Welcome to the 433rd Edition of my series. I want to take this time to make a plug towards my friends both of which are named Brittany. They are both local artists for hire and made me a really nice card for my friend's birthday so instead of going to Wal-Mart or some store chain consider hiring Brittany and Brittany by supporting local artists. Go like their page at https://www.facebook.com/BrittanyandBrittany. Tonight, I will be watching the Academy Awards like usual in this really bad weather. I will now get to my recommendations for the week.
Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm (1993): I start the week out with this animated
superhero movie. I believe this is one of the first of the animated
Batman films. Kevin Conroy provides the voice to the caped crusader and
finds the in Gotham City there is another vigilante in town knocking
off mob bosses in which Batman is being implicated. Also in Bruce
Wayne's life, his ex-fiancee Andrea Beaumont, voiced by Dana Delany,
returns which complicates things for Bruce. The Joker, voiced by Mark
Hamill which is really his best work in my opinion, also returns looking
to get to the vigilante. This is a very good portrayal of Batman which
has some really good action sequences and animation. Stacy Keach and
Abe Vigoda provide their voices to this movie. This is possibly one of
the best Batman movies and compares with most of the live-action ones.
Pleasantville
(1998): I now go from a superhero movie to this homage to 50s
sitcoms. Gary Ross wrote and directed this really clever comedy. Tobey
Maguire stars as 90s teen David who really loves the title sitcom and
when breaking the remote, he acquires a new remote through a tv
repairman, played by Don Knotts, and along with his sister Jennifer,
played by Reese Witherspoon, are sucked into the series where they are
now the kids of the show where they are in a world of old fashion
values, innocence and naivete. Their loving parents are played by
William H. Macy and Joan Allen. Jennifer is more rebellious and begins
to shake it up a bit hoping to bring a little color to the black and
white world. As the world changes, the more people go from black and
white to color with an interesting parody towards segregation. Jeff
Daniels, J.T. Walsh, Marley Shelton, Jane Kaczmarek, Paul Walker, and
many others co-star. BUFFY alums Danny Strong and Marc Blucas has cameo
appearances as well. I really thought Ross did a great job with this
complex comedy begging the question if a perfect world is really the
answer. 
Frozen
(2013): Now I go to the world of Disney and a more current film
directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. This movie starts with two
sisters. The oldest one named Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel, and the
younger one is named Anna, voiced by VERONICA MARS alum Kristen Bell.
Elsa has special powers of being able to turn things into ice and her
parents mostly shut her off from society with Anna wondering why they
cannot be friends anymore. As adults, Elsa's emotions trigger her
powers to turn the kingdom of Arendelle into an eternal Winter. Anna
soon teams with mountain man Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, his
loyal reindeer Sven, and a funny snowman named Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad,
to find Elsa and try to help her as well as save the kingdom from an
eternal winter. In the process, she uncovers a more sinister plot.
Alan Tudyk and Ciaran Hinds also provide their voices. Robert Lopez and
Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote some really good song numbers including DO
YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN. Idina Menzel shows off her great voice
and Kristen Bell shows she is pretty good herself. This is a really fun
and moving animated film that is good for the family.
Hi
De Ho (1937): This is my musical short for the week which stars famed
musician Cab Calloway as himself. Cab's mother is concerned that he
spends his days listening to music and pretends to lead an orchestral
band. Soon, a gypsy shows Cab actually leading an orchestra. This is
not a bad short movie and shows off some of Calloway's songs. 
Hobson's
Choice (1954): This is my Criterion selection for the week which was
directed by David Lean. This is a British comedy which stars Charles
Laughton as Henry Hobson who runs a successful bootmaker shop in the
19th century. He is a widowed man who also likes to go to the pub a lot
and tries to run the lives of his three daughters. He also decrees no
marriage to them but then his oldest daughter Maggie, played by Brenda
de Banzie, sets her sights on the shop's best bootmaker Will Mossop,
played by John Mills. The two of them soon form a rival company. This
does have some very funny moments including Laughton who I don't think I
have really seen in a comedic role. It also does a great job of
portraying the class from that era as well as the evolution of Will who
starts out as just a simple bootmaker but slowly becomes less naive to
the world. 
What
Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962): Robert Aldrich directs this tale of
sibling rivalry. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford star in this film as
sisters and actresses Baby Jane Hudson and Blanche Hudson. As children
Jane had more fame but as grown ups Blanche became the more successful
actress while Jane did not get as much fame. As adults they live
together where Blanche is confined to a wheelchair and Jane is very
bitter of the success that Blanche had in their acting careers making
her do things like intercept fan letters but even resorting to
violence. Davis gives a very intense performance as Jane who continues
to relive her childhood and is delusional over her fame. The two stars
were said to have one of the biggest Hollywood feuds of all time. In
looking further into this it does appear the rivalry was quite a bit
exaggerated until after this movie. These two did work very well
together and is a very compelling film.
The
Racket (1951): This is my film noir for the week. Robert Ryan stars
as ruthless gangster Nick Scanlon who is very old-fashioned about his
ways and is very violent. Robert Mitchum stars as the honest police
captain Thomas McQuigg who goes after Scanlon and his gang. McQuigg
must also deal with the corruption on his own force as well as the
politicians on Scanlon's side. Both of the leads are two believable
tough as nails characters who are both engrained in their ways.
Lizabeth Scott and William Talman also co-star in this gritty film that
has gone very overlooked through the years like many of this genre. I
usually favor this genre from this era and this no-nonsense film
deserves a look. 
The
Living Daylights (1987): I now bring James Bond and the first of two
portrayals by Timothy Dalton. Bond first must organize the defection of
KGB General Georgi Koskov, played by Jeroen Krabbe, who makes it look
like his superior General Leonid Pushkin, played by John Rhys-Davies,
has become very corrupt. Bond is soon sent to assassinate General
Pushkin but does not buy Koskov's story. His investigation soon leads
him into Afghanistan where he must deal with a war crazy American arms
dealer named Brad Whitaker, played by Joe Don Baker. He also meets
beautiful cellist Kara Milovy, played by Maryam D'Abo, who is the
girlfriend of Koskov. Andreas Wisniewsky, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert
Brown, Walter Gotell, Caroline Bliss, and John Terry co-star in this
Bond film. I really like the title theme song which was sung by 80s
band A-Ha. I will now say that I am in the minority when it comes to
really liking Dalton as Bond. I have seen all the Bond films and
believe they all have their qualities in some way but I favor the darker
portrayal of Bond that him and Daniel Craig bring to the role. This
one is in some ways more of a spy thriller and has some great action
scenes.
Easy
Rider (1969): Dennis Hopper directed and stars in this film about two
counterculture bikers going from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of
the American Dream. Hopper and Peter Fonda star as Billy and Wyatt.
Along their trek to Mardi Gras, they meet up with many different people
including a drunken lawyer named George, played very well by Jack
Nicholson. This takes a look at a lot of things during the 60s like the
hippie movement, drug use and the communal lifestyle. It also shows
the prejudice at the time of hippies and judging by the way they look
like not being able to get service at a restaurant. Hopper, Fonda, and
Terry Southern wrote this film which stands the test of time today.
Hopper and Fonda did not write a full script and much of the crew were
actual hippies at communes that would do things like hold the cameras.
This also had a good soundtrack from people like Steppenwolf and the
Band where the music really fit the film. Bridget Fonda and Phil
Spector have cameos in this film. This was a very well done low-budget
film which is one of the most significant films of all time. A Different Tree (2013): I decided to end on this short film directed by Steven Caple Jr. Morgan Ashley stars as Pearl Washington who is assigned a family tree project but does not feel complete without putting info about her father who she has never seen. She soon sets out to find her father much to the dismay of her mother Jada, played by Tracie Thoms. This was a USC Graduate Film and they did a good job with the movie and the cast. This is available on HBO On-Demand and I am featuring this before any comments have even been made on the imdb website. This has always been a very overlooked genre of film so I hope to get this some more exposure.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Nicolas Cage, and many others.
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