Welcome to the 403rd Edition of my long-running series. We have one more performance this evening of ROMEO AND JULIET. It has gone quite well. It is a free show at 7 pm and is in Farmland at Wildcat Park for if you can make it. I don't really have a lot to say so I'll just give the recommendations
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): I begin the week with part five of my five part tribute series to the late James Gandolfini. The team of director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal reunite from THE HURT LOCKER to put on this film about the search and kill of Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain stars as CIA operative Maya whose first experience is to stand in on an interrogation of prisoners following the 9/11 attacks. She is reluctant to take part in their brutal tactics at first but believes it might be the only way to get the necessary information. She soon dedicates her life to capture Bin Laden no matter how much her colleagues disagree with her. Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Mark Strong, Mark Duplass, Mark Valley, Joel Edgerton, and many others are also in this film. Chastain is very good in her role as the dedicated CIA worker and I really liked Clarke who plays Dan who does what he can to get information even through reward if they deliver but treated badly if they do not deliver for him. I really thought this was well done and was worth the two and a half hours. In its genre, it really had a lot of competition and comparisons to ARGO and I honestly cannot say which one I liked better. They each had their own compelling true story but could make a good double feature among friends for debate.
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots' (1931): I came across this series of short films from the golf pro Bobby Jones. In this one, Joe E. Brown bets Edward G. Robinson that he can beat Bobby Jones in a game of golf and finds this is no easy feat. Joe soon gets himself in these trouble shots as the title indicates like hitting a ball in the sand. Bobby then demonstrates the proper ways of getting out of these trouble spots that any golfer can do. It seems like these would be some pretty informational shorts while being humorous for those who love golf.
Monterey Pop (1968): This is my rock documentary for the week that focused on the pre-Woodstock festival of the title. It shows a lot of the live performances by the Mamas and the Papas, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, the Animals, the Who, Country Joe and the Fish, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and Ravi Shankar. It also has footage of fans and even band members admiring each other. Some of the memorable moments include Pete Townshend destroying his guitar on stage and Hendrix setting his guitar on fire. For many of these artists, this concert really put them on the map, especially Hendrix who would be more known for his work on Woodstock. This is for anyone who enjoys this music and is a very well-done concert video and is good to see all these people that left us too soon. This is available on the Criterion Collection which includes more Jimi Hendrix footage, additional outtakes, and a really good book.
Homeboy (1988): This is part one of my Christopher Walken series which is possibly five parts. Michael Seresin directed this movie in which Mickey Rourke wrote and starred in which Rourke is billed as Sir Eddie Cook. Rourke stars as boxer Johnny Walker who is a rather shy and awkward person who is not really in shape to be boxing but it is all he really knows so kind of a pre-WRESTLER I suppose and even maybe a precursor to his next real-life profession of boxing which I believe he did quite shortly after. Walken co-stars as the smooth talking Wesley Pedergass who is trying to help Johnny get more fights but has unethical intentions for Walker. Debra Feuer plays his love interest who Johnny has a hard time telling her due to his shyness. Rourke is very good as the shy and awkward boxer just trying to get by. This is pretty good unknown Rourke who carries the movie quite well. This is his writing debut.
The Spiral Staircase (1945): This is my thriller for the week which is based on a novel by Ethel Lina White. Dorothy McGuire stars as Helen who is a mute service worker for the bed-ridden Mrs. Warren, played very well by Ethel Barrymore. There is a serial killer on the loose who tends to target women with afflictions making Mrs. Warren fear for Helen's life. She tries to convince Helen to get out of there but there is soon a murder at the home making it much more difficult. George Brent, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming and Elsa Lanchester co-star in this very underrated film that was a very pleasant surprise for me. McGuire was very good at playing the part while conveying emotions. This is worth a look and keeps you the whole way through.
Me and Orson Welles (2008): This is possibly part one of a Claire Danes series that could go four parts. Richard Linklater directed this movie which stars Zac Efron as Richard Samuels who is a high school student and aspiring actor. He soon takes a trip to New York City where he has a chance encounter with Orson Welles, played very well by Christian McKay, who is to do a modern day version of Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR at the Mercury Theater. Orson takes an immediate liking to Richard after an impromptu audition and gives him the part of Lucius. He soon finds himself in a complicated world where about anything Orson says goes. Danes plays Sonja Jones who works for the theater and takes Richard under her wing even forming feelings for each other. Zoe Kazan, Eddie Marsan, and Ben Chaplin. Efron was really good as the idealistic person who soon sees the real world he wants to be a part. This is a really good movie showing a play being put together and being run by Orson Welles and was worth a watch.
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956): This is my western for the week. Glenn Ford stars as George Temple who has a past as one of the fastest gunmen of all time but is trying to move on with his life as a wife and father and finds it is very difficult. In the town they are staying at, there is a group of criminals threatening to burn down the whole town and George must decide then what to do. Broderick Crawford, Jeanne Crain, and Russ Tamblyn co-star in the pretty decent western. This is right now available on TCM On-Demand.
In the Bedroom (2001): Todd Field directed and co-wrote this film that I recall really liking at the time and was glad to revisit it for here. Nick Stahl co-stars as Frank who is a college student dating a single mother named Natalie, played very well by Marisa Tomei, who has not quite divorced from her estranged husband, played by William Mapother, much to the concern of Frank's parents, played by Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek. Soon, a tragedy happens, causing everyone to handle it in different ways. If I go on much further, I will just give too much away and I do not want to do that. This is a rather dark story but still very well done which a lot of it had to do with the characters and performances. I will just end this one here and just give it a shot for a well-done story and characters.
The Ritz (1976): I came across this when doing my volunteer work at the library and remembering this from two or three years ago being done at the Muncie Civic Studio Theater. Richard Lester directs this movie based on the play by Terrance McNally who also helped write the screenplay to this very comedic film. Jack Weston stars as Gaetano who is on the run from mobster Carmine Vespucci, played by Jerry Stiller, and tells the cab driver to take him where Carmine will not find him. Gaetano soon finds himself in a gay bathhouse, who is then pursued by "chubby chaser" Claude, played by Paul B. Price and Googie Gomez, played by Rita Moreno, who is posing as a transvestite. Kaye Ballard, F. Murray Abraham, and Treat Williams also star in this very fun comedy and is very enjoyable as long as you can take a gay bathhouse. Also look for CHEERS alum John Ratzenberger who makes his film debut. This was probably a pretty daring movie to make in that time period. I am glad that years later, we have a place like the studio theater that can put on shows like this. I really did not know about this movie until I saw it at the library and remembered seeing a theatrical version of it that was also very well done but so was this movie. It is too bad it is not very high on the radar but hopefully this will get it a little more exposure.
Supergirl (1984): I end this week with what I call the guilty pleasure of the week. With the Superman franchise at quite a success, they decided to try cashing in with a female version named Kara, played by Helen Slater in her film debut, who is the cousin of Superman. I'm not quite sure where she is with Krypton being destroyed, maybe it was just a part of it that survived, I am not going to try to go further on that one. A powerful source for their planet soon ends up on Earth where Kara goes to Earth becoming Supergirl. I noticed that she had her Supergirl outfit as soon as she ends up on Earth but not when she leaves from her planet so I'm not really sure how it got on her so quick. Soon, an enchantress named Selena, played by Faye Dunaway, gets possession and Supergirl must stop her. In addition to Dunaway, we also have Peter O'Toole and Mia Farrow who unfortunately did not make their best career decisions. This story and even special effects were not very well done. Some may disagree, but I really feel Slater was well cast in the role but had a bad script to work with that ends up on here being a guilty pleasure. I am sure sequels might have been planned as well as maybe Slater and Christopher Reeve teaming up at some point but with this not being very successful and the later ones in the Superman Franchise being below average, it just never happened. Reeve was originally to make a cameo but had to pull out at the last minute. Supergirl's secret identity was as Linda Lee and Clark Kent's cousin who was a high school student and was somehow able to go from being blonde to brunette looking quite a bit different becoming more believable that with Clark Kent to Superman who makes very little change. Maybe we can soon get a reboot that is actually good but for right now this is all we have for Supergirl in live action.Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes more Christopher Walken, and many others
No comments:
Post a Comment