Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 204th Edition

Welcome to the 204th Edition of my long-running series. This week, I pay tribute to the late writer Jim Carroll. I am now 1-3 in Fantasy Football, I'm not giving up though. This week starts the Horror Movie Madness contest so I'll be putting on more horror than usual but still have priority towards this blog.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson (2008): This is my documentary for the week which centers upon the fearless journalist of the name in the title. It takes a look into his early life, then into his first big article doing a piece on the Hell's Angels biker gang, into his later days as the gonzo reporter who wrote a lot for Rolling Stone. Johnny Depp narrates this great documentary and played Thompson in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. This was very insightful looking into some writings and home-videos with some interviews from him and his other peers. He was one who no matter what you might think, he made his mark on this world.

Night of the Ghouls (1959): This is my two part Ed Wood series and this one is not as "good" as last week's but this one still entertains. This movie centers around a phony psychic who is named Dr. Acula, get it? He is making it look like he is raising up loved ones of gullible patrons. He then discovers, and it may not be a good thing, that he may not be as phony as he thinks. Tor Johnson was amusing as Lobo. This is a sequel to BRIDE OF THE MONSTER which was not released until 1982 because Ed Wood never paid the lab bill. Like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, Criswell narrates the movie but this time in a coffin and always gives some strange narration. Ed Wood absolutely earned his title "The Worst Director of All Time" but still entertains just how he hoped.

Dracula's Daughter (1936): This Universal sequel picks up right where the classic 1931 Legosi film leaves off. Gloria Holden stars as Countess Marya Zaleska who seeks the aid psychiatrist Jeffrey Garth, played by Otto Kruger, to free herself from the spell of Dracula. We also see Van Helsing, played by Edward Von Sloan, having to defend himself for a certain murder he committed. He is the one that brings Dr. Garth in hopes he will help prove his point of vampires. Zaleska realizes that burning the body of Dracula is not the only thing it takes to free herself and then bodies start turning up. This was a pretty good sequel making the title character sympathetic. Not my favorite of the Univeral film but still entertains and is nicely atmospheric. Holden was very good as the title character but prefer BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

La Cotta (1967): I got this from the Criterion Collection box of IL POSTO which I featured last week and this week I used Ermanno Olmi's short film which was a tv featurette but a very good one. It focuses on a young boy and his first love. He takes quite an approach to picking up girls and meets a very unexpected one towards the end. This was pretty well done and if you find IL POSTO, check these Italian films out.

The Basketball Diaries (1995): This movie is based on the autobiographical novel by Jim Carroll who would go onto becoming a poet, singer, and songwriter. This takes place in his early days when he was the best on his high school basketball team but ruin any chances of a basketball career with his drug addiction and wrong group of friends. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Carroll very well. OZ alum Ernie Hudson plays a former junkie who tries to get Carroll to turn his life around even taking note of his early writings. A young Mark Wahlberg plays one of his degenerate friends. SOPRANOS alums Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, and Vincent Pastore all have small parts in the film as well as Juliette Lewis, Bruno Kirby, and Michael Rapaport. It is hard to watch and may not be for everyone but is a compelling film and interesting to see young talent before they rose like Mark Wahlberg.

Hello Again (1987): I admit, I was on the fence here quite a bit but decided to recommend this as my date movie for the week. CHEERS alum Shelley Long plays Lucy, the wife of a plastic surgeon named Jason, played by Corbin Bernsen. She ends up choking on a chicken bone and dying. Everyone moves on except her sister Zelda, played by Judith Ivey, who deals in the occult and uses a spell to bring her back. Upon her return, she finds her husband is with her friend, played by Sela Ward, and everything has changed in that year. She then meets another doctor who is played by Gabriel Byrne. This is an idea that could have worked so well if it was played like a satire but instead was used as a romantic comedy thus becoming the "date movie" for the week instead of much more. I liked it more towards the end where it shows how her choices can effect others. The music score seemed like the typical sappy music score for 80s movies so that did not sit well with me as I am the sucker to a good music score, I don't know how to explain it. Shelley Long was fun.

This is Not a Love Song (2002): This is a British movie which I found on Netflix. This movie focuses on two friends, Heaton and Spike. Spike is released from Prison while Heaton has stolen a truck. However, they run out of gas and when trying to steal from a farm, the owner threatens them which leads to Spike accidentally killing his Daughter. They then go on the run, not from the law but from the locals of the town. While this movie was not without flaw, it still managed to keep me. I thought the low-budget camerawork was rather fascinating and Michael Colgan and Kenneth Glenaan worked very well together. I also liked the use of the title song by Public Image LTD. I was very glad that I viewed this movie and am glad to promote it on here.

It's Alive (1974): I admit I had never heard of this until I joined the Horror Movie Madness marathon and learned I would get triple points for this one about a murderous baby. Larry Cohen directs this movie where the Davis couple are excited to have a new addition to the family but things change when the baby ends up killing many people in the hospital and sets off on a killing spree. It was interesting that while no one liked the situation, no one seemed very surprised that the baby was going around killing everyone. It is not for everyone and if you take it too seriously, you might not like it. This would spawn a trilogy and remake. That baby was probably the ugliest baby of all time so if you think your baby is ugly take a look at this one and you'll feel much better. It was interesting how they really made parenting seem negative and not having kids was the way to go so I liked that rare message in film so it makes my list. Bernard Herrman wrote a pretty good music score.

The Whistler (1944): I found this fascinating film on TCM which is actually the first of an underrated series of films. Richard Dix stars as Earl Conrad who believes his wife has died and decides he wants to die but cannot bring himself to actually kill himself so he pays a man to do the deed for him. When word reaches him that his wife dies, he decides he does not want to die but can't cancel the hit. Gloria Stuart, who many may know from TITANIC, co-stars. This was a really nice B-Film Noir with Dix great in the lead role.

Belle Epoque (1992): I watched this instantly on Netflix. This movie focuses on a soldier named Fernando during the Spanish Civil War who deserts the army. He then stays on a farm with an elderly man who he becomes good friends with. He then learns that he has four daughters who all like him and he must decide which one to be with. This was a really good foreign comedy that takes place in 1931 and is great to see some diversion from stereotype. A young Penelope Cruz plays the youngest of the daughters and was very good. This movie managed to keep my attention the whole way through and was a comedy that did not need all kinds of gags and such. This movie won an Academy Award for Best Foreign film and one I am glad to have watched.

Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you love and what you hate and stay tuned for next week which includes a documentary, Julia Roberts, Buster Keaton, Lauren Bacall

HORROR MOVIE MADNESS: BAD BABY WEEK 1

A couple years ago, I was in this contest where I became as they said "Master of the Loopholes" as I took full advantage of their "Does not have to be horror" with Bruce Campbell, Clancy Brown, and many others. They must have taken note of what I did and while allowing loopholes, not as much plus it focuses more on what it says anyways...Bad Baby. So Bruce Campbell work like SPIDER-MAN does not count because he did not direct it and it does not lend to horror. I also used SPONGEBOB, THE JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES because of Clancy Brown while finding lots of Bruce. I probably won't do as much of the loophole thing this time as I am trying to clear things out of my Netflix queue but I'm sure I'll surprise you. They want me to do ratings and I hate rating movies so I'll do the best I can in my ratings of up to 4 stars.

1. Tell Me Something (1999, 2.5 stars, 2 points): In this Korean film, a troubled detective investigates brutal serial killings.

2. Phantasm (1979 2.5 stars, 2 points): I need no explanation here on why this needs to be included but is is of Don Coscarelli whose movies I can use.

3. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988 3.5 stars, 164 minutes 2.5 points?): Here is what we might call a loophole and I ask this one be included because Satan is a character, though used in a strange image but falls into the rules of the game. If you will count this movie, it is over two hours and rules state that gets you extra points

4. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959 2 stars, 2 points): This Ed Wood film contains zombies making it qualify for this contest.

5. Dracula (1931 Spanish version 3 stars, 2 points): This is the Spanish version of the classic so I can still watch Legosi's version.

6. Night of the Ghouls (1959 1.5 stars, 2 points): There were a lot of ghosts.

7. Dracula's Daughter (1936 2.5 stars, 2 points): No explanation needed here.

8. Hello Again (1987 2 stars, 2 points): I ask this one be counted because there are dealings of witchcraft that was used to bring back the dead.

9. The Exorcist (1973, 4 stars, 3 points?): As someone who is not as big of fan of the genre, I have always regarded this and HALLOWEEN as the two best horror films.

10. Bride of the Monster (1955, 1.5 stars, 2 points): Probably the last of the Ed Wood movies on here.

11. Dracula (1931, 3.5 stars, 2 points): The one that made Dracula iconic and Bela Legosi in the film that would make him an icon in the years to com, much better than the last one I watched.

12. House of Dracula (1945, 3 stars, 2 points): This was a great showcase of monsters including Dracula (John Carradine), Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), and Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange). Much better than VAN HELSING many years later.

13. It's Alive (1974, 2.5 stars, 6 points): I got the one with triple points, I don't need much explanation.

14. Swamp Thing (1982, 3 stars, 2 points): Wes Craven directed this great cult classic. I also want to send my condolences to Dick Durock who donned the Swamp Thing costume.

15. Mars Attacks (1996, 3 stars, 2 points): I am going to put in an argument for this one. I know that not all sci-fi counts, but I don't consider this a pure sci-fi film. I thought with as murderous as the aliens were that this is more of a sci-fi horror comedy.

16. Jekyll: Episode 1 (2007, 3 stars, 1 point): I found this BBC interpretation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic on DVD so I thought I would check this out and it was pretty good so far. James Nesbitt stars as Dr. Jackman who is a descendant of Dr. Jekyll and seems to inherit Mr. Hyde and does what he must for Hyde to not harm his family. They do not know that they have many people watching both of them. This is a pretty good conspiracy thriller with Nesbitt good as the lead role.

17. Jekyll: Episode 2 (2007, 3 stars, 1 point)

18. Jekyll: Episode 3 (2007, 3 stars, 1 point)

19. Blood: The Last Vampire (2007, 2.5 stars, 1 point): This is my anime film for the contest which centers on Vampires making it qualify for this list.

20. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Episode name: Cockroaches (2007, 3 stars, 1 point): William Friedkin directed this episode.

I believe this is 40.5 points for this week.