Welcome to the 887th edition of my series. Today is a big day where the 49ers must play the Eagles in Philadelphia. They are the underdog but I hope to help get them through the game and into the Superbowl. For now I will just get to my selections for the week.
The Good Lord Bird (2020): I start the week out with this mini-series which was created by Ethan Hawke and based on the novel by James McBride. Joshua Caleb Johnson stars as Henry Shackleford who poses as a woman and becomes nicknamed Onion. He is a slave and joins a group of abolitionist soldiers lead by the eccentric abolitionist John Brown, played by Hawke, trying to fight to end slavery during the Civil War. Hubert Point-Du Jour, Beau Knapp, Nick Eversman, Ellar Coltrane, Jack Alcott, Mo Brings Plenty, McKinley Belcher III, Quentin Plair, Daveed Diggs, Wyatt Russell, Victor Williams, Rafael Casal, Miles Mussenden, Joel Ashur, George Boaitey, Steve Zahn, Maya Hawke, David Morse, Keith David, and many others co-star in this mini-series. This is from the point of view of the fictional Onion and Johnson does a great job in that role as well as Hawke as the crazed Brown. This has seven episodes that are about an hour each and is a pretty good ride each episode. This is available to watch on Showtime.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022): Eric Appel directed this biopic of the famed comedic singer. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Yankovic as we see his difficult childhood with his overbearing parents, played by Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson, who wanted their son to work at the factory like his father. This also shows his volatile relationship with Madonna, played by Evan Rachel Wood, and quite a few other scandals. Diedrich Bader, Rainn Wilson, Lin-Manuel Meranda, Thomas Lennon, Richard Aaron Anderson, Weird Al Yankovic, Keanush Tafreshi, Johnny Pemberton, Jonah Ray, Jeremy Bolm, Jack Lancaster, Spencer Treat Clark, Will Forte, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Dot-Marie Jones, Jorma Taccone, Paul F. Tompkins, Aviva Schaffer, Conan O'Brien, Emo Philips, Jack Black, David Dastmalchian, Quinta Brunson, Arturo Castro, Josh Groban, Seth Green, Trenyce, James Preston Rogers, William Guirola, and many others co-star or have cameos in this biopic. Keep in mind that like most of Weird Al's songs, this is a parody of Yankovic's life. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this is the most accurate biopic of all time. Radcliffe plays Weird Al to perfection in this parodied biopic of the cliches of the rock and role lifestyle. This is available to watch on the Roku Channel.
The Karate Kid Part II (1986): John G. Avildsen directed this sequel to the '80s classic which starts right from the first one during the aftermath of the All Valley tournament. Ralph Macchio reprises his role of Daniel La Russo who accompanies Mr. Miyagi to his hometown of Okinawa to see Miyagi's dying father. Miyagi manages to renew a rivalry he had with Sato, played by Danny Kamekona, while Daniel manages to make a rivalry of his own rival in Chozen, played by Yuji Okumoto, who would become a big part of COBRA KAI in the later times. Joey Miyashima, Tamlyn Tomita, Nobu McCarthy, BD Wong, Martin Kove, William Zabka, Chad McQueen, and many others co-star in this sequel. This does not beat the first one but is a decent continuation and does play some into the greatest tv series there is in COBRA KAI. This is available to watch on AMC+. COBRA KAI is available on Netflix and sometime this year they release their sixth and final season and I have recently started from the beginning.
House on Order (1960): This is part three of my Barbara Stanwyck trilogy. This is my short film for the week though technically it is the episode of the serial tv series THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW. David Lowell Rich directed this episode of the series where Stanwyck stars as Elizabeth who learns she must have a serious heart operation as she tries to prepare her family. Yvonne Craig co-stars as her daughter Susan who is resentful and is about to elope making things more difficult for her family. Shepperd Strudwick, Jack Mullaney, Walter Coy, and Mary Jackson co-star in this episode. Craig is likely most remembered as Batgirl in the '60s sitcom BATMAN. This was a short lived series but the couple episodes I have seen are pretty good. The formula is similar to ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS where Stanwyck introduces the episodes though she would usually have a part in hers. This is available to watch on Freevee.
A Slight Case of Murder (1938): Lloyd Bacon directed this comedy that was based on a play by Damon Runyon. Edward G. Robinson stars as Remy Marco who made a good living as a bootlegger and must adjust to selling alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition. Unfortunately, no one told him that his beer tasted really bad and has a lot of other things going on. Jane Bryan, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Willard Parker, John Litel, Harold Huber, Paul Harvey, Bobby Jordan, Margaret Hamilton, George E. Stone, Betty Compton, and many others co-star in this comedy. Robinson played a lot of gangster roles in this era and in this movie he got to do more of a parody of himself. This was a great script and delivered a lot of laughs.
Dirty Girtie from Harlem USA (1946): Spencer Williams directed this b-movie. Francine Everett stars as Harlem night club performer Gertie Larue who goes to the Caribbean as a headliner in a revue at the Paradise Hotel. While there, she is given the nickname "Dirty Girtie" as she attracts the attention of various men. It is hard to really describe this movie without giving anything away. The director Williams directed a series of these race films that would feature an all-black cast and cater to the African-Americans. This would receive a little wider release in the '90s and is available on Public Domain. This is a decent B-list movie and has a lot of historical value. This is available to watch on Prime.
An Education (2009): Lone Scherfig directed this film that is based on a memoir by Lynn Barber. This is a coming of age film from the early '60s which stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny Mellor who is a London 16 year old. Her life changes when she meets playboy David Goldman, played by Peter Sarsgaard, who is twice her age. They slowly build a relationship making Jenny decide if that life is right for her. Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Matthew Beard, Amanda Fairbanks-Hynes, Ellie Kendrick, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, and many others co-star in this film. This is a really good look at a 16 year old from this era trying to get through her rather overbearing parents. Mulligan and Sarsgaard work well together as people from two totally different worlds.
The Street With No Name (1948): This is my film noir for the week which was directed by William Keighley. Mark Stevens stars as Gene Cordell who is recruited by the FBI to go undercover in the Skid Row area. Gene meets Alec Stiles, played by Richard Widmark, who is "building an organization along scientific lines" and gets recruited by Stiles making his job more dangerous. Lutze, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Lawrence, Ed Begley, Donald Buka, Joseph Pevney, John McIntire, Howard Smith, and many others co-star in this film noir. This is a follow-up to THE HOUSE ON 92ND STREET mostly with Lloyd Nolan being in both movies and using a semi-documentary style. Widmark has gone onto be a pretty underrated actor seemingly specializing in the Film Noir genre and could be portrayed by Walton Goggins in a biopic if he is ever featured in one. This is available to watch on Youtube.
Ticket of No Return (1979): This is my German film for the week which was written and directed by Ulrike Ottinger. Tabea Blumenschein stars as a unnamed and seemingly mute woman who goes to Berlin to drink every chance she gets. Magdalena Montezuma, Nina Hagen, Gunter Meisner, Kurt Raab, Volker Spengler, Eddie Constantine, and many others co-star in this German film. This is a very offbeat film I think meant to give commentary of how a woman's public behavior is more scrutinized than a man's behavior. I am sure it can be interpreted in a variety of ways. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and is worth a look.
Tales of the Rat Fink (2006): This is part three of my John Goodman trilogy. Ron Mann directed this documentary on Ed "Big Daddy" Roth who was a custom car designer and a very significant artist. John Goodman narrates this documentary as Ed Roth who had since died. In addition to his work in the car industry, he also created some very grotesque caricatures which include Rat Fink that was inspired by his anti-Mickey Mouse attitude. Ted Rosnick, Paul Le Mat, Ann-Margret, Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers, WWE Hall of Famer and former world champion Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jay Leno, ZZ Top member Billy Gibbons, Tom Wolfe, Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, and SIMPSONS creator Matt Groening provide their voices to mostly car characters. This was a good look at the artist that was the inspiration to a lot of our pop culture in society. This is available to watch on Hoopla Digital.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for the next release in two weeks which so far includes Kate Winslet, Audrey Hepburn, Dennis Hopper, and many others.
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