The last movie you watched was...? (take four)

The Aviator, again. It's all so well done, I can't help myself.

Show me the blueprints, show me the blue prints, show me all the blueprints, show me the blue prints.........

 

The Expendables 3

 

Honkytonk Man.
Wish Clint had did a Country music documentary instead.

 

Nah, it was fun having him here for the location shoots.

 

Icon fer'sure.

 

EXPENDABLES 3 - Tons of fun.

 

Waiting for the steelbook for this badboy.

 

The Bone Collector

 

I like having double feature nights on the weekend where I pick two films that have some kind of similarity, whether it be thematically or genre or era or actor/director etc...

The last one I watched was "The Swimmer" followed by "Midnight Cowboy". Thanks to the excellent BD of "The Swimmer" by the aptly named Grindhouse Releasing, I was able to make it a "grindhouse" night with trailers and all.

"The Swimmer" is truly a hidden gem. I was absolutely blown away by this film. It was released in 1968, in between the period that the new MPAA rating system was being introduced, so US filmmakers were already starting to embrace their new freedoms. I honestly knew nothing about this film other than it was about some guy who decides to go swimming from pool to pool in his neighbourhood and revealing his life story along the way. It was really riveting and hard-hitting from start to finish. The story took a direction that was totally unexpected to me. Amazing performance by Burt Lancaster in the lead role (he also said this was the favourite film of his long career) and great supporting performances all around - with Janice Rule as a jilted former lover being the other standout performance. Their scene together is a classic. 9/10 from me.

I have to admit I didn't care for "Midnight Cowboy" nearly as much. I would give it a 7/10. Great acting and direction but I couldn't really get into the story as I did with "The Swimmer". However, it was very refreshing to see how US filmmakers took advantage of their new freedoms after the dissolution of the Hays Code and introduction of the MPAA system. I think the period of filmmaking from 1968 until the end of the 1970s was probably one of the most exciting times in movie history with so much originality and creative freedom. To me, that era is the true "Golden Age" of movies.

 

Watched Jobs last night. I enjoyed it for the historical part but there is so much more to the story that wasn't dealt with. Ashton Kutcher plays a decent part but there were scenes which irked me a bit.

For example: I watched a documentary long ago where both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were exposed to a graphic office environment (before either created their companies) created by - Xerox. Yet there is a scene in Jobs where he learns about Microsoft Windows then picks up the phone and goes off on Gates for ripping him off. It was just factually silly. They also didn't deal with how Jobs developed Next computer other than Apple buying them.

Still, it was a fun story and I hope someone does another movie from the 1996 to present time period.

 

Popeye

 

RV

Wanted to watch a light comedy with interesting characters and Robin Wlliams

 

Just finished watching the French film Blue is the Warmest Colour. What an emotionally draining film! And it's not just because it's 3 hours long. I have never seen two actors show such raw emotion on screen before. Honestly, I'm often wary about French films because while some of them are very good, others are just tedious bores. I heard lots of hype about this one but the 3 hour running time had put me off. Now I wish I had watched it sooner. This film totally lived up to the hype. I can see why Steven Spielberg's Cannes jury awarded the Palme d'Or to the actresses in addition to the director. The film wouldn't have worked without their incredible performances. I was glued to the screen the entire time. I would give the film a 9/10.... highly recommended!

 

We Own The Night. 8/10
Solid cast excellent crime drama.
Have to check out more James Gray films.

 

Watched The Fisher King last night for the first time in several years. And it was then that Robin Williams' death really hit me.

 

You're Next - pretty decent home invasion flick. The producers sure like that Dwight Twilley song! ("Lookin' For the Magic")

 

The Wolfman-2010.

 

I Confess (1953)

 

Tango & Cash

Went to a library book sale on the weekend and grabbed a ton of $1 DVD's that I otherwise would never have bought!

 

BR of Con Air-always entertaining

 

IIRC, there is an unrated version as well?

 

now playing: Barfly

 

Bicycle Thieves. It was good, but when a film is once considered the Best Film Ever, well, nope. I did like the ending, and I thought it was good, but I kept thinking how much more I liked something like The 400 Blows. I would buy and rematch 400 Blows. Bicycle Thieves, probably not.

 

SNOWPIERCER - Thought it was pretty awful. Heavy-handed, over/badly acted at times, misplaced comedy, shaky-cam action. Felt like it might
have been a conflict for me between a foreign director's sensibility (that would work for his own culture) just seeming "off" when done with an US/UK
cast and aimed at English-speaking audiences.