What did you watch today? v 33.0

[The Professor]

Welcome to version 33, the Egg McMuffin of discussions. 

 

The first post in this thread will be # 14,394. 

 

The ghost of George Sanders reminds you to link your films, and that one should feel free to move on if bored. 

[David]

Yep, I agree, it was pretty much a paint-by-numbers film trying to get some sort of emotional response that it just couldn't muster.

[macroman]

(1)  Who Do You Think You Are?:  Season 1: Discs 1 & 2 (2010)=An interesting show for people who are curious about the ancestral roots of famous celebrities.  3-4 celebrities are featured per disk and each segments is about 42 minutes.

(a) Disk 1=Features Sarah Jessica Parker, former NFL running back Emmitt Smith, Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Matthew Broderick.

  I found the Lisa Kudrow segment the most interesting.  She travels to an area near Minsk in Belarus(formerly  in Russia) to trace a relative on her father's side who was killed during the Holocaust  and gets to talk to a few people who knew her relative.  In the other segments, the celebrities are mainly talking to genealogical historians and never meet anyone who actually knew the person or persons being traced.

  Rated by segment:  Lisa Kudrow=4.5 stars; Emmitt Smith=4 stars; Sarah Jessica Parker=3 stars; Matthew Broderick=2.5 stars. 

  Overall, 3.5 stars for Disk 1.

(b) Disk 2=features Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon and Spike Lee.  The Brooke Shields segment was the best, because she traces the lineage of both sides of her family instead of just one side.  Her family tree is interesting because she descended from French and Italian nobility on one side(she is a first cousin several times removed of King Louis 14th) and working class, hardscrabble roots on her Mother's side.

  Rated by segment:  Brooke Shields=4.25 stars;  Susan Sarandon and Spike Lee=4 stars each.  Overall, just over four stars.  If you watch this on TV, about 18 minutes of the one hour show are commercials and it is nice to watch it on NF with NO COMMERCIALS.

  Unfortunately, only Season 1 is on disk and Disks 1 & 2 are separate rentals.  Seasons 2 & 3 may be on IW.

(2)  Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (Food Documentary. 2009)=a rewatch of two men who are extremely overweight and suffering from a variety of health problems and how embarking on a lengthy juice fast helps them both.  The second man, a burly truck driver named Phil, is the most interesting as he starts out at 430 lbs and loses nearly half his weight and undergoes an amazing transformation health-wise.

  Since I watched this a couple years ago, I watched it with the Director and  Producer's Commentary this time and it was just as good as I remember it.  Very good Special Features.

  4.5-5 stars.  I forgot to include this in the Best Films of 2009 discussion.

(3) Monsieur Lazhar (French-Canadian. 2011)=the story of an Algerian immigrant in Montreal who takes over a class of 11 & 12 year olds who are still trying to recover from the suicide of their beloved teacher.

  He gradually begins building a rapport with his students, other teachers and school administrators.  Very well acted.  4 stars.

  A runnerup for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars.

[don]

Monsieur Lazhar very good 4 stars also.

[David]

Claudelle Inglish 1961-- odd rural tragic tale of a country girl who falls in love with a fellow from the same area that wants to marry her, but has to leave for service.  Her life takes a downward spiral.  It's an odd film, that done sort of like a play, but once I got interested in the plot kept me wondering where it was going to go.

This Island Earth--for it's day, pretty the Star Wars of the day.  It switches gears about midway thru, but some nice sets and fairly cerebral.

[Mr. Bad]

The 10th Victim

Way ahead of its time, this po-mo Situationist McLuhan-esque 1965 Italian futurist satire of reality television and contemporary gender relations had enough snappy dialog to keep me chuckling. Ursula Andress shows us the future is fuschia in one outlandish outfit after another. Marcello Mastroianni collects original comic books that are considered priceless classics. Each hunts the other in a legalized murder game spectacle that takes place in streets and buildings as regular people go about their humdrum business. If taken within its historical context, it's great fun. Consider it the goofy grandparent of Hunger Games/Battle Royale.

[Sandy]

Halloween movie.