Welcome to the 313th Edition of my long-running series. I don't really
have a whole lot to say on this one so let's just get to the
recommendations.
Into the Storm (2009): This is my biopic this
week on Winston Churchill who most know was prime minister of Great
Britain and this takes place near the end of WWII. This takes a look at
his political and married life. Brendan Gleeson plays the part of
Churchill and Janet McTeer plays his wife who finds their marriage hard
while he is leader. Len Cariou is good as FDR who comes to admire the
arrogance of Churchill. This was an HBO film and a pretty good look at
times in WWII.
Children of Men (2006): This is part two of my
two-part Clive Owen series. This is a film which takes place in 2027
which stars Owen as Theo who is a former activist turned bureaucrat.
This takes place in a world where babies have not been born for 18
years. Julianne Moore co-stars as his ex-lover Julian who remains an
activist and asks him to transport a woman who is miraculously pregnant
to safety. Theo is very reluctant to take the job but takes it.
Michael Caine is kind of the comic relief who plays Theo's hippy friend
Jasper. He based this character on John Lennon. This is a very bleak
futuristic film with Owen great in his role of the unlikely hero. This
is not for everyone but is a pretty clever film and moves very well.
Maryam
(2002): This is kind of my social drama for the week. Miriam Parris
stars as the title character who is Iranian born but only really knows
her American side. Her family soon takes in a family member from Iran
who begins to make her question her beliefs and brings out secrets of
her father. This is also around the time of Iran taking Americans
hostage where they had to deal with prejudice because of their heritage.
This was a pretty compelling film and kept my interest throughout.
Shoot
the Piano Player (1960): Francoid Truffaut directed this French film.
Charles Aznavour stars as Charlie who is a piano player who is in love
with a waitress named Lena. Charlie's brother Chico is on the run from
gangsters and takes refuge in the night club. We then learn a lot more
about Charlie who was once a very successful pianist. Charlie then has
to deal with his brother and the gangsters. This is a must for fans of
the French cinema and a very well-shot film.
Good Table Manners
(1951): This is my short film of the week from the always entertaining
Coronet film series which did a not of informational videos which are
mostly entertaining now. This shows a 17 year old boy who lacks table
manners and is soon visited by his 21 year old self who teaches him
these manners. It was quite funny and one thing I wondered was how that
21 year old even learned these manners to teach his younger self but oh
well. I found this on the Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player.
Faust
(1926): This is my silent film for the week directed by the legendary
F.W. Murnau. This one shows God and Satan at war with each other and
battling for the soul of the title character, played by Gosta Ekman.
Emil Jannings plays the part of Mephisto who comes to tempt Faust into
eternal youth and falls in love with a young person but must decide what
is more important. This was a very well done film for that era and
kept my attention the whole way through. This is available on Instant
Netflix.
In This Our Life (1942): I was looking for something
from this era at the library and took interest in this drama. Bette
Davis and Olivia De Havilland star as sisters Stanley and Roy, yes
interesting names for women. Stanley is the bad sister who runs off
with Roy's husband Peter, played by Dennis Morgan. In this process,
Stanley had a fiance named Craig, played by George Brent, who she
dumped. This is a great story of love and betrayal with Stanley then
committing an ultimate act of betrayal. John Huston directed this film
and his father Walter has a cameo as a bartender. Billie Burke who is
most known for Glenda in THE WIZARD OF OZ co-stars as the mother and
Hattie McDaniel plays the servant of the house. This was probably
pretty controversial for its time and seems a bit overlooked today so
hoping to get this on the radar. In real life Davis and De Havilland
were good friends unlike Joan Crawford who did not get along with Bette
Davis at all.
The Amazing Transparent Man (1960): This is my
B-movie for the week which features a mad scientist named Paul. He soon
makes plans to make a radiation to make an invisible army to sell to
the highest bidder. He soon busts a criminal out of prison to
experiment on the new formula with lots of side effects. That's the
description, this is something where you get friends together to watch
and crack jokes. This is available on Instant Netflix.
O
Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): The Coen Brothers directed and wrote
this film based loosely on Homer's THE ODYSSEY. This movie takes place
in 1930s Mississippi which stars George Clooney as Everett who along
with two other convicts escape from the chain gang in search for a
treasure. The other two are John Turturro who plays Pete and Tim Blake
Nelson plays Delmer. In the process they unexpectedly form a singing
career while on run from the law. They meet up with many interesting
characters along the way. John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Michael
Badalucco, and many others co-star in the film. This is a great comedy
that has the perfect soundtrack and carefully created characters.
Death
Proof (2007): This is Quentin Tarantino's entry in the homage to
Grindhouse in which Robert Rodriguez directed the other one called
PLANET TERROR. In this film, Kurt Russell stars as Stuntman Mike who
likes to prey on and murder women with his stunt car. He stalks two
groups of women but one group turns out to be the wrong group for him
who turn the tables on Mike. There is a great, climatic car chase near
the end. Sydney Tamila Poitier, Jordan Ladd, Vanessa Ferlito, and
Monica Staggs co-star as the first set of girls who are just out to have
fun. Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are his next
set of girls. To really appreciate the film, you must understand the
Grindhouse concept. I liked the other a little better but Tarantino
still delivers here. I'm hoping that sometime they release on DVD and
Instant Netflix the whole Grindhouse series which was shown in theaters
that has fake trailers and commercials.
Well that is all for this
week. Tell me what you like and do not like. Stay tuned for next week
which so far includes Luis Bunuel, Reese Witherspoon, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
Len
Cariou (Into the Storm) played Sweeney Todd on Broadway in the late
70s. My Facebook friend Jimmy played the part in our recent production
in Portland, IN.
Danny Huston (Children of Men) is the son of
John Huston (In This Our Life director) and grandson of Walter Huston
(In This Our Life cameo). I feel Danny does not get the credit he
deserves.
BATMAN FRANCHISE
-Michael Caine (Children of Men) plays Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred in the Christian Bale era
-George Clooney (O Brother Where Art Thou) plays Batman in the 1997 film BATMAN AND ROBIN
John Goodman (O Brother Where Art Thou) and Danny Huston (Children of Men) co-star in the 2010 HBO movie YOU DON'T KNOW JACK.
Tracie
Thomas (Death Proof) plays Joanne in the 2005 film RENT and on the
final Broadway performance. My Facebook friend Amanda played the part
in a recent production at Muncie Civic Theater.
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