Saturday, January 26, 2013

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 349th Edition

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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