Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 715th Edition

Welcome to the 715th Edition of my series.  I don't have a lot going on right now so I will just get on with my selections for the week.  I did return with "fun and useless facts" so just read on when done with this one.

3:10 to Yuma (2007):  This is part two of a possible four-part Christian Bale series.  I start the week out with this western remake which was directed by James Mangold and based on a short story by Elmore Leonard.  Christian Bale stars as small-time rancher Dan Evans who is desperate for money and becomes involved in the capture of outlaw Ben Wade, played by Russell Crowe.  Evans agrees to help escort Wade to a train in order to get him to trial.  The group agreeing to escort Wade must also fight off his gang as well as some Apaches that are on the attack.  Evans also has an inner struggle with himself in Wade's psychological battle of wills.  Logan Lerman, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains, Gretchen Mol, Lennie Lofton, Rio Alexander, Johnny Whitworth, Luke Wilson, and many others co-star in this film.  Wilson has a small part but one where it took me a minute to recognize him.  This was a remake to the 1957 movie which I have seen but it has been awhile.  It seems I was more compelled by this version and I don't know that remake is really the right word.  I see it as more of another adaptation to an already written short story from Elmore Leonard who I credit as the author that got me through high school with the required reading we had to do.  Both versions are still really good and maybe worth a double feature and I might revisit the first one soon.

The World's End (2013):  I follow up with this apocalyptic comedy which was directed and co-written by Edgar Wright.  Simon Pegg stars as Gary King who looks to get his four childhood friends, played by Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan, back together in order to do a pub crawl that was unsuccessful when they tried 20 years.  The rest of them have their lives together and takes persuasion by King for them to decide to do it not knowing that the state of the world is in their hands now.  Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan, David Bradley, Michael Smiley, Alice Lowe, Rafe Spall, Bill Nighy, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This has a lot of very funny moments and what better quintet can you get with the five guys this movie revolves around.  This is the third in the trilogy that is directed by Wright and stars Pegg and Frost which follows SHAUN OF THE DEAD AND HOT FUZZ, though they are a trilogy with the director and actors but not the same characters.

Missing Link (2019):  I saw this as part of the "Free Friday Movie" series and it looked interesting enough to me.  Chris Butler wrote and directed this animated movie that I suppose you could say is an homage to legendary creatures.  Hugh Jackman provides the voice to Sir Lionel Frost who is an explorer of myths and monsters and is usually out for his own gain.  He soon meets a sasquatch who he comes to know as Mr. Link, voiced by Zach Galifianakis.  Mr. Link asks Lionel to help him find his long-lost relatives in Shangri-La.  They are joined by adventurer Adelina Fortnight, voiced by Zoe Saldana, and the trio sets out to find the land and find some trouble along the way where they must band together to overcome.  David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Timothy Olyphant, Amrita Acharia, Ching Valdes-Aran, Emma Thompson, and may others provide they voices in this animated movie.  This was a pretty entertaining movie which teaches things like acceptance and working together.  This comes from Laika animated studios that have produced some good stop-animation movies including this one.

Tokio Jokio (1943):  This is my animated short for the week and is one of those wonderful WWII propaganda shorts from Warner Brothers.  This was based around a "captured" Japanese newsreel which show some of the things that the Japanese were apparently promoting.  Newsreels were one of the main things of this era that delivered news which happened before a movie at the movie theater.  This is an extremely racist cartoon by today's standards but at the time they were our enemy so it was likely more acceptable when it came out.  One thing to note is that voice actor icon Mel Blanc managed to voice quite a few characters in this short and shows his absolute versatility in his voice.  It blew my mind years ago when I learned he did both Bugs Bunny and Barney Rubble.  I was always aware of Bugs but not Barney.  This is available on Amazon Prime as part of "Patriotic Cartoon Classics" which really should be viewed for historical reference.

The Story of a Cheat (1936):  This is my French film for the week which was written and directed by Sacha Guitry.  He also stars in this film as himself and does the narration himself.  It was told in a very unique way which has some amusing narration about a scoundrel from his childhood into his current adulthood.  It is really hard to put this into words.  It is a pretty funny and unfolds in a pretty unique way.  This is mostly for the fans of the foreign and French cinema.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.

Serpico (1973):  Sidney Lumet directed this biopic which is based on the book by Peter Maas.  Al Pacino stars as real-life New York cop Frank Serpico who was an officer in the '60s and '70s that fought corruption within the force.  The main thing that happened in Serpico refused to share in bribe money from criminals and tries to go to the highest authorities in hopes that things would change.  John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts, M. Emmet Walsh, and many others co-star in this film.  Pacino was fresh off his star-making film of THE GODFATHER and got to be in a great follow up film.  This shows both the professional and personal toll his mission took on him and those around.  Pacino did what he could to perfect his performance by hanging out with the real Frank Serpico.  This is a really good biopic of an honest cop trying to make a more honest force.  I thought of a really good triple feature starting with THE PANIC IN THE NEEDLE PARK which was the transitional film that helped in the the role in the second feature of THE GODFATHER and then follow it with this one that kept him going.

Moon (2009):  This is part two of a possible four-part Sam Rockwell series.  Duncan Jones directed this sci-fi film which stars Rockwell as astronaut Sam Bell who has had to man a station in order to keep the clean air going in the world.  As his three-year stint comes to an end, he questions what is going on in his world and runs into some other things that he must think about.  He has been isolated for his stint and the only communication he really has is with the robot GERTY, voiced by Kevin Spacey.  Dominique McElligot, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Malcolm Stewart, and Robin Chalk all have roles in the film but mostly centers around the communication of Sam and GERTY.  This is hard to really put into words as it really requires a lot in the way of self-analysis.  Rockwell carries this movie very well.  Jones is the son of the legendary David Bowie.  This is really worth a look, it just requires a lot of attention.

The Scapegoat (1959):  Robert Hamer directed this British film which is based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier.  Alec Guinness stars in a dual role as John Barratt and is on vacation in France where he meets a lookalike in French nobleman Jacques De Gue.  De Gue has a struggling business and gets John drunk to switch places with John while taking a break from his struggling business.  John unwillingly takes on his new role as husband and father to Francoise, played by Irene Worth, and Marie-Noel, played by Annabel Bartlett, but soon starts to embrace it more as he tries to be a better man than De Gue.  Bette Davis co-stars as the domineering mother which was more of a cameo appearance even though she gets top billing.  Nicole Maurey, Pamela Brown, Geoffrey Keen, Noel Howlett, Peter Bull, and many others co-star in this British film.  Usually in this era, Guinness tended to do a lot of comedy but takes a more dramatical turn in this one.  He did a great job in his dual role and has a really good climax at the end.  This is available on the Criterion Channel.

The Great Smokey Roadblock (1977):  I came across this comedy and was immediately intrigued when I saw the names Henry Fonda, Robert Englund, and Susan Sarandon.  John Leone wrote and directed this road comedy which stars Fonda as aging trucker John Howard who gets his truck repossessed by the finance company but decides that him and his truck named Elenor need one more last cross country trip which puts him on the run from the police.  Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker named Beebo, played by Robert Englund years before he would become iconic as Freddy Krueger, and a group of prostitutes ran by his friend Penelope, played by Eileen Brennan, which also include a young Susan Sarandon as Ginny.  Austin Pendleton, Dub Taylor, John Byner, Melanie Mayron, Leigh French, Mews Small, Daina House, Gary Sandy, Valerie Curtin, and many others co-star in this road comedy.  Yes, Henry Fonda has been in movies much better than this one.  I don't really know his mindset when taking the role, maybe he just wanted to have a road movie which was a popular genre from this era.  There were times when I was just thinking "wtf" but I was laughing along the way.  There are some funny moments and is quite the guilty pleasure and just a reminder it stars Henry Fonda and Robert Englund so how can one resist this one.  This is available to watcon on Amazon Prime.

Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014):  I end the week which this Pixar show which is technically a tv special but as I always say, this is my blog and I make the rules.  Steve Purcell wrote and directed this special which came out around Christmas but has very limited Christmas references.  This is one that centers around Bonnie, voiced by Emily Hahn, where she takes some of her toys to a playdate with a friend who has a lot of dinosaurs but her friend spends most of his time playing video games leaving the toys to do as they please.  This one centers around the dinosaur toy Trixie, voiced by Kristen Schaal, who encounters more dinosaurs only to realize they don't know they are toys and are very aggressive leading Woody, reprised by Tom Hanks, Buzz Lightyear, reprised by Tim Allen, and friends to save the day.  Kevin McKidd, Wallace Shawn, Jonathan Kydd, Don Rickles, Timothy Dalton, Lori Allen, Joan Cusack, and many others lend their voice for this tv special.  This was pretty fun and would soon lead to TOY STORY 4.

Well, that is it for this week but I did bring back my "Fun and Useless Facts" segment.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, and many others.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

I brought back this section of my blog seeing as I had quite a bit to work with and it hasn't been done for awhile in my recollection.  I have quite a bit of facts, I don't concentrate on actors in the same movie unless there is an actor from another movie.  I did not due a full pursuit of facts and I'm sure there is plenty more so if you see something, go ahead and leave it in the comments.

Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma) relentlessly pursues Hugh Jackman (Missing Link) in the 2012 musical LES MISERABLES.

Pierce Brosnan (The World's End) played Agent 007 James Bond from 1995-2002 and Timothy Dalton (Toy Story That Time Forgot) played 007 from 1987-1989.

Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma) and Kevin Spacey (Moon) were in the 1997 film L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

Simon Pegg (The World's End) and Tom Hanks (Toy Story that Time Forgot) were in the 2001 mini-series BAND OF BROTHERS which Hanks mostly produced but did narration and did uncredited scenes.

Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma) and Paddy Considine (The World's End) were in the 2005 boxing movie CINDERELLA MAN.

Martin Freeman (The World's End), Bill Nighy (The World's End) and Emma Thompson (Missing Link) were in the 2003 film LOVE ACTUALLY.

Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma) and Rafe Spall (The World's End) were in the 2006 film A GOOD YEAR.

Eddie Marsan (The World's End) and Stephen Fry (Missing Link) were in the 2005 film V FOR VENDETTA and the 2011 film SHERLOCK HOLMES:  A GAME OF SHADOWS.

Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma), Eddie Marsan (The World's End) and Sam Rockwell (Moon) are in the 2018 film VICE.  Bale and Marsan were in the the 2005 film THE NEW WORLD and the 2018 movie MOWGLI:  LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE.

Bill Nighy (The World's End) and Hugh Jackman (Missing Link) were in the 2006 animated movie FLUSHED AWAY.

Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma) and Hugh Jackman (Missing Link) are rival magicians in the 2006 film THE PRESTIGE.

Sam Rockwell (Moon) and Tom Hanks (Toy Story that Time Forgot) were in the 1999 film THE GREEN MILE.

Luke Wilson (3:10 to Yuma) and Sam Rockwell (Moon) were in the 2000 movie CHARLIE'S ANGELS.

Bill Nighy (The World's End) and Timothy Olyphant (Missing Link) were in the 2011 animated movie RANGO.

Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma) and Zoe Saldana (Missing Link) were in the 2013 film OUT OF THE FURNACE.

Zoe Saldana (Missing Link) and Benedict Wong (Moon) were in the 2018 film AVENGERS:  INFINITY WAR and the 2019 film AVENGERS:  ENDGAME.

Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma) and Joan Cusack (Toy Story that Time Forgot) were in the 2012 film THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

Nick Frost (The World's End), Bill Nighy (The World's End), and Emma Thompson (Missing Link) were in the 2009 film PIRATE RADIO.

Dallas Roberts (3:10 to Yuma) and Kevin Spacey (Moon) were in the 2009 film SHRINK.

Al Pacino (Serpico) and Susan Sarandon (The Great Smokey Roadblock) were in the HBO movie YOU DON'T KNOW JACK.

Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) and Hugh Jackman (Missing Link) were in the 2006 superhero movie X-MEN:  THE LAST STAND.

Al Pacino (Serpico) and Kevin Spacey (Moon) were in the 1992 film GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.

Peter Fonda (3:10 to Yuma) and Henry Fonda (The Great Smokey Roadblock) are real-life son and father.

Emma Thompson (Missing Link) and Al Pacino (Serpico) were in the 2003 HBO mini-series ANGELS IN AMERICA.

Gretchen Mol (3:10 to Yuma) and Al Pacino (Serpico) were in the 1997 film DONNIE BRASCO.

Rosamund Pike (The World's End) and Emma Thompson (Missing Link) were in the 2009 film AN EDUCATION.

Lennie Lofton (3:10 to Yuma) and Hugh Jackman (Missing Link) were in the 2017 superhero film LOGAN.

Emma Thompson (Missing Link) was reluctant to allow Tom Hanks (Toy Story That Time Forgot) to make her children's book into a movie in the 2013 film SAVING MR. BANKS.

Luke Wilson (3:10 to Yuma) and Timothy Olyphant (Missing Link) were in the 1997 film SCREAM 2.

Timothy Olyphant (Missing Link) and Al Pacino (Serpico) are in the 2019 film ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.

Lennie Lofton (3:10 to Yuma) and Kevin Spacey (Moon) were in the 1995 film SE7EN.

Martin Freeman (The World's End) and Stephen Fry (Missing Link) were in the 2013 film THE HOBBIT:  THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG and the 2014 film THE HOBBIT:  THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES.

Vinessa Shaw (3:10 to Yuma), Eddie Marsan (The World's End) and Susan Sarandon (The Great Smokey Roadblock) have been in the Showtime series RAY DONOVAN.

Bill Nighy (The World's End) and Robert Englund (The Great Smokey Roadblock) were in the 1989 horror movie THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.  I'm now actually curious to see this version which I venture to say is not that popular musical we know today.

Alan Tudyk (3:10 to Yuma) and Bill Nighy (The World's End) were in the 2009 animated movie ASTRO BOY.

HARRY POTTER FRANCHISE
David Bradley (The World's End) plays Argus Filch
Bill Nighy (The World's End) plays Minister Rufus Scrimgeour
Emma Thompson (Missing Link) plays Sybil Trelawney

Alan Tudyk (3:10 to Yuma) and Eddie Marsan (The World's End) were in the 2018 superhero film DEADPOOL 2.

Martin Freeman (The World's End), Bill Nighy (The World's End), Stephen Fry (Missing Link) and Sam Rockwell (Moon) were in the 2005 sci-fi comedy THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

Alan Tudyk (3:10 to Yuma), Simon Pegg (The World's End), and Nick Frost (The World's End) were in the 2012 animated movie ICE AGE:  CONTINENTAL DRIFT.

Simon Pegg (The World's End) and Zoe Saldana (Missing Link) are in the reboot STAR TREK films

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 714th Edition

Welcome to the 714th Edition of my series.  I'm in rehearsals for THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS right now.  Nothing else really happening so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

Best of Enemies:  Buckley vs. Vidal (2015):  I start the week out with this documentary which was co-directed by Robert Gordan and Morgan Neville.  This takes a look at the 1968 series of debates that were between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley.  They were on very opposite side of the spectrum with Vidal being an extreme liberal and Buckley being an extreme conservative.  This reflects on the series of debates, some biographical things, and where we were then and now with politics.  This is a really entertaining behind the scenes account on these two personalities that that appeared to have always stayed enemies until their deaths.  This is available to watch on Hulu.

Taris (1931):  I follow up with this documentary short film from Jean Vigo.  This is a feature on French swimmer Jean Taris performing different acts of his swimming.  Vigo uses a lot of interesting film techniques for this documentary short.  This is a pretty well done ten minutes that is available on the Criterion Channel.

The Red Shoes (1948):  I saw this at my local library as part of their Coffee and Classics series.  Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger directed this film that is based on a story by Hans Christian Anderson.  Moira Shearer stars as ballerina Victoria Page who works for the authoritarian ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, played by Anton Walbrook.  Victoria falls for composer Julian Crastor, played by Marius Goring, much to the dismay of Lermontov.  Leonide Massine, Austin Trevor, Esmond Knight, Irene Browne, Ludmilla Tcherina, and many others co-star in this film.  This has some really good ballet scenes but it is a pretty dark story.  It is also a very compelling film and could be a good double feature to include along with the 2010 film BLACK SWAN.

Mr. Right (2015):  Now I turn to a rather dark comedy which was directed by Paco Cabezas.  Anna Kendrick stars as Martha who is really sad in her life after her boyfriend cheated on her.  She meets what she believes is the perfect man named Francis, played by Sam Rockwell, but learns that he is a hitman on the run from the crime cartels that employ him.  Tim Roth co-stars as Hopper who was at one time Francis's mentor but now is trying to kill him.  James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund, RZA, Katie Nehra, Jaiden Kaine, and many others co-star in this comedy.  I don't know when the last time I cracked up this hard.  This takes the romantic comedy genre to a whole new level.  Kendrick has such natural comedic timing and Rockwell plays along perfect in this rather violent comedy.  Great comedy for the adults to get together and have some great laughs.

Taxi Driver (1976):  This is part two of a two-part Robert De Niro series.  Martin Scorsese directed this film which stars De Niro as an unable NYC taxi driver named Travis Bickle.  He works on the night shift and encounters a young girl named Iris, played by Jodie Foster, who is a 12 and a half year old prostitute.  He begins to obsess over getting her out of that way of life and freeing her from her pimp Matthew, played by Harvey Keitel, going about it in a very violent way.  Peter Brooks, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the second Scorsese/De Niro collaboration and has been one of my favorites.  De Niro is perfect as the obsessive Bickle and there is also the memorable scene where he is in front of a mirror with a gun.  There is also that pretty funny moment where Travis tries to take Cybill Shepherd on a date but does not have the best judgment in dates.  This is a pretty dark movie and is not for everyone but is a very compelling film and remains one of my favorites.

The Road to Guantanamo (2006):  I see I'm doing some pretty dark selections this week and continue with this one.  Mat Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom directed this film which is part documentary and part drama.  This takes a look at four British Muslims who are going to Pakistan for a wedding and get captured by Northern Alliance fighters and sent to Guantanamo Bay where they are imprisoned for three years under relentless interrogation and torture being convinced they were terrorists.  Keep in mind, this was just days after the 9/11 attacks.  Part of this is the the people there being interviewed and other parts of it are actors.  This was not an easy movie to watch but is a very important one.  I had never heard of this movie until now and glad I got to see it.

Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976):  This was shown as part of the "Attack of the Movie" series at my local library.  This is my martial arts movie for the week which was filmed in Taiwan.  This is a showdown featuring a martial arts expert known as the "One Armed Boxer" who kills a couple disciples of a blind Kung Fu master.  That Kung Fu master has a rather weird weapon that involves a guillotine just like the title implies and targets all one armed men with it until he gets to the right one armed man.  Take this for what it's worth being very silly action and special effects, and whatever else, and will be rather enjoyable if not taken too seriously.  Technically this is a sequel to the movie ONE ARMED BOXER but this can be watched first unless you decide to see the first one, maybe I will seek it out sometime.

The Wife (2017):  Bjorn Runge directed this film which is based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer.  Jonathan Pryce stars as author Joe Castleman, played by Harry Lloyd in flashbacks, who is set to receive of Nobel Prize for his work over the years.  Glenn Close stars as his wife Joan, played by Close's real-life daughter Annie Starke in flashbacks, who starts to reflect on her marriage in the past and current state.  Max Irons, Christian Slater, Elizabeth McGovern, Johan Widerberg, and many others co-star in this film.  Irons who plays the son of the married couple is the son of actor Jeremy Irons.  This is a pretty complex and compelling story that I don't really want to give too much away.  It does a great job of going back and forth with the earlier era to the modern one.

East of Eden (1955):  Elia Kazan directed this film based on the novel by John Steinbeck.  Indiana legend James Dean stars as Cal Trask who is a troubled and maybe confused young man in the Salinas Valley in the time of WWI.  Cal has a lot of sibling rivalry with his brother Aron, played by Richard Davalos, over the love of their religious father Adam, played by Raymond Massey.  They are also both after the same girl in Abra, played by Julie Harris.  Burl Ives, Jo Van Vleet, Albert Dekker, Lois Smith, and many others co-star in this film.  There is a lot more to this than just sibling rivalry.  As most know, this is one of three feature films that Dean was in before his untimely death.  This is the only movie that he personally viewed in its entirety.  Dean's personally and method acting played off on his character perfectly and has been said that Steinbeck visited the set and felt Dean was cast perfectly as Cal.  It has also been said that Dean and Massey did not get along well which Kazan was fine with due to the characters in the film being the same way.  It captures the tension very well and is a pretty intense film at times.

Old Man (2012):  I end the week on this animated short film.  Leah Shore directed this short and is centered around a conversation between Canadian author Marlin Marynick and the infamous Charles Manson which had never been heard.  In this conversation, Shore has some very interesting animation around the conversation which to be expected is interesting it itself.  It is only about five minutes long and is available on the Criterion Collection.

Well, that is it for this week but read further for my newer segment "The Bookworm Corner".  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes Christian Bale, Pierce Brosnan, Hugh Jackman, and many others.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

Hail to the Chin:  Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell (2017):  I was working on a long-term project that was going to have a post similar to what I do every week but have decided against it and will now just start posting things I have already written or the books I finish in my goal to become more of a reader so this week I decided on an autobiography from Bruce.  This is the second autobiography from Bruce, the first being IF CHINS COULD KILL:  CONFESSIONS OF A B-MOVIE ACTOR and this picks up right where this one left off.  Obviously, the first one should be read first and both books lead very entertaining insight into Bruce's life and has a lot of advice for the world of independent film.  Unfortunately, I did not get to meet him on his book tour and I'm sure one day I will meet him.  For those that do not know Mr. Campbell, he is most know for Ash in the EVIL DEAD series which includes two of that very name as well as ARMY OF DARKNESS and ASH VS. THE EVIL DEAD.  He was also in the popular series BURN NOTICE.  My favorite work of his is the movie BUBBA HO-TEP.

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 713th Edition

Welcome to the 713th Edition of my series.  I started rehearsing for THE INTERROGATION OF BIBLICAL CHARACTERS and always enjoy doing a locally written production when I can so I'll be promoting this more in the coming weeks.  I hope everyone is having a good week, I don't have much else happening so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.

The Laramie Project (2002):  This is part two of my two-part Steve Buscemi series and also turned into a tribute to Peter Fonda who died after I watched this one.  I start the week out with this HBO movie which was directed by Moises Kaufman and based on his own play of the same name.  This is mostly a docudrama based on the aftermath of the horrid murder of Matthew Shepherd which happened in Laramie, Wyoming.    Kaufman and his group the Tectonic Theater Project did some interviews of the townspeople and got some recordings of others like in the news or court.  There is no linear plot, just people reflecting on their times with Shepherd.  Buscemi, Laura Linney, Peter Fonda, Jeremy Davies, Nestor Carbonell, Camryn Manheim, Grant Varjas, Kelli Simpkins, Clea DuVall, Frances Sternhagen, Michael Emerson, Margo Martindale, Christina Ricci, Janeane Garofalo, Joshua Jackson, Ben Foster, Lois Smith, Amy Madigan, Clancy Brown, Tom Bower, Steef Sealy, Dylan Baker, Stephen Belber, Noah Fleiss, Summer Phoenix, Bill Irwin, James Murtaugh, Richard Riehle, Terry Kinney, and many others co-star in this film.  As many know, I had the honor of getting to be in this production last month at the Center Stage.  In that one, we were a group of eight actors playing many roles and I had the honor of playing parts played Buscemi and Emerson.  This movie version was also very well done.  It was not an easy play to get through just to be in and the movie is also very emotional at times but very rewarding.  Mr. Kaufman and those involved with the Tectonic Theater Project, I thank you for putting this show together.  I think I can speak for the rest of my castmates when I say that this is the most meaningful play I have ever been a part in.  A good double feature could be to follow up with the documentary MATT SHEPHERD IS A FRIEND OF MINE.  This movie version is available on Amazon Prime.

Blackkklansman (2018):  Spike Lee directed this film that is based on a true story and is based on the book by Ron Stallworth, played by John David Washington.  Stallworth was the first black man to be a police officer as part of the Colorado Springs Police Department.  He struggles to make his way into the department where he starts out being assigned to the records room but requests undercover work.  He gets the idea to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan where he manages to talk to them on the phone and his colleague Flip Zimmerman, played by Adam Driver, goes undercover into the Klan using Stallworth's name.  Corey Hawkins, Topher Grace, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Robert John Burke, Brian Tarantina, Arthur J. Nascarella, Ken Garito, Frederick Weller, Michael Buscemi, Laura Harrier, Damaris Lewis, Nicholas Turturro, Harry Belafonte, Alec Baldwin, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a really good look at the '70s and a very interesting real-life event.  I was not aware until now that the star of the movie is the son of Denzel Washington and this Washington seems to have a promising career ahead of him.  It has moments of humor but some disturbing scenes with the KKK like them screening the movie A BIRTH OF A NATION.  Even some I know who dislike Spike Lee really liked this one.

The Expendables (2010):  Now I bring this ultimate guilty please action film which was directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone.  Sly also stars as Barney Ross who leads a group of mercenaries that include Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lungren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews.  Mickey Rourke also co-stars as their friend and weapons guy Tool who operates a tattoo shop.  They are hired to overthrow a ruthless Latin American general, played by David Zayas who they learn is more of a puppet to ex-CIA operative James Munroe, played by Eric Roberts, and his ruthless henchman Paine, played by Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Charisma Carpenter, Gary Daniels, Giselle Itie, and many others co-star in this film.  If that group of mercenaries, the ultimate villain duo of Eric Roberts and Steve Austin, and hot girls like Carpenter and Itie are not enough, there are also cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger who have the first ever on-screen encounter with their fellow former Planet Hollywood owner Stallone.  Willis and Schwarzenegger have more expanded roles in the next film.  Rourke also has a really cool monologue reflecting on the old times that I might use in the future for my own auditions.  I kind of feel like the wrestling world missed the boat on Eric Roberts as he could be a great heel manager.  This was such a fun movie to watch and is quite the adrenaline rush.

Gym College (1955):  This is my short film for the week and part of the Sportscope short film series.  This takes a look at the men's gymnastics team with Florida State University and takes a look at some of the events with the gymnastics as well as some of the team members.  Nothing great but good to see the earlier days of Florida State athletics.  This is available on TCM On-Demand.

The Getaway (1972):  Sam Peckinpah directed this road and heist film which is based on the novel by Jim Thompson.  Steve McQueen stars as convict Doc McCoy who has been released through the help of his loyal wife Carol, played by Ali MacGraw, through a crooked businessman, played by Ben Johnson, with political connections.  Doc is forced to do a heist which goes awry and is on the run along with Carol looking to avoid the police and those involved in the robbery.  Sally Struthers, Al Lettieri, Slim Pickens, Richard Bright, Jack Dodson, Dub Taylor, Bo Hopkins, Roy Jenson, and many others co-star in this film.  McQueen and McGraw work really well together.  We also get treated to some awesome chases and shootouts.  This is some classic action that still holds up today.

Poor Little Rich Girl (1936):  I'm sure only I would go from some violent shootout movie to a Shirley Temple musical but that is exactly what I did.  Shirley stars as Barbara who is the daughter of a rich businessman and usually watched by people who work at the house while her dad works.  It is decided for her to go to an actual school but in the process she gets lost and taken in by a couple of struggling entertainers in Jimmy and Jerry Dolan, played by Jack Haley and Alice Faye.  They see she has quite a talent so they make her part of the group.  Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, Sara Haden, Jane Darwell, Claude Gillingwater, Paul Stanton, Henry Armetta, and many others co-star in this.  Many will probably know Jack Haley as the Tin Man in THE WIZARD OF OZ and others likely know Stuart the most in the 1997 film TITANIC.  This might be Shirley at her best and was very enjoyable in her song and dance numbers along with Haley and Faye.  I just wish Quentin Tarantino could have worked something out with her to make a comeback role in one of his movies.  This is available to watch on TCM On-Demand.

The Remains of the Day (1993):  James Ivory directed by this film which is based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.  Anthony Hopkins stars as Stevens who is a butler working for Lord Darlington in the events leading up to WWII, played by James Fox.  Stevens has been a very loyal worker and mostly runs the house but things change when Miss Kenton, played by Emma Thompson comes to work there.  Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, Peter Vaughn, Ben Chaplin, Patrick Godfrey, Peter Halliday, Michael Lonsdale, Lena Headey, and many others co-star in this film.  It is a good look at the life of a butler with Hopkins doing really well in his role.  It was also good to see Reeve in a non-Superman role before his accident that put him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.  This was a pretty good British drama and worth a look.

The Pearl of Death (1944):  Roy William Neill directed this adaptation of THE SIX NAPOLEONS by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which many might guess features Sherlock Holmes.  Your deduction is correct which might make the detective proud.  Basil Rathbone plays Sherlock and Nigel Bruce plays his loyal sidekick Dr. Watson.  Sherlock must investigate a stolen pearl that was taken from a museum and finds that the pearl ties in with murders that are happening.  Dennis Hoey, Evelyn Ankers, Miles Mander, Ian Wolfe, Holmes Herbert, Mary Gordon, Rondo Hatton, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a really good mystery to follow and and some pretty good humor to go along.  This is the ninth of fourteen teamings for Rathbone and Bruce as the iconic duo.  This is only a little over an hour long and will be a good hour to use especially to those who love a classic detective story.

The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971):  This is my mafia comedy for the week.  James Goldstone directed this movie which is based on the novel by Jimmy Breslin.  This centers around a couple of rival mafia gangs.  Jerry Orbach stars as Kid Sally who leads one of the gangs and uses a lion of all things to get what he wants like when blackmailing rival clients.  A young Robert De Niro co-stars as Mario who is a con man posing as a priest and gets caught up in the mafia war.  Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Vleet, Lionel Stander, Herve Villechaize, Joe Santos, Philip Bruns, Sam Coppola, Paul Benedict, Burt Young, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is mostly of note to see Orbach but even more to see De Niro before he really hit it big.  Also notice, this came out before THE GODFATHER and maybe the start of De Niro's future mafia roles.

Hook (1991):  I end the week with some Steven Spielberg in his variation of J.M. Barrie's PETER PAN.  Robin Williams stars as attorney Peter Banning not remembering his past when he was Peter Pan.  Banning is now married with some children and sometimes neglects family for his job.  He learns his kids, played by Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott, were kidnapped by Captain Hook, played by Dustin Hoffman, looking to lure Peter back to Neverland for another showdown.  Maggie Smith co-stars as the elderly Wendy who tries to make Peter remember his past and Julia Roberts co-stars as Tinkerbell who takes him to Neverland to try to get Peter to remember who he is with help from the Lost Boys.  Bob Hoskins, Caroline Goodall, Laurel Cronin, Arthur Malet, Isaiah Robinson, Jasen Fisher, Dante Basco, Thomas Tulak, Alex Zuckerman, Ahmad Stoner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close, Tony Burton, Nick Tate, and many others co-star in this film.  There are also some cameos from musicians like Phil Collins and David Crosby.  It was good to revisit this movie after many years and see Williams and Hoffman as rivals to one another.  It would be good to have at least the basic knowledge of the story to get the many references this movie gives to the original stories.  A good double feature for this one could be to follow up with FINDING NEVERLAND.

Well, that is it for this week.  I was considering doing the "Fun and Useless Facts" segment but decided against it due to time and just a little too much to go on with this one.  I will say thought that I have two sibling combinations in Steve and Michael Buscemi as well as Eric and Julia Roberts.  I did decided to do a segment called "The Bookworm Corner" so read on for that one.  Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week.

THE BOOKWORM CORNER

Magnolia Moonight by Mary Ellis (2016):  I am trying to do more reading and I found this book when I was at my local library for their monthly Coffee and Classics movie series.  They had a group of books for us attendees to choose from and this looked most interesting to me.  The book really involves two different stories.  Part of it involves private investigator Nate Price and his new wife Isabelle who finally get around to taking a honeymoon and things take a turn when Isabelle spots her ex-husband Craig gambling again finding that he is in a complicated situation.  The other story involves Nate's employee Beth Kirby who is an ex-cop turned PI and has been hired by a preacher's wife whose husband has died being ruled a suicide but believes it was murder.  Beth must also training Nate's accountant friend Michael Price to be an investigator and both look to get to the bottom of what happened to the late preacher whose church that Beth had attended when younger.  The two stories mostly alternate by chapter and both are pretty compelling.  This is the third book in a book series called "Secrets of the South Mysteries" and could be compelled to try the others in the future.  I know the title has the word "bookworm" in it and I think I would be insulting other bookworms if I said I was one.  I am trying to do more and this did keep my attention.  I did not realize this was Christian novel but it does not make heavy-handed religious references so I think just about anyone can read this book.  You can learn more about the author at the website http://www.maryellis.net and has quite a few novels that are both mystery and Amish fiction.