Welcome to the 188th Edition. On Tuesday, June 23rd, AMERICA'S GOT TALENT premiers. If I am on tv, it will be the Chicago Edition and I do not know if I will be on tv. I see I have included quite a bit of violence in this one. I had to pass on quite a few titles while putting this together due to my "rules". The last four were all quite unplanned. Some went on into the next couple weeks and some just will not advance for now. I have two from the Random Myspace Profile selection process. Next week will probably have one but that is subject to change.
Angels and Demons (2009): I saw this a couple weeks ago when I was at my dad's house. My 16 year old niece Shelby was there unexpectedly, well to me, and she insisted we go to the theaters to see this one since she is a fan of Tom Hanks. We had a small debate that in my opinion Ralph Fiennes, who was considered at one time, would have been better for Robert Langdon but Hanks did okay. This would not have been my first choice but I'm sure she could have come up with far worse to see. This is a prequal to THE DA VINCI CODE where Langdon is brought to Italy after the murder of the Pope and the kidnapping of four different popes and finds many clues that lead to the Illuminatti, a group thought to be extinct. Please don't ask me to explain much since it is very complicated. I remember trying to read the Dan Brown book and I just gave up. While watching it, I followed it for the most part and it was pretty compelling. Ewan McGregor co-stars as a young priest who would like to become a young pope. Other actors include Stellan Skarsgard, Ayelet Zurer, Armin Mueller-Stahl.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005): This is a selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose independent wrestler Skip Radisson who I once worked with backstage when he was a wrestler and I was the announcer. I admit, the first time I saw this when it came out I was on the fence the whole way through. Maybe I was finding myself relating to him way too much since I am the 28 year old virgin and I really don't care. I kept thinking I did not want to see a movie where people just try to get him laid but that really was not the case and there is more to it. Steve Carell stars as Andy who is the title character who loves classic horror, STAR WARS, you name it and his co-workers figure out he is a virgin and cannot believe it. Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Romany Malco are his more "experienced" friends that do what they can to get him laid. Catherine Keener plays Trish and takes a liking to Andy and vice versa but Andy must decide what is right before it is too late. It did actually have a pretty good message in it. It is rather obscene but very entertaining film directed by Judd Apatow who makes his directorial debut in film and co-wrote with star Steve Carell in his breakthrough role in film. Look for Kimberly Page, who some might recognize from WCW wrestling as the wife of Diamond Dallas Page
Enter the Dragon (1973): This is in tribute to Shih Kien who recently left us. Kien played the role of Han who Bruce Lee was sent to infiltrate on an island where he holds a big martial arts tournament every three years. John Saxon co-stars as Roper who is in debt to mobsters and Jim Kelly, no not the former Buffalo Bills quarterback, co-stars as Williams who is always harassed by the police. There is a very diverse group of people taking part in this tournament that has more than meets the eye and always manages to give some good entertainment and considered by many to be the best martial arts movie of all time, definetly the best American one. This is Bruce Lee's last completed film and died three weeks before the premier. There is a showcase of martial arts talent which include what has already been mentioned, Bob Wall, Bolo Yeung, Angela Mao. Also, martial arts stars of the 80s and 90s Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung also are extras before they became big. Sammo Hung is the first person Bruce Lee fights. Chan was an extra and Lee accidently hurt him. He apparently apoligized and told Chan he would have a part in all his movies but died before that promise could be kept. This is my favorite Bruce Lee film. While I like Lee, I am not a fan of all his movies while liking Asian martial arts films but I also understand his importance in the martial arts genre.
All's Well (1941): This is my cartoon short for the week and as you see I have a lot of these. This one has the character Gabby. I don't know the background of Gabby but in this one he comes across a crying baby and does what he can to make the baby smile and change the diaper. The baby does not make things easy and has some pretty funny situations and is pretty racy for a cartoon of that era which makes wonder where was the baby's mother or father but oh well I'll look past it.
Speed (1994): This is another selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose my myspace friend Sylvia. Jan de Bont directed this great action film which stars Keanu Reeves as SWAT agent Jack Travin who must save many people on a bus that has a bomb on it while keeping it above 50. Sandra Bullock in her breakthrough role plays Annie who takes the driver position on the bus for Jack. Dennis Hopper plays the person who is playing the game with Jack by putting the bomb on the bus. The action starts in the very beginning when Jack and his partner Harry, played by Jeff Daniels, must save many from an elevator that has a bomb on it. Other actors include Joe Morton, Beth Grant, Alan Ruck, and Glenn Plummer. Ruck was very amusing as the dim-witted tourist on the bus. This movie has some non-stop action but a good premise and good characters to make it a good movie and much better than its sequal.
A Song is Born (1948): This is my musical for the week that I found on TCM which was directed by Howard Hawks. This was a very interesting premise. We have Danny Kaye as Professor Hobart Frisbee who works at a research center with many other bachelor men. Virginia Mayo co-stars as Honey Swanson, a gangster's girlfriend who is in hiding from the police when her boyfriend is suspected of things she might know. She then finds herself falling for Frisbee and is even liked by the other professor's who do not know who she really is and she becomes very conflicted on what to do. This movie has quite a bit of Jazz and has some jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and many others. We also have a very amusing song created by Honey. It is really hard to explain but is very entertaining with some good music for jazz lovers.
Fire and Ice (1983): Ralph Bakshi directed this unusual animated tale where we have Nekron, there evil Ice Lord who tries to conquer Fire Keep, lead by the good King Jarol. Jarol's daughter is then abducted by Nekron's ape-like creature but is rescued by the brave warrior Larn who joins the battle of good and evil. This is not something for children to watch and has some pretty disturbing imagery and a lot of scantily clad people. This was quite good but I liked Bakshi's WIZARDS better that I had on here a few weeks ago. I recommend just checking out Ralph Bakshi in general if you like adult animation tales.
Rush (1991): Jason Patric stars as undercover cop Jim, who partners up with Kristen, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who he forms a relationship with while trying to take down high-profile drug dealer Gaines, played by singer Gregg Allman. In their quest to bring him down, they get to into the life style becoming drug addicts themselves, especially Jim. The job keeps getting harder and harder when they are forced to use more crooked means to get Gaines. This is a great movie that shows how a job can really get to you if you are not careful and has quite an ending that I really had to analyze. Sam Elliott co-stars as their boss. Max Perlich and William Sadler also co-star in this movie and introduced us to Eric Clapton's hit song TEARS IN HEAVEN.
Wild Boys of the Road (1933): I was having a hard time finding anything in the 30s but came across this on TCM which is directed by William A. Wellman. This takes place during the depression where Edwin Phillips stars as high-schooler Tom, whose mother is out of work and his father has lost his job making him feel that he will only be a burden to his parents. He then gets with his friend Eddie, played by Frankie Darro, and they set off to leave and trek the USA in search for a new job. They meet a young girl named Grace, played by Rochelle Hudson, and they stick together looking everywhere for a job and meeting kids just like them. This is a very nice portrait of the effects the depression had on people and on this case the children with a pretty good message at the end.
Attack of the Monsters (1969): This comes from the podcast series CULT OF UHF where Reverend Chumley shows some b-movies so I will be featuring these periodically. This is a Japanese movie where a couple young boys find a spaceship and decide to fly in it landing in a planet where a couple aliens kidnap them to lure in the heroic Gamera, which I believe is a flying turtle that seems to have engines, to fight the monster on that planet Guiron, which has a knife for a head. Them Japanese sure come up with some interesting monsters and creatures like Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, now I know about Gamer, wow. If you like cheesy sci-fi films, this is for you. Yes, the plot is very absurd, as well as the dialogue but still entertains.
Well, that is it for this week. Please tell me what you like and what you hate. I will be back next week with movies featuring Bridget Fonda, John Travolta and Burt Lancaster
FUN LITTLE FACTS
Tom Hanks (Angels and Demons) is said to have turned down the role of Jack in this week's feature SPEED which would ultimately go to Keanu Reeves.
Tom Hanks (Angels and Demons) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Rush) play husband and wife in the 2002 film ROAD TO PERDITION
Catherine Keener (40 Year Old Virgin) plays TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD author Harper Lee in the 2005 film CAPOTE. Sandra Bullock (Speed) plays the part in the 2006 film INFAMOUS.
40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN actors Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks reunite to play the title characters in the 2008 film ZACH AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. Many of the actors from the film have done many things especially with Judd Apatow.
Seth Rogen (40 Year Old Virgin) will play the role of Britt Reid in a 2010 remake of the 60s tv series GREEN HORNET. Bruce Lee (Enter the Dragon) played Reid's partner Kato in the tv series.
Seth Rogen (40 Year Old Virgin) and Jackie Chan (Enter the Dragon uncredited) play two of the Furious Five in the 2008 film KUNG FU PANDA
Jennifer Jason Leigh (Rush) declined the role of Annie in this week's feature SPEED which would ultimately go to Sandra Bullock
O.K. CORRAL SHOOTOUT franchise
-Dennis Hopper (Speed) plays Doc Holiday in the 1980 mini-series WILD TIMES.
-Hopper (Speed) also plays Billy Clanton in the 1957 film GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
-Sam Elliot (Rush) plays Virgil Earp in the 1993 film TOMBSTONE.
Sandra Bullock (Speed) and Jason Patric (Rush) are lovers in the sequal to this week's feature SPEED. Bullock reprises her role as Annie and is with a different LAPD cop named Alex, played by Jason Patric. I heard Reeves declined to reprise his part of Jack and a smart move if that is true
William Sadler (Rush) is the Grim Reaper in the 1991 film BILL AND TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY and puts Keanu Reeves through a lot of tough games.
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