Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[Barry]

Gambit, 2012... bluray.


While ostensibly a remake of Gambit (1966), the plot of this version is actually quite different.

Agreed - I much prefer the original:

[struth]

Agreed - I much prefer the original:

just what im watching now lol...GAMBIT, 1966...

The first draft of the screenplay was written by Bryan Forbes in 1960, when the story was designed as a vehicle for Cary Grant. He eventually dropped out of the project, which subsequently underwent many changes. It was eventually decided to make the girl the central character, and Shirley MacLaine was signed for the lead. After seeing The Ipcress File (1965), she suggested Michael Caine as her leading man, which led to still more re-writing to accommodate his working-class cockney persona.

[struth]

Dave, 1993..






Dave debuted at number 2 at the US box office, behind Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. It reached number 1 in its second weekend. In total, Dave made $63.3 million in the United States and Canada and $28.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $91.8 million.

Dave was met with critical acclaim and has a 95% rating based on 55 reviews collected at Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus on the site states: "Ivan Reitman's refreshingly earnest political comedy benefits from an understated, charming script and a breezy performance by Kevin Kline." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four. Ebert praised the film's acting and wrote, "Dave takes that old plot about an ordinary person who is suddenly thrust into a position of power, and finds a fresh way to tell it. [...] When I first heard this story line, I imagined that Dave would be completely predictable. I was wrong. The movie is more proof that it isn't what you do, it's how you do it: Ivan Reitman's direction and Gary Ross's screenplay use intelligence and warmhearted sentiment to make Dave into wonderful lighthearted entertainment. [...] Both Kline and Weaver are good at playing characters of considerable intelligence, and that's the case here. The movie may be built on subtle variations of the Idiot Plot (in which the characters skillfully avoid tripping over obvious conclusions), but they bring such particular qualities to their characters that we almost believe them."

Then-President Bill Clinton approved of the film, and gave Ross a framed script, which Clinton had autographed, writing that it was a "funny, often accurate lampooning of politics." Clinton also gave Ross a picture of himself holding a Dave mug.

[struth]

Without a Clue, 1988...




The closing credits offer an apology that states: "With apologies to the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson."

QuotesHolmes: It wasn't YOU he tried to kill!
Watson: Think man, think... Who was SUPPOSED to be in that room?
Holmes: That's right! You were!
Watson: Moriarty knows... I'm am the only match for his evil genius.
Holmes: You mean he's not trying to kill me?
Watson: Of course not. He knows you're an idiot.
Holmes: Oh, thank God.

[struth]

Blithe Spirit, 1945..




Coward had turned down offers from Hollywood to sell the film rights, stating that previous American versions of his plays had been "vulgarized, distorted and ruined". The rights were instead sold to Cineguild, one of the independent companies supported by the Rank Organization. The film was shot in Technicolor and marked Lean's first attempt at directing comedy after working on two straight films In Which We Serve and This Happy Breed, both also written by Noël Coward. The film was shot at Denham Studios in May 1944.

[struth]

Miller's Crossing, 1990... Criterion bluray reg A...




Writers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen suffered writer's block while writing Miller's Crossing (1990). They took a three week break and wrote Barton Fink (1991) a film about a writer with writer's block. The name of Tom Regan's residence is "The Barton Arms". In one of the newspapers an article reads 'Seven Dead in Hotel Fire,' another reference to Barton Fink.

Although he was a native Irishman playing a lieutenant to an Irish mobster, the Coens did not originally want Gabriel Byrne to use his own accent in the film. Byrne argued that his dialogue was structured in such a way that it was a good fit for his accent, and after he tried it, the Coens agreed. Ultimately, both Byrne and Albert Finney used Irish accents in the film.

[walpurgis]

Miller's Crossing, 1990....

Excellent movie!

[Barry]

I've seen it - but not sure if I liked it.

[struth]

Excellent movie!

I've seen it - but not sure if I liked it.

yes its a classic neo noir and one of the coens' best films imo... Albie again showed his class with a good irish american type accent.

[struth]

The 39 Steps, 1935.. Criterion collection bluray..




loosely based on the 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, and stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. Since its initial release, the film has been widely acknowledged as a classic. Filmmaker and actor Orson Welles referred to it as a "masterpiece". Screenwriter Robert Towne remarked, "It's not much of an exaggeration to say that all contemporary escapist entertainment begins with The 39 Steps."

According to one of his sons, John Buchan, upon whose novel this movie was based, was impressed with this movie despite its departures from his original plot, and during a private screening, Alfred Hitchcock asked John Buchan what he thought of the movie so far. Buchan replied: "Fascinating! I wonder how it will end.".