Welcome to the 341st Edition of my long-running series. This week, I
am starting rehearsals for THE PRODUCERS at the Guyer Opera House in
Lewisville, IN. I am in the chorus and make my debut at that theater. I
had a good birthday last weekend and thanks everyone for the birthday
wishes. I am now get on with my selections for week.
Persepolis (2007): I start this week with this
animated film from France. This true story takes place starting in
1970s Iran and centers around a young girl named Marji who is very
idealistic about what is going on but sees it is becoming very
repressive by the Islamic fundamentalists. She is a very outspoken
person and her parents send her to Vienna for school and to have a
better life. Even there she finds it is very difficult trying to adapt
to this different culture. The storytelling in this film is great and
is a very good look at that era in Iran. This is adapted from graphic
novels by the real Marjane "Marji" Satrapi who was very involved in this
movie with the screenplay and as one of the directors. The animation
was very good in this movie. The English language film has voices from
Sean Penn, Catherine Deneuve and Iggy Pop. This is a very beautiful and
personal story and makes for a good movie to watch.
Secret
Origin: The Story of DC Comics (2010): This is my documentary for the
week. This movie takes a look at the history of DC Comics from its
start to the modern-day. It talks about their rise in the early 30s
when two guys named Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created a character
which was named Superman and the tough time they had getting people to
accept the idea. I know many which hate Superman and I admit he is not
my favorite but credit must be given where it is due to these guys and
DC comics for Superman starting the superhero genre. I also was not
aware that at the time it was a statement towards immigration in many
ways. It then goes onto talk about the next DC superhero that was
created by Bob Kane. This guy was named Batman and created to be a lot
darker than Superman and has also become a pop-culture phenomenon in
comics, television, and film. Rounding out the three founders of DC
Comics was the first female superhero of Wonder Woman. It then goes
onto talk about some of the others that came out like the Flash, Green
Lantern, Aquaman, the Spectre, and many others. There was also a period
where a big censorship backlash started and the superhero comics faded
out for a bit. It then went into the modern era when the superhero
films started. I always like documentaries on comic books, especially
listening to the writers reflect on their work. It was interesting
seeing one of the writers who made Wonder Woman into a martial artist
and how he regrets that decision. This is a very informative
documentary that I think anybody can gain the interest of just about
anyone.
Flash Point (2007): This is my Asian film for
the week which stars martial arts icon Donnie Yen. Yen played Detective
Ma Jun who teams up with an undercover cop named Hua Sheng to bring
down three Vietnamese brothers in a smuggling ring. Ma Jun is very
dedicated to catching the bad guys but is known to bend the rules in
order to catch them which has him in hot water with his superiors. Hua
Sheng has a girlfriend who just learns of his profession and wants him
to get out but finds that is not easy. One thing I did like about this
was how it dealt with the gray areas of justice in our society. It also
had a great fight scene towards the end. This is not Yen's best but
still entertains and is taking his spot over Jet Li on my list of Asian
actors. Yen and Collin Chou said their fight scene was the most
difficult of their careers and they came through. This is available on
Instant Netflix.
The Grapevine (1958): This is my
short film for the week which was one of those that is supposed to
educate but instead it just entertains. This short talks about the
affects of listening to gossip in the workplace. It talks about a nosy
secretary who believes the boss is firing people and then the rest of
the employees overreact. This is a seven minute short which is quite
entertaining. I found this on my Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player but
can be found on Youtube.
Ladies They Talk About
(1933): Barbara Stanwyck stars as Nan who is a female bank robber who
ends up in prison. Preston Foster plays an evangelist named David Slade
who loves her but turns her in after she confides her guilt in him.
She soon fits into the San Quentin prison and begins to run things
there. This is an early film in Stanwyck's career and would go onto do
better things. This is still a good watch for classic movie buffs.
Usually women in prison movies are the exploitation films of the 70s
which usually have Pam Grier so when finding this on TCM On-Demand I
became curious. This did keep my interest and is a little over an hour
long which is still available on TCM On-Demand.
Godzilla
vs. Monster Zero (1965): I decided to go this route of the Japanese
icon. This was an interesting story to say the least. Some aliens from
a planet called Planet X were having problems with the 3 Headed Dragon
King Ghidorah so they request the use of Godzilla and Rodan to defeat
Ghidorah. It turns out though that these aliens had bigger motives. It
was good to see the addition of aliens in this story and there was less
monster fighting but it was good while it lasted plus gave a new Toho
element with the aliens. There was one very amusing scene with Godzilla
doing a victory dance. This is available on Instant Netflix and a
must-see for Godzilla fans.
The Bad and the Beautiful
(1952): Vincente Minelli directed this film on the film industry.
Kirk Douglas stars as a struggling producer named Jonathan Shields
looking to make a comeback after a few flops. There are three people
that he wants. He wants actress Georgia Lorrison, played by Lana
Turner, director Fred Amiel, played by Barry Sullivan, and writer James
Lee Bartlow to be part of this new movie project. The problem is that
at some point he screwed these people over and they do not want to work
again. Walter Pidgeon plays Harry Pebbel who runs the studio and is
trying to appeal to these people. The story is told in flashback form
from each person who is giving their reasons not wanting to work with
Jonathan. This is a very well-told film of its own industry during this
era. Douglas and the rest are good in their parts. Much of the
characters are based on real people in the industry.
Gangs
of New York (2002): Martin Scorsese directed this look at gangsters in
the 1860s. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Amstersdam Vallon who returns to
the Five Points area in New York City seeking vengeance for the murder
of his father, played by Liam Neeson. He goes after ruthless gangland
kingpin Bill the Butcher, played very well by Daniel Day-Lewis. This
movie was first proposed by Scorsese in 1979 where he intended to cast
Dan Aykroyd as Amsterdam and John Belushi as Bill so I have no idea
where this movie would have gone if that had gone through. The
character of Bill is based on a real-life person named Bill Poole.
Cameron Diaz co-stars as Jenny who becomes a love interest of
Amsterdam. Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Henry Thomas
and Cara Seymour all co-star. This is a really good look at this era
with good performances including DiCaprio in his role. In the
beginning, they play the instrumental of Peter Gabriel's SIGNAL TO NOISE
so that won me over right away. This is not for everyone but if you
can get past the violence I think it will be enjoyable.
True
Grit (1969): This is my western for the week with The Duke. John
Wayne stars as lawman Rooster Cogburn who has a reputation for having
grit and his use of alcohol. Kim Darby stars as Mattie Ross whose
father has been murdered and is determined to avenge her father's
death. She soon learns about Rooster's reputation and hires him to
track her father's killer. He soon reluctantly takes the job and even
tries not to take her with him but finds that she is very stubborn in
her determination to join him. Joining them is Texas Ranger La Boeuf,
played by Glen Campbell. This trio tracks down the gang that killed
Mattie's father in this action packed western. Robet Duvall and Dennis
Hopper co-star in this film. This is considered by many and myself to
be Wayne's best performance. I admit I like the remake with Jeff
Bridges better, but this is still one of the best westerns in this era
in my opinion.
Point Blank (2010): This is actually my
fourth foreign film this week and second coming from France. Gilles
Lellouche stars as nurse Samuel Pierret who saves the life of a thief
named Hugo, played by Roschdy Zem, and soon his pregnant wife is taken
hostage. Samuel must soon give into their demands and forced to team
with Hugo dealing with police corruption and possibly some of the
meanest cops I have seen in film. This is a very good thriller coming
from France and is a must as long as you are okay with subtitles. This
movie had me on my seat from the beginning and was one of those very
unexpected gems that I come across every once in a while. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
Well, that is it for
this week. Tell me what you like and dislike. Stay tuned for next week
which so far includes Katie Holmes, and many others.
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