Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 132nd Edition of my blog. This week I have focused on quite a bit of independent films and I have made a lot of use of the IFC channel. Now it is time to get your queues from Netflix and Blockbuster and add to it with some of these.


Tango and Cash (1989): Andrei Konchalovsky directed this buddy cop film which stars Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell as the title cops who are from different parts of L.A. and are quite different but when framed for murder by a drug kingpin, played by Jack Palance, they must come together in prison where they are tortured. This is an action film but a pretty good one as long as you can suspend your disbelief for a while. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star Teri Hatcher plays Tango's (Stallone) wild sister. Stallone is actually quite enjoyable in this movie.


The Sea Inside (2004): This is part 1 of 2 in my Javier Bardem series where we go to something a little more realistic, maybe because the story is true, story of a real-life Spaniard named Ramon Sampedro who was a quadriplegic who fought a 30-year battle in favor of euthanasia which garnered a lot of mixed opinions. This movie might be frowned upon by some but we must remember, it is a true story and this was what Sampedro wanted. He was not out for some big cause but he did not feel much value to his life in his state and wanted to die peacefully while inspiring others in the process. The scene where it shows his becoming paralyzed was quite painful to watch. This movie begs many ethical questions of what is right and what is not and up to you to decide.


The Little Princess (1939): Walter Lang directed this story of a brave girl finding her missing father and that brave girl was none other than Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple plays Sara whose father leaves her at a rigid boarding school while he goes to Africa during the Boer War. All Sara has now is her imagination and when she learns her father died she refuses to believe it and sets out to find him. This movie was remade in 1995 which was really quite different though I really liked that remake but this one did start it all. Maybe in time, Shirley will make a comeback to the big screen like Gloria Stuart in TITANIC.


Onibaba (1964): We now go to Japan into the 14th Century where a mother and daughter-in-law are left to fend for themselves so to make money, they kill Samarai to sell their armor and weapons. There is not a whole lot to say about this film, though it is quite dark and once again raises questions on ethical dilemma where the mother is the more extreme of the two. It is also quite creepy and not for all tastes.


The Invisible Boy (1957): This is part two of my Robby the Robot series who remains overlooked among the great actors, perhaps because he is a robot and is not taken very seriously. Here, we center around a dedicated scientist who really wants his son to be more into his work and when the super computer works with him, he can do everything and he becomes friends with Robby and they must stop the super computer from taking over the world. I can't really explain it that well. Something that is for our entertainment and not as good as Robby's debut in FORBIDDEN PLANET which was featured last week.


El Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dr. Frankenstein (1974): Here is another entertaining sci-fi film. For those of you who do not know who El Santo and the Blue Demon are, they are legendary masked wrestlers from Mexico and many of the Mexican wrestlers, mostly these two, made many of these movies where they took on someone. They were Mexico's answer to people like Superman and Batman except these guys were real people. Here, they learn that Dr. Frankenstein and his henchmen are kidnapping women to bring back his deceased wife and when a friend of theirs is kidnapped, they must find her before things get worse. There is also some good footage of Mexican wrestling and some other Mexican wrestlers when they have their match. Yes, they usually have matches in these movies as well including one they just had to do before going to save their friend. Take this for what is worth.


Moments in Music (1950): This is my short film for the week which was just a bunch of clips of people singing in movies like Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and many others. Pretty entertaining, probably something of a Hollywood advertisement.


Michael Clayton (2007): Tony Gilroy made his directorial debut. George Clooney stars as the title character who is an attorney known as "the fixer". He has a big gambling problem and is divorced with a son. He then comes across a case of a senior partner going off the deep end, played very well by character actor Tom Wilkinson. Tilda Swinton is also good as an attorney on the case. This was a very suspenseful film and something good for 2007.


Sid and Nancy (1986): Alex Cox directed this bleak biopic on Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his groupie girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb played these roles to perfection and were in fact these people. It mostly depicts the destructive relationship between the two and Sid's attempts at a solo career which was not to much success. Look for Courtney Love as one of their friends. This is clearly not a movie for everyone. Some may know what happened in the end but I won't give that away as it is not hard to find and for people who want to see the movie. It is very dark and depressing but very well performed, especially by Gary Oldman, one of my favorites.


Picture Bride (1994): I end with this foreign film of a Japanese girl in 1918 Japan is sent to Hawaii in an arranged marriage to a much older man. She must then endure the harsh working conditions and get along with her new husband who bought her from Japan. This is a very good movie on the human spirit and very moving. Legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune has a great cameo as a silent film director coming through town. Kayo Hatta both wrote and directed this very moving film depicting what it was like in that time period and something we take for granted in this modern time period.


Well, that is it for this week. I had four foreign language films in this one which is quite rare. I have my connections segment back but there really weren't many that I could find like usual. Leave your comments, mention what you like and dislike and stay tuned next week.


-Sylvester Stallone (Tango and Cash) and George Clooney (Michael Clayton) were in the 2003 film Spy Kids 3-D

-Kurt Russell (Tango and Cash) and Cesar Romero (The Little Princess) were in the Disney movies The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes in 1969, Now You See Him, Now You Don't in 1972, and The Strongest Man in the World in 1975.

-Kurt Russell (Tango and Cash) and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) were in the 2001 film Vanilla Sky

-Kurt Russell (Tango and Cash) and Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy) were in the 2002 film Interstate 60

-Jack Palance (Tango and Cash) and Cesar Romero (The Little Princess) were in the 1968 film Madigan's Millions. Note that Jack Palance was an uncreditted voice dub.

-Jack Palance (Tango and Cash) and Michael O'Keefe (Michael Clayton) were in the 2001 tv movie Prancer Returns

-Teri Hatcher (Tango and Cash) and George Clooney (Michael Clayton) were in the 2001 film Spy Kids

-Michael Jeter (Tango and Cash) and George Clooney (Michael Clayton) were in the 2002 film Welcome to Collinwood

-Michael Jeter (Tango and Cash) and Chloe Webb (Sid and Nancy) were in the 1993 mini-series Tales Of the City

-Clint Howard (Tango and Cash) and Xander Berkeley (Sid and Nancy) were in the 1995 film Apollo 13 and the 1996 film Barb Wire

-James Hong (Tango and Cash) and Xander Berkeley (Sid and Nancy) were in the 1999 film Spawn 3: Ultimate Battle

-James Hong (Tango and Cash) and Cary-Hiroyaki Tagawa (Sid and Nancy) were in the 1991 film The Perfect Weapon, the 2000 film The Art of War, the 2001 film The Ghost which is not to be confused with Ghost, and the 2007 comedy Balls of Fury

-Brion James (Tango and Cash) and Sydney Pollack (Michael Clayton) were in the 1992 film The Player

-Shirley Temple (The Little Princess) and Judy Garland (Moments in Music archival footage) were never in anything together but Shirley Temple was one of the first people considered for the role of Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz which ultimately went to Judy Garland.

-Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) and Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy) were in the 2005 film Batman Begins.

-Chloe Webb (Sid and Nancy) and Cary-Hiroyaki Tagawa (Picture Bride) were in the 1988 comedy Twins

-Xander Berkeley (Sid and Nancy) and Cary-Hiroyaki Tagawa (Picture Bride) were in the tv movies L.A. Takedown in 1989, Netforce in 1999, and Not of this World in 1991