Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 140th Edition

Welcome to the 140th Edition of my blog series. I just got done with a weekend of OKLAHOMA performances. The show went pretty well and I look forward to next week to performing again. This week, I chose a lot of rather unknown films which include a tv mini-series, a silent, some indies and foreigns. So get out your queues and read on.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): Now I know I mentioned doing mostly unknowns but this one is a classic here. This is part 5 of my Cary Grant series and likely the last for now and Frank Capra directed this classic. This is a very dark comedy based on a play by Joseph Keesling where I feel bad when I laugh but one cannot help it. Cary stars as Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who just got married and when going to visit his elderly aunts, he finds that they are killing lonely, old men and the aunts feel they are doing them a favor. Things get rather awkward when Mortimer's brother Jonathan, played by Raymond Massey who has just escaped prison. Peter Lorre is fun as Jonathan's henchman who gave him the face of a famous actor you might recognize in the movie.

The Inheritors (1998): This is my German film for the week. This movie takes place on a farm where a murdered farmer leaves his farm to four of his employees who were abused for years. The four peasants are reluctant at first but decide to try to take on a ruthless land baron. Tension also happens with these new-found owners when there was no structure to the system and that they had never owned a farm before. This is a very interesting and depressing film.

Our Old Car (1946): I found this short film on TCM which takes a look at the American car through the generations of one family. This is a documentary written by John Nesbitt who takes a look at his own life and family. This was a very fun movie and definetly something for car lovers.

Bent (1997): This is my British film for the week which stars the man who will play me someday in THE RISE AND FALL OF SHAUN BERKEY Clive Owen in an early role where he stars as Max in Nazi Germany. His problem was not that he was a Jew but that he was gay and they were held on a lower scale. He plays a rather selfish person who tries to pass himself off as a Jew but forms a relationship with another prisoner in a concentration camp. Mick Jagger is amusing in a small role where he plays a cross-dressing nightclub singer. My local community theater actually put on the play of this which starred my myspace friend Ric as Max's boyfriend in the beginning. This was a very moving and sad film which takes a look at life in a concentration camp.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967): This is my French musical for the week which was directed by Jacques Demy which was kind of a follow-up to THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG which I actually liked better but this one was still pretty fun and interesting to see Gene Kelly singing in French. Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac star as twin sisters, one a dance teacher and the other a piano composer. They are both looking for love and they each encounter each other's ideal partner. Gene Kelly is fun in his supporting role. This has some pretty good music and a must for Kelly fans.

Disco Pigs (2001): Now I take you to Ireland for this dark movie directed by Kirsten Sheridan which take a look at two teens played by Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy. They were born just minutes apart and for all their lives formed a twin-like relationship. They call each other Pig and Runt. They eventually develop a very reckless lifestyle and a life of crime. For those of you who don't know who Cillian Murphy is, he can best be remembered as the Scarecrow in BATMAN BEGINS. It is interesting how these actors have some resemblance to Clark Kent and Lana Lang in SMALLVILLE. This is something I really did not know what to expect when watching it and it is definetly not for everyone. There is not anything real upbeat about this movie but if you like dark, here you go.

Broken Trail (2006): This is an AMC western mini-series which stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church as cowboys who are on a job to transport a herd of horses but the job becomes complicated when they take in 5 abused and abandoned Chinese girls who are being sold into slavery and they must protect them from some enemies. While reluctant, these cowboys are hit with nobility and do what they have to in order to protect the girls while getting the horses where they need to be. This was a very good western series and good performances by the leads. It was good to see the blending of the western and Asian world while not using martial arts like in SHANGHAI NOON and the lesser-known ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA which was the last in the Jet Li series. I liked those two I named off but it was refreshing to see this one too.

The Racket (1928): Lewis Milestone directed this silent gangster film which was produced by Howard Hughes and thought by many to be lost but was found later. Louis Wolheim stars as ruthless mobster Nick Scarsi who is obviously based in many ways on Al Capone and Thomas Meighan stars as the determined police officer out to catch Scarsi. This seems to be a rather groundbreaking and daring film which was originally a Broadway play starring Edward G. Robinson who would go on to become a gangster legend.

Kung Fu Punch of Death (1973): This is my Grindhouse martial-arts film for the week which is very entertaining with both the English dubbing and they bad timing on the fights but still tells a decent story. It is obviously for Martial arts fans only. There is not much more to say on this one.

The Postman Fights Back (1981): This is something that I bought for 5.50 from Wal-Mart that has been sitting on my shelf for some time and when the need for an 80s film came around, I chose this early Chow Yun-Fat film which was directed by Ronny Yu. Chow is one of four people hired to transport a suspicious package. This had some martial arts and a lot of really good fight scenes and definetly worth a look for a young Chow Yun-Fat.

Well, that is it for this week. Next week will be more mainstream films. If you live near the Muncie area, you should come check out OKLAHOMA from Thursday-Saturday. Also, when finished, please leave your comments telling me what you like and dislike.