Friday, August 6, 2021

Week of August 7 - 13, 20121

 


To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

For what movie is Steve Reeves listed on the Italian release poster and on the screen for the U.S. version but doesn't appear in the movie?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which French born actress worked on films directed by Renato Polselli, Giacomo Gentilomo, Dino Risi, Luigi Comencini and Jacques Deray?
George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Hélène Rémy.

Which French born actor worked on films directed by Sergio Corbucci, Ferdinando Baldi, Marino Girolami, Hugo Fregonese, Giorgio Ferroni and Giorgio Stegani?
George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Pierre Cressoy.

Which Spanish born actor worked on films directed by Sergio Leone, Gulio Questi, Antonio de Jaen, Paolo Bianchini, Mario Caiano and Ramon Fernandez?
George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Roberto Camardiel.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which French actress, born in Turkey, played Cleopatra in a 1963 Italian film?
Which Italian director  made a movie about Cleopatra's daughter and also a movie about Cleopatra?
By what name is Fred Ringold better known?

Name the movies from which these images came.


George Grimes, Rick Garibaldi and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Fernando Sancho and Lee Van Cleef in LA RESA DEI CONTI, aka THE BIG GUNDOWN.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?


George Grimes, Bertrand van Wonterghem and Charles Gilbert identified last week's frame grab of Brad Harris and Fernando Sancho in GOLIATH CONTRO I GIGANTI, aka GOLIATH AND THE GIANTS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?


George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's frame grab of Fernando Sancho in EL HIJO DEL CAPTAIN BLOOD, aka THE SON OF CAPTAIN BLOOD.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?


George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Angela Mao in HAPKIDO aka LADY KUNG FU.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?

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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:

Highly enjoyed:

IN OUR OWN HANDS The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II (2000) - Director Chuck Olin succeeds in creating an emotionally moving account how Jews living in Palestine were able to convince the British Army to train them to fight the Nazis and then to provide a future for Holocaust survivors after the war ended.

Enjoyed:

BLACK WIDOW (2021) - The acknowledgement of MOONRAKER is an interesting touch. And so is hiring Olga Kurylenko for such a small role. I'm hoping this means that Marvel has future plans for her.

In Their Own Words "Chuck Berry" (2021)

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (2018) - The scenes with the Disney Princesses are priceless. This film lost the Oscar to SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, but I much prefer it. That Spider-Man flick didn't have an appearance by Groot.

The Wire season four (2005)

Mildly enjoyed:

Icon: Music Through the Lens "Records" (2020)

Midsomer Murders "The Glitch" (2009)

THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021) - As far as R-Rated Superhero movies, I prefer DEADPOOL. As far as James Gunn directed movies, I prefer GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. As far as DC based movies, I prefer WONDER WOMAN. As far as movies featuring Margot Robbie, I prefer ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. It is the best rat movie since WILLARD (1971).

Did not enjoy:

CORPO CELESTE, aka HEAVENLY BODY (2011) - Writer/director Alice Rohrwacher's first feature is similar to her second feature, LE MERAVIGLIE, aka THE WONDERS (2014), in that it takes a naturalistic approach to following a young girl who is trying to understand life. This time, Yie Vianello is preparing for her Catholic Chuch Confirmation and is questioning what she is being taught. 

LOVE, WEDDINGS & OTHER DISASTERS (2020) - I haven't enjoyed the films writer/director Dennis Dugan did with Adam Sandler and I didn't enjoy this one with Diane Keaton and Jeremy Irons. Maggie Grace, Melinda Hill and Boston look terrific.

MOCKERY (1927) - Like Quasimodo, Sergei, played by Lon Chaney, is a brute in love with a beautiful woman and he takes a beating to protect her. When she is rescued by Czarist soldiers, she's elevated to her position as Countess, and Chaney is given a menial job. He becomes jealous as he sees her romance a Czarist Officer, so when the Reds attack, he takes the opportunity to try and rape her. But, when he sees that she is once again in danger, he sustains a fatal wound to protect her. Unlike the version of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME in which he starred, Chaney dies smiling as the Countess is embraced by the Officer before the fade out. This was the second film made in Hollywood by Benjamin Christensen, the Danish director of HAXAN, aka WITCHCRAFT THROUGHOUT THE AGES.

NOVITIATE (2017) - Seeking some comfort and stability after growing up in the 1950s with troubled single mother Julianne Nicholson, Margaret Qualley (earlier Sasha Mason & Eliza Mason) decides to train to be a nun. The convent is run with an harsh hand by Mother Melissa Leo, who is thrown for a loop by the reforms of Vatican II. Qualley tries to fight off her hormonal changes by starvation and flagellation, but is only rescued by an intimate experience with fellow novice Rebecca Dayan. When it is announced that Vatican II has removed nuns' special status as being more blessed than other Catholics, many nuns elect to leave their orders. Nicholson is present as Qualley is set to make her final vows to be a nun, but the young woman hesitates. This was writer/director Maggie Betts' feature film debut and she was awarded a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Interestingly, this film was set and produced in Tennessee.

THE THIEF WHO CAME TO DINNER (1973) - Divorced from his wife, Jill Clayburgh, who thought he was dull, Ryan O'Neal quits his job at a computer company to become a jewel thief. After getting criminal Gregory Sierra to introduce him to fence Ned Beatty, he breaks into Charles Cioffi's home. He gives the jewels to Beatty, and uses the illegal paperwork to blackmail Cioffi introducing him to high society in Houston, Texas. Getting to know the society people, O'Neal begins a spate of burglaries notable for leaving notes with chess moves. He also meets Jacqueline Bisset, with whom he begins a romance in addition to making her a criminal accomplice. Warren Oates is the insurance investigator out to catch the "chess burglar". Oates soon figures out that O'Neal is the criminal and most of the movie is the friendly cat and mouse game O'Neal and Oates play. When Oates finally catches O'Neal red-handed, O'Neal says that Oates will have to shoot him because "Jail does not suit my lifestyle". Oates lets O'Neal run away. I've never found Ryan O'Neal a compelling actor and to have both Bisset and Clayburgh call him "beautiful" mystifies me. Producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin found the novel by Terrence Lore Smith and eventually Walter Hill was credited with the screenplay. Yorkin directed in a style very different from his previous project START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME. This is like a rewrite of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, with the love story being between Oates and O'Neal and ending with Oates catching O'Neal but deciding to let him go.

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David Deal enjoyed:

THE FAKE (53) - Adventurer Dennis O'Keefe investigates the forgery and theft of Old Master paintings with an eye on the handsome reward.  He also becomes involved with the daughter (Coleen Gray) of an artist who uses the same old techniques as those used in the forgeries.  Fast-moving and atmospheric, this British thriller benefits from shooting inside the Tate Gallery.

7 MEN FROM NOW (56)

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (78) - In Victorian England, Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland plan the first moving train robbery and gold bullion is the loot.  Enjoyable heist movie has high production values and a sense of fun.  The stunts involving Connery on top of the train are excellent.

LADY IN THE MORGUE (38)

KALEIDOSCOPE (66) - Playboy adventurer Warren Beatty sneaks into playing card manufacturer Kaleidoscope and marks the plates used for printing the cards so he can travel to exotic places in Europe and clean up.  Scotland Yard - in the person of Clive Revill - figures this out and blackmails Beatty into using his talent to bankrupt bigwig villain Eric Porter in a poker game.  Revill's daughter Susannah York hangs around.  Light-hearted British thriller is offbeat (swinging sixties style) yet remains surprisingly enjoyable for traditionalists.

BLUE, WHITE AND PERFECT (42)

Mildly Enjoyed

MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS (58)

FEAST OF SATAN (71)

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Charles Gilbert watched:

HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964)

GORGO (1961)

Trivia: What do these two movies have in common?

LEGIONNAIRE (1998) Jean-Claude Van Damme forgoes the kicks in this action flick as Alain Lefevre, a traditional boxer in France, who reneges on a deal to take a dive in a bout. As his opponent falls in defeat before a vast audience and an enraged dealmaker, he is immediately on the run and ducks into the French Foreign Legion recruiting office. The rest of the film is about preparing for desert conflict, the fellow soldiers he befriends, and lengthy battles with the Berbers.

100 MILLION B.C. (2008) A team of Navy seals travels through a devised misty blue portal to the stone age to rescue a group of time travelers that had been sent back in the 1940's. A t-rex manages to come back with them to ravage modern L.A. The interminable drone of the soundtrack is grating. Christopher Atkins and Greg Evigan star.

BEYOND ATLANTIS (1973) Divers Patrick Wayne and John Ashley partner with Sid Haig and other seafaring adventurers driven by greed to search for a motherlode of pearls. Their destination is a remote island inhabited by King George Nader and generally pacifist natives who can hold their breath for extended dives without gear.

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Angel Rivera enjoyed:

The "Kandi" episodes of "Two and a Half Men". The episodes which featured actress April Bowlby as Kandi".

"The Creation of the Humanoids" on Svengoolie's show.

Mildly enjoyed:

The "Titans" episodes 1-4.

Woodstock '99 documentary.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Highly enjoyed: 

Le dernier mercenaire (2020, David Charhon)

Enjoyed:

Je8ileui bam / The 8th night (2020, Kim Tae-hyung)

Maeumui sori : reboot / The sound of your heart : reboot – season 2 – episode 6

Diablero – season 1 – episodes 6 to 8

Jungle cruise (2020, Jaume Collet-Serra)

The dig (2020, Simon Stone)

Zhong hua zhan shi / Magnificent warriors (1987, David Chung)

Carry on regardless (1961, Gerald Thomas)

Mildly enjoyed:

Destination inner space (1965, Francis D. Lyon)

Trancers (1984, Charles Band)

Did not enjoy:

The ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964, Joseph Stefano)

Qi huan zhi lv / Super me (2020, Zhang Chong)

Get Carter (2000, Stephen Kay)

The day after tomorrow  (1975, Charles Crichton)

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