Welcome to the 346th Edition of my series. This week I pay tribute
to actor Richard Lynch who recently left us. We are now in July so
before you know, THE PRODUCERS will start at the Guyer Opera House. Let
me now get to my selections for the week.
The Muppets (2011): This is part two of my Amy Adams
series. This is also a multiple part Disney series I plan to focus
upon. I made a rare theater appearance to see this movie when it first
came out. I gave Lisa the opportunity on her birthday to see whatever
movie she wants in the theaters and she chose this even after seeing it
three other times. This was a great choice and was glad to watch this
again for this series. Jason Segal co-wrote the screenplay to what I
suppose you could call a reboot of the franchise. He also stars in the
movie as Gary whose brother Walter, the newest Muppet, are very
inseparable and big fans of the Muppets, especially Walter. Gary,
Walter, and Gary's girlfriend Mary, played by Amy Adams, take a trip to
L.A. They take a tour of where the Muppets used to perform where Walter
learns that an oil barron named Tex Richman, played by Chris Cooper,
claims to be making a museum but is really drilling for oil. They soon
let Kermit the Frog know of this news and convince him to look to
reunite the gang. They have since gone their separate ways but take a
big road trip to get the gang back together to put on one more big show
in hopes of stopping Tex Richman. I love this movie on so many levels
and feel Jason Segal deserves a special award for his contribution to
the franchise in which was obvious about how much he cared about this
movie when writing it. If I ever make it in the film industry, I'll
take part in anything he asks. It also has a very catchy soundtrack
that Bret McKenzie wrote and even winning an Oscar for the song MAN OR
MUPPET. Chris Cooper does a very amusing rap song. It also brought
back some of their classic songs like THE RAINBOW CONNECTION. Segal
also did a great job of introducing the new muppet in Walter who is a
muppet that grew up idolizing the Muppets. There are many celebrity
cameos like Neil Patrick Harris, Jack Black, OFFICE co-star John
Krasinski, Whoopi Goldberg, Mickey Rooney, and many others. I have seen
some on the internet that hated this movie but I don't see how people
can dislike this. People who are fans of the Muppets will love this and
if you weren't a fan before, this can make you one. Also to parents
who are looking something for to watch with your children that everyone
can enjoy, this is the one. If you have not seen this movie, find a way
to watch it. All I know is that now if I'm a man, I am a muppet of a
man and I am proud.
So Close (2002): This is my Asian
film for the week which stars Asian actress Qi Shu. She plays beautiful
assassin Lynn who is very resourceful and pull off some pretty big jobs
along with her sister Sue, played by Wei Zhou, who handles the
surveillance for her. Their lifestyle begins to catch up with them
though when they get targeted by the criminals who hired them and by a
beautiful female cop named Hong, played by Karen Mok. While Hong is
trying to catch them, she is also forced to team with them. This is
something that can be enjoyed for the action scenes, some comedic
moments, and to see three beautiful Asian girls fighting. This is a bit
unrealistic as far as some of the action scenes go but just suspend
disbelief for a while and have some fun in watching this one. This was
not nearly as good as the first movie on this list but is still
enjoyable. This is available on the app Crackle and was surprised by
the limited commercial interruption.
The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo (2011): This is part two of my Christopher Plummer
series. David Fincher directed this American version to the novel by
Stieg Larsson. Daniel Craig stars as disgraced journalist Mikael
Blomkvist who is hired by a wealthy patriarch named Henrik Vanger,
played by Plummer, to investigate the disappearance of his niece who
went missing 40 years ago. He is soon joined by a young computer hacker
named Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, and forms an unlikely
partnership with him. They soon stumble onto more secrets than they
want to but are determined to see the whole thing through. This was a
remake of the 2009 Swedish film of the same name and I have seen both
versions. I found myself liking both versions of this novel and
couldn't really say which one I thought was better. Stellan Skarsgard,
Robin Wright, NIP/TUCK alum Joely Richardson, and many others co-star.
Craig and Mara did a good job in their parts. Nine Inch Nails frontman
Trent Reznor along with Atticus Ross wrote the music score and did a
great job. While this is considered an American film, it was still
filmed in Sweden like the original one. I noticed that the actors in
the 2009 film playing them had some resemblance. There are actually
three of these books written by Larsson which were made in Sweden but
have not seen any information as of yet as to if and when the other two
get made. This movie had some action and some suspense but ultimately
driven by character.
Hey, Hey Fever (1935): This is my
animation short for the week which features Warner character Bosco. In
this short, he falls asleep and wakes up to all the Mother Goose
characters in song and dance. I believe Bosco was mostly from the 30s
and was in a few shorts. This was about eight minutes and was rather
fun for that short time. This comes from a DVD likely to be named in
the next week or two. This is a must for classic animation buffs.
Support
Your Local Sheriff! (1969): This is my western for the week. James
Garner stars as Jason McCullough who says he is just passing through
town to get to Australia. He is in a gold rush town and when he stands
up to a local criminal, he is asked to be sheriff which he agrees to but
says it is temporary. Walter Brennan stars as local criminal Pa Danby
whose son Joe Danby, played well by Bruce Dern, is arrested by
McCullough. McCullough soon looks to restore order to the town in this
comedic western. Garner is a lot of fun as McCullough. Joan Hackett,
Harry Morgan, and Jack Elam all co-star. This movie has nothing to do
with Garner's 1971 film SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER but did have a lot
of the same cast.
Night and Fog (1955): This is my
documentary short for the week and depicts the horrors of Nazi
Concentration Camps. This is done through Newsreel footage and stills.
These are some pretty disturbing images but very realistic. This is
not for everyone but is a very good documentary that lasts about a half
hour. French director Alain Resnais directed this documentary and was
reluctant to do so until Holocaust survivor Jean Cayrol joined in on the
project. This was a very hard movie to make but got a good finished
product.
Raining Stones (1993): This is my British
film for the week that was directed by Ken Loach. Bruce Jones stars as
Bob who is dedicated to his family and religion though quite poor. No
matter how poor he is, he is determined for his daughter to be able to
wear a beautiful and expensive dress instead of a hand-me-down. He then
resorts to some unusual and dangerous measures to achieve his goals
making him question his values in life. Julie Brown plays his wife Anne
who becomes endangered by her husband's decisions. This was a brutally
honest independent film and a good depiction to determination of
someone who lacks money. This movie does not have a bunch of really
famous actors but they do a very good job in this film.
Daisy
Kenyon (1947): This is part two of a two-part series from director
Otto Preminger and actor Dana Andrews and the movie I featured last week
was WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS. This will then continue into a two-part
Henry Fonda series. Joan Crawford stars as the title character who is a
commercial artist who is having an affair with a married attorney named
Dan O'Mara, played by Dana Andrews, who will not leave his wife. Henry
Fonda stars as Peter who is a returning veteran and forms his own
relationship with Daisy but when Dan gets a divorce she must make a
decision on who she wants to stay with. This was a very compelling
drama that was probably very controversial for its time seeing as there
is more than one love triangles going on as well as dealing with
divorce. The performances in this film are great and this is a movie
which I hope to get put on the radar.
The Seven-Ups
(1973): This is my tribute to actor Richard Lynch who in this film
plays Moon. Roy Scheider stars as touch NYC cop Buddy who leads a group
of cops against criminals and hoodlums after one of their own is
murdered. They soon uncover a big conspiracy but circumstances make it
look like they are guilty of the crimes. One of the highlights of the
film is a car chase scene that happens. This movie also has some great
tension and in the climax the cops resort to some rather brutal
methods. Scheider is great in this film and this has some good action
as well as the car chase. One interesting thing is that an actor named
Bill Hickman plays a character named Bo and that is the name of my
uncle. This is available on Instant Netflix and is worth a watch as
this is a very underrated film for that popular genre of the 70s.
Thor:
Tales of Asgard (2011): I end this week with this Marvel animation
film which focuses on Thor in his younger days. This takes place in a
time before his hammer that we know today and he had a sword then. Thor
and Loki embark on a journey to recover a legendary sword against the
wishes of their father who did not want his kids to be warriors. If you
are looking for the same Thor in that great live-action film that
featured last week, this is not it. This focuses on a more youthful
Thor before he discovers his great powers and is a rather spoiled teen
in this one. If you can look past this, then this one is rather fun to
watch and maybe look at this animated film is what makes Thor into the
man we know in the live-action film of the same years. Both this
version and the live-action film are available on Instant Netflix.
Well,
that is it for this week. Let me know what you like and dislike and
stay tuned for next week which so far includes Liev Schreiber, Ron
Perlman, more Henry Fonda, and many others.
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