...or under each other's feet?
I love Fat City. This is such a great movie. So superior to Million Dollar Baby in its short story beauty.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
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Big Magilla
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Brainstorm (1965) William Conrad - 6/10
Little known suspense film directed by the actor with Jeffrey Hunter in a nicely controlled performance as a man being driven crazy by his employer (Dana Andrews) after he rescues and then falls in love with the boss's slutty suicidal wife (Anne Francis). He then fakes insanity to cover up the boss's murder, but does he really go crazy in the end or is he still faking it?
Promises in the Dark (1979) Jerome Hellman - 6/10
The only film ever directed by the legendary producer with Marsha Mason as a recently divorced doctor who develops an emotional attachment to a dying teenage patient (Katheen Beller). Mason, appropriately low-key throughout, won her third of four Oscar nominations that year for Chapter Two but she's better here. The entire cast, including Beller and Susan Clark and Ned Beatty as the girl's parents, are first rate.
My Sister Eileen (1955) Richard Quine - 6/10
Two years after Wonderful Town hit Broadway, Columbia, which owned the rights to the original property, decided to make their own musical version which isn't half bad. Betty Garrett is Ruth, Janet Leigh is Eileen and the men in their lives include Jack Lemmon, Bob Fosse, Dick York, Tommy Rall and Kurt Kasznar as the landlord.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1242311866
Little known suspense film directed by the actor with Jeffrey Hunter in a nicely controlled performance as a man being driven crazy by his employer (Dana Andrews) after he rescues and then falls in love with the boss's slutty suicidal wife (Anne Francis). He then fakes insanity to cover up the boss's murder, but does he really go crazy in the end or is he still faking it?
Promises in the Dark (1979) Jerome Hellman - 6/10
The only film ever directed by the legendary producer with Marsha Mason as a recently divorced doctor who develops an emotional attachment to a dying teenage patient (Katheen Beller). Mason, appropriately low-key throughout, won her third of four Oscar nominations that year for Chapter Two but she's better here. The entire cast, including Beller and Susan Clark and Ned Beatty as the girl's parents, are first rate.
My Sister Eileen (1955) Richard Quine - 6/10
Two years after Wonderful Town hit Broadway, Columbia, which owned the rights to the original property, decided to make their own musical version which isn't half bad. Betty Garrett is Ruth, Janet Leigh is Eileen and the men in their lives include Jack Lemmon, Bob Fosse, Dick York, Tommy Rall and Kurt Kasznar as the landlord.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1242311866
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Precious Doll
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Wind Across the Everglades (1958) Nicholas Ray 4/10
Broadway to Hollywood (1933) Willard Mack 4/10
Insignificant Things (2008) Andrea Martinez 6/10
Broadway to Hollywood (1933) Willard Mack 4/10
Insignificant Things (2008) Andrea Martinez 6/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Inky's weekly update:
A Fishy Story (1989; HK) - 4/10
Fireball: Muay Thai Dunk (2009; Thailand) - 2.5/10
I Do (1983; HK) - 2/10
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979; USA) (re-visit) - 5.5/10
Gu Gu, The Cat (2008; Japan) - 6.5/10
Angels and Demons (2009; USA) - 4.5/10
True Women for Sale (2008; HK) - 6/10
Anna Magdalena (1998; HK) (re-visit) - 6/10
Innocent Lust (1977; HK) - 3.5/10
A Fishy Story (1989; HK) - 4/10
Fireball: Muay Thai Dunk (2009; Thailand) - 2.5/10
I Do (1983; HK) - 2/10
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979; USA) (re-visit) - 5.5/10
Gu Gu, The Cat (2008; Japan) - 6.5/10
Angels and Demons (2009; USA) - 4.5/10
True Women for Sale (2008; HK) - 6/10
Anna Magdalena (1998; HK) (re-visit) - 6/10
Innocent Lust (1977; HK) - 3.5/10
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OscarGuy
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Sunset Blvd. is a terrific movie, but I think The Witness for the Prosecution and The Lost Weekend are better movies. As are Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, but if you just look at those five films, you have a rather impressive oeuvre no matter who you are.
And, since I've not heard an actual Trekker/Trekkie's review of the new Star Trek movie, let me weigh in. As a movie, it was well paced, well designed, well plotted and an enjoyable ride. As a Star Trek film, it didn't betray the core principles of Star Trek, though it focused on a completely different aspect of them than most of the previous films. However, I am not happy with many of the changes made to the history of Star Trek so that they could manipulate and sensationalize the movie. Personally, I hope a time paradox fixes the problems in the next installment.
And, since I've not heard an actual Trekker/Trekkie's review of the new Star Trek movie, let me weigh in. As a movie, it was well paced, well designed, well plotted and an enjoyable ride. As a Star Trek film, it didn't betray the core principles of Star Trek, though it focused on a completely different aspect of them than most of the previous films. However, I am not happy with many of the changes made to the history of Star Trek so that they could manipulate and sensationalize the movie. Personally, I hope a time paradox fixes the problems in the next installment.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
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Big Magilla
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I don't know why my post got garbled. What I thought I had typed was "Christopher Isherwood thought Liza Minnelli was badly miscast but that Michael York was perfect as Christopher Isherwood.Damien wrote:Christopher Isherwood thought Liza fect as Christopher Isherwood.mlrg wrote:Cabaret (1972) - Bob Fosse
7/10
I had great expectations for this one but was rather dissapointed with the film as a whole. The dance sequences are beatifully directed and the best part of the film. Michael York is miscast in my opinion.
I think both gave great performances.
I think both gave great performances."
I'm the opposite of most people regarding Cabaret. I love the interaction among the characters and think Jay Pressen Allen's script is brilliant, but Fosse's "Hey, Look MA! I'm Directing!!!" visuals irritate the hell out of me.
I thought the Academy royally screwed up when it gave Cabaret Best Director and The Godfather Best Screenplay -- I have always firmly believed that the results should have been in reverse.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Big Magilla
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I think Cabaret is absolutely brilliant when sticking to the music. The scenes at the boarding house do not have quite the same impact.
I recently had the chance to observe the real Christopher Isherwood in the 1978 BBC documentary on Charles Laughton that is part of the Criterion Edition of Hobson's Choice. Isherwood did not resemble Michael York so much as Laurence Harvey who played him in I Am a Camera taken from Isherwood's Berlin Stories.
In I Am a Camera the focus is on Britisher Isherwood (his real name is used) and his relationships with American Sally Bowles (Julie Harris) and his German student Natalia Landauer ( Shelley Winters).
The Broadway musical jettisons the character of Natalia and builds up the character of the landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Lotte Lenya) who is now the one who is in love with a Jewish man (Jack Gilford). The more mature romance gives the story more poignancy and the songs for this couple are among the strongest in the show. "Married", introduced by Lenya is next to the title song the best song in the score.
Also changed in the show were the nationalities of the principals. Christopher Isherwood is now the American Clifford Bradshaw (Bert Convy) and Sally (Jill Haworth) is now British.
The film version went back to the source. The male protagonist (Michael York) is now called Brian Roberts and is once again British. Sally is once again American by birth and Natalia (Marisa Berenson) is back. The landlady is reduced to a minor character.
An even bigger change is that now all the songs are either sung in the nightclub or used as background ("Married") with the powerful exception of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me".
The uncanny thing is that both iterations work, albeit on different levels.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1241980853
I recently had the chance to observe the real Christopher Isherwood in the 1978 BBC documentary on Charles Laughton that is part of the Criterion Edition of Hobson's Choice. Isherwood did not resemble Michael York so much as Laurence Harvey who played him in I Am a Camera taken from Isherwood's Berlin Stories.
In I Am a Camera the focus is on Britisher Isherwood (his real name is used) and his relationships with American Sally Bowles (Julie Harris) and his German student Natalia Landauer ( Shelley Winters).
The Broadway musical jettisons the character of Natalia and builds up the character of the landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Lotte Lenya) who is now the one who is in love with a Jewish man (Jack Gilford). The more mature romance gives the story more poignancy and the songs for this couple are among the strongest in the show. "Married", introduced by Lenya is next to the title song the best song in the score.
Also changed in the show were the nationalities of the principals. Christopher Isherwood is now the American Clifford Bradshaw (Bert Convy) and Sally (Jill Haworth) is now British.
The film version went back to the source. The male protagonist (Michael York) is now called Brian Roberts and is once again British. Sally is once again American by birth and Natalia (Marisa Berenson) is back. The landlady is reduced to a minor character.
An even bigger change is that now all the songs are either sung in the nightclub or used as background ("Married") with the powerful exception of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me".
The uncanny thing is that both iterations work, albeit on different levels.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1241980853
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Mister Tee
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Two things about Cabaret (about which I can't pretend to be objective, as it was for my young self what Citizen Kane was for earlier generations -- a film that expanded my ideas about the possibilities of film):
Any weakness in the York character likely comes not from the actor but from the role's status as authorial stand-in. Even the best writers tend to imagine their alter egos with less dimension than other characters (e.g., Long Day's Journey, which has three sensational characters, with the O'Neill equivalent tagging along).
The techniques Fosse used in the film have been so widely copied (Moulin Rouge and Chicago the most obvious recent examples), it may be impossible to recapture the excitement they created when they were fresh. It's like watching a Marx Brothers movie and thinking, those jokes are so old. Well, they weren't old when the movie first came out (most of them, anyway).
Any weakness in the York character likely comes not from the actor but from the role's status as authorial stand-in. Even the best writers tend to imagine their alter egos with less dimension than other characters (e.g., Long Day's Journey, which has three sensational characters, with the O'Neill equivalent tagging along).
The techniques Fosse used in the film have been so widely copied (Moulin Rouge and Chicago the most obvious recent examples), it may be impossible to recapture the excitement they created when they were fresh. It's like watching a Marx Brothers movie and thinking, those jokes are so old. Well, they weren't old when the movie first came out (most of them, anyway).