Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 169th Edition of my series. I featured one person from the Random Myspace Profile selection. It has been hard selecting movies withing my rules this week but I'm here now. Thank you everyone for your support. Congratulations to the Steelers for their 6th Super Bowl win. Okay, here are my 10 for the week.

Neptune's Daughter (1949): I start this week with part 3 of my Esther Williams series. Williams stars as fashion person Eve Barrett, who sister Betty, played by Betty Garrett, makes a move a man who she believes is Jose O'Rourke, played by FANTASY ISLAND alum Ricardo Montalban, but is really Jack Spratt, played by Red Skelton. Jack plays along with the mistake but Eve does not know if he is right for her and makes a meeting with O'Rourke, not knowing he is not the one Betty loves. It has the great musical number BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE and has a great finale. Esther was actually pregnant during the filming. Also look for an amusing performance from Mel Blank who is most known for his voices in Looney Tunes and Looney Tunes fans will recognize which voice he is using.

The Wizard of Oz (1939): I have used a couple other versions lately that were before this one but this is the version of the L. Frank Baum classic novel. This was a pretty groundbreaking film which stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, a Kansas girl whose life seems to going downhill and dreams about going over the rainbow hence the infamous song number SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW. After a big cyclone, she finds herself in a strange world called Oz where she and her dog Toto meet the Munchkins, the good witch Glinda and and the Wicked Witch of the West. Along the way, Dorothy meets her friends the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Burt Lahr). Together, they must make their way to see the Wizard to get certain things out of life. Margaret Hamilton was great at the Wicked Witch of the West and lives on as a very iconic witch in our history. However, anyone who has seen WICKED knows she is not such a bad person. Frank Morgan plays the Wizard and four other roles which age great. This show went through 5 directors which Victor Fleming being the one who is creditted along with the other 1939 classic GONE WITH THE WIND. This movie stands tall in the golden year of film. All the actors in this are associated with their respective characters. This is also a timeless family film which the whole family can enjoy and will continue to enjoy. I had a dvd which had a nice documentary hosted by Angela Lansbury on the history not only of this movie but the whole franchise starting with the many Oz books from L. Frank Baum.

The Right Stuff (1983): This, along with my last feature are two of my Dad's favorite movies. Philip Kaufman directed this film which documents the original Mercury 7. They were a group of test pilots in the U.S. quest to beat the Russians into space. Sam Sheperd stars as Chuck Yeager, who is shown to have broken the sound barrier. Ed Harris plays John Glenn and Fred Ward plays Gus Grissom who was from my state of Indiana. Other people include Dennis Quaid, Scott Glenn, Barbara Hershey, Donald Moffatt and many others. It takes a look at their bond and the competition between one another. Based on the novel by Tom Wolfe. I admit, Dennis Quaid really annoyed me at first, maybe he was supposed to be but I guess I am always bothered by him in the 80s and like him better now. This is a nice film on the American Dream. Look for a cameo appearance from the real Chuck Yeager. All the actors, even Dennis Quaid who grew on me through the movie, were great and like my last movie featured, it will live on through generations.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): This is my silent film for the week which stars Werner Krauss as Dr. Caligari in this early horror film where he is a hypnotist who has Cesare under his power to do whatever he wants and does some very bad things. It was a pretty groundbreaking horror film which still gives some scares today.

Superman and the Mole Men (1951): This movies was brought from the tv series starring George Reeves as Superman/Clark Kent and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. Clark and Lois investigate strange happenings and the town encounters people of the title name. There is no real villain that Superman must face except the angry mob who fears the unknown and must stop the mole men from doing something extreme. It's a fun movie and if you can take more of a mystery than anything which is what the tv series was about, you might like this one.

Pizza (2005): I found this one on IFC and took interest. Ethan Embry stars as a Pizza Delivery boy who considers himself the "Pizza King" and named Matt. Kylie Sparks is Cara who is an overweight teen who is one day away from turning 18 and is invited by Matt to accompany him on his pizza run but pizza deliver is not all he does. She then is exposed to many things she has never seen but the two make an interesting couple trying to make the most of their lives in that small town. The plot is rather weak but Embry and Sparks are able to carry it to make it worth a watch.

The Owl and the Pussycat (1970): Herbert Ross directed this raunchy comedy based on a Broadway play. George Segal plays Felix, a struggling writer looking to get a novel published. Barbra Streisand plays Doris, an actress who does about whatever she needs to for money. Felix's life takes an extreme change when Doris joins his apartment and is at his throat about everything but is there more to them. This is probably my favorite Barbra Streisand movie I have seen and is just absolutely hilarious in my mind. This was a very controversial movie at the time of its release, still a bit extreme today.

The Sword of the Strange (2007): This is my anime samarai film for the week which they did a special showing at my local movie theater. This is the story of a swordsman with a dark past who reluctantly decides to protect a young boy and his dog and get them to a buddhist island. The dog was a very noble dog and the movie had a lot of good swordfights and a nice bond between the boy and the swordsman. The animation is great and does not look too computerized. The musical score also wins with me but I'm a sucker for that Asian music. I am a casual Anime watcher and I know Anime lovers will like this one.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005): This is my animated short film for the week. This documents the title character who is a disgraced aerial pilot flees his plague-ridden home in search for an end to the plague. He then learns more about himself that he wanted to. This movie had some very strange animation and imagery and was an Oscar-nominated short film, one absolutely worth checking out.

Cemetary Man (1994): This is part 17 of the Random Myspace Profile selection and for this week I chose Lady Katanga. This is one of those I had never heard of until now. Michele Soavi directed this Italian horror film which stars Rupert Everett as Dellamorte Dellamore, a cemetary worker who along with his dim partner, must watch for people resurrecting as zombies and kill them. He never really questions what he does or why it happens, he just feels obligated to destroy them. I really enjoyed this zombie film and really liked Everett in this role. It has some great imagery, music and is very atmospheric while darkly comic. Zombie film buffs will love this one. Not really for everyone though.

Well, that is it for this week. I see I had a couple pretty known movies but the rest really aren't so known so get out there. Please leave comments on what you like and what you don't like and I will be back next week which will include late director Claude Berri, Mickey Rourke, and Alan Rickman.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

Esther Williams (Neptune's Daughter) was Sheila Brooks in ANDY HARDY'S DOUBLE LIFE and Judy Garland (Wizard of Oz) was in many Andy Hardy films as his friend Betsy Booth in a handful of Andy Hardy movies.

Judy Garland (Wizard of Oz) played Esther Blodgett in the 1954 film A STAR IS BORN and Barbra Streisand (Owl and the Pussycat) played the Esther Hoffman Howard in the 1976 version of the film.

Margaret Hamilton (Wizard of Oz), plays the Wicked Witch of the West in this week's Feature and in 1974 she did the voice for Aunt Em in the 1974 animated sequel JOURNEY BACK TO OZ

I was in a Muncie Civic Theater version of THE WIZARD OF OZ where I was the Winkie General. It also included my facebook and myspace friends Lindsey (Dorothy), Corey (Scarecrow), Ryan (Tin Man), Marty (Cowardly lion), Lisa, Missy, Lauren, Katie, if I have missed anyone my apologies.

Dennis Quaid (The Right Stuff) plays Doc Holiday in the 1994 film WYATT EARP and Fred Ward (The Right Stuff) was Doc Holiday's friend Wyatt Earp in FOUR EYES AND A SIX GUN

My facebook and myspace friend Doug Jones played Cesare in the 2005 remake of this week's feature THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.

My facebook and myspace friend Ashlee played Barbra Streisand (Owl and the Pussycat) in a Mainstage Theater Production called BEEN THERE, SCENE THAT which was a little variety show deal on tv nostalgia.

George Segal (Owl and the Pussycat) plays Nick in the 1966 film WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF. My facebook and myspace friend Eric, who may be the most frequently mentioned people in facebook friends, played the role in an Anderson Mainstage Theater production.