General Movie Thread

[Pidgeon]

Graham Norton is to BBC America what Hitler is to the History Channel.

[Steve of Bloomington]

or Fran Drescher is to TVLand

or Spongebob is to Nickelodeon

or Hawkeye Pierce is to the Hallmark Channel

or etc

[Paul DeLouisiana]

Man One Too Many Mornings was really good.

[wood and iron]

To update my previous postings regarding Clouzot: I watched Wages of Fear last night. Fantastic movie, obviously. Two quibbles: the opening chapter in the village goes on too long. It sets up the characters and their dire situation nicely and then just continues to hang out there. Second, the ending is so pat and a tad ridiculous in execution.

[Martin]

Yes, the only thing I didn't like about Wages of Fear is actually the ending. Call me crazy, but I found it a bit cheap and on the nose.

[Sarah]

I don't remember what it was.  Doesn't everyone get blowed up real good one way or the other?

[wood and iron]

I don't remember what it was.  Doesn't everyone get blowed up real good one way or the other?

Mario successfully gets the truck to the derrick just as Jo dies. He is greeted as a hero. The next day a freshly shaved and showered Mario decides to drive one of the gigantic trucks back to the village. The village hears news of his safety and imminent arrival and immediately starts dancing. Mario, on his way home, starts swaying back and forth on the road with a smile on his face. The movie cuts back and forth between these scenes. And then suddenly, there's a turn on the road and Mario goes over and dies. The end.

I suppose you can say that Mario purposefully killed himself however the smile on his face is one of neutral contentment and not some maniacal grin.

The irony is just too expected and the execution is pretty terrible.

[Sarah]

So I remembered correctly.

And, yes, that ending is dumb.  Too twisty, like the conclusion of an episode of one of those heavy-handed horror anthologies on TV where nothing is ever allowed to end happily.

[Pidgeon]

Today, I watched The King of Kong, Leprechaun: In the Hood, and The Toxic Avenger. And now I just feel down-in-the-dumps.

[masterofsparks]

I remember someone praising EASY A earlier in this thread (Martin, maybe?), and I want to echo that sentiment. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Emma Stone was a delight, as were Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents.

[roubaix]

Any thoughts on Samuel Fuller?  Shock Corridor had a promising plot summary, but it was ultimately disappointing.  There were too many contrivances to forgive, and the random bursts of extended shrieking were just annoying.   I like the idea of using an asylum to do social commentary, but the bad writing, overblown acting, and tepid "mystery" left little in the film to enjoy.

[Chris L]

Any thoughts on Samuel Fuller?  Shock Corridor had a promising plot summary, but it was ultimately disappointing.  There were too many contrivances to forgive, and the random bursts of extended shrieking were just annoying.   I like the idea of using an asylum to do social commentary, but the bad writing, overblown acting, and tepid "mystery" left little in the film to enjoy.

Haven't seen Shock Corridor, but I was similarly let down by The Naked Kiss, aside from the dynamite opening and a couple other moments. Pickup on South Street is killer though, and has WIDMARK.  "Are you wavin' the flag at ME?"

[James W]

I remember someone praising EASY A earlier in this thread (Martin, maybe?), and I want to echo that sentiment. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Emma Stone was a delight, as were Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents.

I didn't like how she told the kid to pretend to be straight, and the movie seemed okay with it? Also how it never committed to the meta thing. And I like Tucci and Clarkson just fine, but found their characters to be execrable.

JAMES W: POOPIN' PARTIES AND OBJECTING TO PERCEIVED HOMOPHOBIA IN MOVIES SINCE 1912

[dave from knoxville]

Any thoughts on Samuel Fuller?  Shock Corridor had a promising plot summary, but it was ultimately disappointing.  There were too many contrivances to forgive, and the random bursts of extended shrieking were just annoying.   I like the idea of using an asylum to do social commentary, but the bad writing, overblown acting, and tepid "mystery" left little in the film to enjoy.

The Big Red One is fantastic.

[Martin]

I remember someone praising EASY A earlier in this thread (Martin, maybe?), and I want to echo that sentiment. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Emma Stone was a delight, as were Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents.

Yes, that was me.