Welcome to the 357th Edition of my series. This week, we will be
filming our first episode of DOPE HOUSE so I will let know when we air
it on Youtube. In Fantasy Football, I am 1-0 and two of my opponent's
players have played and had minimal points so I hope to go to 2-0.
Later tonight, I will be going to Anderson to see WWE ppv NIGHT OF
CHAMPIONS so if you're in the area and like wrestling, come on out.
Now, I will get to my selections.
One, Two, Three
(1961): This is part three of my Billy Wilder series. So far I have
included SABRINA and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION which are two very
different films and this one much different. James Cagney stars as a
Coca-Cola salesman in West Berlin named Mac. Soon, his Boss's wild
daughter comes to visit and falls in love with a communist from East
Berlin which Mac must prevent in hopes of not getting fired. He tries
in comic ways to sabotage the relationship but soon sees that he must
try to save the relationship during the cold war. This is a spoof of
the politics in Germany in that era and Cagney turns in a great
performance showing his range as well as Wilder as a director. Cagney
has stated he had a very negative experience that he did not appear in
another film for 20 years. This is very funny and available on Instant
Netflix.
The Little Archer (1949): This is my short
film for the week. This features real-life four year old Melvin Beebe
who at four years of age was a great archer and soon it was time for him
to get real animals. He soon goes out intending to do it but then
cannot bring himself to take out a little bear and a couple animals. He
soon starts to play with them instead. This was a bit corny but was
the 40s and was informative on talking about the background of the boy.
It's not a bad eight minutes to watch.
Heidi (1937): I
now focus on another child in Shirley Temple who plays the title
character in what many call her best film. She is orphaned and sent to
live with her stern grandfather in the mountains. They slowly form a
very good relationship and are very happy together until her cruel aunt
steals her to live with the invalid daughter of a wealthy man. While
she is there, she brings happiness to the young girl in the wheelchair
but the housekeeper is very cruel and she wants to get back to her
grandfather. Her grandfather soon sets out to get her back. Jean
Hersholt plays her Grandfather and is very good in his role. Him and
Temple work very well together. This is a timeless film and it teaches
acceptance of one another. It is a very touching film and one the
family can enjoy together. This one only has one song and dance number
from Temple which I was fine with but some did not like that. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
Big Daddy (1999): I see I
have three selections in a row that deal with kids. SNL alum Adam
Sandler stars in this comedy as Sonny Koufax who is an irresponsible man
whose girlfriend soon leaves him. Hen then ends up with a five year
old boy at his apartment who belongs to his roommate, played by Jon
Stewart, who is off on business. He soon takes in the boy to impress
the girlfriend that left him but soon begins to change his perspective
towards fatherhood when he starts to like the boy. At first, he is the
very permissive father figure but then learns that he must guide the
boy. Joey Lauren Adams co-stars as his love interest Layla. Steve
Buscemi, Kristy Swanson, Rob Schneider, and many others co-star.
Sandler comedies can be a bit hit or miss for me but I really did like
this one. It had some funny moments and it was surprisingly moving.
This comedy is also available on Instant Netflix.
No
Man of Her Own (1950): This is my film-noir for the week. Barbara
Stanwyck stars as Helen Ferguson who is pregnant and dumped by her
boyfriend Steve. She is soon on a train that has a wreck which she
survives but a couple she meets dies and soon takes the identity of
Patrice Harkness. Her in-laws never met the person so she was able to
make her way into the family making a new life for herself and the
baby. She soon is visited by Steve who begins to blackmail her and
jeopardize her new life. Stanwyck puts on a good performance in this
good story that was very enjoyable to me. This is available on Instant
Netflix and may be an unknown gem to those who like older film.
Killing
Zoe (1993): Roger Avary wrote and directed this film and is his
directorial debut after working alongside with Quentin Tarantino. Eric
Stoltz stars as a safecracker named Zed. He soon arrives in Paris and
meets a call girl of the title character who is played by Julie Delpy
and begins to like her. He then joins his friend Eric, played by
Jean-Hugues Anglade, who brings him in for a bank job. The first
problem is that he finds that Zoe is an employee at the bank. The
second problem is that the mastermind of the bank job, Eric and the
others involved go crazy turning the place into a blood bath. This was a
really good heist film but it is not for everyone. I usually am not
one to mention movie references but this did a good scene when
referenced vampire classic NOSFERATU. The movie is extremely violent
but still has a good story. It is very bloody but if you can get past
the violence, you might just find a gem.
Senna
(2010): This is my documentary for the week which features Brazilian
Formula One racer Ayrton Senna who won three world championships and
died at the age of 34. This focuses on his childhood and his love for
go-cart racing. It also has reflections from his supportive parents who
were concerned about his career choice. It shows his controversy in
the Formula One especially his rivalry with Alain Prost. While he was
controversial, he was also very patriotic to his country of Brazil and
donating a lot to his contry and being seen as a hero. This is a very
good documentary. I will not pretend to be any kind of racing fan
though looking at the footage of the Formula One and it seems more
compelling with the track they have that involves a lot more thruning.
Also, when it comes to sports movies, I do not dismiss them because I
might not like the sport. If it focuses on the person, then I can enjoy
it and respect that sport. This documentary is available on Instant
Netflix.
Robot & Frank (2012): I went with my
friend Doug to see this independent film at the Landmark Keystone Art
theater in Indianapolis which specializes in independent films. This
movie takes place in the near future. Frank Langella stars as Frank who
is a former jewel thief and having a hard time living on his own plus
he is losing his memory. His daughter, played by Liv Tyler is in
another country and his son Hunter, played by James Marsden, is very
busy with his family and lives far away. Hunter then decides to get his
father a robot butler programmed to look after him and does things like
cook his food, clean the house, and take out the trash. Frank is at
first opposed to the idea but slowly starts to like the robot and trains
the robot to pick locks to help him perform theft. Peter Sarsgaard
provides the voice of the robot. Susan Sarandon co-stars as Jennifer
who is a librarian that Frank likes. Jeremy Sisto and Ana Gasteyer also
co-star in this film The main point of the movie though is the bond
between this older man and a robot and was very well written. It is
unfortunate that this movie likely will not get a more expanded release
which will just keep this as an underrated film with Langella great in
his part. These are the kinds of movie theaters that I prefer to
support and intend to go with Doug on a more regular basis now that I
know about this theater. If you are in the area, this one is in more
need of support than your AMC theaters and it deserves more support.
Taxi
Driver (1976): Martin Scorsese directs this film that stars Robert De
Niro as unstable Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle who works the night shift
as a New York cabbie. He believes that New York has deteriorated and
causes him to lash out in violence. He takes a liking to Betsy, played
by Cybill Shepherd, who works as a campaign manager for a politician.
He tries to maintain a relationship with her. He also meets a 12 and a
half year old hooker named Iris, played by a 13 year old Jodie Foster,
who he dedicates himself to freeing her from her pimp, played by Harvey
Keitel, whatever it takes. Keitel worked with actual pimps in
preparation for his part and De Niro worked with actual cab drivers and
studied mental illness as well to prepare for his part. This movie has
the famous and often imitated "you talking to me" scene. There is also
an amusing cameo scene from Martin Scorsese. This is a rather dark film
that is not for everyone but still very well done with a great
performance from De Niro in this story told in the eyes of a cabbie.
Albert Brooks and Peter Boyle also co-star. Paul Schrader wrote the
very good screenplay. This one is actually one of my personal favorites
and a movie that works on so many levels beyond words. This is
available on Encore On-Demand.
Always Crashing in the Same
Car (2007): I end this week with a short film as some of my other
selections did not work out and I got quite busy. This starts out with a
late night meeting at work where where a person named James, played by
Richard E. Grant, is disagreeing with things happening and gets very
angry. Paul McGann plays Bill, who appears to be the boss and is the
one that James is angry at and storms out of the meeting. As James is
driving, he ends up hitting a homeless person and when this happens,
Bill gets a lot of leverage. This was a pretty good 15 minutes and is
very dramatic. The two leads give a pretty good performance. I like to
expose short films as they do go overlooked. I recorded this and do
not remember if it was Sundance or IFC.
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