Welcome to the 146th Edition of my blog. This week I pay tribute to the late underground comic writer Harvey Pekar who recently left us as well as late character actor James Gammon. I had the pleasure of seeing Pekar speak and meeting him earlier in the year when he was at Ball State. This was a very hard one to put together but it all came together in the end with a pretty satisfying end product. I'm releasing this one a little early since I am not sure what I am doing tomorrow and when I will get a chance.
Comic Book Confidential (1988): This was one intended for my documentary edition I put out a couple weeks ago but for various reasons I put it here instead. This is also my tribute to Harvey Pekar who is featured in this film for his underground comic AMERICAN SPLENDOR. This is a very good showing on the history of comic books and the different forms like the superhero comics, underground comics, and the other genres. It also talks about psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's Comic Code from the 50s which made it very difficult for a lot of writers but gave birth to the underground comics like from Robert Crumb, Bill Griffith, and many others. My mom pointed out a couple comics on here my dad liked which included Zippy from Bill Griffith. This is a very informative film packed into 90 minutes.
Tyson (2008): This is another documentary intended for the documentary edition but it also got thrown into this one. James Toback directed this documentary about the famed boxer who at one time was the most feared boxer but then became a publicity joke to many. This is mostly interview footage with Tyson speaking of all the highs and lows in his life. One part I really liked was him talking about his original trainer Cus D'Amato who died which was when Don King got introduced to the picture. He spoke very highly of D'Amato and maybe things would be different if he had lived longer. He also talks some about his rocky marriage with Robin Givens. There is a lot of his interview footage and some good, archival photos. It also goes in depth with him being a father and wanting to be a better person for his children. It was very straight-forward documentary where he explains his point-of-view while owning up to a lot of the problems he has had in his life. This documentary and the one featured before this one can both be found on Instant Netflix.
What's New, Pussycat (1965): Peter O'Toole stars as Michael James who has a true love in his life but cannot stop his womanizing lifestyle to settle down and marry. Peter Sellers co-stars as Dr. Fassbender who is his psychoanalyst who is not much help since he is having love problems of his own and wants one of his patients who then logs for Michael. Woody Allen wrote the original screenplay and even makes his film debut here as Victor. Other actors include Capucine, Paula Prentiss, and Ursula Andress. This was a pretty decent comedy with some pretty funny bits where some worked and some did not. Woody Allen was pretty funny in debut.
The Seapreme Court (1954): This is my animated short for the week which features the character Little Audrey. In this one, we first see her fishing and is then pulled into sea where she is captured by the fish police. She then gets put on trial for her crimes against fish. It might make some feel bad for fishing though I don't usually fish anyways. This was rather predictable but still very entertaining. Little Audrey was brought in after the character Little Lulu did not get renewed. Lulu was better but these have their moments too.
Bicentennial Man (1999): Chris Columbus directed this sci-fi film which is based on a short story by Isaac Aminov. Robin Williams stars in this film as a robot which is made to complete menial tasks. However, this one named Andrew develops more human emotions than most of the others where he then longs to become human which becomes a very long journey in his life. Sam Neill plays Richard who purchases the robot. Embeth Davidtz plays Richard's daughter Amanda grown-up and then plays Amanda's granddaughter Portia since the movie spans many decades. I have seen bits and pieces of this many times and decided to watch in instantly on Netflix since I needed a 90s movie. I was actually very moved by this film and I liked this better than A.I.: Artificial Intelligence which have some similarities. Williams was great in the many evolutions of this character. This movie is probably not for everyone but this moved me quite a bit. I don't know that it needed to be as long as it was.
The Dawn Rider (1935): I was searching for something from Instant Netflix in my Roku player and this is what presented itself to me. This is one of those many early John Wayne films before his big rise as "The Duke". In this one, John plays John Mason who comes home only to find his father has been murdered. The robbers then shoot and wound John where John then goes after them. I guess this is actually a remake of a 1931 movie called GALLOPING THRU. If you like John Wayne, this might be good to watch. It is a pretty short movie and not a horrible one.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): This is the musical version of the children's novel by Ronald Dahl. Gene Wilder stars as the title character who is the owner of a chocolate factory and employs the Oompa-Loompas to help with his chocolate. He has shut himself off from society until holds a contest for five children to tour his factory and win a prize. In his candy there are five golden tickets where we have poor but very loyal child Charlie Bucket, played by Peter Ostrum, who does everything he can for that golden ticket and gets it. Jack Albertson is great as his grandfather who is determined to see Charlie win. On the way there are four other children who are quite bratty and fall into mishaps while on the tour. Many know of Tim Burton's remake which stars Johnny Depp and while it is more to the book, I still prefer this great musical which is rather dark without having to make the set reflect it. This is one of my favorite musicals which has some great numbers and is fun to watch. I found this on my instant Netflix.
The American Adventure (1936): I found this lesser-known Cary Grant film on Instant Netflix. He plays a rich man who has never had to work. He then makes a bet with his doctor that he can live off a working class job for a year without touching his inheritance. He then takes various jobs to live and realizes how tough it can be. This is not the greatest Cary Grant film and he did a lot better before this but he carries it pretty well for the hour of the film.
Gamer (2009): This is possibly part one of a Gerard Butler series but I am not sure of that as of yet. This movie takes place in the near future in a society where the video games become real. Gerard stars as Kable, a wrongfully convicted soldier, who becomes a video game character which can be controlled by video game players. DEXTER star Michael C. Hall co-stars as Ken, the creator of this game who is being pursued by Kable to regain his independence. Other people in the film include Kyra Sedgwick, Amber Valletta, Allison Lohman, among others. I went back and forth on this film. It was a very interesting premise and something a little different from things like RUNNING MAN and THE CONDEMNED. However, this is not for everyone but if you want some action, here you go. Butler is pretty good in his part.
Don't Come Knocking (2005): I end this week with my tribute to James Gammon who had a small but good role in the movie as a ranch hand. Wim Wenders directed this film which was written by Sam Shepard who stars as declining western star Howard Spence. While on the set for a film, he gets a bit burned out and sets off to his old home town when hearing he might have a son. Eva Marie Saint co-stars as his mother who does not stop being his mother. Jessica Lange also co-stars as his ex-wife. Gabriel Mann plays his potential son and Fairuza Balk is rather amusing as his stupid girlfriend. Other actors include Tim Roth, Sarah Polley, Marley Shelton, among others. This is another that is not for everyone. It is rather dark and depressing where you must focus on the characters. Shepard is good in the lead and it really fit into my taste of the independent film.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate and stay tuned for next week.
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