Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 579th Edition

Welcome to the 579th Edition of my series.  Hope everyone is having a good holiday however celebrated.  I'm glad to say that I am in the playoffs for my Fantasy Football league so we'll see how this goes.  It feels weird not having a show to be in as I have been busy with plays since September but it is good to have a break and be in Muncie more.  Not much more to say right now so on with my selections.

The War Room (1993):  I start the week out with this documentary directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker.  This focuses on the 1992 campaign for Bill Clinton and focuses on spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.  The title brings a bit of negativity in my opinion.  It is mostly about the adventures of these two guys in trying to help Bill Clinton elected and goes into the inner workings of a campaign.  This was not really pro or anti Clinton, just a look into his campaign.  We also don't see a lot of Clinton himself but the two spinsters who also deliver some laughs in the process of this political documentary.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946):  Frank Capra directed this holiday film and probably my favorite one.  Earlier in the month, I had the opportunity to be in a theatrical version at the Marion Civic Theater playing Mr. Gower in one of the most intense scenes I have done.  I have been watching this movie since my high school days usually with my mom or my dad depending on where I am on Christmas Eve on NBC.  I'll give a rather small synopsis.  James Stewart stars as small-town boy George Bailey who wants to get out of Bedford Falls but things always happen and ends up staying there.  He marries his childhood friend Mary, played by Donna Reed, and has four kids.  He does what he can to prevent Mr. Potter, played by Lionel Barrymore, from taking over the town and screwing everyone over.  Something happens where George feels he has hit rock bottom and contemplates suicide.  An unusual angel named Clarence, played by Henry Travers, comes down to stop him and show him a world that would have happened had he not been born.  Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, and many others co-star in this film.  I love the message of this movie which I feel is what one person does for another can go a long way no matter how small a favor may seem at the time.  This started out as quite a flop and did not become the classic it is known until the 70s when it was in public domain and it started airing on television.  Supposedly there is a sequel in the works but has been "in development" for a long time on imdb so I will believe that when I see it.  This is on NBC at 8 pm on Christmas Eve so after you have had many viewings of A CHRISTMAS STORY, this would also be a great watch.

Christmas Comes But Once a Year (1936):  This is my animated short for the week from Dave Fleischer.  This is a holiday selection in every sense of the word and this takes place at an orphanage among children who all receive gifts but find they are all broken.  Professor Grampy hears the cries and decides to make a good Christmas for the children through his inventing ways.  This was a character that was usually in Betty Boop cartoons and this is the only one he made without her.  I came across this on my Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player and was a pretty good and different watch.

2 Days in the Valley (1996):  This is part four of my four-part Jeff Daniels series where he plays a burned out vice cop.  John Herzfeld wrote and directed this crime comedy which centers around multiple stories that all come together in the end.  Danny Aiello and James Spader star as Dosmo Pizzo and Lee Woods who are involved in an insurance exam until Dosmo learns it was a setup and fights for survival as well as revenge.  Charlize Theron stars as Lee's partner in crime and I believe this was the first time I really saw her.  Eric Stoltz co-stars as Wes who is a more idealistic vice cop being partnered up with Alvin, played by Daniels, but not agreeing with the undercover work he is doing and ends up getting in the investigation of the crime this film centers around.  Teri Hatcher, Peter Horton, Glenne Headly, Paul Mazursky, Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher, and many others co-star.  I have always enjoyed this movie with the blend of action and comedy that is given.  This has a lot of very well-written characters and always feel this has been a very underrated flim.

The Iceman Cometh (1973):  This is part two of my two-part Fredric March series and part one of a possible two or three part Jeff Bridges series.  John Frankenheimer directed this film based on the play by Eugene O'Neill.  This takes place in a bar and as far as I know they were there the entire time of this four hour film.  Many of the bar patrons are contemplating their lost faith and dreams and then their friend Hickey, played by Lee Marvin, shows up saying he is reformed and hoping to get through to the other patrons in hopes they will give up their pipe dreams and focus more on reality.  Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Bradford Dillman, Juno Dawson, Clifton James, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the final film for both Ryan and March.  I was amazed on how this movie was able to keep my attention for four hours that is only at one place.  It also managed to do this without any sort of music score or violence and just had great dialogue among the bar patrons.

The Great Beauty (2013):  This is my Italian film for the week which was written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino.  Toni Servillo stars as reporter Jep Gambardella who has made and seduced his way through Rome nightclubs for decades but as his 65th birthday hits, he gets a shock from the past and starts to see Rome past the bars and nightclubs.  Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, and many others co-star in this film.  Servillo is great as Jep in his soul searching journey and has some really great cinematography.  Also takes a look at a darker side of rome than we are used to seeing.  This is really good for foreign film buffs.

My Sister Eileen (1955):  This is my musical for the week.  Richard Quine directed this film which stars Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh as small town sisters Ruth and Eileen trying to make it in Greenwich Village.  Ruth is trying to make it as a writer while Eileen wants to be an actress but find that it won't be that easy.  Jack Lemmon stars as publisher Bob Baker who gets the attention of Ruth while she tries to pass herself off saying the Eileen in the stories is really her.  Bob Fosse co-stars as Frank who lends a sympathetic and supporting ear to Eileen.  Kurt Kasznar and Dick York also co-star in this musical.  This is a rather overlooked musical with some really fun numbers from Jule Styne and Leo Robin.  There are also a lot of good comedic moments like the apartment the sisters take.  Garrett is perfect for the role of Ruth while Lemmon lends his singing talent.  This is a pretty fun musical that deserves a look.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016):  This is the time of year I start going to the movie theaters more often and I start the Oscar season out with this war film.  Mel Gibson goes back behind the camera to direct this film based a true story of WWII soldier Desmond Doss, played very well by Andrew Garfield, who goes into war but refuses to take up a gun due to part religious beliefs but we learn there is a lot more to it than just religion.  This starts with his upbringing and what lead to his beliefs but also felt he had a duty to serve in the war.  It then goes into him in boot camp where no one could understand his not wanting to pick up a gun.  He finally gets what he wants and become a medic slowly winning over his fellow soldiers in battle during WWII due to his resourcefulness and bravery not having a gun.  Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, Milo Gibson and many others co-star in this film.  This was a very moving war film to me.  I don't usually favor the war genre but was really into this one and liked it over last year's war film AMERICAN SNIPER though really enjoyed LONE SURVIVOR from 2013.  Garfield does great as the rather naive small-town boy looking to make a difference but standing up for what he believes.  The rest of the cast does really well including Vince Vaughn in a more serious role.  The end has a very touching tribute to the real Desmond Doss which I admit really made me tear up a bit.

That Darn Cat (1965):  Now I go from a war movie to this fun live-action Disney classic.  The protagonist of the story is essentially an adventurous Siamese cat named D.C. aka Darn Cat.  This cat manages to stumble upon a kidnapping of a bank employee Margaret, played by Grayson Hall, and she puts her watch around the cat's neck.  D.C. manages to make it back home to his owner Patti, played by Hayley Mills, who concludes it is part of the kidnapping scheme and calls the FBI with her theory prompting to send FBI agent Zeke to come to her town in order to look into it.  This is some good fun of an overzealous teen and an FBI agent teaming up to look into a crime.  Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, Neville Brand, Frank Gorshin, and many others co-star in this Disney film.  This is the first Disney film for Dean Jones who would go onto be in many of the live action Disney films and was the last Disney film for Hayley Mills until the mid-80s.  This is some good and harmless fun for the family to watch unlike my next and last selection for the week.

Filth (2013):  I end the week with this film that has been on my list for some time.  My original intention was to get a group of movies together, then draw out which one gets featured but then as I look more into it, this is a holiday selection.  Jon S. Baird directed this film based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.  James McAvoy is far from Professor X in this British film where he stars as the corrupt cop Bruce who is trying to get a promotion pretty much by any means necessary while also wanting to get back with his wife, played by Shauna MacDonald, and daughter who have left him.  Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots, Brian McCardle, Jim Broadbent, Shirley Henderson, and many others co-star in this film.  This takes place during the holidays and plays a lot of Christmas songs.  There are a lot who love those sappy Hallmark Christmas movies while there are others who want more action in a holiday film like DIE HARD and LETHAL WEAPEN.  There might be some who prefer things like BLACK CHRISTMAS or SANTA'S SLAY.  There might be those that prefer the more raunchy comedies like the BAD SANTA films.  This the holiday film to a whole new level.  The title pretty much says it all so if you offend easy, this is not a holiday movie for you.  It is also not really one for the family.  It is mostly a character study on this corrupt cop manipulating his way to the top but also shows his more human side at times.  McAvoy was great in his performance as the cop.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Emma Stone, Christopher Lee, Zooey Deschanel, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 578th Edition

Welcome to the 578th Edition of my series.  IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was very well received at the Marion Civic Theater and am grateful for the experience of this new group of actors I got to work with and have one more performance today at 2 pm.  As of now I am not doing anything and could be taking a break until at least spring but as always I'll keep everyone posted.  While I do like the holidays, I hate snow and cold weather but will do what I must to get through it.  That is all for now so on with the selections.

The Ref (1994):  I start the week out with this underrated holiday comedy.  Ted Demme directed this film that takes place on Christmas Eve.  Denis Leary stars as cat burglar Gus who takes a couple hostage when his partner abandons him during a heist.  Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis co-star as the couple Lloyd and Caroline that is taken hostage and Gus gets far more than what he bargains for when he finds that they are a very bickering couple and even more than he bargains for when he meets the rest of the dysfunctional family that is coming over for the holidays.  Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Glynis Johns, Raymond J. Berry, Richard Bright, Christine Baranski, Adam LeFevre, J.K. Simmons, B.D. Wong, and many others star in this comedy.  This does have a lot of very funny moments with a hostage taker unexpectedly becomes a counselor in a sense.  This never usually gets mentioned in holiday comedies but believe it should be mentioned more.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Paper Man (2009):  This is part three of my four-part Jeff Daniels series.  Kieran and Michele Mulroney wrote and directed this independent film.  Daniels stars as struggling author Richard Dunn who is also struggling with a marriage to his wife Claire, played by Lisa Kudrow, and is spending time in a home in Long Island hoping to come up with his next novel.  While there, he meets a teen named Abby, played by Emma Stone, and forms an unlikely friendship when seeing they are both struggling to cope in their own way.  Ryan Reynolds co-stars as Richard's imaginary friend he has not let go of so it would be safe to say he has not been able to fully grow up.  Most people know that Reynolds has played two superheroes in both the Green Lantern and Deadpool but most do not realize before these two he was Captain Excellent albeit being a figment of the imagination.  Kieran Culkin, Hunter Parrish, Chris Parnell, and Arabella Field also co-star in this film.  I guess I am a sucker for movies like these that are driven by characters and this is one.  Watching this, I felt I was there with Daniels and Stone in their struggles.  There were also quite a bit of laughs to go along with this moving story.  This is available on hoopladigital.com.

Babe (1995):  This selection does have a scene that takes place during the holidays.  Chris Noonan directed this animal comedy which is based on a novel by Dick King-Smith.  Farmer Arthur Hoggett, played by James Cromwell wins a pig and is named Babe, voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, by the animal community.  A motherly border collie named Fly, voiced by Miriam Margolyes, takes in Babe and find that the unusual pig can her sheep which Farmer Hoggett begins to notice.  With Babe's rise as a sheepherding pig, some of the animals are a bit dismayed for him not sticking to tradition, espcially Fly's husband Rex, voiced by Hugo Weaving.  Magda Szubanski co-stars as Farmer Hoggett's wife and Danny Mann, Miriam Flynn, Russi Taylor, Evelyn Krape, Roscoe Lee Browne, and many others lend their voices.  I suppose this could be a more modern-day CHARLOTTE'S WEB where its protagonist Wilbur has a resourceful spider that made really cool spider-webs to help save him from becoming a meal and in this one Babe takes to the border collies and forms its own unique trait for a pig in sheepherding that helps him not become dinner.  The scene in the beginning makes me believe that the writers of this movie are vegans and animal rights activists.  It is still a good family film and a very well done one.  This is available on Plex On-Demand.

Night Mail (1936):  This is my documentary short for the week.  Harry Watt and Basil Wright directed this short which shows the mail system in England in this era.  These were put on by the postal service themselves and hired professional filmmakers to put documentaries like this one together with the inspiration of early documentary NANOOK OF THE NORTH.  This shows many elements of the system like the delivery and sorting of the mail.  This was rather revolutionary for the documentary world at this time.

O. Henry's Full House (1952):  This is a holiday selection that I had not heard of until now.  This was a movie of segmented stories and features five short stories from William Sydney Porter whose pen name was O. Henry.  His stories dealth with the early 20th Century and is known for his surprise endings.  Author John Steinbeck makes a rare film appearance is the host in a sense introducing the stories and talking about the author who he obviously had a lot of respect for as a writer.  This was probably a very daring and risky project where each story was assigned a different director, writers, and actors.  Henry Hathaway and Richard L. Breen were assigned THE CLARION CALL.  Howard Hawks and uncreditted writers Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson, and Charles Lederer were assigned THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF.  Henry King and Walter Bullock where assigned THE GIFT OF THE MAGI which I auditioned for in Alexandria.  Henry Koster and Lamar Trotti were assigned THE COP AND THE ANTHEM.  Jean Negulesco, Ivan Goff, and Ben Roberts were assigned THE LAST LEAF.  Actors include Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain, Farley Granger, Charles Laughton, Oscar Levant, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Peters, Gregory Ratoff, Dale Robertson, David Wayne, Richard Widmark, Lee Aaker, Fred Kelsey, Richard Garrick, and many others that were willing to take supporting roles out of respect for this project.  This was a nice and unexpected gem I came upon.  I was probably most moved by THE LAST LEAF, but the rest were all very enjoyable and while not all of them necessarily take place during the holidays, there is enough for a holiday selection and hope to get this more on the radar.

Black Christmas (1974):  Now I bring some classic holiday horror for those who don't like the sappy Christmas movies.  It is Christmas break at a sorority house and begin to get strange phone calls.  One of the girls disappear which does not draw much concern from the police and it takes a murder for them to investigate.  They are soon pitted against a stalker and I started realizing that horror movies seem to have a rather incompetent police force.  Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Andrea Martin, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin, and many others co-star in this film.  This is another rather overlooked holiday film and horror film in general.  It was good to see Olivia Hussey who plays Juliet in my favorite version of ROMEO AND JULIET in 1968 and always good to see John Saxon.  Check out some horror in December.

Hedda Gabler (1962):  This is my tv movie for the week which is based on the play by Henrik Ibsen.  Ingrid Bergman stars as Hedda who is a scheming woman marrying a nice but rather dimwitted acedemic in George, played by Michael Redgrave.  The marriage is obviously not out of love and things become very complicated when George's former colleague and rival Ejlert, played by Michael Redgrave, comes into the picture.  Ralph Richardson and Ursula Jeans also co-star in this BBC film.  While this is an abridged version, it was still very compelling to watch though I guess I have not seen this so it didn't matter for me.  This comes from a boxed set of other Ibsen adaptations put on by BBC through the years.  Ibsen did a lot for the genre of drama and this boxed set I found pays good tribute to this important playwright.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985):  Barry Levinson directed this film and was written by Chris Columbus.  Alan Cox stars as a young John Watson who is recalling his time at an English Boarding school and his meeting with the teenage Sherlock Holmes, played by Nicholas Rowe.  While there, some murders are happening that are made to look like suicide which leads into finding a cult.  Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood, Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, and many others co-star in this film.  This is meant to be an imaginative story on how the two iconic characters written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle meet since Doyle never really wrote a story on their meeting and how they became the people they became.  I remember watching this in high school and remembered it being pretty enjoyable.  This is a rather overlooked movie of the '80s in my opinion.  It was a pretty clever story and even have some good special effects to go along with it in the hallucination scenes.  I believe Doyle would have liked this back story on his characters.

Middle of the Night (1959):  Delbert Mann directed this film based on the play by Paddy Chayefsky and possibly part one of a two part series for both Fredric March and Kim Novak.  March stars as widowed businessman Jerry who takes an interest in his employee Betty, played by Novak, who is young enough to be his daughter.  This drama takes a look at the complications of a relationship with a big age gap which is still looked down upon today but likely moreso in this era.  Glenda Farrell, Albert Dekker, Martin Balsam, Lee Grant, Lee Philips, and many other co-star in this film.  March and Novak were really good together in trying to get through their own issues with age difference and dealing with the objections from their friends and family.  I find I have focused on quite a few classic writers in O. Henry, Ibsen, Chayefsky and in a sense Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  This is a really good love story that is very complex and really deserves a look.

A Most Violent Year (2014):  This is part two of a two-part Jessica Chastain series.  J.C. Chandor wrote and directed this crime drama.  This takes place in 1981 New York City which is said to be the most violent year in that city.  Oscar Isaac stars as immigrant Abel Morales who tries to operate a successful business but must deal with violence and corruption in their efforts to expand their business.  Chastain co-stars as Abel's wife Anna who remains strong in her effort to keep the family together and safe.  David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks, Elyes Gabel, Catalina Sandino, Moreno, Christopher Abbott, Peter Gerety, Alessandro Nivola, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a good look at an ambitious man and the measures he will take to keep what he has going.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Charlize Theron, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 577th Edition

Welcome to the 577th Edition of my series.  This weekend we opened for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at the Marion Civic Theater and we still have one weekend left next weekend.  Check out this website http://www.marion-civic-theatre.org/ for ordering information.  Tickets are $12 and shows are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm.  That is all that is really going on in my life so now for my selections.

The Great Gatsby (2013):  This is part five of my five-part Leonardo DiCaprio series.  Baz Luhrman directed this adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  Tobey Maguire stars as Nick Carraway who recalls an encounter with millionaire Jay Gatsby in the Roaring 20s where they become friends but soon slips into obsession and tragedy.  Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and many others co-star in this film.  If anyone has seen Luhrman's ROMEO AND JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE, you will expect rather lavish cinematography which does not fall short in this film.  Also has an interesting way that it works into rap an hip hop during the depression era like the way rock and pop music is worked into Moulin ROUGE  It has a rather complicated story that I have a really hard time describing.  It did manage to keep my interest with the way it was shot and the performances.

The Martian (2015):  This is part two of a potential four-part Jeff Daniels series.  Ridley Scott directed this Sci-Fi film based on the novel by Andy Weir.  Matt Damon stars as Mark Watney who is an astronaut that gets left behind in a misson to Mars by his crew assuming he is dead.  He has indeed survived and is stranded on Mars where he must fight for survival and looks to get word that he is alive to NASA.  When it is found he is still alive, a team at NASA, a group of scientists, and his crew fight tirelessly for his rescue.  Mark's resourcefulness and botany skills are what keeps him alive while they look to bring him home. Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Donald Glover, Nick Mohammed, Shu Chen, and many others co-star in this film.  I suppose this is a predictable film at least towards the ending.  I find I don't always mind predictability when I am on an enjoyable journey to get there.  Damon does really well carrying this film when he is by himself on Mars.  It is also a rather inspirational film on people coming together for a cause and when the rest of the world is shown rooting for his return to earth.  This could be a good double feature to go with GRAVITY, another sci-fi film that has a rather possible scenario.  It could also be a double feature to go along with 127 HOURS where on each one the protagonist is in some way stuck and they video themselves to give update in the event that they die or I suppose in the event they survive and maybe it can get used as a documentary.  This one really exceeded my expectations and is available on HBO On-Demand.

Rent:  Filmed Live on Broadway (2008):  With December starting, the more I thought of this, I realized this is in a sense a holiday film where much of it takes place Christmas Eve and has Christmas lyrics in the music.  In 2005, there was an actual film version of this musical and this is a live version that they filmed and put on DVD.  Will Chase, Adam Kantor, Michael McElroy, Rodney Hicks, Tracie Thoms, Justin Johnston, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Eden Espinosa star as a group of friends in New York City's East Village during the rise of the AIDs crisis where they all struggle to live and survive.  Most know this is a musical but is more of a rock opera.  The difference between this version and the 2005 film is that the movie version used some of this as dialogue whereas the stage version is mostly singing.  As much as I liked the movie version, I find that I prefer this one.  Tracie Thoms is the only one from the movie that is in this version where she reprises her role of Joanna.  I think it is great that there is more and more live theater they put on DVD.  I really liked Goldsberry as Mimi especially when I think of the original Broadway soundtrack and always am a bit bothered by the singing voice of Mimi in the soundtrack.  The rest of the cast does great and cameos of Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Anthony Rapp, and Daphne Rubin-Vega happen after the finale.  They were all part of the original cast with Heredia, Martin, and Rapp being part of the movie version.  One of my favorite musicals and glad I thought of this one for the holidays.

The Bespoke Overcoat (1955):  This is my short film for the week.  Jack Clayton directed this film based on the one-act play by Wolf Mankowitz.  This takes place in a clothing manufacturing warehouse.  Alfie Bass stars as Fender who is an aging worker looking to have an overcoat at work which is refused by his cold-hearted boss Mr. Ranting, played by Alan Tilvern, so he turns to his co-worker friend Morry, played by David Kossoff, to make one for him.  Morry makes the coat but Fender dies before he can get the coat and gets buried with the coat.  Fender returns as a ghost asking Morry to steal a coat for him.  This is about a half hour long and is an Oscar winner.  It is a pretty moving story with great performances from the leads and a very well done half-hour that I recorded from TCM.

Gabriel Over the White House (1933):  This is my political film for the week.  Walter Huston stars as the newly elected President Judson Hammond who at first taking a very hands off approach to the presidency but things change when he survives a near fatal car wreck.  He soon tries to get rid of all the social ills like helpilng the unemployed and addressing the mob by essentially becoming a dictator.  Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, Arthur Byron, Dickie Moore, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pre-code film with some interesting irony of trying to make America a better place but by resorting to tactics of people like Hitler and Mussolini for it to happen.  Great movie to watch during the time of the recent election and one that has gone onto be mostly unknown but hoping to get it on the radar courtesy of TCM which is the channel I recorded from.

Pretty Baby (1978):  Louis Malle directed this film and co-wrote with Polly Platt.  This is not for everyone would be a bit of an understatement.  This takes place in 1917 New Orleans where Susan Sarandon stars as Hattie who is a prostitute from the era and lives with her 12 year old daughter Violet, played by a young Brooke Shields, who later starts working at the brothel herself.  Keith Carradine co-stars as Bellocq who takes an interest in photographing Hattie and Violet playing a pretty big part in their lives, especially Violet's life.  Frances Faye, Antonio Fargas, Diana Scarwid, Barbara Steele, Gerrit Graham, and many others co-star.  This in a sense is one of those coming of age stories but takes coming of age to a new level.  To watch this film, the mind must open up to the extreme.  Lots of actors declined this film on account of the content of the script.  Making a movie of this sort would never be acceptable in a modern society so I tried to keep in mind that in this era that times were much different.  Keeping the mindset, this was a really good portrait of this time period being very well shot and a look into the world of prostitution in what was essentially a depression even though it would be years before the official depression in 1929 started.  This is not very upbeat but still very well done with good performances especially out of young Shields.  I guess if we are talking about double features, this would go along well with TAXI DRIVER which also features an underage prostitute where then a debate of Brooke Shields vs. Jodie Foster can get started.

Nascar:  The Ride of Their Lives (2008):  Now I follow up with this documentary talking about the history of the racing world in Nascar from its beginnings into the modern era.  It starts with some of the pioneer days of racing where Lee Petty was involved to his son Richard that would become a name synonymous with racing.  It mostly featured how Nascar got into the spotlight and the racers who helped get it there.  It takes a look at the Earnhardt family, the Allison family, Tim Richmond, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, and many others.  Kevin Costner provides the narration to this documentary.  I will say I'm not really into auto racing but am usually interested in the history of something and was able to get into this documentary that I found pretty insightful.  It also shows how much safer racing has become from the beginning and anything involving fast cars will never be fully safe but they have come a long way.  I believe this can be enjoyed by fans and non-fans alike since it focuses more on the people than the sport.

Gumby's Christmas Capers (1957):  This is my holiday short for the week which is really a compilation of holiday skits.  I have been exposed to the claymation of Gumby from a rather early age as my dad has always been a big fan of the character.  This is a green humanoid character and is always with his best friend Pokey which is a talking orange pony.  One of the abilities of this world is that people can enter books.  In this one, they had stories involving Ebenezer Scrooge and Santa Claus and Gumby as Sherlock Holmes at one point.  These are some very iconic characters and this is a fun watch for the holidays that most people may not know about.  This was about a half hour long and it is available on the website http://hoopladigital.com.

Salesman (1969):  This is my second documentary for the week and there is some singing of Christmas Carols and involves the reason for the season in Jesus though not sure how he feels about these people.  This involves a group of salesmen who try to sell rather expensive bibles mostly to families that are in poor to lower-middle class standing.  These are illustrated bibles, even calling the Catholic Encyclopedias pretty much doing what they can to make families feel obligated to buy these even if they are not very affordable.  Even these salesmen seem to think they are doing everyone a big favor in paying to upgrade from a more basic bible.  I had not heard of this one but am glad to have come across it.  It was a very interesting look into bible salesmen.  I actually played one in INHERIT THE WIND which was possibly my favorite show I have done.  Great documentary, especially from this era and a good look into the world of sales.  This is available through the Criterion Collection and if nothing else, it can be watched on Youtube.

Meerkats:  The Movie (2008):  I end the week with my third documentary which is into the animal world.  Paul Newman narrates this documentary that focuses on the title animal which is from the Kalahari desert in Africa.  They filmed it by creating a character out of one of the meerkats and named him Kolo which is new to the world and showing his struggles in life as well as him maturing among his family.  It shows the dangers of other predator animals and the meerkats doing what they can to survive in this difficult world.  It is a very insightful documentary and I was amazed by the way they were able to film some of these scenes like some scenes underground.  I featured documentaries this week regarding race car drivers, bible salesmen, and get to end the week with some animals.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Kevin Spacey, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 576th Edition

Welcome to the 576th Edition of my series.  I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that everyone stayed safe on Black Friday.  This week, we approach December so maybe it is now more acceptable to celebrate Christmas and let's all try to be accepting of one another about how the holidays are celebrated.  Next weekend, we officially open for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at the Marion Civic Theater which is the first two weekends of December Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30  pm and Sunday shows start at 2 pm.  Check out http://www.marion-civic-theatre.org/ for information on reserving tickets as well as location information.  Now on to my selections for the week.

David Blaine:  Fearless (2002):  This is part four of my five-part Leonard DiCaprio series where in this movie, he is talking to the famed magician.  Technically, these are three tv specials in MAGIC MAN, STREET MAGIC, and FROZEN IN TIME being made into one movie.  For those who do not know, David Blaine is a famed magician and mostly performs tricks to people on the street like a lot of very mind bending card tricks, levitation, and his famed stunt where he encased himself in a block of ice for several hours.  He talks to a big variety of people and performs a variety of stunts making this a pretty enjoyable couple hours.

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005):  This is part three of my Robert Downey Jr. trilogy and possibly part one of a four-part Jeff Daniels series.  George Clooney directed, co-wrote with Grant Keslov, and co-stars in this film based on a true story.  David Strathairn stars as broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow who risked his career by trying to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy who lead what was referred to as the Red Scare.  Clooney co-stars as Murrow's producer Fred W. Friendly who supported him in what he was trying to do while others tried to stop him.  Alex Borstein, Tate Donovan, Patricia Clarkson, Tom McCarthy, Grant Keslov, Robert John Burke, Ray Wise, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a really good look at this very dark period of American history.  Strathairn is very well cast as the broadcast journalist and was a role that helped get him more known.  This is possibly Clooney's best project.  This is available on Amazon Prime.

Inside Out (2015):  This is one of two animated selections for the week.  This is a Disney Pixar selection which centers around young Riley, voiced by Kaitlyn Dias, who must leave her midwest life and move to a much newer world of San Francisco.  When this happens, her emotions which as it turns out have feelings of their own and they advise her but had trouble adjusting to the move.  The emotions in this film are Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness, voiced by Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Phyllis Smith.  Other voices include Richard Kind, Diane Lane, Kyle McLachlan, Paula Poundstone, Bobby Moynihan, Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, John Ratzenberger, Rashida Jones, and many others.  I was not sure at first how I would feel about this but as it went along, I liked the way it went and really liked the ending.  This is available on Starz On-Demand

Her Honor, the Nurse (1956):  This is my short film for the week that pays tribute to the nurses.  This takes a look at a nurse who is shown in her education into her graduation and career.  This is a pretty good homage at this time to a very valuable profession and a little bit of what it take to become a nurse.  Obviously, justice cannot be done in just nine minutes to describe the full value of the American nurse but it accomplished the basics in this short subject.

The Crowd Roars (1932):  Howard Hawks directed this film which takes a look at the early days of auto racing.  James Cagney stars as famous auto racing champion Joe Greer who returns to him hometown to learn that his younger brother Eddie, played by Eric Linden, has aspirations of becoming a driver.  When mentoring his younger brother, he becomes obsessed with keeping Eddie away from women making Joe interfere with his relationship with Anne, played by Joan Blondell.  Joe also has a long-time girlfriend in Lee, played by Ann Dvorak, who feels she is not good enough to be around him when he is out racing.  Guy Kibbee and Frank McHugh co-star in this film.  It is not Cagney's best but still a pretty enjoyable early film for him.  It is also of interest to see how auto racing was in this era and how far we have come in the modern day making it at least more safer that what this movie shows.

The Muthers (1976):  Cirio H. Santiago wrote and directed what we will call the guilty pleasure of the week, maybe exploitation of the week.  People will first question the title and a rather incorrect spelling but it is actually a band of mostly female pirates, a couple of which go undercover in a women's prison in hopes to break out the leader's sister.  Jeannie Bell, Rosanne Katon, Trina Parks, Jayne Kennedy, and many others co-star in this movie.  This has blaxploitation and is part women in prison movie so if you like this sort of thing, I think it will be enjoyed.

The Road to El Dorado (2000):  This is my second animated selection for the week.  The first one was from Disney Pixar and now I bring their competition of Dreamworks.  Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh star as con men Tulio and Miguel who have a map of the famed city El Dorado thinking there is gold.  Things don't go as planned and the natives begin to worship them as gods.  They also look to save the city from the high priest Tzekel-Kan, voiced by Armand Assante, who has a religious fixation for human sacrifice.  Rosie Perez also providers her voice to a Native con-artist named Chel who joins in with Tulio and Miguel when she is onto their con.  Edward James Olmos, Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, Tobin Bell, and many others provide their voice to this film.  There is a soundtrack which was mostly written by Elton John and Tim Rice where Elton John sang and is a pretty decent soundtrack.  This did not get as much attention as some animated movies but was pretty fun to watch along with a good soundtrack.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

The Narrow Margin (1952):  Richard Fleischer directed this film noir.  Charles McGraw stars as Detective Sergeant Walter Brown who has the very uneasy task of protecting mobster wife Frankie Neall, played by Marie Windsor, who is to testify against the mob.  Walter must accompany her on a train trip while mob hitmen are looking to kill her.  Jacqueline White, Queenie Leonard, David Clarke, Don Beddoe, and many others star in this rather suspenseful film.  I watched this when it was available on On-Demand and saw a really good interview between Ben Mankiewicz and the director's son Mark Fleischer who reflected on his father and grandfather Max Fleischer.  The movie is a rather daring film for its time.  It has a lot of mystery and suspense into a really good climax.  Brown and Windsor worked very well in their uneasy relationship with each other.  This gets right to the point from the beginning and for 75 minutes will keep you sucked into what is happening.

Elvis:  That's the Way it is (1970):  This is my concert film for the week which as you might guess centers around Elvis Presley.  It takes a look at concert footage, backstage footage, and even rehearsal footage.  This was footage from his third year in Las Vegas.  The songs he performs are some of his own classic songs and did some remakes like of Neil Diamond's SWEET CAROLINE, Paul Simon's BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, The Righteous Brothers' YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING, among others.  This is a much earlier concert documentary and does pretty well.  I am not going to say I'm some huge fan of Elvis but I respect him and what he did in the industry.  This takes a good look at the concert world with its combined use of concert and backstage footage.

Sin Nombre (2009):  Last week, I ended with the foreign film MEDITTEREA with people trying to get out of the country they are in in hopes for a better life and I guess I continue that trend on this one.  I end the week with this Mexican film which was directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga.  Edgar Flores and Paulina Gaitan play characters in different situations but come together in an unlikely way.  Flores stars as Casper who is a gang member on the run from his gang and Gaitan stars as Sayra who is trying to get to the United States.  Sayra forms a liking and trust to Casper even if he tells her what a dark past he has had in his life.  Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Diana Garcia, Luis Fernando Pena, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty dark and bleak film but is also quite realistic from a lot of people in this country.  Researching this film, i found that the gang Mara Salvatrucha is a real-life international gang and there was nothing glorifying about it in this movie.  I believe this movie really deserves a look for cultural awareness if nothing else.  This is available on the website hoopladigital.com.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Leonardo DiCaprio, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 575th Edition

Welcome to the 575th Edition of my series and a pretty cool number as I have 25 before the 600th Edition which will be in May.  I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving this week.  To those that plan on going out early Friday morning for the great deals, please be careful and be considerate to others.  To those who like celebrating Christmas early, maybe can get a little less hate for celebrating.  I feel some become a little to hostile towards others who start celebrating the December holiday early and I just try to keep that attitule of to each their own, especially on how people want to celebrate holidays.  Enough of that rant, my own show of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is going on in the first two weekends of December so check out the website http://www.marion-civic-theatre.org/ on ordering tickets.  Now onto my selections for the week.

Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows (2011):  This is part two of a potential Robert Downey Jr. trilogy.  Downey reprises his role as the famed detective being joined by his partner Dr. Watson, reprised by Jude Law.  They take on their arch nemesis Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris, who takes on Holmes in a battle of wits.  Helping them is Sherlock's brother Mycroft, played by Stephen Fry, and a gypsy named Simza, played by Noomi Rapace.  Rachel McAdams, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine James, Eddie Marsan, William Houston, and many others co-star in this sequel.  This is a pretty good sequel to the first one.  I really enjoy Downey and Law in these roles.  Usually, Watson is described as a "sidekick" but notice how in the beginning I referred to him as a partner.  I like the way in this movie it is portrayed that Holmes needs Watson more than Watson needs him and I love Downey's more humorous take to the role.  If you enjoy Downey as Sherlock, this will be enjoyed.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998):  This is part three of my possible five part Leonardo DiCaprio series.  In this one he plays the tyrannical Louis XIV and his unknown and imprisoned twin brother Phillippe who is the title character.  This is based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas where the aging and mostly retired three musketeers Aramis, Athos, and Porthos, played by Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Gerard Depardieu, band together again with a plan to switch out Louis for his twin brother.  Gabriel Byrne also stars as D'Artagnan who has fought with the musketeers but now is the right hand man to the king and must decide where his loyalty lies.  Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche, Edward Atterton, Peter Sarsgaard, Hugh Laurie, David Lowe, Brigitte Boucher, and many others co-star in this film.  This is by no means anything new but still thought it was cast well and enjoyable to watch.  For me, Byrne stood out the most as D'Artagnan.

Rampart (2011):  This is part three of my Audra McDonald trilogy.  Oren Moverman directed and co-wrote this film which stars Woody Harrelson as Los Angeles cop Dave Brown who is a very corrupt cop who justifies his actions in any way he can.  He also lives with his two ex-wives Barbara and Catherine, played by Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche, who are both sisters where each he has daughters in Helen and Margaret, played by Brie Larson and Sammy Boyarsky.  Jon Bernthal, Ben Foster, Steve Buscemi, Sigourney Weaver, Leonard Kelly-Young, Robin Wright, Francis Capra, Ice Cube, Ned Beatty, and many others co-star in this film.  I liked seeing Buscemi in a prosecutor role for a change.  This is mostly a character study on the mostly unlikable cop with a very good performance out of Harrelson.  This is not a very upbeat film but still quite compelling.  This is available on hoopladigital.com.

Menu (1933):  This is my comedy short for the week which is a Pete Smith Specialty.  A man named John, played by Luis Alberni, suffers from chronic indigestion and his wife, played by Una Merkel, tries to cook a duck dinner that will not cause indigestion.  Soon a mysterious chef appears to help her accomplish what she wants with hilarious results.  Pete Smith actually plays the chef which is the first time that I am aware that he has been in one of these besides as the narrator.  This is available on TCM On-Demand at tcm.com.

The Man Without a Country (1975):  This is my tv movie for the week which was directed by Delbert Mann and based on a short story by Edward Everett Hale.  Cliff Robertson starts as Philip Nolan who is court martialed along with Aaron Burr, played by John Cullum, for attacking Mexico and trying to annex them.  Nolan makes comments that he never wishes to hear of the United States again which gets him exiled out of the country and spends his days on the sea in a ship.  As the decades go on, Nolan earns the respect of his fellow seaman while proving to be a good warrior making his shipmates appeal to get his exile overturned.  Beau Bridges, Peter Strauss, Robert Ryan, Walter Abel, Geoffrey Holder, Patricia Elliott, and many others co-star in this tv movie.  The protagonist is a fictional character around historical events and the character is loosely based figure Clement Vallandigham who had a similar fat to Nolan.  It is also good to see the later part of Burr's life since most of what is known is that he shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel.  This is a pretty well done tv movie and unfortunately hard to find on dvd but is availalbe on youtube.

No Sad Songs For Me (1950):  Rudolph Mate directed this film based on a novel by Ruth Southard.  Margaret Sullavan stars as Mary Scott who is the mother to Polly, played by Natalie Wood, and the wife of Brad, played by Wendell Corey.  Mary learns that she only has an incurable cancer and has a few months to live.  She decides not to tell them and to make the most of her last days while also trying to get her husband's assistant Chris, played by Viveca Lindfors, to stay in town seeing she has feelings for her husband and vice versa.  This is one of the earlier films that address the hardship of having a numbered amount of days to live which was rather taboo in this era.  This is a pretty moving story and worth a look.

Young Adam (2003):  This is my NC-17 and British movie for the week which was written by David Mackenzie and based on the novel by Alexander Trocci.  Ewan McGregor stars as a drifter named Joe who finds work on a barge owned by married couple Les and Ella, played by Peter Mullan and Tilda Swinton.  They discover a dead body floating in the water and through flashbacks we learn that Joe knows more than he is letting on while also forming an attraction with Ella.  Emily Mortimer and Jack McElhone also co-star in this film.  Upon my first sentence, this is clearly not family oriented so take that into consideration before watching.  It is really hard to put a description to this film.  It is a very dark and bleak film but I was quite intriged by it.  In some ways this could be referred to as film noir.  If you want something rather dark and can get past that it goes a little beyod the R rating, this is a really good watch.

The Southerner (1945):  Jean Renoir directed this film based on a novel by George Sessions Perry.  Zackary Scott stars as Sam Tucker who is a cotton picker looking for a better life for his family.  He decides to start growing his own cotton crop.  In trying to have a successful farm, he must battle disease, floods, and a jealous neighbor.  Betty Field, J. Carrol Naish, Beulah Bondi, Percy Kilbride, Charles Kemper, and many others co-star in this film.  This is another one that is rather hard to describe since it is driven a lot by characters and the determination of the protagonist to have a successful farm only to find that it is very difficult.  This is a relatively unknown cast but they still do a pretty good job.  This is a pretty good look into the life of a poor farming family and the decisions that must be considered for survival.  It is rather unknown and remains on the public domaine.  I was able to record it from TCM.

Lady Snowblood 2:  Love Song of Vengeance (1974):  Last week I featured the first one so I decided to continue with the sequel, both of which I recorded on TCM.  Toshiya Fujita directs the sequel to the 1973 film which both of these movies served as one of the main if not the main influence to Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL films.  Meiko Kaji continues to play the title character who we learned in the first one that she is an assassin.  In this continuation, she is arrested and sentenced to hang only to be rescued by the secret police needing her to assassinate some revolutionaries.  The first one is a lot more compelling in my opinion but this was still a pretty good sequel.  You definetely should not watch this one without the first one which you will clearly see much of the things that inspired Tarantino like the exaggerated violence that KILL BILL does and in the first one, it used chapters which is something that Tarantino has done a lot in general.  Maybe a marathon of these two films and both KILL BILL films are in order.  I am also a bit curious to see the manga to this story.

Mediterranea (2015):  I end the week with this African film which was written and directed by Jonas Carpignano.  A couple of friends named Ayiva, played by Koudous Seihon, and Abas, played by Alassane Sy, set out to immigrate to Italy finding that it is a journey that will take a lot of survival skills to be successful and just to survive.  I was reading that the actor Seihon was a real immigrant and recreates much of what he went through in this film.  I see this week, I have focused on rather difficult topics like dying of cancer, owning a farm in what was likely the depression era, and now this look at people trying to get out of a country to make a better life but finding that without the right resources that the journey is very difficult.  This is an expansion of the short film CHIJANA.  This film is available on Instant Netflix.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Robert Downey Jr., Amy Poehler, James Cagney, and many others.