Welcome to the 327th Edition of my long running series. This has
been a wrestling weekend for me. On Friday, I went and saw the Action
Packed Wrestling show where I have been their ring announcer but for
changes in ownership I was on the sidelines but it was good to just
watch a show for a change but hope to get my job back. Last night I
went to Shelbyville to see New Era Wrestling. Both promotions put on a
good show. Tonight, I'm going to Buffalo Wild Wings to see the WWE ppv
ELIMINATION CHAMBER. I was unsuccessful in my latest attempt to return
to the theater with 12 ANGRY MEN but I'll just move on and hope for
something in the future. I will now get to my selections for the week.
Slacker (1991): Richard Linklater wrote, directed and
co-starred in this film that features many linear vignettes in Austin,
Texas among its social outcasts. These people just do not fit into the
establishment and coming and going into other peoples' lives. Some of
the great things are Madonna's pap smear, a UFO buff, and an older man
sympathetically sharing his life with a robber. This was the movie that
inspired Kevin Smith to become a filmmaker. This is one that is very
hard to describe and is one that is driven by the many characters of
Austin, TX.
BASEketball (1998): David Zucker directed
this pro sports satire which stars SOUTH PARK writers Trey Parker and
Matt Stone. They play childhood friends Joe and Doug who are a couple
slackers that invent a new game of the movie title which combines
basketball and baseball. It starts out as a neighborhood game before it
gets very popular and a billionaire named Ted, played by Ernest
Borgnine, who turn it into a professional league where everyone gets the
same pay and teams do not change cities. They soon have greedy
businessman that they must contend with. This is an interesting satire
to the greediness of pro sports, especially of today. I had never seen
this but it brought back a lot of memories like seeing two of my biggest
crushes in middle school including BAYWATCH alum Yasmine Bleeth whose
poster I had on my wall and Jenny McCarthy who I watched on SINGLED OUT
which was the best dating game show of all time. While my hormones were
all over the place with these girls at that age, I also really liked
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES which was put to some great use in this film. This
movie had some very funny moments and it is available on Instant
Netflix.
The Artist (2011): This is part two of my two-part John Goodman series where last week I
used MASKED AND ANONYMOUS. Last week, I featured Martin Scorsese's
HUGO which was an homage to the early days of cinema. This hit of the
same year is an homage to the later days of silent films and the
transition that came about. Michel Hazanavicius wrote and directed this
mostly silent film which is based on the transition from silent to
"talkies". French actor Jean Dujardin stars as silent actor George
Valentin who sees his career going downhill when people want to hear
people speak and him not wanting to go that route. Berenice Bejo
co-stars as Peppy Miller who becomes famous through George and makes the
successful transition while George's career goes downhill. James
Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Ed Lauter, Missi Pyle, and many others
co-star. George's dog who was like a sidekick to him added a great
element to the film For people who like silent films, this is a great
homage to the era in which many people had a difficult time
transitioning and were never the same. This was so well directed and
acted. Hazanavicius clearly cared a lot about this unique project. It
was well worth the price of the theater to go see this film. This and
HUGO may be my two favorites from this year.
The Dot and the Line (1965): This is my animated short for the
week which was brought from Chuck Jones. This is a very unique short
where a straight line is in love with a dot but the dot finds the line
too rigid and straight. For the straight line to fall in love with this
dot, he has to learn how to adapt into other shapes. This is a great
short about mathematics and the best math love story of all time.
We're Not Married (1952): This is a movie which focuses on five
different couples. Each couple was married by a Justice of the Peace
before his license was valid so the couples were not officially
married. It was interesting at times to see that most of the couples
were quite happy that this was the case except one of them. Marilyn
Monroe, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Mitzi Gaynor, Zsa Zsa Gabor are iconic
actresses from that era which co-star. This was a pretty funny film
and possibly a bit controversial for its era showing couples unhappy in
marriage. Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen were the most entertaining
couple who had to act like they were getting along for a radio show.
This is available on Instant Netflix.
Each Dawn I Die (1939): This is James Cagney's entry into that
"Golden Year" for film. In this era, Cagney is known for playing
gangster and villainous characters but in this film he is a reporter on
the right side of the law but ends up on the wrong end. He plays
reporter Frank Ross who is out to expose corruption but gets framed for a
murder he did not commit and ends up in prison. His co-workers for the
paper try to help prove his innocence but he gets hardened by his
prison time becoming very bitter. George Raft plays fellow inmate
Stacey who tries to help him. Cagney put on a very good performance
showing the difficulty of prison life and what it can do to just about
anyone. This is also a good entry into the prison genre. Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin has cited this film as one of his favorites.
Warlock (1959): This is my western for the week which takes
place in the small town of the city. The town is overrun by crime so
they decide to hire famous lawman Clay Blaisdell, played by Henry Fonda,
to act as town marshal. Blaisdell and his friend Tom Morgan, played by
Anthony Quinn, come into town and their methods of cleaning up crime a
question and Morgan seems to have his own agenda. Richard Widmark plays
Johnny Gannon who was one of the thugs but reformed and is not a fan of
Blaisdell but tries to work with him. Dorothy Malone, Delores
Michaels, and STAR TREK alum Deforest Kelley co-star in this western.
This is a good western which raises a lot of questions on morality and a
darker character for Fonda who does a good job. This is available on
Instant Netflix.
Red Road (2006): Andrea Arnold wrote and directed this British
psychological thriller. Kate Dickie stars as Jackie who is a
surveillance operator. She watches videos of her town to protect those
around there but soon sees a very familiar face of a man previously in
her life. She starts keeping her distance but soon makes the decision
to confront him where the past lives are brought back. Tony Curran
plays this character Clyde of which she confronts. This is very
beautifully shot and it a bit slow-moving at times but if you can stick
to it, the movie gets pretty good when we get to know Clyde more. This
movie is available on Instant Netflix.
Classic Albums: Queen: A Night at the Opera (1978): This is a
documentary that I found on Instant Netflix which focuses on the making
for Queen's album of the title that introduced everyone to the song
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. The band members reflect on what went on in making
of their most popular album. The band had an interesting dynamic in
which they each wrote their own songs to put them together. It's about
45 minutes and a very good documentary and I notice there are a few of
these kinds of shows on Instant Netflix. This is a must for Queen
fans.
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011): I end with this documentary of
which Travis obtained for his Co-Op film series. This was a housing
concept that came about after WWII and this film mostly looks at a
situation in St. Louis in the 50s and 60s taking a look at the implosion
that came about and survivors who lived there reflecting on the times
when they lived there. This was a way to address the overpopulation in
the town where the lower-class citizens mostly ended up in that area
where living conditions were quite poor but some of the people there
still really liked it. This is a hard film to find and a lot of
architecture classes take a look at this documentary as it is known as
one of the biggest architectural failures of all time. This is a very
informative look towards this and they have a website which is
http://www.pruitt-igoe.com where they have scheduled screenings like
this Thursday at Rave Motion Pictures University 6 at 7 pm. Others,
check their website for screenings and professors can obtain it for
education purposes for $295 to show classes. Check out the website to
see the trailer and the other parts of the site. This Tuesday, at
Bracken library, Travis will be showing the 1948 film UNFAITHFULLY YOURS
at 9 pm so come check that out.
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