Welcome to the 582nd Edition of my series. I've just been trying to survive this freezing weather and glad to announce that I won my fantasy league this year. There is not too much else going on so far so I will just get to my selections for the week.
Fences (2016): Denzel Washington directed this film based on a play by August Wilson who also wrote the screenplay before his death in 2005. Denzel stars as Troy Maxson and I am just going to post the imdb plot on this one in "An African-American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life." The reason I am doing that is because I feel this is best to watch the way I did and using that phrase "the less you know, the better". Viola Davis co-stars as Troy's wife Rose who does great as the wife trying to keep things together. Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Mele, and many others co-star in this film. This would not be the one to see if looking for something really inspirational but was a film driven by characters. This was first done on Broadway in 1987 in which James Earl Jones starred and done again in 2010 in which Denzel Washington and Viola Davis reprise their roles in this film from. This is a really good look at a black family in this era and I thought it was going to be this year's A RAISIN IN THE SUN but I was quite wrong.
Fog City Mavericks (2007): Gary Leva directed this film industry documentary on film achievements in San Francisco. Some of the filmmakers featured are from San Francisco and some decided to go there feeling they had more freedom there than in Los Angeles. Some of the main people featured are George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Clint Eastwood. It has a segment about the studio American Zoetrope founded by Coppola and Lucas which did a lot for film in which many say "can't be done". It also has a really good segment on Pixar Studios and how it started in San Francisco. Peter Coyote narrates this documentary that also features Brad Bird, Chris Columbus, Sofia Coppola, Milos Forman, Philip Kaufman, Irvin Kershner, John Lasseter, Anthony Minghella, Saul Zaentz, Charlie Chaplin, and many others. I think what interested me the most was the one on producer Saul Zaentz who is admired for his guts on movies he has produced. I also liked the segment on Chaplin who joined San Francisco and where he got his movie studio giving him freedom in his projects. This was very insightful and if I was to pursue a film career, I think I'd rather go to San Francisco where it is more like a film community.
Layer Cake (2004): Matthew Vaughn directed this British crime film which is based on a novel by J.J. Connelly who also wrote the screenplay. Daniel Craig stars as a successful cocaine dealer and not really having a name except credited as XXXX. He plans a retirement but gets a very tough assignment on the eve of his retirement making him question who around him can be trusted. Tom Hardy, Jamie Foreman, Sally Hawkins, Burn Gorman, George Harris, Tamer Hassan, Colm Meaney, Ben Whishaw, Sienna Miller, Jason Flemyng, Michael Gambon, and many others co-star in this film. This has a lot of action and even some comedy. This was shortly before Craig became my favorite James Bond and gives a good and flashy performance as the rather charismatic drug dealer who prefers the term businessman. This is also the movie in which Barbara Broccoli saw that made her believe he would be a good fit for Bond. A good soundtrack, some cool characters, good action scenes, and some comedy make this worth a watch.
Poetry of Nature (1939): This is my short film for the week and is a Pete Smith Specialty. This takes a look at the wildlife in the California redwoods. This centers around a black crow and his adventures like an encounter with a scarecrow which he does not fear. Smith's narration brings life to these animals and brings in some laughs. A short film for the Golden Age of Cinema as many say on year 1939.
The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958): Raoul Walsh directed this western comedy which is based on a short story by Jacob Hay. Kenneth More stars as British gentleman Jonathan Tibbs who is an arms dealer and believes the wild west is the place to do it ending up in the lawless town of Fractured Jaw. When there, he inadvertently stops an Indian attack mostly due to his naivety. Due to other accidental occurrences that happen, he is appointed sheriff while the Indians make him a "blood brother". Jayne Mansfield co-stars as Kate who is a tough female saloon owner and nightclub singer with her voice being dubbed by Connie Francis when singing. Robert Morley, Henry Hull, William Campbell, Bruce Cabot, and many others co-star in this film. This was a different sort of western comedy in my mind having an English gentleman get in over his head and underestimating the sort of town he is going. Kenneth More is great as Jon and was worth a look.
Track of the Moon Beast (1976): This is my b-movie for the week. Chase Cordell stars as Paul Carlson who during a meteor storm gets part of the meteor lodged in his body. The side effect is him turning into a giant reptilian monster at night going on murderous rampages. Leigh Drake co-stars as his girlfriend Kathy who does not want to give up on Paul to get cured of his problem. I don't think I need to explain much more. Let's just say this earned its place into an episode of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 so if you're looking for something that is actually good this may not be the one.
The Kill Team (2013): This is second documentary for the week. This takes a look at a military unit in Afghanistan and war crimes that happened within that unit. It centers around Private Adam Winfield who tried to report murders that were going on along with the help of his father, they went unheeded and got threats of his life from the unit. He is eventually put on trial for war crimes among others. Much of this centers around Adam and his parents who stand by him no matter what happens. It is hard to really describe this film which is rather compelling but at the same time quite sad. There are interviews on just about every side of the story. This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Invitation to the Dance (1956): Gene Kelly directed this film which I think qualifies as an experimental film. This has three stories all in which Kelly stars. One is called CIRCUS where Gene is a circus clown who is in love with a trapeze artist but is taken forming a love triangle. The second one is RING AROUND THE ROSY where he plays a marine in a love story centering around a gold bracelet. The third one is SINBAD THE SAILOR in which he plays Sinbad and has some animation from the Hanna-Barbera team. Now for the kicker, this movie has no dialogue except some audience cheer moments and is all set to dance. This was at the time considered a flop likely because it is not really for a mainstream audience. It was an interesting idea and has some very good dancing out of Kelly and some really good animation in the last segment. It is really hard to put this one into words but was a good effort by Gene Kelly.
A Patch of Blue (1965): Guy Green directed this film based on a novel by Elizabeth Kata. Elizabeth Hartman stars as Selina D'Arcey who is an uneducated blind girl mostly imprisoned to her apartment home by her abusive mother Rose-Ann, played by Shelley Winters, and grandfather played by Wallace Ford. She does get times where she can just hang out at the park where she meets a friendly black man named Gordon Ralfe, played by Sidney Poitier, who she forms a friendship and even relationship with much to the dismay of her mother who is also racist and remember this took place in the '60s. I think this is my favorite Sidney Poitier film and has gone onto be very underrated in my opinion with even him citing this as one that holds a special place in his heart. This is the debut of Elizabeth Hartman and makes a great debut but unfortunately becomes plagued by depression leading to a suicide a couple decades after the film. Poitier is also good as a very rational black man who becomes determined to get Selina out of her abusive home. One thing I noticed and liked is that the two people most looked down upon in the film which were a blind girl and a black man where the most reasonable people in the film. This is one that I will refer to as a beautiful film and hope to get more people to see this movie.
Louis C.K.: Chewed Up (2008): I end the week with this stand-up special with Louis. Technically this is a tv special but I make the rules so I can decide what is a movie on this blog. This is about an hour long stand-up special from C.K. mostly just talking about everyday life. The first part appears to be an homage to George Carlin and talking about what he feels is the misuse of words and when they are okay which is similar but different to Carlin's routine. The part of him talking about abbreviating works like the "N-word" was very interesting and really made me think. Most of his other material is his personal life and on parenting. He does get pretty daring at times but C.K. fans will love it. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Gary Busey, Sasha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway, Henry Fonda, and many others.
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