Welcome to the 324th Edition of my series. Unfortunately the 49ers came
up a bit short last week so they will not be in the Super Bowl like I
hoped but hopefully this is the start of something big. Tonight I will
be going to see WWE Royal Rumble at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Anderson
and am rooting for Rtruth to win. Time to give my recommendations for
the week.
The American (2010): I start this week out with some
George Clooney and one I'm aware received some mixed opinions. Clooney
plays an assassin named Jack who goes to Paris for one last assignment
and we all know it's just never that simple. In Paris he becomes
friends with a priest and pursues love with a woman which is usually not
safe for a hitman. In the beginning, this movie shows that Jack will
do whatever necessary to protect himself. After that, it was rather
slow-paced but I really liked the story and Clooney in the film. I felt
it was a very good portrait on an assassin.
Beauty and the Beast
(1991): I went to see this one in the theaters in 3D with Lisa and
Larry. The 3D element really was not that necessary for me but being
with my friends and to see it on the big screen was great for me. As
most knows, this is a Disney entry from Alan Menkin and Howard Ashman
and in that 90s period of Disney that I love. We all know the tale as
old as time. In this story, we have a selfish prince who is cursed by
an enchantress to be a hideous beast who can only be human if he learns
to love and be loved in return before the last petal of a rose wilts.
Belle is the beauty who lives in a small, provincial small French town
where she has a lot of trouble fitting in and resists the advances of
Gaston who is a very good looking man but does not like his personality.
Belle's inventor father is looking to enter some inventing contest but
ends up at the castle of the Beast and is taken prisoner by him. Belle
trades her freedom for his becoming a prisoner and what gets this
relationship slowly started as the beast must learn kindness. In the
castle, not only did the Prince change but so did others into objects
like a clock, a candle, a teapot, a wardrobe, a mop, among other things
so they rely on the Beast to love. Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers,
Angela Lansbury, among others lend their voices to some great music like
BE OUR GUEST, SOMETHING THERE and many others. In 2005, I had the
pleasure of being in a musical version based on this movie at the Muncie
Civic Theater where I played the part of Lefou who is Gaston's little
henchman and has the humorous musical number GASTON. This will always
rank as one of my favorite parts I have played and one of my favorite
Disney films.
Little Women (1994): Gillian Armstrong directed
this adaptation to the classic novel from Louisa May Alcott about the
March women in post-Civil War America. Susan Sarandon plays the
matriarch of the family. Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Claire Danes,
and Kirsten Dunst play the daughters who are part of a close-knit family
with Sarandon being the very compassionate mother. A young Kirsten
Dunst plays the part of Amy March as a child and Samantha Mathis plays
the part when the character is older. Later in the movie, the girls
become involved with other men like Eric Stoltz, Christian Bale, and
Gabriel Byrne. Bale plays the part of Laurie and is a lot more
light-hearted than usual. I was not expecting to hate this movie or
anything but I really did not think I would like it as much as I did. I
really liked the look of this family unit in that era.
Porky's
Railroad (1937): This is my animated short for the week and comes from a
dvd of 30s cartoon shorts that my Dad got me for Christmas. This short
features the Warner Brothers legend Porky Pig who is a train conductor
who soon learns he will be replaced by a newer train called Silver Fish
who soon challenges Porky to a race. This might represent the everyday
person of this era, I'm not really sure. This was a very entertaining
classic cartoon that animation buffs will love.
The Graduate
(1967): This is another of the DVDs my dad got me for Christmas.
Dustin Hoffman became a big star in this film playing college graduate
Benjamin Braddock who is having a hard time figuring out what he wants
in life. He soon has an affair with Mrs. Robinson, played very well by
Anne Bancroft, whose husband is the business partner of Benjamin's
father. Things become even more complicated when he meets Elaine,
played by Katherine Ross, who is the daughter of Mrs. Robinson and likes
her. This movie is carried by the performances and the great
soundtrack of Simon and Garfunkel which is really a co-star of the film.
This is great satire on the generation gap that remains relevant
today.
Strangers on a Train (1951): This is another of the DVDS
my dad got me and this is my favorite Hitchcock film. Farley Granger
stars as Guy Haines who is a psychotic socialite who has an encounter
with a pro tennis star on a train named Bruno, played by Robert Walker.
They each have someone in their life who they cannot deal with and Guy
comes up with an idea to "swap murders" of which Bruno assumes is a joke
but realizes he is wrong. Guy must soon prove that he did not commit a
murder while dealing with Guy which leads to a great climax on a
carousel. Hitchcock's daughter Patricia co-stars in this film as
Barbara and is quite amusing. This has a great mix of dark comedy,
action, and suspense.
The African Queen (1951): This is part two
of a two-part Katherine Hepburn series. Last week I used a
Hepburn/Tracy teaming but here I use Hepburn/Bogart. This takes place
during WWI and Humphrey Bogart plays riverboat captain Charlie who takes
in a missionary named Rose. They are in very dangerous territory and
must battle the elements as well as each other. Rose soon convinces
Charlie to attack an enemy warship which he does very reluctantly.
Bogart and Hepburn work very well together in this film. This movie has
a great mix of action, comedy, and romance and is very fun to watch.
Bogart won his first and only Oscar for Best Actor in this film. John
Huston directed this film and this is available on Instant Netflix.
Ray
(2004): I now go into this biopic on Ray Charles. IN LIVING COLOUR
alum Jamie Foxx plays the legend which goes into his early childhood to
the event that he went blind, then into the rise of his music career but
his descent into drugs. This movie shows the prejudice he experienced
not so much being black but in being blind where people try to take
advantage of his inability to see. Kerry Washington, Lorenz Tate,
Terrance Howard, and many others co-star in this film. Jamie Foxx won
an Oscar for this film for not playing Ray Charles but being Ray
Charles. This movie came out shortly after the death of Ray but this
was in the works as Ray Charles was on the set meeting with Jamie Foxx.
This is a very compelling film with it being obvious that Foxx put a
lot of effort into making the part as authentic as possible. This was
actually a very good year for Foxx with this movie as well as COLLATERAL
and the tv movie REDEMPTION: THE STAN TOOKIE WILLIAMS STORY.
Dirty
Harry (1971): Now I bring you one of Clint Eastwood's most iconic
roles of Harry Callahan and this was the first of five films of this
character. Callahan is a San Francisco cop who has no compassion for
criminals and must track down a serial killer who calls himself Scorpio,
played by Andy Robinson. Callahan has little regard for the rules
feeling that criminals have too many rights and conveys his feelings
that the victims really have no rights. This movie is a no-nonsense cat
and mouse game between Harry and Scorpio with great action scenes and
iconic lines like asking if someone feels lucky. It also has a good
climax upon a schoolbus. This movie is not for everyone but is an
obvious stab at our justice system which works very well. This is
available on Instant Netflix as well as the other Dirty Harry films.
A
State of Mind (2004): I end this week with this documentary which I
saw at Bracken Library with Travis' Co-Op film series he does through
the school year. He likes to select very thought provoking material and
did not fail here. British director Daniel Gordon filmed two young
gymnasts in North Korea who were training for the Mass Games which is an
annual event where many North Koreans train for to perform for their
leader who at this time was Kim Jong Il. What was really good about
this film is that it gives a very human portrait of these families in
North Korea. It also has people there talking bad about the United
States but not in a real hostile way and is rather understandable at
times. Gordon was actually given approval to film in North Korea and
was only allowed to use one camera but did a great job. There is also
footage of the Mass Games and the rhythmic gymnastics and choreography
were absolutely amazing. I have been to quite a bit of these Co-Op
events and noticed that there was a lot more post-movie discussion
afterwards than I have seen in the past. On Tuesday night, he will be
showing the Ingmar Bergman film PERSONA at 9 pm.
Well, that is
it for this week. Tell me what you like and do not like and stay tuned
for next week which so far includes Alec Baldwin, Jon Stewart, Helen
Mirren, Gene Tierney, Faye Dunaway, and many others.
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