Friday, January 25, 2013

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 289th Edition

Welcome to the 289th Edition of my series. I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend. This Tuesday is the premier of AMERICA'S GOT TALENT in which I tried out in front of the judges for the second time. I have no idea one way or another if or when I will be featured. This week I pay tribute to the late Delores Fuller who recently left us. I will now get on with my recommendations for this edition.

Starship Troopers (1997): This is part two of my Neil Patrick Harris series. This is my sci-fi film for the week which was an interesting satire directed by Paul Verhoeven. Casper Van Dien stars as Johnny Rico who is one of many high school students encouraged to join the military when graduating to become a citizen. He then must fight a very extreme battle of Alien insects to save the world. Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, and the great Clancy Brown all co-star in this sci-fi film. This is available on Instant Netflix and followed by two sequels which I have not seen. Verhoeven admits that while reading the book, he stopped after a few chapters feeling bored and depressed adopting the satirical tone in the film. He also directed ROBOCOP and TOTAL RECALL and this adds to some good futuristic satire that he has made.

Manhunter (1986): This is part 29 of The Chain and this chain continues with Joan Allen who was a blind girl in this one. This is the film which introduces us to Hannibal Lector and in this movie is played by Brian Cox. Years later, Hannibal would becomes an icon courtesy of Anthony Hopkins but Cox still makes the most of this film. CSI alum William Peterson stars as Will Graham who is a very troubled detective who comes out of retirement to pursue a serial killer named the Tooth Fairy and must go to the man who wronged him for help in Hannibal Lector. Michael Mann directed this version of the film which is quite atmospheric and disturbing but still a pretty good and underrated entry of the Hannibal series. Next week, The Chain will continue with Joan Allen.

Holocaust (1978): This is one of two mini-series I feature in this entry with this one likely pretty easy to guess the time period this takes place. The story centers around the Weiss family who are a Jewish family trying to survive the horrible times of the Holocaust. James Woods plays Karl Weiss who is an artist and is one of the first who must survive the horrible times after his marriage to Inga, played by a young Meryl Streep. Michael Moriarty co-stars as a family friend of the Weiss family who was very idealistic but after joining the Nazis, at the time for money, we see a downward spiral of him becoming one of the worst ones. This is a very moving mini-series but it is not upbeat by any means and has some very disturbing images which were unfortunately very realistic. Ian Holm co-stars as Himmler. Rosemary Harris co-stars as the matriarch of the Weiss family.

Wild Boar Hunt (1940): This is my short film for the week I found on TCM On-Demand. This is a documentary short focusing on Howard Bill who was billed as "The World's Greatest Archer". He demonstrates his archer skills before going on the big boar hunt. This was a pretty insightful documentary short.

Bride of the Monster (1955): This is my tribute to actress Delores Fuller who recently left us and plays the part of Margie. I now bring you "The Worst Director of All Time" in Edward D. Wood Jr. Bela Legosi stars in his last starring role as Dr. Varnoff who captures many men for an experiment. Loretta King stars as a newspaper journalist who gets a little too close to the action. This is Wood at his best with his great knack for being unintentionally funny but was very passionate about his work but lacked attention to detail which is obvious for the octopus in the movie. This is Wood's only financially successful film. This is for any fan of B-movies and is available on Instant Netflix.

Harry Brown (2009): Michael Caine stars as the title character in this film. He is a retired serviceman and widower in England whose best friend is murdered. He tries to leave it to the police but the police are not able to get the job done so he decides to do his own justice. Yes, Michael Caine as a vigilante, how much better can it get. I suppose this is a DEATH WISH for this generation and really questions how far can one go when they do not feel the justice system is working. Caine is great as Harry Brown who can elicit sympathy no matter how violent he gets. Emily Mortimer co-stars as a British cop who is trying to bring justice but has a hard time. Not much more can be said but this is a very underrated action film.

Seven Chances (1925): This is my silent film for the week which stars Buster Keaton as financial broker Jimmie Shannon who is struggling financially. He then finds that in his Grandfather's will that he will inherit 7 million dollars but must marry by later that evening. He then uses very comical means in trying to find that wife while questioning his morality. There is a great scene where Buster is running down the hill trying to dodge the rocks. It was remade years later as the 1999 film THE BACHELOR but I'm sure it does not match this one. This is available on Instant Netflix.

Metropolis (2001): This is my anime film for the week. This movie takes place in a futuristic society where both humans and robots live but not very well together. The robots are executed if they enter the wrong areas. This movie takes place with a young boy named Kenichi and his private investigator uncle. He then meets a girl named Tima who is a robot and he looks to uncover the truth and protect her hoping to make the world a little more peaceful. The animation in this film is amazing but the story lacked some but still brought you in at certain points. This is available on the Crackle app that I have on my Roku player. This is based on the comic by Osamu Tezuka.

1776 (1972): I watched this one at my dad's house who owns the DVD. This is the musical version of the events that lead up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. William Daniels plays the very stubborn John Adams who has this idea to become free of Britain but many do not share his ideals. Howard Da Silva plays Benjamin Franklin who is kind of a conscience for Adams. Ken Howard co-stars as Thomas Jefferson who is talked into writing this Constitution but shows a lot of tension between him and Adams. Blythe Danner plays Martha Jefferson and was actually five months pregnant with her little baby Gwyneth. This movie has some pretty good musical numbers and a great history lesson with good performances. I know a couple people who have tried to put on this show on stage but it is very hard to cast as it needs 26 men who cannot double in parts.

Elizabeth I (2005): This is my second mini-series for this edition and this one was on HBO. Helen Mirren plays "The Virgin Queen" in the later years of her life which focuses on the relationship she had with the Earl of Leicester, played by Jeremy Irons, in which she could not marry him and never did marry even upon the wishes of the kingdom hoping for an heir. She later sets her sights on the Earl's dangerous stepson, played by Hugh Dancy. This is a two-part mini-series where Mirren really shines as Elizabeth and in the same year she plays Elizabeth II in THE QUEEN.

Well, that is it for this week for the movies. Tell me what you like what what you do not like. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Winona Ryder, more Neil Patrick Harris, Ingmar Bergman, and many others. Keep reading and I have an honorable mention.

HONORABLE TV MENTION

Dollhouse (2009-2010): This is a short-lived tv series which lasted two seasons on Fox but did not deserve the term "short-lived". Joss Whedon, known for writing shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, FIREFLY, and the great web-series DR. HORRIBLE'S SING ALONG BLOG, wrote this series. BUFFY alum Eliza Dushku stars in this series. This takes place in an organization where mind-wiped humans, referred to as "dolls", are imprinted with different personalities to do tasks by which the "dollhouse" is hired to do by the clients. When they are not imprinted, they are ignorant, naive, and almost childlike not really knowing the world. All these people have agreed to work for the dollhouse to get a "clean slate" on their lives. Dushku plays the part of Echo which is her code name for the doll and every doll has a code name to the phonetic alphabet. This character really evolves through the show slowly realizing her surroundings of what is really happening and is determined to get out. Olivia Williams stars as Adele who runs the Dollhouse and determined to keep her authority at the Dollhouse. Tahmoh Pinikett plays Agent Ballard who is obsessed with finding Echo and suspects many things that go on but none of his colleagues believe him. There are other well-written characters to stay drawn into the show. The show had 26 episodes and the show really was not formulaic like some shows can be. Each episode was quite different and leaves you wanting more. It also raises a lot of social questions and morality questions on the ethics of what they do. There is an alum from each Joss show I named off in BUFFY and ANGEL alum Eliza Dushku, BUFFY and ANGEL alum Alexis Denisof, ANGEL alum Amy Acker, FIREFLY alum Summer Glau, and DR. HORRIBLE alum Felicia Day. I have decided that next time Joss Whedon puts out a new show that I will make sure I support it from the beginning and hope to be that one person that will keep it from getting an undeserved cancellation. This show is available on Instant Netflix and is worth the watch.

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