What was the last film you watched?

[Mel O'Drama]

Decoy Bride (2011)

I'm not sure how this ended up in my watch list, since I usually steer clear of David Tennant. Still, it wasn't a bad film. Took a while to get going, and I can't say I feel my life's improved for having watched it. But there are far worse ways to kill ninety minutes (in fact I've spent most of today doing them).

This scene unexpectedly stung my eyes a little:

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Pond Life (2019)

I fancied a nice gentle matinee today and this ticked that box... and so many more.

Imagine Phil Redmond reimagining Last Of The Summer Wine with a cast of young unknowns and you're halfway to Pond Life.

It's a truly beautiful film. Nostalgic, but without the schmaltz (despite the twenty five year gap, I find it terribly strange to think of 1994 as a period setting).

It goes for the heart, but sometimes does so via the throat, capturing everyday life in a way that's tangibly relatable. It's kind of how I imagine the UK soaps would be today were they still strictly doing what early Corrie - or even early Brookie - did: letting us spend time with flawed, fragile and real people just doing their thing. Which often amounts to doing not much at all. There's no plot-driven sturm und drang, which makes the small things seem more important and valuable.

It helped that there were not many familiar faces, apart a couple in small-ish roles (including two from Corrie: Hayley and Shelley the runaway bride barmaid). It's full of terrifically natural performances from even the youngest actors.

 

[Angela Channing]

The Search (1948)

This film is a bit of a forgotten gem. A group of children are rescued from Auschwitz by the US military and are taken to a camp where they are looked after. One boy escapes on the way there thinking he is being taken to another concentration camp and is found by a US soldier played by Montgomery Clift. The film tell the story of how the soldier and the boy bond and how the soldier tries to reunite the boy with his mother. The film is charming at times, tense at other times and a bit of a weepy towards the end. Astonishingly good performances from all the cast, including the young Czech actor who played the child. This was Montgomery Clift's first film to be released and you could tell he was destined to be a big star.

 

[Alexis Colby Carrington]

Jaws 3. It's not as bad as people make out.

 

[Sarah]

Jaws 3. It's not as bad as people make out.

@Mel O'Drama

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Jaws 3. It's not as bad as people make out.

@Mel O'Drama

I wouldn't dare disagree since I've recently acquired these:

 

[Angela Channing]

Continuing to watch the films of Montgomery Clift, I watched:

The Misfits (1961).

The film is probably best know as being the last one made by Marylin Monroe and Clark Gable but this film is so much more than that. It's an interesting character study primarily of 3 people: the 2 previously named actors and Montgomery Clift, but also of characters played by Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter, as they embark on a journey to the Nevada desert to catch wild horses to sell for pet food. On the surface all the characters appear carefree and fun loving but as the film goes on we realised they are more complex and multi-layered as we find out more about their relationships with their families and when they clash with each other over whether what they are doing is morally right.

 

[darkshadows38]

Jaws 3 i'd say the end is the best part of the film and i don't mean when it's over i mean when all hell breaks loose.

i watched (1998)'s The Faculty a damn good movie i have loved since i first saw it in (1999) i still love it and it's vastly underrated i think it's also got a great cast as well

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Don't Hang Up (2017)

I was in the mood for a short, predictable, non-scary scary film which wouldn't require any brainpower. This ticked all those boxes.

If I'd been wanting grossly unlikeable characters, an overly noisy score and a student film vibe, I could have ticked those at the same time.​

 

[Angela Channing]

The next Montgomery Clift film I watched was:

Red River (1948)

This was Monty's first film although its released was delayed so it was the second of his films to hit the screen. I've never been a fan of John Wayne, partly because he was a racist homophobe but mostly because I often find his acting to be quite wooden. Maybe for that reason I didn't like the first 2 thirds of the film in he dominates but the final third of the film, in which he isn't in that much, I thought was very good. The film is about a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas during which the character played by John Wayne is obnoxious causing his adopted son (Montgomery Clift) to rebel and take over the leadership of the drive. Overall, not a bad film but not one that I would be eager to watch a second time.

 

[Sarah]

I really want to see Stillwater which Amanda Knox claims Matt Damon has stolen from her life but my friend has told me it’s crap which has me feeling really very disappointed.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Dan In Real Life (2007)

I'm not a fan of rom-coms and would have probably not bothered with this had I realised it was one. All the same, I'm glad I did. There was a real heart to it, and it felt like it captured certain aspects of life - the teenage girls' view of their father/the large dysfunctional extended family where nothing is secret - really well. The soapy romantic situation (which I won't spoil as it's best to watch blind) also convinced and felt nicely lacking in sentiment. I even liked the meet cute.​

 

[Angela Channing]

Yesterday I watched the 14th Montgomery Clift film on my list which was:

Freud: The Secret Passion (1962)

Sadly it wasn't a great film. It was a biopic about Sigmund Freud telling how he began treating patients with hysteria by initially using hypnosis before developing talking therapies. It focussed on his treatment of a character played by Susannah York and how her problems compared and contrasted with his own neuroses. The cast did a worthy job telling a story that was almost impossible to tell in an entertaining manner.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Yesterday I watched the 15th Montgomery Clift film on my list

I do admire your dedication to exploring Monty's films in great depth. Out of interest, how many films are on your list?

Sadly it wasn't a great film. It was a biopic about Sigmund Freud telling how he began treating patients with hysteria by initially using hypnosis before developing talking therapies.

Oh, that's a shame. I'd have thought he'd make a fascinating subject for make for a biopic if it was done well.

I wasn't aware of this film and may check it out sometime all the same.

 

[Angela Channing]

And the 15th on my list:

Wild River (1960)

An interesting film, although not a great one. The story of how the character played by Montgomery Clift is tasked with getting a stubborn old lady who is resisting a forced eviction from her property by the government to enable them to build a new dam. Although it's a serious drama, their are some humorous moments and physical comedy in it giving Montgomery Clift a opportunity to show he would have be capable of playing lighter roles in contrast to his reputation of being a brooding screen presence.

 

[Angela Channing]

I do admire your dedication to exploring Monty's films in great depth. Out of interest, how many films are on your list?

I just remembered I got my numbering wrong (now amended) because I watched 2 films last night, Freud: The Secret Passion was the 14th of his films that I watched and Wild River was the 15th.

He made 17 films in total before his premature death of a heart attack aged 46. Until I read a biography of him and Elizabeth Taylor recently I never seen a single film of his and before long I will have seen his entire film output.

It's a different experience watching the work of a single actor in a block, even though I'm watching the films out of order, because I'm picking up some of his mannerisms and acting style that that I would normally have missed and it's also interesting to see how his acting style developed over the years.

I find him fascinating to watch because he is so good when he's not saying anything; his expressions and the way he reacts to what other people are doing and saying often conveys more than what some other actors do with several minutes of dialogue.

Oh, that's a shame. I'd have thought he'd make a fascinating subject for make for a biopic if it was done well.

It's not a terrible film and there were bits of it that I liked but it's quite long (around 2.5 hours) and the focus was too much on his work rather than on his life so it's quite heavy going in places.

 

[Grant Jennings]

As I watched this I kept thinking "damn you, Ron Kass, damn you!"

 

[Grant Jennings]

Jaws 3. It's not as bad as people make out.

If you haven't seen it already, you have to see "The Meg".

 

[Mel O'Drama]

He made 17 films in total before his premature death of a heart attack aged 46. Until I read a biography of him and Elizabeth Taylor recently I never seen a single film of his and before long I will have seen his entire film output.

Wow. That's impressive. I hadn't realised he'd died so young.

In a way I suppose it's helpful there are only a limited number of films which makes watching more achievable.

It's a different experience watching the work of a single actor in a block, even though I'm watching the films out of order, because I'm picking up some of his mannerisms and acting style that that I would normally have missed and it's also interesting to see how his acting style developed over the years.

I can relate. I had a similar experience earlier in the year when I watched all of Victoria Wood's stuff in chronological order. At the end of it I felt as though I knew her (and her regular troupe of actors) better because of certain traits that linked the material.

It's not a terrible film and there were bits of it that I liked but it's quite long (around 2.5 hours) and the focus was too much on his work rather than on his life so it's quite heavy going in places.

Thanks for this. I probably won't be in a hurry to watch, but I haven't ruled it out and I'll try to keep expectations low as and when I get round to viewing it.

 

[Angela Channing]

In a way I suppose it's helpful there are only a limited number of films which makes watching more achievable.

Had it been much more than 17 films I wouldn't have attempted to watch his entire filmography. As it is I'm struggling to get copies of the final 2 films on my list but I'm not giving up as I've come this far.