Welcome to the 297th Edition of my series. This week I pay tribute to
actress Googie Martinez and former wrestler Terry Taylor who recently
lost his wife to cancer. Yesterday morning, I went to Farmland to
audition for a musical called RING OF FIRE which uses the music of
Johnny Cash. I'll find out this week if I got a part or not. Last
night, I had a great night in downtown Muncie with Jason, J.D., and
Ian. Now let's get to my movie recommendations for the week.
Bottle
Shock (2008): This is the 36th link for The Chain and this one
continues with Miguel Sandoval. This is my film on the wine industry
and the rise of wine in Napa Valley in California. Bill Pullman stars
as Jim Barrett who is the patriarch of the family and very passionate
about his wine making but does not want outside help. Chris Pine
co-stars as his slacker son Bo who is more inclined though to get help
which dismays Jim. Alan Rickman co-stars as Steven Spurrier who comes
from Paris looking for good wine and finding it at Napa Valley. He
invites them to a contest called "Judgement in Paris" but Jim does not
want to go while Bo feels it would be the right thing. This was a
really good look at the wine industry and Rickman is someone I can
always watch. Other actors include DOLLHOUSE alum Eliza Dushku, Freddie
Rodriguez, Dennis Farina, and many others. The real-life Jim Barrett
has a cameo in the film. Next week's link on The Chain will be an actor
or actress from the first link of The Chain from THE LARAMIE PROJECT.
This is available on Instant Netflix.
The Public Enemy (1931):
This is the movie which made James Cagney a star. This is my gangster
movie for the week which stars Cagney as Tom Powers. It starts in his
childhood when he and his friend Matt, played by Edward Woods, become
young hoodlums in the prohibition era. When growing up, Tom rises in
the Chicago underworld but has a brother Mike who does not like his
lifestyle or his sister. Jean Harlow co-stars as Tom's love interest
Gwen Allen. This is one of many great performances by Cagney. There is
a disclaimer in the beginning talking about the environment that type
of person can live in. This film contains the very famous grapefruit
scene which sparked a lot of protest towards the abuse of women. Cagney
based this performance on gangster Dean O'Bannion. This movie had a
great ending and remains quite the classic.
Tulips Shall Grow
(1942): This is my short film which I found on my Pub-D-Hub app on the
Roku and a very interesting short. This is written and directed by
George Pal and is used as a puppet animation film. This is about a
young boy and girl who is living a great life but their lives are
threatened when a group called The Screwballs come into their home
destroying everything they own. This was really a propaganda short film
towards the Nazis and their invasion of the Netherlands. It was
actually nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film and one that should
be looked at if you can find it.
Fish Tank (2009): Andrea Arnold
wrote and directed this gritty British drama which stars Katie Jarvis
as the 15 year old Mia who lives in a very bad part of England and has a
very difficult relationship with her mother and little sister. Mia
tries to escape her pain through dance. Her mom then brings home a
boyfriend Connor who she forms an uneasy friendship but starts to like
him and he encourages her to pursue dance. In this, Connor may have
some ulterior motives. Katie Jarvis was very good in her role and had
never acted but director Arnold spotted her arguing with her boyfriend
and cast her. This movie is available on Instant Netflix.
Night
of the Lepus (1972): This is a movie about killer rabbits and even
become giant rabbits later in the film. What more really needs to be
said? This is the same year that the movie FROGS came out and at least
here they made the rabbits to look quite vicious in which FROGS did not
do a very good job of making the amphibians look mean. It was
interesting to see Deforest Kelley and Janet Leigh star in such a bad
film. This is a movie for one who love watching bad movies that are
just so good because they are so bad. I thought a lot of my dad when I
found this to DVR. My dad now owns two rabbits and has been a rabbit
person for years so I'm not sure how he will take this movie. If you
have not guessed, the world Lepus is the latin term for rabbit.
Malena
(2000): This is my Italian film for the week. This takes place in the
WWII era and stars Monica Bellucci as the title character. Giuseppe
Sulfaro plays the 12 year old Renato who takes a fixation to Malena not
believing all the gossip. Malena is a very beautiful woman whose
husband is off to war and everyone assumes that she is a whore. This is
a very beautiful film and shows the price of gossip and jealousy and
what can happen when spreading false rumors. Renato is the only person
in town who defends her and is the only mature person in the town. This
movie is available on Instant Netflix and one I would like to get on
the radar a bit.
On Approval (1944): This is my tribute to
actress Googie Martinez who recently left us and co-stars in this film.
This is my British comedy for the week. Beatrice Little and Clive
Brook star as a couple who travel to a remote island to "try out"
married life to see how great marriage can become. They soon tie the
knot but see how complicated for married life. This is a pretty risque
comedy for the time and delivers some laughs. It also has some very
amusing narration in the beginning. This movie is available on Instant
Netflix.
Forever Hardcore: The Documentary (2005): This is my
tribute to Terry Taylor who recently lost his wife to cancer and has
quite a bit of interview footage in this wrestling documentary. This
documentary was produced by Jeremy Borash and is based on the
Philadelphia promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling from the '90s
which made quite a mark on the wrestling world. In 2004, WWE released
their own documentary called THE RISE AND FALL OF ECW which people who
were interviewed here were people who at the time worked for Vince
McMahon. This documentary is a companion piece which have other
wrestlers to reflect on their times with ECW. This movie goes in depth
into Raven's crucifixion angle, Shane Douglas' infamous promo on the
championship, New Jack's take on the Mass Transit incident, Sandman's
entrance, and many other things. ECW alums like Raven, Sabu, Sandman,
Terry Funk, Blue Meanie, Shane Douglas, Francine, New Jack, Joey Styles,
and many others interview on the rise of the promotion to their
downfall. On the DVD there is some extra interview footage with these
guys including one of New Jack showing how crazy he is and one I don't
know that I would work with. This was a very good documentary and
possibly better than the WWE documentary though I still like that one. I
really liked Terry Funk's insight whether I agree with him or not.
This can be good for any wrestling fans. For all you younger fans and
wrestlers, this is a good one to check out for this very controversial
promotion that inspired a very loyal following of fans and something
that will never be matched.
Ten North Frederick (1958): Philip
Dunne directed and wrote the screenplay of the John O'Hara. Gary Cooper
stars as Joe Chapin who is a businessman making the decision to go into
politics and the repercussions it has on his family. This movie starts
at his funeral where his daughter thinks back to the last five years of
his life in his failed marriage and failures in his political career
but finds one moment of happiness. This is a pretty good portrait on a
dysfunctional family and Ray Stricklyn is good as Joe's son who wants to
go into music but his mother is determined for him to follow in his
father's footsteps. Cooper, while still the protagonist, is a little
more dark than usual.
Time Out (2001): I end this week with this
French selection. Aurelien Recoing stars as Vincent who is a married
man and father of three. Vincent loses his job and cannot bring himself
to tell the truth to his family so during the day roams the
countryside. He does what he can to keep his secret from his family and
looking for for a job as well as his place in the world. Vincent
slowly slips into darkness while trying to keep this secret. This is a
great character study and Recoing is good in his part.
Well, that
is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike. Stay tuned
for next week which so far includes Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Cruise, Vincent
Price, and many others.
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