Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 399th Edition

 

Welcome to the 399th Edition.  I hope everyone had a good 4th of July.  I am paying tribute to the late actors Jim Kelly and James Gandolfini.  I have a multiple series with Gandolfini starting in this one but just one from Kelly.  This Thursday, I have an internet radio interview on the show MAKE ART, MAKE MUSIC, MAKE LOVE which is hosted by fellow AMERICA'S GOT TALENT alum Sid Yiddish.  We will be discussing my times on AGT, community theater, wrestling, among other things.  It is at 5:30 and the link is http://www.que4.org/.  You will see the title of the show from 4-7 and I have the 5:30 to 7 spot so check it out if you can.  I will now get to my selections for the week.

Katy Perry:  Part of Me (2012):  I start out the week with this documentary on the pop singer of the title which was directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz.  I will be the first to admit, I really did not know a lot about Katy Perry since it really is not my style of music but I found to be rather inspiring and compelling.  I also found that her music really is not that bad in my opinion.  This movie is documented during her California Dreams tour which was her first big tour and then goes into her personal life.  It shows her childhood and growing up in a Pentecostal life where her father is a Pentecostal preacher.  It then goes into her discovering a new world and events which make her end up where she is now.  It has interviews with her and much of her family including her parents which do not like her music but still love her and did not disown her even in that rather strict environment.  If you just cannot stand Katy Perry, this may not be for you while it does show a very likable side of her in the backstage.  Fans of Katy Perry will in all likelihood love this one.  I loved in the final credits that she chose Twitter followers to thank.

Customers Wanted (1939):  This is my animated short for the week which features Popeye.  This one takes place at a carnival where Popeye and his rival Bluto each have a penny arcade and are competing for customers.  The most notable customer in this one is Wimpy who was put to a lot more use in this one.  In his penny arcade observation they put clips of older cartoons but minimal and they work very well.  This is also a bit different in that usually Popeye and Bluto have more physical altercations but was more limited in this one.  This is probably findable on Youtube and other public access apps.

Argo (2012):  This is a true story that takes place during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.  Ben Affleck puts in another great directing entry and Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on a selection from THE MASTER OF DISGUISE by Tony Mendez and Wired Magazine article THE GREAT ESCAPE by Joshuah Bearman.  Affleck stars as Mendez who was an exfiltration expert with the CIA.  They learn that six Iranian hostages manage to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador.  Mendez is soon put in charge of their escape hatching a daring plan that they are part of a Canadian film crew looking for filming locations.  With help from his Hollywood contacts like John Goodman and Alan Arkin, Mendez comes up with a cover which makes him a Hollywood producer and when getting to the hostages, he assigns each of them a role in a very risky escape plan.   Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber, Clea Duvall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Titus Welliver, Bob Gunton, Richard Kind, and many others co-star in this film.  If I go anymore into the plot, I will be afraid to give anything away but Affleck did a great job directing and even acting with good performances from the ensemble.  I did find myself on the edge of my seat throughout the film.

Lured (1947):  Douglas Sirk directed this very interesting film-noir. In London, a serial killer is killing people he meets through personal ads and announces the killings with a cryptic poem.  Lucille Ball, in a much different role, is an American in London named Sandra Carpenter and is a dancer.  Her friend soon disappears and agrees to help the police find the killer.  Charles Coburn co-stars as Inspector Harley Temple who enlists Sandra to help with the case.  Soon, Sandra begins to answer ads to learn more about the people leading to encounters with people like Boris Karloff and George Sanders.  Karloff is a lot of fun in his scene.  Sanders is also good as the playboy Robert Fleming who forms a relationship with Sandra.  Cedric Hardwicke and Alan Napier co-star in this film.  This is a very underrated film from Sirk and very unknown of Lucille Ball.  I hope that I can get this more on the radar, especially classic movie buffs.

One Down, Two to Go (1976):  This is my tribute to martial arts actor Jim Kelly who recently left us.  Kelly stars as Chuck who is part of a fight tournament but the mob screws him over so enlists some friends to go after the mob which include Jim Brown, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, and Richard Roundtree.  This is one where you really just have to appreciate the blaxploitation genre and the four actors all in the same movie.  I really wish they could have included Pam Grier on this team and then it would have been complete.  This is more a guilty pleasure than anything.

Welcome to the Rileys (2010):  This is part one of my tribute series to late actor James Gandolfini.  This is my independent film for the week and really the pleasant surprise.  Jake Scott directed this movie which was written by Ken Hixon.  Gandolfini and Melissa Leo play married couple Doug and Lois Riley who actually live in Indianapolis, Indiana which is about an hour from where I live so that element was kind of cool in my opinion.  Doug and Lois lost a daughter eight years ago and still cannot cope with the death.  Doug has a mistress named Vivian, played by Eisa Davis, while Lois has not been able to leave the house in years out of fear.  Doug soon takes a business trip to New Orleans where he meets a call girl and stripper named Mallory, played by Kristen Stewart, and forms an unusual relationship with her becoming a father figure of sorts likely because she reminds him of his daughter.  Doug soon finds that he is more needed in New Orleans and informs Lois that he is staying which prompts her to finally leave the house in a New Orleans trek.  They try to help Mallory make a better life for herself.  I really found myself enjoying this one a lot.  I thought Kristen Stewart actually did do a good job and managed to act her way out of that paper bag in this one.  Her and Gandolfini worked so well together and Melissa Leo really added to that dynamic when she joined.  I really believe this deserves a watch and exceeded my expectations a lot.

David and Bathsheba (1951):  This is my biblical movie for the week which star Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward as the title characters.  David, years after his successful encounter against Goliath, is now the king and has been in many battles but wants the love of a woman who loves him for who is is and not as a king.  He soon meets Bathsheba who he becomes attracted to immediately and she shares that except she is married to David's soldier Uriah, played by Kieron Moore.  Uriah is more dedicated to the army than to his wife and is sent out by David to a battle that is for sure to get him killed.  This sin of adultery brings the wrath of god and David must do what he can to save Bathsheba from being stoned to death.  Peck and Hayward are very good in their roles but this is probably one for people who really enjoy biblical films though Peck was very good as the king.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992):  Curtis Hanson directed this thriller that was written by Amanda Silver.  Annabella Sciora stars as Claire who has a pretty good suburban life with her husband Michael, played by Matt McCoy, her daughter Emma, played by Madeline Zima, and a baby on the way.  They soon find that they are pretty busy and set out to hire a nanny.  They soon hire Peyton Flanders, played very well by Rebecca De Mornay, who makes her way into the home but is not who she seems.  Julianne Moore, Ernie Hudson, and John de Lancie co-star in this film.  Hudson did a really good job as the family's mentally disabled yard worker.  I remember as a kid always enjoying this movie so I was glad to revisit it and I have not really changed in my feelings.  It has a very good amount of suspense without really having to get extremely violent.  For me, this is a very enjoyable psychotic female movie if you are into this type of genre.

The Rescuers (1977):  This is my Disney selection and my more family friendly selection for the week.  Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor provide the voices for mice Bernard and Miss Bianca who work for the Rescue Aid Society which is a group of mice in the United Nations that helps people in need.  They set out to rescue an orphaned girl named Penny, played by Michelle Stacy, who is abducted by an unscrupulous pawn shop owner named Madame Medusa, voiced by Geraldine Page, in order to get to a diamond.  With the help of an Albatross, they look to rescue Penny from Madame, her henchman Mr. Snoops, voiced by Joe Flynn, and a couple alligators greatly named Brutus and Nero.  In some ways, Madame Medusa reminds me of Cruella Deville but still stands out on her own.  There are some decent music numbers and a pretty fun story.  This is one of the first Disney movies that go post-Walt Disney and stands pretty well.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Hot Rod (2007):  I end with this independent comedy directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Pam Brady.  SNL alum Andy Samberg stars as Rob Kimble who is a slacker and has a career choice of being a daredevil which he is quite inept but never gives up.  The main thing is that he wants respect from his stepfather Frank, played by Ian McShane, who is rather abusive to Rod.  Soon, he has a disease that was going to cost a lot to cure and Rod did not want him to die without his respect so he sets out to win money by doing the stunt of a lifetime.  Bill Hader, Isla Fisher, Danny McBride, Sissy Spacek, Will Arnett, Chris Parnell, and many others.  I found this to be very enjoyable and quite underrated.  This was produced by SNL alum Lorne Michaels and this is quite possibly my favorite comedy to star an SNL alum from the 90s and up and it is unfortunate it did not get much exposure.  Samberg proves he can handle a feature film in this one and I laughed a lot.  This is available on Instant Netflix and is a great comedy for a group to watch.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and what you dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes more James Gandolfini and many others.