Welcome to the 981st Edition of my series. We have one more weekend of GEORGE WASHINGTON ATE MY HOMEWORK. The first weekend went really well so come on out if you are in or near the Connersville area. I hope everyone is doing okay in these crazy times and I will just get on with my selections for the week.
The Funeral (1996): This is part three of my Christopher Walken series. Abel Ferrera directed this this mafia film which was written by Nicholas St. John. Walken stars as Ray Tempio whose brother Johnny, played by Vincent Gallo, was murdered. Chris Penn co-stars as their hot-headed brother Chez. Ray decides to avenge his brother's murder which sets off a lot of other events. Annabella Sciorra, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio Del Toro, Gretchen Mol, John Ventimiglia, Paul Hipp, Victor Argo, and many others co-star in this film. This is a pretty intense gangster film with quite a climax. Unfortunately, this is very hard to find and with DVDs out of print, it is extremely expensive. No streaming networks have, even to rent on Amazon. I couldn't find it to stream illegally. Fortunately, there is a copy of this on Youtube that I was able to view. It is a very underrated gangster film which deserves a look.
Leisure (1976): This is my animated short for the week which was written and directed by Bruce Petty. It is hard to really describe this short film. The basic plot is "A short course of boring history about how not to die of boredom." It really describes the importance of making leisure and recreation time for ourselves and has some pretty interesting images within the animation. This is from Australia and it won an Academy Award that year. It would also be good to look into Bruce Petty in general and his other works. This can be found on Youtube.
Cleopatra (1934): Cleopatra gets brought to the modern world in GEORGE WASHINGTON ATE MY HOMEWORK. Cecil B. DeMille directed this biopic on the infamous Queen of Egypt. Claudette Colbert stars as Cleopatra as she faces revolt in the kingdom of Egypt. This mostly focuses on her times with Julius Caesar, played by Warren William, and with Marc Antony, played by Henry Wilcoxon. Joseph Schildkraut, Ian Keith, Gertrude Michael, C. Aubrey Smith, Irving Pachel, Arthur Hohl, Edwin Maxwell, and many others co-star in this biopic. This is a pretty good look at the famous queen and DeMille style at that. I'm surprised the 1963 version was five hours long and this DeMille film is only 100 minutes. Check out some war and romance and come see my show next weekend.
Bad Boys (1995): Michael Bay directed this buddy cop comedy. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett and must recover one hundred million dollars worth of heroin which was taken from police custody. In the process, they must also protect their witness Julie, played by Tea Leoni. Tcheky Karyo, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle, Marg Helgenberger, Anna Thomson, Scott Cumberbatch, Nester Serrano, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Shaun Toub, Kevin Corrigan, John Salley, and many others costar in this action comedy. Smith and Lawrence are perfect in their roles and this is the start to a bit of a franchise. This is what it is, an action movie from Michael Bay in his directorial debut. This stood no chance for any Oscars but it was quite a bit of fun with the all the action and comedy. If you haven't cancelled Will Smith for his actions at the Oscars, this would be great for a guys night.
Saddle the Wind (1958): Robert Parrish directed this western which was written by Rod Serling. Robert Taylor stars as former gunslinger Steve Sinclair who is now leading a more peaceful life as a rancher. Steve's brother Tony, played by John Cassavetes, and his fiancée Joan, played by Julie London, arrive to his town and Tony is looking to make a name for himself as a gunslinger which sparks a bitter rivalry between brothers. Donald Crisp, Charles McGraw, Royal Dano, Richard Erdman, Douglas Spencer, Ray Teal, and many others co-star in this western. This is a pretty good story of one who gets out of the violent life only to relive that life through his younger brother. I also really liked the way they did the climax. This is a pretty good western which has gone a bit overlooked through the years.
American Pastoral (2016): Ewan McGregor directed this film which is based on the novel by Philip Roth. McGregor also stars in this film with Jennifer Connelly as '60s couple Swede and Dawn Levov who seem to have a great life. Dakota Fanning co-stars as their young daughter Merry who is horrified by what she sees in our country and becomes a violent activist and has disappeared leaving her parents to wonder what happened. Peter Riegert, Rubert Evans, Uzo Aduba, Valorie Curry, Molly Parker, Hannah Nordberg, Julia Silverman, Mark Hildreth, Samantha Mathis, David Strathairn, and many others co-star in this thriller. This is a pretty well-written thriller and a good directorial debut out of McGregor. This has a good amount of suspense to this film. This also a good look at parents trying to understand what went wrong. This is available to watch on TUBI, Plex, Pluto TV, and Howdy which requires a subscription through Prime.
The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962): Joan of Arc is another brought to our modern world in GEORGE WASHINGTON ATE MY HOMEWORK. Robert Bresson wrote and directed this biopic of Joan of Arc. Florence DeLay stars as Joan of Arc who is imprisoned and put on trial for heresy. This is done in a very simple but effective way. Bresson avoided using trained actors including DeLay who does a good job in her debut. This is from 1431 trial records that were found for the Joan of Arc trial. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
The Drama (2026): Kristoffer Borgli directed this romantic comedy which has a lot more to it. Robert Pattinson and Zendaya star as engaged couple Charlie and Emma. They are excited to be getting married, but when dark secrets come about, things go off the rails. Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Hailey Gates, Sydney Lemmon, Hannah Gross, Anna Baryshnikov, Jordyn Curet, Michael Abbott Jr., Zoe Winters, Dee Nelson, Damon Gupton, Ken Cheeseman, Doria Bramante, Jordan Raf, Jeremy Levick, and many others co-star in this dark comedy. I don't want to give away too much. This takes a very dark turn and is a very intriguing story. This does come from the world of A24 so nothing is as expected. I made the trip to the movie theaters to check this one out and was worth a trip.
Nightfall (1956): Jacques Tourneur directed this film which is based on the novel by David Goodis. Aldo Ray stars as innocent man James Vanning who has been framed for a bank robbery and is on the run from the criminals that framed him. He meets model Marie Gardner, played by Anne Bancroft, who encounters James and tries to help him along the way. Brian Keith, Jocelyn Brando, James Gregory, Frank Albertson, Rudy Bond, and many others co-star in this Film Noir. This uses flashbacks to go back and forth on what is going on. There is a lot going on in this film and quite a bit of action for something in this era. To explain it further could be giving it away. Quentin Tarantino has cited this movie as the influence for his character Butch in PULP FICTION. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and TUBI.
Amadeus (1984): Milos Forman directed this film based on the famed composer. The story is told through the eyes of fellow composer Antonio Salieri, played by F. Murray Abraham, who has idolized Mozart for much of his life. He is disappointed when he learns Mozart is a very vulgar person and becomes bitter feeling that God game Mozart such a natural talent. Salieri had to work hard for what he had and Mozart appeared to have put very little effort into his epic compositions. Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay, Kenneth McMillan, Kenny Baker, Cynthia Nixon, Vincent Schiavelli, and many others co-star in this film. This is about as good as it gets for a biopic. It seems like this film is what got the name of Antonio Salieri out there. Some of this is taken from letters Mozart has written that indicate a possible rivalry between the two composers. Anyone who wants to look further into the accuracy the rivalry can look into it. I also learned that Mark Hamill played Amadeus in the Broadway version of this movie so what could have been.
Well, that is it for this week but read on for the return of my segment "Tube Time". Tell me what you like and dislike and I'll be back in a couple weeks.
TUBE TIME
This is where I am at in my timeline binge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so I thought I would feature these shows I recently finished. The source of my binge is Marvel in order: How to watch MCU in chronological and release order and there is a section for watching in chronological order.
The Punisher (2017-2019): Steve Lightfoot created this Marvel series on the ruthless vigilante Frank Castle who becomes known as the Punisher. Jon Bernthal stars the title role marine veteran. whose family was murdered and he looks to clean the world up I suppose. Castle uncovers a conspiracy in New York within the criminal underworld. Amber Rose Revah co-stars as his reluctant detective ally Dinah Madani. Ben Barnes co-stars as Frank's main rival Billy Russo who was a fellow Marine and becomes bitter toward Frank. Ben Barnes, Jason R. Moore, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Floriana Lima, Josh Stewart, Giorgia Whigham, Jaime Ray Newman, Kobi Frumer, Paul Schulze, Michael Nathanson, Royce Johnson, Tony Plana, Ripley Sobo, Daniel Webber, Kelli Barrett, Samuel Maria Gomez, Deborah Ann Woll, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Corbin Bernson, Annette O'Toole, C. Thomas Howell, Alexa Davalos, Tim Guinee, Clancy Brown, and many others co-star or guest star in this series. This show went for two seasons in 2017 and 2019 with 13 episodes each. The Punisher was introduced in season two of DAREDEVIL so see the link as to where these fall. I think Bernthal is the best casting of the Punisher so far. It was a pretty moving series despite all the violence in the show. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Jessica Jones (2015-2019): Melissa Rosenberg created this marvel series. Krysten Ritter stars as Jessica Jones who had a brief time as a superhero which ended in tragedy and now works as a private investigator. Each season has a rather different storyline and rival. David Tennant plays Jessica's rival Kilgrave who might just be the meanest villain in Marvel. Rachael Taylor co-stars as Jessica's adoptive sister Trish Walker and Eka Darville co-stars as Jessica's uneasy ally Malcolm Ducasse. Carrie-Anne Moss co-stars as attorney Jeri Hogarth who helps Jessica but can be less than ethical at times. This show would introduce Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter into the universe. John Ventimiglia, Rebecca De Mornay, J.R. Ramirez, Janet McTeer, Wil Travel, Benjamin Walker, Jeremy Bobb, Tiffany Mack, Rachel McKeon, Leah Gibson, Susie Abromeit, Aneesh Sheth, Erin Moriarty, Sarita Choudhury, Callum Keith Rennie, Colby Minifie, Jamie Neumann, John Benjamin Hickey, Jay Klaitz, Rosario Dawson, Elden Henson, Jessica Hecht, Miriam Shor, Royce Johnson, and many others co-star or have guest appearances in this series. Jessica also appears in the Marvel series THE DEFENDERS after season one of this series. This was also a very intense series and like the other Marvel Netflix series was pretty gritty. This was a superhero who hated that label and also had a lot of anger issues, alcohol issues, and PTSD. Through it all, she always tried to do what is right. This is also available on Disney Plus.
