Welcome to the 355th Edition of my weekly series. I now have my
fantasy football team together and look forward to the NFL season
starting. I believe I have a strong team with people like Peyton
Manning, Lesean McCoy, Antonio Gates, and many others hoping to rebound
from the bad year I had last year. Let me get to my selections for the
week.
Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a
Mockingbird (2010): I start this week out with my first of two
documentaries. As you might guess, this is based on the author of TO
KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. It talks about this book phenomenon that turned 50
years old where Lee has not done an interview since 1964 and has not
published a second book. Harper Lee does not take part in the interview
but it does include friends, family, other writers, and a variety of
people who discuss the importance of this book and it becoming quite
possibly the best film adaptation to come from a novel. For those who
do not know, the story takes place in the 50s south during a time when
segregation was at a big rise. The story is told from the point of view
of a young girl named Scout which is one of the highlights of the way
the story is told. There are many things of focus but the main part is
of her very noble attorney father Atticus who is defending an innocent
black man accused of rape who is so obviously innocent but due to his
race he is unfortunately guilty. Atticus was still determined to defend
this man with everything he had because he knew it was the right
thing. One thing I was not aware of was how daring it was for Lee to
write this book being in the south in the time of segregation which many
blacks interviewed in absolute admiration for being able to write this
story. It also shows footage of classes in today's era reading the book
and it changing the lives of many. In all the required reading I had
to do, this was my favorite and I also really enjoyed the movie. It is
also a book that lives on through generations of many and Lee quite
possibly never wrote another book because she did not need to write one
due to its continued success and timelessness. This was a documentary
that I absolutely enjoyed and made me realize that everyone should be
exposed to this story. Before watching this story, I would suggest
reading the book and/or watching the film and then watch this
documentary afterwards that is available through Instant Netflix. If
you have already read the book and/or seen the film, this documentary
should be watched as soon as possible.
Bridesmaids
(2011): This is one that I'm aware some really loved and some really
hated but I did end up enjoying this comedy directed by Paul Feig and
written by SNL alum Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Wiig stars as Annie
who is an out of work pastry chef and becomes a maid of honor to her
long-time friend Lillian, played very well by other SNL alum Maya
Rudolph, who is unaware of how difficult Annie's life it at the moment.
Annie does what she can to make the most of being maid of honor no
matter how hard her life might be but finds competition in one of the
maid of honors, played by Rose Byrne, in a competition over who is the
best friend. The rest of the bridesmaids also contribute to the
contributions of the difficult road that everyone is on. Melissa
McCarthy is great in her role and the rest are very well cast. Jill
Clayburgh plays Annie's mother and is her last movie and came out one
year before her death. Despite the movie revolving around women, it
does go past phrases like "chick flick" and "romantic comedy" and is one
guys can also enjoy.
On the Shoulders of Giants
(2011): This is the second of my documentaries and this one focuses on
basketball and on a team called the Harlem Renaissance which is referred
to the best basketball team no one has ever heard of. We always hear
about the segregation which happened in baseball and how they had the
Negro leagues and how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier but I
never really heard anything about basketball segregation until I watched
this documentary. The NBA was segregated so a group of black men
formed their own team which never really had an official league but were
sometimes able to play white teams an win including a "scrimmage" game
against the original Celtics. It does a great job of focusing on each
person on that team. I really liked the beginning where a group of
legendary players and coaches sat in a room together all discussing
their favorite teams until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brought up this team.
Abdul-Jabbar actually wrote this documentary and did a phenomenal job of
getting this information and making it into a very informative
documentary. I see that like with the first documentary I have, it
focuses on segregation so maybe a good double feature would be this and
my first selection for this week. Jamie Foxx narrates this film. This
is available on Instant Netflix and is something where a lot can be
learned.
I Haven't Got a Hat (1935): This is my
animated short for the week. Last week I used Bugs Bunny's first
appearance and for this week I use the debut of Porky Pig who is a
supporting character who rose to be one of the icons of Looney Tunes.
The short focuses on a school recital. Porky is part of the recital and
is very nervous trying to recite Paul Revere's Ride. At the time Joe
Dougherty did the voice of Porky and had an actual stutter which Porky
is known for but was let go because it got to be too much. Later, Mel
Blanc would take over the part and continue the stutter that Dougherty
started. There were some other fairly funny moments but the biggest
significance is the start of Porky Pig.
Tales of Terror
(1962): Roger Corman directs this film which focuses on three stories
by legendary writer Edgar Allen Poe who I suppose could be said started
the horror genre. This is based on his stories MORELLA, THE BLACK CAT,
and THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR. Vincent Price stars as the main character
in each story. Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone co-star in some of the
stories. Recently, used a short film of TELL-TALE HEART which was based
on the Poe story and noticed with that and what I watched here that Poe
liked to focus on stories where one commits a perfect-type murder which
most would get away with but shows how their conscience drives them
crazy making them unable to hide what they did. One of those stories
did that on this film. Price gives good performances and is versatile
in each one. This is available on Instant Netflix.
The
Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945): George Sanders stars as the
title character Harry Quincey who is a bachelor living with his two
selfish sisters. He soon forms a relationship with a co-worker named
Deborah, played by Ella Raines. This is a very promising relationship
but has opposition from one of the sisters which could provoke bad
things. This is one of those unknown gems that might have challenged
the code a little bit. This movie also moves pretty well though in this
film-noir entry which is also available on Instant Netflix.
Sabrina
(1954): This is my romantic comedy for the week directed by Billy
Wilder. Humphrey Bogart and William Holden co-star as brothers of a
wealthy family named Linus and David Larrabee. Linus is the hard worker
and David is more the playboy who is technically employed but does not
show up for work very often. Audrey Hepburn co-stars as their
chauffeur's daughter of the title. She has always had an interest in
the Larrabee family and has always had a crush on David. She goes to
Paris for two years and returns a far more beautiful and sophisticated
woman who David finally notices and takes a liking towards. In her
time, she is also getting to know Linus and falling for him. This was
originally slated for Cary Grant until Bogey replaced him at the last
minute making a much different characterization. Bogey and William
Holden did not like each other and Bogart wanted his wife Lauren Bacall
instead of Hepburn. They still managed to pull off good performances
and work well together. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Gosford
Park (2001): I now bring you a film directed by Robert Altman. This
movie takes place in 1932 Britain where many friends of the McCordle
family are invited for a weekend shooting party. Like many of his
films, there are many characters that are a big focus. Michael Gambon
plays William McCordle who is mostly the center of the party, especially
when he is killed making everyone a suspect. Kristin Scott Thomas,
Clive Owen, Maggie Smith, Ryan Philippe, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban, and
many others play very colorful characters each having little subplots
and being brought together when there is a killing. This is also a good
look at the English class system at the time. Altman has said that he
uses the F-word to purposely make the movie rated R saying he did not
want kids seeing it believing they would not like it anyways. If you
like a good murder mystery and okay with movies that have multiple
character subplots, this is a good one to watch. This is available on
Instant Netflix.
Terror of Mechagozilla (1975): Last
week, I brought Japanese monster Rodan, now I bring Godzilla as well as
the mechanical Mechagodzilla. This is the first time I have seen any of
these films that have Mechagodzilla. The beginning goes into a back
story of how Godzilla terrorized Tokyo but took their side during an
alien invasion and goes into a previous battle with Mechagodzilla. This
movie shows the alien race reforming and a traitorous scientist
rebuilding Mechagodzilla and the scientist giving a dinosaur monster
called Titanosauras which give a very difficult battle for Japanese icon
Godzilla. This one has some of the best fight scenes of many of the
Godzilla films. Fans of these movies will want to see this one. This
was the last Godzilla film until 1985. This is available on Instant
Netflix.
Thief (1981): I end this week with this early
Michael Mann film. James Caan stars as safecracker Frank who is
looking to get out of a life of crime and wants to lead a more normal
life. He soon decides to do one more job with a mobster to make enough
money for this life but we all know it is not as simple as that.
Tuesday Weld co-stars as his love interest who he looks to lead a normal
life for. James Belushi co-stars as Frank's partner in crime and
Willie Nelson has a small but good role as Frank's mentor. This was a
pretty good heist film and it also had some good action scenes. Caan
was very good in his role and has a great monologue at a diner. It also
has a good music score from Tangerine Dream. This could be something
for a guy's night and is available on Instant Netflix.
Well,
that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay
tuned for next week which so far includes Pedro Almodovar, Tim Burton,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, and many others.
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