Welcome to the 127th Edition of my series. Last thursday, I tried out
for my second reality tv series, this one being BIG BROTHER. All I did
was give a two-minute speech on why I should be on there and I was done.
I have no idea if I'll get called back or not. I hope everyone is
having a good week. Get out your netflix and blockbuster queues and read
on.
Old School (2003): I start out with this frat comedy. Todd
Phillips directed this all-out comedy which stars Luke Wilson, SNL alum
Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn. All three want to re-live their youth
and find a loop-hole to start their own fraternity even though they are
no longer in college and recruit many college and non-college people,
even a 94-year-old. Not a whole lot needs to be explained here. You can
see many appearances including ENTOURAGE co-star Jeremy Piven, LOST
co-star Terry O'Quinn, 24 alum Elisha Cuthbert, KING OF QUEENS alum Leah
Remini, NEWSRADIO alum Andy Dick, and plenty of others. We can even see
the original host of THE DAILY SHOW Craig Kilborn. You can also hear
some great songs and the highlight in my opinion is Will Ferrell's
rendition of Kansas' DUST IN THE WIND.
'Crocodile' Dundee (1986):
Peter Faiman directed this Aussie comedy which stars Paul Hogan, who
also co-wrote, as the iconic Mick "Crocodile" Dundee a eccentric
crocodile hunter who seems to finally meet his match in American
Reporter Sue Charlton who goes there to get a story on the famed Aussie.
She then invites him back to New York City where Dundee finds himself
in a whole different world. This was a great, simple comedy with a great
performance from Paul Hogan, who makes this film.
Soldier of
Fortune (1955): Edward Dmytryk directed this movie based on a novel by
Ernest Gann. Clark Gable stars as mercenary Hank Lee who is hired by a
woman named Jane Hoyt, played by Susan Hayward, to rescue her husband
being held captive in Hong Kong. This story is quite similar to PROOF OF
LIFE which was made many years later. This movie has some great shots
of China and some great action and romantic scenes with a strong Gable.
Lifted
(2006): This is part 3 of my Disney series where I found a Pixar short.
This is a very comedic short where a teenage alien does everything
possible to abduct a young boy who is sleeping but runs into a lot of
issues. There was no dialogue here, just a bunch of hilarious screw-ups.
Seven
Years Bad Luck (1921): This is part 5 of my silent film series which
was written, directed, and starred in by French silent film comedian Max
Linder who unfortunately does not live on like Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton and Harold Lloyd a little bit. Linder always played a character
called Max and in this movie he is very superstitious after breaking a
mirror and fearing the so called seven years of bad luck. Look closely
for a mirror scene which was made most famous in later years by Groucho
and Harpo Marx in DUCK SOUP. Max Linder lead a short life and was a
veteran in the French army and experienced depression leading into his
suicide but he made his mark on the film industry which film historians
need to take a closer look at. Charlie Chaplin has cited him as his
"professor" so when thinking of the big three, take this man into
consideration.
Regarding Henry (1991): Mike Nichols directed this
movie written by J.J. Abrams and stars Harrison Ford. Unfortunately,
all three have done much better but as a sucker for feel-good movies and
to make a two part Harrison Ford series, I decided to include it.
Harrison Ford stars as an unscrupulous attorney who is shot in a hold-up
where he survives but he must start right over again in learning. As
time goes by, he sees what he did as an attorney and did not like it
which showed a whole lot more that he did not like in his life. Annette
Bening stars as his wife. This is quite formulaic and predictable but I
found it touching.
Seven Thieves (1960): Henry Hathaway directed
this heist comedy which stars Edward G. Robinson as a very intelligent
criminal who recruits 6 other people to pull off a casino heist. Joan
Collins, Rod Steiger, and Eli Wallach also star. There is not much to
say but that great acting and comedic moments keep this together. I also
noticed that this was released the same year as the Rat Pack's OCEAN'S
11 so I don't know what came first but I thought this one was better.
The
Maltese Falcon (1941): John Huston directs this movie which helped
launch the Film Noir genre. Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade who is
hired by the mysterious Brigid, played by Mary Astor, into watching her
sister and as everyone knows, there is far more to it when he becomes
caught up in the hunt for the statue of the title. Sydney Greenstreet
stars as Kaspar, the head of the crime syndicate with Peter Lorre as one
of his henchmen. Not much more can be said on this classic which still
holds up and is still complicated to follow no matter how many times you
have seen it so watch closely.
Goin' South (1978): Jack
Nicholson stars and directs this western comedy. He plays horse thief
Henry Moon who is about to be executed and is saved by widow Julia Tate,
played by Mary Steenburgen in her film debut, who marries him and puts
him to a lot of work. Nicholson reunites with two of his co-stars from
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST which were Christopher Lloyd and Danny
Devito. John Belushi has a very amusing role who also made his debut and
would later that year star in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE. This
lives on as an underrated sleeper.
Secrets and Lies (1996): I now
end on this British film wrote and directed by Mike Leigh. Brenda
Blethyn stars as the mother of a very dysfunctional family named Cynthia
whose daughter won't speak much to her and has issues with her brother,
played by Timothy Spall. Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a successful
black woman who sets out to find her birth parents and learns that her
mother is Cynthia, who is white. Cynthia denies her at first but when
learning it is the truth and starts to really connect which leads into a
lot of secrets with the whole family. This is a great realistic
portrait on family dysfunction and a well-written film all around.
Honorable
Mention: The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling:
I bought this on DVD since I have always had interest in this promotion
of the 80s. This was a very successful promotion in Texas which was ran
by Fritz Von Erich and his sons David, Kerry, and Kevin plus his
less-successful sons Mike and Chris were the backbone of this promotion
in their feud with the Fabulous Freebirds which comprised on Michael
Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, and Jimmy Garvin With the great
success came a lot of tragedy, mostly with the Von Erichs. Kevin is the
only brother alive today and comments a lot on this DVD. David died in
Japan for rather mysterious reasons. The other three were known to have
taken their own lives. Their other wrestler Gino Hernandez died of a
drug overdose and many of their main wrestlers have died since included
Rick Rude, Terry Gordy, and Chris Adams. A lot of this I already knew
but it was interesting seeing the perspective of many people involved
with WCCW, especially Kevin who I have a lot of respect for.
Well,
that is it for this week. I see I focused a lot on comedy this week. I
always enjoy writing these each week and putting them together. Thank
you all for your support, tell your friends and leave your comments.
What do you love and what do you hate?
Now for the connections.
-Jack Nicholson (Goin' South), Annette Bening (Regarding Henry), and Rod Steiger (Seven Thieves) were all in Mars Attacks.
-Clark
Gable (Soldier of Fortune) and Ward Bond (The Maltese Falcon) were in
Chained, It Happened One Night, and Gone With The Wind.
-Juliette Lewis (Old School) and Mary Steenbergen (Goin' South) and in a movie which will be featured next week.
-Terry
O'Quinn (Old School) and J.J. Abrams (Regarding Henry writer), Terry
O'Quinn has been in both Lost and Alias, both written by J.J. Abrams.
Those
are the only connections I can see at the moment, feel free to come up
with your own if you find them. I thought this would be a fun addition
to my blog.
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