Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 587th Edition

Welcome to the 587th Edition of my series.  There is not much going this week in my world since football is now over.  I also don't have any plays going on so I'll just get on with my selections for the week so enjoy and keep reading on for Fun and Useless Facts.

The Birdcage (1996):  Mike Nichols directed this film which is based on the play LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.  Robin Williams stars nightclub owner Armand Goldman whose son Val, played by Dan Futterman, announces his engagement to his girlfriend Barbara, played by Calista Flockhart.  Armand is a gay man in a long-time relationship with his drag queen companion Albert, played by Nathan Lane, and is asked by his son to put up a false front as a straight man when meeting Barbara's extremely conservative and moralistic parents Senator Kevin Keeley and his wife Louise, played by Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest.  Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Tom McGowan, Grant Heslov, Ann Cusack, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This may not be for all tastes but there are many great laughs in a gay couple doing what they can to play it straight but everything going wrong in their efforts.

One Got Fat (1963):  This is my short film for the week and the one riffed on by the Farmland Gang last week before they riffed on last week's selection of THE GIANT CLAW during Please Don't Shoot the Projectionist and I assure you all that the projectionist nor anyone else there was shot.  This is a short that talks about bicycle safety and for whatever reason, they decided to have the kids of this short film to wear monkey masks and even had tails but the rest of the body looked rather human to me.  I don't really know what else to say on this one, I don't think the safety of riding a bike really did much as I was too distracted by the cheap monkey costumes and I'm also not sure which one got fat.  This is available on Youtube.

Indiscreet (1958):  Stanley Donen directed this romantic comedy which is based on a play by Norman Krasna.  Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman reunite after their 1946 teaming of Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS and this one being more of a comedy.  Bergman stars as London based actress Anna Kalman and through her brother in law Alfred, played by Cecil Parker, she meets a work acquaintance named Philip, played by Grant.  They form a relationship despite Anna finding out that Philip is married but separated leading to come comedic deception in this comedy.  Phyllis Calvert and David Cossoff co-star in this film.  Grant and Bergman made a very fun romantic comedy duo in this rather overlooked comedy.

I Heart Huckabees (2004):  David O. Russell directed this rather complex comedy.  I'll try to give the basics as Jason Schwartzman stars as Albert who sees the same stranger in one day and becomes confused about life.  With that, he hires a pair of existentialist detectives in Bernard and Vivian, played by Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin, to help investigate the meaning behind his life.  Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Mark Wahlberg, Ger Duany, Darlene Hunt, Kevin Dunn, Tippi Hedren, Said Taghmaoui, Jean Smart, Jonah Hill, Talia Shire, Bob Gunton, Richard Jenkins, and many others co-star in this comedy.  In looking into this movie, I learned that not only did Shire play Schwartzman's mother but that she is his mother in real life.  Jonah Hill makes his debut in this film into a really good start to his own career.  I really enjoyed Wahlberg in his supporting role in this film.  I really don't know how to describe this offbeat comedy.  Make no mistake, this is not a romantic comedy or love story by any means.

Bachelor Mother (1939):  Garson Kanin directed this comedy which stars Ginger Rogers in her entry of the Golden Age of Film.  Rogers stars as Polly Parrish who is trying to make ends meet by working at Merlin's Department Store and is a let go as a seasonal worker.  In a chance of fate, Polly encounters a baby being abandoned at an orphanage and takes the baby in to make sure the child gets in safely but they are convinced she is the mother abandoning the baby.  They suspect it is because she does not have a job and cannot raise her child so the people at the orphanage appeals to David Merlin, played by David Niven, to give Polly her job back.  More understandings happen with what David believes is some unmotherly actions and does whatever he can to keep the mother and baby together.  Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, E.E. Clive, and many others co-star in this romantic comedy.  I actually found myself enjoying this one.  Ginger shows she does not always have to dance and does a great job as the alleged mother who just could not stay away from a baby not hers.  Niven also complements her as the sympathetic boss and has some interesting elements of himself being a bit of a black sheep in the family company.  This is a really good romantic comedy to check out and follow up with another movie about an abandoned child who experienced a much different fate.

The Jungle Book (2016):  Jon Favreau directed this live action adaptation to the Rudyard Kipling story and goes along with the 1967 animated story.  Neel Sethi stars in this film as Mowgli who was abandoned as a baby and raised by wolves in the jungle.  He has always had a good life there until the tiger Shere Khan, voiced by Idris Elba, threatens the jungle for having a "man-cub" living there.  He leaves the jungle with the guidance of panther Bagheera, voiced by Ben Kingsley, and later meets the fun loving bear Baloo, voiced by Bill Murray.  Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling, Sam Raimi, Dee Bradley Baker, and many others provide their voices.  I did really enjoy this version from Disney's live-action films they have started doing.  This does have some differences and I will say that I enjoy the ending to this one over the 1967 animated Disney film which kind of bothers me.  I also want to talk about the PG rating in this film and the other live action adaptations have it as well.  I have heard people complain about this and heard some people in the family talking about it.  One thing I would ask is have you never questioned other Disney films on their G ratings, especially the 90s Disney.  They are mostly family oriented but have elements of action and such that might not be for all children so when seeing the Parental Guidance rating, check and see why that is the rating.  This does have some action sequences as to be expected.  Let's face it, if THE LION KING was a story involving humans, it would at least get PG-13 seeing as it is about a murderous brother betrayal.  I've spoke enough on that, I found this to be very enjoyable with some good visuals and great storytelling.

The Eiger Sanction (1975):  Clint Eastwood directed this action film where he also stars as art history professor and collector Jonathan Hemlock.  With the name Eastwood, I'm sure many will say there has to be more to him than just being an art professor and don't worry there is a lot more to it.  He is a retired assassin being brought out of retirement to avenge a friend.  He also has experience as a mountain climber leading to a rather dangerous climax on the mountain.  George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee, Jack Cassidy, Heidi Bruhl, Thayer David, and many others co-star in this film.  I would not movie great but was some pretty fun Eastwood that had some good art, mountain climbing, and some action.  This really was worth a look on a Saturday afternoon.

Penelope (2006):  Mark Palansky directed this modern-day fairy tale story.  Christina Ricci stars as the title character who falls victim to a old family curse that has an extreme effect on her face and can only be cured by "someone of her kind".  Her parents, played by Richard E. Grant and Catherine O'Hara, try to bring in some suitors, most of which run away at the sight of her face.  James McAvoy co-stars as Max who is hired to go undercover but takes a liking to her but things are difficult when he is not what she needs to be cured.  Michael Feast, Ronni Ancona, Simon Woods, Paul Herbert, Peter Dinklage, Burn Gorman, Nick Frost, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Brand, and many others co-star in this movie.  This is a pretty enjoyable modern-day fantasy film with Ricci great in her role and O'Hara perfect as the well-meaning and overprotective mother.  This is available on Instant Netflix.

Adam's Rib (1949):  George Cukor directed this Tracy/Hepburn starring vehicle where Spencer and Katherine star as married couple Adam and Amanda Bonner.  They are both attorneys who end up on opposite sides of the law when Amanda decides to defend a woman for trying to kill her unfaithful husband and Adam is the prosecutor.  This puts obvious complications on their marriage in this what they call romantic comedy.  Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, David Wayne, Jean Hagen, Hope Emerson, Will Wright, and many others co-star in this film.  This actually was a rather daring film for its time which takes a look at adultery, attempted murder, among other things.  Katherine Hepburn also points out a lot of interesting double standards between men and women from this era.  This is possibly the best of the Tracy and Hepburn teamings and is a very involved comedy that is far more than just a romantic comedy.

Mea Maxima Culpa:  Silence in the House of God (2012):  I have a included a lot of comedy, action, and family films this week but I'm afraid I must end on a sadder note in this documentary.  Alex Gibney directed this documentary which takes a look at the corruption within the catholic church and mainly takes a look at a Wisconsin priest from the '70s named Father Lawrence Murphy.  Murphy was a very charismatic priest who molested over 200 deaf children.  Many of these kids now grown up are interviewed and tell their stories of the horrible things that went on.  The documentary also takes a look at the cover up that go all the way up to the Vatican.  This has been a very much talked about subject and this one is a different take where a priest takes advantage of the lack of communication skills in the children to do very horrible things.  Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke, and John Slattery are the voice to some of the deaf people that talk though their sign language.  This is a very eye opening documentary and always makes me sad to hear about this kind of thing in a world where people are supposed to feel safe.  This is available on HBO On-Demand.

Well that is it for this week but I have brought back my Fun and Useless Facts segment so continue on reading.  Tell me what you like and dislke and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Samuel L. Jackson, Allison Janney, Donald Sutherland, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

I decided to bring this back after some people expressed how much they liked it.  Doing this just depends on the time I have that week and how much I have to go on like if I have a lot of documentaries and foreign films then I won't be able to do a lot.

Mike Nichols (The Birdcage director) directed Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) in the 1967 film THE GRADUATE.

Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) was considered for the role of Gandhi in the 1982 film GANDHI which would ultimately go to Ben Kingsley (The Jungle Book).  I think this was the right decision.  Another thing Hoffman and Kingsley have in common is Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) plays mobster Meyer Lansky in the 2005 movie THE LOST CITY and Ben Kingsley (The Jungle Book) plays Lanskly in the 1991 film BUGSY.

Bill Murray (The Jungle Book) and Richard E. Grant (Penelope) both provide voices in the 2006 movie GARFIELD 2.

Robin Williams (The Birdcage) was a teacher to Ethan Hawke (Mea Maxima Culpa) in the 1989 film DEAD POETS SOCIETY.

Cary Grant (Indiscreet) and Katherine Hepburn (Adam's Rib) teamed up romantically for the 1935 film SYLVIA SCARLETT, the 1938 films HOLIDAY and BRINGING UP BABY, and the 1940 comedy THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.

Christopher Walken (The Jungle Book), Christina Ricci (Penelope) and Michael Feast (Penelope) were in the 1999 film SLEEPY HOLLOW.

Robin Williams (The Birdcage) and Christopher Walken (The Jungle Book) star in the 2006 comedy MAN OF THE YEAR.

Ingrid Bergman (Indiscreet) and Spencer Tracy (Adam's Rib) were in the 1941 film DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE where Bergman was the love interest to the Jekyll side of Tracy.

Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book director) directed Peter Dinklage (Penelope) in the 2003 comedy ELF.

Robin Williams (The Birdcage), Jude Law (I Heart Huckabees), and Ben Kingsley (The Jungle Book) were in the 2001 Sci-fi film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.  Williams had more of a cameo as the voice of Dr. Know.  Kingsley also provides a voice of a specialist.  Jude Law (I Heart Huckabees) and Ben Kingsley (The Jungle Book) were in the 2011 film HUGO.  Jude Law (I Heart Huckabees) plays Dr. Watson in the 2009 film SHERLOCK HOLMES and the 2011 film SHERLOCK HOLMES:  A GAME OF SHADOWS.  Ben Kingsley plays Watson in the 1988 film WITHOUT A CLUE.

Jason Schwartzman (I Heart Huckabees) and Bill Murray (The Jungle Book) have worked together quite a few times in the 1998 film RUSHMORE, the 2007 film THE DARJEELING LIMITED, the 2009 film FANTASTIC MR. FOX, the 2012 film MOONRISE KINGDOM, the 2012 film A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III, the 2014 film THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, and the 2015 special A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS.  Jude Law (I Heart Huckabees) co-stars in THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.

Idris Elba (The Jungle Book) and Burn Gorman (Penelope) were in the 2013 film PACIFIC RIM.

Robin Williams (The Birdcage) and Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) were Peter Pan and Captain Hook in the 1991 film HOOK.

My Friend Angela played the part of Violet in a stage musical version of 9 TO 5 at the Muncie Civic Theater.  Lily Tomlin (I Heart Huckabees) played Violet in the 1980 film 9 TO 5.  Angela also has a role in common with Katherine Hepburn (Adam's Rib) as Amanda in THE GLASS MENAGERIE.   Hepburn played the part in a 1973 tv movie and Angela plays the part next weekend at the Alley Theater in Anderson, Indiana.  For details, visit the website of http://www.central-christian-church.com/the_alley_theatre.html

Gene Hackman (The Birdcage) and Clint Eastwood (The Eiger Sanction) have worked together in the 1992 film THE UNFORGIVEN and the 1997 film ABSOLUTE POWER.

Idris Elba (The Jungle Book) and Michael Feast (Penelope) were in 1998 film PROMETHEUS.

Jonah Hill (I Heart Huckabees) accompanies his rock idol Russell Brand (Penelope) in the 2010 film GET HIM TO THE GREEK.  They were also in the 2008 film FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL where Brand plays the same character.

Gene Hackman (The Birdcage) and Kevin Dunn (I Heart Huckabees) were in the 1988 film MISSISSIPPI BURNING.

Naomi Watts (I Heart Huckabees) and Bill Murray (The Jungle Book) were in the 2014 film ST. VINCENT.

Gene Hackman (The Birdcage) and Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) were in the 2003 film RUNAWAY JURY.

Ger Duany (I Heart Huckabees) and Reese Witherspoon (Penelope) were in the 2014 film THE GOOD LIE.

Dianne Wiest (The Birdcage) and Scarlett Johansson (The Jungle Book) were in the 1998 film THE HORSE WHISPERER.

Kevin Dunn (I Heart Huckabees) and Scarlett Johansson (The Jungle Book) were in the 2008 film VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA.

Hank Azaria (The Birdcage) and Ethan Hawke (Mea Maxima Culpa) were in the 1998 film GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

Cary Grant (Indiscreet) and Ginger Rogers (Bachelor Mother) are love interests in the 1952 film MONKEE BUSINESS.  Charles Coburn (Bachelor Mother) also co-stars.

Tippi Hedren (I Heart Huckabees) and Christina Ricci (Penelope) were in the 1998 movie I WOKE UP EARLY THE DAY I DIED which was some found script by Ed Wood that had never been done.

Hank Azaria (The Birdcage) and Kevin Dunn (I Heart Huckabees) were in the 1998 movie GODZILLA.

Cary Grant (Indiscreet) and David Niven (Bachelor Mother) were in the 1947 film THE BISHOP'S WIFE.

Kevin Dunn (I Heart Huckabees) and Christina Ricci (Penelope) were in the 1998 film SMALL SOLDIERS.

Christine Baranski (The Birdcage) and Reese Witherspoon (Penelope) were in the 1999 film CRUEL INTENTIONS.

Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) and Thayer David (The Eiger Sanction) were in the 1970 film LITTLE BIG MAN.

Frank Albertson (Bachelor Mother) and Spencer Tracy (Adam's Rib) were in the 1936 film FURY.

Christine Baranski (The Birdcage) and Christina Ricci (Penelope) were in the 1993 movie ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES.

Talia Shire (I Heart Huckabees) and Thayer David (The Eiger Sanction) were in the 1976 film ROCKY.

Tom McGowan (The Birdcage) and Scarlett Johansson (The Jungle Book) were in the 2001 film GHOST WORLD.

Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees), Scarlett Johansson (The Jungle Book) and Russell Peters (The Jungle Book) were in the 2004 film CHEF.

Tom McGowan (The Birdcage) and Clint Eastwood (The Eiger Sanction) were in the 1999 movie TRUE CRIME which Eastwood also directed.

Kevin Dunn (I Heart Huckabees) and Ben Kingsley (The Jungle Book) were in the 1993 political comedy DAVE.

Grant Heslov (The Birdcage) and Bill Murray (The Jungle Book) were in the 2014 film THE MONUMENTS MEN.

Dustin Hoffman (I Heart Huckabees) plays Captain Hook in the 1991 film HOOK.  Christopher Walken (The Jungle Book) plays Hook in the 2014 live tv movie PETER PAN LIVE.

Cary Grant (Indiscreet) and George Kennedy (The Eiger Sanction) were in the 1963 film Charade.

Ann Cusack (The Birdcage) and Naomi Watts (I Heart Huckabees) were Sub Girl and Jet Girl in the 1995 movie TANK GIRL.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 586th Edition

Welcome to the 586th Edition of my series.  Not a lot going on this week except that the Super Bowl is tonight.  For me, I am just wanting a good game although rooting for the Patriots is tempting just to anger Colts fans.  I hope no one boycotts me if I do root for them.  Nothing else really happening so on with the recommendations.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers (2008):  I start the week out with this documentary.  Dan Merchant directed this documentary looking to understand why it is that religion seems to be dividing us when religion is supposed to be about love.  He dons a costume full of bumper stickers that pretty much look at all sides and goes around asking people to choose which one they like the most.  He also goes around interviewing a variety of people in the religious world and some outsiders trying to look at all sides.  Keep in mind, Merchant himself is a Christian and one of the most touching parts was him learning his own flaws and admitting he has work to do as well.  There are a lot of pretty humorous moments in this documentary but gives a good message in the end.  This could be a good double feature to Bill Maher's RELIGULOUS which take more a look at why people believe whereas this one is less cynical and wants to know why we are become so divided.  This is available on hoopladigital.com

The King of Masks (1996):  This is my Chinese film for the week which is not the usual action and martial arts that I usually post from the Asian world of film.  Tian-Ming Wu directed this film that is based on a true story that I want to say takes place in the early 1900s but maybe the late 1800s.  Xu Zhu stars as Wang who is the master of the Bianlian street art that he performs as a street performer.  He has concerns that since he no longer has a son, died from illness at 10 years of age, that his talent will die out making him feel the need for an heir, in other words a son.  He thinks he has found the grandson needed in a boy named Gou Wa, played by Zhou Renying, that he buys from a slave trader nicknaming him doggie which I guess was an affectionate termed used toward children.  Things change when it is revealed that this boy that he bought is a girl and as tradition dictates his talent cannot be passed down.  This Hong Kong drama has a lot of sadness, humor, and suspense and is a very moving story of their relationship and is a really good escape from Hollywood.

Mr. Mom (1983):  Stan Dragoti directed this comedy that was written by John Hughes which I feel is an homage to the stay at home parent.  Michael Keaton in his first starring role stars as the hard working Jack in a really good marriage with his wife Caroline who stays at home with their kids, played by Frederick Koehler and Talieson Jaffe.  Changes happen at his work making Jack's future in the air as a laid off worker.  When then happens, Caroline manages to find herself a job making Jack the stay at home dad, a job he has idea what to do.  This leads to a lot of great moments and might rank in my list of favorite comedies thanks to Keaton being perfectly cast as the clueless father that slowly learns how to become a good stay at home dad.  Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd, Graham Jarvis, Carolyn Seymour, Valri Bromfield, and many others co-star in this comedy.  Some of the moments I liked most were Jack getting emotionally invested in Victor and Nikki Newman in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, a poker game with other stay at home moms that involves coupons each have, and parody scenes to ROCKY and CHARIOTS OF FIRE.

Tear Gas in Law Enforcement (1962):  This is one of my two short films for the week.  This comes from the sponsor of Lake Erie Chemical Company and was a training video showing the variety of uses of tear gas which from what I understand was a lot more dangerous than it is now.  This was shown on TCM during the Underground Shorts so in other words a pretty dated educational video that is more entertaining than anything.  This can be seen on Youtube.

Four Sons (1928):  This is my silent film and war film for the week which is an early film for John Ford.  This takes place during WWI where Margaret Mann stars as the German Mother Bernle who as the title indicates is the mother of four sons named Joseph, played by James Hall, Johann, played by Charles Morton, Franz, played by Francis X. Bushman Jr., and Andreas, played by George Meeker.  Joseph gets a job in the United States and starts a new life there.  Unfortunately WWI gets in the way and Joseph enlists for the United States in the war effort while the other three go into WWI for Germany putting them on different sides.  I would venture to say this is Ford's last silent film as talkies were just getting on the rise.  It is a pretty moving war film about a family being torn apart by a war.  It would be mostly enjoyed by silent film buffs.

Odd Man Out (1947):  This is my British film noir for the week which was directed by Carol Reed and based on a novel by F.L. Green.  James Mason stars as an IRA type leader named Johnny McQueen who has escaped prison and is hiding out in the house of Kathleen, played by Kathleen Ryan.  Soon, Johnny is wounded in a heist and disappears in the back-alleys of Belfast on the run from the law and fellow gangsters.  Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, William Hartnell, Fay Compton, Robert Beatty, Dan O'Herlihy, and many others co-star in this film.  It was very interesting how it shows each had their own ulterior motive toward Johnny whether they were wanting to protect him or out for him.  This is a really good early film for Mason and has cited this as his best performance in his career.  One that has gone overlooked and hope to help this get on a radar a bit.

Bang Bang You're Dead (2002):  This is my Showtime film for the week.  Guy Ferland directed this movie which takes a look at the effects of bulling.  Ben Foster stars as Trevor Adams who has been bullied all his life in school.  He gets to return to school after being expelled for a phony bomb threat that is made and now is more ignored and feared by teachers and parents for his actions.  The group that pays attention to him is a outcast group called the "trogs" which tend to go to extreme and violent measures to make a statement.  Tom Cavanaugh co-stars as theater teacher Val Duncan who is looking to put on a play of the title which is about a school shooting and wants Trevor to play the school shooter hoping to raise awareness.  This obviously brings a lot of controversy from the community.  Randy Harrison, Janel Moloney, Jane McGregor, David Paetkau, Eric Johnson, and many others co-star in this film.  This takes a good look at the rather divided topic of bullying on how it is handled and how it should be handled.  I will say that growing up I was bullied a lot.  I suppose I should have done what a lot of people say and stand up to them, maybe even punch them as others suggested.  What I did instead was do what I could to "fit in" with the "popular" crowd by bullying other myself.  I realize now how stupid that was but at the time it seemed like the way to go.  The character Trevor has his way own way of handing those that have wronged him and Val does what he can to save him from doing something he regrets.  I know a lot of society say that children need to stand up to bullies which I have a lot of mixed opinions about.  I feel those that bully need to know that what they are doing now even if it does not necessarily resonate with them at that time.  If anyone underage is reading this, thank you for reading it and I just want to add to both the outcast and to those that are in the popular crowd that there is life after high school and as I learned it changes a lot.  The popularity becomes very insignificant when you start the adulting part of life.  The play within the movie has been performed at a lot of high schoools.

Stroszek (1977):  Werner Herzog wrote and directed this German film which stars Bruno S. as Bruno Stroszek who is a street musician getting released from prison and advised to stay out of bars and not drink alcohol.  This is advice that Bruno does not listen to and goes into a familiar bar while meeting and befriending a prostitute named Eva, played by Eva Mattes, who he befriends even forming a relationship.  He takes in Eva and lets her stay in his apartment.  They are soon attacked and beaten by Eva's pimps and decide they want to follow their elderly neighbor Scheitz, played Clemens Scheitz, to Wisconsin after hearing how great people have it and the American dream.  After Bruno gets a job and a low-end autoshop and Eva gets a job waitressing, they realize that the American Dream is the American Nightmare.  A lot of the characters in the film were written just for the actors whose lives were rather parallel to the life of the actor and real person, maybe why Herzog used a lot of their own names as the characters.  It is a well-done tragicomedy on how the American Dream is not everything it is cracked up to be.

The Giant Claw (1957):  I saw this over the weekend in Farmland, Indiana where the Farmland Gang decided to do their own MST3K and RIFFTRAX calling it "Don't Shoot the Projectionist".  They started out with a really bad short film which will be featured next week so those that were there, please do not reveal what was shown first.  After the soon to be revealed short film, we move onto this B-movie and lived up to its B-movie label.  Something very mysterious is encounted.  You might say a plane, you might say Superman but no it was as bird this time and a very big bird at that and no I'm not talking about that friendly yellow bird that lives at Seseme Street.  Jeff Morrow stars as Mitch MacAfee who is an Air Force pilot and is the first to say he saw this really big and destructive bird that does not seem to be there to make any friends.  This was a pretty cool event and a fun riff session that I hope they continue doing these.

Barnyard Aces (2015):  I end the week with this animated short film that is from Mexico which was directed by Irving Sevilla and written by Violeta Salmon.  This centers around a bar that is run by birds, and the mischievous waitress is wanting a jukebox instead of her boss booking singers.  There is not much in the way of dialogue but does have some pretty cool animation.  This 10 minute short film is available on HBO-On Demand.

Well, that is it for this week.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Robin Williams, Ingrid Bergman, Naomi Watts, and many others.