Welcome to the 863rd edition of my series. I hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend however celebrated. I have gotten to be among friends so I will call it a good weekend for me. I don't have much else to report so I will just get on with my selections for the week.
The September Issue (2009): I start the week out with this documentary which was directed by R.J. Cutler. This takes an inside look at the fashion magazine Vogue and their editor in chief Anna Wintour. This shows Wintour and her team trying to get together their much important issue for September which I learned is like their Super Bowl and Wrestlemania. This is a pretty good look inside the crazy world of the fashion industry and can be enjoyed by fans and non-fans of the fashion industry.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022): Last week, I featured the one which started it all, then I went to the movie theater to see this long-awaited sequel. Joseph Kosinski directed this sequel to the '80s classic. Tom Cruise reprises his role as Pete Mitchell but is most known as Maverick. He is brought in to train a group of young pilots which includes Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, played by Miles Teller, who is the son of Maverick's best friend Goose. Jennifer Connelly, Bashir Salahuddin, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, Jack Schumacher, Manny Jacinto, Kara Wang, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Val Kilmer, and many others co-star in this film. First of all, the 1986 movie must be seen before this movie, second, I ended up liking this one a lot more. I found myself very emotionally invested in this film. Maybe the nostalgia of this movie made it that way for me. Maybe I felt that Maverick was getting the closure he needed. It was not a rehash sequel by any means and just more of a continuation. I would suggest seeing this in a theater while it lasts.
The Truce (1997): Francesco Rosi directed this film based on the autobiography by Primo Levi. John Turturro stars as Levi who was in a concentration camp and released but must still embark on a long and dangerous journey to get home. Rade Serbedzija, Massimo Ghini, Stefano Dionisi, Roberto Citran, Andy Luotto, Agnieszka Wagner, and many others co-star in this film. This is a rather underrated film and a very touching story of friedship and not giving up. It is also difficult to explain beyond what I did so just give a look. This is available to watch on Tubi.
Now Hear This (1962): This is my animated short for the week which comes from Looney Tunes. This is a much different short than usual as it is very abstract. A British man who is hard of hearing finds a red horn not knowing that it is a lost horn from the devil's forehead. All the sounds effect him in different ways. This is available to watch on the Looney Tunes collection on HBO Max.
Raffles (1939): Sam Wood directed this crime comedy based an 1899 short story collection called THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN by E.W. Hornung. David Niven stars as cricketer A.J. Raffles who is also a safecracker. He reunites with Gwen, played by Olivia de Havilland, who he was infatuated with a decade before and starts falling in love with her again. Raffles spends the weekend at the home of Gwen's parents where he is tempted by a necklace but also has the Scotland Yark police investigating. May Whitty, Dudley Digges, Douglas Walton, E.E. Clive, Lionel Pape, Peter Godfrey, Margaret Seddon, and many others co-star in this comedy. Niven is charming as always and de Havilland works well with him. This has a lot of funny moments and is available to watch on Prime.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953): Howard Hawks directed this musical comedy that introduced us to DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND. Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw who are on a ship going to Paris. On board they encounter a private detective investigating Lorelei for her fiance, a rich, enamored man, and a male gymnast team. Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Marcel Dalio, Taylor Holmes, Norman Varden, and many others co-star in this comedy. Marilyn and Jane play off each other well through their different philosophies of men and has some great songs and one-liners. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
The Quick and the Dead (1987): This is my tv movie for the week which was directed by Robert Day and based on the novel by Louis L'Amour. Sam Elliott stars as the mysterious Con Vallian who helps a married couple, played by Tom Conti and Kate Capshaw, and their son. Con must help fight off a gang after the family lead by Dob Shabitt, played by Matt Clark. Patrick Kilpatrick, Del Shores, Kurt D. Lott, Hardy Rawls, Larry Sellers, and many others co-star in this western. This has nothing to do with the 1995 western of the same name that stars Sharon Stone. This has the classic western feel to it and Elliott rises to the occasion.
The Bad News Bears (1976): This is my baseball movie for the week which was directed by Michael Ritchie. Walter Matthau stars as former minor league player Morris Buttermaker who takes the job of coaching a group of elementary kids. Morris finds that his team has little to no talent in baseball and recruits Amanda, played by Tatum O'Neal, who is the daughter of an ex-girlfriend and is a good pitcher. He also comes across a juvenile delinquent in Kelly Leak, played by Jackie Earle Haley, who he discovers can play baseball. Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Ben Piazza, Alfred Lutter III, Chris Barnes, Erin Blunt, and many others co-star in this comedy. Matthau is hilarious as the lazy alcoholic coach. This is a great movie for misfits. I believe this could be a good double feature to go along with THE MIGHTY DUCKS. This would also start a bit of a franchise that include a couple sequels, a sitcom, and a remake. This is available to watch on Cinemax.
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957): This is my British comedy for the week which was directed by Basil Dearden. Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna star as married couple Matt and Jean Spenser who inherit a movie theater from a late uncle. They expect a really nice place but learn it is very run down with some comically incompetent employees played by Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, and Bernard Miles. Despite the condition of the theater, they set out to make it better. June Cunningham, Sidney James, George Cormack, and many others co-star in this comedy. Sellers is great playing a much older person that he was at the time. It is also a really good homage to movie theaters with a lot of funny moments. This is a very underrated British comedy that really deserves a look. It is also called BIG TIME OPERATORS.
How Can I Ever Be Late (2017): I end the week with this short film which was Kevin Jerome Everson and Claudrena Harold. This features some African-American students of the University of Virginia who greet the band Sly and the Family Stone at the airport in 1973. This is more like a music video but is still an entertaining five minutes. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Patricia Arquette, Marisa Tomei, Rachel McAdams, Charles Chaplin, Al Pacino, Lauren Bacall, and many others.
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