Welcome to the 157th Edition of my series and the beginning of the
fourth year of doing this. In just a couple of weeks, I have A TIME FOR
CHRISTMAS performances which are November 28th and 29th at 7:30 and the
30th at 2:00 pm. The show seems to be going pretty well. As soon as this
is over, I go straight into rehearsals for A FEW GOOD MEN in
Greenfield, IN where I play Jeffrey Howard which will mark my third show
in a row and fourth since July. Just this week, I saw some of a local
film festival called the Harvest Moon Film Festival so in the coming
weeks you will see some selections here but not every week though but
there will be one next week. I was disappointed that there was not a
bigger crowd at the film festival. I know you did not come here to hear
about my theater life so now I give you my ten.
You're Not
Elected, Charlie Brown (1972): With the recent election, I thought it
would be fitting to include this one where we see Linus running for
school president with all kinds of plans for change with Lucy and
Charlie as his managers. If Linus wins, will he keep his word? One of
the best Peanuts segment of all time is the Joe Cool segment which is
featured here where he poses as one of the kids in the school. I can
never get enough of Charlie Brown and you'll see that this somewhat
follows IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN.
When Harry Met
Sally (1989): I chose this after director Rob Reiner's mother recently
died. She can be seen and heard saying the memorable line "I'll have
what she's having". This very well may be one of the best romantic
comedies of all time. Billy Crystal plays Harry and Meg Ryan is Sally.
They meet after a college graduation and Sally takes Harry home where
she first learns his philosophy of "men and women can't be friends"
where she disagrees. Through all their failed relationships, they keep
meeting and find it harder and harder to resist. Not much more needs to
be said. I really don't believe in the men and women can't be friends
thing. I have women friends and I do not really desire sex out of them
but besides I'm not really the relationship type. This is still a very
fun movie with the memorable fake orgasm scene. Bruno Kirby and Carrie
Fisher add to it as well.
My Man Godfrey (1936): William Powell
stars as the title character who is a homeless man who is hired by
socialite Irene, played by Carole Lombard, as a butler but we will soon
learn that there is a bit more to Godfrey than what we thought. Powell
is great as Godfrey who is very dedicated to his job no matter how crazy
they may seem. It can also be considered one of the best comedies of
all time. I don't have much else to say on this one except to take a
look at this sometimes overlooked film.
Last holiday (2006): I
may get some mixed opinions on this reworking of the 1950 film which
stars former rapper Queen Latifah. She plays a department store worker
fed up with her job and then learns she only has weeks to live. She then
sells everything to take a dream vacation to Europe where she meets
many high class snobs who take an interest and even a liking to her
attitude. LL Cool J plays her dream boyfriend and Gerard Depardieu tops
it out as a chef who I always like in a movie. It was a nice diversity
in the cast and I guess I share many of the ideas of Latifah's character
about living for the moment so I guess I liked it most because I
related to the ideals of the character.
Proof (1991): Jocelyn
Moorhouse wrote and directed this story of a blind man named Martin who
loves taking pictures. Hugo Weaving plays this role and many may
remember him as V in V FOR VENDETTA. He is looked after by Celia, played
by Genivieve Picot, his housekeeper who he has always had a very uneasy
relationship with. Martin later meets a restaurant worker named Andy,
played by a young Russell Crowe, who he becomes friends with and has him
look at his photos and describe them. This is an interesting look from a
blind perspective where when not careful, the people around him can
hurt him. This is a neat story of betrayal. One thing about this is that
I really did not find Martin to be the most likable guy but that's just
me I'm sure. Still a good performance and worth seeing how far Russell
Crowe has come through the years.
Spooks Run Wild (1941): I gotta
say I know nothing about the East Side Kids. I guess they were some
young hoodlums who were small-time troublemakers and they get sent to a
camp after making a bit of trouble. When there they learn of a "monster
killer" and soon they must get help from a mansion owned by Legosi who
looks a lot like Dracula, where strange things start to happen. Again,
nothing great, but fun to watch with Muggs, Peewee and the other East
Side Kids. Also fun to watch Bela.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002): The
facebook friend I chose for this week was Steve who I was in middle
school and high school with. Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed
this movie which stars Adam Sandler in a much different role, something a
little more serious but still comedic. Sandler owns a small business
and has 7 sisters who run all over him. He then meets a woman played by
Emily Watson who asks for help with a car. They form a friendship but
must overcome their lack of social skills to be together. There are some
great moments like the call to one of those sex hotlines and his
obsession over groceries just to get frequent-flyer miles. I really
cared about his character in this one making it much easier to like it.
Alexander
the Great (1956): Robert Rossen wrote and directed this film which
through the years has had a lot of mixed opinions. Richard Burton plays
the title role who led many Greek tribes against a Persian empire. Many
will say it's historically inaccurate, I'm not going to research the
accuracy, it's a movie and I did not have accuracy in mind while
watching it. I liked seeing Peter Cushing, who plays Memnon a rival of
Alexander. I have not seen the 2004 version which I don't hear much
better things on. I did enjoy Burton in this performance and I was still
entertained. Cushing's long-time co-star Christopher Lee dubs the voice
of actor Helmut Dantine who plays Nectenabus.
British
Intelligence (1940): I know I have used Boris Karloff a lot and since I
have Legosi, I thought it fitting to include Boris in once again an
unknown movie of his. Karloff plays Valdar, a Double agent in WW2
working for Germany and posing as a butler. This is a great movie on WW2
with Karloff showing a lot of range in this movie and even sympathy
behind the creepiness.
The Holy Girl (2004): Lucrecia Martel
directed this Spanish film which stars Maria Alche as Amalia and who the
title character is referring to. Carlos Belloso plays a respected
doctor named Dr. Jano who makes a strange advance at Amalia which makes
Amalia want to save his soul. Amalia is part of a rather dysfunctional
family who own a run-down hotel and her mom later forms a relationship
with Dr. Jano which in all this set off some very bad events. This movie
is not for everyone but may be for the foreign film buff. I enjoyed
seeing ALIAS alum Mia Maestro who is the teacher at church who sings
quite well.
Well that is it for this week. Forgive my lackluster
writing, I just put this thing together. Please leave your comments on
what you like and what you hate. I will be back next week where I have
some pretty interesting things planned.
FUN LITTLE TRIVIA
Carrie
Fisher (When Harry Met Sally) played Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars
Episodes 4-6 and Peter Cushing (Alexander the Great) played Grand Moff
Tarkin in Episode 4. Christopher Lee (Alexander the Great, uncredited
voice Dubbing) played Count Dooku in Episodes 2 and 3.
Boris
Karloff (British Intelligence) made the role of Frankenstein's monster
very iconic. Bela Legosi (Spooks Run Wild) originally turned down the
role which some say ruined his career later played the role in
Universal's FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. Christopher Lee (Alexander
the Great, voice Dubbing) played the creature in Hammer Films' THE CURSE
OF FRANKENSTEIN which Peter Cushing (Alexander the Great) plays Dr.
Frankenstein and plays the role throughout many Hammer films. The same
can be said about the Dracula legacy where Bela Legosi makes the role
very iconic, though I prefer Christopher Lee in the Hammer Films and
Peter Cushing plays Dracula's rival Van Helsing in HORROR OF DRACULA,
among others.
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