Ace of Spades HQ

April 10, 2021

Saturday Evening Movie Thread 04-10-2021 [Hosted By: Moviegique]
— Ace Open Blog

We'll pick up the "Silents Are Golden" thread next time, but since we actually made it into the theater, this seemed like an appropriate review as we enter the second week of Easter.

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The Boy and I saw The Ten Commandments five years ago for the 60th anniversary and somehow it was fitting that our moviegoing should resume with the 65th anniversary of the same. Rereading my review from back then, I have to say: I nailed it. My impression is largely unchanged from back then. (The Flower was with us this time, so she got to see this for the first time and really enjoyed it.) I was less struck by the datedness now than I was before, though in fairness, it can be hard to gauge how dated something seemed 65 years ago. (It's easier to spot when they make concessions to the era they were made in.)

"The wet weather is backing up traffic on the 405 today..."

But if I were going to describe this movie in one word?

Swagger.

Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner are dueling alpha males whom the ladies swoon over, with Brynner being the loser (generally and from a narrative perspective) because he has no principles other than self-worship. Besides those two, you have the fierce Joshua (John Derek, who doesn't put on a shirt until he's supposed to be around 60-70) and the oh-so-sleazy Master Builder (Vincent Price) and taskmaster (Edward G. Robinson). Just walking around in the background, you got Mike "Touch" Connors and Clint Walker.

Sexuality is everywhere. This is seriously one of the lustiest movies ever made, which fits pretty well with Exodus and the Bible generally: From the ever-thirsty Ann Baxter to Jethro's seven, man-starved daughters, everybody's getting with someone, trying to get with someone, trying to get away from someone so they can get with someone else. A whole lotta begetting going on. This brings a lot of fun and humanity to the proceedings.

John Derek with his ugliest wife, Patti Behrs who was born in 1922. He would leave her in 1957 for Ursula Andress (b.1936), leave Andress in 1966 for Linda Evans (b.1942), and finally leave Evans in 1976 for Bo Derek (b.1956).

Speaking of Baxter, the way Edith Head's dresses hang off of her and Debra Paget, they might as well be naked most of the time. Yvonne De Carlo is more modestly dressed as the Bedouin girl but she's still got that barely-repressed Lily Munster sexuality oozing from every pore. (Or have I said too much?)

Beyond the sexuality, the overall humanity is key. Exodus is light on the details as far as how Moses came to be The Deliverer, and it's such a brilliant idea (dramatically) to place him among the Egyptian royalty. As a story of deliverance from bondage, Exodus is (obviously) epic and mythicâ€”in the sense of larger-than-lifeâ€”but by giving the Pharaoh a personal stake, it also becomes more intimate in terms of human drama. (The historical accuracy of Exodus is one that scholars seem to go back and forth on, but I particularly enjoyed hearing Yul Brynner "debunking" the plagues in the words that modern skeptic use to debunk them, because he's watching them as they happen.)

You feel for Cedric Hardwicke's Sethi, because he truly loved Moses. And the degradation of Nefertiri becomes that much harder because (while she is kinda psycho) she seems to have both a genuine affect for Sethi and Moses, and a truly unhealthy obsession with the latter. The death of the firstborn sons for Passover sends a strong message vis a vis messing with God and his Chosen People.

This publicity still showcases a provocative outfit that isn't in the movie. Clever. For (a lot) more of this beauty, search "Debra Paget Snake Dance" and thank me later.

The King of Swagger here is obviously C. B. DeMille, who got WB to foot the bill in 1952 for $8 million plus any overages of which there were another $5 million, and made an all-time box-office smash on a last-of-breed epic. A remake, no less of his own silent epic (which I'll cover in an upcoming "Silents Are Golden" piece). There's conviction here at every turn: conviction that the story is worth telling and True (in the most important sense); conviction that people love spectacle and that he could deliver something they'd love; conviction that he could make people relate to a 3,000 year old story which is, by any account, rather odd and often gruesome.

Conviction that, well into his 70s (back in the 1950s, when the life expectancy was 6

he could manage a cast of thousands. Who can do that now? What's more, some of the greatest scenes involve these thousands of cast members hauling out of Egypt, and the little touches of humanity that are seen at every point in this migration keep it from being mere spectacle.

Conviction that Western civilization is good, and that freedom and individuality is good, and that this story is an essential to the modern experience of both.

And to all the Pharaohs and Governors out there I say:

LET MY PEOPLE GO

And no matter HOW hot she is, don't let Anne Baxter talk you out of it.

Posted by: Ace Open Blog at 08:05 PM | Comments (201)
Post contains 882 words, total size 7 kb.

1 Sponge!

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 08:06 PM (Ojki1)

2 Finally

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 08:06 PM (Cxk7w)

3 Sponge is big enough to get his own firsts

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 08:06 PM (Cxk7w)

4 Just watched "Space Sweepers" the Korean movie that seems all the rage.

I am just "meh" on it, but it did pass the time and the ending was sweet.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:10 PM (/Ulh8)

5 titz!

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at April 10, 2021 08:11 PM (sJHOI)

6 Oh, and I have yet to see the 10 Commandments, but I did just get it on 4K.
Been catching up on films: Watched Shape of Water. It isn't my favorite Del Torro flick ever, but he may have done the most movie 50's setting I've ever seen. Liked it much more than I anticipated given that critical darlings tend to fall so flat with me (Don't think I made it 1/4 into Moonlight, and the person I was watching it with gave up around the 1/2 point).
Also watched Wonder. Greatly liked it, but it was doing so much with so many people I would have rather seen it as a limited run series as it felt there was potential just left hanging, but maybe that helped and more time would have gone against it.
Crazy Rich Asians- a fun romantic comedy that isn't afraid to go to excess, and yet never went with gross out stuff. I miss these.

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 08:11 PM (Ojki1)

7 I think the koran sez Moses was 12ft. tall...he dominated the boards in his time.

Posted by: BignJames at April 10, 2021 08:12 PM (AwYPR)

8 When's the remake coming ( question mark )

Posted by: Gray Orange at April 10, 2021 08:13 PM (Tnijr)

9 Truly a one of a kind epic that could NEVER be made today. I just rewatched with my kiddos. They were a bit scared, but I think that the film has so much to offer to both kids and 29-y/o alike.

Posted by: In Exile at April 10, 2021 08:13 PM (kzzyk)

10 My movie Funko Pop Addiction is growing out of control.

Picked up the Tears in Rain Roy Batty Funko Pop.

Now if I can only find the rare Alex Delarge Funko for under 10k I might pull the trigger.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:13 PM (FVrDO)

11 Didn't make it all the way through for the 35th time, only got as far as the man starved sisters all hoping daddy says she will be the one. I should start a Biblical top ten category though Ben Hur would just beat the 10 Commandments for #1

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 08:14 PM (Cxk7w)

12 I watched the finale of the Korean time travel series Sisyphus: The Myth last night. It's what American media used to be; entertaining, and not full of itself. In fact, it didn't insist on itself at all.

Posted by: pep at April 10, 2021 08:14 PM (v16oJ)

8When's the remake coming ( question mark )
Posted by:Gray Orangeat April 10, 2021 08:13 PM (Tnijr)

Didn't they do one a couple years ago? Exodus wasn't it? Or did that stop before it got to the actual Ten Commandments?

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 08:15 PM (vMCab)

14 My question mark button doesn't work and sometimes the backspacce.

Posted by: f'd at April 10, 2021 08:16 PM (Tnijr)

15 I rather enjoyed this movie. I'll never forget what Mr. Heston said about it in my younger days: it couldn't be made today (I think this was back in the late 80s/early 90s) just because the cost of the effects would be too staggering. I don't think it would be as good today because everything would be done on computers and the CGI would be utter garbage. (And naturally the subject matter would be abhorrent to the current crop in Hollyweird.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at April 10, 2021 08:17 PM (TnVCV)

16 Continued:
Rewatched They Call Me Trinity and Trinity is Still My Name. I love these Spaghetti westerns. Kind of shocked there were only 2 as apparently they were huge hits. I watched the blu rays and they look nice, but you can tell in some places the materials are old, probably weren't keep in the most elaborate storage possible and haven't gotten a Criterion level clean up, but they look and sound great for their age.
Also rewatched Weird Science for the first time in probably decades. That may be the least John Hughes film I've ever seen, including the Home Alone films. It feels kind of experimental and the kind of thing that under a lesser director/writer would have collapsed but somehow Hughes manages to keep it above water, though sometimes barely as it feels like scenes thrown together at times with archetypes filling in for actual characters, especially in the beginning.

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 08:18 PM (Ojki1)

17 ...and don't forget, there WERE 15 Commandments. At least according to Mel Brooks.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at April 10, 2021 08:19 PM (TnVCV)

18 With CGI would it be any more than any other big name movie?

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 08:19 PM (Cxk7w)

19 Patti Behrs is a smoke show. Wow.
Honestly, Ten Commandments made some incredibly ballsy moves that you could never get away with in a movie today. And Heston, as usual, carries the thing.
So let it be written.

Posted by: trev006 at April 10, 2021 08:19 PM (0HpOW)

20 There's not a lot of movies I will watch more than a couple of times and this is one. It's an epic epic.

Posted by: f'd at April 10, 2021 08:20 PM (Tnijr)

21 Leaving Linda Evans for Bo Derek is one of the most amazing sentences I've ever read.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at April 10, 2021 08:21 PM (6RxMT)

22 Ben Hur > Ten Commandments

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:22 PM (2DOZq)

23 I should start a Biblical top ten category though Ben Hur would just beat the 10 Commandments for #1

Posted by: Skip

Yeah, we watched "Ben-Hur" on Good Friday night. It was a night off from watching "I, Claudius" on DVD. Shibumi family history was watching "The Ten Commandments", but I always preferred "Ben-Hur". Last winter we watched "Risen", which is the death and resurrection of Jesus as viewed by a Roman Tribune, who was detailed to investigate what happened.....why did the crucified Rabbi disappear from his tomb?

"Ben Hur" begins at the birth of Jesus, which was during Augustus' reign (the great census and tax.....John Roberts' reincarnated?), and ends at the Crucifixion, during the reign of Tiberius.

Posted by: Bozo Conservative....Living on the prison planet at April 10, 2021 08:22 PM (tjZg/)

24 I'm not a huge fan of religious movies in general.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 10, 2021 08:23 PM (H5knJ)

25 The Heston movie that I never see on TV and it's not on On Demand is the War Lord. I really want to see that again.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:24 PM (2DOZq)

26 is not the hotness the greatest tell or fourth wall break? That is why I have mentioned the movie Secrets and Lies before. No shot at the actors, but wow does it show the difference between an independent British film and a Hollywood film. And special mention to the Italian Spaghetti Westerns.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:25 PM (JRrGN)

27 Yeah Robbie I never realized it was "that" John Derek. That dude had it going on.

Posted by: f'd at April 10, 2021 08:25 PM (Tnijr)

28 One of my favorite movies also featured a Heston/Brynner dual. The Buccaneer which is the story of the Battle of New Orleans. Another all star cast with EG Marshall and Lorne Greene. Several beauties as well. Claire Bloom and Inger Steven's

Posted by: Pete Seria at April 10, 2021 08:26 PM (7ZQe3)

29 I'm not a huge fan of religious movies in general.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 10, 2021 08:23 PM (H5knJ)

when I was a kid, trying to watch Ben Hur all the way through was a slog. Then again, it was an epic and probably a masterpiece. I do recall watching "The Last Temptation of Christ". It was weird in many ways, and I get why people got pissed. But it came from a novel by a famous Greek writer. And you can interpret the story in more way that one. If you interpret is a certain way, it is not blasphemous.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:27 PM (JRrGN)

30 I started watching this movie in the early seventies. It b came a family tradition and I have carried it on. When it comes on now, it's like seeing an old friend.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (kTF2Z)

31 I really liked Heston's movie with Brian Kieth, Mountain Men. It was panned by critics. Fuck critics.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

32 Watched "The Ten Commandments" , " The Passion of the Christ" and "Risen" for Easter. Got on an oldies kick and watched the very old "Cleopatra" with Colbert. Now , she wore some skimpy outfits.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (VEeVy)

33 Excellent review - when I watch a movie, I just 'watch' it. I need well thought out, intelligent reviews to help me see the subtleties within it when I see it again.
Thank you.

Posted by: Tonypete at April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (Rvt88)

34 The Incredible Shrinking Man is on Svengooli. He's in his Edith Ann stage.

Posted by: f'd at April 10, 2021 08:29 PM (Tnijr)

35 Back in the day when there were actual "costumes."

But... I've taken a page from all this and adjusted my loungewear to reflect this awesome film. No underwear.

You're welcome for the visuals.

Posted by: Martini Farmer - Now a Pirate, Hoisting the Black Flag at April 10, 2021 08:29 PM (3H9h1)

36 1917 is a non-traditional Easter movie. Takes place on Good Friday.
Watching The World's End with Dolley. Not so Eastery.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at April 10, 2021 08:30 PM (LvTSG)

37 I saw Yul Bryyner in The King and I on stage. Not sure what I thought as I was a yute. I think I liked it. We didn't get to not like special events back then.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:31 PM (JRrGN)

38 FYI, re: the Beautiful Chess player at the top o' the last thread, according to my advanced search, she is Diana Carime Real Pereyra, a 25 y/o from Mexico.
She is ranked 23998 among all active players in the world.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:32 PM (KyWXo)

"Brecht" (2019) Ninety minutes later, I still can't see why so many people (most of all Bertolt himself) called this guy a genius. What a dick.

"Radium Girls" (201 Semi-true drama about the dial-face painters who wound up with radium necrosis, etc. Contains a mild irradiation of unnecessary commie-anarchist-laborite blather, to help frame the zeitgeist I guess, but the dose is below lethal limits. Comely Ra-Girl Joey King has lips that go all the way down to her ass.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at April 10, 2021 08:32 PM (qpX6U)

40 Edward G. Robinson does an incredible Billy Crystal impersonation in that movie.

Posted by: Roy at April 10, 2021 08:32 PM (Ti+Tv)

"Polar" (2019) No sir, Mr. Horse does not like this, nor do I, although I concede that Vanessa Hudgens looks nice in that hairdo, and with subdued makeup for a change.

"Moontide" (1942) I'll watch Ida Lupino in anything, but holy moly: is Jean Gabin the most annoying actor ever, or what? And why would a 24-yo hottie like her take up with a shack-dwelling penniless marble-mouthed drunken old fart like him? Another tawdry tale from the typewriter of John O'Hara.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at April 10, 2021 08:33 PM (qpX6U)

42 I love Trump just like the normal conservative.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:33 PM (OOgBq)

43 Last true epic film was Gladiator.

Full disclosure, I do like Gladiator films.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:33 PM (FVrDO)

"Roe v Wade" (2021) As told by abortionist-turned-right-to-lifer Dr. Nathanson. Lots of details to educate folks like me who are ignorant of the case. Shows how SCOTUS makes sausage. Whoa, I did not know about the Catholic-bashing aspect of the controversy before. Good performances by Jamie Kennedy and director-actor Nick Loeb. My only knock on the movie is a few clumsy scenes that try for dramatic earnestness or pathos with VERY sappy piano music and slow zoom, and they just suck so awful bad.

"First Spaceship on Venus" (1962) English-dubbed version of a German sci-fi, with froufrou Euro-styled props and sets. Might be worth watching the original, uncut and undubbed, with subtitles, if it exists, but otherwise nah. I suspect Roddenberry stole some ideas from it.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at April 10, 2021 08:34 PM (qpX6U)

45 Oh good, the "I love Jesus and Volkswagens" troll has figured out what color oranges are.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at April 10, 2021 08:35 PM (6RxMT)

46 Edward G Robinson was great in Key Largo, on of my top ten movies.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:35 PM (e/TOi)

47 Boring troll is boring.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:35 PM (kTF2Z)

more of this beauty, search "Debra Paget Snake Dance" and thank me later.

Wow, You weren't kidding. Most pron isn't as alluring or luscious.

Posted by: Tonypete at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (Rvt88)

49 "Risen" is a fantastic movie. Very underappreciated gem IMHO.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (KyWXo)

50 || Edward G. Robinson does an incredible Billy Crystal impersonation in that movie.
If you click through to my original review (first time I saw the movie!) you'll get a bit on how irritated I was by Billy Crystal setting me up for Eddie G saying "Where's yer god now, Moses, yeah! See? Yeah!"
Robinson, like Cagney, were better than their imitators ever gave them credit for.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (dhFCT)

51 Long winded, no one reads the shit posts. Think Hemingway.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (OOgBq)

52 Last true epic film was Gladiator.

Full disclosure, I do like Gladiator films.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:33 PM (FVrDO)

i wont go for the cheap Airplane! joke. I think they call those movies sword and sandals flicks. Maybe it is blood and sandals, not sure to be honest. I did like Spartacus though.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (JRrGN)

Full disclosure, I do like Gladiator films. Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:33 PM (FVrDO)

Ever been inside of a Turkish prison?

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:37 PM (kTF2Z)

54 ||Wow, You weren't kidding. Most pron isn't as alluring or luscious.
Let's just say Germany was VERY progressive for 1956.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:37 PM (dhFCT)

i wont go for the cheap Airplane! joke. I think they call those movies sword and sandals flicks. Maybe it is blood and sandals, not sure to be honest. I did like Spartacus though.

Posted by:Quintat April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (JRrGN)

Yeah Sword and Sandal is the term.

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (vMCab)

56 I loved The Ten Commandments even more on my recent viewing. It was made for the big screen - lush costumes, big sets, and casts of thousands.
But what struck me most was how well it was written. Yes, it's a biblical epic with occasionally stodgy dialog, but it was very astute in how everyone justified their actions as The Right Thing.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (Dc2NZ)

57 Roe v Wade" (2021) As told by abortionist-turned-right-to-lifer Dr. Nathanson.
-
I've said it before, but I've never understood how something with very specific circumstances, instances, etc. becomes sweeping law covering every baby murdered in the womb and every county level abortion clinic.
It applies to that ONE scenario. The scenario that was ruled on. But, like guns, no, it doesn't, and shut up that's why.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (6RxMT)

58 The Most High is still around today.

Posted by: Jmel at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (bVhJi)

59 39: Brecht WAS a genius. ESPECIALLY to people in government. We, the people who elect the government, have forfeited the government's confidence, and it is our job to win back the government's confidence through redoubled efforts. In the meantime, the government is working hard to dissolve the people and elect another as you can see at the border and other places.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (TnVCV)

60 The Ten Commandments is spectacular. I think it may be my favorite movie. I don't have anything else to add here.

Also please bring back the old blog.

Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 08:38 PM (iTXRQ)

61 Resolved: Master and Commander, Far Side of the World is a "more epic" epic movie than Gladiator was.
Discuss.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:39 PM (KyWXo)

62 Minority opinion
Troy > Gladiator

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:40 PM (2DOZq)

63 ||Long winded, no one reads the shit posts. Think Hemingway.
lol...easily my SHORTEST post on the movie thread...maybe ever, but certainly within the last couple of years.
The Silent Movie post was TWICE as long, and only because I cut it in HALF.
Actually, I think I'm going to end up with four silent movie posts. The comedies were long enough for one, and I really wanted to do the weird/sf/horror/fantasy filmsâ€”but that's ALSO long enough for a post.
Then there's dramas...and epics....I think it's going to end up being four posts, so I'm spreading it out.
Ain't nobody got to read it. Posts are just here to hold the door open.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:41 PM (dhFCT)

64 I didn't know he was THAT John Derek either. What a hottie he was in TTC.
And Woody Strode was the Ethiopian king.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 10, 2021 08:42 PM (Dc2NZ)

65 Its a troll moviegique. He's not worth responding too.

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 08:42 PM (vMCab)

66 Resolved: Master and Commander, Far Side of the World is a "more epic" epic movie than Gladiator was.
Discuss.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:39 PM (KyWXo)

Seconded

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:42 PM (2DOZq)

67 "Almost Famous". A great movie, you should all watch.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:42 PM (OOgBq)

68 @61
Perhaps if you took out the opening scene from Gladiator, but that scene puts Gladiator over the top.

Crowe has been in a number of really good films, too bad the movie industry changed and he got fat.

He definitely was great in his moment.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:43 PM (FVrDO)

69 36: Not only was that Good Friday, but it was also the day the United States declared war on Germany.
"Settle a bet. What day is it?" "Friday, sir." "Friday? Well, well, well, none of us got it right. This idiot thought it was Tuesday." "Sorry, sir." "Are they out of their fucking minds? One slow night and the brass thinks the Hun have just gone home?"

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at April 10, 2021 08:43 PM (TnVCV)

Minority opinion Troy > Gladiator Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:40 PM (2DOZq)

Troy was so bad that Peter O'Toole refused to watch it.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:43 PM (kTF2Z)

71 Master and Commander, a perfectly good show. See again, they kept the dialog short ... vs .....

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:44 PM (OOgBq)

72 Ain't nobody got to read it. Posts are just here to hold the door open.

Posted by:moviegiqueat April 10, 2021 08:41 PM (dhFCT)

You're arguing with raykon. That's like trying to explain to Uwe Boll that he is a shit filmmaker. Only raykon is less intelligent and not making nearly as much to troll.

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 08:44 PM (Ojki1)

73 Troy was so bad that Peter O'Toole refused to watch it.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:43 PM (kTF2Z)

He missed a good movie

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:45 PM (2DOZq)

74 So I got around to finishing all the Sharknado movies as a lark with my daughter and I must say that this series should have won every academy award ever.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at April 10, 2021 08:46 PM (r+sAi)

75 I was afraid when I watched Ten Commandments for the first time. Dead firstborn? That was me!

Posted by: Jmel at April 10, 2021 08:47 PM (bVhJi)

76 This is one of my favorite films. Your comment on the combat between the two alpha males is spot on. It would not be enough for Moses to punch Pharaoh in the face and call it a day, no it requires a change of the heart, (and since a villain by definition fails to change, it creates an engaging drama.)

It is also provides an interesting perspective on current cinema. Since heroes can't be alpha, villains can't be either.

Posted by: Corna Exile - Now in blog exile at April 10, 2021 08:47 PM (O0QMT)

77 Woody Strode played football at UCLA, was briefly signed to the LA Rams, and was a bomb handler in WW2.

Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 08:47 PM (iTXRQ)

78 I have to brush the dogs again then vacuum. My allergies have been much better. Hemingway. Stop the BS

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:48 PM (OOgBq)

79 ||but it was very astute in how everyone justified their actions as The Right Thing.
Eris, for all the datedness and the "hokiness", even, the sophistication of a lot of the material that came out of the late '50s makes us look like the juveniles we are.
Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) is just amazing. I don't think she's evil per se but she really knows her position in society and is completely comfortable exploiting that. Which makes her a great love interest for the more "common touch" Moses and a great foil for Rameses.
Lilia (Paget) sacrifices herself to Dathan (Robinson) for Joshua's (Derek) sake, and is reviled by her people.
Sephora (de Carlo) has to put up with Moses' otherworldliness, which is a royal PITA, to say nothing of having Nefertiri breathing down her neck.
And what could be more #metoo than Dathan and the Master Builder (Vincent Price)?
Great female characters and a full awareness of the crap they have to go through aaaaalll the way back in the dark ages.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:48 PM (dhFCT)

80 A sequel to The Ten Commandments could be entitled And Another Thing . . .

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at April 10, 2021 08:48 PM (VVEnO)

81 "I've said it before, but I've never understood ..."
The more I learn about how the law actually works, the less I understand it. The law is a ass. But I guess we need it.
"Roe v Wade" is the third among recent right-to-life "big" features that cover justice and abortion, the others being "Unplanned" and "Gosnell," and they are all three worth watching. If you are looking for feature films made by ostensibly-conservative film-makers, there are some of the few.

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at April 10, 2021 08:49 PM (qpX6U)

82 I really liked Heston's movie with Brian Kieth, Mountain Men. It was panned by critics. Fuck critics.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

F'em. That was a great movie.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:50 PM (JRrGN)

83 ||I was afraid when I watched Ten Commandments for the first time. Dead firstborn? That was me!
Yup. Prince of Egypt came out when my son was, like, four, and I'd take him to see Pitch Black or Freddy vs. Jason and he'd be fine with that. But no way was going to let him see a movie where God might just kill him because we forgot to put up the lamb's blood. (Lamb is hard to get around here.)

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:52 PM (dhFCT)

84 "I give you the Ten Commandments!"

*drops tablet, breaks*

"Woudja believe five?"

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 10, 2021 08:52 PM (Dc2NZ)

85 82I really liked Heston's movie with Brian Kieth, Mountain Men. It was panned by critics. Fuck critics.

Posted by:Sebastian Melmothat April 10, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

One of the really interesting things is just how many critics these days are writing for other critics as a lot of people seem to have particular critics that they look to see how they reviewed something and then do the opposite.

Oh they hated this film? It makes bank. They loved it? It underperforms and 3 years later no one even brings it up anymore, which kind of undercuts it being a transcendent masterpiece I guess.

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 08:54 PM (Ojki1)

86 Deuteronomy comes after the 10 Commandments

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 08:54 PM (Cxk7w)

87 Dad took mom to see Ben Hur in the theater when it first came out. It was their first date. Tickets were $5 a piece in the late fifties. Must have been a good date. They've been married for 60 years.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (kTF2Z)

88 Not only was that Good Friday, but it was also the day the United States declared war on Germany.
"Settle a bet. What day is it?" "Friday, sir." "Friday? Well, well, well, none of us got it right. This idiot thought it was Tuesday." "Sorry, sir." "Are they out of their fucking minds? One slow night and the brass thinks the Hun have just gone home?"
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

The Germans pulled that "retreat to a second line of defense right before the pre-attack barrage" trick for 4 years in WW1 and the Tommies and Frogs never did figure it out. Which is why they suffered half the fatalities that the Allies did on the Western Front.

What annoyed me about 1917 was that even that late in the war, the idea that the top British or French brass would have given a shit about the prospect of losing 1600 men in a botched attack is ridiculous. They were still sending divisions over the top into the machine guns regularly and 1600 men was a rounding error in Morning Reports. The Germans had long given up frontal attacks by 1917 and would attack by small groups by infiltration.

Good movie otherwise.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (KyWXo)

89 I really liked Heston's movie with Brian Kieth, Mountain Men. It was panned by critics. Fuck critics.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth

Brian Dennehy was outstanding as the mountain

Posted by: f'd at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (Tnijr)

90 NOOOD

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (OOgBq)

91 Exodus Gods and Kings was a good remake. I really enjoyed the plagues.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (VEeVy)

92 @83
Move to a Greek neighborhood, you will see your next door neighbors grilling a whole lamb on a spit in their front yard.

One of the great sights living in Astoria Queens.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (FVrDO)

93 Great write up, thank you!
..and Anne Baxter was teh HOT!!!

Posted by: browndog Confused Member of Team Gizzard at April 10, 2021 08:56 PM (BgMrQ)

94 ok, the tinkler is a troll, thanks, guys...
I might call Uwe Boll a hack to his face, but let me work out a bit more. I think he was physically beating up his critics last I heard.
While a shameless ripoff, I actually thought one of his early movies (Blackwoodsâ€”which, now that I think of it is just English for "Schwarzwald") showed potential.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:56 PM (dhFCT)

95 I'm hooked on Killing Eve from the BBC. Jodie Cormer is the third most beautiful woman on tbe face of the earth.

Posted by: Javems at April 10, 2021 08:56 PM (Nv7RV)

96 the last movie I saw in a theater that had and intermission was "Gettysburg". I didn't see The Irishmen, but I heard it was long. I would think an intermission would at least be a sign of an epic.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:56 PM (JRrGN)

97 Okay I just learned that The Shat is muscling in on Nimoy's old turf and hosting a show on the weird/unexplained/freekay.
So, BBL.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 10, 2021 08:57 PM (Dc2NZ)

98 That's the other thing about the female actors, they actually had something else to do besides sit there and serve as eye candy. The last time I watched it, I was struck how Sephora was unable/struggling to deal with Moses' mysticism. This wasn't the religion she knew and how come he couldn't be a husband and father to her family. No he was a father to the whole people.

Posted by: Corna Exile - Now in blog exile at April 10, 2021 08:57 PM (O0QMT)

99 And thanks MovieGique!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 10, 2021 08:58 PM (Dc2NZ)

100 48 more of this beauty, search "Debra Paget Snake Dance" and thank me later.

Wow, You weren't kidding. Most pron isn't as alluring or luscious.

Posted by: Tonypete at April 10, 2021 08:36 PM (Rvt8

Better than Selma Hayak in "Dusk till Dawn???

and GREEN MuthaFvcker

Posted by: browndog Confused Member of Team Gizzard at April 10, 2021 08:58 PM (BgMrQ)

101 Move to a Greek neighborhood, you will see your next door neighbors grilling a whole lamb on a spit in their front yard.

One of the great sights living in Astoria Queens.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 08:55 PM (FVrDO)

lamb is badass. Many Americans get their lamb hatred from overcooked mutton way back in the day. But this is the movie thread so I will let it go. But seriously, properly cooked lamb is about as on point as you can get.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 08:59 PM (JRrGN)

102 There's either a "making of" featurette or commentary track on the Ten Commandments dvd which features de Mille's daughter talking about her father making this movie. One thing I recall she said was that he was rather disturbed by Edward G. Robinson's take on his character of Dathan. He told her he just couldn't figure out where he was going with his interpretation. She asked him why he didn't just question Robinson about it, and he said Oh no, he couldn't do that! Robinson was a great actor, he couldn't tell him that he didn't have confidence in his ability to play the part! And when the picture was done and de Mille could see the whole thing in context, he realized the Robinson had been exactly right in his interpretation.
It seemed like such a gentlemanly way to run a movie production - professionals treating each other as professionals, and most of all TRUSTING the other people they were working with.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 10, 2021 09:00 PM (yUcw4)

103 While a shameless ripoff, I actually thought one of his early movies (Blackwoodsâ€”which, now that I think of it is just English for "Schwarzwald") showed potential.

Posted by:moviegiqueat April 10, 2021 08:56 PM (dhFCT)

Its amazing how many bad directors have an early piece that shows promise, then they just fail to grow. Maybe if Boll hadn't had that German tax loop hole he would have progressed, but absent a financial incentive to grow I guess the artistic one just didn't matter as much.

Though one wonders if he might wish he'd done otherwise now given all he has is trying to be violent with critics these days after Germany decided they were done letting him (and probably others) fleece them.

Posted by: Bete at April 10, 2021 09:01 PM (Ojki1)

104 so in TTC, what are they eating when they rip off a piece of bread and dunk it in a bowl of what looks like motor oil?

Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 09:01 PM (iTXRQ)

105 so in TTC, what are they eating when they rip off a piece of bread and dunk it in a bowl of what looks like motor oil?

Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 09:01 PM (iTXRQ)

106 and why does my comment appear twice

Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 09:02 PM (iTXRQ)

107 ||That's the other thing about the female actors, they actually had something else to do besides sit there and serve as eye candy.

Well, we have to champion the whole "Women never had any opportunity prior to 2015" concept, or we might notice the movie is based on Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:03 PM (dhFCT)

108 "so in TTC, what are they eating when they rip off a piece of bread and dunk it in a bowl of what looks like motor oil?"
Olive oil?

Posted by: davidt at April 10, 2021 09:04 PM (EdQIG)

109 This movie is turgid. Yeah, I know, DeMille.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 10, 2021 09:04 PM (EZebt)

110 Almost Stupid. Keep it shorter, keep things simple.

Hemingway. Think about it.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 09:04 PM (OOgBq)

111 ||Olive oil?
But not virgin olive oil.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:05 PM (dhFCT)

112 ||Maybe if Boll hadn't had that German tax loop hole he would have progressed, but absent a financial incentive to grow I guess the artistic one just didn't matter as much.
Maybe. OTOH, here in America, a director makes a modest hit and Hollywood swoops in a destroys him with success.
Roundhead Rian, anyone?

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:06 PM (dhFCT)

113
Anne Baxter had some major league yaboos...

Posted by: My Pimp Shot My Dealer at April 10, 2021 09:06 PM (uMqnc)

114 Ain't nobody got to read it. Posts are just here to hold the door open.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 08:41 PM (dhFCT)

bs, I am going to re-watch The Ten Commandments on your recco. I know it is an epic and one of the most influential films of all time. I love me some Heston and The Message, so there is no chance it can go badly.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:07 PM (JRrGN)

115 Posted by: DB- just DB at April 10, 2021 09:02
You double tapped post, hit it once and wait

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 09:08 PM (Cxk7w)

116 I would guess it was olive oil

Posted by: Skip at April 10, 2021 09:09 PM (Cxk7w)

117 Perhaps if you took out the opening scene from Gladiator, but that scene puts Gladiator over the top.

Posted by: Thomas Bender

I must respectfully disagree about the opening battle scene in Gladiator on the singular basis that they used recycled pre-battle Zulu chants from Zulu (1962) just before the barbarians attacked.

That is a movie killer right there, at least for me.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 09:09 PM (KyWXo)

118 Moviqugue
I really do want to thank you for the snake dance. Debra Paget, holey moley.

Posted by: Winston GOPe not one dime, not one vote at April 10, 2021 09:09 PM (mgvLE)

119 "what are they eating when they rip off a piece of bread and dunk it in a bowl of what looks like motor oil?""
Dubai Dippin Dots. These days, pita or flatbread dipped in olive oil, hummus, straight tahini, or other stuff. Good stuff!

Posted by: gp's Movie Laffs at April 10, 2021 09:10 PM (qpX6U)

120 8 When's the remake coming ( question mark ) Posted by: Gray Orange at April 10, 2021 08:13 PM (Tnijr)

Didn't someone do that a few years back? I remember there being a big SJW drama llama in the mid 2010s because someone made a religious movie about ancient Egypt and had the gall to film it with a cast of actual Egyptians, in Egypt, instead of a proglib approved cast of gay black B-listers in some American blue-state shithole. IIRC it was the Exodus story, but maybe it was something else.

Posted by: CppThis at April 10, 2021 09:11 PM (zcf1k)

121 "when I was a kid, trying to watch Ben Hur all the way through was a slog. Then again, it was an epic and probably a masterpiece."

"Ben-Hur" is was another movie that was originally made as a silent epic. I saw the silent version some years ago at a silent film festival. It was interesting, though rather stagy. The naval battle scene was done the old-fashioned way, with guys rowing replica triremes around a harbor in Italy. The film was made around the time that the Fascists came to power (Mussolini took over in 1922); and the story I heard, which may be apocryphal, is that some galleys were crewed by Fascists and others by anti-Fascists, and they tried to ram and sink each other for real.

Posted by: Nemo at April 10, 2021 09:13 PM (S6ArX)

122 Yes, yes and yes ! agree in all respects and on all points made.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:13 PM (Q9SFr)

123 Look again. Long posts that no one reads. Cut and paste.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 09:14 PM (OOgBq)

124 if you want to crank it up a few notches, do this. Crush a raw garlic clove and muddle some rosemary in your Olive oil. Dip your bread in that with some salt and you will be doing just fine

I got that tip from the major jagoff, Trump nemesis, Jose Andres.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:15 PM (JRrGN)

125 "I must respectfully disagree about the opening battle scene in Gladiator on the singular basis that they used recycled pre-battle Zulu chants from Zulu (1962) just before the barbarians attacked"
You mean the Romans never fought the Zulus?

Posted by: zmdavid at April 10, 2021 09:15 PM (xqRaG)

126 That copied red text is like a disease.

Posted by: zmdavid at April 10, 2021 09:16 PM (xqRaG)

127 So: "and it's such a brilliant idea (dramatically) to place him among the Egyptian royalty". It's in Exodus 2, at least the rudiment: Baby Moses is found by an Egyptian princess bathing in the Nile. Rabbinic tradition plays up how Moses was raised thus as a prince of Egypt, but the roots are biblical. The New Testament (earliest Christians being Jewish, after all) knew these traditions and affirmed them:
"At this time Moses was born, and was beautiful before God. And he was brought up for three months in his fatherâ€™s house; and when he was exposed, Pharaohâ€™s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds." (Acts 7:20-22).
Also Hebrews 11:24-25:
"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaohâ€™s daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin."

Posted by: MaxCon at April 10, 2021 09:17 PM (jtmdt)

128 What an empty life some people have that the only facsimile of joy they can manage comes from trying to harm others.
That is really weird, right? "My life and activities have no meaning, so I'm going to try to go out and make others feel bad."
Unrelated: I may have my board for my pinball machine...Maybe time for another pinball post?

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:18 PM (dhFCT)

129
I improved on the commandments.

Posted by: P. Francis at April 10, 2021 09:19 PM (3Y7AI)

130 Thank you, MaxCon! I'm afraid I never made it past the Pentateuch.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:19 PM (dhFCT)

131 You mean the Romans never fought the Zulus?

Posted by: zmdavid

Not in Germania during Augustus' rule, no.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 09:20 PM (KyWXo)

132 128What an empty life some people have that the only facsimile of joy they can manage comes from trying to harm others.
That is really weird, right? "My life and activities have no meaning, so I'm going to try to go out and make others feel bad."
Posted by:moviegiqueat April 10, 2021 09:18 PM (dhFCT)
There's a reason why I tend to refer to them as social vampires.

Posted by: CppThis at April 10, 2021 09:20 PM (zcf1k)

133

...search "Debra Paget Snake Dance" and thank me later.

That was some mighty fine Schlangetanzen right there, yes, indeed...

Thanks!

Posted by: Zettai at April 10, 2021 09:20 PM (e1Z0C)

134 Bitter herbs, unleavened bread, sandals on, go-bag packed, staff! Don't forget your staff!

Posted by: Eromero at April 10, 2021 09:21 PM (0OP+5)

135 Sorry about the red text.
I'll be better.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 09:21 PM (KyWXo)

136 Unrelated: I may have my board for my pinball machine...Maybe time for another pinball post? Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:18 PM (dhFCT) I vote yea. I'm interested in the build process, especially since the rise of "barcades" in Columbus has driven the prices of used pinball machines into the stratosphere.

Posted by: Schnorflepuppy at April 10, 2021 09:21 PM (Agr8U)

137
And I think that the site is under attack as it was this morning. Slow to a crawl.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:22 PM (Q9SFr)

138 88: That was exactly my complaint about 1917. Does anyone who has a passing familiarity with WWI think ANYONE would have cared about losing 1600 men when casualties easily ran much, much higher?
Nonetheless, I appreciated the effort to depict WWI which isn't done much in Hollywood.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at April 10, 2021 09:22 PM (TnVCV)

139

128What an empty life some people have that the only facsimile of joy they can manage comes from trying to harm others. That is really weird, right? "My life and activities have no meaning, so I'm going to try to go out and make others feel bad."
Unrelated: I may have my board for my pinball machine...Maybe time for another pinball post?
Posted by:moviegiqueat April 10, 2021 09:18 PM (dhFCT)

Hell, I even get trolling. Some night you're bored and so you decide to shit post some forum somewhere on the internet and try to tick some people off for a laugh. But to repeatedly come back over and over again to the same place and repeat the same boring stupid three lines. God what a sad worthless existence.

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 09:23 PM (vMCab)

140 That's funny. Complaining about someone being boring. Tire of taunting the kettle, did you?

Posted by: ... at April 10, 2021 09:23 PM (uEbPt)

141 Unrelated to movies.

The baby ate her first bowl of flesh this morning. Spicy tilapia in sour cream.

She's a carnivore now. A natural born killer with an unslakable bloodthirst.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:23 PM (Uh2oA)

142 @117
Understood, but sometimes, for whatever reason, lack of time or laziness, a director sometimes "borrows", the Cuckoo Clock speech from The Third Man is from a Hungarian Play.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at April 10, 2021 09:24 PM (FVrDO)

143 Boogie Nights is free on tubi. TWBB on Netflix. Hard Eight is free somewhere too. I went on a mini PT Anderson kick.

Posted by: mot at April 10, 2021 09:25 PM (jad3h)

144 Is there a Wilhelm Scream in Gladiator?

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 09:26 PM (vMCab)

145 I tried watching Exodus - the remake. I fell asleep. Literally.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:27 PM (Q9SFr)

146 Watched "The 10 Commandments" last week as usual. (Once Pharaoh made it back to the throne room and the scene dissolved to Mt. Sinai, I was out. Seen it before.) Also as usual, I noticed that you could see Anne Baxter's nipples and areolae through her blue dress. But this was the first time I noticed that Michael Ansara (Mr. Barbara Eden) had a line or two early in the movie as an overseer. You probably wouldn't have noticed him in the background as an extra, but once he spoke I said "Holy shit, that's Michael Ansara!"

Posted by: Dave Olson at April 10, 2021 09:27 PM (bLcWq)

147 ||I vote yea. I'm interested in the build process, especially since the rise of "barcades" in Columbus has driven the prices of used pinball machines into the stratosphere.

Yeah, the prices are going nutso on the old machines while the new ones are probably going extinct. Which sorta makes no sense to me.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:29 PM (dhFCT)

148 Boogie Nights is free on tubi. TWBB on Netflix. Hard Eight is free somewhere too. I went on a mini PT Anderson kick.
And Inherent Vice is on tubi as well. Great looking mess of a movie.

Posted by: mot at April 10, 2021 09:29 PM (jad3h)

149 Still way tooo long posts. Skimmers. Trying to be helpful.

Posted by: Tinkling at April 10, 2021 09:30 PM (OOgBq)

150 Tinkling likes homo bukake movies.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 09:32 PM (2DOZq)

151

That was some mighty fine Schlangetanzen right there, yes, indeed...

I have no idea what that means but the snake puppet is hilarious.

Posted by: Oddbob at April 10, 2021 09:33 PM (qc+VF)

152 Boogie Nights is free on tubi. TWBB on Netflix. Hard Eight is free somewhere too. I went on a mini PT Anderson kick.
And Inherent Vice is on tubi as well. Great looking mess of a movie.

Posted by: mot at April 10, 2021 09:29 PM (jad3h)

Roller girl just tweeted a bikini pic at age 51. Damn she's still smoking hot.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 09:34 PM (2DOZq)

153 The US Navy just put a mask on it's bird symbol. I am sure it has a particular term, but at this point to be honest I don't care. Are the Marines to put a mask on the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor? I am at a loss for words at this point. And some might be surprised that I am at a loss for words.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:34 PM (JRrGN)

154 On every rewatch of Commandments I seem to focus on work of one actor slightly more than the others (so many excellent ones). This time it was Edward G. Robinson. He as Nefretiri are embellishments, vehicles to tell the story. He plays the corrupt chief overseer with so much humor ! Excellent character actor and so much more than the gangsta type he was forced to play. But it was and is Hollywood, you could not play the lead if physical attributes were not there.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:35 PM (Q9SFr)

155 Movie related comment:
I saw the movie "King of NY," and it was really weird.
On TJM's recommendation, I saw the Herzog version of "Bad Lieutenant," featuring Nic Cage. That was also really weird.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:35 PM (Uh2oA)

156 ||Hell, I even get trolling. Some night you're bored and so you decide to shit post some forum somewhere on the internet and try to tick some people off for a laugh.
I've been listening to some Michael Malice lately and he has a reputation for trolling, but it's the most whimsical sort of trolling I've ever seen.
He was on Lex Fridman's show, and Lex wears a black jacket, a white shirt and a white tie. And to troll him, Malice wore a white jacket, a black shirt and a white tie.
Or he'll take donations and buy an expensive autographed first edition of Atlas Shrugs, or something, which is remarkably upsetting to some people.
Having some style when engaging with people, even if they're intellectual enemies is one thingâ€”remember Breitbart at the party with Obama's terrorist, calling out something like, "This dip is the bomb!"?â€”but just sort of hoping you can punch someone's buttons by repeating random insults?
Sounds like someone on the way out, really.

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:36 PM (dhFCT)

157 Quint @ 153- This must be the new, improved, diverse villagepeoplenavy.
Eromero yeah a damn retired CPO.

Posted by: Eromero at April 10, 2021 09:37 PM (0OP+5)

158

[Didn't read post yet. Just noodling and nattering out of nowhere. As usual. Is that okay?]

Did somebody saaaay Movies? I like movies.

This week, Milady and I dug out the Indiana Jones disc. Here's how long it's been since I saw the first one: We were embarrassingly far into the movie and I was scratching my head. "I don't remember any of this!" and "Who's this gal? She's not Karen Allen!" The projector bulb finally lit up. We were watching Temple of Doom!!! which I don't think I've ever even seen before. TrÃ¨s embarrassant!

So, we put on Lost Ark and it was all immediately rememberable from the first scene, and was rollicking good fun. Temple was just all the frantic parts, none of what made Ark so good. â€¦ am I remembering correctly, or did I just dream that in Crystal Skull, they escaped a nuke by hiding in a refrigerator? Well, Ark was fun to watch again. [sets disc into rack, to gather dust for another twenty years]

Posted by: mindful webworker - I can't do that, Dave at April 10, 2021 09:37 PM (ixrHq)

159 Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:35 PM (Uh2oA)
I didn't get Bad Lieutenant at all .

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 10, 2021 09:39 PM (2DOZq)

160 during the biden rule we will be bombarded with ridiculous and stoopid every day many times a day. if we react to every instance we shall be exhausted before his 100 are done.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:39 PM (Q9SFr)

161 @156
There's an often misunderstood distinction between "trolling" and "trawling". Or as Ernest Hemingway once said, "Tinkles sucks dick like Castro played baseball."

Posted by: normal at April 10, 2021 09:41 PM (obo9H)

162 I've been listening to some Michael Malice lately and he has a reputation for trolling, but it's the most whimsical sort of trolling I've ever seen.

I have been too ! I was not aware of his trolling, and is it really trolling if it done on own show ?

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 09:41 PM (Q9SFr)

163 Movie related comment:
I saw the movie "King of NY," and it was really weird.
On TJM's recommendation, I saw the Herzog version of "Bad Lieutenant," featuring Nic Cage. That was also really weird.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:35 PM (Uh2oA)

TJM is weird, but we like it that way. For NY films I would try out The Warriors and The Taking of Pelham 123, not the modern garbage remake.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:44 PM (JRrGN)

164
I didn't get Bad Lieutenant at all .

Posted by:Sebastian Melmothat April 10, 2021 09:39 PM (2DOZq)

--------

Me either. The end is very weird. It doesn't make much sense; it's like Herzog tried to write in a happy ending to put the rest of the thing in perspective or something. Or it's just a weird movie for the sake of being weird. That's possible.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:44 PM (Uh2oA)

165 Hubbymayhem wants to watch Battleship. I like the movie except for the first thirty minutes. If I watch that part, I spend the rest of the movie hoping the main character does and being disappointed when he doesn't. Its our anniversary today. 17 yrs and counting.

Posted by: Madame mayhem at April 10, 2021 09:46 PM (Vxu+H)

166 Happy Anniversary, Madame mayhem!

Posted by: ALH, Sister Golden Hair at April 10, 2021 09:47 PM (oUcR5)

167 ||I have been too ! I was not aware of his trolling, and is it really trolling if it done on own show ?
Good question. Can you troll in your own waters?

Posted by: moviegique at April 10, 2021 09:47 PM (dhFCT)

168

165Hubbymayhem wants to watch Battleship. I like the movie except for the first thirty minutes. If I watch that part, I spend the rest of the movie hoping the main character does and being disappointed when he doesn't. Its our anniversary today. 17 yrs and counting.
Posted by:Madame mayhemat April 10, 2021 09:46 PM (Vxu+H)

Have him start the movie while you go prepare the snacks and drinks.

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 09:48 PM (vMCab)

169
I'd watch Brooklyn Decker read from a phonebook. Battleship is a fine movie.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 10, 2021 09:48 PM (Uh2oA)

170 Posted by: mindful webworker - I can't do that, Dave at April 10, 2021 09:37 PM (ixrHq)
I have droned on about this from day one, there is really nothing new to add. Almost every sequel chooses the things that did NOT make the original famous, and then they amplify those things. Sure there are a very few exceptions such as the Godfather part 2. But those the the exceptions that prove the rule.

Look at Jaws, Rocky, Romancing the Stone, whatever. I understand many think highly of the Rocky series. I admit Rocky 3 and 4 were ok. But to be honest, as films, they didnt' come close to the original.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:49 PM (JRrGN)

171 I rewatched The 400 Blows on TCM earlier this week. I remembered that the school was decrepit, Antoine's family live in a cramped, dirty apartment, but I forgot that Antoine's friend Rene was quite a few steps further up socioeconomically speaking. Which I guess is the reason Antoine winds up in reform school at the end of the movie and Rene does not. By the way, those reform school uniforms looked sharp! At least, they were nicer looking than Antoine's civilian clothes.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at April 10, 2021 09:49 PM (4wD9N)

172 I've watched the Ten Commandments several times over the years and I never noticed Anne Baxter's nipples before. It's true. You really do learn something new every day.

Posted by: ALH, Sister Golden Hair at April 10, 2021 09:51 PM (oUcR5)

173

172I've watched the Ten Commandments several times over the years and I never noticed Anne Baxter's nipples before. It's true. You really do learn something new every day.
Posted by:ALH, Sister Golden Hairat April 10, 2021 09:51 PM (oUcR5)

Benefit of HD.

Posted by: buzzion at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (vMCab)

174 Ramsey Clark dead at 93.

Posted by: Neo at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (X5CsJ)

175 the first version of "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is terrific. Soaked in real New Yorkyness. Plus, Jerry Stiller in a bit part...

Posted by: Vivi at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (USW1s)

176 I always enjoy re-watching 10 Commandments.
My favorite bit is the Yul Brynner line "Bring me the Hebrew Moses". I regularly look for opportunities to use it in real life.
I was fascinated one time watching it. We had brought it back from the /States on VHS when we lived in Saudi Arabia. Got to the scene where he is first a guest in the tent of Jethro, Sheik of Midian and Jethro tears up a piece of flat bread and says "Come we will break bread bread while by daughters bring us meat." Turned to my wife and said "I'm pretty sure I've lunch with that guy." because it was so similar to some of the social occasions I ran into over there.

Posted by: Kyle Kiernan at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (INiTJ)

177 you can't troll the AOS. It is a suicide mission. So many of these get the moniker troll when they have no clue what that means. I only post here, and I have said that for years .The reason I say that is it is true.

But many moons ago i fooled around at DKOS. In fact, ACE h/ted me because of a scoop I sent him about them. But the point is I gained many plaudits and upranks while taking shots at them. I used that mojo to write a diary that destroyed them. It was about how their Saint Soros was putting all his money into oil companies. They didn't know what to think and it caused a lot of dismay. I left after that because the place made me sick. That was well over a decade ago I believe.

The point is trolling used to mean something. Just being a jagoff is unworthy of the troll moniker. You have to be good at your craft. If reminds me of a scene from Glen Garry Glen Ross So called "trolls" here have to be brain dead to think they are making a difference.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:56 PM (JRrGN)

178 Sammiches?

Posted by: Moses in the Tent of Jethro at April 10, 2021 09:56 PM (EdQIG)

179 I'll watch Edge of Tomorrow, Battleship, Battle: Los Angeles and Aliens any time they are on.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 09:57 PM (KyWXo)

180 Late to the thread, so some quickies:
Last week has been a mini-Mads Mikkelsen film festival with:
1) "Polar" - a rude, crude mash-up of a sleazy Tarantino movie with John Wick. Extremely violent and darkly humorous. MM plays a hitman with a guilty secret forced to retire, however his "corporation doesn't want to pay him his $8M pension. Hijinks ensue. a fun popcorn movie full of broken glass. Streaming on Netflix.
2) "Another Round" - a melancholic Danish comedy/drama. MM stars as a teacher who feels that his life has gone wrong. He and his friends test a scientific theory that man should have a blood alcohol content of .05% to perform at maximum efficiency. And it works! Then they decide that if .05 is good, .15 must be even better. Hijinks ensue and all their lives are changed forever, A wonderful life affirming movie. Also, I love the way the Danish people love their country and love being Danes. We could use some of that spirit here in the US. Streaming on Hulu.
Check them out.

Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2021 09:57 PM (dWwl8)

181 I enjoyed Battleship more than I thought I would. Riri is great, and the scene where the old sailors power up the decommissioned battleship - still warriors!!! - is one of my all time favorites,,, plus "Thunderstruck" soundtrack, of course. still gives me chills.

Posted by: Vivi at April 10, 2021 09:57 PM (USW1s)

182 Upgraded to 4K UHD?

Gonna put some eyes out with the wardrobe

Posted by: Anna Puma at April 10, 2021 09:59 PM (r6pxQ)

183 the first version of "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is terrific. Soaked in real New Yorkyness. Plus, Jerry Stiller in a bit part...

Posted by: Vivi at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (USW1s)

My dad took me to see it when I was about 9 and then wanted me to ride the E train.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 10, 2021 09:59 PM (EZebt)

184 the first version of "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is terrific. Soaked in real New Yorkyness. Plus, Jerry Stiller in a bit part...

Posted by: Vivi at April 10, 2021 09:53 PM (USW1s)

he was good. They used that footage in an episode of King of Queens, when Doug found out Arthur used to be a Hollywood actor.

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 10:01 PM (JRrGN)

185 Saw Kong VS Godzilla on HBOMax -
The best of the new Godzilla movies so far. Delivers on its promise to have a big ole kanji slugfest. Minimal extraneous human drama. Just a fun movie.
If you can though, see it on the biggest movie screen with the best sound system possible. This movie was made to be seen on the big screen.

Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2021 10:02 PM (dWwl8)

186 41
Jean Gabin was awesome, in French films.
My sister actually likes Sophia Loren, but said, "Her pictures are terrible." That's because she's only seen her Hollywood pictures, not her Italian ones.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at April 10, 2021 10:02 PM (4wD9N)

187 Yeah so,I've been lurking around all of today. Thanks all for so many movie recommendations! See yall upstairs, I hope.?

Posted by: COMountainMarie at April 10, 2021 10:03 PM (HC+O2)

188 The war's over, baby. Launch those torpedoes.

Posted by: Admiral Ackbar at April 10, 2021 10:03 PM (W4eKo)

189 I'll watch Edge of Tomorrow, Battleship, Battle: Los Angeles and Aliens any time they are on.

Posted by: Sharkman at April 10, 2021 09:57 PM (KyWXo)

Battle: Los Angeles is a great little action movie that gets zero respect.

All the critics are wrong. Check this one out.

Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2021 10:04 PM (dWwl8)

190 trolls' mission is not to make a difference, they are mediocre types whose mission is to disrupt, slow down conversation and then have the conversation center on them. that is why it is important to ignore. a task very difficult, insurmountable it seems for some people.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 10:06 PM (Q9SFr)

191 I am doing a cover to cover reading of the Bible with a friend, and we had completed Exodus just before Easter. I watched the movie, and was surprised, one, how Biblical it was, and two, how Biblical it wasn't.
I find it interesting how much our cultural knowledge of Exodus is informed by this movie. A lot of the stuff we know is just made up. The whole thing with Moses in Pharoahs house. Yes, it said it in the Bible, the daughter found him in the rushes, but the Bible says she sent him away to nurse and then kind of the next thing we know he kills a guy and runs away to the desert.
Those things happen in the film, sure, but all of the stuff around it? No, not so much,

Posted by: blaster at April 10, 2021 10:06 PM (ZfRYq)

192

The ONT... It is NOOD!

Posted by: Zettai at April 10, 2021 10:06 PM (IuY1u)

193 >>> 170 Posted by: mindful webworker - I can't do that, Dave at April 10, 2021 09:37 PM (ixrHq) I have droned on about this from day one, there is really nothing new to add. Almost every sequel chooses the things that did NOT make the original famous, and then they amplify those things. Sure there are a very few exceptions such as the Godfather part 2. But those the the exceptions that prove the rule. Look at Jaws, Rocky, Romancing the Stone, whatever. I understand many think highly of the Rocky series. I admit Rocky 3 and 4 were ok. But to be honest, as films, they didnt' come close to the original. Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 09:49 PM (JRrGN) The screenwriter for Romancing the Stone was killed in a car accident in some canyon or other after the first movie (chemical impairment of some sort was probably involved). Not to say she would have done any better than whoever they dragged in to write the sequel, because I had the impression RtS was supposed to be a standalone.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 10, 2021 10:08 PM (b8eqQ)

194 willowed again

Posted by: Admiral Ackbar at April 10, 2021 10:08 PM (W4eKo)

195 My sister actually likes Sophia Loren, but said, "Her pictures are terrible." That's because she's only seen her Hollywood pictures, not her Italian ones.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at April 10, 2021 10:02 PM (4wD9N)

Whaaaaaaaaat?

Have sis check out-

The Cary Grant comedy "Houseboat" a great lighter than air romantic comedy that shows you why SL is a star. And-

"Arabesque" a fun Hitchcock style comedy-thriller with Gregory Peck. Same dealio. You can see why she's a star.

Posted by: naturalfake at April 10, 2021 10:10 PM (dWwl8)

196 thanks for the thread moviegique!

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 10:11 PM (Q9SFr)

197 "Moontide" (1942) I'll watch Ida Lupino in anything, but holy moly: is Jean Gabin the most annoying actor ever, or what? And why would a 24-yo hottie like her take up with a shack-dwelling penniless marble-mouthed drunken old fart like him?
I've never seen Gabin in anything but French films, but be fair: in 1942 he was only 38, so it's not like he was an old geezer. He's not my idea of a handsome man, but he's got a lot of screen presence. I've translated some of his films and made English fansubs; he does have a mumbly way of speaking, and he specialized in sort of lower-class, man-of-the-people roles with a lot of French colloquialisms. Not easy to translate, but not as hard as Arletty, either.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 10, 2021 10:15 PM (yUcw4)

198 trolls' mission is not to make a difference, they are mediocre types whose mission is to disrupt, slow down conversation and then have the conversation center on them. that is why it is important to ignore. a task very difficult, insurmountable it seems for some people.

Posted by: runner, Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink ! at April 10, 2021 10:06 PM (Q9SFr)

not me. I don't even know whom we are talking about. I never noticed a troll, but I do tend to focus on myself and the people that respond to me

Posted by: Quint at April 10, 2021 10:18 PM (JRrGN)

199 Iâ€™d had the impression the movie was made later, about 1959. I was born in 1960, and it felt on the cusp of the â€˜60s, maybe just because thatâ€™s when I first saw it, or because of the sexuality. Iâ€™m normally a lurker, but Iâ€™m just happy Iâ€™m able to post here again; I wasnâ€™t able to before, maybe because I just have a smartphone.

Posted by: norrin radd, wielder of the power cosmic at April 10, 2021 10:29 PM (8TYvf)

200 That smokin' hot lady with John Derek is not Patty Behrs; it's actress Barbara Rush.

Posted by: ahem at April 11, 2021 03:20 AM (tPakk)

201 Watched this last weekend, and noticed that when Moses meets Jethro, and his man-starved daughters wander through the tent, two of them are carrying a standard propane tank. That seemed kind of anachronistic. They must have been setting up the barbecue.

Posted by: Half Dozen at April 11, 2021 10:45 AM (wMN5Q)

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