I expect this has been done before but we have just watched "To Catch A Thief" and, even by the norms of the times, it is a pretty terrible film. Of course, the scenery and all that malarkey is shonky but the acting is wooden, most of the dialogue just plain odd, the plot is simplistic (which doesn't necessarily have to be an issue but here it is) and the 'twist' well telegraphed in an almost Scooby Doo-esque manner. The editing is terrible as well but, even when scenes aren't edited, there is massive gaps where nothing seems to happen. It is such a bad film that the age difference between Cary Grant and Kelly is made all the more noticeable than the similar age difference between James Stewart and her a year before in 'Rear Window'. Indeed, I love 'Rear Window' and it is definitely one of my favourite films yet Kelly and Hitchcock made this much worse film just a year later.
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Ridley Scott managed to ruin his own masterpiece, Alien, not once, but twice, and used Michael Fassbender both times. Does that count. -
I watched To Catch A Thief a couple of weeks ago and rather enjoyed it. Watched is probably the operative word; it is very easy on the eye and the colours in the ball sequence are spectacular. There is an element of truth in Bored's criticisms but the sophisticated jewel thief premise is ridiculous to start with so it isn't as if those shortcomings are betraying the material. The age gap between Grant and Kelly is icky and weirdly emphasised by the scenes where he is having a laugh with her mother to far more relaxed and natural effect.Comment
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Rob Reiner. Directed This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men
and North.Comment
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I don't know the film so just looked it up. That sounds terrible. Is there anything to be gained from actually watching the thing or is it one to avoid at all costs?Originally posted by Snake Plissken View Post
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I think Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director (other opinions are available), but Insomnia is pure mince. Plodding, overlong paint-by-numbers thriller, a total slog to get through.Comment
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Yeah, I'd go along with that, it's by no means Hitchcock's worst film, but far from his best. The age discrepancy between male and female leads lasted for years (maybe still does, cf: Harrison Ford.) and no one batted an eye. It's one of Hollywood's many unquestioned conventions.Originally posted by Benjm View PostComment
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By way of diversion here are all of Hitchcock's cameo appearances:
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Robert De Niro wont be the only one for whom a single thread on the subject will apply.Comment
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I'm not sure you can work in Hollywood for 40+ years and not be involved in at least one turkey unless you're hugely selective or just lucky. Financial necessity may lead to some hack jobs in the early years, and women especially are in a 'beggars can't be choosers' position.
Hitchcock, and arguably Fritz Lang, went on 15 years too long. Hitchcock was churning out too many films in the 40s, I think, but his strike rate was remarkably high. I even like 'The Paradine Case', which gets mixed reviews. Some of the films show their age in the sense that the dialogue can sound a bit phoney, and there's too much exposition.Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 05-04-2020, 18:36.Comment
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It’s not got anything that is worth your time unless you have a fascination with just how tone deaf a major Hollywood script can be.Originally posted by Benjm View PostComment
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I tried to get through this recently and thought it was just a bit slow and wordy. I thought it was just a generational thing. Maybe it’s just bad.Originally posted by Benjm View PostComment
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I think Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite director/writer. He made three of my favorite films ever - Singles, Almost Famous, and Say Anything* - and a few others I like. I even liked Elizabethtown.
But Aloha is remarkably bad. It has lots of great actors and an interesting premise but it’s just awful.
Sometimes an idea just doesn’t work.
*Even though Ione Skye is not great.Comment
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I've enjoyed quite a few Coen brothers movies, but walked out of the remake of The Ladykillers (starring Tom Hanks) after about 10 minutes. Only movie I've done that.
Who can forget the remake of The Avengers starring Sean Connery, Uma Thurman, and Ralph Fiennes? This may legitimately be the worst movie I think I've ever paid to see.
Older, Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn starred in The Unforgiven, which is basically unwatchable.
Do people actually rate Eyes Wide Shut?
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Ladykillers wasn't that bad, but it wasn't really good either. Generally regarded as the Coen brothers' worst by a long stretch. I'm not even sure what else would be in the running. I've liked everything else of theirs.
Eyes Wide Shut is controversial. It got lots of good reviews and a few really negative ones.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120663...?ref_=tt_ov_rt
A lot of people do think it's actually good (including some that think that liking it proves they're smarter than the people who don't). Some people think it's just plain bad. But a lot of people think it's glorious trainwreck worth watching for the same reason people can't turn away from a trainwreck.
I suppose I'm in that last group. I just didn't understand what it was supposed to be about, really, but it clearly cost a lot of money and the actors and the directors seemed to each be making a different film, which I found kinda fascinating. At least, that's how I remember it. I only saw it once and don't see the need to revisit it.
Aloha was the same way. As I was watching it I was astounded by how it clearly just wasn't working. I almost want to watch it a few more times to study why it failed. Almost.Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 06-04-2020, 16:35.Comment
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Most people watch it for the nudity, surely. Same reason Showgirls has a "cult following" or people still watch Basic Instinct.Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostComment
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Yeah, I suppose.
If only there were a genre of media created entirely to show graphic sex and nudity, maybe there'd be less pressure on Hollywood to put it in regular movies. But I guess we'll never know.Comment
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How about Sam Peckinpah, director of such classics as The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country, Cross of Iron, Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Convoy. To make matters worse Convoy was his highest grossing film! Though how much directing he actually did as a moot point as he spent most of the shoot in his trailer strung out on cocaine. I struggle think of anyone else who career is one of countless high point and one absolute stinker.Comment
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Convoy's a cracking film.Comment
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Did any posters have a CB radio during its '70s boom in the UK? My brother wanted one but the parents were never convinced to spring for it; the kit wasn't cheap, iirc.
I've got an ear worm of The Fall's I'm Into CB now.Comment
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Well, those scenes show a chemistry that the scenes between Kelly and Grant don't. Mind you, there was only 8 years between Grant and Jessie Royce Landis rather than the 25 between him and Kelly (who was pretty much the same age as the 'teenage' Brigitte Auber which makes the latter's baiting of Kelly's character's age even more ridiculous but I had pretty much given up by then and started googling their ages). Indeed, we were saying that Jessi Landis was the standout performance in it and she wasn't great.Originally posted by Benjm View Post
As I say, the general terrible nature of the film exacerbated the age range in a way that the hugely superior "Rear Window" didn't between Stewart and Kelly.Comment
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Hot on the heels of their success together in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper made Serena. I’d challenge anyone to get through that.Comment
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I'm not sure who directed the remake of the Magnificent Seven but it had some decent actors in it. And was terrible.Comment
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I love rear window, but I was well into that movie before I realised that Grace Kelly wasn't supposed to be James Stewart's niece, or daughter.Comment
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