Welcome to the 380th Edition of my series. Tonight are the Academy
Awards so I will be watching those. To those who have bad weather, hope
things go well. I hope we don't get anything too bad this week. I
will now get onto my selections.
Secretariat (2010): I
start this week out with some live-action Disney and one based on the
true story of the legendary racehorse of the title. Diane Lane stars as
Penny Chenery who takes over her father's stable. She soon decides
against all odds to take on a horse and enter into the Kentucky Derby
looking to win the triple crown. She then hires Lucien Laurin, played
by John Malkovich, to train the horse to win. In doing this, she runs
into a lot of disagreement with her husband Jack, played by NIP/TUCK
alum Dylan Walsh and her accountant brother Hollis, played by Dylan
Baker. Margo Martindale, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn, among others
co-star in this sports film. This is a really good family story and an
inspirational story about following dreams. Much of the jockeys in this
film are real-life jockeys including Otto Thorwarth who was
Secretariat's in the film. The real-life Penny Chenery was on hand for
much of the filming.
Barney's Version (2010): This is
part one of a two-part Paul Giamatti series. Now I bring more of a
character study. Paul Giamatti stars as the title character who is a tv
producer and very politically incorrect. One thing that got my
attention right away was the name of the production studio which was
"Totally Useless Productions" which kind of reminded me of my "Fun and
Useless Facts" segment. He is experiencing some later times of his life
and remembers all the ups and downs of his life like his three
marriages. Dustin Hoffman co-stars as his father Izzy. Minnie Driver,
Scott Speedman, Mark Addy, Rosamund Pike, Saul Rubinek, among others
co-star in this film. Giamatti is great and has you with him throughout
the movie through all his ups and downs. This one is not as much of a
family film as my first selection but one that is still quite enjoyable.
Henry
(2011): This is my short film for the week where Doug and I went to
the Keystone Landmark Art theater to see the animated and live-action
short films that are nominated for tonight. Last week, I featured an
animated selection so this week I chose this one for my live-action
selection. This is a French-Canadian selection which was written and
directed by Yan England. Gerard Poirier stars as the title character
who is an aging concert pianist. He soon finds that his wife Maria,
played by Louise Laprade, has disappeared which takes him back to his
younger days and their good times together but must soon find out the
inevitable truth. Poirier is great as Henry and is a very moving short
film and we will see tonight if this short film wins Best Live-Action
short film.
A Date with Your Family (1950): This is my
older short film for the week which shows how to apparently act at the
dinner table. It has every gender stereotype in the book and shows how
not to get emotional at the table. It also has some interesting dos and
don'ts for the table and things like the daughter and mother must look
good for the son and father. It even advises the son to treat the
mother like a date. It is very weird and one that does not hold up very
well except for entertainment reasons. This is available on the
Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player but is public domain. LEAVE IT TO
BEAVER alum Hugh Beaumont is the uncredited narrator.
Son
of Kong (1933): This is the sequel to the classic KING KONG which was
done in the same year. Robert Armstrong reprises his role as producer
Carl Denham who is dealing with the aftermath of bringing Kong to New
York and facing lawsuits and possible criminal charges. He then sets
out with his crew and circumstances lead them back to Skull Island where
they abducted King Kong. They soon encounter a Kong's son who is big,
but not as big and is very friendly and protective of the humans
protecting them from things like dinosaurs and even a big bear. Helen
Mack plays the female of the film and plays Helene. This is not nearly
as good as the first one, nor does Helen Mack come close to matching Fay
Wray. This is still very entertaining entertaining though and more
comedic than the first one. My dad got me this as part of a boxed set
that includes the first one MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.
Snake in
the Eagle's Shadow (1978): This is my Asian film for the week. Hong
Kong director Yuen Wo-Ping directed this martial arts film and helped
make Jackie Chan into the martial arts star he is today. Chan stars as
Chien Fu who is a janitor at a martial arts school who does not know
martial arts and is beaten up a lot by the instructors. He is soon
taken in by an old man who teaches Chien the style of kung fu called the
"Snake's Fist" and learns how to fight. The more that he learns the
more he develops his own style based on the movements of a cat. The Old
Man as he calls him soon runs into some trouble and Chien Fu helps
him. This is a pretty decent early martial arts film and Chan might
have been the first big martial arts stars since Bruce Lee that was not
an impersonator. We saw early moments of the comedy that Chan combines
with his Kung Fu. I usually prefer Jet Li but this one still was very
entertaining and important historically in the world of martial arts
films being the first collaboration between Chan and Yuen Wo-Ping.
American
Experience: Eugene O'Neill (2006): This is part six of six-part
Christopher Plummer series and he is the narrator in this one. This is
an episode of the PBS series THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. This documentary
goes into the life and career of playwright Eugene O'Neill known for
plays like A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT and THE ICEMAN COMETH. It
goes into his family history and what inspired him to write more serious
and realistic plays. It also talks about him being the first big
American playwright. Actors like Al Pacino, Liam Neeson, Zoe Caldwell,
Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Sean Leonard and others reflect on his
importance and act out monologues from his plays. I admit that I really
did not know a lot about O'Neill before going into this but gained a
lot of respect and hope to one day be in one of these plays. It is a
very informative documentary and worth a watch.
Hondo
(1953): This is my western for the week which was directed by John
Farrow and based on a story by legendary western writer Louis L'amour.
John Wayne stars as the title character who is a despatch rider for the
cavalry and soon meets a mother named Angie, played by Geraldine Page in
her debut, and her son who lives in the middle of Apache territory.
She is married but has a husband who has been gone for a long time and
Hondo forms a friendship with the two and protecting them from the
Apaches. Angie believes she is safe from the Apaches but learns that is
not necessarily true and things get very complicated. Wayne and Page
work very well together and this movie has some pretty good action
scenes making this pretty enjoyable Wayne. Ward Bond has a pretty
significant part towards the climax named Buffalo Baker which may be his
best performance. This is available on Instant Netflix and is worth a
look.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009): This
is my animated film for the week. Clancy Brown gets top billing as the
voice of long-time Superman rival Lex Luthor who manages to get elected
president. He soon initiates that meta-humans and costumed crime
fighters serve the government but the two title characters do not buy
into it. Soon, Luthor is able to brand Superman as a fugitive and
Batman as the accessory where friends and foes are soon coming after
them while Superman and Batman must work to stop Lex's scheme and clear
their names. Kevin Conroy reprises his voice of Batman while Tim Daly
reprises his voice of Superman. Other voices include Xander Berkeley,
SMALLVILLE alum Allison Mack, John C. McGinley, THE SHIELD alum CCH
Pounder, STAR TREK alum Lavar Burton, among others. There are many DC
characters featured and some I knew, some I did not so it could be a
good idea to research DC a little bit and you might learn about a lot of
characters. I always tend to favor DC in the animation department and
Marvel in the live-action department and this was a pretty good animated
selection.
The Warriors (1979): I end this week with
this classic action film directed by Walter Hill and based on the novel
by Sol Yurick. This takes place in a future dystopian New York City
that is populated by many turf gangs. Soon, a gangster named Cyrus,
played by Roger Hill, brings all the gangs hoping to bring them all
together to end rivalries but is soon killed and the title gang gets
blamed even though they did not do it. They soon must fight off other
gangs and evade the police to get back to their territory and look to
clear their names. This was a very well done film and did not have many
big stars but still had some very good performances and even costumes
like the Baseball Furies gang. Each gang had a unique look to it and
there are many gangs, even a female gang at one point. Michael Beck,
James Remar, and Mercedes Ruehl all had parts in this film. The
cinematography looks great showing a good bleak futuristic society.
This is available on Instant Netflix and is one of the best action films
from that era and may rank in that genre for today.
Well,
that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate.
Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Jennifer Lopez, more Paul
Giamatti, Ellen Burstyn, Farrah Fawcett, Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood,
and many others.
OSCAR PREDICTIONS
I
am taking part in this contest put on by Elizabeth so here are my
predictions and the rules state to give who will and and who should win
but I am just going to have all these predictions apply to "Will Win"
and "Should Win" so I can look to get 5 points for each one.
Best Short Film, Live Action: Henry
Best Short Film, Animation: Paperman
Best Documentary, Short Subject: Redemption
Best Documentary, Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Argo
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Life of Pi
Best Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Skyfall
Best Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: John Williams, Lincoln
Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: The Hobbit
Best Achievement in Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Achievement in Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Achievement in Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Achievement in Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Foreign Language film of the year: Amour
Best Animated Film of the Year: Brave
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Best Director: David O. Russell
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Picture: Argo
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 379th Edition
Welcome to the 379th Edition of my series. For all of you that live
in or near the Muncie area should check out THE ODD COUPLE which is at
Muncie Civic Theater and SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES which is in the Muncie
Civic Studio Theater. Both shows are going on next weekend and you can
get details at http://www.munciecivic.org. Tonight, I will be going to
the Anderson Buffalo Wild Wings to see the WWE ppv ELIMINATION CHAMBER
so join me if you want. I will now get onto my selections for the week.
Delirious (2006): I start the week out with this independent comedy wrote and directed by Tom DiCillo which is kind of a satire towards fame. Steve Buscemi stars as Les who is a small-time celebrity photographer who really wants his fame and fortune. He soon meets a homeless young man named Toby, played by Michael Pitt, and reluctantly takes him in making him an assistant. Toby has a desire for acting and soon meets pop star K'Harma, played by Allison Lohman, and becomes famous through her taking the world by storm with his homeless background. Les soon becomes jealous of Toby's fame and plots revenge. Gina Gershon co-stars and Elvis Costello has a cameo as himself. This was a very good comedy taking a stab at our desire for fame with good performances. Keep in mind that Buscemi and Pitt would go onto star in the hit HBO series BOARDWALK EMPIRE so I hope to get this on the radar.
The Silent Partner (1978): This is part five of my 6-part Christopher Plummer series. Elliot Gould stars as dedicated bank teller Miles Cullen who gets a note that the bank will be robbed. Christopher Plummer stars as the ruthless bank robber Harry who soon learns that Miles moved a lot of the money into a safe deposit box and that he was outsmarted by a bank teller. This does not sit well with Harry and the two get into a battle of wits. Susannah York and John Candy co-star in this thriller. This was not exactly the most realistic film but one where I could suspend my disbelief and just really enjoy with the good performances. I have expressed interest in working at a bank but I do not think I'm going to resort to the types of things that Miles did to outsmart the bank robber. This movie is not for everyone and has a pretty graphic scene but if you can get past that, this is a very fun film and Plummer is good as the villain and the many different disguises.
Eyes of the Navy (1940): This is my short film for the week and is a documentary short towards the navy. This talks about becoming a Navy flier and the process. It also talks about the preparations they make in case of attack and the interesting part about this is that the Pearl Harbor attack took place a year later. This does pack quite a bit of information about being in the Navy.
The Iron Lady (2011): This is my political movie for the week. Meryl Streep stars as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the only woman to ever hold that position which was from 1979-1990 until her resignation. This movie starts with an elderly Thatcher who has a hard time coming to terms with her husband Denis', played by Jim Broadbent, death as well as the fact she is no longer Prime Minister. It then flashes back to her younger days where Alexandra Roach plays Thatcher in her college years and Harry Lloyd plays the young Denis. It then went into her controversial political career. Streep plays Thatcher very well where you might not know it's Streep if you did not already know she stars in the film. I'm not really sure how accurate her later days were and would have liked to see more focus on her rise. BUFFY alum Anthony Head co-stars. This movie did go to mixed opinions but I found Streep and Broadbent to hold it together well and I am always glad to see Anthony Head in something. I also thought it did a good job painting a human portrait on such a controversial figure.
Arrowsmith (1931): This is an early directing job for the legendary John Ford and based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis. Ronald Colman stars as the very idealistic Dr. Martin Arrowsmith who looks to find a cure for things. He soon marries Leora, played by Helen Hayes, and moves into a nice country place where he becomes everyone's local doctor even for some cows that were all getting sick. He soon agrees to take a research trip to the West Indies where he leaves Leora behind and meets another woman, played by Myrna Loy, to complicate his life. This is a pre-code film and probably could have done a lot more in this era. I really liked the beginning a lot better where he was establishing his country life. Clarence Brooks plays one of the first successful black characters of film in which he has a degree and does not act stereotypically. This is worth a look and has some tragic moments that later were harder for movies to have when the Hayes Code came out.
Bullitt (1968): Steve McQueen stars as touch San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt. He is soon asked to guard a witness who is soon to turn states evidence again the mob. It seems like a pretty easy job but things get very complicated leaving Bullitt to question the people appointing him to the job. McQueen plays this part as a very no-nonsense cop who will do what he can to get the job done. Jacqueline Bisset co-stars as Cathy who is his love interest but finds that people in this line of work can be difficult. Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon, Norman Fell, Robert Duvall, among others co-star in this film. The movie is filmed in San Francisco so it has a very authentic feel to it. The most famous scene from this is the car chase scene which is considered by many to be the best car chase scene of all time. I admit when watching this, I was feeling a little dizzy during the car chase with the hills they kept going down on the road but was a great scene. There is a cast member named Bill Hickman which is the same name as my uncle and I learned he is mostly a stuntman and drove the car that McQueen was pursuing in this film.
Life of Pi (2012): Ang Lee directed this film based on a bestseller by Yann Martel. This is about a family from India who decide to move to Canada. Suraj Sharma plays Pi, who is their son and as their is a big storm that make him end up by himself. The family owns a zoo so on the boat are other animals like an orangutang, zebra, hyena, and a bengal tiger. Pi finds an unexpected connection to the tiger in his fight for survival. Irrfan Khan plays Pi when he is grown up. Gerard Depardieu has a cameo as a cook on the ship. I honestly really did not know what to expect when going to see this in the theaters. I had heard this was in 3D and I can see how this one would have worked in 3D in many scenes. Lee also did a very good job of casting the characters and in many ways was a character driven film full of adventure and survival. Sharma did a good job of carrying this film by himself in the scenes where he is stranded on the boat. It also has a very interesting twist.
Skellig: The Owl Man (2009): This is my British film for the week. Bill Milner stars as Michael, a young boy who along with his parents move into a new home while having a new baby sister who does has a serious heart condition. Michael soon encounters a strange, loner man living in their shed who turns out to be the title character, played so well by Tim Roth. Michael decides to befriend Skellig and learns a lot of things about him that could make his life better. Skellig is someone who is living in the shed in bad health and in possible regret and soon form an unusual friendship. If I go too far with this, I could really give things away. I will say that it is a very touching film where Roth is a lot nicer than usual. This is a really good movie to get the family together. It also teaches about hope and acceptance. There are some fantasy elements of the film but focuses a lot more on the story. This is available on Instant Netflix and it deserves a watch.
Fresh Guacamole (2012): This is my modern short film for the week and one soon nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animation Short film. I went with my friend Doug to the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema where they showed both the Oscar nominees for short films in animation and live action. What we saw in animation, some were better than others but I decided upon this is my favorites. A guy named PES wrote and directed this short film in this very clever creation of guacamole in this stop animation film where he uses things that are not food like dice, poker chips, and even monopoly houses. This film is very short and only two minutes but this was a great two minutes that did a lot more than animation shorts that are more than 10 minutes. Next week, I will feature one of the live-action short films.
The Hoodlum (1951): I end with this B-Movie Film Noir. Laurence Tierney plays paroled hoodlum Vincent and continues his criminal ways. His brother Johnny, played by Tierney's real-life brother Edward, gives him a job at his gas station but that is not enough for him. He soon hurts everyone around him like his mother and his brother's girlfriend. Soon, he masterminds a heist and his brother must stand up to him. Tierney is most known for playing Joe in the 1992 film RESERVOIR DOGS. In this movie, he is very ruthless with no redeeming qualities and is very good in it. This is available on Instant Netflix and a must for people into this genre and even something for people who only know Tierney from RD.
Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes John Malkovich, Paul Giamatti, Jackie Chan, more Christopher Plummer, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
Laurence Tierney (The Hoodlum) hires Steve Buscemi (Delirious) and Tim Roth (Owl Man) a jewel heist gone very wrong in the 1992 film RESERVOIR DOGS which remains my favorite Tarantino film.
Elliot Gould (The Silent Partner) and Robert Duvall (Bullitt) were in the 1970 film MASH.
John Candy was in the 1991 comedy Delirious but nothing to do with this week's feature DELIRIOUS.
Charles Middleton (Eyes of the Navy) and Ward Bond (Arrowsmith Uncredited) had small parts in the 1939 classic GONE WITH THE WIND.
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) plays Lee in the 1996 film MARVIN'S ROOM. My Facebook friend Cheryl played the part in a Muncie Civic Studio Theater production.
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) plays Harold Zidler in the 2001 film MOULIN ROUGE. My Facebook friend Edward played the part in a recent production at the Muncie Civic Theater.
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) and Steve Buscemi (Delirious) were in the 2006 film ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL where Buscemi was uncredited.
Iain Glen (The Iron Lady) and Tim Roth (Skellig) were in the 1990 film ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD.
Alfred Newman (Arrowsmith music composer) and Thomas Newman (The Iron Lady music composer) are father and son.
Robert Duvall (Bullitt) and Steve Buscemi (Delirious) were in the 1989 mini-series LONESOME DOVE.
BOARDWALK EMPIRE FRANCHISE
-Steve Buscemi (Delirious) plays Nucky Thompson
-Michael Pitt (Delirious) plays Jimmy Darmody
-Kelly McDonald (Skellig) plays Margaret Schroeder-Thompson, marries Nucky.
Kelly McDonald (Skellig) and Alexandra Roach (Delirious) are in the 2012 film ANNA KARENINA.
Kelly McDonald (Skellig) and Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) are in the 2011 film HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2.
Delirious (2006): I start the week out with this independent comedy wrote and directed by Tom DiCillo which is kind of a satire towards fame. Steve Buscemi stars as Les who is a small-time celebrity photographer who really wants his fame and fortune. He soon meets a homeless young man named Toby, played by Michael Pitt, and reluctantly takes him in making him an assistant. Toby has a desire for acting and soon meets pop star K'Harma, played by Allison Lohman, and becomes famous through her taking the world by storm with his homeless background. Les soon becomes jealous of Toby's fame and plots revenge. Gina Gershon co-stars and Elvis Costello has a cameo as himself. This was a very good comedy taking a stab at our desire for fame with good performances. Keep in mind that Buscemi and Pitt would go onto star in the hit HBO series BOARDWALK EMPIRE so I hope to get this on the radar.
The Silent Partner (1978): This is part five of my 6-part Christopher Plummer series. Elliot Gould stars as dedicated bank teller Miles Cullen who gets a note that the bank will be robbed. Christopher Plummer stars as the ruthless bank robber Harry who soon learns that Miles moved a lot of the money into a safe deposit box and that he was outsmarted by a bank teller. This does not sit well with Harry and the two get into a battle of wits. Susannah York and John Candy co-star in this thriller. This was not exactly the most realistic film but one where I could suspend my disbelief and just really enjoy with the good performances. I have expressed interest in working at a bank but I do not think I'm going to resort to the types of things that Miles did to outsmart the bank robber. This movie is not for everyone and has a pretty graphic scene but if you can get past that, this is a very fun film and Plummer is good as the villain and the many different disguises.
Eyes of the Navy (1940): This is my short film for the week and is a documentary short towards the navy. This talks about becoming a Navy flier and the process. It also talks about the preparations they make in case of attack and the interesting part about this is that the Pearl Harbor attack took place a year later. This does pack quite a bit of information about being in the Navy.
The Iron Lady (2011): This is my political movie for the week. Meryl Streep stars as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the only woman to ever hold that position which was from 1979-1990 until her resignation. This movie starts with an elderly Thatcher who has a hard time coming to terms with her husband Denis', played by Jim Broadbent, death as well as the fact she is no longer Prime Minister. It then flashes back to her younger days where Alexandra Roach plays Thatcher in her college years and Harry Lloyd plays the young Denis. It then went into her controversial political career. Streep plays Thatcher very well where you might not know it's Streep if you did not already know she stars in the film. I'm not really sure how accurate her later days were and would have liked to see more focus on her rise. BUFFY alum Anthony Head co-stars. This movie did go to mixed opinions but I found Streep and Broadbent to hold it together well and I am always glad to see Anthony Head in something. I also thought it did a good job painting a human portrait on such a controversial figure.
Arrowsmith (1931): This is an early directing job for the legendary John Ford and based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis. Ronald Colman stars as the very idealistic Dr. Martin Arrowsmith who looks to find a cure for things. He soon marries Leora, played by Helen Hayes, and moves into a nice country place where he becomes everyone's local doctor even for some cows that were all getting sick. He soon agrees to take a research trip to the West Indies where he leaves Leora behind and meets another woman, played by Myrna Loy, to complicate his life. This is a pre-code film and probably could have done a lot more in this era. I really liked the beginning a lot better where he was establishing his country life. Clarence Brooks plays one of the first successful black characters of film in which he has a degree and does not act stereotypically. This is worth a look and has some tragic moments that later were harder for movies to have when the Hayes Code came out.
Bullitt (1968): Steve McQueen stars as touch San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt. He is soon asked to guard a witness who is soon to turn states evidence again the mob. It seems like a pretty easy job but things get very complicated leaving Bullitt to question the people appointing him to the job. McQueen plays this part as a very no-nonsense cop who will do what he can to get the job done. Jacqueline Bisset co-stars as Cathy who is his love interest but finds that people in this line of work can be difficult. Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon, Norman Fell, Robert Duvall, among others co-star in this film. The movie is filmed in San Francisco so it has a very authentic feel to it. The most famous scene from this is the car chase scene which is considered by many to be the best car chase scene of all time. I admit when watching this, I was feeling a little dizzy during the car chase with the hills they kept going down on the road but was a great scene. There is a cast member named Bill Hickman which is the same name as my uncle and I learned he is mostly a stuntman and drove the car that McQueen was pursuing in this film.
Life of Pi (2012): Ang Lee directed this film based on a bestseller by Yann Martel. This is about a family from India who decide to move to Canada. Suraj Sharma plays Pi, who is their son and as their is a big storm that make him end up by himself. The family owns a zoo so on the boat are other animals like an orangutang, zebra, hyena, and a bengal tiger. Pi finds an unexpected connection to the tiger in his fight for survival. Irrfan Khan plays Pi when he is grown up. Gerard Depardieu has a cameo as a cook on the ship. I honestly really did not know what to expect when going to see this in the theaters. I had heard this was in 3D and I can see how this one would have worked in 3D in many scenes. Lee also did a very good job of casting the characters and in many ways was a character driven film full of adventure and survival. Sharma did a good job of carrying this film by himself in the scenes where he is stranded on the boat. It also has a very interesting twist.
Skellig: The Owl Man (2009): This is my British film for the week. Bill Milner stars as Michael, a young boy who along with his parents move into a new home while having a new baby sister who does has a serious heart condition. Michael soon encounters a strange, loner man living in their shed who turns out to be the title character, played so well by Tim Roth. Michael decides to befriend Skellig and learns a lot of things about him that could make his life better. Skellig is someone who is living in the shed in bad health and in possible regret and soon form an unusual friendship. If I go too far with this, I could really give things away. I will say that it is a very touching film where Roth is a lot nicer than usual. This is a really good movie to get the family together. It also teaches about hope and acceptance. There are some fantasy elements of the film but focuses a lot more on the story. This is available on Instant Netflix and it deserves a watch.
Fresh Guacamole (2012): This is my modern short film for the week and one soon nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animation Short film. I went with my friend Doug to the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema where they showed both the Oscar nominees for short films in animation and live action. What we saw in animation, some were better than others but I decided upon this is my favorites. A guy named PES wrote and directed this short film in this very clever creation of guacamole in this stop animation film where he uses things that are not food like dice, poker chips, and even monopoly houses. This film is very short and only two minutes but this was a great two minutes that did a lot more than animation shorts that are more than 10 minutes. Next week, I will feature one of the live-action short films.
The Hoodlum (1951): I end with this B-Movie Film Noir. Laurence Tierney plays paroled hoodlum Vincent and continues his criminal ways. His brother Johnny, played by Tierney's real-life brother Edward, gives him a job at his gas station but that is not enough for him. He soon hurts everyone around him like his mother and his brother's girlfriend. Soon, he masterminds a heist and his brother must stand up to him. Tierney is most known for playing Joe in the 1992 film RESERVOIR DOGS. In this movie, he is very ruthless with no redeeming qualities and is very good in it. This is available on Instant Netflix and a must for people into this genre and even something for people who only know Tierney from RD.
Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes John Malkovich, Paul Giamatti, Jackie Chan, more Christopher Plummer, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
Laurence Tierney (The Hoodlum) hires Steve Buscemi (Delirious) and Tim Roth (Owl Man) a jewel heist gone very wrong in the 1992 film RESERVOIR DOGS which remains my favorite Tarantino film.
Elliot Gould (The Silent Partner) and Robert Duvall (Bullitt) were in the 1970 film MASH.
John Candy was in the 1991 comedy Delirious but nothing to do with this week's feature DELIRIOUS.
Charles Middleton (Eyes of the Navy) and Ward Bond (Arrowsmith Uncredited) had small parts in the 1939 classic GONE WITH THE WIND.
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) plays Lee in the 1996 film MARVIN'S ROOM. My Facebook friend Cheryl played the part in a Muncie Civic Studio Theater production.
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) plays Harold Zidler in the 2001 film MOULIN ROUGE. My Facebook friend Edward played the part in a recent production at the Muncie Civic Theater.
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) and Steve Buscemi (Delirious) were in the 2006 film ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL where Buscemi was uncredited.
Iain Glen (The Iron Lady) and Tim Roth (Skellig) were in the 1990 film ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD.
Alfred Newman (Arrowsmith music composer) and Thomas Newman (The Iron Lady music composer) are father and son.
Robert Duvall (Bullitt) and Steve Buscemi (Delirious) were in the 1989 mini-series LONESOME DOVE.
BOARDWALK EMPIRE FRANCHISE
-Steve Buscemi (Delirious) plays Nucky Thompson
-Michael Pitt (Delirious) plays Jimmy Darmody
-Kelly McDonald (Skellig) plays Margaret Schroeder-Thompson, marries Nucky.
Kelly McDonald (Skellig) and Alexandra Roach (Delirious) are in the 2012 film ANNA KARENINA.
Kelly McDonald (Skellig) and Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) are in the 2011 film HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 378th Edition
Welcome to the 378th Edition of my long-running series.
Unfortunately, the 49ers came up short last week. However, at least
they made it that far and I think have a great future ahead, especially
Colin Kaepernick who started only his 10th game and helped the get them
that far which is something that Alex Smith may not have been able to
do. The weather has remained pretty fair here but I know up north,
people got some bad weather so I hope those reading have survived this
weather. I will now get to my selections for the week.
Dream for an Insomniac (1996): This is my independent romantic comedy for the week which was written and directed by Tiffanie DeBartolo. Ione Skye stars as Frankie who lives in San Francisco and is an actress looking to get to Los Angeles. She works for a family run coffee shop and is quite the insomniac. She longs for a man but has very high standards but soon a man named David, played by Mackenzie Astin, walks in for a job and they hit it off right away but then learns he has a girlfriend but is still determined to hook up with him feeling she is right for him. FRIENDS alum Jennifer Aniston, Michael Landes, and Seymour Cassel co-star. This movie has gotten some mixed opinions but I still enjoyed it. I really liked Skye and I enjoyed the dialogue, characters, and quotes of many people in history and pop culture. This would be a good date movie that can be tolerant if not enjoyable with the guys and one for girl's night.
Marty (1955): I have another romantic film for this week and is quite the classic. Ernest Borgnine plays the title character who is a 34 year old butcher but has not found love and his family is all over him to find that wife and get married. He soon meets Clara, played by Betsy Blair, who is a lonely person and is not the most glamorous woman so gets rejected a lot. Marty soon sees the beauty that Clara has and form a relationship where even then Marty's mother is not crazy about her. In watching this, one of the first things I thought is that I'm glad my family is not this overbearing with my not really knowing if I want marriage or kids. Look closely for Jerry Orbach as a dancer in his film debut but is uncredited. Delbert Mann makes his directorial debut of this film with a script written by Paddy Chayefsky. This is a beautiful story of two everyday people being rejected and resigning themselves to single lives but then coming together. This actually won Best Picture that year and is possibly Borgnine's best performance. I do not know anything on Blair but she also put on a very good performance.
The Daffy Doc (1938): This is my short film for the week which I decided to go the animated route. This features a character named Doctor Quack who is a surgeon with Daffy Duck as his assistant. This short also features Porky Pig who becomes a patient with comical results. This has some very funny gags and would be a good one to find. Porky was a lot bigger in those days and barely fit through the circle for "That's All Folks" which made for a comical end. We would see Porky slim down in later years.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975): This is part four of my Christopher Plummer series where he plays Rudyard Kipling whose short story this movie is based upon. John Huston directed this movie later in his career. Sean Connery and Michael Caine star as British soldiers Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan in India during the British rule. They soon resign and set out for a country called Kafiristan where no white man has stepped foot since Alexander the Great. They soon become known as gods but also find themselves in over their head. This is a very fun adventure film with the leads great in their roles. Huston originally planned for this movie to be in the 50s with Bogart and Gable in these parts but never got off the ground before Bogey died in 1957 and Gable in 1960. This movie has a great blend of action and comedy, especially from Caine.
Les Miserables in Concert (1996): Last week I featured the hit 2012 film and as I was searching the library I came across this which is considered the 10 year anniversary and was an episode of GREAT PERFORMANCES. This was a live show performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Colm Wilkinson stars as Jean ValJean and was in the original London and Broadway cast and even featured in the 2012 version. Originally this was an 1862 novel written by Victor Hugo and there are many movie versions of the story. I'll just give the basic story. Valjean is paroled after 19 years of very hard labor in prison when his only crime was stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. When on parole, he it nearly impossible to find work and make a life as an ex-con. He then breaks parole and starts a new life where he takes in an orphaned girl named Cosette but then becomes involved in the French Revolution. In this time, he is still pursued very relentlessly by a police officer named Javert. This is becoming my favorite musical but if you don't know the story, this might not really be a good way to start. As it says, this is more of a concert and has limited blocking. The music is great and the performances are great but you might want to learn the story or see the 2012 film first and then check this out. The end is real good where many Valjean actors from around the world come up and sing in their language. Many of the other actors were in the original musical. I will say that an element that I liked better about this to the movie was in this concert video Jenny Galloway plays Madame Thenardier and though she was a lot more believable than Helena Bonham Carter. Galloway was just perfect in her very mean and heavyset physique in the ruthless foster parent and kind of the comic relief. Alun Armstrong, who was in the orginal cast, plays Thenardier and like Galloway is a lot nastier than Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen which worked a lot better in this one in my opinion. This is worth a look if you can find it and if you really like this musical.
Django Unchained (2012): I decided to check out this Tarantino film this week which he wrote and directed and has a cameo. Jamie Foxx stars as the title character is a slave that gets freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, played well by Christoph Waltz who was the villain in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and is a protagonist in this one. Schultz is a former dentist turned into a bounty hunter so possibly an inspiration from Doc Holiday. Schultz teaches Django to be a bounty hunter and then helps him set out to free his wife Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. They soon track her to a ruthless slave owner named Calvin Candie, played very well by Leonardo DiCaprio in his first all-out villain role, to a land called "Candieland" and I will never think of that board game the same ever again. Samuel L. Jackson co-stars as a black slave owner who works with Candie named Stephen and gives a very good performance. Other actors in this film and many are cameos are THE SHIELD alum Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Russ and Amber Tamblyn, Robert Carradine, Ted Neely, Zoe Bell, Bruce Dern, Jonah Hill, Don Johnson, M.C. Gainey, Tom Savini, among others. This movie is not for everyone and contains a lot of violent scenes. It also contains many uses of the N-word but appropriate for the setting of the film. Like much of Tarantino, it gives a lot of action, comedy, drama, and some ultra-violence. Tarantino also pays homage to other films especially his use of many movie scores, many of which from Ennio Morricone, while making this his very own. I look forward to what's next with Quentin.
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958): This is my Italian comedy for the week directed by Mario Monicelli. This is a heist comedy of an inept group of small-time thieves who plot to rob a pawnshop but everything goes wrong. Vittorio Gassman stars as Peppe who is a former boxer looking to strike it big and joins this group. There are lots of very funny moments and characters with a very good soundtrack and ranks up as one of the best comedies of all time. This movie works well on many levels and if you can watch English subtitles, this is for you. Italian actors Claudia Cardinale, Marcello Mastroianni, and Renato Salvatori co-star and this movie is available on TCM On-Demand on Comcast until February 15th.
In Cold Blood (1967): Richard Brooks directed this adaptation to the groundbreaking and controversial novel from Truman Capote. This is a true story about the brutal murder of a family in a small Kansas town. Scott Wilson and Robert Blake play ex-cons Dick and Perry who plan to rob a home they believe have a lot of money but results in the murder of the husband, wife and two kids. This shows the them trying to deal with the job gone wrong, and the local police headed by Alvin Dewey, played by John Forsythe, investigating the murders and their arrest. This is a very well-done adaptation and Capote's book helped a lot in the True Crime genre when he took interest in the story and visited the town to learn about the killers and the events that happened. Blake gives what might be his best performance and Wilson was good as the more ruthless of the two. It also shows scenes from Perry's childhood that helped shape him into the type of person he became. I read that at first Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were to star in this film but both pulled out. I actually think having more unknown actors worked just as well if not beter as Wilson and Blake worked very well together and Blake had quite a bit of resemblance to the real-life Perry Smith at the time. This was also filmed on exact location, even at the home the murders took place.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008): This is my German film for the week which was directed by Uli Edel. This is based on a true story about a resistance group called the Red Army Faction in the 60s and 70s believing they were fighting against oppression and fascism not wanting a repeat of the Holocaust. Martina Gedeck stars as one of the founders Ulrike Meinhof who was a journalist for a left wing magazine. Moritz Bleibtreu plays another co-founder named Andreas Baader who was a high-school dropout and criminal before founding the RAF. Johanna Wokalek plays co-founder Gudrun Ensslin who might have been the intellectual leader of the group. Simon Licht plays fourth co-founder Horst Mahler an attorney and extreme leftist. These are the main founders who for years orchestrated many bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in their beliefs which actually won over a lot of the German population at the time. There was also an interesting courtroom scene where the defendants insult the judges to delay trial. This movie portrays them very well and the disagreements between some of them that lead to certain downfalls of the group. There is some pretty brutal violence at times but is still a very well done film. It just won't be the most upbeat film you have ever seen but seems pretty realistic. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Winged Migration (2001): I remember when I first saw this around the time it came out. I was in Columbus and with my dad and stepmom and dad wanted to see a movie where we agreed but he would not tell us what he was taking us to see but I continued. We ended up at the Keys Cinema in his hometown which is now called the Yes Cinema. Under both names they try to show independent films and do a lot of other things. I soon learned I was about to see a documentary about birds which on the surface just did not interest me and I started thinking "what did I agree to" but I respected my father's decision while also understanding his silence. I still remained open-minded and really started liking what I saw. This is a movie that focuses on birds of all shapes and sizes. Jacues Perrin directed this film which took four years to make and the movie was quite the team effort including more than 450 people including film crew, music department, and many experts in the bird field. It also took people flying in planes, gliders, helicopters, and balloons to capture the amazing footage that they got. The movie consisted of very little narration and every once in a while putting up some facts about the birds but the movie had the perfect companion in the soundtrack. The music score was written by a guy named Bruno Coulais and was nothing short of beautiful. The music conveyed the birds in a perfect way. Many times had people singing to the music like a man named Robert Wyatt which was great and some great chorus numbers ending with Nick Cave singing TO BE BY YOUR SIDE which has really become my favorite song by Cave who wrote the lyrics while Coulais still wrote the music part. I have found that I love this movie on so many levels and am now grateful to my dad for exposing me to what I consider to be a masterpiece. It is a movie that deserves so much more exposure. I checked this out when I was at the library so if you can get your hands on it, please do. I do not believe you'll be disappointed and it is very rare that I actually ask someone to watch something. It is not often a movie affects me the way this one did and probably will end up on my next top 100 list when I do the ten year anniversary. Shortly after this, I decided to order the soundtrack to the film as I do like it that much. I know if I got to be involved with something like this I would proudly look back the rest of my life.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Steve Buscemi, Christopher Plummer, Meryl Streep, Myrna Loy, Steve McQueen, Paul Giamatti, and many others.
Dream for an Insomniac (1996): This is my independent romantic comedy for the week which was written and directed by Tiffanie DeBartolo. Ione Skye stars as Frankie who lives in San Francisco and is an actress looking to get to Los Angeles. She works for a family run coffee shop and is quite the insomniac. She longs for a man but has very high standards but soon a man named David, played by Mackenzie Astin, walks in for a job and they hit it off right away but then learns he has a girlfriend but is still determined to hook up with him feeling she is right for him. FRIENDS alum Jennifer Aniston, Michael Landes, and Seymour Cassel co-star. This movie has gotten some mixed opinions but I still enjoyed it. I really liked Skye and I enjoyed the dialogue, characters, and quotes of many people in history and pop culture. This would be a good date movie that can be tolerant if not enjoyable with the guys and one for girl's night.
Marty (1955): I have another romantic film for this week and is quite the classic. Ernest Borgnine plays the title character who is a 34 year old butcher but has not found love and his family is all over him to find that wife and get married. He soon meets Clara, played by Betsy Blair, who is a lonely person and is not the most glamorous woman so gets rejected a lot. Marty soon sees the beauty that Clara has and form a relationship where even then Marty's mother is not crazy about her. In watching this, one of the first things I thought is that I'm glad my family is not this overbearing with my not really knowing if I want marriage or kids. Look closely for Jerry Orbach as a dancer in his film debut but is uncredited. Delbert Mann makes his directorial debut of this film with a script written by Paddy Chayefsky. This is a beautiful story of two everyday people being rejected and resigning themselves to single lives but then coming together. This actually won Best Picture that year and is possibly Borgnine's best performance. I do not know anything on Blair but she also put on a very good performance.
The Daffy Doc (1938): This is my short film for the week which I decided to go the animated route. This features a character named Doctor Quack who is a surgeon with Daffy Duck as his assistant. This short also features Porky Pig who becomes a patient with comical results. This has some very funny gags and would be a good one to find. Porky was a lot bigger in those days and barely fit through the circle for "That's All Folks" which made for a comical end. We would see Porky slim down in later years.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975): This is part four of my Christopher Plummer series where he plays Rudyard Kipling whose short story this movie is based upon. John Huston directed this movie later in his career. Sean Connery and Michael Caine star as British soldiers Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan in India during the British rule. They soon resign and set out for a country called Kafiristan where no white man has stepped foot since Alexander the Great. They soon become known as gods but also find themselves in over their head. This is a very fun adventure film with the leads great in their roles. Huston originally planned for this movie to be in the 50s with Bogart and Gable in these parts but never got off the ground before Bogey died in 1957 and Gable in 1960. This movie has a great blend of action and comedy, especially from Caine.
Les Miserables in Concert (1996): Last week I featured the hit 2012 film and as I was searching the library I came across this which is considered the 10 year anniversary and was an episode of GREAT PERFORMANCES. This was a live show performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Colm Wilkinson stars as Jean ValJean and was in the original London and Broadway cast and even featured in the 2012 version. Originally this was an 1862 novel written by Victor Hugo and there are many movie versions of the story. I'll just give the basic story. Valjean is paroled after 19 years of very hard labor in prison when his only crime was stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. When on parole, he it nearly impossible to find work and make a life as an ex-con. He then breaks parole and starts a new life where he takes in an orphaned girl named Cosette but then becomes involved in the French Revolution. In this time, he is still pursued very relentlessly by a police officer named Javert. This is becoming my favorite musical but if you don't know the story, this might not really be a good way to start. As it says, this is more of a concert and has limited blocking. The music is great and the performances are great but you might want to learn the story or see the 2012 film first and then check this out. The end is real good where many Valjean actors from around the world come up and sing in their language. Many of the other actors were in the original musical. I will say that an element that I liked better about this to the movie was in this concert video Jenny Galloway plays Madame Thenardier and though she was a lot more believable than Helena Bonham Carter. Galloway was just perfect in her very mean and heavyset physique in the ruthless foster parent and kind of the comic relief. Alun Armstrong, who was in the orginal cast, plays Thenardier and like Galloway is a lot nastier than Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen which worked a lot better in this one in my opinion. This is worth a look if you can find it and if you really like this musical.
Django Unchained (2012): I decided to check out this Tarantino film this week which he wrote and directed and has a cameo. Jamie Foxx stars as the title character is a slave that gets freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, played well by Christoph Waltz who was the villain in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and is a protagonist in this one. Schultz is a former dentist turned into a bounty hunter so possibly an inspiration from Doc Holiday. Schultz teaches Django to be a bounty hunter and then helps him set out to free his wife Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. They soon track her to a ruthless slave owner named Calvin Candie, played very well by Leonardo DiCaprio in his first all-out villain role, to a land called "Candieland" and I will never think of that board game the same ever again. Samuel L. Jackson co-stars as a black slave owner who works with Candie named Stephen and gives a very good performance. Other actors in this film and many are cameos are THE SHIELD alum Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Russ and Amber Tamblyn, Robert Carradine, Ted Neely, Zoe Bell, Bruce Dern, Jonah Hill, Don Johnson, M.C. Gainey, Tom Savini, among others. This movie is not for everyone and contains a lot of violent scenes. It also contains many uses of the N-word but appropriate for the setting of the film. Like much of Tarantino, it gives a lot of action, comedy, drama, and some ultra-violence. Tarantino also pays homage to other films especially his use of many movie scores, many of which from Ennio Morricone, while making this his very own. I look forward to what's next with Quentin.
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958): This is my Italian comedy for the week directed by Mario Monicelli. This is a heist comedy of an inept group of small-time thieves who plot to rob a pawnshop but everything goes wrong. Vittorio Gassman stars as Peppe who is a former boxer looking to strike it big and joins this group. There are lots of very funny moments and characters with a very good soundtrack and ranks up as one of the best comedies of all time. This movie works well on many levels and if you can watch English subtitles, this is for you. Italian actors Claudia Cardinale, Marcello Mastroianni, and Renato Salvatori co-star and this movie is available on TCM On-Demand on Comcast until February 15th.
In Cold Blood (1967): Richard Brooks directed this adaptation to the groundbreaking and controversial novel from Truman Capote. This is a true story about the brutal murder of a family in a small Kansas town. Scott Wilson and Robert Blake play ex-cons Dick and Perry who plan to rob a home they believe have a lot of money but results in the murder of the husband, wife and two kids. This shows the them trying to deal with the job gone wrong, and the local police headed by Alvin Dewey, played by John Forsythe, investigating the murders and their arrest. This is a very well-done adaptation and Capote's book helped a lot in the True Crime genre when he took interest in the story and visited the town to learn about the killers and the events that happened. Blake gives what might be his best performance and Wilson was good as the more ruthless of the two. It also shows scenes from Perry's childhood that helped shape him into the type of person he became. I read that at first Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were to star in this film but both pulled out. I actually think having more unknown actors worked just as well if not beter as Wilson and Blake worked very well together and Blake had quite a bit of resemblance to the real-life Perry Smith at the time. This was also filmed on exact location, even at the home the murders took place.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008): This is my German film for the week which was directed by Uli Edel. This is based on a true story about a resistance group called the Red Army Faction in the 60s and 70s believing they were fighting against oppression and fascism not wanting a repeat of the Holocaust. Martina Gedeck stars as one of the founders Ulrike Meinhof who was a journalist for a left wing magazine. Moritz Bleibtreu plays another co-founder named Andreas Baader who was a high-school dropout and criminal before founding the RAF. Johanna Wokalek plays co-founder Gudrun Ensslin who might have been the intellectual leader of the group. Simon Licht plays fourth co-founder Horst Mahler an attorney and extreme leftist. These are the main founders who for years orchestrated many bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in their beliefs which actually won over a lot of the German population at the time. There was also an interesting courtroom scene where the defendants insult the judges to delay trial. This movie portrays them very well and the disagreements between some of them that lead to certain downfalls of the group. There is some pretty brutal violence at times but is still a very well done film. It just won't be the most upbeat film you have ever seen but seems pretty realistic. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Winged Migration (2001): I remember when I first saw this around the time it came out. I was in Columbus and with my dad and stepmom and dad wanted to see a movie where we agreed but he would not tell us what he was taking us to see but I continued. We ended up at the Keys Cinema in his hometown which is now called the Yes Cinema. Under both names they try to show independent films and do a lot of other things. I soon learned I was about to see a documentary about birds which on the surface just did not interest me and I started thinking "what did I agree to" but I respected my father's decision while also understanding his silence. I still remained open-minded and really started liking what I saw. This is a movie that focuses on birds of all shapes and sizes. Jacues Perrin directed this film which took four years to make and the movie was quite the team effort including more than 450 people including film crew, music department, and many experts in the bird field. It also took people flying in planes, gliders, helicopters, and balloons to capture the amazing footage that they got. The movie consisted of very little narration and every once in a while putting up some facts about the birds but the movie had the perfect companion in the soundtrack. The music score was written by a guy named Bruno Coulais and was nothing short of beautiful. The music conveyed the birds in a perfect way. Many times had people singing to the music like a man named Robert Wyatt which was great and some great chorus numbers ending with Nick Cave singing TO BE BY YOUR SIDE which has really become my favorite song by Cave who wrote the lyrics while Coulais still wrote the music part. I have found that I love this movie on so many levels and am now grateful to my dad for exposing me to what I consider to be a masterpiece. It is a movie that deserves so much more exposure. I checked this out when I was at the library so if you can get your hands on it, please do. I do not believe you'll be disappointed and it is very rare that I actually ask someone to watch something. It is not often a movie affects me the way this one did and probably will end up on my next top 100 list when I do the ten year anniversary. Shortly after this, I decided to order the soundtrack to the film as I do like it that much. I know if I got to be involved with something like this I would proudly look back the rest of my life.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Steve Buscemi, Christopher Plummer, Meryl Streep, Myrna Loy, Steve McQueen, Paul Giamatti, and many others.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 377th Edition
Welcome to the 377th Edition of my long running series. This
evening, my favorite team the San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore
Ravens in the Super Bowl. Now the fact that the coaches are brothers
does not mean much to me. I just want a Niners win and I'll be happy
but I know both teams are going to give it their all I just hope for a
win for my team.
Blast from the Past (1999): This is my harmless comedy for the week. Brendan Fraser stars as Adam Webber whose father, played by Christopher Walken, fears that a bomb is to hit so he takes his wife, played by Sissy Spacek, and son to a bomb shelter and stay there for 35 years. Things happen where Adam must venture out into the world and for the first time sees the real world. He soon meets Eve, played by Alicia Silverstone, who is very bitter about things and reluctantly agrees to help the naive Adam. With this being a romantic comedy, I think you can guess where this goes. Fraser did a pretty good job playing the naive character and was good for the role. Dave Foley, Joey Slotnick, and Nathan Fillion all have parts in this comedy. This is not the greatest comedy but still watchable and good for the family and was pretty fun to watch in my opinion.
Beginners (2011): This is part three of my Christopher Plummer series where in the first two parts, I used some pretty dramatic epic pieces where now I use a newer independent comedy where Plummer won many awards for Best Supporting Actor. Mike Mills wrote and directed this independent film which stars Ewan McGregor as Oliver who is a rather sullen man who must deal with his father Hal, played by Plummer, who is terminally ill and announces he is gay and has a boyfriend much younger. In this, Oliver tries to connect with his father who wants to live life to the fullest. Oliver also meets a French actress named Anna, played by Melanie Laurent, who he falls in love with trying to re-energize himself. This is one of those independent films which is driven more than anything by characters and it has a lot of good characters and performances. This is partly autobiographical by Mike Mills who dealt with a similar situation with his father. I like the interaction a lot between Oliver and his dog who seemed to really communicate well with each other. I also liked when he was saying the year it was and talking briefly about things that went on that year like the president and other things. This movie jumps some with flashbacks but is still pretty easy to follow. Even though Plummer won a lot of awards for this movie, I still think it goes down as underrated so I'll look to get this on the radar.
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966): I went to see this at the movie theaters done by Rifftrax which is something that MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 alums Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett watch movies usually very bad movies and do a long running commentary like they did on MST3K. I'll just do the basic plot where a married couple and their daughter get lost in the middle of nowhere and end up at a house that turns out to be satanic and run by the Master and his servant Torgo. Make no mistake, this is a very bad movie and there is a reason that it has a 1.5 rating on the imdb website so I doubt I could watch this on my own but Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett make it very fun by showing a couple rather stupid short films and having a little skit within the theater where a guy is dressed like Torgo and the Master. Harold P. Warren directed this movie which was his first and only movie to direct and I don't know that even Ed Wood would ever direct something this bad. Quentin Tarantino actually calls this one of this favorite movies and with the quality of films he makes, I'm not sure what makes this so great to him but at least it does not effect his own film making. This was a pretty fun night at the movie theater but I don't know that I recommend this without Rifftrax or MST3K commentary.
So You Think You're a Nervous Wreck (1946): This is my short film for the week which is a Joe McDoakes short which features the character who has lots of fears and much towards his workplace. He then dreams of besting his boss and getting his own office. This is a pretty funny short worth the 10 minutes that just about anyone can relate to.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938): Now I get something much better. Michael Curtiz directed this film on the legend which stars Errol Flynn in the title role and is possibly the best of their many collaborations. We all know the story, Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest becomes an outlaw to stand up for the oppressed. He develops a reputation of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor which becomes a label for similar people. He forms a band of merry men to go after the tyrannical Prince John, played by Claude Rains, who is at thrown while Richard the III is elsewhere and the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Melville Cooper. Olivia de Havilland co-stars as Maid Marian who begins to see that Robin Hood is the righteous man and not Prince John. This is possibly the best Robin Hood film and Flynn is great in his performance. The movie also co-stars Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale, and Una O'Connor. I was reading that James Cagney was in serious consideration for the part of Robin Hood and I just don't really picture him pulling that particular part off even if he is possibly the best actor of all time. This is a very fun action movie from that era and still stands today.
Les Miserables (2012): I made another appearance to the theater to see this current popular musical version of the Victor Hugo classic. Tom Hooper directed this musical. This was first a novel in 1862 by Victor Hugo and when movies started being made, they made many versions of this timeless classic. In 1985, Herbert Kretzmer wrote this into a musical that is very popular. In this movie, Hugh Jackman stars as Jean Valjean who is paroled after 19 years in a prison doing very hard labor, all for his stealing a loaf of bread when his family was in desperate need. When he gets out, he finds that being a parolee is very hard for him to find work and housing so he breaks parole to start a new life under a new name. Russell Crowe co-stars as Javert who is a very relentless policeman in pursuit of Jean. Anne Hathaway co-stars as Fantine who is very mistreated where she works and Jean agrees to raise her daughter so he must evade Javert at all costs. Hathaway deserves every award she gets for this one. This movie is set in France against the backdrop of the French Revolution where there is quite a bit of violence and sad moments where I even cried some. The music in this film like I DREAMED A DREAM and EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES is beautiful. Jackman became fully exposed as a musical actor where I feel that just some people knew that before this mainstream film. Crowe also does a good job and thought he actually sang pretty well. The highlight of this movie is Anne Hathaway who was amazing and did a great job of I DREAMED A DREAM. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baran Cohen and kind of the comic relief as neglectful foster parents who are out to make a buck at all costs. This movie does have multiple plots that can get confusing but not enough to take away from the beauty of this adaptation that was well done on so many levels. Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne also co-star. This is not for everyone. This is not your upbeat Rodgers and Hammerstein musical where you get all kinds of great dance numbers. This is a very sad but inspiration musical. In 2010, they released a DVD version of the theatrical production that was the 25 year anniversary which really stands on its own and for musical lovers could be a very good double feature. Unfortunately I have never seen a live production of this musical but after seeing these two versions it is one of my favorites and hope to someday see it live and even be in it.
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2007): This is my documentary for the week about the experiences of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the writings by many of these people. There are interviews with some of these people who give a first hand account but convey that no reading, movie or anything can really give an accurate picture. Many of them wanted to write on their experiences for others to understand better. This is a very moving documentary where Robert Duvall, Aaron Eckhart, Beau Bridges and many other provide voiceover work when reading some of the writings. They talk about some funny moments in making the most of their difficult lives. It also talks about the idealism they had going in and then finding there is no way to prepare for what they are in for. This is a documentary worth a look and really has no agenda except to convey a realistic account of their lives.
The Blue Lamp (1950): This is my British crime thriller for the week. Jack Warner plays a veteran cop named George who is murdered and rookie Andy Mitchell, played by Jimmy Hanley steps in to help investigate the murder. Dick Bogarde and Patrick Noonan co-star as a couple low-life hoodlums who try to evade the police at all costs. Bogarde is very good as the psychotic thief and killer. The movie jumps a lot of the crime group and to the police group but it does a good job of focusing on the points of view for each person. This is a very compelling crime drama from that era that is available on Instant Netflix.
Jimi Hendrix (1973): This is my rock documentary for the week that was filmed and released shortly after the death of the rock legend. This documentary consists of a lot of concert footage and even rare performances of songs like Chuck Berry's JOHNNY B. GOODE and Bob Dylan's LIKE A ROLLING STONE. There were also some interviews from people like Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Little Richard, many of his peers reflecting on their experiences with him. It also has some interview footage from Hendrix himself. Little Richard is very amusing to listen to in this documentary. This was a pretty good documentary for its time and covers the basics of his life but mostly shows him in his career and footage from many concerts. I watched this movie with Tony who is a guitar player himself and pointed out a lot of good things he did with the guitar and even some flaws he thought there were. I guess I had never really seen much of him live and saw he was playing the guitar with his teeth which I have never seen. Hendrix fans will love this movie, casual fans I think will enjoy it, if you don't like Jimi, then this probably is not for you.
Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008): This is another British film for the week which is based on events in the life of author Martin McGartland. Jim Sturgess stars as Martin who is a young hood in Belfast and recruited by the British police to spy on the IRA. Martin works his way up the IRA while feeding secrets to the British and making his life very complicated. Ben Kingsley co-stars as his handler and CHARMED alum Rose McGowan has a small part as well. It is a very good look at that part of the country with Sturgess very good as McGartland and a pretty compelling film that is available on Instant Netflix.
Well that is it for this week in the recommendations. Tell me what you like and what you do not like and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Jennifer Aniston, Ernest Borgnine, more Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
BATMAN FRANCHISE
-Alicia Silverstone (Blast From the Past) plays Batgirl in the 1997 movie BATMAN AND ROBIN.
-Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) plays Catwoman in the 2012 film THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
-Aaron Eckhart (Operation Homecoming) plays district attorney Harvey Dent in the 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT.
Sissy Spacek (Blast From the Past) and Robert Duvall (Operation Homecoming) were in the 2009 film GET LOW.
Joey Slotnick (Blast From the Past), Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) and Sacha Baran Cohen (Les Miserables) were in the 2012 film THE DICTATOR.
Ewan McGregor (Beginners) and Helena Bonham Carter (Les Miserables) were in the 2003 film BIG FISH.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Josh Lucas (Operation Homecoming) and Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) were in the 2001 film A BEAUTIFUL MIND.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays legendary actor John Barrymore in the 2011 film BARRYMORE. Errol Flynn (The Adventures of Robin Hood) plays Barrymore in the 1958 movie TOO MUCH, TOO SOON.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays detective Sherlock Holmes in the 1977 tv short SILVER BLAZE. Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of Robin Hood) several times in the 30s and 40s.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays King Herod in the 1977 tv mini-series JESUS OF NAZARETH which was featured last week. Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) will play Herod in the upcoming 2013 film MARY MOTHER OF CHRIST. Claude Rains (The Adventures of Robin Hood) plays Herod in the 1965 film THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) is to play P.T. Barnum in the upcoming THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTH. Beau Bridges (Operation Homecoming) played the part in the 1999 tv movie P.T. BARNUM.
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) was considered for the part of Harvey Dent in the 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT which would ultimately go to Aaron Eckhart (Operation Homecoming)
Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) plays Robin Hood in the 2010 film ROBIN HOOD. Errol Flynn plays Robin in this week's feature THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables) and Sissy Spacek (Blast from the Past) were in the 2005 movie NINE LIVES. Spacek also had a stint in the HBO series BIG LOVE which starred Seyfried.
Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) and Sacha Baran Cohen (Les Miserables) were in the 2011 film HUGO.
Jim Sturgess (50 Dead Men Walking) and Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) were in the 2008 film THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL.
Rose McGowan (50 Dead Men Walking) and Brendan Fraser (Blast From the Past) were in the 1992 movie ENCINO MAN.
Blast from the Past (1999): This is my harmless comedy for the week. Brendan Fraser stars as Adam Webber whose father, played by Christopher Walken, fears that a bomb is to hit so he takes his wife, played by Sissy Spacek, and son to a bomb shelter and stay there for 35 years. Things happen where Adam must venture out into the world and for the first time sees the real world. He soon meets Eve, played by Alicia Silverstone, who is very bitter about things and reluctantly agrees to help the naive Adam. With this being a romantic comedy, I think you can guess where this goes. Fraser did a pretty good job playing the naive character and was good for the role. Dave Foley, Joey Slotnick, and Nathan Fillion all have parts in this comedy. This is not the greatest comedy but still watchable and good for the family and was pretty fun to watch in my opinion.
Beginners (2011): This is part three of my Christopher Plummer series where in the first two parts, I used some pretty dramatic epic pieces where now I use a newer independent comedy where Plummer won many awards for Best Supporting Actor. Mike Mills wrote and directed this independent film which stars Ewan McGregor as Oliver who is a rather sullen man who must deal with his father Hal, played by Plummer, who is terminally ill and announces he is gay and has a boyfriend much younger. In this, Oliver tries to connect with his father who wants to live life to the fullest. Oliver also meets a French actress named Anna, played by Melanie Laurent, who he falls in love with trying to re-energize himself. This is one of those independent films which is driven more than anything by characters and it has a lot of good characters and performances. This is partly autobiographical by Mike Mills who dealt with a similar situation with his father. I like the interaction a lot between Oliver and his dog who seemed to really communicate well with each other. I also liked when he was saying the year it was and talking briefly about things that went on that year like the president and other things. This movie jumps some with flashbacks but is still pretty easy to follow. Even though Plummer won a lot of awards for this movie, I still think it goes down as underrated so I'll look to get this on the radar.
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966): I went to see this at the movie theaters done by Rifftrax which is something that MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 alums Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett watch movies usually very bad movies and do a long running commentary like they did on MST3K. I'll just do the basic plot where a married couple and their daughter get lost in the middle of nowhere and end up at a house that turns out to be satanic and run by the Master and his servant Torgo. Make no mistake, this is a very bad movie and there is a reason that it has a 1.5 rating on the imdb website so I doubt I could watch this on my own but Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett make it very fun by showing a couple rather stupid short films and having a little skit within the theater where a guy is dressed like Torgo and the Master. Harold P. Warren directed this movie which was his first and only movie to direct and I don't know that even Ed Wood would ever direct something this bad. Quentin Tarantino actually calls this one of this favorite movies and with the quality of films he makes, I'm not sure what makes this so great to him but at least it does not effect his own film making. This was a pretty fun night at the movie theater but I don't know that I recommend this without Rifftrax or MST3K commentary.
So You Think You're a Nervous Wreck (1946): This is my short film for the week which is a Joe McDoakes short which features the character who has lots of fears and much towards his workplace. He then dreams of besting his boss and getting his own office. This is a pretty funny short worth the 10 minutes that just about anyone can relate to.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938): Now I get something much better. Michael Curtiz directed this film on the legend which stars Errol Flynn in the title role and is possibly the best of their many collaborations. We all know the story, Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest becomes an outlaw to stand up for the oppressed. He develops a reputation of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor which becomes a label for similar people. He forms a band of merry men to go after the tyrannical Prince John, played by Claude Rains, who is at thrown while Richard the III is elsewhere and the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Melville Cooper. Olivia de Havilland co-stars as Maid Marian who begins to see that Robin Hood is the righteous man and not Prince John. This is possibly the best Robin Hood film and Flynn is great in his performance. The movie also co-stars Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale, and Una O'Connor. I was reading that James Cagney was in serious consideration for the part of Robin Hood and I just don't really picture him pulling that particular part off even if he is possibly the best actor of all time. This is a very fun action movie from that era and still stands today.
Les Miserables (2012): I made another appearance to the theater to see this current popular musical version of the Victor Hugo classic. Tom Hooper directed this musical. This was first a novel in 1862 by Victor Hugo and when movies started being made, they made many versions of this timeless classic. In 1985, Herbert Kretzmer wrote this into a musical that is very popular. In this movie, Hugh Jackman stars as Jean Valjean who is paroled after 19 years in a prison doing very hard labor, all for his stealing a loaf of bread when his family was in desperate need. When he gets out, he finds that being a parolee is very hard for him to find work and housing so he breaks parole to start a new life under a new name. Russell Crowe co-stars as Javert who is a very relentless policeman in pursuit of Jean. Anne Hathaway co-stars as Fantine who is very mistreated where she works and Jean agrees to raise her daughter so he must evade Javert at all costs. Hathaway deserves every award she gets for this one. This movie is set in France against the backdrop of the French Revolution where there is quite a bit of violence and sad moments where I even cried some. The music in this film like I DREAMED A DREAM and EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES is beautiful. Jackman became fully exposed as a musical actor where I feel that just some people knew that before this mainstream film. Crowe also does a good job and thought he actually sang pretty well. The highlight of this movie is Anne Hathaway who was amazing and did a great job of I DREAMED A DREAM. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baran Cohen and kind of the comic relief as neglectful foster parents who are out to make a buck at all costs. This movie does have multiple plots that can get confusing but not enough to take away from the beauty of this adaptation that was well done on so many levels. Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne also co-star. This is not for everyone. This is not your upbeat Rodgers and Hammerstein musical where you get all kinds of great dance numbers. This is a very sad but inspiration musical. In 2010, they released a DVD version of the theatrical production that was the 25 year anniversary which really stands on its own and for musical lovers could be a very good double feature. Unfortunately I have never seen a live production of this musical but after seeing these two versions it is one of my favorites and hope to someday see it live and even be in it.
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2007): This is my documentary for the week about the experiences of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the writings by many of these people. There are interviews with some of these people who give a first hand account but convey that no reading, movie or anything can really give an accurate picture. Many of them wanted to write on their experiences for others to understand better. This is a very moving documentary where Robert Duvall, Aaron Eckhart, Beau Bridges and many other provide voiceover work when reading some of the writings. They talk about some funny moments in making the most of their difficult lives. It also talks about the idealism they had going in and then finding there is no way to prepare for what they are in for. This is a documentary worth a look and really has no agenda except to convey a realistic account of their lives.
The Blue Lamp (1950): This is my British crime thriller for the week. Jack Warner plays a veteran cop named George who is murdered and rookie Andy Mitchell, played by Jimmy Hanley steps in to help investigate the murder. Dick Bogarde and Patrick Noonan co-star as a couple low-life hoodlums who try to evade the police at all costs. Bogarde is very good as the psychotic thief and killer. The movie jumps a lot of the crime group and to the police group but it does a good job of focusing on the points of view for each person. This is a very compelling crime drama from that era that is available on Instant Netflix.
Jimi Hendrix (1973): This is my rock documentary for the week that was filmed and released shortly after the death of the rock legend. This documentary consists of a lot of concert footage and even rare performances of songs like Chuck Berry's JOHNNY B. GOODE and Bob Dylan's LIKE A ROLLING STONE. There were also some interviews from people like Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Little Richard, many of his peers reflecting on their experiences with him. It also has some interview footage from Hendrix himself. Little Richard is very amusing to listen to in this documentary. This was a pretty good documentary for its time and covers the basics of his life but mostly shows him in his career and footage from many concerts. I watched this movie with Tony who is a guitar player himself and pointed out a lot of good things he did with the guitar and even some flaws he thought there were. I guess I had never really seen much of him live and saw he was playing the guitar with his teeth which I have never seen. Hendrix fans will love this movie, casual fans I think will enjoy it, if you don't like Jimi, then this probably is not for you.
Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008): This is another British film for the week which is based on events in the life of author Martin McGartland. Jim Sturgess stars as Martin who is a young hood in Belfast and recruited by the British police to spy on the IRA. Martin works his way up the IRA while feeding secrets to the British and making his life very complicated. Ben Kingsley co-stars as his handler and CHARMED alum Rose McGowan has a small part as well. It is a very good look at that part of the country with Sturgess very good as McGartland and a pretty compelling film that is available on Instant Netflix.
Well that is it for this week in the recommendations. Tell me what you like and what you do not like and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Jennifer Aniston, Ernest Borgnine, more Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
BATMAN FRANCHISE
-Alicia Silverstone (Blast From the Past) plays Batgirl in the 1997 movie BATMAN AND ROBIN.
-Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) plays Catwoman in the 2012 film THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
-Aaron Eckhart (Operation Homecoming) plays district attorney Harvey Dent in the 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT.
Sissy Spacek (Blast From the Past) and Robert Duvall (Operation Homecoming) were in the 2009 film GET LOW.
Joey Slotnick (Blast From the Past), Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) and Sacha Baran Cohen (Les Miserables) were in the 2012 film THE DICTATOR.
Ewan McGregor (Beginners) and Helena Bonham Carter (Les Miserables) were in the 2003 film BIG FISH.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Josh Lucas (Operation Homecoming) and Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) were in the 2001 film A BEAUTIFUL MIND.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays legendary actor John Barrymore in the 2011 film BARRYMORE. Errol Flynn (The Adventures of Robin Hood) plays Barrymore in the 1958 movie TOO MUCH, TOO SOON.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays detective Sherlock Holmes in the 1977 tv short SILVER BLAZE. Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of Robin Hood) several times in the 30s and 40s.
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) plays King Herod in the 1977 tv mini-series JESUS OF NAZARETH which was featured last week. Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) will play Herod in the upcoming 2013 film MARY MOTHER OF CHRIST. Claude Rains (The Adventures of Robin Hood) plays Herod in the 1965 film THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) is to play P.T. Barnum in the upcoming THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTH. Beau Bridges (Operation Homecoming) played the part in the 1999 tv movie P.T. BARNUM.
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) was considered for the part of Harvey Dent in the 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT which would ultimately go to Aaron Eckhart (Operation Homecoming)
Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) plays Robin Hood in the 2010 film ROBIN HOOD. Errol Flynn plays Robin in this week's feature THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables) and Sissy Spacek (Blast from the Past) were in the 2005 movie NINE LIVES. Spacek also had a stint in the HBO series BIG LOVE which starred Seyfried.
Ben Kingsley (50 Dead Men Walking) and Sacha Baran Cohen (Les Miserables) were in the 2011 film HUGO.
Jim Sturgess (50 Dead Men Walking) and Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) were in the 2008 film THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL.
Rose McGowan (50 Dead Men Walking) and Brendan Fraser (Blast From the Past) were in the 1992 movie ENCINO MAN.
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