OT: “Blade Runner,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Tequila Sunrise” on TCM tonight, Friday

[83wuzme]

I watched Get Carter last week. Even though the movie was made in 1971, I was surprised at the level of violence.
Michael Caine gave a great performance, of course. I must be getting soft because I found it hard to root for anybody in this story. Watching the protagonist murder people, even though his victims were awful characters, really turned me off.

 

[Bob78]

Yeah, that was a big letdown for me also.

Interesting. I still like it, and I still like Reservoir Dogs and True Romance a lot, even after all these years.
What has changed for you (and Pard) wrt Pulp? Or were you not a fan the first time? Could it be that you know the outcomes this time and the suspense or interest has waned as a result?
I still find so many of the lines from these films to be memorable and bring a laugh in the right situations with buddies of mine.

 

[LionJim]

Interesting. I still like it, and I still like Reservoir Dogs and True Romance a lot, even after all these years.
What has changed for you (and Pard) wrt Pulp? Or were you not a fan the first time? Could it be that you know the outcomes this time and the suspense or interest has waned as a result?
I still find so many of the lines from these films to be memorable and bring a laugh in the right situations with buddies of mine.

It was Pulp, with Michael Caine, not Pulp Fiction.

 

[Pardlion]

Interesting. I still like it, and I still like Reservoir Dogs and True Romance a lot, even after all these years.
What has changed for you (and Pard) wrt Pulp? Or were you not a fan the first time? Could it be that you know the outcomes this time and the suspense or interest has waned as a result?
I still find so many of the lines from these films to be memorable and bring a laugh in the right situations with buddies of mine.

Not Pulp Fiction, just Pulp. Different movies. I did like the scenes of 1970's Malta, though.

 

[Bob78]

Not Pulp Fiction, just Pulp. Different movies. I did like the scenes of 1970's Malta, though.

Well, that's very different!, as Emily Latella would say.
I think my mind automatically read it as Pulp Fiction!

 

[LionJim]

Thanks for posting the info.
I really liked Blood Simple when I saw it, but it has been many, many years. maybe I'll catch it again now. It was out around the same time as Body Double (Brian DePalma), another film I really liked.

Another intriguing (to me) Hackman film is "The Conversation", from about 1974. I've found that probably only about half of my friends who are movie fans have seen it. Imo, it is well worth a watch.

The Conversation doesn't work for me the way it should. (Think about it.) But the editing is fabulous and I do consider it to be a wonderful film.

Another universally acclaimed film which doesn't quite tick the box for me is The Third Man.

 

[LionJim]

I watched Get Carter last week. Even though the movie was made in 1971, I was surprised at the level of violence.
Michael Caine gave a great performance, of course. I must be getting soft because I found it hard to root for anybody in this story. Watching the protagonist murder people, even though his victims were awful characters, really turned me off.

Well, who are the good guys in Pulp Fiction? Mueller spoke of how Get Carter was an influence on Tarantino. Taking this as gospel (Wiki does not mention Get Carter), it's intriguing to picture Winston Wolf as Jack Carter twenty-five years in the future. Tarantino has a lot of films where you hate every character. When he backs off a little bit he can be really great, Jackie Brown. I have not seen True Romance ever, which should be taken as evidence that I'm not all that knowledgeable about films in general.

 

[83wuzme]

Well, who are the good guys in Pulp Fiction? Mueller spoke of how Get Carter was an influence on Tarantino. Taking this as gospel (Wiki does not mention Get Carter), it's intriguing to picture Winston Wolf as Jack Carter twenty-five years in the future. Tarantino has a lot of films where you hate every character. When he backs off a little bit he can be really great, Jackie Brown. I have not seen True Romance ever, which should be taken as evidence that I'm not all that knowledgeable about films in general.

I ended up watching Blood Simple, the 1984 Coen brothers drama. There were a lot of common threads between this and later efforts like Fargo and No Country for Old Men. It was another violent story ( I will probably have bad dreams where I am involved in a murder and trying to dispose of the body ). The violence, unlike many things we see today, was not gratuitous or the prize of revenge and was central to the story. There was a moral to the story. The moral is if you decide to cooperate with evil, to consciously cross onto the wrong side of a significant moral boundary, things soon begin to spiral out of control. It’s like making a deal with the devil ; you not only don’t get what you expected, you lose whatever you had.
The Coen’s are rather traditional. In their world, there is no honor among thieves and even less among murderers. These three stories are entertaining even if the moral isn’t always appreciated. Taken together, I consider them to be cautionary tales for the moral universe we don’t always realize we inhabit.

 

[LionJim]

Mueller did a really good job introducing Blood Simple. He pointed out the ways you could tell the movie was made on the cheap (it was their first film, after all). He also mentioned that the Coen tradition of stupid characters started here. He pointed out a brilliant “how dumb can you get?” shot that hadn’t quite registered for me.

As most probably know, Frances McDormand is married to Joel Coen, and Mueller had a nice story about their courtship, which happened during production of this film. McDormand was very literary and would always be talking about this book or that and Joel Coen reciprocated by bringing a box of his own books, pulp fiction paperbacks, bless his heart.

I checked and all three films are on the Watch TCM app. I only caught the first half-hour of Night Moves, so I’ll finish that today.

 

[LionJim]

I am now thinking of Blood Simple in how it relates to later Coen films, especially Burn After Reading. Mueller and Mankiewicz went into this in some detail, without mentioning BAR. The level of stupidity in BS is way, way up there. It doesn’t quite reach the levels of TBL or BAR, but if you don’t take this as being something to laugh at the movie won’t work for you. You either laugh at the dumbness or else you’re going to find yourself dwelling on the sheer implausibility of the plot. Burn After Reading is just as implausible but it’s played for laughs and JK Simmons ties the bow in the final scene, which works perfectly. Blood Simple doesn’t have that.

 

[LionJim]

I am now thinking of Blood Simple in how it relates to later Coen films, especially Burn After Reading. Mueller and Mankiewicz went into this in some detail, without mentioning BAR. The level of stupidity in BS is way, way up there. It doesn’t quite reach the levels of TBL or BAR, but if you don’t take this as being something to laugh at the movie won’t work for you. You either laugh at the dumbness or else you’re going to find yourself dwelling on the sheer implausibility of the plot. Burn After Reading is just as implausible but it’s played for laughs and JK Simmons ties the bow in the final scene, which works perfectly. Blood Simple doesn’t have that.

Bump, subject line changed.

Blade Runner (1982) is a terrific pick for this series. I watched Mona Lisa (1986) not too long ago, it’s a fine movie with an unexpected twist. Bob Hoskins does a good job; Michael Caine is the bad guy. Its ending is quite violent. I haven’t seen Tequila Sunrise (1988) since it came out, should be a good watch, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

 

[83wuzme]

Bump, subject line changed.

Blade Runner (1982) is a terrific pick for this series. I watched Mona Lisa (1986) not too long ago, it’s a fine movie with an unexpected twist. Bob Hoskins does a good job; Michael Caine is the bad guy. Its ending is quite violent. I haven’t seen Tequila Sunrise (1988) since it came out, should be a good watch, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

I still have not seen BAR, although I have seen some scenes.
Blade Runner was great when it came out. I don’t think there had ever been a popular Sci Noir movie before it.
I did see Mona Lisa the year it came out. Probably Bob Hoskins’ best work. Caine was also a great villain in that one.
I hope TCM does some Kubrick films. Dr. Strangelove was probably my favorite. Kubrick did about the only thing he could do to make the subject endurable, which was to make it a ridiculous, but technically accurate black comedy. I heard George C. Scott felt very betrayed by Kubrick because the final edit contained every scene where Scott was told to take it way over the top, just for the director’s artistic calibration. I think it earned Scott an Oscar.

 

[BBrown]

Bump, subject line changed.

Blood Simple is the Coen brothers’ first film, very creepy, from 1984. I’ve never seen Night Moves, so I’m psyched. It stars Gene Hackman and is directed by Arthur Penn, who did Bonnie and Clyde. From 1975. As for Cutter’s Way, it’s one of the great American films nobody has seen, paranoid as hell, a perfect film for these days. Stars Jeff Bridges, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn, from 1981, directed by Ivan Passer.

Barton Fink is still one of my all time favorite Cohen Brothers movies. Fargo is probably #1 but its tough because I like the quirkiness of Raising Arizona.

 

[BBrown]

I still have not seen BAR, although I have seen some scenes.
Blade Runner was great when it came out. I don’t think there had ever been a popular Sci Noir movie before it.
I did see Mona Lisa the year it came out. Probably Bob Hoskins’ best work. Caine was also a great villain in that one.
I hope TCM does some Kubrick films. Dr. Strangelove was probably my favorite. Kubrick did about the only thing he could do to make the subject endurable, which was to make it a ridiculous, but technically accurate black comedy. I heard George C. Scott felt very betrayed by Kubrick because the final edit contained every scene where Scott was told to take it way over the top, just for the director’s artistic calibration. I think it earned Scott an Oscar.

Not Popular and not before but definitely excellent try Dark City. One of my all time favorites.

 

[manatree]

A solid Saturday lineup from TCM as well. Five Came Back, The Asphalt Jungle, Where Eagles Dare, Late Show, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More

 

[BBrown]

I still have not seen BAR, although I have seen some scenes.
Blade Runner was great when it came out. I don’t think there had ever been a popular Sci Noir movie before it.
I did see Mona Lisa the year it came out. Probably Bob Hoskins’ best work. Caine was also a great villain in that one.
I hope TCM does some Kubrick films. Dr. Strangelove was probably my favorite. Kubrick did about the only thing he could do to make the subject endurable, which was to make it a ridiculous, but technically accurate black comedy. I heard George C. Scott felt very betrayed by Kubrick because the final edit contained every scene where Scott was told to take it way over the top, just for the director’s artistic calibration. I think it earned Scott an Oscar.

Is it wrong of me to think Bob Hoskins best work was Roger Rabbit? I just love that movie.

 

[91Joe95]

Bump, subject line changed.

Blade Runner (1982) is a terrific pick for this series. I watched Mona Lisa (1986) not too long ago, it’s a fine movie with an unexpected twist. Bob Hoskins does a good job; Michael Caine is the bad guy. Its ending is quite violent. I haven’t seen Tequila Sunrise (1988) since it came out, should be a good watch, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

Good stuff. I see Blade Runner is the final cut. Of the 28 cuts, I'm not sure if I've seen that one or not. Also, don't forget Piranha and The Swarm later on.

 

[Wesauking Lion]

Bump, subject line changed.

Blade Runner (1982) is a terrific pick for this series. I watched Mona Lisa (1986) not too long ago, it’s a fine movie with an unexpected twist. Bob Hoskins does a good job; Michael Caine is the bad guy. Its ending is quite violent. I haven’t seen Tequila Sunrise (1988) since it came out, should be a good watch, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

Michelle Pfeiffer was so hot in this movie. There is a lot of hot chicks in movies....she was perfect in this one... the look... her acting everything..

 

[LionJim]

Michelle Pfeiffer was so hot in this movie. There is a lot of hot chicks in movies....she was perfect in this one... the look... her acting everything..

She’s always strong. The Fabulous Baker Boys, wow.

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Zeds dead baby. Zeds dead. (Had a great time)

 

[HazletonLion]

Bump, subject line changed.

Blade Runner (1982) is a terrific pick for this series. I watched Mona Lisa (1986) not too long ago, it’s a fine movie with an unexpected twist. Bob Hoskins does a good job; Michael Caine is the bad guy. Its ending is quite violent. I haven’t seen Tequila Sunrise (1988) since it came out, should be a good watch, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

Thanks for the movie updates LJ. I watched To Live And Die In L.A. a couple weeks ago, great movie.

 

[LionJim]

A solid Saturday lineup from TCM as well. Five Came Back, The Asphalt Jungle, Where Eagles Dare, Late Show, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More

I saw. I have seen The Asphalt Jungle a hundred times, it never gets old.

 

[LionJim]

Mueller was very interesting on Blade Runner. He said that it was so groundbreaking and is so widely imitated that it doesn’t hold up well. It has no emotion, no spark, until the end. He said that Rutger Hauer’s “Time to die” scene was one of the greatest death scenes in movie history and is what saves the movie.

 

[manatree]

I saw. I have seen The Asphalt Jungle a hundred times, it never gets old.

If you haven’t seen it before, I highly recommend Five Came Back. While production is pretty weak even by 1939 standards as it was considered to be a B movie from the start, the script and acting are strong. A plane gets blown far off course and goes down in the jungle. The two pilots are able to fix the plane and get it running, but it is only able to take five of them back. How to choose who gets left behind?

 

[Ranger Dan]

Try Jackie Brown.

That is the gateway movie to more hard core Tarantino movies. It’s great!

 

[Ranger Dan]

@LionJim

I would love for you to put out a list of your favorite movies. Maybe organized by genre or decade…

 

[manatree]

If you haven’t seen it before, I highly recommend Five Came Back. While production is pretty weak even by 1939 standards as it was considered to be a B movie from the start, the script and acting are strong. A plane gets blown far off course and goes down in the jungle. The two pilots are able to fix the plane and get it running, but it is only able to take five of them back. How to choose who gets left behind?

If anyone does decide to watch or record Five Came Back, please do not Google it. I was caught by surprise when I watched it on DVD the other year and hope that others will be too.

 

[LionJim]

@LionJim

I would love for you to put out a list of your favorite movies. Maybe organized by genre or decade…

For a start, The Asphalt Jungle. TCM is showing it at 1:30 today; it’s usually on four or so times a year.

 

[HazletonLion]

Tequila Sunrise was great thanks again Lion Jim for the heads up. It was an era when i worked nights and too much overtime, and home improvement.

 

[LionJim]

Tequila Sunrise was great thanks again Lion Jim for the heads up. It was an era when i worked nights and too much overtime, and home improvement.

It’s a beautiful film.

 

[LafayetteBear]

In my humble opinion, "Lawrence of Arabia" starring Peter O'Toole is the greatest British film of all time.

Could be. It's right up there.