Miscellaneous Film/TV Discussion

[Avaitor]

Some of my group and I watched The Godfather Part II yesterday. This screening consisted mostly of people who made it to our screening of the first 2 1/2 years ago, plus one person who missed it. There were plans for some of my friends to rewatch the first so the person who missed it that time could see it, but she couldn't come, and another friend ended up coming out instead, anyway. It's not a big deal that we went straight to the second film without rewatching the first, since the gap between their releases wasn't that far off.

I'll admit, it's been a little while since I've seen it, and I don't think it's as good as the first. Not all of the cutaways from the past to present day totally worked, and it often felt like Vito's material wasn't up to par with Michael's. I know some prefer those sequences, and there are some good, tense moments like when Vito surprises the Don in New York and takes him down, but I find them slightly underdeveloped. Michael's material isn't perfect either- the abortion bit has some cringey writing, for instance- but I still liked seeing how his highs and lows portrayed.

From an aesthetic point though, this is pretty close to perfect. The lighting and hues look incredible, and every shot is expertly focused. One thing I noticed this time is whenever we're inside with Michael, there's still a little bit of light let out from a window that slowly decreases. The curtain keeps getting closed back in as he goes deeper and darker down to his prophecy. Terrific direction.

We're going to try streaming Jaws next week, and possibly do one more in-person meet up for Lawrence of Arabia, another long film that I don't believe is streaming.

[JeanGreyForever]

So apparently JK Rowling is at it again. She tweeted about how much she respects and likes Stephen King and he responded by saying that transwomen are women. Immediately JK Rowling deleted her tweet.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -King.html

What might be worse than that is the fact that while we'e known JK Rowling is transphobic and a TERF for some time now, apparently she's no ally to the gay community either. She's been seen liking tweets about conversion camps. That certainly explains why Dumbledore was only confirmed as gay after she finished the books and also why there was nothing explicit between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts so far.

[Disney Duster]

I love the Godfather II. I thought the stuff with Vito was the best, most affecting stuff, but Michael's really gets you, too by the end. Good catch on the light in Michael's life getting dimmer until it was gone! Cool!

There's Jodi Benson and now J.K. Rowling. Well, I still will love their work.

[JeanGreyForever]

Although I was saddened by Jodi Benson's views at least she doesn't advocate for conversion therapy which is completely monstrous.

[Disney Duster]

That is true. J.K. Rowling also uses the pen name "Robert Galbraith" to write some books, and that happens to be the name of a man who lived in the 20th century and used electroshock conversion therapy to change people from gay to straight.

[JeanGreyForever]

That is true. J.K. Rowling also uses the pen name "Robert Galbraith" to write some books, and that happens to be the name of a man who lived in the 20th century and used electroshock conversion therapy to change people from gay to straight.

I learned that as well because it's getting a lot of spotlight now. I can't believe something as blatantly obvious as that went under the radar for so long. Rowling being a transphobe was hurtful enough but I really did believe she was an advocate for gay rights so this is just really disturbing.

[UmbrellaFish]

Dame Olivia de Havilland turns 104 years old today!!! Here is her most recent Oscars appearance from 2003 (https://youtu.be/TyOYokyiCF8) and below is an undated photo of de Havilland cycling in France where she resides.

[Disney's Divinity]

What a sweet picture.

[Disney Duster]

Happy Birthday, girl!

I learned that as well because it's getting a lot of spotlight now. I can't believe something as blatantly obvious as that went under the radar for so long. Rowling being a transphobe was hurtful enough but I really did believe she was an advocate for gay rights so this is just really disturbing.

I thought she was all for gays too, so yes, it is disturbing.

[Avaitor]

#45- Jaws

Just streamed this last night! This hits pretty differently in the middle of COVID. We hit perfect timing by watching it a couple of days after July 4th.

This is a very good film, thrilling and frightening without being too intimidating for people who are averse to horror. A couple of the people who streamed with me have a hard time with most scary movies, and it they seemed to be really freaked out near the end. Yet everyone still enjoyed it, which is cool with me, since I really like the film. One friend who is generally not a Spielberg fan said that they were surprised by how much they liked it, and said that it was their favorite of his. Another friend who grew up in Boston said that the movie made them homesick, since she's from a sea town like the one featured here.

One thing I did notice is how much it gets away with for a PG movie. The ratings system was still fairly new, but there was a little more blood than I was recalled, and some very obvious nudity at the beginning, despite being hidden by darkness. Not a complaint at all, but an observation.

We're planning to meet up one last time on Sunday before a couple of my friends move. We were going to watch Lawrence of Arabia, which is next, but a couple of people in the group don't want to do such a long movie right now, so we're going ahead by one with Chinatown. Which is fine by me, since it's only streaming for Starz subscribers, and I don't want to pay for a Roman Polanski movie lol. One friend does own it though, so problem solved.

[Disney Duster]

I'm glad they liked Jaws! Jaws is awesome! Yes, it's unbelievable what passed for PG before PG-13 came along!

Casablanca (1942)
I watched this because it was sold for cheap at my grocery store, and then I watched it hearing it was second best in AFI's 100 years 100 movies list, so I thought it was the second best film of all time, in a manner of speaking. It was...well, it was really good, but to me it was also predictable. The guy who's supposed to be tough but is said to have a heart does have a heart (though I must admit it was clever that the reason he seemed not to have a heart was from it being broken, thinking about it now), and then I knew the ending so the stuff that was supposed to surprise didn't surprise. Still, his speech at the end to the girl is really good!

Rebecca (1940)
I finally watched it! I bought the Criterion Collection Blu-ray just to be able to see it! It was not at all what I expected, because I thought the film would be a literal ghost story. It wasn't until Mrs. Danvers was telling the main character to jump that I realized it the ghost of the memory of Rebecca. It had amaizing cinematography, and no duh, it won that Oscar! But man, the shots in Rebecca's room were so gorgeous! The story was pretty good but I liked it more when it was about the two young lovers and the new wife being a victim. Of course she could have stopped being a victim and taken over the household and that would have been interesting, but the story as it occurred was objectively good.

Mandy (2018)
What a freaky film! OMG! It was directed amazingly though. It seemed kind of like a basic revenge story, but the beginning and middle of the movie with the cult was just...wow, really creepy and affecting. That song the cult leader played had this melody that I...like? Am mezmerized by? But I hate it because it's creepy! I can't explain it! The movie as a whole was really good. Really good performances and satisfying story. Awesome world and characters and direction. But this movie unsettled me something awful with the cult stuff. I'm still kind of affected...

Sunset Boulevard (1950)
I Amazon Primed this the same night after I watched Mandy, but this film was free on Prime! Ha, this came out when Cinderella did, and the two couldn't be more different...except Norma Desmond was like Lady Tremaine and she takes care of her man like the prince will take care of Cinderella! This was a very good film, but Norma's acting was kinda hammy I gotta say. Like, really? Rather affected. But it was a great story and directed well and I still love the actress' performance, it just was very affected.

[JeanGreyForever]

#45- Jaws

Just streamed this last night! This hits pretty differently in the middle of COVID. We hit perfect timing by watching it a couple of days after July 4th.

This is a very good film, thrilling and frightening without being too intimidating for people who are averse to horror. A couple of the people who streamed with me have a hard time with most scary movies, and it they seemed to be really freaked out near the end. Yet everyone still enjoyed it, which is cool with me, since I really like the film. One friend who is generally not a Spielberg fan said that they were surprised by how much they liked it, and said that it was their favorite of his. Another friend who grew up in Boston said that the movie made them homesick, since she's from a sea town like the one featured here.

One thing I did notice is how much it gets away with for a PG movie. The ratings system was still fairly new, but there was a little more blood than I was recalled, and some very obvious nudity at the beginning, despite being hidden by darkness. Not a complaint at all, but an observation.

We're planning to meet up one last time on Sunday before a couple of my friends move. We were going to watch Lawrence of Arabia, which is next, but a couple of people in the group don't want to do such a long movie right now, so we're going ahead by one with Chinatown. Which is fine by me, since it's only streaming for Starz subscribers, and I don't want to pay for a Roman Polanski movie lol. One friend does own it though, so problem solved.

I haven't seen Jaws since I was a child and I honestly don't remember much about it except for the finale. I should make a point to watch it again.

I still haven't seen Chinatown. Although I don't approve of Roman Polanski for his actions, he does make some good movies. I like his Oliver Twist and Rosemary's Baby and I want to watch his Macbeth as well.

I'm glad you liked Casablanca. I'm guessing it's so predictable now because so many films have come after it, but I'm sure in 1942 it was quite unique.

I'm glad they liked Jaws! Jaws is awesome! Yes, it's unbelievable what passed for PG before PG-13 came along!

Casablanca (1942)
I watched this because it was sold for cheap at my grocery store, and then I watched it hearing it was second best in AFI's 100 years 100 movies list, so I thought it was the second best film of all time, in a manner of speaking. It was...well, it was really good, but to me it was also predictable. The guy who's supposed to be tough but is said to have a heart does have a heart (though I must admit it was clever that the reason he seemed not to have a heart was from it being broken, thinking about it now), and then I knew the ending so the stuff that was supposed to surprise didn't surprise. Still, his speech at the end to the girl is really good!

Rebecca (1940)
I finally watched it! I bought the Criterion Collection Blu-ray just to be able to see it! It was not at all what I expected, because I thought the film would be a literal ghost story. It wasn't until Mrs. Danvers was telling the main character to jump that I realized it the ghost of the memory of Rebecca. It had amaizing cinematography, and no duh, it won that Oscar! But man, the shots in Rebecca's room were so gorgeous! The story was pretty good but I liked it more when it was about the two young lovers and the new wife being a victim. Of course she could have stopped being a victim and taken over the household and that would have been interesting, but the story as it occurred was objectively good.

Mandy (2018)
What a freaky film! OMG! It was directed amazingly though. It seemed kind of like a basic revenge story, but the beginning and middle of the movie with the cult was just...wow, really creepy and affecting. That song the cult leader played had this melody that I...like? Am mezmerized by? But I hate it because it's creepy! I can't explain it! The movie as a whole was really good. Really good performances and satisfying story. Awesome world and characters and direction. But this movie unsettled me something awful with the cult stuff. I'm still kind of affected...

Sunset Boulevard (1950)
I Amazon Primed this the same night after I watched Mandy, but this film was free on Prime! Ha, this came out when Cinderella did, and the two couldn't be more different...except Norma Desmond was like Lady Tremaine and she takes care of her man like the prince will take care of Cinderella! This was a very good film, but Norma's acting was kinda hammy I gotta say. Like, really? Rather affected. But it was a great story and directed well and I still love the actress' performance, it just was very affected.

I'm glad you mentioned Rebecca because this Friday, Barnes and Noble is having their Criterion sale where all their Criterion titles are half off. I'm going to pick up All About Eve and Mildred Pierce since they star my two favorite actresses but I'm thinking about getting Rebecca as well. I'm a fan of the book so I'm sure I'll love the movie.

I've never heard of Mandy before but it looks creepy from the images.

I've personally never been much of a Sunset Boulevard fan. I agree that Norma Desmond's acting is a bit hammy and overacting for my taste. I'm also not a fan of William Holden.

[JeanGreyForever]

I recently rewatched these classic Bette Davis and Joan Crawford films which were aired on TV so I thought I'd share my thoughts on them.

Dangerous (1935) - I get shades of All About Eve from this film. The premise is somewhat similar since in this film, Bette Davis is playing a young theatre actress who is considered cursed and damaged goods so she's turned to drinking and become an obscure shadow of herself. Franchot Tone (Joan Crawford's second husband) is engaged but he develops feelings for Bette Davis' character and tries to rehabilitate her. Bette Davis delivers a very captivating performance for which she won her first Oscar. One could argue that the reason she won the Oscar for this film is because the year before she was famously snubbed of an Oscar nomination for Of Human Bondage and there was even a write-in campaign to get her nominated that year, so she was basically guaranteed an Oscar after that. However, I do think it was deserving and it was rare for women in those days (particularly after the Hayes Code) to play such amoral roles. This is also the film where Bette Davis developed feelings for Franchot Tone so her feud with Joan Crawford is often believed to have derived from this. I've heard conflicting stories, one that Joan was already engaged to Franchot at this point and even after hearing that Franchot and Bette got together on this film, she refused to break the engagement off. The other story was that Bette met Franchot before Joan did and liked him first but then Joan snatched him away from Bette just to prove she could. That's Bette's POV though and she tends to be biased towards Joan in her stories so I'm not inclined to believe that narrative.

The Corn is Green (1945) - It's definitely one of my favorite Bette Davis films. It's set in Wales during the late 19th century so most of the village people are illiterate and cannot read or write English. Bette Davis is a fairly well-off Englishwoman who moves to Wales so she can start a school for the children who are all employed as miners. She takes special interest in one student who she believes has a chance at becoming a gentleman at Oxford but she faces heavy pushback from the authorities in the town. Bette does a great job playing this role without coming across as too sanctimonious...even while employed in a noble cause, she keeps her signature verve and witty lines and relishes in being an independent woman who never followed society's rules imposed upon the "weaker sex." However, even better than Bette Davis might be the character of Bessie Watty, a 15/16 year old Cockney girl who delights in being unscrupulous and plain wicked. She keeps the picture moving and she was nominated for an Oscar for this film. The supporting cast, including Bessie and her former kleptomaniac, now "saved" mother, are all excellent.

Possessed (1947) - this is Joan Crawford's second film titled Possessed and she tried to get WB to change the film's title to The Secret but they refused. I can understand why she didn't want two of her films to be named the same but Possessed is a more appropriate title than The Secret. This was one of Joan's Oscar-nominated performances and also considered one of her best films. She's a nurse for a rich man's wife and she's deeply in love with a man who refuses to commit to her and thinks she is clingy. Years after the rich man's wife dies, Joan's character becomes his new wife but she never stops loving her ex and matters become more tense when her ex sets his sights on her new stepdaughter. This is one of the few films from the era to deal with mental illness although as you can imagine from a film released in 1947, the concept of mental illness isn't well-developed so it's probably not very accurate. Nevertheless, Joan delivers a striking performance from a woman anguished by a love she can never possess and how it drives her crazy, to the point that she begins committing heinous deeds and she's never quite sure if she really did them or if her fragile mind just imagined doing them.

[Avaitor]

@JeanGreyForever- While I don't condone Polanski in any way, he does indeed make some good films. I haven't seen Chinatown in a long time, but I do recall really liking it, so I don't mind watching it again. I'm just grateful that I don't have to pay for it in any way.

I'm not familiar with those films that you saw, but I do like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, of course.

@Duster- I love Mandy! It was probably my favorite film of 2018. The story itself isn't much to write home about, but it has terrific visuals and has some insane build-up.

I'm glad that you liked all of the movies you saw. Casablanca is slightly predictable, sure, but I think that must come from years of familiarity. I think it's ultimately okay, because the build-up is justified. Norma Desmond is a little campy, sure, but I think that's the point. I'm also not sure if Gloria Swanson had a whole lot of "talkie" acting experience, so that could explain why she was as over the top as she was. And I agree, the cinematography in Rebecca is terrific.

[JeanGreyForever]

Yes, I guess a portion of the proceeds from film rentals and purchases must still go to him.

Dangerous was Bette Davis' first Oscar win so I'd recommend it for that alone.

[Disney Duster]

JeanGreyForever, yes, it's true, maybe what Casablanca did at first was unexpected or even a first.

Mandy is so creepy even in promotional stuff lol. I highly recommend getting Rebecca!

I thought Sunset Boulevard was still great, though. I'm glad we agree on Gloria's acting though.

Avaitor, I completely agree on Mandy. Not much in the way of story, but what story there is is great and the direction and visuals and build-up are all so fantastic. It is a movie I will forever like-hate because I liked what occurred but it also unsettled me so. Casablanca is so familiar, that may be why it didn't affect me so much. You are probably right about Gloria Swanson. Still, overracting is better than under-acting. Yes, Rebecca's cinematography, yes!!!

JeanGreyForever, I liked hearing about how Bette Davis got her first Oscar win, though I wish she had not gotten snubbed before. There is a Be Kind Rewind episode about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that talks about them that dives deep and dispels rumors apparently, I wanna watch it! Apparently their animosity was blown out of proportion. But it's cool how she met her husband.

The story of Corn is Green is interesting. It's cool Bette could balance being a good teacher but not be saintly and still be witty. That's cool about the not following society's rules stuff.

Possessed sounds like something I wouldn't like because I don't like stories about people not making their minds up about love, but I have to admit love does drive me crazy too! Weird for two movies called Possessed with the same star!

[JeanGreyForever]

Chinatown is free on demand with my TV package so I'll be sure to check that out soon. I've been catching up on some Hitchcock films I hadn't seen before right now.

Yes, it's interesting how there was even a write-in campaign by people so the Oscars would recognize Bette Davis for her role in Of Human Bondage, but it didn't work. That reminds me of how when popular actors get snubbed for roles these days (often Amy Adams), social media gets into a frenzy.

I haven't heard of Be Kind Rewind before. Their feud is interesting because Ryan Murphy said he talked to Bette Davis before she died and apparently Davis regretted their feud and wondered if things could have been different. Hence why the final episode of Feud has Davis imagining herself with Crawford again in a sorta What If? However, it's hard to buy that Davis changed her outlook so drastically when to the very end of her life, she was still publicly attacking Crawford. I think they had a weird love/hate relationship which was fueled by ambition, jealousy, and even respect for each other.

Lol, I have the same feeling about people not making up their minds about love. BTW, thank you for taking the time to talk about each film I mentioned. I know that can be really hard when you haven't seen the films before and have next to no knowledge about them but you still made the effort!

As for the Hitchcock films I recently saw, I've finally seen Rear Window and The Birds. I've always wanted to watch the former and it's also my first Grace Kelly movie. She's gorgeous in the film. And I can see why people think Rear Window is one of the greatest films ever made because it was so captivating and I loved the set with all the apartments. I kinda want to live on that set lol.

The Birds was...interesting. I thought it was going to be more thriller than horror but I was very wrong. It was not about a woman's psychological issues as I remember reading once but instead was very much about killer birds lol. I don't know how I feel about the ending though because there's really no explanation for why the events of the film occur. I also had no idea that the male lead was the voice actor for Pongo in 101 Dalmatians!

[Farerb]

Rear Window is my favorite Hitchcock.
Personally I don't care for The Birds or Vertigo.

[Disney Duster]

Hmmm...so she was snubbed and they wrote a campaign to get them to at least nominate Bette, is that it?

I didn't get why Amy Adams got nominated for The Master because I didn't think she was great in that film. But she's still one of my favorite actresses.

Oh, that's so cool about Bette and Joan, I read the spoiler because I don't know when I could see that show, but all that is interesting, especially the regret.

Yes, I had to make an effort for you! I had forgotten and then I was like, oh, I should say something! I know I don't have to, I wanted to!

I wanna see Rear Window but have a feeling I'll be bored because it has been parodied and remade sooooo many times lol. But I loves me some Grace Kelly.

I saw The Birds. I was bored. But a review I read about another movie mentioned how a female coming to a town brings on something bad like the Birds and...maybe there was something intended there?

[JeanGreyForever]

Just wanted to let everyone know that Barnes and Noble is offering a sale where all Criterion Collection films are half-off (so $20 each basically). I used it to purchase All About Eve and Mildred Pierce.

Rear Window is my favorite Hitchcock.
Personally I don't care for The Birds or Vertigo.

I need to watch Vertigo and Marnie since they are available to me for free as well. I'm a fan of Suspicion with Joan Fontaine and it's interesting that this was his only Oscar win (Fontaine won Best Actress). However, the ending is neutered imo.

Hmmm...so she was snubbed and they wrote a campaign to get them to at least nominate Bette, is that it?

I didn't get why Amy Adams got nominated for The Master because I didn't think she was great in that film. But she's still one of my favorite actresses.

Oh, that's so cool about Bette and Joan, I read the spoiler because I don't know when I could see that show, but all that is interesting, especially the regret.

Yes, I had to make an effort for you! I had forgotten and then I was like, oh, I should say something! I know I don't have to, I wanted to!

I wanna see Rear Window but have a feeling I'll be bored because it has been parodied and remade sooooo many times lol. But I loves me some Grace Kelly.

I saw The Birds. I was bored. But a review I read about another movie mentioned how a female coming to a town brings on something bad like the Birds and...maybe there was something intended there?

Yes, that's exactly what occurred. Strange to think they had these issues even back in the 1930s.

I haven't heard of The Master so I'll need to look that film up. I remember she was snubbed for Arrival and everyone was really pissed off by that. I agree that even if she couldn't win (I don't remember who did win that year), she should have been nominated for sure because she delivered a masterful performance.

It's eight episodes so it isn't super long. I'm not sure if it's available for free on streaming somewhere...maybe Netflix? Personally it's my favorite Ryan Murphy show and that's saying something because I like most of his shows.

Thank you so much for that again!

I would recommend Rear Window because even I've seen lots of things since that are similar in nature but Rear Window was the best of them all. You can tell it was the original. And if you like Grace Kelly, then I definitely recommend it because she had a bigger role than I expected. I thought she would just be there for a few scenes as eye candy but it wasn't like that at all.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't a big fan of The Birds then between you and Farerb. Hmmmm, I wonder what the reviewer meant then by the fact that it was the female character's arrival to town that caused all this.