Welcome to the 371st Edition of my series. I hope everyone has a
great Christmas this year. I look forward to having that day off work
right now. I have a couple holiday selections and selections for those
who do not really like the holidays. This evening the 49ers play and
hope they continue their winning ways and glad to see them in the
playoffs. I will now get to my selections for the week.
Eric
Bogosian: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001): I start the week out
with this stand-up act from Bogosian. Bogosian has done acting, writing
plays, screenplays, and even novels. He is most known for his play
TALK RADIO in which was made into a movie in 1988 in which he stars and a
play that I had the honor of co-starring in. He talks about his views
on the world, human nature, and even portrays characters like Satan, a
Hollywood producer, and a spiritual guru. Bogosian holds nothing back
in this act so not for the weak of heart or even people who are very
religious. Before watching this, it might be a good idea to research
Bogosian a bit and watch a movie or two
Winner Take All
(1932): I now go to this older boxing movie. James Cagney stars as
boxer Jimmy Kane who wants to help someone raise $600 and takes a tough
fight in Tijuana. Marian Nixon co-stars as Peggy who needs that money
to save her sick son. Jimmy soon meets Joan who is a far more
manipulative woman who temps him in more ways than one. In Cagney's big
career, this is by no means one of the best and it follows the better
boxing film THE CHAMP that was put out the year before. This was not
bad though and was worth a watch and to see Cagney earlier in his career
before his big rise.
The Efficiency Expert (1992):
This is my Australian movie for the week. Anthony Hopkins stars as the
title character named Errol who is assigned to downsize a small-town
moccasin factory. Like my last selection, this is not one of the more
known movies on his career. He slowly begins to reconsider his plans of
downsizing when he gets to know the eccentric people of the factory and
take a liking to them. Toni Collette co-stars as factory worker Wendy
and a young Russell Crowe co-stars as another one of the workers. This
movie does a good job of explaining the human element of a workplace and
that money is not always everything. This is available on Instant
Netflix.
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (1979):
This is one of my holiday selections and this would be more to watch
with the children. This was a series of children's books from Jan and
Stan Berenstain which started in the early 60s and have remained very
popular through the years going way beyond just children's books. In
this tv special, Mama Bear sends Papa Bear and and the two cubs out to
get a Christmas Tree. Papa Bear was not satisfied with the one Mama
Bear wanted him to get and sets out on a journey for what he would feel
would be a better tree. In this journey, they encounter many other
critters who are just trying to have their own Christmas and getting a
bit disrupted by the bears. This was a pretty good special that is good
for the children and has a pretty good message. It may not be a
Christmas special just for the adults unless still a big fan of these
Bears.
Miracle on 34th St. (1947): This is a timeless
classic that is for everyone and this year is the 65th Anniversary of
the holiday classic. This movie starts out at the Macy's Day parade in
which the Santa Claus hired for the parade was quite drunk. Maureen
O'Hara stars as Doris Walker who runs the parade and is given word by a
person who looks perfect to play the part and hires that person to
replace the drunk Santa. Edmund Gwenn plays this person named Kris
Kringle who while being Santa in the parade and continuing his job in
the mall also claims to be the real thing. Doris has a lot of
misgivings on his claims as she lives in a more reality based world and
teaches her daughter Susan, played by Natalie Wood, to not believe in
anything fantasy or make-believe. Soon, many people including Susan
begin to really take to Kris who is a very nice person. John Payne
co-stars as good-hearted attorney Fred who bonds with Doris and Susan
and tried to get them to not be so serious all the time. Fred takes to
Kris the most and soon Kris is committed to a mental ward and put on
trial which Fred gladly takes and is determined to prove that he is
Santa Claus. This movie does a good job of addressing the commercialism
of Christmas without showing it down people's throats. This is a
beautiful holiday film that anyone can enjoy.
50/50
(2011): Jonathan Levine directs this movie based on the screenplay by
Will Reiser who based this on his life and his own battle with cancer.
Joseph Gordan-Levitt stars as Adam who is a writer of radio-show
programs and soon learns of a rare form of cancer in which the title
shows the survival rate chances. In this difficult moment, he must also
deal with a girlfriend who does not seem to be very supportive, his
friend Kyle, a young therapist, and his overprotective mother in which
hear learns a lot about the relationships in life and people's different
ways of coping. Seth Rogan plays his best friend Kyle who never liked
his girlfriend, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, and is determined to get
him laid which was his way of helping his friend cope. Anjelica Huston
plays his mother who loves him but has a difficult relationship. Anna
Kendrick plays his therapist Katherine who also does what she can to
help him deal. This is a comedy which deals with the subject in a good
way and the humor is just more from the people in his life.
Gordon-Levitt is great in his role. Philip Baker Hall co-stars as
another cancer patient that Adam bonds with in the film. Rogan is a
real-life friend of Reiser who helped him deal with his cancer and
suggested writing about it.
Whistling in the Dark
(1941): Like my last selection, I bring another comedy dealing with a
serious situation. Red Skelton stars as Wally who has a very popular
radio show where he plays a sleuth called "The Fox" who helps solve
murders. Soon, he is abducted by a crime syndicate who want him to come
up with a "perfect" murder for them. They also kidnap his fiancee and
ex-girlfriend played by Ann Rutherford and Eve Arden in order for Wally
to be more inclined to make the plot. Conrad Veidt co-stars as the head
of the syndicate who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and
things spin out of control in a great Red Skelton way. I have seen a
few of Skelton's movies and so far I find this one is my favorite and a
very well-written comedy that might have been a bit daring at the time.
This is actually the first of a trilogy and may look to view the others
in the future.
Little Ashes (2008): This is part two
of my two-part Robert Pattinson series and last week I used WATER FOR
ELEPHANTS. This takes place in 1922 Madrid and based on the lives of
artist Salvador Dali, filmmaker Luis Bunuel, and writer/poet Federico
Garcia Lorca. The three of them form quite a trio in the country.
Pattinson plays Dali who is pulled in by Garcia Lorca, played by Javier
Beltran, and they form a relationship. Bunuel, played by Matthew
McNulty, decides to leave the oppressive country to go to France to
start his successful career as a director. I already had some knowledge
towards Garcia Lorca and Bunuel in terms of their work but did not know
a lot about Dali. The leads in the film did pretty good despite not
being of the race but is not a movie for everyone. It might be good to
look into the background of these three people before watching this
movie. There is not a lot of plot except just focus on the three
historical figures though is still compelling.
Watership
Down (1978): This is a selection from the Random Facebook Selection
process and this week I chose Bart and had never heard of this so
decided to give it a shot. This is my second animated selection for the
week and while the first one was one for the family, this one may not
be so much. This is based on a novel by Richard Adams and is about a
group of bunnies. So far, this may sound very childlike but it is very
far from that. A group of rabbits flee a warren in search for a better
place to live. In their journey they face many issues of other animals,
humans, and even a very disturbing group of their own kind. This was
an obvious statement towards our society and is a very entertaining and
well-done animated film. John Hurt, Richard Briers, Denholm Elliot,
Zero Mostel, and many others lend their voices. Don't let those
drawings of cute bunnies fool you as this movie is quite violent and
disturbing but at the same time, quite moving.
Sleepy
Hollow (1999): This is part one of a Johnny Depp series which has at
least two but could have as many as six I end this week with this Tim
Burton film and a selection for those who prefer Halloween over
Christmas. This is an adaptation of the Washington Irving novel. I
will say first that I really don't know anything about this novel and
just focused on the movie. Johnny Depp stars as Ichabod Crane who is a
detective in the late 1700s who is assigned to investigate murders in a
town of the title. Ichabod has some new age beliefs in detective work
that are quite ahead of its time. He soon learns that the murders
consist of the victims being decapitated and is told by the locals that
it is the work of the Headless Horseman. He is at first skeptical but
then witnesses it happening and becomes a believer and is determined to
stop the murders. Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher
Walken, Christopher Lee and many others co-star in this atmospheric
film. I have found that the 90s are my favorite period for the many
Burton/Depp collaborations and this was no different. The
cinematography worked very well and the action scenes were very good.
It also has great use of flashback sequences. I won't give too much
away accept that it moves very well and keeps people guessing but is not
for everyone's taste if you have a hard time with violence.
Well,
that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike. Stay
tuned for next week which so far includes Jim Caviezel, more Johnny
Depp, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Sellers, and many others.
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