Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 134th Edition of my blog. I see that AMERICA'S GOT TALENT returns in a couple of weeks so you you might see some footage of me being interviewed, just not as a performer because I didn't quite make it that far. Now for this week as you may guess I have 10 movies for you all to watch so hurry and get your netflix and blockbuster queues out then figure out what you like and what you hate.

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004): The Facebook friend I chose for this week was Alex who was in my Political Science class. Walter Salles directed this movie which is based on the journals of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his road trip he took when he was young. For those of you who don't know who Guevara is, and truthfully I really don't know much about him, I guarantee you have seen his picture. He later became a revolutionary in Argentina fighting for civil rights and did so in a very controversial manner. This is based on a road trip that him and his friend took before Guevara found his calling. Gael Garcia Bernal played Guevara very well in this very moving film.


Miller's Crossing (1990): This is part two of my Coen Brothers series which takes a look into a feuding mob. Gabriel Byrne stars as Tom Reagan, who is an advisor to a Prohibition-Era crime boss who wants to bring the two feuding families together but gets divided in his loyalty making both sides question him. This is full of a lot of violence and black humor. It is really hard to actually explain this movie. It is just something that needs to be watched very closely. Look for Frances McDormand and Sam Raimi in uncredited roles.


Shall We Dance (1937): This has nothing to do with that Richard Gere movie which I actually did like. I decided to feature this movie when I saw my local theater do a cabaret on the music of George and Ira Gershwin. My facebook and myspace friends in this show were Edward (Ira), Stevie (George), Cody (Fred Astaire), and Corby. They wrote the music for this musical incuding the famous LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF. This is the 7th collaboration of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. When they get together, rumors begin that they are secretly married which causes many great mishaps, musical scores, and dance numbers. Not much needs to be said here, you all know the formula and there was also a good dance scene on roller skates which actually took 150 takes.

The Seventh Victim (1943): This is my chiller for the week produced by Val Lewton and directed by Mark Robson. Kim Hunter makes her film debut as a young girl who is in search of her sister whose seach leads to a satanic cult. There is also an interesting shower scene which shows shades of what Hitchcock would later direct in PSYCHO. If you want something creepy, you should check this one out. Hunter makes a great debut.


The Glass Bottom Boat (1966): We now go to something very creepy to something more funny. This is actually in tribute to the late Dick Martin who plays Zach and is most known from ROWAN AND MARTIN. Frank Tashlin directed this spy parody which stars Doris Day in a great, later performance who is first dressed as a mermaid and gets reeled in by a fishing rod and is later suspected of being a Russian spy. Rod Taylor plays her love interest who is the one who accidently reels her in and he hires her to be his biographer. This was a pretty entertaining spoof in a time where a spoof actually meant something as in today, we got two guys who just put together a bunch of movie clips.


Throw Mama From a Train (1987): We go from a spy parody to a parody of Hitchcock's STRANGER'S ON A TRAIN which was directed by co-star Danny Devito. Billy Crystal stars as writer and professor Larry who is very bitter towards his ex-wife. DeVito stars as Owen, one of his students who wants his overbearing mother, played by Anne Ramsey, dead and misunderstands Larry who he thought wanted to "swap murders". With good performances from the leads and a decent script, we in turn get a good comedy but don't forget the Hitchcock film though.


The War Zone (1999): We have no parody here in part two of my two-part Tim Roth series. Last week I featured PULP FICTION which he was a co-star of but in this one he went behind the camera as a director in his first and only film he has directed so far. Let me start by saying this is not for everyone. Here we have a dysfunctional family seen through the eyes of a 15 year old who learns of a very dark secret from his father and older sister. Tilda Swinton and Ray Winstone are good as the parents and look for a young Colin Farrell as a friend. This movie pulls no punches and is very disturbing and dark and was even difficult for the people on the set including the actors.


The Bounty Man (1972): This is my Grindhouse pick for the week which was decent. This was a western starring Clint Walker as a ruthless bounty hunter but when he finds a bounty along with his girlfriend, they must team up to fight a gang. Margot Kidder, most known for being Lois Lane in the SUPERMAN films, also co-stars. good film to show at midnight.


The Family Secret (1951): This is my unknown classic for the week when was found on TCM. John Derek stars as a man who kills someone in self-defense and his father, played by Lee J. Cobb, defends an innocent man accused of the murder even though he knows the truth of what happened. This was a pretty compelling film and a good performance from the underrated Cobb and seems to be quite hard to find.


Fearless (2006): Here is my martial arts film for the week and I forgot how much I love watching these so I decided I will be including Asian films more often, maybe not next week though. Jet Li stars in this martial arts epic as the real-life Huo Yuanjia who is a determined fighter who misunderstood the art of Wushu martial-arts. He then is lead into an ill-advised fight which leads to a lot of tragedy and embarrassment on his family name and friends. After wandering the country, he is rescued by a village group and makes friends with a blind woman where he learns of his wrongdoing and goes back for redemption where he must fight in an unfair tournament. Yuanjia was the founder of the Jin-Wu athletic school and fight league which is very popular through the world. The legend vs. fact of Yuanjia is very debated but he was a genuine fighter. Former WWE wrestler appears as his opponent Hercules O'Brian, a real-life fighter from the era. What I thought was interesting about this movie was how this was really the first movie where Jet Li plays someone who disgraces himself and must fight for his redemption and honor. I also really loved the musical score

Well, that is it this week for the movies. As I said, Asian films will be used more frequently, probably not next week though. They might be martial arts, action, or just plain drama. There is just something about those movies. For one I love a lot of Asian instrumental music and while I don't usually care much for their American films, it was those American films that exposed people like Jet Li to me and wanting to see their earlier work. Well, leave your comments, tell me what you like and what you hate and stay tuned for ten more next week.

HONORABLE MENTION

Peter Gabriel: Growing Up Live: I have this on DVD of his 2003 Growing Up Tour which we watched at Bill's house. I actually got to see this concert live and it was the best concert I have ever seen so in short, I'm really doing a tribute to Peter Gabriel. For those of you who only have heard SLEDGEHAMMER and can't stand that song, I suggest looking at his other work which is much better. I slowly became a big fan of his. It started with his clever videos and then I started hearing things over the radio and started liking it and the more I listened to him, the more I took to him. His concerts are amazing where he provides music with an equal amount of entertainment. So now I am telling you to go check him out. You can find his music probably on here, youtube or wherever you must go.

CONNECTION TIME

I don't have nearly as many connections as usual and remember, I look at actor to actor since you might find connections on Tim Roth who only directed THE WAR ZONE

-Gabriel Byrne (Miller's Crossing) and Rob Reiner (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 1996 film Mad Dog Time

-Marcia Gay Harden (Miller's Crossing) and Rob Reiner (Throw Mama) were in the 1996 film The First Wives Club

-Jon Polito (Miller's Crossing) and Billy Crystal (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2000 flop The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

-Jon Polito (Miller's Crossing) and Kim Greist (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 1984 film C.H.U.D. and the 1996 film Homeward Bound 2

-Albert Finney (Miller's Crossing) and Dom Deluise (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1975 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

-Albert Finney (Miller's Crossing) and Danny Devito (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2003 film Big Fish

-Mike Starr (Miller's Crossing) and Kim Greist (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 1988 film Punchline

-Al Mancini (Miller's Crossing) and Clint Walker (Bounty Man) were in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen

-Al Mancini (Miller's Crossing) and Dom Deluise (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1990 film Loose Cannons

-Steve Buscemi (Miller's Crossing) and Billy Crystal (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2001 film Monster's Inc

-Steve Buscemi (Miller's Crossing) and Oprah Winfrey (Throw Mama From a Train) were in the 2006 film Charlotte's Web

-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and Kim Hunter (The Seventh Victim) were in the 1943 film Tender Comrade

-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and Doris Day (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1951 film Storm Warning

-Ginger Rogers (Shall We Dance) and John Derek (The Family Secret) were in the 1944 film I'll Be Seeing You

-Tom Conway (The Seventh Victim) and Rod Taylor (The Glass Bottom Boat) were in the 1961 film 101 Dalmations