Well, not a movie but a series I’m liking: True Detective Season 3 through Episode 3.
Well, not a movie but a series I’m liking: True Detective Season 3 through Episode 3.
"Nolo esse salus sine vobis ...” —St. Augustine
On Netflix, just a day before it vanished from streaming availability, The Founder, starring Michael Keaton in the fact based story of Ray Kroc, who turned McDonald's into the corporate giant it is today. He did so by persuading the McDonald brothers Richard and Maurice to let him franchise their innovative hamburger stand in San Bernardino California. In the process, he gradually pushes them out, getting them to accept a one time payment, and breaking an unwritten agreement for a share in the future profits. Good story, well acted. Just the usual caution against taking movie versions of actual events as definitive, although from what I can tell, it is pretty close to the truth.
In a local theater a couple of days ago, Quentin Tarantino's latest Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood. On the whole I liked this one, which I probably would have skipped after the awful Inglourious Basterds and the even worse Django Unchained. But a positive review (which unfortunately hinted pretty clearly at a spoiler) persuaded me to give it a chance. And I was entertained. I won't give any spoilers of my own, but if you do watch it, look for a can of dog food with a unique flavor.
"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
G.K. Chesterton
I saw "Once upon a time... in Hollywood" too. I caught the flavors the first time around but i didn't look too closely at the end.
Well, anyway, it was an OK film. I didn't like the ending, but it's about what you expect from Tarantino. I enjoyed the film version of Los Angeles & Brad Pitt was fun, too. The ranch seen was quite clever. For me that would have been enough.
I can't remember which movie I saw last; it was so many years ago.
"Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-
That Touch of Mink on Kanopy, starring Cary Grant, Gig Young, Doris Day and Audrey Meadows. It was awful. I didn't last to the end. Sometimes nostalgia has us fooled. Still, I liked the scenes in the Automat (I used to go to the one below Reading Station in Philadelphia). Kanopy has a fantastic selection of films, but there are some stinkers in there.
Last edited by FredRydr; August 6th, 2019 at 06:51 AM.
I watched an awful movie last night. It was called Revolt. Ugh. Dire.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
I re-watched The Parallax View, another 70s paranoid political thriller. It came out in 1974, a year before Condor.
Warren Beatty plays a reporter who gets in over his head pursuing those responsible for the assassination of a senator with presidential ambitions (think JFK and RFK) and the murders of those who witnessed the assassination.
The movie is well-made and certainly held my attention. The set piece at Seattle's Space Needle that opens the film and a brain-washing montage are high points. I'd recommend the movie and yet it ultimately left me a little unsatisfied. I couldn't say more without discussing the plot in too great a detail and getting more political than I'd care to be here.
It was a surprise to see the wonderful comic actor, Kenneth Mars, in a small role as an ex-FBI agent who advises Beatty's character. Mars was in a number of classic comedies including The Producers and Young Frankenstein. This was the first serious role I'd ever seen him in. Walter McGinn, who plays a very sinister role in The Parallax View, was also in Three Days of the Condor. I have to wonder if he got the role in the latter film because he was in the former one. I'm sure many who saw Three Days of the Condor at theaters in 1975 recognized him as one of the bad guys from The Parallax View and were perhaps wrong-footed a bit because of it.
Sadly, McGinn died a couple years later in an auto accident.
Last edited by Zhivago; August 6th, 2019 at 05:19 PM.
I forgot to say shame on Kudzu for listing Three Days of the Condor without mentioning the big, honking MB fp (maybe a 149) shown in use early in that movie.
Thanks for the recommendation. You're right. It was utterly dire.
I've got to the point with Netflix that I know I'm never going to find anything even vaguely worth watching anymore, but in the still, dark hours of insomnia I convince myself watching any old rubbish is better than living with my thoughts. This is not true; it's not that my thoughts are good, It's just that the dreck that Netflick carries is so, so much worse. Yeah, Revolt was revolting. My cat is a better actor.
(I know it wasn't a recommendation. It was the only title my wearied mind could come up with at four in the morning.)
I'm sad and sorry to hear that you suffer from insomnia.
We don't have Netflix or Amazon Prime. My OH actually bought this movie! OK he bought it a cheap price, less than a month's subscription, but he paid money for it.
It isn't going to disappear any time soon like it would on subscription TV. He might even watch it again one day.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
This comes with a standard Coen Bros warning: it's an odd film (in reality, six smaller, chapter-length films). There were things a bit off-putting (not for the squeamish), moments that were tedious, but also hilarious and ironic comedy along with scenes of transcendent beauty. Their films don't ever seem to fit in a box.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Chrissy (August 7th, 2019)
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
Just looked this up on IMDb. Could barely finish the synopsis.
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On a documentary kick at the moment so will commend The Great Hack.
Cinema Paradiso
I first saw this movie in the theater with my girlfriend. Twenty years later, the theater had been turned into a bookstore and I bought the DVD there. The release in the trailer might be higher resolution and restored, but I will always watch the DVD instead.
Jon Szanto (August 7th, 2019)
Jon Szanto (August 7th, 2019)
Zhivago (August 9th, 2019)
Re-watched Airplane!
I am serious...
I remember the first time I saw it. I literally did a spit take after the bit below.
Rex Kramer: [talking to Steve McCroskey] Our only hope is to build this man up. We gotta give him all the confidence we can.
[to Striker]
Rex Kramer: Striker, have you ever flown a multi-engine plane before?
Ted Striker: No, never.
Rex Kramer: [to McCroskey, with the microphone still on] Sh*t! This is a G*d damn waste of time! There's no way he can land this plane!
We re-watched Airplane a couple of months ago with our pre-teen daughter, who had never seen it. She loved it.
Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.
Oveur: Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?
I watched John Wick 3 over the weekend. I know the franchise gets a lot of love, but I thought it was pretty stupid (I guess that is kind of the point).
Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.
Once upon a time in Hollywood
Brad Pitt and Leo Decaprio
Great movie, I will pay to see it again.
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We've been trawling through what BBC iPlayer has to offer.
We re-watched "The Jackal." Bruce Willis with hair and Richard Gere with an Irish accent.
Then we watched a fairly short comedy film "Man Up." Lake Bell and Simon Pegg. Also featured an obsessive unexpectedly played by Rory Kinnear.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
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