Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 946th Edition

Welcome to the 946th Edition of my series.  I did quite a focus on Black History Month and an additional segment with a very unoriginal title.  Tonight is the Super Bowl and I'm rooting for the Eagles as I'm not ready for an NFL three-peat at this time.  I hope everyone is getting through the crazy times we are in.  I will shut up now and get on with my selections.

The Underground Railroad (2021):  This is part two of my five-part Joel Edgerton series.  Barry Jenkins directed this mini-series which was based on the book by Colson Whitehead.  Thuso Mbedu stars as Cora who is a slave in the deep south and becomes a runaway.  She discovers an underground railroad making an amazing discovery in the process.  Edgerton co-stars as Ridgeway who is a slave bounty hunter on the trail of Cora.  Aaron Pierre, Sheila Atim, Peter Mullan, William Jackson Harper, Jeff Pope, Lucius Baston, Marcus Gladney Jr., Kraig Dane, Kylee D. Allen, Ryan James, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Luray Cooper, Trevor David, Monique Grant, Lily Rabe, Damon Herriman, Lucy Faust, Will Poulter, and many others co-star in this mini-series.  This is a fictional series even with an element of fantasy.  This is very graphic at times, and it is full of home at times.  This has ten episodes in it with most being around an hour with the exception of a couple episodes that are much shorter.  There are also some very strong characters in this series.  This is available to watch on Prime and Freevee.

Within Our Gates (1920):  Oscar Micheaux wrote and directed this silent film.  Evelyn Preer stars as Sylvia Landry who is an educated black woman and abandoned by her fiancé Conrad, played by James D. Ruffin.  When this happens, she decides to help run a school for young black kids.  Along the way, she is met with prejudice in her efforts.  Micheaux is essentially the first black filmmaker of all time.  This was apparently a response to Griffith's controversial epic A BIRTH OF A NATION.  Another event around this time that is could be in response to was the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.  This is a very significant film in the history of motion pictures and was one of the first to really get the black voice out.  This is available to watch on MGM+, Fawesome, MUBI, and the Roku Channel.

Porgy and Bess (1959):  Otto Preminger and Rouben Mamoulian directed this musical which was written by the Gershwins.  This is set in a fishing village in 1912 South Carolina among a group of black residents.  Dorothy Dandridge stars as Bess who has had quite a past and turns to the crippled Porgy, played by Sidney Poitier.  They form a relationship, but they meet a lot of disapproval from the community including Bess's old love Crown, played by Brock Peters, and her old drug supplier Sportin' Life, played by Sammy Davis Jr.  Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Ruth Attaway, Claude Akins, Clarence Muse, Joel Fluellen, Ivan Dixon, and many others co-star in this musical.  Poitier's singing voice was dubbed by opera singer Robert McFerrin.  This has met with a lot of controversy through the years and has never really had an official release.  This is highlighted by the soundtrack by the Gershwins including the song SUMMERTIME.  I was able to find a copy of this film on Youtube.

Rustin (2023):  George C. Wolfe directed this biopic on activist Bayard Rustin.  Colman Domingo stars as Rustin who was an activist in the 1960s and friends with Martin Luther King Jr., played by Aml Ameen.  He was one of the overlooked organizers of the 1963 March on Washington and was a big help to MLK.  In addition to racism, Rustin was also gay which brought him more trouble.  Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Audra McDonald, Jeffrey Wright, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell, Ayana Workman, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, and many others co-star in this biopic.  Domingo does a really good job as Rustin.  I admit I had never heard of him until watching this movie.  It was also good to see Rock play a more serious role.  

Blackenstein (1973):  I decided I needed some Blaxploitation and decided to go the horror route for them.  Joe De Sue stars as Vietnam veteran Eddie Turner who loses both arms and legs when stepping on a land mine.  His fiancé Winifred Walker, played by Ivory Stone, talks to her friend Dr. Stein, played by John Hart, who has a procedure in mind where he would attach arms and legs.  Unfortunately, Stein's assistant Malcomb switches the DNA injections turning Eddie into a monster.  Andrea King also co-stars in this horror movie.  This is no BLACULA by any means which was their horror film that turned out to be a lot better than it had any right to be.  This just turned into a rather entertaining bad movie that Mary Shelley might not have liked.  This is available to watch on Prime, Freevee, Tubi, and Plex.

40 Years a Prisoner (2020):  Tommy Oliver directed this documentary which takes a look at the revolutionary group MOVE.  This shows Mike Africa Jr., and his efforts to get his incarcerated parents to be exonerated.  In 1978, this group was protesting police brutality and racism.  The police went through very questionable measures where one of their own was killed.  This resulted in nine MOVE members being arrested and sentenced to 30 years to life.  This is a very unbiased and eye-opening documentary to watch.  I had never heard of this group until I saw this documentary.  This is available to watch on Max.

The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976):  John Badham directed this baseball comedy which is based on a novel by William Brashler.  Billy Dee Williams stars as Negro League player Bingo Long who is unhappy by his treatment by their owner and decides to form his own traveling team.  James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor, Jophery C. Brown, Tony Burton, Stan Shaw, Otis Day, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Sam Laws, Ken Foree, Carl Gordon, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a fictional story which is loosely based on Negro league player Satchel Paige.  Pryor is very amusing as a player claiming to be Cuban in hopes of making it to the major leagues.  I am not for sure what is true and what is not true about this film.  The antics of the team resemble that of the Harlem Globetrotters.  It does have some very funny scenes and makes some good references for the Negro Leagues and their players.  

Good Burger (1997):  Brian Robbins directed this comedy featuring the Nickelodeon comedy duo of Kenan and Kel.  Kel Mitchell stars as the dim-witted but lovable teen Ed who works for the fast food restaurant Good Burger.  When competition opens up across the street, he teams with his new coworker Dexter, played by Kenan Thompson, to save the beloved local restaurant.  Sinbad, Abe Vigoda, Shar Jackson, Dan Schneider, Jan Schweiterman, Ron Lester, Josh Server, Linda Cardellini, Robert Wuhl, Lori Beth Denberg, Marques Houston, J. August Richards, Carmen Electra, and many others co-star in this comedy.  Alright, I suppose this does not have any historic significance for Black History Month, but there are cameos from NBA legend Shaquille O'Neil and funk singer George Clinton.  This came from the title sketch in the Nickolodeon series ALL THAT, and they decided it was time for a feature film.  This was directed at kids and does have some pretty funny moments.  It still lives on as a cult film and recently had a sequel.  It is a good watch for the whole family to enjoy.  This is available to watch on Paramount + and Pluto TV.

Song of the South (1946):  Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson directed this controversial Disney film which is based on the book by Joel Chandler Harris.  James Baskett stars as the iconic Uncle Remus and he does the voice of Br'er Fox.  Remus tells stories to a young boy named Johnny, played by Bobby Driscoll, about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, voiced by Johnny Lee, and how he always manages to outwit Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear.  No, I don't know why the animals always have to start with Br'er.  Ruth Warrick, Luana Patten, Lucile Watson, Hattie McDaniel, Erik Rolf, Mary Field, and many others co-star in this live-action/animation blend.  This has always been very controversial and has never really gotten any sort of release.  This does take place post-slavery in the Reconstruction era, so this is one part of controversy is the portrayal of the African Americans and plantation life.  This was Baskett's last film, and he was great in this role along with his iconic song ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH.  I say it is time to get this movie a DVD release and it would be great to see it on Disney Plus at least.  While it is not on Disney Plus, I managed to find it on Internet Archive link https://archive.org/details/Songofthesouth4K.  

The Black Cop (2021):  I end with this documentary short which was directed by Cherish Oteka.  This takes a look at British police officer Gamal Turawa who is interviewed about his times in the force.  He speaks on how he was a black man who "wanted to be white" so would do things to fit in with his colleagues.  He slowly would learn it was not right to do that and speaks of his evolution through the years.  This is a pretty compelling short film which is available to watch on Youtube.

Well, that is it for this week, but I do have an additional section with a very unoriginal name so read on for some more.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for a couple weeks which so far include Laura Linney, Joel Edgerton, Will Ferrell, Christopher Lee, and many others.

BLACK LIVES MATTER- MOVIE EDITION

I decided on an additional segment for Black History Month.  I came up with the unoriginal name and added "movie edition" in hopes of avoiding lawsuits.  I have both feature and short films so read on and enjoy.

The Jacksons:  An American Dream (1992):  Karen Arthur directed this mini-series which takes a look at the Jackson family which would become known as the Jackson 5 and later the Jacksons.  Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Angela Bassett star as the parents Joseph and Katherine Jackson.  Joe would become a rather overbearing father unable to live his own dreams and would live vicariously through his own children.  Holly Robinson Peete, Margaret Avery, Bumper Robinson, Floyd Rogers Myers Jr., Monica Calhoun, Jason Weaver, Angel Vargas, Terrence Howard, Lanei Chapman, Elizabeth Narvaez, Billy Dee Williams, Vanessa Williams, Monica Allison, Danielle Nicolet, Wylie Draper, and many others co-star in this music biopic.  This centers a lot around the patriarch Joe Jackson and later Michael when he would look to go off on his own.  I will say I had not heard of Rebbie Jackson which was the older sister of the siblings.  I had only known of Latoya and Janet who had less focus.  Draper plays Michael when he is older and was remarkable and died of Leukemia the next year.  The other Michael Jackson actors Alex Burrall and Jason Weaver also do very well in his younger years.   Howard makes his film debut as Jackie Johnson.  Jermaine Jackson is portrayed real-life son Jermaine Jackson II from ages 13-17.  This is a really good biopic showing the rise of the Jackson brothers aka the Jackson Five.

The Queen of Basketball (2021):  This is a documentary short which was directed by Ben Proudfoot.  This takes a look at Lusia Harris who is interviewed and talks about her times in basketball.  She was a pioneer in women's basketball and holds the honor of scoring the first points in an Olympic basketball game.  This is some deserved exposure for someone going overlooked for many years.  This is available to watch on Youtube.  

Concussion (2015):  Peter Landesman directed this film based on GQ article GAME BRAIN by Jeanne Marie Laskas.  Will Smith stars as African immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu who is living in Pittsburgh as a pathologist.  When legendary Steeler player Mike Webster, played by David Morse, dies, he uncovers what we now know as CTE.  When trying to convey these findings, he is met with a lot of pushbacks, most notably the higher-ups in the National Football League.  Alec Baldwin co-stars as Dr. Bailes who had worked in the NFL and agrees to help Omalu in his findings.  Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Arliss Howard, Mike O'Malley, Eddie Marsan, Hill Harper, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Stephen Moyer, Richard T. Jones, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson, Sara Lindsey, Matthew Willig, Elizabeth Tulloch, Gary Grubbs, L. Scott Caldwell, Holt McAllany, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a pretty good look at the start of what is now in the forefront in the way of CTE.  Smith was up to the game as Omalu so if you haven't cancelled Smith for his actions on the Oscars, this is really worth a look.

Walk For Me (2016):  Elegance Bratton wrote and directed this short film.  Aaliyah King stars as Hassan who is exploring their trans identity as a girl named Hanna.  Her world is turned upside down when her worlds on each side collide.  Akasha Barker, Brenda Holder, Dominique Jackson, and Yolonda Ross co-star in this short film.  This is a good coming of age sort of story in trying to understand one's identity.  This is available on the Criterion Channel.  

Harriet (2019):  Kasi Lemmons directed this biopic on the iconic historical figure Harriet Tubman.  Cynthia Erivo stars as Tubman who escaped slavery and saved many from it after her escape.  Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Clarke Peters, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Omar J. Dorsey, Henry Hunter Hall, Tim Guinee, Nick Basta, Joseph Lee Anderson, CJ McBath, Alexis Louder, Aria Brooks, Zachary Momoh, Daphne Reed, and many others co-star in this biopic.  I thought this was a pretty moving look at the heroic figure.  Erivo does a good job as Tubman and never really took note of Erivo until I saw WICKED.  This is available to watch on Hulu.  

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020):  George C. Wolfe directed this music biopic which is based on the play by August Wilson.  This is centered around a recording session which happened in 1927 at a recording studio in Chicago.  The band gathered there, but the legendary Ma Rainey, played by Viola Davis, was late and took charge as soon as she got to the studio.  Chadwick Boseman co-stars as ambitious trumpeter Levee and has a lot of disagreements with Ma to raise the tension already in the small room.  Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Dusan Brown, and many others co-star in this movie.  I honestly would not have recognized Boseman as he looked a lot different than his most famous role of Black Panther.  This is a good look at a pioneering black woman in the music industry and a good performance from Davis.  It is also interesting to see how recording was done in this era and how far we have come.  This is available to watch on Netflix. 

Barbershop (2002):  Tim Story directed this comedy about the day in the life of a Chicago barbershop.  Ice Cube stars as Calvin who inherited the struggling business from his father and sees it as mostly a burden.  He decides to sell it to the local loan shark Lester Wallace, played by Keith David.  When selling the shop, Calvin finally understands his father's vision of it being a great place of comradery and does what he can to get it back.  Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Jazsmin Lewis, Lahmard J. Tate, Tom Wright, Jason George, DeRay Davis, Sonya Eddy, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This delivers a lot of laughs and is a bit relatable in some ways of people having a place to go among friends even if they may disagree a bit.  Cedric the Entertainer was amusing as the elderly barber who never really seems to get any business and has some interesting views of historic black figures.  This is available to watch on Prime. 

One Night in Miami (2020):  Regina King makes her directorial feature film debut and is based on the play by Kemp Powers, who also wrote the screenplay.  This is a fictional account where Muhammed Ali, played by Eli Goree, Malcolm X, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jim Brown, played by Aldis Hodge, and Sam Cooke, played by Leslie Odom Jr., meet up and have a discussion over their involvement in the civil rights movement in the '60s.  Lance Reddick, Christian Magby, Joaquino Kalukango, Nicolette Robinson, Michael Imperioli, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Derek Roberts, Beau Bridges, Emily Bridges, Amondre D. Jackson, Hunter Burke, Robert Stevens Wayne, Randall Newsome, and many others co-star in this film.  This gets into some very deep and interesting discussion over their lives in this era.  I loved when Ali referenced wrestling legend Gorgeous George as an inspiration for his own persona.  This is a great movie to celebrate the month and has some very good performances.  This is available to watch on Prime, Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto TV.

First Match (2018):  Olivia Newman directed this independent film which centers around high school wrestling but that is far from what this movie is about.  Elvire Emanuelle stars as the troubled Mo who has spent years in foster care.  She tries to reconnect with her estranged father Darrel, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen, who has just been released from prison.  Mo decides the best way for this is to join the boys' wrestling team.  Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, Kim Ramirez, Jared Kemp, Mugga, Jimmy Gary Jr., Antonio Ortiz, Travis Raeburn, Allen Maldonado, Jeanette Branch, Eisa Davis, and many others co-star in this film.  Emanuelle does well as a young girl with both fatherly issues and anger issues.  This is a brutally honest character study on the character Mo.  It is not an inspiration formulaic story like it might come off.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

Lokoza (2017):  I'm ending with this short film which was written and directed by Isabelle Mayor and Zee Ntuli.  This takes place in South Africa where a young boy named Themba lives with his father near a local oil refinery.  He is secretly in love with his best friend of years Khanya, played by Thuso Mbedu, who has a boyfriend and he goes to extreme measures to get her back.  This is about 17 minutes long and a great contemporary story.  How fitting that I start this out with a mini-series with Mbedu and end with a short film of hers which was not intentional.  This is available to watch on Kanopy so check your local library to see if they use these services.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 945th Edition

Welcome to the 945th Edition of my series.  I'll just start by saying I hope everyone is doing what they can to get through these times.  I'm still here to give some recommendations.  We are close to the Super Bowl, so mostly what I want is the Chiefs to be prevented from a three-peat.  I will just shut up and get to my selections for the week.

Queen of Earth (2015):  Alex Ross Perry wrote and directed this psychological drama.  Elizabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston are longtime friends Catherine and Virginia, who retreat to a lake house only to find they have drifted apart.  Patrick Fugit co-stars as Rich who is a friend of Virginia and seems rather toxic.  Kentucky Audley, Keith Poulson, Kate Lyn Sheil, and many others co-star in this film.  This is really hard to explain as it leaves a lot open to the viewer to decide in my opinion.  Moss and Waterston put on good performances where role reversal seems to happen a lot.  Again, it is a psychological film so that is the best explanation I have.  This is available to watch on AMC +, the Roku Channel, Pluto TV, IFC Films Unlimited, and MUBI.

The Great Gatsby (2013):  This is part one of a possible five-part Joel Edgerton series.  Baz Luhrmann directed this film based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Tobey Maguire stars as writer and Wall Street trader Nick Carraway and is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, during the Jazz Age.  Edgerton co-stars as Tom Buchanan who has a hatred of Gatsby.  Carey Mulligan, Amitabh Bachchan, Steve Bisley, Richard Carter, Jason Clarke, Adalaide Clemens, Vince Colosimo, Max Cullen, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, and many others co-star in this Fitzgerald adaptation.  Luhrmann does this film the Baz Luhrmann way which partly is making music that does not fit the time period somehow work.  It is also a very colorful film to say the least and has a lot of authenticity to the time period.  This also gets very deep and intense as time goes on in this movie.  

A Perfect World (1993):  Clint Eastwood directed this film which was written by John Lee Hancock.  Kevin Costner stars as prison escapee Butch Haynes who in a botched crime, kidnaps a boy named Phillip, played by T.J. Lowther.  Phillip soon takes a liking to his kidnapper and Butch becomes a father figure to him while they are being pursued.  Eastwood co-stars as Texas Ranger Red Garnett and teams with criminologist Sally Gerber, played by Laura Dern, to track down Butch.  Keith Szarabajka, Leo Burmester, Paul Hewitt, Bradley Whitford, Ray McKinnon, Jennifer Griffin, Daryl Cox, Bruce McGill, and many others co-star in this film.  Costner puts on a very good performance in this film and is rather underrated.  This was strangely moving with the performances on Costner and Lowther in his debut.  

Stairway to Light (1945):  This is my short film for the week which is part of "John Nesbitt's Passing Parade" series.  John Nesbitt narrates this historical short which takes a look at 18th century French physician Dr. Phillipe Pinel, played by Wolfgang Zilzer.  Pinel became the head of an asylum during the French Revolution and was dismayed to see the treatment of the mentally ill.  He looked for more humane ways to treat and possibly cure them.  This was an interesting look at the mentally ill from the time period.

The Blockhouse (1973):  This is part four of my four-part Peter Sellers series.  Clive Rees directed this film which is based on the novel by Jean-Paul Clebert.  This takes place on D-Day where a group of forced laborers held by German forces take shelter in a German bunker only to be trapped for many years.  Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Per Oscarsson, Nicholas Jones, and Leon Lissek star in this film.  This is a pretty dark film on trying to survive and not easy to watch.  It was good seeing Sellers in a more dramatic role which is what got my interest.  This is available to watch on Hoopla, Tubi, and Fawesome.

The Razor's Edge (1946):  Edmund Goulding directed this film which is based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.  Tyrone Power stars as Larry Darrell who prefers a life of adventure to a big career.  This turns off his fiancée Isabel, played by Gene Tierney, and the engagement is off.  About a decade later, Isabel is married but a reunion with Larry, she still has feelings and tries to sabotage his own relationship with the troubled Sophie, played by Anne Baxter.  John Payne, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore, Elsa Lanchester, Fritz Kortner, and many others co-star in this film.  I am sorry to those who might have thought I was featuring a biopic on wrestling legend Scott Hall.  Instead, you get a rather complex and complicated love drama.  Power had been away with WWII, and this was his first movie upon his return to Hollywood.  This is a good story on love and betrayal through the years that holds up pretty well.

The Last Showgirl (2024):  Gia Coppola directed this film which is written by Kate Gersten.  Pamela Anderson stars as middle-aged showgirl Shelly who has spent most of her life in this world only to learn that her show is closing after a 30-year run.  She faces an existential crisis when being faced with the reality that her best days are behind her and must reflect on the ups and downs in her life.  Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, WWE Hall of Famer Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Linda Montana, Jason Schwartzman, and many others co-star in this film.  Pamela Anderson finally gets a very meaningful role and makes the most of it.  I will not lie, when I was watching the Golden Globes and she was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, I was rooting for her as I have kind of grown up with her with BAYWATCH and all.  She may not have won but that was okay as this led me to check this out at the movie theater.  Jamie Lee Curtis was also really good as Shelly's best friend Annette and was a different sort of role for her as well in my opinion.  When watching this, it reminded me some of the movie THE WRESTLER in which the main character has trouble adjusting when the only thing they have known is coming to an end.  That could be a good double feature sometime.  I was glad to give the theater my money to support this film, and I feel others should as well.

Blackmail (1929):  This was introduced as part of the new monthly series the Public Domain Theatre by Dennis the Library Menace.  Alfred Hitchcock directed this British thriller which is based on the play of the same name by Charles Bennett.  Anny Ondry stars as Alice White who has killed a man in self-defense but has no way to prove it so she tries to cover it up.  Her own boyfriend Frank Webber, played by John Longden, is assigned the case and gets blackmailed by someone named Tracy, played by Donald Calthrop, who claims to have seen the killing.  Sara Allgood, Charles Paton, Cyril Ritchard, Hannah Jones, and many others co-star in this film.  This was originally shot as a silent film but with the rise of talkies, the studio wanted some scenes reshot with sound.  The first few minutes appear to be a silent film and then they finally start talking so this is Hitchcock's first talkie and the first British talkie.  This also has the first record of "dubbing".  Anny Ondry had a Czech accent that was hard to understand so Hitch had actress Joan Barry speak the lines as Ondry mouthed them.  This is a pretty decent suspense film that has entered the public domain this year having become the public domain age of 95 years old.  This is available to watch on Prime, Tubi, Plex, the Roku Channel, and on Youtube which was how it was presented at the event.

Love and Death (1975):  Woody Allen wrote and directed this satire of Russian literature.  Allen also stars as neurotic Russian soldier Boris who is forced into war but is afraid to go to war.  His distant cousin Sonya, played by Diane Keaton, advises Boris to help her in a plan to assassinate Napoleon which goes comedically wrong.  Edmond Ardisson, Feodor Atkine, Yves Barsacq, Lloyd Battista, Olga Georges-Picot, Harold Gould, Jessica Harper, Tony Jay, Tutte Lemkow, Anne Lonnberg, James Tolkan, and many others co-star in this film.  This has the usual sort of Woody Allen humor that centers around czar Russia.  This also has some good parody moments among Russian literature and foreign films.  This is hard to explain beyond what I have but it is available to watch on Pluto TV.

The Straight Story (1999):  This is my homage to David Lynch who recently left us.  Lynch directed this film which is based on a true story.  Richard Farnsworth stars as Alvin Straight who is a very stubborn 73-year-old man.  He learns that his brother estranged brother Lyle is in bad health and decides he needs to visit and make peace before they die.  The trip will be very long, and he no longer holds a license to drive.  He sets out to go from Laurens, Iowa to his brother's town of Mount Zion, Wisconsin on a riding lawnmower with a trailer compartment behind it.  Along the way, he meets some new people, and some help him to continue his trip.  Sissy Spacek, Dan Flannery, Everett McGill, Bill McCallum, Barbara E. Robertson, Barbara Kingsley, Wiley Harker, Kevin P. Farley, John Farley, Harry Dean Stanton, and many others co-star in this film.  Usually, Lynch is known for his rather weird and bizarre films and takes a different turn in this one with Disney produced film.  This is Farnsworth's last movie as he was terminally ill during filming but could not pass up this opportunity to portray a man he admired.  This is a very moving story and takes the road trip film to a whole new level.  This is available to watch on Disney Plus.

Well, that is it for this week, but I did bring back my segment "Fun and "Useless Facts" so read on that one.  Tell me what you like and dislike and in two weeks I will return in February in an edition that centers around Black History Month which so far includes Sidney Poitier, Jeffrey Wright, Cynthia Erivo, Terrence Howard, Will Smith, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

I brought back this segment for the week where I focus on the inter-connections of the ten selections.  I also limit it to 25 facts, so I am sure there plenty I have missed and feel free to comment.

Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2002 comedy SPUN.

Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) were in the 2022 film BABYLON.

Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby) were in the 2018 FIRST MAN.

Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2021 comedy THE FRENCH DISPATCH.

Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Kiernan Shipka (The Last Showgirl) were in the AMC series MAD MEN.

Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) were in the tv series THE HANDMAID'S TALE.

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) was directed by Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) in the 2011 biopic J. EDGAR.

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) plays Romeo in the 1996 film ROMEO + JULIET.  My Facebook friend Jim played Romeo in a 2013 version of the Shakespeare play where I played Paris and was killed by Romeo.

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) was directed by Woody Allen (Love and Death) in the 1998 film CELEBRITY.

Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1998 film FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.

Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) and Woody Allen (Love and Death) were in the 1997 comedy DECONSTRUCTING HARRY.

Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) and Dave Bautista (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2017 film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 and in the 2023 film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3.

Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) and Laura Dern (A Perfect World) were in the 2018 film THE TALE.

Isla Fisher (The Great Gatsby) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were in the 2007 comedy HOT ROD.

Laura Dern (A Perfect World) was directed by David Lynch (The Straight Story director) in the 1986 film BLUE VELVET.

Laura Dern (A Perfect World) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1990 film WILD AT HEART which was directed by DAVID LYNCH.

Laura Dern (A Perfect World) and Billie Lourd (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2017 movie STAR WARS EPISODE VIII- THE LAST JEDI.

Kevin Costner (A Perfect World) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were husband and wife in the 1991 film JFK.

Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) and Everett McGill (The Straight Story) were in the 1986 war movie HEARTBREAK RIDGE.

Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1970 war film KELLY'S HEROES.

Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2013 film SAVING MR. BANKS.

Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) plays Van Helsing in the 2023 podcast series MINA AND LUCY'S GUIDE TO SLAY DRACULA.  My Facebook friend Matthew played Van Helsing in a 2018 version of DRACULA at the Richmond Civic Theater where I got to play a bucket list role of Renfield.

Ray McKinnon (A Perfect World) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were in the 1995 movie THE GRASS HARP.

Peter Sellers (The Blockhouses) and Woody Allen (Love and Death) were in the 1967 Bond parody CASINO ROYALE.

Diane Keaton (Love and Death) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1974 film THE GODFATHER PART II where Stanton plays one of the FBI guys.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 944th Edition

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.