Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Progatron]

Agreed. Now, about those movies..

how about that Cloak And Dagger? Hell of a film.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

saw Smallfoot with the wife and daughter

fun animated movie with an underlying message about race relations

7 out of 10 Mormon Stones

[NogbadTheBad]

Saw First Man at the weekend, pretty stoic performance by Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, it was more about the man than the mission, pretty slow but a good period piece.

[spellbound]

Saw The Conjuring 2. Seemed every bit as good as the first Conjuring movie. Plenty of scary moments.

Also What They Had. Movie about the effect of the matriarch's deepening dementia on her family. Good performances by Blythe Danner as the Alzheimer victim, Hilary Swank as her daughter, Michael Shannon as her son, and Robert Forster as her husband. If you are looking for an action movie, this is not it. It's all about the characters, the acting, and the cinematography, and in those things this drama is quite good.

[nycsteve]

Finally saw The Death Of Stalin , watched due to recommendations here. Its a unique , funny / serious movie. Great ensemble cast , Bushemi is classic. I would say 9 of 10 , in its own category.

[Hal...]

I haven't seen very many movies since just before the beginning of the new year. One I watched the other day for the hell of it, mainly because I think I was bored, was Beatles Stories. I was surprised at how good it was.

Basically, it's just a series of interviews with numerous people who had met one or more of the Beatles. Over 100 people were interviewed and many of those are well known people themselves (Graham Nash, Art Garfunkel, Justin Hayward, Henry Winkler, Ben Kingsley, Donovan, et al). Most of the interviews are pretty short but still interesting; one or two are heart warming and some are funny.

The most surprisingly interesting thing I learned was that Norman Smith, the Beatles first engineer at EMI, also recorded as "Hurricane" Smith who had the early '70s hit "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?"

The least surprising thing I learned is that Davy Jones is still an asshole.

[Hal...]

No need to get all sensitive there...

I think you're projecting.

[nosebone]

Re watched Freidkins Sorcerer (1977) last night with my son (19).

He said it was slow, I said "that was the 70s".

The Blu Ray is stunning for those interested.

[spellbound]

The least surprising thing I learned is that Davy Jones is still an asshole.

Davy Jones is dead. So is the other Davy Jones (aka Bowie). Assuming we're thinking of the same one, I didn't know he was an asshole, but then, I've only seen him in the Monkees. I haven't seen or heard of Beatles Stories. I'd probably like it.

____________

I'd like to see The Sorcerer. I only have the Tangerine Dream soundtrack.

[GuitarGeek]

The most surprisingly interesting thing I learned was that Norman Smith, the Beatles first engineer at EMI, also recorded as "Hurricane" Smith who had the early '70s hit "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?"

He was also Pink Floyd's producer on their first two albums. They nicknamed him "Normal", because he apparently wasn't really into their more avant garde material. Apparently, he just sort of backed out of the way and "let them get on with it" when it came to recording stuff like Interstellar Overdrive and A Saucerful Of Secrets, itself.

The least surprising thing I learned is that Davy Jones is still an asshole.

Which Davy Jones is that? There's apparently been several (one of them changed his name to David Bowie).

[GuitarGeek]

Davy Jones is dead. So is the other Davy Jones (aka Bowie). Assuming we're thinking of the same one, I didn't know he was an asshole, but then, I've only seen him in the Monkees. I haven't seen or heard of Beatles Stories. I'd probably like it.
.

I was gonna make the same comment, "The only two people I know by that name are both dead". I've seen a few different documentaries on the Monkees over the years, and he does come off a little...I dunno, not like an asshole, but maybe like he had a chip on his shoulder of some kind, either relating to how the Monkees have been treated by history (i.e. "They were just pretty boys who didn't even play their own instruments") or maybe he was one of these people who felt their most famous role ruined their subsequent careers (paging, Tina Louise, Max Baer Jr, et al).

I gather that he was very much a "serious" actor before The Monkees (I believe I read one of the first roles he took Stateside involved playing a glue sniffing wife beater), and maybe he felt that his association with The Monkees put an end to him getting to play such "challenging" roles.

[frinspar]

Agreed. Now, about those movies..

how about that Cloak And Dagger? Hell of a film.

Still enjoy it. It was in circulation on Movieplex last year. I came across it a few times and left it on. Dabney Coleman's mustache should've gotten an Oscar in the 80s.

[Lou]

Don't Knock Twice

Nice little supernatural horror film on Netflix. Nothing new here, but done very well.

[GuitarGeek]

Destroy All Monsters: classic all star kaiju picture featuring Godzilla, Mothra, Anguirus, Gorosaurus, Banoran, and King Ghidorah. Pretty good pacing, and of course, the kaiju scenes are classic, particularly the climatic battle, with the news reporter observing the activity, who comes off like sports commentator. And everything was in the original Japanese, with English subtitles.

[mozo-pg]

The Dark Tower 2017 "The last Gunslinger: Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black, and determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower that holds the universe together. With the fate of the world at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle, as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black."

You can't be cynical and enjoy a fantasy movie. You have to suspend major disbelief. I did and I loved every minute of the movie. Even though I'm 57, I can still totally get into a movie when the main protagonist is a teenager. The story held together, the plot was exciting, the characters were compelling. I'm going to watch it again!

[Hal...]

Davy Jones is dead. So is the other Davy Jones (aka Bowie). Assuming we're thinking of the same one, I didn't know he was an asshole, but then, I've only seen him in the Monkees.

Well, since Bowie never gained any kind of recognition under his real name, he's only ever been known as Bowie. So, yes, we're thinking of the same one. I'd forgotten he's dead. And after checking, the movie was made a year before he died.

I first heard about Jones in an interview with Mitch Mitchell. He said that on the Experience's first US tour, when they opened for the Monkees, they hung out a lot with them and that Dolenz, Nesmith, & Tork were all really cool but that Jones was an asshole; not all that surprising when you consider he first gained fame as a kid. He was actually on the same episode of Ed Sullivan as the Beatles' first appearance, appearing as the Artful Dodger in the original cast of Oliver.

Apparently, none of the Experience members liked him and I think he wasn't particularly cared for by the other Monkees, either.

He was also Pink Floyd's producer on their first two albums. They nicknamed him "Normal", because he apparently wasn't really into their more avant garde material. Apparently, he just sort of backed out of the way and "let them get on with it" when it came to recording stuff like Interstellar Overdrive and A Saucerful Of Secrets, itself.

They mentioned Smith's work with Floyd in that doc, which I already knew. But according to the doc, it was Lennon who gave him the nickname Normal. Which, knowing John, isn't a surprise; he was fond of plays on words and alliteration.

[spellbound]

I first heard about Jones in an interview with Mitch Mitchell. He said that on the Experience's first US tour, when they opened for the Monkees, they hung out a lot with them and that Dolenz, Nesmith, & Tork were all really cool but that Jones was an asshole; not all that surprising when you consider he first gained fame as a kid. He was actually on the same episode of Ed Sullivan as the Beatles' first appearance, appearing as the Artful Dodger in the original cast of Oliver.

Thanks for the info. I recently acquired a DVD set with all four full Ed Sullivan shows that featured appearances by the Beatles. I haven't got around to watching it yet (I did see them in the '60s, but who can remember the '60s?). I note that Jones isn't credited by name, but "The Cast Of Oliver" is credited on the 9 Feb 1964 show. I'll look for him. Gaining fame as a child can really mess some entertainers up, although that shouldn't excuse anyone raised by humans being an ass. I recall seeing Oliver (1968 movie) as a kid, and remember the Artful Dodger as a diminutive juvenile pickpocket, but of course the movie had a different cast.

[Hal...]

Thanks for the info. I recently acquired a DVD set with all four full Ed Sullivan shows that featured appearances by the Beatles. I haven't got around to watching it yet (I did see them in the '60s, but who can remember the '60s?). I note that Jones isn't credited by name, but "The Cast Of Oliver" is credited on the 9 Feb 1964 show. I'll look for him. Gaining fame as a child can really mess some entertainers up, although that shouldn't excuse anyone raised by humans being an ass. I recall seeing Oliver (1968 movie) as a kid, and remember the Artful Dodger as a diminutive juvenile pickpocket, but of course the movie had a different cast.

I got the Sullivan shows DVDs for Xmas one year; the year it was released, I think. I watched the first two shows in full but then opted out of the rest, just watching the Beatles' performance. Altho, I'm not sure I watched the last one. At least, I don't remember seeing it.

So, where & when did you see the Beatles? I was a year old for their first performances on Sullivan but I had older siblings so I grew up with them. And I remember the releases of Yellow Submarine and Let it Be (movie & album) and them breaking up. I still have some of my oldest brother's 45s, the ones with the pictures on the sleeves.

[spellbound]

We watched Crazy Rich Asians last night. An entertaining comedy/love story.

[spellbound]

So, where & when did you see the Beatles? I was a year old for their first performances on Sullivan but I had older siblings so I grew up with them. And I remember the releases of Yellow Submarine and Let it Be (movie & album) and them breaking up. I still have some of my oldest brother's 45s, the ones with the pictures on the sleeves

I never got to see them. Too young. Only saw them on TV. I saw their Ed Sullivan appearances, and the televised concert at Shea Stadium (which I recall begging my Dad to record on his reel to reel tape deck by holding the microphone up to the mono television speaker), all when I was a child. I think the first Beatles record I had was Beatles '65, an American album, which was released in 1964 when I was 9, the same year they first appeared on Sullivan.

[Klonk]

Summer of '84

Slow paced, coming of age, thriller ala Stranger Things, Super 8, It, Stand By Me If those tickle your tummy, I'd give this a whirl. Yet another 80's theme which seems to be all the rage these days. It will probably always work for me being a product of that time, but I can also see it wearing out it's welcome. Plot is basically a group of teens trying to solve a serial killer murder spree in the suburbs. The first 2/3 are slow, but I was kept on my toes with the mystery. The last 1/3 is where it shines (darkly ) for me...damn! Certainly not for everyone, but I appreciated the balls. My only beef was I would have liked the kids characters to be developed a little more. Other than that...pretty good stuff!

Lou!

[Lou]

^^^

On Netflix?

[Hal...]

I never got to see them. Too young. Only saw them on TV. I saw their Ed Sullivan appearances, and the televised concert at Shea Stadium (which I recall begging my Dad to record on his reel to reel tape deck by holding the microphone up to the mono television speaker), all when I was a child. I think the first Beatles record I had was Beatles '65, an American album, which was released in 1964 when I was 9, the same year they first appeared on Sullivan.

So you're the same age as my sister. My oldest brother was four years older than her (we were all four years apart so my other bro is four years older than me). My sister tells me that when she went to see A Hard Day's Night, the girls were screaming the way they did at their concerts. I've heard younger people (Gen Xers & Millennials) refer to them as a boy band but they don't get it.

[hippypants]

First Reformed--about a priest that lost his way and meets a couple that are involved in the environmental movement. Done pretty well, and takes a turn for the gritty about halfway thru. Good movie


La La Land--Took me a while to adjust to a musical, which is normal but using LA as a backdrop was a plus, the cinematography and choreography were done well. Good movie.

[NogbadTheBad]

Watched Girl in the Spiders Web last night, the next in the series of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Original author Stieg Larsson died in 2004 so this is 'in the style of'. Pretty good thriller Claire Foy (The Crown) is good in the lead.