Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 295th Edition

Welcome to the 295h Edition of my series and getting closer and closer to that number 300. Yesterday, my mom and I went to see some family in Paoli, Indiana and then went to see a local production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC which included my cousin Kim and her son Keegan. We were surprised by how good of a production it was and amazed that a small town like that could put on a good community show. Now, I'll get on with my selections for the week.

Spider-Man 2 (2004): This is my superhero film for the week which was directed by Sam Raimi. Tobey Maguire returns as the web-slinger who is struggling in his personal life as Peter Parker, love life, and even his webbing. When things could not get any worse, a scientist named Dr. Otto Octavius, played by Alfred Molina, has very good intentions but things go awry and he becomes Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man's enemy. Kirsten Dunst also reprises her role of Mary Jane who wants to be with Peter but he is just not reliable. James Franco returns as Peter's friend Harry obsessed with killing Spider-Man who he feels murdered his father. Bruce Campbell has his cameo as a snooty usher which is very amusing. This movie ranks very high on superhero films and now we have a musical and a reboot. The musical is one even I may have to decline for safety reasons. My favorite scene in this movie is the one on the train and him stopping it where the citizens show their respect for Spider-Man.

Scoop (2006): This is the 34th link of The Chain and this one continues with Ian McShane after over a month of Joan Allen. Woody Allen directed, wrote and co-stars in this murder mystery comedy. Ian McShane plays British journalist Joe Strombel who is murdered but shows up in ghost form asking a young journalism student named Sondra to help solve his murder. This happens during a magic show where Woody plays Sid and reluctantly teams up with Sondra to investigate this murder. Hugh Jackman co-stars as aristocrat Peter Lyman who Joe claims is the killer but Sondra falls in love questioning the truth. This was a pretty funny movie and rather clever with the plot. Non-Woody Allen fans might like this one.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942): Michael Curtiz directed this biographical film on composer, playwright, actor, singer, and dancer George M. Cohan which was mostly fictional. This film spans from his childhood where he performs with his family on Vaudeville which include his mother, father, and sister. As a child, he soon became very cocky which cost his family bookings and it hurt him later in life when he first goes out on his own. It then goes into Cohan branching off on his own after the rest of the family wanted to settle down. James Cagney stars as Cohan which surprised many as he was more known for his gangster roles and won his only Oscar in this film. Walter Huston plays George's father Jerry. This is a great classic film which would have fit better into last week's July 4th edition but due to my rules I could not include it. Cagney was great as Cohan and has many great musical numbers that Cohan wrote. The real-life George M. Cohan chose Cagney to play him when he learned of Cagney's early work on Vaudeville.

Chili and Chills (1932): This is my short film for the week which is part of the Oddity series and found it on TCM On-Demand. This short shows a Mexican village where the residents are Russian. The highlight of this short is one where two turtles are actually fighting and there was also a fight between a dog and a snake.

I'm Still Here (2010): This is part two of my Casey Affleck two-part series and Affleck is the director of this documentary/mockumentary. This film focuses on Joaquin Phoenix leaving acting in order to pursue a rap career. This shows Phoenix struggling to get people to buy into this aspiration and does end up getting some bookings in nightclubs while also recording some songs. Sean Combs is his reluctant producer. It also shows his infamous appearance on Letterman which sparked many impersonations and I remember thinking at the time that these impersonations were going to run their course since the impersonation was not very hard. Affleck admitted that this was a mockumentary but it was still very interesting seeing Phoenix rapping and putting on this Andy Kaufman-type act. Affleck is the real-life brother-in-law of Joaquin Phoenix and is married to Summer Phoenix. This movie is not for everyone by any means and as I'm watching this movie, it was just so weird that words cannot really describe it. As I'm watching this movie, I'm pretty much just thinking "what the %#&#" throughout the film but yet I could not take my eyes off it. This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Black Stallion (1979): This is my horse film for the week. Kelly Reno stars as a young boy named Alec who on vacation with his father, becomes fascinated with an Arabian stallion and is able to bring him to the states. Mickey Rooney plays a person with a horse stable named Henry who takes the horse in when he gets away. Alec soon learns of Henry's background in horse racing and asks Henry to train him for the horse race. This movie took a great look at the subject and focuses more on the bond with the boy and his horse and Rooney great in his later career. This is a film for the family to watch and is available on Instant Netflix.

The Iron Sheriff (1957): This is part two of a Sterling Hayden series which might go to three but I'm not sure. This is my western of the week where Hayden stars as the title character named Sam Galt whose son is on trial for murder. Galt does everything he can to clear his son of murder but finds it is not easy when the trail leads right to the son. I admit, I mostly watched it because I like Sterling Hayden who was pretty good as the rough sheriff. This is mostly for western fans.

Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005): This is my BBC movie for the week based on the novel from Thomas Hughes. Alex Pettyfer stars as the title character who goes to school in 19th Century England. He is just sent to a boarding school where he must learn to adapt and experiences bullying very early when he goes to the school. To fit in, he starts to become more of a bully to fit in. This was actually a pretty well-done film which shows that bullying has always existed but never a good thing. Everyone had to go through stupid initiation methods when going to this school. I related to this film quite well. Stephen Fry is also good as the headmaster brought in determined to stop the bullying in the school but must learn himself.

Little Fugitive (1953): I found this one on Instant Netflix and took a liking to it. This centers around the character Lennie who wants to hang out with his friends instead of having to stay with his little brother Joey. Lennie then plays a prank on Joey which makes Joey believe he murdered his older brother. Joey then runs off to Coney Island and has quite a time there while Lennie looks to find his brother and get him home before the mother returns. This was a movie that did not cast any star actors but they still put on a very good film focusing on the innocence of childhood.

The Journey of Jared Price (2000): I will let know now that this movie is not for everyone. Dustin Lance Black wrote and directed this very low-budget independent film. Corey Spears stars as the title character who gets a job working for a legally blind lady in Southern California. He learns a lot about himself on this move. He first goes to a Hollywood hostel where another man bonds with him and wants more than friendship. His employer's son also forms a very deceptive relationship with Jared which makes Jared have to consider his life decisions. It was not a bad film but uneasy to watch at times. As I said, it is very low-budget film but the acting is pretty good. I got this dvd from Netflix.

Well, that is it for this week, stay tuned for next week which so far includes Dakota Fanning and many others.