What Classics Did You See Last Week (November 2–November 8)
-
unex — 4 months ago(November 09, 2025 01:22 PM)
Doctor X (1932) - A Michael Curtiz horror, shot in two-color Technicolor which gives it a unique overwhelmingly green palette. A dopey reporter provides low-grade comic relief as he investigates a group of mad scientists looking for a murderer among them while Fay Wray lets out the occasional gratuitous scream. It's a sort of classic pulp horror. I thought it was fun.
Obsession (1976) - A melodrama from Brian de Palma and Paul Schrader (but he later disavowed his involvement) about grief and greed. I liked the story though it's a little disturbing. I don't know if John Lithgow's Southern accent was good but I liked that too and he stole every scene with it. Cliff Robertson meanwhile didn't even attempt an accent but he does give a good performance of a man who has been in a daze for the past fifteen years. De Palma wanted to be the American Godard but he seems much more like the American Chabrol. -
sheetsadam1 — 4 months ago(November 09, 2025 01:40 PM)
The Freshman (1925, Sam Taylor & Fred Newmeyer)
- I believe this is only the second Harold Lloyd film I've watched (the other being
Safety Last
). I really should correct that soon because this is pure comedy gold. One brilliant set piece after another, all culminating in the wildest football game I've ever seen in a movie. Lloyd is amazing, of course, but so are Jobyna Ralston as his love interest and Pat Harmon as the coach. Top notch silent comedy!
9.5/10
That Darn Cat (1965, Robert Stevenson) - Fun Disney comedy with a few moments of genuine excitement and intrigue. Hayley Mills and Dean Jones lead a veritable who's who of legendary character actors, but D.C. steals the show.
7/10
Silver Streak (1976, Arthur Hiller) - A wildly uneven film. The first half boasts some excellent cinematography, but seems unsure of what it wants to be. Few laughs, any suspense completely undercut by one of the schmaltziest musical scores I've ever heard. BUT THEN, more than an hour into the movie, Richard Pryor shows up and both the film and Gene Wilder come to life, delivering some absolutely hilarious scenes before the film settles into it's final form as an action movie of sorts. The second hour is a vast improvement over the first, but the unevenness won't allow me to rate this any higher than
6/10
.
Splash (1984, Ron Howard) - Rewatch. Such a charming movie! Daryl Hannah is magnetic, Tom Hanks is clearly bound for big things even in his first cinematic leading role, and the always hilarious John Candy and Eugene Levy steal every scene they're in.
8/10
Also watched:
John Candy: I Like Me (2025, Colin Hanks) - A heartfelt biographical documentary on the most likable screen presence of his era. It turns out that he was just as amazing off-screen. Watching this prompted my rewatch of
Splash
and I will be rewatching another of his films prior to Thanksgiving.
The Lowdown season 1 (2025, FX) - Oklahoma-set comedic neo-noir series. Ethan Hawke leads a stacked cast that includes Keith David, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, Kyle MacLachlan, rapper Killer Mike, punk musician John Doe, and Graham Greene in one of his final roles. One of the best new series I've seen in a while.
Death by Lightning (2025, Netflix) - This four-part limited series is great portrait of an era of Presidential history which doesn't typically get much attention. Michael Shannon does a fine job as President James Garfield, accurate to everything I've read of the man, but the real standouts here are Michael Macfayden as his assassin Charles Guiteau and Nick Offerman as the boisterous (then) vice president Chester Arthur.
Frankenstein (2025, Guillermo del Toro) - Sure, this story has been adapted to film many times - including some bonafide classics - but there isn't a more relevant tale from classic literature as we enter the AI apocalypse and del Toro's take is masterful. He succeeds by going back to the source material rather than taking cues from the many other adaptations. Time will tell where it ultimately falls in the rankings, but is the best 2025 film I've seen thus far and Jacon Elordi deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of the Creature.
Draft Barron Trump
- I believe this is only the second Harold Lloyd film I've watched (the other being
-
spiderwort — 4 months ago(November 09, 2025 06:29 PM)
First viewings:
Kes / Ken Loach
(1970). A deeply moving tale of a lonely working-class Yorkshire boy (David Bradley), whose troubled life changes profoundly when he finds a baby kestrel and decides to raise and train it. The film that put Loach on the map, and rightly so, it’s a real beauty. Highly recommended. (On Tubi and pluto tv)
An Apology to Elephants / Amy Shatz
(2013). This 40 minute documentary explores our history with elephants and the problems that arise when they’re brought into captivity. Produced by Lily Tomlin and her partner, Jane Wagner, Tomlin narrates and Wagner wrote the script. I found it to be a deeply moving exploration of one of the most unique and highly endangered animals on the planet to whom we do indeed owe an apology. Highly recommended. (On Max)
Re-watch:
20,000 Years in Sing Sing / Michael Curtiz
(1932). When the tough but compassionate warden of Sing Sing prison (Arthur Byron) lets a brash convict (Spencer Tracy) out on the honor system to visit his injured girlfriend (a young Bette Davis), a tragedy ensues. Based upon the book by Lewis E. Lawes, the actual warden of Sing Sing, and Curtiz actually shot some of it on location in Sing Sing, which adds a documentary feel to it. I saw this once, many decades ago, and it held up well seeing it again. Not a great film, but one that’s very much worth a view for the cast, direction, locations, and the moral aspect of the story. (On TCM until November 10th) -
-
-
PygmyLion — 4 months ago(November 09, 2025 10:06 PM)
Dunkirk
1958 - John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee - Nice story taking place at the Dunkirk evacuation, giving us both the story of infantry men cut off by the Germans and trying to get to Dunkirk and then on a boat to get back home; and also the story of small boat owners, who came to take them off the beaches. ***1/2
The Unguarded Hour
1936 - Loretta Young, Franchot Tone, Lewis Stone, Roland Young - A good crime story. ***
Winchester 73
1950 - Jimmy Stewart, Stephen McNally, Dan Duryea, Shelly Winters. Millard Mitchell. Western. ***1/2
Devil's Doorway
1950 - Robert Taylor, Louis Calhoun, Paula Raymond. Western **1/2
China
1943 - Alan Ladd, Loretta Young, William Bendix. Ladd and Bendix are there to sell gasoline to the Japanese. Loretta Young is a school teacher of teenage Chinese girls. Ladd and Bendix soon find that they need to help the Chinese. This movie actually has a scene where 3 Japanese soldiers stop at a farm and shoot the parents, and then are raping the Chinese girl - sort of indicative of the Rape of Nanking. ***
Private Number
1936 - Loretta Young, Robert Taylor, Basil Rathbone, Patsy Kelly. Sort of an upstairs/downstairs romance. Ellen Neal (Young) is looking for work as a maid at the Winfield mansion. Though she has no experience, the butler (Rathbone) hires her because he is attracted to her. In the end, the young son, Richard (Taylor) falls for Ellen while at the family's summer place in Maine, but the butler must have his revenge - or in his words protect the family - ***1/2 -
CoriSCapnSkip — 4 months ago(November 10, 2025 01:49 AM)
The Halloween Tree
(1993) on November 2
The Book of Life
(2014) on November 3
The Beatles: Get Back
Part 1 (2021) on November 6
The Beatles: Get Back
Part 2 (2021) on November 7
The Beatles: Get Back
Part 3 (2021) on November 7
