Man on Wire - When the Twin Towers were just completed, a French tightrope walker and his friends made a masterplan to sneak to the top and try to pull off the greatest tightrope walk of all time. Amazing story of passion to accomplish something great.
Man on Wire - When the Twin Towers were just completed, a French tightrope walker and his friends made a masterplan to sneak to the top and try to pull off the greatest tightrope walk of all time. Amazing story of passion to accomplish something great.
My father worked for a company named Transitmix which was owned by his godfather and supplied all the cement/concrete for the WTC. Pops built a lot of other stuff in NYC, the United Nations, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, 1969 Worlds Fair Grounds in Flushing, the Cross Bronx Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway and Long Island Expressway, the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport designed by Eero Saarinen (the Beatles arrived in America for the first time at the airport while they were building this), the Whitestone, Throgsneck and Verrazano Narrows bridges. Anyhoo, my mom took me and my sisters down to see the buildings in their completion and to meet my dad on the day this happened. I was like 7 years old, so I guess I figured that kind of thing hapened all the time.
And on another movie reference. My fathers godfather, the guy who owned Transitmix, also owned the Penn Stevedoring Co. which was the largest produce handler in the U.S. He was known as the "Mysterious Mr. Big" of the New York waterfront and his control of the westside docks prompted the Waterfront Crime Commission Hearings in the 1950s which provided the factual background for Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront." The character of "Mr. Upstairs" in that movie, is based on my fathers godfather.
This one usually gets relegated due to the relative lack of action and gore but I still think it's one of the best horror movies ever made. If you suspend disbelief and accept the basic premise of the Devil's second coming, then it probably depicts exactly what he'd try to do - manoeuvre into a position of power and influence by supplanting the rightful heir to a political dynasty. This realism creates an air of inexorable, impending doom that is profoundly chilling. Compare that to the Exorcist where an un explained demon posseses a little girl at random without any better masterplan than to vomit green sludge and talk dirty...
I always thought that older films kind of glossed over the sekshual bits but these two were sparking all the way through and his dialogue was pretty up-front - I guess these were more sexist times?
And on another movie reference. My fathers godfather, the guy who owned Transitmix, also owned the Penn Stevedoring Co. which was the largest produce handler in the U.S. He was known as the "Mysterious Mr. Big" of the New York waterfront and his control of the westside docks prompted the Waterfront Crime Commission Hearings in the 1950s which provided the factual background for Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront." The character of "Mr. Upstairs" in that movie, is based on McCormack.
They just featured a book about McCormack and the westside docks in the NYT Books section last Sunday.
This one usually gets relegated due to the relative lack of action and gore but I still think it's one of the best horror movies ever made. If you suspend disbelief and accept the basic premise of the Devil's second coming, then it probably depicts exactly what he'd try to do - manoeuvre into a position of power and influence by supplanting the rightful heir to a political dynasty. This realism creates an air of inexorable, impending doom that is profoundly chilling. Compare that to the Exorcist where an un explained demon posseses a little girl at random without any better masterplan than to vomit green sludge and talk dirty...
Sorry, I have to disagree. I love this movie, but it can only be truly appreciated as a comedy. It's about as realistic as elves making cookies in a hollow tree.
Sexploitation combined well with the cannibal genre i enjoyed it.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
I saw Erin Brockovich for the first time last night, and really enjoyed the old-fashioned Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, blue-collar-Joe/Joanne-triumphs-over-the-faceless-monolithic-institutions aspect of it.
Also, I don't think I've ever seen Julia Roberts look hotter in a movie. Although, considering her character dresses like an off-duty stripper and swears like a stevedore, I dunno what that says about me...
Exterminator is dope. RIP Robert Ginty. I have a love-hate thing with revenge movies. I generally fast forward through the really uncomfortable, obligatory rape/beating/poodle-kicking/etc. intro scenes: bottom-of-the-barrel motivation set-up. When it comes time to start smashing the skulls of society's most wicked, it's on!
Last House On The Left: One of the rare cases when the remake improves on the original. David Hess kicks ass, but the Keystone cop comedy relief ruins the original.
Dial M For Murder: Trying to keep track of where the hell the key is while wondering which man is going to slip first is like being grifted at a shell game. It's amazing how shocking the scene of Anthony Dawson getting a pair of scissors in the back and falling belly up, pushing the blade right up against the spine further, still is to this day. You would think that such would be considered "tame" compared to the death scenes in contemporary films, which have gotten so be so gory and special-effects dependent that they have either become cartoon-y parodies of themselves or use the same old corny, overly dramatic cliches.
Yes! Brilliant movie. I caught the super-latte pass on this one too. Man, trailers sure were different back then. Movies too, of course.
One of my all-time favorites. Fun fact: Gleason played Minnesota Fats in the movie, but did his own trick shots, as he was an excellent pool player. Paul Newman's shots are almost always cuts that just show his hands, because his shots were done by...the real Minnesota Fats.
Chandler is great, Its too bad that most of the movies made on his books are only so-so. The Cane books faired better IMO. Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity.
I like end of Key Largo, where Bogart kills all the gangsters on the boat.
Yeah, the adaptations of Cain's stuff are better movies. His work was really dark to begin with though, so even cleaned up it still works well. I believe the problem with The Big Sleep was that Chandler never explained what happened with the chauffeur.
Chandler is great, Its too bad that most of the movies made on his books are only so-so. The Cane books faired better IMO. Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity.
I like end of Key Largo, where Bogart kills all the gangsters on the boat.
Yeah, the adaptations of Cain's stuff are better movies. His work was really dark to begin with though, so even cleaned up it still works well. I believe the problem with The Big Sleep was that Chandler never explained what happened with the chauffeur.
Didn't Chandler himself admit that he wasn't actually sure what had happened?
Chandler is great, Its too bad that most of the movies made on his books are only so-so. The Cane books faired better IMO. Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity.
I like end of Key Largo, where Bogart kills all the gangsters on the boat.
Yeah, the adaptations of Cain's stuff are better movies. His work was really dark to begin with though, so even cleaned up it still works well. I believe the problem with The Big Sleep was that Chandler never explained what happened with the chauffeur.
Didn't Chandler himself admit that he wasn't actually sure what had happened?
Not sure. Dude certainly drank enough, so I'd guess he just forgot to tie up the loose end when he was making up the ending.
Chandler is great, Its too bad that most of the movies made on his books are only so-so. The Cane books faired better IMO. Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity.
I like end of Key Largo, where Bogart kills all the gangsters on the boat.
Yeah, the adaptations of Cain's stuff are better movies. His work was really dark to begin with though, so even cleaned up it still works well. I believe the problem with The Big Sleep was that Chandler never explained what happened with the chauffeur.
Didn't Chandler himself admit that he wasn't actually sure what had happened?
Not sure. Dude certainly drank enough, so I'd guess he just forgot to tie up the loose end when he was making up the ending.
The problem with the Big Sleep is they cut the sex out. Made the plot meaningless.
As for the chauffeur, Chandler was not writing who-dunits. He didn't care what happened to the chauffeur and it was not important to the plot that it be resolved.
As for the chauffeur, Chandler was not writing who-dunits. He didn't care what happened to the chauffeur and it was not important to the plot that it be resolved.
That doesn't make any sense. The man wrote detective fiction. He wrote it better than most, true. But if the mystery and ultimate plot resolution wasn't important to his work, why is this the only example in his entire output of a loose plot thread?
As for the chauffeur, Chandler was not writing who-dunits. He didn't care what happened to the chauffeur and it was not important to the plot that it be resolved.
That doesn't make any sense. The man wrote detective fiction. He wrote it better than most, true. But if the mystery and ultimate plot resolution wasn't important to his work, why is this the only example in his entire output of a loose plot thread?
I think there are lots of loose threads in his books.
It's been over 10 years since I read one, but thats how I remember it. (I've read them all.)
To me the books were not about who-dunit, they were about an LA that was growing as fast as it was decaying. They were about fists the size and color of an eggplant and carpeting that tickled the ankles and a wallets trying to crawl under a duck. And about trying to separate the guilty from the innocent. A distinction that was often blurred in his books.
They were not about finding a suspect and motive for every crime that happened.
To me the books were not about who-dunit, they were about an LA that was growing as fast as it was decaying. They were about fists the size and color of an eggplant and carpeting that tickled the ankles and a wallets trying to crawl under a duck. And about trying to separate the guilty from the innocent. A distinction that was often blurred in his books.
They were not about finding a suspect and motive for every crime that happened.
There's plenty of depth and richness to his characters and settings, but those elements aren't exclusive of the plots they propel. Quite the opposite, really. The basic whodunit formula is a crime, clues, and the protagonist's drive to resolve the mystery. Chandler uses that framework, then informs his world with an astute perception of human character and modern culture. It would be trivializing his fiction to refer to it by the rather diminutive term "whodunit," but that is basic structure of what he did. He just added more to it and did it better than most.
Comments
And to think Glenn Beck was inspired by the Howard Beal character. Easily one of my favorites.
so unreal. a must-see, everyone.
I was actually there at the WTC for that.
My father worked for a company named Transitmix which was owned by his godfather and supplied all the cement/concrete for the WTC. Pops built a lot of other stuff in NYC, the United Nations, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, 1969 Worlds Fair Grounds in Flushing, the Cross Bronx Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway and Long Island Expressway, the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport designed by Eero Saarinen (the Beatles arrived in America for the first time at the airport while they were building this), the Whitestone, Throgsneck and Verrazano Narrows bridges. Anyhoo, my mom took me and my sisters down to see the buildings in their completion and to meet my dad on the day this happened. I was like 7 years old, so I guess I figured that kind of thing hapened all the time.
I was surprised how sordid this was, that chicken hawk purveyor scene was a little unnerving.
Fire on many counts.
I always thought that older films kind of glossed over the sekshual bits but these two were sparking all the way through and his dialogue was pretty up-front - I guess these were more sexist times?
James Mason is the icing on the cake.
They just featured a book about McCormack and the westside docks in the NYT Books section last Sunday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/excerpt-dark-harbor.html
Sorry, I have to disagree. I love this movie, but it can only be truly appreciated as a comedy. It's about as realistic as elves making cookies in a hollow tree.
Sexploitation combined well with the cannibal genre i enjoyed it.
Also, I don't think I've ever seen Julia Roberts look hotter in a movie. Although, considering her character dresses like an off-duty stripper and swears like a stevedore, I dunno what that says about me...
Last House On The Left: One of the rare cases when the remake improves on the original. David Hess kicks ass, but the Keystone cop comedy relief ruins the original.
Dial M For Murder: Trying to keep track of where the hell the key is while wondering which man is going to slip first is like being grifted at a shell game. It's amazing how shocking the scene of Anthony Dawson getting a pair of scissors in the back and falling belly up, pushing the blade right up against the spine further, still is to this day. You would think that such would be considered "tame" compared to the death scenes in contemporary films, which have gotten so be so gory and special-effects dependent that they have either become cartoon-y parodies of themselves or use the same old corny, overly dramatic cliches.
Death Race 2000
One of my all-time favorites. Fun fact: Gleason played Minnesota Fats in the movie, but did his own trick shots, as he was an excellent pool player. Paul Newman's shots are almost always cuts that just show his hands, because his shots were done by...the real Minnesota Fats.
Yeah, the adaptations of Cain's stuff are better movies. His work was really dark to begin with though, so even cleaned up it still works well. I believe the problem with The Big Sleep was that Chandler never explained what happened with the chauffeur.
Didn't Chandler himself admit that he wasn't actually sure what had happened?
Not sure. Dude certainly drank enough, so I'd guess he just forgot to tie up the loose end when he was making up the ending.
The problem with the Big Sleep is they cut the sex out. Made the plot meaningless.
As for the chauffeur, Chandler was not writing who-dunits. He didn't care what happened to the chauffeur and it was not important to the plot that it be resolved.
That doesn't make any sense. The man wrote detective fiction. He wrote it better than most, true. But if the mystery and ultimate plot resolution wasn't important to his work, why is this the only example in his entire output of a loose plot thread?
I think there are lots of loose threads in his books.
It's been over 10 years since I read one, but thats how I remember it. (I've read them all.)
To me the books were not about who-dunit, they were about an LA that was growing as fast as it was decaying. They were about fists the size and color of an eggplant and carpeting that tickled the ankles and a wallets trying to crawl under a duck. And about trying to separate the guilty from the innocent. A distinction that was often blurred in his books.
They were not about finding a suspect and motive for every crime that happened.
There's plenty of depth and richness to his characters and settings, but those elements aren't exclusive of the plots they propel. Quite the opposite, really. The basic whodunit formula is a crime, clues, and the protagonist's drive to resolve the mystery. Chandler uses that framework, then informs his world with an astute perception of human character and modern culture. It would be trivializing his fiction to refer to it by the rather diminutive term "whodunit," but that is basic structure of what he did. He just added more to it and did it better than most.
Sure did.