Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 367th Edition

Welcome to the 367th Edition of my series. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and survived Black Friday. This week, I have a rarity in which I have four animated selections which include Warner Brothers, Disney, Nickelodeon, and DC Universe. I was scheduled to be in a December play called HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS but due to complications of scheduling conflicts and finding a full cast, the show got pulled until next year. If I am available I will look to be in the show as it appears to be a good show. Today, I look to keep my win streak in Fantasy Football going and to keep my division lead. I had a slow start from Thursday but the game is still going and I'm not out yet. I will now be posting my selections for this week.

The Apartment (1996): This is part one of a two-part Vincent Cassel series. This is my French film for the week which was written and directed by Gilles Mimouni. There was a comedy of the same title which starred Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine and while it was a bit racy for its time, it has nothing to do with this one. Vincent Cassel stars as Max who is now engaged, soon to go to Tokyo. Things change though when he believes he sees his old love Lisa, played by Monica Bellucci, and becomes obsessed with finding her. His search soon leads to someone named Alice, played by Romane Bohringer, who looks similar to Lisa and has her own motives. This is a very good French thriller taking us into quite a web of deceit but requires your full attention.

The Fifth-Column Mouse (1943): This is my animated short brought from Warner Brothers. This is a short where there is a cat intent on eating mice. This was all I was expecting but found this was quite different. This cat was out to get mice but most escape to their mouse hole except one. The cat then tells the mouse that he will not hurt them as long as they pamper to the cat. The mice reluctantly agree but soon see that all the cat wants is the mice and the mice soon prepare for war. I really had no idea what to expect but was an interesting war propaganda cartoon where if they tried that with our current war they would never get away with in. In WWII though, it appeared to be far more acceptable. I always enjoy watching these kinds of cartoons and is worth a look.

The Sword in the Stone (1963): This is my Disney selection for the week and their take towards the Arthurian legend. This one shows Arthur when he is just a boy who aspires to be a squire. He soon meets the wizard Merlin who sees far more in Arthur and decides to take him in while mentoring and educating the young boy who is destined to be King Arthur. This is something I watched a lot as a kid and was the first King Arthur exposure I ever had. The legend is portrayed in so many ways both light and dark. Merlin was a charming wizard in this one but gets portrayed more villainous in others. This is a good beginning to King Arthur showing him to become the king.

What Price Hollywood? (1932): George Cukor directs this portrayal of the world of Hollywood. Constance Bennett stars as a waitress, who soon meets alcoholic director Max Carey, played by Lowell Sherman, who helps her to break into the film industry. This is a rather dark look at Hollywood at the time and is said to be the original A STAR IS BORN which has three versions in the 30s to the 70s. Sherman was known to be an alcoholic in real-life so his character models him in some ways. This is a great pre-code film that was probably quite controversial at its time and overlooked today so I hope to put this one on the radar.

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004): This is part two of my two-part Scarlett Johansson series. This is my Nickelodeon animated selection which is based on the popular cartoon series. In this movie, King Neptune's, voiced by Jeffrey Tambor, loses his crown and Spongebob's boss Mr. Krabs is being made to look like he did it but did not. Spongebob and his best friend Patrick Star leave Bikini Bottom to find that crown and clear Mr. Krabs. I have always been a casual fan of the show. I know it's criticized by some believing it's a bit inappropriate for kids but I don't really see that myself. Alec Baldwin, Clancy Brown, and David Hasselhoff co-star in this animated film. If you like Spongebob, I think you'll like this one.

Escape from Fort Bravo (1953): This is my western for the week. William Holden stars as hard-nosed Union soldier Captain Roper. He keeps guard of a prison full of confederate soldiers. Eleanor Parker co-stars as Carla Forrester who comes into town and making Roper fall in love with her not knowing she is there arranging a prison break which is quite clever. Things get even more complicated when the Indians invade and Roper cannot stray his feelings for Carla. This is a pretty clever western directed by John Sturges and I'm always ready to watch William Holden who I feel is quite underrated. John Forsythe and Polly Bergen also co-star.

Grass (1999): This is my marijuana documentary for the week which was directed by Ron Mann. This movie takes a look at the drug which was brought into the United States in the early 20th Century by the Mexicans and immediately looked down upon. It shows politician Harry Anslinger who was able to convince the world of how horrible the drug was and pass all kinds of laws. It has a lot of very interesting footage from old propaganda movies, educational videos, and political speeches. The most famous of the propaganda films is REEFER MADNESS but contains a few others. It mainly documents Marijuana's role in the war on drugs and even the spending on that drug throughout the years as well as others trying to prove that it really is not any more harmful than alcohol. Woody Harrelson narrates this film and even did it for free due to his being a pot activist. I am not a pot smoker myself but I do believe in the legalization of it as I do not see it as being harmful. I know many people who smoke pot and have never witnessed any dramatic effects and feel that people who get drunk are usually even worse. This was mostly clips put together but was done so in a very good way. This is a very funny and insightful documentary that should get viewed. My dad found this on http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/grass in which it can be viewed for free.

Rocky II (1979): Sylvester Stallone took the director chair in this sequel to his classic 1976 film which helped make him the star he is today. This picks up right where the first one left off. Stallone reprises his role as Rocky who has just married Adrian, played by Talia Shire, and is about to become a father. He is also trying to adjust to his life after his big fight which he intended to be his last one but finds that it is very difficult for him to work other jobs. On the other side, Carl Weathers reprises his role as Apollo Creed who does everything possible to goad Rocky into accepting a rematch which we all know finally happens. I did enjoy the scenes with Rocky adjusting to that life for Adrian and her being uneasy about him returning. I have always talked about making a musical out of this where the first act is the based more on the first film and the second act is based more on this one. I think this has a lot of potential. After seeing this again, I find that this one is my favorite of the series. It has that great scene of Rocky training and running up the steps. Last summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Philadelphia where these movies are filmed and had the pleasure of seeing the statue and much to my surprise, my ability to actually run up the steps myself. If you don't believe me, just ask Ashley. Stallone wrote, directed and stars in this great sequel to a great series of film. The music from Bill Conti is possibly the most motivational music in film and if he wrote music for an exercise video I might be inclined to do it. This is available on Instant Netflix.

Trust (2010): FRIENDS alum David Schwimmer directed this independent film. Liana Liberato stars as high school freshman Annie who uses the internet to communicate with another guy she has not met in person. After months of this communication through chat and phone, they finally meet but turns out to not be the person that Annie expects and turns out to be an online sexual predator taking advantage her. The movie then deals with the aftermath of what happened. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener co-star as her parents Will and Lynn who deal with what happened in different ways and struggle to support their daughter. Will is determined to get his revenge while Lynn just wants to be there for their daughter. Liberato is very good as Annie who struggles to come to terms with what happened to her. Owen and Keener are also both very good in their parts. This movie is full of well written characters and each of them dealing with such a bad situation. The plot could be something very Lifetimish but writers Andy Bellin and Festinger along with director Schwimmer make this movie so much more. The movie also makes quite a statement. This movie is available on Instant Netflix.

DVD REVIEW: WONDER WOMAN (2009)

PREVIEWS

Lego Batman: The Videogame (2008): This is a preview to the video game of the big lego craze where everyone escapes from Arkham Asylum and Batman and Robin must save the day. I'm not a video gamer so I don't really know what it's like.

Inkheart (2008): This is a movie preview and I have never seen this one. The preview has some fantasy sequences and I saw Brendan Fraser but did not see much else.

Scooby-Doo and the Samarai Sword (2009): This is one of the many Scooby-Doo straight to video movies. The gang then goes to Japan to go after some ghost. The animation looked good but I just was not big on the way Fred looked.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996): This is a DVD series and the first season of the popular animated series.

FEATURE FILM

Wonder Woman (2009): This is a look at Wonder Woman at her origins and her becoming Wonder Woman. Keri Russell voices Princess Diana who lives among the Amazons and shut off from the world of men. Soon, a pilot named Steve Trevor, voiced by Nathan Fillion, lands on the island and is taken prisoner. Soon, there is a betrayal among the Amazons and Ares, who was imprisoned there, goes free. Diana is then charged to take Steve home and stop Ares. The animation in this movie was great as well as the voice acting. I liked that this movie was quite violent and more than a lot of animated movies that people see. The beginning shows Diana's mother at war with the God of War where a lot of blood was shed and Ares becomes captured. Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger, Oliver Platt, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madson, and many others co-star. With comic book movies, I have come to believe that Marvel usually does best in live-action while DC usually does best in animation and this helps my opinion.

FEATURE FILM WITH COMMENTARY

The commentary is from the producer, writer, and director. They reflect on the story and some of the difficulties like where they said it is a lot more difficult to draw multiple women characters but pulled it off on this one. It does lend good insight and might be good for people aspiring to go into animation.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Batman: Gotham Knight: This is a 10 minute look at this anime version of Batman and the making of it. This is one I had not seen but does look interesting.

Green Lantern: A First Look: This is another 10 minute look at the animated movie GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT that was coming out at the time. It starts taking a look at the origins of Green Lantern and how the characters changed with the time. It is a pretty insightful look at the basic story of the Green lanterns.

Justice League: The New Frontier: From Graphic Novel to animated movie: This is another 10 minute look at this Justice League movie talking about the comic series and then it getting put to a good 70 minute movie. This is probably my favorite of the Justice League movies which takes place during the McCarthy era where even superheros have been affected.

Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess: One more 10 minute look talking about the featured movie and a basic history of Wonder Woman who is the first female superhero. It also talked about how the character was created in a time where woman where seen as people in the household and showed that women can do things men do.

OVERALL DVD

I really enjoyed the movie. The short documentaries were quite insightful though I would have liked to see a more detailed documentary on Wonder Woman. I did like hearing about the origins and history of Green Lantern. Overall, you can learn a lot from it though I usually prefer a making-of documentary to audio commentary with exception to BUBBA HO-TEP.

Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Mila Kunis, Billy Bob Thornton, Harrison Ford, more Vincent Cassel, and many others.