Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 607th Edition

Welcome to the 607th Edition of my series.  I hope everyone has a good 4th this week and hope everyone remains safe on this week of fireworks.  I'm still in rehearsals for BURNT PART BOYS which is coming along pretty well and I'm enjoying staying out there with my friends Brittany and Dakota.  Not much else is happening so I'll get on with my selections for the week.

Ratcatcher (1999):  Lynne Ramsay wrote and directed this British film.  This takes place in Glasgow in the mid-70s where there is a garbage strike.  The story centers around a pre-teen boy named James, played by William Eadie, who dreams of getting out of that poor town.  Tommy Flanagan co-stars as his father who is part of the strike and often drunk.  Mandy Matthews, Michelle Stewart, Lynn Ramsay Jr., Leanne Mullen, and many others co-star in this film.  It is a rather hard movie to describe.  It is really more centered with the characters.  This is a very bleak look at a poor part of Scotland.  It is still a pretty compelling and underrated film.  This has a rather unknown cast but Flanagan looked very familiar to me, especially the scar on his cheek and it dawned on me that he played Cicero in GLADIATOR just a year or so after this one.  This also has a good performance from the young Eadie.  This can be found on the Criterion Collection.

Knock Knock (1940):  This is my animated short for the week.  This is part of the Andy Panda series where Andy and Papa Panda have a discussion if you can really catch a bird by putting salt on its tail.  They hear a knocking at the door which turns out to be a pecking and it is where we meet Woody Woodpecker who looks to pester the pandas.  This is most notably the first cartoon for Woody Woodpecker but does not have his name yet.  I do not know the original intentions for the character for if it was their way of introducing a long-term character or if the character made enough of an impression to get his own series.  Mel Blanc providers the voices for Papa Panda and Woody Woodpecker.  This is available to see on Youtube.

The First Auto (1927):  This is my silent film, well mostly silent, for the week.  Roy Del Ruth directed this film which centers around a father and son named Hank, played by Russell Simpson, and Bob, played by Charles Emmett Mack.  Hank is a very proud owner of horses and owns many that he stables and races.  Bob is really taking to the rise of the "horseless carriages" which are more known as automobiles.  This takes place around the rise of the automobile in which most people are transitioning to but Hank has a very rough time which drives a wedge between him and his son.  A lot of this movie is comedy but it also gets rather intense at times when we see Hank kind of go off the deep end in his inability to make the transition.  I found this on TCM and was a pretty good look on what was likely a very difficult transition.  This came out right around the time of THE JAZZ SINGER and stayed silent for the most part except it did appear to make the use of sound and just a little bit of dialogue.  This was well worth a look and unexpectedly compelling.

The Woman in the Fifth (2011):  This is part one of a two-part Ethan Hawke series.  Pawel Pawlikowski directed this film based on a novel by Douglas Kennedy.  Hawke stars as American writer Tom Ricks who goes to Paris in hopes of getting his life together and to connect with his estranged wife.  He soon meets a mysterious woman named Margin, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, and they form an intense relationship which triggers a string of inexplicable events.  Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi, Delphine Chuillot, Julie Papillon, and many others star in this psychological thriller.  This has an interesting line between fantasy and reality.  This is more of an atmospheric drama where things change a lot with good performances out of Hawke and Thomas.  This is another one that is a bit difficult to explain without giving a lot away.  This is available to watch on the public library website hoopladigital.com .

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970):  This is my Hammer Films selection for the week.  A group of three distinguished middle-aged men are looking for some more excitement in life and get in contact with Dracula's servant Lord Courtley, played by Ralph Bates.  They are able to restore Dracula, reprised by Christopher Lee, but they kill Courtley prompting Dracula to take revenge in an unusual way.  Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford, Linda Hayden, Peter Sallis, Anthony Higgins, Isla Blair, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the fifth entry into the Dracula series and a pretty decent sequel.  Not as good as the first one but still has some really good moments.

Rambo III (1988):  This is part one of a possible two-part Sylvester Stallone series.  Stallone has his third outing as John Rambo where he lives in a Buddhist temple and is visited by his former superior Colonel Trautman, reprised by Richard Crenna, who is about to embark on a dangerous mission helping the Mujaheedeen rebels to fight a Soviet invasion but Rambo turns him down.  Things change when Trautman is captured and Rambo goes in on a rescue mission at full force with help from some of the rebels.  Kurtwood Smith, Marc De Jonge, Sasson Gabai, Marcus Gilbert, and many others co-star in this action film.  This is everything that it is billed to be which is an action film.  I won't say this is better than the first two but still a pretty good entry with some really good action.

Double Indemnity (1944):  Billy Wilder directed this film noir which is based on the novel by James M. Cain.  Fred MacMurray stars as insurance salesman Walter Neff and meets the unhappily married Phyllis Dietrichson, played Barbara Stanwyck, and have an affair while plotting the murder of her husband in order to get what the title indicates.  Edward G. Robinson co-stars as insurance analyst and Walter's boss Barton Keyes who usually knows when an accident was really murder.  Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Byron Barr, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, and many others co-star in this film.  MacMurray is probably best known for his more family oriented Disney films but also played darker roles like these, especially in his early days.  This is one of those that is still compelling after all these years and watches.  Stanwyck was a great Femme Fatale in this one.  This is also a movie where the novelist was satisfied.

Lion (2016):  Garth Davis directed this film which was based on the autobiography by Saroo Brierley, played by Sunny Pawar as a child and Dev Patel in his adult years.  This starts with Saroo as a 5 year old boy in a poor community in India.  On a trip with his older brother, he ends up alone and trapped on a moving train in which he became lost.  He survives many horrible struggles until being adopted by a really nice couple in Australia, played by David Wenham and Nicole Kidman.  In his adult years, he has established a pretty good life for himself but feels the need to locate the family he had left which proves to be a very difficult task and begins to consume him as he has left his family in the dark.  Abhishek Bharate, Priyanka Bose, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Rooney Mara, Deepti Naval, and many others co-star in this film.  I was not sure what to expect but did remember my Facebook friend Tasha cited this as her favorite movie of the year.  This was a very moving film for me and the one that moved me the most this week.  I also liked the footage of the actual people at the credits.  A very good movie for the year and appears to be a pretty overlooked one as well.

The Loves of Hercules (1960):  This is the eight episode of the new MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000.  Married couple Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield star in this film with Hartitay as Hercules and Mansfield in a dual role of Queen Deianira and Hippolyta.  I am really not sure how to describe this movie.  What we know is we have Hercules and other people are trying to manipulate him and we have some monsters.  I also know that the strength did not show very well with Hargitay which is one of the main things they riffed about so we get some good laughs in some of those scenes.  Just remember it for what it is, an episode of MST3K.  Also for you LAW AND ORDER fans out there, SVU alum Mariska Hargitay is the daughter of the starring married couple.

Will Ferrell:  You're Welcome America- A Final Night With George W. Bush (2009):  I end the week with this live HBO special which stars Will Ferrell as our former president reflecting on his life and on his time in office.  I really thought Ferrell did a really good job of impersonating Bush and keeping the crowd active.  His younger brother Patrick plays a secret service agent and gets a few laughs of his own.  I even think those who do not like Ferrell might enjoy this one.  I find that Ferrell is pretty versatile with his comedy and it shows here.  I felt he captured Bush's mannerisms very well even doing that thing Bush does with his eyes.  This is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Well that is it for this week, but I do have two other segments in Movie Night at the Shera and TV time so continue on.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes the Rock, Sylvester Stallone, Ethan Hawke, and many others.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

Unfaithful (2002):  This was more like Movie day at the Shera and she had this recorded which I had recalled seeing but had been awhile.  Adrian Lyne directed this movie which stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane as married couple Edward and Connie Summer and as the title indicates you can likely guess that one of them is unfaithful in this marriage.  This is true and it is Connie who has an encounter with a stranger named Paul, played by Olivier Martinez, which has very disastrous consequences.  Erik Per Sullivan, Michelle Monaghan, Chad Lowe, Erich Anderson, Kate Burton, Margaret Colin, Dominic Chianese, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a pretty dark film on the effects of an extramarital affair and the things people might potentially do.  I also really like how it ended and I feel like most movies I see that involve extramarital affairs usually have the man doing it so I liked that they had the woman doing the affair this time.

TV TIME

GLOW (2017):  I don't usually reflect on tv shows on here but after my 3 day binge of this show I just had to do this one.  The writers of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch wrote this series which is based on the 80s wrestling show GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING.  Allison Brie stars as struggling actress Ruth Wilder who is informed of an audition only to learn it is for a ladies wrestling show called Glow.  Marc Maron stars as the director Sam Sylvia and also co-stars Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Britney Young, Britt Baron, Kimmy Gatewood, Rebekka Johnson, Sunita Mani, Kate Nash, Marianna Palka, Gayle Rankin, Kia Stevens, Ellen Wong, Chris Lowell, and many others co-star in this series.  Stevens is the only one of the ladies who is an actual wrestler and has worked in TNA as Awesome Kong and briefly in WWE as Kharma and have to admit that I did not recognize her until I started writing this summary.  This is a fictional take on the 80s series though most of the characters are loosely based on people involed with GLOW in the 80s.  This particular season shows the struggle of putting together this very daring wrestling show.  There are a lot of wrestling cameos in the show including John Hennigan aka John Morrison and Johnny Mundo, Brodus Clay, Carlito, Alex Riley, Joey Ryan, Christopher Daniels, and Frankie Kazarian.  Also, Brooke Hogan has a guest appearance as a night club manager.  I understand that Chavo Guerrero Jr. helped train the ladies for the wrestling and he is the nephew of their actual trainer Mando Guerrero.  This also is a great homage to the 80s with many good references to the era and a really good '80s soundtrack.  Now I want to address the non-wrestling crowd.  I feel the show is more oriented towards the characters than it is wrestling so I believe the non-wrestling crowd can get behind these people and their struggle trying to get something off the ground.  The similarity I see to OITNB is the very diverse array of women.  This is a Netflix series and is 10 episodes of about 30 minutes each so pretty easy to get through.  I also seem to have gotten my friends Brittany and Dakota into this show.  I also recommend the documentary GLOW:  THE STORY OF THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING which is also on Netflix and maybe watch that before the show.  I am assuming they will have a season two and look forward to what that brings.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 606th Edition

Welcome to the 606th Edition of my series.  Not much going on right now except being in rehearsals for BURNT PART BOYS in Fortville.  The show is in August so I'll give more details closer to time.  With that, I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013):  This is part six-part Viola Davis series.  Ned Benson directed this film and this movie was made in three parts that are called "Him", "Her", and "Them".  This movie centers around an estranged married couple named Conor, played by James McAvoy, and Eleanor, played by Jessica Chastain.  They are a couple being torn apart by a tragedy and are trying to pick up the pieces of the past.  Bill Hader, Ciaran Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, Nina Arianda, William Hurt, Jess Weixler, and many others co-star in this film.  I ended up watching the parts called Him and Her which were the same story but from different perspectives.  I did not bother with the one called Them because from what I can see, that was the two of them being edited together and then shortened a bit.  I think it's best to start with Him, then go Her but will work either way.  This was a really good look at an estranged couple and then seeing it at their own perspective.  This is available on Netflix.

Adele:  Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011):  This is my concert movie for the time which as you might guess is Adele performing at the Royal Albert Hall.  I don't really need to say much to describe this one, it is a live performance of Adele performing mostly her music and a couple of remakes.  First thing is you must like Adele to enjoy this, if you do, she does a good job performing along with the band and is pretty entertaining between songs.  Talks about where a lot of her songs came from and reflects on her life and career.

The Chaperone (2011):  This is my WWE films entry for the week which was directed by Stephen Herek.  Former WWE champion Triple H stars as the paroled Ray Bradstone who is looking to go straight and connect with his daughter Sally, played by MODERN FAMILY co-star Ariel Winter, and his ex-wife Lynne, played by Annabeth Gish.  He finds that finding honest employment is not very easy and some of the people from his past are looking to get him back into the crime game.  He agrees to do one more job but changes his mind and leaves them without a driver.  To get away from them, he manages to be a chaperone on his daughter's field trip while they are on his trail.  Kevin Corrigan, Jose Zuniga, Kevin Rankin, Enrico Colantoni, Ashley Taylor, Israel Broussard, Darren O'Hare, Jake Austin Walker, Cullen Chaffin, J.D. Evermore, James DuMont, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This will not go onto become some big classic but still pretty fun to watch.  Triple H fills the role very well and is quite likable as the lead.  Winter plays off him very well as his daughter.  This is available to watch on Netflix.

The Art of Skiing (1941):  This is my animated short which is from Disney featuring Goofy.  He is at a resort and the narrator looks to show the basics of "sheeing" by showing it to Goofy.  As expected, Goofy has all kinds of trouble getting with the skiing.  The clumsy dog trying to ski brings a lot of laughs to this eight minute animated short.

Cruel Story of Youth (1960):  This is my Japanese film for the week.  Nagisa Oshima wrote and directed this film.  Yusuke Kawazu stars as Kiyoshi who treats women mostly as objects.  Miyuki Kuwano stars as Makato who is just coming of age and along with friends accept rides from middle-age men as they say for fun.  Kiyoshi saves Miyuki from one of those men trying to take advantage of her and begin a very destructive relationship.  He also gets her to essentially prostitute herself to get their money.  This is not a very upbeat story and gets a lot of comparison to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE which I can see but this one is even more bleak.  This could be a really good double feature.

The Song of Songs (1933):  I follow up with another rather dark film.  Rouben Mamoulian directed this film based on the play by Edward Sheldon.  Marlene Dietrich stars as country girl Lily who goes to live with his aunt, played by Alison Skipworth.  She tends her aunt's bookstore and soon meets Richard, played by Brian Aherne, who is the sculptor across the street.  He decides she is perfect to posing for a sculpture and she reluctantly agrees to do this.  They soon form a relationship but it is not easy for Richard and eventually Lily marries the more wealthy Baron Von Merzbach in a loveless marriage.  This was what they call a pre-code film where they could get away with a lot more than in the later years.  Dietrich would always push the envelope for that era.  The evolution of her character was quite amazing going from a timid country girl to essentially becoming a socialite.

Logan (2017):  This is my superhero film for the week which was directed by James Mangold.  Hugh Jackman is in what he has said his final outing as Wolverine unless he can become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  This takes place in the year 2029 where there is a much smaller population.  An aging Logan's healing powers are dwindling and has turned to alcohol while making a living as a chauffeur and caring for an ailing Professor X, reprised by Patrick Stewart.  He is soon asked to protect a young girl named Laura, played by Dafne Keen, who is being hunted by sinister figures.  She soon demonstrates some powers that resemble that of Logan.  Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse, and many others co-star in this film.  Jackman had two pretty unpopular solo movies but as they say the third one is the charm and that phrase is very true here.  I also want to let know that this is rated R so may not be good for kids so don't make the same mistakes you did with DEADPOOL.  An element that I really liked is that they live in a world that exist these mutants which was the basis for the X-Men comic books that Logan makes very clear are not accurate to real life.  It is also a very moving superhero film and I admit I did tear up some during this movie.  Jackman may have been the most perfect cast for a superhero and it shows in this film.

Edward, My Son (1949):   George Cukor directed this film which stars Spencer Tracy as Arnold Boult who is the narrator of the film reflecting on the time with his son and his short lived life.  This goes into various moments of his life where he first meets Evelyn and gets married to her.  She slowly sees that Arnold is not the most honest of men and becomes very concerned about how he indulges their son.  Ian Hunter, James Donald, Leueen MacGrath, Felix Aylmer, and many others co-star in this film.  This movie actually has no one cast as Edward and everything is through discussion of those around her.  Tracy was a lot meaner than usual, even more than Mr Hyde in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and I really liked seeing him more villainous.  Kerr was also very good as his wife.  This is a rather underrated film that is worth a look.

The Land that Time Forgot (1974):  Kevin Connor directed this sci-fi movie based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I doubt that Connor ever foresaw this becoming episode 7 of the new season of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 but it did.  This takes place during WWI where a German U-Boat and makes a very wrong turn ending up in the unknown land of Caprona where Dinosaurs and Neanderthals still exist.  Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Keith Barron, Anthony Ainley, Steve James, and many others co-star in this sci-fi movie.  What more can I say about this movie?  WWI Germans meet the cavemen and have to deal with dinosaurs.  This whole series is available on Netflix where I have been including these on a somewhat weekly basis.

Next of Kin (1989):  I end the week with this action film and is part one of a possible Liam Neeson trilogy.  John Irvin directed this film which stars Patrick Swayze as Chicago cop Truman Gates.  Soon, his brother Gerald, played by Bill Paxton, is murdered and he sets out for the killer.  His brother Briar, played by Liam Neeson, arrives from Kentucky and is also looking for the killer.  While Truman hates what happened, he is more out for justice, Briar is more out for vengeance so we get some early violent Liam Neeson in this movie and he is also a hillbilly so another interesting element plus even in this movie I would never want to anger that man.  Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Andreas Katsulas, Ben Stiller, Michael J. Pollard, Ted Levine, Del Close, Valentino Cimo, and many others co-star in this film.  Many might also know Swayze's other action movie from 1989 in ROAD HOUSE and this is a pretty decent supplement of that guilty pleasure 80s classic.  I think most of you read that Patrick Swayze, Bill Paxton, and Liam Neeson are a trio of brothers, quite possibly the the ultimate brother trio.  Also, a young Ben Stiller plays a mobster character.  I think it's time for a guys night double feature with the two Patrick Swayze action movies of 1989.

Well, that is it for this week but I am bringing back the Fun and Useless Facts segment so continue on reading for some useless information that could come into play at bar trivia sometime.  Tell me what you like and what you dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Ethan Hawke, Christopher Lee, Sylvester Stallone, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

I do this every once in a while and had some time so I thought I'd give it a go again.  I don't really say anything about actors in the same featured movie unless one from another movie was involed.  About everything I do are connections from actors in different movies  I do usually stop at a certain point so anyone is welcome to comment something I did not post if you know others I did not get.

James McAvoy (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) plays the younger Professor X in the X-Men franchise and Patrick Stewart (Logan) plays the professor in this week's feature LOGAN as well as many others in the X-Men franchise.

Jose Zuniga (The Chaperone) and Liam Neeson (Next of Kin) were in the 2000 film GUN SHY.

Nina Arianda (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Ben Stiller (Next of Kin) were in the 2011 movie TOWER HEIST.

Yeardley Smith (The Chaperone) and Helen Hunt (Next of Kin) were in the 1997 comedy AS GOOD AS IT GETS.

Viola Davis (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Hugh Jackman (Logan) were in the 2013 film PRISONERS.

Marlene Dietrich (The Song of Songs) and Spencer Tracy (Edward, My Son) were in the 1961 film JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG.

Viola Davis (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and J.D. Evermore (The Chaperone) were in the 2014 James Brown biopic GET ON UP.

Ariel Winter (The Chaperone) and Patrick Stewart (Logan) were in the 2006 animated Disney sequel BAMBI II.

Ciaran Hinds (Disapperance of Eleanor Rigby), Patrick Stewart (Logan) and Liam Neeson (Next of Kin) were in the 1981 Arthurian film EXCALIBUR.  Below is a photo of Hinds and Stewart from the film.

Boyd Holbrook (Logan) and Liam Neeson (Next of Kin) were in the 2014 movie A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES and the 2015 movie RUN ALL NIGHT.

Bill Hader (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Kevin Corrigan (The Chaperone) were in the 2007 comedy SUPERBAD, and the 2008 comedy PINEAPPLE EXPRESS.

Boyd Holbrook was a Hatfield while Bill Paxton (Next of Kin) was a McKoy in the 2012 mini-series HATFIELDS AND MCKOYS.

William Hurt (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Kevin Corrigan (The Chaperone) were in the 2014 movie WINTER'S TALE.

Stephen Merchant (Logan) played Paris in the 2011 animated movie GNOMEO AND JULIET and I plays Paris in a 2013 production of ROMEO AND JULIET in Farmland.  There are two other familiar Professor X's but this particular fact is about myself and Stephen.

William Hurt (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Jose Zuniga (The Chaperone) were in the 1995 film SMOKE.

Patrick Stewart (Logan) plays King Richard in the 1993 parody ROBIN HOOD:  MEN IN TIGHTS.  Ian Hunter (Edward, My Son) plays King Richard in the 1938 film THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.

William Hurt (Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Enrico Colantoni (The Chaperone) were in the 2001 film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Patrick Stewart (Logan) and Liam Neeson (Next of Kin) were in the 2015 sequel TED 2.

William Hurt (Disappearance of Elearnor Rigby), J.D. Evermore (The Chaperone) and James DuMont (The Chaperone) were in the 2013 mini-series BONNIE AND CLYDE.

Kevin Corrigan (The Chaperone) and Liam Neeson (Next of Kin) were in the 2010 film THE NEXT THREE DAYS.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 605th Edition

Welcome to the 605th Edition of my series.  Not a lot going on this week, I had my first rehearsal last Monday for BURNT PART BOYS and get going again tomorrow.  I look forward to staying in Fortville on these nights and enjoying the walking distance of many places.  I even went to rehearsal with a slight buzz knowing I was not driving.  Nothing else happening right now so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Jackie (2016):  This is part two of my two-part Peter Sarsgaard series where he plays Robert Kennedy.  Pablo Larrain directed this biopic of the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, played very well by Natalie Portman.  This centers around an interview with someone credited as "the journalist", played by Billy Crudup, though based on an interview on an article written by Theodore H. White that he did in Life magazine.  The interview takes place sometime after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, played by Caspar Phillipson, and does flashbacks to moments shortly before the assassination and her dealing with the assassination afterwards.  Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant,  John Carroll Lynch, Beth Grant, Max Casella, and many others co-star in this biopic.  If looking for something that covers a lot of ground, this is not it.  It does not go into Jackie's later life when she marries Aristotle Onassis.  It is mostly the events before and after the assassination and coping with the tragedy and to console her children.  I felt it did a pretty good job of showing her during what was likely the worst period of her life.

Jesse Stone:  Death in Paradise (2006):  This is part five of my possible seven-part Viola Davis series and I continue with this decent series of tv movies which are based on the books by Robert B. Parker.  Last week, I brought the second Jesse Stone movie in NIGHT PASSAGE, now I continue with the third movie.  This takes place in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts with the functional alcoholic police chief Jesse Stone, played by Tom Selleck, leading the way.  The body of a 14 year old girl is found and it is up the the precinct to piece together who this person is and who killed her.  Kohl Sudduth, Orla Brady, Gary Basaraba, John Diehl, Debra Christofferson, Mae Whitman, and many others co-star in this tv movie.  Each one of these is a different murder mystery and are pretty well-made.  These are some pretty underrated movies that I think many reading would really like.  I know I referred to the character of Jesse Stone as a functional alcoholic but he still does what he can to get the job done and get justice done.  Selleck is perfectly cast as Jesse Stone and hope to get these off the radar some.  I will say that I won't be continuing with these into next week but I'm sure some other time.

Marley (2012):  This is one of two documentaries for the week.  This is based on the life of legendary reggae singer Bob Marley and his very short life.  A lot of his friends and family get interviewed to reflect on their times with Marley.  There is also a lot of very good concert footage as well as talk on his social and political activism and his religion Rastafarian.    It also goes into much of his flaws so it tries to capture everything they can in his short but very complex life.  I don't want to get too detailed with this film as I don't really want to give anything away.  I suppose if you just cannot stand Bob Marley, this movie is probably not one to watch.  If you are at least tolerable of his music, this is a really good watch.  It is available to watch on Netflix.

Puss Gets the Boot (1940):  This is my animated short for the week and is the very first film for the iconic cat and mouse Tom and Jerry.  In this short, Tom is referred to as Jasper so I don't really know when he started getting referred to as Tom and Jerry is not really given a name.  Jasper is told by someone named Mammy Two-Shoes, voiced by Lillian Randolph, that if he breaks one more thing he must go outside so the mouse Jerry does what he can to make sure he gets the boot.  I suppose there is some racist elements in this one but remember the year and Randolph went onto have quite a career.  This still has some pretty funny moments that had no dialogue but did not need it and the only dialogue was from the human character.  This is a really good start to what would become the most successful cat and mouse team of all time.

The Ghoul (1933):  Now I bring some classic horror.  T. Hayes Hunter directed this film.  An Egyptian Arab named Aga Ben Dragore, played by Harold Huth, is seeking a sacred jewel that has been stolen from an ancient tomb and a thief reveals he has sold it to Professor Henry Morlant, played by Boris Karloff, who is a fanatical Egyptologist that believes in the pagan power of the ancient Egyptian gods.  Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Ralph Richardson, and many others co-star in this film.  This is some underrated Karloff and in a way a variation of THE MUMMY that Karloff also stars.  This is something that classic horror buffs should really enjoy.  This is a British film and the first sound horror film they ever did.

Logan's Run (1976):  This is my futuristic sci-fi film for the week.  Michael Anderson directed this film based on the novel by William F. Nolan.  This takes place in a seemingly idyllic society with a lot of freedom except for how long you live.  At the age of 30, one must take part in a "religious" celebration called the Carousel where lives are taken.  Michael York stars as Logan whose job is to take out the "runners", those who try to run from their fates.  He soon meets a very beautiful girl named Jessica-6, played by Jenny Agutter, and is ordered to become a runner himself to infiltrate a group called Sanctuary that she is a part of.  He finds more and more that his life is a big lie and is being double crossed while him and Jessica discover there is a far bigger world.  Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett, Peter Ustinov, and many others co-star in this sci-fi film.  I have always really enjoyed this sci-fi entry.  Even now, I believe the special effects are still really good.  Also, where can you go wrong with Michael York?  Later in the movie, you'll hear reference to known characters from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical CATS and think this is before that musical even came out.  The inspiration for both appears to have come from the T.S. Eliot novel OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS.  In my double feature obsession, I believe this would go along well with MINORITY REPORT, both about a man trying to uphold the created society but mostly get screwed in the end.

Let Him Have It (1991):  This is my British crime drama for the week which is based on a true story in the 1950s.  Christopher Eccleston stars as the slow-witted Derek Bentley who falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, played by Paul Reynolds, who has a fondness for gangster films.  Their friendship leads them to commit a crime that will change their lives forever.  Tom Courtenay, Eileen Atkins, Edward Hardwicke, Clare Holman, Ben Brazier, Serena Scott Thomas, Michael Gough, and many others co-star in this film.  I had not heard of this movie until I saw it.  It is an interesting look at the British legal system at least at the time.  If you are not aware of this, this is really good movie to check out and even look up the case which is very interesting and sad.  I hope to put this on the radar some by posting it on here.

Batman:  The Movie (1966):  This is my tribute to the late Adam West who was most known for playing the caped crusader in the 60s sitcom BATMAN and this movie that came from the series.  Adam West and Burt Ward star as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson aka Batman and Robin.  In most episodes they deal with one of the criminals and maybe the henchman but this time the four main criminals team up which include the Joker, played by Cesar Romero, the Riddler, played by Frank Gorshin, the Penguin, played by Burgess Meredith, and Catwoman, played by Lee Meriwether.  They team up to ultimately take over the world and never give up in their scheme to get rid of the caped crusaders.  Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, Madge Blake, and many others co-star in this film.  After the death of West, I know many who said that he was their favorite Batman.  I'm not going to say that myself, I usually like the darker portrayals like with Christian Bale and even Ben Affleck.  While I prefer the darker stories, I know there are others who prefer the comedy that this movie and the sitcom it came from had to offer.  I have also seen some friends of mine post saying West was the original Batman which is not true, maybe the first iconic and known live-action Batman but the first two were Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery who were both in serials in the '40s which is the equivalent of what we know today as the mini-series.  This is some pretty good fun and available to watch on Netflix, it was just too bad they didn't work Yvonne Craig in as Batgirl.  I decided to use the cover from imdb and would like to know if any die-hard fans of the series can explain Batman in a red costume.

Bend of the River (1952):  This is my western for the week and the second of eight collaborations between director Anthony Mann and his star James Stewart who stars as Glyn McLyntock.  Glyn has a rather questionable past as well as his friend Emerson Cole, played by Arthur Kennedy, who agree to lead a wagon-train load of homesteaders from Missouri to the Oregon territory.  They must deal with the attacks from the Shoshone Indians and with Cole who organizes a mutiny to get some of the supplies for profit.  Rock Hudson, Jay C. Flippen, Julie Adams, Lori Nelson, Chubby Johnson, Harry Morgan, Frances Bavier, Jack Lambert, Royal Dano, and many others co-star in this western.  This was an earlier film for Hudson who was just getting going.  He co-stars as Trey Wilson which was my favorite one in this movie and is really a Doc Holiday type being a gambler and gunslinger.  Supposedly, James Stewart was bitter that Hudson received a bigger applause at the premier and would never work with him or speak to him again.  They did not ever do another movie together, I haven't found much info one way or the other if that is the reason.  This is considered to be Stewart's transition from playing those George Bailey type characters to playing more violent and ruthless characters.  This has some great scenery, characters, and action and is well worth a watch.

Winged Migration (2001):  I have told this story on a few occasions how I came about seeing this for the first time.  It was years ago when I was with my dad and stepmom and dad insisted on going to a theater in his town of Columbus at the time called Key's Cinema I believe which was an independent theater..  I was along for the ride and he kept us in the dark about what we were seeing.  When arriving, I find we are about to watch some movie about birds and I'm thinking "what am I doing here" which is probably what Dad was expecting and why he would not tell me anything.  I went along and as I'm watching I was surprised by how much I was enjoying it.  It is a documentary filming birds on all seven continents when migrating.  This took about three years to film and was amazed by the footage that everyone got.  In addition to the amazing footage, there was also a very good music score and soundtrack by Bruno Coulais that went along perfectly with the birds.  There is occasional narration but the bird footage and the music score alone make this work just fine.  If it could not get any better, it ends with a Nick Cave song.  Jacques Perrin directed this film and accomplished an amazing while underrated documentary.

Well, that is it for this week but I do have my "Movie Night at the Shera" segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Jessica Chastain, and many others.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

Devil's Knot (2013):  I was back at my friend Shera's house and we were looking for something to watch on Netflix and she got the idea to put in Morgan Freeman and this came up.  We had not heard of it but could tell it was about the West Memphis Three.  As we got further into it, I was not sure why this movie came up as Freeman was not in it but oh well.  Atom Egoyan directed this movie about the horrific murder of three young children and the accused being convicted under questionable evidence.  The three "devil-worshiping teens arrested were Damian Echols, played by James Hamrick, Jason Baldwin, played by Seth Meriwether, and Jessie Misskelley, played by Kris Higgins.  Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Alessandro Nivola, Amy Ryan, Robert Baker, Collette Wolfe, Rex Linn, Bruce Greenwood, and many others co-star.  Neither of us had heard of the movie but we were familiar with the documentaries PARADISE LOST in 1996, PARADISE LOST 2:  REVELATIONS in 2000, and PARADISE LOST 3:  PURGATORY in 2011 so this came maybe a couple years after the third documentary.  I thought this did a pretty good job of presenting this story and mostly followed what I saw of the documentaries.  It centers more around Witherspoon who plays the mother of one of the victims and Firth who plays private investigator Ron Lax who did not buy the story of the three kids doing the murders and did what he could to help.  I know only so much ground can really be covered and there were a couple times that I thought they might have taken liberties.  While watching this movie, I decided to look up the producers and see what kind of involvement the real WM3 had and found that the ones credited were Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley but not Damian Echols.  I looked further into this later in the evening and found that Echols did not want any part of it.  He apparently looked at the script and felt there were inaccuracies and apparently had a falling out with Baldwin who apparently tried to address the inaccuracies as much as possible having the attitude that the movie was getting made with or without them.  The movie was decent but do feel that if watching the movie, the documentaries need to be watched at some point.  In the end, we were glad to have watched this and had a discussion on the whole WM3 case.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 604th Edition

Welcome to the 604th Edition of my series.  Tomorrow, I start rehearsals for my next show BURNT PART BOYS which is to be performed in August at the Ten West Center for the Arts in Fortville, Indiana.  This will be my first show in Fortville and the 10th town I have worked in with community theater where I continue to be the drifter of community theater.  Glad to see the weather is getting nicer but not much else happening so I'll just get on with my selections.

Black Mass (2015):  This is part one of a two-part Peter Sarsgaard series.  Scott Cooper directed this film which is based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.  This is based on a true story where Johnny Depp stars as James "Whitey" Bulger who is an Irish Mobster and in the '70s makes a deal with FBI agent John Connolly, played by Joel Edgerton, to help take down the Italian mafia.  Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, David Harbour, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, Julianne Nicholson, W. Earl Brown, Bill Camp, Juno Temple, and many others co-star in this film.  I found this to be a very intriguing story and one I had not heard until seeing this film.  Depp shows his range as Bulger and also liked Edgerton as the FBI agent who slowly realizes the mistake he makes in recruiting Bulger as an informant.  I saw one review on imdb that criticized the movie for the characters being unlikable and I'm sure these people were rather unlikable.  Depp also cites this as his favorite movie he has done and has broken his rule of not watching his own movies.  Some of Bulger's associates have also said that he played the part to perfection.

The Crunch Bird (1971):  This is my animated short for the week.  Ted Petok directed this Oscar winning animated short film.  A wife is out to get her husband a gift for his upcoming birthday and decides upon a bird with a rather unusual ability.  This is less than three minutes long and remains the shortest film to win an academy award even by short film standards.  This does get right to the point and is really very funny and has some good dark comedy.  This is available to watch on Youtube.

Thunder Road (1958):  Arthur Ripley directed this film which is based on a story by Robert Mitchum who also stars in the film as Lucas Doolin who is a Korean War veteran returning home to his small town to take over the family moonshining business which is during Prohibition.  He must battle gangsters and the police who are out for him while also doing what he can to make sure his younger brother Robin, played by his son James Mitchum, does not end up like him.  Gene Barry, Jacques Aubuchon, Trevor Bardette, and a young Mitchell Ryan who would go onto become quite the actor mostly in television.  There is no mistaking James Mitchum to be Robert's son.  This is a pretty good and simple story with some pretty good action and performances.  Mitchum first asked Elvis Presley to star as his brother Robin but Colonel Tom Parker would not allow it since it was not going to make the kind of money the cheesy musicals made for them.  I mentioned last week how much I like when an actor takes on their own project like this that may not make the most money but does it more for the art and Mitchum took on a good project in this film.

Jesse Stone:  Night Passage (2006):  This is part four of my Viola Davis series.  This is my tv movie for the week which is a series of tv movies based on books by Robert B. Parker.  This is the second one of the nine-part tv movie series and is a prequel to STONE COLD.  Tom Selleck stars in Jesse Stone who we see in this one was a cop in L.A. with some alcohol issues and relocates to the smaller town of Paradise, Massachusetts.  When arriving there, he must solve some local crimes, mostly a murder to look like a suicide.  Saul Rubinek, Kuhl Sudduth, Polly Shannon, Mike Starr, Britt Robertson, Stephen McHattie, Stephen Baldwin, and many others co-star in this movie.  I have seen some of these and they are pretty well-done small town cop movies.  Selleck is very well cast and is really very likable in the cop willing to do what it takes to get the job done even if he must bend the rules a bit.  I found that the actor Kuhl Sudduth, who plays the role of Suitcase looks a bit like my friend and WWE referee Jason Ayers.  I have enclosed a photo of the two down below.  If you can, I would take a look into some of these tv movies.

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Two Alone (1934):  Elliott Nugent directed this film that is based on a play by Dan Totheroh.  Jean Parker stars as orphan girl Mazie who works on a farm and is mistreated by cruel farm Slag, played by Arthur Byron.  Tom Brown co-stars as reform school runaway Adam who stumbles upon the farm and is put to work by Slag.  Soon, Adam and Mazie fall in love but Slag makes it very difficult in his tyrannical ways.  Zasu Pitts, Beulah Bondi, Nydia Westman, Willard Robertson, Charley Grapewin, and many others co-star in this film.  Grapewin is the comic relief in this very dark and sad story.  It is still quite compelling even today and was worth a little over an hour.

We're the Millers (2013):  This is part two of my two-part Emma Roberts series.  Rawson Marshall Thurber directed this comedy which stars Jason Sudeikis as David Clark who makes his living in dealing pot.  After dealing in a more small time way, he soon gets a job that involves smuggling over the Mexican border.  He decides that a way to make things easier is to recruit people to be his "family" taking a vacation.  Jennifer Aniston co-stars as Rose who works as a stripper, Will Poulter co-stars as David's naive neighbor Kenny, and Roberts co-stars as street teen Casey.  They people go along with David to be his family that is on a vacation.  Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly C. Quinn, Tomer Sisley, Matthew Willig, Luis Guzman, Thomas Lennon, Ken Marino, and many others co-star in this comedy.  I thought this was a pretty clever comedy and did deliver me a lot of laughs.  It is a bit raunchy so may not be for everyone but a very fun crime comedy.

Hitler's Madman (1943):  Douglas Sirk directed this film that obviously takes place during WWII.  This is story about the assassination of Nazi commander Reinhardt Heydrich, played by John Carradine, in Lidice, Czechoslavakia by resistance group lead by Karel Vavra, played by Alan Curtis.  It also focuses on the aftermath and the revenge taken by Heinrich Himmler, played by Howard Freedman.  Patricia Morrison, Ralph Morgan, Edgar Kennedy, Ludwig Stossel, and many others.  This is an admitted fictionalized story on the assassination.  It is still a fascinating watch from the era and Carradine really good as Heydrich.

The Unknown Known (2013):  This is one of my two documentaries for the week.  Errol Morris directed this film which is an interview between Morris and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.  This discusses his early political career but mostly talks about the post 9/11 decisions made, most notably the invasion of Iraq.  Something also of interest is that Rumsfeld had a blizzard of memos which were come to be known as "snowflakes" so they were using that word long before society started using it towards liberals.  In this we see a rather different language in the way Rumsfeld talks.  It is also a good look at the abuse of power.  Like him or not, this was a very good interview to watch and Morris was able to bring out quite a bit out of Rumsfeld.

Starcrash (1978):  This is part two of my two-part David Hasselhoff series which I never thought I would ever do but here is is.  This is episode six of the new MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 where Jonah, Tom Servo, and Crow and forced to watch what is essentially a STAR WARS rip-off.  Caroline Munro stars as smuggler Stella Star who her and her alien sidekick Acton, played by Marjoe Gortner, are recruited by the emperor, played by Christopher Plummer, to rescue his son, played by the Hoff.  Akton was just constantly showing various powers with really bad special effects and at one point he even had a light saber.  There was also a redneck robot helping them a lot.  Munro is always good too look out as she wears a bikini most of the time no matter where she goes.  The episode has a cameo from Jerry Seinfeld and has some good riffs.  I kind of like the way the robots are more mobile now.  Last week as I was promoting this on Twitter, I came across this really interesting event in November which is a the David Hasselhoff World Fan Cruise in Europe.  https://checkintoevents.com/index.php?id=378&L=1 is the link to check this out.  I would almost consider going to this if I had a lot more money.  Worth a look to get some laughs.

Crumb (1994):  I end the week with this documentary on underground comics writer Robert Crumb which was directed by Terry Zwigoff.  I suppose you could call Crumb the father of underground comics, maybe that's pushing it.  I don't claim to know a lot of that world and believe my dad could give better insight than me on that sort of thing.  He wrote some very obscene comics like Fritz the Cat, Keep on Truckin', Mr. Natural, and many others.   This takes a look at his life and what has contributed to his rather warped mind to create the rather bizarre things he has come to create.  This also takes a look at his family and a couple of his brothers who are artistic in their own right but never really got the notoriety that Robert got and they clearly have their own issues.  There was also a struggle with Zwigoff that does not get mentioned in the film that he really struggled to come up with the funds to get this movie made and turned out to be a six year project but got a very critically acclaimed documentary in return.  A good double feature would be to follow this with AMERICAN SPLENDOR WHICH is a biopic/documentary of fellow underground comics writer Harvey Pekar who Crumb helped a lot with the illustration and distribution.

Well, that is it for this week but I did include my "Movie Night at the Shera" segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, and many others.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE SHERA

Labyrinth (1986):  Last Tuesday, my friend Shera and I decided to have a movie night at her house.  A couple weeks ago we watched PSYCHO which was her first time seeing but had seen BATES MOTEL.  This week she wanted to watch something she was more familiar with and her youngest daughter wanted to see it as well so we agreed upon this 80s fantasy classic.  Jim Henson directed this film where a young Jennifer Connelly stars as Sarah who gets frustrated with her baby brother and makes the wish for him to be taken by the Goblin King, played by David Bowie, not knowing he is real.  Sarah has 13 hours to solve a labyrinth in order to get her brother back.  Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson, Christopher Malcolm, Shari Weiser, Brian Henson, Dave Goehls, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire, Kevin Clash, and many others co-star or have voices.  Notable midget actors Kenny Baker and Warwick Davis are part of the Goblin Corps.  Also of interest is that we have Jim Henson as the director and having a lot of other involvement, we have George Lucas as the executive producer, and we have Monty Python alum Terry Jones who wrote the screenplay.  This also has some good musical numbers, especially with Bowie.  This is quite the classic and a pleasant evening doing a dinner and a movie in the home of my very dear friend.  I got to some thinking and I'm thinking before watching this, start with the short film CAPTAIN EO which came out the same year and has Michael Jackson in this musical short.  This way you have kind of the classic movie theater experience of old that I would love to see come back thought Disney does do that a lot I have found.