Welcome to the 895th Edition of my series. I have been busy with rehearsals for the play RADIUM GIRLS at the Anderson Mainstage Theater. It is coming along very well and I have information at the bottom of the installment. I don't have much else to say so I will get on with my selections for the week.
Godless (2017): I start the week with this western mini-series which was written and directed by Scott Frank. Jack O'Connell stars as Roy Goode who leaves his murderous gang and ends up in the town of La Belle which is mostly run by women. He resides in the house run by the tough and widowed Alice Fletcher, played by Michelle Dockery, and helps on the farm. He also awaits the murderous gang leader Frank Griffin, played by Jeff Daniels, who is out for revenge and does not care who he hurts along the way. Scoot McNairy, Merritt Wever, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Tantoo Cardinal, Adam David Thompson, Samantha Soule, Kayli Carter, Audrey Moore, Keith Jardine, Rio Alexander, Justin Welborn, Samuel Marty, Luke Robertson, Tess Frazer, Joe Pingue, Sam Waterston, and many others co-star in this mini-series. This is a seven episode series that are usually about an hour long. This is a really good story of a town mostly run by women and a final showdown at the end. This is available to watch on Netflix.
How to Swim (1942): This is my animated Disney short for the week which features Goofy, voiced by Pinto Colvig, in his series of How To series. Goofy haplessly teaches us how to swim in a humorous way. He teaches us things like diving, tubing, and many other things. The narration by John McLeish is also very sharp and goes along well with the humor from Goofy. These are a series of animated sporting shorts that feature our favorite dog. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Dr. Jack (1922): This is part three of my Harold Lloyd trilogy which was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. Lloyd stars as Dr. Jack Johnson who is a neighborhood doctor and is called in to treat the Sick-Little-Well-Girl, played by Mildred Davis. In the process, he has a hard time getting to his main place he is going and continues to get interrupted by more petty requests. John T. Prince and Eric Mayne co-star in this silent comedy. Lloyd is great as the well-meaning doctor and the comedy still holds up pretty well. This is available to watch on HBO Max and the Criterion Channel.
Kansas City (1996): This is part two of my Harry Belafonte trilogy who recently left us. Robert Altman directed and co-wrote this film which was like a throwback to the old Film Noirs. This takes place in '30s Kansas City which stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as Blondie O'Hara whose petty thief husband Johnny, played by Dermot Mulroney, is captured by local mobster Seldom Seen, played by Belafonte. Blondie tries to turn the tables to kidnapping Carolyn Stilton, played by Miranda Richardson, who is the wife of a powerful politician. Michael Murphy, Steve Buscemi, Brooke Smith, Jane Adams, and many others co-star in this film. This also centers around a jazz bar and has a really good jazz soundtrack.
One Million Years B.C. (1966): Don Chaffey directed this prehistoric film that shows that dinosaurs and humans did exist at the same time. John Richardson stars as caveman Tumak who is banished from his tribe. He meets Loana, played by Raquel Welch, who is part of a gentler tribe and they form a relationship. Percy Herbert, Robert Brown, Martine Beswick, and many others co-star in this prehistoric film. One highlight was the special effects from Ray Harryhausen who brought the dinosaurs and other creatures to life. Let's face, I think most watch this on account of Raquel Welch and she does not disappoint. It is still a pretty decent prehistoric fantasy that deserves a look.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021): This has nothing to do with the popular game show. This is my Japanese film for the week which was written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. This is an anthology film that takes a look at three love triangle stories. One of them looks at an unexpected love triangle, another looks at a failed seduction trap, and the last looks at a misunderstanding. Hyruni, Aoba Kawai, and many others co-star in this film. This is a good look at love among the Japanese culture. It is hard to go into much detail without giving things away. If it helps, Barack Obama named this as his favorite movie of 2022. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
The Verdict (1946): Don Siegel directed this British murder mystery in his directorial debut. Sydney Greenstreet stars as Superintendent George Edward Grodman who learns that an innocent man that he arrested got executed for murder. He gets replaced by John Buckley, played by George Coulouris, after being disgraced. Peter Lorre co-stars as Grodman's friend Victor who helps him investigate what happened. Joan Lorring, Rosaling Ivan, Paul Cavanaugh, Arthur Shields, Morton Lowry, Holmes Herbert, Clyde Cook, and many others co-star in this film. This has nothing to do with the later film of the same title that stars Paul Newman. This is a pretty nice Victorian who-dun-it with a good performance out of Greenstreet in more of a starring role. Lorre is also great as always making this worth a look.
World's Greatest Dad (2009): Bobcat Goldthwait wrote and directed this comedy drama. Robin Williams stars as high school teacher Lance Clayton whose son Kyle, played by Daryl Sabara, dies in a humiliating accident. His son was quite the jerk but Lance writes a suicide note making him very popular among the school after his death. Morgan Murphy, Geoff Pierson, Henry Simmons, Zach Sanchez-Vitale, Alexie Gilmore, Evan Martin, Ellyn Jameson, Ray Buckley, Jermaine Williams, Lorraine Nicholson, Mitzi McCall, Bobcat Goldthwait, and many others co-star in this film. I watched this when I was visiting my own dad as I thought this would be fitting. He had not even heard of this movie and has gone onto become some very underrated work by Robin Williams. Some might not like Goldthwait as a comedian but he did a great job with this movie in his writing and directing. This has a really good soundtrack from Bruce Hornsby. My dad also ended up really liking this movie. This is available to watch on Hoopla Digital, Peacock, Crackle, Magnolia Selects, Plex, Pluto TV, Tubi, and the Roku Channel.
Gay Purr-ee (1962): Abe Levitow directed this animated feature from Warner Brothers. Judy Garland voices the role of country cat Mewsette but wants the Paris lifestyle. She ends up there but falls into the clutches of Meowrice, voiced by Paul Frees. Robert Goulet co-stars as the charming Jaune-Tom who has a lot of affection for Mewsette and sets out to find her with the help of his friend Robespierre, voiced by Red Buttons. Hermione Gingold, Mel Blanc, Morey Amsterdam, Julie Bennett, and many others provide their voices in this animated movie. The music in this movie was written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg which was their last full length score. This is also much later in Garland's career. This is also Goulet's film debut. This is a pretty fun animated movie with some enjoyable music numbers. This is worth a look at least to see Garland in an animated movie which as far as I know is her only one.
Spun (2002): I end the week with this drug movie which was direced by Jonas Akerlund. Jason Schwartzman stars as Ross who goes on a three day drug odyssey which buying some drugs from Spider Mike, played by John Leguizamo. Patrick Fugit, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, Mena Suvari, Elisa Bocanegra, China Chow, Nicholas Gonzalez, Debbie Harry, Josh Peck, Charlotte Ayanna, Eric Roberts, Larry Drake, Rob Halford, Peter Stormare, Peter Stormare, Alexis Arquette, Billy Corgan, Ron Jeremy, and many others co-star in this film. I suppose one could call this a pre-BREAKING BAD with Rourke playing "the Cook". Corgan has a cameo and contributes a lot to the soundtrack and music score. There is a lot of comedy to this movie and also is meant to show the effects of Meth and hard to really describe beyond what I already did. This does have quite a cast, even the lead singers of Judas Priest, Blondie, and Smashing Pumpkins. There is also a lot of wrestling footage from Insane Clown Posse's Juggalo Championship Wrestling. This is available to watch on Prime, Plex, Pluto tv, Freevee, Tubi, and the Roku Channel.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for two weeks for the next edition.
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