Welcome to the 192nd Edition. We had opening night last night for BIG
RIVER and it is going quite well. I don't have much to say so let's get
to my selections.
Reefer Madness (1936): This is my Cult of UHF
viewing for the week. I decided to use this great movie that shows us
the dangers of the drug marijuana. That's at least what they thought
they were doing in the year it was put out calling it "The Real Public
Enemy #1". The movie starts with a guy organizing a parental meeting to
talk about the big menace and telling the story of two innocent teens
with lots of potential but their lives get ruined by the big monster of
pot. They also have the amusing piano player. This exaggerated film
became a big cult classic and one of the top b-movies. Parents, please
TELL YOUR CHILDREN and show them this movie. They will get their
biggest education that they will ever get and will never want to smoke
pot.
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (1997): The
Facebook friend I chose from this one is Tommy who I was in ANNIE with.
Mira Sorvino and FRIENDS alum Lisa Kudrow play the title characters who
have been inseparable since high school but big outcasts when they were
in high school. Their ten year reunion is coming up and decide to make
up a big success story so that people might treat them better,
especially the "A-group". This is a good comedy showing the high
schoool life and the groups that go into and the big need to "fit in"
as well as all the other needs in high school. Alan Cumming plays the
nerd of the school. Other include Vincent Ventresca, Jeanine Garafolo,
THE PRACTICE alum Camryn Manheim, and many others. I have my 10 year
reunion coming next year and I feel I might relate to them some with
the way I was in high school but that is just me. This is a fun comedy
here that many can relate to.
Bullitt (1968): Peter Yates
directed this film which stars Steve McQueen as the title character
Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco cop whose witness to a crime boss is
left for dead. Bullitt is determined to find who killed his witness and
defies his bosses in order to do so. This movie is most known for the
car chase scene which is considered one of the best if not the best car
chase scenes of all time. This is a very good and accurate movie
looking at the police process and the medical process with a good
performance for McQueen as the cop on the edge who defies the rules a
bit. There is not much else to say here except to check this one out.
Other people in this movie include Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn,
and Robert Duvall.
The Puppetmaster (1993): This is not from
that horror film series, this is a movie that takes place in Taiwan and
is based on the real-life puppeteer Li Tienlu, who during WW2 was used
by the Japanese for some war-time propaganda pieces. It also starts
with his childhood documenting his rise as a puppeteer. The real-life
Li Tienlu does the occasional narration. This is a very beautiful film
but can be slow at times. The puppet shows shown are quite interesting
to watch and it is good to watch someone who is effected by the war
even though he is not in the war. This is definitely something for
foreign film buffs.
Doctor Strange (2007): This is my animated
Marvel movie for the week which gives a look at Dr. Steven Strange, a
doctor who is not a very friendly person. He kind of reminded me of
House in some ways in the beginning of the movie. He then has a bad car
accident which makes the use of his hands very difficult and sends him
into a downward spiral. When becoming broke after his endless search
for a good doctor to cure him, he is contacted by the Ancient One and
embarks on a long journey to Tibet to learn the gift of magic. He has a
hard time at first but then finally learns to "accept the unacceptable"
and goes against many enemies plus one within the group. This was a
pretty entertaining 68 minutes which took a very long look at his
origins. I felt with the time it had that it was too long but on the
other hand, this character really has not had much exposure. This is a
rather dark story and is even rated PG-13 and for pretty good reason.
There was actually a 1978 tv movie and I'm interested in checking that
out sometime.
When Willie Comes Marching Home (1978): This is an
unknown John Ford film and a rare comedy for him. Dan Dailey stars as
Bill Kluggs who decides to make a difference by joining the military
during WW2. He hopes to become a war hero but he is stationed in his
home town as a trainer where many in the town feels he is a coward
because he has been in his hometown. He does however finally get his
chance to become the hero he has always wanted to be. Dailey was
amusing as Kluggs and this was quite the propaganda film where a guy
just does what he is told where friends and even family feel it is not
good enough. I thought there was a good quote in there from his
superior saying that only about 10% of enlisted men are in the war. I
don't know what that is now but the military is more than for war.
While I had disagreements on the messages, it was still pretty
entertaining.
11:14 (2003): Gregg Marcks wrote and directed this
film on the events that lead up to a car crash in the evening at the
title time. There are five different stories that each converge into
the car crash where each person's actions lead up to that crash. Henry
Thomas, most known as Elliot in E.T., plays a driver that gets into
some trouble. This is really something that is very hard to explain on
here without giving it all way but it is very much worth watching and
as a lot of people making bad choices to get us this good movie. Other
people in this movie include Hilary Swank, Patrick Swayze, Rachael
Leigh Cook, Colin Hanks, Shawn Hatosy, and others. I found this movie
on IFC and these are the types of film I am supposed to get exposure
for. Swank was great in her small part as was everyone else. You don't
always have to have special effects to have a good movie.
How to
Start the Day (1937): This is my short film for the week which I found
on TCM. Robert Benchley stars as the person who is trying to
demonstrate how to start the day but has his own issues not being a
morning person and just having things result in disaster making for
some pretty funny 8 minutes. This is the first of the "how to" series
that Benchley did and was a pretty big humorist at the time.
Death
of a Ninja (1981): This is my second Cult of UHF selection for the
week. This is a martial arts film with Sonny Chiba which seems to have
a very limited release since there was not much on imdb.com about this
movie. A fortune-teller foresees that whoever marries the beautiful
Ukio will be the ruler of the world where Jotaro must stop the evil
Lord Donjo from marring Ukio. I admit I had a hard time following this
but had some pretty decent action scenes and quite a bit of violence
making it work the watch. If you like B-movies check out the Cult of
UHF podcasts on itunes.
A Patch of Blue (1965): I now end with
this rather underrated film which stars Sidney Poitier as a successful
black man named Gordon. Elizabeth Hartman is the blind Selina, whose
sleazy mother Rose-Ann, shelters her from the world, and does not
educate her. Shelley Winters plays Rose-Ann and is quite unlikable in
her role making it good. Selina's grandfather who is a little bit nicer
sometimes takes her to the park to the part where she enjoys being
alone and meets Gordon. Gordon and her become good friends but he keeps
his race a secret from her but realizes he needs to get her out of the
situation she is in with her mother. In some ways, Selina was kind of a
Cinderella and Rose-Ann was the wicked mother in this situation who was
abusive both physically and verbally while treating her like a servant.
Wallace Ford played "Ole Pa" and was his last performance. The
performances were great here and was likely a pretty daring film with a
relationship between a blind white woman and a black man. This was even
pre-GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER. This one really needs to be on the
radar and I hope this gets it there. This was a very beautifully filmed
movie with great use of black and white.
Well, that is it for
this week. Tell me what you love and what you hate. I will return next
week with Jamie Lee Curtis and director Stanley Kwan.
FUN LITTLE FACTS
Alan
Cumming (Romy and Michelle) plays Glitch, a version of the Scarecrow,
in the 2007 mini-series TIN MAN. My facebook friend Corey played the
Scarecrow in the Muncie Civic Theater production of THE WIZARD OF OZ
Alan Cumming (Romy and Michelle) plays the lecturer in the 2005 musical version of this week's feature REEFER MADNESS.
Alan Cumming (Romy and Michelle) plays the manager of Rachael Leigh Cook (11:14) in the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats
Alan
Cumming (Romy and Michelle) plays Rooster in the 1999 version of ANNIE.
My facebook friend Tommy, whose selection of Cumming's movie I used on
his profile, played the role at the Anderson Mainstage Theatre version
that I was in. My facebook friend Eric played the part in previous
Mainstage version.
Robert Duvall (Bullitt) plays Captain Frank
Burns in the 1970 film MASH. My facebook friend Bill played the part in
our version at Lee's Theatrical Productions
Robert Duvall
(Bullitt) is a cop who must stop Barbara Hershey's (11:14) ex-husband
from finding her in the 1993 film FALLING DOWN
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