Last Movie You Watched Part II, Electric Bugaloo

[Jim Kelly]

ZARDOZ (1974), written and directed by John Boorman, cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth, starring Sean Connery.

I can take movies that are goofy, that are non-sensical, that are just plain weird--and ZARDOZ is all of that--but movies that tell and don't show are not good cinema. And that's the main flaw with ZARDOZ. The director seems so full of his grand ideas that he has the characters standing around explaining what happened and the visuals don't carry the movie--even though there's lots to look at. However, Boorman would have probably needed an even bigger budget to realize all these big ideas properly on screen (the budget was over a million dollars which was considered large at that time).

It seems a pretty daft movie for Boorman who has better movies to his name--but maybe it's one of those things he needed to get out of his system before he could do more coherent work.

Visually, in the comics, Vartox is based on Connery's character named Zed in this movie. The people on Earth in the year 2293 live in their own community bubbles and each is called a Vortex. Their so-called god is Zardoz. So combine Zardoz with Vortex and you get Vartox. Cary Bates must have seen the movie right when it first came out and then rushed home to write the first Vartox story, given that came out only six months after the movie and it took about six months from script to published comic on the spinner racks.

The ruling class in ZARDOZ are the Eternals. Jack Kirby's Eternals debuted in 1976--it seems reasonable to me that the name of them came from this movie.

That's two comic book connections. And the cinematography for both ZARDOZ and SUPERMAN (1978) was by Geoffrey Unsworth.

[Deathstroke]

I saw The Last Full Measure the other day. Pretty good movie.

[Jim Kelly]

THE HALF OF IT (2020), written and directed by Alice Wu--10/10. This is a perfect movie. I just love it so much and I will watch it again. Everything about this movie, from the script to the music to the casting to the placement of the camera, is perfection.

It follows the structure of a typical teen rom-com, but having that structure allows Alice Wu to play with the conceits of the genre. And as predictable as such movies are, I never knew where this movie was going to turn. It was unpredictable in that regard and full of wonderful surprises.

I cannot say enough good things about this movie.

Well, I have two notes of criticism. One is that the movie is surely set in the Pacific Northwest, yet it was filmed in upstate New York. Given how the Pacific Northwast often stands in for other places in the world for many movies, I probably shouldn't complain too loudly, but I so wanted the movie to really be here. And the other note is that I would have called the movie ELLIE CHU, because she is the movie. The actual title is okay, but Leah Lewis as Ellie is the heart and soul of this movie.

[Scott Taylor]

I saw The Last Full Measure the other day. Pretty good movie.

Oh yah, thats on my watch list. Heard nothing but good things about it.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

With yesterday having been the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, I watched this film last night:

Downfall
A German language film (with English subtitles) from 2004 was about Adolf Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker and told from the point of view of Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary.

[Kieran_Frost]

Bruno Ganz in that... he is in my 'Top 5' SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED performances. He was incredible. I would have actually nominated him over Leo for the Aviator (2004). Jamie Foxx probably would have still won for Ray (2004).

[Largo161]

The Stranger (1946). Orson Welles directed this film noir entry. He also stars as an escaped Nazi hiding out postwar in small town USA. Edward G. Robinson is the Washington investigator hot on his trail and Loretta Young is Welles’ too-blinded-by-love to see the truth fiancée. I dug it. Although reading the Wikipedia page entry about cuts and script rewrites made me long to see the version Welles would have made without studio interference.

[AdamFTF]

Since getting Disney+ I've had a tendency of doing what I like to call "Disney Deep Dives" where I seek out and watch Disney live-action movies that aren't exactly hailed as classics. Rather than the much vaunted (some might say overrated) productions of their feature animation department. It's nice to visit that zone where Disney is just a movie studio like any other rather than the zone where everything is hyped as a "masterpiece". Anyway, I just did two Disney Deep Dive Double Features focusing on their sports movies. Yesterday I watched The Greatest Game Ever Played and Queen of Katwe. Today I watched Secretariat and The Rookie. They're all pretty good but especially see Queen of Katwe if you haven't. It's about a young girl from a slum in Uganda who discovers she has an amazing talent for chess. It's really interesting to see one of these Disney "underdog stories" from a non-American perspective.

[Largo161]

Since getting Disney+ I've had a tendency of doing what I like to call "Disney Deep Dives" where I seek out and watch Disney live-action movies that aren't exactly hailed as classics. Rather than the much vaunted (some might say overrated) productions of their feature animation department. It's nice to visit that zone where Disney is just a movie studio like any other rather than the zone where everything is hyped as a "masterpiece". Anyway, I just did two Disney Deep Dive Double Features focusing on their sports movies. Yesterday I watched The Greatest Game Ever Played and Queen of Katwe. Today I watched Secretariat and The Rookie. They're all pretty good but especially see Queen of Katwe if you haven't. It's about a young girl from a slum in Uganda who discovers she has an amazing talent for chess. It's really interesting to see one of these Disney "underdog stories" from a non-American perspective.

Yes...Queen of Katwe is a good one. I second your recommendation.

[Kieran_Frost]

The Stranger (1946). Orson Welles directed this film noir entry. He also stars as an escaped Nazi hiding out postwar in small town USA. Edward G. Robinson is the Washington investigator hot on his trail and Loretta Young is Welles’ too-blinded-by-love to see the truth fiancée. I dug it. Although reading the Wikipedia page entry about cuts and script rewrites made me long to see the version Welles would have made without studio interference.

I thought it was a good film too, and very historic as the first major Hollywood film to show actual footage from the concentration camps. I loved the story and the concept, but it doesn't work. Welles is very one note, and he starts "acting" suspicious long before he knows he's been found out. It just lacks tension. Had we not known, definitely, he was this man until half-way through, it could have been stronger.
★★★☆☆

[Largo161]

I thought it was a good film too, and very historic as the first major Hollywood film to show actual footage from the concentration camps. I loved the story and the concept, but it doesn't work. Welles is very one note, and he starts "acting" suspicious long before he knows he's been found out. It just lacks tension. Had we not known, definitely, he was this man until half-way through, it could have been stronger.
★★★☆☆

Interesting you feel that way about Welles’ performance. After all, he learns that someone is on his trail in his first scene in the film— walking home from the school. To me, he has reason to be on edge throughout.

[Kirby101]

About the Stranger. it was also 1946 and most Americans had not come to grips with the horror of the holocaust. (You'd be amazed to this day how many don't know the magnitude). So while someone who ran a concentration camp as a villain is a well known trope now, it was very novel then.

[Arfguy]

Blast From The Past - This is one of those rom-coms I really like. It's just very sweet.

Ninja Scrolls - Bad ASS! I'd say I want a live action version, but the live action would absolutely crap the bed with the physics and action.

A Fist Full of Dollars - I really like the western genre. The more recent ones that I really, really love are: Unforgiven, Tombstone, Open Range...I didn't really like A Fist Full of Dollars.

[Kirby101]

I didn't really like A Fist Full of Dollars.

Blasphemy!

[Deathstroke]

Blast From The Past - This is one of those rom-coms I really like. It's just very sweet.

Yes, I really like that movie too.