Glad you liked it M.M.! It's definitely in my top 3. What a great cast and great movie. Scarface and The Big Lebowski were the other 2 movies in my top 3 in case you were wondering

Phamtom of the Opera

NOT BY CHOICE!!!

We were invited to a friend's house on Saturday and they picked it out to rent from DirectTV.

While the music was of course lovely and certain parts were definitely entertaining...overall an incredible bore. I don't recall it doing very well at the box office last December.

I would much rather have seen 'Meet the Fockers' which was one of the other choices....but the lady of the house claimed the 'sexual overtones' wouldn't be appropriate for the kids (who were downstairs playing most of the evening).

So instead of a few double entendre's which would've gone completely over her head, my daughter got to watch a man being hanged, another nearly strangled and a theater being destroyed by explosion and fire.

Apple

IMO Apple, I think you were screwed either way. I didn't see Phantom of the Opera, although I did rent it but never did get in the mood to watch it. I watched Meet the Fockers in the theater and it's nowhere near as good as Meet the Parents, but between the 2, I would have went with Meet the Fockers as well

The ironic thing is, the bloopers for Meet the Fockers bring more laughs then the actual movie.

I was gonna rewatch Scarface (original) today, but I was reminded about The Night of the Hunter playing on TCM, which is on many top 100 lists and has been hard for me to find.

I watched Bobby Deerfield last night on ESPN Classic. I'd never even heard of this film, but it had Al Pacino playing an Indy car driver. I found it pretty interesting, but not in the same league as Pacino's greatest roles (The Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, etc.) Has anyone else seen this film?

Ive seen it xXx..Ive liked it too, Pacinso is good as always. Its interesting but abit long in parts and the screenplay lacked "creativity" but some parts are really sad...

SPOILER ALERT!!!

i really liked the ending. There's no way you can predict this...okay, you can predict that one of the men is Ceasar Soze...but then you can't make the circle full round. It's simply impossible to predict that Kint is making up the whole story just by reading the wall on the police station.

Exactly, that's what's so great about it, it's so smart. I watched it a couple of months ago with a friend at school and she said she thought it was him (Spacey) all along. I didn't say anything because I like this girl but I was thinking to myself, "Yeah right." Especially because she's like me who asks 1,000 questions during the movie!

Saw the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants yesterday with my daughter....a very sweet "coming of age" movie about four girls. Well worth it.

Guessing is one thing, but give a good explanation for it is two! And yes you are right...if it's a girl you like just let her think she's right..give her some acclaim for it...and you're in!

Cinema Paradiso - Director's Cut ****
(Top 100) (1st Time)
1989, Tornatore, It/Fr
A film director returns to his Sicilian home after the death of the local film projectionist.
The fifty minutes cut for the 1989 release are here restored; Toto's adult return to the village and his search for his teenage love make for a far more complex and emotional finale.

Dead Man's Shoes **** (Top 100) (1st Time)
2004, Meadows, GB
An ex-soldier returns to his rural home town in order to avenge the bullying of his younger, retarded brother.
Brilliantly realised drama which plays like a serial-killer horror (at one point, there is a point-of-view shot behind a gas mask, breathing included). Phenomenal performances and a well-judged tone throughout mark this an endurable tale of revenge and justice.

Garden State *** (1st Time)
2004, Braff, US
An actor on medication all his life returns to his home town to attend his mother's funeral.
Solid, offbeat directorial debut springing memories of Allen, with the protagonist striving to overcome his own neuroses in life after meeting a girl who is an habitual liar.

An excellent day of filmwatching. I haven't had one of those in what seems like forever. You can tell exams are over now; back to my two-to-three a day average.

Mick

The Night of the Hunter - (Laughton;1955;USA) - ****
A false preacher tries to convince two children to tell him where hidden money is from a robbery.
One of the greatest film-noirs. Several scenes are beautifully dream-like and eerie. A classic performance from Robert Mitchum as the devilish preacher helps it along with Laughton's direction. A shame he only directed this one film. Powell is one of America's most memorable villains ever. A must-see.
#77

Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil?

Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy

I did enjoy this movie. It was weird, different and definitely a 60s movie but that's what I loved about it. It was nothing like I expected but a better movie than I anticipated. Anyone else ever see this!?

I watched Once Upon a Time in Mexico and it was a little better than I expected. Not that there was anything new, except maybe better set and of course Johnny Depp.

Scarface - (Hawks;1932;USA) - ****
After the murder of a major boss, a hot-head criminal guns his way up the ranks in the Chicago Outfit.
I have yet to see the other 1930's/40's gangster flicks, such as Cagney's or Robinson's, but this is an excellent film for its time. Hughes and Hawks made a classic, and not only did it break some of the violence barriers in its time, but also provided a great social commentary on the criminal groups of the day, mainly Al Capone's Outfit. Paul Muni's performance, while somewhat dated is great in the same way Pacino's was great. This is definitely better then the remake, mostly because it had something to say. Hawks' second best film.
#84

Lost in Translation *** (5th Time)
2003, Coppola,. US/Jap
Two Americans in Japan, one an actor, the other a lonely wife over on her husband's business, meet up and enjoy each other's company.
Underplayed, humanistic drama executed with a minimalistic approach, which makes for a warming, satisfying product; if the writing sometimes relies on jokes about the Japanese accent too much, the acting certainly compensates.

Mick

Ya I plan to record SCARFACE tomorrow on VHS, along with CITIZEN KANE.

BARBELLA is a future RRA'S CULT MOVIE REVIEW subject for sure....

There you go! I just saw that for the first time last night

Blade Runner (1982/Ridley Scott/US) 8.5/10

I watched the director's cut, with no narration. I really liked this movie although I'm not a big fan of Sci-fis. Yes, I watched this for the first time after a lot of struggle to watch it or not. This is also a great thriller, and I have not been on the edge of my sit like this since Shining. Well, maybe I'm a little exaggerating. But I think in this film, there was more than good/bad guys fighting into the characters and they had more dimension and showing much more depth as plot unfolded. I don't think if I'd seen the version with narration I'd actually like it this much. Might have even hated it. Great movie even after 23 years or so.


Spoilers****

The version I have, ended when Batty saves Dekard and then he dies. Gaff tells Dekard that he did a Man's job (Was he a replicant?? We wouldn't know) and it is bad that she (Rachael) won't live but then, who does. Dekard goes back to his apartment and takes Rachael and they escape heading to the elevator. Movie ends here. It is weird since this version is not like the three cuts mentioned in IMDB, but it is closer to the third one mentioned there.

Trois couleurs: Bleu (93/Krzysztof Kieslowski/France, Poland, Switzerland, UK) 7/10
Unification of Europe, Seeking liberty, Dealing with the past and being blue. This is the first installment of the Trios couleurs trilogy which is about contemporary life of French people and represents the three colors of the French flag. As moody as blue can be, this is the story of a composer and her emotional struggle after loss of her husband and her five year old daughter. Great score and acting. I can't wait to watch the other two movies.

A last reminder to those who want to watch Citizen Kane at 4 PM today on TCM.

Afi, have you seen The Decalogue? That's another ten hour film from the same director with a movie for each of the ten commandments. I really wanna see it but haven't found the DVD anywhere.

Wow a movie for each of the Ten Commandments!? Thanks for the heads up Don Vercetti. Sounds interesting. I'd love to see it but if it's hard to find I'll most likely not get a chance

From what I've heard, some are not DIRECTLY about the commandments.

Dekalog 5's tagline, "Thou shalt not kill" - a shorter, slightly less graphic version of 'A Short Film About Killing' , but the plot is essentially the same: murder followed by execution, two killings, one illegal, one legal, both hideous.

Dekalog 2, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain". An elderly doctor is approached by a woman with a complicated request. Her husband is gravely ill and may die, and she is pregnant by someone else. If her husband dies, she wants to keep the child, but not otherwise, and she wants the doctor to give him an honest verdict on his chances. But the doctor is disturbed by her request, because his answer will directly affect the life or death of another human being. Is he entitled to play God?

Also, are you watching CK today? You'll be missing arguably the greatest film of all time.

You must mean Dekalog. Nope, that's a Polish TV series and I'm sure for the life of me I would not be able to find it here. Movies, yes, but TV series? I don't think so.
The only other thing I've seen from this director has been La Double vie de Véronique/The Double Life of Veronique. It was a weird movie. I watched it last year and I've wanted to watch again, but I didn't get a chance.

Dekalog is the Polish spelling. I use the differ titles now and then. There is a DVD for it, although it's R1. Although a series, some count it as one of the greatest films.

That still sounds like a very interesting movie. Thanks DV. If you ever find it, let me know please. As for CK, no I will not be watching it just yet. I'm only in the 80s for the AFI list and I wanna work my way down. I want Citizen Kane to be the last movie I watch if possible

Grazie for the pic DV! I found it on Blockbuster Online and added it to my "queue" list. There's a short wait for it (which means I should get it between 2-4 weeks [hopefully]). But when I watch it I'll let you know what I thought of it as usual

Sorry about that, I didn't know. So I heard, and I really wish I could find it.

If you can't find Dekalog (1988) anywhere, check out the feature length films of episodes 5 and 6: A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love. Both are amazing, but the first one is one of the most powerful films ever made. Enjoy the rest of the Trois Coleurs trilogy; they're all brilliant, but I think Blue is my favourite. Colour and framing composition are profound, while Zbigniew Preisner's score, to which the film was edited, is magnificent.

Mick

Dead Man's Shoes **** (Top 100) (2nd Time)
2004, Meadows, GB
An ex-soldier returns to his rural home town in order to avenge the bullying of his younger, retarded brother.
Brilliantly realised drama which plays like a serial-killer horror (at one point, there is a point-of-view shot behind a gas mask, breathing included). Phenomenal performances and a well-judged tone throughout mark this an endurable tale of revenge, redemption and justice.

Bande à part/Band of Outsiders *** (2nd Time)
1964, Godard, Fr
While caught up in a robbery plan, a young girl is torn between two boy friends.
Entertaining trip into pop culture that should never be taken seriously; the director certainly didn't.

Sib/The Apple **** (1st Time)
1998, Makhmalbaf, Iran
True story of, after twelve years of imprisonment by their father, two twin girls facing the outside world for the first time in their life.
A phenomenal docudrama; simple, humane, and entirely effective, beginning on a haunted note and ending on an uplifting one. There are no theatrics regarding plot, and judgement is left to the audience; the director is restrained throughout.

Mick