Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 138th Edition of this long-running series. I now must pay tribute to George Carlin and Cyd Charisse who I have included in this entry. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through the years. Here are the 10, get out your netflix and blockbuster queues and read on.




Heat (1995): This is part 4 of most likely 5 of my Robert de Niro series. Michael Mann directed this historical crime drama. Not historical in terms of any kind of true story but historical where we finally see the first on-screen encounter between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The only other movie they were both in was THE GODFATHER PART 2 but they were in different eras. This was a crime drama which takes a look at a veteran cop named named Vincent Hanna played by Al Pacino and a master thief named Neil McCauley played by Robert De Niro. Each life was quite parallel to each other. Vincent was in a troubled marriage while trying to crack a case gone wrong and Neil must pick up the pieces of a robbery gone bad while starting a relationship. This movie had quite a cast with Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Natalie Portman and many others. It is too bad that Tom Sizemore is only known these days for his drug problems and many don't know him as a great character actor as he showed here. This was an exciting two and a half hours where as much violence as there was, we could still care about the two main characters.




Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989): I now pay tribute to the late George Carlin who plays Rufus. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves play the title slackers whose band Wyld Stallions is in Jeopardy if Ted (Reeves) fails history and goes to military school. Enter Rufus from the future whose world lies in the balance if the Wyld Stallions break up. Rufus brings them a time machine which looks more like a phone booth where Bill and Ted are able to pick up Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon and many others. This was definetly in my top comedies of the 80s and a lot of fun with the two title characters with a history on education.




It's Always Fair Weather (1955): I now pay tribute to Cyd Charisse. Stanley Donen stars in this musical which stars Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse re-unite after SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, and Michael Kidd all play WW2 veterans who reunite after ten years but see that along with their changed lives, their friendship is fading. Cyd Charisse plays Kelly's love interest. Kelly is a boxing manager and Cyd plays a boxing fan and putting on the greatest musical number of all time in a boxing gym giving me hopes that my dreams of writing ROCKY THE MUSICAL are not impossible. There is also a great roller skate dance number from Gene Kelly. If you like musicals, I think you'll enjoy this underrated film. If you don't, you probably won't like it.




American Movie (1999): This is my documentary for the week which was suggested to me by Rod at Wishbone Gifts in Downtown Muncie. We take a look at Wisconsin boy Mark Borchardt who is determined to direct a horror film even with hardly any money. It shows how he must do a little convincing and even conning in order to get budgeting for his horror film. He must get some friends and unwilling family to be in the movie. This was a great look at the making of an independent film. It is good to know that since this movie Mark Borchardt, while not having the greatest career, is finding work in the film industry since his short film COVEN. I must say that I really envied him in show ways where no matter what you think of him, you can't knock his effort and determination.




Blonde Venus (1932): This is part 3 of what might be 5 of my Cary Grant series even though he was more of a supporting character in this piece focusing on a love triangle. Josef Von Sternberg directed this movie which stars Marlene Dietrich as a former nightclub singer named Helen whose husband, played by Herbert Marshall, is dying and needs an expensive cure in Germany. Helen must then return to the nightclub scene to raise the money where she becomes the title character and gets into some trouble where she meets a millionaire named Nick played by Cary Grant who she prostitutes herself to in order to make some money to raise her son. This was a pretty intense film and definetly worth watching.




Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002): If all you do is skim through these, I have no problem with that but if you can see this sentence please keep reading. It is movies like these that is the reason I do this blog and what I hope to be able to get exposed. You might have forgotten about Bill and Ted so go re-watch that if you want but this should not be passed up. Phillip Noyce directs this true story of a family of Aborigines whose three daughters are kidnapped by the Australian government who think they are doing the children some big favor by teaching them more modern ways but show them a very strict world. The daughters escape from the school and set out on a 1500-mile journey back home. The leader of the Australian government is played by Kenneth Branaugh but that doesn't need to be known. The musical score is very beautiful and written by none other than Peter Gabriel which is how I learned of this movie I must admit when I bought the soundtrack because of Peter. This movie had my attention all the way through and it really got to me. If you have Netflix or Blockbuster, this should go on your queue. I don't usually do that but I feel I must for this one. If it doesn't sound like your kind of movie then avoid it but if you want a great independent film, here you go.




Frank and Tony (1973): This is my Grindhouse pick for the week. This is one of the better movies in this boxed set and by far one of the better transfers to DVD. Tony Lo Bianco stars as a small-time thug who meets his idol Frankie, played by western veteran Lee Van Cleef, in prison. They slowly become friends and plan an escape from prison and go after who put them there. This is a buddy movie, mafia style and has some pretty good action.



Home Movies (1940): This is my short film for the week which I got off of the dvd of MY FAVORITE WIFE which is a Robert Benchley short on making as the title says. He is showing some footage to some friends showing how anyone can do it but things begin to go wrong. Robert Benchley has some pretty funny short films and this is one of them.



Eight Below (2006): Frank Marshall directed this Disney movie. I'll probably get some mixed opinions on this one but I can't impress everyone. Paul Walker stars as Jerry, an antarctic explorer who while taking someone on an exhibition experiences some very severe weather and must evacuate. He had some injuries so he did not know that his dogs were left behind and lobbies to go back to get them. What I thought was really good about this movie was the dogs who had to fend for themselves in the cold weather and how they teamed up to survive. These kinds of movies are always hard for me to watch but I got through it but I'm sure PETA was not very happy about this movie.



Ugetsu (1953): This is my Japanese movie for the week which takes place in 16th Century Japan in the time of war where two peasant brothers seek their fortune. One looks to seek money sellling his wares like dishes and the other really wants to be a samarai no matter what it takes. Each one takes off into a pretty dark world. This was definetly something that kept my attention the whole way through and something quite unpredictable making this a Japanese classic.



Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned next week for the 139th Edition and read on to see the connections.




-Al Pacino (Heat) and Keanu Reeves (Bill and Ted) were in the 1997 film The Devil's Advocate.


-Robert de Niro (heat) and Kenneth Branaugh (Rabbit-Proof Fence) were in the 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein


-Val Kilmer (Heat) and Bruce Greenwood (8 Below) were in the 2007 film Deja Vu


-Jon Voight (Heat) and Paul Walker (8 Below) were in the 1999 film Varsity Blues

-Jon Voight (Heat) and Bruce Greenwood (8 Below) were in the 2007 film National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets


-Tom Sizemore (Heat) and Keanu Reeves (Bill and Ted) were in the 1991 film Point Break


-Tom Sizemore (Heat) and Bruce Greenwood (8 Below) were in the 1992 film Passenger 57


-Ashley Judd (Heat) and Bruce Greenwood (8 Below) were in the 1995 tv movie Naomi and Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge and the 1999 film Double Jeopardy


-Hank Azaria (Heat) and Kenneth Branaugh (Rabbit-Proof Fence) were in the 1998 film Celebrity


-Jeremy Piven (Heat) and George Carlin (Bill and Ted) were in the 2003 film Scary Movie 3


-Bud Cort (Heat uncreditted) and George Carlin (Bill and Ted) were in the 1999 film Dogma


-Keanu Reeves (Bill and Ted) and Kenneth Branaugh (Rabbit-Proof Fence) were in the 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing


-George Carlin (Bill and Ted) and Jason Biggs (8 Below) were in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and the 2004 film Jersey Girl