Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 463rd Edition

Welcome to the 463rd edition of my long running series.  Next week starts the Madness which is an annual October that I take part in and is really my favorite part of October.  For years now, I have been a part of this contest and continue to be referred to as "The King of the Loophole".  This is because there are always names of people in the acting industry that fit the theme and they do not have to be horror so I have managed to make movies like ROCKY, TITANIC, THE GODFATHER PART 2, BLUE CHIPS, and many others count in a Halloween oriented contest.  This year, I do not plan to disappoint and look forward to cleaning out a lot of my Netflix queue.

Flirting With Disaster (1996):  David O. Russell wrote and directed this comedy.  Ben Stiller stars as Mel whose life is just getting together with a wife, played by Patricia Arquette, and an unnamed four month old son.  He does not want to name his son until he finds his roots as in his birth parents as he was adopted.  He takes his wife and son as well as a student psychologist named Tina, played by Tea Leoni, who does it for free and films their journey.  Tina shows that she is not the most competent person for the job in things like clerical errors towards perspective parents.  This journey also forces Mel and his wife Nancy to reexamine their marriage.  Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Richard Jenkins, Josh Brolin, Celia Weston and many others co-star on this road film.  This is a pretty fun road movie with well-written characters.  I really did not know about this movie until recently and believe this is a pretty underrated Ben Stiller movie.  There are some pretty funny moments in this film and is available on Instant Netflix.

Lonely Hearts (2006):  Todd Robinson wrote and directed this movie based on a true story.  John Travolta and James Gandolfini star as detectives Elmer Robinson and Charles Hilderbrandt.  They are investigating murders done by Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, played by Salma Hayek and Jared Leto who are known as the Lonely Hearts Killers.  They managed to lure people in through personal ads and then kill them.  Hayek is very ruthless in this movie.  Travolta plays a detective who is also having trouble at home as a single father with a teen son and whose wife left them.  The director is the grandson of the real-life Elmer Robinson and draws from the stories passed down to him.  Scott Caan and Laura Dern co-star in this film.  This movie gives really good attention to both the detectives and criminals and is another one I feel falls below the radar.  I thought the performances were really good and liked the narration from Gandolfini.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Newlyweeds (2013):  Shaka King directed this independent stoner drama.  Amari Cheatom and Trae Harris star as married couple Lyle and Nina.  They love each other but love pot just as much, especially Lyle.  It also shows Lyle's job as a repo man clouds his judgment when high like confiscating a couch from the wrong person.  It is a rather gritty urban story of a relationship gone bad.  This was pretty well acted and is worth a look.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Desert Killer (1952):  This is my older short film for the week.  This centers around a five year old Native American boy named Surefoot whose father has died and must take over sheep herding duties and cannot afford a sheepdog.  Things become difficult when a mountain lion is there and must turn to a neighboring rancher to help rid the lion and save the sheep.  It is not great but a good short showing community helping each other out.  This is ten minutes long.

Coming Home (1978):  Hal Ashby directed this film which takes place during the Vietnam War.  Jane Fonda stars as Sally whose husband Bob, played by Bruce Dern, is fighting in Vietnam.  To pass the time, Sally volunteers at a veteran hospital where she meets paralyzed and bitter veteran Luke, played well by Jon Voight, who knew Sally from grade school.  As they get to know each other more, they start to fall in love making Sally have to choose what is best for her life as she prepares for the return of her husband.  Robert Carradine also co-stars in this film.  Fonda and Voight are great together and is a good movie showing the effects of the Vietnam War.  The ending to me was a bit weird so message me if you want to explain it as I don't want spoilers on here.  This is available on the free movie section on Comcast On-Demand.

Go West (1925):  This is my silent comedy of the week which stars silent comedy legend Buster Keaton.  Keaton directed and co-wrote this movie where he stars as a drifter who cannot find a job in his Indiana town so goes to New York and gets a job on a ranch.  He forms a friendship with a cow named Brown Eyes but is in an uproar when she is one of the cows being sent to the stockyard.  He then does whatever possible to save Brown Eyes and in very comical ways.  This is a good western comedy entry and has a really good climax.  This is available on Instant Netflix and is a must for silent film buffs.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952):  Cecil B. DeMille directed this circus film.  Charlton Heston stars as Brad Braden who is the circus manager and puts the Great Sebastian, played by Cornel Wilde, in the lead trapeze slot over his girlfriend Holly, played by Betty Hutton, who has worked very hard.  Holly and Sebastian form more of a partnership where they try to one up each other in more dangerous stunts then most are used to seeing.  Sebastian also tries to pursue Holly.  There are also subplots involving the secret past of the veteran clown Buttons, played by James Stewart, and racketeers trying to move in on the circus.  Stewart was my favorite as the clown.  Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, Henry Wilcoxan, Lawrence Tierney, and many others co-star in this film.  There are a lot of other actual circus acts in this movie.  This also takes us into getting prepared for a circus which I also really liked.  This is available on Instant Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Blackthorn (2011):  Mateo Gil directs this western.  Sam Shepard stars as James Blackthorn which is really an alias for Butch Cassidy who is said to have survived the shootout and went to Bolivia where this takes place.  He now leads a quiet life until an encounter with a young robber named Eduardo Apodaca, played by Eduardo Noriega, puts him in a situation where he loses money and the horse to get him home so teams up with him to rob a mine but then finds that Eduardo is not who he claims to be.  In flashbacks, he is seen with the Sundance Kid and Etta, played by Padraic Delaney and Dominique McElligott, in their plans to move to Bolivia.  Shepard is great as Blackthorn.  He also sang a lot of the songs on the soundtrack and does a good job like the song AIN'T NO GRAVE.  Stephen Rea also co-stars as a film as someone from Cassidy's past.  This was a very well-shot and well acted western where Shepard comes through very well as an aging Butch Cassidy.  A good double feature might be BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID followed by this one.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Legend of Hell House (1973):  John Hough directed this horror film based on the novel by Richard Matheson.  A team that consists of a physicist named Dr. Barret, played by Clive Revill, his wife Ann, played by Gayle Hunnicut, a psychic named Florence, played by Pamela Franklin, and the survivor of the previous visit Benjamin, are sent to a house that is said to be haunted and those who visit either are killed or go mad.  They are sent to prove/disprove survival after death.  They must team up to solve the mystery of this hell house.  When they are there, a lot of strange occurrences take place.  This is a pretty good atmospheric haunted house film with the four actors doing a good job of carrying the movie.  I thought I'd do a pre-October horror film and was really worth a watch.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Year of the Ox (2012):  I end this week with another short film which features my Facebook Friend and fellow Madness teammate Kelsey Zukowski.  Rob Sepulveda directed and co-wrote this short film that takes place in the Chinatown district in Chicago.  Rival gangs must investigate the disappearance of another member and abduct his girlfriend, played by Zukowski, and get a little more than they bargained for.  This is a pretty decent horror short.  Kelsey has a website at http://kelseyzukowski.com where this is available among other trailers and short films she has done.  She is an actress on the rise and specializes in the horror genre.  The website also has some really good photos from modeling and from film as well as her own reviews on horror movies so when you are done reading this, maybe take a little time and visit her website where she also has info for contacting her.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike.  Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Angela Lansbury, Werner Herzog, Jennifer Connelly, Glenn Ford, Jamie Lee Curtis, Vincent Price, and many others.



MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

12 Years a Slave (2013):  This is the first of two movies that we picked out at Redbox and watched at her house along with our friend John.  This is something that both of us had seen but I believe John had not and she wanted to revisit this one that was quite possibly the best of its year.  Steve McQueen, yes a different one, directed this film based on Solomon Northup who is played very well by Chiwetel Ejiofor.  Northup was a free black man in pre-Civil War New York but was abducted and given a different identity being passed off as a slave.  He does what he can to stay alive and sane in hopes of one day seeing his family while dealing with a ruthless slave owner, played by Michael Fassbender.  Another great performance came from Lupita Nyong'o who plays slave Patsey and makes her feature film debut and a really good one.  Quvanzhane Walls, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Alfre Woodard, Garret Dillahunt, Brad Pitt, and many others have parts in this film.  This is a very powerful film which all of us really enjoyed.  It has some very disturbing scenes but very realistic.  It will be hard for anyone doing a movie on slavery to match this one which is one that really deserves a viewing.

Under the Skin (2013):  This was our second viewing and none of us had seen this one.  We were going through movies on Redbox and Shera came across this one that I actually had not really heard of and saw that Scarlett Johannson was in it so I agreed to get it.  After watching the first one, I reminded both of them that we probably will not like it the way we liked the first movie watched so reminded that we needed to keep an open mind.  Jonathan Glazer directed what is referred to as a science fiction art film.  Scarlett stars as an alien seductress who is preying upon men in Scotland where she takes them to a place where they follow her but end up walking into an abyss full of liquid where the bodies vanish.  Through this she begins to experience more humanity.  This is not for everyone.  Shera felt it was too slow which I can understand why people would think that.  For me, I will not say it was my favorite but it did keep my interest.  I really liked the strange imagery of the film.  This is also a film that has rather limited dialogue and is rather abstract and leaving the viewer to interpret their beliefs of what happened.  It is based on a novel by Michel Faber and has been billed as being loosely based on the novel so if that is something you really like it may not be for you.  This is a pretty different sci-fi film which I found was worth the dollar from Redbox.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 462nd Edition

Welcome to the 462nd Edition of my series.  I am now 0-2 in Fantasy Football but I'm not giving up yet.  If I can win this week I will stay in the running.  I am pretty busy right now though with my 1776 rehearsals and look forward to signing the declaration soon.  Also, a reminder that on October 18th, Action Packed Wrestling returns to Chesterfield where I continue my quest to take over the promotion.  All that said, I'll just get to my selections for the week.

The Rock (1996):  Michael Bay directed this action film and is one of his better works.  Nicolas Cage stars as Stanley Goodspeed who is a biochemist that works for the FBI.  He is very inexperienced in the field but his expertise comes into play when a very bitter general named Francis Hummel, played by Ed Harris, leads a group who take hostages at Alcatraz island.  Joining him is a convict named John Mason, played by Sean Connery, who once successfully escaped Alcatraz but the info was classified.  Together, they look to stop Humel and his men who have very dangerous motives involving chemicals.  John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, Vanessa Marcil, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, Bokeem Woodbine, Steve Harris, Danny Nucci, Claire Forlani, Willie Garson, Anthony Clark, and many others co-star in this film.  This has some really good action and well-written characters.  This movie actually made it to Criterion and likely Michael Bay's last that ever will.  I really thought Ed Harris did a good job of a man whose bitterness clouded his judgement but was not necessarily wrong in how he felt, just wrong on how he goes about it.  I was very glad to revisit this action film.

Once Upon a Honeymoon (1930):  This is my short film for the week which was the short film on last week's fearture NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 guys had to watch first.  Some angel tries to bless a couple to live easier and letting the housewife do what she wants while she sings a song.  This is entertaining at best with a really weird angel who in some ways made things too easy.  Just remember, it was watched by MST3K.

Nothing Sacred (1937):  William Wellman directed this romantic comedy.  Carole Lombard stars as Hazel Flagg who has been diagnosed with terminal radium poisoning but then learns it was a misdiagnosis.  Fredric March is a newspaper reporter named Wally Cook who is looking for a story and he finds the one about Hazel not knowing the truth as Hazel is advised to keep the lie.  She becomes the toast of the town but begins to feel bad about living such a lie and is falling in love with Wally.  Charles Winninger, Walter Connelly, and Margaret Hamilton all have parts.  There was an interesting scene where Wally takes Hazel to a wrestling show and comments that it is fake.  This is a pretty good romantic story with the leads having good chemistry and I always enjoy an appearance from Margaret Hamilton.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Angel Heart (1987):  Alan Parker directed this film based on the novel by William Hjortsberg.  Mickey Rourke stars as private investigator Harry Angel who is hired by a man named Louis Cyphre to find a singer named Johnny Favorite who no one knows if he is alive or dead.  Harry's investigation leads him into a strange and dark work and questions the motives of Cyphre.  It's really hard to describe this any further without giving a lot away.  Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Dann Florek, Pruitt Taylor Vance, and many others co-star.  Rourke is great in his performance as well as De Niro.  It also has a good ending in my opinion.  This might be Mickey Rourke's best performance of his career along with THE WRESTLER.

Fantastic Voyage (1966):  Richard Fleischer directed this sci-fi film.  A man is close to death so new technology is being used to shrink a submarine and its crew to microscopic size in order to enter the body to try saving his life.  William Redford, Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Donald Pleasance, and Arthur Kennedy are part of the crew who go into the body.  The story is actually pretty compelling and goes beyond B-movie.  The special effects were really pretty good and made it pretty believable without having to use GCI.  Look for James Brolin as one of the technicians.  This is a pretty good sci-fi entry and is available on Instant Netflix.

Blue Jasmine (2013):  This is part two of a two-part Woody Allen series.  He wrote and directed this one but was not in it.  Cate Blanchett stars as New York socialite Jasmine who is very troubled and in denial.  She once had a life of privilege but is now down and out while imposing on her sister Ginger, played by Sally Hawkins.  She begins to reflect on her past when she was married to Hal, played by Alec Baldwin, who made a lot of money but not very honestly.  The decisions that were made in those scenes affected many in the scenes of the current era.  Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cavanale, Max Casella, Louis C.K.,  and many others co-star in this film.  Blanchett was great as an emotionally unstable person and Hawkins is good as her low-income sister who has problems of her own.  This is loosely based on Tennessee Williams' A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE which looking back I can kind of see that.  This is billed as a comedy but is not very upbeat.  I kind of liked seeing Clay in a small part in a feature film which I have not seen in a while.  I felt this was different for a Woody Allen film and while it was not his best, it was still pretty enjoyable.  This is available on Starz On-Demand.

The Devil Commands (1941):  Edward Dmytryk directed this older horror movie.  Boris Karloff stars as scientist Dr. Julian Blair who seemed like a pretty good person until his wife dies.  When she dies, he becomes obsessed with contacting his wife from beyond despite advice from family and colleagues that it will not go well.  He continues his research along with his assistant Karl, played by Cy Schindell, and Mrs. Walters who is a phony medium but seems the most sinister of them all.  I liked seeing Karloff in a scientist role when he was more known to play the experiment.  He did a good job as a scientist who was a good person but had his judgement clouded by tragedy.

Motorcycle (2000):   This is my modern day short film for the week which is from Thailand.  Aditya Assarat wrote and directed this short which takes place in a remote Thai village.  One of the people in the village gets word of his son dying and must look to get the body back in hopes of being able to have a good funeral.  This is a task that is not easy with their financial situation.  This does a good job of showing the father coping with the loss of his son while trying to be strong.  This is available in the Free Movie section on Comcast On-Demand and is worth a 15 minute look.

The Longest Yard (1974):  This is my tribute to Richard Kiel who recently left us and plays Samson in this film.  Robert Aldrich directed this prison/football comedy.  Burt Reynolds stars as Paul Crewe who is a former pro quarterback and is sentenced to jail time.  Eddie Albert stars as the corrupt warden Hazen who asks Paul to get together a group of inmates to take on the guards as an exhibition to their small-time football league lead by Captain Knauer, played by Ed Lauter.  Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Bernadette Peters,  football legend Ray Nitschke, and country legend George Jones all have parts.  There are also many real football players including Reynolds who was drafted by the Ravens.  If you are looking for a football movie that is more fun and not as inspirational, this is a really good one to check out.  This was filmed at a real-life prison where Reynolds often sat with the inmates during meals and socialized with them.  This was remade in 2005 where Sandler played Paul and Reynolds co-stars as coach Scarborough.  I actually did like the remake and there were some elements of the remake that I like better than this one but this is still a good start and a decent comedy.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Factotum (2005):  Bent Hamer directed this comedy/drama based on the novel by Charles Bukowski.  Matt Dillon stars as Hank Chinaski which is a fictional alter-ego of Bukowski.  Chinaski is a writer but is not very successful financially and tries to work jobs that does not interfere too much with his biggest interest of writing but finds that due to his alcoholism.  Along the way, he tries to maintain a relationship but also has a gambling problem.  Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Adrienne Shelly, and many others co-star in this film.  This is more of a character study and Dillon does a pretty good job as someone who just won't conform to society.  I also like the narration from Dillon which I thought was done in a very good way.  Bukowski was a writer of mostly short stories and focused on things like the drudgery of work, the act of writing, and relationships which were a lot of the topics on this one.  A really good double feature would be this and the 1987 film BARFLY which is also about Bukowski, more on that later.  This partcular movie is available on instant Netflix and is a pretty good dark comedy.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and what you dislike.  Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Patricia Arquette, Salma Hayek, Jane Fonda, Buster Keaton, James Stewart, Sam Shepard, Roddy McDowell, and many others.  Also, continue to read for the return of my Fun and Useless Facts segment.



FUN AND USELESS FACTS

I haven't done this segment for a long time so felt like doing this one.  If I have missed any, feel free to comment.  Also keep in mind I don't do inter-connections.

JAMES BOND FRANCHISE
-Sean Connery (The Rock) plays James Bond in the 60s and late 70s and is considered by many to be the best Bond and while I like him in the role, I still prefer Daniel Craig.
-Donald Pleasance (Fantastic Voyage) plays Bond's rival Blofeld in the 1967 Bond movie YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.  There were other actors to play the role but his look was modeled for Mike Myers' character Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films.

Sean Connery (The Rock) goes after Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) in the 1987 film THE UNTOUCHABLES.

Sean Connery (The Rock) and Alec Baldwin (Blue Jasmine) were in the 1990 film THE HUNT FOR THE RED OCTOBER.

Sean Connery (The Rock) plays King Arthur in the 1995 movie FIRST KNIGHT.  Boris Karloff (The Devil Commands) plays Arthur in the 1955 movie A CONNECTICUT YANKEE.

Nicolas Cage (The Rock), Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart), and Matt Dillon (Factotum) were in the 1983 film RUMBLE FISH.  Rourke and Dillon play brothers.

Nicolas Cage (The Rock) was cast for the part of Randy "The Ram" Robinson in the 2008 film THE WRESTLER but pulled out and the part would ultimately go to Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart).  I am very grateful to Cage for this decision.

Nicolas Cage (The Rock) and Pruitt Taylor Vince (Angel Heart) were in the 1990 film WILD AT HEART.

Ed Harris (The Rock) and Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) were in 2003 film MASKED AND ANONYMOUS.

Ed Harris (The Rock) and Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) were Vietnam buddies in the 1989 film JACKNIKFE.

Ed Harris (The Rock) and Alec Baldwin (Blue Jasmine) were in the 1992 film GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.

John Spencer (The Rock) and Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) were in the 1997 film COP LAND

John Spencer (The Rock) and Matt Dillon (Angel Heart) were in the 1996 movie ALBINO ALLIGATOR.

David Morse (The Rock) and Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) were in the 1990 movie DESPERATE HOURS.

William Forsythee (The Rock) and Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) were in the 1984 film ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA and the 2002 movie CITY BY THE SEA.

William Forsythe (The Rock) plays boxer Jake La Motta in the upcoming 2014 movie THE BRONX BULL.  Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) plays La Motta in the 1980 film RAGING BULL.

William Forsythe (The Rock) plays Chicago mobster Al Capone in the 90s tv series THE UNTOUCHABLES.  Robert De Niro plays Capone in the 1987 film THE UNTOUCHABLES.  I'm finding that Forsythe and De Niro have quite a bit of connections.

John C. McGinley (The Rock) and Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) were in the 2000 movie GET CARTER and the 1993 movie THE LAST OUTLAW.

John C. McGinley (The Rock) and and Alec Baldwin (Blue Jasmine) were in the 1988 film TALK RADIO.

Willie Garson (The Rock) and Matt Dillon were in the 1998 comedy THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.

Anthony Clark (The Rock) and Lili Taylor (Factotum) were in the 1991 film DOGFIGHT.

Michael Biehn (The Rock) plays gunslinger Johnny Ringo in the 1993 film TOMBSTONE.  Arthur Kennedy (Fantastic Voyage) plays Ringo's rival Doc Holiday in the 1964 film CHEYENNE AUTUMN.

Fredric March (Nothing Sacred) plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the 1931 film DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.  Boris Karloff (The Devil Commands) plays the dual personality in 1953 comedy ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.

Fredric March (Nothing Sacred) and Arthur Kennedy (Fantastic Voyage) were in the 1955 film THE DESPERATE HOURS.

Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) and Marisa Tomei (Factotum) were in the 2008 film THE WRESTLER

Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) plays Henry Chinaski in the 1987 film BARFLY.  Matt Dillon plays Chinaski on this week's feature FACTOTUM.  Both movies are based on different times in Charles Bukowski's life.

Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) plays the Creature in the 1994 film MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN.  Boris Karloff (The Devil Commands) plays the Creature in three of the Universal films of the 1930s and is very iconic for that role.  I cannot say how many times I have had to say the the Creature is not Frankenstein.  Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the title character who creates the monster.  One of the very few OCD's I have in life.

Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) and Donald Pleasance (Fantastic Voyage) were in the 1976 movie THE LAST TYCOON.

Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) and Alec Baldwin (Blue Jasmine) were in the 2006 film THE GOOD SHEPHERD which De Niro directed.  Baldwin has also done a De Niro impersonation on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE which I thought was possibly the best one.

Robert De Niro (Angel Heart) and Louis C.K. (Blue Jasmine) were in the 2013 film AMERICAN HUSTLE.

Lisa Bonet (Angel Heart) and Marisa Tomei (Factotum) co-starred in the tv series A DIFFERENT WORLD.

Charlotte Rampling (Angel Heart) and Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine director) were in the 1980 film STARDUST MEMORIES.

Pruitt Taylor Vince (Angel Heart) and Matt Dillon (Factotum) were in the 1996 film BEAUTIFUL GIRLS.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 461st Edition

Welcome to the 461st Edition of my series.  I am now 0-1 in my Fantasy Football league.  I had a decent amount of points but took on the top scorer and I had Frank Gore and Jason Witten come up sort for me.  I hope to be able to rebound this week.  I start my rehearsals for 1776 tomorrow at the Belfry theater so that is some exciting times.  I will now get to my selections for the week.

Elizabethtown (2005):  Cameron Crowe wrote and directed this romantic comedy/drama.  Orlando Bloom stars as Drew who loses his good job as a shoe designer and gets word that his father died.  He returns to his hometown of the movie title and at the airport he meets outgoing attendant Claire, played by Kirsten Dunst, where they form a friendship and relationship making him change his views toward life.  Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Paul Schneider, Jessica Biel, Judy Greer, Bruce McGill, and many others co-star in this film.  I always enjoy Judy Greer who I feel is rather underrated.  I also thought that Bloom and Dunst gave good performances and had really good chemistry.  This may very well be the first time I have seen Bloom in the modern day.  There were a lot of mixed opinions on the movie but I thought it was a very thoughtful one and while it did not top Crowe's ALMOST FAMOUS it was still very enjoyable.  I also really liked the way it ended.

Rocky (1976):  This was featured a couple weeks ago on my "Movie Night at the Shera" segment.  Anyone who knows me knows the kind of fan I am of this movie and would always say how I wanted to wright ROCKY:  THE MUSICAL but more experienced people in Broadway beat me to it and I have heard good things on it.  This movie started it all.  Sylvester Stallone created an icon when he wrote this script and brought it to life with much difficulty.  Stallone had done some movies but was still struggling and this project of his was his own make or break when he was struggling to make a living.  When he presented this movie to a group of presenters, they really liked it but did want Stallone starring as Rocky Balboa at first and they wanted a bigger name like Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neil, or Burt Reynolds.  Stallone refused to give into those demands and finally agreed to less funding in order to star in his movie like he wanted.  Now for a little bit on the story.  Stallone stars as small-time boxer Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa who like the person playing him was really struggling in life.  He tried to make ends meet by working as a loan shark which was not something he liked but had to pay bills.  The next part of the story is with the heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, who is supposed to have a fight in Philadelphia but all the people of rank were not available at that time and comes up with the idea since they are in the "land of freedom" to give a local fighter the opportunity of a lifetime by giving that person a title shot.  After a long search, Apollo finds a man with the nickname "Italian Stallion" which was Rocky and decided that he was the one.  Apollo believes that Rocky is going to be an easy opponent but ends up underestimating him.  Talia Shire co-stars as Adrian whose brother Paulie, played by Burt Young, is a friend of Rocky's.  She is a very shy person but Rocky looks to bring her out of her shell.  Burgess Meredith plays Rocky's manager Mick and give a great performance.  Look for Sly's brother Frank as one of the street band members and Troma icon Lloyd Kaufman who helped some with editing.  One of the results of this movie was a statue of Rocky in Philadelphia.  When I visited my friend Ashley who has moved to Philadelphia, the only thing I really obsessed over tourist wise was that statue and I got to see it and get a photo with it.  This spawned a few sequels, most of which were also quite good and it is now a Broadway musical.  I could go on about this one forever but I'll shut up now and let know this is available on Instant Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Muscle Tussle (1953):  This is my animated short for the week which features Daffy Duck.  Daffy takes his girl to a beach but a more muscle-bound duck wins her attention and goes through some extreme measures in order to win her back.  This is a really good Daffy short and have some very funny moments.  This was on the dvd of TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY but is probably attainable on Youtube.

White Oleander (2002):  Peter Kisminsky directed this film based on the novel from Janet Fitch.  Allison Lohman stars as Astrid whose single mother Ingrid, played very well by Michelle Pfeiffer, is arrested for murder and Astrid begins a life of being thrown around to foster homes.  Every home she goes to seems at first like it will be a great place but then too good to be true and must learn a lot of things on her own.  Patrick Fugit, Billy Connolly, Robin Wright, ER alum Noah Wyle, Renee Zellweger, and many others co-star.  Lohman does a really good job in this film as someone trying to find herself in life.  I have seen a few of her movies but never really can pick her out if I didn't know she was in the movie.  She seems to stay out of the limelight a lot so that could be one of the reasons.  I didn't really know what to expect of this movie but was pleasantly surprised.

Madame X (1937):  Gladys George stars as Jacqueline Fleuriot who has cheated on her husband, very unheard of in a movie from this era, and is thrown out of her home by her husband even after giving birth to a child and is no longer in their lives until 20 years later.  In this 20 years later, she is on trial for a murder which happened when she was trying to save her son Raymond, played by John Beal, who is her attorney and is unaware she is his mother.  Reginald Owen, Ruth Hussey, and Warren William all co-star in this film.  This is a pretty decent drama with good performances and deserves to go on the radar a little more than what it already is.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986):  This is part one of a two part Woody Allen series where he directed, wrote and co-stars in this comedy/drama which also deals with infidelity.  Mia Farrow stars as the title character whose husband Elliot, played by Michael Caine, begins to fall in love with Hannah's sister Lee, played by Barbara Hershey.  Lee is also in a relationship with Frederick, played by Max Von Sydow, who is much older and their relationship fades as she explores her own feelings for Elliot.  The other sister of Hannah's is Holly, played by Dianne Wiest, who at one point went on a disastrous date with Hannah's then boyfriend Mickey, played by Woody Allen.  Mickey is an extreme hypochondriac but finds that his latest complaint might a little more serious.  Carrie Fisher also co-stars as April who is Holly's friend.  Maureen O'Sullivan, Lewis Black, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Christian Clemenson, Julie Kavner, J.T. Walsh, John Turturro, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Stern, and Sam Waterston all have parts in this film.  Also look for Soon-Yi Previn as one of the children and most know she would go onto marry Woody in real life.  This is a pretty good portrait on a dysfunctional but loving family.

Executioners from Shaolin (1977):  This is my Hong Kong film for the week.  In this movie, a couple unite where the woman knows the crane style of Kung Fu and the man knows the tiger style.  They have a son but his father is killed by the ruthless Bai Mei.  His mother trains him in the Crane style while he learns the Tiger style in his father's book and trains to avenge his father's death.  This is a pretty good Kung Fu movie from this era when I usually favor ones in the 90s.  This has some good action and was glad to have subtitles rather than the mouths moving more than what they talk in English.  It also has a pretty good story and is worth a look for fans of the genre.

Ram Dass:  Fierce Grace (2001):  This is my documentary for the week which focuses on spiritual guru Ram Dass who is recovering from a stroke.  This goes into his earlier life in childhood, his days as a Harvard professor, and his life in the spiritual world as well as his friendship with Timothy Leary.  I did not know anything about this person or had ever really heard of him until I came across this documentary.  It is very informative and I find him to be a rather interesting person.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Night of the Blood Beast (1958):  I decided to check out some MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 on this one and decided upon this one.  Roger Corman produced this movie while his brother Gene Corman wrote it.  An astronaut dies and they encounter an alien whose costume was really quite laughable.  I am not really able to put this into words and remember the show I am watching.  They had quite a field day on this one.  This is also available on Instant Netflix.

The Blue Umbrella (2013):  I end with this animated short from Pixar.  This is a love story between two umbrellas, one of which is blue and the other is red.  They each have different owners and the other objects help them get together.  Just about everything in this movie is in human form.  It has some great animation.  It was a very fun seven minutes and was released alongside MONSTERS UNIVERSITY.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike.  Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Nicolas Cage, Carole Lombard, Mickey Rourke, Raquel Welch, more Woody Allen, Boris Karloff, Burt Reynolds, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 460th Edition

Welcome to the 460th Edition of my series.  I am glad announce that I am in the musical 1776 at the Belfry Theater in Noblesville, Indiana.  This is my second show at the theater.  The other one was in 2010 where I played Harry the Horse in GUYS AND DOLLS.  I'm really kind of liking being a drifter among community theater.  The show is in the last part of November and the first week in December.  I will let know more details as they come.

Wayne's World (1992):  I start the week off with this SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE movie and the best of their movies in my opinion.  Penelope Spheeris directs this comedy which stars Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell  and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar.  Wayne and Garth are a couple slackers who have a public access show of the movie title.  A local station run by Benjamin Oliver, played by Rob Lowe, picks up their show professionally but they find it is not really the same.  Tia Carrere stars as Cassandra who is a local singer that Wayne forms a relationship with and tries to help her with a career though is concerned about her friendship with Ben.  Brian Doyle- Murray, THE PRACTICE alum Lara Flynn Boyle, OZ alum Lee Terguson, Kurt Fuller, Colleen Camp, Donna Dixon, Chris Farley, Meat Loaf, Robert Patrick, Ione Skye, and Ed O'Neill all co-star in this comedy.  Music legend and host of the best radio show right now Alice Cooper has a cameo as himself and shows a very intellectual side in this one.  One of the most famous scenes in the film is where they are all in the car and singing the Queen song BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY where they go all out with the song.  This movie really put that song back on the rise.  There is actually a video of me singing this song when I was really drunk at my friend Brittany's house but I could never top what the people in this movie did.  This was one of my favorites growing up and seems like a pretty timeless comedy as I have seen the younger generation take interest.  There are some pretty funny moments but also takes a good look at the dark side of corporate.  I would say my Facebook friend Jeff can relate to this one as he is involved with Public Access television.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

So You Think You Can't Sleep (1953):  This is my comedy short for the week which is part of the Joe McDoakes series of short films.  George O'Hanlon stars as Joe who has a really hard time sleeping due to things like his wife's snoring, dripping faucet, street noise, among other minor occurrences.  He goes to a specialist but even their treatments are not working well leading to a comical solution.  I always enjoy watching this series of shorts and is a pretty entertaining few minutes.

Chandu the Magician (1932):  Bela Lugosi stars in this film as mad scientist Roxor who kidnaps a scientist named Robert Regent, played by Henry B. Walthall, who has invented a death ray and Roxor wants it for himself.  Edmund Lowe plays the title character who is the brother in law of Robert and a powerful magician who goes after Roxor.  Lugosi is fresh off his success from DRACULA and does a pretty good job in this film as well as Lowe.  This is a pretty decent movie from this genre and is worth a look if you like this era and genre.

OSS 117:  Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006):  This is one of my French films for the week.  Michel Hazanavicius directed this spy parody which is based on a character of the title named Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath which was a character created in 1949 in a series of novels by Jean Bruce which predated Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.  There was a series of books and movies in the older days.  In this updated version Jean Dujardin plays secret agent OSS 117 who is investigating the disappearance of a colleague and friend.  He takes cover at a poultry firm in Cairo and while there he foils some Nazi plans, beds some beautiful women and finds the truth.  This is a comedy and it was really quite funny.  Dujardin was very fun as the title character and many may know him from THE ARTIST.  If you can tolerate subtitles, I really believe this comedy is worth checking out as it delivers quite a bit of laughs.  This is available on Instant Netflix

Merrill's Marauders (1962):  Samuel Fuller directed this war film.  Jeff Chandler stars as Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill who leads his 5307th Composite Unit behind Japanese lines during WWII.  It is really hard to put a movie like this into words.  The war genre is not really my favorite but I do tend to enjoy the independent war films that Fuller does.  This was a very gritty and realistic war film that tested the limits of man.  This movie went straight into the war and does not glorify it in any way.  This is Chandler's last film and went out with quite a bang in this film.

Blue is the Warmest Color (2013):  This my second French film for the week and this one was directed by Abdellatif Keniche and is a very rare NC-17 selection for me.  Adele Exarchopoulos stars as Adele who is a high school girl who is exploring herself sexually.  She has dated men but to no satisfaction.  She meets a more free spirited girl with blue hair named Emma, played by Lea Seydoux, and form a relationship with her.  Adele's friends have a hard time excepting Emma due to her sexuality and Adele also does not adit to their relationship but they suspect it and have a hard time accepting her.  There are some pretty intense scenes which really explain the NC-17 rating and is not for everyone.  It was not a very upbeat film I did find it to be a very compelling film on love and loss and might not have needed to be three hours long.  The two actresses worked very well.  This is available on Instant Netflix so just use your judgement as far as the English subtitles and rating.

Le Mans (1971):  This is my racing movie for the week which also takes place in France and this is the last.  Steve McQueen stars as Michael Delaney who is in the real life Le Mans in France race which is known to be the most dangerous race which goes over 24 hours and 14.5 kilometers of rough roads.  Siegfried Rauch co-stars as Delaney's German rival Erich Stahler.  This movie is almost shot as a documentary. Steve McQueen was a real-life racer and does most of his driving in this film.  Much of this movie is racing footage and the first 37 minutes do not have any dialogue but really good racing footage.  Racing fans will really appreciate this one.  This is a real-life race that has been happening annually since 1923 and this movie depicts it very well.

Wordplay (2006):  This is my documentary for the week which was directed by Patrick Creadon.  This is a documentary that takes a look at crossword puzzles and most notably editor Will Shortz puzzles that he does for the New York Times.  It talks briefly about the history of crossword puzzles and goes into an annual tournament that started in 1978 and goes into the one going on at the time.  I for one am not very good with crossword puzzles, even with my useless knowledge and random facts and have some really interesting scenes showing them putting one together for the paper.  I always enjoy seeing people who do unusual competition like a puzzle contest and their passion they show for what they do.  It has interviews with people who have published puzzles and past champions as well as Jon Stewart who really enjoys crosswords.  I am more for Sudokus and respect those who can solve those crossword puzzles.  This is a very fun documentary.

The Underworld Story (1950):  This is my crime drama for the week.  Dan Duryea stars as journalist Mike Reese who prints a story which leads to a gang killing.  He gets fired shortly after this happens and finds his way to a small-town newspaper as the editor.  Mike sees an opportunity for the paper during a sensational murder case where a black servant is accused of the murder but the people at the paper believes she is innocent.  Herbert Marshall and Gale Storm play his uneasy co-workers who look to clear the name of the servant being accused.  Reese is looking to clear her name but is also out for himself thought becomes more caring throughout the film.  One problem of the film is that Mary Anderson plays the servant Molly and is clearly not black but I was able to look past it with the compelling story and performances from Duryea.

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003):  Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed this film which is a series of vignettes of people discussing different issues over coffee and cigarettes.  Topics range from caffeine Popsicles, Paris in the '20s, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide.  Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie and Cinque Lee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Jack and Meg White, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Gza, Rza, Bill Murray, among others have parts.  Cate Blanchett plays herself and her cousin Shelley which I did not know until I saw the credits.  Iggy Pop and Tom Waits have a very amusing vignette.  Jack White is also quite funny trying to emulate Nikola Tesla.  This was a pretty simple film that could be hit or miss to many.  Much of the script is improvised and is a pretty funny series of black and white vignettes.  I am a coffee shop person myself so I could relate some to this film.  This was actually filmed over a period of 17 years like the first one with Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright was filmed in 1986.  This is available on Instant Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Well, that is it for this week.  Stay tuned for next week which includes Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Pfeiffer, Woody Allen, and many others.