Welcome to the 134th Edition of my blog. I see that AMERICA'S GOT TALENT
returns in a couple of weeks so you you might see some footage of me
being interviewed, just not as a performer because I didn't quite make
it that far. Now for this week as you may guess I have 10 movies for you
all to watch so hurry and get your netflix and blockbuster queues out
then figure out what you like and what you hate.
The Motorcycle
Diaries (2004): The Facebook friend I chose for this week was Alex who
was in my Political Science class. Walter Salles directed this movie
which is based on the journals of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his road
trip he took when he was young. For those of you who don't know who
Guevara is, and truthfully I really don't know much about him, I
guarantee you have seen his picture. He later became a revolutionary in
Argentina fighting for civil rights and did so in a very controversial
manner. This is based on a road trip that him and his friend took before
Guevara found his calling. Gael Garcia Bernal played Guevara very well
in this very moving film.
Miller's Crossing (1990): This is part
two of my Coen Brothers series which takes a look into a feuding mob.
Gabriel Byrne stars as Tom Reagan, who is an advisor to a
Prohibition-Era crime boss who wants to bring the two feuding families
together but gets divided in his loyalty making both sides question him.
This is full of a lot of violence and black humor. It is really hard to
actually explain this movie. It is just something that needs to be
watched very closely. Look for Frances McDormand and Sam Raimi in
uncredited roles.
Shall We Dance (1937): This has nothing to do
with that Richard Gere movie which I actually did like. I decided to
feature this movie when I saw my local theater do a cabaret on the music
of George and Ira Gershwin. My facebook and myspace friends in this
show were Edward (Ira), Stevie (George), Cody (Fred Astaire), and Corby.
They wrote the music for this musical incuding the famous LET'S CALL
THE WHOLE THING OFF. This is the 7th collaboration of Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers. When they get together, rumors begin that they are
secretly married which causes many great mishaps, musical scores, and
dance numbers. Not much needs to be said here, you all know the formula
and there was also a good dance scene on roller skates which actually
took 150 takes.
The Seventh Victim (1943): This is my chiller for
the week produced by Val Lewton and directed by Mark Robson. Kim Hunter
makes her film debut as a young girl who is in search of her sister
whose seach leads to a satanic cult. There is also an interesting shower
scene which shows shades of what Hitchcock would later direct in
PSYCHO. If you want something creepy, you should check this one out.
Hunter makes a great debut.
The Glass Bottom Boat (1966): We now
go to something very creepy to something more funny. This is actually in
tribute to the late Dick Martin who plays Zach and is most known from
ROWAN AND MARTIN. Frank Tashlin directed this spy parody which stars
Doris Day in a great, later performance who is first dressed as a
mermaid and gets reeled in by a fishing rod and is later suspected of
being a Russian spy. Rod Taylor plays her love interest who is the one
who accidently reels her in and he hires her to be his biographer. This
was a pretty entertaining spoof in a time where a spoof actually meant
something as in today, we got two guys who just put together a bunch of
movie clips.
Throw Mama From a Train (1987): We go from a spy
parody to a parody of Hitchcock's STRANGER'S ON A TRAIN which was
directed by co-star Danny Devito. Billy Crystal stars as writer and
professor Larry who is very bitter towards his ex-wife. DeVito stars as
Owen, one of his students who wants his overbearing mother, played by
Anne Ramsey, dead and misunderstands Larry who he thought wanted to
"swap murders". With good performances from the leads and a decent
script, we in turn get a good comedy but don't forget the Hitchcock film
though.
The War Zone (1999): We have no parody here in part two
of my two-part Tim Roth series. Last week I featured PULP FICTION which
he was a co-star of but in this one he went behind the camera as a
director in his first and only film he has directed so far. Let me start
by saying this is not for everyone. Here we have a dysfunctional family
seen through the eyes of a 15 year old who learns of a very dark secret
from his father and older sister. Tilda Swinton and Ray Winstone are
good as the parents and look for a young Colin Farrell as a friend. This
movie pulls no punches and is very disturbing and dark and was even
difficult for the people on the set including the actors.
The
Bounty Man (1972): This is my Grindhouse pick for the week which was
decent. This was a western starring Clint Walker as a ruthless bounty
hunter but when he finds a bounty along with his girlfriend, they must
team up to fight a gang. Margot Kidder, most known for being Lois Lane
in the SUPERMAN films, also co-stars. good film to show at midnight.
The
Family Secret (1951): This is my unknown classic for the week when was
found on TCM. John Derek stars as a man who kills someone in
self-defense and his father, played by Lee J. Cobb, defends an innocent
man accused of the murder even though he knows the truth of what
happened. This was a pretty compelling film and a good performance from
the underrated Cobb and seems to be quite hard to find.
Fearless
(2006): Here is my martial arts film for the week and I forgot how much I
love watching these so I decided I will be including Asian films more
often, maybe not next week though. Jet Li stars in this martial arts
epic as the real-life Huo Yuanjia who is a determined fighter who
misunderstood the art of Wushu martial-arts. He then is lead into an
ill-advised fight which leads to a lot of tragedy and embarrassment on
his family name and friends. After wandering the country, he is rescued
by a village group and makes friends with a blind woman where he learns
of his wrongdoing and goes back for redemption where he must fight in an
unfair tournament. Yuanjia was the founder of the Jin-Wu athletic
school and fight league which is very popular through the world. The
legend vs. fact of Yuanjia is very debated but he was a genuine fighter.
Former WWE wrestler appears as his opponent Hercules O'Brian, a
real-life fighter from the era. What I thought was interesting about
this movie was how this was really the first movie where Jet Li plays
someone who disgraces himself and must fight for his redemption and
honor. I also really loved the musical score
Well, that is it
this week for the movies. As I said, Asian films will be used more
frequently, probably not next week though. They might be martial arts,
action, or just plain drama. There is just something about those movies.
For one I love a lot of Asian instrumental music and while I don't
usually care much for their American films, it was those American films
that exposed people like Jet Li to me and wanting to see their earlier
work. Well, leave your comments, tell me what you like and what you hate
and stay tuned for ten more next week.
HONORABLE MENTION
Peter
Gabriel: Growing Up Live: I have this on DVD of his 2003 Growing Up
Tour which we watched at Bill's house. I actually got to see this
concert live and it was the best concert I have ever seen so in short,
I'm really doing a tribute to Peter Gabriel. For those of you who only
have heard SLEDGEHAMMER and can't stand that song, I suggest looking at
his other work which is much better. I slowly became a big fan of his.
It started with his clever videos and then I started hearing things over
the radio and started liking it and the more I listened to him, the
more I took to him. His concerts are amazing where he provides music
with an equal amount of entertainment. So now I am telling you to go
check him out. You can find his music probably on here, youtube or
wherever you must go.
CONNECTION TIME
I don't have nearly
as many connections as usual and remember, I look at actor to actor
since you might find connections on Tim Roth who only directed THE WAR
ZONE
-Gabriel Byrne (Miller's Crossing) and Rob Reiner (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 1996 film Mad Dog Time
-Marcia Gay Harden (Miller's Crossing) and Rob Reiner (Throw Mama) were in the 1996 film The First Wives Club
-Jon
Polito (Miller's Crossing) and Billy Crystal (Throw Mama From a Train)
were in the 2000 flop The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
-Jon
Polito (Miller's Crossing) and Kim Greist (Throw Mama From a Train)
were in the 1984 film C.H.U.D. and the 1996 film Homeward Bound 2
-Albert
Finney (Miller's Crossing) and Dom Deluise (The Glass Bottom Boat) were
in the 1975 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
-Albert Finney (Miller's Crossing) and Danny Devito (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2003 film Big Fish
-Mike Starr (Miller's Crossing) and Kim Greist (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 1988 film Punchline
-Al Mancini (Miller's Crossing) and Clint Walker (Bounty Man) were in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen
-Al Mancini (Miller's Crossing) and Dom Deluise (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1990 film Loose Cannons
-Steve Buscemi (Miller's Crossing) and Billy Crystal (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2001 film Monster's Inc
-Steve Buscemi (Miller's Crossing) and Oprah Winfrey (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2006 film Charlotte's Web
-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and Kim Hunter (The Seventh Victim) were in the 1943 film Tender Comrade
-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and Doris Day (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1951 film Storm Warning
-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and John Derek (The Family Secret) were in the 1944 film I'll Be Seeing You
-Tom Conway (The Seventh Victim) and Rod Taylor (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1961 film 101 Dalmations
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