Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 405th Edition

Welcome to the 405th Edition of my long-running series.  I had quite a scare with my car which overheated but it turned out to just be a radiator belt issue so things got better.  I want to congratulate my friends Lisa and Ed for their marriage and may they have many happy years ahead.  This Friday, Ashley Gray is playing from 7-8 at Freaky Tiki Friday in Downtown Muncie and will be at Folly Moon later that evening from 10-12 so come out and hear some great music.  I will not get to my selections for the week.

Big Fan (2009):  Robert Siegel wrote and directed this film that was not so much about sports but the sports fan in which I think all us sports fans can relate to in some way.  Patton Oswalt stars as Paul who is an absolute die-hard New York Giants fan.  Paul lives at home with his mother and is a parking garage attendant.  On his time off, he always calls into a sports radio station, a lot of times to debate with his rival Philadelphia Phil, played by Michael Rapaport, who is obviously an Eagles fan.  Him and his friend Sal, played by Kevin Corrigan, always go to the Giants stadium to tailgate then plant a tv to their car to watch the game their.  His family, especially his mother, played by Marcia Jean Kurtz, don't understand why he won't do anything better with himself but have no way of understanding the mind of a die-hard fan.  Things change when a player, played by Jonathan Hamm, he idolizes assaults him even putting him in the hospital where he must consider the consequences of what happened.  Oswalt was a lot of fun in this comedy in my opinion and while I am not quite to that extreme, I can relate a little bit.  This is a very fun and underrated football comedy on the fans.

Action Jackson (1988): Now I bring some guilty pleasure 80s action that stars Carl Weathers as the title characters.  Sergeant Jericho "Action" Jackson was demoted from Lieutenant after almost tearing the arm off crooked car manufacturer Sean Dellaplane, played by COACH alum Craig T. Nelson, who is a very violent man and frames Jackson for a murder.  He must then set out to prove himself innocent and get Dellaplane.  Vanity, Sharon Stone, Thomas Wilson, Bill Duke, and Robert Davi all co-star in this film.  This is by no means an Oscar winner but gives action from start to finish with all kinds of shootouts, explosions, and fights.  Nelson did pretty good as the villain.  This did not result in any kind of franchise and Weathers will always be known for this and ROCKY the most as well as ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT but this goes down as a very fun action film if that is what you are looking for.  I hope now to see Weathers in the EXPENDABLES part three.

Hairspray (2007):  This is part three of my Christopher Walken series.  Adam Shankman directs this musical remake of the 1988 John Waters film where Waters makes a cameo.  This takes place in 60s Baltimore which in some ways centers around the Corny Collins Show which was an AMERICAN BANDSTAND type show and was in the time of integration.  Nikki Blonski stars as pleasantly plump teen Tracy Turnblad who is a big fan of the show along with friend Penny, played by Amanda Bynes.  Soon, there is an audition for the show which Tracy wants to do but not her mother Edna, played by John Travolta, in belief she will be mistreated.  Walken plays her father who encourages her to pursue her dream which gets Edna on board.  Tracy soon takes a liking to the black group that occasionally gets a time on the show but that she believes should be integrated.  Michelle Pfeiffer co-stars as Velma who is pretty high up on the show and is determined to keep the show with the white group which includes her daughter Amber, played by Brittany Snow.  I really like both movies and found this to be quite a decent musical.  It was very amusing to see Walken and Travolta as a married couple and to even have a love duet between them.  Blonski makes her film debut and is perfect in the role originated by Ricki Lake who makes a cameo.  I always like when Walken gets to play more against type and really got to display other talents here in my opinion.  James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelly, Allison Janney, and Jerry Stiller all co-star in this musical.  There are also a lot of fun musical numbers.  It is unfortunate that many who love this version really dislike the 1988 version which should be given credit where credit is due so look for that version in the coming weeks.

Killer-Dog (1936):  This is my short film for the week which is one of the Pete Smith Specialty shorts.  Most of these were comedic but this one is a little more dramatic.  This is a short about a farm dog named Major that was part collie and part wolf dog.  Some sheep were killed and Major is the prime suspect even though he has a history of being a very faithful companion to a little girl even saving her life on a few occasions.  This is a pretty well put together film for being only ten minutes or so.  This is available on Comcast on TCM-On Demand.

I Confess (1953):  I now bring a little unknown Hitchcock.  Montgomery Clift stars as Father Michael Logan who takes in the confession of a caretaker at the church who has murdered someone.  Circumstantial evidence points to Father Logan and even though he knows who the killer is, he is very dedicated to his job and cannot break the seal of confidentiality to clear himself.  Anne Baxter co-stars as Ruth who had previous relations with Logan before he entered the priesthood and tries to prove his innocence.  Karl Malden co-stars as Inspector Larrue and is probably the standout of the film as an inspector trying to get Logan to save his own life.  This is quite different than most Hitchcock films.  For one, we already know the killer from the beginning.  There are also not any real dark comedic moments like other Hitchcock films have.  This still stands as a pretty good film that is based on a play by Paul Anthelme which I would like to see a theater get sometime.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1979):  Bill Melendez, known for the Peanuts animated specials, directed this animated adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book and was produced by BBC.  I came across this when I was doing my volunteer work at the library and caught my interest.  I'll go through the basic storyline where four siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who are evacuated to the country during WWII at a house owned by a professor.  They soon discover a new world of Narnia through a wardrobe where they find all kinds of mythical creatures like fauns and dwarves and decide they should stand up to the White Witch.  They are joined by a very noble lion named Aslan which is actually symbolic of Jesus.  This is a pretty good family oriented adaptation of the classic novel which I will likely soon see on stage at the Muncie Civic Theater.  Go to http://www.munciecivic.org for more details.

Temple Grandin (2010):  This is part three of my Claire Danes series.  This is my HBO movie of the week which is a biopic and Claire Danes is the title character.  Grandin is an autistic person who grew up in the 60s when it was far more misunderstood at that time and people just made fun or think of those types of people as stupid.  Julia Ormond plays Temple's understanding mother who pushed her to think and do things for herself.  She also came to understand her own autism and what she can do with it which I really thought was interesting.  David Strathairn co-stars as Dr. Carlock who took an interest and liking while more important an understanding of Temple which was very inspirational to her.  Temple Grandin would go on to graduate college to the point of a Ph.D. and has worked in the field of cattle as well as becoming a speaker on autism.  Danes was really good as Grandin and can serve as an inspiration to those who are autistic or parents of autistic children.  I also liked that it shows that you must accept a child's mechanisms of coping even if a bit unusual and especially for people with autism.  Catherine O'Hara also co-stars as Temple's aunt whose ranch Temple would stay at and take interest in things like cattle even creating a very innovative gate.  Danes met with the real-life Grandin to prepare for the part.

The Long, Hot Summer (1958):  Martin Ritt directed this drama that stars Paul Newman as Ben Quick.  He is kicked out of a town for allegedly burning a barn and soon ends up in a small Mississippi town and quickly makes his way into the Varner family who is lead by the patriarch Will Varner, played by Orson Welles, who hires him in his store.  He soon believes that he would be good for Clara, played by Joanne Woodward in the first of many teams of her and Newman.  Anthony Franciosa co-stars as Jody Varner who Will feels lacks ambition and has a very difficult relationship.  Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, and Richard Anderson all co-star in this film.  If I go on too much further, I will be giving a lot away but is a good movie with a good story, cast, and performances that deserves a look.  In this movie, characters are really more just gray areas where many great dramatic moments happen.

Hearts of the West (1975):  I bring a little more comedy in this one and more of an homage to Hollywood westerns from the 20s to 30s.  A young Jeff Bridges stars as Lewis Tater who is looking to get his dime novels published.  He is very innocent and naive and soon ends up with a group of western actors who take him in and learns that it is a conniving business but soon becomes a star.  Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, Donald Pleasance, and Alan Arkin all co-star in this really fun comedy.  Griffith is also fun as the veteran actor.  Bridges does a great job in his role and is something that has not really gotten a lot of exposure.  I got a lot of laughs and hope others can get a hold of this one. 

Much Ado About Nothing (2012):  I end this week with some Modern-Day Shakespeare being brought to us by none other than Joss Whedon.  This is a really difficult one to really describe on something like this but I'll do my best.  ANGEL alum Alexis Denisof stars as Benedick and Fran Kranz stars as Claudio.  They each fall in love with a different woman.  Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, played by ANGEL alum Amy Acker, while deep down they really like each other and Governor Leonato, played by Clark Gregg, and Don Pedro, played by Reed Diamond, try to help make it happen.  Claudio falls for Hero, played by Jillian Morgese, but Pedro's rebellious brother John, played by Sean Maher, schemes for the relationship and marriage to not happen.  Nathan Fillion co-stars as Dogberry who is a detective investigating things that have happened and is quite funny in his role along with his sidekick Verges, played by BUFFY alum Tom Lenk.  I have always said that ROMEO AND JULIET is my favorite Shakespeare story and when it comes to the comedies, this is my favorite and was excited when I heard Whedon was in on this one and all the people I have known for his shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, DOLLHOUSE, and FIREFLY were part of this movie and well cast.  Whedon actually shot this movie in 12 days while working on AVENGERS.  I really liked the modern-day setting and the use of black and white.  I will say that I heard that Anthony Head was to be Leonato but had to drop out and I would have loved to have seen him play that part and reunite with some of his alums from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.  Clark Gregg still did a good job though and he is most known for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel films as well as Whedon's upcoming AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.  I made a rare movie theater appearance to see this one but was in my dad's town of Columbus, Indiana which I like to support their not-for-profit theater Yes Cinema and was very glad to see I was going to get to view this one and did not disappoint.  It might be good to do a little background though on the Shakespeare story to understand what is happening.

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 Claire Danes, more Christopher Walken, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) and Jerry Stiller (Hairspray) were in the 1998 sitcom THE KING OF QUEENS.

Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) and Queen Latifah (Hairspray) were in the 2004 movie TAXI.

Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) and Thomas F. Wilson (Action Jackson) were in the 2009 film THE INFORMANT.

Patton Oswalt (Big Fan), Jerry Stiller (Hairspray), and James Marsden (Hairspray) were all in the 2001 comedy ZOOLANDER.

Kevin Corrigan (Big Fan) and Christopher Walken (Hairspray) were in the 2012 film SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, the 2001 film SCOTLAND, PA, and the 1993 film TRUE ROMANCE.  Michael Rapaport (Big Fan) was also in TRUE ROMANCE.

Craig T. Nelson (Action Jackson) and Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) were in the 2005 movie THE FAMILY STONE.

Crait T. Nelson (Action Jackson) and David Strathairn (Temple Grandin) were in the 1983 film SILKWOOD.

Bill Duke (Action Jackson) directed Queen Latifah (Hairspray) in the 1997 movie HOODLUM.

JAMES BOND VILLAINS
-Robert Davi (Action Jackson) plays murderous drug lord Franz Sanchez in the 1989 film LICENSE TO KILL.
-Christopher Walken (Hairspray) plays Max Zorin in the 1985 Bond movie A VIEW TO A KILL.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Hairspray) and Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) were in the 2007 film STARDUST.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Hairspray) declined the part of Catherine Tramell in the 1992 film BASIC INSTINCT which would ultimately go to Sharon Stone (Action Jackson) which has Stone's most iconic and impersonated scene.  Pfeiffer also declined the part of Ginger in the 1995 film CASINO which would also go to Sharon Stone who would then win an Oscar for her role.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Hairspray) and David Strathairn (Temple Grandin) were in the 1999 film A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

Queen Latifah (Hairspray) plays the part of Mama Morton in the 2002 film CHICAGO.  My Facebook friend Amanda played the part in a recent production at Muncie Civic Theater.

Zac Efron (Hairspray) plays Troy Bolton in the 2006 movie HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.  My Facebook friend Corey played the part in a production at Lee's Theatrical Productions in Anderson.

Zac Efron (Hairspray) and Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) were in the 2008 film ME AND ORSON WELLES where they both worked for Welles who I just happened to feature this week in THE LONG, HOT SUMMER.

Allison Janney (Hairspray) was discovered by Paul Newman (The Long, Hot Summer) and Joanne Woodward (The Long, Hot Summer) while acting in a play directed by Newman at Kenyon College.  They both encouraged her to go to New York after graduation to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse.

Allison Janney (Hairspray) and Catherine O'Hara (Temple Grandin) were in the 2009 film AWAY WE GO.

James Marsden (Hairspray) and Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) are in the upcoming independent film AS COOL AS I AM.

Nicholas Barnes (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe) and Alexis Denisof (Much Ado About Nothing) were in the 1994 tv movie ROMEO & JULIET.  Barnes plays Balthasar which my Facebook friend Sean played in a recent production in Farmland.  Denisof plays Tybalt in which my Facebook friend Austin played that part in our production.  Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) plays Juliet in the 1996 modern version ROMEO + JULIET and my Facebook friend Kasey played the part in our production.

Simon Adams and Nicholas Barnes voice the part of Edmund in this week's feature THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.  My facebook friend Kevin is playing the part in the upcoming version at Muncie Civic Theater.  Sheila Hancock voices the White Witch in this week's feature while my Facebook friend Katie is playing the part at Muncie Civic Theater.  Arthur Lowe and Liz Proud voice Mr. and Mrs. Beavers while my Facebook friend Scott and Lori plays the part in the upcoming production.  Stephen Thorne voices Aslan while my Facebook friend Sean plays the part in the upcoming production.  The show Muncie Civic Theater goes from August 23, 24, 30, 31, September 1, 5, 6, 7.