Welcome to the 840th Edition of my series. Last night I was on the edge of my seat as I watched my favorite football team the San Francisco 49ers hang in there in the extreme cold to defeat the favored Green Bay Packers to get a spot in the conference championship. Now I will see who they will be playing. I don't have much else right now so I will just get on with my selections for the week.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009): Shawn Levy directed this sequel to the hit 2006 comedy. Ben Still reprises his role of Larry Daley who is now a successful businessman. When he visits the museum, he learns the museum is going a different route and some are being transferred to Smithsonian. He also learns that the tablet that helps bring the exhibits to life has also gone there and goes into battle with Kahmunrah, played by Hank Azaria, who has Napoleon, played by Alain Chabat, Ivan the Terrible, played by Steve Coogan, and Al Capone, played by Jon Bernthal, on this side. Larry has his own allies though including Custer, played by Bill Hader, and Amelia Earhart, played by Amy Adams. Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Jake Cherry, Rami Malek, Mizuo Peck, Jay Baruchel, Mindy Kaling, Keith Powell, Craig Robinson, Clint Howard, Caroll Spinney, Eugene Levy, Brad Garrett, the Jonas Brothers, Ed Helms, Jonah Hill, and many others co-star in this comedy sequel. This did not beat the original but I still had a lot of fun with the new and original characters from the first one. This is the first movie to be filmed in the Smithsonian Institution. This trilogy is available to watch on Disney Plus.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000): This is my documentary for the week which was directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Rupaul narrates this documentary of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker who were at the head of a religious television empire but experienced a big fall when Jim was arrested for Fraud. Tammy Faye gives her side of what happened and Jim is also in it for interviews as well as their friends and family. I never really knew a lot about them or their networks but this was pretty fascinating and gives a new side of the couple as well as some insight into Jerry Falwell. This was recently made into a movie with Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain playing the couple so now maybe I'll check that out.
Dunkirk (2017): This is not about that small Indiana town that is fairly close to me. Christopher Nolan directed this war film on a WWII battle of an evacuation from British and French troops with German air troops out at full force. This shows the point of view from the eyes of the soldiers, a couple air pilots and a group of civilians on a boat trying to help out. Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Aneurin Barnard, Lee Armstrong, Jack Lowden, Will Attenborough, Kenneth Branagh, James D'Arcy, Harry Styles, and many others co-star in this film. This was very well-acted and well-shot but there are no real stars of the movie. It is also very intense but at the same time it is inspiring as well. There were veterans on hand that vouched for the accuracy. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
Shiver Me Timbers (1934): I will bring it down a bit with this animated short. This features Popeye the Sailor Man, voiced by William Costello, who along with Olive, voiced by Mae Questel, and Wimpy stumble upon a ghost ship. The ship proceeds to scare them in various ways and as though the ship knows them. This has quite a bit going on and a little different than other Popeye cartoons but he still always has his spinach on hand. This is also available to watch on HBO Max.
Niagara (1953): This is part four of my five-part Joseph Cotten series. Henry Hathaway directed this Film Noir. Cotten and Marilyn Monroe star as married couple George and Rose Loomis who are a honeymooning couple. Max Showalter and Jean Peters co-stars as Ray and Polly Cutler who are in the middle dysfunctional couple in George and Rose where Monroe is the femme fatale driving Cotten to insanity. Denis O'Dea, Richard Allen, Don Wilson, Lurene Tuttle, Russell Collins, Will Wright, and many others co-star in this Film Noir. Monroe was good as the villain in this film and showing a different side of herself. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
Stalker (1979): Andrei Tarkovsky directed this Russian film which is based on a novel by Arkadiy Strugatskiy. Alexander Kaydanovskiy stars as a guide known as "stalker" and leads a couple of his clients in a melancholic writer, played by Anatoly Solonitsyn, and a professor, played by Nikolay Grinko, to a place called "zone" which supposedly would give people their innermost desires. This does not have any real linear plot or even message. A lot is really left to interpretation. It is hard to really describe this beyond what I already have. This is a near three hour Russian film and requires full attention. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020): Eliza Hittman wrote and directed this independent film. Sidney Flanigan stars as the teenage Autumn in rural Pennsylvania. She unexpectedly becomes pregnant and wants to get an abortion but finds it is not easy. Her cousin Skylar, played by Talia Ryder, accompanies her on a trek to New York to get what she is wanting. Theodore Pellerin, Christian Clements, Sharon Van Etten, Aurora Richards, Rose Elizabeth Richards, Ryan Eggold, Brian Altemus, Lizabeth Mackay, and many others co-star in this film. This is a rather dark coming of age story for a lack of a better description. These teen girls in New York and have to learn about the world around them more. This is an unknown cast and I honestly don't know anything about these actors. They still did a good job of putting out a good independent film.
Onna (1948): Now I go to Japan for this movie written and directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Mitsuko Mito stars as dance-hall girl Toshiko who meets up with her criminal lover Tadashi, played by Eitaro Ozawa. Tadashi wants Toshiko to run away with him but she is torn throughout with her lack of trust with him. This is a pretty intense film of Toshiko struggling to free herself from her past and being torn on what to do. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel but is billed as WOMAN.
One Sings, the Other Doesn't (1977): I bring another feminism selection which also deals with abortion. Agnes Varda wrote and directed this French film. Valerie Mairesse and Therese Liotard star as Pomme and Suzanne who are friends in '70s France even if losing contact at times. Pomme is an aspiring singer and Suzanne becomes a community worker. This is a very hard one to describe. It is very bizarre at times, especially with some of the songs the Pomme sings. It is also very sad at times in the ups and downs of their lives. I will say though that this is about far more than which one sings. This is available on the Criterion Channel.
Mudbound (2017): I end the week with this film on returning veterans and racial tensions. Dee Rees directed this film based on the novel by Hillary Jordan. Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell star as returning WWII veterans Jamie McAllan and Ronsel Jackson who are returning home to their small town in Mississippi. Jamie is white and is part of a bigoted family which is most notably his father, played by Jonathan Banks. Ronsel is a black man and his veteran status does not free him from prejudice though Jamie befriends him and they form a friendship that does not sit well with the families. Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Frankie Smith, Kennedy Derosin, Joshua J. Williams, Elizabeth Windley, Piper Blair, Jason Kirkpatrick, Kerry Cahill, Lucy Faust, Dylan Arnold, and many others co-star in this film. This is not for everyone and is very uncomfortable at times but we all need that sometimes when watching film or television. It is also moving in some ways like with the friendship of Jamie and Ronsel. I can see I really focused a lot on the darker films this week with a couple exceptions. This could be a good experience though to give this a watch. This is available to watch on Netflix.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Julia Roberts, Minnie Driver, Josephine Baker, Marisa Tomei, Joseph Cotten, and many others.
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