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..
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