Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 183rd Edition

Welcome to the 183rd Edition. I am using a selection for the Random Myspace Profile selection process. Next week, I'll likely have two but that is subject to change. I choose nine people at a time for this and it's getting close to me selecting again so have some good movies on your profile for if you are randomly selected. This week, I sort of make my debut in my own blog, among others in that movie. I spent all this week on a jury. It was quite an experience but upset we had to convict the dependent knowing it was my duty as a juror.

Empire of the Sun (1987): I am now paying tribute to the late J.G. Ballard who wrote the novel and recently died. Steven Spielberg directed this movie that centers around a young British boy named Jim who is living a good life in Shanghai with his parents and then gets separated during a Japanese invasion. He then gets captured and put in a POW camp for British civilians where he tries to make the most of life there. A young Christian Bale plays this part in his first feature film. John Malkovich co-stars as someone he meets while separated and forms a friendship with him and begins to admire the young Jim. SOPRANOS alum Joe Pantoliano also has a role as Malkovich's friend. Also look for a young Ben Stiller as part of the camp as well as Miranda Richardson. This movie took place right before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Bale is great to watch and can see he has come a long way.

My Name is Jerry (2009): This was an independent movie shot mostly in my town of Muncie which I got to be an extra in the scene. I also saw the premier of this movie and I believe you might see a little bit of me but I need to be able to pause it to really know. Former Ball State student Doug Jones stars as the title name in this movie as a door-to-door salesman who is struggling on the job, having a mid-life crisis, and trying to reconnect with his daughter Trisha, played by DRAKE AND JOSH alum Alison Scagliotti. THAT 70S SHOW alum Don Stark plays Jerry's friend. Katlyn Carlson made her film debut as Jordan, a girl half Jerry's age but still seem to like each other. She was one of the few theater actors in Chicago that was used and really proved herself and so did the others. 7TH HEAVEN alum Catherine Hicks also co-stars. I honestly did not know what to expect here. I knew it was going to be cool that I am possibly in it and that it was filmed in Muncie so I'd see all the landmarks. I ended up really liking this movie. I think this the first time I have seen Doug Jones play a human after playing Fauno in PAN'S LABYRINTH, Abe Sapien in HELLBOY and the Silver Surfer. He was very good in the title role and I actually met him on the set and at the premier and is a very nice person. I hope this gets distributed in the Independent film world and that it can become a little more known. It's good to finally put something in here that I was in. Also very good for the budget they had.

Easy Rider (1969): This is probably the most known film I have done in a couple weeks now. Dennis Hopper directed and starred in this movie. Peter Fonda produced and starred in the movie. Hopper, Fonda, and Terry Southern all wrote this movie. Fonda and Hopper are a couple counterculture bikers who are on a bike trip for the "American Dream" and they want to go from California to New Orleans for Marti Gras. On their way, they have many interesting encounters including an alcoholic attorney, played very well by a young Jack Nicholson. There are some interesting scenes around the fire where they are really smoking pot. It was also interesting to see that even though there was the rise of segregation with blacks, these people were being judged by their personalities and looks. Peter's daughter Bridget and son Justin are uncredited in her first movie when she was a little kid in one scene. Karen Black and Toni Basil also appear in the movie. Their is also a very interesting making-of video showing the volatile nature of everyone on the set including Dennis Hopper. This movie is what manys says defines the 60s.

The Whole Nine Yards (2000): The Facebook friend I chose for this week is Ipek who I went to school with from elementary to high school graduation. This was a pretty surprising comedy of 2000 which stars FRIENDS alum Matthew Perry who is a dentist named Oz and very unhappily married to Sophie, played by Rosanna Arquette. He then sees that hitman-turned-informant Jimmy Tudelsky, played very well by Bruce Willis, moves in next door and Oz recognizes who he is even though Jimmy is using a different name. Sophie gets the idea for Oz to go to Chicago and report that he knows where Jimmy is and hoping for money which was part of her bigger plan that spirals everything out of control. Amanda Peet is pretty funny as Oz's dental assistant and the idol of Jimmy. Other actors include Michael Clarke Duncan, Natasha Henstridge, Kevin Pollak, and Harland Williams. This was disturbingly very funny and felt bad many times that I was laughing. I guess it would have been better to see this before 2003 since that was the year the sequal whose only title different was the number ten instead of nine. I did not see the sequal and it seemed quite unnecessary and just seeing who was in THE WHOLE TEN YARDS was mostly able to make me know the people that survive but I still got some unpredictability out of it. Look for Willis' three daughters around the flower cart.

Crimson Tide (1995): Tony Scott directed this naval tale which has two head officers at odds with each other. Gene Hackman plays Captain Ramsey and Denzel Washington is Lt. Commander Hunter. They are in a submarine with some possible tension from the Russians. Ramsey decides they need to use nuclear weapons and Hunter disagrees which starts quite a mutiny in the submarine putting officers at odds with each other. This is a very compelling and suspenseful film where both have good intentions, even Ramsey, but just seems to have become crazed by the job. Other people include George Dzundza, James Gandolfini, Viggo Mortenson, Rick Schroeder, Lillo Brancato, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, among others. Many of these people seem to have gotten their start here. Look for a great argument on the Silver Surfer which was apparently written by Quentin Tarantino.

Compulsion (1959): This was a pretty daring film I found on AMC which stars Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman as a couple wealthy college students who kill just because they can. They are law students who have a lot of potential but still want that thrill. When they are caught, attorney Jonathan Wilk is hired to defend them and makes quite a challenge to the death penalty. This was actually based on the Leopold and Loeb case. Good performances make this worth a watch. Welles is great as Jonathan Wilk.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976): Nicolas Roeg directed this strange tale which stars David Bowie as an alien who comes to Earth because he sees videos with it looking beautiful and wants water for his family. He then starts a technology company and becomes a billionaire to get the money he needs. He then meets Mary-Lou and starts a very destructive relationship and learns greediness and corruption, something he did not count on being on Earth. This was a very interesting film which I guess is to show the greediness of people on Earth. Rip Torn, Candy Clark, and Bernie Casey also co-star. Not a bad performance for David Bowie.

Lend a Paw (1941): This is my Disney short for the week where Pluto makes his debut here as Mickey's dog who saves a little kitten from drowning but is dismayed when Mickey welcomes little kitty into the home getting him kicked out of the house. The kitten then falls into a well and Pluto must choose between his consciences for if he should save the kitten. It was a pretty good Disney short and will likely soon reveal what movie dvd it is on.

The Dragon Painter (1919): This is my silent film for the week which I found on TCM. Sessue Hayakawa stars as Tatsu, known as the title character. He is a painter who lives in the wilderness who paints his princess he believes is incarnated into a dragon. Edward Peil Sr. co-stars as a master painter Kano Indara who has no heir. His servant notices his paintings and Indara leads his daughter Ume-Ko, played by Tsuru Aoki, to believe that she is his princess and has them marry. However, once married, Tatsu no longer has his inspiration to paint and must explore what he really wants and his wife and father-in-law do what they can to get his inspiration back. This was a great movie which does not show Asian stereotype like many did in that time period and Hayakawa was quite a star in those days. This was definetly worth a watch and has a great musical score.

Electric Dragon 80,000v (2001): This is my Random Myspace Profile selection for this week and for this week I chose independent wrestler Big Ric Cannon. Sogo Ishii wrote and directed this film which stars Tadanobu Asano as a man who as a boy gets electrocuted and develops quite a gift and curse for electricity. This new power really alienates him from everyone and all he has is his guitar as refuge. He then encounters an electronics wizard who likes electric weapons. The final battle is pretty extreme and has some pretty good music. It also has some pretty strange imagery and limited dialogue

Well, that is it for this week. Last week, I had some pretty unknown selections which Fred mentioned he hadn't seen any of them. I don't think I will accomplish that this week but please still tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

BATMAN AND SUPERMAN FRANCHISE
-Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun) played Batman in the 2005 film BATMAN BEGINS and the 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT.
-Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider) plays the Joker in the 1989 film BATMAN
-Gene Hackman (Crimson Tide) plays Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor in the Superman films of the 80s.
-George Dzundza (Crimson Tide) does the voice for Clark Kent's boss Perry White in the 2006 tv movie SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS and other Superman cartoons. He has also voiced Batman villain The Ventriloquist in some of the Batman cartoons.
-Dean Stockwell (Compulsion) does the voice for Communications Engineer Mr. Timothy Drake who would become Robin in the 2000 straight to video film BATMAN BEYOND: THE RETURN OF THE JOKER

BIBLICAL FRANCHISE
-Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun) played Jesus Christ in the 1999 film MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS
-Miranda Richardson (Empire of the Sun) did the voice of Mary Magdalene in the 2000 animated film THE MIRACLE MAKER
-David Bowie (Man who fell to earth) played Pontius Pilate in the 1988 film THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

John Malkovich (Empire of the Sun) plays Tom Ripley in the 2002 film RIPLEY'S GAME and Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) played the role in the 1977 film THE AMERICAN FRIEND

John Malkovich (Empire of the Sun) plays the role of Lennie in the 1992 version of OF MICE AND MEN and my myspace friend Sam played the part at the Indianapolis Civic Theater

Ben Stiller (Empire of the Sun) picked up Harland Williams (The Whole Nine Yards) as a hitchhiker in the 1998 film THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

Ben Stiller (Empire of the Sun) and Gene Hackman (Crimson Tide) are son and father in the 2001 film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

SOPRANOS FRANCHISE
-Joe Pantoliano (Empire of the Sun) played the eccentric Ralph Cifaretto
-James Gandolfini (Crimson Tide) played Tony Soprano, the main character
-Lillo Brancato (Crimson Tide) played wannabe mobster Matt Bevilaqua in a brief stint.

MARVEL FRANCHISE
-Doug Jones (My Name is Jerry) plays the role of Silver Surfer in the 2007 film FANTASTIC 4: THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and possibly is getting his own movie.
-Peter Fonda (Easy Rider) plays the role of Mephistopheles, who is a devil-type character in 2007 film GHOST RIDER
-Michael Clarke Duncan (The Whole Nine Yards) plays Marvel villain The Kingpin in the 2003 film DAREDEVIL.

Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) and Gene Hackman (Crimson Tide) are part of the coaching staff of the Old Hickory coaching team in the 1986 film HOOSIERS

Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider) played Colonel Nathan Jessup in the 1992 film A FEW GOOD MEN. My facebook friend Tom played the role in our version at the Ricks-Weil Theater last January in Greenfield.

Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider) was considered for the villain role of Mitch Leary in the 1993 film IN THE LINE OF FIRE which would ultimately go to John Malkovich (Empire of the Sun)

Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider) played Col. Jessup in the 1992 film A FEW GOOD MEN. Kevin Pollak (The Whole Nine Yards) played Lt. Sam Weinberg, who was one of the people trying to bring down Jessup. Matt Craven (Crimson Tide) played the role of Lt. Spradling in the movie Pollak can also do a Jack Nicholson impersonation


Toni Basil (Easy Rider) and David Bowie (The Man Who Fell to Earth) are more known for their singing than acting.

Rip Torn (Man Who Fell To Earth) apparently won a Defamation lawsuit against Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) who apparently said some pretty bad thing about him on THE TONIGHT SHOW. Torn was originally cast in this week's feature EASY RIDER as George Hanson, which would ultimately go to Jack Nicholson.

Gene Hackman (Crimson Tide) is said to have turned down the role of McMurphy in the 1975 film ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST which would ultimately go to Jack Nicholson (Easy Rider)

Jason Robards (Crimson Tide uncreditted) plays Ulysses S. Grant in the 1981 film THE LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER. E.G. Marshall (Compulsion) plays the part in EMMA: QUEEN OF THE SOUTH SEAS. Rip Torn (The Man Who Fell to Earth) plays the role in the 1982 mini-series THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.

Jason Robards (Crimson Tide) plays Howard Hughes in the 1980 film MELVIN AND HOWARD. Dean Stockwell (Compulsion) plays Howard Hughes in TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAMS.