Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 259th Edition and Odious Oozes: Week 4

Welcome to the 259th Edition of my series. This is the last week of the Horror Marathon. Next week is the FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of this blog. I know, I can't believe it either. I am intending to do something totally different to the norm which I think will be enjoyed so stay tuned.

The Cincinnati Kid (1965): I start the week out with this classic poker film which stars Steve McQueen as the title character. This movie takes place in '30s New Orleans where McQueen plays a young poker player who comes to New Orleans to take on poker legend Lancey Howard, played by Edward G. Robinson. There is a lot of really good footage of the two taking each other. Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, and a rare acting appearance from Cab Calloway all co-star. It is a really realistic film of the times and a darker side of New Orleans. There is also a good, jazzy music score and the theme song by Ray Charles. Norman Jewison directed the film.

Casper (1995): Our favorite friendly ghost get the live-action treatment. It starts out with the usual part to the cartoons where Casper just wants friends but other just fear the unknown and get scared. Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle play a couple who wants to burn the house down after being scared away by the ghosts. They then hire afterlife therapist Dr. James Harvey, played by Bill Pullman, who moves in hopes to get rid of the ghosts. Christina Ricci stars as his daughter Kat who is tired of constant moving but then meets Casper who she sees is very friendly unlike his uncles who are pretty mean and want them out of the house. This would be more of a family-friendly film which I did not find bad and even gave Casper a bit of a back story. Look for many cameos.

Poetry of Nature (1939): This is my short film for the week which is one of the Pete Smith specialties and some of my favorite from that era. This takes a look at many wildlife situations and adds humorous contents voicing the animals that he shows. This is the common formula for many of his short films. I have seen better than this one but they are all pretty enjoyable to me so check out some Pete Smith shorts if you get a chance.

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991): I think this is the first time that Ernest P. Worrell has graced this blog. Jim Varney created this iconic character in the 80s who is very likable but very inept. In this film, he plays the trash man who accidentally helps some evil trolls escape from their graves who then begin wreaking havoc on the town but most notably on the children who the adults do not believe. Ernest must then team up with his youth friends to put a stop to these trolls. Eartha Kitt co-stars as a strange, older lady who knows a lot about these trolls. This is a pretty good one to watch with the kids starting about late elementary age. If looking for a great plot, this is not it but if you want to revisit the Ernest films I'm sure you have not seen in years, this is the time. I believe the last time I saw this was with my dad when it was in theaters.

King of the Zombies (1941): During WWII, a plane must land on an island mansion. Mantan Moreland plays Jeff Jackson who is the servant on the plane and begins to see zombies which the other guys do not believe. He continues to see strange things and finds Dr. Sangre doing experiments on how the zombies are made. Moreland was great in is part and this could be considered a bit racist by politically correct standards but he was an underrated black actor with some good comic timing. This is a fun classic horror to watch for the season which was found on Comcast On-Demand.

Shutter Island (2010): This is my psychological thriller of the week which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The title is an island which is a hospital for the criminally insane. Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels who is investigating the disappearance of a patient who escaped. I went to see this with Lisa when it was in theaters and I thought it flowed quite well. In this kind of film we can almost always expect to see some "twist" and I thought Scorsese did pretty good with that in a no-win situation sometimes. Mark Ruffalo, DAWSON'S CREEK alum Michelle Williams, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, and many others co-star. DiCaprio was pretty good in his part. I won't get too much into the plot so that you don't start predicting very early. Good entry for Scorsese.

The Mummy (1959): This is my Hammer Films entry for the week which is a remake of the 1932 classic starring Christopher Lee as the title character and Peter Cushing and the expert trying to put a stop to the Mummy. Hammer director Terrence Fisher directed this one and as I have said before I tend to favor classic horror from Hammer over the Universal classics. The Hammer films still remain a bit chilling unlike Universal and make no mistake, I still enjoy Universal. Lee did some pretty good work as the Mummy as well as Cushing. Christopher Lee became the first actor to play Dracula, the Creature of Frankenstein and the Mummy.

What Lies Beneath (2000): This is my other ghost feature for the week which stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Clare who is adjusting to a new life after sending her daughter to college. Things get even stranger when she witnesses eerie events thinking her home may be haunted. Harrison Ford plays Norman who is a successful research scientist who does not believe her wife is seeing reality. The more Clare investigates however, the more her life begins to change leading to a pretty violent climax. Robert Zemeckis directed this more creepy ghost story than the other ghost story that I featured. I want you all to see this for yourself rather than me go too much further into the plot.

The Last Man on Earth (1964): This is my Vincent Price film of the week which would eventually get remade into the 1971 film THE OMEGA MAN and the 2007 film I AM LEGEND which is actually the title of the novel this film is based upon. Vincent Price plays the only survivor of a plague. However, there are still more of the "undead" which are considered vampires. He then takes it upon himself to destroy these people but then they get more and more angry. My friend Doug and I once had a discussion which the 2007 remake came out and how he favored that remake just because of the technology that we have now and then myself explaining that better special effects does not always mean for a better film. This was a pretty good chiller with Price good in his title role. I admit I have not seen I AM LEGEND yet and I am not saying I won't but we must give credit where credit is due. I personally prefer to see Vincent Price in this kind of part than Will Smith but that's just me.

The Cell (2000): I end the week with this psychological thriller. Vincent D'Onofrio stars as serial killer Carl who has been rendered comatose but is the only one to know where his latest victim is being held. The FBI wants to find this person before she dies. Jennifer Lopez stars as psychotherapist Catherine Deane who agrees to a new, revolutionary technology where she enters the mind of the comatose serial killer in hopes of finding the victim. When in the mind, she then sees his childhood and tries to connect with him to find the information. Vince Vaughn co-stars as an FBI agent whose main objection is finding the victim. I actually quite liked him in this movie where he is more serious than usual. The fantasy sequences were also pretty good with a decent performance from J-Lo. This is a great sci-fi entry with the rare element of a serial killer.

Well that is it for this week. Please join me next week for the five year anniversary of this blog. Keep on reading for the last week of Horror Movie Madness.

HORROR MOVIE MADNESS: ODIOUS OOZES: WEEK 4

This is the last week of the greatest contest ever. Whatever happens here, I'm still the unofficial winner in variety and the King of the Loophole and look forward next year.

ALIENS

1. War of the Worlds (1953): I think this should be counted for sci-fi horror on account of the murderous aliens. 666 1/2

BRUCE CAMPBELL

1. The Ant Bully (2006): Ah, my Bruce Campbell loophole and one where I request bonus points for the potion that Zoc makes to make Lucas smaller. 666 (3 points)

2. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009): I admit I had a bit of a hard time at first but hearing Bruce Campbell and Mr. T made the movie worth it. 66 1/2 (2 points)

PETER CUSHING

1. The Mummy (1959): This is my Hammer selection for the week which included a mummy and Peter Cushing. 666 (2 points)

GHOSTS

1. Casper (1995): This is the ghost loophole for the full-length version of the friendliest ghost we know. 66 1/2 (2 points)

STEVE MCQUEEN

1. The Cincinnati Kid (1965): This would be a loophole because of Mr. McQueen where is is a hot-shot poker player. Sometimes when doing this contest while Elizabeth calls me the "King of the Hoophole", I just wonder what other contestants are thinking like how I disgrace this Horror contest with the things I include on these contests but oh well. I am who I am and I still must provide diversity on my own blog. 666 (2 points)


VINCENT PRICE

1. The Last Man on Earth (1964): This is the vampire selection and it had Vincent Price so when I saw it On-Demand I had to have it. 666 (2 points)

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

1. Shutter Island (2010): I actually had to ask the host if this would count and it got approved. 666 (2 points)

SAM RAIMI

1. The Gift (2000): This is another psychological thriller and directed by Sam Raimi. 666 (2 points)

SERIAL KILLERS AND SLASHERS

1. The Cell (2000): I feel this should count for the serial killer element. 666 (2 points)

2. The People Under the Stairs (1991): My only Wes Craven entry for this contest for this Urban horror film where we have a boy named fool who along with a couple adults decide to rob the wrong house which is inhibited by some pretty crazy people and children who have been abducted and cannot escape. I want bonus points for the cannibalism element. 66 (3 points)

SUPERNATURAL

1. Push (2009): I admit I'm really doing what the title implies and pushing it. I'm passing it off as teen supernatural horror but if it does not get counted I will understand. We have a man with telekinetic powers and a psychic girl. 66 1/2 (2 points)


TROLLS

1. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991): I did not know how to classify this Halloween comedy and Ernest's place in the contest but they did contend with some trolls. I am asking for bonus points on this one for the way the trolls just melt. 66 1/2 (3 points)

VIRUSES

1. The Crazies (2010): This is the virus film for the week which is a remake of the Romero classic. I have not seen that version but I did really like this movie though. 666 (2 points)

WEREWOLVES

1. The Wolf Man (2010): The remake of a classic which is a pretty big risk. Benicio Del Toro plays Laurence Talbot which is a part that is just so hard to imagine anybody else besides Lon Chaney Jr. and he just could not pull it off for me. Also, I really didn't like the way they portrayed in as a bit of a prick and even his father, played by Anthony Hopkins, was rather villainous. There were some things that worked like the scenery and Hugo Weaving and the officer investigating it. 66 1/2 (2 points)

ZOMBIES

1. King of the Zombies (1941): This is the zombie film of the week which could be considered racist by today's standards but still entertaining. 66 1/2 (2 points)