Welcome to the 151st Edition of my long-running series. I am now
3-1 in Fantasy Football and I lead my division at the moment. I must
thank Brett Favre the most who threw 6 td passes and over 400 yards
getting me 45 points. Other contributers include Chiefs RB Larry Johnson
who seems to be coming around again, Redskins RB Clinton Portis, Bills
WR Lee Evans, and my Titans defense. I recently cut my hair to get into
the role of Cordell Hull in ANNIE and I also have been watching youtube
videos of Hull to try to get his voice down. It's good to see BOSTON
LEGAL back though I see the preview for next week where Denny once again
shoots someone and I'm getting to be indifferent about that but oh
well. I'll shut up now and get on with my 10 recommendations for the
week.
Andy Hardy meets Debutante (1940): This is the second Andy Hardy movie I have seen and the first Andy Hardy one I have seen which features his many-time co-star Judy Garland who plays his friend Betsy Booth. Here, our friend Andy obsesses over a socialite he sees in his magazine and after his father Judge Hardy takes his family to New York. Judy Garland is funny as his friend who is helping Andy meet her. This is not the most memorable but still fun to watch.
The Haunted House (1921): This is part 3 of 3 of my Buster Keaton series in this short film which he directs and writes along with Edward F. Cline. Here, Buster plays a bank clerk who accidentally gets glue to overturn and gets the money stuck on everyone else which makes a bank robber's attempt much more difficult. He eventually ends up on a haunted house designed to scare off police making for some funny material.
Flashdance (1983): Adrian Lyne directed this cult classic which stars Jennifer Beals in her biggest role. She plays a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night who dreams of making it big. Michael Nouri plays her employer who takes a liking to her and tries to help her. This did not become popular on account of the storyline but more the music and maybe the dancing. There are some pretty memorable scenes like when she pulls her bra out through her sweatshirt sleeve and where that large amount of water splashes her. Also the dance at the end look well which is a scene which took four different doubles to finish. Some big hits like WHAT A FEELING and MANIAC came out of this movie. I admit I kind of relate to Alex (Beals) and not knowing what I really want in life.
Isle of the Dead (1945): Mark Robson directed this classic chiller which stars horror icon Boris Karloff who heads an army from the War of 1812 who are stuck on an island during the plague. A strange woman suspects one of the islanders to be a type of demon which ends up clouding the judgment of Karloff. This is a nice little chiller which stars who I believe was the most versatile of all the horror icons which possible exception to Lon Chaney Jr. who was great in OF MICE AND MEN.
American Beauty (1999): My Facebook friend I selected for this week was Bethany, who was in my Art History class. Sam Mendes directed this story about the fall of the American Dream within a very dysfunctional family. Kevin Spacey plays Lester in a seemingly perfect suburban family whose wife and daughter are losing interest in him. Annette Bening is his high-class wife who tires of him. Thora Birch plays their daughter Jane who forms a strange relationship with a young peeping-tom next door. Mena Suvari plays Jane's friend who Lester obsesses over and vice versa. Other people in this movie include Cris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Sam Robards, and QUANTUM LEAP alum Scott Bakula. I don't think I like it as much as some people do but I still enjoyed this film with a great performance from Spacey and the often-spoofed red rose scene.
Andy Hardy meets Debutante (1940): This is the second Andy Hardy movie I have seen and the first Andy Hardy one I have seen which features his many-time co-star Judy Garland who plays his friend Betsy Booth. Here, our friend Andy obsesses over a socialite he sees in his magazine and after his father Judge Hardy takes his family to New York. Judy Garland is funny as his friend who is helping Andy meet her. This is not the most memorable but still fun to watch.
The Haunted House (1921): This is part 3 of 3 of my Buster Keaton series in this short film which he directs and writes along with Edward F. Cline. Here, Buster plays a bank clerk who accidentally gets glue to overturn and gets the money stuck on everyone else which makes a bank robber's attempt much more difficult. He eventually ends up on a haunted house designed to scare off police making for some funny material.
Flashdance (1983): Adrian Lyne directed this cult classic which stars Jennifer Beals in her biggest role. She plays a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night who dreams of making it big. Michael Nouri plays her employer who takes a liking to her and tries to help her. This did not become popular on account of the storyline but more the music and maybe the dancing. There are some pretty memorable scenes like when she pulls her bra out through her sweatshirt sleeve and where that large amount of water splashes her. Also the dance at the end look well which is a scene which took four different doubles to finish. Some big hits like WHAT A FEELING and MANIAC came out of this movie. I admit I kind of relate to Alex (Beals) and not knowing what I really want in life.
Isle of the Dead (1945): Mark Robson directed this classic chiller which stars horror icon Boris Karloff who heads an army from the War of 1812 who are stuck on an island during the plague. A strange woman suspects one of the islanders to be a type of demon which ends up clouding the judgment of Karloff. This is a nice little chiller which stars who I believe was the most versatile of all the horror icons which possible exception to Lon Chaney Jr. who was great in OF MICE AND MEN.
American Beauty (1999): My Facebook friend I selected for this week was Bethany, who was in my Art History class. Sam Mendes directed this story about the fall of the American Dream within a very dysfunctional family. Kevin Spacey plays Lester in a seemingly perfect suburban family whose wife and daughter are losing interest in him. Annette Bening is his high-class wife who tires of him. Thora Birch plays their daughter Jane who forms a strange relationship with a young peeping-tom next door. Mena Suvari plays Jane's friend who Lester obsesses over and vice versa. Other people in this movie include Cris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Sam Robards, and QUANTUM LEAP alum Scott Bakula. I don't think I like it as much as some people do but I still enjoyed this film with a great performance from Spacey and the often-spoofed red rose scene.
Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975): This is a movie that I will say right now is not for everyone, I don't even know if it is even for me but this is my job so I did a viewing of it. Pier Paolo Pasolini directed this controversial film. This movie takes place in the Fascist regime where 18 youths are kidnapped and subjected to unspeakable torture. This imagery and the scenes are beyond disturbing at times but it still remains an important film in history but is banned in some countries. Criterion was nice enough to release it here. This is supposed to be a statement against Mussolini and the horrible things he did. While I am glad I saw this, I don't know if I can ever watch this again. It made even me turn my head and even almost gag during one scene. If you want to watch this, please don't watch it in front of your children.
Dinner
With Friends (2001): I totally welcomed this movie after what I saw the
night before. This is an HBO movie which in some ways reminded me of
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF. Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Greg
Kinnear and Toni Collette all star in this movie. Quaid and MacDowell
are a couple whose friends, which are the other two actors, are a
married couple on the brink of divorce. They must each re-examine their
lives and see how it came to this point. This is a pretty good movie
carried by the stars.
The Quiet Man (1952): I finish the week with this John Ford/John Wayne collaboration. Usually when we think of John Wayne, we think of that tough western star and sometimes war movie star but here we have John Wayne who really does not want to fight. John Wayne is a retired American boxer who accidentally kills another man in the ring. He moves to Ireland where he finds love with Maureen O'Hara but it sure is not easy. He must win approval of her family which later sparks one of the longest-shot fight scenes of all time. This was a movie very personal to John Ford and did everything he could to get this off the ground. Many of Ford's regulars like Ward Bond is in this and he actually has his best performance I have seen out of him.
Well, that is it for this week. Leave your comments of what you like and what you hate. I'll be back next week with ten more.
HONORABLE TV SERIES MENTION
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993): I have probably spent a couple months on this DVD set which I have had on and off from the library but I am glad I did. This is a Carlton Cuse produced series which stars Bruce Campbell as the title character. This is a western with a touch of comedy, drama, action, and even a bit of sci-fi. Brisco County Sr. is murdered by the gang of John Bly (Billy Drago) and Brisco drops his job as an attorney and becomes a bounty hunter to bring justice to his father's killers. BOSTON LEGAL star Christian Clemonson plays Socrates Poole who is Brisco's diplomatic ally and attorney friend. Julius Carry stars as Lord Bowler who started out as Brisco's rival, turned uneasy ally, and then full-fledged partners and friend in their quest for justice. Comet is Brisco's intellectual horse. MELROSE PLACE alum Kelly Rutherford plays recurring character Dixie Cousins who is a love interest of Brisco's. There were many other great characters here even a role played by football star Terry Bradshaw. This is a great series which unfortunately only lasted one season and also what is unfortunate is that Julius Carry recently died. This show works in a lot of great pop-culture references.
A BIT OF TRIVIA
Jason Robards Sr. (Isle of the Dead) and Sam Robards (American Beauty) are grandfather and grandson.
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