Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 658th Edition

Welcome to the 658th Edition of my series.  There is not much happening this week besides just the typical me life but will have some announcements in the coming weeks.  That being said, I'll just get one with my selections.

The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996):  This is part four of my five-part Woody Harrelson series.  Milos Forman directed this biopic of the controversial owner of the porn magazine Hustler.  Woody Harrelson stars as Flynt who starts out as the owner of a strip bar and slowly starts putting out his magazine which took the porn magazine to a whole new level in the '70s.  This also goes into his legal battles trying to protect his freedom of speech including a lawsuit from Reverent Jerry Falwell, played by Richard Paul.  Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover, James Cromwell, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, Miles Chapin, James Carville, and many others co-star himself. Flynt himself has a cameo as one of judges in a trial scene.  This is one that is not for everyone but I feel that like him or hate him, Flynt does deserve some respect for his 1st amendment rights crusade.  Harrelson and Love work well together as the uneasy married couple and Norton is also good as Flynt's hapless attorney who makes it clear that he does not like what Flynt does but wants him to have his freedom to do what he does not like.

The Oath (2010):  I follow up with this documentary which was directed by Laura Poitras.  This takes a look at two men that have worked for Osama Bin Laden named Abu Jandal and Salim Ahmed Hamdan and both are interviewed and talk about their lives before and after they worked for Bin Laden.  Hamdan was the first defendant to be tried in the U.S. military tribunals established by the United States Department of Defense.  This is actually a very compelling look at these two people and is a rather complex character study for a lack of a better word.

Passion (1996):  This is my live musical for the week.  James Lapine directed this musical that was based on his own story and the music written by Stephen Sondheim.  This takes place in 19th Century Italy and stars Jere Shea as soldier Giorgio who must leave his fiance Clara, played by Marin Mazzie.  While away, Giorgio meets the unhappy and unhealthy Fosca, played by Donna Murphy, who forms an unhealthy obsession for Giorgio.  Gregg Edelman, Tom Aldredge, T.J. Meyers, and many others co-star in this musical.  I had never heard of this particular Sondheim show until I came across this one.  This is a pretty good love triangle story and has some pretty good music numbers.  I have gotten to play Beadle Bamford in SWEENEY TODD and have an obsession to one day be in his musical ASSASSINS.  Keep in mind, this is a live production of the show and was glad to find this unknown Sondheim production.

N.Y., N.Y. (1957):  This is my short film for the week which was directed by Francis Thompson.  This is day in the life of New York seen through a distorted camera.  This does not have any dialogue but has a kaleidoscope like look and a really good music score to go along with the footage.  This is about 15 minutes long and is available on Filmstruck.

City Lights (1931):  This is my silent film for the week which stars Charlie Chaplin who also wrote and directed and even composed the film score which was a known thing for him through his career.  Chaplin reprises his iconic role of the Tramp in this love story.  He falls in love with a beautiful blind girl, played by Virginia Cherrill.  He also forms a friendship with an alcoholic and suicidal rich man, played by Harry Myers, and through him, he is able to be a benefactor to the blind girl including raising the money to get her a surgical procedure to get her sight back.  Even though the talkie films have been on the rise, Chaplin decided to continue his formula of the silent comedy.  The one is more of a simple love story as opposed to his other works where he usually makes satire of of very dark times while working in a love story.  This still has some pretty funny moments including Charlie doing some boxing.  This is available to watch on Filmstruck.

Ocean's 11 (1960):  Lewis Milestone directed this Rat Pack vehicle where Frank Sinatra stars as Danny Ocean who decides to get some friends from his 82nd Airborne in order to plan a robbery of five Las Vegas casinos.  Fellow Rat Packers Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop join Sinatra in his robbery scheme.  Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Cesar Romero, Patrice Wymore, Akim Tamiroff, Henry Silva, Ilke Chase, Buddy Lester, Richard Benedict, Jean Willes, Norman Fell, Clem Harvey, Red Skelton, George Raft, Shirley MacLaine, and many others co-star or have cameos.  MacLaine makes her debut in her small comedic role that seems to have catapulted quite a career.  This is not technically a musical but Martin and Davis manage to work in some musical numbers including Dean's most known AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD.  This also gave way to a franchise many years later which starred George Clooney as Danny Ocean and the more recently OCEAN'S EIGHT which gives way to a female reboot.  For those that enjoy this franchise, we must give credit where credit is due.  This is also a very fun Rat Pack vehicle that is also available on Filmstruck.

Frances Ha (2012):  Noah Baumbach directed and co-wrote this film along with Greta Gerwig who co-stars in the title role.  Frances lives in New York and apprentices at a dance company and finds it difficult to move further but is persistent towards her dreams through all the moving and changing of friends in her life.  Mickey Sumner, Michael Esper, Adam Driver, Michael Zegan, Grace Gummer, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a rather hard movie to put into words as it really revolves around the characters, most notably Frances and her relationship with her friend Sophie, played by Sumner.  This is shot in black and white which is done very effectively in my opinion.  In the end, I feel this is about an everyday person doing what she can and making some mistakes in trying to find herself.  This is also available on Filmstruck and is worth a look.

Black Hand (1950):  This is my film noir for the week which was directed by Richard Thorpe.  Gene Kelly stars as Johnny Columbo whose father was killed by a group called the Black Hand when he was a kid.  Now grown, Johnny returns to New York with sworn vengeance against those involved in his father's death some years earlier.  While there, he also gets involved with a girl from his past in Isabella, played by Teresa Celli.  J. Carrol Naish, Marc Lawrence, Frank Puglia, Barry Kelley, Mario Siletti, Burt Freed, and many others co-star in this film.  This is mostly of interest to see Kelly in a more dramatic role that does not involve song and dance.  For those curious though, this is also available on the Filmstruck app which many can see I have fully embraced.

The Sterile Cuckoo (1969):  Alan J. Pakula directed this film based on a novel by John Nichols.  Liza Minelli stars as the rather free-spirited misfit Pookie Adams who forms a relationship with a man more opposite of her nature in the more timid and studious Jerry, played by Wendell Burton.  This is a very complex relationship with two college students who must accept each other's differences for the relationship to work.  Much of us know that Minelli is the daughter of Judy Garland and apparently Garland expressed concern over her daughter playing this outcast sort of role being concerned she related too much to the character of Pookie.  Minelli ends up doing great as the role of Pookie who rather troubled still keeps her character likable and works very well with Burton in this more unknown film.  This is another simple but effective story on young love and it is also available on Filmstruck.

Gook (2017):  I end the week with this newer independent film which was written and directed by Justin Chon.  This takes place in the community of Paramount, California and takes place during the time where the cops that attacked Rodney King were on trial.  Chon and David So star as Korean brothers Eli and Daniel who run a struggling shoe shop and form an unlikely friendship with the streetwise 11 year old African-American girl Kamilla, played by Simone Baker.  Curtiss Cook Jr., Chris Jai Alex, Jeff Corbett, Sang Chon, and many others co-star in this film.  This takes a good look at the racial tensions with the Koreans and blacks in this area making Kamilla's friendship with the Koreans rather forbidden even though she seems more comfortable with them than her family.  Sang Chon is the father of Justin Chon and took some convincing to get his father to do this film with the nature of the plot.  This movie may not have any known actors but it has a good script and gritty story.  Don't let the derogatory word in the title sway you from this movie.  This is available to watch on 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 Woody Harrelson, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 657th Edition

Welcome to the 657th Edition of my series.  I will wish all the dads out there a Happy Father's Day and hope you all have a good day however celebrated.  I am not a dad but am going to celebrate by watching MONEY IN THE BANK tonight on the WWE Network.  This week, I have obtained a 2004 Honda Odyssey which drives really good and while I'm not a fan of car payments, I do like my vehicle.  I will get on with my selections now.

Escape Fire:  The Fight to Save American Healthcare (2012):  I start the week out with this documentary taking a look at the healthcare industry which you might have guessed by the title and the problems of healthcare here in the states.  Susan Froemke and Matthew Heineman directed this documentary where they interview various people in the health industry and the difficulty they have working in a system where the more people they see, the more money they make essentially making it difficult for them to give their patients the care they need.  This also shows ways other doctors have done in thinking outside the box.  This is a pretty eye-opening documentary on our flawed system in the United States.  This is available to watch on the Hoopla Digital website.

A Mighty Wind (2003):  I go from a documentary to a mockumentary.  Christopher Guest directs and wrote this comedy which features most of the other alums from these movies.  This centers around the folk music industry where a well-known concert promoter has died where a tribute show gets put on which includes duo Mitch and Mickey, classic troubadours the Folksmen, and the New Main Street Singers.  This is shot like a documentary showing them putting the concert together and the bands in preparation.  Guest, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban, Paul Dooley, Paul Benedict, Floyd Van Buskirk, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Ed Begley Jr., Larry Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Cobbs, and many others co-star in this mockumentary.  This has a lot of funny moments and has a pretty good soundtrack.  My favorite stuff was between Mitch and Mickey, played by Levy and O'Hara, who are an estranged duo that was broken up and try to reconnect.  A good double feature would be to watch this with their other music mocumentary in THIS IS SPINAL TAP.

Seven Psychopaths (2012):  This is part three of my possible five part Woody Harrison series.  Martin McDonagh wrote and directed this rather violent comedy.  Colin Farrell stars as struggling screenwriter Marty who inadvertently becomes caught up in the criminal underworld when his friends Billy and Hans, played by Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, kidnap a dog which belongs to a ruthless mobster named Charlie, played by Harrelson.  That's about the best I have to say about this film.  It was a very well-written comedy with some really good characters and performances.  Tom Waits, Gabourney Sidibe, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Pitt, Harry Dean Stanton, Kevin Corrigan, Zeljko Ivanek, Brendan Sexton III and Abbie Cornish all co-star in this film.  It is a good film on a writer struggling to write a screenplay and kind of comes to life when he does write the screenplay.  This has a lot of comedy and violence and is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Joy Ride:  an Auto Theft (1976):  This is my short film for the week which is a driver's education short from this era.  This is apparently based on a real incident where teens decide to steal a car and take a joy ride which result in some really bad consequences.  This gives the message to not drive with a licence but also shows how wrong it is to steal a car.  This is very heavy handed but they wanted to pound these messages in so hopefully more people thought twice about stealing a car and driving without a license.  This is availalbe on Amazon Prime on "Driver's Education Scare Films".

Baby Doll (1956):  Elia Kazan directed this film which was written by Tennessee Williams.  Karl Malden stars as Archie Lee Meighan who is in a loveless marriage with the 19 year old "Baby Doll" Meighan, played by Carroll Baker.  Their marriage agreement has them consummating their marriage on her 20th birthday but Baby Doll does what she can to complicate things.  Eli Wallach, Mildred Dunnock, Lonny Chapman, and many others co-star in this film and Wallach makes his film debut.  This is a little too complicated for me to really explain but this plays out in typical Tennessee Williams fashion.  This was very controversial in its time and banned in many countries.  The Catholic Legion of Decency had this condemned for its "carnal suggestiveness" which ruined a lot of money for the movie at the time.  This is still a very unusual film even by today's standards and is available to watch on Filmstruck.

The Front Page (1931):  Pat O'Brien stars as newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson who is engaged to marry Peggy Grant, played by Mary Brian, and planning to move to New York for higher paying jobs.  Hildy sees an opportunity for a good story through when death row inmate Earl Williams, played by George E. Stone, escapes hanging and uses his honeymoon money for an inside scoop on the escape.  Adolphe Menjou, Edward Everett Horton, Mae Clarke, Slim Summerville, Matt Moore, Frank McHugh, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is billed as a "screwball comedy" but is more of a look at the newspaper industry and everyone competing for that story.  This has a lot of laughs and is satire that remains rather relevant to today.  This is also available to watch on Filmstruck.

The Girl Next Door (2004):  This is my raunchy romantic comedy for the week.  Luke Greenfield directed this comedy which stars Emile Hirsch as Matthew Kidman who is about to graduate high school  and has big plans for himself.  Elisha Cuthbert co-stars as Danielle who is housesitting for their neighbors and Matthew thinks he has found the girl of his dreams.  Things get complicated for him when he learns that Danielle is a former adult film star and clouds his usual good judgment.  Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano, Timothy Bottoms, Olivia Wilde,  and many others co-star in this comedy.  First of all, please don't confuse this with the 2007 movie of the same name which is based on a horrible true story.  I did not really know what to expect out of this movie.  It is pretty raunchy so not for everyone but I was able to laugh quite a bit and in the end I felt it had a rather good message.  In some ways, this could be our modern day RISKY BUSINESS so could be a good double feature sometime.

Dragon Inn (1967):  This is my Asian film for the week.  King Hu wrote and directed this film where the Eunuch has ordered the commander of his army condemned for betrayal and insurrection.  The commander's family is murdered except a son and daughter who were expelled to the outlands.  From there, we get to see a lot of good action and swordplay and a really good action climax.  This is a must for fans of the Asian cinema.  This is available to watch on Filmstruck.

Senechal the Magnificent (1957):  This is my French comedy for the week which was directed by Jean Boyer.  French comedic actor Fernandel stars as theater actor Senechal whose latest play does not have the success that it deserved and partly blames the recent advent of television for "murdering" the theater.  Out of work, he is dressed up as a Foreign Legion officer and is mistaken for a real one giving him the idea to have real-life roles.  I had never heard of Fernandel before coming across this movie but I found a very pleasant surprise in this movie.  In some ways, this was a film of sketch comedy and all of them being really funny especially a trial scene.  This is also on Filmstruck but only until June 23rd.  I suggest checking out this really underrated comedic actor in Fernandel who measures up to just about anyone I have seen.

Captain Underpants:  the First Epic Movie (2017):  I end the week with this animated movie based on the children's novel series by Dav Pilkey.  David Soren directed this adaptation which revolves around 2 overly imaginative 4th grade pranksters in Harold Hutchins, voiced by Thomas Middleditch, and George Beard, voiced by Kevin Hart.  They are two best friends who just try to keep things fun and do their own comic stories like with the character of Captain Underpants.  They are always at odds with the unfriendly Mr. Krupp, voiced by Ed Helms, and manage to hypnotize him into becoming their character Captain Underpants.  They also must go against Professor Poopypants, voiced by Nick Kroll, who is trying to rid the world of laughter.  Jordan Peele, Kristen Schaal, DeeDee Rescher, Brian Posehn, Mel Rodriguez, and many others provide their voice in this animated movie.  This is mostly geared to older elementary children.  This is rated PG for the crude jokes told in the film.  This has been the subject of some controversy so maybe check out a few novels before deciding if you want your kids to watch this movie.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

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

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 656th Edition

Welcome to the 656th Edition of my series.  There is not a lot going on at this time.  I will be making some theatrical announcements in the coming weeks but for now I'll just make this short and get on with my selections for the week.

Waiting for Guffman (1996):  I star the week out with this mocumentary which was directed and co-wrote by Christopher Guest.  He also stars as aspiring director Corky St. Clair who ends up in a small Missouri town and decides to put on a local musical about the history of the town.  His cast is a marginally talented group of locals and learns that a theater critic named Guffman will come to opening night and hopes to be able to take it to Broadway.  Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Larry Miller, Parker Posey, David Cross, Bob Balaban, Paul Dooley, Lewis Arquette, Brian Doyle-Murray, Miriam Flynn, Paul Benedict, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is the ultimate community theater film in my opinion and in many ways could relate to Corky.  Much of the alums from BEST IN SHOW, A MIGHT WIND, and FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION take part in this great mockumentary.  Whenever I am in a show, I sometimes joke that Guffman will be there which some know and some it just goes over their head.

Natural Born Killers (1994):  This is part two of a possible four-part Woody Harrelson series.  I go from a movie about community theater to what is essentially a satire of the media.  Oliver Stone directed this very controversial film which was based on a shory written by Quentin Tarantino but had nothing to do with the final product.  Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis star as lovers Mickey and Mallory who decide to go on a killing spree and become a media sensation due to the reporting glorifying what they are doing lead by Wayne Gale, played by Robert Downey Jr.  Tom Sizemore, Rodney Dangerfield, Jared Harris, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Edie McClurg, Russell Means, Larry Flaherty, O-Lan Jones, Richard Lineback, Kirk Baltz, Dale Dye, Evan Handler, Balthazar Getty, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Grifasi, and many others co-star in this film.  I will start by saying this is not for everyone and is a very dark comedy focusing on how much of us are ate up by the media on most notably serial killers.  One cool thing for me is that it included music from Peter Gabriel in the soundtrack so you can't go wrong there, at least for me.  I would also like to point out to fellow wrestling fans that seeing Downey made me think that he would be a good Vince Russo as long as he can get Russo's Brooklyn accent down.  This is not for the squeamish but if looking for something rather bizarre, this is one to consider.

Stars and the Moon:  Betty Buckley Live at the Donmar (2002):  This is a live performance film of actress and singer Betty Buckley who is most known for her work on Broadway but has made her way to film and television.  This has her singing mostly Broadway but also brought us the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter and James Taylor.  Technically this might not be a movie but since this is my blog, I get to decide that which is very liberating for me sometimes.  There is not much else to describe except this is a pretty good concert performance and gives some insight into her career.

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939):  This is my animated short for the week which as the title indicates features Daffy duck and yes it lives up to its title with a dinosaur.  Before we had Fred Flinstone, we has Casper Caveman and his pet dinosaur Fido.  Casper and Fido come across Daffy Duck and targeted him for food not knowing how difficult he could be.  This is a much earlier one for Daffy who had started in 1937.  This is also the only appearance for Casper Cavemen who is essentially I suppose is a caveman version of Elmer Fudd.  Still a good one hit wonder to check out and daffy's earlier work.

Beginning of the End (1957):  This is my MST3K feature for the week.  Bert I. Gordon directed this Sci-Fi B-movie.  Peter Graves and Peggie Castle star as Dr. Ed Wainwright and Audrey Aimes who are investigating disappearances only to find there are giant grasshoppers that are killing people in the community and must convince the local military this his happening.  One thing I found rather funny is that Gordon's inspiration was apparently the 1956 film THE 10 COMMANDMENTS.  This was about as low-budget as it gets but still very entertaining especially with the MST3K guys riffing on it.

Machine Gun McCain (1969):  This is my gangster movie for the week.  Giulano Montaldo directed this film based on the novel by Ovid Demaris.  John Cassavetes stars as paroled robber Hank McCain who gets in on a robbery devised by his son Jack, played by Pierluigi Apra, not knowing his son is involved with volatile and ambitious capo Charlie Adamo, played by Peter Falk.  Britt Ekland co-stars as Hank's love interest.  Gabriele Ferzetti, Luigi Pistilli, Florinda Bolkan, Tony Kendall, Salvo Randone, Gena Rowlands, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty violent gangster movie and Falk is very far from Columbo.  Cassavetes is good as the tough guy and lends some really good action to make enjoyable.  This is available on Filmstruck.

The Flowers of War (2011):  Yimou Zhang directed this war film based on the novel by Geling Yan.  This takes place during the Japanese invasion of Nanking in 1937 where Christian Bale stars as mortician John Miller who arrives at a church to prepare for a burial of a priest.  Upon his arrival, he discovers there are a group of convent girl students and prostitutes from a nearby brothers.  He poses as a priest for survival but also finds his own humanity when becoming protector to the girls.  Ni Ni, Doudou Zhang, Dawei Tong, Paul Schneider, and many othesr co-star in this film.  I did not know what to expect out of this film but was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.  This was a really horrible time in history for China but through it all, it was a pretty moving film with Bale really good as the American who starts out not really seeming to care about anything and evolves into a protector.  This is available on the Hoopla Digital website.

Les Girls (1957):  George Cukor directed this Roshomon style musical comedy.  This centers around the dance troupe Barry Nichols and Les girls and a libel lawsuit on a tell-all novel by Sybil Wren, played by Kay Kendall, from fellow dancer Angele, played by Taina Elg.  Both of them give different points of view on what happened while Barry, played by Kelly, gives his side of the story.  Mitzi Gaynor, Jacques Bergerac, Leslie Phillips, Henry Daniell, Patrick Macnee, and many others co-star in this film.  This is Kelly's last movie with MGM and have gone rather overlooked.  This has a good script and some pretty good dance numbers along with the Roshomon like flashbacks that told the sides of all three people.  This is also available on Filmstruck.

Female Trouble (1974):  I bring another crime ridden film written and directed by Schlock director John Waters.  Divine stars as Dawn Davenport, also look for a dual role, who runs away from home, becomes a single mother to a very hateful daughter, goes on a crime spree, and becomes a model.  Much of the Water alums like Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, and Cookie Mueller.  It is really hard to put this one into words.  I will start by saying this is rated NC-17.  You have to understand or at least be aware of the mind of John Waters, especially with his earlier work like this one.  In the later years with movies like HAIRSPRAY and PECKER, he kept the same sort of mood but toned it down quite a bit.  In earlier ones like this one, this is a pretty sleazy film that will have its audience but will offend many.  People who love the musical HAIRSPRAY have Waters to thank for giving us the much darker 1988 film of the same name.  This is available on Filmstuck.

American Honey (2016):  I end the week with this independent film written and directed by Andrea Arnold.  Sasha Lane stars as Star who is an 18 year old girl going nowhere in life and decides to join an underground, I believe this word covers it, magazine selling group.  She slowly finds she is out of her element in selling when seeing their methods, most notably by Jake, played by Shia LaBeouf.  Riley Keough, McCaul Lombardi, Arielle Holmes, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a kind of a coming of age film that is taken to a different level.  LaBeouf and Keough are the only real experienced actors in the movie and most people in the movie are locals which works very well.  The cinematography greatly reflects the low budget of the movie and has some very well-shot scenes.  This is not one to be watched if looking for inspiration but is good for watching a character driven film.  LaBeouf haters might like him in this one and believe it is cool that he chose this kind of project where I'm sure the salary was not the highest but likely took on account of the script.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Woody Harrelson, Karl Malden, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 655th Edition

Welcome to the 655th Edition of my series.  I find myself in one of those times that I really hate which is having to accept that your vehicle's days are numbered and have to think about another vehicle.  The one nice thing is I do not have to drive to work now so I'm trying to be positive about it and know things will work out.  Last week for my birthday, my dad bought me a year subscription for the streaming service Filmstruck.  This mostly features movies from TCM and from Criterion and am really enjoying my latest option, especially towards the older movies.  There are also a couple selections from it on this list and encourage looking into that service. 

Across the Universe (2007):  Julie Taymor directed this musical which centers around music from the Beatles.  This take place in the '60s during the Vietnam era Jude, played by Jim Sturgess, meets and falls in love with Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood, so yes they used names from Beatles songs.  This centers around a group of anti-war friends when one of them is drafted to Vietnam.  Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther, T.V. Carpio, Dylan Baker, Linda Emond, Lynn Cohen, Bill Irwin, Joe Cocker, Bono, Eddie Izzard, and many others co-star or have cameos in this film.  This is set mostly to the anti-war movement of the '60s and does a good job of incorporating the Beatles music into the film.  I suppose if you just don't like the Beatles, this is not one to see.  This is mostly a film on the counter-culture from this era.  Keep in mind that the surviving Beatles which are Paul and Ringo did enjoy this film.  Could be a good double feature to go along with SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB band which had other people singing their music but is most of a bad musical classic that is entertaining.  This one was entertaining and was an actual good musical.

Band of Brothers (2001):  I go from a film that focuses a lot on the anti-war movement towards Vietnam to a WWII mini-series that I would not call pro-war but a story of an actual military unit.  Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced this HBO series which takes a look at the military unit Easy Company from its beginnings through a lot of other ups and downs throughout the war.  Damian Lewis, Scott Grimes, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor, Donnie Wahlberg, Peter Youngblood Hills, Matthew Leitch, Nicholas Aaron, Philip Barantini, Michael Cudlitz, Dexter Fletcher, Rick Gomez, Neal McDonaugh, Dale Dye, Michael Fassbender, Frank John Hughes, Kirk Acevedo, Tom Hardy, Jason O'Mara, Simon Pegg, Colin Hanks, David Schwimmer, Dominic Cooper, Jimmy Fallon, and many others co-star in this mini-series, many of which before they were known.  This consists of about 10 episodes that are all around an hour long.  Most episodes start out with interviews of the actual soldiers being portrayed which I thought was a really good element.  I don't feel this is either pro or anti war but a really good look at the ups and downs of a military unit making the most of their surroundings.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

A United Kingdom (2016):  I go from a true story on an WWII army unit to a true story on African royalty and a real-life forbidden relationship around the same era.  Amma Asante directed this biopic which stars David Oyelowo as Seretse Khama who is the prince of Bechuanaland and is studying law in Britain before his ascension to the throne.  While there, he meets and falls in love with British clerk and white woman Ruth Williams, played by Rosamund Pike.  When finally going to Africa, their interracial relationship is not well received and must fight for their rights to be together.  Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, Laura Carmichael, Terry Pheto, Jessica Oyelowo, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Arnold Oceng, Anastasia Hille, Charlotte Hope, Theo Landey, Abena Ayiyor, Jack Lowden, Nicholas Rowe, and many others co-star in this film.  I was never aware of this story until I saw the movie and had never heard of this relationship.  This was a pretty good history love story that was well cast and one on not giving up.

The Luckiest Guy in the World (1947):  This is my short film for the week which is from the "Crime Does Not Pay" series which I find usually takes an everyday person in over their heads driving them to crime.  Barry Nelson stars as Charlie Vurn who is always looking for his "big score" and likes to bet on horses.  He also owes his bookies and "borrows" from his accounts at work leading to quite the climax with a really good ending.  This is actually the last entry in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series which was a pretty good series that can be found on DVD and get featured a lot on TCM.

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962):  As I was housesitting last week for my friends Stephanie and Drew, I took full advantage of their VHS they recently obtained to watch this monster film.  A pharmaceutical company goes to Farou Island to capture King Kong to bring him to Japan for publicity purposes where he escapes and battles a recently released Godzilla.  This is the first movie where Godzilla takes on another creature and would have many battles through the years with rivals like Mothra and King Ghidorah but this is kind of what started it.  Like all of them, the actual fight is the best part and was a pretty good and rather intense fight.  I had seen some of the others but had not seen this one yet and was a pretty fun one to watch.

The Women (1939):  George Cukor directed this film based on the play by Clare Boothe Luce.  Norma Shearer stars as Mary Haines who learns that her husband Stephen is having an affair with shopgirl Crystal Allen, played by Joan Crawford.  She goes to a ranch in Reno meeting other women who are in similar situations whiles also analyzing the future of her marriage.  Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Lucile Watson, Phyllis Povah, Virginia Weidler, Marjorie Main, Virginia Grey, Ruth Hussey, and many others co-star in this film. Notice that I named off a bunch of women and that is because this has an all-woman cast.  I would like to comment on Virginia Weidler who plays Mary's daughter and find that she is my favorite child actor from this era going onto become rather underrated in my opinion.  This was a very clever film with quite a bit of comedy.  This came into the golden year of film as some say so it might have been lost in the shuffle but still joins the elite films of that year.  This is available to watch on Filmstruck.

Solo:  A Star Wars Story (2018):  This is part one of a possible four part Woody Harrelson series.  I decided to get out and use my Moviepass for this prequel to the iconic character brought to life by Harrison Ford.  Ron Howard takes the helm of director and Alden Ehrenreich stars as the young Han Solo where we see him becoming the man we know through his meetings with friends like Lando Calrissian, played by Donald Glover, and the Wookie that would become his best friend in Chewbacca, played by Joonas Suotomo.  Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Erin Kellyman, Linda Hunt, Warwick Davis, Clint Howard, and many others co-star or have cameos.  Ahrenreich captures the character of Han Sol very well and Glover steals all scenes he is in as young Calrissian so I'm sure we can expect movies for him in the future.  I don't really want to give too much away as I try to approach these with a little knowledge possible.  I thought this was well done and pays respect to all the other STAR WARS films while making this one its own.

Drunken Angel (1948):  Akira Kurosawa directed this Japanese crime drama in post-war Japan.  Toshiro Mifune stars as small-time gangster Matsunaga who goes to see an alcoholic doctor named Sanada, played by Takashi Shimura, after battle with rival criminals.  Sanada diagnoses Matsunaga with Tuberculosis and convinces him to get treatment for it.  They form an uneasy friendship while Matsunaga still has to battle rival gangsters.  Shimura is likely most known from Kurosawa's IKIRU.  This is the first of many collaborations between Kurosawa and Mifune.  Mifune is more known as the rough looking samurai but pulls off the clean cut gangster very well.  This manages to takes different genres like noir, gangster, and odd couple and make a really good movie out of it.  This is also available on Filmstruck.

The Last Man on Earth (1964):  Ubaldo Ragona directed this horror film based on the novel I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson.  Vincent Price stars as Dr. Robert Morgan who appears to be the lone survivor of a plague that turned many into vampire/zombie like creatures that Morgan takes it upon himself to kill.  Soon, he meets Ruth Collins, played by Franca Bettoia, who is contaminated and is on the verge of turning until he discovers his blood cures her.  They look to save the world but find it is not that simple due to Morgan's reputation.  Price does a great job carrying a lot of this movie by himself though there are flashback scenes before the plague happened.  This has been remade a couple of times but just cannot match this one in my opinion.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Krisha (2015):  I end the week with this film which was directed and written by Trey Edward Shults and also co-stars.  Krisha Fairchild stars as the title character who has been estranged from her family for a decade and finally returns for a Thanksgiving dinner with hopes that she will be able to reconnect with everyone including her son, played by Shults.  As she tries to connect with her family, past demons come back to haunt her.  Alex Dobrenko, Chris Doubek, Bryan Casserly, Chase Joliet, Augustine Frizzell, Olivia Grace Applegate, Bill Wise, and and many others co-star in this film.  This has a pretty unknown cast but still manages to work very well.  I really liked that a middle-aged woman was cast to star as this type of character.  Most of the people in this movie are actual family and based on a real family situation so I know it had to be difficult to film among the family members.  There is also a very interesting fantasy vs. reality element to this movie.  This is not an easy movie to watch but really forces you to think and is pretty compelling.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime and hope to this this movie more exposure.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and what you dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Parker Posey, Woody Harrelson, and many others.