Welcome to the 235th Edition of my long-running series. Rehearsals for
GUYS AND DOLLS are going very well, I look forward to it starting in
June. It's time to get out the Netflix and blockbuster queues and check
out my ten for this week.
Iris (2001): This is part one of a
two-part Kate Winslet series I have going. There might be three but
that is doubtful. This is based on the life of novelist Iris Murdoch
and her relationship with her husband John Bayley. This takes a look at
their younger days when meeting and in their later days with Iris'
battle with Alzheimer's disease. In the younger segments Kate Winslet
and Hugh Bonneville play the parts. In the older segments, Judi Dench
and Jim Broadbent play the parts. This is based on the books IRIS: A
MEMOIR and ELEGY FOR IRIS written by Bonneville. The four actors are
very well cast and do a great job of paralleling their parts from young
to old to make the characterizations believable. This is a pretty good
biopic that I found on On-Demand at my dad's house where the actors
made the film good.
Munich (2005): I bring you another true
story where we look at the 1972 Munich Olympics where 11 Israeli
athletes were murdered. When this happens, a group of five people are
recruited to track down and execute each involved. Eric Bana leads this
group followed by Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mattieu Kassovitz, and
Hanns Zischler where it is top-secret and cannot even tell their
families. It also shows the effects of Bana's life where he cannot be
with his wife and children. Steven Spielberg directed this tale which
questions if what happened was justice or vigilantism. This movie is
right before Daniel Craig rose to the part of James Bond. Other actors
in this film include Geoffrey Rush, Michael Lonsdale, and Mathieu
Amalric. This is based on the novel VENGEANCE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN
ISRAELI COUNTER-TERRORIST TEAM by George Jonas. Add this to many good
films by Steven Spielberg.
A Farewell to Arms (1932): This is my
WWI film for the week. Gary Cooper stars Lieutenant Frederic Henry and
Helen Hayes stars as ambulance driver Catherine Barkley who meet and
take an immediate liking to each other but find it hard to be together
during the war. Henry does everything he can to be with the woman he
loves and begins to question the morality of the war. This movie is
based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway and dealt a lot with the censor
board like with a child-birth scene and possibly the anti-war messages.
Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes are very good together making this film
work. I watched this one instantly on Netflix.
Fanny (1932): It
is not often you see back-to-back films with the same year but this
week I do. This is part two of Marcel Pagnol's FANNY trilogy. The first
one was MARIUS and the third one is CESAR. This follows after the first
one where Marius and Fanny form a relationship but then Marius decides
to go out to sea leaving Fanny behind. Cesar is the father of Marius
and very close to Fanny. Fanny then learns she is pregnant with Marius'
child but in his letters to his father he does not mention Fanny much
so she is not sure of his status of coming back. They are also not
married which believe it or not was a big deal in those days. She then
must contemplate what she wants to do. She considers suicide, the
possible return of Marius but not knowing his feelings for her at the
time, or even marry a weathy merchant who seeks her hand. She then
discusses with her mother, Cesar, and the merchant then makes the
decision. This would probably be best watched in the who trilogy. It is
a very well filmed and almost like a theatrical production. It is a
very interesting look at morality in that era and the power of family.
The
Spirit of St. Louis (1957): Billy Wilder directed this inspirational
movie based on Charles Lindbergh's autobiography. James Stewart fought
hard for the part of the pilot who was determined to prove that a plane
can fly from New York to Paris. Charles Lindbergh was one of the
pioneers during the rise of aviation and thought it was possible to do
a flight from New York to Paris. This starts out with him trying to get
the funding together and when that happens, his crew that builds this
plane to last long enough. Once everything is together Lindbergh sets
off for his historical flight which was over 30 hours long. He is then
in the plane by himself with no communication down below. Stewart was
an actual air force pilot and was 47 years old portraying a man who was
25 at the time. This was a bit of a miscast but Stewart still brought
his portrayal of the everyday person to this part to make it inspiring.
I also thought he did a good job carrying the film when he was the only
person in the plane.
Cast Away (2000): Director Robert Zemeckis
and Tom Hanks team up once again. Hanks plays the very dedicated Fed-Ex
employee Chuck Noland who has everything going for him. Helen Hunt
plays his fiancee Kelly. The dedicated employee Chuck then decides to
make a flight overseas for his job and tells Kelly he will be right
back which if you know what this movie is about was not quite true.
Chuck then crashes on an island as the sole survivor and must fend for
himself to survive but makes a friend with "Wilson" leading into some
really good moments. Tom Hanks carries this movie very well where he is
by himself on the island, there is no music score most of the time,
just a good script and a good actor who can make us feel we are right
there with him.
Sherlock Holmes (2009): I finally see the revamp
of the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Guy Ritchie directed this adaptation
of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic which stars Robert Downey Jr. as
the famed detective. For many years such people as Basil Rathbone,
Christopher Lee, John Barrymore, Peter Cushing, and many others and we
get the idea that Detective Holmes is a respectable, well-dressed man
wearing the trademark "deerstalker" hat. In this movie, Detective
Holmes is quite the drug addict who really needs Dr. Watson to keep him
in line. There are also some scenes where he is in some fight scenes
and wins fights knowing where to hit the person. This is really how he
is portrayed in the books nor does he say "elementary, my dear Watson"
in the books so you won't hear it in this movie. Downey was great as
Sherlock Holmes as well as Jude Law who plays Dr. Watson. Usually, the
character of Watson in the movies, is a fat, bumbling, old man like
Nigel Bruce in the early years of the franchise. However, in the books,
Watson is about the same age as Holmes and just as capable as handling
himself which he shows in some fight scenes. I loved Downey's portrayal
of Sherlock Holmes as much as I did when Daniel Craig played James
Bond. Sherlock Holmes is portrayed as human who is gifted at looking at
the little things to solve a crime which sometimes gets him in trouble
but sometimes needs a cocaine fix to stimulate his mind much to the
dismay of Watson. Other actors in this movie include Rachel McAdams,
Mark Strong, and Eddie Marsan. Mark Strong plays the villain Lord
Blackwood who Holmes and Watson do everything they can to bring him
down. I know I have barely even touched on the plot but do not feel I
really need to here since this is pretty widely known with the new
generation getting their own Sherlock Holmes.
The Ballad of
Gregorio Cortez (1982): This is my western for the week which stars
MIAMI VICE alum Edward James Olmos as the title character. This is
actually a true story of a man who is a farmer and acquired a horse.
Cortez did not know much English and a poor translation from a deputy
lead to a huge misunderstanding that caused an innocent person to die
and Cortez to resort to means of protecting his family which made him a
fugitive from the law. This movie takes a look at the price of
prejudice and what it can be lead to. Cortez is a folk hero mostly in
Mexico which I'm sure there are a lot of exaggerations like any other
folk hero we make up (i.e. Jesse James). There are not much subtitles
on Cortez's dialogue which was done on purpose by the filmmakers. This
was a pretty decent film and an interesting historical person to read
up on.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968): I now bring you this
family musical based on the novel by Ian Fleming. Dick Van Dyke stars
as Caractacus Potts who is a struggling inventor trying to raise two
children. He then comes upon a car that his children wants and makes it
into a magical car with his inventing skills. Sally Ann Howes co-stars
as his love interesting Truly Scrumptious who comes to admire
Caractacus. Baron Bomburst, played by Gert Frobe wants that car in the
town of Vulgaria and when the wrong hands get to the flying car,
Caractacus, Truly, and the children must go back and get it but not
knowing the children are banned in the city. He then sees that there is
more to it than getting the car when he finds many children enslaved.
The plot here is very absurd but the musical numbers are pretty
entertaining and Dick Van Dyke was a lot of fun. Also look for Desmond
Llewelyn in the beginning who is most known for playing Q in the James
Bond films.
It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day (1941): This is my animated
short for the week from the studios of Dave Fleischer which features
the character Gabby. Gabby believes he is a know-it-all and drives the
mayor of the town of Lilliput crazy when he decides to go camping with
him. On this camping trip, everything that can go wrong does in this
seven minutes of animated action. The Gabby character only did about 9
cartoon shorts and when Fleischer studios went out of business, Gabby
was never seen again except in the wonderful public domain.
Well,
that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you do not
like. Stay tuned next week which includes more Kate Winslet, Eli Roth,
Nick Nolte, Federico Fellini, and many others.
FUN LITTLE FACTS
I
have not done this segment in a long time but did not do a real
thorough search for facts like I have. If anyone finds other facts, go
ahead and add them to the comments.
JAMES BOND FRANCHISE
-Judi Dench (Iris) has been the head of the British Secret Service M in the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig era.
-Daniel Craig (Munich) is the latest James Bond in the 2006 film CASINO ROYALE and the 2008 follow-up QUANTUM OF SOLACE
-Michael Lonsdale (Munich) played villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film MOONRAKER
-Mathieu Amalric (Munich) played Dominic Greene in the 2008 Bond film QUANTUM OF SOLACE
-Ian Fleming (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang novel author) created the character of James Bond through books.
-Gert Frobe (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) plays Auric Goldfinger in the 1964 Bond film GOLDFINGER
-Desmond
Llewelyn (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) plays equipment specialist Q
starting with the 1963 Bond film FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE to the 1999 Bond
film THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
MARVEL FRANCHISE
-Eric Bana (Munich) plays Bruce Banner who becomes the Incredible Hulk in 2003 film HULK
-Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) plays Tony Stark who becomes the Iron Man in the IRON MAN films in 2008 and 2010
James
Stewart (The Spirit of St. Louis) plays Alfred Kralik in the 1940 film
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. Tom Hanks (Cast Away) plays Joe Fox in the
1998 remake YOU'VE GOT MAIL
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