Welcome to the 280th Edition of my long running series. I am now only
20 away from the magic number of 300 just like the 300 Spartans. I have
had a big week and no time to write during the week so I am writing
everything now so forgive what may be lackluster writing. In fact, I
tried out for AMERICA'S GOT TALENT for the second time so stay tuned for
the show to air probably in May or June to find out how I did. For
right now I must remain confidential on it. Either way, it was an
experience and I had a good time. I will also be paying tribute to the
late Michael Gough in what I intend to be a four-part series and as of
now there are two parts. Now I will get back to the movies and hope
you'll like my selections for the week.
Breathless (1960): This is my french film for the week that was
directed by Jean-Luc Godard and written by Francois Truffaut. Jean-Paul
Belmondo plays Michel, a sociopath and small-time thief who murders a
police officer that pursues him. He then looks to rekindle a
relationship he had with a girl named Patricia who is an American
studying journalism. He then plans a getaway with her to Italy. There
are lots of good references to Bogart in this film. This was a very
well done foreign film and a must for foreign film buffs.
Barton Fink (1991): This is my 20th link on the chain which continues
with Steve Buscemi who has a small but fun part as the hotel employee.
This is my Coen Brothers film for the week which stars John Turturro as
the title character who is an intellectual playwright in New York who
wants to write something significant and is not all about the money. He
is then brought to Hollywood to write a wrestling picture on Wallace
Beery and stays at the Hotel Earle. John Goodman is quite funny as
insurance salesman Charlie Meadows who befriends Barton at the hotel.
Barton then begins to suffer from writer's block because of the people
around him and the bizarre events that take place. Turturro is great
in this film and a good dark comedy with the Coen touch.
Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who (2007): This is my rock
documentary for the week which I'm sure you guessed is on the band the
Who from their rise until now. They are able to pack in a lot of
material like on their band member John Entwistle who you don't really
hear much about. Also, it talks about the death of their drummer Keith
Moon and how he has been nearly impossible to replace. It also has some
great footage of the band with interviews from survivors Roger Daltrey
and Pete Townshend. I also enjoyed them discussing the making of THE
WHO'S TOMMY.
Duck and Cover (1952): This is my short film for the week which was on
TCM On-Demand and was a great short talking about what to do in the
event of a nuclear disaster. There was one great animation sequence
with a turtle who knew what to do if a nuclear bomb hits. It is
entertaining now but I'm sure it was a little more scary in that era.
This here is a classic short so check it out if you can find it so you
can learn to duck and cover.
Riffraff (1936): Spencer Tracy stars in this one with Jean Harlow.
Tracy plays a dedicated fisherman named Dutch and a union worker who
does not like his treatment for him and others and becomes quite an
activist. Jean Harlow plays Hattie who is his love interest and makes a
big sacrifice for Dutch ending up in jail. This is a pretty good love
story and even has some comedy with some rare scenes of women's prison.
Mickey Rooney has a pretty amusing part. This was was also on TCM
On-Demand and a good early part for Tracy.
Unthinkable (2010): This is a Co-Op selection that Travis showed at
Ball State which is a very powerful psychological thriller that is not
for everyone. Michael Sheen stars as Steven Younger who is a convert to
Islam and sent the U.S. government a tape indicating three nuclear
bombs. He is then picked up but very unwilling to talk. Carrie-Anne
Moss plays Agent Helen Brody who is an FBI agent with the task of
finding the bombs. Samuel L. Jackson stars as H, who is a "consultant"
for the CIA who is also brought in and ends up using some very
questionable methods of interrogation which really qualify as torture
which is much to the dismay of Brody. This has some pretty disturbing
things but rather realistic and really forces you to question what you
believe. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Crucible of Horror (1971): This is part one of what may be a 4 part
Michael Gough series. This is my British Horror film of the week where
Gough stars as Walter Eastwood who is very domineering and controlling.
His wife and daughter then hatch a plot to kill Walter but things don't
go quite as planned after they believe he dies. This is mostly of
worth to see Gough in a pretty good performance. This is also available
on Instant Netflix.
Shopgirl (2005): The Facebook friend I chose for this one was Steve who
I co-starred with recently in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. This is also part
two of a Jason Schwartzman series whose movie RUSHMORE I used last week
so in that case I go from Bill Murray to Steve Martin. This is actually
based on Martin's novella of the same title. Claire Danes stars as the
title character named Mirabelle who works at a retail store and has an
unusual love triangle with two men. Schwartzman plays one of them named
Jeremy who is a struggling musician who really wants to make it big but
is a bit of a slacker. Martin plays the wealthy businessman Ray who is
a divorcee and while treating her well, has a problem with
relationships. Both men fulfill her in different ways but must figure
out what she wants in life. This is a very nice character study and
Martin shows his talent in writing as well as one of his better films of
his later career with Danes and Schwartzman turning in good
performances.
Du Barry was a Lady (1943): I guess I have another little love triangle
going on and this one being between Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Gene
Kelly. Red plays Louis who is a hat check man and really loves
nightclub star May, played by Lucille Ball. Now May really likes Alec,
played by Gene Kelly, but he is a good but poor dancer and May wants
money and Louis wins some money. However, an accident knocks one of
them out and then they have a royalty dream sequence of a similar nature
of the love triangle. This was a pretty fun film and Lucille Ball was
different from what I have seen of her in the past. I believe I also
found this on TCM On-Demand.
Dancer in the Dark (2000): I end this week with some Bjork in a
starring role. She plays a 60s immigrant from Europe who is a factory
worker but is going blind. She is also really into musicals and
fantasizes her life as a musical while playing Maria in a local
community production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC so yes Bjork is singing songs
made famous by Julie Andrews. Part of the storyline is her trying to
get together enough money to save her son from going blind himself as he
has inherited his mother's disease but tragedy does strike. There is
not much to explain but Bjork was great in this movie and this was a
very compelling film. David Morse, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Stormare,
and even a very amusing cameo from Joel Grey. Stormare was also good in
his part and was a lot nicer than usual. This is definitely worth a
look and was a very unusual musical.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you
hate. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes more Steve
Buscemi, Bruno Ganz, Tony Jaa, Laurence Olivier, Bela Legosi, more
Michael Gough, not that is a great list right there.
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