Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 567th Edition

Welcome to the 567th Edition of my series.  Rehearsals have started for BAD SEED and I think it will be a real good show, especially for Halloween.  The show is at the Commons Theater in Alexandria, Indiana and performances are October 28, 29, and 30 so come show your support for this drama which in my opinion is the most underrated genre in theater.  Other than that, just experiencing the struggle of the NFL in reality and fantasy.  I will get on with my selections for the week.

Children on their Birthdays (2002):  I start the week out with this coming of age tale which is based on a short story by Truman Capote.  This takes place in the 40s in small town Alabama where a 13 year old girl named Lily Jane, played by Tania Raymonde, and her deaf mother, played by Phyllis French, move into the neighborhood making two thirteen year old friends Billy Bob and Preacher Star, played by Joe Pichler and Jesse Plemons, go nuts over her compromising their friendship.  Sheryl Lee, Christopher McDonald, Tom Arnold, and many others co-star in this movie.  This was a pretty well crafted story.  Tania Raymonde was very good as the rather mature 13 year old.  It also made some subtle hints of segregation and where Lily Jane addressed it some in a good way.  It is a good family movie that is worth a look.

25th Hour (2002):  Now I get a little more gritty.  Spike Lee directed this film based on the novel by David Benioff.  Edward Norton stars as Monty Brogan who is about to start a seven year sentence for drug dealing.  He spends his last day before prison with his friends Jacob and Frank, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper, and his girlfriend Naturelle, played by Rosario Dawson.  In this day before prison, he must reexamine his life and how he got into the predicament.  Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, NFL great Tony Siragusa, Patrice O'Neal, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a lot different for a Spike Lee movie.  David Benioff is known as one of the creators of the popular HBO series GAME OF THRONES.  It is a really good movie of trying to make things right before a life changing moment happens.  Norton is good as always as Monty and does a good job of going back and forth between the modern time and the times before the arrest happened.

Gone Girl (2014):  The first time I saw this movie was at Shera's house when we decided upon this one for a Movie Night at the Shera session.  I decided to give this a rewatch and still really enjoyed this tale of suspense.  David Fincher directed this film based on the novel by Gillian Flynn who also wrote the screenplay.  Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne whose wife Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, has disappeared.  When this happens, many dark secrets come out about their marriage making Nick a prime suspect.  Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Sela Ward, and many others co-star in this film.  Nothing in this film is what it seems and talking about it will just give things away.  I recall when Shera and me watched this, we tried to guess what might happens but were wrong.  I know some said this was unrealistic and maybe they were right but I don't really care.  This is the ultimate look at a bad marriage and also realized it seems to make a statement on how the media can make someone look the way they want them to look.

Lincoln in the White House (1939):  This is my historical short for the week.  Frank McGlynn Sr. stars as our 16th president Abraham Lincoln.  It goes into news receiving some bad news which leads to his famous Gettysburg Address.  It also goes into the relationship with his wife and son Tad.  Mostly gives us the history that was taught at school.  Pretty insightful and a good scene is where he is playing with Tad.

Smash-up:  The Story of a Woman (1947):  Susan Hayward stars in this film as rising nightclub singer Angie Evans who marries struggling singer-songwriter Ken Conway, played by Lee Bowman.  Angie takes a step back in her career while Ken gets on the rise with his career.  They also have a child but her life of luxury becomes her downfall while she falls into alcoholism.  Marsha Hunt, Eddie Albert, and many others co-star in this film.  Hayward is the highlight of this film and a breakthrough performance.  At the time, it was probably pretty shocking showing a female alcoholic.  Male alcoholism was portrayed a little bit but I know it was not nearly as shown as females in alcoholism.  This movie is loosely based on entertainer Dixie Lee.  Unfortunately they did not get to do everything they wanted with the Production Code but still a good look at alcoholism.

Jubilee (1978):  Derek Jarmon wrote and directed this surrealistic film that could take multiple viewings to even get.  It is a look at British punk rock culture where Elizabeth I comes into the modern era disappointed to find this to be a violent waistland.  This is some very bizarre imagery and some really interesting music numbers including Adam Ant, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Brian Eno, and others.  Richard O'Brien, Jenny Runacre, Nell Campbell, Toya Willcox, Adam Ant, Ian Charleson, and many others co-star in this film.  Mostly of interest to those into the punk rock scene from this era.  Shows Adam Ant before his hit song GOODY TWO SHOES and with his band Adam and the Ants.  Also of interest to those into the more surrealistic films.  It is available on DVD through the Criterion Collection.

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003):  I go into a little more conventional of a film.  Audrey Wells directed this film based on the memoir by Frances Mayes, played by Diane Lane.  Mayes is a writer who has recently divorce and while on an Italian vacation in Tuscany, she impulsively buys a villa hoping it helps to get her life in order.  She soon gets to know the eccentric neighbors while also falling in love.  Sandra Oh, Lindsey Duncan, Raoul Bova, Pawel Szajda, David Sutcliffe, Kate Walsh, Don McManus, Elden Henson, and many others co-star in this film.  Lane does a great job as the conflicted writer not really knowing what she wants but taking a chance.  It has some good scenery along with humor and romance but not a usual sort of love story I found.

Killer of Sheep (1978):  Charles Burnett wrote and directed this independent film which centers around a black family in an L.A. district.  Henry G. Saunders stars as Stan who is employed at a slaughterhouse and affects his home life.  The film is shot through a series of episodic events of things like friends trying to involve him in a criminal plot, a white woman propositioning him to work in her store, and along with a friend, tries to buy an engine.  It also goes into his family life depicting life in a lower-class family.  This clearly has influences of a lot of foreign film directors in the way it was shot.  Burnett gave this everything he had including producing it and being the cameraman.  It took a long time for this to get a lot of exposure until Steven Soderbergh gave a donation to get this from 16mm to 35 mm eventually getting released into a DVD set that featured Burnett with some of his other films.

It's a Big Country:  An American Anthology (1951):  I had never heard of this until I was looking at TCM On-Demand and came across it.  This is an episodic film that had eight directors attached which were Clarence Brown, Don Hartman, John Sturges, Richard Thorpe, Charles Vidor, Don Weis, and William A. Wellman.  This is covered in multiple episodes dealing with racial tolerance, religious tolerance, self-centeredness, and myopic reasoning.  This has quite the all-star cast with Ethel Barrymore, Gary Cooper, Nancy Reagan, Van Johnson, Gene Kelly, William Powell, Fredric March, Lewis Stone, Keenan Wynn, and many others.  It was a propaganda look at Americana from this era and had some good areas of interest like the prejudice that they deal with which was not black and white but more of nationality.  It was worth a look on this rather overlooked film which was on tcm.com but is gone now.

Poilus (2016):  I end the week with this graduation short film that appears to be from this year.  This is an animated short film which has no dialogue and shows rabbits at war.  In doing some research, I found that Poilus means a French soldier in WWI.  It has some really good animation and captures the horrors of war and makes good use of rabbits.  This is available on youtube and is worth about 5 minutes of your time.

Well, that is it for this week but I do have an early Madness segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Christina Ricci, Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, David Lynch, Lionel Barrymore, Pam Grier, Jerry Lewis, Gregory Peck, Anna Paquin, and many others.

THE MADNESS:  CIRCUS

Escape from Tomorrow (2013):  Next week officially starts my favorite annual contest of the Madness but our Hauntress Elizabeth offered early points for watching this movie so I thought I'd give it a go.  Randy Moore wrote and directed this horror film which was filmed at Disney World.  Roy Abramsohn stars as the recently unemployed father Jim whose wife and kids are all on vacation with him and his sanity comes into question with the encounter of a couple underage girls.  This sounded interesting to me but I could not get into it.  For me, there was not much to it, maybe I'll try it again for the Madness next year.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 566th Edition

Welcome to the 566th edition of my series.  Last week in football, I lost my first week of fantasy football and was not successful in my first week of Draft Kings.  However, my real team of the 49ers won and hope they can continue this success.  I am also glad to announce that next month in the last weekend of October, I am going to be in the play BAD SEED in my debut at the Commons Theater in Alexandria, Indiana so I'll talk more on that as it gets closer.  Now we are in the 2nd week of the NFL hoping for more than 1 out of 3 in my success.  I will shut up now and get to my selections.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015):  Marielle Heller directed this film based on the graphic novel by Phoebe Gloekner.  This takes place in 1970s San Francisco where Bel Powley stars as 15 year old cartoonist Minnie.  Minnie's bohemian mother Charlotte, played by Kristen Wiig, is too busy to go out with her boyfriend Monroe, played by TRUE BLOOD alum Alexander Skarsgaard, so she suggests that he take Minnie instead.  She goes to a bar with him which was probably a little more acceptable by today's standards and as they get to talking, she reveals he wants to sleep with him and then they enter into an affair.  Christopher Meloni, Abby Wait, Miranda Bailey, Carson D. Mell, and many others co-star in this film.  This movie has a really good non-judgmental tone and despite the illegal act that takes place is a really good telling of what is based on a true story.  It also has some really good animation sequences to go along with the film.

Kristopher Kolumbus Jr. (1939):  This is my short film for the week which comes from Merrie Melodies.  Porky Pig is Kris Kolumbus in this take toward Christopher Columbus where he looks to discover the world is round and accidentally discovers America.  As we get older and the years go on we realize these things about Columbus really are not true but at the time that's what was taught.  It is a much different Merrie Melodies short and rather politically incorrect with its Indian portrayal and even that at the time was not considered racist like today.  It is worth a look and one I had never heard of until I checked out the dvd of last week's selection THE OLD MAID.

The Wanderers (1979):  This is my teenage gang movie for the week which takes place in '60s New York.  Philip Kaufman directed this film based on the novel by Richard Price.  The Wanderers is an all-Italian street gang which has to deal with rival gangs and their high school years.  There is some comedy to this, teen angst and a pretty entertaining film.  Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Alan Rosenberg, Tony Ganios, William Andrews, Erland Van Lidth, and many others co-star in this film.  This does have a 50s Rock and Roll soundtrack that goes along well with the film.  I had never heard of this movie until I came across it at my local library.  It has a pretty unknown cast and the only one I had really heard of is Karen Allen.  This came out the same year as THE WARRIORS and each have their own statement.  They are very different from each other but might make a good double feature sometime.

Blood Simple (1984):  This is part two of a Coen Brothers and Frances McDormand series.  This is an early film for the brothers and McDormand and a modern day noir or Neo-Noir I believe they call it.  Maybe it would be easier to say crime thriller.  Dan Hedaya stars as small town Texas bar owner Julian whose wife Abby, played by McDormand, is having an affair with his employee Ray, played by John Getz.  Julian is well aware the affair is going on so decides to hire out a very sleazy private detective in Loren Visser, played by M. Emmet Walsh, to kill Abby and Ray but Loren has is own ideas to benefit himself.  The character of Loren Visser may very well be the most corrupt private detective in movie history and they wrote the part specifically for Walsh which might be his best performance.  It is a very clever and well-written film with some great characters and having a lot of suspense.  This is the directorial debut for the Coen Brothers and to get their funding, they went door to door to show a 2 minute preview of what they plan to make and raised a lot of money in this unusual method in a time when things like gofundme and kickstarter did not exist yet.  Those that helped fund did the right thing so check this out to the Coens get started.

Bright Road (1953):  Gerald Mayer directed this film based on a teacher in an her first year teaching an all-black school.  This is based on a story called THE LADIES HOME JOURNAL which ran in a 1951 edition of the magazine "The Ladies Home Journal.  Dorothy Dandridge stars as the idealistic Jane Richards who is teaching a 4th grade class in an all-black school.  Her main issue is with a young boy named C.T. Young, played by Philip Hepburn, who is rather rebellious is school but loyal to his family and has a love for nature so uses those things to get through to him.  Harry Belafonte co-stars as the principle in his film debut.  This is a rather overlooked gem of a film which is probably considered a b-movie but a pretty good one.  Gives a good outside the box approach on dealing with kids that could be used in today's world.

Star Wars:  The Force Awakens (2015):  I went to see this in a special showing last weekend outside in Downtown Muncie in an event called Moonlight Movies.  J.J. Abrams takes the helm as the director in this film.  I think just about anyone who has wanted to see this movie has by now.  This is referred to as episode VII so follows years after RETURN OF THE JEDI.  A new group called the First Order lead by Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, tries to rule the galaxy after the Galactic Empire was defeated.  A new group that consists of a scavenger named Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, a rogue stormtrooper named Finn, played by John Boyega, a resistance pilot named Poe, played by Oscar Isaac, and a new droid named BB-8 who are all out to find the missing Luke Skywalker, who was played by Mark Hamill but not giving away whether or not he is in the movie which I think you all know the answer.  They are joined by Han Solo, reprised by Harrison Ford, and Chewbacca, reprised by Peter Mayhew.  Carrie Fisher also reprises her role as Leia while Anthony Daniels reprises C-3PO.  Other actors who mostly have voice cameos but some are human include Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max Von Sydow, Greg Grunberg, Warwick Davis, Ken Leung, Michael Giacchino, Bill Hader, Daniel Craig, and many others.  This has a rather similar premise to the first one in STAR WARS:  EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE.  I still think this worked very well with these new characters and getting nostalgic with the original characters.  I really liked the idea of Finn who was a storm trooper but hated what he had to do and decides to defect from the First Order and Rey was also a great character and at least introduced me to Daisy Ridley and John Boyega who was Finn.  This was a really well put together event except sometimes the lighting made the darker scenes harder to see, otherwise it was nice to sit outside and check this out.  May the force be with you all.

Cross of Iron (1977):  This is my war film for the week which was directed by Sam Peckinpah based on the novel THE WILLING FLESH by Willi Heinrich.  This takes place in WWII Germany with a German platoon on a raid on a Russian forward outpost.  James Coburn stars as Sgt. Rolf Steiner who is promoted to sergeant but has problems with the newer upper class commander Captain Stransky, played by Maximilian Schell, whose only interest seems to be the Iron Cross, a huge honor but is doing it at the expense of others.  James Mason, David Warner, Klaus Lowitsch, and many others co-star in this war film.  This is Peckinpah's only war film and conveys the horrors of war very well.  Coburn and Schell had a great rivalry in this film with Coburn as the hardened and cynical soldier but still very loyal and Schell who was far more out for himself.  This is a well-done war film from the German point of view and for anyone who loves war films.

The Gabby Douglas Story (2014):  Yes, only I would go from the horrors of war to an inspiration true story on a gymnast.  Gabby Douglas plays herself while Sydney Mikayla and Imani Hakim play her in her younger days.  Regina King co-stars as Gabby's struggling mother Natalie who along with her older kids see a lot of potential in Gabby and all of them make a sacrifice of some sort to help Gabby to achiever her dream of one day getting to the Olympics.  Brian Tee, David Haydn-Jones, S. Epetha Merkerson, and many others co-star in this tv movie and please don't go running for the hills when I say Lifetime.  This is a very good story of perseverance and never giving up no matter what one might be told.  Yes, it is formulaic and a bit predictable but sometimes we need a feel good movie with everything going on in this world.

Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947):  Now I bring a detective story based on the comic strip character created by Chester Gould.  Ralph Byrd plays the detective who is investigating some theft and many murders leading to the ruthless killer known as "the claw", played by Jack Lambert.  Kay Christopher stars as Tess Trueheart who is Dick's love interest, Lyle Latell who stars as Tracy's bumbling assistant, while Ian Keith is fun as Tracy's thespian friend Vitamin Flintheart.  This is only about an hour long and a decent detective story watch on a rainy day.

The Meat Wagon (2011):  I end the week with this short film which features my own Facebook friend Kelsey Zukowski.  Lloyd Miller directed this short film where a deceased slob, played by Thom Oswald, is visited by a really hot angel and a really hot demon named Angelica and Demonica, played by Kristin Wilson and Zukowski, come down to compete over his soul to the point they get into it with each other at one point.  This is only about five minutes long but manages to tell a good and rather funny story.  This is available on Kesley's website at http://kelseyzukowski.com/ where other shorts and previews are available as well as her modeling and review writing she has done so get to know her at this website.

Well, that is it for this week, tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Christopher McDonald, Rosario Dawson, Ben Affleck, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 566th Edition

Welcome to the 565th Edition of my series.  I can finally say we are officially in the NFL season now.  I am hoping for some success in my real team of the 49ers, my own Fantasy football team and this Draft Kings that I am trying for the first time this year.  Nothing as of now to report on the theater front as of now except that the place doing OLIVER has cancelled that production due to a lack of turnout so I will not be able to portray Bill Sikes as I was hoping so onto other things.  For right now I will get on with my selections.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988):  This is part three of my Chris Rock trilogy where he has an early bit part.  Keenan Ivory Wayans wrote and directed this homage and spoof to the Blaxploitation films of the 70s.  Keenan also stars as Jack Spade who is just coming home from the army to learn that his brother June Bug has died.  When this happens, he decideds to go after local crimelord Mr. Big, played by John Vernon.  He assembles a team that consists of Blaxploitation alums Bernie Casey, Isaac Hayes, Jim Brown, Steve James, and Antonio Fargas.  Ja'net DuBois, Dawnn Lewis, Kadeem Hardison, Damon Wayans, Clarence Williams III, David Alan Grier, Kim Wayans, Tony Cox, and many others co-star in this comedy.  I suppose this could be an early version of THE EXPENDABLES in getting together a group of actors from the genre.  Apparently Blaxploitation legends Fred Williamson and Ron O'neal were offered parts but declined.  This was a very enjoyable parody that is not as known today.  Before watching this, if you do not know anything on the Blaxploitation genre, it might be good to look into some of those so that this is easier understood.  This is available on the website hoopla.com.

The Merchandise Mart (1956):  This is my short film for the week which is a documentary short.  It talks about this place that is in Chicago and likely one of the first of its kind that would now be referred to as a mall.  This place also had a police force and a postal service.  This is more like a tour of the facility.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975):  This is my tribute to Gene Wilder who recently left us.  I knew I wanted to feature something of his.  WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is one of my favorites and what he is most known by so wanted to feature something different.  He is also known for his work with Mel Brooks and his teamings with Richard Pryor.  I decided to look at one of his own projects and found that he wrote and directed this comedy which is his directorial debut.  Wilder stars as Sigerson Holmes who is the younger brother of Sherlock and always in his brother's shadow.  Douglas Wilmer plays Sherlcock and decides to lay low for a bit and sends a case to his brother in which he uses his brother's deductive abilities to varying success.  Madeline Kahn, Dom Deluise, Leo McKern, Marty Feldman, and many others co-star in this comedy.  Also listen for the voice of Mel Brooks and look for an Albert Finney cameo in the beginning.  This came right after YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and contains much of the Brooks alums.  This was a pretty good directorial debut for Wilder and has some pretty funny moments in this Sherlock parody.

Steve Jobs (2015):  This is part two of a Seth Rogen series.  Danny Boyle directed this biopic in which the screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin and based on the book by Walter Isaacson.  Michael Fassbender stars as the iconic co-founder of Apple which covers some of the product launches up to the 1998 unveiling of the Imac.  It also covers the times when he was voted out of Apple by the board and then him trying to form his own company NeXT to limited success before finally returning to Apple after they bought NeXT merging.  It also documents the troubled relationship he had with his daughter Lisa, played at various ages by Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, and Perla Haney-Jardine, who he denied for many years.  It has some really well written confrontation scenes with people in his life including his own co-founder Steve Wozniak, played by Seth Rogen.  Granted, some were written for dramatic effect but adds a compelling element to the film.  Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sarah Snook, Adam Shapiro, and many others co-star in this film.  A couple weeks ago I featured PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY which features both Jobs and Bill Gates on their rises in their respective companies and this kind of picks up from where that one left off.  Fassbender does well as Jobs though I still believe Noah Wyle does the best portrayal of Jobs so make a double feature night, maybe throw in JOBS which I have not seen yet.

The Old Maid (1939):  Edmund Goulding directed this dysfunctional family drama which is based on a play by Zoe Akins.  Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins star as cousins Charlotte and Delia Lovell.  Delia is about to get married to Dr. Lanskell, played by Donald Crisp, but her former fiancee Clem, played by George Brent returns complicating matters.  Charlotte decides to establish an orphanage and confesses to Delia that her charge Tina was the result of an affair with Clem and hides this fact from Tina, played by Marlene Burnett as a child and by Jane Bryan in her teen years.  Charlotte and Tina are taken in by Delia where Charlotte passes herself off as Aunt Charlotte and Delia is more of the mother causing jealousy with Charlotte.  Davis and Hopkins apparently detested each other during filming which kind of works for a lot of scenes.  Either way, this is a pretty decent family drama with good performances all around.

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001):  This is my tribute to the late Jon Polito who recently left us.  The Coen Brothers wrote and directed this modern day noir film that takes place in '40s California.  Billy Bob Thornton stars as Ed Crane who works in a barbershop for his brother-in-law Frank, played by THE PRACTICE alum Michael Badalucco.  Frances McDormand stars as Ed's wife Doris who is having an affair with her boss Dave, played by SOPRANOS alum James Gandolfini.  Ed is becoming aware of this and a chance encounter with a client in the barbershop named Creighton Tolliver, played by the late Polito, who talks about investing in a newer kind of cleaning called dry cleaning which interests Ed driving him to a blackmail scheme that goes awry.  Scarlett Johansson co-stars as the teen Birdy whose piano talents interests Ed who forms a fatherly sort of relationship with her or maybe we could compare it to that of Humbert in Delores in LOLITA.  Katherine Borowitz, Richard Jenkins, MONK alum Tony Shalhoub, and many others co-star in this film.  This is very cleverly shot in black and white giving it that 40s feel.  It also has a very well used soundtrack from Beethoven which is almost like a co-star in the film.  Most importantly, it comes from a well-done script done well by the Coen Brothers.

The Adventures of Tartu (1943):  Harold S. Bucquet directed this WWII spy film.  Robert Donat stars as Captain Terence Stevenson who is fluent in the Rumanian and German language and goes undercover to sabotage a Nazi poison-gas factory becoming Jan Tartu, a member of the Rumanian Iron Guard.  Things happen when his contacts are destroyed making his job more difficult.  Valerie Hobson, Walter Rilla, Glynis Johns, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a rather overlooked film that I found on the Boxed set "The Fabulous Forties".

The Armstrong Lie (2013):  This is my documentary for the week which was directed by documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney.  This documentary is based on cyclist Lance Armstrong and his rise in the industry and his fall after finally confessing to using performance enhancing drugs after many years of allegations.  Gibney originally was filming this to look into his comeback year in 2009 after a four year absence from the sport and him being a cancer survivor.  It was scrapped after 2012 when Armstrong was banned from competition and stripped of his seven Tour De France titles.  He decided to go back to the documentary when Armstrong made a confession on a 2013 episode of Oprah.  I really did not have any knowledge of cycling before watching this and just knew some of Armstrong.  Watching footage of the race also made me wonder how they all stay together when riding and not having a lot of people crashing into each other with bikes  This shows that there has been a lot of corruption in the sport with performance enhancing drugs that goes beyond Armstrong but giving him the most success.  I have noticed with Gibney that he does try to take a look from all angles and does not really use personal bias in his documentaries.  It is a rather compelling film on a celebrity that accomplished a lot and even did a lot of really good things outside his sport but lived quite a lie for many years.

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969):  This is my Disney film for the week.  A young Kurt Russell in his Disney days stars as college student Dexter whose college will not get a computer so along with his friends, he goes to talk to the town businessman A.J. Arno, played by Cesar Romero who is most known as the first Joker in the 60s sitcom BATMAN, and he decides to donate a computer to the college through Dexter's persuasion.  This is not the same kind of computer that you would see now or even one from the 80s.  This was a very complicated looking machine to say the least and have no insight to give on the computers from this particular era.  Dexter tries to fix the computer which backfires by making him a human computer and has newfound genius abilities as well as information that uncovers corruption for Arno.  Joe Flynn, William Schallert, Frank Welker, and many others co-star in this film.  Welker makes a live action appearance in a career known for his voice work in animation.  There are actually two sequels to this film which I have not seen.  This is good family fun and of worth if you have not seen the much younger Russell who would go onto play roles like Snake and other action roles.

Never Let Me Go (2010):  I end the week with this I guess subtle science fiction film.  Mark Romanek directed this film based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.  The story centers around three friends from childhood Kathy, played by Izzy Meikle-Small and Carey Mulligan, Tommy, played by Charlie Rowe and Andrew Garfield, and Ruth, played by Ella Purnell and Keira Knightley where actors play the characters in childhood and adulthood.  They learn in childhood the are clones that exist for donations for transplants in their adult lives.  Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Hannah Sharp, Christina Carrafiell, Andrea Riseborough, Domhnall Gleeson, and many others co-star in this film.  This is one of those that I find difficult to explain.  It is a sci-fi story that takes place in a modern world hence why I referred to this sci-fi as "subtle".  It is also more than anything a love story in the complicated lives of the adults who look to come to terms with their fate and maybe see what else is out there.  It has a good narrative from Carey Mulligan reflecting back on their childhoods to the modern day.  It is a rather interesting sci-fi story that does not need any effects or unusual sets to convey that since it is only part of what they are going for if I just made any sense.

Well that is it for this week, stay tuned for next week which so far includes Kristen Wiig, Karen Allen, Frances McDormand, Dorothy Dandridge, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 564th Edition

Welcome to the 564th Edition of my series.  I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day weekend.  Tomorrow night I have my Fantasy Football draft and get to look forward to the NFL regular season starting on Thursday night.  Other than that, nothing else really happening so on with my selections which is the start of the last month before the Madness.

Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004):  I start the week out with this comedy which was directed by Adam Mckay and co-written by him and Will Ferrell who stars as the title character.  This takes place in the '70s in San Diego where Ron Burgundy is the top rated newsman in a male dominated field.  The tv station decides to go the diversity route by hiring a new female anchor in Veronica Corningstone, played by Christina Applegate, which changes Ron's world both personally and professionally.  Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner are quite fun as Ron's friends at the news station.  Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Missi Pyle, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, and many others co-star or have cameos.  I recall when this first came out, I did not care much for it.  Maybe it was because it was not that usual Will Ferrell kind of role and a more toned down character which as I watch now was still just as funny.  The supporting cast also gets a lot of laughs and really become a very good ensemble comedy team.  I one time saw David Koechner come to my own town of Muncie to do a one man comedy show at the Muncie Civic Theater which was a great show to say the least.  This is a great comedy on the '70s news industry that has stayed with its fans through the years.

Top Five (2014):  This is part two of my Chris Rock trilogy.  This is in all likelihood the first time I have ever featured two movies where both had an SNL alum as its star.  Chris Rock wrote and directed this comedy which takes a look into the world of a comedian trying to do something different.  Rock stars as Andre Allen who is trying to do more serious roles and ones he feels are more meaningful.  He is also being talked into getting married on reality tv with his fiancee Erica, played by Gabrielle Union, while being interviewed by Chelsea Brown, played by Rosario Dawson, who makes him confront his past and even his future.  J.B. Smoove, Romany Malco, Cedric the Entertainer, Sherri Shepherd, Tracy Morgan, Luis Guzman, Kevin Hart, and many others co-star and have cameos in this comedy.  Rock mostly plays himself but still interested me.  I saw this as someone who is trying to move on from what they are most known for but the public not really letting them which bothers me sometimes that we don't seem to let anyone move on with their careers.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005):  This is my documentary for the week.  Watching this I really did not know what to expect and came to really enjoy this.  This centers around farmer John Peterson who tells the story of the farm that has been with this family through many years and the rises and falls it has had since his inheritance of the farm.  There are interviews with many friends and family reflecting on the events that have gone on and what they have had to do to stay afloat in the struggling economy.  At times it is rather depressing but at the same rather inspirational in the way he never really gave up through all the down times.  It is also inspirational in the way he got many people interested in helping him make it into a successful organic far.  He also has a very likable mother who was one of the biggest reasons he never gave up on the small town farm.  This is available on the website hoopla.com and is great for both farmers and non-farmers.

Dog Daze (1939):  This is my short film for the week which features the kids of OUR GANG.  The gang owes money to someone and concoct money scheme by rounding up stray dogs for a reward but it nearly gets them in trouble when they are mistaken for dognapping.  Much of our friends like Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Darla return.  This is the first produced by MGM and did not go over as well to their fans but still have some laughs.

Sybil (1976):  This is one of two mini-series being featured this week.  A young Sally Field stars as the title character who admits to having blackouts and is soon diagnosed with having multiple personality disorder with 16 different personalities.  Joanne Woodward co-stars as Dr. Wilbur who dedicates herself to help treat her disorder by getting to know the personalities.  There are some rather disturbing moments in this movie, most notably in the childhood flashbacks with her abusive mother.  Brad Davis, Martine Bartlett, Charles Lane, and many others co-star in this mini-series.  Field does very well in one of her more unknown movies.  Woodward also does well as the psychiatrist and was on the other side in the 1957 film THE THREE FACES OF EVE.  It is a little over three hours so at that time maybe a couple 90 minute episodes.  This was worth the three hours and a very compelling film based on a true story.

The Talk of the Town (1942):  George Stevens directed this film which is a touch of comedy and drama on a man on the run from the law after being framed.  Cary Grant stars as Leopold Dilg who is a factory head and framed for arson and the murder of a foreman.  He is reluctantly hidden from his childhood friend Nora, played by Jean Arthur, in her rental home which the renowned Professor Lightcap, played by Ronald Colman, is residing so she tries to hide Leopold from his as well as the authorities.  Through this, Leopold looks to win Nora's affections and prove his innocence.  Edgar Buchanon, Glenda Farrell, Rex Ingram, and many others co-star in this film.  Grant, Arthur, and Colman make a good trio.  This is a more overlooked film of Gary Grant in which I came across through a boxed set.  This is a film that has a little of everything like comedy, drama, mystery, romance, and suspense.

On Moonlight Bay (1951):  This is one of two musicals I am featuring for the week.  Roy Del Ruth directed this film which centers around the Winfield family moving into a small town in Indiana.  Doris Day stars as Marjorie whose interests lie more in things like baseball.  For certain reasons she must learn how to act like a lady and soon meets William Sherman, played by Gordon MacRae, who she takes a liking to but in the WWI era has unconventional ideas like not believing in marriage which does not sit well with her father George, played by Leon Ames.  I was really hoping that Day would just stick to baseball and maybe in a few years enter what would be the professional women's league but in a movie from this era which has her and MacRae, we know that cannot happen.  Not the greatest movie but decent numbers, taking place in my state of Indiana, and MacRae's radical viewpoints made this watchable for me.

Murderland (2009):  This is the second mini-series I feature this week.  This centers around a brutal murder and is from the point of view of Douglas Hain, played by Robbie Coltrane, who is the lead detective of the murder, Carrie, played by Bel Powley, who is the daughter of the victim, and Carol, played by Amanda Hale, who is the victim.  This is told in three 45 minute episodes and takes place in the time of the events leading into the murder and years later when it has still gone unsolved.  This is a very compelling and rather disturbing story which connects very well.  The characters were rather flawed but still likable and ones you can really get behind.  This is a British crime drama that deserves a lot more exposure than it got so if into murder mysteries, this would be a great watch.

Huckleberry Finn (1974):  This is my second musical of the week which is one based on the classic story by Mark Twain with the music written by Richard and Robert Sherman.  Jeff East stars as Huck, the rambunctious boy who escapes from his abusive father, played by Gary Merrill, and sails down the Mississippi River on a raft with his friend and runaway slave Jim, played by Paul Winfield.  Huck tries to help Jim escape to freedom while on some adventures and dealing with con men the King and the Duke, played by Harvey Korman and David Wayne.  A few years ago I was in the chorus of a musical version called BIG RIVER.  East and Winfield were a good combination as well as Korman and Wayne were good together as partners in crime.  The version I was in was better music wise but this is still harmless fun for the family on a Sunday afternoon.

Troy (2004):  Wolfgang Peterson directed this film based on Homer's THE ILIAD.  This depicts the war between Troy and Sparta after Paris, played by Orlando Bloom, convinces Helen of Sparta, played by Diane Kruger, to leave her husband Menelaus, played by Brendan Gleeson, for him.  This was not really the only thing that started it but the icing on the cake anyways.  Brad Pitt stars as Achilles who leads the Spartans against Troy.  Eric Bana co-stars as Hector who leads Athens and is the brother of Paris.  Brian Cox, Julian Glover, Sean Bean, Julie Christie, Peter O'Toole, Saffron Burrows, Garrett Hedlund, Rose Byrne, former WCW wrestler Tyler Mane, former WWE wrestler Nathan Jones, and many others.  I am not going to pretend I have any sort of expertise towards THE ILIAD so I don't really know how faithful this is to the story.  I did enjoy what was put on like the action scenes and the fight between Achilles and Hector.  The scene that always sticks out for me is a conversation between Achilles and his rival king Priam, played by O'Toole.  I also thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal on how these events could have happened.

Well, that is all for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Chris Rock, the late Gene Wilder, Kate Winslet, and many others.