What's on your Daily Viewing List? (1 Viewer)

[Noir Norn]

Kino Lorber's Blu Ray edition of 1933's
Alice in Wonderland

 

[Robin9]

I watched Gentleman Jim last night. I don't recall ever having seen this in a cinema; only on television. The Warner Archive disc has a disclaimer about attitudes in the movies belonging to the period in which the film was made etc. etc. I assume they refer to the depiction of Irish families in America.

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday: The Long Wait, a tough crime thriller with a high-powered cast and expressive lighting from Franz Planer. Classic Flix did well, releasing this not very well-known film on disc.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Cider House Rules
Originally Released: 12/10/1999
Watched: 04/05/2024
1080P HD digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

For acclaimed novelist John Irving's sole screenplay credit, he spent more than a decade adapting and streamlining his 1985 novel of the same name. The resulting film was directed by Lasse Hallström with patience and sensitivity. Hallström had previously made What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, another unconventional coming of age story adapted for the screen by its author.

Recommended?

Why? Homer Wells is an unusual protagonist, with a highly unusual upbringing and an extremely unheard of education. Within the walls of the orphanage in the remote community of St. Clouds, Maine he has been loved and mentored by Dr. Wilbur Larch, an OBGYN who sees his work as a calling rather than a profession. Under his administration, the orphanage has become a refuge of warmth and safety -- both for the children under its care, and for the women who require its services. When you're having a baby -- or when you need to not have a baby -- the orphanage at St. Clouds is the place you go.

Homer is an adept pupil, but his worldview is limited by his sheltered upbringing. Dr. Larch sees delivering babies and providing abortions as two sides of the same coin. Homer strongly disagrees, refusing to participate in the latter. Eventually a pretty girl catches his eye, and he ventures out into the world. His moral framework, so neat and tidy in the abstract, becomes increasingly compromised by the real world and the complications that come with it.

Homer's journey is a moving exploration of a young man figuring out the sort of person he wants to be, and the manner in which his talents can best be of service. It also benefits from the time in which it was made, at the very zenith of celluloid photography. It's a beautifully shot picture, capturing New England with a comforting painterly lens. And the cast is absolutely stacked with talent, from top to bottom.

 

[Robin9]

The File On Thelma Jordan last night. A particular favorite of mine ever since my first viewing of this as a late evening movie on TV. The Olive Blu-ray disc has no "extras" but I think a commentary from someone like Alan K. Rode might be worth listening to.

 

[Noir Norn]

Paramount's 4k UHD edition of Polanski's
Rosemary's Baby

 

[Noir Norn]

Arrow's Blu Ray edition of Richard Fleischer's See No Evil

 

[Dave Moritz]

Jungle Cruise
Mortal Engines
One Love

 

[Keith Cobby]

Today, it's my first viewing of Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Code 7, Victim 5 (1964) - underrated thriller, lensed by Nic Roeg. Great film shot on location (no egregious back projection) which looks better than its budget and other films of the period. Good looking blu ray from Blue Underground (paired with Mozambique), would upgrade if a special edition or 4k were to be released.

 

[Noir Norn]

Fox's Blu Ray edition of Mike Nichols' The Birdcage

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Wonka
Originally Released: 05/22/2020
Watched: 04/07/2024
1080p digital streaming on Max via motel Roku TV

Recommended?

On What? Your desire, or lack thereof, for a musical exploration of Willy Wonka's origin story. It's a visual sumptuous affair, with a dark plot full of the kind of selfish and untrustworthy adults that Roald Dahl specialized in. But this Wonka feels a bit too naive, and a bit too kindhearted, to grow up to be the duplicitous and uncompromising capitalist who invites Charlie and the other golden ticket holders to his factory.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Bell, Book and Candle (1958) - every so often I check my Twilight Time blu rays (no problems) and as soon as this started playing I had to watch it to the end. The TT blu ray was released in April 2012 and along with Pal Joey was my most anticipated title from them. The film, with its illustrious cast, wears its age well. I think it's Kim Novak's best role and perfectly suits her ethereal quality.

 

[Robin9]

I watched Nikita (aka La Femme Nikita) last night. It's not really my kind of movie but every now and then I'm in the mood for some glossy kinetics and this fits the bill. It's essentially a blend of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Red Sparrow.

Two days ago I watched Ladies They Talk About, an alluring title that's more interesting than the film itself.

 

[HawksFord]

This past week, we watched the three films in Kino Lorber's Dark Side of Cinema XVI collection:

The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)
Chicago Deadline (1949)
Iron Man (1951)

The Mystery of Marie Roget is a fun film, but at only 61 minutes there isn't much time for complexities. A healthy dose of humore and some elements of horror are incorporated into the mystery based on the Edgar Allan Poe story.

Chicago Deadline is my favorite from this set. Alan Ladd stars as a reporter investigating the death of a young woman played in flashbacks by Donna Reed. The production code forces the film has to dance around exactly what Reed's character was doing, with her life, but it's clear enough. Despite the short running time (86 minutes), there's quite a bit of back story that has to be explained.

Iron Man is a boxing film starring Jeff Chandler as a young man brought up in a Pennsylvania coal mining town. There's some nice character development as Chandler comes to terms with who he is and who he wants to be. Evelyn Keyes plays his fiancee and Rock Hudson appears as a star-struck younger boxer. Joseph Pevney. Boxing movies often have a difficult time portraying the sport and end up sacrificing strategy for drama. This film is no exception, but some fine work by Chandler holds it together.

 

[Matt Hough]

For years I had known that Sammy Davis, Jr. had starred in a stage version of Stop the World I Want to Get Off and that it had been filmed by Bill Sargent the same way he had filmed Hamlet, Harlow (with Carol Lynley), and the first film version of Stop the World with Tony Tanner and Millicent Martin. But until I got the sense to check YouTube, I had never seen Sammy Stops the World before today. He's OK: not really greatly suited for this kind of mime-style performance (greatly changed to accommodate Sammy's interpretation of the role). What shocked me the most was Marian Mercer as the various women in his life. On paper, she would have seemed to be a perfect choice for the female lead, but she's poor, especially in the climactic "Someone Nice Like You" duet with Sammy. Overall, despite Sammy's bravura turn with all of the musical's showstopping songs and a very energetic and hard-working ensemble, it's not a great success.

 

[Noir Norn]

Warner's 4k UHD edition of Enter the Dragon

love the boost in audio and chuckle at the period Foley fueled fight sequences

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Originally Released: 03/14/2024
Watched: 04/13/2024
In theaters: 3:30 PM matinee showing on Screen 13 at Regal Colonie Center 13 & RPX

Recommended?

On What? How much you like Ghostbusters movies. This one doesn't have a lot to offer non-fans, but it trots out the old favorites capably enough, the old cast and new cast mesh reasonably well, and I had a decent enough time throughout.

 

[Robin9]

The Prince And The Pauper: a superb film on a superb Blu-ray disc. Many thanks Warner Archive.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Poor Things
Originally Released: 12/08/2023
Watched: 04/15/2024
4K digital streaming on Hulu on Disney+ via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? Yorgos Lanthimos's latest loosely adapts Alasdair Gray's novel of the same. An iteration of the Frankenstein story with all of the horror intact, but viewed through a lens of wonder instead fear, on a journey of self-actualization instead of alienation. The mad scientist's creation here surveys the whole spectrum of the human experience, without prejudice or shame, learns from everyone she encounters, and gradually forms her own conclusions.

It plays out in a steampunk alternate Victorian era that is very consciously artificial in nature, feeling birthed out of some shared fever dream of David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The revival of Kodak's 35mm Ektachrome film stock is used to visually distinctive effect, as are the variety of ultra wide-angle lenses that keep the sense of space subtly disoriented.

Emma Stone is fearless, and tackles Bella with utter commitment and conviction. Her character is in a state of constant evolution. The challenge of the supporting cast is to each be resolutely one thing; each a different facet of the human condition embodied in a different way.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Mozambique (1964) - African set thriller with Steve Cochran in his final film. Companion film to Code 7, Victim 5 on the Blue Underground blu ray. Excellent image quality although the film is not as good as the Code 7.

Möbius (2013) - French thriller with Tim Roth, Jean Dujardin, and the wonderfully named Cécile de France. Good spy actioner with high production values but (for me) a less good ending.