Monday, January 14, 2013

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 103rd Edition

Welcome everyone to the 103rd Edition of my blog.  Next week will be my two-year installment.  It will be just another installment, nothing any more special than my others.  Now for what you came to see.

Sleeping Beauty (1959):  This is my Disney movie for the week.  This one centers around Princess Aurora who has a spell cast upon her by an evil enchantress upon birth that she will die at the age of 16.  She is then taken in by three good fairies in hopes of protecting her.  Things finally begin to catch up to her and only a prince she meets can save her but he doesn't know she is a princess.  This was a great Disney with an awesome battle scene between the Prince and a dragon. 

Edmond (2005):  I found this movie when searching for films for director Stuart Gordon whose movies qualify for the Horror Movie Marathon.  William H. Macy stars as the title character who walks out of his marriage into the streets of New York City's underworld where his life will never be the same again.  I won't say too much here except that this was a rather strange, dark film of mystery and intrigue.  Other actors include Mena Suvari, Joe Mantegna, Bai Ling, and Debi Mazar. 

Bride of the Monster (1955):  This is a movie from "The Worst Director of All Time" Ed Wood.  This movie really wasn't so bad for a b-movie.  Bela Legosi stars as Dr. Varnoff who captures many people to turn into superman and has a female reporter who gets a little too snoopy.  Unfortunately, Bella didn't have much of a budget to work with which really effected the special effects (or lack thereof) for the monster which was clearly an octopus, part of it using footage and when it gets to people, clearly it is fake and that the actors have to do the work which was pretty obvious that they could get out.  Maybe if he had today's effects, it might have looked better.  Bela Legosi was not bad in this film.  This was Wood's only financially successful film upon release.

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987):  Here I go again with Scooby-Doo, in one of those tv movies where Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and Scrappy-Doo go on their own adventures where Shaggy must go to his late uncle's home to collect an inheritance only to find that it is haunted.  They find the number for three ghosts of the title name to exterminate the ghosts.  The Boo Brothers are patterned after the Three Stooges. 

The Third Man (1949):  Now we take a look at Wood's idol Orson Welles who had a supporting role in this film.  Joseph Cotton stars as Pulp novelist Holly Martins who is going to visit his friend Harry Lime who died in a car accident sending him on an investigation as to what happened.  Carol Reed directed this classic film with Graham Greene writing the novel and the screenplay.  This movie is a classic on many levels with the great cuckoo-clock speech in the end.

The Firemen's Ball (1967):  I saw this at the Co-Op film series which is Milos Forman's last Czechoslovakian film.   This takes place at a party for the fire department to celebrate an ex-boss' 87th birthday where things don't go quite as planned including a beauty contest with some unusual contestants and with someone stealing the prizes leading into hilarious chaos.  This movie garnered a lot of controversy in the oppressed Czechoslovakian nation which prompted Forman to flee to America and he would go onto making such great films as ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, AMADEUS, and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT.  This has a very realistic feel to it where no professional actors are used.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966):  I could not resist showing this tv special, something I never tire of and never will.  A lot of this one centers on Linus who once again waits in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin, who is the October equivalent of Santa Claus.  I believe that last Wednesday, I saw the Great Pumpkin and I know one day Linus will as well.  I have stated before how timeless Charlie Brown is and that anyone who has young children need to show them these and their kids as well, even in the year 3000.  The other notable storyline is Snoopy dressing up as the Red Baron who fights for survival.

The Green Butchers (2003):  My friend Tom who owns the Blue Bottle Coffee Shop in Muncie lended this strange Danish film to me.  This has a SWEENEY TODDish storyline to it where two struggling owners of a butcher shop and with some unfortunate events, they have a new secret ingredient for their meat.  This was a very dark comedy.  Mads Mikkelsen stars as the head of the butcher show and some may remember him as Le Chiffre in CASINO ROYALE.

Jamaica Inn (1939):  This is a very early Alfred Hitchcock film.  A very young Maureen O'Hara stars as Mary whose aunt and uncle run the hotel of the title and she soon discovers that it is a base for a band of pirates.  Charles Laughton stars as the head of the pirate group.  This has a very atmospheric feel with a lot of suspense making good Hitchcock, not the greatest, but still something to watch.  This was Hitchcock's last British film before going to America to make some of his best movies and not returning to the land of Britain until 1972.

The Big One (1997):  I was at my dad's yesterday and he found this Michael Moore film and so I decided to watch it with him.  This was one I had heard very little of in Moore's career.  I recall Dr. Royce Clemons mentioning in his review of SICKO that if you are looking for a documentary taht looks at all sides, this is not for you which is the same for this one.  He focuses here on corporate downsizing which is what his book DOWNSIZE THIS is about and he goes to different towns and even small towns whose jobs were lost.  I haven't really looked into the facts of this one but what I have learned with him that while he does manipulate things, there usually remains a half-truth to what he is talking about which both sides need to think.  I do not consider Michael Moore an Anti-American like some do, but as someone who wants his country to live up to their reputation.  Other people seem to make a career out of trying to point out things that are wrong as well which makes him laugh all the way to the bank.  I am pretty anti-corporate so some of these ideas hit home with me and I did like the "Downsizer of the Year" certificates he handed out.

Well, that is it for this week.  I wrote a blog on wrester John Bradshaw Layfield this week so go check that out if you haven't yet. 

Now I go into the final week of the Horror Movie Marathon.  I have enjoyed doing this but I'm glad it is coming to an end.  I have a pretty locked in 3 out of 6 in an impossible lead to catch up to from Tony and Wolf but I have been able to set myself apart from everyone earning my nickname "Master of Loopholes" and I didn't get to watch everything I wanted to but I did expose myself to JACK OF ALL TRADES.  I'm not going to do a synopsis on any of these since it's pretty late anyways so thank you Cavepearl for doing this and I might consider doing it again if you ever do it.

Sleeping Beauty (1959): 

Xena:  The Ides of March:  This one has Xena's long-time enemy Calisto in Hell.

Charmed:  Desperate Housewives
Charmed:  Rewitched

The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror I
The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror XI

Edmond (2005):  Stuart Gordon

Bride of the Monster (1955)

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)

Jack of all Trades:  The People's Dragoon
Jack of All Trades:  Raging Bully
Jack of All Trades:  Daddy Dearest
Jack of All Trades:  One Wedding and an Execution

Charmed:  Kill Billie Vol. 1
Charmed:  The Lost Picture Show

The Third Man (1949)

Jack of All Trades:  Croque for a Day

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966)

Reaper:  Leon

Xena:  Fallen Angel

Jack of All Trades:  Dead Woman Walking
Jack of All Trades:  Love Potion 10

Charmed:  Battle of the Hexes
Charmed: Hulkus Pocus

The Green Butchers (2004)

Charmed:  Vaya Con Leos
Charmed:  Mr. and Mrs Witch
Charmed: Payback's a Witch
Charmed:  Repo Manor

Jack of All Trades:  Up the Creek
Jack of All Trades:  X Marquis the Spot

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Opera

Jack of All Trades:  A Horse of One Color

Jamaica Inn (1939)

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