Welcome to the 282nd Edition of my blog. Later this evening, I will be
ring announcing for Action Packed Wrestling which will be featuring
former WWE wrestler Sean Casey and former TNA X-Division wrestler D-Ray
3000. It will be just as the name sounds so come see us if you're in
the area. Doors open at 6 and the show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $12
at the door. This week, I pay tribute to the late Farley Granger who
recently left us.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Jonathan
Demme directed this film adaptation to the very gory Thomas Harris
novel. I'll tell you now that this is not for everyone which most
people probably know that. Jodie Foster, in possibly one of the best
film performances of all time, plays young FBI cadet Clarice Starling
who is assigned to find a missing woman who is being held captive by a
serial killer who skins his victims named Buffalo Bill, played by Ted
Levine. In order to find this killer, she must learn the twisted mind
of a serial killer and for this she visits Dr. Hannibal Lector, played
very well by Anthony Hopkins, who was at one time a respected
psychiatrist but turned serial killer and is also a cannibal. He is
also very conniving and is not easy to lend information to Clarice but
they form a certain respect for each other. Look for a cameo appearance
from singer Chris Isaak. Also, look for directors Roger Corman and
George Romero in cameo appearances. If you don't have a good stomach,
this is probably not something to watch. Also to the guys, if you are
looking for a movie to watch with your girlfriend, this also might not
be for you. However, this is a very compelling and well-done film that
if you can tolerate some pretty disturbing things, then this might be
for you. This is what Hopkins will always be most known for and has had
some issues with typecast on this type of character. He has described
his voice as a combination between Katherine Hepburn and Truman Capote.
There was a 1986 film called MANHUNTER which took place before this
film and there have been others since this film but none can match this
movie right here.
Happy Gilmore (1996): This is the 22nd link on
The Chain and this link goes to SNL alum Adam Sandler. So I go from a
movie featuring a cannibal to this movie of a very tempered golfer.
Sandler plays the title character whose personality does not fit his
name. He is very determined to become a hockey player but can never get
on the team. Through his temper he learns that he can hit a golf ball
very far and when his Grandmother is about to lose her house, he finds a
golf tournament that can get him into the PGA so he takes that in hopes
of getting his Grandmother's house back. However, in golf he finds
that his hockey style personality does not fit as well in golf. In some
ways I kind of thought of this as a more of a comedic version of the
golf movie from the same year TIN CUP. In TC, Kevin Costner plays Roy
McAvoy who like Sandler's character is the protagonist but a bit
unlikable at times. In TC, Don Johnson plays McAvoy's rival and
character actor Christopher McDonald plays Gilmore's rival and each of
them are the antagonist but hold more logic that McAvoy or Gilmore and
point out their flaws with no problem. I'll stop talking about that
now. McDonald was great as seasoned golf pro Shooter McGavin. Also,
Carl Weathers, most known as Apollo Creed, in the ROCKY series plays
Happy Gilmore's mentor who is trying to teach Happy the game of golf
beyond his great swing. Weathers also has a great version of the
Carpenters hit song WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN. We also have a very amusing
cameo from the former THE PRICE IS RIGHT host Bob Barker who has the
very iconic fight with Sandler which is probably the most famous scene
from this movie. There are also cameos from other SNL alums. This was a
very enjoyable comedy and even read a user review by a golfer saying
that golfers would really appreciate this movie as it is what many
golfers want to be able to do in terms of Happy's temper. Also, where
can you go wrong when you have such legends as Bob Barker, Carl
Weathers, and Richard Kiel who is most knows as Jaws in a couple Bond
films from the Roger Moore era. Also, Ben Stiller has a very amusing
scene as the corrupt head of the nursing home. Next week The Chain
continues with one of the actors, actresses or director from THE LARAMIE
PROJECT which was the very first link to The Chain.
The Wrestler
(2008): The Facebook friend I chose for this one is independent
wrestler Billy Rock. I have only included this movie in my 100
favorites blog and did a couple actual reviews on the movie but now I
finally bring it into here. When I first came across this movie, it was
by chance and found it on Netflix before it hit theaters. My thoughts
at the time were do we really have another READY TO RUMBLE, NACHO LIBRE,
NO HOLDS BARRED. I then looked closer and saw that we now have what
appears to be a very compelling movie on this industry. I then saw
Darren Aronofsky as the director and Mickey Rourke starring in it. As a
fan of both wrestling and Mickey Rourke I have never been so excited
for a movie. When I started telling people about this movie, many just
thought that Rourke was too old to play this type of part. That is just
not a true statement. Rourke plays wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson
who appeared to be going pretty strong in the '80s but found that the
success can only last for so long. In his current life, he has a lot of
health problems, is not working at a grocery store and like so many
wrestlers just cannot totally get out as he takes bookings for local
shows that do not pay much. As a ring announcer in the world of
independent wrestling, I found this was a pretty accurate film on the
industry. Marisa Tomei co-stars as Cassidy, a single mother working as a
stripper who Randy wants to be more than friends with but has a no
customer policy line that she does not cross. I was also introduced to
Evan Rachel Wood in this movie who plays his estranged daughter
Stephanie who he really wants to reconnect with but finds it is not easy
as he was clearly not there when he should have been. She is very good
in her supporting part and I noticed that they cast Rourke and her very
well as father and daughter when observing they both have kind of a
chin that points out. I'm not sure if that was intentional or
unintentional but it worked very well. Many say this movie is based on
Jake "The Snake" Roberts and likely because of a scene in the
documentary BEYOND THE MAT where Roberts is trying to reconnect with his
daughter. Maybe Aronofsky got that particular idea from there but this
is really based on all the wrestlers who just cannot get out when it is
all they know. A wrestler lives a life like a rock star where being on
the road becomes all they really know and we see many famous bands from
the '70s playing in little bars for probably not much pay. Besides
Rourke, most of the wrestlers in this film are actual wrestlers. Mickey
Rourke did go through some real wrestling training to prepare for this
role and it showed in this film. Aronofsky really had to fight with the
producers to get Mickey Rourke cast as they wanted Nicolas Cage in the
movie and was also cast at one point. Thankfully, Cage pulled out to do
something else. I am very grateful to him for doing this and I'm
really not that anti-Cage, this part is just not as suited for him and
Rourke was absolutely perfect in this part. He even gained some respect
for other wrestlers like Ric Flair and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. At one
point, there was even talk of him being in a Wrestlemania match against
Chris Jericho but pulled out of that from the advise of his PR. He did
make an appearance in Wrestlemania 25 where he punched out Jericho. In
fact, Roddy Piper is said to have actually broken down and cried that it
moved him so much. For this film to be enjoyed, you do not have to be a
wrestling fan as like many movies that work is about the person. It is
more of a drama, if not character study. At first, when I heard about
this I thought this was going to be a ROCKY type story but I was wrong.
It is a brutally honest film that is both moving and sad. My Facebook
friend Chris is an extra in the last scene. There is an ending that
some did not like and through analysis feel it worked. I do not want to
spoil so send me a message if you want to know how I feel about the
ending. So now I just want to thank Darren Aronofsky for coming up with
this project and giving us an actual compelling movie on the wrestling
industry. One thing about the DVD that disappointed me as that there
was no commentary from Aronofsky which for this particular movie I
really wanted that feature as I do not always care to watch movies with
it.
Holiday From Rules? (1958): This is my short film for the
week and it is one of those shorts that was meant to be educational but
now is just pure entertainment. This takes a look at four kids who are
complaining about all their rules where they wish they could go to a
place without rules. The narrator, I guess you would call him, hears
this wish and it turns out he had some powers and granted these kids
their wish to see if it is really all that great. Soon, they realize
that when there is no rules, then the fun can reduce as they cannot play
a fair game of anything and other life enjoyments become more
complicated.
Hans Christian Anderson (1952): This is my tribute
to Farley Granger who recently left us and plays Niels in this movie.
Frank Loesser wrote the music in this musical based on the writer of
such things as THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE UGLY DUCKLING, THE RED SHOES,
THUMBELINA among others. Danny Kaye is great in the title role who was a
cobbler, a shoe maker as I learned for the first time, who also loves
to tell stories and many of the adults in his community hate the
stories. He then sets out to Denmark where his stories are more liked.
This was a pretty surprising original musical to me. This is a
fictional account on the writer so if you expect the most accurate
biopic of all time, you will be disappointed but the opening statement
when the film begins is "Once upon a time there lived in Denmark a great
storyteller named Hans Christian Andersen. This is not the story of
his life, but a fairy tale about the great spinner of fairy tales."
Take this for what it is worth and just enjoy it. It has a good story
and good musical numbers. Most of his stories I am fine with but am
bothered by the story of THE LITTLE MERMAID but I can put that aside for
this one.
Fires Were Started (1943): Humphrey Jennings wrote
and directed this tale of British firefighters. A new person learns of
his job where it is a pretty authentic portrait and it casts actual
Firemen and not experienced actors. It shows the life at the station
where they joke around, have fun but when there is a fire it is time to
get serious. The scenes are also quite accurate as Jennings sets fire
to many already bombed buildings and the firemen demonstrated how to put
them out. This is available through Netflix and it is through
something called LISTEN TO BRITAIN which includes this and some other
short films from Jennings.
Boudu Saved From Drowning (1932):
This is my French film for the week which was directed by Jean Renoir.
Michel Simon stars as the title character who is a homeless man and when
he tried drowning himself he is saved by a rich man named Mr.
Lestingois who saves him and gives shelter. Lestingois and his maid
then come to reconsider this decision as Boudu is very lazy and dirty.
Simon was perfect for this part. This is a very good satire on the poor
not necessarily wanting the rich lifestyle.
Away We Go (2009):
Sam Mendes directed this independent film. John Krasinski and SNL alum
Maya Rudolph star as a couple named Burt and Verona. Burt wants to
marry Verona but she does not believe in marriage. They soon find out
they are pregnant. They set out to find the right place to start a
family. They start out by visiting Burt's parents, played by Catherine
O'Hara and Jeff Daniels, who they learn are going overseas much the Burt
and Verona's dismay. They soon take more misadventures reconnecting
with friends and family hoping to find their version of home. Maggie
Gyllenhaal co-stars as a friend of Burt's who has some very unusual ways
of mothering. This is one of those independent films that really focus
on characters and sometimes can be hit or miss. For me, I was on that
journey with them to find home. Maya Rudolph was very good in this film
in her post-SNL career.
Big Jake (1971): This is my western
for the week which stars John Wayne in his later career. I first
learned about this at an little cast party where someone was asking if I
saw this and when mentioning John Wayne I was a little turned off and
this person said this one was much different so I took it into
consideration and found it was on TCM so I recorded it. I'm not a huge
fan of "The Duke" granted I do feature him from time to time but I
really enjoyed this western. In the beginning of the film, we see the
McCandles' ranch invaded by John Fain's gang and they kidnap little Jake
McCandle wanting a ransom. Maureen O'Hara plays Jake's grandmother
Martha and decides she must hire her husband she has not seen in 18
years to find Little Jake. Big Jake then sets off with his Indian
scout, a trusted dog, and his two boys who still have some bitterness
towards their father but still agree to go along. This is probably the
most violent John Wayne movie I have ever seen and it did get a PG-13
rating which was not true of anything else he did. There are some very
good shootout scenes. The two sons with him are played by his own son
Patrick Wayne and Christopher Mitchum, the son of Robert Mitchum. Also
as Little Jake is also Wayne's son Ethan.
Mother and Child
(2009): Rodrigo Garcia wrote and directed this multi-story drama.
Annette Bening plays Karen, a 50 year old woman who gave up her daughter
for adoption and is having a hard time dealing with whether or not she
should pursue her. Naomi Watts plays Elizabeth, who is that daughter
and a successful attorney but has other trouble in her life. Kerry
Washington plays Lucy who cannot have children but along with her
husband is looking to adopt which also brings complications. These are
the three storylines that are dealt with but all intersect with each
other at the right time. It was obvious for Karen and Elizabeth but I
was concerned that the Lucy story was something different but I was
wrong as everything came together. NYPD BLUE alum Jimmy Smits, Samuel
L. Jackson, and David Morse all co-star. This movie is available
through Instant Netflix.
Well, that is it for this week. Please
leave your comments of what you like and what you don't like. Stay
tuned for next week which so far includes Sandra Bullock, Kim Basinger,
Steve McQueen, and many others.
No comments:
Post a Comment