rate the last movie you saw

[mkaroly]

I have been slowly going through the ALIEN and ALIENS supplemental documentary material on disc 5 of the Anthology set. I will never get tired of seeing those documentaries and hearing commentary tracks to those films. David Giler seems to have a very different perspective of the films than anyone else...lol...in a way he is living up to the stereotype of an executive who is in his own world. Bottom line is that those films had people with massive egos working on them, so it's fun to see and hear such strong personalities give their perspectives. The documentaries are almost as fun as the films! And James Horner = Drama Queen. Lol...however, I will take his stuff over Zimmer's any day of the week.

[AndyDursin]

Those documentaries are indeed some of the best if not the gold standard.

On ALIEN 3, the Blu-Ray has an unedited version whereas the DVD was cut because some of the comments were deemed too strong by the studio (allegedly). And the Horner comments on ALIENS are some of the most candid you'd ever hear!

[mkaroly]

I am looking forward to going through all the ALIEN 3 material soon, so I am glad the BR documentary is unedited. Still one of the nicest BR sets ever to have been manufactured. They really did all four movies justice and treated the fans well with the wealth of supplemental material.

[AndyDursin]

I am looking forward to going through all the ALIEN 3 material soon, so I am glad the BR documentary is unedited. Still one of the nicest BR sets ever to have been manufactured. They really did all four movies justice and treated the fans well with the wealth of supplemental material.

Charlie deLauzirika did a wonderful job producing that and the BLADE RUNNER set for Warner Bros. We have him to thank for those releases, not to mention working with Universal to restore LEGEND too!

[mkaroly]

I am looking forward to going through all the ALIEN 3 material soon, so I am glad the BR documentary is unedited. Still one of the nicest BR sets ever to have been manufactured. They really did all four movies justice and treated the fans well with the wealth of supplemental material.

Charlie deLauzirika did a wonderful job producing that and the BLADE RUNNER set for Warner Bros. We have him to thank for those releases, not to mention working with Universal to restore LEGEND too!

That BLADE RUNNER documentary is outstanding as well - totally agree with you on that!

[Eric Paddon]

In Memoriam, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (1918-2014)

Wait Until Dark (1967) 8.5 of 10

-A wonderful suspense/horror movie that thank God, was made before the demise of the Production Code or else we would have seen Alan Arkin's Roat spouting all kinds of four-letter words and a lot more stuff that would have cheapened the film's effectiveness. Arkin is the absolute epitome of psychotic evil in this film that makes the terror so palpably real. And of course the terrific performances from Audrey Hepburn (utterly convincing as a blind woman on all levels) and Richard Crenna (this, more than "Sand Pebbles" I think helped him break free of his sitcom past) are also a plus combined with Mancini's eerie score. The film's one plot hole is that Hepburn should have sent the little girl to the police instead of the Bus Terminal to wait for Zimbalist!

And now for the remainder of my Zimbalist tribute, I'll be watching the first two episodes of "The FBI" (he did his "Wait Until Dark" scenes while on hiatus from that show).

[Paul MacLean]

Ben-Hur (on the big screen in 4K).

I'd seen Ben-Hur on laserdisc and Blu-ray, but never on the big screen. However today there was a one-day-only matinee of the film (in a number of cinemas across the country) and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity!

To say this film has more resonance when projected in a theater is a huge understatement. This is the way Ben-Hur was meant to be seen, and it becomes a much more dominating experience when its epic scale is married to an epic presentation. The sea battle and chariot race have more than twice the immersive intensity and hair-raising suspense as when viewed at a home.

Apart from that the film is phenomenal anyway, and certainly one of the greatest ever. Ben-Hur is really the ultimate movie, rife with great writing, superlative performances (Heston was never better), arresting visuals and a powerful and moving depiction of the triumph of faith.

Miklos Rozsa's score is easily in the top-five best of all time, and invests the production with capacious grandeur, and possesses true artistry and dramatic gracefulness (which is immensely refreshing in this age where blunt, simplistic "scores" pass for music).

I must say this really is my favorite film.

[mkaroly]

What I love about BEN-HUR is that even though it is a long film it doesn't get boring. It is so well put together and so engaging a story that one doesn't even notice that 222 minutes have passed. And to be honest, BEN-HUR is a case where if you took something out you are cheating the audience of something. They integrate the story of Jesus in there so well - every time I watch it there is something else to notice - from the sets, the costumes, the performances...it is an amazing accomplishment. I feel the same way about two other 180+ minute films, SEVEN SAMURAI and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. And Rozsa's score really is a masterpiece of film scoring. Thanks again to Lukas for doing such an incredible job.

Lol - now I want to watch it again! Great post Paul.

[Eric Paddon]

I agree that both "Ben-Hur" and "Ten Commandments" never have a sense of dragging. Both are like savoring a long meal at a banquet where you never want to miss anything from the appetizer to dessert.

[Paul MacLean]

Lol - now I want to watch it again! Great post Paul.

Thanks. Another thing I wanted to add -- I was a little uncertain of how the audience might receive the film. Ben-Hur obviously doesn't possess the "slickness" of more contemporary movies, but it was clear the audience was completely into it (except for the one person who let out a loud yawn as we were nearing the intermission!). It was also a pretty good turn-out for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Seeing as 4K "prints" can now easily be digitally transmitted to cinemas, I'm hoping there will be more such screenings of classic movies.

[Eric Paddon]

The Omega Man (1971) 6 of 10

-Of Heston's trio of sci-fi starring roles this one I have to admit is the least of them. The chief problem is a story that never really manages to capture my attention and I also have to say that while Granier's score may have been a bestseller for FSM, it really IMO doesn't work in the film because it tends to make it come off as a dated product of the early 70s (as does Heston's silly Liberace wardrobe when he "gets dressed for dinner"). Rosalind Cash I think also doesn't have enough charisma compared to what the studio's preferred choice, Diahann Carroll might have delivered.

-It was fun to see Dodger Stadium used for the sequence of Heston nearly being burned at the stake and before that as he's taken off in the cart, I recognized them moving by on the Warner backlot the building that was "Gotham City Police Headquarters" on "Batman".

[AndyDursin]

I find OMEGA MAN -- while flawed -- much more entertaining than SOYLENT GREEN myself, which I watched last year and didn't care for, not even for unintentional comedy. Neither of them are particularly good though, but between the score for the Omega Man and some amusing moments, I'd take it over Soylent Green.

That downbeat "70s dreary future" subgenre hasn't weathered the years all that well.

[Paul MacLean]

Robot and Frank

A likable, sometimes touching but not completely satisfying movie. Set in the near future, the film stars Frank Langella as an aging ex-con in the early stages of Altzheimers, whose son (James Marsden) decides he needs a caregiver and purchases him a robot.

Initially resentful of the robot's presence, Langella changes his mind about his new helper when he realizes the machine's sole directive is to help him, and the robot is soon assisting him resume his former career as a cat burgler.

It is a funny premise, but the film never quite lives up to it, and never quite commits to what it is actually about. It is partly an examination of the invasive effects (and dangers) of technology, partly an observation of about aging, partly a buddy movie -- but never quite satisfactory on any of those levels.

The robot's implausible willingness to help Langella resume his vocation as a thief is explained away by the fact he is programed to help the character. I find it hard to believe that so sophisticated a robot would not have some failsafe that prevents it from harming society at large -- especially when Marsden's character is well aware of his father's past deeds. The fact that the main character was once a thief also deflects the viewer's sympathy away from him a bit.

It was entertaining and likable (and very well-acted -- Langella is great as always), but not totally satisfying.

[Eric Paddon]

I watched both versions of the original Godzilla last night on the Criterion Blu-Ray (in anticipation of this week's opening which I may go to) and then played the commentary track of the Burr version from the old Classic release since that's the superior commentary to the Criterion one for that film.

The pacing of the original Japanese cut remains too bloated. After the first spotting of Godzilla in the bay by the people on the yacht things drag to a halt with the extended interview of Dr. Serizawa by the reporter who is already asking (implausibly) if he has something that can stop Godzilla.

The US cut I noticed also added some sound FX in spots to increase the terror in a few sequences. When the first ship is destroyed by Godzilla, we don't hear the roar (the original roar remains the scariest sounding monster roar of all time IMO) but this is added in he US cut. Also added is a human scream when Godzilla uses his fire breath on a police car during the rampage after it explodes.

Inadvertently, using Raymond Burr just on the verge of his TV stardom helped enhance the US cut's long-term appeal because it gives the illusion that a star was hired for the effort rather than the kind of lesser b-actor who usually would get a gig like this (think Myron Healey a few years later in "Varan" or the nobodies in "King Kong vs. Godzilla"). Burr's "Perry Mason" persona is already in place.

[mkaroly]

I also watched the Godzilla 1954 Japanese cut from Criterion - I found the pace to be too fast. The narrative jumped from point to point, never quite spending enough time on a moment or sequence fro me to absorb. It almost felt like they were filming it in as economic of a manner as possible, not spending too much time on any particular plot point before moving forward to get to Godzilla destroying the cities. The scenes of Godzilla's destructive rampages were fun to watch (though they chose to spend too much time showing th esame plane firing missles at him, belaboring the point). They tried to fit in too much in too economical of a way; it was somewhat jarring for me (especially since I am used to more fluid story-telling from Kurosawa and the pace of Ozu films, the polar opposite of this one!). By the end of the film I kept thinking about the end of King Kong 1933. There was a sadness to the monster's death that made me reminisce about the King Kong death scene. I was really astonished watching the film again how clearly the destructive wake fo Godzilla was meant to be a metaphor for the destructive wake of the atomic bomb - powerful point that came through loud and clear. It is entertaining but for someone used to watching other Japanese films (and having not seen the Godzilla films in decades), it was a bit of a jarring experience.

I have yet to watch the US cut; I think I will save that and the commentary tracks for the summer.