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So, it turns out that Against All Odds is based on this movie Out of the Past, and since I have a thing both for Noir and Jeff Bridges I thought I'd start with the 1947 film and then see the remake.
So, I've seen the original, and I can't imagine watching a remake, Jeff Bridges or no. Why mess with perfection?
One of the (many, many, MANY) great things about Netflix is that it is like one of those survey tools where your true preferences emerge over time based on what you liked and didn't. As I look back at my list, I've had some interesting realizations.
1) Traditional "Robot" anime , while pretty, bores me to tears eight falls out of ten. Nontraditional anime often has something cool to say.
2) Just because it's an English TV show doesn't mean it's good.
3) Sidney Poitier. Sidney Poitier. SIDNEY. POITIER.
4) Humphrey Bogard. Humphrey Bogart. HUMPHREY. BOGART.
5) If the movie was made before 1971, I'm much more likely to like it. If it was made before 1960 I'm probably going to love it.
This last one really resonated as I reviewed my list. Top faves of the last sixty-odd movies in the last six months:
High Noon
In the Heat of the Night
Out of the Past
Hari Kiri
To Catch a Thief
Old Boys
Weeds
Napoleon Dynamite
Jackass 2
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Okay, Napoleon Dynamite doesn't really fit. Jackass...look, indulge me, okay?
But Weeds does, as does Old Boy. Weeds is at its heart a morality play whose essential tension is how much of a disaster the central character will become -- and who she will throw under the bus -- in her quest to keep her sense of entitlement and privilege alive. Old Boy involves some repulsive things, but they are largely there to drive plot. There's only one unnecessary scene in the whole movie, and I think it was largely there because it took over the director's brain and he couldn't imagine not shooting it. It's a great scene. Could be cut and nobody would mind, though.
Essentially I like a tight, simply made, focused film. Turns out I'm not a big fan of explosions or eye candy, unless that eye candy is the sensuous drooping eye of Robert Mitchum, Grace Kelly's exquisite face, or a perfectly framed shot.
I did love My Neighbors the Yamadas, but I think that goes down a different thread I'll explore another time.
Not sure what this means for my future movie tastes, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to see Transformers anytime soon.
What's been your personal discovery from your netflix list?
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