Welcome to the 349th Edition of my series. We had our first weekend
of THE PRODUCERS at the Guyer Opera House and the show went very well
and is well received. We still have two more shows left on Friday and
Saturday go to to www.guyeroperahouse.com to get information. My
thoughts go out to the friends and family of the shooting at the movie
theater during THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. It was a horrible situation and
takes the focus off the film. I have not seen it yet but I'm sure I
will soon. Let me now get to my selections for the week
In
the Year of the Pig (1968): I start this week out with this very
subjective documentary on the Vietnam War. This was directed by Emile
de Antonio and focuses on the origins of the war while the war was still
going on. The footage that was obtained was very good and also very
disturbing at times. It also takes a look at both sides and does not
hold back. It is daring enough to do a documentary on the war but to do
it during Vietnam was even more daring. This is not for everyone but
if you can stomach the images then I think you'll be glad to see this
documentary.
Right or Wrong? (1951): This is one of
those really fun Coronet short films that were supposed to educate but
really more entertain. A group of young boys break some windows at a
warehouse and the one picked up is a neighborhood boy and had the least
involvement but was caught. He is then told that things would be easier
if he would just name off his accomplices so he must decide what it
right. It's pretty obvious what the right answer would be but it still
is quite entertaining.
The Awful Truth (1937): This is
my screwball comedy for the week directed by Leo McCarey and stars Cary
Grant and Irene Dunne as a married couple. They become suspicious of
each other and decide to begin divorce proceedings. Yes, divorce
existed even then. The comedy is them forming their own new
relationships and undermining each others attempts at new
relationships. One co-star is Asta the dog who is known for THE THIN
MAN series of film and adds a lot of laughs. This is the first of three
teamings with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne and this one delivers very
well and a good film from this era.
Night at the
Museum (2006): Shawn Levy directs this comedy which stars Ben Stiller.
In this movie, he plays Larry who cannot keep a job and has a hard time
keeping the trust of his son. He soon finds employment at the museum
of natural history where he is a night watchman. He soon finds out that
due to a curse, everything there comes to life including a dinosaur,
monkey, lions, cavemen, Teddy Roosevelt, Sacajawea, Attila the Hun,
Octavius, and many others. They soon wreak havoc in the museum leaving
Larry to have to come up with some explanations. Robin Williams is very
fun as Roosevelt who tries to help him keep things in order. Ricky
Gervais plays the head of the museum. Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, and
Bill Cobbs are very amusing as the aging night watchmen. My last movie
had a good animal actor in Asta and this one has a good one in Crystal
the Monkey who put on a very good performance. This is a very fun movie
that gives a bit of a history lesson and does a great job of blending
the history. There is a sequel to this that I have not seen yet and
this was the first time I have seen this one.
The Man
Who Cried (2000): This is a drama which takes place in the 1920s.
Christina Ricci stars as Suzie who is part of a Russian Jewish family
and whose father is sent to America. She soon ends up in Britain and
her singing and dancing talents turn her a Paris dance troupe where she
still looks to get to America to reunite with her father. Johnny Depp
co-stars as Cesar who is a gypsy and part of the troupe who later falls
for Suzie. Cate Blanchett co-stars as Lola who is Suzie's friend.
Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro co-star. Turturro shows his music
talent very well. Suzie's Russian background soon puts her in danger
though forcing her into some tough decisions. This is a decent period
drama with some good performances and something different for Depp.
This is available on Instant Netflix.
Win Win (2011):
This is my sports movie for the week and one I feel went quite
overlooked last year. Paul Giamatti stars as Mike who is a struggling
attorney and is the wrestling coach of a high school wrestling team that
is also struggling. Mike soon makes some questionable dealings as an
attorney where he meets a teen runaway named Kyle, played by Alex
Shaffer, who his family takes into their home. He soon sees that Kyle
is a wrestling champion from his previous school and is enrolled into
the high school to be on the team. Kyle's estranged mother, played by
Melanie Lynskey soon comes to town threatening to take him back as is
starting to adjust to life in the home with a new family. Amy Adams,
Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, and many others co-star. This is a really
good independent drama-comedy which is driven by the realistic
characters and the performances. I have not seen Shaffer in anything
else but this was a good start to him. This is one that I really hope
to put on the radar.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989):
This is my Anime film for the week that comes from Studio Ghibli
produced by Disney. Hayao Miyazaki directed this and like all his other
films, this does not fail. Kiki is a teenage witch who is sent to live
a mandatory year of independent life and sets out with her mouthy cat
Jiji to live life on their own for a year. She soon ends up in a town
where she is taken in by a restaurant owner and finds that with her
ability to fly on a broom would be good for a delivery business. This
is a coming of age tale Anime style and while I'm not always big into
that genre, I can always watch Studio Ghibli films, especially Hiyazaki
who directed those like SPIRITED AWAY and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. He
makes Anime films that even people who hate Anime might be able to
enjoy. In this US released version, Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Debbie
Reynolds, Janeane Garofalo, Matthew Laurence, and many others.
Casanova
Brown (1944): Gary Cooper stars in this film as the title character.
He is soon about to have his second marriage and gets an annulment from
his first wife. He soon learns that he has a child who his first wife
plans to put up for adoption so kidnaps the baby to keep the baby from
being adopted. This movie was really more entertaining than anything.
Cooper is known for some great performances and great films, this does
not rank up at all while he tries very hard. The plot is just really
unusual and weird as well as even the dialogue. There is also a great
house burning scene. Frank Morgan is a lot of fun in his part though.
This was a bit over the top but sometimes funny and was worth a watch
for me even just to see Cooper be more over the top than usual. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
The Gospel According to
St. Matthew (1964): This is my Italian film of the week which features
Pier Paolo Pasolini who wrote and directed this interesting adaptation
to Christ. Enrique Irazoqui stars as Christ who had no acting
experience at the time but does a great job here. This movie portrays
Jesus Christ as a revolutionary rather than focus on the religious
aspects. Another interesting aspect on this film is that Pasolini was a
homosexual, atheist, and a marxist. This version is very hard to
really explain but is way different than other portrayals of Christ.
The
Producers (1968): Being in this musical, I thought it would be good to
revisit the film that got it started. Mel Brooks directs this comedy
which stars Zero Mostel as struggling Broadway producer Max Bialystock.
Gene Wilder co-stars as Leo Bloom who is an accountant but joins Max to
be a producer when he learns that a flop can make more money than one
that is successful but can get into big trouble if it is a success.
They soon find the perfect show that is sure to flop called SPRINGTIME
FOR HITLER. They do everything they can to make the show as bad as
possible. Soon, the audience ends up loving the show which puts them
into some trouble. Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars, Lee Meredith, and many
others co-star in this great comedy which ranks very high in its genre
and one of Mel's best. The title song is also a lot of fun. This is
available on Instant Netflix so for those who love that musical we have
today, credit must be given here to this one. This could be a great
double feature to watch this, then the musical remake that stars Nathan
Lane and Matthew Broderick.
Well, that is it for this
week. Tell me what you like and what you do not like. Stay tuned for
next week which so far includes Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, and many
others.
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