MovieChat Forums > MizhuB > Replies
MizhuB's Replies
Uh oh. I hit on one that you liked!
Well, that's why they have 31 flavors.
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No problem. I only saw it that one time, and if I saw it today, I'd probably see it as too ridiculous. But I think 2 things were at work.
1) That rave review I saw on TV had probably biased me before I even saw it.
2) The theater was packed and the audience found it hysterical. I'm a firm believer that if you see a comedy in a packed theater, the laughter is contagious. I've seen comedies I thought were funny as hell in the theater later on, and thought, 'I laughed at THAT?'
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Indeed, one thing Arthur had was a DRIVER who drove him around in a Rolls Royce, I think. So Arthur himself never drove drunk and never endangered anyone.
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True, Arthur had a driver who drove him around in a Rolls, but there WAS one scene of him driving himself on a highway, I think to see his fiance's father on Long Island. He was driving some kind of expensive convertible, drinking, and laughing. So was the audience. Laughing, I mean.
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Loved every minute of the movie? Or the solo experience?
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Both. I loved the movie, and I loved seeing it alone. As you said in a later post, I didn't have to worry about if my date or my friends liked it, I could just kick back and watch it on my own. And I remember that although it was Thanksgiving evening, I wouldn't say the theater was packed, but there were more people there than I expected. And most of them were either also solos, or middle-aged couples.
Anyway, Arthur. Such a funny movie. And so touching in the end. And a career saver(short lived) for Liza Minnelli as Arthur's true love. She's great in it, too.
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I saw Arthur on a date. The whole audience thought it was hysterical. Funny to think that nowadays, when drunk driving is such an issue, a movie about a drunk driving constantly could be considered funny. Or a movie about a guy who's always drunk in general could be funny at all. Times, they change.
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Body Heat was, I think, a film of the fall.
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Yes, it absolutely was. I distinctly remember because...I saw it on Thanksgiving night. I'd heard about how good it was and wanted to see it. I was so freakin' tired of doing the whole 'family thing' that I decided to just leave and see it. No date, no friends, just went to the cinema by myself for the first time. And loved every minute of it.
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The first movie I saw with old high school friends was risible: a comedy called "Caveman" which was , really, quite stupid.
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Yes, it was. And hysterically so!
I remember seeing a critic on a news show reviewing it, and he admitted right from the start that it was stupid, but he loved it!
He said, 'There's no English spoken in it, but if you can't understand what 'Zug-Zug' means, you better go back to sex education classes'. Cracked up the whole news team.
I saw that one with a date...and we brought my sister. And we laughed our asses off.
Did WC steal that from another Hitchcock movie? I had to look at Notorious again when you mentioned the road scene w/the cop.
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I haven't seen Notorious since I was a teenager (eons ago), so I have no memory of that. Perhaps I need to watch both films again.
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I almost blurted out the doctor scene wasn't necessary, but didn't want to argue for another 50+ years ;).
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Well, since Homicidal was WC's attempt at duplicating PSYCHO, of Course he had to tag on an explanation scene. No need to argue about that ;)
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Then one doesn't sharpen a surgical instrument with a grinder. It's done by sharpening stone. It's no wonder Emily sent him packing with $2. I'll give him credit for making house calls tho.
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Because I'm curiously nerdy about these things, I looked up what $2 in 1961 money would be in 2019 money. About $17. Not to shabby to sharpen one knife, even if it wasn't done the right way, and worth the trip
I've said before, I am a fan of some cheesy 60s 'horror films'. Strait-Jacket, Homicidal, Eye of the Cat, Scream of Fear (although I think that's actually pretty good), etc. When I pop them into the DVD player, I mostly just watch the parts I like, and keep it playing for background fluff while I do other stuff.
To me, Homicidal has a pretty intriguing first act. The opening through the first murder. A good 20 minutes. After that, it falls into laughable territory and stays there until the end.
jasonbourne mentioned the low budget cars. It's worse than that. There are two shots which are repeated on the same road. And an obvious jump cut when Miriam tosses the wedding ring onto the road.
Hi ecarle.
I saw Bohemian Rhapsody. On the internet. I found that it followed the same formulaic pattern as just about every other film about a singer. La Bamba. Selena. Ray. Many others.
There's a website I like to read that has articles about all kinds of stuff. I read one about how inaccurate Bohemian Rhapsody was, how it was toned down to get a PG-13 rating, things were shown out of order, misrepresentations, etc.
Now, even though Elton John has said that he actually WANTED it to get an R rating to show exactly what his life was like, with the sex and drugs, that same site has already pointed out inconsistencies in his 'life story'.
So I feel no real rush to see ROCKETMAN. If at all, I'll wait till I can see it for free.
Elton John definitely had some good songs. But his duet with Kiki Dee of 'Don't Go Breakin' My Heart' was (and is) one of the worst songs I've ever heard.
Someone on this site pointed out that he also wrote one of the worst lyrics ever. In ROCKETMAN. Which is a song I never liked to begin with. I guess for a supposed biopic of Elton John, it makes for a good title.
'Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids.
In fact, it's cold as hell.
And there's no one there to raise them...
If you did.'
WTH does that mean?
I think all the people giving her praise in this thread are just big fans of her or just Taratino mega fans.
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This was the first movie I'd ever seen her in. I thought she was right on the money (and beautiful).
And I am NOT a Tarantino fan. I HATED Pulp Fiction.
So I don't fit into either of your categories.
She was beautiful. And in my day, we used to call that 'built like a brick sh*t house'. ;)
No one made any connection between PSYCHO and Hitchcock at all. Well, only those of us who were over 50 and mentioned some of his other films.
It was only when I mentioned PSYCHO that one girl (25 or 26) said she'd seen it. I asked her if it was the remake and she was stumped. I asked, 'Was it in black and white, or color?'
She answered, 'In color. I don't watch old movies. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a black and white movie.'
The under-30s had also never heard of the sequels. I assume they never heard of the Bates Motel series. Which, honestly, I've never seen either.
I would've been all over that slot machine. I would have liked it to be a question and answer thing. I'm sure I would have aced it.
Hi ecarle. I happen to be on the computer too ;)
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(by the way, some folks who read the book have written that ALL Mother does is behead Marion -- one stroke -- but we are later told that no, she slashed away at Marion in the shower BEFORE beheading her as the coup de grace.)
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As I recall in the novel, as Norman is picking up Marion's head, it says 'Nothing else was severed, only slashed.'
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O/T. I used to have a LOT of books (mostly paperbacks) that were made into movies. You could almost consider them classics. Last time I moved, I decided I wanted to de-clutter, so I threw them out. Now I'm kicking myself in the butt.
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I would say in your description, there's another PHASE after FOUR.
1) There actually IS a stab to the torso after the last of Marion's head turn. It doesn't just press against her skin, the tip actually pierces it. It's a fraction of a second, but it's there. I have a screen cap of it for doubters, but it's a shame you can't upload pics to this site.
2) There is also a quick shot from the right side of Marion's back where you can actually see the shape of her right breast, partially blocked by her arm. The implication is that she gets stabbed in her breast.
Yes, I've seen PSYCHO too many times.
swanstep, I'm very sorry too. My mom got progressively more sick for the last three years of her life. The last time she went into the hospital, she was in there for 5 weeks. She eventually decided she didn't want to live on life support anymore (she was conscious, but needed it) and decided to go into hospice. She passed away 3 days later.
Also, my sister was hit by a car this past Xmas eve. I found out about it on Xmas day (She lived in CA, I'm on the east coast). She was in a coma and declared brain dead. She was on life support and finally on Dec. 30, my niece and I were told that her organs were shutting down. So we had to make the difficult decision to take her off life support. She passed within a half hour.
I know what you mean about the all-nighters and the arrangements. My niece and I spent hours making arrangements with the funeral home, the cemetary (they both wouldn't even start the process until they were paid. I paid them), starting a GoFundMe page to try to raise money, writing her obituary, etc. It's exhausting.
Sorry to distract from the DD posts, but just wanted to say...I get it.
Being the mystery buff I am, my favorite film of hers was 'Midnight Lace'. Yes, it was an over-produced melodrama, but I always found it highly entertaining. And as a kid, it scared the blank outta me. That stranger's voice!
As usual, a very thoughtful post, ecarle.
But I disagree with one thing you said:
"Most everybody knows Rear Window, Vertigo(if only through its Sight and Sound notoriety), and North by Northwest. And I'd say that together, Psycho and The Birds are the two most famous Hitchcock films today with the public -- for their modernistic horror element."
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I know I've said this once before, so forgive me for saying it again.
I was at a party at least EIGHT years ago and the conversation turned to movies. Someone mentioned Alfred Hitchcock and EVERYBODY under 30 said, 'Who's Alfred Hitchcock?'
Those of us over 30 (Ok, 40. Ok, 50) were incredulous. How could anyone not know who he is?
Us elders started rattling off the names of his movies. Rear Window? Vertigo? North by Northwest? The Birds? Not to mention never having heard of his popular TV show.
They all sat there shaking their heads. They'd never heard of any of them. I said, Psycho?
One girl said, 'I saw Psycho! I thought it sucked!'
I asked her if it was the original. She didn't know. I asked her if it was in B/W or color. She said 'color. I never watch old movies.'
I told her, 'That was the remake. THAT sucked.'
So I don't think you can still say 'Most everybody knows...' or 'Everybody remembers...'
Because the sad fact is, IMO, most under-40s don't know him or his films at all.
There was only one woman there in her 30's who said, 'I saw one of his films. I rented FRENZY to watch with my daughter. We only watch it till the end because it was so BAD, we were laughing the whole way through.'
Laughing at FRENZY. How times change.
That scene when the spooky ghost lady turns around always scared the living shit out me as a child
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My introduction to PSYCHO was when it was shown for the first time on TV. I was a kid. My sister was a few years older. We'd heard from our parents (who had seen it in the theater) about how brutal the shower scene was.
Our parents went out that night.
We were fearing (meaning, anticipation) the dreaded shower scene. When we saw that door open and the figure walking to the shower, our hearts were pounding.
But the scene was severely cut. Sorry, I'll say 'truncated'. There was no sound other than the screeching violins. It was over in seconds and consisted of only alternating shots of Janet Leigh's face and the dark figure with the knife. To us, it was no big deal.
Then came Arbogast's killing on the staircase. That was more of a shocker, because it was intact.
But the BIGGEST shock for both of us was when mother's corpse turned around. I turned my head away, but my sis screamed and ran into the kitchen.
Ah, the way things affect you when you're very young.
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Those edits, I submit, would have made "Psycho" very nearly perfect.
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It seems as the years go by, I'm more and more in the minority, but having been a PSYCHO fan since childhood, and to this date, I see NOTHING wrong with the psychiatrist scene. Maybe the dialogue could've been pared down a little, but I wouldn't cut one single point the psychiatrist made.
The audience NEEDED that explanation to get the whole story. Otherwise, I can see people nowadays griping, 'But why did he do this or that? We should've been told more.'
Good point about movies made from Agatha Christie's novels. Murder on the Orient Express. Death on the Nile. Evil Under the Sun. All had expositions that made Psycho's Psyche Scene seem like a blip.
I saw 'Evil Under the Sun' at a house party thrown by a friend. This was when attention spans were longer and it was the story, not the effects, that drove the movie. Right before Poirot gave his explanation, the girl's brother said, 'You've GOTTA watch the way he does this. It's great!'
And for the next 10 minutes or so, everyone sat, rapt, watching the TV
I haven't watched PSYCHO in a few years, but I'm pretty sure the DVD I have does not include Norman screaming 'I'm Norma Bates!' as John Gavin tackles him. I think I've only seen that on YouTube.
And to be honest, I think it's hokey, and I prefer the scene without it. The psychiatrist explains it anyway. Without her first name, but who needs it, really?
As far as Mrs. Bates being a skeleton, there's probably a huge difference between stuffing birds and preserving an actual human body. And it's not like he's a professional. He himself describes taxidermy as a 'hobby'.
The Matrix, Part One, was brilliant, imaginative and self-contained.
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ecarle, most of the time I agree with you, but it seems with The Matrix, I don't agree with ANYBODY. I've never met anyone who didn't like it. As a matter of fact, when I saw it upon release, I saw it with a friend who was seeing it for the THIRD time. He kept telling me how amazing it was.
I thought it was one of the top five WORST movies I've ever seen in my life.
So I'll just slink back into my corner...
Interesting topic, to say the least ;)
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AFAIK? You got me. Vas ist das? I was guessing "As Far As I'm Concerned," except the K at the end...
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As Far As I Know.
...Or anything else having to do with that movie.
I really, REALLY dislike Pulp Fiction a lot. I watched it twice, thinking maybe I'd have a different opinion of it the second time. Nope. Didn't happen.
I think Jackie Brown is his best film. In fact, I think it's his only good film.
Although I've always thought of Macy as a 'good' actor, I never liked him. He was excellent in 'Focus'.
But he always just bugged me. Even his looks bug me. Sometimes people just feel that way about an actor, with nothing really to back it up. And that rarely happens, with me.
And how he approaches a role bugs me. In a movie like 'Focus' or 'Fargo', it seemed to come across as an 'important' enough role to him, he took the role seriously, putting his heart into it.
With 'Psycho', I always thought he took the job as a paycheck, it seemed as if he was just reciting his lines, all with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek because he didn't take it seriously at all.
And that was all before I read about his saying, 'There's no part to play here', or his dissing Hitchcock.
I guess I could sum it up by saying in the 'Behind the scenes' of filming Psycho '98, after filming the staircase murder in front of a green screen, he pretends to be a swimming fish. That's how I see him approaching the entire role.