Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 924th Edition

 

Welcome to the 924th Edition of my series.  Hope everyone is doing well in these times.  It has been great with the better weather, at least for me.  I don't have much else happening right now so I'll just get on with my selections.

A Little White Lie (2023):  This is part three of my possible five-part series for M. Emmet Walsh who recently left us.  Michael Maren directed this comedy which is based on the book SHRIVER by Chris Belden.  Kate Hudson stars as Simone Cleary who is a University employee who believes she has found a reclusive writer to deliver the keynote address to save the school's literary festival.  It turns out she finds a handyman in Shriver, played by Michael Shannon, who shares the name of this person.  MIAMI VICE alum Don Johnson, COBRA KAI star Peyton List, Wendie Malick, Zach Braff, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Jimmi Simpson, Perry Mattfeld, Kate Linder, Tiffany Bank, Romy Byrne, Mark Boone Junior, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is a pretty fun story and even has some light twists and turns to it.  Shannon and Hudson work well together and the rest of the cast complements it.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Blue Bayou (2021):  This is part two of my possible four-part Alicia Vikander series.  Justin Chon wrote and directed this independent film.  He also stars as Korean-American Antonio who struggles but has everything he wants with his wife Kathy, played by Vikander, and daughter Jessie, played by Sydney Kowalske.  When some trouble happens, Antonio face possible deportation on account of a loophole for people who were adopted overseas.  He must confront his past and resort to some extreme measures to pay for legal support.  Mark O'Brien, Linh-Dan Pham, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Emory Cohen, Geraldine Singer, Toby Vitrano, and many others co-star in this film.  This takes a look at the Child Citizenship of 2000 law that was passed and the flaws of it not addressing those that turned 18 before that year.  This is a pretty moving film with a well-written script that show how one person's actions can effect someone for life.  This is available to watch on Freevee.

Black Sun (2005):  This is my documentary for the week which was directed by by Gary Tarn who also wrote the music.  This takes a look at artist Hugues de Montalembert who was blinded in 1978 but would continue to make art.  This is not a linear documentary taking a look at his life with people being interviewed and all that.  This uses imagery with narration from Montalembert who talks about his life and what is it like being blind.  It is hard to explain anything much further but was a good insight into a complex artist and one I knew nothing about until I watched this.  This is available to watch on Tubi, the Roku Channel, and Plex.  

Dumb-Hounded (1943):  This is my animation short for the week which was directed by Tex Avery.  This features Droopy the dog that is after the Wolf who has escaped from prison.  The wolf things he is one step ahead but underestimates the hound dog.  This is the first appearance of the character Droopy who was created by Hanna-Barbara.  This can be found on Vimeo.

Sinners in Paradise (1938):  James Whale directed this adventure romance film.  A plane headed to China crash lands on an isolated island headed by a man named Jim Taylor, played by John Boles, who seems content on the island and reluctant to help the others.  Madge Evans stars as Anne Wesson who is a nurse escaping a loveless marriage and hoping to do work for refugees.  Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin, Gene Lockhart, Charlotte Wynters, Nana Bryant, Milburn Stone, Don "Red" Barry, Morgan Conway, Willie Fung, and many others co-star in this film.  I suppose thi could be referred to as an early GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and maybe LOST.  This is a pretty fun adventure film from this era and something different for James Whale is most likely for directing the 1931 version of FRANKENSTEIN.  This is available to watch on Prime, Tubi, and MGM +.

It's Good to be Alive (1974):  This is part three of my possible four-part series on Louis Gossett Jr. who recently left us.  Michael Landon directed this tv movie which is based on the book by Roy Campanella.  Paul Winfield stars as baseball legend Roy Campanella who had a really good career going in the negro leagues and managed to transition to the major leagues as part of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Unfortunately, his career would be cut short due to a car accident and would be confined to a wheelchair the remainder of his life.  Gossett co-stars as his therapist Sam Brockington who tries to help Campanella in his upper strength and give him a better lease on life.  Ruby Dee, Ramon Bieri, Joe De Santis, Ty Henderson, Julian Burton, and many others co-star in this biopic.  Campanella has been a bit forgotten through the years but is said to have been the best catcher of all time.  This mostly focuses on Campanella adjusting to his paralysis and the relationship with Brockington.  This is available to watch on Tubi and the Roku Channel.

Osama (2003):  Siddiq Barmak directed this Afghan film.  This takes place in Afghanistan where the Taliban has risen to power where women are unable to work.  Marina Golbhari stars as a young girl whose family consists of her mother and grandmother.  To support her family, she must pose as a boy and hope to not get caught by the Taliban.  There is a lot of significance to this film as it is the first movie to be made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.  This is not an easy movie to watch but it has a lot of value and deserves a look.  This is available to watch on Prime and MGM+.

Pushover (1954):  Richard Quine directed this Film Noir which is based on a novels by Thomas Walsh and Bill Ballinger.  Fred MacMurray stars as Detective Paul Sheridan who is going undercover who is out to investigate a bank heist.  He soon meets Lona McLane who is the girlfriend of one of the robbers when learning that Sheridan is a cop, she seduces him into a big money scheme.  Philip Carey, Dorothy Malone, E.G. Marshall, and many others co-star in this Film Noir.  This is Novak's first credited role and gets to start quite a career.  MacMurray plays a rather similar role in the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY in terms of being corrupted by money.  This is a very intriguing film and the extreme measures required for the heist were very well done.  This could be a good double feature to go along with DOUBLE INDEMNITY.

The Swimmer (1968):  Frank Perry directed this film that is based on a story by John Cheever that was published in the New Yorker.  Burt Lancaster stars as Ned Merrill who returns to his suburban neighborhood at a friend's pool.  He then gets the idea that many others are having a pool party so that he can make his way to each pool.  The more pools that Ned gets to, the more we learn how unstable Ned really is.  Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Marge Champion, Kim Hunter, Charles Drake, Bernie Hamilton, House Jameson, and many others co-star in this film.  Lancaster felt this was his best movie and cites it as his favorite.  It goes a lot deeper than just someone that is a swimmer and is a rather depressing odyssey.  This is very intriguing and really deserves a look.  This is available to watch on Prime.    

Nick Knight (1989):  I am going to see Rick Springfield on Friday at the Brown County Music Center so I thought I'd just include him in this edition.  Farhad Mann directed this tv movie.  Springfield stars as the title character Nick Knight who is a detective and he is also a vampire.  A series of murders point to his make La Croix, played by Michael Nader.  In the process, Knight is looking to cure his vampirism to become human again and atone for his past sins.  John Kapelos, Robert Harper, Richard Fancy, Laura Johnson, Craig Richard Nelson, Fran Ryan, Cec Verrell, Jack Murdock, and many others co-star in this movie.  This is technically a pilot for a tv series which did not get off the ground until 1992 and would be renamed FOREVER KNIGHT.  Most of this cast would be recast with the exception of John Kapelos who plays Nick's partner Don Schanke.  I have seen most of that series and this movie was still quite enjoyable that combines the detective and vampire world.  I was able to find this on Youtube.

Well, that is it for this week but reading for my new series "Movie Time with the Dad".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for the next couple weeks which so far includes Louis Gossett Jr., Alicia Vikander, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sidney Poitier, and many others.

MOVIE TIME WITH THE DAD

I spend last weekend at my Dad's house so I decided to make a category of what we watched.  My dad does not like his photo being shows so I used the photo of his favorite chair.  

All Things Must Pass (2015):  Dad was on his Youtube TV app and looking through his recorded movies deciding upon this documentary.  Colin Hanks directed this documentary which takes a look at the rise and fall of Tower Records.  This includes a lot of interviews including Russ Solomon who changed record stores and it also helped the careers of many.  Heidi Cotler, David Geffen, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Elton John, and many others interview about their times.  I don't think I ever made it into one of these myself but it looked like a great place to work.  This is a very well done documentary and I'm sure many felt a sense of nostalgia when watching it.  This is available to watch on Peacock, Freevee, Tubi, Pluto TV, and many other streaming apps.

One False Move (1991):  When I witnessed Dad coming across this one, I insisted we check this out.  Carl Franklin directed this independent action film.  Bill Paxton co-stars as the overzealous small-town police chief Hurricane Dixon who is informed by the FBI that a group of criminals might be coming to his town.  Billy Bob Thornton co-stars as Ray Malcolm who is one of the criminals on the run along with his girlfriend Fantasia, played by Cynda Williams, and their accomplice Pluto, played by Michael Beach.  Jim Metzler, Earl Billings, Natalie Canerday, Robert Ginnaven, Kevin Hunter, and many others co-star in this independent film.  This is a very intense film that is full of secrets and I realize I have a lot of rather dark selections.  Williams is someone who is from my town of Muncie and I have had the pleasure of meeting her on a handful of occasions.  This is a very well written script which is driven by its cast.  This is available to watch on Pluto TV.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 923rd Edition

Welcome to the 923rd edition of my series.  I don't really have anything going on at this time.  I hope everyone is making the most of these crazy times.  I will just shut up and get to the selections for the week.

Youth in Revolt (2009):  This is part two of my possible five-part series for character actor M. Emmet Walsh who recently left us.  Miguel Arteta directed this comedy.  Michael Cera stars as the socially awkward Nick Twisp.  He falls in love with Sheeni Saunders, played by Portia Doubleday, and develops an alter-ego to help him socially but also hinders him as well.  Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Erik Knudsen, Adhir Kalyan, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ari Graynor, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Rooney Mara, Jade Fusco, Mary Kay Place, and many other co-star in this comedy.  It was good to see Cera get a little non-Michael Cera in this movie with his dual role.  It is also a good story about young love and is worth a look.

The Danish Girl (2015):  This is part one of a possible four-part Alicia Vikander series.  Tom Hooper directed this biographical film which is based on a book by David Ebershoff.  Eddie Redmayne and Vikander star as artist couple Einer and Gerda Wegener in 1920s Copenhagen.  Gerda needs Einer to stand in for a female model which unmasks a gender identity that Einer has been having and begins going by Lili Elbe becoming the first notable trans woman.  Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw, Adrian Schiller, Emerald Fennell, Henry Pettigrew, Richard Dixon, Pip Torrens, Matthias Schoenaerts, and many others co-star in this film.  Redmayne does a good job in this film portraying both sides of the person being portrayed.  This is something that is mostly accepted today but was not know in that era and is a good look on that time period.

On the Seventh Day (2017):  Jim McKay wrote and directed this independent film.  Fernando Cardona stars as Jose who is an undocumented Mexican immigrant working as a bicycle delivery worker in Brooklyn.  He is also part of a local soccer league and is in the championship game but his employer demands he works the day of the game even though he is the best player on his team.  Gilberto Jimenez, Abel Perez, Genoel Ramirez, Alfonso Velazquez, Alejandro Huitzil, Donal Brophy, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a cast of mostly non-professional actors from Mexico which added a really good authentic feel.  This also takes a look at the treatment of immigrants in the United States.  This is a very well done film by a very unknown cast with McKay getting the best from everyone.

All Wet (1927):  This is my animated Disney short which stars Disney's OG Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  Oswald tries to win the affections of a female rabbit by posing as a lifeguard on the beach.  This is a character that would become the blueprint for its iconic character in Mickey Mouse.  This is pretty fun and should at least be viewed for historical significance.  This is available to watch on Disney Plus.

The Devil Bat (1940):  Jean Yarbrough directs this classic horror film.  Bela Lugosi stars as scientist Dr. Paul Carruthers who feels betrayed by his colleagues.  He goes about his revenge to the extreme by having a giant bat and develops a perfume that when someone puts it on, the bat will attack and kill.  Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Donlan, Edmund Mortimer, Arthur Q. Bryan, and many others co-star in this horror movie.  Bryan is most known as the voice of Elmer Fudd.  I thought this was some rather underrated Lugosi and has a pretty clever plot in my opinion.  This is available to watch on Freevee, MGM +, Pluto TV, Plex, TUBI, and many other free streaming apps.

A Raisin in the Sun (1961):   This is part two of my possible four-part series of Louis Gossett Jr. who recently left us.  Last edition, I featured his last feature film, now I feature his first feature film.  Daniel Petrie directed this film that is based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry who also wrote the the screenplay.  Sidney Poitier stars as Walter Lee Younger who is out trying to make ends meet for his wife Ruth, played by Ruby Dee, and his son Travis, played by Steven Perry.  His mother Lena, played by Claudia McNeil receives an insurance check from her late husband and uses part of it to by a new home that is in a white neighborhood.  Walter hopes to be able to use the rest of it for a business venture.  Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, and many other co-star in this film.  This is quite the classic that still holds up today.  Much of the cast comes from the play that started in 1959.  Poitier gives a great performance and is a great look at a struggling family.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Arthur the King (2024):  Simon Cellan Jones directed this film that is based on true events which is based on the book by Mikael Lindnord.  Mark Wahlberg stars as Michael whose life has always revolved around endurance races has left the scene having been humiliated through social media.  He decides to come out of retirement and puts together a team.  Along the way, a stray dog joins up and Michael takes him in calling him Arthur.  The dog proves to be beneficial along the way.  Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, Paul Guilfoyle, Rob Collins, Alani Ilongwe, Cece Valentina, Roger Wasserman, Hugo Best, and many others co-star in this film.  I went to see this on my way home one night when coming home from RADIUM GIRLS rehearsal and stopped at the locally run movie theater in Alexandria.  I knew very little about this movie going in and was pleasantly surprised.  This is a very touching movie and it has a dog in it so all the more better.  This would be a good one to check out in the theaters.

Hammer (1972):  Bruce D. Clark directed this Blaxploitation film.  Fred Williamson, whose nickname just happens to be "the Hammer" from his NFL days, stars as boxer B.J. Hammer who is rising up the ranks but his manager is in with the mafia.  Hammer is told that he must throw a fight and have his girlfriend Lois, played by Vonatta McGee, kidnapped.  Bernie Hamilton, William Smith, Charles Lampkin, Mel Stewart, D'Urville Martin, Stack Pierce, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the movie that really got Williamson going in the movie world.  Politically incorrect and lots of violence per the genre.  Williamson is on top of his game in this film.

The Killing (1956):  Stanley Kubrick directed this heist film which is based on the novel CLEAN BREAK by Lionel White.  Sterling Hayden stars as ex-con Johnny Clay who is convinced he has a foolproof plan to rob a racetrack and get two million.  He assembles a team of seven very diverse people to do the necessary jobs and some of them aren't really criminals.  Like any heist, they run into a lot of trouble.  Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Ted de Corsia, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Joe Sawyer, James Edwards, Jay Adler, Kola Kwariani, and many others co-star in this film.  I have always felt that Hayden was a very underrated actor from his era and does well in this film.  This has some really great planning for the heist with assembling the crew, planning each person's job and then leads up to the actual job.  Quentin Tarantino has cited this as an inspiration for RESERVOIR DOGS.  This is available to to watch on Tubi and Pluto TV.  

Under Siege (1992):  I end the week with this action film which was directed by Andrew Davis.  Steven Seagal stars as ex-Navy Seal Casey Ryback who is now working as a cook on a battleship.  It is soon hijacked by a group of terrorists lead by Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and STAR TREK alum Colm Meaney.  They thought they had everything covered by they did not look into the background of the cook.  OG BAYWATCH babe Erika Eleniak co-stars as Jordan Tate who is hired to entertain but finds herself in the wrong place and must team with Ryback to survive.  Damian Chapa, Patrick O'Neal, Glenn Morshower, Bernie Casey, Raymond Cruz, Duane Davis, and many other co-star in this action film.  I would say that this is Seagal's best movie.  He was up to the game and Eleniak showed some action skills of her own.  This could be a good double feature to go along with something like DIE HARD.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and I'll be back in two weeks which so far includes Kate Hudson, Alicia Vikander, and many other.