Welcome everyone to the 223rd edition of my long-running series. I
really hope that the weather stays okay this week but that is all I
have to say so get our your Netflix and Blockbuster queues and read on.
When
We Were Kings (1996): This is my documentary for the week which won an
Academy Award for Best Documentary. I had this on Netflix and a couple
weeks ago my mom and her boyfriend were contemplating what to watch so
when I heard them I asked if they wanted to see this one and they
agreed. I suggested it knowing my mom has met Muhammed Ali when she was
in the Navy and ended up sitting with him and his family on an
airplane. This documentary takes a look at the story leading into
Rumble in the Jungle which was a fight in Zaire, Africa between Ali and
George Foreman, the owner of the Foreman Grill. It also takes a look at
some of the early life of Ali, Foreman, and even fight promoter Don
King. It also takes a look at the delays and has many interviews with
both parties as well as concert footage from James Brown who performed
out there in the events leading into the fight. This was a very good
documentary that is worth a watch.
Hoosiers (1986): The Cacebook
friend I chose for this week is Dave who used to be a wrestler named
Dave Dynasty. This is my movie that takes place in my state of Indiana
for the week. David Anspaugh, the greatest sports movie director,
directed this basketball film which is based on a true story. Gene
Hackman stars as Norman Dale who is hired as the coach of a high school
basketball in a very small town in Indiana who all they really have is
basketball. He turns a team which has limited players into a team that
becomes a contender for the high school championship. Dennis Hopper
co-stars as Shooter, the town drunk who was a one time the star-player
for the high school. Norman hires him as an assistant coach if he
agrees to stop drinking. Barbara Hershey co-stars as a teacher who has
a hard time accepting Norman as the coach. Hopper was great in his role
as well as the unknown cast where all the people on the team are
unknown and never became big stars but can always have this one to look
back on. This is based on the 1954 team in the small town Milan,
Indiana who went on to win the championship and upset one of the top
high school baskeball teams Muncie Central which is in my town. This
movie was actually filmed in Indiana and is one of the best sports
movies of all time.
Take the Money and Run (1969): This is an
early Woody Allen film which he wrote and directed which I consider his
most underrated film and my favorite of his films. This movie is shot
in documentary style were Woody plays bumbling criminal Virgil
Starkwell. It talks about his early childhood, his failed music career,
and his unsucessful bank robbing career. It also takes a look at his
love life where he feels he must commit a robbery to support his
family. There are some pretty funny moments like his attempted escape
with a gun made from soap, the escape with six other people when he was
on a chain gang, and many others. In the prison scenes there were some
actual prisoners paid a small fee to work on the film. This was the
first widely-released film in the "mockumentary" genre which was before
THIS IS SPINAL TAP was released.
America (2009): This is my tv
movie for the week which I found on the Lifetime Movie Network. I
usually gloss right through that channel but the description really
interested me and I was interested in seeing Rosie O'Donnell in
something like this movie. O'Donnell and Joyce Eliason wrote the
teleplay which takes a look at the Foster Care system. O'Donnell plays
a psychiatrist at a youth treatment center who encounters her latest
challenge in a bi-racial boy of the title name. America has lead a very
difficult life where he was taken from his parents and his foster
father was very abusive. She must do everything possible to get through
to him and provides a lot of patience to him. It takes a very good look
at the very flawed foster care system.
The Big Bad Wolf
(40s/50s): This is my animation short for the week which takes a look
at Little Boy Blue and Little Bo Peep who come together with another
person who I believe has a pumpkin head. They must then contend with a
wolf who is targeting them and the sheep. It was pretty entertaining
and even has a good musical number.
The Flesh and the Fiends
(1960): This is my horror film for the week which stars Peter Cushing.
Cushing plays surgeon and professor Dr. Robert Knox who requires
cadavers for his research of the human body. He has a couple people
named Burke and Hare to get him his cadavers which go about it in
strange ways. A young Donald Pleasance plays the role of Hare. This was
a rather unknown but good chiller. This movie is actually based on a
true story.
The Hours (2002): This is a story where the novel
MRS. HALLOWAY focuses on three generations of women who all deal with
suicide in some way or another. Nicole Kidman plays writer Virginia
Woolf who actually wrote MRS. HALLOWAY this takes place on her writing
the novel. Julianne Moore plays Laura Brown who is pregnant with her
second child and does not know if she can be a good mother to that
child. Meryl Streep plays Clarissa who is trying to throw a party for
her best friend Richard, played very well by Ed Harris, who is a famous
author dying of aids. Each story deals with similar situations which
make them all come together in the end. Other people in the movie
include Jeff Daniels, Claire Danes, John C. Reilly, and many others.
The
Story of Louis Pasteur (1935): Paul Muni plays the title character who
was a scientist. He ends up finding cures for anthrax and rabies. In
his quest to find these cures, he does not get much support from his
colleagues until he is able to prove his theories. This is a very
compelling film with a good performance from Muni who I feel is one of
the best actors of that era but is not nearly as known as people like
Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy.
Summertime (1955): This is
part two of my Katherine Hepburn series and probably the last but who
knows. Last week I used ALICE ADAMS where she was much different than
her usual persona she shows a lot. This was another Hepburn film where
I felt she was much different. Here, she plays a lonely American woman
named Jane Hudson in France for vacation who is content in her single
life until she meets a man she love but the only problem is that she is
married. I would call this kind of a character study where we see Jane
see all the sights and meet people in a very strange land. She also has
an interesting friendship with a rebellious child. I liked the scene
where she gives him a cigarette which was probably no big deal in those
days like it is today. This movie helped tourism in the country at the
time.
Gerry (2002): I now end with this Gus Van Zant film which
was written by him and the two stars of the film Matt Damon and Casey
Affleck. Damon and Affleck play friends who wander off in the desert
possibly wanting to get away from everything. They end up getting very
lost and they are without food and water where they must do what they
can to survive. This journey puts a big test on their friendship where
they must battle the elements. Gus Van Zant in known for his
experimental films and this was an interesting idea which got a lot of
mixed opinion I can see. There was not much dialogue, but a lot of
imagery. It is kind of a hit of miss opportunity for people to see. I
will not put this in my list of favorite films but I did feel the stars
worked well together. I also thought it was a good effort by Van Zant,
Damon, and Affleck which was worth a look but really needs to have
attention when viewing.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you love and what you hate and stay tuned for next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment