Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 801st Edition

 

Welcome to the 801st edition of my series.  Today is the last performance of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.  It has been a great experience and will be hard to see this go.  I don't have much else to say right now so I will just get on with my selections.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018):  I start the week out with this Pixar sequel of WRECK-IT RALPH which is directed by Phil Johnston and Rich Moore.  John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman reprise their roles of Ralph and Vanellope.  Ralph inadvertently causes Vanellope's arcade game to break making them set out on the internet to get the money necessary to save the game.  Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O'Neill, Sean Giambrone, Flula Borg, Timothy Simons, Ali Wong, Horatio Sanz, June Squibb, John Dimaggio, Jason Mantzoukas, and many others co-star in this animated sequel.  I really enjoyed this world of the internet that was created that made references to just about everything and had kind of the behind the scenes.  This also has a lot of cameos from the Disney Plus universe.  This is available to watch on Disney Plus.

Sixteen Candles (1984):  John Hughes wrote and directed this Brat Pack comedy.  Molly Ringwald stars as Samantha who is having her 16th birthday but her family forgets and her day just gets worse.  Sam has a crush on the popular senior Jake, played by Michael Schoeffling, who is taken and has one of the geeks, played by Anthony Michael Hall, that has a crush on her.  Justin Henry, Haviland Morris, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, Carlin Glynn, Blanche Baker, Edward Andrews, Billie Bird, Carole Cook, Max Showalter, Liane Curtis, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Brian Doyle-Murray, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is a very funny coming of age movie that has remained iconic.  Hall is perfectly cast as "The Geek".  This is the directorial debut for Hughes.  

Gloria (2013):  This is my Chilean film of the week which was directed and co-written by Sebastian Lelio.  Paulina Garcia stars as Gloria who is a free-spirited older woman and has been divorced for more than ten years.  She meets a man named Rodolfo, played by Sergio Hernandez, who is a naval officer recently divorced and forms a relationship with him.  He comes with a lot of baggage and makes their relationship complicated.  Alejandro Goic, Eyal Meyer, Marcela Said, and many others co-star in this film.  This is more of a character study on the title character and it is easy to get behind her.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

What's a Nice Girl Like You doing in a Place Like This (1963):  This is my short film for the week which was directed and written by Martin Scorsese.  This is Scorsese's first film which was a student film.  This centers around a writer named Algernon who buys a picture of a boat and through his obsession makes normal life impossible.  It is hard to explain but is the start to what would become a great career.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Animal Crackers (1930):  Victor Heerman directed this comedy that stars the Marx Brothers.  Groucho stars as African explorer Captain Spaulding who is having a party thrown for him.  Groucho, along with Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo set out to find the painting for him.  Lillian Roth, Margaret Dumont, Louis Sorin, Hal Thompson, Margaret Irving, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This started as a play and then was made into this movie that was early in the careers of the Marx Brothers.  There is not a lot more to describe besides that it is the Marx Brothers and their usual antics.

Mister Roberts (1955):  This is my navy comedy for the week which was directed by John Ford and Mervyn Leroy and based on the novel by Thomas Heggen.  This takes place during WWII on a US cargo ship.  Henry Fonda stars as Douglas Roberts who is on a ship and longs to get into the action of the war but continues to get denied by his captain, played by James Cagney, who is a bit of a Captain Bligh figure.  William Powell in his last role adds to the comedy as the doctor of the ship and Jack Lemmon steals the movie as the hapless Ensign Frank Pulver.  Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Philip Carey, Nick Adams, Perry Lopez, Ken Curtis, Robert Roark, Harry Carey Jr., Patrick Wayne, and many others co-star in this comedy.  While this was funny, it is also a pretty realistic look at the Navy from my understanding.  This has a great blend of comedy and drama and might make a good double feature to go along with MASH.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021):  Lee Daniels directed this film based on the novel CHASING THE SCREAM by Johann Hari.  This centers around the  later days of music legend Billie Holiday, played by Andra Day, during  the time of her controversial of her song STRANGE FRUIT and was the target of the Federal Department of Narcotics lead by Harry Anslinger, played by Garrett Hedlund.  Trevante Rhodes co-stars as black agent Jimmy Fletcher who is assigned to bring down Holiday but started questioning the ethics of what he was doing while also having an affair with her.  Natasha Lyonne, Miss Lawrence, Dusan Dukic, Erik LaRay Harvey, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross and many others co-star in this film.  Day plays Holiday very well and is able to keep this movie going.  This is not a very upbeat biopic so use your judgment there.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Germany Year Zero (1948):  Roberto Rossellini directed and wrote this German film that takes place in post WWII Berlin.  Edmund Moeschke stars as Edmund Kohler who is a young boy forced to grow up fast as he works to support his struggling family.  He runs into a former teacher, played by Erich Guhne, who he hopes will help support him but the former teacher seems to have his own motives.  This is a pretty good coming of age story about a young boy in post WWII Germany and still adjusting after the war.  This is available to watch on HBO Max and the Criterion Collection.

2001:  A Space Odyssey (1968):  Stanley Kubrick directed this sci-fi film based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke who also wrote the screenplay.  This is a story of evolution which consists of the biggest time jump in cinematic history.  This consists of a space mission to find the origins of man with the help of intelligent supercomputer Hal 9000, voiced by Douglas Rain, who is programmed to do whatever necessary to accomplish the mission.  Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack, Robert Beatty, Sean Sullivan, and many others co-star in this film.  The plot really doesn't cover anything, this is more of a visual masterpiece.  This is not a movie to just watch on a computer or a cell phone.  This really is meant most for a big screen and is mesmerizing to watch.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Fearless (1993):  I end the week with this film directed by Peter Weir and based on the novel by Rafael Yglesias who also co-wrote the screenplay.  Jeff Bridges stars as Max Klein who survives a plane crash with only a literal scratch and becomes a changed person.  He feels like nothing can hurt him and makes his marriage with his wife Laura, played by Isabella Rossellini, and his son Jonah, played by Spencer Vrooman.  Max tries to help fellow survivor Carla, played by Rosie Perez, who is guilt ridden over the death of her son.  Tom Hulce, John Turturro, Deirdre O'Connell, Benicio Del Toro, John de Lancie, Debra Monk, Rance Howard, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very underrated performance from Bridges who was fabulous in his role.  This is a pretty moving film on the effects of surviving something very extreme and hope to get it back on the radar.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Amy Adams, Will Ferrell, Burt Reynolds, Alan Ladd, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 800th Edition, the Animated Edition

Welcome to the 800th edition of my series which focuses on animation.  I had this idea years ago for an anniversary but never really got around to it so I decided this would be the time.  I have a mixture of adult and family oriented animation for this one.  I tried to focus on independent and foreign animation and stay away from the big studios like Disney and Dreamworks.  Nothing against them and in fact I have a Disney selection for next week.  A lot of this was inspired by my dad who is quite the traditional animation enthusiast though not all these selections will be to his liking I don't think but I know some will.  Next weekend is my show ARSENIC AND OLD LACE so if you are in or near the area, I would love to see you and go to https://www.thecommonstheatre.org/tickets.html in order to get tickets.  It will be a funny show where I am playing one of my favorite parts I have had in Teddy Brewster who is convinced he is Teddy Roosevelt.   I will shut up and get to my special edition.

I Married a Strange Person! (1997):  I start the week out with Bill Plympton who directed and co-wrote this animated film.  A newlywed named Grant, voiced by Tom Larson forms a lump on his neck that gives him the ability to transform people or objects at will.  This makes his wife Keri, voiced by Charis Michelson, angry and the unscrupulous CEO of Smilecorp looks to get the lump for his own gain.  Richard Spore, Chris Cooke, and many others provide their voices in this animated film.  This is not animation for kids, nor is much of anything Plympton does.  This is violent and entertaining.  It also has a pretty good soundtrack with songs written by Maureen McElheron.  In addition to this movie, people should take a closer look at Plympton who has quite a few shorts and features that don't fail to entertain and has a rather unique animation style.  If you like him well enough, maybe consider funding one of his new upcoming movies on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/billplympton/slide-an-animated-feature-film?ref=project_build .  This is available to watch on Tubi Tv.  

The Gumby Movie (1995):  I knew there was no way I could do an all-animated edition with one of my dad's favorite characters.  Gumby creator Art Clokey directed and co-wrote this claymation movie.  In this movie, Gumby, voiced by Dal McKennon, is in a band Gumby and the Clayboys.  He learns a lot of local farmers are struggling so he puts on a benefit concert.  The evil Blockheads look to ruin the concert by replacing the town of Clokeytown with robots.  We also get to see Gumby's best friend in the red pony Pokey as well as his other friends Prickle and Goo who must all band together to stop the Blockheads.  I think people need to watch some of the older Gumby first to get to know him and his friends and I think this will be a very enjoyable watch.  This is also the last movie for Clokey and McKennon.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Golgo 13:  The Professional (1983):  Now I bring some anime which was directed by Osamu Dezaki and based on the manga series by Takao Saito.  Duke Togo, voiced by Tetsuro Sagawa, is a professional killer with the nickname Golgo 13 and is the best there is but might have met his match after the assassination of a politician's son.  He must go against a genetically altered assassin named Snake.  Goro Naya, Toshito Fujita, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Reiko Muto, and many others in this anime film.  I don't really know any background in the manga series but this is a pretty decent action film.  Tarantino would provide homage to this movie in the animated sequence in KILL BILL:  VOLUME 1.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926):  This is some very early animation from Germany and silent animation that was directed by Lotte Reiniger.  This is based on stories of THE ARABIAN KNIGHTS.  The title character Prince Achmed is tricked into riding a magical flying horse by a wicked sorcerer.  He manages to tame the horse and would go on many adventures.  In the process, he meets and falls in love with Princess Pari and must fight off a group of demons.  This is the earliest surviving animated feature and uses silhouette animation which uses cardboard cutouts and thin sheets of lead under the camera.  This still looks really good even by today's standards and is a very significant part of animated history.

Animal Farm (1954):  This is a British animated selection which was directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas and based on the classic novel by George Orwell.  A group of farm animals lead a successful revolt against the farmers and an equal society was meant to be created among the animals.  However, things go awry a greedy boar mostly makes his own society among his kind and oppresses the rest sparking a war among teach other.  Gordon Heath does the narration and Maurice Denham does the voices of the animals.  Despite having animation with talking animals, this is not animation for children which at the time was controversial as some parents assumed this would be a Disney-like feature.  This is the second British animated feature after the 1945 movie HANDLING SHIPS which was also by Batchelor and Halas.  This is a statement against things like communism and socialism.  This is available to watch on Tubi Tv.  

The Point (1971):  This is some televised animation which was directed by Fred Wolf and co-written by Harry Nilsson who wrote the soundtrack.  This centers around a kingdom where everyone has a pointed head except a young boy named Oblio, voiced by Mike Lookinland, whose head is rounded.  He is a pretty liked figure in his community except from the evil Count, voiced by Lennie Weinrib, is jealous of his popularity and manages to have Oblio exiled to Pointless Forest.  Oblio and his faithful dog Arrow set out in Pointless Forest and learn a lot through the unusual figures they encounter.  Ringo Starr voices the father in the beginning and provides the narration.  Nilsson always found ways to be successful without touring and some may know his song ME AND MY ARROW.  This is kind of a psychedelic variation of ALICE IN WONDERLAND but stands on its own with having such a great message and story and this one is something the family can watch.  I first saw this when I was much younger when my dad had a copy of this and I'd watch it there sometimes when I'd go over there.  I didn't know until years later that Harry Nilsson wrote the soundtrack so an underrated animated soundtrack in that regard.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

To Your Last Death (2019):  I was looking for something from this era and this seemed interesting to me.  Jason Axinn directed this animated horror movie which comes elements of things like SAW, HEAVY METAL, and even a little GROUNDHOG DAY I suppose.  A young woman named Miriam DeKalb takes on her evil father Cyrus, voiced by Ray Wise, and a powerful entity known as Gamemaster, voiced by Morena Baccarin, in order to save her siblings.  William Shatner, Bill Moseley, Damien C. Haas, Mark Whitten, Benjamin Siemon, Florence Hartigan, and many others co-star in this animated film.  This is not for everyone whether for the violence or the animation style.  This did manage to keep my attention pretty well and was entertaining to me.  This is another one that is not for the children.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Johnny the Giant Killer (1950):  Jean Image and Charles Frank directed this animated movie.  The title character Johnny sets out to rid the land of an evil giant but the giant uses a device to reduce him to the size of a bee.  Luckily, a group of bees welcome him into the group and are willing to help Johnny take on this giant and get Johnny back to normal size.  This is totally different that JACK AND THE BEANSTALK and is a rather underrated selection that is only about an hour long.

Heavy Traffic (1973):  I knew if I was going to focus on independent animation, I could not leave Ralph Bakshi out of this.  Bakshi wrote and directed this animated film that has a little bit of live action but not much.  This centers around an underground comic writer whose name is Michael Corleone, voiced by Joseph Kaufmann, strangely enough.  He struggles to come up with ideas and usually gets them from the harsh and gritty world around him.  He also falls into the excesses of life.  Frank DeKova, Lillian Adams, and many others provide their voices.  I really can't describe this any further than what I have so far.  This is definitely a movie that is not for kids.  This is likely a more personal project for Bakshi as this centers around an underground comic writer.  It is also politically incorrect to the core so a heads up there.  I was only able to find this on Youtube.

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back) (1980):  These are some of my childhood friends and figured how can I not include something from Peanuts on this edition?  This is the fourth of the theatrical productions from these movies.  Bill Melendez directed this animated movie with co-director Phil Roman and based on the story and characters by Charles Schulz.  Charlie, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie go to France as exchange students.  They are joined by Snoopy and Woodstock who are into their own entertaining adventures.  Charlie is concerned by a letter received by a mysterious French girl but does not seem welcome on the plateau.  Arrin Skelley, Daniel Anderson, Patricia Patts, Casey Carlson, and many others provide their voices.  This is a very decent animated movie that is funny, moving, and has a really good climax scene.  This is the first Peanuts production where we hear the adults actually speak and see them unlike in the past of "wa wa wa".  Fans of the others characters might be a little disappointed as they are mostly in the beginning before the four leave off for Europe.  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 includes Taraji P. Henson, John Cusack, Martin Scorsese, Jack Lemmon, Stanley Kubrick, Jeff Bridges, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 799th Edition

Welcome to the 799th Edition of my series.  I hope everyone is doing well.  We are getting closer to ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at the Commons Theatre.  Below is the information so if you are in or near the area, get those tickets reserved and see a funny show.  It's been great developing this character of Teddy Brewster but really trying to become Teddy Roosevelt.  I don't have much else to say right now so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Paddington 2 (2017):  I start the week out with this sequel to the famous bear which was directed by Paul King.  Ben Whishaw reprises his role as the voice of Paddington who has grown into the Brown family.  He gets the idea to get a present for his Aunt Lucy, reprised by Imelda Staunton, for her 100th birthday.  He works hard to finally obtain it only to have it stolen and framing Paddington for the theft.  Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Michael Gambon, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Marie-France Alvarez, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, and many others co-star in this family movie.  Yes, lots of Harry Potter alums in this one.  I believe Hugh Grant might have had his most fun in a movie.  It's best to watch the predecessor first but both movies stand on their own without getting to the rehash.  It would be a good double feature to have as a family night getting to know a very compassionate bear that always tries to find the good in people.  Something that a lot of us could probably stand to do.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999):  If going in order of this list, you'll probably want to send the kids to bed with this last movie that was directed by Stanley Kubrick.  In a time when they were still married, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman would star as couple William and Alice Harford.  Alice tells William some very revealing things that upsets him sending him out for a night of sexual adventure.  He learns of a party where where the men are costumed and masked and the women are young and beautiful.  Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Madison Eginton, Michael Doven, Sky du Mont, Julienne Davis, Marie Richardson, Thomas Gibson, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Cumming, and many others co-star in this provocative film.  I really don't know how else to describe this Kubrick film which is really the case for a lot of his work except erotic and provocative.  Kubrick can be an acquired taste at times which might be required of this one.   This one is probably not going to be for the children or the easily offended.

Autism:  the Musical (2007):  This is one of my two documentaries for this week, this one being directed by Tricia Regan.  This takes a look at five autistic children while they work together with the adults to create a musical production.  It is also much more than what is described as it goes very in-depth with these children on what they go through and how they cope with certain things.  The parents are also interviewed as they describe what is like to parent autistic children with the ups and downs.  This is a well done documentary and is inspiring in many ways.  This is an HBO documentary that really deserves a look.

The House I Live In (1945):  This is my sequel for the week which stars a young Frank Sinatra as himself.  He takes a break from the studio to go smoke and sees a handful of children chasing a smaller boy.  When he asks the kids why, they cite because of the boy's religion and Frank educates them on acceptance and how it is wrong for them to make fun of someone's religion.  It ends with a song of the title.  This is available on Amazon Prime as part of the "Prejudice films".

Follow the Fleet (1936):  This is my song and dance musical for the week which was directed by Mark Sandrich.  Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in their 5th of ten pairings and in this one, Fred had a Navy uniform instead of his usual tuxedo.  Astaire stars as Navy sailor Bake Baker whose old dancing partner Sherry Martin, played by Rogers, comes into town and looks to rekindle the flame.  Randolph Scott plays a fellow naval officer and has his own storyline with Harriet Nelson.  Astrid Allwyn, Betty Grable, Harry Beresford, Russell Hicks, Brooks Benedict, Lucille Ball, and many others co-star in this film.  It was good seeing a young Lucille Ball.  It also has some fun song and dance numbers to keep one's interest.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Misfits (1961):  John Huston directed this film that was written by Arthur Miller.  Marilyn Monroe stars as divorcee Roslyn Taber who meets over-the-hill cowboy Gay Langland, played by Clark Gable, and slowly form a relationship.  Gay struggles with his independent lifestyle of rounding up mustangs and selling them to the slaughterhouses with both the changing times and Roslyn's moral beliefs against what he is doing.  Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift co-star as a couple of the other title characters.  Thelma Ritter, James Barton, Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Winwood, and many others co-star in this more modern-day western.  This is really my favorite movie for both Monroe and Gable and unfortunately was the last for both of them before their deaths.  It was also close to the end for Clift.  This was driven by character and script with some good ethical dilemmas.  The band of the title got their name from this and likely contributed to the name of a group that I have for occasional murder mystery plays that I named Misfit Productions.  This is available to watch on Pluto TV.

Palm Springs (2020):  I continue with this comedy which was directed and co-written by Max Barbakow.  Andy Samberg stars as Nyles who is stuck in a time loop along with a man named Roy, played by J.K. Simmons.  Christin Miloti co-stars as Sarah who becomes drawn to Nyles and inadvertently becomes caught up in the time loop where they must figure out what is going on and begin to shake things up a bit when they have to repeat.  Peter Gallagher, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Chris Pang, Jacqueline Obradors, June Squibb, Tongayi Chirisa, Dale Dickey, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This delivers a lot of laughs and is a rather touching story at the same time.  There is a great dynamic with Samberg and Miloti as well as Samberg and Simmons.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

The Homecoming (1973):  Peter Hall directed this film based on the play by Harold Pinter who wrote the screenplay.  This film of psychological warfare takes place in London and it stays within the family.  Michael Jayston stars as Teddy who is visiting his family after nine years along with his wife Ruth, played by Vivien Merchant, who becomes intrigued by the psychological warfare proving a worthy opponent.  Paul Rogers co-stars as the patriarch of the family that brings out the worst in everyone.  Ian Holm, Cyril Cusack, and Terence Rigby co-star in this film.  This is mostly driven by the script and is not upbeat by any means.  It is still a very intriguing film that deserves a watch.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Collection.

The Maltese Falcon (1941):  This is my film noir for the week which was directed by John Huston and based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.  Humphrey Bogart stars as private detective Sam Spade who gets caught up in all kinds of deception as he investigates people after a priceless statuette which could be connected to the murder of his partner.  Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr., Lee Patrick, and many others co-star in this film noir.  Greenstreet makes his film debut in this movie after many years of performing on stage.  This is one of the most iconic of the film noir genre and helped Bogart become more of a leading man.  It can be a bit hard to follow at times but is still worth a look for all the colorful characters and the atmospheric tone.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Reel Paradise (2005):  I end the week with this documentary that was directed by Steve James.  This centers around film producer John Pierson, who takes his wife and two kids to live in Fiji for a year.  John decides to run a very remote movie theater and do free showings of movies while there.  This shows his adjustment to the country as well as his family's triumphs and struggles that are some with the theater but outside of it as well.  This is also a good look at integration and the friendships that were formed while they were there.  This is a very intriguing documentary on a light subject matter.

Well, that is it for this week but continue on for the return of my segment "The Bookworm Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which is the 800th edition.  I'm doing a bit of a special edition for it that I think you'll all like.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

I have been putting this together for quite awhile now and as explained in one of the summaries, this really started in the Dollar Tree when I was looking into their book section.  They have a really good section and at the time, the fourth of the series stood out so I bought it not knowing then that it was part of a series.  Author Christina Dodd managed to created a town called Virtue Falls in the state of Washington which is the title of the first of the series.  Each book usually centers around characters coming into town while continuing stories of the other residents, mostly Kateri Kwinault who I believe could have a tv series out of the character.  When finishing these books, I realized there are really stories about redemption and being able to move forward.  These books have mystery, suspense, humor, and romance, among other things and were some very enjoyable reads to do.

Virtue Falls (2015):  This is the start of the series. This centers around the character of the rather socially inept but brilliant geologist Elizabeth Banner whose mother was brutally murdered when she was four years old.  Her father Charles, also a geologist, was convicted of the murder but years later comes to believe he is innocent of the murders and a serial killer is out killing that is believed to be connected to Elizabeth's mother.  Helping her is her ex-husband Garik Jacobson who is on the outs with the FBI and regretful of his past deeds and must work with Elizabeth to help figure out who is at large.  This has some really good characters with some good suspense built into it making me want to figure out more and more what is going to happen into a really good climax as well as a satisfying end.

Obsession Falls (2016):  This is the second book of this series.  This one starts outside of the city where Taylor Summers witnesses the possibly murder of a child so she distracts the killers and saves the life of this boy.  In return, she loses everything from her career, reputation, and identity.  She finds refuge in Virtue Falls where she has made a life for herself but her past catches up with her where she finds herself in the middle of a rivalry.  There is a character in this book named Kennedy McManus whose description is "built like a WWE wrestler" so liked the wrestling reference there and was a very interesting character.  This includes some of the characters from the first book and is a very good continuation while being a different story.

Because I'm Watching (2017): This is the third book in the series.  This one introduces Virtue Falls citizens Jacob Denisov and Madeline Hewitson.  Madeline, aka Maddie, has gone through a lot in her life including a dorm massacre and the murder of her husband with people thinking she did it.  She's haunted by a monster only she seems to be able to see.  Jacob is a veteran living with a lot of regret for things that happened and stays reclusive not wanting to see anyone and just hoping to die.  Things change with Maddie drives her car through his home forcing him to get out.  He slowly sees that is far more to Maddie than meets the eye and looks to help her giving him more purpose.  This has some of the other characters from the first couple of books while introducing these two main characters.  I think this one is my favorite of the four which is essentially a love story between two very tortured souls that find reason to keep going in life.

The Woman Who Couldn't Scream by Christina Dodd (2017):  This is honestly my introduction into the Virtue Falls series not knowing this is the fourth in a four-part series.  I was just looking for a book to read at the dollar tree and this looked interesting enough to pay only a buck.  Turns out this was very worth it.  This book mostly centers around the characters of Sheriff Katari Kwinault who is the first female sheriff in Virtue Falls.  Arriving into town is her old friend Merida Falcon who has a new name and is unable to speak but clearly has quite a past which catches up to her in Virtue Falls as she seeks revenge for what has happened to her.  As Katari is trying to get used to this sheriff gig, lots of murders are taking place.  This is a pretty suspenseful novel with a great diversity of characters with lots of twists and turns.  After getting this done, I set out to get the first three novels from Amazon to read and after I read them, I reread this one.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 798th Edition

Welcome to the 798th edition of my series.  I hope everyone is having a good Easter weekend however celebrated whether through Jesus rising, the Easter Bunny, or both or just none at all.  We are getting close to ARSENIC AND OLD LACE so get your tickets reserved at 765-639-3282 and get a lot of laugh.  There is not much else happening so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Stallone:  Frank, That Is (2021):  I start the week out with this documentary that I have been waiting to see since hearing about it last year and was directed by Derek Wayne Johnson.  This takes a very in-depth look into the life of Frank Stallone, yes the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone.  While Sylvester went the acting route, Frank was more interested in music even though he has been in a few movies.  He started out with the band Valentine and caught a little break when his older brother needed a song for his low-budget movie called ROCKY.  He would later go onto have his most known song FAR FROM OVER, which I sing on karaoke from time to time, when Sylvester directed STAYING ALIVE.  Interviews include Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Dee Williams, Billy Zane, Joe Mantegna, Talia Shire, Geraldo Rivera, Burt Young, Frankie Avalon, Bon Jovi member Richie Sambora, John Oates, GNR member Duff McKagen, Steven Bauer, Bill Conti, and many others.  This shows how hard-working he is but could never really escape the image of being "Sylvester's Brother" and even "Rocky's Brother".  I was familiar with him to a point before seeing this but this shows so much I did not know and am very sold on how talented he really is with his diversity in his music.  Right now, he's doing a lot of live shows that appear to be like a variety show and something I'd really like to see sometime.  This documentary made me into a full-fledged fan of Frank Stallone and realize he deserves a much bigger career in both music and film.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Dinner With Friends (2001):  Norman Jewison directed this HBO movie based on the play by David Margulies.  Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell star as married couple Gabe and Karen who learn their friends Tom and Beth, played by Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette, are breaking up after 12 years of marriage.  This makes Gabe and Karen reevaluate what they have while trying to understand both sides of their friends.  Taylor Emerson, Holliston Coleman, Angus T. Jones, Beau Holden, Dina Morrone, and many others co-star in this tv movie.  This has a really good blend of drama and comedy and centers a lot around the dialogue.  I'm sure many married couples, together and divorced, can relate to what they see in this movie.  

The Living Daylights (1987):  John Glen directed this Bond film which is the first of two for Timothy Dalton.  Bond is sent to kill KGB General Pushkin, played by John Rhys-Davies, after General Koskov, played by Jeroen Krabbe, reveals Pushkin is part of a big conspiracy to murder agents.  Bond does not buy into this and does his own investigation pitting him against war crazy arms dealer Brad Whittaker, played by Joe Don Baker, and meets beautiful cellist Kara Milovy, played by Maryam d'Abo, who is mostly a pawn in it all.  Art Malik, Andreas Wisniewsky, Desmon Llewelyn, Robert Brown, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Virginia Hey, John Bowe, Julie T. Wallace, Belle Avery, and many others co-star in this action film.  I was always one of those that really favored this shorter Bond era of Dalton.  I like the darker take to 007 that Dalton brings, I have similar thoughts on Daniel Craig.  This has some really good action and has a really good soundtrack in my opinion that includes one of my favorites A-Ha singing the title song.  

Let it Be Me (1936):  This is my animated short for the week which features the character Rooester Bingo who is a popular radio crooner and a caricature of sorts of Bing Crosby.  He starts dating a hen named Emily which stars a love triangle of birds when a former boyfriend fights to get her back.  As far as I know, this is the only use of the Rooester Bingo character which did not sit well with Crosby who initiated a defamation lawsuit on his negative portrayal.  I don't really know how that went.

A Clockwork Orange (1971):  Stanley Kubrick directed this adaptation on the novel by Anthony Burgess.  This takes place in future Britain where Malcolm McDowell stars as gang leader Alex De Large.  They go around terrorizing homes but is betrayed and ends up in prison.  To get out early, he agrees to have unusual therapy developed by the government which makes him fear everything he hates which includes violence and even Beethoven.  When he is out, the people that he wronged are out for revenge where he is left defenseless due to his fear of violence.  This was a very bizarre movie to say the least and was quite ahead of its time.  It was so weird that it was originally rated X but in time got down to R.  The imagery was probably the strangest part of this.  There is a scene where Alex is torturing a couple while singing SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and always feel guilty about how much this amuses me.  Apparently Gene Kelly was not amused by how they used the song he is most known for and remained bitter towards McDowell.  I have heard someone say that this is a statement towards the use of psychological drugs.  This is by no means for everyone but is a very well done film on many levels.  Years ago, when I was in high school, I attempted to read the book but got nowhere with it.  Now that I'm a bit older I might try this again at some point to read the book which many say is better of course.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.  

The Ox-Bow Incident (1942):  This is my western for the week which was directed by William Wellman and based on the novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.  Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan star as drifters Gil Carter and Art Croft who are passing through town and learn of a farmer being murdered.  The townspeople form a posse when they have their suspects and are divided on how to handle as much of the mob just want to kill them on the spot in their belief of justice.  Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, Dana Andrews, William Eythe, Jane Darwell, Matt Briggs, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy, and many others co-star in this western.  This is a really good look at mob mentality and one that Fonda names as one of his favorites to the point that he worked on scale pay to do this movie.  This has gone onto be a rather underrated western and hope to get this on the radar.

The Cable Guy (1996):  Ben Stiller directed this dark comedy.  Jim Carrey takes a darker turn in this comedy as the mentally disturbed title character named Chip.  He goes to install cable for a guy named Steven who slips the cable guy some money to get free cable.  Chip takes this for friendship and when Steven rejects him, it is at a price.  Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Eric Roberts, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, David Cross, Amy Stiller, Owen Wilson, Joel Murray, Kathy Griffin, Sean Whalen, Charles Napier, Bob Odenkirk, Kyle Gass, and many others co-star or have cameos.  This is not going to be for everyone but I always enjoy this comedy.  I realized it's like a parody of a psychological thriller.  It's also an homage of sorts for to classic sitcom television.  I also read that Chris Farley was intended for the title character but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts, what could have been.  R.I.P. to George Segal who recently left us.

Indiscreet (1958):  This is my romantic comedy for the week which was directed by Stanley Donen and based on the play by Norman Krasna.  Ingrid Bergman stars as actress Anna Kalman who has given up on love but meets the suave Philip Adams, played by Cary Grant, and takes a liking to him even though he is still married.  Cecil Parker, Phyllis Calvert, David Kossoff, Megs Jenkins, and many others co-star in this romantic comedy.  This mostly works due to the chemistry of Grant and Bergman who have a lot of it in the comedy of ulterior motive.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

The Horror of Party Beach (1964):  With the rise of beach movies at this time, why not combine it into a creature feature that has most of the elements of a beach movie?  Del Tenney directed this B-movie that also has some music that is not very good.  Sea creatures from radioactive sludge terrorize a beach community, what more needs to be said?  People who love their b-movie horror movies should really enjoy this one.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Tangerines (2013):  I end the week with this Estonian film which was directed and co-written by Zaza Urushadze.  This takes place in 1992, war is going on in Abkhazia, a Russian backed separatist region of Georgia.  Limbit Ulfsak stars as Ivo who is a tangerine farmer and decides to stay home while most others are fleeing the country.  Two men are wounded and Ivo takes them into his home despite being on opposite sides.  Giorgi Nakashidze, Misha Meskhi, Elmo Nuganen, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very touching story of people on opposing sides having to co-exist.  This is the first Estonian film to be nominated for an Academy Award as it was awarded for best foreign language film.  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 Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Frank Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, J.K. Simmons, Ian Holm, Humphrey Bogart, and many others.