Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 241st Edition

Welcome to the 241st Edition of my blog. There is not much going on for me right now so let's just get on with the list. Get your Netflix and Blockbuster queues and follow along.

Goodfellas (1990): I start out the week with some Martin Scorsese co-wrote the screenplay with Nicolas Pileggi who wrote the novel this movie is based on called WISE GUY which is based on the life of Henry Hill, who is played so well by Ray Liotta in this film. We first meet Henry as a child whose parents were in a bad marriage and were rather abusive towards him sometimes. He then begins to envy the life of a mobster who he saw many of in his area of town and wanted to be just like them. He joined up with the Lucchese family but could not move up real high in the family because he was not full Italian. Robert De Niro plays one of Hill's mentors Jimmy Morrow whose real name was Jimmie Burke. Joe Pesci plays Tommy Devito, whose real name is Thomas DeSimone, who moved up along with Henry but was far more violent. SOPRANOS alum Lorraine Bracco plays Henry's wife and Paul Sorvino plays hill's mentor Paul Cicero whose real name was Paul Vario, who is very dismayed when Henry gets into the drug trade which I always say is the Mafia's biggest downfall. I am not really sure of the reason to rename so many people except Henry himself but that is something I can totally let go with the quality of this film. This is ranked as one of the greatest Mafia films of all time and is very authentic as there were a lot of people who knew the main characters on the set. The real-life Henry Hill has been in the limelight a lot where he has been on THE HOWARD STERN SHOW and is a restaurant owner. He also has known alcohol problems. Other actors in this film include Debi Mazar, Frank Vincent, SOPRANOS alums Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico, Illeana Douglas, and Samuel L. Jackson. This is not the love story that some mob movies tend to focus on, this is a violent film which really does not glorify life in the mafia.

Valkyrie (2008): I saw this movie at Muncie Public Library so I was finally able to go see one of these movies. Our favorite Scientologist Tom Cruise stars as Nazi officer Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg who lead a real-life assassination attempt to kill Adolf Hitler feeling he must save Germany from Hitler. We then go onto see how Stauffenberg's obsession with killing Hitler affects his personal and family life. Cruise portrayed this part very well and the rest of the supporting cast did very well too including Kenneth Branaugh, Tom Wilkinson, Terrance Stamp, Eddie Izzard and many others. This is a great historical film and should be watched at least once. As you might guess, it is pretty violent but manages a PG-13 rating.

The Son of the Sheik (1926): This is my silent film for the week which stars Rudolph Valentino in a dual role as father and son and unfortunately died right after this one. This is the sequel to his classic THE SHEIK. Valentino stars as Ahmed who falls in love with Yasmin, a dancing girl who fronts a gang ran by her father. Her father then captures Ahmed and tortures him making him believe she had him captured. After his escape he must then piece together what happened and leads into some pretty good action scenes.

The Last House on the Left (1972): I go from Valentino's last film to Wes Craven's directorial debut. This is a pretty decent horror film where we have two girls going to a rock concert and want to score some pot. However, they turn to the wrong people who then take the girls hostage and put them through a lot of torture. The low-budget really works in the film and especially the camerawork. This was a pretty good start to Craven's great career and is good for a horror fan to watch. My favorite was near the end when a girl's parents are looking for her.

Eyes Without a Face (1959): I see I have focused a lot on violence lately and even have used a lot of the horror genre as here I use one from France directed by Georges Franju. Here, we have a surgeon named Dr. Genessier whose daughter's face was disfigured in an accident who must then wear a mask. With help of his assistant Louise, he kidnaps young girls hoping to be able to replace the face of his daughter but with no success but never gives up. This was a very well-told film and does a very good job focusing on the characters but like the first four I have shown have their audience which is not everyone.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964): This is my French musical for the week which was directed by Jacques Demy. Catherine Deneuve stars as Genevieve, a 17 year old living with her widowed mother that owns an umbrella shop. Nino Castelnuovo plays Guy, a car mechanic who Genevieve meets and falls in love with much to the dismay of her mother. She becomes pregnant but before she can tell him, he gets drafted to the army breaking away their relationship. She tries to wait for him but finally gives into her mother and accepts a marriage proposal from a gem dealer. When Guy comes back after being wounded he must adjust to all the changes. I remember seeing this years back and really enjoying it so it was great to revisit. The whole movie is singing in French and it flows so well.

Once Upon a Time in China (1991): This is my favorite Jet Li film and ranks pretty high in my list for martial arts films. Tsui Hark directs this film based on the Chinese legend Wong Fei-Hung who might be the most frequently played character in Hong Kong history and here is played by Jet Li but has also been played by people like Gordon Liu, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. Fei-Hung is a physician and runs a martial arts school of misfits. His Aunt Yee has returned all westernized which Fei-Hung is making a hard time with the transition of China turning to the Western ways. This especially happens when he has battles with his local government and some of the Americans involved where we see how a man adjusts to such changing times. This was followed by five sequels of which part four and five, Jet Li did not appear and did appear in the one called ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA which as far as I am concerned is the original SHANGHAI NOON.

The Male Animal (1942): I found this Henry Fonda film on TCM. Fonda plays Professor Tommy Turner who is about to read a very controversial piece which is causing an uproar in the university. He wants to read a piece on Vanzetti who was condemned as an anarchist and traitor and was sentenced to die. Olivia de Havilland plays his younger wife Ellen who also does not want Tommy to read his piece. Also her ex-boyfriend football player comes back to town causing an uproar before the big game and making Tommy suspect there is more to their friendship. This is a pretty good comedy and a very funny scene of the football player demonstrating a play with dishes. It also is good showing a man fighting for our freedom of speech which can remain very significant today.

Candy (2006): This is part two of at least three in my Heath Ledger series which might be a four-part series. In here Heath plays a poet who falls in love with an art student of the title character who is played very well by Abbie Cornish. They soon get hooked on each other but even worse on drugs who do what they must to live and have a very destructive relationship. Geoffrey Rush plays a professor who supplies them with their drugs but wants them to stop. This is a movie driven by characters and performances by these three people. This is a pretty depressing film at times so use your judgment when watching.

Dressed to Kill (1980): I end this week with this thriller directed by Brian De Palma. We must deal with serial murders and one of which a prostitute, played by Nancy Allen, witnesses but she also becomes a suspect. Michael Caine plays a psychiatrist to one of the victims. Keith Gordon plays Peter, who is the son of one of the victims out to find the killer. NYPD BLUE alum Dennis Franz plays the unsympathetic cop assigned to the case. This was a pretty effective horror film in some ways in the style of PSYCHO.

Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you don't like. Stay tuned next week for more Heath Ledger, Alfred Molina, Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Shannyn Sossamon, Susan Sarandon, and many others.