Welcome to the 858th edition of my series. I hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend however celebrated. I am fortunate to have a job where I get the weekend and Memorial Day off work. I don't really have anything else going on right now so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.
Mandy (2018): This is part eight of my ten part Nicolas Cage series. Panos Cosmatos directed and co-wrote this horror film. Cage stars as Red Miller who lives in a cabin in the woods with his girlfriend Mandy, played by Andrea Riseborough. Mandy gets kidnapped by a crazed cult leader, played by Linus Roache, prompting Red to go all out to save her and does it the Nicolas Cage way. Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fourere, Richard Brake, Bill Duke, Alexis Julemont, Hayley Saywell, and many others co-star in this horror film. This is Nicolas Cage to the core right here so will be for some but not for others. I was a little disappointed that Nicolas Cage did not sing the Barry Manilow song of the title. Other than that, this was a lot of fun and worth a look. This is available to watch on AMC+ with a subscription to Prime.
Mother and Child (2009): Rodrigo Garcia directed and wrote this film centering around parenting I suppose. This centers around three characters in Karen, Elizabeth, and Lucy. Annette Bening stars as Karen who gave up her child when she got pregnant at 14 years of age. Naomi Watts stars as Elizabeth who is the daughter Karen gave up and lives as a very successful attorney. Kerry Washington stars as Lucy who has not been able to conceive and along with her husband looks to adopt. Samuel L. Jackson, David Ramsey, Eileen Ryan, Cherry Jones, Elpidia Carrillo, Carla Gallo, Marc Blucas, S. Epatha Merkerson, Michael Warren, Jimmy Smits, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Shareeka Epps, David Morse, Amy Brenneman, Tatyana Ali, Gloria Garayua, Elizabeth Pena, Lawrence Pressman, Britt Robertson, LisaGay Hamilton, and many others co-star in this film. This is a really moving story that is carried by the script and the performances. These are some really good interconnected stories on motherhood and loss.
The Last Shot (2004): I had no intentions of this paying tribute but in the days after I saw this movie, I learned of Ray Liotta's death and will be doing a serious out of Liotta. Jeff Nathanson wrote and directed this comedy on the FBI and the world of film. Matthew Broderick stars as struggling filmmaker Steven Schats who finally gets recruited by Joe Diamond, played by Alec Baldwin, but is really an FBI agent trying to set up a sting on mobster Tommy Sanz, played by Tony Shalhoub. Toni Collette, Calista Flockhart, Tim Blake Nelson, Buck Henry, Ray Liotta, Ian Gomez, Troy Winbush, Tom McCarthy, W. Earl Brown, Evan Jones, Glenn Morshower, James Rebhorn, Michael Papajohn, Jon Polito, Sean Whalen, and many others co-star in this comedy or have cameos. This is based on a true story of a real-life sting in the '80s. This was a lot of fun and had some laughs. I believe this has gone down as a bit underrated. Broderick and Baldwin make a good duo and this could also be a good Matthew Broderick double feature to go along with THE PRODUCERS.
The Four Troublesome Heads (1898): This is my short film for the week which was directed by Georges Melies. This is also a very early one, possibly the oldest I have included. This is only about a minute long but is really cool to see the early days of film and some special effects that hold up today. Melies plays an illusionist and manages to detach his own head. This is available to watch on HBO Max as well as many other works by film pioneer Melies.
The Mummy's Hand (1940): Christy Cabanne directed this adventure horror that is the first Universal follow-up to their 1932 classic THE MUMMY though this is not really a sequel. Dick Foran and Wallace Ford star as out of work archaeologists Steve Banning and Babe Jenson who go to Egypt after discovering evidence of the burial place of Egyptian princess Ananka. They end up awakening the mummy Kharis who is out for revenge and looks to reunite with his love that he believes is Marta, played by Peggy Moran. Eduardo Ciannelli, George Zucco, Cecil Kellaway, Charles Trowbridge, Tom Tyler, and many others co-star in this Universal film. This is a decent B movie horror which has some comedy and would have a couple other sequels from Universal. It's always a good time for a mummy movie.
The Power and the Glory (1961): This is my tv movie for the week which was directed by Marc Daniels and based on the novel by Graham Greene. I will also add that this has nothing to do with the WWF tag team Power and Glory in the early '90s that consisted of Paul Roma and Hercules Hernanzez. Laurence Olivier stars as a Catholic priest sent to '30s Mexico to preach but not received well by the Mexican government as they send a secret agent to assassinate him. Julie Harris, George C. Scott, Martin Gabel, Roddy McDowell, Keenan Wynn, Patty Duke, and many others co-star in this tv movie. This is a remake to the 1947 film THE FUGITIVE and could make a good double feature. This makes the most of the low budget and is a pretty decent tv movie. This is available to watch on Hoopla Digital and Tubi.
Passing (2021): Rebecca Hall directed this film which is based on the novel by Nella Larsen. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga star as biracial friends Irene and Clare who reunite years after high school in the 1920s New York City. Irene identifies as black and has married a black doctor in Brian, played by Andre Holland. Clare identifies as white and passes herself off with a prejudice husband in John, played by TRUE BLOOD alum Alexander Skarsgard, which leads to some complications. Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Justus Davis Graham, Ethan Barrett, Ashley Ware Jenkins, and many others co-star in this film. This is Hall's directorial debut and is a project she has been working on for many years. This is a very moving and thought provoking story. This is available to watch on Netflix.
Kingdom of the Spiders (1977): John Carlos directed this sci-fi horror movie. This takes place in rural Arizona where a lot of farm animals are mysteriously dying. William Shatner stars at veterinarian Rack Hansen who figures out that that some deadly tarantulas are killing the animals and humans. Tiffany Boling, Woody Strode, Lieux Dressler, David McLean, Natasha Ryan, Altovise Davis, Joe Ross, Marcy Lafferty, and many others co-star in this sci-fi movie. Keep in mind, this was riffed by the Rifftrax guys so take this for what it is which is not any sort of award winning movie. If not taken too seriously, it can be a lot of fun. The tarantulas did not look extremely scary which kind of reminded me of the movie FROGS which could be a good double feature. This is available to watch on Prime with or without Rifftrax.
Jitterbugs (1943): Malcolm St. Clair directed this movie which stars the iconic trio of Laurel and Hardy. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy star as Stan and Ollie who team with a small-time conman in Chester Wright, played by Robert Bailey, to help out a young singer, played by Vivian Blaine. Douglas Fowley, Noel Madison, Lee Patrick, Robert Emmett Keane, and many others co-star in this comedy. This is a later production for the comedy duo and they still manage to entertain. Oliver Hardy has a few scenes without Stan Laurel which was very rare. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling (2007): I end the week with this documentary that was produced by the WWE and plays into my special segment. This takes a look at the Texas promotion of World Class Championship Wrestling which was run by wrestling legend Fritz Von Erich. The promotion mostly centered around his sons David, Kevin, Kerry, Mike, and Chris Von Erich though mostly the first three names on that list. Their main rivals were the faction the Fabulous Freedbirds that included Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, and Jimmy Garvin. While this promotion had a lot of success in the '80s, tragedy, among other things proved to be the downfall as Kevin is the only survivor of the brothers. Interviews include wrestling figures Kevin Von Erich, Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Jimmy Garvin, Bill Irwin, Gary Hart, Jerry Lawler, Dusty Rhodes, Jim Ross, Skandor Akbar, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Dory Funk Jr., Verne Gagne, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, and Gerald Brisco. This documentary shows the triumph and the tragedy as the title indicates and is very informative. This is available to watch on Peacock.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Dennis Hopper, Ray Liotta, Colin Farrell, Goldie Hawn, and many others.
THE BOOKWORM CORNER
Lance by Chance: Wrestling as a Von Erich by Lance Vaughn and Vinny Berry (2021): What I did not mention in my last movie selection was this man named Kevin Vaughn who would become the "cousin" of the Von Erichs named Lance Von Erich. The documentary selection glosses over this wrestler and for years we knew every little of this guy. He did not grow up a wrestling fan but shortly after the death of David Von Erich, he was discovered while playing golf. Fritz Von Erich wanted to keep the Von Erich trio going and at this time Mike Von Erich was not ready. Vaughn decides to go through the training and is sent to Portland to Don Owen's promotion where he would become Ricky Vaughn for a few months and then brought back to Texas as a Von Erich. He would last about a year and a half but would leave feeling overworked and underpaid which resulted in the infamous moment where Fritz Von Erich breaks kayfabe and exposes him as not a Von Erich. That lie would be one of the downfalls of WCCW. I have always been curious about this guy and when I learned of this book, I immediately started reading it. He had stayed out of the limelight for many years until this book and would do a few shoot interviews. My friend Sign Guy interviews the author Vinny Berry who worked very closely with Vaughn to get this book written. He is a very intriguing person who would go onto wrestling in Africa which most people do not know about and managed to become a very successful businessman through his decade of being a professional wrestler. Sign Guy's podcast can be found at https://www.blogtalkradio.com/turnbuckle_turmoil/ where he interviews many people in the independent wrestling world including myself a couple of times from when I was a ring announcer. This is a good read from an obscure member of the wrestling world.
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