Welcome to the 888th Edition of my series. Tonight is the Super Bowl which I look forward to watching but I am honestly not that excited. This is because my own team the 49ers were beat by the Eagles to get to the Super Bowl. I am one of the few that watches the Super Bowl for the football game. The commercials and halftime show are fine but the football element is the most important. I don't have much else to say so I will get on with my selections for the week.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): This is part one of a possible five-part Kate Winslet series. I start the week with this long awaited sequel of the 2009 film both of which were directed by James Cameron. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana reprise their roles of Jake and Neytiri where Jake is living on Pandora and now has a family. A familiar threat returns to finish what they previously started and must work with the Na'vi race to protect their home. Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Lo Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Duane Evans Jr., Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and many others co-star in this sequel. Obviously, the first one should be watched before this one. I thought this was a very good sequel that has its own story. I ended up seeing this in 3D and was worth the watch to see it that way as this is best seen on a big screen.
An Impossible Balancing Feat (1902): This is my short film for the week which was directed by film pioneer Georges Melies. Melies manages to create quite the illusion where he is able to hold exact counterparts of himself. He is most known for A TRIP TO THE MOON and was portrayed in the movie HUGO. This is available to watch on HBO Max as well as a few other shorts from Melies that are all really worth a look to see the early days of cinema.
Roman Holiday (1953): William Wyler directed this romantic comedy involving royalty. Gregory Peck stars as reporter Joe Bradley who is an American reporter working at the American News Service in Rome. Audrey Hepburn stars as burned out Princess Ann who tires of all her royalty duties and runs away. When Joe comes across her, he sees the opportunity for a story while also acting like he does not know her as well as falling in love with her. Eddie Albert adds a lot of comic relief as the photographer helping Joe. Harcourt Williams, Tullio Carminati, Claudio Ermelli, and many others co-star in this film. I also saw this at the movie theater as part of the 70th anniversary. I have always enjoyed this movie with Peck and Hepburn making a good pair. This is available to watch on Paramount Plus.
The Last Film Festival (2016): Linda Yellen directed this comedy on the independent film industry. Dennis Hopper stars as struggling film producer Nick Twain who can only get his movie into a very obscure film festival at a small town Ohio high school. Jacqueline Bisset, Jobeth Williams, Chris Kattan, Leelee Sobieski, Katrina Bowden, Joseph Cross, Agim Kaba, Donnell Rawlings, and many others co-star in this comedy. This is Hopper's last movie before he left us. This is a pretty fun movie of Hollywood in small town America.
The Hiding Place (1975): Now I get a little more serious with this Holocaust film that was directed by James F. Collier and based on the book by Corrie Ten Boom, played by Jeannette Clift in this movie. Julie Harris stars as Corries's sister Betsie who is living in WWII Holland and among the Nazis. They are eventually suspected of hiding Jews and get sent to a concentration camp where their Christian faith keeps them sane during such horrid times. Arthur O'Connell, Robert Rietty, Tom van Beek, Nigel Hawthorne, John Gabriel, and many others co-star in this film. This has been overlooked through the years but has gone onto be underrated as a rather sad but inspirational film. An unfortunate incident happened during its premier where someone through a tear-gas canister before the movie started forcing an evacuation and obvious delay. This is available to watch on Prime.
Strangers (2007): Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor directed this German film. Liron Levo stars as Eyal Goldman who is an Israeli living in a Kibbutz. Lubna Azabal stars as Rana Sweid who is a Palestinian living in Paris. They have an accidental meeting at the Berlin Subway which leads to an intense relationship but circumstances keep them apart. Abdallah El Akal, Patrick Albenque, Birol Unel, Clemence Thioly, and many others co-star in this film. This is a pretty moving story that makes us root for these two people to be together. This movie also introduced me to a song I really liked called ONE MORE WORD by the Swell Season that comprised of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova who are known for their movie ONCE. This is a very intense love story and deserves a look.
The Wild Women of Wongo (1958): James L. Wolcott directed this B-movie though supposedly Wolcott was a good friend of Tennessee Williams who helped direct this movie. This takes place on the tropical island of Wongo where a tribe of beautiful women discover on the other side of this island is a group of handsome men. They also discover that a tribe of evil ape men live there too and the men and women must band together. What more can I say about this movie? I don't think this one has been covered by MST3K or Rifftrax but is a worthy watch for them though correct me if I'm wrong. This is not something to watch if looking for an Oscar worthy film but could be a fun watch for a group of friends. This is available to watch on Prime.
Anna Karenina (2012): This is part two of a possible Olivia Williams trilogy where she plays Countess Vronsky. Joe Wright directed this film based on the classic novel by Leo Tolstoy. Keira Knightley takes the helm of the title character who is in an unhappy marriage with Count Alexie Karenin, played by Jude Law. Anna meets and falls in love with cavalry officer Count Vronsky, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Guro Nagelhus Schia, Bryan Hands, Luke Newberry, Michael Schaeffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Pip Torrens, Susanne Lothar, Alexandra Roach, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, David Wilmot, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Holliday Grainger, Emily Watson, Michelle Dockery, Bill Skarsgard, Cara Delevingne, Shirley Henderson, and many others co-star in this tragic love story. I have heard that this was a lot more stylized than other adaptations but I did like how it was shot. Knightley was really good as the title character. Those who like the period pieces should enjoy this one.
Which Way is Up? (1977): Michael Schultz directed this comedy which is a remake of the 1972 comedy Italians THE SEDUCTION OF MIMI. Richard Pryor stars in a trio of roles mainly of which orange picker Leroy Jones who accidentally becomes a leader being forced out of town after being laid off in his job and leaving his wife Annie, played by Margaret Avery, and the rest of his family behind. In Los Angeles, Leroy works for the same company as a manager and falls in love with labor organizer Vanetta, played by Lonette McKee, and to divide time between his wife and mistress. Morgan Woodward, Bebe Drake, Otis Day, Diane Rodriguez, Dolph Sweet, Tim Thomerson, Daniel Valdez, Marc Alaimo, Victor Argo, and many others co-star in this comedy. Pryor also plays Leroy's sex obsessed father Rufus and a hypocritical preacher. We mostly know Peter Sellers and Eddie Murphy, I'm sure there are plenty of others, that are known to play multiple roles. Pryor does well in his attempt though I don't think he did this any other time in his career. This is a lot of fun and will give some laughs.
In the Blood (2014): I end the week with this action movie which was directed by John Stockwell. Gina Carano stars as the newlywed Ava who marries Derek Grant, played by Cam Gigandet. They go to the Caribbean for their honeymoon where Derek disappears and when the police aren't cooperative, Ava goes on her own investigation to find him making those responsible realize they messed with the wrong woman. Ismael Cruz Cordova, Danny Trejo, Luis Guzman, Amaury Nolasco, Stephen Lang, Treat Williams, Yvette Yates Redick, Eloise Mumford, Paloma Louvat, and many others co-star in this action movie. This is a bit of a guilty pleasure and I can usually enjoy a female action hero. This does have a lot of action and can be enjoyed if not taken too seriously. This is available to watch on Prime.
Well, that is it for this week but continue on for my segment "Movie Time in the Town of Pottersville". Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for two weeks which so far includes Kate Winslet, John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Julie Andrews, and many others.
MOVIE TIME IN THE TOWN OF POTTERSVILLE
28 Days Later (2002): We decided upon this zombie film which was directed by Danny Boyle. A mysterious and seemingly virus has spread through the United Kingdom which turns people into zombie like people. A group of survivors band together to find sanctuary. Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer, Bindu De Stoppani, David Schneider, Toby Sedgwick, Noah Huntley, Christopher Dunne, Kim McGarrity, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Luke Mably, Stuart McQuarrie, and many others co-star in this zombie film. This is a pretty simple zombie film but is still very effective. The zombies are also well done and quite believable in my opinion. This is a must see for the horror fans out there.
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