Welcome to the 247th Edition of my long-running series. Once again, I'm releasing this a little early because I have another family reunion to go to and I have an audition for OLIVER! in Anderson in a little bit so I am just doing this real quick so get out your Netflix queues and read on.
Cocaine Cowboys (2006): This is my documentary for the week which was directed by Billy Corben which documents the Miami scene in the 80s and the rise of the town in the drug trade. This movie is told from the perspective of various people who lived in the era and were involved with the drug trade. This is a pretty brutal film at times but very informative and keeps your attention pretty well. This movie also references shows like MIAMI VICE and movies like SCARFACE to tell the difference from Cinema and real life. It is also very interesting where they reference the state of Miami before the drug trade and the improvements to the infrastructure since the drug trade. This is a great movie speaking of the drug cartel. There is also a sequel to this movie from the same director which I have never seen but goes more in depth into female drug kingpin Griselda Blanco who is referenced in this movie and is said to be just as feared as many men. I found this on Instant Netflix.
Platinum Blonde (1931): I now bring you some earlier Frank Capra. Robert Williams stars as reporter Stew Smith who is assigned to cover a story on a scandal for the wealthy Schuyler family and meets the daughter Ann, played by Jean Harlow, in the process. Ann takes quite a liking to Stew as well as the family not really knowing he is a reporter. Loretta Young plays Stew's colleague Gallagher who really likes Stew but cannot bring herself to tell him. This is a pretty good romantic comedy from Capra who would go onto direct better things but this was a good start to his career. Robert Williams actually died three days after filming.
Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (2000): This is my Moroccan film for the week which was directed by Nabil Ayouch. This movie takes place in Casablanca which is a far cry from the classic film. This movie shows the life of a few orphaned children. We have the title character who really wants to be a sailor but must deal with a former gang leader him and his friends left. This is a great look at these children who must grow up very fast to survive and takes a good look at the relationship between Ali and his prostitute mother. This won many awards at independent film festivals. The movie is quite disturbing yet quite beautiful at the same time. Ayouch cast a lot of real-life street children in parts giving an authentic feel for the film.
In the Realm of the Senses (1976): I go from Morocco to Japan. This was a Criterion Collection item. This movie shows the affair of a high-class Japanese man and an affair he has with one of his servants which becomes very intense and dangerous. This movie is rated NC-17 which this film really lives up to its rating so this is not for everyone. This is something I obtained from Netflix. The performances in the movie are very good. Nagisa Oshima directed this film which held absolutely nothing back making the phrase "pushing the envelope" an understatement. As I said, this is not for everyone, it is not the movie to watch with your children during "Movie Night", but if you have enough of a stomach this is a great watch that I don't think you'll forget anytime soon. This movie was banned many places in this era and even had to be sent to France for development due to Japan's strict laws of censorship. I really admire Oshima's guts to make a film like this knowing how controversial it will be.
Oliver! (1968): Carol Reed directed this musical adaptation to the Charles Dickens classic OLIVER TWIST. I found this on instant Netflix. Last week I used WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY as my musical and that along with this one really rank up as my favorite film musicals, especially in that era. Mark Lester stars as the title character Oliver Twist whose mother died at childbirth and was orphaned being put in a very bad orphanage. He asks the infamous question about wanting more of the horrible gruel given to the children. He is then sold to a family who is even worse and is taken in by wily pickpocket Fagin, played very well by Ron Moody, who teaches the children his pickpocket ways and is mentored a lot by a child a little older than him the Artful Dodger. This is a very good adaptation of the Dickens classic with a lot of great musical numbers. The community theater in Anderson is doing this production this year as well as the one in Muncie so we'll see if I end up in that one and maybe I can play the role of Fagin or Bill Sykes.
Anglo Saxon Attitudes (1992): This is my British mini-series for the week. Richard Johnson stars as aging historian Gerald Middleton. He is reflecting on his life and career and a couple of events that have happened in his life where one is an archaeological find and the other involving his best friend's fiancee. This movie flashes back from about 1914 to the 50s. Douglas Hodge plays the young version of Middleton. Tara Fitzgerald is very good. We can also see very early appearances from Daniel Craig and Kate Winslet though Winslet just makes a very small appearance. This is based on a novel by Angus Wilson and is considered satire which I really did not see. Daniel Craig appears on the dvd cover but likely because of his current star status as he is not in it very much though is fun to watch in parts he does appear. For me this is more of a "Before They Were Stars" selection but it is still watchable, especially those who love the British style of film.
A Serious Man (2009): I now bring you the Coen Brothers in a very dark comedy. Michael Stuhlbarg plays professor Larry Gopnik who is going through a lot in his life like his wife wanting a divorce, not knowing if he'll get his tenure at the college, crashes his car, his brother moves in, a Korean student bribing for a better grade, and many other things. He then seeks the advise of three Rabbis who are not the biggest help. Richard Kind is pretty funny as Larry's irresponsible brother and probably the most known of the unknown cast which really works in this film. This is really more of a character study on our main character. I did like seeing a rabbi singing Jefferson Airplane. It has a pretty good soundtrack with the movie as well. While I prefer the Coens' earlier work, this is a good entry for them.
Godzilla Raids Again (1955): I end this week with Japan's most famous monster. In this one, he is in a big fight with another lizard named Anguirus and their fight is destoying Osaka, Japan. I found this on instant Netflix. This was a little over an hour long. I did not know for a long time that Godzilla is a metaphor of nuclear weapons where that is how Godzilla was created and possibly their own statement towards the atomic bomb being dropped. This was pretty entertaining and the effects are bad now but probably good for their time. My favorite movie I have seen with Godzilla was the 2001 film GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH. Like most Godzilla films, the stars are the monsters, the humans are just there to make it a little more natural but are always overshadowed.
0 comments
Post a Comment