Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 806th Edition

Welcome to the 806th Edition of my series.  I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day weekend so far.  Yeah, I would have liked better weather but I still braved the local outside music festival put on by one of my best friends and was worth it.  I don't have much else happening at this time so I'll just get on with my selections.  

Wyatt Earp (1994): I start the week out with this western film which was directed by Lawrence Kasdan.  Kevin Costner stars as the famed lawman Wyatt Earp.  This movie covers a lot of ground like from his younger days and learning through his father Nicholas, played by Gene Hackman, and the events that lead him to become the man we know today.  Dennis Quaid co-stars as Wyatt's friend Doc Holliday.  David Andrews, Linden Ashby, Jeff Fahey, Joanna Going, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Pullman, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Sizemore, JoBeth Williams, Mare Winningham, James Gammon, Rex Linn, Adam Baldwin, Annabeth Gish, Lewis Smith, Ian Bohen, Betty Buckley, Alison Elliot, Todd Allen, Mackenzie Astin, Jim Caviezel, Karen Grassle, John Dennis Johnston, Tea Leoni, Martin Kove, Jack Kehler, Kirk Fox, Norman Howell, and many others co-star in this film.  Most movies about Earp base their stuff mostly on the events that lead up to the deadly Gunfight at the O.K. Corral but this one goes far more in depth and shows more of Wyatt Earp's darker side.  It also goes more in depth of Wyatt's family going beyond just Virgil, played by Madsen, and Morgan, played by Ashby.  This also came out the year after the western classic TOMBSTONE which has really become a cult classic.  These movies could make for a really good double feature and discuss the comparisons and the contrasts afterwards.

The History Boys (2006):  Nicholas Hytner directed this film based on the play by Alan Bennett, who also wrote the screenplay.  This takes place in '80s Britain at Cutlers' Grammar School and are looking to get their students into places like Oxford and Cambridge.  Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour co-star as a couple of the eccentric teachers who do a good job but the Headmaster, played by Clive Merrison, is not satisfied.  He decided to bring in the younger Irwin, played by Stephen Campbell Moore, to polish the students' style and increase their chances in the long run.  James Corden, Samuel Anderson, Andrew Knott, Russell Tovey, Dominic Cooper, Samuel Barnett, Sacha Dhawan, Penelope Wilson, Adrian Scarborough, Georgia Taylor, and many others co-star in this film.  Much of these actors were in the original stage production of the play.  This is a witty look at the British education system showing the ups and downs in the coming of age story.  

Sing (2016):  This is my animated movie for the week which was directed by Garth Jennings and Christophe Lourdelet.  This takes place in a world where humans don't exist and is a world full of humanoid animals.  Matthew McConaughey stars as hustler koala Buster Moon whose theater is in danger and decides to do a singing competition to save it.  These competitors include pig Rosita, voiced by Reese Witherspoon, gorilla Johnny, voiced by Taron Egerton, mouse Mike, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, porcupine Ash, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, elephant Meena, voiced by Tori Kelly, among others.  Each one of these animals have a lot going on in their lives and must fine time to perform for the show.  John C. Reilly, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Hudson, Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Kroll, Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, Nick Offerman, Leslie Jones, Rhea Perlman, and many others provide their voices in this animated film.  This does a great job focusing on each character and their unique issues.  This also has some really good music performances and was a lot of fun to watch.

Marriage: Today (1950):  This is my short film for the week which was directed by Alexander Hammid.  This is a video put out after WWII for young couples of the means to strengthen their marriages.  It gives some pretty good information.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime as part of "Marriage Counseling Films".

Way Down East (1920):  This is my silent film for the week which was directed by D.W. Griffith and based on a play by William Brady.  Lillian Gish stars as naive and poor country girl Anna Moore who is tricked into a sham marriage by the wealthy Lennox Sanderson, played by Lennox Sanderson.  He gets her pregnant and then leaves her shaming her family by having a child out of wedlock.  That is not such a big deal now but back at this time period it was.  As Anna tries to get her life back together, she meets a much better man in David, played by Richard Barthelmess, but resists him due to her past.  Burr McIntosh, Kate Bruce, Edgar Nelson, Creighton Hale, and many others co-star in this film.  This movie is a bit dated due to some of the description in the beginning.  This is still pretty enjoyable film and has a very dangerously filmed river scene which caused long-term effects for Gish on her hand until her death.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

David and Lisa (1962):  Frank Perry makes his directorial debut in this rather unusual love story based on the book by Theodore Isaac Rubin.  Keir Dullea stars as David Clemens whose mother puts in a home for the mentally disturbed for his beliefs that he will die if touched.  He takes an interest and liking towards Lisa, played by Janet Margolin in her film debut, who has a dissociative identity disorder.  Howard Da Silva, Neva Patterson, Clifton James, Jaime Sanchez, Karen Lynn Gorney, and many others co-star in this film.  As the tagline indicates, this is a very unusual love story.  It is also a very moving story and a good look at mental illness.  This is 

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020):  Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed this film based on the real-life trial in 1968 that stemmed from protests at the Democratic National Convention that lead to some violent confrontations.  Most of these people had not met one another until they were all put on trial together.  Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Alex Sharp, Danny Flaherty, and Noah Robbins play the defendants on trial.  Mark Rylance co-stars as their attorney William Kunstler who just can't catch a break in the trial with Judge Hoffman, played by Frank Langella.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt and J.C. MacKenzie co-star as the prosecution.  Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Shenkman, John Doman, Michael Keaton, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Caitlin Fitzgerald, Brady Jenness, Meghan Rafferty, Wayne Duvall, Damian Young, Max Adler, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a well-done thriller that can make just about anyone cringe.  Another observation I made was with Cohen's look, he would be great to play Howard Stern in a biopic.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Wise Blood (1979):  John Huston, well credited as "Jhon Huston", directed this film based on the novel by Flannery O'Connor while also co-starring.  Brad Dourif stars as Hazel Motes who is against the religions that he sees and forms his own religion calling it Church of Truth Without Christ which is against any belief of God, the afterlife, sin, and evil.  Along the way, he meets some interesting characters like Sabbath Lilly Hawks, played by Amy Wright, and her grandfather Asa Hawks, played by Harry Dean Stanton, who is a sidewalk preacher.  Dan Shor, Ned Beatty, William Hickey, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a great dark comedy and a good look at a "true idealist".  Dourif is most known as being the voice of Chucky and gives a very underrated performance in this movie.  This is available to watch on both HBO Max and the Criterion Channel.

Brute Force (1947):  Jules Dassin directed this prison film.  Burt Lancaster stars as prisoner Joe Collins who a is fed up with the way the prison is ran by chief Guard Captain Munsey, played by Hume Cronyn.  He gets some of the other prisoners together to lead an escape that results in violence.  Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Vince Barnett, Jay C. Flippen, Richard Gaines, Frank Puglia, James Bell, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell, and many others co-star in this prison film.  This has always been my favorite prison film from this era.  This is inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz which was a riot that ran for two days.  This is also very controversial for its time for its violence.  This is also available to watch on HBO Max and the Criterion Channel.

The Grifters (1990):  I end the week with this very intense con artist film which was directed by Stephen Frears and based on the novel by Jim Thompson.  John Cusack stars as small time conman Roy Dillon who finds himself in a difficult situation with his estranged mother Lilly, played by Anjelica Huston, and his girlfriend Myra, played by Annette Bening.  All three of these people are grifters with a different angle going on leading to quite the climax.  Pat Hingle, Stephen Tobolowski, Henry Jones, Jeremy Piven, Jon Gries, Charles Napier, J.T. Walsh, Frances Bay, Xander Berkeley, and many others co-star in this film.  This movie gets very deep and intense and is not like movies like THE STING which are just more fun than anything.  This has gone rather overlooked through the years but 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 includes Tom Cruise, Harold Lloyd, Bela Lugosi, Patricia Clarkson, Ginger Rogers, and many others..

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 805th Edition

Welcome to the 805th edition of my series.  Last night I got to celebrate my birthday with some alcohol and karaoke and was a great night.  Next weekend on Saturday, May 29th, my friend Ashley returns to town and along with our mutual friend Heather, is putting on a music festival at Elm Street Brewing Company that starts at 4:30 and going until 11 pm.  If you are in or around the area, come on out, I have a photo near the bottom.

Blackkklansman (2018):  Spike Lee directed this film which is based on the book by Ron Stallworth which is based on a true story.  John David Washington stars as Ron Stallworth who is an African-American police officer in Colorado in the '70s and managers to infiltrate a local KKK branch by posing as a white man over the phone.  Since being able to infiltrate them in person was a little hard for him for obvious reasons, his colleague Flip Zimmerman, played by Adam Driver, manages to infiltrate them in person.  Topher Grace co-stars as Klan leader David Duke and plays the role all too well.  Isiah Whitlock Jr., Brian Tarantina, Arthur J. Nascarella, Ken Garito, Alec Baldwin, Michael Buscemi, Laura Harrier, Damaris Lewis, Ato Blackson-Wood, Corey Hawkins, Dared Wright, Faron Salisbury, Ryan Eggold, Jasper Paakkonen, Paul Walter Hauser, Ashlie Atkinson, Harry Belafonte, and many others co-star in this film.  While this is hard to watch at times with the racism, it is partly a comedy with Washington playing the gutsy Stallworth and Driver complementing him very well.  This is a very relevant watch for today no matter what era.

Bad Education (2019):  I continue with another true story which was directed by Cory Finley and based on an article by Robert Kolker in New York Magazine.  Hugh Jackman stars as the beloved superintendent of New York's Roslyn school Frank Tassone.  He seems like the perfect superintendent until student reporter Rachel Bhargava, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, uncovers an embezzlement scheme involving Tassone and his assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin, played by Allison Janney, that becomes the biggest embezzlement scheme in school history.  Ray Romano, Welker White, Annaleigh Ashford, Sung Yun Cho, Justin Swain, Laura Patinkin, Katherine Narducci, Alex Wolff, Ray Abruzzo, and many others co-star in this HBO movie.  This was also played in a comedic way in times while not hiding what was going on with the scandal.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Grandma (2015):  Paul Weitz wrote and directed this comedy.  Lily Tomlin stars a Elle whose granddaughter Sage, played by Julia Garner, turns to her after becoming unexpectedly pregnant to get the money for an abortion being afraid of her mother, played by Marcia Gay Hardin.  Elle does not have the money at the time so they look to raise the money necessary in the short amount of time.  Judy Greer, John Cho, Nat Wolff, Laverne Cox, Elizabeth Pena, Colleen Camp, Sam Elliott, Lauren Tom, and many others co-star in this comedy. Not really looking at the plot, I was expecting one of those raunchy comedies in the vein of maybe BAD GRANDPA but I was wrong in my assessment. Tomlin is great in her role and while this is a comedy, it deals with some very serious subject matter.  This is obviously not for everyone but is a pretty moving story.

Ye Olden Days (1933):  I decided to bring on some Disney animation for my short film for the week which takes a look at some early Mickey.  Minnie Mouse is being forced to wed the prince which is Goofy though apparently known as Dippy Dog at the time which I was not aware of that name.  He is even a bit of a villain in this short.  Minstrel Mickey, with the help of Clarbell Cow, comes to the rescue.  This is a pretty fun animated royalty short.  This is available to watch on Disney Plus.

The Villain (1979):  This is my western comedy for the week which was directed by Hal Needham.  Before the legendary Mick Foley was Cactus Jack, Kirk Douglas stars as bank robber Cactus Jack who faces a hanging so do avoid it with an assignment to rob Handsome Stranger, played by a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in a rare western appearance, who is very strong but also rather naive.  Ann-Margret co-stars as Charming Jones who accompanies Handsome on his journey and makes advances on him.  Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Ruth Buzzi, Jack Elam, Strother Martin, Robert Tessier, Mel Tillis, and many others co-star in this western comedy.  Take this for what it is, a comedy and a parody to the western genre.  I mean, where can you go wrong with Kirk Douglas and Arnold Schwarzenegger?  This is essentially a live action Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1943):  Frank Capra directed this adaptation of the play by Joseph Kesselring.  Cary Grant stars theater critic Mortimer Brewster who has everything going for him including getting married to his fiance Elaine, played by Priscilla Lane.  When going to tell his aunts Abby and Martha, played by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair, he discovers that his seemingly innocent aunts have been killing men by poisoning their wine.  He cannot bring himself to turn them in but things get complicated when his brother Jonathan, played by Raymond Massey, and his henchman Dr. Einstein, played by Peter Lorre, come to the house and have their own crime to cover up.  John Alexander co-stars as the other brother Teddy who believes he is President Teddy Roosevelt which comes into handy for his aunts for the dead bodies.  Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason, Grant Mitchell, Edward McWade, and many others co-star in this comedy.  As I have mentioned in the other versions, I just got done being in a version myself playing Teddy, one of my favorite roles.  This is a timeless comedy that has remained funny through the years.  Boris Karloff originated the role of Jonathon on stage but had to choose between the movie and the play so Massey took the role and had the makeup resemble Karloff.  This is a great dark comedy that can be enjoyed by all ages and generations.

Head-On (2004):  This is my German/Turkish film for the week which was written and directed by Fatih Akin.  Sibel Kekilli stars as 20 year old Sibel who wants to get away from her controlling Turkish parents.  She meets a 40-something male named Cahit, played by Birol Unel, who is having a lot of problems on his own being addicted to drugs and alcohol and asks him to marry her out of convenience.  They start to get closer as time goes on.  This is a very human story of two people dealing with a lot of issues coming together.  This is one that has gone overlooked through the years but hope to get it on the radar.

Bad Girls go to Hell (1965):  This is my exploitation b-movie for the week which was written and directed by Doris Wishman.  Gigi Darlene stars as housewife Meg Kelton who becomes upset that her husband Ted, played by Alan Feinstein, has to go to work on a Saturday.  When she was taking out the trash, the janitor attacks her and tries to rape her leading to his death.  She goes on the run only to get used and abused no matter where she goes.  This is what it is, a sexploitation film and a b-movie.  

Foreign Correspondent (1940):  I continue with the Hitchcock kick I've been on lately.  The Master of Suspense directed this film that takes place during WWII.  Joel McCrea stars as American reporter John Jones who is rather naive which was why he was chosen to go to Europe to investigate a secret treaty agreed between two European countries but gets more than he bargains for when there is far more to it.  Laraine Day co-stars as Carol who helps John track down a group of spies.  Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Basserman, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn, Eduardo Ciannelli, Harry Davenport, Martin Kosleck, Frances Carson, and many others co-star in this spy thriller.  It's hard to describe this beyond what I have but is a movie full of action and suspense.  The reporter John Jones is loosely based on Edward R. Murrow.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.  

Neighbors (1981):  John G. Avildsen directed this dark comedy which is based on the novel by Thomas Berger.  John Belushi stars as Earl Keese who along with his wife Enid, played by Kathryn Walker live in a rather remote area which has an abandoned house next door.  Earl's quite content gets ruined when the couple Vic and Ramona, played by Dan Aykroyd and Cathy Moriarty, move in and drive him crazy.  Most know John and Dan from THE BLUES BROTHERS but this was another teaming.  Originally, they were cast the other way around where Belushi was to be the obnoxious neighbor but prior to filming they decided to switch for him to play more against type.  Unfortunately, this is also Belushi's last movie.  This was worth a watch to see the reunion of Belushi and Aykroyd.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far inlcudes Kevin Costner, Reese Witherspoon, Lillian Gish, Frank Langella, John Huston, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 804th Edition

Welcome to the 804th Edition of my series.  I hope all is well with everyone and for those that aren't, I hope things get better.  I don't really have a lot to say at this time so I'll just get on with my selections.

Mission Impossible:  Ghost Protocol (2011):  Brad Bird directed this entry into the popular action series.  Tom Cruise reprises his role of Ethan Hunt who must take his new team to clear the name of IMF which is being implicated in an explosion.  Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner become part of the team that helps Ethan in his mission.  Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Samuli Edelmann, Ivan Shvedoff, Anil Kapoor, Lea Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Josh Holloway, Pavel Kriz, Miraj Grbic, Ilia Volok, Goran Navojec, Andreas Wisniewski, and many others co-star in this action film.  This is the fourth installment of the franchise.  Cruise does great in his role and does a lot of his own stunts.  This has a good story, some great action scenes and is just fun to watch with a few familiar cameos.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

A Million of Ways to Die in the West (2014):  This is my western comedy for the week which was directed and co-written by Seth MacFarlane who also stars as Albert who is a passive farmer in the American West.  The mysterious Anna, played by Charlize Theron, comes into town and Albert takes interest in her while also learning to be more brave.  He must put this new courage to use with Anna's murderous husband Clinch, played by Liam Neeson, comes into town and they are not in a very happy marriage.  Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Christopher Hagen, Wes Studi, Matt Clark, Evan Jones, Aaron McPherson, Rex Linn, Brett Rickaby, Alex Borstein, Ralph Garman, John Aylward, Jay Patterson, Amick Byram, Dennis Haskins, Gilbert Gottfried, Ewan McGregor, John Michael Higgins, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is a pretty fun western parody, most of it worked for me but was not big on some of the gross-out humor that was in this that I'm sure those who have seen will know what I'm talking about.  This shows all kinds of ways we can die in the west.

Bad Moms (2016):  Jon Lucas and Scott Moore co-directed and co-wrote this comedy of parenting.  Mila Kunis stars as Amy Mitchell who has become overwhelmed with being overworked in his job and as a parent.  She gets joined by fellow mothers Carla and Kiki, played by Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell, who are also becoming very overwhelmed in their life.  They are also tired of "perfect" and PTA parent Gwendolyn, played by Christina Applegate, who makes life difficult for everyone.  Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Oona Lawrence, Emjay Anthony, David Walton, Clark Duke, Jay Hernandez, Wendell Pierce, Leah McKendrick, Megan Ferguson, Lyle Brocato, Wanda Sykes, J.J. Watt, and many others co-star in this comedy.  Watch this for what it is, a comedy.  It does not have some big plotline but it does have a pretty good message on the difficulty of parenting, especially in today's society.

Fastest With the Mostest (1960):  Been on a bit of a kick with Looney Toons shorts on this blog since getting HBO Max.  Wile E. Coyote continues to pursue the Road Runner.  He has many traps but they just always backfire on him.  This is nothing new but still fun to watch though something did occur to me.  What if the reason Wile E. Coyote cannot catch the road runner is because the road runner is not real and just a figment of his imagination?  Maybe that is why all those traps don't work on the road runner and just backfire on himself being that Road Runner is just a hallucination.

Our Hospitality (1923):  This is my silent comedy for the week which was co-directed by Jack Blystone and Buster Keaton.  Keaton also stars in this comedy as Willie McKay who must return to his old hometown to claim property that he inherited from his late father.  When getting there, he meets Virginia Canfield, played by Natalie Talmadge, not knowing that her family had had a long-standing and violent rivalry with his own family and her not being aware of his identity.  He must resort to not getting killed by the Canfields while still being in love with Virginia.  This is a not so subtle jab at the real-life Hatfields and McCoys who had a very violent feud for many years.  This is in the public domain and can be found to stream many places including Youtube.

The Wrong Man (1956):  Alfred Hitchcock directed this film that while has every attribute of Hitchcock's style, this is based on a true story.  Henry Fonda stars as Manny Balestrero who is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.  He cooperates with the police as much as he can but the more he cooperates, the guiltier he looks.  Vera Miles co-stars as Manny's wife Rose where we see the effects this has on her.  Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, Charles Cooper, Esther Minciotti, Nehemiah Persoff, Richard Robbins, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a thriller like most of the other Hitchcock works except as mentioned in a true story.  This shows how we just have to be careful on making accusations that can effect people for the rest of their lives.  

Farewell Amor (2020):  Ekwa Msangi wrote and directed this independent film.  Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine stars as Angolan immigrant Walter who is reunited with his wife Esther, played by Zainab Jah, and daughter Sylvia, played by Jayme Lawson, after 17 years of being in different countries.  Walter has trouble connecting to his daughter but finds common ground in dancing, while Esther struggles to adapt to the United States.  Joie Lee, Nana Mensah, Marcus Scribner, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a movie that is driven by the characters and does really well with the relatively unknown cast.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Lola Montes (1955):  Max Ophuls directed this film based on the novel by Jacques Laurent.  Martine Carol stars as the title character who has lead quite the life but is now the main attraction of the circus.  She tells the tragic story of all her past loves that includes composer Franz Liszt, played by Will Quadflieg.  Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol, Lise Delamare, Paulette Dubost, Osker Werner, Jean Galland, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a rather surrealistic film, especially during the circus scenes.  This is the last completed movie for Ophuls.  This was one of the most expensive films in France at the time and was an influence toward the French New Wave period.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1969):  Robert Scheerer directed this tv movie based on the Joseph Kesselring.  Bob Crane stars as tv critic Mortimer Brewster who is about to get married to Elaine, played by Sue Lyon.  When visiting his aunts Abby and Martha, played by Helen Hayes and Lillian Gish, he finds his seemingly sweet and innocent aunts are rather homicidal.  Fred Gwynne co-stars as the murderous Jonathan Brewster and David Wayne co-stars as the other nephew Teddy who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt.  Bob Dishy, Jack Giford, Billy De Wolfe, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This was re-written a bit for the more modern times like Mortimer being a tv critic instead of a theater critic.  Also, Jack Gilford's character Dr. Salk is usually Dr. Einstein.  This was a pretty funny adaptation and was good to see people like Sue Lyon in one of her few movies, Lillian Gish in a later role, and Gwynne as Jonathan while being on the rise from THE MUNSTERS at the time.  This is available to watch on Youtube.

MOVIE TIME IN THE TOWN OF POTTERSVILLE

Dumb and Dumber (1994):  I end the week with this segment, while hanging out with Stephanie, we were looking through HBO Max movies and came across this one.  We hadn't seen it for a little while so we decided to just get some laughs for awhile.  The Farrelly Brothers directed and co-wrote this comedy vehicle which stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as Lloyd and Harry who are about as dumb as it gets as much as I try not to judge.  Lloyd has a brief meeting with Mary, played by Lauren Holly, who leaves a briefcase that he picks up and sets out to return it to her inadvertently getting in the middle of a kidnapping scheme.  Mike Starr, Karen Duffy, Charles Rocket, Victoria Rowell, Teri Garr, Brady Bluhm, Cam Neely, Felton Perry, Lin Shaye, Harland Williams, and many others co-star in this comedy.  Carrey and Daniels make a great team with Daniels holding his own on the comedic side.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Well, that is it for this week but I did bring back my segment "The Bookworm Corner" for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Adam Driver, Hugh Jackman, Lily Tomlin, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, and many others.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

The Mentor by Lee Matthew Goldberg (2017):  This is one of those books I found at one point at the Dollar Tree and it looked interesting enough.  This centers around Kyle Brody who becomes an editor at a major publishing house.  He is soon contacted by his old professor William Lansing who is very fond of and is excited to learn he has been writing a novel that he wants Kyle to read.  As Kyle reads it, he finds it to be very deplorable and rejects his old professor setting off another side of the professor when he plays psychological games with Kyle, threatening his life, career, girlfriend, and his way of life.  He also finds himself as a character in this story.  This was a very suspenseful story and was very graphic at times.  It kind of has a CAPE FEAR meets THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS feel to it so that that for what it is worth.  Goldberg has a rather promising career ahead of him and might be one to take a look into sometime.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 803rd Edition

Welcome to the 803rd edition of my series.  I hope everyone is having a happy mother's day however celebrated and Happy Mother's Day to all the mother figures out there.  I don't really have much else to say right now so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

The Night of (2016):  I start the week out with this mini-series which was directed by Steven Zaillian and James Marsh.  Riz Ahmed stars as college student Nasir Khan who is mostly straight-laced but decides to attend a party.  He steals his father's taxi to go there but ends up going home with a mysterious woman, played by Sofia Black-D'Elia, who ends up dead and murdered making him the number one suspect.  John Turturro co-stars as troubled attorney John Stone who decides to take his case.  Bill Camp co-stars as Detective Dennis Box who tries to keep an open mind however stacked the evidence is against Nasir.  Payman Maadi, Poorna Jagannathan, Jeanne Berlin, Michael Kenneth Williams, Paul Sparks, Paulo Costanzo, Mustafa Shakir, Glenne Headly, Michael Buscemi, Nicholas Turturro, Ray Abruzzo, Max Casella, Aida Turturro, Kevin Dunn, Anthony Mangano, and many others co-star in this mini-series.  This mostly focuses on Nasir trying to survive prison and John Stone trying to get through his struggles both personally and professionally.  I was really immersed into this mini-series and was left wanting more each time.  This consists of eight episodes mostly around an hour long.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.  

The Rider (2017):  Chloe Zhao wrote and directed this rather unconventional western.  Brady Jandreau stars as a rodeo rider Brady Blackburn who suffers a bad head injury and is told not to ride anymore leaving him to wonder what he will do which is possibly ride again.  Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Cat Clifford, Lane Scott, Terry Dawn Pourier, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very character driven film where Jandreau mostly plays himself who suffered a similar fate to his character.  Zhao is on the rise right now with her recent hit NOMADLAND where she has won some best director awards.  I found that she is able to do a movie without really having any big name actors but just by writing a relatable story and usually seems to keep it authentic by casting local people.  I guess she earned enough money to get Frances McDormand and David Strathairn in on her latest project but even that had mostly locals.  This is available to watch on Pluto tv.

Weekend (2011):  Andrew Haigh wrote and directed this romantic film.  Tom Cullen and Chris New star as Russell and Glen who meet at a gay club which was supposed to be a one night stand but becomes more.  That weekend, they get to know each other more while learning their struggles.  Jermaine Liburd, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman, Loreto Murray, and many others co-star in this film.  This is another selection that really deals with the characters and dialogue which keeps the movie going.  The two leads work very well and is worth a look.

Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century (1953):  This is my animated short for the week.  This features Daffy Duck as Duck Dodgers with his Eager Young Space Cadet Porky who wage war with Marvin the Martian over Planet X.  This has gone onto become one of the most popular Looney Tunes shorts of all time.  George Lucas liked it enough that he requested it get shown preceding his very popular STAR WARS movie.  This is available on HBO Max as part of "Looney Tunes".

Fail-Safe (1964):  Sidney Lumet directed this film based on the novel by Eugene Burdick about the potential of nuclear war.  Henry Fonda stars as the President who must work fast after a series of human and computer errors send a squadron of American bombers to nuke Moscow.  Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton, Edward Binns, Fritz Weaver, Larry Hagman, William Hensen, Russell Hardie, Russell Collins, Sorrell Booke, Nancy Berg, John Connell, Dom Deluise, Edward Binns, Dana Elcar, Fritz Weaver, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very disturbing film that gets the job done through mostly the dialogue that really conveys the potential intense disaster.  This came out the same year as DR. STRANGELOVE OR:  HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB which was a comedic take of a similar situation.  

La Chienne (1931):  This is my French film for the week which was directed by Jean Renoir and based on the novel by Georges de La Fouchardiere.  Michel Simon stars as Maurice Legrand who is in an unhappy marriage with his wife Adele, played by Adele Legrand.  He soon meets Lulu, Janie Marese who he makes his mistress and believes he has met the love of his life.  He learns he is very wrong when finding out she is a streetwalker, a much better term than the one we know, and in love with her pimp Dede, played by Georges Flamant.  This was remade in America as SCARLET STREET which is a very good movie in itself.  This has one of the best opening sequences of all time which have a couple of puppets trying to discuss what kind of movie this is.  A good double feature could be this movie and its mentioned American remake.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Another Round (2020):  This is my Danish film for the week which was directed and co-written by Thomas Vinterberg.  Mads Mikkelsen stars as burned out high school teacher Martin.  Some colleagues learn of some studies that a higher alcohol intake can make one more creative and relaxed.  Along with his colleagues Tommy, played by Thomas Bo Larsen, Nicolaj, played by Magnus Millang, and Peter, played by Lars Ranthe, they set out in an unusual experiment to see how things go at their school.  Things go well at first but starts to get out of hand.  Maria Bonnevie, Susse Wold, Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt, Martin Greis-Rosenthal, and many others co-star in this film.  This is an interesting look at the drinking of alcohol and have heard that really captures the drinking culture in Denmark.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1962):  Having been in this play, I wanted to take a look at whatever versions I can so I decided to take a look at this version of the Joseph Kesselring play.  Tony Randall stars as Mortimer Brewster who is visiting his aunts Abby and Martha, played by Dorothy Stickney and Mildred Natwick, and learns they are killing men by putting poison in elderberry wine under the belief they are doing a service due to these men being very lonely.  Mortimer must decide what to do as he does not want to turn in his own aunts and things get more complicated when being visited by his murderous brother Jonathan, played by Boris Karloff, and his henchmen Dr. Einstein, played by George Voskovec.  Tom Bosley takes the role of the other brother Teddy Brewster who is convinced he is Teddy Roosevelt in which the aunts take full advantage of to get the bodies hidden.  Dort Clark, Nathaniel Frey, and Ralph Dunn co-star as some of the cops.  This was a rather condensed version and the transfer was not always good but it was worth a watch, especially to see Karloff play the role he originated on stage as Jonathan who is upset that he was given a face to make him look like Karloff.  This is available on Youtube.  

Keeper of the Flame (1942):  George Cukor directed this film based on the novel by I.A.R. Wylie.  Spencer Tracy stars as reporter Steven O'Malley who is looking to do a piece on the recent death of a heroic figure in Robert Forrest.  For him, the documents and records were not enough, he wanted to meet Forrest's wife Christine, played by Katherine Helpburn.  Through his meeting of Christine and other investigation he has been doing, he learns that Forrest's heroism has possibly been very exaggerated and must decide on what to write, if anything.  Richard Whorf, Margaret Wycherly, Forrest Tucker, Frank Craven, Stephen McNally, Percy Kilbride, Audrey Christie, Darryl Hickman, Donald Meek, Howard Da Silva, William Newell, and  many others co-star in this film.  Tracy and Hepburn were known to do a lot of movies together which have been mostly comedy at least for the most part.  This is the second of their nine pairings and would venture to say this is their most serious one.  I enjoyed seeing a more dark film from them that has quite the climax.  This is available to watch on HBO Max which had been reluctant to get at first but have no regrets now.

The Railway Man (2013):  I end the week with this very emotional true story which was directed by Jonathan Teplitzky and based on the book by Eric Lomax.  Colin Firth stars as the real-life Eric Lomax, played by Jeremy Irvine in his younger days, who was imprisoned in a Japanese labor camp in WWII and was subject to brutal torture. Years later, he is married and in love with Patti, played by Nicole Kidman, who is trying to rid Eric of his demons which mostly come in his sleep.  When learning that his main tormentor Nagase, played by Hiroyuki Sanada in the modern scenes and Tanroh Ishida in the flashbacks, is still alive, Eric sets out to confront the man.  Stellan Skarsgard, Bryan Probets, Tom Stokes, Tom Hobbs, Sam Reid, Akos Armont, and many others co-star in this film.  This is not very easy to watch at times but it is a beautiful story of forgiveness and redemption.  I really had no idea what kind of effect this would have on me but was very rewarding to me. 

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron, Mila Kunis, Buster Keaton, Vera Miles, and many others.