What's on your Daily Viewing List? (8 Viewers)

[Adam Lenhardt]

On the first day of

my home theater gave to me:​

Love Hard
Originally Released: 11/05/2021
Watched: 12/01/2021
1080P HD digital streaming on Netflix, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

On What? Your tolerance for the Hallmark Channel holiday rom-com formula, which is both fully embraced and playfully skewered by this Netflix Original. Nina Dobrev plays Natalie, a young woman who earns a living writing a column about her disastrous love life. When she flies across country to surprise the guy she's been flirting with online, she learns she's been catfished. The script and production values wouldn't hold up on the silver screen, but they're a cut above even most of the other Netflix Original Christmas movies. Jimmy O. Yang, best known for playing the infamous Jian-Yang on "Silicon Valley", makes for an enjoyably unconventional romantic lead. And he and Dobrev have genuine odd couple chemistry with ever so slightly cutting banter. The movie is set in Los Angeles and Lake Placid but was shot, for both budgetary and pandemic-related reasons entirely in and around Vancouver.

 

[John Sparks]

I really enjoyed it...from the book of SAW...with Atmos to boot!

 

[Dave Moritz]

December 4th, 2021

Underworld
4K Blu-ray / HDR
Dolby Atmos to Auro 3D 7.1.4

Underworld: Evolution
4K Blu-ray / HDR
Dolby Atmos to Auro 3D 7.1.4

Home Alone
4K Digital / HDR
Dolby 5.1 upmixed to Auro 7.1

 

[Thomas T]

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

How It Ends
Originally Released: 07/20/2021
Watched: 12/04/2021
4K UHD digital streaming on Apple TV app via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? This low-budget comedy about the end of the world was shot during the pandemic and feels leisurely paced even at a brief 82 minutes. But I was charmed by its low-key meandering ways, and became steadily more invested in the main character, played by writer/director Zoe Lister-Jones and Cailee Spaeny. The supporting cast is talented and deep. There were enough laughs to keep me entertained, and there were a handful of moments I found unexpectedly moving. The visual effects are small and subtle, but effective.

My thoughts (which may contain spoilers) are available here.

 

[HawksFord]

Over the past week, we watched the three movies in Kino Lorber's Dark Side of Cinema III set which each deal with a specific social issue. None of these is a noir classic, but they are all enjoyable films.

Abandoned (1949) — The issue here is a black market adoption racket with Gale Storm as a woman looking for her sister who recently had a baby but then fell out of contact. Dennis O'Keefe plays the reporter helping her and Jeff Chandler is the district attorney. My favorite performances here were from Raymond Burr and Marjorie Rambeau as a sleazy private detective and his employer. This was my wife's favorite of the three and my least favorite. She really liked the story; I thought the dialog too often sounded like a parody of noir.

The Lady Gambles (1949) — Barbara Stanwyck plays a woman who becomes addicted to gambling, and Robert Preston is the husband trying to save her. We both had this second on our ranked list of the three films. The story is a bit thin, but Stanwyck's performance elevates it well above the quality of the script.

The Sleeping City (1950) — Narcotics is the issue here with Richard Conte as a police detective working undercover in a New York City hospital. This was my favorite and my wife's least favorite of the three. It's a gritty film which is more to my taste, and I enjoyed the location shooting in and around Bellvue Hospital. The characters are all a bit underdeveloped and the starting premise which puts Conte in the hospital in the first place is weak. As much as I liked this, I was also frustrated thinking that it could have been much more than it is.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight: I watched the Canadian Football League East and West playoffs. Next week Hamilton will go on to play Winnipeg for the 108th Grey Cup.

 

[Dave Moritz]

December 5th, 2021 Sunday

Star Trek Original Series: S1 / E1 Man Trap
Blu-ray upconverted to 4K

Hawkeye: S1 / E1 Never Meet Your Heros
4K Digital / Dolby Vision / Disney +
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

 

[Thomas T]

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

On the eighth day of

my home theater gave to me:​

The Gathering
Originally Released: 12/04/1977
Watched: 12/08/2021
1080P HD digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, a man seeks to reconcile with his estranged family over Christmas.

Recommended?

Why? Originally made as a TV movie for ABC by Hanna-Barbera, this movie from Grease director Randal Kleiser is definitely dated at times -- the only person of color in the movie is the family maid, and Vietnam War-era politics play heavily into the plot. But it benefits from a strong central performance from Ed Asner, a very able assist from Academy Award winner (and Troy native) Maureen Stapleton as his estranged wife, as well as a lovely and gentle score from the great John Barry. The script is well attuned to the complex dynamics of a large family, and the various conflicts and grievances and clashing personalities that can arise. If it seems implausible that someone could make up for decades spent alienating his loved ones over the course of a couple days, well, it is a Christmas movie.

 

[John Sparks]

The movie is about what will happen down the line to all that took the covid vaccine.

 

[HawksFord]

A Night to Remember (1958) — We'd never seen this before. The Criterion blu-ray is one of those discs that takes us three nights to go through: one night for the movie, one for the commentary, and one for all the extras. It was time well spent. The film does a fine job of balancing attention to the details of a historical event (based on contemporary understanding) and creating characters that we care out. The commentary and extras help to flesh out the history of the event. Now I'm thinking about digging into some other Titanic related movies, and I should re-watch the Cameron film whichI haven't seen it in 20+ years.

 

[Robin9]

A Night to Remember (1958) — We'd never seen this before. The Criterion blu-ray is one of those discs that takes us three nights to go through: one night for the movie, one for the commentary, and one for all the extras. It was time well spent. The film does a fine job of balancing attention to the details of a historical event (based on contemporary understanding) and creating characters that we care out. The commentary and extras help to flesh out the history of the event. Now I'm thinking about digging into some other Titanic related movies, and I should re-watch the Cameron film whichI haven't seen it in 20+ years.

You should look at the much despised film starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. (The film is not despised by me!) It is far better than its reputation suggests.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

On the tenth day of

my home theater gave to me:​

Christmas Ranch
Originally Released: 12/20/2016
Watched: 12/10/2021
HDX (1080P) digital streaming on Vudu app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

A troubled teenage girl finds new purpose taking care of an ailing pony while staying at her

Why not? The writing is terrible, with actors mostly unable to rescue it, and production values that are only a couple steps above public access television. But the biggest problem is that the teenage girl at the center of the story is such a miserable spoiled brat, thoughtless and cruel, for the first hour of the movie's roughly 80 minute runtime. She so thoroughly alienated me as a viewer that I wasn't much invested in her late in the game redemption arc.

I get the sense that the filmmakers are evangelical Christians, but the movie itself isn't especially preachy. The grandmother's faith is incorporated organically into the story, and the granddaughter's lack of faith isn't portrayed as the reason for her misbehavior. At the end of the film, both characters have learned important lessons but the grandmother is still religious and the granddaughter is still not religious.

On the plus side, this movie isn't centered around a trite romance or overly swept up in the pageantry of Christmas. Instead, it concerns itself with the spirit of the holiday: giving onto others, choosing hope over despair, the importance and warmth of family and community, peace, good will toward men.

 

[Robin9]

I watched two films yesterday, something I don't do very often. The first was Step By Step which is a very lightweight story with several moments that don't make sense. The film does however have Anne Jeffreys who was the reason I bought the Warner Archive disc and who re-confirms that she really was quite something on screen: very good-looking and also very likable. At the beginning there is a scene on a beach in which both Anne Jeffreys and Laurence Tierney wear swimming costumes. She is most impressive. He is not.

The second film was also on a Warner Archive Blu-ray disc I wouldn't Be In Your Shoes. This is Steve Fisher meets Cornell Woolrich. Steve Fisher wrote both the source novel I Wake Up Screaming and the screenplay for the film adaptation. A major plot element from that features also in I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes. Was it in Cornell Woolrich's novel or did Steve Fisher simply insert his own idea into the story? The second main plot idea is one Woolrich used more than once: a man is condemned to death for a murder he didn't do and the woman in his life struggles to clear him. I Wouldn't be in Your Shoes is a pretty good film but would have been better with a stronger and sexier actress than Elyse Knox. Anne Jeffreys would have been ideal; so would Adele Jergens and Barbara Payton.

Both Blu-ray discs are superb.

 

[HawksFord]

You should look at the much despised film starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. (The film is not despised by me!) It is far better than its reputation suggests.

As a matter of fact, we did watch the 1953 Titanic last night. I don't know who despises it. It's a fine film which packs quite an emotional punch.

 

[Konstantinos]

The Gathering
Originally Released: 12/04/1977
Watched: 12/08/2021
1080P HD digital streaming on Apple TV app

Is this true HD?
If it is, I hope it could be released on disc.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

West Side Story (2021)
Originally Released: 12/10/2021
Watched: 12/11/2021
In theaters: 11:50 AM digital IMAX showing on Screen 1 at Regal Crossgates & IMAX

Recommended?

Why? It was incredibly risky, even arrogant, to make another film adaptation of West Side Story. Robert Wise's 1961 version won 10 Academy Awards and has since been remembered as one of greatest musical films of all time. But Spielberg pulled it off, with a version that is very distinct from the original without ever feeling like a letdown. In fact, I think I like it even more than the 1961 version.

My thoughts (which may contain spoilers) are available here.

* * *
On the eleventh day of

my home theater gave to me:
An angelic double feature!​

The Bishop's Wife
Originally Released: 12/09/1947
Watched: 12/11/2021
1080P Blu-ray disc, upscaled to 4K via Panasonic DP-UB820

Recommended?

Why? This post-war Christmas movie, which gives us cinema's most debonair angel in Cary Grant's Dudley, is concerned with human matters. Dudley is very good at his job, but there is a melancholy element to his labors: the tradeoff for eternal life and providing divine inspiration is that he is a step removed from world he endeavors to help. When the bishop's prayer brings him into the orbit of one Julia Bougham, he finds himself wanting to be a little less distant. An unusual love triangle ensues, but there is a greater plan at work, and by the final credits everyone will get what they need, if not what they thought they wanted...

* * *​

The Preacher's Wife
Originally Released: 12/13/1996
Watched: 12/11/2021
1080P HD digital streaming on Apple TV app, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

If you need a suave angel, how can you top Cary Grant? The truth is, you can't. But as attempts go, you could do a whole hell of a lot worse than Denzel Washington.

Recommended?

Why? This remake, directed by Penny Marshall and produced by Samuel Goldwyn's son, transplants the story to a black inner city congregation. The moral landscape of this one is more complicated; whereas the bishop in the original neglected his wife and daughter chasing after a fancy cathedral, the preacher here is neglecting his wife and son trying desperately to attend to the overwhelming needs of his congregation. He's got the wrong priorities for the right reasons, which makes the brewing romance between his wife and his guardian angel play more uncomfortably than in the original. And whereas Cary Grant's Dudley was one of God's oldest and most experienced operatives -- a company man through and through -- Denzel Washington's Dudley is closer to Clarence Odbody, previously human and still very much trying to prove himself. It feels like less of a certainty that he will put his own feelings aside and stick to his mission. And of course, because this is a comedy made in the nineties, there's an evil real estate developer involved.

Is this true HD?
If it is, I hope it could be released on disc.

It was definitely HD and not a standard definition upscale, but it did appear to be an older master. Not sure if that's just the result of the source elements, which probably sat in a vault somewhere for decades -- or a shooting style that was never meant to be seen at higher resolution than NTSC on a 27-inch CRT television.

 

[Robin9]

I re-watched Trapped yesterday and this time I also listened to the commentary track, something I usually avoid. This track from Alan K. Rode and Julie Kirgo is excellent. I was very pleased that they both recognised the good performance from Barbara Payton and had a balanced perspective about her acting talent and chaotic private life.

I might watch Objective Burma tonight. I haven't seen the film in ages and that Warner Archive disc is waiting impatiently!

 

[HawksFord]

S.O.S. Titanic (1979) — I did not see this when it aired on television in 1979, so I was happy to see Kino Lorber bring out the original 144 minute version. Neither of us found this film quite as compelling as either the 1953 Titanic or A Night to Remember, but it is still quite good. There are some excellent performances, but I never quite got the emotional connection here that I got from the other two. Maybe three Titanic films in a row is one too many. Well worth watching, and I think I need to return to this one again at some point.