Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 719th Edition

Welcome to the 719th Edition of my series.  Next week officially starts the annual contest of The Madness and this is a bit of a preview to the Madness.  A couple things going on with me, on October 12th, I am going to a be a part of the annual Historic Beech Grove Cemetery Walk which is at Beech Grove Cemetery.  This is an educational tour of historical figures in my town of Muncie.  On October 18-20 is when I'm in THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS in Alexandria which is a locally written biblical story set in more modern times and I play Peter.  Nothing else really happening so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

The Purge (2013):  James DeMonaco wrote and directed this horror movie which has started quite a franchise.  This takes place in a society where one time a year criminal activity is legal for a 12 hour period.  The movie centers around the Sandin family, played by Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, and Adelaide Kane, who get put into the middle and must fight for survival and their humanity for that matter.  Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis, Tom Yi, Chris Mulkey, Tisha French, and many others co-star in this horror film.  This was a pretty interesting concept that I thought was pretty well excecuted.  I suppose it is not absolutely original but what is these days?  It was pretty inventive and enjoyable for its targeted crowd.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014):  Now I bring an Marvel Cinematic Universe selection and the introduction to this Marvel group.  James Gunn directed this superhero movie where a group of intergalactic criminals come together to become unlikely heroes to save the world from villain Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace, who is working for Thanos, played by Josh Brolin.  Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana, Drax, played by former WWE champion Dave Bautista, Rocket the Racoon, voiced by Bradley Cooper, and Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel, are the unlikely team of heroes.  Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Haddock, Sean Gunn, Peter Serafinowicz, Alexis Denisof, and many others co-star in this film.  There is not much explanation I need to give to this one.  This is has a good amount of humor and action.  It also is known for its soundtrack that goes along well with the movie.  This has one of the best end credit sequence in my opinion.  If you're looking for a fun superhero movie to watch, this is a great selection.

Us (2019):  This is the name of a Peter Gabriel album but this movie has nothing to do with that album or singer.  Last year, Jordan Peele brought us the unconventional horror film GET OUT, now he brings us this unconventional horror film which he wrote and directed.  Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong'o, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex star as the Wilson family who are on vacation in Santa Cruz, California.  They are enjoying themselves until they find they have intruders at the home where they are staying and becomes worse when knowing they are all doppelgangers to the family.  Tim Heidecker, Elizabeth Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry, and many others co-star in this horror film that could be the best of the year.  It is hard to really put this into words without giving a lot away.  They all do well in their dual roles and has an interesting ending.  It was also best watching it, not really knowing anything about it.

Bewitched:  I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha (1964):  I am calling this my short film for the week which is really an episode of a tv series and the first episode of BEWITCHED.  While this is a tv show, I make the rules and can name anything I would like in this movie list.  Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York star as newlyweds Samantha and Darrin Stephens who have just gotten married and Darrin does not know yet that his wife is a witch.  Agnes Moorehead co-stars as Samantha's witch mother who clearly does not approve of Darrin.  C. Lindsay Workman, Nancy Kovack, Jose Ferrer, and many others co-star in this episode and this show would last eight seasons.  Montgomery, York and Moorehead would work well together for many years bringing laughs to many a home on a weekly basis.  This is available to watch on the Crackle app.

Frankenstein (1931):  James Whale directed this horror classic which is based on the novel by Mary Shelley.  Colin Clive stars as Dr. Henry Frankenstein who is a scientist obsessed with creating life.  He finally accomplishes what he sets out to do when he creates the Monster, played Boris Karloff, but gets more than he bargains for when the Monster becomes very misunderstood by the town inadvertently causing death in the village.  Mae Clarke, Edward Von Sloan, Frederick Kerr, Dwight Frye, Lionel Belmore, Marilyn Harris, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the first feature adaptation of Shelley's novel and Karloff being the most iconic of the actors to play the role.  This was the first of a pretty decent series, my favorite being the first sequel THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in 1935.  I'm not quite sure why the main character's name was changed from Victor to Henry.  In this movie, Dr. Frankenstein is portrayed as more of a mad scientist with no real motivation to do what he is trying to do while the novel and later adaptations portray him as a scientist that hates death and has good intentions that go awry.  Having said all that, this still deserves to get credit where it is due and deserves a look.

The Giant Claw (1957):  Now I bring a B-movie worthy of being riffed by MST3K and Rifftrax but has not been as of yet as far as I know but a couple years ago a group in Farmland called "Don't Shoot the Projectionist" got together to present this with some local riffing.  Something very mysterious is encountered.  You might say a plane, you might say Superman but no it was as bird this time and a very big bird at that and no I'm not talking about that friendly yellow bird that lives at Seseme Street.  Jeff Morrow stars as Mitch MacAfee who is an Air Force pilot and is the first to say he saw this really big and destructive bird that does not seem to be there to make any friends.  The special effects in this are laughable which is one of the many things to make this a very fun watch to have among friends.  This bird never got a name and was never able to take on creatures like Godzilla and Mothra but is a worthy one hit wonder in the monster universe.

Thirst (2009):  This is my Korean film for the week and my vampire film for the week which was directed by Chan-wook Park.  Kang-Ho Sang stars as a priest who volunteers himself for a secret vaccine intended to eradicate a virus but things go wrong through his near death.  He is brought back from the accidental use of vampire blood and becomes one himself.  This is not for everyone and is a rather erotic tale.  This is a pretty fascinating vampire tale and is a good watch for those looking for vampire films.

Three Cases of Murder (1955):  This is a movie which has three short stories involving murder and the supernatural which were directed by Wendy Toye, George More O'Ferrall, and David Eady.  The first story involves a museum worker who is introduced into the world beyond the painting.  The second story involves two best friends falling in love with the same woman and the woman is murdered making both of them suspects.  The third story of a vengeful politician using his enemy's dreams to get revenge.  Orson Welles, John Gregson, Elizabeth Sellars, Emrys Jones, Alan Badel, Andre Morrell, Leueen MacGrath, Eddie Byrne, Helen Cherry, and many others co-star in these films.  I thought the first one was the best and thought about it as an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE before the popular series had even come out.  The others were still pretty good and really worth a look.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976):  John Carpenter wrote and directed this action film and ranks up as one of my favorites in that genre.  Austin Stoker stars as police officer Ethan Bishop who is being assigned an abandoned police station.  He gets an unexpected visit from a prison vehicle with a sick prisoner and needed to hold some criminals for a time.  They find themselves under attack by a very brutal and ruthless gang where the staff at the precinct and the criminals must band together in their limited firepower and phone line that got cut off.  Darwin Joster, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Kyes, and many others co-star in this film.  This has some pretty intense action and has a very low-budget that works perfectly for this movie.  It also has a very simple but effective music score that Carpenter himself wrote that gets played at the perfect times.  This last viewing made me realize that Joster's character Napoleon should have gone down as one of the top 50 movie heroes and most notably that AFI's top 50 heroes and villains they did a few years ago.  That character is a death row inmate who helps fight off the gang.  There is a remake from 2005 and maybe it's time for me to finally give that a look.  I just don't see it topping what this one did though.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Slaughter High (1986):  I end the week with this cult classic which was co-directed and co-written by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Mackenzie Litten.  Simon Scuddamore stars as the high school outcast Marty who has a prank played on him by a group of popular students resulting in a lifetime of physical trauma.  Ten years after the prank, he gets his revenge by inviting those involved claiming to be a high school reunion but find he is out for revenge.  Caroline Munro, Carmine Iannaccone, Gary Martin, Michael Safran, John Segal, Kelly Baker, Josephine Scandi, Dick Randall, and many others co-star in what is essentially a slasher film.  Unfortunately, Scuddamore would die of a drug overdose shortly after this was filmed.  This has a really nice over-the-top feel to it and has lots of good violence and might be a good slasher for the season.

Well, that is it for this week but continue on for my segment of "The Bookworm Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Emily Blunt, Kurt Russell, Bela Lugosi, Walter Huston, Angela Lansbury, and many others.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

Muncie Murder and Mayhem by Douglas Walker and Keith Roysdon (2018):  I go to a book that takes a look at my own hometown with events from the late 1800s to about the 1960s.  This takes a look at a smallpox epidemic, Ku Klux Klan stories, theft stories, a doctor that lead a very complex life, and many murders.  This was written by local journalists and bring up a lot of very interesting stories that happened in the Muncie, Indiana area.  They also wrote the book WICKED MUNCIE that I will try to take a look at some point.  This is essentially a series of short stories that take a look at various true crime events in the Muncie area and very well researched by the authors.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 718th Edition

Welcome to the 718th Edition of my series.  As I have announced, I am going to be in the original production of THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS where I play the role of Peter which is the biblical character in a more modern setting.  That will be October 18-20 in Alexandria, Indiana at the Commons Theater.  I also got recruited for the annual Beech Grove Cemetery Walk in Muncie on October 12th and in that one, I will be playing a historical figure from Muncie.  I will have more information as time goes on but for now I will just get to my selections.

The Expendables 2 (2012):  This is part two of my two-part Sylvester Stallone series.  Simon West directed this sequel which was co-written by Stallone who also reprises his role of Expendables leader Barney Ross.  His other misfits of Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, and Randy Couture while also being joined by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger who have more expanded roles than just the cameos they had in the first one.  They also get some help by Liam Hemsworth, Chuck Norris, and Nan Yu in going up against the main villain in Jean-Claude Van Damme and his henchman being played by Scott Adkins.  Amanda Ooms, Charisma Carpenter, Nikolette Noel, and many others co-star in this film.  What more needs to be said on this?  While I was a little disappointed we didn't get Mickey Rourke back, I actually liked this one better than the first.  This has some really good unrealistic action, lots of humor and some great insider dialogue among the actors making less than subtle references to their careers.  I recommend starting with the first one if you have not seen it.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004):  I go from an extremely violent mercenary group to a couple of stoners.  Danny Leiner directed this comedy which stars John Cho and Kal Penn as Harold Lee and Kumar Patel who have had a long day and decide to get stoned.  They get the munchies when they see a commercial for White Castle and decide to go on a road trip to get to the closest one.  Along the way they encounter a number of obstacles including Neil Patrick Harris who is playing a parody of himself.  Ethan Embry, Rob Tinkler, Steve Braun, Paula Garces, Christopher Thompson, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Angelo Tsarouchas, Anthony Anderson, Siu Ta, Ryan Reynolds, Christopher Meloni, Gary Anthony Williams, Malin Akerman, and many others co-star or have cameos in this comedy.  Like my first selection, this has also inspired quite a franchise with the title characters.  For me the highlight of this film was a nearly unrecognizable Christopher Meloni who was far from his usual LAW AND ORDER:  SVU type roles and even his conventional look.  This was also the start of Harris reinventing himself and the next year would go onto star in the popular sitcom HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.  There are all kinds of laughs to be had in this film and is a great advertisement for White Castle that I'm sure many relate to in their lives.

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019):  Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz co-wrote and co-directed this independent film.  Zack Gottsagen stars as Zak who is a 22 year old man with Down Syndrome and decides to escape from his group home in hopes of getting to a wrestling school that he heard about in pursuing his dreams of being a wrestler.  He meets an unlikely friend and coach in Tyler, played by Shia LeBeouf, who is on the run from some locals and agrees to help Zak get to his location.  Dakota Johnson co-stars as the nursing home employee Eleanor who gets roped into joining them on their journey.  Thomas Haden Church co-stars as Zak's wrestling idol the Salt Water Redneck.  John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, Yelawolf, and many others co-star in this film as well as wrestling legends Jake Roberts and Mick Foley having cameo appearances.  I had vaguely heard about this when I saw it was in the movie theaters and was looking for a movie to see on AMC's $5 Tuesdays so I decided to support independent film.  I was so glad I made this decision.  This is a great modern-day Mark Twain type adventure story that was driven by a really good script and well-written characters.  Gottsagen was really good in his role of Zak and LeBeouf shows he has come a long way in his career.  Wrestling is one of the elements to make this movie interesting but any wrestling or non-wrestling fan can enjoy this movie and hope this gets more exposure.

The Blacksmith (1922):  This is my silent comedy short which stars the deadpan comedy legend Buster Keaton.  He plays an assistant to a blacksmith while also making horseshoes and repairing cars with very mixed and funny results.  This has a good variety of laughs and gags in its 21 minutes.  This is available to watch on Hoopla as part of the "Buster Keaton Short Films Collection III" and has a lot of his other work for those that love Keaton and silent comedy.

The Vicious Circle (1957):  Gerald Thomas directed this crime drama which stars John Mills as Dr. Harold Latimer who picks up a famous German actress from the airport.  That actress is found dead in Latimer's flat and the evidence continues to point to him leading him into a world of blackmail and intrigue as he tries to clear his name.  Derek Farr, Noelle Middleton, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Roland Carver, Mervyn Johns, Rene Ray, Lionel Jeffries, Lisa Daniely, and many others co-star in this film.  This is one that has not gone onto be a real famous movie but is one that kept me intrigued throughout.  This is one that requires full attention and is available to be watched on Amazon Prime.

Goin' South  (1978):  This is my western comedy for the week where Jack Nicholson takes the helm of director and stars as outlaw Henry Moon.  Moon is about to be hanged but is saved through bachelorette Julia Tate, played by Mary Steenburgen in her film debut, in a law where if a single woman agrees to marry the accused, then that person gets to be free.  Henry must soon deal with a marriage that he realizes is more business-oriented than anything and must deal with those from his past.  Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Bradford, Jeff Morris, Tracey Walter, Danny Devito, Luana Anders, Lucy Lee Flippin, Ed Begley Jr., and many others co-star in this western comedy.  This reunites Nicholson, DeVito, and Lloyd from the 1975 hit ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST so if you expect this to match that one, this may not be one to watch.  This is still a pretty fun movie with a good blend of humor and action.  This is also available to watch on Amazon Prime.

3 Men and a Baby (1987):  Now I bring a comedy about unexpected fatherhood.  Dr. Spock, I guess he used the alias Leonard Nimoy, goes behind the camera to direct this comedy.  Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Guttenberg star as Manhattan bachelors Peter, Jack, and Michael who all live in an apartment together living the bachelor life to the core.  Things change when Jack is filming a movie in Turkey and the other two discover a baby outside of their apartment that is Jack's daughter.  They both adjust to the world of fatherhood and all rethink their lives.  Nancy Travis, Margaret Colin, Alexandra Amini, Philip Bosco, Derek de Lint, Dave Foley, Paul Guilfoyle, Earl Hindman, Colin Quinn, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This has a perfect '80s feel to it and Danson and Selleck were on the rise at that time with their respective tv shows.  There has always been a rumor of a ghost but was unable to the the ghost unfortunately.  The stars of the movie made a real good comedy trio in a comedy that has a bit of a message.

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men (1952):  Most people when they associate Robin Hood with Disney think of that fox but before Robin Hood became a fox, Disney made this live action version.  Richard Todd plays the young Robin Hood who becomes an outlaw when his father is murdered and goes after the corrupt Prince John, played by Hubert Gregg, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Peter Finch before he would ask us all to open a window and yell out "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore", while trying to woo Maid Marian, played by Joan Rice.  James Hayter, James Robertson Justice, Martita Hunt, Bill Owen, Patrick Barr, Anthony Forwood, and many others co-star in this Disney film.  This is a pretty enjoyable family adventure of the famed anti-hero with Todd really taking the helm.  This is available to watch on Hoopla.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974):  Sidney Lumet directed this adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel.  Albert Finney stars as her famed detective Hercule Poirot who manages to get onto the Orient Express train.  As one might guess, a murder occurs on the train and there are many people who had motive to kill this person and Poirot is appointed to investigate and find the murderer.  Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark, Michael York, Colin Blakely, and many others co-star in this film.  Finney is able to put himself aside and become Poirot in this movie.  Christie was still alive at the time of this premier and has said this is the only adaptation of her novels she was fully satisfied with this version.  This is a pretty intriguing whodunit and is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Cuddler (2017):  I end the week with this rather raunchy short film.  Rick Kellard directed this short film and was written by Karola Raimond who also stars.  Raimond stars as Samantha who is a single woman with commitment issues.  Those ideals get challenged after first-date sex with a man named David who does not want to leave prompting Samantha to think of ways to get him to leave.  This is pretty funny and is worth about seven minutes.  This is available to watch on on Amazon Prime.

Well, that is it for this week but I have brought by my segment of "Movie Time in the Town of Pottersville".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which includes Ethan Hawke, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Moss, Boris Karloff, Orson Welles, John Carpenter, and many others.

MOVIE TIME IN THE TOWN OF POTTERSVILLE

The Afflicted (2011):  I never really had any thoughts of watching this or really knew anything about it until I suggested to Stephanie a movie night at her house and she suggested this having fallen asleep the night before.  I accepted this selection as long as we could restart the movie.  Jason Stoddard wrote and directed this film which is loosely based upon the crimes of Theresa Knorr.  Leslie Easterbrook stars as Maggie who is a very abusive and beyond to her children which she always justifies through her religion.  This is the account of the youngest daughter Grace, played by Randi Jones.  J.D. Hart, Michele Grey Hartsoe, Sims Holland, Kane Hodder, Ron Stafford, and many others co-star in this film.  This is based on true events and there is a book called WHATEVER MOTHER SAYS by Wensley Clarkson.  This is not an easy one to watch and if you could not get through the 2007 films AN AMERICAN CRIME or THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, this one will not be one to watch as this holds nothing back.  If into this some of film, this is a good one to watch and I'm even curious to read the book now even though I cringed a lot.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 717th Edition

Welcome to the 717th Edition of my series.  I continue rehearsals for THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS which is coming along well so I encourage anyone in or near the Alexandria area to find a day to support it.  Information is at the end of the page.  My team the 49ers are undefeated as of right so we'll see what this week holds.  Other than that, not much is happening so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002):  This is part four of my four-part Sam Rockwell series.  George Clooney directed this biopic which is based on the autobiography by Chuck Barris, played to perfection by Rockwell.  Barris is known as the host of THE GONG SHOW and before that produced shows THE DATING GAME and THE NEWLYWED GAME which were all very controversial at the time.  While these films focus on this part of his life, it mainly revolves around his claims that he was an assassin for the CIA in which those shows were like a front to him.  Clooney co-stars as the man who recruits Clooney for the CIA.  Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Cera, Jerry Weintraub, David Julian Hirsh, Robert John Burke, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Rutger Hauer, Richard Kind, James Urbaniak, and many others co-star or have cameos.  Cera, earlier in his career, plays Barris at a younger age in a beginning scene.  This remains one of my absolute favorite movies and some say that Barris made this up but I maintain it is all true.  This is available to watch on Hoopla Digital.

Rescue Dawn (2006):  This is part three of my three part Christian Bale trilogy.  This is my war movie for the week which was written and directed by Werner Herzog.  Bale stars as real-life Vietnam soldier Dieter Dengler whose plane is shot down in Laos and is taken to a prisoner camp where he is subject to torture by the Vietcong.  He meets five other prisoners where they band together and plot and escape.  Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Zach Grenier, Toby Huss, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a really intense film that seems to capture the tone for Vietnam.  I venture to say with Herzog at the helm that this was not an easy movie to do and that everyone worked extremely hard.  Last week, I featured VICE which Bale gains weight in order to play Cheney and for this one, he lost a lot of weight.

Creed II (2018):  This is part one of my two-part Sylvester Stallone series.  This is my boxing film for the week which was directed by Steven Caple Jr. and co-written by Sylvester Stallone who also co-stars as his iconic character Rocky Balboa.  Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as Adonis Creed, the son of the legendary Apollo Creed, and continues to have a great career in boxing with the help of Rocky.  The other story happening in this film is Rocky's former Russian opponent Ivan Drago, reprised by Dolph Lundgren, is training his son Viktor, played by real-life boxer Florian Munteanu, to be a boxer and soon go to the United States where they look to challenge Creed for his newly won championship.  Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Brigitte Nielson, and many others co-star in this film.  The nostalgia for me was off the charts getting to see what in some ways is not only a sequel to CREED but is a sequel to ROCKY IV with the return of Lundgren.  I can to a full realization after this movie on how awesome Stallone really is and I really look forward to the upcoming Rambo movie.

Pleasure Faire (1972):  This is my short film for the week which was part of Les Blank films.  This is essentially footage of the Southern California Renaissance Fair which was shot by Les Blank.  This is one that has not gotten a lot of exposure judging by no user reviews on the imdb page.   This is only about 15 minutes long and is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Gay Divorcee (1934):  This is my song and dance movie for the week which was directed by Mark Sandrich and is a vehicle for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  Before anyone gets excited about a movie in the '30s about a gay person, this uses the real definition of gay which is happy.  Ginger stars as American woman Mimi who goes to Britain seeking a divorce from her husband.  In the process, she meets American dancer Guy, played by Fred, who takes an immediate liking to Mimi.  Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very good vehicle for song and dance and has some pretty enjoyable numbers with a decent enough plot to stay intrigued.  This is the second of ten movies for Astaire and Rogers and is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

The Killer is Loose (1956):  This is my film noir for the week which was directed by Budd Boetticher.  Joseph Cotten stars as Detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills the wife of bank robber Leon Poole, played by Wendell Corey.  Poole is arrested and sent to prison but escapes prison seeking revenge on Wagner for what he did by targeting his own wife Lila, played by Rhonda Fleming.  Alan Hale Jr., Michael Pate, John Larch, John Beradino, Virginia Christine, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a rather overlooked film noir and is pretty intense and suspenseful all through the movie.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime and a more gritty movie from this era.

Loving (2016):  Jeff Nichols wrote and directed this film that is based on a true story.  Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga star as interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving who get married in D.C. in 1958 but when they go back to their state of Virginia, they get arrested because interracial marriage was against the law in that state.  Through the years, they fight for their rights to the point of going to the supreme court.  Michael Shannon, Terri Abney, Alano Miller, Chris Greene, Benjamin Booker, Sharon Lockwood, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, and many others co-star in this film.  This went onto become a pretty underrated film with two stars who remain that way.  This is rather relevant for today seeing as in our time, we fought for gay marriage but at this time some states outlawed interracial marriage and later generations will probably see something and think "gay marriage was illegal" while we have this to go on and a supreme court decision that might have had a small part in our marriage rights for the future other than just the interracial marriage they fought for.

Robinson Crusoe (1954):  Luis Bunuel directed this adaptation of the Daniel Dafoe novel.  Dan O'Herlihy stars as Crusoe who was a British aristocrat shipwrecked on a deserted island in the 1600s.  He does what he can to survive whiles having limited resources on the island.  Jaime Fernandez co-stars as Friday whose life Robinson saves and they slowly become friends.  Bunuel is known for his surreal style of directing which is very limited in this one.  O'Herlihy and Fernandez work really well together in this film and carry it very well.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Wake in Fright (1971):  This is my Australian film for the week.  Ted Kotcheff directed this film based on the novel by Kenneth Cook.  Gary Bond stars as schoolteacher John Grant who is on vacation and gets himself into a bad gambling debt which gets him marooned by the townspeople.  He slowly descends into madness through the townspeople.  Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, Jack Thompson, and many others co-star in this film.  This is hard to really describe.  This is a pretty dark and disturbing film but also rather compelling.  This is one that is driven by the script and the actors.  This is rather graphic at times and is not for everyone.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

It's Not You It's Me (2013):  I end the week with this horror-comedy short film which was directed by Matt Spicer.  Gillian Jacobs stars in this short a young woman in a relationship where she seems to get easily annoyed by her boyfriend, played by Fran Kranz, through the sounds he makes.  Rob Huebel, Ithamar Enriquez, and Travis Nicholson co-star in this short.  This is one where I should not say much before I spoil.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime and is only about twelve minutes long.

Well, that is it for this week but I do have my segment of "The Bookworm Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Sylvester Stallone, John Cho, Shia Labeouf, Buster Keaton, and many others.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (2016):  This is the latest book I completed from my reading kick I've gotten on lately.  I found this book when I attended the Coffee and Classics series at my local library.  They let us choose a free book and this looked the most interesting to me.  This centers around married couple Marco and Anne who are hanging out at their next-door neighbors only to learn that a horrid crime has been committed.  No one is really who they seem as twists happen at about each chapter which really made me want to see what happens next.  This is another where I don't want to give too much away as it would lead to some serious spoilers.  This book does not waste any time and gets right to the point in the first chapter.  While suspenseful, it is also a pretty easy book to read, at least for someone who is not much of a reader like myself.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 716th Edition

Welcome to the 716th Edition of my series.  Good to see my football Sundays are back.  While I was unable to find a fantasy football league, I'm trying my luck with Fanduel to see how that goes.  Also, last night my mom and I were shown on an episode of RESTAURANT IMPOSSIBLE on the Food Network where my mom and I were shown a couple times along with a brief snippet my mom had with the manger.  This was the episode that happened at the Retro Cafe in my town of Muncie, Indiana.  I'm still in rehearsals for THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS so I hope those in and around the area are able to attend.  I will get on with my selections for the week.

Vice (2018):  This is part three of my four-part Sam Rockwell series and part two of a possible Christian Bale four-part series.  Adam McKay wrote and directed this political film which stars Bale as our former vice president Dick Cheney and mostly revolves around his life and career in politics.  Rockwell co-stars as former president George W. Bush.  This portrays Cheney has quietly wielding his power in the political world.  Amy Adams co-stars as Dick's wife Lynne who has equal aspirations of her political husband.  Steve Carell, Allison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Justin Kirk, LisaGay Hamilton, Jesse Plemons, Bill Camp, Don McManus, Lily Rabe, Shea Whigham, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Tyler Perry, and many others co-star in this film.  When most people think Dick Cheney, I doubt they would even think of Christian Bale but Bale shows is usual dedication by gaining the necessary weight as well as other things to capture the look of Cheney.  McKay employed an interesting directing style that included the unorthodox narration and some rather dark comedy.

Epic (2013):  This is one of three animated selections for the week.  Chris Wedge directed this animated film from Blue Sky which is inspired the book THE LEAF MEN AND THE BRAVE GOOD BUGS by William Joyce.  Amanda Seyfried stars as M.K. who is visiting her father Bomba, voiced by Jason Sudeikis.  Bomba is a very eccentric scientist who has some rather illogical beliefs which drives M.K. nuts but when she is shrunk by the mortally wounded Queen Tara, voiced by Beyonce, and discovers that a world of tiny people and other creatures exist.  She is also asked to finish a task and does so with the help of Leafman warrior Ronin, voiced by Colin Farrell, and the less experienced Nod, voiced by Josh Hutcherson.  Blake Anderson, Aziz Ansari, John DiMaggio, Troy Evans, Helen Hong, Kelly Keaton, Emma Kenney, Kyle Kinane, Pitbull, Christoph Waltz, Thomas F. Wilson, Steven Tyler, and many others provider their voices to this animated movie.  Aerosmith's Steven Tyler was very amusing in his small role.  This is a pretty fun family movie focusing on saving a forest and a troubled father/daughter relationship.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988):  This is my Anime selection for the week which I watched as part of the Cinemuncie film series that have in my local library.  This is some earlier Stuido Ghibli which was directed by Isao Takahata and based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.  This takes place in WWII Japan where the nuclear bomb has been dropped where siblings Seita and Satsuko are on their own struggling to survive.  This is ranked by many as one of the best in the Anime genre and they did it by having mostly a drama instead of the sci-fi/fantasy that we see a lot through Anime.  We watched the version with the Japanese language and English subtitles.  I had seen it but it had been awhile and it was really cool seeing this on a bigger screen.  Dennis, the guy who runs Cinemuncie, prepared us by putting boxes of Kleenexes on the tables.  This is a very compelling and sad story that shows the effects of war.

Pay Day (1922):  This is my silent film short for the week which was directed by and stars silent comedy legend Charlie Chaplin.  Charlie plays a bricklayer who is very good at his job and when he gets paid he tries to hide it from his wife to enjoy his money while doing comedic things to avoid his wife.  Edna Purviance, Mack Swain, and Syd Chaplin all co-star in this short film.  This is Chaplin's final short film before his very successful transition into feature film.  This is also one of the few where he was not the Tramp though is mostly dressed that way.  This has some pretty funny moments in the 21 minutes and is available on the Criterion Channel.

Death By Hanging (1968):  This is my second Japanese film for the week which was co-written and directed by Nagima Oshima.  This shows a Korean man being executed by hanging but the man ends up surviving the execution.  For the next two hours, the employees at the prison discuss what they should do with this man now that he survived.  This is a another very dark comedy and one that likely would not work in today's world.  This is a very obvious anti-death penalty satire and is really quite funny if you can get past the dark comedy this movie has.

Harvey (1950):  Henry Koster directed this comedy which is based on the play by Mary Chase.  James Stewart stars as Elwood P. Dowd whose best friend is a very tall rabbit named Harvey that only he can see.  He lives with his sister Veta and niece Myrtle Mae, played by Josephine Hull and Victoria Horne, who are frustrated the way Elwood drives people away through his claims of having a rabbit friend named Harvey.  They try to get him committed but through misunderstanding, Veta gets committed instead.  Jesse White, Cecil Kellaway, Charles Drake, Peggy Dow, Nana Bryant, Wallace Ford, and many others co-star in this film.  This remains one of my favorite comedies and laugh a lot during this film.  I have been known to use the monologue near the end that is made by the cab driver.  This last time I watched it I started to realized that part of the message this conveys is to take a look in the mirror when questioning one's sanity.  Many thought of Elwood as insane for his claims of seeing a rabbit even though he was the friendliest and most laid back character in the film.  This is possibly one of the best comedies from that era and really deserves a watch.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978):  Robert Zemeckis directed this comedy which is based around the time the Beatles were set to debut on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.  This is based around a group of friends who are obsessed with the band and are determined to see the show and meet the Beatles even if they don't have tickets.  Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, Marc McClure, Theresa Saldana, Eddie Deezen, Christian Juttner, Will Jordan, Read Morgan, Claude Earl Jones, James Houghton, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is the directorial debut for Zemeckis and does a good job of capturing the tones of the Beatles fans who seem very over the top but that is the way they were at the time when the Beatles first came into town.  This is a very underrated movie that started a great career for Zemeckis.

Juno (2007):  Jason Reitman directed this comedy which was written by Diablo Cody.  Ellen Page stars as the high school title character and discovers she is pregnant with her best friend Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera.  She decides to put this baby up for adoption with a married couple named Mark and Vanessa Loring, played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, who are unable to have kids and want one.  Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Eileen Pedde, Rainn Wilson, Candice King, and many others co-star in this film.  For fans of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, Candice King who was Candice Accola at the time, has a bit role as one of the lab students before she would become Caroline on that series and their two spin-off shows.  Page does a great job as a young girl trying to deal with a life changing situation.  This is most driven by the characters.  I know when it first came out, I felt it got judged on account of the awards it "didn't deserve".  I try not to focus on that aspect of a movie and watch it for the movie which I found to be a good comedy-drama.

The Furies (1950):  This is my western for the week which was directed by Anthony Mann and based on the novel by Niven Busch.  Barbara Stanwyck stars as heiress Vance Jeffords whose father T.C., played by Walter Huston, is a very successful and tyrannical ranch farmer.  Wendell Corey co-stars as saloon owner Rip Darrow who is an enemy of T.C. and tends to drive a wedge between Vance and T.C.  Judith Anderson, Gilbert Roland, Thomas Gomez, Beulah Bondi, Albert Dekker, John Bromfield, Wallace Ford, and many others co-star in this western.  This is Huston's last feature film.  This is a really hard movie to put into words.  This is not very upbeat and the people are rather unlikable through their greed and betrayal.  It is still a pretty compelling and fascinating western that I do not feel is a conventional western.

Day and Night (2010):  I end the week on this short from Pixar which was directed by Teddy Newton.  This portrays the daytime and nighttime as creature-like and show their daily rivalry but try to find a way to get along.  There is no actual dialogue but was not needed as the emotion was conveyed by the two characters without it.  This is part of the DVD and Blu-Ray of TOY STORY 3 and is a pretty good six minutes.

Well, that is it for this week but I did return with "The Bookworm Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Julia Roberts, Christian Bale, Sylvester Stallone, Fred Astaire, and many others.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

The Twenty Dollar Bill by Elmore Hammes (2007):  I now go the local route where I decided to seek out an author that I know.  I have had the pleasure of working with Elmore in a couple plays at the Anderson Mainstage Theater and on the side he has done some independent novels.  This is something pretty different where the focal point of the story is a 20 dollar bill and each place the bill ends up at.  This is a series of various characters that have ended up with the bill in some way or another.  This has no linear story and once the bill leaves one person, we do not know what happens to them.  This is still a very clever book though which essentially has some diverse short stories on each chapter with the characters.  I got this from Amazon which has pretty low prices with the Kindle or the paperback.  I will try to support local writers like Elmore more in the future.