Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 239th Edition

Welcome to the 239th Edition of my long running series. I just finished the second weekend of GUYS AND DOLLS. It's been a great show, we have one more weekend of performances so go to http://ibelfry.org for information on ordering tickets. Forgive any lackluster writing I might do since I have not really been writing on this much this week and am putting this together on the spot.

Novecento (1976): This is my epic film for this week which was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and stars a young Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu. This movie takes place during Fascist Italy from 1900 to 1945. Depardieu plays a peasant and De Niro plays a wealthy land owner. This movie focuses on these characters on what the events of Italy do to tear them apart. Other people in this film include Sterling Hayden, Burt Lancaster, and Donald Sutherland. It is a very long film so give yourself time to watch it and you might find it rather rewarding.

Flash Gordon (1980): This is a selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose Johnny Devine who has worked a lot for TNA wrestling. This is an updated version of the legendary hero where Sam J. Jones stars as the title character who is a quarterback from the New York Jets who becomes a hero when ending up in the planet Mongo and must go up against Ming the Merciless, played by Max Von Sydow. Topol, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton, Richard O'Brien and many others also co-star. There is also a great theme song to this movie by Queen. This was just a great one for me to watch with the special effects for the time, the imagery and the action.

Black Christmas (1974): This is a selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose my loyal reader Jeremy the Critic. I know we're a little ways away from Christmas but I had to check this one out when it presented itself to me. This is the worst Christmas for the girls in a sorority house when a psycho is out making prank calls and killing people at the house one by one so they must find out who is killing everyone. Olivia Hussey, who is most known for playing Juliet in the 1968 film ROMEO and JULIET, and Margot Kidder, most known for playing Lois Lane in the SUPERMAN films in the '70s and '80s, both co-star in what some call the first slasher film. John Saxon also co-stars as the cop investigating the murders.

House of 1000 Corpses (2003): The Facebook friend I chose for this week is Meredith who I went to school with and was a grade below me I believe. I might get some heat for this horror selection which is by no means for everyone and is the directorial debut of heavy metal star Rob Zombie. We first meet two young couples in Texas looking for Offbeat roadside attractions for a book. When their car breaks down, they get taken in my a family who turns out to be a lot of psychos who capture them and put them through all kinds of torture. THE OFFICE co-star Rainn Wilson, Sid Haig, Karen Black, THE SHIELD alum Walton Goggins, and others co-star in this film. Rob Zombie clearly put a lot of effort into this film and to be honest this is the first time I have seen a Rob Zombie film so this is his debut on this list. While it fell short among some horror fans, it is clearly a start for Zombie.

Princess Mononoke (1997): This is another selection from the Random Myspace Profile selection process and for this one I chose Fantasy Scribbler. This is part one of a two-part anime series and the next one will be featured next week. I know my friend John will like this. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed this Japanese animation film which we all come to know as anime. We start with the young warrior Ashitaka who while protecting his people is wounded with a deadly curse and is considered dead by his village. He then sets out for a cure by going to the far east and stumbles upon a war between animals of the forest and a group of humans trying to destroy the forest. Leading the animals is the brave Lady Eboshi who was raised by wolves. This movie has some great action and animation. Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver, X-FILES alum Gillian Anderson, MY SO-CALLED LIFE alum Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, and many others lend their voices for the English track.

Hush (2009): This is actually a British horror film I found on IFC. In this film, we have Zakes and his girlfriend Beth who are out driving and end up angering a truck driver. Zakes then believes he sees a girl at the back of the truck who is bound and bloodied. Beth then makes him investigate what he saw. When at a service station he then finds that his girlfriend is missing. He is then the only witness towards anything and must convince the police of what he saw. This was a pretty decent thriller with William Ash in a pretty good performance as Zakes.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974): This is a murder mystery with quite the All-Star cast. Sidney Lumet directed this movie based on the novel by Agatha Christie which features one of her top detectives Hercule Poirot who is played by Albert Finney here. He is not intending to work as he is on board on a train intending to take it easy but then it becomes more complicated as there is a murder on the train and then the train is stopped due to the snow. Poirot is then asked to investigate by the head of the train in hopes of not having to deal too much with the police. Poirot then starts an investigation whose suspects include Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bissett, Anthony Perkins, Sean Connery, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, and many others. This is known to be the only film adaptation of her novel that she really liked and died after the premier. Finney is great as Poirot. He was known to play older characters believably at a young age as he was Ebenezer Scrooge around this time period and only in his '30s to play characters much older.

A Nous la Liberte (1931): This is my French film for the week which was written and directed by Rene Clair. This is a satire and musical which focuses on two escaped cons who have just escaped prison. One of them gets a good job as a factory owner and his friend who gets a job but then sees that it is not much different from prison life. This is a very interesting film that takes a look at the work conditions of the era. The musical numbers are pretty fun too. The distribution company actually put a lawsuit on Charlie Chaplin's 1936 classic MODERN TIMES which they claim Chaplin actually plagiarized their ideas. Rene Clair did not join in on the suit as he felt that if these charges were true they were a compliment since he very much admired Chaplin.

The Man With the Golden Arm (1955): Frank Sinatra stars in this film as Frankie Machine who is just being released from prison hoping to pursue a music career and not end up where he was. He finds that it is not easy as everyone is trying to get him back into the life of gambling and drugs. Eleanor Parker stars as his crippled wife who expects him to wait on her hand and foot and Kim Novak plays the much nicer Molly who likes him and his wife suspects her. I really enjoyed this performance of Frank Sinatra and shows the difficulty of going straight when returning to the same area. Darren McGavin, most known as "The Old Man" in A CHRISTMAS STORY, co-stars as Louie who is trying to get Frankie back in the game.

A Bout with a Trout (1941): I end with this animation short which features the character Little Lulu. Lulu decides to skip school and go fishing but then gets her conscience talking to her and the angel wants her to go to school and the other wants to play hookie but also meets all kinds of other interesting characters in a very entertaining cartoon. I have used a couple Little Lulu cartoons and prove to be very entertaining.

Well, that is it for this week. I seemed to focus a lot more on sci-fi and horror that what I usually do. Tell me what you like and what you hate and stay tuned next week which will include Sidney Poitier, William Holden, John Cusack, Heath Ledger, and many others.

FUN LITTLE FACTS

Gerard Depardieu (Novecento) plays Porthos in the 1998 film THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. My Facebook friend Ed played the part in a production of THE THREE MUSKETEERS at the Muncie Civic Theater.

Richard O'Brien (Flash Gordon) plays Riff-Raff in the 1975 film THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. My Facebook friends Kevin, Cody, and Nic have all played the part in various productions at the Muncie Civic Studio Theater

JAMES BOND FRANCHISE
-Max Von Sydow (Flash Gordon) plays Bond's arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 1983 film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.
-Topol (Flash Gordon) plays Bond's ally Milos Columbo in the 1981 Bond film FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-Timothy Dalton (Flash Gordon) plays James Bond in two films in the late '80s. I know I'm one of few that likes Dalton's portrayal of Bond.
-Robbie Coltrane (Flash Gordon extra) plays Bond's uneasy ally Valentin Zukovsky in a couple Bond films in the '90s during the Pierce Brosnan era.
-Minnie Driver (Princess Mononoke) has a cameo as Zukovsky's singer girlfriend Irina in the 1995 Bond film GOLDENEYE.
-Andreas Wisniewski (Hush) plays the secondary villain Necros in the 1987 Bond film THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS.
-Sean Connery (Murder on the Orient Express) is the first James Bond and considered by many to be the best. He played the part in the '60s and early '70s.

Frank Sinatra (The Man with the Golden Arm) plays Nathan Detroit in the 1955 film GUYS AND DOLLS. My Facebook friend Mark plays the part in the production of the same name we are in right now at the Belfry Theatre.

Darren McGavin (The Man with the Golden Arm) plays The Old Man in the 1983 film THE CHRISTMAS STORY. Mark also played the Old Man in a production but not sure of the theater he did it at.