April 2017 50 Movie Challenge: A to Z

[cinemaphile]

1. April Featured Theme: A to Z - one movie starting with each letter of the alphabet (plus a #)

2. April Recommendations Category: Pre-1970 movies*
* In your initial tracking post, everyone put a list of at least 5 films released before 1970 that you think others may not have seen and may enjoy. Then for the ones you watch for this category, mention who recommended the film in your post.

3. The rest of your movies for the month can be categorized however you please!
___________________________________

The Usual Fine Print:

• 50 movies is the goal, but based on your own time and situation you can shoot for more or less, so we have different levels from Bronze to Platinum:
  60 Movies - Platinum
  50 Movies - Gold
  40 Movies - Silver
  30 Movies - Bronze
• If you're going to repost your entire list each time, please hide it under spoiler tags.
• If you are going to post pictures for the films (poster art or bluray covers, for example) please try not to use GIANT pictures, and if there are tons of them, again - please hide under spoilers.

[cinemaphile]

My Recommendations:
Most of mine aren't at all obscure - on the contrary, several are considered classics - but they are ones I thought maybe some people here haven't seen and might enjoy:



____________________________________________

MY LIST:

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Assassin's Creed -
B: * Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas -
C: * Collateral Beauty -
D: De-Lovely - ½
E: Empire Records -
F: * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - ½
G: Godzilla (1998) -
H: * Haven -
I: Iron Man 3 -
J: * Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead -
K: King Arthur (2004) -
L: La La Land -
M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½
N: * No Escape -
O: * The Outcasts -
P: Parkland -
Q: * Queen of the Damned -
R: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story -
S: Silence of the Lambs - ½
T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -
W: Why Him? -
X: Xanadu - ½
Y: Yellowbeard - ½
Z: * Zipper -
#: 48 Hrs. -

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Ace in the Hole (1951) - ½ (recommended by odguitar)
5. * Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967) - (recommended by DantheMan)
6. * Whatever Happened to Baby Jane - (recommended by filmbuffTX)

2017 Films:
1. * Fate of the Furious -
2. * Free Fire -
3. * Aftermath - ½
4. * Split -
5. * King Arthur: Legend of the Sword -

Audrey Hepburn:
1. * Roman Holiday - (recommended by DantheMan)
2. * Sabrina (1965) -
3. My Fair Lady - ½
4. * Two For The Road - ½
5. * How to Steal A Million - ½
6. * Wait Until Dark - (recommended by hagios)

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½
3. Fast & Furious 6 - ½
4. Furious 7 -
5. Knockaround Guys -

Miscellaneous:
1. * Valley Girl - ½


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[DanTheMan]

Recently Watched:



A-Z:

A: The Abyss* - 4.5/5
B: Bonnie and Clyde* - 3/5 (SuperK23)
C: Chicago - 3.5/5
D: Doctor Strange - 4/5
E: Escape from L.A.* - 2/5
F: Fast and Furious 6 - 4.5/5
G: Ghost in the Shell (2017)* - 4/5
H: Hidden Figures - 4.5/5
I: Incendies* - 4.5/5
J: James and the Giant Peach - 3/5
K: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* - 3.5/5
L: La La Land - 5/5
M: Moulin Rouge!* - 2.5/5
N: Need for Speed - 3.5/5
O: Only Lovers Left Alive* - 3/5
P: Pan's Labyrinth* - 5/5
Q: Queen of Katwe* - 4/5
R: The Road* - 3.5/5
S: Split* - 3.5/5
T: Two Days, One Night* - 4/5
U: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg* - 3.5/5 (DPIW73)
V: The Virgin Suicides* - 2/5
W: We Bought a Zoo* - 4.5/5
X: xXx - 4/5
Y: The Young Girls of Rochefort* - 4.5/5
Z: Zathura* - 1.5/5

April Recommendations - Pre-1970s:

A Fistful of Dollars* - 4/5 (advdfreak)
For a Few Dollars More* - 4.5/5 (advdfreak)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* - 5/5 (advdfreak)
A Streetcar Named Desire* - 4/5 (Trollhunter)
Barbarella* - 3/5 (Travis)

Musicals:

Guys and Dolls - 5/5 (cinemaphile)
The Sound of Music - 5/5
The Rocky Horror Picture Show* - 1.5/5
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street* - 5/5
West Side Story - 4/5 (Trollhunter)
My Fair Lady* - 4/5 (kingdoxie)
A Star is Born (1954)* - 4.5/5
Singin' in the Rain - 5/5
La La Land - 5/5

Miscellaneous:

The Spectacular Now - 4.5/5
Beauty and the Beast (2017) - 4.5/5
The Break-Up* - 0.5/5
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 4.5/5
La La Land - 5/5
Super 8 - 5/5
World War Z* - 4/5
That Awkward Moment - 3.5/5

My Pre-1970s Recommendations:

[Show spoiler]

[Travis]

Originally Posted by DanTheMan

Reserved

My Pre-1970s Recommendations:

Nice choices! You got some great taste.

I own all but three on BD. Have Roman Holiday on DVD, borrowed Singing in the Rain not long ago, so I have to watch The First Time. Sure it'll be good.

[cinemaphile]

Inspired by watching Strangers on a Train last month:



Throw Momma From The Train -

and that closes out my first set of five:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:

[Show spoiler]A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J:
K:
L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:
O:
P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -

[Show spoiler]R:
S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -

[Show spoiler]U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:

Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations:
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes - (recommended by filmbuffTX)

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[filmbuffTX]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

and that closes out my first set of five:

RE: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

I agree with your rating. I saw it in Dec for the first time and gave it a 3.5/5. Nearly everything else I recommended this month was dark and serious so I just added that one since it's a light hearted live action Disney movie. It has a cool retro style to it and a lot of people don't know that Kurt Russell had a whole career doing Disney movies before he was in The Thing. I hope your expectations weren't too high before watching it!

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by filmbuffTX

RE: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

I agree with your rating. I saw it in Dec for the first time and gave it a 3.5/5. Nearly everything else I recommended this month was dark and serious so I just added that one since it's a light hearted live action Disney movie. It has a cool retro style to it and a lot of people don't know that Kurt Russell had a whole career doing Disney movies before he was in The Thing. I hope your expectations weren't too high before watching it!

No, I knew exactly what to expect - I had seen several of his Disney movies back in the day (this month I even recommended The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, which is where he first met Goldie Hawn ), and I think I may have even seen this one, but wasn't sure enough to call it a rewatch.
It was harmless fun. Enjoyable enough. Silly, cheesy, and hopelessly dated, but that was par for the course with those old DIsney live-action films.

[DanTheMan]

Ghost in the Shell (IMAX 3D) (first-time)



4/5

[cinemaphile]

Eastwood and Diesel double features bring me to 10 for the month:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:

[Show spoiler]A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G: * The Girl on the Train -
H:
I:
J:
K:
L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:
O:
P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -

[Show spoiler]R:
S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -

[Show spoiler]W:
X:
Y:

Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[starryeyes]

MV5BNjc1NWY0OTQtMDZiMy00Y2EzLTgwYmYtOTIxOGFkMDc1MjVhL2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE2NzA0Ng@@.jpg

It Came From Outer Space (1953) 1/2

[cinemaphile]

Forgot to post my usual 5-movie update when I finished #15:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Aftermath - ½

[Show spoiler]B:
C:

D: De-Lovely - ½

[Show spoiler]E:
F:
G: * The Girl on the Train -
H:
I:
J:

K: Knockaround Guys -

[Show spoiler]L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:
O:
P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -

[Show spoiler]R:
S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -

[Show spoiler]W:
X:
Y:

Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Roman Holiday (1953) - (recommended by DantheMan)

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[cinemaphile]

Tonight as my wife was going to bed, I told her I couldn't decide which movie I wanted to watch tonight - My Fair Lady or Furious 7. She just rolled her eyes and walked away saying, "You're so f***ing weird."



My Fair Lady - ½ (rewatch)
Film #3 of my Audrey Hepburn binge, but the first that I had already seen before. Hepburn's performance here didn't affect me the way she did in Sabrina or Roman Holiday, but the fact that it's a musical (and I am sucker for musicals) gives it some bonus points. The fact that someone else did her singing isn't a negative for me. Lots of musicals do that - some of my favorite Disney classics, for example, use different speaking/singing voices.

I really have only one complaint. Like so many movies from around the same time, My Fair Lady is long - and unnecessarily so. It could have easily been almost an hour shorter. About the time I thought the film was winding down, "Intermission" comes up on screen, and I am thinking, "Seriously??"

[cinemaphile]

That brings me to 20 for the month:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Aftermath - ½

[Show spoiler]B:
C:

D: De-Lovely - ½

[Show spoiler]E:
F:
G: * The Girl on the Train -
H:
I:
J:

K: Knockaround Guys -

[Show spoiler]L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:
O:
P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -

[Show spoiler]R:
[B]S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -

[Show spoiler]W:
X:

Y: Yellowbeard - ½
Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Ace in the Hole - ½ (recommended by odguitar)

Audrey Hepburn:
1. * Roman Holiday - (recommended by DantheMan)
2. * Sabrina (1965) -
3. My Fair Lady - ½

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½
3. Fast & Furious 6 - ½


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[cinemaphile]

Another five done. 25 total.

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Aftermath - ½

[Show spoiler]B:

C: * Collateral Beauty -
D: De-Lovely - ½

[Show spoiler]E:
F:
G: * The Girl on the Train -
H:

I: Iron Man 3 -

[Show spoiler]J:

K: Knockaround Guys -

[Show spoiler]L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:
O:
P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -

[Show spoiler]R:
[B]S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -

[Show spoiler]W:
X:

Y: Yellowbeard - ½
Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Ace in the Hole - ½ (recommended by odguitar)

Audrey Hepburn:
1. * Roman Holiday - (recommended by DantheMan)
2. * Sabrina (1965) -
3. My Fair Lady - ½
4. * Two For The Road - ½
5. * How to Steal A Million - ½

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½
3. Fast & Furious 6 - ½
4. Furious 7 -


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[starryeyes]

MV5BMTUyNjAxMjkwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjg5NzkyOA@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,651,1000_AL_-640x480.jpg

Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

This was a long mini-series at over six hours. For me it's the best rendition of Jesus tv or movies. In fact this did get a theatrical release with I guess around 2 hours chopped. I picked up the Spanish bluray when I heard three scenes were being deleted from the North American version and I'm happy enough with it's quality.

[cinemaphile]

My usual five-movie update:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Aftermath - ½

[Show spoiler]B:

C: * Collateral Beauty -
D: De-Lovely - ½

[Show spoiler]E:
F:

G: Godzilla (1998) -

[Show spoiler]H:

I: Iron Man 3 -

[Show spoiler]J:

K: Knockaround Guys -

[Show spoiler]L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½

[Show spoiler]N:

O: * The Outcasts -

[Show spoiler]P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -
R: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story -

[Show spoiler][B]S:

T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -

[Show spoiler]W:
X:

Y: Yellowbeard - ½
Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Ace in the Hole (1951) - ½ (recommended by odguitar)

Audrey Hepburn:
1. * Roman Holiday - (recommended by DantheMan)
2. * Sabrina (1965) -
3. My Fair Lady - ½
4. * Two For The Road - ½
5. * How to Steal A Million - ½
6. * Wait Until Dark - (recommended by hagios)

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½
3. Fast & Furious 6 - ½
4. Furious 7 -
5. * Fate of the Furious -


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[cinemaphile]

Latest five:

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Most Recent Additions:


A to Z:
A: * Aftermath - ½
B: * Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas -
C: * Collateral Beauty -
D: De-Lovely - ½
E: Empire Records -
F: * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - ½
G: Godzilla (1998) -

[Show spoiler]H:

I: Iron Man 3 -

[Show spoiler]J:

K: King Arthur (2004) -

[Show spoiler]L:

M: The Matrix Revolutions - ½
N: * No Escape -
O: * The Outcasts -

[Show spoiler]P:

Q: * Queen of the Damned -
R: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story -
S: * Split -
T: Throw Momma From The Train -
U: Unforgiven -
V: Veronica Mars -
W: * Whatever Happened to Baby Jane - (recommended by filmbuffTX)

[Show spoiler]X:

Y: Yellowbeard - ½
Z: * Zipper -

[Show spoiler]#:

Recommendations (Pre-1970's Movies):
1. * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - (recommended by filmbuffTX)
2. * The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - (recommended by advdfreak)
3. * Ball of Fire (1941) - (recommended by FilmKoala)
4. * Ace in the Hole (1951) - ½ (recommended by odguitar)
5. * Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967) - (recommended by DantheMan)

2017 Films:
1. * Fate of the Furious -
2. * Free Fire -

[Show spoiler]3. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword -
4. The Circle
5. (Aftermath/Split)

Audrey Hepburn:
1. * Roman Holiday - (recommended by DantheMan)
2. * Sabrina (1965) -
3. My Fair Lady - ½
4. * Two For The Road - ½
5. * How to Steal A Million - ½
6. * Wait Until Dark - (recommended by hagios)

Vin Diesel:
1. Boiler Room -
2. Babylon A.D. - ½
3. Fast & Furious 6 - ½
4. Furious 7 -
5. Knockaround Guys -


* denotes first-time viewings

Red - seen in theater
Blue - Blu-ray, duh
Green - DVD
Purple - Vudu
Black - Streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle, hoopla, tubitv, etc)
Gray - on television

[hagios]

Dekalog, jeden


The little boy Pawel wants to enjoy his Christmas gift of ice skates from his father and his father looks on their computer to see if the ice is safe so his son can skate & then...

"I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other God but me." Ten-year-old Pawel and his father Krzysztof run their lives on their beloved home computer, while Pawel's aunt worries that his spiritual education is being neglected. But Pawel is too busy enjoying life, not least thanks to his father's Christmas present of a pair of ice skates, because the computer has calculated that the frozen lake is safe to skate across...

I had high hopes for this as it had some of my 'cup of tea' elements in the gothic/atmosphere feel, however the story-line was to scambled for me.

Lisa is a tourist in an ancient city. When she gets lost, she finds an old mansion in which to shelter. Soon she is sucked into a vortex of deception, debauchery and evil presided over by housekeeper Leandro.

[starryeyes]

MV5BMTc4MTcyNjc3NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjkwMzc3NA@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,668,1000_AL_-640x480.jpg

A View to a Kill (1985)

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by DanTheMan

For the recommendations, maybe something like "Favorite Motherly Figure Performances/Films."

My only concern is wondering if it's too narrow a category to allow us all to come up with different recommendations, and ones that others may not have seen. I almost think the recommendations category needs to be more broad. Just a thought. Feel free to discuss

Maybe "5 Memorable Movie Moms" could just be an additional non-recommendation category? (and if people wanted, we could make it optional)