Welcome to the 140th Edition of my blog series. I just got done with a
weekend of OKLAHOMA performances. The show went pretty well and I look
forward to next week to performing again. This week, I chose a lot of
rather unknown films which include a tv mini-series, a silent, some
indies and foreigns. So get out your queues and read on.
Arsenic
and Old Lace (1944): Now I know I mentioned doing mostly unknowns but
this one is a classic here. This is part 5 of my Cary Grant series and
likely the last for now and Frank Capra directed this classic. This is a
very dark comedy based on a play by Joseph Keesling where I feel bad
when I laugh but one cannot help it. Cary stars as Mortimer Brewster, a
drama critic who just got married and when going to visit his elderly
aunts, he finds that they are killing lonely, old men and the aunts feel
they are doing them a favor. Things get rather awkward when Mortimer's
brother Jonathan, played by Raymond Massey who has just escaped prison.
Peter Lorre is fun as Jonathan's henchman who gave him the face of a
famous actor you might recognize in the movie.
The Inheritors
(1998): This is my German film for the week. This movie takes place on a
farm where a murdered farmer leaves his farm to four of his employees
who were abused for years. The four peasants are reluctant at first but
decide to try to take on a ruthless land baron. Tension also happens
with these new-found owners when there was no structure to the system
and that they had never owned a farm before. This is a very interesting
and depressing film.
Our Old Car (1946): I found this short film
on TCM which takes a look at the American car through the generations of
one family. This is a documentary written by John Nesbitt who takes a
look at his own life and family. This was a very fun movie and definetly
something for car lovers.
Bent (1997): This is my British film
for the week which stars the man who will play me someday in THE RISE
AND FALL OF SHAUN BERKEY Clive Owen in an early role where he stars as
Max in Nazi Germany. His problem was not that he was a Jew but that he
was gay and they were held on a lower scale. He plays a rather selfish
person who tries to pass himself off as a Jew but forms a relationship
with another prisoner in a concentration camp. Mick Jagger is amusing in
a small role where he plays a cross-dressing nightclub singer. My local
community theater actually put on the play of this which starred my
myspace friend Ric as Max's boyfriend in the beginning. This was a very
moving and sad film which takes a look at life in a concentration camp.
The
Young Girls of Rochefort (1967): This is my French musical for the week
which was directed by Jacques Demy which was kind of a follow-up to THE
UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG which I actually liked better but this one was
still pretty fun and interesting to see Gene Kelly singing in French.
Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac star as twin sisters, one a
dance teacher and the other a piano composer. They are both looking for
love and they each encounter each other's ideal partner. Gene Kelly is
fun in his supporting role. This has some pretty good music and a must
for Kelly fans.
Disco Pigs (2001): Now I take you to Ireland for
this dark movie directed by Kirsten Sheridan which take a look at two
teens played by Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy. They were born just
minutes apart and for all their lives formed a twin-like relationship.
They call each other Pig and Runt. They eventually develop a very
reckless lifestyle and a life of crime. For those of you who don't know
who Cillian Murphy is, he can best be remembered as the Scarecrow in
BATMAN BEGINS. It is interesting how these actors have some resemblance
to Clark Kent and Lana Lang in SMALLVILLE. This is something I really
did not know what to expect when watching it and it is definetly not for
everyone. There is not anything real upbeat about this movie but if you
like dark, here you go.
Broken Trail (2006): This is an AMC
western mini-series which stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church as
cowboys who are on a job to transport a herd of horses but the job
becomes complicated when they take in 5 abused and abandoned Chinese
girls who are being sold into slavery and they must protect them from
some enemies. While reluctant, these cowboys are hit with nobility and
do what they have to in order to protect the girls while getting the
horses where they need to be. This was a very good western series and
good performances by the leads. It was good to see the blending of the
western and Asian world while not using martial arts like in SHANGHAI
NOON and the lesser-known ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA which
was the last in the Jet Li series. I liked those two I named off but it
was refreshing to see this one too.
The Racket (1928): Lewis
Milestone directed this silent gangster film which was produced by
Howard Hughes and thought by many to be lost but was found later. Louis
Wolheim stars as ruthless mobster Nick Scarsi who is obviously based in
many ways on Al Capone and Thomas Meighan stars as the determined police
officer out to catch Scarsi. This seems to be a rather groundbreaking
and daring film which was originally a Broadway play starring Edward G.
Robinson who would go on to become a gangster legend.
Kung Fu
Punch of Death (1973): This is my Grindhouse martial-arts film for the
week which is very entertaining with both the English dubbing and they
bad timing on the fights but still tells a decent story. It is obviously
for Martial arts fans only. There is not much more to say on this one.
The
Postman Fights Back (1981): This is something that I bought for 5.50
from Wal-Mart that has been sitting on my shelf for some time and when
the need for an 80s film came around, I chose this early Chow Yun-Fat
film which was directed by Ronny Yu. Chow is one of four people hired to
transport a suspicious package. This had some martial arts and a lot of
really good fight scenes and definetly worth a look for a young Chow
Yun-Fat.
Well, that is it for this week. Next week will be more
mainstream films. If you live near the Muncie area, you should come
check out OKLAHOMA from Thursday-Saturday. Also, when finished, please
leave your comments telling me what you like and dislike.
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