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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Some Like It Hot (1959) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
The dilemma of an obsessed movie-goer is choosing what films to watch when things clash. It really wasn't a tough choice when an Unlimited Screening was announced for the same evening as Some Like It Hot. The screening was only two days before release, I could wait. It wasn't big enough to miss the chance to see this classic on the big screen.
It's been a long time since I've seen this and I'm always a little cautious about revisiting old favourites as my taste in films gradually changes. But luckily this one hadn't lost any of it's magic. It's a simple idea that's taken to the next level by a talented cast and wonderful script.
One of the reasons I think I love old movies so much is that they had a love of musical elements. I was always a fan of The Andrews Sisters, the Road movies, and of course musicals. A jazzy little number kept you buzzing and always knocked the entertainment value up a notch. This is no exception. Everyone loves some sultry Monroe be-dooping on screen.
There are lots of snippets online about the production and it give you a fantastic background. Monroe was terrible at remembering even that basic lines and they ended up writing lots of them down to hide on set, but some how that still didn't help to reduce the number of takes they needed to do. Curtis' prim and proper Josephine actually came about from him being uncomfortable dressed as a woman. Lemmon gave up being taught how to walk in heels because he wanted to look like a man wearing heels for the part. Despite it being in Monroe's contract that all her films had to be in colour they agreed to film in black and white because the make-up Curtis and Lemmon were wearing made them looking slightly green on camera... that's just some of it. It's well worth having a look around for other tidbits.
It's amazing to think that the flawless looking make-up in black and white looks completely different in colour. Let's face it, they both turn out looking pretty good dressed as women.
As a double act Curtis and Lemmon are wonderful together, both and Joe & Jerry and Josephine and Daphne. The dialogue, timing and the way they interact physically is all brilliant. One of my favourite bits is very early on when they realise the "funeral" is about to get raided. It's cool, calm and coordinated, not a beat is missed and the whole sequence puts a smile on my face.
I went to log this film on Letterboxd and noticed that I'd rated it as a four star film. Accurate, I thought to myself. But as I started to write notes for this review I realised I was sorely under appreciating it. How could I not give this five stars? Everything it does, it nails.
Being really picky, I'm not a big fan of Marilyn Monroe as an actress. I never feel that she stood up on her own, it tends to be the effort of everyone else that makes her shine better. That being said, she still has that massive impact on the screen and a naivety that needs to be there for some of the humour to work. Curtis dropping the dead pan line about water polo wouldn't have worked with any other type of character.
If I were to list the best bits of the film here I might as well just narrate you the whole movie. There are so many fun bits but one of my top ones is the engagement. That childlike glee is just so much fun that you're rooting for it to work too.
What you should do
There's no way that you should go through life without seeing Some Like It Hot. While there are a couple of moments that feel dated the humour is so good it would be a travesty to miss it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Tough choice... Curtis' agility when climbing the front of the hotel, Lemmon's dance moves, or the ability to make a cocktail in a hot water bottle... decisions decisions!
It's been a long time since I've seen this and I'm always a little cautious about revisiting old favourites as my taste in films gradually changes. But luckily this one hadn't lost any of it's magic. It's a simple idea that's taken to the next level by a talented cast and wonderful script.
One of the reasons I think I love old movies so much is that they had a love of musical elements. I was always a fan of The Andrews Sisters, the Road movies, and of course musicals. A jazzy little number kept you buzzing and always knocked the entertainment value up a notch. This is no exception. Everyone loves some sultry Monroe be-dooping on screen.
There are lots of snippets online about the production and it give you a fantastic background. Monroe was terrible at remembering even that basic lines and they ended up writing lots of them down to hide on set, but some how that still didn't help to reduce the number of takes they needed to do. Curtis' prim and proper Josephine actually came about from him being uncomfortable dressed as a woman. Lemmon gave up being taught how to walk in heels because he wanted to look like a man wearing heels for the part. Despite it being in Monroe's contract that all her films had to be in colour they agreed to film in black and white because the make-up Curtis and Lemmon were wearing made them looking slightly green on camera... that's just some of it. It's well worth having a look around for other tidbits.
It's amazing to think that the flawless looking make-up in black and white looks completely different in colour. Let's face it, they both turn out looking pretty good dressed as women.
As a double act Curtis and Lemmon are wonderful together, both and Joe & Jerry and Josephine and Daphne. The dialogue, timing and the way they interact physically is all brilliant. One of my favourite bits is very early on when they realise the "funeral" is about to get raided. It's cool, calm and coordinated, not a beat is missed and the whole sequence puts a smile on my face.
I went to log this film on Letterboxd and noticed that I'd rated it as a four star film. Accurate, I thought to myself. But as I started to write notes for this review I realised I was sorely under appreciating it. How could I not give this five stars? Everything it does, it nails.
Being really picky, I'm not a big fan of Marilyn Monroe as an actress. I never feel that she stood up on her own, it tends to be the effort of everyone else that makes her shine better. That being said, she still has that massive impact on the screen and a naivety that needs to be there for some of the humour to work. Curtis dropping the dead pan line about water polo wouldn't have worked with any other type of character.
If I were to list the best bits of the film here I might as well just narrate you the whole movie. There are so many fun bits but one of my top ones is the engagement. That childlike glee is just so much fun that you're rooting for it to work too.
What you should do
There's no way that you should go through life without seeing Some Like It Hot. While there are a couple of moments that feel dated the humour is so good it would be a travesty to miss it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Tough choice... Curtis' agility when climbing the front of the hotel, Lemmon's dance moves, or the ability to make a cocktail in a hot water bottle... decisions decisions!
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murder and the Birth of the FBI in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<I>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</I>
It is well known that throughout history, facts have been omitted from history books. Written accounts of events ostensibly make important figures and countries appear to be in the right, whereas reality reveals otherwise. One such exclusion is the fate of the Native Americans inhabiting the southern states at the beginning of the 1900s. Children are brought up to believe the stories that “Red Indians” are bad and the cowboys are good, but this was unlikely the case. David Grann has researched into a particular period of Native American history that most people may never have heard of.<I> Killers of the Flower Moon</I> reveals the horrors innocent people faced at the hands of perfidious criminals.
The majority of the book is written as a third person narrative, recounting the lives of some of the members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. White people, believing themselves to be superior, had forced the natives off their homelands and onto rocky, unwanted ground. What they did not anticipate, however, was the abundance of oil residing beneath the surface. The Osage went from being oppressed to being the wealthiest people in the state. Full of avarice, the whites were not going to let them get away with this fortune for long.
David Grann takes a particular interest in Mollie Burkhart, an Osage member with a white husband. Mollie had three sisters, but within a few short years they were all dead, and so was her mother. Believing they had been murdered, Mollie fears for her life. Other Osage members were also being killed, as well as those who tried to investigate the spreading slaughter. However, the case remained stubbornly unsolved.
Nevertheless, there was still hope for Mollie after the arrival of Tom White, an agent of the soon to be known as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Determined to get to the bottom of the so-called Reign of Terror, Tom and his team carefully analyse the behaviours and motives of the disingenuous citizens, narrowing down the suspects until eventually finding their duplicitous killer.
Learning about this unknown period of history is eye opening and offers a completely new view on the relations between whites and Native Americans. It was a time of prejudice and racism, not unlike the attitude towards black people emphasised with the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s. Greed was a significant motivator, particularly where making money was involved. But, David Grann does not stop here.
The final section of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is written from the author’s perspective. As a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker</i>, the evidence of the Osage murders case intrigued David Grann, but he was concerned about some unresolved holes in the story. Determined to uncover the truth, Grann conducted his own research to discover the culprits behind the undocumented murders unrelated to Mollie Burkhart’s family. What he stumbles on highlights the severity of the dark fate the Osage Indians were threatened with.
Despite being written as a narrative, it is obvious that <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is a work of non-fiction. It lacks emotion and character insight, however, since it is not meant to be a fabricated story, these elements are not required. Instead, it shocks and disturbs the reader with its unbelievable truths.
An extensive biography proves the authenticity of David Grann’s revelation. With the reinforcement of FBI files, jury testimonials, statements, court transcripts, letters, telegrams, diaries and confessions, Grann produces a strong historical record of events that should not be glossed over. Without authors and books such as <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i>, people will blindly go around believing falsehoods. The truth needs to be discovered, and readers can start by reading this book.
It is well known that throughout history, facts have been omitted from history books. Written accounts of events ostensibly make important figures and countries appear to be in the right, whereas reality reveals otherwise. One such exclusion is the fate of the Native Americans inhabiting the southern states at the beginning of the 1900s. Children are brought up to believe the stories that “Red Indians” are bad and the cowboys are good, but this was unlikely the case. David Grann has researched into a particular period of Native American history that most people may never have heard of.<I> Killers of the Flower Moon</I> reveals the horrors innocent people faced at the hands of perfidious criminals.
The majority of the book is written as a third person narrative, recounting the lives of some of the members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. White people, believing themselves to be superior, had forced the natives off their homelands and onto rocky, unwanted ground. What they did not anticipate, however, was the abundance of oil residing beneath the surface. The Osage went from being oppressed to being the wealthiest people in the state. Full of avarice, the whites were not going to let them get away with this fortune for long.
David Grann takes a particular interest in Mollie Burkhart, an Osage member with a white husband. Mollie had three sisters, but within a few short years they were all dead, and so was her mother. Believing they had been murdered, Mollie fears for her life. Other Osage members were also being killed, as well as those who tried to investigate the spreading slaughter. However, the case remained stubbornly unsolved.
Nevertheless, there was still hope for Mollie after the arrival of Tom White, an agent of the soon to be known as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Determined to get to the bottom of the so-called Reign of Terror, Tom and his team carefully analyse the behaviours and motives of the disingenuous citizens, narrowing down the suspects until eventually finding their duplicitous killer.
Learning about this unknown period of history is eye opening and offers a completely new view on the relations between whites and Native Americans. It was a time of prejudice and racism, not unlike the attitude towards black people emphasised with the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s. Greed was a significant motivator, particularly where making money was involved. But, David Grann does not stop here.
The final section of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is written from the author’s perspective. As a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker</i>, the evidence of the Osage murders case intrigued David Grann, but he was concerned about some unresolved holes in the story. Determined to uncover the truth, Grann conducted his own research to discover the culprits behind the undocumented murders unrelated to Mollie Burkhart’s family. What he stumbles on highlights the severity of the dark fate the Osage Indians were threatened with.
Despite being written as a narrative, it is obvious that <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is a work of non-fiction. It lacks emotion and character insight, however, since it is not meant to be a fabricated story, these elements are not required. Instead, it shocks and disturbs the reader with its unbelievable truths.
An extensive biography proves the authenticity of David Grann’s revelation. With the reinforcement of FBI files, jury testimonials, statements, court transcripts, letters, telegrams, diaries and confessions, Grann produces a strong historical record of events that should not be glossed over. Without authors and books such as <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i>, people will blindly go around believing falsehoods. The truth needs to be discovered, and readers can start by reading this book.
BackToTheMovies (56 KP) rated The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019
With it being 50 years since the tragic Manson murders in California we have a year of Manson movies. We have the independent film Charlie Says which explores Manson and his cult in sensitive detail before the tragic night. We have Tarantino’s Once Up A Time In Hollywood which has been given the go-ahead from Sharon Tate’s sister to be made. Then we have this. The Haunting of Sharon Tate. An overly exploitative piece that twists truths to create a narrative and completely trashes the legacy of the late actress.
August 8, 1969, the night that Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent were brutally murdered. The film focuses on the days before the tragic event. The movie dramatizes the slayings and plays on the notion that Sharon Tate predicted her own death in the days leading up to the slaughter.
Surrounded by bad acting and awful scripting it was a very poor choice to make this film in the first place. Writer-director Daniel Farrands has created an offensive and frankly insulting ‘thriller’. Hilary Duff stars as Sharon Tate and whilst she somewhat looks the part, she doesn’t have that raw magic and flair that Sharon had. This tragic event has been turned into some stock-horror slash um up movie with a psychic paranormal twist.
At one point Manson’s song ‘Cease to Exist’ plays to Sharon over a tape player and the Manson Family stalks Tate and her friends around her home. It really is that bad. The introduction of the movie shows real-life footage as a black and white Hilary Duff talks about her own death. The opening scene of the movie is enough to want me to turn off the film instantly.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate still
With no care or respect being paid to the real-life counterparts, the movie has very little to say other than ‘you’re going to die soon’. There’s no feeling of empathy. The Haunting of Sharon Tate is just a 90-minute exploitation of a horrific night in Hollywood’s history.
https://backtothemovies.com/exploitative-trash-the-haunting-of-sharon-tate-review/
August 8, 1969, the night that Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent were brutally murdered. The film focuses on the days before the tragic event. The movie dramatizes the slayings and plays on the notion that Sharon Tate predicted her own death in the days leading up to the slaughter.
Surrounded by bad acting and awful scripting it was a very poor choice to make this film in the first place. Writer-director Daniel Farrands has created an offensive and frankly insulting ‘thriller’. Hilary Duff stars as Sharon Tate and whilst she somewhat looks the part, she doesn’t have that raw magic and flair that Sharon had. This tragic event has been turned into some stock-horror slash um up movie with a psychic paranormal twist.
At one point Manson’s song ‘Cease to Exist’ plays to Sharon over a tape player and the Manson Family stalks Tate and her friends around her home. It really is that bad. The introduction of the movie shows real-life footage as a black and white Hilary Duff talks about her own death. The opening scene of the movie is enough to want me to turn off the film instantly.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate still
With no care or respect being paid to the real-life counterparts, the movie has very little to say other than ‘you’re going to die soon’. There’s no feeling of empathy. The Haunting of Sharon Tate is just a 90-minute exploitation of a horrific night in Hollywood’s history.
https://backtothemovies.com/exploitative-trash-the-haunting-of-sharon-tate-review/
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Andy K (10823 KP) rated Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
She's alive!
I am trying to remember the last film I saw where the title character doesn't appear until the last 10 minutes? I don't think I can. In Superman, you don't see Christopher Reeve for the first hour, in Aliens you don't see any full grown Aliens until an hour in. Can you think of any others?
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
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