Saturday, January 26, 2013

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 302nd Edition

Welcome to the 302nd Edition of my series. As many of you might know, I am in the musical SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET in Portland, Indiana at the end of October at the Jay County Civic Theater. After a month of trying to get back to theater, I finally make my return and I got the part I put in for at the audition of Beadle Bamford. This will be my first show at the Jay County Civic Theater and hope friends in my area can come check it out. I have also found this is my most difficult part but am prepared to give it all I got. Now I will get down to the recommendations.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008): This is part three of my three-part Scarlett Johansson series and will continue with a Natalie Portman series which so far is a three-part series. This is my film on royalty for the week where these two girls I named off play the Boleyn sisters. Natalie is Anne and Scarlett is Mary who are both vying for the affection of Henry VIII, played here by Eric Bana, while he was still unhappily married to Catherine of Aragon. Mark Rylance plays their father who is trying to get them into the marriage of Henry while Kristin Scott Thomas plays their mother who just wants her kids to be happy but in that era cannot do that. Both girls worked very well together as the sisters and Bana was good as Henry. This is a pretty compelling part to this part of Henry VIII's life.

Pretty Persuasion (2005): This is part two of a two-part series of Evan Rachel Wood. I now go to the world of Beverly Hills high school where Evan plays the conniving Kim. She stirs up a lot when she talks two of her friends into filing a sexual harassment lawsuit on their drama teacher, played by Ron Livingston. 30 ROCK co-star Jane Krakowski plays a reporter named Emily who sees this scandal as a way to advance her career. James Woods plays Kim's bigoted father who is only focused on himself. This was a pretty funny film with a good performance from Wood. It is also a bit dark and shows the effects of people when something like this starts. This movie is available on Instant Netflix.

Before I Hang (1940): I guess I got to get prepared for the October Horror Movie Madness contest. I decided to use Boris Karloff who plays a doctor who is found guilty of murder for a mercy killing. He is then sentenced to death but while in there he develops a serum to stay young. He tries it on himself and sees a significant change. Soon, he becomes very valuable in the medical field and is pardoned. However, there is a dark side to what happened when he begins to experience Jekyll and Hyde type reactions. This was a rather different part for Karloff who I may not have recognized if I did not already know it was him. He plays a respected person whose good intentions do not work and does a pretty good job.

A Modern Cinderella (1932): This is my short film for the week which stars Ruth Etting as Anita who is the title character. She is the daughter of a costume shop owner where the customer has her try on things for the ball and is very liked in the dress. She eventually breaks out into song and dance. This is a rather entertaining musical short with Etting who did a lot of these musical shorts.

Doctor Zhivago (1965): This is my epic film the for the week which takes place in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. Omar Sharif stars as Yuri who is a poet/doctor who is married and has a family but still falls for a political activist's wife named Lara, played by Julie Christie. Geraldine Chaplin plays his wife. Alec Guinness plays Turi's half-brother who narrates this story and meets a woman who is potentially Yuri's daughter. Sharif is very good as Yuri and his life hardships during very difficult times in Russia. This movie is over three hours but it is a good three hours with great cinematography. This movie is available on Instant Netflix.

The Secret in their Eyes (2009): This is my Argentina film for the week. Ricardo Darin stars as retired legal counselor Benjamin Esposito who is writing a novel for an unsolved homicide case he was on when he was younger hoping to bring closure. It flashes back from his younger days when he was on the case of a brutal rape and murder of a girl into the modern day when he is working on the case and investigating the case once again. Juan Jose Campanella directed this film which was a very good mystery film. Argentina is not known for their filmmaking but this is a great entry that can stand up to other countries.

Superman Cartoons (1942): This is something that is available on Instant Netflix and is really more of a compilation of cartoons for the 1940s directed by Dave Fleischer. Each one is kind of the same in which there is a villain and at the Daily Planet, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are called upon to cover the story. Lois Lane then finds a way to lose Clark as she wants to cover the story herself. She then gets in over her head and gets captured a lot of the time when Clark realizes "this is a job for Superman" who then in turns saves the day. These were pretty entertaining and well done for their time especially the Arctic Monster. There are a lot of these classic superhero cartoons available now on Instant Netflix where credit must be given where it is due. They may seem a bit cheesy today with what we have but they were rather ahead of their time when they first came out.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984): I have never been a real die-hard fan of this series but understand its importance. This one picks up where the last one left off where the crew must steal the decommissioned Enterprise to go after the body of Spock, thought to be dead, on the lonely planet of Genesis. They are at odds though with the Klingons, lead by Christopher Lloyd, who do everything they can to stop Captain Kirk and crew. William Shatner and crew all reprise their roles in a pretty decent entry of the series. Leonard Nimoy, who did not have a big of part in this film as Spock, goes behind the camera to direct this one.

Game of Death (1978): This is the movie that Bruce Lee died during filming. In this film he actually plays a martial arts actor named Billy Lo but has people who want to kill him. In an unsuccessful assassination attempt, Billy fakes his death and then avenges the underworld who tried to kill him. Much of this movie is archival footage due to his death. This movie is mostly entertaining but to say how good it is might not be accurate. The last 15 minutes or so of his fight footage are worth it. There is a memorable fight scene with him and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who have quite a height difference. Other actors include Colleen Camp, Hugh O'Brian, Robert Wall, and a small part from martial arts star Sammo Hung. I have never been a big fan of Bruce Lee's movies but I also understand that credit must be given where it is due as I said earlier as he paved the way for the people I like including Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, and others. This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Thing Called Love (1993): I end this week with this movie on the country music industry. Samantha Mathis is a New Yorker named Miranda Presley making her way to Nashville in hopes of a music career. River Phoenix co-stars as country singer James Wright while Dermot Mulroney plays singer Kyle Davidson who compete for the affections of Miranda. She makes a very rash decision and must figure out what to do. This was nothing great but seems like something that can be appreciated by the struggling musicians doing everything they can to make it in such a difficult industry. Mathis was very good in her role and this was River Phoenix's last film. Sandra Bullock also co-stars as Miranda's friend Linda in one of her early roles. Other country stars from this era like Pam Tillis and Trisha Yearwood have cameo appearances.

Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes more Natalie Portman, James Cagney, Susan Sarandon, Terry Gilliam, Tim Blake Nelson, Lana Turner, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

Natalie Portman (The Other Boleyn Girl) plays Padme Amidala in the newer STAR WARS films. Alec Guinness (Doctor Zhivago) plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the older STAR WARS films.

Natalie Portman (The Other Boleyn Girl) and Scarlett Johansson (The Other Boleyn Girl) were considered for a part in the upcoming 2012 film GRAVITY but the part would ultimately go to Sandra Bullock (The Thing Called Love).

Jim Sturgess (The Other Boleyn Girl) and Evan Rachel Wood (Pretty Persuasion) worked together in the 2007 film ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. I believe they were at one point set to do the SPIDER-MAN Broadway musical but likely pulled out because of all the delays.

Evan Rachel Wood (Pretty Persuasion) and Sandra Bullock (The Thing Called Love) play family members in the 1998 film PRACTICAL MAGIC. Not sure if they are niece/aunt or daughter/mother. If someone knows and wants to tell me, please feel free to comment

Ron Livingston (Pretty Persuasion) and Eric Bana (The Other Boleyn Girl) worked together in the 2009 THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE.

Boris Karloff (Before I Hang) played the first Jonathan Brewster on ARSENIC AND OLD LACE on Broadway. My Facebook friend Elmore played the part in a 2010 version at the Anderson Mainstage Theatre.

William Shatner (Star Trek 3) and Sandra Bullock (The Thing Called Love) worked together in the two MISS CONGENIALITY films

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