Welcome to the 147th Edition of my long-running series. Due to my rules I
had to change forego many picks of the week but this is always subject
to change so I tried to make this one as entertaining as possible.
It's
a Gift (1934): I start with W.C. Fields who I believe debuts in this
blog. Fields was one of the big comedians from this era. He plays a
grocery store owner who just can't seem to win in life with his wife,
kids, and customers but dreams of owning an orange grove and uses an
inheritance to buy one that he saw in the mail but when driving to it
with his family, he seems to have gotten scammed a bit. This was a very
comedy and regarded by many to be his best movie and one of the best
comedies of all time.
The Game (1997): David Fincher directs this
suspenseful film which stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton who
receives a strange birthday gift from his younger brother, played by
Sean Penn, which starts a strange game that begins to make him very
paranoid. He then must investigate the strange findings where bad things
start to happen to him. I enjoyed watching this movie but I really
didn't know what to think of the ending. If someone has an explanation,
please message me on that. I preferred Fincher's FIGHT CLUB but this
still entertains.
Gettysburg (1993): I now bring you my Civil War
epic for the week which takes place mostly from the viewpoint of the
South and their infamous battle and their hope for their own country.
Ronald Maxwell directed this movie based on the novel THE KILLER ANGELS
by Michael Shaara. Martin Sheen stars as the popular and respected
General Robert E. Lee. Tom Berenger plays his second in comand James
Longstreet in which I believe is his best performance. The performances
were great, the battles looked great and everything about it made you
believe you were watching the Civil War. They used many professional
Civil War re-enactors in the battle scenes. What more can be said here?
Batman
(1966): This is one of my unexpected picks for the week. This movie was
meant to be the pilot episode for the sitcom of the same title. Like
the show, Adam West and Burt Ward star as Batman and Robin who must take
on all four of the main show-villains The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman,
and The Penguin. This is nothing like the recent THE DARK KNIGHT. This
was a pure comedy which had some good action and "great" special effects
but it gets a lot of laughs.
Helmer & Son (2006): This is my
short film of the week and something else that was very unexpected.
This was an Oscar-Nominated short which centers around a family and
their stubborn father who will not come out of the closet, I know that
sounds wrong but he was literally keeping himself in a closet so we
don't need to jump to conclusions. The family does what they can to talk
him into coming out but just stay tuned for the end.
Sunrise
(1927): This is my silent film of the week directed by the legendary
F.W. Murnau who is most famous for directing NOSFERATU. This movie takes
a look at a farm couple which is George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor.
Margaret Livingston plays a city woman who meets O'Brien and tries to
convince him to kill his wife to be with her which really makes O'Brien
torn and confused. This movie was great from start to finish. I admit
that sometimes I have a hard time with silent films and even following
them but this one was great. This was one of the first movies to have an
actual music score and was made a little before THE JAZZ SINGER.
The
Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005): This is another "replacement" for the
week though it was going to be used very soon. Daniel Day-Lewis and
Camilla Belle play the title characters who are father and daughter.
Jack is a very environmentally concious person who wants to raise Rose
that way which moves them to a very remote island. Jack then decides to
bring in his girlfriend Kathleen, played by Catherine Keener, to live
with them so her and her two sons move in which sparks a big change in
Rose. Jason Lee has a small role and plays a more low-key character than
usual. Also, Beau Bridges plays a developer trying to build on the
land. Jena Malone also has an interesting supporting role. This was a
very moving film and another great performance for Daniel Day-Lewis.
The
Last Metro (1980): Francois Truffant directed this French film which
takes place in a theater in Nazi France. Catherine Deneuve stars as an
actress who is married to the head of the theater and wants to keep the
theater alive in such rough times so she hires a professional actor,
played by Gerard Depardieu, to play the leading man leading to some
trouble. This is a great movie for foreign film buffs.
Mandinga
(1976): This is my Grindhouse film for the week and a rather strange
one. Where we have an Italian plantation owner who owns slaves and
lusts over all the female slaves. It had a good music score but the
rest was just laughable. Again, this is something to watch when you get
all your friends together.
The Trouble With Harry (1955): I end
with The Master of Suspense who went a little more comedic for this
film. The movie starts with a dead body and each person who comes
across it believes they have something to do with it. They all conspire
to bury the body but complications keep coming about. CHARLIE'S ANGELS
alum John Forsyth shows his face in this one as an artist who helps the
conspirators. Shirley MacLaine makes her debut showing that Hitchcock
casted more than cute blondes in his female roles. Alfred Hitchcock has
stated that this is his favorite of his movies.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate and get ready for more next week.
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