Welcome to the 417th Edition of my long-running series. This is the 8 year anniversary of this series which means eight years of writing this blog on a weekly basis. I want to thank all my supporters through the years from old to new who have been with me and hope to keep getting new readers. In this week, I looked into movies that I have really liked and much of my selections are rather underrated in my opinion. I will now get to my selections for the week.
Red
Rock West (1993): I start the week out with this neo-noir which was
directed by John Dahl and stars Nicolas Cage. I always say that most of
my favorite Nicolas Cage movies are his more unknown ones and this one
is really my favorite of his. Cage stars as drifter Michael Williams
who is down on his luck and looking for work. He soon ends up in the
small Texas town of Red Rock where he was just stopping by to get a
drink and is mistaken for a hitman that the owner Wayne, played by J.T.
Walsh, hires to kill his unfaithful wife Suzanne, played by THE PRACTICE
alum Lara Flynn Boyle. He takes the money and then warns Suzanne of
what happened and in turn she gives him double the money to kill Wayne.
Soon, the real hitman Lyle, played by Dennis Hopper, arrives into town
and it really gets going. If I keep going on about this, I will run
into dangers of giving it away. Just about everything in this movie
works in my opinion from the acting, directing, the mood of the film,
and just the plot twists in general. Look for Dwight Yoakam in a cameo
appearance. This goes down as one of my favorites and is a very unknown
film which is available through the app Crackle.
____________________________________________________________________________
The
Wrestler (2008): Darren Aronofsky directed this film which was written
by Robert D. Siegel. As a wrestling fan and as someone who is involved
in the wrestling industry, this is the wrestling movie I have been
waiting for. Through the years, there have been lots of comedies and
unintentional comedies on wrestling but not one as realistic as this
one. Mickey Rourke stars as Randy "The Ram" Robinson who is past his
prime and not in really good shape but still manages to get bookings.
This person appears to have had some success in the 80s but likely burnt
a lot of bridges. Now he is working at a grocery store and wrestling
on the weekends. It is an industry that is really hard to get out of
altogether as that is all they know. Evan Rachel Wood co-stars as his
estranged daughter who he tries to reconnect with but finds that is not
an easy task. Marisa Tomei co-stars as Cassidy who is a stripper who is
portrayed as a good person just trying to provide for a son. They are
friends but Randy wants more and she has a rule about not dating
customers. I thought that when I first saw the previews that this would
be a ROCKY type story but I was really quite wrong. It is a brutally
honest character study of a man who cannot move on from his previous
success and has delusions about possibly being on top again. Rourke was
absolutely amazing in this movie and really brought him full circle in
his comeback. I remember when I first heard about this, I had not been
that excited for an upcoming movie in a long time but when I heard there
was a movie about wrestling which starred Mickey Rourke I flipped out
in excitement. He went through actual training to get into his role and
was pretty well built. In his matches he really did a pretty good
job. Most of the people in the backstage and opponents are actual
people in the wrestling industry that adds an authentic feel to it. I
also noticed that Rourke and Wood were pretty well cast as father and
daughter as they both have a pointed chin and their interactions in the
film were great. Wrestling legend Roddy Piper is said to have broken
down and cried after the premier of the film. There are a lot of people
I know who did not like the way it ended and I had to think about it
but then realized that it really works so if you want to know how I see
it, then message me. I really thank Aronofsky for doing this film and
if I ever get into the acting industry I will do anything for him. This
is also a movie in which even a non-wrestling fan can enjoy as it is
really about the person.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The
Fisher King (1991): Former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam directed
this film that was written by Richard LaGravenese. Jeff Bridges stars
as shock jock radio dj Jack Lucas whose conversation with a caller
inadvertingly causes a tragedy which really depresses him and even
caused suicidal tendencies. He soon comes across an unusual homeless
man named Perry, played by Robin Williams, who is in a quest to retrieve
"the Holy Grail". Jack sees an opportunity for redemption in helping
Perry win over the girl of his dreams whose name is Lydia, played by
Amanda Plummer. Mercedes Ruehl co-stars as Jack's girlfriend who is
trying to help him move forward from the tragedy. Bridges was great and
very complex as Jack and Williams was also good as Perry as well as the
rest of the cast. Michael Palin, Kathy Najimy, Harry Shearer, and Tom
Waits have parts in this film. This movie was a great blend of comedy
and drama about a man's journey to redemption. This is a movie that was
driven by the characters and has really stayed under the radar so
hopefully this will get it more exposure. This is also available
through the app Crackle.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Scarface
(1932): Be sure to look at the year before continuing. This is not
that movie about cuban drug lord Tony Montana. This is the original
where the main character's name is Tony Camonte who plays a prohibition
era gangster who is really based on Al Capone whose nickname was
actually Scarface. Howard Hawks directed this film where the screenplay
was written by Ben Hecht and based on a novel by Armitage Trail. Paul
Muni plays Camonte who is very ambitious, violent, and very ruthless
and moving his way up. He is very mean to his family and to everyone
else around him. Usually, gangster pictures were through Warner
Brothers but this one was through United Artists. Out of what I have
seen from this era and genre, I believe this is the best one. This was a
very daring movie to make as it was based on Al Capone during the rise
of Capone. There are a lot of references especially a scene that
resembles the St. Valentines Day Massacre. Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,
George Raft, and Boris Karloff co-star in this very intense film. This
movie really does nothing to glorify being a gangster. Howard Hughes
produced this and played a very important role as he battled the censor
boards so they did not have to censor it. It is also been said that
some of Capone's henchman tried to muscle Ben Hecht but taked his way
out of it so much those people became advisers on the set. I have also
heard that Al Capone really liked this movie and even owned a copy.
Muni was great as Camonte and has some really good innuendo for a movie
of this era. I actually do like the 1983 remake with Al Pacino as Tony
Montana but this was still a great movie which really holds up today.
________________________________________________________________________________
Sunset
Boulevard (1950): Billy Wilder directed this look at a darker side of
Hollywood and possibly the first to really do so. William Holden stars
as struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis who soon ends up at the home of
silent star Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson. Desmond is now a
has-been who cannot let go of her stardom and is still deluded that she
will rise to the top again. Norma gets Joe to write a script that will
star her but becomes a very destructive working relationship. Erich Von
Stroheim co-stars as Max the butler who lives in Norma's home and plays
a big part in the film. Nancy Olson and Jack Webb co-star in this
film. Many celebrities play themselves like Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda
Hopper, Buster Keaton, among others. This movie has been one of my
favorites from this era which still really lives on to this day. This
movie has some of the best movie lines of all time. This is a really
great story but feel if I go on any further I will ruin things and we
would not want that to happen. This is possibly the best movie about
Hollywood.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Brute
Force (1947): Jules Dassin directed this prison film which was written
by Richard Brooks. Burt Lancaster stars as Joe Collins who is a
prisoner in a very crowded prison which is seen over the sadistic
Captain Munsey, played by Hume Cronyn. With everything going wrong that
could go wrong, Joe plans an escape to get out of the really bad
conditions leading into a very violent climax. This is really quite a
statement towards prison and even the movie itself clearly did
everything possible to challenge the Hays code of the time. Charles
Bickford, Yvonne de Carlo, Ann Blyth, Jeff Corey and many others are in
this film. I also consider the most violent movie I have seen from that
era. This is a great prison movie and in my opinion is the best of the
prison films. This movie really holds nothing back. Cronyn is great
as the power-hungry captain and Lancaster also does great as the tough
inmate. The rest of the cast was great in this very gritty film which
holds nothing back at all.
________________________________________________________________________________
Dr.
Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008): Joss Whedon directed what is
technically a series which was on the internet but this is my blog, I
make the rules and it can be in here. Neil Patrick Harris stars as the
title character who is an aspiring supervillain looking to join the
prestigious Evil League of Evil. His plans become complicated when he
takes interest in do-gooder Penny, played by Felicia Day, who is dating
his rival Captain Hammer, played by Nathan Fillion, who is a very
egotistical superhero. This is a three episode show each taking about
15 minutes each. There is a lot of very funny moments and some really
good songs sang very well by the leads. Joss Whedon put this out during
the writer's strike and found a loophole by releasing it on the
internet and became quite the success. I can always watch something
that Joss Whedon puts out and I never tire of this one. This is very
fun to watch and sing-along to in which you can find on Instant Netflix.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Assault
on Precinct 13 (1976): John Carpenter directed this great action
film. Austin Stoker stars as police officer Ethan Bishop who is put in
charge of a police station that is being closed so very few people are
at this station. Soon, they must deal with a very ruthless and large
gang. The few people there must band together to stop this gang which
includes a man who is about to be executed named Napoleon Wilson, played
by Darwin Joston. Carpenter wrote a great music score that is simple
but very effective and sets the perfect mood for this movie. There is
quite a bit of graphic violence and does not hold much back but has some
great action scenes and very good low-budget feel to it. The gang
members also look very good. There is nothing redeeming, they are just
very quiet and calculating. The actors in the movie are not very known
today but still did a good job. I consider this very high up in my list
of action movies
______________________________________________________________________________
Animal
Farm (1954): This is my animated movie of the week which was based on
the novel by George Orwell. With someone like Orwell, it is safe to
assume that this is far more than a movie about an animal farm and it is
no CHARLOTTE'S WEB. We first meet a lot of farm animals who are
mistreated by the farmers. The animals soon lead a successful and
violent revolt against the farmers and start their own farm community
without people running the farms. Soon, even among the animals, the
pigs become very corrupt in power. This is Orwell's statement towards
the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then onto Stalinism which he did not
like. This is by no means a family film so do not let the title and
farm animals fool you. This is a pretty dark and violent film and the
second animated feature of Britain. This is a very well done adaptation
and still holds up today.
____________________________________________________________________________
Don't
Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey (2012): I end this week on this
documentary which is on Arnel Pineda who is now that Filipino lead
singer with Journey. The remaining members of Journey were looking for a
new singer which had their member Neil Schon looking on Youtube and
discovered Pineda who was with a Filipino band. Schon found this man's
vocals really matched their singer Steve Perry and eventually brought
him in as their lead singer. This reflects on Pineda's days in the
Philipines leading up to his current success of beign discovered on
Youtube. Pineda has helped them with more international success they
had. It also goes briefly into Journey's early history and if looking
for a documentary all about Journey this is not the one. Pineda has
been a very suitable replacement and this documentary is pretty
inspiring. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week.
