What Movies Did You Watch In January 2021?

Many old westerns had that too.
I wouldn't say "many". Broken Arrow (1950), is the only real "classic western" that comes to mind. After that, the more modern ones are Jememiah Johnson (1972), Little Big Man (1970), A Man Called Horse (1970), Dances With Wolves (1990). All great films but, I do not consider them "Classic". I guess they are "old" however, although they do not seem all that long ago to me (sign of old age I guess).
 
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Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) - So I am watching this and my wife says "how could anyone over 12 like this stuff (she didn't say "stuff" by the way"). I guess I looked kind of puzzled for a moment and said "well I was probably that age when I first saw it". I guess Abbott and Costello are like the Three Stooges, you need to see them when you are young and then you will enjoy the nostalgia the rest of your life.

Some of their best gags are in this one. I could do without the song and dance numbers though.

4/8
 
Terror at London Bridge (1985)

Horror: Its that Bay watch dude and some other TV familiar faces in this one where somebody is re-enacting the Jack the Ripper murders at the renovated bridge in Arizona. It is what it is and for me it was good enough.... 4.5/8
 
Ferocious Planet (2011)

Horror: A dimensional machine malfunctioned sending a group to an Earth like planet where they are hunted by a large reptile like creature. This one could of been much better..... 3.0/8
 
Vicious Lips (1986)

Horror: An all female music group gets a chance in a lifetime but the gig is clear across the galaxy and they must get there the following night..... and there is a female murdering creature aboard the ship!!!! .... 3.0/8
 
Rope (1948) - A Hitchcock film that has evaded me in the past. The early part of the film was a little hard for me to watch as I just don't like self entitled, spoiled rich kids. I am very egalitarian. That said, this is a very well crafted and entertaining film. James Stewart gives his usual outstanding performance and the other actors hold their own. The touches that Hitchcock included to increase the suspense are very effective, especially the metronome scene. The entire film is presented in a Manhattan apartment, making Hitchcock's famous cameos difficult with this film. I understand that he did sneak it in but it is so subtle it is hard to catch (I did not notice it and had to google it). The entire film occurs in real time and appears to be as a single shot.

Obviously inspired by the Leopold and Loeb case of two spoiled college men killing another just for the trill of it.

6/8
 
That Hamilton Woman (1941) - Funny, the title in the UK was Lady Hamilton. Apparently they felt that Americans would be more judgmental over the scandal of the affair that is at the center of the story. The Hamilton woman of the title was the trophy wife of an English diplomat who is instrumental in obtaining foreign support for Nelson's naval battles at key points in the war. The film is a propaganda piece like Mrs. Miniver (1942) that was intended to get the US into the War and to support Britain's war effort in Europe. It is about Lord Nelson and his involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In the film, the parallels between Napoleon's domination of Europe and Hitler's cannot be missed. Like Britain in 1941, England then stood alone against a continental dictator that had defeated the rest of Europe. Like 1941, England was looking for any allies it might find to help them in their efforts. Like 1941 England was anticipating an invasion from the continent at any moment that was only quelled by stunning victory at Trafalgar.

6/8
 
Gretel & Hansel (2020)

Folklore Horror: A very interesting take on this one full of atmosphere and intriguing story. A girl and her little brother leave home and find a strange dwelling deep in the woods that has everything they need..... Great flick.... 6.0/8
 
The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

Horror: No, this one was just horrific. A criminal is blackmailed to rob banks while given a serum that turns him invisible.... 2.0/8
 
Gretel & Hansel (2020)

Folklore Horror: A very interesting take on this one full of atmosphere and intriguing story. A girl and her little brother leave home and find a strange dwelling deep in the woods that has everything they need..... Great flick.... 6.0/8
Really!?! I saw this in the theater when it first came out and thought it was really bad. I was super disappointed because I thought the trailer looked great. I'm surprised you thought it was that good.
 
Really!?! I saw this in the theater when it first came out and thought it was really bad. I was super disappointed because I thought the trailer looked great. I'm surprised you thought it was that good.

Don't ever watch trailers before watching the movie.

I like atmosphere and story telling and find action to be distracting.... so this slow burn was right up my alley. I had a little issue with the ending but then I had a theory about it that worked for me and I am fine with it.
 
Escape From Fort Apache (1953) William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe - Incredible scenery. 6/8

Partial Synopsis
  • The year is 1863. The Civil War still rages. Far off in the Arizona desert, captured Confederate soldiers are being held at Fort Bravo by their Union captors. Surrounding them all is the monumental, inhospitable terrain and the implacably hostile Mescalero Apaches. More... IMDb
Charade (1963) Cary Grant, Belgian Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau - Audrey Hepburn - I'll have to watch this one again (multi-tasking). 6.5/8

Partial Synopsis
  • The Paris-Bordeaux express speeds through the French countryside--and suddenly a dead man, clad only in pajamas and a bathrobe, tumbles off the train and down an embankment. More... IMDb
 
36 Hours (1965) - A very different and war movie. James Gardner's character is an intel officer just before D-Day. The Germans catch him and have a very elaborate plan to get him to spill the beans on the details of the anticipated invasion. Kind of far fetched but still a decent and a quite original film.
5/8
 
...
Charade (1963) Cary Grant, Belgian Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau - Audrey Hepburn - I'll have to watch this one again (multi-tasking). 6.5/8

Partial Synopsis
  • The Paris-Bordeaux express speeds through the French countryside--and suddenly a dead man, clad only in pajamas and a bathrobe, tumbles off the train and down an embankment. More... IMDb

Many filmdom fans often think that this was a Hitchcock film, since it has many elements
of that famous director (sans his cameo appearance). It was directed by Stanley Donan,
who does not make a cameo in the film but does have a 'voice over' line. Many of his works
were musicals; among them 'Singing in the Rain'.
People also mistakenly assume that the opening title sequence is by Saul Bass when in fact
it is by Maurice Binder. Binder created the famous gun barrel sequence for the opening title
of the 007 film Dr. No, which is used in all subsequent Bond flicks.

And the key answer to the trivia question for the stage-trap-door that Grant pulls the lever
to save Hepburn is A4.


:>---

SALT
 
Good Boys (2019) 4/8 Coming of age comedy about a groups of boys who have been friends since kindergarten about to enter jr. high. Plenty of laughs, decent movie, but it's been done many times before.

The Passion of the Christ (2004) 7/8 Mel Gibson directed movie about the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Very graphic and detailed imagery of the story. Always pulls at my emotions.
 
No Way Out (1950): 6/8 Richard Widmark, racist white guy, Sidney Poitier, black doctor who treats Widmark's character and his brother after they were shot robbing. Brother dies. Doctor blamed. Racial language as graphic as it could get. Can't imagine an actor taking on that role in these days. Widmark very under rated. He's believable in anything I've seen.
 
The Divide (2011)

Horror: A group is trapped in a basement following a Nuke attack..... Well, we have no idea what these people were like before being trapped and what we got were very unlikable characters and of course the white guys just wanted to rape the lady's..... There was not much if any to like with this crapper that became more stupid as it went on..... 1.5/8
 
Day of the Nightmare (1965)

Horror: A wife suspects that her husband had an affair and then killed it off.... literally. This one was a bit interesting with the who done it thing going on but might of gone a bit overboard at times.... 4.5/8
 
Slasher Party (2019)

Horror: A group of celebrities get invited to an After Party and soon learn that a slasher is loose in the building. This goes down as one of the most annoying movies I have seen in a while. Pretty much a hard watch and waste of time.... 1.5/8
 
No Way Out (1950): 6/8 Richard Widmark, racist white guy, Sidney Poitier, black doctor who treats Widmark's character and his brother after they were shot robbing. Brother dies. Doctor blamed. Racial language as graphic as it could get. Can't imagine an actor taking on that role in these days. Widmark very under rated. He's believable in anything I've seen.

Antwone Fisher: 7/8 Man, I need to find some comedies.... This was not what I thought it was going to be.
 
Rust Creek (2018) 4.5/8 A college student from Kentucky is heading to D.C. for a job interview when she gets lost deep in the hills after taking an alternate route due to traffic. Two outlaw brothers from the hills stop to "help" her and she spends the next several days just trying to survive. Pretty good for a low budget indy film. A little slow and drawn out in the middle, otherwise a good watch.
 
Flower (2017) - Good but very weird love story/coming of age story/crime story. Zoey Deutch is a very good young actress.

5/8
 
Seven Seas to Calais (1962) - I am a big fan of swashbucklers and of Sir Francis Drake (I did a term paper on him in undergrad). My favorite swashbucklers are Captain Blood (1935), The Sea Hawk (1940) and the landlocked Robin Hood (1938). Ok they are all Errol Flynn movies, but there are others I like going all the way back to the 1920's and up to the Zorro and Alexandre Dumas inspired films of the last couple decades. The Johnny Depp movies are not included (pirate films should not need the supernatural).

Anyway, with all that said I was disappointed. It was too long, the special affects were not that great, even for that period, the main character was not at all developed and the wacky and ethnically insulting native American scene (I am not very PC but the handling of these Native Americans was highly offensive).

3/8
 
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