quote:

Originally posted by Commontone:
Seconds

1966, directed by John Frankenheimer. This is essentially a full-length, fleshed-out Twilight Zone episode. Rock Hudson stars as a man who's unhappy with his life, and consents to be a "subject" for a company that promises to give him a fresh start--a new life.

Can't say much more without giving a lot away, but if you like the old, creepy, bizarre Twilight Zone episodes, this is absolutely a must-see.

If not Rock Hudson's best film, certainly it would be on the short list for his finest moment on celluloid.

I agree that it's Rock's greatest "late" role, at least not counting "McMillan & Wife", but I will always champion Rock's performance in Giant as terrific. He went from a sexist, racist redneck to somebody who believed in everybody's rights, especially his multi-cultural family's. I also believe that he was an underappreciated comedian. Witness: Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
I agree that it's Rock's greatest "late" role, at least not counting "McMillan & Wife", but I will always champion Rock's performance in Giant as terrific. He went from a sexist, racist redneck to somebody who believed in everybody's rights, especially his multi-cultural family's. I also believe that he was an underappreciated comedian. Witness: Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back.

I remember that series that rotated McMillan and Wife, McCloud, Columbo & later Hec Ramsey. I preferred McCloud with Dennis Weaver, which was a spin off from a not all that well known Clint Eastwood/Don Siegel film COOGAN'S BLUFF, a very good film that isn't top of mind when poking around Eastwood's oeuvre.

I thought Hudson was an atrocious actor and his finest work would be in those melodramas he made with Douglas Sirk in the fifties. Those Sirk/Hudson films are better regarded today than they were when released in the fifties.

Believe what you may . That makes you YOU, but give Giant, Pillow Talk, and Lover Come Back a peek before you reiterate, please. Actually, you can comment after watching each one, and SO CAN OTHERS, who don't even know what I'm talking about!! The three movies I mentioned are Essentials.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Believe what you may . That makes you YOU, but give Giant, Pillow Talk, and Lover Come Back a peek before you reiterate, please. Actually, you can comment after watching each one, and SO CAN OTHERS, who don't even know what I'm talking about!! The three movies I mentioned are Essentials.

I've got to disagree with you here. I think GIANT is an overrated, bloated fifties picture and only has a cult reputation because James Dean was in it. If he wasn't in it, no one would be even talking about that film.

And I think those Doris Day/Rock Hudson/Tony Randall comedies are dated and frankly inane. Ironic that Randall was signifying the gay character when the more macho Hudson was in real life the gay one.

If you want to see a good Doris Day film -- yes there actually are a couple believe it or not -- try LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, which, if memory serves me correctly, is the Ruth Etting bio pic. Day was never better, which may be damning her with faint praise, but Jimmy Cagney gives a flat out great performance as Etting's sugar daddy. A real underrated film.

And in thinking about Robert Altman and discussing his 1980's output and the film SECRET HONOR, which starred Philip Baker Hall, an underrated film, which I still consider P.T. Anderson's best, is HARD EIGHT/SEYMOUR, which stars Hall and John C. Reilly and is set in Nevada in the gambling casinos. Philip Seymour Hoffman & Gwyneth Paltrow are also good in supporting role.

How about 200 ciggarettes?

This was an extremely funny movie to me and it had a lot of actors in it including Ben Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Christina Ricci and more. There were so many characters in the movie and they each had their own story to tell but in some way they are all connected. It reminded me of the movie, "Go" the way it was directed.

Rarely do I ever see this movie on the tv, in fact I've only ever seen it on the tv once. But I'm glad it exists and I'd recommend it to anybody despite the 5.5 rating I seen it have on another site.

This movie is reasonably well known (great score on Metacritic), but most people haven't seen it:

Bloody Sunday

It's one of the 10 best movies I have ever seen, and truthfully believe that James Nesbitt gave one of the best performances ever.

He does what an actor should do: make you forget that he is acting.

Fateless
warning contains spoilers
great film about a young Jewish boy sent to the death camps. Its a memoir of a young Holocaust survivor who went on to write a Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same name about his experiences. It was well-received on Metacritic, but I doubt many people have heard of it. The novel its based on, as far as I can tell, is fairly obscure despite winning the Nobel Prize. Also, its the only Hungarian-language film I've ever heard of let alone watched (on dvd). Still, the cinematography and acting are terrific and it is very deserving of all the critical acclaim. I simply cannot believe this film didn't even get nominated for best foreign film last year. I watched the Last Days of Sophie Scholl and felt Fateless was far, far more deserving of being nominated than that one ever was.
I also recommend Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Murderball, and Maria Full of Grace.
warning contains possible spoilers
Eternal Sunshine is one of the more unusual takes on love I've seen. In it Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play a couple that have been drifting apart. Nonetheless, he's stunned to find she's found a way to have all memory of their relationship erased. He decided to have the same treatment and begins a series of flashbacks to happier times in their relationship and well as scenes from earlier in his life. As his memories are being erased, he discovers that he really does love her and enlists her help to try to save his memories, all within his own mind. Winslet is wonderful, but I was surprised to see how skillful a dramatic actor Jim Carrey is.
Murderball is easily one of the more interesting documentaries I've seen. It's about a group of quadriplegics who play a brutal sport known as wheelchair rugby, aka Murderball, hence the title. The film discusses how each became paralyzed, but focuses mostly on their playing (all of them play or have played for the US and the rivalry between the US and the rest of the world in the sport is the main focus of the film.) The film consciously attempts to portray them as athletes who happen to be disabled. The movie is uplifting, and offers a humanizing portrayal of the athletes and quadriplegics in general, refusing to reduce them to just a bunch of poor, unfortunate crippled guys and the director strives to avoid making them too sympathetic. For example, one is specifically described by his friends (the stars of the film are all male) as being a jerk both before and after his accident, and that the accident can in no way be blamed for his attitude. There is also a fair amount of humor, aimed mostly at stereotypes of quadriplegics and some of the more absurd things people have said to them regarding their conditions, such as the well-meaning lady at the supermarket who asks one of them if he needs help getting into his car.
Maria Full of Grace is about a young, impoverished Colombian teenager who has discovered she's pregnant and, desiring a better life, decides to come to the US. However, she is forced to accept work as a "mule", or someone who transport packets of drugs within their own bodies, to pay for passage. Not surprisingly, this is extremely dangerous and numerous complications ensue. The film is shot in documentary style, which helps lend it emotional impact and the acting is terrific.
All three movies were well received critically, but didn't get much mainstream attention.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vic5014,

This movie didn't get great reviews, but I really liked The Dancer Upstairs (John Malkovich's directorial debut).

A little-seen movie I would highly recommend is "Kicking and Screaming". It was directed by the guy who did "The Squid and the Whale". I liked "Kicking and Screaming" much more, though.

Basically, it's about a group of friends trying to figure out what to do with their lives now that they recently graduated college. It's sweet, funny and poignant.

I will recommend that every male on this forum try to see " The Swimmer" (1968).

Burt Lancaster plays a rather lost and melancholy figure who re-appears in his upper-class neighbourhood, after a long abscence, and proceeds to travel home via his neighbours swimming pools.

It is an utterly strange film in that it deals with concepts of loyalty, escapism, trust in both a grounded tale of the suburban male, and also in a more rareified metaphysical manner.
Actually, as some have argued, the swimming home from pool to pool, meeting people, may all happen inside Merrill's head. If so, it becomes a lovely metaphor for life and dreams, hopes, failures to meet expectations etc.

Try to see it. I haven't watched it for about 10 yrs, but most of it is burned into my brain. Haunting.

A Japanese film called "Woman in the Dunes."

The Merchant/Ivory adaptation of "The Europeans."

I second "The Dancer Upstairs." I own the DVD and I love it. For a different look at Javier Badem, try "The Sea Inside."

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaelscoffin:
I will recommend that every male on this forum try to see " The Swimmer" (1968).

Burt Lancaster plays a rather lost and melancholy figure who re-appears in his upper-class neighbourhood, after a long abscence, and proceeds to travel home via his neighbours swimming pools.

It is an utterly strange film in that it deals with concepts of loyalty, escapism, trust in both a grounded tale of the suburban male, and also in a more rareified metaphysical manner.
Actually, as some have argued, the swimming home from pool to pool, meeting people, may all happen inside Merrill's head. If so, it becomes a lovely metaphor for life and dreams, hopes, failures to meet expectations etc.

Try to see it. I haven't watched it for about 10 yrs, but most of it is burned into my brain. Haunting.

Great film, beautifully shot. Burt liked to show off his physique. The ending's a KILLER.

One of my all time favorite movies is Streets of Fire (1984). Directed and co-written by Walter Hill who also did The Warriors. Its billed as a Rock N' Roll fable, and that's a pretty good tag line. Starring Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, and Willem Dafoe, its a great, great rock and roll movie. Diane Lane is a famous singer kidnapped by bad guy Willem Dafoe, and ex-boyfriend Michael Pare is sent to rescuse her. The story isn't the point, the music is fantastic. The big hit was "I can dream about you", but the other songs are better. They have a theatrical vibe, sort of like Bat out of Hell. Great music flick.

I like that movie too. I agree that the music is pretty cool, but what I like about it is that it's a rock 'n' roll fantasy remake of The Searchers with all these neon-lit streets and cool cars. Hill really went overboard trying to make a super visual/aural feast, and I think he pretty much succeeded.

Yep, and Willem Defoe is completely over the top. His hair, leather overalls, etc. The sledgehammer fight is awesome.

When cast right, Willem Defoe is so freaking cool. Wild at Heart is also a favorite of mine, and he steals every scene he's in. You cast him as Modonna's love interest in Body of Evidence and watch out. Usually, he's great as a bad guy and shit as a good guy. He would have been better in Tom Berenger's role in Platoon, instead of the role he was in as the sympathetic do-gooder.

You must like To Live and Die in L.A..

Hell yes. I love that flick. Plus it has William Peterson! (He's a badass too. Manhunter is awesome.) To Live and Die in L.A. was on the other night on some cable channel and my wife was wondering what was wrong with me for liking it. I love that movie!

The car chase is a good enough reason, but there are other goodies.

Yep, great car chase. William Peterson and his partner are freaking out they're in so far over their heads, which makes it different from other car chases. I love it where they think they've gotten away with it and the other cars start showing up, and they're yelling "Who the hell are these guys!"

How many car scenes have been filmed in those L.A. water aqueducts or whatever they are. Grease comes to mind, but there's others.