Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 545th Edition

Welcome to the 545th edition of my series.  This evening I am starting rehearsals for my new show MURDER AT THE GAZEBO at the Goldspace Theater in Downtown Muncie.  This will be my first show at this place so excited to be taking part in another Muncie theater and making my temporary "no musical" rule worth it.  I know I'm a minority when I say that I like it in Muncie and am grateful for all the opportunities I have been given in the town and in the outskirts.  This show gets put on May 20th, 21st, and 22nd with the 22nd being my birthday.  Enough about me for now, I'll just get to my selections for the week.

Midnight in Paris (2011):   This is part two of my Woody Allen trilogy.  Last week I featured a Woody Allen film where he was the star but had nothing to do with the writing and directing.  This week I feature this movie where he is the writer and director and does not have a part in the film.  Owen Wilson stars as screenwriter Gil who is with his fiance Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, on a trip to Paris with her parents, played by Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy.  Gil is working on his first novel and struggling.  He soon begins to find what he feels is his inspiration and wants to move to France after they are married which is not an idea that Inez shares.  Gil takes daily walks at midnight where he gets picked up and finding himself in the 1920s which he considers the golden age.  Along the way, he meets people like Cole Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Salvadore Dali, T.S. Eliot, and a few others.  his meetings with the people, however real they might be help him with his novel and to consider the rest of his life.  Yves Heck, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Sonia Rolland, Corey Stoll, Daniel Lunch, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Adrian Brody, Michael Sheen, and many others co-star in this film.  I thought this was a very clever film with Owen Wilson very fun and likable in his part and good performances for the historical figures.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004):  Niels Mueller directed this film based on the real life assassination plot by Samuel J. Bicke, played by Sean Penn.  This portrays a man who has hit rock bottom and is separated from his wife, played by Naomi Watts, and has a job in sales where he is looked down upon.  He has an unusual idea for a small business but is rejected for the loan.  With all the thinsg happening around him, he blames President Nixon for everything that is wrong in the world and in his life prompting him to hatch his plan.  Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Brad William Henke, Nick Searcy, Michael Wincott, Mykelti Williamson, and many others co-star in this film.  I think we all know the assassination was not successful but people were unfortunately hurt.  The real name was Samuel Byck and not really sure on why it was changed.  This person is also a character portrayed in the Sondheim musical ASSASSINS.  I'm not sure where the events came from as far as his life goes but still a pretty good look on the dark side of the American dream and how far it can drive someone.

Runaway Bride (1999):  We'll call this the date movie of the week or a possible selection for girls' night.  Garry Marshall directed this romantic comedy reuniting the stars of his 1990 film PRETTY WOMAN in Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.  Julia stars as Maggie who has taken part in some weddings to be married but can never finish and leaves them at the alter.  Richard stars as columnist Ike who has a rather cynical column and learns of Maggie making him want to write a story on her which he does but gets fired when Maggie complains about inaccuracies.  This prompts Ike to go to the small town of Hale, Maryland to get a closer look at the story and finds she is engaged again to a high school football coach, played by Christopher Meloni.  Joan Cusack, Rita Wilson, Hector Elizondo, Paul Dooley, Donal Logue, and many others co-star in this romantic comedy.  Not a lot more needs to be explained in what happens next and in watching this you'll probably be able to guess what happens.  Roberts and Gere continue to work well together.  This is not for everyone but is a harmless watch for those not looking for something complicated to watch.  As I said before, it would be good to have during a date night and maybe even a double feature with the first teaming of the director and the two leads.

Annie Was a Wonder (1949):  This is my short film for the week and part of the Passing Parade series.  John Nesbitt narrates this short on Annie Swenson, played by Kathleen Freeman, who worked for his family as a cook and housekeeper.  This talks about how she was one of many young Scandinavian women coming to America in the early 20th Century looking for a better life out here in the United States.  The short also pays respect to those that helped in a home that became family in the long run.  This is available on TCM's website in the On-Demand section until May 1st.  They do provide some good selection so if you like older movies, that might be a good place to look.

Gulliver's Travels (1939):  This is my animated selection for the week which comes from the Golden Year of film.  This comes from Max Fleischer's studio and is their first feature film.  It is also the first feature animated movie in America from someone besides Walt Disney.  They decided to take a chance with this adaptation to the classic novel from Jonathan Swift.  Gulliver, voiced by Sam Parker, is a sailor washed up ashore to an island called Lilliput where those living there are much smaller making them perceive him as a giant.  He looks to get off the island but not before trying to stop the two families from going to war with each other.  I found this on the Premier app of my Roku and is not a bad watch though the constant commercials were a bit annoying at times.  Another one of their feature movies was MR. HOPPITY GOES TO TOWN but they mostly specialized in animated shorts.  Nothing great but a decent effort trying to keep up with Disney.

The Battle of Algiers (1966):  This is my Italian/Algerian film for the week which was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo who co-wrote along with Franco Solinas.  This is based on the real life Algerian war that lasted from 1954 to 1962 and where Algeria was trying to gain freedom from France.  This was not a biased film and showed the point of views on both sides and also showed how each side was wrong in their own way.  It is very violent but also realistic.  This was a very well done film almost shot like a documentary and showing how there really aren't any winners in times like these.

Creed (2015):  Ryan Coogler directed and co-wrote this continuation of the Rocky saga.  Sylvester Stallone reprises his iconic role of Rocky Balboa where he has mostly left boxing in every way and runs his restaurant.  Michael B. Jordan co-stars as Adonis Johnson whose father was Rocky's later friend and rival Apollo Creed who died before he was born and Adonis is determined to follow in his footsteps asking Rocky for his help in mentoring him.  Balboa is reluctant at first but through Johnson's persistence he agrees to mentor him to be a good fighter.  Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob Duran, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a really good entry into the series with a pretty well-written story really good performances from Stallone and Jordan.  Carl Weathers, who played Creed, even gave the movie a strong endorsement and compliments to Michael B. Jordan.  The movie also brought back some memories of when I was in Philadelphia visiting my friend Ashley and the only part of the tourism that mattered to me was to see the Rocky Statue and I got to see the statue as well as run up the steps.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943):  This is possibly part one of a Joseph Cotten trilogy.  Alfred Hitchcock directed this film which was co-written by Thornton Wilder.  Teresa Wright stars as Charlotte Newton who goes by Charlie whose Uncle Charlie, played by Cotten, she is named after.  Her Uncle Charlie pays a visit to the family which excites young Charlie at first but she begins to witness strange behavior from her uncle making her worry that he is not who he seems and may be a serial killer the police are looking for.  Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers, Hume Cronyn, Wallace Ford, and many others co-star.  Hitchcock has cited this film to be his favorite as well as Teresa Wright as citing this to be her favorite.  It does provide a lot of suspense with a really good climax.

Last Year at Marienbad (1961):  This is my French film for the week which was directed by Alain Resnais.  Giorgio Albertazzi stars as a man who tries to convince a married woman that they met and had an affair though she does not agree with it.  When reading the plot, it sounds rather simple but the dreamlike sequences make anything but simple.  This is a very surrealistic film that really keeps attention and allows the viewer to consider what might be real or imagination.  It is one of those that is very difficult to explain kind of like much of Fellini's films.

Prisoner of Paradise (2002):  I end the week with this PBS documentary on a rather overlooked part of the film industry.  This is a documentary on German actor Kurt Gerron whose most known movie is I suppose THE BLUE ANGEL in 1930 and was a pretty popular actor at the time.  This was also at the time of the rise of Nazi Germany where he was rather daring even doing parodies of Nazi Germany and to add to that he was a Jew.  He was eventually put in a concentration camp and was forced to do a documentary to portray the Nazis in a positive light.  It also shows how much of his friends like Peter Lorre escaped to the United States and Gerron refusing to leave maybe thinking things would get better.  This was a very insightful documentary on Gerron's career and his time in the concentration camp.

Well, that is it for this week though I have included the returning "Movie Night at the Shera" segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Woody Allen, Randolph Scott, Gael Garcia Bernal, and many others.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

The Peanuts Movie (2015):  I know I featured this in the 542nd Edition and Shera and decided to do a movie night at her house and as much as I wanted her to watch BUBBA HO-TEP, I still could not convince her and she had this suggestion.  As I thought about it, i had seen it, enjoyed it and understood that she has three daughters so we would not have to worry about it getting too inappropriate so decided to watch it again with her and the kids.  Steve Martino directed this film which was written by Craig and Bryan Schulz who are the son and grandson of Charles.  The two main plot points of the film are Snoopy in his heroic battle against the Red Baron and even bringing out Joe Cool at one point and Charlie Brown, voiced by Noah Schnapp, trying to pursue the Little Red Haired Girl but is hindered by his shyness and lack of confidence.  In the end, they were all on board with this film and is a nice feel good movie to watch.  The father and son team who remained very respectful of their father and grandfather Charles in what he started while making it into their own.  One might want to be familiar with the animated specials first before tackling this one but it will all be worth it in the end.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 544th Edition

Welcome to the 544th Edition of my series.  Nothing really new going on in my life right now but will update on the acting projects as they come along like our film project PIGFOOT 2.  I am glad to see the weather getting much nicer.  I will just get to my selections for the week.

Minions (2015):  I start the week out with some animation and this spin-off of the DESPICABLE ME films and the ever so popular Minions, all voiced by Pierre Coffin who work for Gru, who does have an appearance and reprised by Steve Carell.  This movie is kind of a back story on the minions and how they came to be and them looking for the perfect villain to work for.  They are eventually recruited by villain Scarlet Overkill, voiced by Sandra Bullock, in her attempt to take over the world.   Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, Geoffrey Rush, and many others provide their voices.  This did not beat the DESPICABLE ME films but still found it enjoyable with the documentary like story.  There is also a good part that takes place at Villain Con.  Good way to start the week in my opinion.

The Tortoise and the Hare (1935):  I continue with animation with this animated short of the famed tale which is from Disney.  In this their names are Toby Tortoise and Max Hare with the story of them getting into a race and the hare believing he has it won with his speed but his cockiness proves to be his downfall.  I remember as a kid being in a version of this called THE CROSS COUNTRY RACE.  This was a pretty fun 9 minutes of a really good race.  The character of Max Hare is said to be the inspiration for Warner Brothers' iconic Bugs Bunny.

The Front (1976):  This is part one of a possible Woody Allen trilogy series.  Martin Ritt directed this comedy which takes a jab at the Hollywood blacklist period.  Allen stars as Howard Prince who is a cashier in the '50s with friends in Hollywood.  His writer friend Alfred Miller, played by Michael Murphy, has gotten himself on the blacklist and knows that using an alias name will not help so he enlists Prince to pose as the writer while he continues to write.  He begins to be successful even to the point of taking on other writers but must rethink what he is doing when he sees how it effects everyone around him.   Zero Mostel, Andrea Marcovicci, David Margulies, Danny Aiello, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a rather personal project for Ritt and writer Walter Bernstein, both of which were on the McCarthy era blacklist.  Also the actors Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Lloyd Gough, and Joshua Shelley were on the blacklist which the credits actually show at the end.  This was a very clever comedy that came from a really dark period in history.

Best in Show (2000):  This is my mockumentary for the week which was directed by Christopher Guest who co-wrote the script along with Eugene Levy and both of which co-star.  This takes place at the annual Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show where various dog owners prepare their dogs in hopes of winning.  There is quite the array of owners and dogs, each of which adding their amusing take to the film.  Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Patrick Cranshaw, and Jennifer Coolidge play the owners of dogs.  Posey and Hitchock who play a married couple probably entertained me the most of the owners.  Fred Willard and Jim Piddock play the commentators with Willard making the ultimate color commentator that I believe all commentators should be more like.  Jay Brazeau, Lewis Arquette, Bob Balaban, Will Sasso, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., and many others co-star.  This delivered a lot of laughs to me and was a really good possible behind the scenes film.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Swamp Water (1956):  Jean Renoir directed this film.  Dana Andrews stars as Ben who goes out through a dangerous swamp looking for his dog and encounters a fugitive named Tom, played by Walter Brennan who is on the run for a murder charge.  He also meets Tom's outcast daughter Julie, played by Anne Baxter, and forms a relationship with her.  Ben and Tom form a partnership but the town begins to get suspicious.  Walter Huston, Ward Bond, John Carradine, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty good and overlooked drama with a good story and performances as well as scenery.  I found this on FX Retro with Comcast On-Demand.

Tucker:  The man and his Dream (1988):  This starts one of three biopics for this week.  Francis Ford Coppola directs this film based on aspiring car manufacturer Preston Tucker, played by Jeff Bridges.  Shortly after WWII, he comes up with a design for cars that no one has seen.  With the help of his friend Abe, played by Martin Landau, he was able to get the necessary funding for a factory.  With all his efforts, he finds that his vision is not a very easy one.  Joan Allen, Christian Slater, Frederic Forrest, Mako, Nina Siemaszko, Elias Koteas, Dean Stockwell, and many others co-star in this film.  This is very inspirational while being frustrating.  It is a good look at Preston Tucker with Jeff Bridges playing the part well.

Infra-man (1975):  I suppose this could be referred to as my Hong Kong superhero movie of the week.  Danny Lee stars as Rayma who volunteers his services to Professor Chang to become the bionic superhero of the title.  In the process, he must save the world from Princess Dragon Mom, played by Terry Liu.  The effects in this movie were very cheesy, I believe even for then so if you take that kind of thing very seriously, this might not be for you to watch.  For the Power Ranger fans out there, I am pretty sure they got a lot of their inspiration from this movie if that says anything.  As far as I know, this is the only Infra-Man movie and that no sequels came from this.  It is still rather enjoyable to watch and have seen Lee in a couple Chow Yun- Fat films.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Straight Outta Compton (2015):  This is the second of my three biopics for the week.  F. Gary Gray directed this film based on the rap group N.W.A. which consisted of Easy E, played by Jason Mitchell, Dr. Dre, played by Corey Hawkins, Ice Cube, played by O'Shea Jackson which is Ice Cube's son, and the lesser known members DJ Yella, played by Neil Brown Jr., and MC Ren, played by Aldis Hodge.  They were rather revolutionary in the world of rap making the Gangsta Rap genre popular and not really afraid to say anything they felt about authority and society.  They got quite popular but egos and other disagreements tore them apart.  This takes place from their forming of the group into their breakup with Easy E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre pursuing their own projects developing a bit of a feud in their music.  Marlon Yates, R. Marcos Taylor, Carra Patterson, Sheldon Smith, Keith Stanfield, Paul Giamatti, and many others co-star in the film.  This was a period of rap that I actually liked and realize that this is my favorite period and why I have not been into rap through the years.  This was a brutally honest portrait of the iconic group, some of the things I knew of and some I did not know.  I really knew nothing of these actors but were all perfectly cast especially Jackson as Ice Cube and me thinking how much he does look like Cube then I learn later that he is the son of Ice Cube.  I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it and was worth the two and a half hours.

Lust For Life (1956):  This is my third of my biopics for the week where I go from auto manufacturer, a rap group, to a famed painter of the 1800s.  I suppose all three of these have in common that of lots of controversy they caused for the things they did.  Vincente Minnelli directed this film based on painter Vincent Van Gogh, played by Kirk Douglas, whose most known work is A STARRY NIGHT which I believe just about everyone has seen at some point.  He decides to do paintings and becomes very tortured in his failures in life with his art and relationships.  He had quite a vision for paintings but no one really understood and in fact it is true how his work became popular after he died.  James Donald co-starred as Vincent's brother Theo who was the one good thing Vincent had in his life.  Anthony Quinn co-stars as fellow artist Paul Gauguin who respected each other's work but still had a lot of disagreements.  Douglas plays Van Gogh very well showing how he slowly turns into a very tortured artist and is a pretty good tribute to the now very popular artist.

Intermission (2003):  I end the week with this extremely dark crime comedy.  John Crowley directed this film of multiple stories that come together involving a rather bizarre kidnapping plot which was written by Mark O'Rowe.  This is one that I really have a hard time putting into words without giving things away.  Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, Brian F. O'Byrne, Kelly MacDonald, Colm Meaney, Deirdre O'Kane, Michael MeElhatton, Shirley Henderson, and many others co-star in this film.  I think my favorite parts of the movie are those with Meaney as a cocky detective who really wanted to show himself in a reality series.  That being said, there are still some very interesting stories that all come together in the end.  As I said, this is a very dark comedy and even felt guilty enjoying it at times.

Well, that is all for this week.  Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Rachel McAdams, Naomi Watts, Julia Roberts, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 543rd Edition

Welcome to the 543rd Edition of my series.  It has been quite a week with this crazy winter weather and in Muncie it managed to have quite a snowfall but luckily I left Muncie for the weekend to be in Columbus, Indiana.  The plan was to get our movie PIGFOOT 2 shot but a few factors made us realize that if we did shoot it that we would be rushing it.  The weather did not help anything but we also decided that we need to get more into our characters and get to know each other more which was what last night and the weekend was for so we have rescheduled our shoot for mid-May and believe we have something really good going.  Even though we did not officially get our shoot done, we did make progress.  Other than that, not much else happening except I hope we get some warm weather soon and am confident we will.  Now I will shut up and get to my selections.

La Dolce Vita (1960):  I start the week out with this Italian film from director Federico Fellini.  Marcello Mastroianni stars as Marcello who is a tabloid reporter and on a search for love and happiness.  Like any Fellini, it is a very hard one to describe.  It is a very non-linear film in the eyes of Marcello.  It has a lot of really good imagery and Mastroianni is great as Marcello.  This is one that might require multiple viewings to understand but it is a fun ride go along with for a little less than three hours.

Client 9:  The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010):  I follow the week up with this political documentary directed by Alex Gibney.  This is a portrait on the former New York governor who had everything going for him until a sex scandal lead to a resignation.  This has interviews with a lot of people in regards to Spitzer's political career into the scandal.  This documentary looks at just about every angle and is far from being biased.  Eliot Spitzer himself is also one of the interviewees reflecting on events that went on.  This documentary left me very engaged and and compelled.

Bon Voyage (1944):  This is my war propaganda short for the week that was directed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock.  John Blythe stars as Scottish RAF Sgt. John Dougall and explains through flashback how he escaped German occupied France.  He also suspects that there might be an insider German agent.  It was interesting to see a movie like this out of the Master of Suspense where he does employ some of his known techniques.

Pirate Radio (2009):  Richard Curtis wrote and directed this film.  This is a comedy but also based in part on a true story of the pirate radio movement in the '60s that I had never really heard about.  Tom Sturridge stars as 17 year old Carl who has been expelled from school and is sent to live with this godfather Quentin, played by Bill Nighy, who resides on a ship of disc jockeys that broadcast from the boat to avoid laws.  Kenneth Branagh co-stars as government minister Sir Alistair Dormandy who is looking to find a way to get them shut down.  Philp Seymout Hoffman co-stars as brash American DJ the Count.  Nick Frost, Katherine Parkinson, Chris O'Dowd, Sinead Matthews, Tom Wisdom, Gemma Arterton, Jack Davenport, Rhys Ifans, January Jones, Emma Thompson, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a based on a fictional group from this era thought there were a lot of pirate radio groups trying to fight censorship.  This has some really good characters and has some pretty funny moments as well.  It is also a really good homage to music of the '60s.  This is a good movie for some good radio and eclectic disk jockeys.

Pennies from Heaven (1936):  First off, see the year and second the 1981 movie is not a remake of this one.  Norman Z. McLeod directed this movie which stars Bing Crosby as recently released inmate Larry Poole who makes a promise to a prisoner executed that he will look after his family which includes his daughter Patsy, played by Edith Fellows, and her grandfather Gramp Smith, played by Donald Meek.  His original intention was to end up in Venice but takes a liking to the family and Patsy sees him as a father figure.  They do not live well but tries to impress the social worker Susan, played by Madge Evans, in order to get custody.  Louis Armstrong has a very amusing part in the film and through Crosby received a top billing which was the first time a black man shared top willing with white actors.  I found this on TCM On-Demand and found myself really sucked into this one.  It is a pretty moving film with more limited musical numbers for a Bing Crosby movie.

That Evening Sun (2009):  Scott Teems directed this film which is based on the short story I HATE TO SEE THAT EVENING SUN GO DOWN.  Hal Holbrook stars as Abner Meecham who flees the nursing home that his attorney son Paul, played by Walton Goggins, put him in.  He heads back to his farm he had always lived at only to find that a new tenant in Lonzo Choat, played by Ray McKinnon, which was rented out by his son.  Lonzo has no intentions of giving up the home which starts quite a battle especially when Abner sees him abusing his wife, played by Carrie Preston, and daughter, played by Mia Wasikowski.  Barry Corbin also co-stars as Abner's long-time neighbor friend and Dixie Carter, no not the owner of Impact Wrestling, co-stars as Abner's late wife in flashback scenes.  This is by no means any kind of inspirational or upbeat film.  It is dark to the core on the things Abner and Lonzo stooped to doing.  Holbrook is nothing short of amazing in this film and rivals McKinnon very well.  It also kind of leaves the viewer to consider who was in the right and in the wrong.

Edge of the City (1957):  Martin Ritt directed this film based on a story by Robert Alan Aurthur dealing with racial tensions and labor conditions.  John Cassavetes stars as Axel Nordmann who is an army deserter staying in New York City and gets a job as a longshoreman as an assumed name.  Sidney Poitier co-stars as Tommy Tyler who is an experienced worker forming a friendship with Axel which was rather groundbreaking in film to have an interracial relationship.  Jack Warden co-stars as Charles Malik who is more the boss and has clear hatred towards Tommy for his race and that he is just as high up in the job.  His treatment to his employees makes it very difficult for everyone.  Ruby Dee co-stars as Tommy's wife Lucy.  This is another very intense film while taking a good look at black and white in this era but was more about a troubled workplace.

The Visitor (2007):  Tom McCarthy wrote and directed this independent film.  Richard Jenkins stars as widowed Connecticut professor Walter.  He only teaches one class, is working on a book and even trying to learn piano.  He is assigned to attend a conference in New York City where he has an apartment and when going there he finds a young couple residing in the apartment.  They are both immigrants in Tarek, played by Haaz Sleiman, and Zainab, played by Danai Gurira, and decides to allow them stay since he is usually not there anyways.  He forms a friendship with Tarek who teaches Walter the African drum.  As they are becoming good friends, Tarek gets arrested at the Subway is taken to a detention center for illegal immigrants.  As Walter does what he can to get Tarek out, he meets his mother Mouna, played by Hiam Abbass, and forms a relationship with her in the process.  Richard Kind and Marian Seldes co-star in the film.  This is more of a character driven film than anything.  This one is more upbeat than some of my other selections while there was a very bad situation.  Jenkins does a very good job in his subtle performance as the professor.  It is a very good movie about a man getting a new lease on life and the difficulty of the immigration system.

The Miracle Worker (1979):  This is my tv movie for the week and paying tribute to Patty Duke who recently left us.  Paul Aaron directed this tv movie based on the play by William Gibson.  As most know, this is the story of Helen Keller, played by Melissa Gilbert, who was deaf, blind, and mute and went on to become a well known author and activist.  This takes place as her as a child and her family has a really hard time teaching her anything so they seek help at the Perkins Institute which send the young and half-blind Annie Sullivan, played by Duke, to their home to get through to Helen.  She takes a no nonsense approach to get through to Helen which did not always meet the satisfaction of the family.  Diana Muldaur, Charles Siebert, Anne Seymour, Stanley Wells, and many others co-star in this movie.  Patty Duke actually played Keller in the the 1962 version and in this movie won an Emmy award for playing Sullivan.  Duke and Gilbert did a good job together and is a well-done tv movie while the 1962 version was also very good.

Southpaw (2015):  I end the week with this boxing film which was directed by Antoine Fuqua.  Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope who has about everything going for him with a successful boxing career, a wife, played by Rachel Mcadams, and a daughter, played by Oona Laurence.  Tragedy strikes where Billy loses just about everything and must do what he can to get his life back on track and earn redemption.  Forrest Whitaker co-stars as Tick who runs a local gym and helps Billy to train for his return to boxing and tries to help get his life in order.  50 Cent, Skylan Brooks, Naomie Harris, Victor Ortiz, Beau Knapp, Miguel Gomez, Dominic Colon, and many others co-star in this film.  It is easy to see shades of ROCKY III in this film as in each protagonist experience tragedy leading to a loss and taking an unlikely person to help them retrain.  A difference that I found was that Rocky didn't really go off the deep end the way Billy did.  I really did like Gyllenhaal in this movie and does a great job as a boxer making the scenes look pretty real.  These last two selections I made were more inspirational than my other selections.

Well, that is it for this week though I did bring back my "Fun and Useless Facts" segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Sandra Bullock, Woody Allen, Parker Posey, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

Keep in mind that I did not do any inter-connections like in PIRATE RADIO where much of the cast has worked together before.  I put some photos into this one but could not get them to go side by side to save my life so please forgive the organization.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw) plays Hal in the 2005 film PROOF.  My Facebook friend Ryan played the part in a version at the Muncie Civic Studio Theater.

Richard Curtis (Pirate Radio director) directed Rachel McAdams (Southpaw) in the 2013 movie ABOUT TIME.

Bing Crosby (Pennies from Heaven) plays Mark Twain in the 1970 tv movie SWING OUT, SWEET LAND.  Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) plays Twain in the one man show MARK TWAIN TONIGHT in which I had the pleasure to see at Emens Auditorium in Muncie.  Jack Warden (Edge of the City) plays Twain in the 1984 tv movie HELEN KELLER:  THE MIRACLE CONTINUES.  I could not find a photo of Warden as Twain.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Pirate Radio) played Austin in the play TRUE WEST on Broadway in 2000.  My Facebook friend Sean just finished playing the part at the Heorot bar in Muncie where my mom co-starred in a well-done production.

Walton Goggins (That Evening Sun) was in the FX series THE SHIELD as part of the Strike Team.  Forrest Whitaker (Southpaw) was on the show as an Internal Affairs officer trying to bring down the corrupt group but stoops to their own methods.

Tom Wisdom (Pirate Radio) played Paris in the 2013 movie ROMEO AND JULIET.  In the same year, I played that character in a production in Farmland.

Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) and Jack Warden (Edge of the City) were in the 1976 film ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.

Gemma Arterton (Pirate Radio) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw) were in the 2010 movie PRINCE OF PERSIA.

Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) and Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker) were in the 1984 mini series GEORGE WASHINGTON where Holbrook plays John Adams and Duke plays Martha Washington.

Emma Thompson (Pirate Radio) and Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) were in the 1998 movie JUDAS KISS.

Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) and Forest Whitaker (Southpaw) were in the 1985 mini-series NORTH AND SOUTH.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Pirate Radio) and Carrie Preston (That Evening Sun) were in the 2008 film DOUBT.

Jack Warden (Edge of the City) plays Juror # 7 in the 1957 film 12 ANGRY MEN.  My Uncle Cal recently made his theatrical debut as that part in his town of Sarasota, Florida.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Pirate Radio) and Rachel McAdams (Southpaw) were in the 2014 film A MOST WANTED MAN.

Jack Warden (Edge of the City) and Charles Siebert (The Miracle Worker) were in the 1979 movie ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Kenneth Branagh (Pirate Radio) and Marian Seldes (The Visitor) were in the 1998 film CELEBRITY.

Sidney Poitier (Edge of the City) and Marian Seldes (The Visitor) were in the 1965 movie THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.

Kenneth Branagh (Pirate Radio) plays Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 2005 tv movie WARM SPRINGS.  My Facebook friend Jim played FDR in a 2008 version of ANNIE at the Anderson Mainstage Theater where I played his cabinet member Cordell Hull.

Tom McCarthy (The Visitor director) directed Rachel McAdams (Southpaw) in the 2015 film SPOTLIGHT.

Bill Nighy (Pirate Radio) and Naomie Harris (Southpaw) were in the PIRATES OF THE CARRIBBEAN series.

Marian Seldes (The Visitor) and Dominic Colon (Southpaw) were in the 2007 film AUGUST RUSH.