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.
