Welcome to the 112th Edition of my series and the first one of 2008. I
hope you're all enjoying 2008. I have to say that last night I went to a
show in Marion, Indiana where ECW original Sandman was booked and I got
to be one of the fans who got beer poured down their throat by him. I
have always enjoyed watching him on tv and then it happened to me, what a
great night. Well, now to get to what you want to see. What 10 movies
did I feature this week? Well, keep reading...
Man With the Screaming Brain (2005): I start the year out with some
Bruce Campbell. This is a movie that my dad got me for Christmas which
is directed, co-written, and starred in by cult icon Bruce Campbell.
This is a movie that took him years to get off the ground due to many
factors but finally got signed by the Sci-Fi channel. Bruce Campbell
plays a wealthy businessman named William Cole in Bulgaria who is killed
and is brought back to life by a mad scientist with part of another
man's brain, a Russian taxi driver who he had gotten to know. Together,
they team up to bring down their nemesis while William must come to
terms with the fact that someone else is in him. This is a great
alternative film which even my dad absolulety loved. Expect another
Bruce Campbell film next week which my dad also got me for Christmas,
thank you Dad.
Snakes on a Plane (2006): We now go to another strange film, this
time with exactly what the title says. Before you ask "How can snakes
get on a plane?", they did get their for a reason. A criminal put them
on their to get a witness killed before he could testify. Samuel L.
Jackson stars as Agent Neville Flynn who is assigned to protect this
witness and get him to court before testifying, not really knowing he
would have to deal with some deadly snakes. This is kind of an homage to
disaster films from the 70s where you have a somewhat all-star cast
which includes SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alum Kenan Thompson, ER alum Julianna
Margulies, Lin Shaye, Rachel Blanchard, and other SNL alum David
Koechner. It also has that formula of many different people being
focused on and letting us get to know them before that big disaster
hits. For a fun b-movie and for some more laughs, this one is worth
checking out. I also admire Jackson's guts to take a movie such as this
one.
Primary Colors (1998): We now go to Samuel L. Jackson's PULP FICTION
co-star and our favorite scientologist John Travolta who stars as Bill
Clinton-esque governor Jack Stanton who is campaigning to become
president and finds himself in a lot of scandal on the way. Broadway
actor Adrian Lester makes his debut as a idealistic campaign person who
does not know what to think of Stanton wheh sometimes he sees a
humanitarian and then has to hear scandal. Emma Thompson plays Stanton's
understanding wife. Billy Bob Thornton plays another one of the
campaign people and Kathy Bates plays a crazed campaign spinster. DALLAS
alum Larry Hagman also has a role as Stanton's opponent who gets a
little more than he bargains for. It is definetly an interesting look
into the world of politics and how one can be corrupted by them. John
Travolta hasn't always chosen the best roles, but this one of his good
choices and gained 30 pounds to play the role.
Steamboat Willie (1928): I have been doing this blog for well over
two years and maybe the reason for me being here is to keep such
classics like these alive. Sure, all of us know who Mickey Mouse is but
many don't know the history and this is what propelled the Mickey Mouse
character. Walt Disney was determined to get some cartoons off the
ground and taking advantage of the advent of sound, he creates the mouse
that would become an icon. The sounds come from things like music,
animals and everything else that can make sound but there is no dialogue
from Mickey or his love interest Minnie Mouse but has a lot of clever
animation and many funny moments getting the art of animation off the
ground.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Here is my epic for the week, the story of
T.E. Lawrence, a British soldier in 1916 who is sent to investigate the
Arab revolt against the Turks and practically becomes one of them,
organizing raids, and even bringing together two arab groups to help
conquer the Turkish rule. Peter O'Toole stars as real-life Lawrence, a
man seen as many things. Many of the Arabs were actually played by a
brigade lent by then Jordan ruler King Hussein, no relation to Saddam,
who visited the set a lot. Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn,
and Claude Rains were also part of this big epic which works on every
level from the actors to the dialogue and the scenery.
Killers from Space (1954): I bought a 4 movie Sci-fi DVD for $1 and
this is one of them. This is a cheesy sci-fi film starring Peter Graves
who is an atomic scientist and pilot who crashes and is miraculously
alive and has a story about aliens capturing him to conquer the earth
and he is determined to put a stop to these plans by the aliens. It was
worth the 1 buck I paid, it is not a blockbuster, it is not ranked up as
one of the best Sci-fi films, it's just something that might be a
little entertaining. Expect some more of these in the coming weeks.
The Lizzie Borden Story (1975): I found this controversial tv movie
on www.moviesfoundonline.com which I now have access to with this new
DSL system we have which means you might find more of these public
domain films in the future. BEWITCHED alum Elizabeth Montgomery plays
the title character which takes place during the strange 1893 trial of
the woman accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother which
inspired the wonderful nursery rhyme. It takes place during the trial
with flashbacks told around it. If you don't know the Lizzie Borden
history, I won't spoil it for you. This was a pretty outrageous thing to
have on television in those days and went on to win some Emmy awards.
These movies are shown for free.
The Dead Pool (1988): I was looking for something from the 80s and
randomly looked for something to record to DVR and I came across this
and it seemed reasonable. This is the 5th and final outing for Clint
Eastwood as vigilante cop "Dirty" Harry Callahan. This by no means is
the best but still entertains. Callahan must investigate the murders
coming from a celebrity dead pool started by an eccentric Horror movie
director played by Liam Neeson and finds himself on that list. Patricia
Clarkson plays an overzealous reporter who forms an uneasy alliance with
Callahan so that the murders can be stopped. Look for a young Jim
Carrey as a drug-addict actor. Also of highlight in this movie is a
strange car chase.
Best in Show (2000): My mom recorded this movie to the DVR and since I
had seen this I decided it was time to feature in the recommendations.
This is a mockumentary directed by Christopher Guest and has his usual
ensemble of actors from WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and A MIGHTY WIND. This was a
fictional documenary on the Mayflower Kennel Club dog show and what
goes on behind the scenes. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are great as
a couple entering their Shih-Tzu. Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock
are entering their Weimreiler who doesn't seem to be such a nice dog. We
also have a gay couple as well as a woman married to an old, rich man
in a wheelchair who might have a little more than friendship with her
female handler. This might need to be watched more than once and has
many funny moments.
Artists and Models (1955): I close this out with some Martin and
Lewis and once again, I just looked for something from this era on the
DVR and found this would fit into this installment. Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis play Rick Todd and Eugene Fullstack. Eugene dreams of
becoming a successful artist who loves pulp comics including BAT LADY
and finds himself having dreams about the comics he loves. Rick first
doesn't like his dreams but then realizes he might be able to cash in on
these dreams. Shirley MacLaine, Dorothy Malone, and Eva Gabor also star
in this laugh-fest and part-musical. Good comedy duo sometimes
overlooked.
Well, that is it for this week, I'll be back next week and until
then, give me some comments, what are your favorites and your least
favorites?
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