A lot of american actors were cast in the 70's italian eurocrime pics, such as Lee J Cobb, I guess for marketing reasons. I think it's the same with Mason and that film. They needed a recognizable face. Just like George Kennedy in the Franko Nero film Top Line where he was bad. They basically appear in just a few scenes. At least Cobb was decent in some of those films.
There are also examples of an average film and a decent performance - like The Jigsaw Man with Michael Caine, Robert Powell and Susan Geroge where Laurence Olivier was as decent as he could be, considering the average quailty of the picture.
I think many actors like those mentioned got seduced into appearing in European crime drama's, war movies and silly action movies.
In a lot of cases it was either because the work had dried up, or at least they had a dry spell. Many of them did these movies near the end of their career, and I guess it kept them in work and able to pay the bills.
I guess its either that or go into a soap opera for the remainder of their career...not an easy choice I guess.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
Really?? And you can still understand them?
Oh yeah. Anyone serious about film should see The Hill.Powerful stuff even today, and good to see Connery flexing his acting muscles outside Bond.
I'd bet a paycheck it was due to either communication issues (Mason not understanding the director) or the director not being very good. Many people don't realize a director is as much responsible for a good acting job as the actor. Case in point: the difference between Max Von Sydow's performances in Hannah and Her Sisters vs Flash Gordon. But then Woody Allen is one of those directors who is able to get great performances out of his actors... not that Von Sydow needs much direction, mind you.
I'm inclined to agree with Rogue. It wasn't so much they were marketable in Europe but that they weren't marketable in the US. Clint Eastwood made those spaghetti westerns because he couldn't find much work in the US outside of TV. Of course, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly made him an international movie star and the rest is history. I still think that was his best role, btw.A lot of american actors were cast in the 70's italian eurocrime pics, such as Lee J Cobb, I guess for marketing reasons.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Actually, like most regional accents in movies and TV they are often toned down or softened, as they need to be understood by audiences in different parts of the world. So if you struggle with them, you would have real problems if you went to the actual parts of the UK where that accent is prominent.
There are exceptions...Gregory's Girl for example. A Glasgow accent is one of the hardest to understand, and I often struggle myself sometimes (See my comments on the movie A Sense of Freedom). Even The Long Good Friday was intended to be dubbed for the US market , until Bob Hoskins threatened to sue the producers.
Worse still, sometimes filmmakers go for pure cliché and end up insulting peoples intelligence, like Mickey Rooney's 'chinaman' in Breakfast At Tiffany's, Fisher Stevens 'Indian' in Short Circuit (poor guys career never recovered after that).
Truth is any regional accent from any part of the world is going to be problematic, and very few representations of the same in movies will be accurate. People who know those accents well will complain, but unfortunately its a sad reality that they need to dumb them down for worldwide audiences.
Last edited by Rogue Mail; 08-17-2016 at 11:41 AM.
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
The Reader (2008) - Kate Winslet and Ray Fiennes: Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. This was a depressing movie but the acting was excellent and the story was fascinating. They movie questions your sense of morality as the main characters were presented in a sympathetic light despite one character's horrific history.
I enjoyed that movie
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Elvis and Nixon - Curious little movie about an apparently true 'meeting' between Elvis and Nixon at the Whitehouse in 1970. Elvis had become obsessed with trying to become some sort of official, undercover agent and after unsuccessful attempts with various officials, decided to turn up at the Whitehouse to seek an audience with the Pres.
Decent movie, liked it more as it progressed and got to the actual 'meeting'. Took a while to get there though. Was not sure at first about Shannon's Elvis, but I tend to prefer someone who does not got for a literal impersonation of the character, and just tries to find things about them, traits, habits, speech patterns etc that are familiar to people.
On the whole I thought Spacey's Nixon was the better portrayal though. Very natural, and not the often cartoony caricature that a lot of people have done over the years.
And I still say if ever they decide to re introduce the Jaws character to the Bond movies, Shannon is the man. No make up needed...he could be Richard Kiel's actual son!
I only clicked on it because I thought it was going to be something more interesting...
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