What's on your Daily Viewing List? (2 Viewers)

[bujaki]

1924 Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix; Summer Games at Paris (Criterion BD) The quality of these films was not as astonishing as that of the 1912 Games, but this is all they had to work with. Still it was good to see so many great athletes do their stuff. Johnny Weismuller was present winning his Gold. The running times in these discs is very long.
Port of Call (Criterion BD) Early Bergman. Two lost souls in search of love and redemption.
Free and Easy (TCM) MGM fluff starring Ruth Hussey (sigh!) and surprise!!! Judith Anderson as a sexy, charming woman, the year following Rebecca. I had never thought of Danny as sexy or charming, but there you have it.

 

[John Sparks]

Since I'm into sci-fi/horror, it was great to finally see this in a beautiful b&w print!

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Based on Robert Harris's review I purchased it and I quite enjoyed it. Highly entertaining.

 

[bujaki]

Grantchester (PBS HD) The vicarage and murder in high places.
Married Bachelor (TCM) More MGM fluff, this one written by Dore Schary. Starring Ruth Hussey (I DO like her!) and Robert Young. Good comedy.
Blackmail (TCM) MGM drama with Edward G. Robinson married to Ruth Hussey!! Chain gangs, oil fires, daring escapes. Not the usual MGM 1939 fare.
Zatoichi on the Road (Criterion BD) Each film shows new facets to Zatoichi's character and his skills are quite marvelous. The series seems to be growing along with him.
St. Moritz 1928 Winter Olympics Games (Criterion BD) An amazing film directed by Dr. Arnold Fanck, famous for his Mountain proto-Nazi films. This is simply gorgeous to look at and the elements, presumed lost until 2011, are in pristine shape. First glimpse of the incredible and very young Sonja Henie winning her first Olympic medal.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

 

[bujaki]

The Man and the Moment (WA DVD) 1929 part-talkie presumed lost until a print was found in Italy and was married to the Vitaphone discs. Starring the beautiful Billie Dove (effective) and the effete Rod La Rocque (who seemed to be reading the phone book). Gwen Lee, as the other woman, was also quite good. A product of its time but enjoyable, and I'm glad I saw it.
It Rains on Our Love (Nordisk Tonefilm PAL DVD) Ingmar Bergman's 2nd film and NOT part of the Criterion Box. Poor transfer, but the BFI BD is currently unavailable.Another social drama, somewhat mystical and heavy handed. Repudiated by Bergman but a must see for compleatists.
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (Criterion BD) Amazing how the series refuses to repeat itself. This one adds blood for the first time. Zatoichi continues to grow as well. The transfers have been really good.
Thirst (Criterion BD) More Ingmar Bergman. This one is beautifully shot. Based on a novel whose plot takes place on Midsummer's Day (with flashbacks). A bit of a downer, including a "Virginia Woolf-like" marriage.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight I will start season 3 episode 1 and episode 2 if I have time.

 

[JohnRice]

American Ultra: What if Jason Bourne was a stoner who worked at a convenience store? The premise is good, and the movie starts out quite well, but I think it suffers from what so many Hollywood movies do. It seems like it's created more by movie producers than competent story writers. It's an idea more than a story. The first third is really funny, then it steadily loses steam until it just fizzles out. Jesse Eisenberg plays, more or less, the same character he played in Zombieland, which I think is a vastly superior movie. There isn't the supporting cast here, or the characters for them to play, that Zombieland had. It was amusing enough, but I doubt I'll ever revisit it.

 

[Dave Moritz]

August 6th, 2019 Tuesday

Heaven Can Wait (1943)
720p DCP iTunes
Stereo

 

[DFurr]

A real nail biter tonight.....The Descent, unrated copy.

 

[dragonfly422]

I really enjoyed The Shout, and I wish that it was available on BRD (I would even settle for DVD). The last time that I was able to watch it was a few years ago via Amazon.

A quartet of Network Region B BDs:
EA Dupont's Moulin Rouge (1928-29) Fascinating late silent film in service of a commonplace story
Michael Powell, et al., The Thief of Bagdad (1940) Quite good transfer
Skolimowski's The Shout (1978) Intriguing film with a great cast: Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt
Dearden's All Night Long (1962) Retelling of Othello with a great jazz jam session in the background. Top-notch production.

 

[JohnRice]

Captain Marvel - Didn't start off very well, but picked up steam and ended pretty strong. I've only seen maybe 1/3 of the superhero movies, and I'm already a little sick of them, but I gave this one a shot. It'll probably be worth a revisit some day.

August: Osage County - This seems like it should be more highly regarded than it is. Though, I do seem to enjoy movies that are filmed stage plays, or could be. I can't quite fathom how this is supposed to be a comedy, but it is written by Tracy Letts, who created twisted derangements like Bug and Killer Joe, so I guess anything is possible. It does seem to go a little over the top, but it's still not as bizarre as half the things real people do in real life, judging by shows like Dateline, 48 Hours and 20/20. I think it's brilliant and the cast is outstanding, even if Ewan McGregor's middle American accent is rather bleached. There's so much metaphor here that applies to real life. The most rewarding aspect is to watch Barb (Julia Roberts) realize, bit by bit, how much she's grown up to be exactly like her abusive, narcissistic mother Violet (Meryl Streep). This is top notch Drama, in my book.

 

[bujaki]

I really enjoyed The Shout, and I wish that it was available on BRD (I would even settle for DVD). The last time that I was able to watch it was a few years ago via Amazon.

Well, The Shout is available as a BRD, but Zone B locked. You need to go Region/Zone Free as soon as possible.
Welcome to HTF, dragonfly 422!

 

[bujaki]

Captain Marvel - Didn't start off very well, but picked up steam and ended pretty strong. I've only seen maybe 1/3 of the superhero movies, and I'm already a little sick of them, but I gave this one a shot. It'll probably be worth a revisit some day.

August: Osage County - This seems like it should be more highly regarded than it is. Though, I do seem to enjoy movies that are filmed stage plays, or could be. I can't quite fathom how this is supposed to be a comedy, but it is written by Tracy Letts, who created twisted derangements like Bug and Killer Joe, so I guess anything is possible. It does seem to go a little over the top, but it's still not as bizarre as half the things real people do in real life, judging by shows like Dateline, 48 Hours and 20/20. I think it's brilliant and the cast is outstanding, even if Ewan McGregor's middle American accent is rather bleached. There's so much metaphor here that applies to real life. The most rewarding aspect is to watch Barb (Julia Roberts) realize, bit by bit, how much she's grown up to be exactly like her abusive, narcissistic mother Violet (Meryl Streep). This is top notch Drama, in my book.

Captain Marvel in 3D was quite decent.
August: Osage County is, as you state, top-notch drama. I saw the original production of Bug on stage and it was riveting and terrifying. I've also seen the film version. I do admire Tracy Letts as a writer and as an actor.

 

[bujaki]

Behold a Pale Horse (TT BD) This is one beautiful disc! The B&W cinematography is extraordinary. I last saw this film when it came out and I was too young too really appreciate it. I know much more about the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath (the repressive, fascist Franco regime) to follow the motivations of the leads.
Fragment of an Empire (Flicker Alley BD) Talk about a discovery! This is a movie I knew nothing about. A 1929 Russian silent film directed by Fridrikh Ermler, in stark, B&W images and exciting montage technique it tells the story of a WW One amnesiac soldier who recovers his memory after the Soviet "miracle," and how he slowly, sometimes painfully, sometimes humorously, adjusts to the new society. Yes, this film extols the virtues of Communism, being a product of its time and its society; nevertheless, it is a masterpiece of acting and direction. It belongs in the Pantheon along with the other great Russian directors of the time.
Zatoichi's Flashing Sword and Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (Criterion BD) Two entries furthering the adventures of the roaming blind swordsman. The craft behind these pictures is palpable. Nothing is throwaway about the series.

 

[JohnRice]

August: Osage County is, as you state, top-notch drama. I saw the original production of Bug on stage and it was riveting and terrifying. I've also seen the film version. I do admire Tracy Letts as a writer and as an actor.

I think August: Osage County is outstanding. I'm at a loss to why it tends to be slammed by critics. Bug is also fascinating. I interpret it very simply, as two people losing grasp of reality and going out of their minds. Sort of a cross between Persona and Repulsion.

 

[Dave Moritz]

August 7th, 2019 Wednesday (Day Off)


Hunter Killer
4K Dolby Vision DCP (iTunes/4K Apple TV)
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

Might watch another movie tonight but this movie and the possible next movie tonight is the last ones with the Bowers & Wilkins HTM61 S2 center channel speaker installed in the home theater. Sometime tomorrow I am expecting to receive and install a new Klipsch RC-64 lll center channel! The center and rear channels will now be a closer voice match to the main Altec A-7's! There are more purchases being planned but at this rate they are still under consideration and the only must get right now is Klipsch Atmos speakers so I can phase out the Advent Marble two ways that used to be surrounds and now are my Atmos speakers. Things that I want but are under consideration are a three channel Emotiva power amp, ? subwoofer and maybe a new turntable with phone preamp.

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday I watched Model For Murder, a very slight thriller with the gorgeous Hazel Court and Keith Andes. The IMDB gives the aspect ratio of this 1959 film as 1.37:1. It's 1.66:1.

I'm going to upload a photo of Hazel Court into the Brunettes thread. She deserves it!

 

[Dave Moritz]

Captain Marvel - Didn't start off very well, but picked up steam and ended pretty strong. I've only seen maybe 1/3 of the superhero movies, and I'm already a little sick of them, but I gave this one a shot. It'll probably be worth a revisit some day.

I enjoyed The Avengers, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man along with The Incredible Hulk and Black Panther but the trailers did nothing for me for Captain Marvel. Especially after the flop of the female Ghostbusters and Oceans 8 I am not big on the way female characters are being pushed. I am all for movies with good female rolls but it just seems like it is being pushed and not good for movies. Two movies with great female characters that kicked butt where Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner in Terminator 2 and Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens. I did not see Captain Marvel in the theaters and have held off on seeing it on video in my home theater. I might eventually get around to buying it on digital on sale or just rent it digitally.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I love any film that has a woman kicking butt, especially, if they're good looking. One of my favorite films is the original "Gloria". Gena Rowlands was excellent in that role.