Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 270th Edition

Welcome to the 270th Edition of my blog. I am now in a murder mystery called THE DUMB AND THE DESPERATE which is to be performed at the Muncie Amvets Post 12 on February 12th. It is a very funny show and tickets are $20 which includes the show and dinner but tickets are limited so get your tickets by calling (765) 287-9054. Also on February 19th, I am ring announcing for the debuting wrestling promotion Action Packed Wrestling which is in Muncie at the Ross Community Center. Get your tickets for that show by calling (765) 747-4741. I'll be tagging Facebook friends who will be present at these shows.

Being Mick (2001): This is my tv documentary for the week which takes a look at Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger. This movie takes a look at the making of his 2001 album GODDESS IN THE DOORWAY and his film ENIGMA that he produced which stars Kate Winslet and Dougray Scott. It was not the greatest documentary of all time but I really liked seeing this movie which really shows Mick at work where you see his interactions with his family and peers. Many singers make appearances as well as the actors from his movie. It is available to get on DVD through Netflix.

The Duchess (2008): This is 10th link on The Chain and this one continues with Keira Knightley. This is my period piece where Knightley plays 18th century aristocrat Georgiana Spencer who becomes the Duchess of Devonshire after marrying the Duke, played by Ralph Fiennes, but becomes unsatisfied in her marriage. She then befriends Lady Bess, played by Hayley Atwill, but soon has an affair with the Duke and where Georgiana must live uncomfortably with them in the same home. With her dissatisfaction in the marriage, she then falls in love with rising politician Charles Grey, played by Dominic Cooper, but the Duke refuses to allow the affair to continue despite his own where complications then come about. This is a very good period piece where Knightley is well cast as the title role. Fiennes is also very good as the Duke. Charlotte Rampling also co-stars as Georgiana's mother. Next week's link of The Chain will continue with one of the actors, actresses, or director of the film.

Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928): This is my silent film for the week and one of the dvds my dad got me for Christmas and this one was the TCM boxed set of Lon Chaney. Lon stars as Tito who is a professional clown as well as his partner Simon, played by Bernard Siegel. Tito then comes upon an abandoned little girl who he decides to take in and names her Simonetta. A young Loretta Young plays Simonetta when she is older where she then becomes a circus performer and meets Count Luigi Ravelli, played by Nils Asther, who becomes infatuated with her but she leaves as soon as possible. Soon Tito and Luigi meet when they are experiencing different issues in their lives and become friends but things get very complicated when they realize they are both in love with Simonetta. Chaney is known for his horror films but this one shows his more dramatic and sensitive side. This also contributes to the nickname of "The Man With 1000 Faces" but just in scenes where he is performing as the clown. This is a very moving silent drama which really kept my attention. This is apparently Chaney's favorite role.

Indestructible Man (1956): I go from Lon Chaney to his equally successful son Lon Chaney Jr. and this also came from a dvd set my dad got me for Christmas and this one was the Lon Chaney Jr. collection. Lon Jr. stars as Charles "The Butcher" Benton who was executed but was then revived by scientists who were looking to perform experiments not knowing the experiments would bring him back to life. When brought back to life he becomes just as the title says. This is not one of Chaney's best but still a pretty fun film to watch if you can get past the ridiculous plot.

Taza, Son of Cochise (1954): This is the last of the selections from the DVDs my dad got me for Christmas. This one is from the TCM boxed set of director Douglas Sirk and this is my western for the week. This is the third in a series where Jeff Chandler reprises his role of Cochise, a peacemaking Apache chief, who is on his last rope and before he dies, tells Taza, played by Rock Hudson, who keep the peace with the "white eyes". Things however become complicated when his brother Naiche does not want the peace. I suppose this could be seen as racist and tasteless as the stars of the film are not Indians but it was more acceptable in those days and remained pretty tasteful in their portrayals. Not Rock's best work but worth seeing him play an Indian. Douglas Sirk was a director who will always remain underrated but is possibly the most versatile director of all time. This is based on a real person but a fictional account. This is the second of eight collaborations between Douglas Sirk and Rock Hudson.

Grey Gardens (2009): This is my HBO film for the week which is based on the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis both named Edith Beale. Jessica Lange plays Big Edie while Drew Barrymore plays Little Edie. After a while they both shut themselves off from the world in their Long Island home of the film title. BIG LOVE co-star Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Jackie Kennedy who helped them get their very unsanitary home in order. Kenneth Welsh, Ken Howard, and Daniel Baldwin co-star. Lange and Barrymore played their parts very well. Barrymore has said that she remained close to the character as she shut herself off from the outsider world during this period. The real-life Little Edie had stated in interviews when asked who she would want to play her and stated Drew's great-aunt Ethel Barrymore who had already died.

A is for Atom (1953): This is my animated short for the week which I found on my public domain app on the Roku. This was actually produced by General Electric and uses animation to demonstrate how atomic energy works which is something I never really understood in science class so I did not really learn much but was still entertained nonetheless.

The Warlords (2007): This is my Asian film for the week which stars Jet Li and usually when thinking of Jet Li and Hong Kong you think a martial arts film but don't expect much martial arts here as this is actually a war film which also co-stars Hong Kong stars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro who some may know from HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. This takes place during a civil war during the Qing Dynasty. Jet plays General Pang Qingyun who we see start out as a bandit and then joining the army but has many tough decisions to make as the general. This movie really shows the effect war can have on people but was a beautifully shot film. I also really liked the music score in this film though I usually do love Asian music when I hear it. To explain any more on this would be giving it away but I think it is something that can really be enjoyed if you are okay with Mandarin subtitles. This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Natural (1984): This may very well be the best baseball film of all time. Barry Levinson directed this fantasy baseball film which stars Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs. Hobbs had a promising baseball career but was sidetracked but many years later he returns to play for a struggling major league baseball team and helps them get back on track with the help of his bat named Wonderboy which he made during his childhood. Robert Duvall co-stars as a reporter who takes a lot of interest in Hobbs story. Glenn Close plays his childhood friend who he is able to reconnect with years later. Kim Basinger, Barbara Hershey, Joe Don Baker, Wilford Brimley, Richard Farnsworth, Michael Madsen, and many others co-star in this inspirational film. If watching closely, there are elements here from Homer's THE ODYSSEY.  Randy Newman writes the score and this may be his best work.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948): I end this week with this John Huston/Humphrey Bogart collaboration and what many consider Bogart's best performance. This movie takes place in 1925 Tampico, Mexico where Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt star as down on their luck Americans Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin. They soon meet a grizzled prospector, played very well by John Huston's father Walter Huston, and set off to find gold but find it is not easy as they must battle the elements, bandits, and each other. This movie is where the famous line of "We don't need no stinkin' badges" comes from. Look for John Huston as the white-suit American in the beginning. This was based on a novel by an author named B. Traven who was a very mysterious person who Huston was determined to learn the identity of the person. Also look for a child Robert Blake who tries to sell Bogart a ticket and cites this as one of his favorites, especially in his childhood. This is not a very upbeat film and at the time was not successful as it was hard to promote since there was no love interest or anything real inspirational though there was some moral that treasure did not always mean things like gold. I checked this out on DVD and has some great features like the commentary provided, a good documentary on Huston's obsession of finding B. Traven, and some short films from that era and one of which to be featured next week. It also shows a few trailers from other Bogart films where you see that previews today just don't have the art as the ones from this era. Walter Huston won Best Supporting Actor and John Huston won for Best Adapted screenplay which was the first time a father/son duo won Academy Awards.

Well, that is it for the week. Tell me what you like and what you do not like and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Demi Moore, Juliette Lewis, Cate Blanchett, Mia Farrow, and many others.