Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 395th Edition

Welcome to the 395th Edition of my long-running series.  This week, INHERIT THE WIND opens at the Anderson Mainstage Theatre.  Performances are Thursday-Sunday starting at 7:30 every day except Sunday which is at 3 pm.  There are performances next week on Friday and Saturday.  Also, please check out this website http://www.gofundme.com/Family-Documentary which is the site for my friend Sarah who is trying to get enough donations to get a camera in order to fund a documentary she wants to do.  I know many people who have read this are filmmakers know the struggle of getting a movie off the ground so please consider donating if you can.  I will now get to my selections for the week.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010):  I start out with this documentary that pays tribute to the world of graffiti art.  This movie starts out with French shop keeper and amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta who has quite a fascination with street graffiti and after getting footage of artists like Shephard Fairey and Space Invader, he sets his sights on the very elusive Banksy who is one of the pioneers of this form of art.  He finally meets him but still refuses to show his face but something that was not an easy feat.  Banksy soon finds the Guetta is a very average filmmaker and turns the tables on him telling him to start coming up with his own street art.  Guetta then took up this challenge, becoming Mr. Brainwash, and comes up with some very clever art leading into a pretty big show.  This is really about all I can explain but really enjoyed seeing these people do what they are passionate about and the way Banksy kind of takes charge.  This really gives a good look into this form of art and is a rather inventive documentary.  This movie is available on Instant Netflix.

It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (1974):  This is one of my short films for the week and decided on some Peanuts for the week.  There are a couple stories going on here.  One is that Woodstock just built a nest and has a comic struggle doing so but finally gets it built.  The nest soon disappears and Snoopy puts on his Sherlock Holmes outfit in order to find the nest for his friend.  In the other story, Sally struggles to come up with a science project for school.  Charlie, Lucy, Linus, Marci, Pigpen, and Peppermint Patty all make appearances in this really fun tv special of people I consider friends.

They Drive by Night (1940):  This is part two of a two-part Humphrey Bogart series.  Raoul Walsh directs this film which stars George Raft and Bogart as truckers Joe and Paul Fabrini.  They run their own business and struggle with all the competition and corrupt businessmen as they work a lot of hours and never really know how much pay they will get..  They continue to stay in business even through encouragement that it is easier to work for someone who has more money.  Through much tragedy, one of them comes to harm and the other is accused of murder on a mutual friend.  Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Alan Hale, and many others co-star in this film.  It was interesting to see these guys play working people and not mobsters like they had on many occasions.  This is pretty good unknown Bogart that classic film buffs will enjoy.

Oklahoma (1999):  I now bring this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical which was a live performance and a revival in London.  Hugh Jackman stars as Curly who looks to win over Laurey Williams, played by Josefina Gabrielle, but must compete with farmhand Jud Fry, played by Shuler Hensley.  The other story is of Will Parker, played by Jimmy Johnston, who looks to win over Ado Annie, played by Vicki Simon, but her father does not approve of Will because of his lack of money and she is to be with peddler Ali Hakim, played by Peter Polycarpou.  That is really the basic storyline of this musical western.  Like a lot of people, I first got exposed to Jackman as Wolverine which was a perfect casting and then I heard he can do things like this and has come a long way.  He was great as Curly and shows his vocal talent that did not fully get exposed until 2012 when he did LES MISERABLES.  I was in a version of this musical at the Muncie Civic Theater in 2008 where I played Slim and was a good production.  There was also a version in 1955 with Gordon Macrae and will possibly catch heat but I like this version better.  One thing I like about this that the movie did not have was Jud's solo LONELY ROOM which really sets the tone later for Jud and brings some sympathy to this villainous character which they probably did not want.  I'm not the biggest Rodgers and Hammerstein fan but this is probably my favorite from them and this was a very good production.

Early Summer (1951):  This is my Japanese film for the week.  Yasujiro Ozu directed this family portrait which challenges traditions within a family.  Setsuko Hara stars as Noriko who is 28 years old and still single.  This is in a postwar Japan where traditions are changing.  She has a job and her boss suggests his 40 year old friend to marry her.  Noriko's family wants her to accept but Noriko looks to make plans of her own.  This is a really beautiful story which makes it on account of its good writing and characters.  This is a pretty realistic portrait of a family and is a must as long as you are okay with subtitles.

Donnie Darko (2001):  I now continue with this cult film directed and wrote by Richard Kelly.  Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the title character who is a troubled teenager who does not get along with with his family, teachers, or classmates.  A new student named Gretchen, played by Jena Malone, understands him a lot more and even agrees to date him. Now, the complicated part of his life is with a really creepy rabbit named Frank who is predicting the end of the world.  Strange things begin to happen where Donnie can no longer see what is real and what is not.  Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Patrick Swayze, Beth Grant, Seth Rogen, Noah Wyle, Drew Barrymore, and Katherine Ross all co-star in this film.  Swayze is very amusing as the self-help guru Jim Cunningham.  Seth Rogen makes his film debut.  This was a very thought-provoking film and may not be for everyone but if you like something very dark, then it is for you.  I also really enjoyed the 80s soundtrack and pop-culture references.

Brave (2012):  This is my Pixar selection for the week.  Kelly McDonald provides the voice of Princess Merida who is Princess Merida in Scotland.  She is a more free-spirited princess who wants to be able to carve her own path in life.  In trying to live a more free life, she inadvertently causes an ancient curse to happen within her family in which she must work to end.  Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson play her parents.  Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson, and CHEERS alum John Ratzenberger also provide voices.  I was expecting more action out of this film but is was really more about family conflict and a lot of what happened was the price of a mother and daughter not being able to communicate very well.  With this, I really enjoyed this film a lot and is a good one for the family adding a good character to the Disney princess line.  I liked WRECK IT RALPH better but this still entertains a lot.

Duel (1971):  This is my tv movie of the week and the first feature film out of Steven Spielberg.  Dennis Weaver stars as a businessman who is just trying to get home but then encounters a semi truck who he slowly finds he is trying to kill him.  We never actually see the driver, just the truck that was the villain of the film.  This is a low budget film but is just as good of thriller as many others.  Weaver does a great job in mostly carrying this film by himself.  It definitely is quite possibly the best tv movie of all time.  This movie is full of thrills and suspense and is really one of my favorites from Spielberg.

Daybreak (1939):  This is my French film.  1939 is known for the year of many great American films being released but this is competition from France.  Marcel Carne directed this drama which stars Jean Gabin as Francoise who has just killed a man.  He soon locks himself in an apartment looking to evade the police.  While doing this, he begins to reflect on the events that lead to this killing.  I really don't want to give away too many more details.  It was a very well done film that does a great job with the use of flashback to explain the circumstances of what happened.  I found this was a pretty easy one to follow even with the subtitles. 

Thumb Wars:  The Phantom Cuticle (1999):  I decided to end this was one with more of a short film.  I have always seen these available but have not gotten around to them until now and this is the first one.  Most have probably guessed that this is a parody of STAR WARS but with the use of thumbs.  It is based on the very first one where a farmboy named Loke Groundrunner and Princess Bunhead, among others look to thwart Black Helmet Man and the Thumbpire from their evil plans.  This is a very fun 30 minutes if just taken for what it's worth.  It has some really funny references from the movies as well as a great opening sequence.  There are a lot of other thumb parodies out there but this is the first.  Steve Oedekerk directed, wrote, and provided much of this voices.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Christian Bale, Jessica Chastain, and many others.