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Is this film worth a watch?

Started by Chedney Honks, July 27, 2021, 06:10:09 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on August 01, 2021, 11:53:52 PM
I think it's still brilliant.  You've got David Zucker directing and Trey and Matt pretty much rewriting the entire script (albeit completely uncredited).  I know Trey in particular isn't keen on it but acknowledges how much he learnt about directing from Zucker (and realising that basically everything he did from a technical directing point of view on Cannibal and Orgazmo was wrong), but it really is brilliant stupid fun.  Yes, of course there's going to be stuff that is a bit wrong seen through the glasses of 2020/21, but that is going to be the case with almost every film ever made prior to about 2010.  Ask yourself this - is there stuff in Airplane, Top Secret and Police Squad/the Naked Gun films that's a bit rum now? (rhetorical). And do you still like those?

It particularly clicks with me as I have zero interest in sport and actively hate football, tennis and cricket, and it just highlights the stupidities of it all.

It's the best film Trey Parker never directed, and it easily sits proudly with Zucker's best

And I've now seen it and did like it a lot, it sags a little in the middle and I could have done without the dull rom-com element (and thought Yasmine Bleeth was rarely given anything that fun to do) but otherwise it was really enjoyable and the gag rate was impressively high,
Spoiler alert
though I slightly begrudge the happy ending and wish they'd lost as then
[close]
I'd have liked it even more.

Shit Good Nose


SteveDave

I'm watching another film I've never seen "Thelma And Louise" tonight.

It's alright. The music's getting on my tits.

SteveDave

I've just realised that it feels more like a Tony Scott film

Dusty Substance

Quote from: SteveDave on August 02, 2021, 10:22:40 PM
I've just realised that it feels more like a Tony Scott film

That's a good point - it really does. In fact, Thelma & Louise makes for an ideal double-bill with True Romance.

mothman

I keep thinking Black Rain was a Tony when it was actually a Ridley.

Dusty Substance


Which Ernst Lubitsch films are worth a watch?

You know that thing when you hear a word for the first time and then it keeps cropping up in conversations and different places shortly after you've heard it for the first time? Same often happens with films. I saw the film Ninotchka listed on TSPDT the other day, didn't think I'd heard of it but have since seen it on a number of sites over the last few days. Just looked it up and saw that's an Ernst Lunitsch film.

A quick bit of research indicates that the best ones to watch are....

To Be Or Not To Be (1942)
The Shop Around The Corner (1940)
Trouble In Paradise (1932)
Ninotchka (1939)
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Design For Living (1933)


Small Man Big Horse

I've only seen two so far, and here are the reviews I wrote at the time:

Ninotchka (1939) - Sold as the movie where "Garbo Laughs!", this is a Paris based lark set before the second world war, as Russian envoys are sent to sell rare jewellery, but their plan is complicated by a legal issue. Cue the entrance of Greta Garbo to sort things out, whilst Melvyn Douglas  tries to fuck her. Problem is that she's a surly communist - and can her heart really be won over by a flirty French type / Western decadence?
Spoiler alert
The answer might amaze you! Or, no, no it won't. Co-written by Billy Wilder it's got a smart and funny script, with some very pointed satire of Russia,
[close]
but I don't know, it lags in the middle and the romantic sections certainly weigh it down, and I wasn't won over by the occasionally sexist Douglas in the way Garbo was. Still a decent enough watch, but I don't think it quite deserves it's reputation as one of the best ever American films. 7.0/10

To Be Or Not To Be (1942) - A black comedy set in 1941 where after Poland has been invaded an actor has to impersonate a professor working for the Nazis who has important knowledge about the resistance,
Spoiler alert
and its complicated by his wife's flirtatious relationship with a soldier and the real professor turning up dead.
[close]
It's a farcical affair with a lot of strong wordplay, mockery of actorly types and the odd dig at those pesky Nazis, and its pretty funny throughout, but for reasons I can't quite explain I didn't love it in the way that many do. 7.4/10

chveik

apart from Heaven Can Wait that i've yet to see, i've enjoyed all of them, they're great fun, especially Ninotchka. To Be or Not to Be is a real blast too. i'd say the others are more conventional screwball comedies but they have some anti-establishment streak

Herbert Ashe

Also a bunch of his silents are pretty essential, The Oyster Princess (1919) is my favourite Lubitsch of them all, but I love The Doll and I Don't Want To Be A Man (both 1918) as well.

The Wildcat (1921), The Marriage Circle (1924) and Lady Windermere's Fan (1925) are generally considered vital, although I'm not so hot on Wildcat, and I've not seen the others recently enough.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: Dusty Substance on August 11, 2021, 07:33:37 PM
Which Ernst Lubitsch films are worth a watch?

A quick bit of research indicates that the best ones to watch are....

To Be Or Not To Be (1942)
Design For Living (1933)

I have still yet to watch the others on your list, but I really liked both of these. I watched the latter a few months back and had this to say about it:

Design For Living (1933), Ernst Lubitsch's (apparently not very faithful) adaptation of a Noel Coward play about a copywriter for the underwear industry (Miriam Hopkins in a performance worthy of the Phwoarr RIP thread) who meets an unsuccessful artist (Gary Cooper) and a seemingly talentless playwright (Frederic March) on a train to Paris. Both of them fall head over heels in love with her, but unfortunately she falls in love with both of them equally.

At first, she's shagging both of them behind the other's back, but the two men soon discover the deception. The three come to a gentleman's agreement where they will remain together as a platonic threesome ("Remember: No sex!") and she will whip them into shape as artists by shouting 'Rotten!' at them until they produce decent work. The second part of the plan succeeds beyond their wildest expectations, but the 'No sex' directive falls by the wayside as soon as one of the men turns his back for 5 minutes. Despite breaking the agreement, she remains horny for the other man. What to do?

I can't comment on the differences from the Coward version, of which only the line "For the good of our immoral souls!" was retained. I assume it's a little racier, but this is still pretty scandalous for 1933, and would be banned by the Legion of Decency a year later (it's planned re-release in 1944 was also blocked). I had a lot of fun with it, though it dragged a little at times. Miriam Hopkins was so charming it didn't stretch credulity that every male character in the film was hopelessly in love with her and I could appreciate her difficulty in choosing between Cooper and March. I was rooting for her to choose both of them and live in a triad like that Jefferson Airplane song or the end of 
Spoiler alert
Gozu
[close]
.

zomgmouse

Quote from: chveik on August 11, 2021, 07:45:18 PM
apart from Heaven Can Wait that i've yet to see, i've enjoyed all of them, they're great fun, especially Ninotchka. To Be or Not to Be is a real blast too. i'd say the others are more conventional screwball comedies but they have some anti-establishment streak

Likewise but swap out Heaven Can Wait (which I have seen) with Design for Living (which I haven't) - I've enjoyed them all but until I saw all of these titles listed together I didn't quite realise how many brilliant films he's made. My favourite is probably Trouble in Paradise with The Shop Around the Corner coming second.

Quote from: Herbert Ashe on August 11, 2021, 09:33:34 PM
The Oyster Princess (1919)

This is also very good - the only other silent of his I've seen is Rosita which is quite good, primarily on a technical level.

Of those not mentioned the only other one I've seen is Bluebeard's 8th Wife which is a great screwball comedy with Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert (and David Niven).

dissolute ocelot

The Shop Around the Corner is lots of fun - packed with quirky central European actors, and just brilliant direction and storytelling, there's lots of funny stuff going on but also moments of sadness and cruelty. It's a while since I've seen To Be Or Not To Be but I think it's lost some of its impact over time - it's quite funny and clever, but I imagine watching it in 1942 would be a completely different experience.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: Smeraldina Rima on July 29, 2021, 10:42:26 AM
Rain Man is worth seeing to complete the Dustin Hoffman passenger leaving trilogy:








Eric Rohmer's Comédies et Proverbes

    1981 La Femme de l'aviateur (The Aviator's Wife) — "It is impossible to think about nothing."
    1982 Le Beau mariage (A Good Marriage) — "Can anyone refrain from building castles in Spain?"
    1983 Pauline à la plage (Pauline at the Beach) — "He who talks too much will hurt himself."
    1984 Les nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon in Paris) — "He who has two women loses his soul, he who has two houses loses his mind."
    1986 Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray [UK] / Summer [North America]) — "Ah, for the days/that set our hearts ablaze,"
    1987 L'Ami de mon amie (My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends and Girlfriends) — "My friends' friends are my friends."

I've seen the last two. What about the first four?

Was also wondering about the last two Moral Tales:

     1970 #5 Le Genou de Claire (Claire's Knee)
     1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midi (Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)

They're all on Mubi.

Thought I was in the meme thread and understanding even less than usual

sevendaughters

To Be Or Not To Be is an incredible film. Jack Benny's face is worth the price of entry alone, and the final scene is a real hoot.

zomgmouse

Quote from: dissolute ocelot on August 12, 2021, 11:48:02 AM
It's a while since I've seen To Be Or Not To Be but I think it's lost some of its impact over time - it's quite funny and clever, but I imagine watching it in 1942 would be a completely different experience.

I found it tremendously effective so can only imagine what it would have been like at the time. Has anyone seen the Brooks-starring remake? Been curious about it and will watch it eventually I suppose but haven't quite come to it yet

Ignatius_S

Quote from: zomgmouse on August 12, 2021, 12:07:20 PM
I found it tremendously effective so can only imagine what it would have been like at the time. Has anyone seen the Brooks-starring remake? Been curious about it and will watch it eventually I suppose but haven't quite come to it yet

Yes - it's a largely faithful remake and very much an homage the original. Had a good cast - Christopher Lloyd and Charles Durning's turns are highlights, IIRC.

Main complaints that I've seen either it's not a particularly funny Brooks film or there's no point remaking a classic. With the former, my feeling is those people wanted a more 'typical' Brooks film and with the latter, there are plenty of folk that manage to enjoy both.



zomgmouse

Quote from: Ignatius_S on August 12, 2021, 01:48:28 PM
Yes - it's a largely faithful remake and very much an homage the original. Had a good cast - Christopher Lloyd and Charles Durning's turns are highlights, IIRC.

Main complaints that I've seen either it's not a particularly funny Brooks film or there's no point remaking a classic. With the former, my feeling is those people wanted a more 'typical' Brooks film and with the latter, there are plenty of folk that manage to enjoy both.

Fab, thanks! It'd be an interesting watch in any case.

Plus there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zpYQJkBQp0

Quote from: Dex Sawash on August 12, 2021, 11:55:40 AM
Thought I was in the meme thread and understanding even less than usual


Dex Sawash


* Dex Sawash leaving the film thread


Small Man Big Horse

Following on the "I've Never Seen..." thread, is Gone With The Wind worth watching? At four hours it'd have to be pretty special to be honest, especially given my attention span these days, but if it's any good I may well try...

Dex Sawash

Just watch Birth of a Nation instead

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on September 05, 2021, 09:35:03 PM
Following on the "I've Never Seen..." thread, is Gone With The Wind worth watching? At four hours it'd have to be pretty special to be honest, especially given my attention span these days, but if it's any good I may well try...

It looks wonderful and I really enjoyed Clark Gable's performance, but a lot of the characters are drippy or annoying, at times it's a bit of a slog and it's pretty objectionable by today's standards. It's an incredible production, but perhaps not a great film. Definitely one to watch with a long break in the middle.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Dex Sawash on September 05, 2021, 09:48:29 PM
Just watch Birth of a Nation instead

I tried years ago, but it just wasn't as funny as everyone on here said it was.

Quote from: Egyptian Feast on September 05, 2021, 10:03:05 PM
It looks wonderful and I really enjoyed Clark Gable's performance, but a lot of the characters are drippy or annoying, at times it's a bit of a slog and it's pretty objectionable by today's standards. It's an incredible production, but perhaps not a great film. Definitely one to watch with a long break in the middle.

Thanks for that, it's one I'll try and get around to at some point before the end of the year then, but may well do it in two hour chunks....

Small Man Big Horse

For years now I've had The Last Temptation Of Christ on an external hard drive, but the 2 hour 43 minute running time is putting me off - would anyone say it's a must watch? Or a disastrous fiasco? Anything inbetween and I'm not sure I want to watch yet another retelling of the story of Jesus...

Famous Mortimer

I thought BASEketball was a bit rubbish, just not quite funny enough. But...relatively few films have made their fictitious sports "real" (there was a baseketball tournament near my house a few weeks back) so it might be worth a watch in those circumstances.

And you've already watched it so the point is completely moot.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on November 04, 2021, 08:26:57 PM
For years now I've had The Last Temptation Of Christ on an external hard drive, but the 2 hour 43 minute running time is putting me off - would anyone say it's a must watch? Or a disastrous fiasco? Anything inbetween and I'm not sure I want to watch yet another retelling of the story of Jesus...

The very very worst thing about it in my opinion is how difficult it is to take seriously when you have all the disciples with their Bronx accents (absolutely no attempt to even pretend with a generic middle eastern accent - you keep expecting Victor Argo to pistol whip someone whilst calling them a motherfucker every time he opens his mouth), Andre Gregory and Irvin Kershner playing John the baptist and Zebedee as cringey stereotypical (almost comedy) Jews.  And David Bowie and Harry Dean Stanton just playing themselves.  I know neither Scorsese nor Schrader intended it as any kind of comedy, which makes it even more of a car crash.  Quite how it became so controversial because of all that (even the themes are belittled by the ridiculousness) I'll never know, nor have I ever understood how it's become considered as a classic rather than embarrassing.  It's like a comic book version of the alternative life of Christ.  Genuinely great ending though.

Grim as fuck though it is, Gibbo's The Passion is probably the only one that comes close to being realistic.

chveik

i liked Gibson's one, i know it's divisive but it's quite an intense experience

touchingcloth

Quote from: SteveDave on July 28, 2021, 09:23:09 AM
These are the "big" films I've never seen-

Top Gun
Rain Man
Pretty Woman
Titanic
Avatar
Scarface
Raging Bull

Should I?

I'd never seen Top Gun until a couple of weeks ago, and it's absolutely the gayest thing I've ever seen, including actual gay porn.

Highlight was Tom Cruise entering a bar with his bro mate and saying "this is what I call a target rich environment" before the camera pans round a bar filled with male sailors. There's another bit where he aggressively follows a woman into the bogs.

4/5.