Thursday, April 11, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks-Let's Start at the End


Oh what a fun theme this week and there are many films that showcase this style of movie making. I can’t help but think of that Seinfeld Episode which went backwards...brilliant! Let’s get to it and check out Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what the rest of the group have chosen. Here are my 3...

1. LYDIA-1941


This is an under-rated film, in my humble opinion, that truly speaks about how women can be so stupid but, we can all relate to. This film stars Merle Oberon who is now old and reflecting on her life. There is a small gathering of her and the men in her life who loved her and she cared for all except one...whom she loved deeply. She recounts the history with each man in her life and how she comes from a sheltered but privileged life to dedicating her life to blind kids. We see how each man falls for her but, although she loves them in her own way, she can’t reciprocate their amorous feelings...except for one. You know the one she loves will do her wrong which is so typical even today. What I love is how adult this film is especially during this time of censorship. It is worth a look and I love the ending.

2. MILDRED PIERCE-1945


This Stars Joan Crawford as the title character who is in the police station explaining why she murdered her husband. Well, we first see her husband get shot and whisper, "Mildred", before he dies. Anyway, we go back in time to when she was a lovely hausfrau with 2 kids and a loving and doting husband. The young girl is sweet but the older one is a true brat, entitled and mean..much like most kids today. Mildred caters to the eldest to the point where her marriage dissolves and, even when her youngest dies, she still caters to her brat of a daughter. Mildred finds out she has a wonderful gift for cooking and sharp business sense and opens up a restaurant which becomes a hit. All this time her brat of a kid keeps taking and she keeps giving. Eve Arden plays her friend who has some great lines with one of my favourites being, “Crocodiles have the right idea, they eat their young.” Hahahaaa. Joan won an Oscar for her role and should have won an Oscar for winning this Oscar claiming she had pneumonia but still looked great getting her Oscar with the cameras snapping away while she is in bed. Joan was anything but the wonderful Mildred..cue the wire hangers.

3. MEMENTO-2000


Gosh I have to re-watch this great film that many of you have mentioned in previous themes. This film stars Guy Pierce as a man who has a rare form of memory loss-he can’t recall any new memories at all due to a huge bump on his head received when he was attacked and his wife murdered. He is trying to solve the murder and does this by putting tattoos on his body plus has pictures posted everywhere. We keep going backwards until we get to the beginning. What is brilliant is not only the backward style of showcasing the plot but a linear version happening at the same time shot in black and white and the both meet at the end. If you haven’t seen this film...see it and watch it again.

Which films would you choose?

53 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    When it works I like this style of movie making. I haven't seen any of these films, but your mini reviews have be wanting to.

    The brief clip of ballroom dancing doesn't reveal much about Lydia, so I'll take your word that it is an underrated film with surprisingly adult content for its time.

    Mildred Pierce interests me. I love Eve Arden, an actress known for delivering zingers in most if not all of her roles, and I enjoyed her on TV as Our Miss Brooks. Just curious... did Mildred Pierce refer to her older child as "daughter dearest"? I see that the lovely Ann Blyth played the spoiled daughter Veda. Ann turns age 91 later this year. Can you believe it? I think it's odd that Ann was not credited in that trailer. Did you hear the diction used by the voice-over narrator? That's what I'm talkin' about!

    Memento sound fascinating. Of the three reviewed it arouses the most interest. Joe Pantoliano is one of my favorites.

    Thank you, dear friend BB, and enjoy the rest of your week!

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    1. i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
      or
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      i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
      or
      call/whatsapp:+2349057261346

      Delete
  2. Hi Shady...yeah, I didn’t want to put. 10 minute film on Lydia and couldn’t find a trailer for it but it is quite good and love the ending. She spends 2 weeks with the loveof her life in a cottage...this is early 40’s so that was different. Yes, I love Ann Blyth who had a great singing voice as well. Why she wasn’t shown in The credits here, I have no clue. You haven’t seen Memento? You need to see it

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  3. Memento is fantastic. Someone walked off with my DVD, but before that happened I watched it many times. The DVD came with a disc that put all the scenes in order. And it was still mind-boggling.
    Enjoyed Mildred despite my dislike of the star, but never even heard of Lydia. I'll have to look for it.

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    1. It appears that someone has uploaded the movie to YouTube. Now I just need to find time to watch Lydia for myself.

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    2. I hope you enjoy Lydia like I do.

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  4. Birgit,

    These films are new-to-me. I'm not sure if they appeal to me but I'd certainly give them ago. Here lately, I've been in the mindset for vintage comedies like the one we watched a last weekend with Jack Lemmon & Kim Novach, The Notorious Landlandy. Thanks for the movie review. I'm going to see if Netflix or Amazon Prime has any of these now. :)

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    1. That is a good movie and as for comedies, try The Pink Panther From 1963...so much fun.

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  5. I liked Lydia without loving it. Merle was a bit of an acquired taste for me but she's grown on me over the years as I've seen more of her films, if you haven't seen it I recommend one of her later efforts-The Price of Fear. It a low budget but quite effective little suspenser. Lydia was also the swan song of the great Edna May Oliver who died unexpectedly shortly after its completion.

    MILDRED PIERCE!!! How did I not even think of that? Although I've used it before its a perfect fit, and those opening credits are so evocative. You're very kind in calling Vida a brat she's much more of a pit viper. Everybody is at the very top of there game (a special shout-out to Jo Ann Marlowe who plays the ill-fated Kay), not just the cast but all the behind the scenes people. A great film.

    We match on an unexpected title! I remember seeing Memento in the theatre and having to go back a second time to make sense of it all but right from the get go I thought it was fantastic.

    Death hangs heavily over my picks this week since all three deal with it in some way.

    Memento (2000)-Leonard (Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty however of locating his wife's killer is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why. His solution is to tattoo clues onto his body to arrive at the answer. Complex mystery begins at the end and works in fractured time lines throughout.

    Sunset Boulevard (1950)-As the film opens failed screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) is found floating face down (but facing the audience) in the swimming pool of former film queen Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Harking back we then learn how things came to such a sorry pass. Brilliant, tragic, pitch black Billy Wilder masterpiece of broken dreams and dashed hopes with vivid performances from the entire cast and a dazzling iconic one by Swanson.

    Double Indemnity (1944)-Los Angeles insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) stumbles into his office late one night with a bullet in his shoulder falls into his office chair and starts recording his confession for his boss and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). We then flashback to how his foolish involvement with the amoral, heartless Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) lead to duplicity, deception and murder. Another Billy Wilder noir classic.

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    1. Sorry for such a late reply...I almost chose Double Indemnity which is brilliant. I love Sunset Blvd but picked that before. Glad we match with Memento which I need to see again. I always liked Merle and love her in this, Wuthering Heights and These Three but will check out the film you are talking about.

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  6. I think Memento will be popular this week. I haven't seen the original Mildred Pierce but I did see the HBO mini series which I enjoyed. I keep meaning to watch Crawford's version.

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    1. I haven’t seen the mini series but the original will be the best especially since it is played by one who is anything but the self sacrificing mother of the film.

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  7. I love the idea of reminder tattoos. I may have to try it. Heh.

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    1. Hahahaa..should we call you Lydia, the tattooed lady? Heheee

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  8. I've seen your last two picks--both excellent films. I like the flashback retracing what happened style of storytelling. So many films fit this description.

    Some other good ones are Citizen Kane (retracing the mystery of "Rosebud") and (should I say it?) The Greatest Showman which essentially starts where the movie ends as the fictional Barnum looks back at his life journey. And how about D.O.A. (1949) which starts with a poisoned man recounting his own murder to the police? So many great movies using this technique.

    Then there's Benjamin Button--the tricky device of actually aging backward. That's a mind-bender.

    Great theme this week because there are so many films like these that come to mind.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Oh, just thought of another: The Snake Pit (1948) with Olivia De Havilland playing a mental patient telling her story to her psychiatrist. In fact I seem to remember several films using this storytelling technique--someone confiding to a doctor, priest, or other similar person.

      Lee

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    2. Yes, the Greatest Stuntman works for sure as well as your other picks. Benjamin Button is a great choice and I wish I would have chosen that one

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  9. Memento is the perfect movie for this theme. But I find it annoying when stories start at the end. They do this on TV a lot now, where they show some climactic scene, and then the screen flashes "8 days ago" or some such and we work to it. Once in a while that would be OK, but it seems like every show is doing it lately.

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    1. You are so right! What was once a unique way of telling the story is now used too much

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  10. I love the way you describe Memento. I haven't seen it, but it doesn't sound brilliant.

    Virtual hugs.

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  11. I almost picked Memento myself. I absolutely love that movie!

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  12. I kind of expected you to use Memento, if you'd seen it. Great film.

    Sunset Boulevard came to mind, although I don't generally like it when movies are narrated by dead people... unless said movie has a supernatural angle to it anyway.

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    1. I have to see Memento again as it has been too long. I love Sunset Blvd and find it inspired how it begins. I talked about this film before so I wanted to choose something else

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  13. We share a pick with Mildred Pierce. AWESOME!

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  14. I've never even heard of any of these, but you make me want to see them all, maybe twice (grin).

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  15. I don't know any of these. But they sound good. I don't know how people have so much movie time, but I guess we all use our time differently. I do like reading about these movies though so next time I am looking for something to watch, I know what to look for. Happy almost weekend. Hugs-Erika

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    1. Love watching movies which I watch often but read when I go to bed and, at times, at lunchtime

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  16. 'SUNSET BOULEVARD' is my favorite Film Noir, so that would probably be my #1 choice. Lee mentioned 'THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON', and I really dig that movie, too.

    Apparently, I'm one of the few persons who didn't care for 'MEMENTO' much. I felt the whole concept was just too contrived for me to be able to suspend disbelief.

    But then I'm also that one person who thinks 'SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION' is way, way overrated. I mean, if you've already seen the prison pictures 'PAPILLON' and 'COOL HAND LUKE', the 'Shawshank Redemption' doesn't seem like something to get particularly excited about.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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    1. I wish I would have thought of Benjamin Button because that is a great choice. Im Sorry but I have not just read your thoughts on Shawshank. I think you must have had a fever or something as this is one of my all time favourite films

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    2. BIRGIT ~
      Have you seen both 'Papillon' and 'Cool Hand Luke'?
      And if so, do you really, truly, honestly think 'Shawshank Redemption' measures up to either of those two earlier prison movies? I mean, do you *REALLY*?!?! (Or have you perhaps - just maybe - bought into all the hype about it?) Because in my book, 'Shawshank' is a very, Very, VERY distant third between those two earlier films.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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    3. I love Papillon and Cool Hand Luke. The classic lines from Cool Hand Luke are used to this day by people who have no idea where it comes from. The egg scene..not sure how Paul Newman did that without throwing up:). Papillon is close to m6 heart as well and truly shows how great Steve McQueen was as an actor and Dustin Hoffman as well but, yes, I love Shawshank. I did not see it when it came out in theatres and was not into the hype at all when people started saying how great it was. I finally gave in just to find out the reason for the name and I realized how great a film it is. I stand proud saying I love this first with Papillon a close second and Cool Hand Luke Third. I know you are shaking your head but you will continue to do so and hang low as I stand by my love for the film:). Now I will sing a tune..er....no I don’t want to attract all the dogs and cats to my home🤪

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    4. Well, I'll be generous and cut ya a little slack, BIRGIT. I mean, you almost always get it right when it comes to movies, and ain't nobody perfect. So, I can overlook a rare "whiff" on your part. (Just don't get in the habit of striking out, M'Dear. We need someone on this team who can be counted on to put the ball in play! ;-)

      ~ D-FensDogG
      STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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  17. Memento is such a great movie. I haven't seen Mildred Pierce yet, but after it being mentioned several times this week, I will make sure to check it out!

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    1. I thought Memento would be the popular one but it might be Mildred which is a great film even though I can’t stand Joan Crawford

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  18. Memento is the only pick I've seen but I really need to rewatch it!

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  19. "Memento" was a great movie and the only one I've seen from your list.
    Have a great week ahead.
    Andrea

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    1. I’m off this week so it will be nice. I have to see Memento again.

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  20. Hope you are having a lovely, pain free weekend:)

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    1. Went for my infusion on Saturday so was sleepy that day but feeling better

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  21. These all look interesting, but I haven't seen any of them! Hope that you are enjoying mid-April! For me, the month is flying by!

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  22. Wasn't Ann Blyth the brat in "Mildred Pierce"?

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    1. Yes she was and she is still around at over 90. She had a great operatic voice

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  23. Regarding #1: I think the bad boy draw is that devil-may care sparkle in their eyes.

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  24. If you have the special edition dvd/blu-ray you cant watch the film in reverse. Even more brilliant.

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  25. Memento was the first one that sprang to mind. Classic.

    Didn't American Beauty start at the end? It's been a while. I believe the Green Mile did as well, if reminiscing counts. Tough topic!

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