Welcome to the 359th Edition of my series. Today starts the annual
Horror Movie Madness contest where so far I have never won but I do
always know how to exploit loopholes that have nothing to do with horror
and am known as "The King of the Loophole". This year I have a lot of I
need to get out of my Netflix Queue so we'll see how this year goes.
The
Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005): This is my French film for the week
that was directed by Jacques Audiard. Romain Duris stars as Tom who
lives a life of crime and takes after his father. He soon renews his
love for the piano after a chance encounter and gets an opportunity to
possibly become a concert pianist. He soon begins to favor the pianist
life but finds that getting out of his way of life is not easy. His
instructor is an Asian woman who does not know French but teaches him
very well. This is a rare remake of an American film and usually it is
the other way around. The original is a 1978 film called FINGERS which I
have not seen. This is a pretty well done film with good
performances. This is a good character study where we watch Tom try to
choose what is best for him but having a hard time.
Bad
Teacher (2011): I now give you a rather raunchy comedy. Cameron Diaz
stars as the title character Elizabeth Halsey who is dumped by her rich
fiancee so returns to teaching to raise enough money for breast
implants. She is not a very good teacher at all as she mostly shows
movies in class, sleeps in class, sneaks some pot smoking and other
things. She soon forms an interest for a substitute teacher named
Scott, played by Justin Timberlake. She gets competition from another
teacher named Amy, played by Lucy Punch, who is also suspicious of Amy.
Jason Segal co-stars as the gym teacher Russell who has an interest
toward Elizabeth but does not appear to be her type. For a raunchy
comedy, this is pretty fun to watch and one that just about every
teacher wishes they could be. Diaz was a lot of fun as the rather
unlikable Elizabeth who had some redeeming qualities. A good double
feature might be this followed by something like BAD SANTA.
The
Serpent and the Rainbow (1988): This is part one of a Wes Craven
series that will either go two or three parts. Craven directed this
horror film that was inspired by a true story. Bill Pullman stars as an
anthropologist named Dennis Alan who travels to Haiti in search of a
drug that renders people in a zombie-like state. Alan soon stumbles
onto far more than he wants to in a place of a lot of police corruption
and witch-doctory. People who are supposed to be dead appear to be
alive but in a semi-conscious state. This one could be considered a
psychological thriller just as much as horror and a great film that
focuses on voodoo. This movie is a bit slow-paced at times and takes a
while sometimes to get to the climax but the journey is worth it.
Craven did a good job on this film and people who are not as much into
horror might like. It is loosely based on a non-fiction book by
ethnobotanist Wade Davis. There is not a lot more I can explain except
to just give it a shot.
The Great Library Misery
(1938): This is my short film for the week. Arthur Bryan stars as Mr.
Smith who desires to join a club called the Grouch Club who I guess is a
club that always stands up for what they believe. He reflects on an
experience at the library where he had a lot of trouble checking out a
book and each time there was a new piece of red tape. This is a rather
funny comedy and of worth to see Bryan in his debut. who is most known
for voicing Elmer Fudd.
The Corpse Vanishes (1942):
This is my Bela Lugosi movie for the week that I watched to MYSTERY
SCIENCE THEATER 3000. Lugosi plays a mad scientist who looks to keep
his wife looking young by kidnapping young females and extracting fluid
from them to give to his wife. He gets help from his dwarf sidekick.
Yes, that is what this movie is all about. It is one that is a lot
easier to watch with MST3K but still rather amusing in its genre. This
is a 1989 episode which had its first host Joel Hodgson and it has a
rather amusing sci-fi short before this movie that they started cracking
upon.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964): This
is my Toho film of the week that focuses on Ghidorah who results from a
meteor in Japan. This monster is determined to destroy Tokyo. In the
meantime we see Godzilla and Rodan fighting it out until Mothra comes
along in attempt to unite in order to take on Ghidorah. Mothra and
Godzilla have had their own problems but there is one interesting scene
where the three are talking and being translated from the mini-twin
girls. This one really had a lot of very good action and was Godzilla's
first outing as the good guy. This is considered by many to be the
best and this is one of the better ones I have seen. This is King
Ghidorah's first appearance and would almost always be the villain.
This is available on Instant Netflix.
Pinocchio
(1940): This is my Disney film for the week. We first meet Gepetto who
is a woodmaker who really wants to be a father so he makes a wish upon a
star. When this happened, the Blue Fairy gives his wooden puppet
Pinocchio life. Pinocchio soon gets the opportunity to become a real
boy but had to earn it. With the help of his conscious Jiminy Cricket,
he tries to become real but must overcome temptation. I always find
this one to be quite dark and disturbing. I also thought that they have
a lot of expectation of Pinocchio to learn what's right and what's
wrong when he was really just a day old. Gepetto just sent him off on
his own and was soon introduced to the evils of the world. There are
other things but I don't really want to give too much away though most
have probably seen this film. It is still very good and introduces us
to the song WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR. There is also Gepetto's loyal
cat and fish that add some comic relief. I know anti-smoking companies
probably do not like this movie as it shows children smoking cigars but
at a price so maybe they do not feel that way. Mel Blanc who is best
known for voicing Bugs Bunny lends his voice to some of the characters
in this film. This is a timeless classic during the glory days of
Disney.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001):
Chris Columbus brought to life the phenomenon brought on by J.K. Rowling
who created this character making many kinds finally read for a
change. Daniel Radcliffe brought the title character to life. He
learns that he is a powerful wizard and soon goes to the school of
Hogwarts that teaches wizardry and witchcraft. He soon finds himself in
a new world with people like Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie
Coltrane, Warwick Davis, John Hurt, and many others. In this one, part
of it is him becoming friends with Ron, played by Rupert Grint, and
Hermione, played by Emma Watson. I don't think I really need to give a
lot of explanation on this as most people have a basic idea on Harry
Potter. It is seen by many to be satanic but most just see it as
fantasy and fiction. One thing I will say is that these movies showcase
some of the best actors and actresses and more are to come in the next
few Harry Potters. This was a good way to get it started with Radcliffe
perfect to play Potter.
Deep Red (1975): This is my
Giallo film for the week from Dario Argento. David Hemmings stars as
Marcus Daly who is a jazz pianist and witnesses a murder of a psychic.
He soon teams up with a feisty reporter, played by Daria Nicolodi, and
finds that his life is in danger if he does not find the killer.
Argento is one of the best horror directors of all time and is Italian.
I really enjoyed this one. The foreshadowing of scenes is great, the
music works very well, and has good performances as well as a good
story. This is not for everyone but if you have a good enough stomach
for violence, this would be for you.
12:08 East of
Bucharest (2006): I end this week with Travis's Co-Op film series
selection and possibly the first Romanian film to be on this list.
Corneliu Porumboiu wrote and directed this foreign comedy where a group
of characters revisit the Romanian Revolution of 1989 which is a real
life event that marked the end to a communist regime where it explores
if the revolution really happened and if some of the characters were
even a part of it. This movie has some good characters with a good
storyline. It also delivers a lot of laughs that were all in good
humor. The main character Piscoci is the one looking into the facts and
has a funny scene where he is interviewing a couple of the characters
to see if they were part of the revolution. If you are okay with having
to read subtitles, I believe you will really like this one.
Well,
that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you dislike.
Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Kirsten Dunst, James
Mason, Kristen Wiig, Lon Chaney Jr., more Wes Craven, Peter Cushing,Ving
Rhames, and many others.
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