Movies and TV Shows That are Great

[death tribble]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:39 PM, Bazza said:

Always happy to see Geelong lose. 

I thought Hawthorn were the big bugbears of Australian Rules. Least they were when games were screen ed Britain on terrestrial TV.

 

On 12/25/2019 at 5:56 AM, Cassandra said:

Command Decision (1949)

 

Clark Gable plays a General who sends his Bombers against three targets to prevents the Germans from building Jet Fighters, despite heavy losses, and the opposition of his superior (Walter Pigeon) who is more concerned with getting political support for the bombing program.

 

Memphis Belle (1990)

 

The crew of the first B-17 on it's twenty fifth and final mission which means the end of their combat tour if they survive

Gable actually flew a few combat missions. Bare in mind he was in his 40s at the time. But Carole Lombard's death had made him adamant that he wanted to do something and even Louis B Mayer could not stop him.

 

Memphis Belle is based on the true story of the plane and crew which were among the first to complete 25 combat missions and thus completed the tour for an American aircrew at the time.

 

633 Squadron 1964

This has a fictional squadron prepare to attack a target in Norway making fuel for German terror weapons. It uses real life Mosquito fighter bombers which were predominantly made of wood. These planes were used as pathfinders for the heavy bombers but could also carry out attacks on their own. The film shows a variety of British Commonwealth personnel as part of the squadron, Australian and Indian (Sikh) particularly.

The flight sequences are good and two of the attacks are loosely based on actual missions.

[Bazza]

3 hours ago, death tribble said:

I thought Hawthorn were the big bugbears of Australian Rules. Least they were when games were screen ed Britain on terrestrial TV.

 

 

Dont know what you mean. 

[death tribble]

Hawthorn were like the New York Yankees of Baseball, the Dallas Cowboys of American football or M********r U****d of British football. Consequently a lot of people despise them. With reason.

Geelong are not as successful as Collingwood, Essenden, Carlton or Richmond who all have 10 plus league wins. Like Hawthorn

[slikmar]

On 11/27/2019 at 10:28 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1946)

 

One of the very best film performances of the classic era can be found in this adventure film set in 1930s Mexico, and that is courtesy of Humphrey Bogart, a man who helped define modern film acting in the United States, If you are not familiar with Bogey's body of work, you need to remedy the situation.

 

Bogart plays Fred C. Dobbs, an American drifter stuck in northern Mexico without a penny to his name. Even as a beggar, he retains a sort of quiet dignity. But when he and a friend take up an "old-timer" prospector to search for gold, Fred's fortunes finally take a turn for the better. Now all he has to do is protect the claim, and make sure he gets to keep his cut -- a cut that keeps growing as greed eats away at his mental and moral condition. This swift, tragic deterioration is terrifying to behold, and must have had a considerable impact on 1946 audiences used to seeing Bogart play anti-heroes like Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon) and Rick Blaine (Casablanca) who always effortlessly kept their cool even when dealing with impossible moral choices.

If you want to watch another example of Bogey playing a character going through a mental breakdown, watch The Caine Mutiney. Another great movie with a great cast.

[death tribble]

The Big Sleep 1946

This is another Bogart film and he plays a detective asked to help the daughter of a general. The dialogue is crisp an there is a plot hole with the death of the chauffeur. It is one of the films with Bogart and Bacall and is good..

 

The Maltese Falcon 1941

Bogart plays a detective trying to recover the maguffin which is the falcon of the title. It also stars Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. It is one of the most famous of all detective films.

[Michael Hopcroft]

15 minutes ago, death tribble said:

The Maltese Falcon 1941

Bogart plays a detective trying to recover the maguffin which is the falcon of the title. It also stars Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. It is one of the most famous of all detective films.

One of the great things about The Maltese Falcon is the glorious amorality of Sam Spade.  He's not serving a higher justice or a great calling. All Sam Spade is trying to do is get some money -- and to save his own neck. He had been having an affair with his partner's wife, and when said partner turned up dead he had to find a way to prove someone else did it, or he risked the gas chamber. But even as he scrambles for a way out olf an increasingly desperate situation, he never loses his cool, professionalism, or resolve.

 

And I will never forget the scene when the effete Joe Cairo (a brilliant Peter Lorre) shows up in Spade's office, pointing a gun at him and exclaiming "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!", all the while sweating profusely and with his body language exposing the lie. It would be interesting to know what Cairo found so frightening about an obscure American detective who had not yet become involved in Cairo's quest for the Falcon. Maybe the Dashiell Hammet novel would offer some insight. That said, Lorre acts the scene beautifully, a reminder of what he was on the verge of becoming when the rise of Hitler and Nazism forced him to flee Germany and drove him into the uncaring arms of Hollywood's ruthless studio system.

[Lord Liaden]

On 12/26/2019 at 5:33 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

One of the great things about The Maltese Falcon is the glorious amorality of Sam Spade.  He's not serving a higher justice or a great calling. All Sam Spade is trying to do is get some money -- and to save his own neck. He had been having an affair with his partner's wife, and when said partner turned up dead he had to find a way to prove someone else did it, or he risked the gas chamber. But even as he scrambles for a way out of an increasingly desperate situation, he never loses his cool, professionalism, or resolve.

 

But he also had that blunt, yet passionate and moving, "You're supposed to do something about it" speech at the end, about getting justice for his partner's death. It showed that, for all Sam Spade's self-interest, he still had a spark of moral responsibility.

 

On 12/26/2019 at 5:33 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

And I will never forget the scene when the effete Joe Cairo (a brilliant Peter Lorre) shows up in Spade's office, pointing a gun at him and exclaiming "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!", all the while sweating profusely and with his body language exposing the lie. It would be interesting to know what Cairo found so frightening about an obscure American detective who had not yet become involved in Cairo's quest for the Falcon. Maybe the Dashiell Hammet novel would offer some insight. That said, Lorre acts the scene beautifully, a reminder of what he was on the verge of becoming when the rise of Hitler and Nazism forced him to flee Germany and drove him into the uncaring arms of Hollywood's ruthless studio system.

 

Bogey had that aura about him, when he was in character. Looking at him, listening to him, you just knew you were dealing with a dangerous man.

[Michael Hopcroft]

The King and I (1956)

 

Anna, a schoolteacher from England goes to Siam (modern Thailand) to tutor the children of King Mongkut. Since the King is a polygamist with concubines who did not always consent to the arrangement, he has a large number of children. The King's morals are detestable to the prim widow, but she gradually becomes more and more attracted to his intellect and charisma. The King is suspicious of the motives of his English visitors (with good reason, as this was the height of imperial expansion of the UK), but is attracted to her. Yul Brynner's performance as the King (whose actual name is not used in the film) is exquisite, exuding charisma and energy that would attract a nun.

[slikmar]

On 12/26/2019 at 2:54 PM, Lord Liaden said:

 

But he also had that blunt, yet passionate and moving, "You're supposed to do something about it" speech at the end, about getting justice for his partner's death. It showed that, for all Sam Spade's self-interest, he still had a spark of moral responsibility.

 

 

 

yes, but he also ends that with the fact he just cant trust her and he cant let himself become the next sap in her list (paraphrasing a bit).

[Lord Liaden]

Most real people have more than one reason for doing anything. 😉

[death tribble]

The Thing From Another World 1951

 

A crashed spaceship and its occupant cause havoc for an Arctic station at the North Pole. Kenneth Tobey and James Arness star in a Howard Hawks film. The music is good and chilling and people talk across each other which is unusual for almost any film.  

 

Goldfinger 1964

 

James Bond is tasked with finding out how Auric Goldfinger is smuggling gold out of Britain. Goldfinger has an efficient henchman called Oddjob who has a hat that he slings at people causing them injury or death. He also has a pilot called Pussy Galore.

The film has the first appearance of the iconic Aston Martin DB5;

The unusual method of death in painting someone all over;

Bond overmatched physically by a normal human for the first time and having to find a way to stop him;

And one of the most iconic lines in Bond. 'You expect me to talk ?' No, Mr Bond I expect you to die !'. 

 

From Russia With Love  1963

 

SPECTRE come up with a convoluted plan to steal a Russian cryptography device from the Russians, blame the British, kill the 'thief' and his inside contact. It is so obvious a trap that James Bond will be sent and is. The theft is to take place in Turkey and SPECTRE decide to heat up the Cold War in the Balkans by setting the locals against each other. Bond makes contact with the Russian pawn and they are observed by SPECTRE who kill the local KGB and set off vendettas between the Bulgars and Gypsies.

The film has the first appearance of Q;

Robert Shaw, Vladek Sheybal, Walter Gotell and Lotte Lenya as SPECTRE personnel;

A punch up between Robert Shaw and Sean Connery in a train compartment;

SPECTRE making multiple attempts to seize the cryptography device and kill Bond.

[Michael Hopcroft]

The train compartment fight is so raw and visceral as to be shocking -- especially by 1963 standards. It wouldn;t be until Casino Royale that the Bond franchise would do something that really matched it in its desperation and brutality.

 

Casino Royale is so great that I haven't seen a Bond movie since. Why? Because it illustrated perfectly what a cold-blooded psychopath James Bond is. His dismissive "the bitch is dead" at the end, referring to a woman he had pretended to care about, is chilling to the bone. It's hard to root for 007 after that. The movie really is about the death of James Bond the man and the birth of Agent 007 the living weapon.

[Sundog]

Funny, I got quite a different vibe from that scene. Bond is a psychopath, but Vesper had gotten him out of his shell, he'd let himself feel for the first time, perhaps ever. And his only defense, after she dies, is to lock himself back in. Denying he ever had feelings is his only method of coping with the events. But he's lying, to us and to himself.

6 hours ago, death tribble said:

The Thing From Another World 1951

 

A crashed spaceship and its occupant cause havoc for an Arctic station at the North Pole. Kenneth Tobey and James Arness star in a Howard Hawks film. The music is good and chilling and people talk across each other which is unusual for almost any film.  

 

Something to note: If you watch this film, turn the brightness right down. Almost all of the prints were deliberately lightened after the distribution company threatened to pull it for being "too scary" for test audiences. Hawks originally wanted it much darker and more atmospheric, to the point where you can barely see the Thing.

[Spence]

36 minutes ago, Sundog said:

Something to note: If you watch this film, turn the brightness right down. Almost all of the prints were deliberately lightened after the distribution company threatened to pull it for being "too scary" for test audiences. Hawks originally wanted it much darker and more atmospheric, to the point where you can barely see the Thing.

 

Didn't know that.  I'll have to do this.  I always loved this movie.

 

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Ultraman...the original 1966 series. This show is not only great on its own merits...it was so good that it led to the decline of kaiju films in the 70's. (Why pay to see monsters in the cineplex when you can see them every week on TV for free.) The show was the brainchild of Eiji Tsuburaya, the SPFX master behind the classic monster films. As such, the cast, effects, and style are all very familiar to fans of the genre. Each episode is like a short Toho monster movie. Combine that with the wide variety of different styles and tones present in the 39 episodes of the series and you have a classic for the ages. It spawned a franchise that has continued to this day/

[Lord Liaden]

I watched the original Ultraman series as a kid, and loved it. The episodes varied in quality, but were almost always exciting and often imaginative, and in the second season in particular sometimes adopted a more serious, mature tone.

 

A few years ago I picked up a couple of boxed DVD sets of all episodes from the original series.

 

 

[Michael Hopcroft]

The original soundtrack has to be better than the dub. I included two episodes of Ultraman from a bootleg of the dub (including one where they re-used what was then the Godzilla costume) in a convention MST3K event. My fsavorite riffs (hyes, I was allowed to riff)

 

"He's made of lead-free pewter!"

 

SOUNDTRACK: If the light goes out, Ultraman will never rise again!

ME: Much to the disappointment of Mrs. Ultraman.

[Lord Liaden]

Having compared the original Japanese sound track, with subtitles, to the English dub, they don't indicate a direct translation. Frequently whole lines are different, for what seem like arbitrary reasons on the part of the English translation. Usually the Japanese version matches what's being shown on screen more appropriately.

[BoloOfEarth]

On 1/16/2020 at 8:53 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

Casino Royale is so great that I haven't seen a Bond movie since.

 

Yeah, David Niven was great as Bond.  Plus, you can't beat American Indian paratroopers dropping in with teepee-shaped parachutes and automatic bows-and-arrows.

[Tjack]

On 12/26/2019 at 5:08 PM, death tribble said:

The Big Sleep 1946

This is another Bogart film and he plays a detective asked to help the daughter of a general. The dialogue is crisp an there is a plot hole with the death of the chauffeur. It is one of the films with Bogart and Bacall and is good..

    Yeah, once when Raymond Chandler was asked about the plot hole, he supposedly said “Beats the hell outta me.”   (He was something of a drinking man.)  When Robert B. Parker was commissioned to write a sequel he ties up the plot thread.

[death tribble]

Robocop 1987 (release 1988)

 

This has a delicious cynical look at the future with adverts and TV programmes set in the time. This is directed by Paul Verhoeven and had Peter Weller, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith and Ray Wise in the cast. The cyborg look was believable and ED-209 became the poster child for bad guards. The dark humour pervading the film made it stand out as more than just a revenge flick. The twists were well handled as well.

 

Total Recall 1990

 

Another Verhoeven movie and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It also has Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside and Sharon Stone. A man on Earth has dreams of Mars and goes to have a virtual vacation which results in him having his whole life turned upside down. He has to head to Mars to find out what is going on. Again there is a streak of dark humour. If you like other Schwarzenegger films you should love this.

[Matt the Bruins]

Ah, I recall getting up at 6 a.m. as a kid to sit on the concrete floor of our unfinished basement and watch Ultraman. I can only recall a few brief image from the show itself, though.

[mattingly]

9 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

Yeah, David Niven was great as Bond.  Plus, you can't beat American Indian paratroopers dropping in with teepee-shaped parachutes and automatic bows-and-arrows.

 

That's why it's always been my favorite Bond movie.

 

Peter Sellers meeting Peter O'Toole? Genius!

 

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, Matt the Bruins said:

Ah, I recall getting up at 6 a.m. as a kid to sit on the concrete floor of our unfinished basement and watch Ultraman. I can only recall a few brief image from the show itself, though.

 

YouTube is your friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgMG9R3ZptA&list=PLrPL9dGQYDqDdxxdTtDZm0Y1ulR6DytWh

 

[Old Man]

I don't know how many of you have access to HBO, but if you do, I can heartily recommend the Watchmen series.  Both prequel and sequel to the original, it manages to deconstruct the deconstruction while maintaining the same slightly wacky tone.  It's arguably better than the original series, and an order of magnitude better than the film.