Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 641st Edition

Welcome to the 641st Edition of my series.  I finally get to make an announcement that in April I am going to be in the play ON GOLDEN POND at the Commons Theater in Alexandria, Indiana.  This marks my second show there and look forward to playing the role of Bill Ray and playing a dad on stage.  I now have my Moviepass and recommend it to anyone who frequents the movie theater.  It is about $10 a month to see a movie a day at the movie theaters so in other words to see a movie a day only costs the price of one movie.  That is all I have going on for now so onto my selections.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013):  This is part two of my two-part David Alan Grier series.  Kenny Leon directed this tv movie based on the novel by Christopher Paul Curtis.  This takes place in the '60s in Flint, Michigan and centers around a black family named the Watsons.  Bryce Clyde Jenkins stars as Kenny whose point of view the movie is mostly from and is the 11 year old nerd of the family.  His family takes a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama to see some family and have not been subjected to the segregation that happens there.  Harrison Knight, Skai Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, Wood Harris, Shameik Moore, Josephine Lawrence, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and many others co-star in this Hallmark movie.  This is a good look at a family who has it pretty well during a really dark time only to witness first hand when they go to the main place of segregation in Birmingham.

I am Big Bird:  The Carroll Spinney Story (2014):  I follow up with this documentary which takes a look at the actor under the Big Bird costume on SESEME STREET and is also the same person who voices Oscar the Grouch.  This shows some of his early work when he played various characters on BOZO THE CLOWN and when he joined SESEME STREET in 1969 and has donned the outfit of Big Bird since then.  This is a pretty inspirational documentary on a man very dedicated to his craft and to his family.  There is not much more to say except this kept my attention all the way through getting to learn about the relatively unknown man behind two very iconic childhood favorites.

Call Me by Your Name (2017):  I guess this movie holds the milestone of being my first movie to go see through Moviepass.  Luca Guadagnino directed this film based on the novel by Andre Aciman.  Timothee Chalamet stars as the 17 year old Elio in the 1983 summer in Italy.  His father, played by Michael Stuhlberg, is a professor and Elio's life changes during the arrival of his father's grad assistant Oliver, played by Armie Hammer.  At first Elio gives Oliver a hard time making him believe there is a dislike but it was really a more deeper connection.  At such a young age, there is still a lot for Elio to learn as he slowly experiences a relationship with Oliver.  Amira Casar and Esther Garrel also co-star in this film.  I don't really have much in the way of words to describe this.  Aciman and Hammer worked very well together in their performances.  I also thought that it ended really well.

The Boss Didn't Say Good Morning (1937):  This is my MGM short film for the week.  This is a comedy short of an average worker whose boss did not speak to him making him very convinced he is fired.  The issue with the boss was that he had a really bad case of indigestion.  This is nothing great but still has some laughs and is watchable for the fans of classic shorts.

Les Diaboliques (1955):  This is one of three foreign language films for the edition and this is the only one that was expected.  Henri-Georges Clouzot directed this French crime drama based on the novel by Pierre Boileau which is billed as horror and I suppose this is a psychological thriller.  This takes place at a boarding school run by the tyrannical Michel Delassalle, played by Paul Meurisse.  The school is owned by his wife Christina, played by Vera Clouzot, and Michel has a relationship with teacher Nicole, played by Simone Signoret, but shares the same dislike of his wife making them team up to murder him.  They conspire to commit the murder which seemingly goes as planned but without spoiling too much, nothing really goes as planned or we would not have the movie.  This was some really good suspense and still holds up well today.  This is available on Amazon Prime.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964):  This is extremely rare, could even be a first, to have to French films right in a row and go from a psychological thriller to a French musical.  Jacques Denny wrote and directed this musical that shows the relationship of mechanic Guy, played by Nino Castelnuovo, and Genevieve, played by Catherine Deneuve.  Guy is called to be in the war and both of them have difficult choices to make while apart.  Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Ellen Farner, Mireille Perrey, and many others co-star in this musical.  I have always had a place in my heart for this movie since watching it for the first time years ago.  The entire movie is done in song and has no spoken dialogue.  Since I don't really know the French language, I've never really tried to sing along but the music is still very catchy along with a really good story to go along with it.

Chely Wright:  Wish Me Away (2011):  This is my second documentary this week and this one going into the country music industry.  This takes a look at country star Chely Wright who tried to play herself off as straight for many years in the protection of her career and decided she just could not live that way breaking the taboo of the country music industry on coming out to admit she is a gay.  The documentary talks about her childhood growing up and then establishing her career into the point of becoming the first country star to come out of the closet.  A lot of this shows the aftermath where she kind of had to make changes in her career to stay successful with the inevitable backlash from the conservative world of country music which was mostly the fans.  Like my other feature, this is very inspirational to watch.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963):  I have featured two French films and my third foreign language film is this Italian film.  Vittoria De Sica directs this film that is actually a trilogy of short stories.  All three stories have Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren playing different characters with all three stories taking a look at the social mores of Italy on women and the men they attract.  This has a really good blend of comedy and drama with each story being really compelling to watch with the leads to a good job as their different characters.  This is must watch for anyone foreign film buffs out there.

The Philadelphia Story (1940):  I saw this classic romantic comedy at the movie theaters with TCM's special showing in which my Moviepass covered most of it but since it cost a little more than a conventional showing, I paid $1.90 which is still worth it.  George Cukor directed this film based on the play by Philip Barry which stars  Katherine Hepburn as Tracy Lord who is soon to get married to straight laced businessman and aspiring politician George Kittredge, played by John Howard, but not without her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven, played by Cary Grant, coming to stir things up as well as reporters Macauley Connor, played by James Stewart, and Elizabeth Imbrie, played by Ruth Hussey.  Roland Young, John Halliday, Mary Nash, Virginia Weidler, Henry Daniell, and many others co-star in this romantic comedy that was probably pretty controversial for its time.  This is a very fast paced movie and is very fun to watch.  I always enjoy Weidler in this movie as Tracy's kid sister Dinah who I feel steals it all with her comic timing.  This has always ranked as one of my favorite comedies from this era and was very worth it to see on a big screen.

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012):  I end the week with this independent film which was written and directed by Terence Nance.  Nance creates this hypothetical movie about being stood up by a girl and why he feels it happens but is much deeper than that description.  Most of this movie is more of a visualization and uses a lot of animation along with the live action.  It is very hard to describe this movie and I don't think it is meant to be that simple.  I think a lot of this is Nance wanting other to interpret the movie that one some independent movie awards.  Watching this, one can clearly see the passion Nance had for getting this very independent movie made.  This is available to watch on the Hoopla Digital 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 Gary Oldman, Clark Gable, Martin Sheen, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 640th Edition

Welcome to the 640th Edition of my series.  This week, I received my Moviepass card which is really pretty cool.  It is a monthly fee of about $10 and you can see one standard 2D movie at the movie theater each day.  That being said, not much else is happening now that football season is over so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Wayne's World 2 (1993):  I start the week out with this SNL sequel to the hit 1992 comedy WAYNE'S WORLD which mostly continues right where the first one left off.  Stephen Surjik directed this comedy where Mike Myers and Dana Carvey reprise their roles of Wayne and Garth. Wayne has a dream where he meets Jim Morrison, played by Michael A. Nickles, who tells Wayne he must put on a music festival.  He looks to put on the show with much trouble while also trying to fend away a sleazy manager, played by Christopher Walken, who is trying to woo his girl Cassandra, reprised by Tia Carrere.  Chris Farley, Ralph Brown, James Hong, Rip Taylor, Aerosmith, Lee Terguson, Heather Locklear, Bob Odenkirk, Robert Smigel, Larry Sellers, Kevin Pollak, Olivia D'Abo, Kim Basinger, Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, Ted McGinley, Tim Meadows, Charlton Heston, Ed O'Neill and many others co-star or have cameos.  For me and likely most other people, this does not beat the first one as I believe it is the best SNL movie they have made.  This still has its moments like a lot of really amusing parody scenes and where can you go wrong with a little Christopher Walken?

Popeye for President (1956):  This is my animated short for the week and as you might guess this centers around Popeye who in this animated short is running for president against his rival Bluto.  On election day, they are tied and the deciding vote is in Olive Oyl and must fight for her vote.  This has the usual formula when it comes to Popeye and Bluto in the fight part but the election added an interesting element to it.  This is available on Amazon Prime as part of the Cartoon Classics Volume 2 and can likely be found on Youtube.

The Birds (1963):  I came upon this one when I was housesitting for my friends Drew and Stephanie and came upon this VHS and needed something from this era.  Believe it or not, I don't know the last time I dealt with VHS so I liked this idea.  Alfred Hitchcock directed this classic horror film based on a story by Daphne Du Maurier.  Tippi Hedren stars as socialite Melanie Daniels who pursues a potential boyfriend in Mitch, played by Rod Taylor, to a small Northern California town.  Things take a bizarre turn when the birds start to attack the town and everyone outside.  Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Lonny Chapman, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the closest Hitchcock came to doing a conventional horror film with the exception of PSYCHO I suppose.  The promo video Hitch does that was in the beginning of the VHS is very entertaining.

Let the Fire Burn (2013):  Now I bring one of two documentaries for the week.  Jason Osder which takes a look at the events that lead to a stand-off between the black liberation group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department.  This was a group that wanted to live more communally and got more attention by the Philadelphia with their radical movements with bullhorn speeches, unsanitary conditions, and questionable parenting.  In 1978, nine of their members were convicted of third degree murder with the killing of a police officer making them believe the police were just corrupt and years later would lead to the very sad standoff in 1985.  There is not much else to say on this one it is very sad to see nothing has been learned since these forgotten incidents.  This documentary does not take sides and takes a look at how both sides were in the wrong.

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933):  This is my royalty selection for the week.  Alexander Korda directed this film which stars Charles Laughton as Henry VIII which takes a look at the five marriages after getting and annulment with his first wife Catherine of Aragon.  Merle Oberon, Wendie Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Binnie Barnes, and Everley Gregg play wives 2-6 in this film and each have their own interesting story.  Robert Donat, Miles Mander, William Austin, John Loder, and many others co-star in this film.  Laughton was great as Henry and could be the best one.  It was also good to see Lanchester playing Anne of Cleves as she is mostly known as the bride BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.  It is not a very long movie as it is a little over 90 minutes so this is not really that in depth towards each one like some may think.  I felt it covered enough ground for Henry's portrayal.  It was also the first Academy award win for Britain which helped pave the way for some of their other film.  This is available on Amazon Prime.

Akeelah and the Bee (2006):  This is my more inspirational film for the week.  Doug Atchison wrote and directed this film that take place in South Los Angeles.  Keke Palmer stars as Akeelah who is an eleven year old inner city girl that gets in trouble and through a threat by the principal, she takes part in the school spelling bee in which she wins.  She is encouraged by the principal to take part in the Scripps Spelling Bee in which they are participating in for the first time.  For Principal Welch, played by Curtis Armstrong, it is more about bring publicity to his very struggling school and enlists his friend and former spelling bee champion Dr. Larabee, played by Laurence Fishburne, to coach Akeelah.  Angela Bassett, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable, Sahara Ware, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum, Erica Hubbard, Eddie Steeples, and many others co-star in this film.  This was pretty formulaic but still very inspiring seeing a inner city girl struggle in a far bigger world that she is used to.  It is also really good seeing how the community all comes together for someone of their own.  This is available to watch on the Hoopla Digital website.

Our Town (1940):  Sam Wood directed this film adaptation to the play by Thornton Wilder who also co-wrote the screenplay.  This takes place in the small town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire and narrated by town druggist Mr. Morgan, played by Frank Craven, who tells the story of his town as well as the everyday people in the small town.  This mostly centers around the Webb and Gibbs family that live next door to each other with the son George Gibbs, played by William Holden, and the daughter Emily Webb, played by Martha Scott, who have been friends since childhood start to fall in love.  Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee, Stuart Erwin, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a good small town story with a pretty well-done film adaptation with a rather disturbing climax.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime and on Hoopla Digital.

The Big Sick (2017):  This is part one of a two-part David Alan Grier series.  Michael Showalter directed this film which was written by Kumail Nanjiana, played by himself, and Emily V. Gordon, played by Zoe Kazan.  Kumail Nanjiani stars as struggling stand-up comedian trying to go further.  At a show one night, he meets grad student Emily and they form a relationship but the clash of cultures make things very difficult.  Things change when Emily gets put into a medically induced coma and must consider what he wants for himself.  He goes to the hospital and slowly wins over her parents, played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter, while balancing his own life.  He must also consider the pressure his family puts on him to marry someone of his parents' choosing.  Grier, Anupam Kher, Zenobia Shroff, Adeel Akhtar, Bo Burnham, and many others co-star in this comedy-drama.  This is based on a true story but did make a loose basing of their relationship.  This has a really good amount of comedy and drama in this clash of cultures film.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Laserblast (1978):  This is my MST3K selection for the week.  Kim Milford stars as teen Billy Duncan who comes across an alien weapon which transforms him into a killer and must deal with dinosaur looking aliens who are trying to get their weapon back.  Cheryl Smith, Gianni Russo, Dennis Burkley, Eddie Deezen, Keenan Wynn, Roddy McDowell, and many others co-star in this sci-fi movie.  This episode had Michael J. Nelson as the host where much of their jokes come from the two and a half star review that Leonard Maltin gave it while naming of more well-done movies that got either that amount of lower.  This is the last episode produced by Comedy Central and is available on Netflix.

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980):  I end the week with this documentary short which was kind of selected as the result of a chain reaction so to speak.  Two weeks ago I featured the documentary LIFE ITSELF which was about film critic Roger Ebert where I learn of one of his favorite movies in the 1978 documentary GATES OF HEAVEN which I featured last week in which director Errol Morris made putting himself on the map with a lot of help from Ebert giving it the publicity it needed.  When looking more into that movie, I learn that the very versatile filmmaker Werner Herzog tells Errol that if he is able to get that movie completed that he would eat his own shoe.  Les Blank directed this documentary where before GATES OF HEAVEN premiers, Herzog keeps his word by eating his shoe.  Also through this really interesting stunt, he also talks to the crowd and encourages other aspiring filmmakers to take the risks so this is both funny and profound at the same time.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime and is only about twenty minutes long.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 639th Edition

Welcome to the 639th Edition of my series.  Now we must start our Sundays without football.  I was very satisfied with the super bowl game last week in a very offensive battle.  Nick Foles was able to go toe to toe with Tom Brady and survive.  People can say what they will about Mr. Brady but he is very relentless and Foles stood up to him very well.  I was hoping to make my debut for the theater group at the Heorot in a play called THE MAIDS but not enough people were found and the how had to be scrapped.  I have some other prospects so I will keep informed as I go along.  I think I've said enough so I'll get on with my selections for the week.

I am Chris Farley (2015):  I start the week out with this documentary an in fact one of four documentaries I have this week.  This one takes a look at the popular SNL alum from the '90s and covers his short life.  This takes a look some at his childhood and events that lead him into go into acting.  It also goes into his time with the Second City group until he was picked up for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.  Unfortunately, he also problems with other drugs that contributed to cutting his life short despite having some unforgettable times on SNL and in his brief movie career.  I was not aware that his famous Matt Foley character was originally on Second City but brought to SNL.  I was always upset they didn't make a movie for that character.  I think the most enjoyable parts of this documentary was reliving some really hilarious moments from the very unique comedian.  There are also interviews from his family and peers reflecting on their times with Mr. Farley.

Sky Scrappers (1928):  This is my animated short for the week which is an old one that comes from the early days of Disney and features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  This is some silent animation that features Oswald as a construction worker that must save his sweetheart when his boss makes advances at her.  This was a character that was a bit of a blueprint to Disney's icon Mickey Mouse.  The drawing of the character is very similar to that of the later Mickey.  Disney would go onto top this work but still rather enjoyable seeing as they had to start somewhere and good for fans of classic animation.  There are a lot of these available on Youtube.

Somewhere in the Night (1946):  Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed this film noir for the week.  John Hodiak stars as George W. Taylor who is a returning WWII soldier that has amnesia and does what he can to piece his life together stumbling onto very questionable clues upon his quest.  Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Josephine Hutchinson, Sheldon Leonard, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a really good into into the noir genre and has some really good mystery and suspense.  I tend to have one of these types of movies every week as they are my favorite genre from this era.  These kind of pushed the envelope more than others and this was no exception.  This is a really good amnesiac story and deserves more exposure.

Son of Saul (2015):  Laszlo Nemes wrote and makes his directorial debut in this Holocaust film that take place in Auschwitz.  Geza Rohrig stars as Saul Auslander who is a Hungarian prison working for a group called Sonderkommando at one of the crematoriums.  He comes across a boy who he takes for his son and risks his life to give the boy a proper burial as well as finding a rabbi to help with the process.  Levente Molnar, Urs Rechn, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty good character study of a man struggling with his morality to do something he feels is right no matter what the cost.  This movie was inspired by a book called THE SCROLLS OF AUSCHWITZ which was a collection of testimonials from members of Sonderkommando.  Nemes took the subject matter very seriously and makes a great directorial debut.

Breakfast and Tiffany's (1961):  Blake Edwards directed this film based on the novel by Truman Capote and could be the one the you have in common with your significant other.  THE A-TEAM alum George Peppard stars as writer Paul Varjak who moves into an apartment complex in Manhattan and meets socialite Holly Golightly, played by Audrey Hepburn.  They are two absolutely different people forming a relationship with each other with Holly's lifestyle making it very complicated.  Mickey Rooney co-stars in a very politically incorrect performance as Mr. Yunioshi.  Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and many others co-star in this film.  I have always enjoyed this romantic comedy which might be the wrong word for it.  Maybe what I enjoy is the contrast of the leads working together and their really good performances as well as the climax of the movie.  I watched this at my local library but it is also available to watch on Netflix.

Infernal Affairs 2 (2003):  I know in my first selection that I have four documentaries but I also have two foreign language films and this is the second one.  Andrew Lau and Alan Mak directed this prequel to their 2002 hit.  Edison Chen and Shawn Yue play the younger versions of characters Lau Kin Ming and Chan Wing Yan which Andy Lau and Tony Leung play in the first one.  Chan gets expelled by the academy but given a chance to go undercover to infiltrate his Triad family.  Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Carina Lau, Francis Ng, Jun Hu, and many others co-star in this film.  This is one where the first one should probably get watched before viewing this one.  This is part two of the trilogy, which I might look into in the future.  This was a pretty good prequel that had its own story to set itself apart from the first one.

Gates of Heaven (1978):  Last week, I featured the Roger Ebert documentary LIFE ITSELF where director Errol Morris expressed his gratitude about Ebert in helping this particular documentary with the publicity it needed so I decided to look into this film.  This takes place in a California town where an everyday man named Floyd McClure who has a very unusual vision of starting a pet cemetery only to fail.  The documentary also goes to a more successful pet cemetery. ran by a father and his two   The documentary features interviews of Floyd and others who have helped as well as some of the locals through the ups and downs of this pet cemetery through all the changes.  This could very well be the inspiration for Stephen King's very famous novel.  While I don't really share Ebert's opinion of being of the the ten best movies of all time, = Morris does a great job of directing this film and becomes a really good documentary director.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011):  Liz Garbus directed this life on the legendary chess player in the title.  This takes a look at the very strange and rather isolated man whose life seemed to have only really revolved around chess.  It goes into his times as a world champion where he defeated Russian Boris Spassky where he got a rock star sort of following and became a bit of a Cold War icon before ROCKY IV ever came out.  There was even a time where he became a fugitive due to some rather complicated laws.  I cannot even begin to cover this man that helped make Chess what it is today.  There are interviews of mostly his peers and rivals in the chess world.  This is a game where I know how the pieces move but I cannot win.  This is a very compelling documentary and very eye-opening about the legend.  

The African Queen (1951):  Along with BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, I believe these are the only mainstream films I have this week.  John Huston directed this film based on the novel by C.S. Forester.  This takes place during WWI in Africa where Humphrey Bogart stars as gin-swilling riverboat captain Charlie Allnutt who is persuaded by missionary Rose Sayer, played by Katherine Hepburn, to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.  Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell, and many others co-star in this film.  Most of the focus was the developing relationship between Bogart and Hepburn whose contrasting characters play off each other perfectly.  Before being asked, no I did not purposely put Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn in the same list and no there was no relation as Audrey Hepburn was only her stage name.  This is also Bogart's only Oscar that he won and deserved it in this movie.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Strong Island (2017):  Last week, I took a look at Oscar nominated documentary LAST MEN IN ALEPPO so decided to try this other Oscar nominated documentary.  Yance Ford directed this very personal documentary which examines the murder of his brother and looks to see what made his killer go free.  This also takes a look at himself and the family and how they were effected by the murder.  It also takes a look at the racial fear that lead to the killing.  This was obviously a very personal project for Ford and really makes us think while watching  This is available to watch on Netflix and as mentioned is another nominee this year for best documentary.  They also have a website at https://www.strongislandfilm.com/.

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

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 638th Edition

Welcome to the 638th Edition of my series.  Tonight is the Super Bowl and just about everyone I know will be rooting against the Patriots with some exceptions.  I will say I'll be rooting for an Eagles win myself.  I'm liking this work from home gig pretty well and hope it all works out.  There is not much else happening so on with my selections.

Life Itself (2014):  I start the week out with this documentary directed by Steve James which documents and pays homage to the career of film critic Roger Ebert who was far more than just a film critic.  This takes a look at the early days of Roger when he was in college and when he started working for the Chicago Sun Times.  It also went into his relationship with rival film Chicago film critic turned partner Gene Siskel.  This also goes into his last days where he had cancer and essentially amputated his jaw and could only speak by typing into a computer.  As depressing as that was to watch, it was admirable that he still made the most by still keeping his sense of humor and becoming the social media celebrity kind of like George Takei and the Iron Sheik.  There are also many filmmakers being interviewed that include Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Ava DuVerney, and many others who all reflect on how significant Ebert was to their careers in the way he was a big advocate for independent films he liked and would help give publicity to these movies that did not get much publicity.  The director Steve James also expresses his gratitude for his documentary HOOP DREAMS that Ebert liked.  I know a lot of people just hate the critics and while we may not agree with them, they do help give publicity and Ebert was very good about doing that for the young filmmakers that he liked.  This is a very compelling and sad documentary but was also inspirational at the same time about a man who lived his life to the fullest up to the last breath he took.  This is available to watch on Netflix and I think just about everyone with give this thumbs up.

The Goods:  Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009):  Neal Brennan directed this comedy about a struggling used car business.  James Brolin play the owner Ben Selleck who decides it is time to hire a group of "car mercenaries" lead by Don Ready, played by Jeremy Piven.  His team that includes David Koechner, Ving Rhames, and Kathryn Hahn and they look to motivate the employees as well as Don making his own promise to sell a pretty extreme amount of cars in a short period of time.  Ed Helms, Jordan Spiro, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle, Alan Thicke, Wendie Malick, Charles Napier, Craig Robinson, Bryan Callen, T.J. Miller, and many others co-star in this comedy.  For me, this did deliver a lot of laughs and kind of reminded me of the reality series BAR RESCUE which had a similar concept to this movie in hiring someone with experience in hopes they will save a place on the verge of going out of business.

Three O'Clock High (1987):  I follow up with another comedy with this one a comedy on bullying.  Phil Joanou directed this comedy which stars Casey Siemaszko who stars as the nerdy Jerry Mitchell.  Jerry ends up angering the new bully of the school Buddy Revell, played by Richard Tyson, and has a fight scheduled for 3 pm on that day.  He does what he can to get out of this fight which makes him resort to some things he would never usually do.  Annie Ryan, Stacey Glick, Jeffrey Tambor, Philip Baker Hall, John P. Ryan, Mitch Pileggi, Shirley Stoler, Yeardley Smith, and many others co-star in this comedy.  As far as actor Richard Tyson, his other most memorable role was likelyas the villain Crisp in the '80s comedy KINDERGARTEN COP.  This is one of the '80s movies that has gone rather overlooked and is really good in my opinion and possibly the best in these kinds of comedies.

Antoine and Colette (1962):  This is my short film for the week which was written by Francois Truffaut.  Jean-Pierre Leaud and Marie-France Pisier star as the title characters.  Antoine is a reformed juvenile delinquent who works at a record store allowing his love for music.  Through concerts he begins to notice Colette who when they meet, she tries to treat him as a friend but he wants more.  Antoine gets to eat with her parents and they like him while encouraging them to date.  This was shown as a short film but is actually a segment of the movie LOVE AT TWENTY which features four other French directors but I could not find a copy at this moment so I watched this when it was on TCM.  This was a pretty good half hour and would like to see the rest sometime.

As the Earth Turns (1934):  Alfred E. Green directs this film based on the novel by  that takes place in the winter of Maine.  An immigrant family moves into the farming area and the drama and love that ensues in the neighborhood.  This also takes a look at the hardship of winter and Maine Life.  Jean Muir, Donald Woods, Russell Hardie, Arthur Hohl, Dorothy Peterson, David Landau, Clara Blandick, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty decent soap opera movie that was one of the pre-code ones.

Aparajito (1956):  This is the sequel to last week's feature PATHER PANCHOLI and the second in Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy.  This continues with the Ray family where Apu's father has died so moves to his uncle's house along with his mother.  When getting there, Apu gets a good education and graduates with a scholarship to Calcutta.  With this happening, this leaves his mother virtually alone and having a hard time adjusting to life alone torn between wanting her son to stay and him getting an education as well as becoming independent.  The other part of the movie is Apu trying to make that life for himself while still trying to have a relationship with his mother.  The first one needs to get watched first but they are both pretty moving films about small-town life in India.  The first man featured this week in Roger Ebert included this in his "great movies" list.  This is available on Blu-Ray as a trilogy set.

Fresh Cut Grass (2004):  Matthew Coppola wrote and directed this independent coming of age film.  David Wike stars as college graduate Zac Peace who is depressed about his father's recent death and goes back to his home in Long Island unsure about the future.  He passes the time by mowing lawns while meeting and falling in love with a girl named Eastern Grace, played by Katy Hansz.  Juanita Walsh, Robert Montano, James McCaffrey, Dylan Bruno, Bobby Cavanaugh, Alicia Coppola, and many others co-star in this film.  This is Coppola's directorial debut and he has done mostly documentaries since this one but he makes a pretty good debut with this very low-budget film.  From what I can tell, he is no relation to the extended Coppola family.

Act of Violence (1949):  This is part two of a two-part Janet Leigh series.  Fred Zinneman directed this film noir for this week.  Van Heflin stars as war veteran Frank R. Enley who has established a good life for himself with a wife, played by Leigh, and child.  Robert Ryan co-stars as fellow veteran Joe Parkson who seems to be out for vengeance for something that happened in a German POW camp that he holds Frank responsible.  Mary Astor, Phyllis Thaxter, Berry Kroeger, Taylor Holmes, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a really good post-war film and towards people who were POWs and things they did to stay alive.  This is a pretty intense watch, especially for these times.  Robert Ryan is another one of those actors to become pretty underrated.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964):  This is my sci-fi film for the week.  I will start by saying this is not the character Robinson Cruson getting stuck on Mars, just a man that has similarities to the character.  Paul Mantee stars as Commander Kit Draper who ends up stranded on Mars with his only companion being a monkee.  As he struggles to survive and hopes to be rescued, he finds out he may not be alone.  Victor Lundin and Adam West co-star in this sci-fi classic.  Don't be thrown off by the title as it is actually a pretty good sci-fi film.  It is a very compelling story about a man and his pet monkey doing whatever possible to stay alive.  This could be a good double feature to watch with something like GRAVITY or THE MARTIAN.

Last Men in Aleppo (2017):  I end the week with this Oscar-nominated documentary.  I have been trying to include a movie each week that is nominated for something and decided to dig a little deeper and came across this one.  Feras Fayyad directed this movie that takes a look at the Syrian civil war and a group called the White Helmets that is a group of ordinary citizens rushing towards military strikes trying to save lives.  There is a lot of very intense footage that is really hard to see while it was good to see good people that were being featured.  The footage seen is more like active footage and does not do much in the way of interviews but showing the horrors of this war happening in Syria.  This is available to watch on Netflix and maybe check out some of these kinds of Oscar nominees.

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