Welcome
to the 432nd Edition of my series. I have enjoyed this nicer weather
and like many I am done with this crazy winter. I have enjoyed getting
back on this day shift. I will now get to my recommendations for the
week.

Lone
Survivor (2013): Peter Berg directed and co-wrote the screenplay to
this war film that is a true story and based on the autobiography of
Marcus Luttrell. Mark Wahlberg stars as Lutrell who was a Navy Seal and
lead a team in 2005 to capture or kill al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd.
The group is soon discovered and they are in a fight for their lives.
Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Eric Bana, and many others co-star in this
war drama. It is really hard to go further into words about this movie
without giving a lot away. Berg did a great job directed this honest
and realistic depiction of war time experience. Wahlberg was very good
in his role as Luttrell. I also liked that there were showed some
people who are Arab and from Afghanistan as really good people. The end
credits are also very good which pay tribute to our military. This was
worth going to the theater.

Paradise
Lost 3: Purgatory (2011): I have been featuring this series lately
and now I bring the conclusion of this documentary trilogy. To recap,
these are based on the horrific 1993 murder of three eight year old boys
in Memphis. The three people arrested for the murder were in their
late teens and were convicted under very questionable evidence becoming
known as the "West Memphis 3". This movie recaps the first two and some
new evidence that was found that could lead to a new trial which lead
to a very unusual release. This shows the support that the West Memphis
3 was able to get even from celebrities like Johnny Depp, Pearl Jam,
and the Dixie Chicks. It was also interesting to see the one of the
fathers of the victims changed his believes and sided with the
defendants in his belief they are innocent. This was a very good
documentary series which takes a really good look at our flawed justice
system. I hope in a few years from now we can get another where are
they now sort of documentary.

Batman:
Gotham Knight (2008): This is my animated superhero movie for the week
which had an interesting anime look to it. This actually has a few
different short stories which include him training up to becoming the
Dark Knight. In these stories he goes up against the likes of
Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Deadshot. I have enjoyed other animated
Batman movies but this was still very enjoyable in my opinion with the
action and animation.

Porky
and Gabby (1937): This is my animated short for the week. This
features Porky Pig and Gabby Goat on a camping trip and running into
comical mishaps on the road where just about anything can go wrong.
This was a pretty funny short with the iconic Porky Pig and his sidekick
Gabby which is a very grumpy goat. It was a very short lived character
who was always with Porky Pig but was deemed too offensive for the
time. This is really good to watch for historical purposes.

Angels
over Broadway (1940): Ben Hecht directed this which I don't really
know how to describe. John Qualen stars as Charles Engle who has just
embezzled a lot of money from his boss. He is ready to kill himself but
an alcoholic and struggling playwright named Gene Gibbons, played by
Thomas Mitchell, finds his note and talks him out of it. Douglas
Fairbanks Jr. co-stars as Bill O'Brien who is a hustler and reluctantly
joins Gene on a scheme to save Charles from going to jail. Rita
Hayworth completes this circle which schemes to get money on a gambling
scheme. This movie had a pretty good blend of comedy and drama. This
was a pretty interesting casting who did a pretty good job. I believe
this is the first time I have used Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Thomas
Mitchell is most known for playing Uncle Billy in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
and does a very good job in this one as the playwright. This is worth a
look for classic movie buffs.

The
Haunting (1963): Robert Wise directed this film that was based on the
novel by Shirley Jackson. Richard Johnson stars as Dr. John Markaway
who wants to investigate the possibility of ghosts and decides to stay
at the Hill House which has had a history of violence and insanity.
Joining him are the skeptical Luke, played by Russ Tamblyn, the
clairvoyant Theo, played by Claire Bloom, and the insecure Eleanor,
played by Julie Harris. As time goes by, more and more ghostly events
happen in horrific ways which leads to quite a conclusion. Lois Maxwell
also joins this cast later. She is most known for playing Miss
Moneypenny in the James Bond films and is quite a bit different in this
one. This is a very good and atmospheric film that still produces
chills after all these years without having to get all violent. This is
a very good entry into the horror genre and deserves a look.

Shine
a Light (2008): Martin Scorsese directed this rock documentary to the
long-running band the Rolling Stones. This is filmed during their "A
Bigger Bang" tour. This is part documentary and part concert footage
but more concert footage. There is some behind the scenes action even
with the Rolling Stones talking to Martin Scorsese and interview footage
of when the band was first together. In the concert there are
appearances from Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, and Jack White. The
concert footage is very good and shows that Mick Jagger still has it all
these years along with the other band members whose performance do not
decline with age. One prerequisite of this movie is probably to at
least be a casual fan of the Rolling Stones since most of this movie is
of them singing. Also, if you are looking for a documentary that shows a
lot of their history, this is also not the one to watch. If you just
want to see some good concert footage of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards,
Charlie Watts, and Ron Wood this is a good one to watch. Scorsese did a
good job putting together this rock documentary.

The
Pride of the Yankees (1942): This is my baseball movie of the week
which was directed by Sam Wood. This is a biopic on New York Yankees
legend Lou Gehrig, played very well by Gary Cooper. This briefly goes
into his childhood where he discovers his love for baseball but is torn
between his new love and his mom wanting him to go into engineering. I
think everyone can guess which one he chose. Teresa Wright, Walter
Brennan, and Babe Ruth co-star in this film. Ruth plays himself in this
movie. It then leads up to him being diagnosed with a nerve disease
which is now referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" and leaves it up to
one of the most inspirational speeches of all time. This is one of the
best baseball films of all time and deserves a watch.

And
Now for Something Completely Different (1971): I now bring the Monty
Python troupe and their first full length movie starring John Cleese,
Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael
Palin. This movie is put together mostly of the first couple seasons of
their tv series MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS. This has the rather dry
British humor that is not for everyone. This is pretty well put
together like a very funny beginning and other sketches that some were
very funny and some I did not find as funny but the good outweighed the
bad for me. This is available on the app Crackle.

Gnomeo
and Juliet (2011): I end with this variation of Shakespeare's tragedy
ROMEO AND JULIET which was directed by Kelly Asbury. This takes place
with two neighboring gardens from the homes of Capulet and Montague
where the gnomes on each side come to life where they do not like each
other but two of the gnomes of the title characters get together and
form a forbidden relationship. I have never been the biggest fan of
Shakespeare but this story has always been my favorite. James McAvoy
and Emily Blunt provide the voices of the title characters. Michael
Caine, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters,
Hulk Hogan, Dolly Parton, and many others provide the supporting
voices. I knew enough background to the story to understand the
characters of this movie and found it to be a rather fun version of the
tale. They made this tragedy into a pretty good family film. This is
to be taken for what it is worth and if not taken to seriously it can be
enjoyable. It is also an homage to Shakespeare as there are many
references to his other works.
Well, that is it for
this week for the ten recommendations but continue to read for my
returning segment "Movie Night at the Shera". Tell me what you like and
dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Reese
Witherspoon, and many others.
MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

Blackfish
(2013): I joined my friend Shera this night as she wanted to view this
documentary. Gabriela Cowperthwaite directed this documentary which is
really about the exploitation of killer whales. The main part of this
documentary is on the killer whale Tilikum which shows a lot of violent
tendencies and is responsible for the deaths of three people but was
still kept at Seaworld. This does go onto show that he was not the only
one who has done this sort of thing and looks into what makes these
whales so violent. It has some disturbing footage on the capture of
killer whales and then are taken into captivity. It also shows the
unscrupulous training methods that have been used on the killer whales.
They also showed some Seaworld promotional videos with James Earl Jones
as their spokesperson which makes me wonder if he has seen this and how
he feels now. I had seen this a few weeks ago and when watching this
with Shera, she watched in horror and disgust on how these animals were
being exploited and mistreated. She spoke of being going to Seaworld a
lot as a child when she was in Florida but knowing what she does now has
no interest of taking her own daughters there in the future. This is a
very eye-opening documentary which will make many think twice before
paying to go to Seaworld. This is available on Instant Netflix.
HONORABLE THEATER MENTION

Spamalot:
I had the pleasure of seeing this musical last night at the Muncie
Civic Theater which is mostly based on MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
which was written by Python alum Eric Idle and John Du Prez. Todd
Terrell stars in this musical as King Arthur who journeys to find the
Holy Grail along with his other knights played by Sean Smith as
Lancelot, Kris Eckman as Robin, Michael Wenger as Galahad, Gabe
Carpenter as Bedebere, and Scott McFadden as Patsy who all worked very
well together. Kayla Robertson was also very good as the Lady of the
Lake who helps the knights but complains about her lack of stage time in
the musical. Sean Orlosky was very amusing as the Historian in his
short time on the stage. Zach Allen, Connor Fak, Gary Kern, Jim Banta,
Edward Conley, and many others also put on a good show with a very good
cast. Ball State professor Paul Tavianini directed this musical and his
wife Johnna Tavianini was the musical director. There are a lot of fun
music numbers as well as some which parodies musicals like THE SONG
THAT GOES LIKE THIS and the more known ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF
LIFE. There are also a lot of fun dance numbers like from the Laker
Girls and some familiar scenes from the movie. This had a very good
Monty Python feel and believe you will really enjoy this. Performances
are February 28th, March 1st, March 2nd, March 6th, and March 7th. Most
shows are at 7:30 pm except for March 2nd which is at 2:00 pm. In
addition to this one, the Muncie Civic Studio Theater has RED LIGHT
WINTER which is February 28th, and March 1st which are both at 8 pm so
check that one out as well if you can and show your support for
community theater in Muncie.