Welcome to the 822nd edition of my series. Last week, my team the 49ers fared very well and this week they went 2-0 so I'm happy about that. My fantasy team did not fare well at all this week and so far not this week but it is looking better. We're getting closer to CLUE at the Marion Civic Theater so get your tickets if you in or around the area October 7-10 and there is info at the bottom of the page. I will get on with my selections for the week.
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984): Stuart Rosenberg directed this film based on the novel by Vincent Patrick. Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts star as cousins Charlie and Paulie. Paulie is able to talk Charlie into a robbery to fund "a sure thing" bet involving a horse race. They are successful but end up robbing mob boss Bed Bug Eddie, played by Burt Young, and find themselves on the run from the mafia. Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Tony Musante, M. Emmet Walsh, Burt Young, Jack Kehoe, Val Avery, Joe Grifasi, and many others co-star in this film. The dynamic of Charlie and Paulie kind of reminded me of the characters Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro played in the 1973 film MEAN STREETS so make a double feature to see what I am talking about. Rourke and Roberts work very well together in performances for both that might rank as their best. Hannah rounded it out very well as Charlie's girlfriend. This is available to watch on HBO Max
Hollywood Follies (1994): This is my tv movie for the week which is technically an episode THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES. Michael Schultz directed this episode of the series. Sean Patrick Flannery plays the younger version of Indiana Jones where he finds himself in the world of Hollywood. Indy gets a job where he is to stop the production of the now silent classic FOOLISH WIVES and must confront director Erich Von Stroheim, played by Dana Gladstone, which he finds is a much more difficult task than expected. Allison Smith, Bill Cusack, Julia Campbell, David Margulies, Peter Dennis, Tom Beckett, Luigi Amodeo, J.D. Hinton, Leo Gordon, Stephen Caffrey, Lew Horn, Mitchell Group, and many others co-star in this episode. Also look for a young Doug Jones who has a bit role earlier in his career. This particular episode does not involve the action the known movies have but is a pretty fun look at the world of Hollywood where the fictional character of Indy gets put into. For me, it was also cool to see Allison Smith who was kind of a childhood crush for me in a couple short-lived tv shows I liked. This was a pretty popular series in the '90s that involved episodes that were usually about 90 minutes long.
The Planters (2019): Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred this independent film. Kotcheff stars as the socially awkward Martha Plant who works as a telemarketer and has a "planting business". She meets and takes in a woman named Sadie who has multiple personality disorder which really tests the patience of Martha. Pepe Serna, Phil Parolisi, Jovan Adepo, Lisa London, Ted Kotcheff, Christina K. Moore, Ellen Gerstein, and many others co-star in this film. This was a pretty creative and funny effort out of the team of Kotcheff and Leder. This is mostly driven by the characters including the three personalities of Sadie. This unknown gem is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Goldimouse and the Three Cats (1960): This is my animated short for the week which comes from Looney Tunes which features Sylvester the Cat, voiced by the iconic Mel Blanc who also voices Junior. Sylvester also has a wife and son in this one. This is an obvious parody to the story of GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS except this one has a mouse eating the porridge of the three cats and Junior determined to eat the mouse and his dad doing what he can to catch the mouse unsuccessfully. This was very funny, Junior has a few he was featured in and I don't know how much the character of Ma Cat was featured. This is available to watch on HBO Max as part of the Looney Tunes series.
Come and Get It (1936): Howard Hawks and William Wyler directed this film based on the novel by Edna Ferber. Edward Arnold stars as Barney Glasgow who starts out as a lumberman but gets a great job he cannot refuse even if it means leaving his love Lotta Morgan, played by Frances Farmer, to marry Emma Louise, played by Mary Nash, to secure a partnership. A couple decades later, Barney has a wife and kids along with a successful business. Barney returns to find that Lotta has died but has a daughter, also played by Farmer, who he becomes smitten with. Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Mady Christians, Andrea Leeds, Frank Shields, Edwin Maxwell, Cecil Cunningham, Charles Halton, and many others co-star in this film. There are a lot of stories on the two credited directors which are rather interesting. Brennan won the very first Best Supporting Actor award in the first annual Academy Awards. Farmer was also good in her dual role and her story is a very interesting one in of itself to the point a movie was made which stars Jessica Lange as Frances Farmer in the 1982 biopic FRANCES. This is probably her most known film and is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Look Back in Anger (1959): Long before Oasis told us not to look back in anger, Tony Richardson directed this film that actually wants us to look back in anger and is based on a play by John Osborne. Richard Burton stars as the loud and obnoxious Jimmy Porter who is just angry at the world around him. Mary Ure co-stars as his wife Alison is on the other end of his temper. Claire Bloom, Edith Evans, Gary Raymond, Glen Byam Shaw, Donald Pleasence, and many others co-star in this film. This has a very interesting review of "the audience was jolted as if they'd been sitting for two hours in an electric chair" which apparently described the play. While I did not feel I was being electrocuted, this was a pretty compelling film. This was also part of a short lived period of a British Cultural movement which was referred to as "Kitchen Sink Realism" which mostly happened in the late '50s into the '60s which this kind of being the start of it. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
On the Bowery (1956): This is my documentary for the week which was directed by Lionel Rogosin. This was a New York neighborhood populated largely by the down and out and largely by transients. Many have a hard time finding work or just won't work while many resorting to alcohol. This is a very well shot documentary for this era and is kind of a pioneering documentary which is partly scripted of some real events that happened. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and is worth a look.
A Taxi Driver (2017): This is not that Scorsese movie which is one of my favorites nor is this any sort of remake. This is my South Korean film for the week which was directed by Hun Jang. Kang-Ho Song stars as widowed father Kim Man-Seob who works as a taxi driver and is able to get a ride that he learns will have more money. He takes a German reporter named Jurgen, played by Thomas Kretschmann, from Seoul to Gwangju to cover the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 not really knowing what he was getting into. Kim comes to regret his decision when he sees all the violence around him. This is based on a true story, even the events that happened as well as the people portrayed in this film. I was not aware of these times and this was very eye-opening. While it is hard to watch at times, it is also a rather touching film of doing the right thing and the sacrifices people were willing to make. This one really had me in tears in the end. This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
A Shot in the Dark (1964): This is part three of my Peter Sellers trilogy. Blake Edwards directed this PINK PANTHER sequel which is based on a play by Harry Kurnitz. Sellers reprised his role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau where the inept detective must investigate murders happening at a country estate. Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Herbert Lom, Tracy Reed, Graham Stark, Moira Redmond, Vonda Godsell, Maurice Kaufmann, Ann Lynn, David Lodge, Andre Maranne, Martin Benson, Burt Kwouk, and many others co-star in this film. This delivers a lot of funny moments and I like this more than I do PINK PANTHER. This is also the only one of the franchise to be a murder mystery whereas others had lighter tones. I also liked the music score from Henry Mancini that its predecessor that he also wrote and is far more known. This comedy and the rest of the franchise is available to watch on HBO Max.
Wind (2019): I end the week with this Pixar animation short that is part of Sparkshorts and directed by Edwin Chang. This centers around a grandmother, voiced by Sonoko Konishi, and her grandson, voiced by Emilio Fuentes, and are living in a sinkhole surrounded by massive winds. As they scavenge falling debris, they look for a better life in this magical realism story. The Sparkshorts are a group of independent animation shorts produced by Pixar Animation Studios. This is available to watch on Disney Plus as well as the short shorts from Sparkshorts.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes John C. Reilly, and many others.
No comments:
Post a Comment