Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 212th Edition

Welcome to the 212th Edition of my long-running series. This week, I pay tribute to the late Edward Woodward. I have three selections from the Random Myspace Profile selection process but some I do not remember who I chose from because the database I had them on was lost so now when making these selections, I will just use paper. A TIME FOR CHRISTMAS started over the weekend and is going very well.

Secret Honor (1984): This is one of Travis' co-op selections that he showed us and probably the most underrated of director Robert Altman. Philip Baker Hall stars in this fictional account of Nixon where he reflects on his life, political career, and the real reasons for Watergate. Support performances include... Oh, that's right, Hall is the only person in the whole movie. This is his 90 minute monologue which is just so complex with drama and some comedy. The movie was even a bit disturbing at times especially with his strange mother complex which made me think of PSYCHO. Altman filmed the movie at the University of Michigan and most of the people on hand were film students. Philip Baker Hall was great as Nixon and was able to keep my attention the whole way through.

The Conversation (1974): Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed this movie which came right between THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART 2 so it went overlooked among the great films of Coppola. Gene Hackman stars as surveillance expert Harry Caul. He is hired by a "Director" to follow the actions of his wife and her lover. When he gets the footage together, he refuses to give over the footage fearing for their lives which causes him to develop a large case of paranoia and alienating everyone else. A young Harrison Ford plays the Director's assistant Martin and is determined to get the footage from Harry. Ford was originally going to make a cameo but Coppola liked him so much, he made him a supporting role. Other people in the movie include Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Frederic Forrest, Allen Garfeild, Teri Garr, and an uncredited appearance from Robert Duvall.

This Gun For Hire (1942): This is a selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose the Veronica Lake tribute profile. Alan Ladd stars as hitman Philip Raven who really has no compassion and will kill anyone who gets in his way. When he does his latest job for Willard Gates, he pays him in marked bills so Raven is determined to get revenge. Veronica Lake plays performer Ellen Graham who is asked to help pursue Raven. Ellen has her own encounter with Gates and not liking him. Philip and Ellen meet on a train where first they want to kill each other but then form an uneasy alliance out of their common enemy. Robert Preston stars as the detective out to get Philip and Ellen's boyfriend. This was a very entertaining film-noir with a good performance out of Ladd. This is based on the novel by Graham Greene.

A Bug's Life (1998): This is my Pixar film for the week which stars NEWSRADIO alum Dave Foley as the misfit ant Flik. Every year the ants must get together food for the evil grasshoppers but Flik drops a lot of the food into the river. The leader of the grasshoppers Hopper, voiced by Kevin Spacey, gives the ants a second chance. Flik then sets off to find bugs capable of taking on the grasshoppers and due to some misunderstandings gets a circus troupe of bugs instead. This movie has some great animation and a good story which is the most important thing. The circus bugs were the highlight in my opinion. There is also quite an all-star cast which includes SEINFELD alum Julia-Louis Dreyfuss, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn, CHEERS alum John Ratzenberger, Roddy McDowell, and the list goes on and on. This is Roddy McDowell's last movie. Dave Foley has taken this character to other Pixar films. This movie is a loose remake of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.

Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant (2004): This is a selection from the Random Myspace Profiloe selection process and for this one I chose the profile for this movie. I streamed this from Netflix instant and found this to be a rather interesting form of puppetry. The infamous Eggplant escapes execution and plans revenge on an orange called Dr. Sunkyst who he blames for his crimes. Each character is some type of fruit or vegetable like the head of the University being lettuce. I thought that was strange that the apple represented that black man and that Dr. Sunkyst was accused of being "fruitist". There is not much to explain here except that it is not for everyone as there is a lot of violence among these fruits but it still entertains.

A Christmas Carol (1984): This is my tribute to the late Edward Woodward who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present and my kickoff to the holiday season. I will try to have some Christmas oriented films this month but no guarantee. Most of us know the classic story here written by Charles Dickens and one I have been in twice at Muncie Civic Theater. In this tv adaptation of the classic, George C. Scott plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy man who has a lot of money but cannot reach out to anyone especially on Christmas. We all know that three ghosts come to visit him to show his past, present, and future in order to get him to see the meaning of Christmas and to not end up like his former business partner Jacob Marley. Scott was very good as Scrooge and this is a pretty good adaptation of the classic. I might have other adaptations this month, not sure yet.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007): This is one of the Random Myspace Profile selections that I don't remember who I chose. I am glad I chose this one which is the 5th in the series and honestly I have seen them up to this one but intend on doing the rest. Daniel Radcliffe reprises his role as the title character and believes that Lord Valdemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, will return. Dumbledore is getting the same warnings but no one believes them. Meanwhile, they appoint a new teacher as the Defense of the Dark Arts who becomes a big foe to Harry. Harry then secretly trains a group of Wizards to fight against Valdemort and all who is with him. I can always watch a movie with two of my favorite actors, Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman. This is from the book series by J.K. Rowling and I admit I have never read the books though I do not believe they are satanic like some. This all-star cast really works for this movie. There are some Christmas elements on here including some kissing under the mistletoe.

Rear Window (1954): I bring you "The Master of Suspense" Alfred Hitchcock in what many consider his best. James Stewart plays photographer L.B. Jeffries who is for right now confined to a wheelchair. In a wheelchair, what else is there to do but check out what his neighbors are doing across his apartment. He becomes very amused looking through other people's windows until he sees what he believes may have been a murder. Grace Kelly is his love interest who dismisses his theories at first but then starts to believe him. Raymond Burr plays the neighbor who might be a killer but first they must prove it. There is a lot of suspense in this film and will keep you through it all.

His Wedding Night (1917): This is another selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I used the tribute profile for Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. This one is a short film which he did a series of shorts with Buster Keaton which was Keaton's big break. Arbuckle is the only person to have worked with the "Big 3" which also include Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. In this short film Fatty and Al St. John are rivals in a drug store for the same woman and go through some extreme measures in the drug store. Keaton delivers a wedding gown and then actually tries it on so we have him in a dress. There were some pretty comic moments here in Keaton's early career and he very much repaid Arbuckle who became blacklisted in Hollywood due to a rape trial and Keaton helped Arbuckle with his bills.

A Night To Remember (1958): I end with this epic on the doomed Titanic. This is a pretty straight-forward story and does not make some fictional account like the 1997 film TITANIC which I do like but I also like what this film does. We start where everyone is excited to be getting to go on this "unsinkable" ship. Since it was so unsinkable, why would they need that many lifeboats and other things so that would be a waste of money and time. However, the unthinkable happens and an iceberg hits the boat. At first, they did not think it would do much damage but as we all know they were wrong. This night they had was just as it sounded where the first class got pretty good treatment but not that second class. This is no love story, just an account of what possibly went on that night.

Well, that is it for this week. Towards the end of this blog, my writing may have sunk some since I just put lot of this together so sorry for that but tell me what you like and what you don't like and stay tuned for next week which so far includes a selection from Royce Clemens' Top 50 films of the decade, a documentary, Robert Taylor, Samuel L. Jackson, and many more.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

AIR FORCE ONE FRANCHISE
-Philip Baker Hall (Secret Honor) plays U.S. Attorney Andrew Ward
-Harrison Ford (The Conversation) plays President James Marshall
-Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) plays head terrorist Ivan Korshunov who has quite a fight with the President of the United States.


PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FRANCHISE
-Philip Baker Hall (Secret Honor) plays Richard Nixon in this week's feature SECRET HONOR
-Gene Hackman (The Conversataion) plays corrupt fictional president Allen Richmond in the 1997 film ABSOLUTE POWER.
-Harrison Ford (The Conversation) plays the fighting president James Marshall in the 1997 film AIR FORCE ONE.
-Robert Duvall (Conversation) plays Dwight Eisenhower in the 1980 tv movie IKE: THE WAR YEARS.

Gene Hackman (Conversation) plays Superman's rival Lex Luthor in the Christopher Reeve era. Kevin Spacey plays the part in the 2006 film SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Gene Hackman (Conversation) plays Nicholas Earp in the 1994 film WYATT EARP. James Stewart (Rear Window) plays his famous son Wyatt in the 1964 film CHEYENNE AUTUMN

THE CONVERSATION actors John Cazale and Robert Duvall were stepbrothers in THE GODFATHER.

Frederic Forrest (Conversation) plays Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the 1978 tv movie RUBY AND OSWALD. Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) plays the part in the 1991 film JFK.

STAR WARS FRANCHISE
-Harrison Ford (Conversation) plays Han Solo in the first three films
-Warwick Davis (Harry Potter) plays an Ewok

Robert Duvall (Conversation) plays Roger Chillingworth and Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) plays Reverend Dimmesdale in the 1995 film THE SCARLET LETTER which was two great actors making unfortunate career choices.

Robert Duvall (Conversation) plays outlaw Jesse James in the 1972 film THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID. Robert Preston (This Gun For Hire) plays the part in a 1956 episode of GOODYEAR TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE called MISSOURI LEGEND.

Kevin Spacey (A Bug's Life) did an impersonation of James Stewart (Rear Window) on the BBC tv show PARKINSON in 2002

Jonathan Harris (Bug's Life) played Dr. Smith in the 60s tv series LOST IN SPACE. Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) played the part in the 1998 film of the same name.

Madeline Kahn (Bug's Life) played the role of Elizabeth in the 1974 film YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter) played the role in the 1994 film MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN. My Facebook friend Lisa also played the part in a production at the Muncie Civic Theater.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL franchise
-Roddy McDowell (Bug's Life) plays Bob Crachit in a 1985 episode of GEORGE BURNS COMEDY WEEK called CHRISTMAS CAROL II: THE SEQUEL
-Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) does the voice for Jacob Marley, Scrooge's overworked and underpaid worker Crachit, and Crachit's son Tiny Tim in this year's adaptation of the Dickens classic
-My Facebook friend Marty plays The Ghost of Christmas Present in this years radio broadcast play at Ball State and he played the part in the adaptation that I was in which was my first show in like 8 years.
-My Facebook friend Jim played The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in the version that I was in as a child where I was the Christmas Boy.
-My Facebook friend Neil played Tiny Tim in the 2004 musical version at the Muncie Civic Theater which I believe was Neil's first of many performances at Muncie Civic Theater.
-My Facebook friend Kelsey played Belle a couple years ago in the annual version at the Madison Park County Church of God.
-My Facebook friend Kristen played Emily, the equivalent of Belle, in the 2004 Muncie Civic Theater version
-My Facebook friend Erica played Fan in the 1993 Muncie Civic Version that I was in.
-My Facebook friend Sonya played Mrs. Fezziwig in the 2004 MCT version.
-My Facebook friend Josh played Peter Crachit in the 1993 MCT version.

George C. Scott (Christmas Carol) played Captain Edward J. Smith in the 1996 tv movie TITANIC. Laurence Naismith played the part in this week's feature A NIGHT TO REMEMBER.

George C. Scott (Christmas Carol) played John Proctor in the 1967 tv movie THE CRUCIBLE. Sean Connery (A Night to Remember uncredited) played the part in a 1959 episode of ITV PLAY OF THE WEEK and the episode had the same title. Susannah York (Christmas Carol) also played the part in the same thing Connery did.

Frank Finlay (Christmas Carol) played Porthos in the 1973 film THE THREE MUSKETEERS and the 1989 film THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS. My facebook friend Edward played the role in a recent version at the Muncie Civic Theater.

DRACULA FRANCHISE
-Frank Finlay (Christmas Carol) played Van Helsing in the 1977 tv movie DRACULA
-Nigel Davenport (Christmas Carol) played Van Helsing in the 1973 tv movie DRACULA
-Gary Oldman (Harry Potter) played Dracula in the 1994 film BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA which is probably my favorite adaptation.
-My Facebook friend Sean played Dracula in a version at the Muncie Civic Theater