Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 147th Edition of my long-running series. Due to my rules I had to change forego many picks of the week but this is always subject to change so I tried to make this one as entertaining as possible.

It's a Gift (1934): I start with W.C. Fields who I believe debuts in this blog. Fields was one of the big comedians from this era. He plays a grocery store owner who just can't seem to win in life with his wife, kids, and customers but dreams of owning an orange grove and uses an inheritance to buy one that he saw in the mail but when driving to it with his family, he seems to have gotten scammed a bit. This was a very comedy and regarded by many to be his best movie and one of the best comedies of all time.

The Game (1997): David Fincher directs this suspenseful film which stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton who receives a strange birthday gift from his younger brother, played by Sean Penn, which starts a strange game that begins to make him very paranoid. He then must investigate the strange findings where bad things start to happen to him. I enjoyed watching this movie but I really didn't know what to think of the ending. If someone has an explanation, please message me on that. I preferred Fincher's FIGHT CLUB but this still entertains.

Gettysburg (1993): I now bring you my Civil War epic for the week which takes place mostly from the viewpoint of the South and their infamous battle and their hope for their own country. Ronald Maxwell directed this movie based on the novel THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara. Martin Sheen stars as the popular and respected General Robert E. Lee. Tom Berenger plays his second in comand James Longstreet in which I believe is his best performance. The performances were great, the battles looked great and everything about it made you believe you were watching the Civil War. They used many professional Civil War re-enactors in the battle scenes. What more can be said here?

Batman (1966): This is one of my unexpected picks for the week. This movie was meant to be the pilot episode for the sitcom of the same title. Like the show, Adam West and Burt Ward star as Batman and Robin who must take on all four of the main show-villains The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman, and The Penguin. This is nothing like the recent THE DARK KNIGHT. This was a pure comedy which had some good action and "great" special effects but it gets a lot of laughs.

Helmer & Son (2006): This is my short film of the week and something else that was very unexpected. This was an Oscar-Nominated short which centers around a family and their stubborn father who will not come out of the closet, I know that sounds wrong but he was literally keeping himself in a closet so we don't need to jump to conclusions. The family does what they can to talk him into coming out but just stay tuned for the end.


Sunrise (1927): This is my silent film of the week directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau who is most famous for directing NOSFERATU. This movie takes a look at a farm couple which is George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor. Margaret Livingston plays a city woman who meets O'Brien and tries to convince him to kill his wife to be with her which really makes O'Brien torn and confused. This movie was great from start to finish. I admit that sometimes I have a hard time with silent films and even following them but this one was great. This was one of the first movies to have an actual music score and was made a little before THE JAZZ SINGER.


The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005): This is another "replacement" for the week though it was going to be used very soon. Daniel Day-Lewis and Camilla Belle play the title characters who are father and daughter. Jack is a very environmentally concious person who wants to raise Rose that way which moves them to a very remote island. Jack then decides to bring in his girlfriend Kathleen, played by Catherine Keener, to live with them so her and her two sons move in which sparks a big change in Rose. Jason Lee has a small role and plays a more low-key character than usual. Also, Beau Bridges plays a developer trying to build on the land. Jena Malone also has an interesting supporting role. This was a very moving film and another great performance for Daniel Day-Lewis.


The Last Metro (1980): Francois Truffant directed this French film which takes place in a theater in Nazi France. Catherine Deneuve stars as an actress who is married to the head of the theater and wants to keep the theater alive in such rough times so she hires a professional actor, played by Gerard Depardieu, to play the leading man leading to some trouble. This is a great movie for foreign film buffs.


Mandinga (1976): This is my Grindhouse film for the week and a rather strange one. Where we have an Italian plantation owner who owns slaves and lusts over all the female slaves. It had a good music score but the rest was just laughable. Again, this is something to watch when you get all your friends together.


The Trouble With Harry (1955): I end with The Master of Suspense who went a little more comedic for this film. The movie starts with a dead body and each person who comes across it believes they have something to do with it. They all conspire to bury the body but complications keep coming about. CHARLIE'S ANGELS alum John Forsyth shows his face in this one as an artist who helps the conspirators. Shirley MacLaine makes her debut showing that Hitchcock casted more than cute blondes in his female roles. Alfred Hitchcock has stated that this is his favorite of his movies.


Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate and get ready for more next week.