Shaun Berk's Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 137th Edition of my blog. I had some issues with the connection segment this week so I just forgoted it for now. It will be back up next week. I'll be going over to Buffalo Wild Wings later to see the wrestling ppv. My performances for OKLAHOMA are right around the corner so I look forward to that. Now on with the show.

Albino Alligator (1996): Kevin Spacey makes his directorial debut in this movie. Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise, and William Fichtner are needing to hide out after and armed robbery and go to a bar to ultimately take it hostage. Each criminal has a different degree of violence which puts a lot of tension in the three. Faye Dunaway has a role as one of the bar waitresses. This was nothing really innovative or original but it kept my attention pretty well.

The Sheik (1921): This is part 2 of my silent-film series. Silent legend Rudolph Valentino stars as the title role who abducts a more free-thinking girl named Diana to try to marry her. Diana is not happy with the situation and does whatever possible to escape and find her other love. This was definetly entertaining while having some racial stereotypes.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Steven Spielberg directed this prequel to RAIDERS OF THE ARK where Harrison Ford reprises his iconic role of Indiana Jones. Here, he is with an Asian kid named Short Stuff and unwillingly joined by a nightclub singer name Willie, played by Kate Capshaw. Here, Indy was in search of some stones leading him into India to find they were possessed by a mysterious cult leading up into quite a climax. While this was not as good as Raiders, it still provided great action and lots of fun with Harrison Ford. Look for Dan Aykroyd in a small role and even look for a bar title called Club Obi Wan.

Surf's Up (2007): I will admit that when I first saw the preview of this movie I thought "Not another penguin movie" but as I read into it more it sounded quite interesting. This was actually a surfing penguin mockumentary which focused on determined penguin Cody Maverick who is an up-and-coming surfer determined to win and defeat the bully penguin. Jeff Bridges plays a legendary surfer who is burned out from all the success and decides to mentor Cody. Shia LeBeouf actually provided a pretty good voice to Cody Maverick. I did find this to be better than HAPPY FEET.

My Favorite Wife (1940): This is part 2 of what will probably be 4 in my Cary Grant series. Garson Kanin directed this comedy which stars Cary as a recently married man where things become complicated when his wife presumed dead shows up. Irene Dunne plays his wife, Ellen who was assumed to be dead where a choice must be made but leads into some hilarious misunderstandings. Western legend Randolph Scott plays a friend of Ellen in a rare non-western role.

Stagecoach (1939): John Ford directed this ground-breaking western which made John Wayne a star after years of doing b-movies and serials. Wayne plays the outlaw The Ringo Kid who joins the stagecoach trip but must prepare for a possible indian attack from Geronimo. This is another western that might stereotype indians but those were the times and if you can get past that, you will definetly enjoy this. John Carradine stars as a gunslinger who is along for the ride. This is definetly a fun movie and the birth of John Wayne as a star.

The Fan and the Flower (2005): This is my short animation film for the week which centers around a fan who becomes infatuated with a flower and showing the love between the two. It was definetly a neat love story and worth 7 minutes. Paul Giamatti does the narration.

The Dirty Dozen (1967): Robert Aldrich directs this war film which stars Lee Marvin who is chosen to lead a group of convicts during World War II who go after some Nazis. Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, and Telly Savalas were just some of the few convicts that were taken in promise of freedom upon survival. This was a great war film with no real anti or pro war messages.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991): I pay tribute here to Stan Winston who recently died. Winston did a lot of work in the special effects department and here he did a lot of work for the animation of the Terminator. James Cameron directs this great sequal to what is probably my favorite Sci-Fi series of film. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the T-101 who became programmed to protect John Connor, played by Edward Furlong in his debut, from an even more powerful terminator played by SOPRANOS alum Robert Patrick. It was interesting how this terminator actually seemed to show some emotion while the T-101 never could though he learned some through John. Linda Hamilton reprises her role as Sarah Connor, John's loving mother who will do anything to protect him and does what she can to prepare John for his destiny. What was great about this movie was not only the action but the relationship between John and the Terminator who is now good. The narration of Sarah Connor was also very good, especially when she realizes how good the Terminator is to John. What I also love about these films is the music score by Brad Fiedel.

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971): I end with part 3 of most likely 5 in my Robert De Niro series. This is definetly a very early one for de Niro where he plays a rival gang member posing as a priest and the other one planning a crime but are too idiotic to pull it off. LAW AND ORDER alum Jerry Orbach also stars as a crime boss. This has funny moments but is quite flawed and mostly of worth to see a young Robert de Niro who took this role because Al Pacino got Michael Corleone in you know what so de Niro had to wait a little longer to become a star.

Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned next week for the 138th Edition where I pay tribute to the late George Carlin and Cyd Charrise.