Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 155th Edition of my long-running blog series. We are now one week away from the three-year anniversary. I am now 4-4 in Fantasy Football and I dropped down to 2nd in my division. I hope to regain my momentum next week but we'll just have to see. We are now past Halloween. I hope you all enjoyed Halloween as I was the Phantom of the Opera. Now on with the movies...


Little Johnny Jet (1953): This is my Warner Bros short film for the week. Tex Avery directed this animation short of an airplane unable to come to terms that he has been taken over by the jet. He and his wife give birth to a jet but a bit of jealousy from dad. This was a very clever animation short which will unfortunately be overlooked but maybe not anymore since it is on Youtube so go check it out after you read this.


Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): This is a rare entry which contains two animated films but it's not part of my unwritten rules to only have one. What more needs to be said here of one of the first feature animation films and one that was great without needing all those computer effects. All this took were great artists and a great animation team. We all know the story, the Queen wants to kill her stepdaughter Snow White but she escapes and finds refuge in the house of seven dwarfs. The beginning and the end could be a bit disturbing to younger children but other than that, it is a great movie to be enjoyed by children and adults.


Tron (1982): I hit another rarity of using two Disney films but since this is live-action, I didn't care too much. Jeff Bridges stars in this movie as a computer hacker who is sucked into a video game world where he must battle the evil Master Control and a crooked corporate guy. I'm not going to try to explain any of this plot besides that but I will say this is a computer geek's dream and shows how far we have come since then. The plot is rather absurd but the effects and the performance from Jeff Bridges make it worth watching.


Two-Lane Blacktop (1971): Monte Hellman directed this road movie of a couple guys are having a road race through the USA. Singer James Taylor stars as the Driver who drives his '55 Chevy with his friend the Mechanic played by Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson. Waren Oates is the rival G.T.O. who meets some strange people along the way. This is a good little road story of two guys who really had no aspirations in life except the road and it is well worth seeing the only movie performances of James Taylor and Dennis Wilson.


Ninotchka (1939): One of the many classics to come out of 1939 which include GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, and many others. Greta Garbo stars in one of her first comedic roles as a stern Russian politician of the title character who is sent to Paris and meets a charming count played by Melvyn Douglas. The count is someone that Ninotchka detests their ways of life but slowly comes to like him. She was great in the beginning as such a stern person and plays a great comedic role. This is one of the best comedies and love stories of all time. Look for Bela Legosi in a small but good role overlooked in his career.


That's the Way I Like It (1998): I found this movie I had never heard of until now on the Ovation channel. I really was not sure what to think of this movie which takes place in Singapore which was written and directed by Glen Goei. I always like when someone puts that kind of work into something so he had me hooked there. Then we see Adrian Pang who stars as a grocery store employee Hock and I finally realize this is a bit of a parody to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and even some to Bruce Lee. Hock is quite similar to SNF character Tony Manero who has a rather stern family and is kind of the black sheep. He then finds a dance contest to enter and becomes inspired after watching something called FOREVER FEVER which resembled that movie mentioned. This I must say was a very pleasant surprise and it's movies like these that I want to give publicity to the people who read this.


How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003): The Facebook friend I chose this week was Megan who I went was in most of grade school with. This one may get some mixed opinions and while it was not exactly my favorite, I still liked the premise. We have Kate Hudson a journalist named Andie who is assigned to the what the title is and Matthew McConaughey who Ben and has a bet that he can have a girl fall head over heels in love with him in 10 Days and how convenient is it that they meet but we all know the rest. I really liked the leads in this movie which made it worth watching even though it might have been a bit overdone at times and long.

The Machinist (2004): This is Travis' Co-Op film selection for the week. Brad Anderson directed this movie which stars Christian Bale just shortly before he took the cape of the dark knight Batman. In this movie, he plays Trent Reznik, a factory worker has not slept for a year and begins to wonder about his sanity. Most things seem to start after he accidentally severely injured his co-worker. This is a movie which really can't be explained any further except it just needs to be watched closely and that it is very disturbing and not for everyone. Christian Bale went to extremes to star in this losing 60 pounds and looking like someone from a concentration camp. From what I understand, he wanted to lose 20 more but the director drew the line. He had to gain his weight right back when he started filming for Batman.

Bucket of Blood (1959): Roger Corman directed this B-movie classic which stars Dick Miller as Walter Paisley who is a busboy in a fancy cafe and wants to be seen as an artist. When he accidentally kills a cat he then has it covered with clay to cover up the evidence but when others see it, he becomes highly praised and his fellow artists at the cafe want to see more which makes him resort to similar methods. Corman would a few years later direct LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS which had a similar premise where a nerd wants to become someone and when he does, he must resort to certain violence that the person usually would not have done.

21 (2008): I now end with this movie that contains a couple numbers in the title. This is based on a book called BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE. Jim Burgess stars as a numbers expert named Ben Campbell who wants a scholarship to Harvard and is recruited by a group of MIT students in their scheme to bring down the casino by card counting in Blackjack. Kevin Spacey leads this group where Ben just wants to make enough money for college but ends up way over his head. This was a true story about something that is not illegal but frowned upon by casinos. I'm not sure how accurate this particular story is as far as what was done and what went down but it was something that I felt moved quite well. Kate Bosworth co-stars as Ben's love interest.

Well, I end with the movies here but as you see there is more. Please leave your comments and suggestions on what you like and what you hate. Next week is the THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY which will be just another 10 selections but I hope you'll be here to celebrate with me. It's been quite a run.

HONORABLE TV MENTION

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966): I can't over-look this yearly classic. This one has lived on through many generations. In here we have Linus hoping to see the Great Pumpkin who has always been in the shadow of Santa Claus but never seems to see him and he'll never give up. We have Charlie Brown going trick or treating but only to get rocks instead of candy. Lastly we have Snoopy who is the Red Baron in WW1. This is a timeless classic and for you readers who have children, I hope you expose this to them. Like SNOW WHITE, it is still watchable after all these years and I never tire of it.

Mission Hill (1998): I was at the library looking for a short-lived tv series and found this animated series from a couple former Simpson writers. Our main character is Andy French who wants to become a cartoonist and his parents give him his 17 year old nerdy brother Kevin. They then must learn to tolerate each other's lifestyles. This show only lasted about 13 episodes. We also get to know their roommates Jim, Daisy and their dog Stogie. This is not for everyone and maybe not something to show your children but these guys pushed quite a few envelopes in their short time. Vicki Lewis, who was in my favorite sitcom growing up NEWSRADIO as Beth, voices Daisy and is great. I'm sure Netflix and Blockbuster has this available.

HONORABLE THEATRICAL MENTIONS

Frankenstein (Richmond Civic Theater): This is something I saw on Friday night in Richmond. I do not know anyone in that cast because I have never been a part of that theater but in October of last year I was in this same version written of the Mary Shelley classic. When I was in it, my facebook and myspace friends Lisa (Elizabeth) and Joe (Hans) were in this. Joe was my partner in crime when I was crazy gravedigger Peter Schmidt. I love the themes of this horror classic which in my opinion are the price of playing god and fearing the unknown. Victor Frankenstein was a scientist obsessed with life. Obsessed enough, he wanted to create life and was successful but realized it may not have been the greatest decision of all time. We then have the Creature which never really has a name though I have corrected many people who address the creature as Frankenstein. The Creature must learn about life on his own and after finally finding peace it gets ruined very quickly which in the show I was in, I ended that for him. He then targets Dr. Frankenstein but targets those close to him. In the end we must ask who is the real monster? This have spawned many movie adaptations and is a timeless story written by Mary Shelley who we owe a lot to in the world of horror and sci-fi. In the 30s, we had Universal which introduced many people to this classic and it was the first exposure I had. These were very groundbreaking horror films and I do still like watching them. However, I felt they portrayed Victor Frankenstein, well Henry here, as too much of a mad scientist instead of obsessed. And besides, Victor is very symbolic which giving him the name Henry really I think took some away from it but you'll still see these in the ten recommendations. I am very proud to have been a part of this show last year and to see it this year. I thought they did a job. I watched the guy playing my character very closely and he put a pretty good spin on it. I was probably more dark in my portrayal while I felt the guy I saw brought a little more humor which was what I avoided and would do it again if I portrayed the role once more.

Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical (Muncie Civic Theater): I saw this on Saturday night which included my mom as Nellie. Also, my Myspace and Facebook friends Nikki, Ed, Eddie, Emma, Lisa, and Bob were in this great musical. Like the other Theater mention, we have a doctor who has a good intention but things go awry. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this literary classic where Dr. Henry Jekyll is a doctor out to prove he can separate good from evil and uses a potion that turns him into Mr. Edward Hyde who is his evil persona and does things Jekyll would never do. The cast did great and the orchestra was awesome and this was a great show to see.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

I don't have much for this week.

Jeff Bridges (Tron) plays Marvel villain Obadiah Stane in IRON MAN and Laurence Fishburne (21) does the voice of the Silver Surfer in FANTASTIC 4: THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER.

Christian Bale (Machinist) plays Batman in BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT and Michael Ironside (Machinst) voiced Batman in BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES in an episode called LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT. 21 contained two other DC comics alums which includes Kevin Spacey who plays Superman's biggest rival Lex Luthor and Kate Bosworth is reporter Lois Lane, both of which from SUPERMAN RETURNS

In 2007, a few of my facebook friends played characters that were part of IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN when they did a version of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. Tyler played Charlie Brown, Corey, who also directed and choreographed, played Linus and Ashlee was Snoopy.