Welcome to the 838th edition of my series. Today, I hope to see the 49ers get a win to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Also today is a radio play that I helped record at the Richmond Civic Theater last year. The radio play is called SUE 'EM which was the first radio play ever to be put on back in 1925 and I play the role that John Huston played. This happens at 5 pm eastern time today and can be heard on the website https://www.weciradio.org/ which is a local station in Richmond, Indiana. This will be pretty short, I would say maybe 45 minutes but no more than an hour. If you cannot watch today, it will also happen at 5 pm Sunday of next week. It will also likely be put on the podcast Richmond Radioworks which I know can be found on Spotify. I will shut up now and get on with my selections.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021): I start out with this superhero film which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi who is trying to live a normal life under the name Shaun but is drawn back into his past lifestyle discovering more of who he is meant to be. With the help of his girlfriend Katy, played by Awkwafina, Shang-Chi goes to Ta Lo. Tony Leung stars as Shang-Chi's estranged father Xu Wenwu. Ben Kingsley, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Wah Yuen, Florian Munteanu, Andy Le, Paul W. He, Jayden Zhang, Elodie Fong, Stephanie Hsu, Kunal Dudheker, Tsai Chin, Jodi Long, and many others co-star in this film along with a few other cameos from the MCU. This is rather complicated to describe. This is a more obscure Marvel character until now. This is not like other superhero films and is more martial arts fantasy than anything. This character was created in the '80s and was modeled off Bruce Lee. Apparently at one time, Stan Lee was considering this as a tv series with Brandon Lee in the late '80s but did not get off the ground. I found this ranks up with just about anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
A History of Violence (2005): I continue with some more action which was directed by David Cronenberg and based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. Viggo Mortensen stars as Tom Stall who seems to have the perfect life in a small Indiana town with his wife Edie, played by Maria Bello, and some kids. He becomes a local hero when saving his diner from a robbery. Things brings the mysterious Carl Fogarty, played by Ed Harris, into town with claims that he lead a very dark life and that Carl wronged him in the past. William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Peter MacNeill, Stephen McHattie, Greg Byrk, Kyle Schmid, Sumela Kay, Deborah Drakeford, Heidi Hayes, Aiden Devine, Ian Matthews, and many others co-star in this film. This is a very well done thriller with some nice suspense and action. This takes place in my state in some small town called Millbrook which I am pretty sure is a fictional town and was actually filmed in Canada. This is the last major Hollywood film to be released on VHS and what a great way for VHS to go out.
Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story (2007): This is one of two documentaries. Jeffrey Schwarz directed this documentary based on horror movie director William Castle. Most of his movies came in the '50s and '60s which includes movies like MACABRE and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. He is most known for his unorthodox ways to promote his movies to get them in the theater and the outrageous audience participation. This includes interviews with John Badham, Forrest J. Ackerman, Budd Boetticher, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and many others. Joe Dante directed the 1993 film MATINEE which paid tribute to Castle. Go watch this documentary and the ghost of William Castle will be there with you and might even help get an ambulance if necessary.
A Chairy Tale (1957): This is my short film for the week which was directed by Claude Jutra and Norman McLaren. The star of this short film is a chair that seems to have a mind of its own when another man tries to sit on it and will not allow it. To add to this, the music is by Ravi Shankar before he would go onto be a big name in the music world. This was some good and clever stop-motion
One Hour With You (1932): This is my musical romantic comedy for the week which was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and based on the play ONLY A DREAM by Lothar Schmidt. Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald star as married couple Andre and Colette Bertier who seem to have a very happy marriage. Colette introduces Andre to her flirtatious best friend Mitzi, played by Lili Damita, making Andre struggle to resist temptation while Collette has her own issues. Genevieve Tobin, Charles Ruggles, Roland Young, Josephine Dunn, Richard Carle, and many others co-star in this film. This is pretty funny and was probably rather raunchy for its time. There are many good moments where the fourth wall gets broken with clever songs. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
Yellow Submarine (1968): This is my animated film for the week which was directed by George Dunning and uses music from the Beatles including the title song. Captain Fred, voiced by Lance Percival, recruits the Beatles to accompany him in his yellow submarine to go to Pepperland and save it from the music hanging Blue Meanies. This has some great animation that holds up today with a good story to go along with it. I was also glad to see it include my favorite Beatles song ELEANOR RIGBY. This would be the inspiration for wrestler Brian Heffron who would use the name the Blue Meanie when he was in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the name would stick. He also just happened to be from Pepperland. A good animated double feature could be this and the other psychedelic animated movie THE POINT which uses the music of Harry Nilsson.
Nightcrawler (2014): Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this film. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom who is desperate for work and stumbles upon the world of nightcrawling in Los Angeles. He gets the equipment necessary to film a good news story, usually one with crime and selling it to a news agency. Rene Russo co-stars as Nina who serves as a mentor to Louis and starts to question his methods. After a while, Louis blurs the line of observant and participant and does not care who he hurts in the process, as long as he gets that story. Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed, Michael Papajohn, Marco Rodriguez, James Huang, and many others co-star in this film. This is very dark and Gyllenhaal plays his role to perfection. It is not always easy to watch and is quite disturbing.
A Blueprint for Murder (1953): This is part two of my possible five-part Joseph Cotten series. Andrew L. Stone wrote and directed this film noir. Cotten stars as Whitney Cameron who is convinced his sister-in-law Lynn, played by Jean Peters, has poisoned his brother and niece. He fears for his nephew Doug and tries to prove Lynn is a murderer before she kills her stepson. Gary Merrill, Catherine McLeod, Jack Kruschen, Barney Phillips, and many others co-star in this film. Last week, I featured Cotten in Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT where he is the suspected but in this one, Cotten does the suspecting. This was a very compelling and suspenseful film from this era. This is available to watch on Plex.
The Battle of Algiers (1966): Gillo Pontcorvo directed and co-wrote this war film. This takes place in the '50s and is based on true events. The people of Algiers are looking for independence from the French government. This takes a look at the revolution from both sides and does not really glorify either side. Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, and many others co-star in this film. This is a very sad story that should be viewed. There is not a lot more to explain for this movie beyond what I already did. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981): I end the week with this documentary which was directed by Penelope Spheeris. This takes a look at the Los Angeles punk rock scene from this era. The bands featured in this documentary are Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X. This takes a look at both music and interview footage. Some might recognize Fear member Lee Ving from the movie version of CLUE where he plays Mr. Boddy. In watching this, I learned this is part of a documentary trilogy with the other two also being directed by Spheeris. This takes a good look into these counter-culture sort of bands. This and the others are available to watch on Tubi.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Dwayne Johnson, Laura Dern, Viola Davis, Joseph Cotten, Sterling Hayden, Jason Statham, Akira Kurasawa, Joan Crawford, Ben Kingsley, and many others.
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