Welcome to the 284th Edition of my series. I just got done trying out
for A Few Good Men at the Anderson Mainstage Theatre. Hopefully, I'll
find out next week sometime if I got a part since they are doing
auditions next Saturday but saw people I haven't seen in a while so good
times. I will now get to my ten selections for the week.
The
Elizabeth Smart Story (2003): This is the 24th link on The Chain which
continues with Dylan Baker who plays the father of the title character.
This is my tv movie for the week and I believe it was on Lifetime and
while I usually avoid those, this kind of sparked my interest. This is a
true story on Elizabeth Smart, played by Amber Marshall, who was
kidnapped in 2002 and held captive for many months and as you see this
movie was made shortly after all this. The Smart family is a pretty big
family and at least in the upper middle-class. The focus was on her
parents' way of dealing with the situation as well as the siblings.
Baker was pretty good as the father who would not give up hope on
finding his daughter, especially since a body was never found. Lindsey
Frost plays her mother who did not want to give up hope but also wanted
to be able to be close to the rest of the family. Obviously, it also
focused on Elizabeth and her captors with her focusing on an escape but
was also afraid it might effect her family. I recall seeing some show
discuss this and remember a lot of this was pretty accurate like when
the event happened. Like any movie, liberties will be taken to get it
to film but I found it pretty watchable. Some may say there is a lack
of emotional depth with Elizabeth in her situation but I believe that
might be pretty accurate in terms of her lack of crying and other
things. Next week, The Chain will continue with another movie featuring
Dylan Baker.
Flowers of Darkness (1972): This is my documentary
short film for the week which was on TCM On-Demand and narrated by Paul
Newman. This short film gives a brief history of Opium of which the
title is referring to and all its effects on the world and on personal
lives. This is really one of those films intended to educate but
instead just entertains which I have been using a lot lately. However,
good information on the 19th century Opium wars.
James Dean Era
(1953): This is would be mostly of interest to fans of James Dean. Mr.
Dean is from my state of Indiana and lived not too far from where I am
in Fairmount. I recall my dad and stepmom once taking me to that museum
I believe when I was in late middle school to early middle school and
it was a pretty cool place though I believe it is out of business now
except for when they have their annual car show which people from all of
the world come to attend. Dean was most known for his three feature
films EAST OF EDEN, GIANT, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and then his very
untimely death. This is really not a movie but just something that
features three tv specials that are not as known. The first is
SOMETHING FOR AN EMPTY BRIEFCASE where Dean plays a small-time criminal
who wants to go straight and gets the idea to have a briefcase when he
sees other successful people carrying one which makes him determined to
put accomplishments in that briefcase. This is before he got his big
break in film. The next one is THE UNLIGHTENED ROAD which seems to have
come after EAST OF EDEN so he probably had some recognition by then and
shows his growth a lot in this one. The last one was called I'M A FOOL
which was hosted by our future president and co-stars Natalie Wood who
he would go onto reunite with in the classic REBEL WITOUT A CAUSE. I'm
pretty sure this was before that film but if anyone else has more info,
feel free to share. There are also some amusing commercials in this.
This is available on Instant Netflix and through DVD. I'm not sure if
this is easy to obtain besides the Netflix outlet. To watch this, you
really got to appreciate James Dean and already seen some of his three
big films in order to really like this. Just watching this and not
really knowing anything about James Dean might make it hard to watch.
Get
Him to the Greek (2010): I needed something newer like this and Tony
got this one on his Netflix account so I made the decision on this
movie. This is a spin-off on the 2008 film FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
and I know I got to see that and have not yet but I will now. The
spin-off is from the character Ardous Snow who is featured in that film
with VERONICA MARS alum Kristen Bell even making a cameo as Sarah
Marshall in this film. Ardous Snow, played by British actor Russell
Brand, is a British rocker who has relapsed into drugs and alcohol
following a break-up and a flop album. Jonah Hill stars as record
company intern Aaron Green who has idolized Snow for years and has the
idea to have him featured in a concert. He is then given the assignment
of picking up Aldous Snow in London to bring him to L.A. which proves
to not be an easy feat. Aldous brings Aaron into his world making Aaron
question his choices. Brand was good as Aldous as well as Jonah Hill.
This was not the greatest comedy I have seen and I'm sure FSM was a lot
better but this still had some good moments and even a pretty good
message. I'm sure this selection will get some mixed opinions. Lots of
amusing celebrity cameos.
The Green Slime (1968): This is my
cheesy sci-fi film for the week which I found on TCM On-Demand. So we
have a group of astronauts who stop a giant asteroid but in turn
accidentally bring back some slime which turns into a very bad decision.
The title character mutates into a monster with eyes and then even
multiplies into many which then tries to destroy everyone in its way.
Some may recognize Richard Jaeckel who some may remember from THE DIRTY
DOZEN and even in BAYWATCH in the beginning who co-stars in this film.
Also, some may remember actress Luciana Paluzzi, most known as the
female villain in the bond film THUNDERBALL also co-stars. This film
goes down as being one of the best bad movies of all time. This is
actually the first film to be shown on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 on a
pilot episode that never aired.
The Killer (1989): This is
quite possibly my favorite action film of all time and is a great Hong
Kong collaboration between John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat. Chow plays the
title character who is an assassin named Ah Jong. He does not like what
he does but decides to take one more job in hopes of making enough
money to help restore the sight of a singer who he accidentally blinds
in a previous job. Danny Lee co-stars as Inspector Lee who is pursuing
the assassin but forms a respect for the man when he sees his
compassion. Besides their job, they strangely have a lot in common in
their lives and then must team up with each other when Ah Jong's guys
betray him to stay alive. In turn they form an unusual friendship.
This movie has a very high body count but Woo still turns this into a
beautiful film of love, trust and betrayal. If someone is looking to
make an action film, this is a great example to follow. John Woo, at
least in this era, knows how to make violence into an art. One of the
best action scenes of all time comes at the climax when there is a
shootout at a church amidst a bunch of doves.
Tennessee Johnson
(1942): I now go from a compassionate hitman to an overwhelmed
president. Van Heflin plays the title character Andrew Johnson, which
is the name of a cousin of mine, who is most known for becoming Vice
President to Lincoln and becoming actual President when Lincoln was
assassinated. He is also known for being the first president to ever be
impeached, but acquitted by one vote, and would be the only president
to be impeached until many years later when Bill Clinton came along. In
turn, he has gone down in history as one of the worst presidents of all
time. This movie traces his early life when he was a "runaway
apprentice" pretty much a version of a slave so he was always against
slavery. He then meets his wife, played by Ruth Hussey, who teaches him
to read and write and becomes a great speaker and advocate. This movie
also shows his part in the Civil War and what earned his admiration
from Lincoln. This is probably the only biopic on this man and Van
Heflin was great as Johnson with Lionel Barrymore good as Thaddeus
Stevens who was one of the main people to get him impeached disagreeing
with Johnson's decisions. When watching this, I think of all these "bad
presidents" and I form an understanding of how difficult it had to be
to unexpectedly succeed Lincoln right after the assassination. Sure,
there are some liberties taken from Hollywood but I feel this is a good
portrayal of a more unknown president. I found this one on TCM
On-Demand.
Ariel (1988): This is my Finnish film for the week
which was directed by Aki Kaurismaki and considered by many to be his
best. This story tells the story of Taisto who is a coal-miner whose
father has just committed suicide and is framed for a crime. This is a
very good portrait of the darkness of human life and the love he finds.
When in prison, he plans an escape and dreams of leaving the country. I
do not really have much to say on this except that it is a good satire
on a difficult life and human spirit. This is a must for all foreign
film buffs.
Great Guy (1936): I found this early James Cagney
film on my Pub-D-Hub app on the Roku which features a lot of public
domain films. Cagney plays Johnny Cave who is an investigator for the
Bureau of Weights and Measures which I have never heard of in my life
until this movie. He is brought in to rid the city of corruption which
does not sit well with everyone including his girlfriend whose boss he
is going after and she likes. Many times, goes on one-man
investigations and is seen as paranoid by his peers. Cagney carries
this well and is on the right side of the law for this one. Mostly of
interest for James Cagney.
Spirited Away (2001): If you don't
like anything else I have featured on this one, surely I end well with
this anime selection. The main character is a ten year old girl named
Chihiro who when we first meet is rather spoiled and whiny and hates
that she has to move. Along with her parents, they make a stop, and
find an open restaurant with lots of food. Her parents become tempted
but Chihiro is the smart one to resist as her parents literally turn
into pigs which sends Chihiro into the journey of a lifetime where she
must learn to grow up if she ever wants to see her parents human again.
I'm not going to go too far into the plot here but this is a great film
from director Hayao Miyazaki who is possibly the best anime director or
all time sending this film to be one of the best anime films as well as
one of the top animated films of all time. This is watchable for
parents and children and has a great story with beautiful animation and
music. Disney produced this film to come to America which has become
very popular here. I cannot believe it took me this long to see it but I
am glad I did. John Lasseter of Pixar was the executive producer and
supervised the English version making sure the English dialogue fit with
the animation and did a great job. He also endorses this film before
it starts on the DVD I had. This is one everyone should see at some
point.
Well, that is all for this week. Tell me what you like
and do not like. I welcome suggestions but please comment on the
selections at hand first and if you have not seen any just say that and
give the suggestions. So this week you see a kidnapped girl, the opium
trade, past work of a legendary actor, a rock star, slime, a
compassionate hitman, an overwhelmed president, a Finland film, an agent
of the Bureau of Weights and Measures, and some great anime hopefully
giving everyone something to watch. Stay tuned for next week which so
far includes more Dylan Baker, Martin Scorsese, Ida Lupino, Gary Busey,
and many others.
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