Suggest a movie to watch (3 Viewers)

[The_Doc_Man]

Tera, I don't disagree. You might see my comments about Nicholas Cage as "damning him with faint praise." Which is why earlier, I strongly recommended Driving Miss Daisy. The acting there is top-notch. It is also why I included The Sixth Sense in my list, because it was a stand-out performance by Bruce Willis, who normally takes action-hero roles.

Here's one that might shake you, though it is another faint praise. The former wrestler turned actor Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock) has tried his hand at several movies, not all of which were slam-bang tough guy action movies. Oh, sure, he makes a lot of those. But I give him credit for trying to do something besides grunt-n-groan TV wrestling - which is really just acting in a tough-guy role before a live audience. He is willing to take on "silly" roles that actually give him a chance to emote, however briefly, as something other than a mindless "grunt." For instance, though it was not an incredibly great movie, I enjoyed Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. I repeat: I make no claims that it was Academy Award material. Definitely not. But The Rock had a chance to show nuances of acting in something other than the monstrosity that was Doom.

 

[deletedT]

@The_Doc_Man You have a good taste in movies. I have watched and liked most of movies you suggested. Among them, Driving Miss Daisy & The Sixth Sense , though I liked The Sixth sense mostly because of its unexpected ending rather than Bruce Willis. But I have to admit you know what makes a movie excellent.

I've watched Jumanji starring Robin Williams , but have never had a chance to watch the new one. I had a feeling to stay away from The Rock, but now that I've got a suggestion, I added it to my list. Thanks.

 

[Micron]

Tera, re your comment on Christian Bale: if you want to see a transformation of his, check out Vice (he plays Dick Cheney). He looks more like Richard Dreyfuss did; it's amazing. Speaking of Dwayne Johnson, my wife says he did a good job playing the softer side in a comedy with kids. Can't recall the name of the movie at present, but I think it was about kids getting aliens back to their ship or something. Then again, she would go to see him no matter what the movie.

 

[deletedT]

Tera, re your comment on Christian Bale: if you want to see a transformation of his, check out Vice (he plays Dick Cheney). He looks more like Richard Dreyfuss did; it's amazing.

I love Christian Bale and I believed I've seen all his movies. How could I have missed this one.
Since he's my favorite actor, I added Vice to the top of my list. Bad for me it's not available on Amazon, and Netfilx. I rented the DVD just now. Tomorrow morning it'll be in my post.
Thanks for suggesting.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

it was about kids getting aliens back to their ship or something

I believe that is Race to Witch Mountain (2009; 98 min; IMDB 5.7) Supposedly, the kids were psychics of some kind. I missed seeing that one.

I had a feeling to stay away from The Rock, but now that I've got a suggestion, I added it to my list. Thanks.

Don't expect the Jumanji sequel to be on the same level as Driving Miss Daisy or Ben Hur or My Fair Lady, each excellent in its own different way. But J:WttJ has its moments. If you enjoyed the premise of the original Jumanji, you should have fun with this one. Just as a side comment, my wife's favorite moment from Jumanji is the asthmatic rhino trying hard to keep up with the stampede crossing the intersection while Bebe Neuwirth is waiting at a traffic light.

Since we are on a list of tough guys who took on challenges, Arnold Schwarzenegger has not been afraid to try oddball roles. OK, we can name a gazillion tough-guy roles he has played, and he has not strayed far that often. But sometimes he shows a softer side, like in Kindergarten Cop or Twins. But his role that I enjoyed most was in True Lies (1994, 141 min; IMDB 7.2), which is a HILARIOUS send-up spy spoof. It has great action sequences including a horse stunt and a scene with Harrier jump-jets which my wife absolutely loves. Plus Jamie Lee Curtis doing an exotic pole dance that made me laugh so hard it brought tears to my eyes. And the late Bill Paxton provided excellent comic relief as a smarmy used-car sales man and waiter with delusions of grandeur and some of the lamest pick-up lines you have ever heard in your life.

 

[deletedT]

Oh my God. Now we are talking about real movies. I never expected to hear about Ben-Hur or My Fair Lady.
I was 6 when I first watched both of these two movies in a theater near our home. First Cinerama experience in my life. That music, that sound, that screen. I remember I bought their sound track on cassette tapes and listened over and over. Later when I was in high school I bought both of them on magnetic video tapes and later on DVD. Now I have them in my archive movies as mkv files. You may not believe me, but I've watched these two movies more than 50 times.

The Terminator introduced me Arnold Schwarzenegger which in turn made me watch all of his movies, True Lies , Kindergarten Cop , Twins & Predator included. But he never struck me as an actor. He mostly seemed to me standing there reading the lines. Nothing more.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Ah, there we have a different viewpoint, Tera. There are indeed those actors who can stand there and read the phone book and yet still make it work. Sir Kenneth Branagh and Sir Patrick Stewart come to mind. And, as you have mentioned, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman can take you many places. Then, there are those actors who can emote all over the place and still not be believable in the role. Nicholas Cage comes to mind, as well as an oldie you might not remember, Marjoe Gortner. I remember him as laughably inept. But then, given his success record, he might be thankful to be remembered at all.

I take Arnold to be believable in at least some of what he has done despite it being simply escapist fare. It is all about suspension of disbelief. And there is where an actor "works." The question is "Can you believe the performance in the context of the story and setting?" Sometimes the actor is made for the part. Sometimes the part is made for the actor. And sometimes, if we are lucky, we get that joyful melding of fate that puts the right person in the right place at the right time.

I have commented on Jim Carrey and how most of what he does leaves me cold. But sometimes he's OK and in one case he had a massive bit of luck to be paired against Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty. Carrey mugs his way through some of his role, but Morgan Freeman makes it work as God, with a little touch of impishness and humor against a very serious backdrop. I "got" the message of the movie enough to be able to enjoy it. I'm not saying you would, since you tend to avoid comedies and you can't call that movie anything else.

Nor can we forget that if you give an actor a lousy script, not even Charleton Heston could make it work. Which is why so many of the modern Dracula remakes have been so-so affairs. Far above all others, I remember a made-for-TV production (Count Dracula, 1977) filmed for the BBC as a multi-part series starring Louis Jourdan as everyone's favorite blood-sucker. Possibly the best version I've ever seen, and Louis Jourdan was SO menacing (yet so suave and chivalrous) in it. If you look up his name, there is a link to an edited version of that movie, about 2 1/2 hours worth. I guess just another case of the right guy at the right place at the right time with the right script.

 

[deletedT]

Doc, I remember the first time I decided to go and stand in a long line waiting to buy tickets for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. I had read a digest of the film in a magazine titled "The movie that made millions of American cry". So many years have passed from that day and I've watched this movie more than 10 times since then and I've not been able to stop my tears each time I watched it. This is the power of the story, the power of the cast and above all the power of the director. You sit in front of a screen. You know everything is fiction. You know all you will watch is impossible. But once the light goes off and the show starts, the director and the cast pull you into the story, into the plot. You forget who you are, where you are and the whole thing is just a made up story. Then the light comes back on and you feel your eyes are wet.
You know nobody can bring back the dinosaurs, but while you're watching Jurassic Park you don't think you are following a %100 fiction story. It's the power of the cast and the one who is putting it all together, the director.

Nor can we forget that if you give an actor a lousy script, not even Charleton Heston could make it work.

I don't expect all actors being able to act like Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy or The Shawshank Redemption but then, when they fail to be perfect, it's where the director counts. Don't forget that Steven Spielberg normally uses unknown or little knows actors. Because he doesn't want the audience have a per-impression of the act. He tries to start fresh to be able to manipulate the audience , to take them where he wants. He could use a lot of famous actors for playing Hooper in Jaws but he chose Richard Dreyfuss, a very little and new one. Later he chose him to play in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
So, when a director wants to use a One-Man-Army actor (Arnold, The Rock, Stallone ...) into an emotional film, he should be prepared. Because he has to put more efforts to change what the audience may have expected to see and show them the other side of the coin.

Not that I'm against Arnold as an actor, but I think if he can't perform what he's expected, the director should fill the holes. Arnold was very good in The Terminator (the first part), because James Cameron knows his job. But as soon as he quits directing the next parts, Arnold's performance on the scene is not impressive.

 

[deletedT]

Tera, re your comment on Christian Bale: if you want to see a transformation of his, check out Vice (he plays Dick Cheney).

@Micron I just finished watching it. Now I remember why although I love Christian Bale, I hadn't watched it. I've been trying to stay away from politic all my life and I don't talk about what I felt when I finished watching it. I don't want to turn this thread into another political war.
I don't regret putting 2 hours on it. At least I could enjoy Amy Adams (which is one of my favorite actresses) & Christian Bale 's performance and forget the story.

Anyhow, thanks for suggesting.

 

[Micron]

Well, if nothing else, it was informative? Kind of an expose' ...
It certainly exemplifies extraordinary acting talent. He was up for an Oscar (I think) for that role but lost out to the lead actor in Bohemian Rhapsody I think.

 

[deletedT]

it was informative? ...
It certainly exemplifies extraordinary acting talent.

Sure it was.

 

[deletedT]

For anybody who is interested in several facts:

1. According to the diary of H. J. Whitley, known as the “Father of Hollywood”, on his honeymoon in 1886 he stood at the top of a hill looking out over the valley. Along came a Chinese man in a wagon carrying wood. The man got out of the wagon and bowed. The Chinese man was asked what he was doing and replied, “I holly-wood”, meaning ‘hauling wood.’ HJ Whitley had an epiphany and decided to name his new town Hollywood.
2. One major reason that Hollywood emerged as the center of film making is that early on, most movie making patents were held by Thomas Edison’s company in New Jersey, and film makers were sued to stop their productions. To escape this, they began moving out west, where enforcement was difficult.
3. The blinking light atop the Capitol Records Tower spells out the word “Hollywood” in Morse code, and has done so since the building’s opening in 1956.
4. In 1920’s the Hollywood-sign was lit by thousands of light bulbs and the guy who changed the burnt ones, lived in a little cabin near the sign
5. Frank Sinatra has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for film, one for music and one for television
6. Charlie Chaplin made his movie mocking Hitler with his own money because Hollywood was afraid of losing money if they took a stand
7. You pay to have your star on the walk of fame in Hollywood. ($30,000 to be precise)

 

[AccessBlaster]

Tera, ever hear of this unseen Jerry Lewis movie?

“The Day the Clown Cried,” in which Lewis, who was Jewish, plays a disreputable clown who winds up in a prison camp.
There, the clown provides entertainment to Jewish children — and is maneuvered into shepherding them into a gas chamber.

Link here.

 

[deletedT]

Tera, ever hear of this unseen Jerry Lewis movie?
Link here.

Never.
Added to my list.

Thank you.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Never.
Added to my list.

You can't, no one can. It's in a vault unfinished. I heard about on Howard Stern along time ago.

 

[deletedT]

You can't, no one can. It's in a vault unfinished. I heard about on Howard Stern along time ago.

Too bad. This site gave me a link to youtube for a 30 min cut of the film. Didn't check if it's available or not. I thought I will give it a try.
But it seems the link is deleted.

30-minute clip of lost Jerry Lewis Holocaust film surfaces

Movie described by Jewish comedian as 'bad, bad, bad' was acquired by Library of Congress on condition it not be shown until June 2024

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[AccessBlaster]

Too bad. This site gave me a link to youtube for a 30 min cut of the film. Didn't check if it's available or not. I thought I will give it a try.
But it seems the link is deleted.

30-minute clip of lost Jerry Lewis Holocaust film surfaces

Movie described by Jewish comedian as 'bad, bad, bad' was acquired by Library of Congress on condition it not be shown until June 2024

www.timesofisrael.com

Its way to controversial, it would have ruined Jerry Lewis if that move ever got out!

 

[deletedT]

@AccessBlaster I just finished reading the link you provided above. While reading the story, I remembered The Boy in the Striped Pajamas movie.
If you haven't watched this movie, I insist giving it a try.

 

[AccessBlaster]

@AccessBlaster I just finished reading the link you provided above. While reading the story, I remembered The Boy in the Striped Pajamas movie.
If you haven't watched this movie, I insist giving it a try.

Thanks, I enjoy movies when they are not over populated with well known actors. They seem more believable.

 

[Steve R.]

Jumanji, the last two movies, are superb escapist fun movies. An excellent job of what it would be like to be put into a video game. Dwayne Johnson has demonstrated that he is very good actor. That brings me to Vin Diesel. He is a very competent actor too. He was in Pitch Black, Riddick, and the Chronicles of Riddick. It is unforunate that the scripts to these movies were uninspired.

An unexpected pleasant surprise was Dave Bautista (who I have not heard of) as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. That character was amazingly funny. Looks like Dave Bautista will be in the new Dune to be released later this year.