Welcome to the 264th Edition of my long-running series. I continue to
lead my division in fantasy where I play my rival and if I win, I clinch
a playoff spot so let's hope that goes well. I got a good start on the
Thanksgiving game with Lesean McCoy so hopefully the rest of my team can
match what they did last week. This week I pay tribute to the late
Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen who was recently gunned down. With the
Christmas season coming around, I will try to focus some on that in both
the religious and commercial sense with a couple religious picks for
this one.
In the Loop (2009): This is one of Travis' Co-Op film
viewings. This is an interesting war satire where we have the British
Prime Minister and the US president both fancying a war in which not
everyone agrees. A big misunderstanding starts when the PM says that
"War is Unforeseeable". Not everyone is in a big agreement on the war
including US General Miller, played by SOPRANOS alum James Gandolfini.
Armando Iannucci directed this British war comedy which co-stars Anna
Chlumsky. This was a great job of making comedy of a horrible situation
that is rather realistic. There is not much more to say or explain
except that it is a great comedy which needs to get a little more on the
radar.
The Kingdom (2007): This is the 4th link of "The Chain"
which continues with Chris Cooper to pick up where Christina Ricci left
off. Peter Berg directed this film which deals with a terrorist attack
of an American housing compound in Saudi Arabia where FBI agent Ronald
Fleury, played by Jamie Foxx, assembles an elite group to investigate
the matter but with much trouble from the locals who want to do it on
their terms. Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven, and many
others co-star in this film full of action and story. The film is
fictional but based on the 2003 bombing of the Riyadh Compound. I really
liked the opening scene which documented the history of the Middle East
since the 40s. The Chain continues next week with another Chris Cooper
film.
A Cool, Dry Place (1998): I was not sure what I would think
about this film but I ended up really liking it and really liked Vince
Vaughn in this one. He plays Russell who is the single father of a five
year old, an attorney at a small-town law firm, and the high school
basketball coach. He had been the hotshot at a Chicago firm but had to
move to a small town in Kansas for work where he has built a pretty good
life. He has just formed a relationship with local Beth, played by Joey
Lauren Adams, but things get complicated when his estranged wife,
played by Monica Potter, returns for her son who she left years ago. The
Netflix description bills this as a modern-day KRAMER VS. KRAMER but it
did not quite get that intense. Vince Vaughn is really hit-or-miss with
me but I think this one hit the hardest for me. I actually brought
myself to care for him which I have found that hard to do with his other
movies. It is a great portrayal of a single father and of a small town.
Vaughn shows a much different side in this one than most are used to
seeing. Monica Potter is also good as the mother and estranged wife
trying to win her way back into their lives.
Hell Up in Harlem
(1973): This is my tribute to Ronni Chasen, a Hollywood publicist who
was shot to death. She was the Unit Publicist for this Blaxploitation
film. Blaxploitation icon Fred "The Hammer" Williamson stars as Harlem
gangster Tommy Gibbs in this sequel to BLACK CAESAR and no I have not
seen that but have heard good things. Larry Cohen directed this film
where Tommy has had to take a rest period but looks to take his revenge
against his gang rivals. There is a lot of good action and a good music
score from Edwin Starr. You must appreciate the genre to really like
this one though. This may be Fred Williamson's first time to be featured
on this blog.
Seeing Red (1939): This is my short film for the
week which stars Red Skelton as a man who has just gotten fired from his
job. When this happens he puts a hex on his boss. When his boss goes to
the nightclub it appears to work as everyone he sees is Red hence the
title. This short film also showcases other Vaudeville talent from that
era like A. Robins, the Merry Macs, and Harris and Shore. Red also has
some of his funny material. This was a good 19 minutes of the
entertainment industry on that industry.
The Blood of Jesus
(1941): I found this on my Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player which is a
public domain film and one I felt fit the month with its religious
themes. This takes place in the rural south where an atheist
accidentally shoots his Baptist wife who must then journey through the
crossroads of life where the Devil is looking to tempt her in any way
possible. The budget was very small so the actors were pretty
inexperienced but sincere in what they did. It is also a very good look
at a southern black community in that era. What I also liked is that
they were actual black people and not white actors with blackface. It
had a pretty good storyline and message to it so if you can find it,
it's not a bad one to watch.
Red River (1948): This is my western
for the week which was directed by Howard Hawks. John Wayne stars as
Tom Dunson who is a very successful cattle wrangler who with his adopted
son Matthew Garth, played by Montgomery Clift, builds a successful
cattle empire. Together, along with others begin a massive cattle drive
from Texas to the Missouri railhead where they battle a group of Indians
but the biggest battle is between Dunson and Garth when Garth gets
tired of Dunson's authoritarian ways he takes the heard away from him
having Dunson swearing vengeance. I'm not a huge fan of the western
genre but feel this one ranks pretty high as well as ranking high among
John Wayne films with this being his best in my opinion. Montgomery
Clift was also very good in his film debut and would have a great career
into the 60s. Clift and co-star John Ireland were having an affair in
real-life which made Clift not get along with John Wayne. Through it
all, the movie was pulled off very well.
For Queen and Country
(1988): This is part two of a two-part Denzel Washington series. I found
this early Denzel Washington film on Encore On-Demand. Denzel plays
Reuben who has just been discharged from the British military and has
been decorated a war hero. He then returns home to find that he is not
getting the biggest hero's welcome as he cannot get a job interview. He
then falls back into a life of crime. This is a very interesting
portrait of the treatment of someone who has given their time for his
country only to be stabbed in the back. Denzel was good as a British
person and while not Washington's best but still a good movie to watch
as long as you don't expect anything upbeat.
Hello, Dolly!
(1969): I have actually seen this a couple times this year on stage. One
was in the summer put on by the Ricks-Weil group in Greenfield and the
other was put on by the Muncie Civic Theater in October. Both
productions were pretty good and I thought this movie was very well. It
really stayed pretty well towards the stage script where liberties were
taken but not much. Barbra Streisand plays the title character of Dolly
Levi in this one who is quite the matchmaker and sets out to Yonkers, NY
intending to marry the grouchy and wealthy Horace. Walter Matthau is
perfectly cast as Horace. Michael Crawford and Danny Lockin play
Horace's overworked employees with a rare film appearance from Crawford.
There are many subplots to this musical so I'm not going to go through
each one but is a very fun musical even if I don't really get it all.
Jazz legend Louis Armstrong has a cameo and sings the title song and had
a hit song with it.
The Prince of Egypt (1998): This was on my
Netflix queue and I thought this Dreamworks animated film of Moses would
be good for the season. I thought this was a pretty good version of the
man who learns of his true identity and learns of his destiny to lead
the Exodus of his people. Val Kilmer provides the voice of Moses while
Ralph Fiennes plays his brother Ramses who are close until Moses learns
of his identity and they become rivals. Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff
Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin, Martin Short,
and many others co-star. It also has some pretty good musical numbers
like WHEN YOU BELIEVE which would become a hit song through Whitney
Houston and Mariah Carey. There is not much to explain except that it is
an animated story of Moses and a rather compelling animated film from
Dreamworks.
Well, that is it for this week, stay tuned for next
week which so far includes more Chris Cooper, Charlize Theron, Shirley
Temple, Christina Ricci, James Stewart, and many others. However, keep
reading for my honorable mention.
HONORABLE MENTION: COMIC BOOK
My
Friend Dahmer (2002): I came upon this rather unexpectedly when I was
at my dad's house and my stepmom bought a huge thing of comic books for
my nephew Camden. Him and my Dad went through these and most were DC
superhero comics but there was this one which I guess could be
considered an underground comic which my dad decided he wanted to keep. I
did not know what to think at first seeing a comic book about the
notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer but last night I decided to give
it a look. John Backderf wrote this comic and has a page he wrote on why
he wrote this which really took my interest. John Backderf uses the
author name of Derf and knew Dahmer in high school and wrote about some
times they had together. Describing the kind of outcast he was and
looking at moments that at the time were kind of funny but ultimately
they were really signs that no one could see. There are no reenactments
of his murders, just Dahmer's early days of the man we would know as a
serial killer. You can actually get this comic book among others on the
author's website of http://www.derfcity.com
where you can read some of his things on the website so it might be a
good thing to check out. I was very surprised and glad I did not dismiss
it like I thought of doing. This is not a tasteless comic, no real
violence or gore. Just a true story of a man who wants to raise
awareness on a situation where he feels that Dahmer could have been
saved if someone noticed the "signs" when they were in high school
together.
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