Welcome to the 883rd Edition of my series. My show THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER starts on Thursday so it runs December 8-10 at the Elwood Opera House. Shows are at 7 pm and tickets are $10 and is a family oriented comedy. See website https://www.duckcreekcenter.com/events/mousetrap-mdscl-c7a59 for information on ordering tickets. I will shut up now and get on with my selections.
The Godfather Part III (1990): Francis Ford Coppola directed this sequel to end the trilogy and co-wrote with GODFATHER author Mario Puzo. Al Pacino reprises his role as the aging Don Michael Corleone and must deal with her fiery nephew Vincent Mancini, played by Andy Garcia, who is the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone. He is also trying to deal with his dark past while dealing with a new enemy. Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola, Raf Vallone, Franc D'Ambrosio, Donal Donnelly, Richard Bright, Helmut Berger, Don Novello, John Savage, Franco Citti, Mario Donatone, Vittorio Duse, Enzo Robutti, Michele Russo, Al Martino, Robert Cicchini, Michael Bowen, and many others co-star in this film. I remember watching an episode of THE SOPRANOS where someone was talking about how great the first two films were and how this one was misunderstood. I agree with that statement and I thought this was a decent closure for the franchise. Garcia really shines as Vincent in one of his earlier roles. Part of the issue with this movie was the inexperienced Sofia Coppola playing Michael's daughter Mary and seems to have found her niche in the world of directing. I take this is as a good part three film.
There's Something About Mary (1998): I follow up with this raunchy comedy which was directed by the Farrelly Brothers. Ben Stiller stars as Ted who was a high school geek and managed to get a prom date with one of the most popular girls in school in Mary, played by Cameron Diaz. A very unusual accident prevented this from happening and thirteen years later he realized he is still in love with her. He ends up hiring private detective Healy, played by Matt Dillon, to track down Mary and Healy wants her for himself when finding her. It turns out there are others who really want Mary. Lee Evans, Chris Elliott, Lin Shaye, Jeffrey Tambor, Markie Post, Keith David, W. Earl Brown, Sarah Silverman, Richard Tyson, Willie Garson, Richard Jenkins, Harland Williams, and many others co-star in this comedy. This is not for everyone and is very politically incorrect. If you can get past the raunchiness, this has a lot of really funny moments.
Miss Meadows (2014): Karen Leigh Hopkins wrote and directed this film on leading a double life. Katie Holmes stars as Miss Meadows who is a very proper woman and teacher. She is also a homicidal vigilante and feels she is trying to write the wrongs of a cruel world. Things become complicated when she becomes romantically involved with the town sheriff. Callan Mulvey, Jean Smart, Mary Kay Place, Ava Kolker, Stephen Bishop, Kate Linder, James Landry Hebert, James Keane, Graham Beckel, and many others co-star in this dark comedy. This is kind of like Mary Poppins in the world of DEATH WISH. Holmes is a lot of fun in this movie and is worth seeing wielding a gun. This is available to watch on Prime.
Satan Met a Lady (1936): William Dieterle directed this film which is based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett. Warren William stars as private detective Ted Shane who is hired by the pretty Valerie Purvis, played by Bette Davis, to track a man that wronged her. This proves to be far more complicated than tracking down a man and leads to the valued Horn of Roland. Alison Skipworth, Arthur Treacher, Marie Wilson, Wini Shaw, Porter Hall, Olin Howland, Charles C. Wilson, and many others co-star in this film. This is loosely based on what is more known as THE MALTESE FALCON. This has a good mix of mystery and comedy to make this watchable. It would be topped in 1941 by John Huston's THE MALTESE FALCON and is on the dvd of this film as well as the 1931 version.
Our Town (1940): Sam Wood directed this film based on the play by Thornton Wilder. This takes a look at small town life in a small New Hampshire town narrated by the Stage Manager, played by Frank Craven. It takes a look at life and death among the townspeople. It also takes a look at young George Gibbs, played by William Holden, as he grows up and gets married to his high school sweetheart Emily, played by Martha Scott. Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, Stuart Erwin, Doro Merande, and many others co-star in this film. I was in this show back in September and the movie follows a lot of it. One change was the ending which was possibly due to the Hays Code. This is available to watch on Prime.
The Great Smokey Roadblock (1977): John Leone wrote and directed by this road comedy. Henry Fonda stars as the aging trucker Elegant John Howard who steals back the truck that was stolen from him and felt he had "one more good run". Along the way he picks up a straight-laced hitchhiker in Beebo, played by a young Robert Englund. He is later joined by his friend and brothel owner Penelope along with her own employees. Austin Pendleton, Dub Taylor, John Byner, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Mayron, Leigh French, Mews Small, Daina House, Gary Sandy, Valerie Curtain, and many others co-star in this comedy. Fonda has a lot of very iconic roles to his name, I don't think this one really comes up as much. This is one of his much later movies and is pretty fun especially considering the duo of Fonda and Englund. This is available to watch on Youtube
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): Ryan Coogler directed this latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With it still being pretty fresh into the theater I will keep the description limited. As we all know, Chadwick Boseman unfortunately left us so they went ahead and wrote of King T'Challa that he died so the land of Wakanda must band together to protect their country and along the way pass the torch. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Alex Livinalli, Mabel Cadena, Trevor Noah, Richard Schiff, Robert John Burke, Lake Bell, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and many others co-star in this film. I know this was a hard transition with the untimely death of Boseman but I feel Coogler rose to the occasion along with the cast to continue Wakanda post T'Challa. I thought this had a good story and some very good action and was glad to visit the local Alex Theater in Alexandria, Indiana.
Barbarella (1968): Roger Vadim directed this Sci-Fi film based on the novel by Jean-Claude Forest. Jane Fonda stars as the title character in this futuristic film and goes after the evil scientist Durand Durand, played by Milo O'Shea. John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Marcel Marceau, Claude Dauphin, Veronique Vendell, and many others co-star in this sci-fi film. It is hard to describe this beyond what I already did. This is a guilty pleasure more than anything and pleasure is something this erotic sci-fi movie revolves around. This is not sci-fi to watch with the family and this is available to watch on Pluto TV.
House of Bamboo (1955): Samuel Fuller directed this unusual film noir. This takes place in Tokyo where a ruthless gang starts holding up U.S. ammunition trains and lead by Sandy Dawson, played by Robert Ryan. Robert Stack co-stars as Eddie who arrives in Japan and makes contact with Dawson but is not who he seems. Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Brad Dexter, Sessue Hayakawa, Biff Elliot, Sandro Giglio, and many others co-star in this film noir. This is another one that is hard to explain without giving too much away. This is number four in the Fox Noir dvd series that I am looking to get through. This is available to watch on Youtube.
Ulee's Gold (1997): Victor Nunez wrote and directed this very intense film. Peter Fonda stars as beekeeper Ulee Jackson who is raising his granddaughters while his son Jimmy, played by Tom Wood, is incarcerated. Jimmy asks his father for a favor that involves repaying his debts and saving his wife Helen, played by Christine Dunford. Ulee must put himself and his family in danger as his son's past catches up to him. Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel, Vanessa Zima, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, J. Kenneth Campbell, and many others co-star in this film. Biel makes her film debut in this movie and Fonda has possibly the best performance of his career. This is a character driven film driven by its script, acting, and direction.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for my next one in a couple of weeks.
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