Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 248th Edition

Welcome to the 248th Edition, on Monday we have review night for ARSENIC AND OLD LACE so that will be our first audience and then performances starting Thursday. This week I pay tribute to the late Robert F. Boyle. Tonight I am performing a dramatic reading called WANDERING...FROM KENTUCKY at the Muncie Civic Theater at 7:30.

James Dean (2001): This is my tv movie of the week which was on TNT and you guessed it, this is a biopic of the infamous method actor who died very young. He did not live real far from where I live. About a half hour away in Fairmount, they have a James Dean museum and every year, people from all over the world go see the James Dean car show. Now enough about him so now the movie. James Franco plays the title character who had a very difficult home life and runs away deciding to become an actor. The producers and directors kind of embraced his strange personality and got many parts on tv shows finally getting his big break in EAST OF EDEN and then onto REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and GIANT eventually leading to his untimely death. Franco was great as Dean and has gone onto do other great things. Michael Moriarty plays Dean's father who does not like Dean's career decision. This is a pretty good tv movie.

Avatar (2009): This is my very first Blu-Ray that I bought with a $25 gift card from Wal-Mart. This was the big budget visual feast brought to us by James Cameron where he and many other people working under him created quite an animation scene. Sam Worthington stars as the paraplegic marine Jake Sully who is dispatched to Pandora and is promised to walk again if he will infiltrate the Na'vi land as an Avatar. He eventually falls in love with their native female Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldona. He then becomes more immersed with the Na'vi and questions the motives of his own people which sparks quite a war. Other actors include Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and many others. The only other thing I really remember Lang in is GODS AND GENERALS where he was so light in his performance as Stonewall Jackson and is the exact opposite here as the war hungry Colonel. Yes, it is a variation on things like DANCES WITH WOLVES and THE LAST SAMURAI but the imagery was so beautiful it could be forgotten. I know some did not like this and I really did not see this as Best Picture. This is my favorite Sam Worthington film.

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958): This is my tribute to Robert F. Boyle who was the art director for this film and I also might turn this into a multiple part series for western hero Randolph Scott. I actually prefer him to John Wayne. In this one, he plays the title character Tom Buchanan who riding home to West Texas and stumbles into the town of Agry where he finds himself in a feud between the Agry family and in helping a Mexican seeking revenge, he gets more than he bargains for. Pretty light western and a pretty good storyline.

The Architecture of Reassurance (1999): This is one of two short films for this week and this one is the debut of Mike Mills who would go onto direct some decent indie films like THUMBSUCKER. This 22 minute film focuses on a young girl who hates her home life so she travels around to other homes and imagines herself in the situation and even imagines them a lot happier than what they are. She has quite an imagination and some pretty amusing dialogue. This was on the dvd of last week's feature ALI ZAOUA: PRINCE OF THE STREETS.

The Paper Chase (1973): I found this one On-Demand. Timothy Bottoms stars as law student James T. Hart. He has a big challenge with the stern professor Kingsfield, played very well by John Houseman, and his fear of possibly failing. He then starts an affair with a girl named Susan, played by Lindsey Wagner, only to find out she is the professor's daughter but he continues to see her while struggling his way through the class. This is a very good story of the challenges of trying to make it in the world. Timothy Bottoms was the star but the focus on covers is usually the professor showing he is a very important part to the film. Edward Herrman also co-stars in the film. This is not a star-studded cast but there is no need for one.

Goldfinger (1964): I now bring 007 into this edition where Connery stars as the legendary British agent. This movie is what many say is the best Bond film of all time. James Bond must stop a plot to contaminate the gold supply at Fort Knox. Gert Frobe co-stars as the gold-obsessed title character Auric Goldfinger who is the head of this plot. I don't know if this is my absolute favorite Bond film but I do believe this has some of the most memorable moments in the series like the "Golden Girl" Jill Masterson, the Japanese Henchman Oddjob who has a deadly hat, the gold laser that gets close to Bond, Bond girl Pussy Galore, and many others. AVENGERS alum Honor Blackman plays the character Pussy Galore and Shirley Eaton plays Jill Masterson. To this day there are rumors that Eaton died from skin suffocation and died during filming which is not true, she is still alive.

Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939): This is actually a remake of a Swedish film which stars Ingrid Bergman. Bergman makes her American debut in this remake of her own movie she starred in but for American audiences. Leslie Howard stars as concert violinist Holger Brandt who is married and has a daughter, played by Ann Todd. His daughter is learning the piano and becoming very good. Holger then takes to his daughter's teacher Anita, played by Ingrid Bergman. He really likes Anita and they begin to play together where Holger soon leaves his family to be with her and perform with her. Holger then must decide what he loves most. This is a very moving film where America is introduced to Ingrid Bergman. David Selznick produced the film and makes Leslie Howard associate producer if he agrees to be in a certain movie later in the year. Howard would go onto play Ashley in GONE WITH THE WIND, one he did not want to do but did because he got to be associate producer for this one.

Gun-Shy (2003): This is my foreign film for the week which focuses on a loner named Lukas whose life consists of getting meals to elderly people working for "meals on wheels". He then meets a strange girl named Isabella who Lukas forms a friendship with her but learns of a sexual relationship she is having with stepfather who becomes obsessed with killing him. Christoph Waltz co-stars in this film and most will know him from INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. It is a rather strange movie but I found it watchable, especially to see something else with Waltz.

Around the World in California (1947): This is a very rare thing where I have two short films in one edition but I decided upon this when I really needed to finish this and could not find much else to fit this one and that the other short was from a totally different era and I like to emphasize the importance of a short film. I found this on TCM On-Demand and this is part of the Traveltalk series of shorts from that era. James A. FitzPatrick narrates this ten minute video tour showing some great parts and landmarks of the state including the Chinatown area.

The Land Before Time (1988): I was looking to end this week with an 80s film and looked over On-Demand where I decided to focus on this animated dinosaur film which has spawned thirteen sequels, a brief tv series, and some other sing-along videos and no I have not seen any of the others. I had not seen this since it first came out and went with my dad to see it at the theaters. This is a great Don Bluth film where many orphaned dinosaurs led by Littlefoot must band together to get to the "Great Valley". All five dinosaurs are a different breed and have some tension, especially with Triceratops Cera who insists she does not associate with "longnecks". There are some pretty sad moments in the film like the earthquake in the beginning resulting in the death of Littlefoot's mother. Just a little sad trivia I have learned while researching this film is that Judith Barsi who did the voice of Ducky was murdered by her own father at the age of 10 who then shoots himself. This movie also focuses on acceptance of being different and how different is okay. Don Bluth has not done a lot but really makes his mark on the world of animation when he does do something.

Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate. Stay tuned for next week which so far includes Kate Hudson, Kevin Bacon, Paul Newman, Lon Chaney Jr., and many others.