Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 989th Edition

Welcome to the 989th Edition of my series.  Just less than two weeks ago, much of the Central Indiana area that I live in was part of what is being called "the Great Flood of 2026".  Fortunately, we just got thunderstorms and were not affected by it.  I do know some whose homes and/or businesses were affected and were flooded in some way.  My thoughts go out to all of those that were and hope things get will be okay.  I am also in rehearsals for the play EVERYTHING I REALLY NEED TO KNOW, I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN which is happening in Rushville which happens September 18-20 and I have details near the bottom for that.  I will now shut up and get on with my selections for the week.

Notes on a Scandal (2006):  Richard Eyre directed this film which is based on the novel by Zoe Heller.  Cate Blanchett stars as the new art teacher Sheba Hart who is befriended and helped by the veteran teacher Barbara Covett, played by Dame Judi Dench.  Sheba seems to have it all in life with her husband and job but starts an affair with a student which sends Barbara over the edge.  Andrew Simpson, Michael Maloney, Joanna Scanlan, Shawn Parkes, Emma Kennedy, Phil Davis, Tameka Empson, Bill Nighy, Juno Temple, Anne-Marie Duff and many others co-star in this film.  This is quite the disturbing thriller and was done in a rather subtle way.  This was done a lot through the performance of Dench.  This is driven by the performances and the chemistry through Blanchett and Dench.

The Northman (2022):  Robert Eggers directed and co-wrote the film with Sjon.  Alexander Skarsgard stars as Viking Prince Amleth who goes on a very violent quest of vengeance to avenge the murder of his father.  Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Elliott Rose, Willem Dafoe, Phill Martin, Eldar Skar, Olwen Fouere, Edgar Abram, Jack Gassmann, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Jack Walsh, Bjork, and many others co-star in this film.  This has a touch of action and dark fantasy to it.  It also has a very authentic look to this time period.  Bjork has a really good cameo appearance as the Seeress.  People who are squeamish should probably not watch this one.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Misbehaviour (2020):  Philippa Lowthorpe directed this film which is based on true events.  Keira Knightley stars as activist Sally Alexander who is at a Women's Rights Conference in London.  While there, she meets feminist activist Jo Robinson, played by Jessie Buckley, who invites Sally to meet her more extreme feminist group.  Sally agrees to take part in disrupting the 1970 Miss America competition which they see as a degrading event to women.  Greg Kinnear co-stars as Bob Hope who was hosting the competition.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kajsa Mohammar, Stephen Boxer, Justin Salinger, Ruby Bentall, Lily Newmark, Maya Kelly, John Heffernan, Rhys Ifans, Keeley Hawes, Lesley Manville, and many others co-star in this movie.  This is a favorite movie for the feminist movement.  Knightley and Buckley work well together in these very different people with the same intentions.  This is available to watch on Prime and the Roku Channel.

Baby (1954):  This is my documentary short for the week which was directed by D.A. Pennebaker.  This takes a look at his daughter Stacy and their visit to the zoo.  They spent time with the animals, but her biggest interest was the carousel and the joy it brought to her.  Pennabaker would go onto to do a lot of very good feature documentaries including one on Bob Dylan. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and worth about five minutes.  

Earth (1930):  Aleksandr Dovzhenko directed and wrote this Russian silent film.  Semyon Svashenko stars as Vasyl who opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.  This is still looked upon as one of the best films from the country.  They did not have the technology that the United States had for "talkie" films.  Some of this is making a statement toward communism.  It is also a very poetic and very well-edited for its time.  It is hard to really describe this beyond what I did.  This is available to watch on Kanopy and TUBI.

Lisztomania (1975):  Ken Russell directed this musical biopic on composer Franz Liszt and its historical accuracy might be a little questionable.  The Who singer Roger Daltry plays Liszt which takes a look at his wild lifestyle and his rivalry with fellow composer Richard Wagner, played by Paul Nicholas, who goes to some extreme measures in hoping to destroy Liszt.  Sara Kestelman, Ringo Starr, Rick Wakeman, John Justin, Fiona Lewis, Veronica Quilligan, Nell Campbell, and many others co-star in this movie.  Before Hulkamania became a thing, we got Lisztomania.  First of all, keep in mind Ken Russell also directed THE WHO'S TOMMY which came out earlier in the same year so keep that in mind.  This is a very weird and surreal film that parodies many things.  I will also assume that this is the only movie which has a member of the Who and of the Beatles so there is that.  I suppose this could make a good double feature to go along with AMADEUS as they both feature composer rivalries.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Violent Saturday (1955):  Richard Fleischer directed this film which is based on the novel by William L. Heath.  This takes place in a small town where three bank robbers, played by Stephen McNally, Lee Marvin, and J. Carrol Naish.  Other small-town people in town have no idea they are playing into the robbery.  The main one being the miner Shelley Martin, played by Victor Mature, who never got to go to WWII because he had to manage the mine for the war effort which makes the relationship with his son difficult.  Ernest Borgnine also co-stars as the pacifist Amish farmer Stadt who also plays into what is going on.  Richard Egan, Virginia Leith, Tommy Noonan, Margaret Hayes, Sylvia Sidney, Dorothy Patrick, Billy Chapin, Brad Dexter, and many others co-star in this crime film.  This has some very well-written characters and play well together on each side of the robbery going on.  Victor Mature is the standout in my opinion as he tries to earn redemption with his son for not serving in WWII.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

The Beguiled (1971):  Don Siegel directed this film which is based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan.  Clint Eastwood stars as Union soldier John McBurney who gets taken in by a girls' boarding school on the Confederate side lead by Martha, played by Geraldine Page.  McBurney is essentially taken as a prisoner but as he recovers, he uses his seductive charm for the female inhabitants causing a lot of jealousy.  Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Darleen Carr, Mae Mercer, Pamelyn Ferdin, Melody Scott Thomas, Patricia Mattick, and many others co-star in this Civil War era film.  This is billed as a western, but it is not the typical Clint Eastwood western we are used to and it is one of his more disturbing movies though.  It is really quite wrong on many levels, but it is also rather compelling.  All I have to say is use your judgment on what is really more of a psychological thriller than action film.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.  

Spider-Man:  Brand New Day (2026):  Destin Daniel Cretton directed this latest superhero film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and finally bring a funner, apparently this is not a word but I don't care, selection for the week than these other very deep selections I have had.  Tom Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker who is dealing with being forgotten from the events of SPIDER-MAN:  NO WAY HOME.  He is also dealing with a new threat which is too complex to really explain without giving it away so I won't really go further into it.  I will just say that Frank Castle, reprised by Jon Bernthal, Bruce Banner, reprised by Mark Ruffalo, and Yulena Belova, reprised by Florence Pugh, all play a part in what is going on in Peter's world.  Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Liza Colon-Zayas, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, Naomi Watts, Michael Mando, Keith David, Marvin Jones III, Olivia Booth-Ford, Billy Clements, and many others co-star in this MCU installment.  The Spider-Man films may be the best of the later Marvel Cinematic Universe and this is no exception.  I would recommend at least watching SPIDER-MAN:  NO WAY HOME before watching this one.   This introduces a couple key points into the MCU world.  This is a great trip to the theater so that is all I will say about this one.

All the Empty Rooms (2025):  I end the week with this documentary short which was directed by Joshua Seftel.  This follows journalist Steve Hartman and his photographer Lou Bopp who take a different sort of approach to the school shootings.  They document the parents of the victims and take a look at the empty bedrooms while interviewing the parents on their late children.  This is a very sad but very beautiful tribute to these kids lost in such tragedy.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and I'll be back in a couple weeks which so far includes Kristen Bell, Anne Hathaway, Henry Fonda, Alfred Hitchcock, Cameron Diaz, and many others.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 988th Edition

Welcome to the 988th edition of my series.  On August 22nd, Guilty By Affiliation returns but this time, we will be at the Lightkeepers of Henry County building in New Castle.  The show starts at 7 pm with the doors open at 6 pm.  Tickets are $15 but if you get to the building, they are $12.  Also, I am returning to Rushville in the play ALL I REALLY NEED TO LEARN I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN which will be from September 18-20 as part of the Rushville Regional Theatre.  I will shut up now and get along with my selections.

Popstar:  Never Stop Never Stopping (2016):  Akiva Scaffer and Jorma Torcone directed this music mockumentary.  They also star in this film as part of the Lonely Island along with the third member Andy Samberg.  They are known as the boy band the Style Boyz who have broken up and Conner, played by Samberg, tries to pursue a solo career.  His efforts are unsuccessful and does what he can to stay in the limelight.  Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Imogen Potts, Chris Redd, Edgar Blackmon, James Buckley, Ashley Moore, Danny Strong, Kevin Nealon, Will Arnett, Eric Andre, Bill Hader, Weird Al Yankovic, Emma Stone, Justin Timberlake, and many others co-star or have cameos in this mockumentary comedy.  There are also a lot of celebrities playing themselves in this movie.  I guess this is for fans of the Lonely Island.  Andy Samberg can make me laugh doing whatever he wants to do.  The climatic finale is my favorite portion of the movie which includes a cameo from Michael Bolton.  This is essentially a parody on the music industry of today.

Magnolia (1999):  Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed this ensemble film.  This has a varied of interrelated characters in the San Fernando Valley who are looking for connection, meaning and forgiveness.  These are characters with damage from inherited for those that might be dying or absent.  Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Pat Healy, Neil Flynn, Rod McLachlan, Patton Oswalt, Brad Hunt, Chris O'Hara, Clement Blake, Melora Walters, Philip Baker Hall, Thomas Jane, Melinda Dillon, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Cleo King, Alfred Molina, Felicity Huffman, Eileen Ryan, Luis Guzman, Orlando Jones, Clark Gregg, Henry Gibson, Ricky Jay, Jim Beaver, Robert Downey Sr., William Mapother, and many others co-star in this film.  My favorite part of Tom Cruise as the infomercial guru.  I suppose most people who have wanted to see this movie have by now.  In some ways the star of the movie is the soundtrack by Aimee Mann, especially near the end of this long movie.  This takes a look at the human condition among a variety of characters.

Maggie Moore(s) (2023):  John Slattery directed this mystery which was written by Paul Bernbaum.  John Hamm stars as Police Chief Jordan Sanders who must investigate the bizarre murders of two people of the same name, played by Louisa Krause and Mary Holland.  Tina Fey co-stars as the nosy neighbor Rita who has witnessed things related to the murder and helps Jordan while also becoming his love interest.  Micah Stock, Nick Mohammed, Happy Anderson, Nicholas Azarian, Derek Basco, Christopher Denham, Bobbi Kitten, Tate Ellington, Allison Dunbar, Oona Roche, Kristin K. Berg, Christopher Kriesa, Bryant Carroll, and many others co-star in this movie.  This has some good elements of dark comedy and conveys how the criminal is not always very smart.  This is loosely based on true events.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Day of Freedom (1935):   Last time I featured the propagandic documentary TRIUMPH OF THE WILL which makes Nazi German the place to be.  This is the follow-up documentary features more of the army per their complaint that they were not featured enough.  Leni Riefenstahl also directed this documentary short that is the follow up from the mentioned documentary.  This can be seen on Youtube.

They Won't Believe Me (1947):  When I was visiting my dad, I decided to check out Youtube TV to see what all he had recorded and came across this one.  Irving Pichel directed this Film Noir.  Robert Young stars as stockbroker Larry Ballentine who is on trial for the murder of his wife Gretta, played by Rita Johnson, and his girlfriend Verna, played by Susan Hayward.  He takes the stand to tell the story of what happened in hopes the jury will believe his innocence.  Jane Greer, Tom Powers, George Tyne, Don Beddoe, Frank Ferguson, Harry Harvey, and many others co-star in this film.  This has a very unpredictable nature including the ending.  It also leads a lot to our interpretation where we must analyze certain things.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Cinderella (1965):  Charles S. Dubin directed this musical adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.  Lesley Ann Warren stars as Cinderella who lives with her very cruel stepmother and stepsisters.  She longs to join the royal ball and is helped by her Fairy Godmother, played by Celeste Holm, to become a beautiful princess in hopes of being able to win over the prince, played by Stuart Damon.  Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, Pat Carroll, and Barbara Ruick co-star in this musical.  I think we all know the story here.  This version is a timeless classic that lives on today.  Warren was a perfect Cinderella in this movie.  This is availalbe to watch on Hulu, Prime, Broadway HD, TUBI, Pluto TV, and Plex.

Hadestown:  The Musical (2026):  Brett Sullivan directed this live musical which was written by Anais Mitchell.  This is a musical telling of the story of Orpheus, played by Reeve Carney, and Eurydice, played by Eva Noblezada.  This also tells of the myth of Hades, played by Patrick Page, and Persephone, played by Amber Gray.  Andre De Shields co-stars as Hermes who mostly provides the narration.  I got to see this at Emmens Auditorium last year and it was really good.  I did not know that movie theaters were showing this version which had the original cast.  This was performed in London in 2025.  I would just suggest listening to some of the music and go check it out if it is still in theaters.  This has a great story, with really good music and good performances.  It was worth a trip to the theater.

Ride in the Whirlwind (1966):  Monte Hellman directed this western which was written by Jack Nicholson who also stars.  Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell, and Tom Filer star as a trio of cowboys who become fugitives when they are mistaken as outlaws.  Millie Perkins, Katherine Squire, George Mitchell, Rupert Crosse, Harry Dean Stanton, and many others co-star in this western.  This has gone onto become a pretty underrated western.  It goes against the western formula that was popular in this era.  Nicholson shows early that he is multi-talented.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.  

Casablanca (1942):  Now I turn to a classic which was directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the play EVERBODY COMES TO RICK'S which was written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.  Humphrey Bogart stars as cynical cafe owner Rick Blaine during the early stages of WWII.  Rick claims that he sticks his neck out for nobody, but things change when his old flame Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergman, comes to his nightclub asking for help in helping her husband Victor, played by Paul Henreid, escape some Nazis.  Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall, Madeleine Lebeau, Dooley Wilson, and many others co-star in this film.  This has a great group of well-written characters which are perfectly cast.  There are also lots of iconic scenes and quotes.  This is a movie that has always lived on.  I recently went to a screening of this film at the local bar Roho's Martini Bar.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

The Elephant Whisperers (2022):  I end the week with this documentary short which was directed by Kartiki Gonsalves.  This features indigenous couple Bomman and Bellie who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned elephant named Raghu.  This also takes a look at the wild spaces of South India and the people and animals who share this space.  This is available to watch on Netflix and is about 41 minutes long.

Well, that is it for this week but I have returned with the segment "Tube Time" so read on for that.  I will be back in a couple weeks for my next edition which so far includes Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley, Ernest Borgnine, Clint Eastwood, and many others.

TUBE TIME

I decided to bring back this segment there I feature a couple television shows that I recently finished.

Oz (1997-2003):  Tom Fontana created this prison series which would be featured on HBO.  This centers around the experimental prison Oswald Maximum Security Correctional Facility aka Oz, which is run by Warden Leo Glynn and Tim McManus, played by Terry Kinney, who sees over the Emerald City part of Oz.  I feel like the main part of the show is the rivalry between Tobias Beecher, played by Lee Terguson, and the sadistic Vern Schillinger, played by J.K. Simmons.  Harold Perrineau co-stars as inmate Augustus Hill and who is also the narrator of the series.  Dean Winters, George Morfogen, Rita Moreno, Eamonn Walker, Craig muMs Grant, Kirk Acevedo, Luna Lauren Velez, Granville Adams, Tom Mardirosian, Ra Hanna, BD Wong, Chuck Zito, Scott William Winters, Christopher Meloni, Robert Clohessy, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Evan Seinfeld, Zeljko Ivanek, Sean Dugan, David Zayas, Edie Falco, Betty Buckley, Kathryn Erbe, Luis Guzman, Lance Reddick, Rick Fox, Austin Pendleton, Mark Margolis, Luke Perry, Carlos Leon, Robert John Burke, Larry Pine, Patti Lupone, Leon, Kevin Conway, Edward Herrman, Andrea Anders, Chris Jackson, Method Man, Charles S. Dutton, Brian F. O'Byrne, David Johansen, Jon Seda, Anthony 'Treach' Criss, Bobby Cannavale, Dana Ivey, Peter Criss, Roger Guenvuer Smith, Brian Bloom, Paul Schulze, Casey Siemaszko, Jonathan Demme, Frankie Faison, Dylan Baker, Melina Kanakaredes, Ally Sheedy, Richard Bright, Ken Leung, Eric Roberts, Wood Harris, Elaine Stritch, LL Cool J, Uta Hagen, Master P, Barry Shabaka Henley, and many others co-star, or make guest appearances on this series.  I know some of this is sensationalized, just like other movies or tv shows.  There are a lot of instances of sex, drugs, and murder within the prison.  I don't think prisons could get away with the concept of "the hole".  This was still a pretty good series with a good narrative in each episode.  This is available to watch on HBO Max.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2020):   This centers around Marvel's Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division which was mostly run by Agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg.  A lot of times they are the cleanup crew for the other superheroes.  The team mostly consisted of Melinda May, played by Ming-Na Wen, Daisy Johnson, played by Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Leo Fitz, played by Iain De Caestecker, Alphonzo 'Mack' McKenzie, and Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez, played by Natalia Cordova-Buckley.  They dealt with a lot of inhumans, aliens, and many other things.  Brett Dalton, Jeff Ward, Nick Blood, Adrienne Palicki, Luke Mitchell, John Hannah, Maximilian Osinski, Joel Stoffer, Adrian Pasdar, B.J. Britt, Briana Venskus, Mallory Jansen, Ruth Negga, Jason O'Mara, Kyle McLaughlin, J. August Richards, Simon Kassianides, Patrick Cavanaugh, Powers Boothe, Dichen Lachman, Jamie Harris, Mark Dacascos, Catherine Dent, Enver Gjokal, Patton Oswalt, Blair Underwood, Zach McGowan, Dominic Rains, Constance Zimmer, Maya Stojan, Spencer Treat Clark, Bill Paxton, Lola Glaudini, Dave Cameron, Eve Harlow, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Barry Shabaka, Lilli Birdsell, Tamara Taylor, Edward James Olmos, Saffron Burrows, Pruitt Taylor Vance, Titus Welliver, James Paxton, William Sadler, Kerr Smith, Cobie Smulders, Katy O'Brian, Jaimie Alexander, Peter MacNicol, Hayley Atwell, Ron Glass, Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Lawless, Kirk Acevedo, Jake Busey, Derek Meers, Bethany Joy Lenz, Sedale Threatt Jr., Wilmer Calderon, Leonor Varela, Vincent Laresca, Amy Acker, Neal McDonough, Drea de Matteo, Anthony Michael Hall, James Hong, Brad Dourif, Mackenzie Astin, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Cobbs, Daniel Roebuck, Jeff Daniel Phillilps, Dorian Gregory, Kenneth Choi, Lou Ferrigno Jr., Devan Chandler Long, and many others co-star or make guest appearances in this series.  Each season does have a different feel to it.  The show may have started a bit slow but improved and got pretty clever.  In my MCU timeline binge, this is the latest in what I finished.  I also believe that following the list makes this more interesting.  This is available to watch on Disney Plus.  Here is the link for the timeline which is Marvel in order: How to watch MCU in chronological and release order for those who are interested.