Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations

Welcome to the 174th Edition of my long-running series. This week I have four selections from the Random Myspace Profile selection and three from On-Demand for when I was at my dad's this week. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through the years. Let's get to my 10 picks for the week.

For Me and My Gal (1942): I start this week with some Busby Berkeley, Judy Garland and the film debut of Gene Kelly. Judy is Jo Hayden and Gene is Harry Palmer. They then decide to team up in Vaudeville during WW1. Things get complicated when Harry intentionally injures his hand to avoid the draft which turns Jo away from him and does whatever he can to make up for things. This is quite a piece, maybe propaganda, on patriotism which was made during WW2. This has some great dance numbers but is quite different than other Busby Berkeley musicals I have seen where there is no real extravagant song and dance number at the end but still good performances.

Amblin (1968): This is my short for the week which I found on youtube and is a very early Steven Spielberg. This movie focuses on two wanderers who meet in the desert and venture a long way together becoming lovers. This is a 25 minute movie which does not have any dialogue but a nice music score and early signs of one of the greats. The title of the movie would later become Spielberg's movie studio.

Sin City (2005): This is part 23 of the Random Myspace Profile selection and for this one I chose www.onifc.com. This is one of many I am featuring this week that is not for everyone. This is a series of stories from the graphic novel by Frank Miller which had some pretty strange imagery and gore. Bruce Willis is a police officer who is trying to save a kidnapped girl from a psycho. Mickey Rourke is an ex-con who is framed for the murder of a hooker and is determined to find her killer because she was nice to him. Clive Owen was after a corrupt cop and helps an amazonian group of females. There is way too much to explain plotwise and character-wise. This was at the time billed as Mickey Rourke's "comeback" before THE WRESTLER was his big comeback film. There are many others here including Jessica Alba, Nick Stahl, Rosario Dawson, Michael Madsen, GILMORE GIRLS alum Alexis Bledel, and Josh Hartnett. Quentin Tarantino is billed as a special guest director.

Black Sheep (2006): This is part 24 of the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose Rich Moyer. I actually watched this at Blue Bottle with my facebook friend Tom who cracked up a lot at this film but it was not for Chris Farley and David Spade, for this is not that version. Jonathan King wrote and directed this movie about how harmless sheep become bloodthirsty killers from genetic experiments. Not much really needs to be said about this one, I think you all know now what to expect. In some ways I felt the title could have been NIGHT OF THE LIVING SHEEP. Not for everyone but horror buffs might enjoy.

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007): This is the first of my On-Demand selections. This movie stars Javier Bardem as Florentino as a man who was rejected by a girl at a young age and obsesses over her through the years which then drives him to have many affairs through his lifetime. Shakira has some pretty good songs and the scenery is great. Mostly of worth for Javier Bardem. This is by no means my favorite but was worth a view and this is the same year Bardem won Best Actor for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

The Crow (1994): This is part 25 of the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose WWE superstar Jimmy Wang Yang. This is based on an underground comic strip written by James O'Barr. Brandon Lee stars as Eric Draven whose girlfriend was raped and murdered by a group of thugs along with him when coming to the wrong place at the wrong time. A hypnotic crow then brings him back to avenge the wrongs of what happened to him targeting each person responsible and making them pay. OZ alum Ernie Hudson plays the burned out cop who helps him. This movie has some great imagery and action and as many know was Brandon Lee's last movie for he was killed by what was supposed to be a blank in the gun. This might have been the start to quite a career had that not happened. This inspired many new looks including wrestler Sting, among other independent wrestlers I have noticed. It is pretty similar to the make-up that Heath Ledger had when he played the Joker.

Thunderball (1965): This is another one of my On-Demand selections and so I decided to use a Bond film and this was the second I tried, the first did not work out due to other movies so I went the Connery route. I know he has done better but Claudine Auger, who plays Domino, was always my favorite Bond girl. She just always draws me when I see her. We have the terrorist group SPECTRE whose agent Largo, played by Adolfo Celi, steals two nuclear warheads and Bond must race to save them. Domino is Largo's mistress who is unaware of his dealings. Luciana Paluzzi plays a good female assassin. Lots of interesting underwater sequences.

Below the Belt (1980): This is the last of the On-Demand selections and probably only for wrestling fans and people in that industry. This movie focuses on a waitress who decides to go into wrestling. Regina Baff plays Rosa Rubinsky who begins to see the road is not all it is cracked up to be. This is a group of wrestlers who go all over the world and she rides with a few other female wrestlers. The constant songs got to be a bit annoying but it was a pretty realistic view of that lifestyle and this is before the days of WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts. Female wrestling legend Mildred Burke has a part in the beginning.

My Friend Irma (1949): This is part 26 of the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for one I chose the tribute profile to Jerry Lewis and chose the debut of both Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Marie Wilson plays the title character who is a rather dumb but likable woman who along with her fiancee and roommate discover Martin and Lewis who were a couple people working at the lemonade stand and really like Martin's voice and try to get him exposed for his talent. Not much else needs to be said here except the beginning of a great comedy duo.

Going Places (1938): I found this one on TCM when looking for a 30s film. This is a comedy which stars Eddie Anderson who is an employee for a sports store who poses for a famous jockey and gets more than he bargained for when he gets a horse who only stays calm when he trainer Gabriel plays his trumpet. Louis Armstrong plays the role of Gabriel and is great to watch. Former president Ronald Reagan has a small part as the horse's owner. It's not something that will ever live on in infamy but when else do you find a comedy on horse racing and a movie with Louis Armstrong.

Well, that is it for this week. Stay tuned next week which will include Patrick Swayze, Laura Dern, Gary Cooper, Johnny Depp, Betty Boop, Mark Margolis and an old Asian film. Please tell me what you like and what you hate and I will return next week.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

Steven Spielberg (Amblin director) was a film student for Jerry Lewis (My Friend Irma)

MARVEL FRANCHISE
-Jessica Alba (Sin City) played Sue Storm aka Invisible Girl in the 2005 film THE FANTASTIC FOUR and its 2007 sequal.
-Michael Clark Duncan (Sin City) played Marvel villain Kingpin in the 2003 film DAREDEVIL
-Mickey Rourke (Sin City) is rumored to be playing the role of Marvel villain Whiplash in the 2010 sequal to IRON MAN. If anyone has any insight of what is going on with that, please tell in the comments.
-Liev Schreiber (Love in the time of Cholera) will be playing Sabretooth in the new Wolverine film.

Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) turned down the role of Reinaldo Arenas in BEFORE NIGHT FALLS which would ultimately would go to Javier Bardem (Love in the Time of Cholera).

Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) was in the 1989 Bond film LICENSE TO KILL as a great henchman Dario, many years after this week's Bond feature THUNDERBALL.

Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) plays Che Guevera in the 2008 mini-series CHE and Catalina Sandino Moreno plays his second wife Aleida March.

Michael Madsen (Sin City) was considered for the role of John McLane in the 1988 film DIE HARD which would ultimately go to his co-star Bruce Willis of this week's SIN CITY

Clive Owen (Sin City) was King Arthur in the 2004 film KING ARTHUR and Sean Connery (Thunderball) played the role in the 1995 film FIRST KNIGHT.

Clive Owen (Sin City) played Max in the 1997 film BENT and my facebook friend Ryan played the role at a Muncie Civic Theater version.

Clive Owen (Sin City) will play me in my bio-pic THE RISE AND FALL OF SHAUN BERKEY and Mickey Rourke (Sin City) will play my father.

Mickey Rourke (Sin City) apparently declined the role of Butch in the 1994 film PULP FICTION which would ultimately go to his co-star Bruce Willis of this week's SIN CITY.

There is a lot of inter-connectivity with SIN CITY actors but I'll stop here

John Leguizamo (Love in the Time of Cholera) was considered for the role of Detective Rey Curtis on LAW AND ORDER which ultimately went to his co-star Benjamin Bratt on this week's feature LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA