Welcome to the 182nd Edition of my long running blog. Right now,
at work I am on a schedule where at the moment I cannot do theater
which is very difficult for me. I have not done any shows since A FEW
GOOD MEN but last Monday I got a little taste of it again when I did a
little one night show at a church for Mother's Day. My friend Lisa
asked me to play the announcer and since there is not much demand, I
gladly said yes. I'm confident that soon I will be able to do theater
again, just not right now. I am also ring announcing at a local
wrestling show near my area so it will be good to get back into that as
well.
R.I.P. Rest in Pieces (1997): This is one of Travis' Co-Op
viewings which was a very fascinating and seemingly hard to find
documentary. This focuses on painter Joe Coleman whose art focuses a
lot on the darkness of our society and holds many outlaws and serial
killers in very high regard putting focus to his strange mind. He had
some very interesting things to say including a comparison of Jesus
Christ and Sigmund Freud. He called Freud a "modern-day Jesus" which
really cracked me up. Some of the highlights include his conversations
with director Jim Jarmusch and just his very strange and rather bizarre
thoughts on society. You should all google the name Joe Coleman, you'll
find some interesting results.
Clean, Shaven (1993): This is the
second of Travis' Co-Op viewings for me to use which is very rare. This
one was quite strange just like the first one but very good to view.
Peter Greene stars as a schizophrenic who is trying to get his daughter
from her adoptive parents. In doing this, he functions in a world with
sudden noises, voices and emotional shifts. It's a very interesting
movie where we are with him in this schizophrenic state of mind and
almost feel it. There is not much dialogue but a lot of imagery and
sound. As Travis said, I'm probably going to butcher everything he
said, put yourself with him and focus on the things around him. Not
quite like that but it was close.
The Errand Boy (1961): I
included Jerry Lewis last week and the dvd I obtained had two movies so
I thought I would check out this one. This one takes place in the great
town of Hollywood where Jerry Lewis plays the bumbling Morty. He is
unknowingly hired as a spy so that the movie studio can see where the
money is going. Like many of his movies, as good as his intentions are,
he still manages to wreak havoc. This is a nice tribute to Hollywood
and I really liked the scene where he is speaking to a puppet towards
the end. I've noticed that in the movies I have seen with Jerry that he
plays someone who has this dream and it pays off by him must being nice
and having a good attitude no matter how inept he may seem.
Boo
Moon (1954): This is something from my cartoon shorts and this one
features Casper, The Friendly Ghost. It starts out like most Casper
cartoons where no matter how friendly he is, people still fear the
unknown and become scared. He then sees the moon has a face and
encounters small moon men who become curious and capture him for the
Moon King. Their fear of him is that they believe he is a giant. Casper
then proves his worth when the enemies of the Moon Men, The Tree Men,
attack them and he does what he can to save the moon men earning their
respect and approval. Some say this is the best Casper since it took a
little different twist than usual.
And Now the Screaming Starts
(1973): This is my Hammer film for the week which takes place in 1795
England. Stephanie Beacham stars as Stephanie who just marries Charles
Fengriffin, played by Ian Ogilvy, and moves into his castle to find
that it seems quite haunted and has many encounters with a severed hand
but learns more of the past. Peter Cushing plays the doctor who is
hired to help Catherine. Not a bad horror film and of worth to see
Peter Cushing.
Quinceanera (2006): Richard Glatzer and Wash
Westmoreland wrote and directed this coming of age film starring Emily
Rios as Magdalena, a 15 year old who becomes pregnant and is kicked out
of her home. She then finds refuge with a very nice elderly uncle and
her gay cousin who is often in trouble. The three of them begin to form
a very close bond. Emily Rios is great as Magdalena. I actually found
this on the SITV and it is a great portrait of a Hispanic family.
The Tall Men (1955): This is my western for the week which was directed
by Raoul Walsh. Clark Gable and Cameron Mitchell star as brothers Ben
and Clint who join a cattle drive and when getting to Texas they save a
girl named Nella, played by Jane Russell, from the indian where she
joins them. She then has feelings for Ben but also likes the money of
the boss, played by Robert Ryan, who joins them for his own reasons.
The four of the them must make it to Montana but have a lot in their
way. I'm alway good for Jane Russell and Clark Gable was very good in
one of his later roles. This will not go down in the history of western
but worth a watch and has pretty good performances.
Gandhi,
My Father (2007): This is in tribute to Bollywood star Feroz Khan, who
directed this movie and recently died. This movie is based on the
relationship between Mohandas Gandhi and his son Harilal. Harilal
became very resentful of his absent father who was off fighting for the
freedom of India. Harilal had a very dysfunctional relationship with
the man who won the freedom of his family and did not agree with
everything his father stood for and tried to join his father's
non-violent movement but never stuck to it. There is not much else to
say except that this took part a lot before Gandhi became the freedom
fighter and into both of their much different lives. This was a
less-known aspect of the life of Gandhi who much of us know today as
the man who won the freedom for India and shows the sacrifice that must
sometimes be made for the big picture. There was one song and dance
number and while it was quite lavish, it was very short and discreet on
how it came about. I mention that because much of the Bollywood films
have at least one lavish song and dance number.
Marius
(1931): This is my French film for the week which I got off AMC. This
takes place in Marseilles at a bar run by a man named Cesar and his son
of the movie title. Marius has loved a girl named Fanny since childhood
but he also really loves the sea and both must decide which is more
important. This is a very funny movie and has a lot of colorful
characters and is first of a trilogy. Marcel Pagnol wrote and directed
this movie based on his play. Raimu is great as Cesar and so are the
other leads.
Kicking and Screaming (1995): This is the record number third
of Travis' Co-Op selections which was a movie showing the hardships
after graduating college in this imperfect world. Noah Baumbach wrote,
directed, and co-starred this movie that blends comedy and drama. Eric
Stoltz is great as Chet, a grad student who continues to bartend and go
to school. Josh Hamilton plays Grover, whose girlfriend goes to Prague,
but he decides to not follow her. Parker Posey is good as Miami.
There's not much to explain here except in some ways this reminded me
of DINER. We have the hardships of a handful of friends and they take
us right with them. One of my favorites was the scene with the book
club. Others include Olivia D'Abo, Sam Gould, and Elliot Gould.
Well, that is it for this week, I see I have an array of unknowns for this one. Please tell me what you love and what you hate.
FUN LITTLE FACTS
Peter Greene (Clean, Shaven) plays Zed in the 1994 film PULP FICTION. Eric Stoltz (
AND
NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS actors Peter Cushing and Herbert Lom have both
played the role of Dracula's nemesis Van Helsing in the 60s and 70s.
Herbert
Lom (And the screaming starts) plays Captain Nemo in MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
and Robert Ryan (Tall Men) plays the role in the 1969 film CAPTAIN NEMO
AND THE UNDERWATER SEA
Robert Ryan (Tall Men)
played the role of Abraham Lincoln in a 1955 episode of SCREEN
DIRECTORS PLAYHOUSE called LINCOLN'S DOCTOR'S DOG. Raoul Walsh (Tall
Men director) played John Wilkes Booth, who most of us know as the man
who shot Lincoln, in the 1915 epic A BIRTH OF A NATION.
Elliot
Gould (Kicking and Screaming) played Trapper John in the 1970 film
MASH. My Myspace and Facebook friend Ben played the role in the version
we did at Lee's Theatrical Productions.
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