Shallow DVD movie review-the JBL-a/d/s sound

[LowPhreak]

Good reviews, Seawolf. Though I don't watch many flicks anymore, I do keep an eye out for a decent one now and then.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116996/

what a cast

Jack Nicholson
Glenn Close
Annette Bening
Pierce Brosnan
Danny DeVito
Martin Short
Sarah Jessica
Michael J. Fox
Rod Steiger
Natalie Portman
Jim Brown
Tom Jones
Christina Applegate
Pam Grier
Jack Black

For being almost 20 years old, the CG was good , story/acting appropriate .... a BD shelf grab 7.5/10

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368008/

a little earlier I reviewed the 1962 version of this story . In this 2004 remake Sinatra has been replaced by Denzel, Lansbury by Streep and the story has been massaged around a bit. Better ? no.

Had never thought of Frank as an actor , but he fit the part better. The others did too. The remake has cut the scene that was most chilling ( NJ flower ladies/Communist demo members) . It was a brilliant 360 degree pan with ladies turning to soldiers & back.

Every night the Major is plagued by a reoccurring nightmare. Marco is lying on his bed in his uniform and is perspiring during a dream in which he is sitting with other soldiers in a greenhouse listening to a woman talk about hydrangea flowers. Ladies are also listening. The scene changes with the same eight soldiers sitting and listening to Dr. Yen Lo (Khigh Dhiegh) talk about brain-washing as they are observed by men in a small theater. He explains they think they are in a Ladies Garden Club in New Jersey. The lady presents the great Raymond Shaw, and Yen Lo tells him to move his chair closer to him. He says it is believed that no one can be hypnotized to do anything against his moral nature. He says that is nonsense and cites scholarly papers. Chunjin is taking notes. Dmitri in the audience asks if a man has ever killed anyone. The lady responds to his question. She asks Raymond if he has ever killed anyone, and he says no. She asks about in combat, and he says he thinks so. Yen Lo says of course he has. The lady asks for the bayonet, and Dmitri says not with a knife but with the hands. A lady offers a handkerchief, and Dmitri gives him a cloth. Yen Lo asks Raymond whom he likes least of those there. He says Captain Marco, but the lady says they need him to get him his medal. Raymond says Ed Mavole, and Yen Lo gives him the scarf and tells him to strangle Ed Mavole to death. He walks behind him and puts it around his neck. Yen Lo tells him to sit there and cooperate, and he replies, “Yes, ma’am.” Raymond pulls the scarf tight. http://www.san.beck.org/MM/1962/Manc...Candidate.html

IF you only have access to the remake, it's OK. 6 of 10. IF you have access to the 1962 version, skip the redo.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1042877/

In this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, "Cadillac Records" follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Written by Sony Pictures

This looked interesting despite Adrien Brody in the lead (he's a fine actor, just not one that I enjoy) , story was of events that I didn't know, but ....

then I read the reviews before watching it.

first IMDB one starts "This is mostly fiction and an insult to the artists and the history of Chess Records.
16 December 2008 | by Davo Sambo

Pretty much everything in this movie is the work of fiction. It reminds me of one of those Simpsons episodes where a TV studio does a biopic and makes up half the story for 'dramatic effect'. But this is even worse- honestly it was bad enough that the stories were fictional, but they are also just an insult to the people (for some strange reason(!) though all except the white studio owner that is, who was a hopeless romantic, who was also apparently the pioneer of the Chicago blues...all things to all men. He was a saint, everyone else, the musicians were anything but(!)

many more agreed, so I went into it a bit soured. So it's like a soap opera with names of the past substituted in ?

Anyway, the music was very good. Muddy Waters was somewhat milquetoast , Beyonce as Etta James was miscast , Brody ? nope , the only strong performance was Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf. Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon was kind of a joke. When Chess meets The Rolling Stones, I really couldn't even tell which one was Mick. Through the haze of drugs and screwing around, I didn't end up caring about anybody but Leonard Chess's wife. (Gabrielle Union)

And for the story of St. Chess bestowing Cadillac's on his stars , well that was in lieu of their royalties. 5 of 10

[SEAWOLF97]

The highest class great film I have ever seen is The Remains Of The Day..

So Clark , your statement stuck with me for a long time , and since the vast majority of your recommendations are "spot on" , I tracked it down.

Fine photography, cast, acting , BUT ... the story wasn't very involving (IMHO). In the DVD extras they interviewed the author , who is Japanese , and I wondered what insights he had in the workings of an extravagant English manor ?

Hopkins and Emma Thompson are excellent in most everything they do , but their motivations/actions escaped me. Maybe because I don't live in a huge estate and go fox hunting or have a staff of 20+ waiting on me ? 6 of 10

The last couple of days have been nasty (patio thermometers have shown 103 & 105 for 2 days now) , so I hid indoors and caught up on flix. Re-watched seasons 2 & 3 of the BBC's SHERLOCK. So much is going on in those shows that I see new details on each viewing. That is TV as it should be.

Don't stop with the film recommendations tho, I've seen many new, good ones because of this thread.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089343/

Storyline:

Four 1950's cultural icons (Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joseph MacCarthy) who conceivably could have met and probably didn't, fictionally do in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flash-backs and flash-forwards centering on the fictional Einstein's current observations, childhood memories and apprehensions for the future. Written by Jeanne Baker <[email protected]>

One of the more interesting films that I've seen in a while. Don't know why it was never on my radar. Only found it as I was browsing the CRITERION collection and noticed this.

The scene with Marilyn showing her (very good) understanding of the specific theory of relativity to Albert is one of the best that I've witnessed. Theresa Russell does a credible job as MM , The unknown as AE is excellent too. Gary Bussey as DiMaggio was a flop, Tony Curtis as Sen. JMcC was a bust too.

Those 2 poor castings held my rating back a bit , but the interaction between MM & AE really is the focus of the film.

7.99 of 10

Quotes:

The Actress: I only said I knew, because you said you knew.

The Professor: I lied. Knowledge isn't truth. It's just mindless agreement. You agree with me, I agree with someone else - we all have knowledge. We haven't come any closer to the truth. You can never understand anything by agreeing, by making definitions. Only by turning over the possibilities. That's called thinking. If I say I know, I stop thinking. As long as I keep thinking, I come to understand. That way, I might approach some truth.

here's a pretty good summation:

Meeting of minds
2 June 2003 | by rosscinema (United States) – See all my reviews

I have always been a great admirer of Nicolas Roeg and "Walkabout" is one of my favorite films. This is a film version of Roegs stage play and while most of the film takes place in a hotel room it still has some of Roegs cinematic flare.

Very unique story is about a famous actress (Theresa Russell) who after a hard nights work on a film in 1954 goes to a hotel to visit a famous professor (Michael Emil) and together in his hotel room they talk. After awhile she wants to go to bed with him but as they start to get undressed her husband is banging on the door. Her husband is a famous ex-baseball player (Gary Busey) and he wants to know what is going on. The three of them in the hotel room talk about what is going on and what the future holds for them. Meanwhile, a famous senator (Tony Curtis) is threatening to take away the professors papers if he doesn't testify at a hearing. Theresa Russell is just excellent and while she's not trying exactly to impersonate Marilyn Monroe she does a wonderful job of exuding the phobia's and nuances that Monroe is very well known for.
One thing the film does is show her as not only a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown but show her as a physical wreck as well. She talks of being unable to have children and at one point in the film she suffers a miscarriage. You can make an excellent case that this is Russell's best performance and I probably wouldn't argue. The film does an interesting thing in showing many flashbacks as the characters continue to talk about one thing and in the flashback we see one of many reasons for their actions. Busey also gives a good solid performance and it reminds me of what a strong persona he gives off on screen. Emil as the professor is a character that has many more things on his mind then we originally thought.
The last scene in this film is a demonstration of his darker side! One of the highlights of the film for me is the little conversation he has with the elevator man (Will Sampson of "Cuckoo's Nest") and they discuss what Cherokee Indians think about at all times. But of course the famous scene in this film is where Russell demonstrates to Emil how she does understand the theory of relativity and uses toys to show this. The professor is delighted by her demonstration and so are we! Russell and Roeg are married in real life and they do admirable work when they are in collaboration and this is probably their best film together. Good performances and a very interesting job of directing make this a challenging and visually thought provoking film.

LATER: An interesting website : Find #1 Movie Day You Were Born & Watch Trailer

http://playback.fm/birthday-movie

[SEAWOLF97]

.

The scene with Marilyn showing her (very good) understanding of the specific theory of relativity to Albert is one of the best that I've witnessed.

here, I found it on Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS0n_fr1Fyo

..just to add some context: AE flashes back to aftermath caused by A-bombs during her explanations.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/

this is a Criterion collection remaster with added extras. figured it to be a trip down memory lane, but actually
it was as charming as ever.
I always enjoyed the music from their first 2 movies.

The extras feature was hosted by Phil collins, who does as well as Depp can.
He did note tho that there was trouble coming up with a film title and it came from a Ringo misapprop.
Once they had a title, then an opening/closing song was needed (of the same name) and the Beatles delivered
"A Hard Day's Night " overnight , on command.
Also the overhead scene of the 4 skylarking in a big field was really only 3 of them. Lennon was not available
and a stand-in was used. Faces not shown.
The movie was produced mainly to promote the album.
And Pattie Boyd , George's future wife had quite a bit a screen time.

In my perception, the 3 look like pro's doing a job during concerts, where George is actually enjoying it . On several occasions, he does a little sidestep jig while playing and seems to exude joy.

Holds up well. 8 of 10

(the Brit birds of the 60's were cute, at least in the film)

the trivia is fun: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/...ef_=tt_trv_trv

Storyline

The Beatles--the world's most famous rock and roll band--travel from their home town of Liverpool to London to perform in a television broadcast. Along the way they must rescue Paul's unconventional grandfather from various misadventures and drummer Ringo goes missing just before the crucial concert. Written by Jim Beaver <[email protected]>

[LowPhreak]

Haven't seen that one in forever.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038787/

Storyline

Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., Alicia Huberman takes to drink and men. She is approached by a government agent (T.R. Devlin) who asks her to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but she starts to get too involved in her work. Written by Col Needham <[email protected]>

Stars: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains

This was the best of 4 DVD's that I picked up. Not really Hitchcock's best, but still good. Plot holes, Cary's acting just OK, but Ingrid was so good that it made up for the problems. 7 of 10

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060438/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_6

slapstick and snappy dialogue and name stars in ancient Rome. Funny but wearing

Storyline

Pseudolus is the laziest slave in Rome and has but one wish, to purchase his freedom. When his master and mistress leave for the day he finds out that the young master has fallen in love with a virgin in the house of Lycus, a slave dealer specializing in beautiful women. Pseudolus concocts a deal in which he will be freed if he can procure the girl for young Hero. Of course, it can't be that simple as everything begins to go wrong. Written by John Vogel <[email protected]>

6 of 10

[SEAWOLF97]

.
too hot today to get out, so another DVD ....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067959/



A privileged British family consisting of a mother, a geologist father and an adolescent daughter and son, live in Sydney, Australia.
Out of circumstance, the siblings, not knowing exactly where they are, get stranded in the Outback by themselves while on a picnic. They only have with them the clothes on their backs - their school uniforms - some meagre rations of nonperishable food, a battery-powered transistor radio, the son's satchel primarily containing his toys, and a small piece of cloth they used as their picnic drop-cloth.
While they walk through the Outback, sometimes looking as though near death, they come across an Australian boy who is on his walkabout, a rite of passage into manhood where he spends months on end on his own living off the land. Their largest problem is not being able to verbally communicate. The boy does help them to survive, but doesn't understand their need to return to civilization, which may or may not happen based on what the Australian boy ends up doing.
- Written by Huggo

I like character motivations and reasonable reactions in situations. Neither were well developed in this flick. We get lots of the Outback, Jenny Agutter , and Aborigine's .
The 2 suicides really made little sense to me and rather soured what could have been a good movie.

5 of 10

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1809398/

I HAD high (mostly unrealized) expectations for this flick.
A general disappointment, I won't list all the problems with what was a compelling story.

IMHO , angie Jolie's direction just flattened it. Nothing about motivations, character development, just "this happened, then that happened" .... too much dwelling on prison camp mistreatment. The camp commander was a corporal ?
Mr. Unbroken was very broken.

War was over..story over. but only half his life was over ? Epilogue text so fugging small that I'd have to put my nose on the screen to read it ? Left me high & dry. gimme a break.

ONLY memorable scene was a B-24 mission. 5 of 10. Hollywood schlock.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065988/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Big_Man_%28film%29



This epic film is easily among the top 5 that I've ever seen.
If this was the only film that Dustin Hoffman had ever done, he would still be a great actor. easily 12 of 10
Holds up under repeated viewings.

Academy Awards, USA 1971
Nominated
Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Chief Dan George

cannot believe that DH was not nominated for an Oscar ?

"Little Big Man Was Either The Most Neglected Hero In History Or A Liar Of Insane Proportion!"

By the end I despised "Garry Owen"

In the present day 1970, 121-year-old Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman), who resides in a hospice, is recounting his long and colorful life story to a curious historian (William Hickey). Among other things, Crabb claims to have been a captive of the Cheyenne, a gunslinger, an associate of Wild Bill Hickok, a scout for General George Armstrong Custer, and the sole survivor of Custer's force at the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn. Having been adopted by the Cheyenne and reared in their culture, Crabb has perspective on both Caucasian and Native American life in the 19th century.

Flashing back to 1859, the 10-year-old Jack and his older sister Caroline (Carole Androsky) survive the massacre of their parents' wagon train by the hostile Pawnee. Found by a Cheyenne warrior, Jack and his sister are taken back to a Cheyenne village. Caroline manages to escape on horseback, but Jack is reared by good-hearted tribal leader Old Lodge Skins (Chief Dan George). Life among the Cheyenne proves to be idyllic, though Jack unwittingly makes an enemy of another boy, Younger Bear (Cal Bellini). However, Younger Bear eventually owes his life to Jack, who saves him from a Pawnee warrior. Jack is given the name "Little Big Man" because he's short but very brave.

In 1865, when Jack is 16, he is captured by U.S. cavalry troopers after skirmish between them and the local Cheyenne. Jack then renounces his Native American upbringing in order to save himself from being killed. After his interrogation and debriefing, and being that he is still a minor, he is put in the care of Reverend Silas Pendrake (Thayer David) and his sexually frustrated wife, Louise (Faye Dunaway), who tries to seduce Jack. Jack cannot accept the contradiction between Louise's piety and sexual appetite. When Jack finds Louise one day seducing the owner of a local soda shop/pharmacy, he leaves the Pendrake household.

A year or so later, Jack becomes the apprentice of the snake-oil salesman Merriweather (Martin Balsam). The two are tarred and feathered when their customers realize that Merriweather's products are fraudulent. One of the angry customers happens to be Jack's sister, Caroline. Once Caroline realizes that one of the men she helped to tar and feather was her brother, they reunite. She attempts to mold her brother into a gunslinger named the Soda Pop Kid (after his favorite beverage). Jack meets Wild Bill Hickok (Jeff Corey) at a saloon, and Hickok takes a liking to the young man. When Hickok is forced to kill a man in self-defense, Jack loses his taste for gun slinging and Caroline deserts him.

Another year or two later, Jack becomes a partner in a general store and marries a Swedish woman named Olga (Kelly Jean Peters). Unfortunately, Jack's business partner turns out to be a thieving scoundrel and Jack is forced to close the store. The famous cavalry officer George Armstrong Custer (Richard Mulligan) happens upon the scene and suggests the couple re-start their lives further west.

Jack and Olga set out, but their stagecoach is ambushed by Cheyenne hostiles. Olga is abducted and Jack sets out in search for her. During his quest, he is reunited with Old Lodge Skins, who is overjoyed Jack has returned to the tribe. Younger Bear has become a contrary (a warrior who does everything in reverse) and, having been humiliated by Jack years before, is still bitter. After a short stay with the tribe, Jack continues his search for Olga.

He eventually becomes a "muleskinner" in Custer's 7th Cavalry, hoping to obtain information on Olga's whereabouts. He takes part in a battle against the Cheyenne, but when the 7th troopers begin killing unarmed women and children, Jack becomes enraged and turns on them. Nearby, Jack discovers a Cheyenne woman, Sunshine (Aimée Eccles), giving birth. He saves Sunshine from the marauding troopers and returns with her to Old Lodge Skins's tribe. Sunshine becomes his wife and bears him a child. Jack again encounters Younger Bear, who has undergone another life change. No longer a contrary, Younger Bear is now the henpecked husband of the long-lost Olga, who has become a Cheyenne squaw. Olga does not recognize Jack, who makes no attempt to remind her of their previous relationship. Sunshine asks Jack to take in her three widowed sisters as wives and to father children with them. He is reluctant at first, but finally agrees and has sex with all three.

One day during the winter season, Custer and the 7th Cavalry make a surprise attack on a Cheyenne camp in Oklahoma (to be known as the Battle of Washita River, which took place on November 27, 1868). A now-blind and elderly Old Lodge Skins is saved by Jack, but Sunshine and their child are killed along with her sisters. Jack tries to infiltrate Custer's camp to exact revenge. At a crucial moment, with knife in hand, Jack loses his nerve, and is mocked by Custer for it.

Flashing forward eight years later in 1876, a disheartened Jack has become the town drunk in Deadwood, South Dakota. While in a drunken stupor, he is recognized by Wild Bill Hickok, who gives him money to clean up. When Jack returns to the bar, Hickok is shot and killed. With his last breath, Hickok expresses a dying wish involving a widow he was having an affair with. Jack goes to see the widow, a prostitute who turns out to be Louise Pendrake. Jack gives her the money that Hickok intended for her to use to start a new life.

Jack soon becomes a trapper and hermit. His mind becomes unhinged after coming across an empty trap with a severed animal limb. Poised at the edge of a cliff, he prepares to commit suicide. Jack suddenly hears the faint chords of the traditional cavalry tune Garryowen echoing through a valley and spots Custer and his troops marching nearby. Jack decides to exact revenge. Custer, who remembers that Jack once tried to assassinate him, hires him him as a scout, believing anything he says will be a lie, thus serving as a reverse barometer.

Jack leads the troops into a trap at the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Before the attack, Jack truthfully tells Custer of the overwhelming force of Native Americans hidden within the valley of the Little Bighorn. The arrogant and overconfident Custer does not believe him and leads the 7th Cavalry to its doom. During the frantic battle, Custer begins to rave insanely. Ignoring the closing circle of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, Custer points his pistol at Jack. Before he can pull the trigger, Custer is shot and killed by Younger Bear, who removes the unconscious, wounded Jack from the battle by carrying him to Old Lodge Skins' tepee pretending that he is carrying a fellow warrior. Having thus discharged his life debt, Younger Bear tells Jack that the next time they meet, he can kill Jack without becoming an evil person.

Back at the Indian camp, Jack accompanies Old Lodge Skins to a nearby hill, the Indian Burial Ground, where the old man, dressed in full Chief's regalia, has declared "It is a good day to die", and decides to end his life with dignity. He offers his spirit to the Great Spirit, and lies down at his spot at the Indian Burial Ground to wait for death. Instead, it begins to rain. Old Lodge Skins is revealed to still be alive, and says, "Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't". They return to his tepee to have dinner.

Back in the present, Jack's narrative abruptly ends and he tells the historian to leave the room. The film concludes with an extended shot of the elderly Jack sitting in his wheelchair and sadly staring into space.... thinking about the memories of a world which is no more.

[SEAWOLF97]

I've essentially stopped adding to this thread as nobody seems to care, but
this post isn't really about a film.


I'm American, never been to the UK.

but last night I watched The Bletchley Circle - Cracking A Killer's Code .... from the BBC.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bletchley-.../dp/B00BCXW106

Very fine stuff , as is most that is imported from the Beeb. Do we import the cream and leave the FLUFF there or is it all of this quality ? I don't know.

I do know that it was great acting, story, (NO fuggin CGI) and memorable. The same can be said for most everything that I've seen from this source.

What does the US offer ? Mike & Molly ? Law & Order ? Survivor ? Transformers ?

Why do I have to hang on PBS to get quality programming ? Are US viewers really so shallow ?

[SEAWOLF97]

.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stones_in_the_Park
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolli...park-1969-dvd/

very good concert DVD ..just before Woodstock and right after the death of Brian Jones. fine performances, sound and cinematography. Mick looked a bit daft in lipstick and a Romeo shirt/skirt, but was in fine form. In some shots he had a demonic look .. he wasn't just "phoning it in"

Even the Hell's Angels were dancing to the finale , extended and with African
percussion aided version of "Sympathy for the Devil"

I discovered that you can watch it on you-tube for free , but in limited color
and reduced sound , but the full concert , not the shorter one on the DVD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SidS9XuZFqY

69,70, 71 and 72 were prolixly their prime years and this DVD really shows it off

8 of 10

Think I'll go spin Sticky Fingers ......