Welcome to the 944th Edition of my series and the first of the year. I will just start by saying that my thoughts go out to anyone effected by the wildfires. I don't have anything really going on currently so I will just get on with my selections for the week.
Dolemite is my Name (2019): I start the week with this biopic which was directed by Craig Brewer. Eddie Murphy stars as comedian Rudy Ray Moore who struggled to find himself in the entertainment world. Things finally came together when he created his alter-ego Dolemite and managed to become an icon in the Blaxploitation world. This mostly focuses on the making of the movie DOLEMITE and the struggles getting it made. Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Snoop Dogg, Ron Cephas Jones, Barry Shabaka Henley, Tip "T.I" Harris, Luenell, Tasha Smith, Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock, Aleksandar Filimonovic, Ivo Nandi, Michael Peter Bolus, and many others co-star in this biopic. Murphy was a lot of fun in his role. I would recommend getting to know the Blaxploitation genre before watching this movie. Moore reminded me in some ways of Ed Wood, a group of misfits trying to achieve something big and in this situation a movie. A good double feature could be this one and ED WOOD. This is available to watch on Netflix.
A Royal Affair (2012): Now I go into royalty in this Danish film. Nikolaj Arcel directed this royalty biopic and based on the novel by Bodil Steensen. Alicia Vikander stars as the young Princess Caroline who marries the crazed King Christian VII, played by Mikkel Boe Folsgaard. Mads Mikkelsen co-stars as Dr. Johann Struensee who becomes a companion to Christian but in time has a secret affair with Caroline which causes a lot of trouble. Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Cyron Melville, Harriett Walker, Laura Bro, Soren Malling, Jacob Lohmann, Rosalind Mynster, Nikol Kouklova, and many others co-star in this film. This is a really good story on royalty. Folsgaard played Christian to perfection with the crazed mannerisms. I honestly expected Mikkelsen to be the more villainous one with his roles I have seen but was good as the idealistic doctor. This is available to watch on Tubi, Plex, the Roku Channel, and Magnolia Selects.
Music of the Heart (1999): Wes Craven directed this movie which is based on true events. Meryl Streep stars as Roberta who becomes a single mother struggling to make it but gets help from her mother Assunta, played by Cloris Leachman. She also manages to get a job at an urban school teaching underprivileged children the violin. Things are going well but the board starts making some cuts including Roberta's violin program. With the help of others in her school and the community, she fights back to be able to teach children the violin. Michael Angarano, Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Josh Pais, Jade Scott Yorker, Rosalyn Coleman, Gloria Estefan, Jane Leeves, Kieran Culkin, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Adam LeFevre, and many others co-star in this film. Craven is most known for horror films and mostly notably the slasher films. This is a slasher film in a sense in which they are trying to slash the budget. I recall this coming out around the time VH1 was promoting "Save the Music" which seemed to be led by Gloria Estefan which promotes the importance of music programs in school. This is a feel-good movie, and nothing less should be expected.
Mighty Like a Moose (1926): This is my silent comedy short for the week which was directed by Leo McCarey. Silent film comedian Charley Chase stars as Mr. Moose who along with his wife Mrs. Moose, played by Vivien Oakland, undergo plastic surgery in hopes they will look better. This leads to a comedy of errors when they don't recognize one another. Chase spent his career doing mostly short films. He did not have the success of "The Big Three" but was respected among his peers. He is worth checking out for classic comedy buffs. It is also an early look at plastic surgery. This is available to watch pm the Criterion Channel.
Time After Time (1979): Nicholas Meyer directed this sci-fi adventure. Malcolm McDowell stars as author H.G. Wells who must pursue Jack the Ripper, played by David Warner, to the 20th century after the famed serial killer used Wells's time machine in a future time. While there, Wells gets help from a banker named Amy Robbins, played by Mary Steenbergen, to pursue him. Charles Cioffi, Patti D'Arbanville, James Garrett, Leo Lewis, Byron Webster, Karin Collison, Laurie Main, Joseph Maher, Corey Feldman, M.C. Gainey, and many others co-star in this film. This was the feature film debut for both Feldman and Gainey. This is a very entertaining time travel film that might have gone overlooked. This would also serve as the inspiration for the Cyndi Lauper song of the same name, more the title. McDowell and Warner were also good as friends turned enemies. Go travel through time and check this one out.
The Golden Blade (1953): Nathan Juran directed this swashbuckling film which is based on Arabic fairy tales including 1001 NIGHTS and the myth of King Arthur and THE SWORD IN THE STONE. Rock Hudson stars as the swordsman Harum who comes to Baghdad to avenge the murder of his father. In the process, he meets Krairuzan, played by Piper Laurie, who is a princess disguised as a commoner working against a plot by a band of evil schemers trying to do away with her father, the Caliph, played by Edgar Barrier. Gene Evans, George Macready, Kathleen Hughes, Steven Geray, Alice Kelley, Richard Carlson, and many others co-star in this swashbuckling film. This is by no means Hudson's best work but fun to see him as a swashbuckler while being a bit miscast with his race.
Nosferatu (2024): Robert Eggers directed this remake of the classic 1922 horror film and based on Bram Stoker's DRACULA. Nicholas Hoult stars as Thomas Hutter who is assigned to visit the terrifying Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgard. Lily Rose-Depp stars as Thomas's wife Ellen who Orlok has an infatuation with. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and many others co-star in this film. It is hard to really explain this movie any further that what I did. The original film of the same name in 1922 is essentially based on DRACULA. The people making that film did not have the rights to the novel, so they wrote their own story from the book and changed the names of the characters. It would actually give us the basic story that we know today. This pays homage very well to the original, but Eggers manages to make this his own making some twists. Dafoe co-stars in this as the Van Helsing equivalent of Professor von Frantz and he also plays actor Max Schreck in the 2000 film SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE which is loosely based on the making of the original. This movie is very creepy and also rather hypnotic. I will also dare say the world beautiful to describe this film in some ways. I do believe this is best seen at the movie theaters.
There's a Girl in My Soup (1970): This is part three of my four-part Peter Sellers series. Ray Boulting directed this romantic comedy which is based on a play by Terence Frisby. Sellers stars as the egotistical and womanizing TV host Robert Danvers who likes to seduce younger women and not staying with them for long. He meets his match in Marion, played by Goldie Hawn, who makes herself available but refuses any romantic illusions. They are slowly drawn to one another and Robert slowly cares for Marion after the breakup with her boyfriend. Tony Britton, Francoise Pascal, Nicky Henson, Tom Marshall, John Comer, Diana Dors, Nicola Pagett, Judy Campbell, Gabriella Drake, Constantine Gregory, and many others co-star in this comedy. Sellers and a young Hawn were a pretty interesting combination. It is also an underrated performance for Goldie Hawn as she shines really well against Sellers. This is available to watch on TUBI.
Funny Face (1957): Stanley Donen directed this musical comedy which was mostly written by the Gershwins. Fred Astaire stars as fashion magazine photographer Dick Avery. They do an impromptu fashion shoot at a bookstore much against the wishes of clerk Jo Stockton, played by Audrey Hepburn. Dick takes a liking to Jo and slowly talks her into becoming a model much to the dismay of Editor-in-Chief Maggie Prescott, played by Kay Thompson, who feels Jo has a "funny face". Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng, Virginia Gibson, Sue England, Ruta Lee, Alex Gerry, and many others co-star in this film. Hepburn does a great job of transitioning from a simple book clerk into a fashion model, and I suppose there are similarities to her later film MY FAIR LADY. She also has said this was her favorite movie. She is able to hold her own with Astaire in the dance scenes and does a decent job singing. Give this a go, you'll love Audrey's funny face.
Our Friend (2019): Gabriela Cowperthwaite directed this film which is based on an article called THE FRIEND by Matthew Teague, played by Casey Affleck, in this film. Dakota Johnson stars as Matthew's wife Nicole who gets heartbreaking news of having Ovarian cancer. Nicole tries to keep the brave face for their daughters and Matt struggles to keep things together. Their friend Dane, played by Jason Segal, decides to put his life on hold and move in with the family to help them out in these trying times which benefits them and their two daughters in many ways. Isabella Kai, Violet McGraw, John McConnell, Denee Benton, Jake Owen, Jason Bayle, Ahna O'Reilly, Jacinte Blackenship, Azita Ghanizada, Chandler Head, Sampley Barinaga, Marielle Scott, and many others co-star in this film based on a true story. This is a very sad but beautiful film in my opinion. I admit I managed to shed tears quite a bit throughout this film. It also does a good job showing a loving family along with the natural dysfunction that is to come with the territory. It jumps around time periods a lot but makes it easy to follow. This was a very pleasant surprise for me and is available to watch on Plex and the Roku Channel.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for the next couple of weeks for my return which so far includes Elizabeth Moss, Carey Mulligan, Laura Dern, Peter Sellers, Gene Tierney, and many others.
