Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 388th Edition

Welcome to the 388th Edition of my series.  I did not get cast in LEGALLY BLONDE:  THE MUSICAL which is fine.  I did not figure I really fit any of the characters in the show and was a last minute audition.  This Tuesday, I will be auditioning for INHERIT THE WIND which will be at the Anderson Mainstage Theatre so I will keep updated on that on.  I will now get to my selections for the week.

Enigma (2001):  This movie takes place during WWII where Nazi U-boats have changed their enigma code.  They enlist the services of genius Tom Jericho, played by Dougray Scott, who has helped before but had trouble letting go of his love Claire, played by Saffron Burrows, who disappeared.  In his attempt to crack the code, he finds that Claire might have a connection and enlists her friend Hester, played by Kate Winslet, to help investigate Claire's personal life.  It's really hard for me to describe this movie without giving a lot away.  It is one that you must give full attention to and maybe give a second viewing if necessary.  This is based on a novel by Robert Harris and it is based on a true story upon a code breaker named Alan Turing.  The unlikely duo of Mick Jagger and Lorne Michaels produced this film and Jagger can be seen in a cameo appearance.

Justice League:  Doom (2012):  This is my animated superhero movie for the week and the latest of the Justice League animated superhero movies.  The superheroes of focus on this one are Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter while joined by a newer one named Cyborg who comes in handy a few times.  Immortal supervillain Vandal Savage raids Batman's batcave and finds files he has put together on each Justice League member that shows their weaknesses in which Batman put them together in the event that they turn or fall into mind control.  Savage now has these files in which he hires each one's rival so they can exploit those weaknesses.  Batman must deal with his strongest rival in Bane.  Wonder Woman must deal with her rival in female supervillain Cheetah.  The Flash must deal with his rival the Mirror Master.  Superman must deal with his rival in Metallo.  Green Lantern has a more personal battle with female supervillain Star Sapphire.  Martian Manhunter deals with his own kind in his rival Ma'alefa'ak.  I have really been enjoying watching animated superhero movies and even tv shows lately.  I admit I really don't have a lot of superhero knowledge on account of comic books but try to get educated through these and even look up characters for more background information when necessary.  I noticed in this one Barry Allen, who is the Flash, was working as a detective which I have not seen in other of these animated superhero movies.  This has some great action scenes as well as some good voice acting.  This was a pretty compelling movie and is available on Instant Netflix.

The Kite Runner (2007):  Marc Forster directed this great independent film which is based on a book by Khaled Hosseini.  Khalid Abdalla stars as Amir who has just gotten a book published and has a great life ahead of him but receives a call that leads him back into his home country of Afghanistan.  It then flashed back to his childhood with his best childhood friend Hassan and Amir does something that loses Hassan's trust which tears them apart.  Years later, he looks to rewrite that wrong and finds that his old country is now being run by the Al Qaeda.  He must do a very dangerous thing in order to earn that redemption.  This is a pretty good depiction of Afghanistan and even diverts from stereotypes like Amir's righteous father who wants nothing to do with terrorism.  While there are some very disturbing scenes, Forster managed to make this into a very moving film with a very authentic feel and good performances.

What Makes a Good Party? (1950):  This is my short film for the week and chose the always entertaining Coronet series of "educational" film.  This short shows a few teenage girls who look to throw a welcoming party for a new student.  It goes into detail how it must be organized to the last degree and the steps in which to go about it.  You also must have some fun activities like in here were hat-making contests and everyone getting together to sing JIMMY CRACKED CORN.  There was not any mention of alcohol, I guess that just was not as big for parties.  This teaches us that everything must be planned, there cannot be any spontaneity and what can be more fun than having about a dozen people standing around a piano and singing that song.

Storm Over Asia (1928):  This is my silent film for the week which is Russian and came out when talkies were starting to come out though I have no idea when Russia had their first talkie.  Valery Inkijinoff stars as Bair who is Mongol herdsman who is cheated by a western fur trader and must escape to the hill after a brawl.  He is soon captured by the Soviets who is found alive after he is shot by the Mongols and they find him alive and discover an amulet that suggests that he is a descendant of Genghis Khan.  They soon restore him to full health and make him the head of a Mongolian puppet regime.  For those who like the silent film, this has some great footage and possibly the best from Russia in this era.  If silent is not part of your repertoire, this is not for you but if you do like this cinema.  I was presented this when seeing my 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE book and this is available on DVD which I got from Netflix.

The Muppet Movie (1979):  With the rise of the tv show THE MUPPET SHOW that started in 1976 and what better idea than to turn this into their first movie?  The movie shows Kermit who lives in the swamp and expresses his feelings by singing THE RAINBOW CONNECTION which has gone onto becoming one of the best songs of all time.  An agent, played by Dom Deluise, convinces out favorite frog to pursue a career in Hollywood and in the process meets who would become his best friends like Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Great Gonzo, among many others.  In their pursuit of Hollywood they must face a frog-leg restaurant magnate, played by Charles Durning, who is after Kermit.  There are many celebrity cameos like Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Elliot Gould, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Paul Williams, and Orson Welles.  There is also a very amusing cameo from SESEME STREET'S Big Bird who did not join the Muppets because he was in pursuit of public tv while they wanted Hollywood and both ended up very successful.  This is available on Instant Netflix.  This is a very fun movie that is for everyone and I still question if I was supposed to be born a man feeling like I'm more of a Muppet.

Possessed (1947):  This is my film-noir this week directed by Curtis Bernhardt and stars Joan Crawford fresh off her great 1945 film MILDRED PIERCE.  Crawford stars as Louise Howell who we first meet in a very dazed state of mind looking for a man named David, who will be played by Van Heflin.  She is then taken to a psychiatric hospital where she is able to piece together events of what happened revealing her borderline personality taking an early look at Schizophrenia.  The story of Louise and David is that Louise is very emotionally unstable and in love with David but David is not really returning the amount of love nor does he want that kind of life at the time so he leaves.  Louise is working as a nurse for Dean Graham, played by Raymond Massey, and tending to his invalid wife who soon dies and she forms a relationship with Dean but still longs for David making the events all unfold to a very satisfactory film and possibly Crawford's best performance.  This is really worth a look even by today's standards.

Half Nelson (2006):  Ryan Fleck co-wrote and directed this independent film that stars Ryan Gosling.  Gosling plays Dan Dunne who is an inner city middle school history teacher and coaches girls basketball.  Dunne strays from the history curriculum and teaches in a way to make students thing for themselves which does not do well with his superiors who want him to go with the curriculum.  He still has much stress in his life and has a problem with drugs.  Shareeka Epps co-stars as Drey who is a middle school girl in Dan's class and on the team.  She has her own problems like her father always being absent.  She is close to her mother but her mother works a lot.  She finds Dan doing drugs at school and they form an unlikely friendship and find their lives changing.  Anthony Mackie stars as Frank who is a small-time drug dealer who Dan is trying to keep Dray away from.  All three of these people put on very good performances.  This is a rather realistic portrait of the inner city struggles and a movie driven by the characters which is something I can usually enjoy.  Gosling is someone I can usually really enjoy and he did not disappoint me in this one.

Jacob (1994):  This is my tv movie for the week and part of "The Bible Collection" that TNT aired.  Matthew Modine stars as the biblical title character who is the son of Isaac, played by Joss Acklund, and Rebekah, played by Irene Papas, and when his father is dying, Rebekah and Jacob scheme to not have the other son Esau, played by Sean Bean, have the inheritance.  This sets off a lot of tension which makes Jacob leave and soon meets Rachel, played by THE PRACTICE alum Lara Flynn Boyle, and falls in love.  In order to earn her hand in marriage he must work for her father Laban, played by Giancarlo Giannini, for seven years.  For seven years, he proves to be a very good worker and believes he is getting his wish only to be tricked into sleeping with his oldest daughter Leah, played by Juliet Aubrey, and must work another seven years to have Rachel.  This is mostly going to be for those who are religious but is a pretty good love story with Modine very good as Jacob who would go onto have twelve sons and at least one daughter including who most know as Joseph. 

Witchfinder General (1968):  I end this week with some Vincent Price where in England, there are a lot of witch superstitions as there is a lot of political strife that allows unscrupulous men to gain local power.  Michael Reeves directed this movie and is his final movie as he died of a drug overdose shortly after it was put out.  Price stars as witch prosecutor Matthew Hopkins who along with his sadistic assistant Stearne, played by Robert Russell, they go around and interrogate those they say are witches and in a very torturous manner.  Ian Ogilvy stars as Richard Marshall who is engaged to a priest's niece and after they go after the priest he sets out to go after Hopkins and Stearne.  This is a pretty dark movie and is quite violent and disturbing but I do not believe it is as unrealistic as some might think with the paranoia of people thought to be witches and must go through very extreme measures to prove their innocence.  Price is great in his role and might be one of his best performances.  This is available on Instant Netflix and is a very well-done and underrated Vincent Price film.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and what you dislike.  Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Walter Matthau, Emma Stone, Mike Myers, Tilda Swinton, Gong Li, Spencer Tracy, Ed Helms, and many others.