Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 563rd Edition

Welcome to the 563rd Edition of my series.  This week is the start to some auditions for some shows so I'll keep everyone informed next week if anything comes from it.  Each selection has Amazon Affiliate links below it that I try to include DVD/Blu-ray, Stream rentals/purchases, and possibly novels they might be based upon.  Not much else happening this week so I will get on with my selections for the week.

Chris Rock:  Kill the Messenger (2008):  This is part one of a potential Chris Rock trilogy.  This is an HBO stand-up comedy special with the SNL alum.  Chris Rock walks the line with his comedy covering the presidential race, sex, low-paid jobs, ringtones, racism, and even the correct use of the n-word.  He is able to keep his audience entertained for 80 minutes.  This is one that if you like Chris Rock, you'll like this and if not, you probably should not watch it.  It does deliver a lot of laughs, has good comedic timing as long as you don't offend easy.

Elmer Gantry (1960):  Richard Brooks directed this film based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis.  Burt Lancaster stars as the title character who is a fast-talking, charismatic salesman/con man.  He becomes drawn into a traveling religious group lead by Sister Sharon Falconer, played by Jean Simmons, and being a preacher for the group.  Shirley Jones also co-stars as Lulu, an ex-girlfriend of Elmer's and turns prostitute.  She also tries to blackmail him threatening to publicize photos of them.  Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger, Patti Page, John McIntyre, Hugh Marlowe, and many others co-star in this film.  I am drawing a bit of a blank to try to put this into words.  Lancaster was possibly at his best playing the title role.  One interesting thing is that this movie came out in the same year the INHERIT THE WIND came out and both show the intensity of a fundamentalist community and the power they had in this era.  This was a very good watch and maybe a good double feature to go along with the other mentioned movie which I guess show the the hypocrisy of religion.

The Day of Rest (1939):  This is one of two short films for the week.  This is a comedy short from the Robert Benchley series.  Benchley reprises his role as Joe Doakes where he explains how Sundays are a day of rest.  It then shows him trying to get this rest but getting interrupted by people like his wife and kids, among other people.  It gives some laughs to something we can all relate to in the struggles of getting rest.

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999):  This is my tv movie for the week which shows the rise of Bill Gates, played by Anthony Michael Hall, and Steve Jobs, played by Noah Wyle.  It shows Gates and his partner Paul Allen, played by Josh Hopkins, in the early stages of what would become Microsoft and Windows.  Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak, played by Joey Slotnick, in the early stages of what would become Apple.  It also shows the icons when they meet and their rivalry as well as the stealing of each other's ideas hence the word "pirates".  John DiMaggio, J.G. Hertzler, Marcus Giamatti, Bodhi Elfman, Wayne Pere, and many others co-star in this film.  One of the things I like is that is it was shot some like a documentary.  I also like the humorous feel it has behind a very interesting rivalry.  I still believe Noah Wyle has done the best portrayal so far of Jobs and remember really liking him for the role when I first saw it.  Hall also shows how far he has come from his days in the Brat Pack and does a great job on Gates.  All you computer and technology nerds out there should really check this out as well as those who at least have some interest in Apple and Windows.

Last Train From Gun Hill (1959):  This is my western for the week which stars John Sturges.  Kirk Douglas stars as Marshall Matt Morgan whose wife is raped and murdered and the clue left behind is a saddle left behind which he recognizes belongs to his old friend Craig Belden, played by Anthony Quinn.  He sets off to the town of Gun Hill where Belden is a cattle baron and soon learns that it was his son Rick, played by Earl Holliman, that was one of people who killed his wife.  Craig does not like what his son did but refuses to hand him over to Matt prompting him to take on the town in his determination to take Rick to justice.  Carolyn Jones, Brad Dexter, and many others co-star in this western.  This was a very enjoyable western that was probably pretty daring for its time.  There is a lot more action than most westerns.  Another point of interest is that the wife is Indian so some racial tensions come into play.  It is a rather underrated selection in the western genre in my opinion and should get a little more exposure.

Carol (2015):  Todd Haynes directed this film based on novel THE PRICE OF SALT by Patricia Highsmith.  Rooney Mara stars as Therese who is an aspiring photographer and a department store worker in '50s New York.  While working, she meets Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, who is herself in a ratehr loveless marriage.  They soon form a rather deep connection to the point of a relationship breaking Carol from the marriage but her husband, played by Kyle Chandler, questioning her competence as a mother as their relationship comes to light.  Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, John Magaro, Cory Michael Smith, Kevin Crowley, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a good look on a female relationship from this era and how it was pretty much forbidden.  Mara and Blanchett were great together with Chandler complementing them as the bitter husband.  The book was actually written in the 50s so that was sure to bring controversy and another point of interest is that this is from the same author that wrote STRANGERS ON A TRAIN which would become my favorite Hitchcock film as well as the novel THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY.

The Red House (1947):  I came across this when I checked out a big boxed set of '40s films from the library.  Delmer Daves directed this rather atmospheric film.  Edward G. Robinson stars as Pete who along with his sister Ellen, played by Judith Anderson, have raised Meg, played by Allene Roberts, as their own since she was a baby and her parents left.  Meg is now older and insists her friend Nath, played by Lon McCallister help with chores.  When Nath starts taking a shortcut, it agitates Pete who has been holding back secrets of a red house which brings out a darker side of the character.  This is another one that is hard to put into words but is a rather disturbing and unknown film.  The dvd transfer is actually not very good but it kind of works toward the atmospheric feel of the movie.  It is worth a look for fans of this era.

Rocky III (1982):  Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed and reprises his role as Rocky Balboa in this sequel.  He is now the champion with a few successful title defenses until his most dangerous challenger in the ruthless Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T, comes about and against the wishes of his manager Mick, reprised by Burgess Meredith, he accepts the challenge and loses.  He also loses his longtime manager in Mick and has lost most hope until his former rival Apollo Creed, reprised by Carl Weathers, offers his services to Rocky to train for a rematch and train him on other things he feels Mick overlooked.  Talia Shire and Burt Young reprise their roles as sister and brother Adrian and Paulie.  Also, Hulk Hogan before the big rise of Hulkamania makes a cameo as a wrestler named Thunderlips who takes on Rocky in a charity wrestler vs. boxer match.  One thing I noticed is that he does a lot more wrestling in this movie than I have seen in most of his WWF and WCW matches.  This is a very enjoyable entry to the series in my opinion.  I liked seeing Rocky and Apollo aligned with each other this time after the first couple films.  As Mr. T would say I pity the fool who won't watch the Rocky series.  Also, I really believe Mr. T and Carl Weathers should get parts in the next EXPENDABLES film if they have one.

Valley of the Dragons (1961):  This is my sci-fi guilty pleasure of the week.  Cesare Danova and and Sean McClory star as a couple of guys in late 1800s Algeria who are about to duel with each others but soon until some sort of wind that transforms them into a new world inhibited by cavemen and dinosaurs.  They find they must put their differences aside to figure out what is going on and how to get back to where they were.  The title is a bit misleading in my opinion as there really weren't any dragons, just dinosaurs and lizards.  This movie uses stock footage of ONE MILLION B.C. and RODAN.  Nothing great but enjoyable if not taken seriously and if you can forgive the misleading title.

Prinz Ratte (2011):  I end the week with this animated short film brought from Albert Radl.  This is a German animated short that centers around a rat who takes a liking to the princess in this fairy tale world.  This has no dialogue so it is conveyed through actions which I find are pretty easy to follow.  There is really some emotional depth where we really can get behind this rat who wants a human girl.  This is available through an Amazon Prime subscription and is a very enjoyable few minutes.



Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far include Paul Rudd, Rosario Dawson, Sally Field, Cary Grant, Doris Day and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 562nd Edition

Welcome to the 562nd Edition of my series.  Not too much else going on right now, planning my way back into theater which something will likely happen soon and will let know as it comes.  Also just waiting for the real season of football and close to joining a fantasy football league.  I am also trying this Draft Kings this NFL season and I'll see how I fare there.  My cousin suggest using Amazon Affiliates so I'm giving it a go, you'll see links to get these featured movies right below the description.  For now that is all so onto my selections.

Troubadours (2011):  I start the week out with this music documentary and one of my two documentaries for the week.  This takes a look at the folk music and songwriter movement mainly of the 60s and 70s and musicians like James Taylor, Carole King, Elton John, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, even Steve Martin, and many others.  It also centers around the nightclub the Troubadour in Hollywood which helped get many of the now big artists their exposure and has many people from the entertainment industry reflecting on their times at the club.  It mostly focuses on Taylor and King but still has a lot of other insightful information.  Unfortunately, the documentary does not seem to have gotten much exposure but is obtainable on dvd like where I checked it out at my local library.

The Lady (2011):  Luc Besson directed this film that is based on a true story.  Michelle Yeoh stars as Aung San Suu Kyi who is from Burma but lives in England with her husband Michael Aris, played by David Thewlis.  In the late '80s, the health of Aung's mother is deteriorating so she is forced back to Burma.  When there, witnesses a lot of oppression in her country and looks to promote political reform by running for office.  When there, she must make a lot of sacrifices for her cause.  Much of the focus of the film is the strong marriage of Aug and Michael who are kept apart a lot but never lose their love for each other.  I have seen Yeoh many times in action and martial arts films and did a good job in this new direction she took.  Even with Luc Besson, who directed one of my favorites in LEON:  THE PROFESSIONAL, I have usually seen action and sometimes sci-fi films and he took a different direction as well.  I thought this was a very well done film and can be inspiring in this film on someone who stands up for what she believes in and never gives up.  This is another one that did not get a lot of exposure, at least here in the United States and is worth a look.

Born to Controversy:  The Roddy Piper Story (2006):  Here is my second documentary for the week which is a WWE documentary on the legendary "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.  This goes into his childhood a bit and how he was forced to grow up pretty fast and then mostly talks about his wrestling career and some on his acting career, most notably his sci-fi film THEY LIVE which was directed by John Carpenter who is interviewed in this documentary.  Mostly talks about how he is one of the best on the microphone and much of his "Piper's Pit" segments like the most famous one with Jimmy Snuka which I understand was all ad-libbed including him hitting Snuka with a coconut.  It also goes into his famous feuds with people like Hulk Hogan.  Many of his peers like Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair, Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler, and many others reflect on their times with Hot Rod.  This is mostly going to be enjoyed by someone who is a wrestling fan.  This is one that is available on WWE network and how they like to remind us all the time, only $9.99 a month which is the greatest idea of all time in my opinion.  The DVD consists of a lot of classic matches with Hogan, Flair, Bret Hart, and many others.

So You Won't Squak (1941):  This is my comedy short for the week which stars Buster Keaton.  Keaton stars as Eddie who is a handyman at a speakeasy and mistaken as another mobster.  When this happens, he is caught in rather comedic situations where mobsters unsuccessfully try to kill him even though he does not even seem to know his life is on the line.  Mostly of worth to see later shorts of Buster in the talkie era.  He made a lot of shorts early in his career but then went onto make some classic silent feature comedies.  This was a series of shorts from Columbia Pictures which are mostly of worth to see Keaton but unfortunately not his best work by any means.  I know he struggled some with alcohol problems in the 40s and this might have been what he had to do for work.  This is on a dvd called "The Buster Keaton Collection" which has nine other shorts, many say this is the best of them.

20, 000 Years in Sing Sing (1932):  This is my prison film for the week which was directed by Michael Curtiz.  Spencer Tracy stars as British hoodlum Tommy Connors who is sentenced to Sing Sing prison.  He is a very cocky prisoner but the warden, played by Arthur Byron, slowly gets through and changes him.  This focuses a lot between this relationship between Tommy and the in-corrupt warden and it is sad I have to use that adjective to describe the warden seeing as many movies seem to make the warden corrupt.  Bette Davis co-stars as Tommy's love interest Fay who becomes a very significant part of the film in the climax.  This is pretty good and early Tracy and Davis and as far as I know is their only time working together though I could be wrong.  This is a pretty decent prison film with quite a climax.

Star Wars:  Episode IV - A New Hope (1977):  I decided to pay tribute to Kenny Baker who recently left us and is known for being the durable droid R2-D2.  This is the first part of what would become a pop culture phenomenon. George Lucas wrote and directed this Sci-fi tale where we meet many of our friends like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, C-3P0, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and many others. Mark Hamill plays Luke who is a farmhand but really wants to join the Jedi and become a fighter. He finally gets his chance when he joins the elderly Obi-Wan, played by Alec Guinness, and teams up with outlaw Han Solo, a star-making performance from Harrison Ford, and Chewbacca, played by Peter Mayhew, as well as the droids C-3PO, played by Anthony Daniels, and R2-D2, played by Baker.  This diverse grou of people must go and rescue Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, who is captured by Darth Vader, who is the leader at the Death Star.  I think just about anyone who has wanted to see this film has by now.  Last year started a whole new resurgence in Star Wars with Episode 7 and many other upcoming films like some that will be based on characters.  In researching this film, I also learned that Baker and Daniels apparently did not get along very well even though they worked together all the time as the main droids.

Testament of Youth (2014):  This is part two of a two-part Alicia Vikander series.  James Kent directed this biographical film based on the autobiography of Vera Brittain, played by Vikander.  This takes place during the backdrop of WWI where Vera is a very independent woman who through much trouble is finally able to study at Oxford and would go onto become a famous writer at least after this story of her life takes place.  Soon, WWI gets them where her brother Edward, played by Taron Egerton, and her fiance Roland, played by Kit Harrington are sent to the front lines of the war while she decides to become a war nurse.  Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Joanna Scanlan, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Farrell, Hayley Atwell, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty good look fro the perspective of Vera and how it affected her life and all the lives around her.  Vikander is great in her role as well as the other performances.  I see I have focused on two significant female activists this week in Brittain and Aung San Suu Kyi from THE LADY so maybe a good double feature.

Love in the Afternoon (1957):  I guess is my romantic comedy for that week if that is what this is called.  Billy Wilder directed this film which sees the teaming of Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn.  Gary Cooper stars as American playboy Frank Flannagan who is staying in Paris.  Hepburn co-stars as Ariane whose father Claude, played by Maurice Chevalier, is a private detective being hired to investigate if a client's wife is having an affair with Frank.  She overhears the client threatening violence and goes to warn Frank who immediately takes an interest in her.  This is a later performance from Cooper who was criticized for playing a 50 something womanizer saying he was miscast but i thought he brought a lot to the role and had a really good dynamic with with the much different and younger Hepburn.  Chevalier was also good as the detective father.  Like the teaming of Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis, I'm pretty sure this is the only one of Hepburn and Cooper but I'm not going to look up so that something can correct me if I'm wrong.

Mothra (1961):  This is my Japanese monster film for the week which was shown in theaters through Rifftrax but was not able to make that so I made a rental through Amazon Prime.  Ishiro Honda directed this film that introduced us to the giant moth.  In this film, some shipwreck survivors are on Beiru Island.  They find many strange things like Asian twins that are only about a foot tall so unscrupulous people on the journey abduct them to exploit them for money in a Vaudeville act.  What they do not know is that the beautiful singing brings out Mothra who hears their cry.  Some of the more honest people try to help the girls get back to Mothra so that she does do too much damage to the town.  Mothra would go onto battle other legendary monsters like Godzilla and King Ghidorah.  There is a showing of this in select theaters on Tuesday brought to us by Rifftrax.  This is one of the better movies they riff but still rather bizarre.

Wuthering Heights (1992):  I end the week with this version of the classic novel by Emily Bronte.  Peter Kosminski directed this version of the film which stars Ralph Fiennes as the iconic character Heathcliff who as a child is adopted into the Earnshaw family whose daughter Catherine, played by Juliette Binoche, falls in love with him even though they are foster siblings.  Their love is forbidden for many reasons and Catherine goes onto marry the more high class Edgar Linton, played by Simon Shepherd, which makes Heathcliff obsessed with vengeance that goes into the next generation.  Janet McTeer, Sophie Ward, Jeremy Northam, Jason Riddington, Simon Ward, and many others co-star in this film.  I have never read the book and have only seen the 1939 adaptation which was quite different if I'm not mistaken but has been awhile.  I have heard from many this is the most faithful adaptation and the first to use the two generations that come from the book.  Binoche plays a dual role as Catherine Earnshaw and in the next generation part as Cathy Linton and does well in her dual role.  Decent period drama if into this genre.



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

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 561st Edition

Welcome to the 561st Edition of my series.  There is not too much going on right now.  In a couple of weeks, there will be some auditions for plays coming up and will keep updated whenever I get a part in a show.  Right now, all we have is preseason football and I never keep up with that.  So for now, I'll just get on with some selections.

Girl in Progress (2012):  Patricia Riggen directed this film which was written by Hiram Martinez.  Eva Mendes stars as Grace who is struggling as a single mom.  She works at a restaurant and is having an affair with a married doctor, played by Matthew Modine.  Cierra Ramirez co-stars as Grace's high school daughter Ansiedad who is assigned in her class to write a coming of age story inspiring her to take it to a whole new level partly because the the irresponsibility of her mother.  Patricia Arquette co-stars as Ms. Armstrong who makes the assignment for her class.  Eugenio Derbez, Raini Rodriguez, Russell Peters, Landon Liboiron, Brenna O'Brien, and many others co-star in this film.  I don't really know how to describe this film.  It seems like a comedy in maybe the first half, maybe even first three quarters of the film.  It kind of reminded me of MEAN GIRLS in a way where Ansiedad is basically trying to accomplish popularity and resorts to rather underhanded things like degrading her best friend.  It turns into a pretty emotional film  during the last part.  It does do a good job though of conveying the stupidity of being "popular" and has the message that being an adult is not everything like what Ansiedad is trying to accomplish.  Ramirez shines very well in my opinion as Ansiedad with Mendes complementing her as the mother who had her at a young age.  I also liked the twist of having a coming of age assignment in a coming of age film.

Mr. B. Natural (1957):  This is my short film for the week that comes from the MST3K episode which features the movie THE WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST.  This short was watched before it and really delivers a lot of laughs.  A young boy was bored in his room and then encounters a woman named Mr. B. Natural so I guess a woman playing a man, kind of like Peter Pan I guess.  Mr. B. Natural then suggests music to the boy and he listens.  Betty Luster plays the title role but never seems to have done much else in her career.  The short was very weird to say the least and the boy did not seem to mind that he/she was stalking him in his room and at school.  It might be best to watch with the MST3K episode.

High Sierra (1941):  Raoul Walsh directed this film and co-wrote with John Huston on the screenplay which was based on a novel by W.R. Burnett.  Humphrey Bogart stars as Roy Earle who is a criminal and being released from jail through the help of an old associate.  He is trying to go straight but is pretty much blackmailed into a robbery with some inexperienced criminals.  When the robbery goes wrong, he must go on the run.  Joan Leslie co-stars as Velma who is the ideal person that Roy would like in a relationship but fits more with Marie, played by Ida Lupino. which is another very interesting dynamic of the story.  Some of my favorite scenes were between Bogart and Leslie.  Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Hull, Henry Travers, Barton MacLane, Cornel Wilde, and many others co-star in this film.  This is really the first starring role for Bogart who had played supporting gangsters for many years and now got to the be the star of the film where he would soon become the romantic leading man.  This was a great start to that part of his career.

Always for Pleasure (1978):  This is my documentary for the week.  Les Blank directed this documentary on social traditions in the town of New Orleans.  There is footage of a funeral, music, food they eat, an Indian ceremony and many other things.  I have never been to New Orleans but was some really good footage of a town that partied every day, at least in this era.  The only thing that really bothered me was that they did not speak of the Michaelson family.

The Drop (2014):  Michael Roskam directed this film based on a short story called ANIMAL RESCUE by Dennis Lahane.  Tom Hardy stars as Bob Saginowski who is a bartender in Brooklyn working for his cousin Marv, played by James Gandolfini.  He finds himself in the middle of an armed robbery gone awry and does not know who to trust.  Noomi Rapace co-stars as Nadia, who is another local and becomes friends with Bob and helps him with a dog that he finds in the trash.  Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Michael Aronov, Morgan Spector, Michael Esper, and many others co-star in this film.  This is Gandofini's last film and died a month after shooting.    This is a very detailed crime film that is rather complicated to describe and a lot of attention must be paid to watch.  Hardy was good as the rather everyday person getting caught up in things.  It is a compelling film with good performances.

The Lucky Ones (2008):  This is part three of my Rachel McAdams trilogy.  Neil Burger directed and co-wrote this film in the road movie genre that I admit I'm quite a sucker for.  McAdams, and Michael Pena play soldiers on leave and Tim Robbins is a soldier retiring trying to get home to his wife.  They meet at the airport and unexpectedly take a road trip, mainly for Robbins to get home but they all have some sort of issue they are trying to deal with while out of the military.  Molly Hagan, Mark L. Young, Arden Myrin, Coburn Goss, John Heard, Jennifer Joan Taylor, Katherine LaNasa, Susan Yeagley, Emily Swallow, John Diehl, Annie Corley, and many others co-star in this film.  The three actors were great together and it gives a lot of depth to the personalities of each characters where we can get behind all three in their situations.  In my McAdams trilogy, I used MEAN GIRLS and last week I had SPOTLIGHT, and end with this and I feel I featured three absolutely different films from her and really good in this one.  I suppose this could be considered a modern day THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, especially with the character Robbins plays.  Parts in the end left me with some questions but can let that go for the enjoyment of the film though, if you have seen this, I would like to have a discussion but will not spoil on here.

Downstairs (1932):  John Gilbert stars in this romance, albeit rather dark romance film.  He plays Karl who is the new chauffeur to the wealthy couple Albert and Anna, played by Paul Lukas and Virginia Bruce.  What they do not know is that Karl is quite a player and looks to seduce Anna and take advantage of the other servants in the home.  Hedda Hopper, Reginald Owen, Olga Baclanova, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a story that John Gilbert had written in 1928 but decided to finally get it made in the talkie area where I had heard he struggled a lot like many to make the silent to talkie transition but this helped him a lot.  This is also a pre-code film where they did some pretty daring things for the era.  Gilbert keeps this one going very well as the amoral chauffeur which has gotten some exposure on TCM which is where I recorded the film from. 

Moonrise Kingdom (2012):  This is part one of a potential Frances McDormand series.  Wes Anderson directed this comedy which was co-wrote by Roman Coppola.  There is quite an all-star cast in this film but the stars are a couple relatively unknown kids in Jared Gilman and Kara Heyward who play the young lovers of Sam and Suzy and run away to be together prompting various factions of the town to search for them.  McDormand, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bob Balaban, Jason Scwartzman, Lucas Hedges, Charlie Kilgore, Chandler Frantz, L.J. Foley, Gabriel Rush, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Tommy Nelson, Larry Pine, Eric Chase Anderson, Jake Ryan, Tanner Flood, Wyatt Ralff, Harvey Keitel, and many others co-star in this film.  This is shot in that usual quirky Wes Anderson style.  I have seen a few of his films and this may very well be my favorite with the really well-written characters in Sam and Suzy and perfectly cast with their actors.  The rest of the cast are a lot of Wes Anderson alums which contribute well in their supporting roles.  I really enjoyed Norton's more comedic than usual performance.  There are some laughs with a touch of dark comedy in it.  This is available on Instant Netflix. 

The Enforcer (1976):  This is the third of the five films in the Dirty Harry series.  Clint Eastwood reprises his role as Harry Callahan and must take on a group of disgruntled Vietnam veterans called the People's Revolutionary Strike Force who declare war on the town of San Francisco.  Callahan is dismayed when being assigned rookie homicide detective Kate Moore, played by CAGNEY AND LACEY alum Tyne Daly, but they must learn to work together to survive.  Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, John Crawford, and many others co-star in this film.  I really believe all the entries in this series are at least decent.  I did not find this one to disappoint.  The beginning where Callahan foils a robbery was awesome in my opinion.  Eastwood and Daly have a rather interesting dynamic as the veteran and rookie being forced together as partners.

A Royal Affair (2012):  I end the week with this Danish film.  This is based on a true story of 1700s royalty.  Alicia Vikander stars as Princess Caroline who is betrothed to King Christian VII, played by Mikkel Boe Folsgaard, of Denmark.  Christian is a very oppressive king and soon gains a companion in German doctor Johann Struensee, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who is more idealistic and wins the love of Caroline starting what the title implies.  Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik, Thomas Gabrielsson, Cyron Melville all co-star in this film.  I enjoyed this one more than a lot of royalty films I have seen.  Vikander is Swedish and had to learn the Danish language for the film.  I liked seeing Mikkelsen more light-hearted than usual.  This is one of the more compelling royalty films I have seen with really good performances from the three leads.

Well, that is all for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Steve Martin, Michelle Yeoh, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 560th Edition

Welcome to the 560th Edition of my series.  As Facebook friends might already know, I have joined in on the POKEMON GO craze.  I have enjoyed it, my main motivation is that I am going out walking and getting some exercise.  I am as of now on level 7 but I won't go any further for now.  Let me get on with my selections for the week.

Spotlight (2015):  This is part two of my Rachel McAdams trilogy which is quite a jump from her feature last week of MEAN GIRLS.  Tom McCarthy directed and co-wrote this biographical film.  This is based around the Boston Globe and their "spotlight" team which looks to uncover a scandal of child molestation and cover-up in the Catholic world.  Mark Ruffalo co-stars as Mike who is the one that keeps the team going to uncover some very difficult truth and is the standout in my opinion among the all-star cast.  McAdams, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian D'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Jamey Sheridan, Billy Crudup, Len Cariou, and many others co-star in this film.  There is not a lot more to say on this movie except that it is a really good look at the efforts, struggle, and dedication of a paper trying to uncover a very serious scandal.  They worked closely with the Boston Globe and the reporters actually portrayed to make it as authentic as possible to the point that Ruffalo and Keaton were with the people they portrayed a lot.   I believe this is a very important watch and is available on Instant Netflix.

George Stevens:  A Filmmaker's Journey (1984):  This is one of my two documentaries for the week, maybe two and a half, just keep going to see what I am referring to.  This is a documentary on the legendary director George Stevens when was directed and produced by his own son George Stevens Jr.  Stevens brought us such films as GIANT, SHANE, A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, and many others.  A PLACE IN THE SUN has went on to become one of my favorites from the era and GIANT is my favorite of the limited James Dean films.  This goes into some of his childhood, his rise in the film industry, and his time in WWII.  There are a lot of interviews with his peers to give insight of the man that include Katherine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Joel McCrea, Warren Beatty, John Huston, Joseph Mankiewicz, and many others.  This was made just a little over a decade after the death of Stevens.  George Stevens Jr. has had a pretty successful career in his own right in the way of producing and did a very good job on this rather unknown documentary.

Toy Story (1995):  This is my animated film for the week from Disney Pixar.  John Lasseter directed and co-wrote this film about the world of toys which come to life until an actual human being comes around.  Tom Hanks stars as a cowboy doll named Woody who is kind of the leader among the toys in Andy's, voiced by John Morris, room and his favorite.  He becomes jealous when on Andy's birthday, he gets a Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, action figure.  His jealousy leads him to pushing Buzz out the window then both of them getting lost and must set out to get back to Andy before the family moves.  To get back their, they must get through the much meaner kid in Sid, voiced by Erik von Detten, to get back to Andy.  Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, and many others lend their voices to this film.  This was the start to a great franchise that has a feature trilogy, among many short films, as well as a part four coming out soon.  I also learned that Joss Whedon was among the writers and apparently came up with the character of Rex the Dinosaur, voiced by Shawn.  It also has a really good soundtrack from Randy Newman who has toned it down a lot from his days of SHORT PEOPLE and REDNECKS.

When You Grow Up (1973):  This is my short film for the week.  This is a short which was meant to prepare kids for the outside world of work and the skill set for the various jobs out there that are needed.  In some kinds, this might have struck some fear like in the deadpan narration.  Still an interesting watch that is more propaganda than anything.

Birthright (1939):  TCM was doing a tribute to the black cinema from this era and decided to use this one.  Oscar Micheaux directed this film which stars Carman Newsome as Peter Siner who is a black man and has graduated Harvard.  He returns to his hometown in hopes of starting a school to help others but is met with opposition from both races.  This is a bit dated but still a good watch, especially for historic purposes and to see blacks portrayed as more than servants.  Micheaux is regarded as the first black filmmaker.  This is a remake to a 1924 silent film which is now fully lost from my understanding.  This is part of a boxed set from Kino video called "Pioneers of African-American Cinema" which has both feature and short films that were made in this early era of film.

War of the Colossal Beast (1958):  I actually used an episode of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 to watch this movie.  I guess this is a sequel to COLOSSAL MAN and no I have not seen that one.  The title character is Glenn Manning who is thought to be dead but recent events lead people to doubt that and soon he is wreaking havoc all over town.  I guess I gave a spoiler on this.  The fact that MST3K featured this movie should tell you quite a bit.  Mostly of worth to watch the episode or gather a group of friends to do your own riffing.

The American Dream:  The Dusty Rhodes Story (2006):  This is my WWE documentary for the week that features that legendary Dusty Rhodes, one of the most unique personalities of all time.  This documentary goes into some of his childhood in Texas, his brief football career, his rise into wrestling, his family life, among other things.  This was made a few years before his tragic death in 2015 and has interviews with Arn Anderson, his son Dustin Rhodes aka Golddust, John Cena, Ted Dibiase, Ric Flair, Mike Graham, Bobby Heenan, William Regal, Michael Hayes, and many others.  This is probably only going to be enjoyed by people in wrestling for the most part.  I enjoyed learning more about Rhodes and the reflections of his WWF stint in the '90s where he wore the polka dots and others feeling that just not the Dusty Rhodes they grew up with but that was my first exposure as a kid to Rhodes was the man in polka dots and his manager Sapphire.  This is a very enjoyable documentary for wrestling fans and one the younger fans should check out for a man who inspired many in the world of wrestling.  This is available on WWE network.

Black Narcissus (1947):  Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger co-directed this film based on the novel by Rumer Godden.  Deborah Kerr stars as Sister Clodagh who is assigned as Sister Superior at the St. Faith Convent which is a remote location in the Himalayas mountains.  This is run by Mr. Dean, played by David Farrar, and Clodagh becomes drawn in by her but also attracts the attention of the mentally unstable Sister Ruth, played by Kathleen Byron, who becomes very jealous of Clodagh.  Sabu also co-stars as the heir to the through in a princely state and comes to the convent for his education and becomes attracted to the dancing girl Kanchi, played Jean Simmons.  Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a rather dark film taking place at a remote convent.  Much of the set in the Himalayas was created by the studio and did a very good job of making it look quite real.  It is a very intriguing story on lust and faith against the backdrop of a remote location and a very controversial film in its era.  It is not one to watch if you just want inspiration.  It does have good performances and scenery.

Abba:  The Movie (1977):  This is what I was referring to when I said "two and a half documentaries".  Long before the musical MOMMA MIA which uses their music, we had this I guess concert film.  This takes place during the Swedish pop group Abba's tour in 1977.  Much of the footage is from their concerts and even music videos some of the time.  Robert Hughes stars in a more fictional subplot as a disc jockey named Ashley who is struggling to get an interview with Abba in which he has promised to get his boss.  There is a little bit of backstage footage of Abba but mostly for them is their music footage.  This is mostly of interest to see the band Abba, not really my favorite but had some rather decent music in my opinion like DANCING QUEEN which was their biggest hit but had a lot of others.  The Disc Jockey story was rather entertaining as well in his struggle to get that interview but always missing them somehow each time.

Do the Right Thing (1989):  As I get to my last selection for the week, I realize I focused a lot on religion and race with this one being another on race.  Spike Lee wrote and directed this iconic film and even co-stars as Mookie who is the delivery boy for the local Brooklyn pizza joint Sal's.  Danny Aiello, in possibly his best performance, stars as the long-time owner of Sal's Pizza and runs it with his sons Pino, played by John Turturro, and Vito, played by Richard Edson.  The movie revolves around the pizza joint which is now a more black and Hispanic neighborhood where racial tensions hit a big high.  I do feel this shows how the racial tensions work both ways and kind of resembles what we see now which is very unfortunate.  The tensions lead to a rather violent climax.  Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, Frankie Faison, Miguel Sandoval, John Savage, Rosie Perez, Roger Guenvere Smith, Martin Lawrence, Frank Vincent, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others co-star in this film.  The soundtrack of rap group Public Enemy, mainly the song FIGHT THE POWER, also drive the film.  This is possibly Lee's best work where he really does not take sides with any race and shows that the racial struggle is from each side.  This has a lot of very memorable characters and still has some sense of humor at times.  I believe a good double feature could be to watch this and then watch AMERICAN HISTORY X.

Well, that is it for the week but continue to read for my new segment "The Judge's Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Eva Mendes, Humphrey Bogart, Rachel McAdams, and many others.

THE JUDGES CORNER

John Carpenter vs. Luc Besson:  Last year, John Carpenter won a plagiarism lawsuit against Luc Besson saying that Besson's 2012 screenplay LOCKOUT plagiarized Carpenter's 1981 movie ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.  Just recently, in an appeals court, the judge ruled that Besson must pay even more than originally ruled.  This is not about how good the movies are or which one is better.  When looking into this, it made me wonder if it was necessary.  I mean, an original idea is very difficult to have in the world of film.  One thing I thought about was romantic comedies and how they have a rather standard formula.  Also, I thought of Kevin Costner's DANCES WITH WOLVES and if he could successfully sue Edward Zwick for his movie THE LAST SAMURAI or James Cameron for his movie AVATAR.  All of these have the similar premise of the bitter American soldier joining the other side.  Almost everyone has an inspiration of some sort so where do we draw the line when it comes to plagiarism? I had seen ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK but had not heard of LOCKOUT until I heard about this case.  Both of these people have some of my favorites like Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and Besson's LEON:  THE PROFESSIONAL.  I decided to rewatch ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and then follow it with LOCKOUT so that I could decided for myself my thoughts on this lawsuit.  In ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, convict Snake Plissken is serving a life sentence for robbery and is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped president being promised a full pardon if he is successful.  ESCAPE was another futuristic film where ex-CIA operative Snow is a convict for a crime he did not commit and is enlisted to rescue the president's idealistic daughter from a space prison where she is being held hostage.  Okay, so they had a rather similar premise, convicts being sent on a rescue mission for the possibility of a full pardon if successful.  Also, their antihero antagonists both liked to smoke cigarettes.  Other than those things, I really didn't seen any reason LOCKOUT should have been referred to as plagiarism.  I felt both movies went in a rather different direction.  Even Carpenter cites the book PLANET OF THE DAMNED by Harry Harrison as an inspiration and I guess it was okay that Carpenter's sequel ESCAPE FROM L.A. was mostly a rehash of the original.  I suppose another question that could come to mind is the possibility of them doing a publicity stunt so that someone like me is provoked to watch both movies and do a write-up like what I'm doing but I do not believe that is the case.  I feel this is no different than the Costner/Zwick/Cameron theory I was talking about where a similar premise was used and concerns me on how far a filmmaker can go if they feel copied from.  I would also like to thing that if I am a successful filmmaker, that I would not sue some of if they might have ripped off something I did.  If anyone has any insight, please leave comment. Please do not use your feelings toward the two movies to form your opinion.  Also, if anyone in the film industry has insight, please share.