Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 133rd Edition

Welcome to the 133rd Edition of my weekly blog series. I see that I focused on quite a bit of violence this week. So now it is time for the picks.

No Country for Old Men (2007): This is part 1 of 2 of my Coen Brothers series. I will admit, I really had to analyze much of this very carefully. This movie is very dark and even lacks the dark humor that the Coen Brothers use a lot so that it shows you the price of temptation. Javier Bardem plays a brutal thief named Anton whose weapon is quite extreme. Josh Brolin plays the hunter Llewellen who comes upon a bag of money which immediately gets him in pursuit by Anton. Tommy Lee Jones plays Sheriff Ed Bell who is in pursuit of Anton. The bag of money is what blurs the line between good and bad and Llewellen does what he can to keep the money even at the risk of his life. The three actors were great in their roles. Bardem became the first Spanish actor to win an Oscar which I am glad because it gave him some recognition to check out his other things like THE SEA INSIDE which I featured last week.

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005): We now get something more entertaining and much less dark. This is the musical spoof of the 1936 film REEFER MADNESS and other marijuana propaganda films from that era which show the horrible effects of marijuana. Alan Cumming plays the person who brings the parents together to show the horrible things that have happened with Pot. Our main story centers around Mary Lane, played by VERONICA MARS alum Kristen Bell and Jimmy Harper, played by Christian Campbell. Both of which are goody-goody high school students who fall in with the wrong crowd. WINGS alum Steven Weber plays the typical mustached villain which was very common for a villain in these movies to have a mustache. PARTY OF FIVE star Neve Campbell and SNL alum Ana Gasteyer also co-star. This is a musical that I would like to be in someday.

The Yakuza (1974): Now we return to some more violence and now we are in the dark world of the Yakuza. Sydney Pollack who just recently died this week, directed this movie. I definetly did not intend to do a tribute to him, this was already on my list when he died. Robert Mitchum stars as Private Investigator Harry Kilmer who is hired to find a friend's daughter and finds himself dealing with the Yakuza which is the Japanese mafia. Ken Takakura plays an old friend of Kilmer who has had connections to the Yakuza in the past and reluctantly helps Kilmer. This is definetly something that must be watched carefully but in the end you'll be glad. Great later performance from Mitchum and from Ken Takakura.

Pulp Fiction (1994): Quentin Tarantino directed this ground-breaking film which is not for all tastes. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson star as two hitmen, Bruce Willis stars as a crooked boxer, Uma Thurman co-stars as the mob-boss' wife and Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer play two restaurant robbers whose lives are intertwined in different stories. This movie is full of sub-plots and it must be watched carefully to understand what has happened. This movies is quite out of sequence so you need to follow when certain events happened. John Travolta was great in what can be considered a comeback role for him in a time where he struggled. It also put Samuel L. Jackson into stardom after many small roles through his career. It was also the first time I took note of Uma Thurman. This movie has quite the all-star cast, some great dialogue, and some moments of violence which all make it worth seeing but if you don't like violence, you won't like this one.

John Q (2002): I saw this last week when I went to Rhonda and Kayla's house on their saturday movie night and my friend Ben rented this movie so this is what was watched. Nick Cassavettes directed this movie that takes quite a stab at the healthcare system in the United States, long before Michael Moore directed his movie SICKO. Denzel Washington stars as a very dedicated father whose son is in need of a heart transplant which he learns is not covered by his insurance. This drives him to take the hospital hostage in order to get this transplant and to help other patients who have a hard time getting care. There is some resemblance to DOG DAY AFTERNOON but I feel it has its own story and things we should take note of here. Robert Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche, Kimberly Elise, and Ray Liotta co-star in this tale that raises many questions.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986): John McNaughton directed this documentary-like film which is loosely based on serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Michael Rooker stars as the title character who teaches his roommate Otis how to serial kill. Tension arises when Otis' sister Becky comes into the picture. This was another one of my very dark movies of this week and like many others in here, it is not for all tastes. Rooker lends quite a performance to a serial killer who does not come off as crazy or strange in his personality but just in what he does making this movie more disturbing to watch. In real live, Henry was in prison but due to some doubt of his confessions, George W. Bush actually reduced his sentence from death to a life sentence which was very rare for Bush.

The Lost Patrol (1934): This is my war film for the week which was directed by John Ford. A group of British soldiers are lost in a desert during WW1 where unseen Arabs are in pursuit of them. Victor McLaglen stars as the leader and Boris Karloff has what seems to be a very overlooked performance in a time where he always played monsters, people don't realize this great film where he plays a religious fanatic. This was a pretty good war film for the time and one that is very much over-looked even with John Ford.

Mighty Mouse: Frankenstein's Cat (1940s): This is my short film for the week where Mighty Mouse makes his debut on this blog series. This was a very early short film where a cat which resembles Frankenstein's monster and wreaks havoc and only Mighty Mouse can save the day. This one has very limited dialogue but still entertains. This can be found on youtube.

Umberto D (1952): This is my only foreign language film for the week which last week contained four. Vittorio De Sica directed this tale of an old man who struggles to survive and only has his dog as his friend. He lives in an apartment with a tenant who keeps demanding rent that Umberto cannot pay. This movie is very moving but has some pretty sad moments as well and took a look into the retirement system which Umberto did not make enough money. This movie is definetly worth a watch which I found on Independent Films Channel.

Kill the Umpire (1950): Lloyd Bacon directed this baseball comedy which starred William Bendix as a former baseball player who had a hard time holding a job due to his addiction for baseball so he reluctantly decides to train to be an umpire which was something he felt was stooping low but gets himself to be an umpire and finds it is not easy and the fans are not forgiving. This is nothing great but had some funny moments and worth a recording to the DVR.

Well, that is it for this week. I know I can't please everyone so please leave your comments as to what you like and what you hate and stay tuned next week for 10 more movies.

HONORABLE MENTION

E.T. Storybook: I don't know how honorable this is but it was definetly quite interesting. My friend Bill comes across some strange things and here he was sent this storybook on E.T. which was narrated by Michael Jackson around the time E.T. was released. This was very bizarre listening to his voice and in our warped minds kept coming up with subtext around what he said with the controversy he has faced through the years.

Connection Time

-Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men) and Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2000 film Rules of Engagement

-Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men) and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) were in the 1982 tv movie The Executioner's Song

-Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction), and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1991 blockbuster JFK

-Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), Steve Buscemi, and Robert Duvall were in the 1990 mini-series Lonesome Dove. Jones and Duvall were also in the 1978 film The Betsy.

-Tommy Lee Jones (No Country) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 1997 film Volcano

-Josh Brolin (No Country) and Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction) are in the upcoming 2008 film Milk

-Josh Brolin (No Country) and Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2007 film Planet Terror which was part of the Grindhouse double feature

-Josh Brolin (No Country) and Denzel Washington (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2007 blockbuster American Gangster

-Josh Brolin (No Country) and Eddie Griffin (John Q) were in The Mod Squad

-Stephen Root (No Country) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) were in the 1993 film Dave

-Stephen Root (No Country) and Phil Lamarr (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2005 tv movie Kim Possible: So the Drama

-Stephen Root (No Country) and Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2008 film Drillbit Taylor

-Stephen Root (No Country) and Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2002 film The Country Bears

-Kristen Bell (Reefer Madness) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 2004 film Gracie's Choice

-Neve Campbell (Reefer Madness) and Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction) are in the upcoming 2008 film The Death of Harry Tobin

-Alan Cumming (Reefer Madness) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 2007 film Suffering Man's Charity

-Alan Cumming (Reefer Madness) and Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction) were in the 2002 film Spy Kids 2

-Ana Gasteyer (Reefer Madness) and Kathy Griffin (Pulp Fiction) were in the 1997 film Counting Courtney


-Robert Mitchum (The Yakuza) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in 1993 film Tombstone. Note that Mitchum was the narrator.
-Robert Mitchum (The Yakuza) and Wallace Ford (The Lost Patrol) were in the 1954 film She Couldn't Say No
-Robert Mitchum (The Yakuza) and Alan Hale (The Lost Patrol) were in the 1947 film Pursued
-John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and James Woods (John Q) were in the 1999 film The General's Daughter and the 2005 film Be Cool
-John Travola (Pulp Fiction) and Robert Duvall (John Q) were in the 1996 film Phenomenon and the 1998 film A Civil Action
-John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (John Q) were in the 2007 film Wild Hogs
-Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Denzel Washinton (John Q) were in the 1990 film Mo' Better Blues
-Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 1994 tv movie Against the Wall
-Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (John Q) were in the 1990 film Goodfellas
-Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in 1989 film Sea of Love and the 2008 film Jumper
-Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (John Q) were in the 2006 film Deceiver
-Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction), Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1997 film Deceiver
-Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) and James Woods (John Q) were in the 1997 Disney film Hercules
-Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction), Eric Stoltz, and Ethan Suplee (John Q) were in the 1997 tv movie Don't Look Back. Also note that Stoltz and Suplee were in the The Butterfly Effect
-Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 2000 tv movie One Kill
-Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1997 film Keys to Tulsa
-Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) and Denzel Washington (John Q) were in the 1998 film The Siege
-Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) and Shawn Hatosy (John Q) were in the 2006 film Alpha Dog
-Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) and Eddie Griffin (John Q) were in the 1991 film The Last Boyscout, and the 1998 film Armageddon
-Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction) and James Woods (John Q) were in 2001 film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
-Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1997 film Rosewood and the 2002 film Undisputed
-Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction) and Ethan Suplee (John Q) were in the 2006 film Art School Confidential. Note that Buscemi had an uncreditted role.
-Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction) and Shawn Hatosy (John Q) were in the 2002 film Deadrockstar
-Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (John Q) are in the upcoming 2008 film Youth in Revolt
-Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction) and Denzel Washington (John Q) were in the 2004 film Man on Fire
-Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction) and Anne Heche (John Q) were in the 1995 film Wild Side (1995)
-Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction) and Ray Liotta (John Q) were in the 1997 film Copland
-Denzel Washington (John Q) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1999 film The Bone Collector
-Ethan Suplee (John Q) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1995 film Mallrats
-Robert Duvall (John Q) and Michael Rooker (Henry) were in the 1990 film Days of Thunder and the 2000 film The Sixth Day